#Steven Maier

[themnmovieman]

Movie Review ~ Omni Loop

Omni Loop Synopsis: A quantum physicist herself stuck in a time loop, with a black hole growing in her chest and only a week to live. When she meets a gifted student, they team up to save her life and unlock the mysteries of time travel.Stars: Mary-Louise Parker, Ayo Edebiri, Hannah Pearl Utt, Chris Witaske, Carlos Jacott, Harris Yulin, Steven Maier, Eddie CahillDirector: Bernardo BrittoRated:…

[jocia92]

Dan Stevens in an exclusive interview (Google translated)

Hollywood star Dan Stevens can currently be seen in the blockbuster “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” in cinemas. The film is currently topping the box office charts and is number one worldwide. We met the charismatic actor in Los Angeles and talked to him about his current film, his next two projects and his choice of roles.

April 5, 2024 by Grace Maier

Can you share with us your first reaction when you were offered a role in Godzilla x Kong: The new empire? It's always a pleasure to work with the same people several times, but this time it was extra special as Adam Wingard, the director, is an old friend. I was also invited to play with an even older friend, Rebecca Hall, as well as Brian Tyree Henry, who I have known and admired for years. It felt like I was being asked to play with friends.

What was it like entering the universe of these iconic monsters? Did you have any ideas or expectations? It's a fun task to be asked to stretch one's imagination to the size of such cinematic titans! I've worked with CGI on an epic scale before, so it wasn't too foreign, and I was surprised at how many practical locations we had.

How did you prepare for your role in this blockbuster? Were there any unique challenges or exciting moments during filming? It was really exciting to shoot in the Australian outback, in the Daintree rainforest - this incredible ancient jungle. That sense of adventure on the way to work every day, passing crocodiles along the river banks, waiting for pythons to be removed from the set, really fueled the mood for the Hollow Earth walk in the film.

“Godzilla x Kong: The new empire” promises to be an epic clash. Without giving too much away, can you give us a hint as to how your character fits into the plot? Trapper is initially brought in to help Kong with his toothache - he is a vet for all Titan creatures - and is then approached by Rebecca Hall's character, Dr. Andrews, invited to the mission. He's a kind of happy, carefree Han Solo type, good to have around, tirelessly optimistic and impressed by little.

The film contains a lot of CGI and visual effects. What was your experience like acting in such an environment and how did it differ from previous roles? I've worked with this type of thing before so it wasn't too scary. I actually really enjoy working with a VFX team and helping to create something using our entire collective imagination. It's truly incredible to see what they achieve long after you've left the process.

Were you a fan of the Godzilla or Kong films before joining this project? How does it feel to be part of their legacy? I feel like I've known these characters my whole life: they are such an integral part of cinema history. I've loved seeing them in all their different iterations over the years and of course being asked to perform alongside them - and even fix their teeth - is a huge honor!

The film will have some intense action scenes. Can you describe one of your most memorable moments while filming these scenes? While it's not the most intense scene, the way my character is introduced - rappelling from a floating vehicle into Kong's mouth to perform large-scale dental work - was one of the more exciting stunts I had to do!

How do you think fans of the franchise will react to Godzilla x Kong: The new empire? What can they look forward to most? I want them to enjoy the ride! You'll see things you've never seen before and meet some fantastic new creatures and characters, but also maybe some familiar fan favorites...

You also have the film "ABIGAIL" coming out in April. Can you tell us a little about filming and what audiences can expect? This is a completely different kind of thrill! Essentially, it's a vampire ballerina heist movie - you know the kind - directed by the Radio Silence guys, Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, who specialize in a particularly wacky brand of horror-comedy that I love .

“CUCKOO” will also be released in the summer. What particularly interested you about this film? Tilman Singer, the director, is a truly exciting new voice in cinema - he has a very distinctive style that is so captivating and artfully disturbing. I was also very curious to work with Hunter Schafer, the lead actress of Cuckoo, who is such a bright and brilliant artistic soul.

Your career is so dynamic. How do you go about choosing a role? I crave variety, challenge and surprise, so I'm often guided by the search for those things, but it can also be a certain quality in the writing, a desire to work with certain directors or actors. It's different every time!

[beardedmrbean]

A fan fiction writer has been sued by the estate of JRR Tolkien for copyright after publishing his own sequel to The Lord of the Rings.

US-based author Demetrious Polychron published a book called The Fellowship of the King in 2022.

He dubbed it "the pitch-perfect sequel to The Lord of the Rings."

The court ruled that Polychron must stop distributing copies of the book and destroy all physical and electronic copies.

'Frivolous' lawsuit

In April 2023 Polychron attempted to sue the Tolkein estate and Amazon, claiming the TV series, Rings of Power, infringed the copyright in his book.

The case was dismissed after the judge ruled that Polychron's own book was infringing on Amazon's prequel that was released in September 2022.

The Tolkien Estate then filed a separate lawsuit against Polychron for an injunction to stop The Fellowship of the King from being further distributed.

On Thursday Judge Steven V Wilson called the lawsuit "frivolous and unreasonably filed" and granted the permanent injunction, preventing him from selling his book and any other planned sequels, of which there were six.

The court also awarded lawyer's fees totalling $134,000 (£106,000) to the Tolkien Estate and Amazon in connection with Polychron's lawsuit.

The estate's UK solicitor, Steven Maier of Maier Blackburn, said: "This is an important success for the Tolkien Estate, which will not permit unauthorised authors and publishers to monetise JRR Tolkien's much-loved works in this way.

"This case involved a serious infringement of The Lord of the Rings copyright, undertaken on a commercial basis, and the estate hopes that the award of a permanent injunction and attorneys' fees will be sufficient to dissuade others who may have similar intentions."

Earlier this year it was confirmed by Warner Bros that more Lord of the Rings films are on the way over the next few years.

Work on the second series of Amazon's TV show began in October.

The BBC has tried to contact Demetrious Polychron for comment.

[captaindibbzy]

This is why we do not charge for fanfiction. This is why we do not publish unsanctioned fanfiction.

Actually this is why copyright came about in the first place.

Dude has some balls though. Dude sued Amazon and the fucking Tolkein Estate for infringement on HIS book, which he published in 2022. Judge granted a permanent injunction against selling it and his planned six sequels.

The estate's UK solicitor, Steven Maier of Maier Blackburn, said: "This is an important success for the Tolkien Estate, which will not permit unauthorised authors and publishers to monetise JRR Tolkien's much-loved works in this way.

Lord of the Rings will reach the public domain in 2044.

[thesinglesjukebox]

KYLE GORDON FT. DJ CRAZY TIMES AND MS. BILJANA ELECTRONICA - "PLANET OF THE BASS"

Time to find out once and for all who hates fun!

[3.50]

Crystal Leww: A fun weird thing that happened this year is that Kyle Gordon premiered "Planet of the Bass" at the party that I book called hulaHOOP, which is a trance, Eurodance, and euphoric dance music party that I started this year with two of my best friends. He was a last-minute add to our lineup, which was filled with friends and artists that we admire from around the world who are not white, not straight, and not dudes. I have nothing bad to say about Kyle Gordon, a guy who genuinely seems to love Aqua and Vengaboys, treated our team and the club staff with nothing but respect, and willingly took a ten minute slot that we gave him. But it was very weird to see "Planet of the Bass" become the center of conversation for a Eurodance and trance revival well underway that had been for a while spearheaded by mostly not white dudes. None of this stuff should be taken that seriously -- I'm on Team Dance Music Should Be Fun -- but it's kinda sad that something as goofy as the Eurodance revival still gets dominated by bros who are not even that good at the music part of it. The day before our party, Boiler Room dropped sets from La Darude, the collective from Paris that is really spearheading a lot of this stuff. Suggest you listen to those instead to embrace the goofy, euphoric whimsy from people who are really, really in it. [4]

Kat Stevens: I don't mind people taking the piss if it's banging, but this is just spiteful. [1]

Oliver Maier: If you are here reading this website you probably don't need me to explain all the ways that this isn't particularly spot-on as Eurodance pastiche. Maybe someone else will do it for me. Fortunately, "Planet of the Bass" gets the most important thing right, which is to have fun. It's pretty funny (throwaway 30 Rock joke/10) and pretty catchy (memorable, but not an earworm/10). Try though I might, I simply have no strong feelings about "Planet of the Bass"! Takes, I'm wanting more. [5]

Jonathan Bradley: Taken beyond meme length, "Planet of the Bass" seems increasingly dubious: are silly accents and ESL phrases actually hilarious, or is this tired American condescension? Forgive me for imposing some level of scrutiny on that lowest from of entertainer -- the internet comedian -- but the DJ Crazy Times project fails for its sloppiness about the details. Purportedly a parody of '90s Eurodance, it sounds more like it belongs to the 2000s than alongside "Rhythm is a Dancer," "Another Night," or "The Rhythm of the Night." It also posits its performers as central European or Balkan, while the big hits from the time it seeks to parody came from nations that hadn't just emerged from behind the Iron Curtain: Germany, Italy, the Netherlands. Maybe Slavs are supposed to be inherently more ridiculous than western Europeans? But the weakest quality of "Planet of the Bass" -- what makes it fail as a song rather than a gag -- is that it isn't interested in what the Eurodance acts of the '90s were doing with their big boshing beats and unusual syntax: adopting simple English phrases that could be understood in a club across the continent, regardless of which of the dozens of Europeans languages might be spoken there, yet still communicating a sense of dancefloor yearning that plays anywhere from Copenhagen to Cordoba. [2]

Will Adams: Like most viral memes today, "Planet of the Bass" was pummeled into oblivion in a matter of weeks. The life cycle of a joke landing to the jokester re-telling the joke (keep 'em laughing!) to the resentment of the joke to discourse about the joke to, finally, the chatter fizzling out... this isn't new. That's not the issue. The song is fine. The chorus is quite good; I trust that Kyle Gordon knows his Eurodance references -- I'm getting equal parts the goofy dude rap of Aqua and Toy-Box and the emotive female vocal of Matrix's "Can You Feel It" and Vengaboys' "Superfly Slick Dick." The issue is that the core joke belongs to the genre of "ESL? LOL!" comedy (hi Brian Jordan Alvarez!) that generally has a short shelf life. [5]

David Moore: I only recognize one TikTok meme as a legitimate 2023 banger, and it is "Sitting" by T.J. Mack, the alter ego of comedian Brian Jordan Alvarez. (The Paul F. Tompkins big band version is great, too.) [1]

Rachel Saywitz: Sometimes what goes viral on TikTok should stay viral on TikTok. [0]

Katherine St Asaph: Kyle Gordon appears to be a bit of an asshole, but an asshole with some genuine appreciation for the genre and for Y2K visual aesthetics. But regardless of how much Eurodance he's heard, he does not seem to realize that their English lyrics were almost never this bad -- and that deliberately bad English is both rarely funny and never emotionally charged like the real songs were. Should have stayed a meme reel on Croatia Roosevelt Island. [4]

Hannah Jocelyn: This doesn't understand what makes those songs great beyond the most obvious signifiers of broken English -- even shit like "The Fox" had a euphoric EDM outro that made at least one person in my life say "wait, is this actually good?" (No.) "Planet of the Bass" aims for that transcendence, but the production does the bare minimum, and nothing in the song is as beautifully unhinged as "I'm as serious as cancer when I say rhythm is a dancer." But "Planet of the Bass" brought me as much joy as anything else this year: a loved one and I constantly quote the spoken-word bridge, itself lifted from a deep cut that shows Kyle Gordon knows his shit. If that knowledge was translated to a stronger arrangement, we would have an all-timer parody song on our hands. But we'll always have the immortal affirmation "women are my favorite guy." [6]

Tara Hillegeist: As Gordons getting their five minutes of fame out of the way off a techno-type beat and meme-ready lyrics go, I'd genuinely much rather be listening to "Gordon Kill the Thomas". Peanuts-kun at least extends their socmed-ready pisstake with some wild, one might even say creative, decisions; "Planet of the Bass", by contrast, can't even get its feet motivated enough to reach the dancefloor. I would be lying if I said the bonehead genius of pastiche lyrics like "women are my favorite guy" inspired utterly no joy in me, of course, but as a full song, this misses the Vengabus. [3]

John S. Quinn-Puerta: Disney Channel Original Trance Song [5]

Nortey Dowuona: Half of this is BASS. The other part is a barely-there repeat of circa-'05 pop dance I'd hear in Torino. [3]

Tim de Reuse: Reviewing musical comedy is hard because you have to ask whether it's funny. And then when the answer is "the first time, I guess," you have to ask whether the music is good. And then when the answer is "it's unremarkable," you've run out of things to talk about. [3]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: No one who is actually funny will take a joke and try to milk it for all he can. That's just disrespectful to the craft. Even if this were initially amusing, the moment that Kyle Gordon dropped the full song is when he went from comedian to content creator. [0]

Will Rivitz: TSJ in 2014: collectively unable to parse that a Eurotrash genre sendup could be sublime. TSJ in 2016: collectively unable to parse that a Eurotrash genre sendup (except for at least one of us!) could be sublime. TSJ in 2023: admittedly, this song is no QT or Charli, but it rips regardless. I hope we've learned our lesson. [8]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: All jokes aside, that's genuinely an all-time great dance-pop hook. It's a shame about the other 2 minutes of the song, though! [5]

Aaron Bergstrom: This could have been a clever tweet (I'll admit that I chuckled at "women are my favorite guy" the first time), but instead it's a three and a half minute song that overstays its welcome by at least two. By the end he's basically just doing Borat. [3]

Taylor Alatorre: Those European people to the east of the Rhine -- they don't speak the English too good, do they? And they sure do love their bass-thumping, fist-pumping club music, right? Well, at least in the '90s they did. Now it's a different decade, and they like some different kinds of electronic music than that. But still, we could make pretend like we're back in the '90s and excavate a harmless, beloved, frozen-in-amber genre for the purpose of mocking I mean "celebrating" it, and have our YouTube TikTok comedian guy say some sex-obsessed and politically naïve phrases that probably sounded funnier as a recurring bit on Twitter than they do when spoken aloud. That's something, right? Ylvis still appears in Uber One ads, right? [3]

Brad Shoup: It rocks that he made a Eurodance track for locals and when the locals finally heard it, they had no idea what to do with it. The structure and timbre are dead on--I particularly enjoyed the electro freestyle ostinato--but the deep-fried Continental English stopped being funny real fast. There's just something really beautiful about European dance-pop: the way that shamelessness and fun can carry idiosyncratics like Hit'n'Hide or Rednex over the border. "Planet of the Bass" gets at a little of both, but it mostly feels like a joke about Slavic hustle. I guess I'll wait for the third-wave ska parody. [4]

Ian Mathers: Brevity is the soul of wit. Chorus is still pretty good, though! [5]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

[ulkaralakbarova]

A devoted wife and mother leads a secret life as a CIA agent until her husband’s article exposes a scandal, putting her identity and loved ones at risk. As her world crumbles, she must navigate the fallout of her double life. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Valerie Plame: Naomi Watts Joseph Wilson: Sean Penn Sam Plame: Sam Shepard Bill: Noah Emmerich Jack: Michael Kelly Jim Pavitt: Bruce McGill Scooter Libby: David Andrews Paul: Tim Griffin Dr. Zahraa: Liraz Charhi Hammad: Khaled El Nabawy Chanel Suit: Sonya Davison Tabir Secretary #1: Vanessa Chong Hafiz: Anand Tiwari Tabir Secretary #2: Stephanie Chai Fred: Ty Burrell Sue: Jessica Hecht Steve: Norbert Leo Butz Lisa: Rebecca Rigg Diana: Brooke Smith Jeff: Tom McCarthy Samantha Wilson: Ashley Gerasimovich Trevor Wilson: Quinn Broggy CIA Tour Leader: Nicholas Sadler CPD Agent: Iris Bahr Minister of Mines – Niger: Ghazil Joe Turner: Kristoffer Ryan Winters Nervous Analyst #1: Louis Ozawa CIA Analyst #1: Sean Mahon Professor Badawi: Mohamed Abdel Fatah Kim: Rashmi Rao Nervous Dave: David Denman Nervous Analyst #2: Remy Auberjonois Ali: Sunil Malhotra Jordan Officer #1: Kevin Makely Mukhabarat Officer: Mousa Al Satari Hammad’s Son: Rafat Basel Hammad’s Wife: Maysa Abdel Sattar B.U. Professor: Judith Resnik B.U. Student #1: Ben Mac Brown B.U. Student #2: Satya Bhabha Iraqi Scientist #1: Nabil Koni Iraqi Scientist #2: Mohammad Al Sawalqa Beth: Jenny Maguire Pete: David Warshofsky Ari Fleischer: Geoffrey Cantor Journalist #1: David Ilku Journalist #2: Deidre Goodwin Journalist #3: Donna Placido Karl Rove: Adam LeFevre Steven Hadley: Brian McCormack Andrew Card: James Rutledge Cathie Martin: Tricia Munford David Addington: Michael Goodwin Mr. Tabir: Nassar Dir. of CIA Operations: Chet Grissom Internal Security Officer: James Joseph O’Neil Supporter #1: Danni Lang Supporter #2: Jane Lee Field Reporter #1: James Moye Field Reporter #2: Judy Maier Diane Plame: Polly Holliday Businessman #1: Kola Ogundiran Businessman #2: Byron Utley Right Wing Reporter: Anastasia Barzee DC Cab Driver: Sanousi Sesay Barista (uncredited): Angela Lewis Deceased Soldier’s Daughter (uncredited): Michelle E. Mancini UN Diplomat (uncredited): Rebekah Paltrow Neumann Iraqi Server (uncredited): Barbara Grace Romano Four Seasons Waitress (uncredited): Satu Runa Warehouse Supervisor (uncredited): Kaipo Schwab Head Paparazzo (uncredited): Harry L. Seddon Turkish Diplomat (uncredited): Kent Sladyk Vietnam Vet at Rally (uncredited): Bill Walters Film Crew: Producer: Doug Liman Screenplay: John-Henry Butterworth Producer: Jez Butterworth Book: Joseph Wilson Associate Producer: Sean Gesell Makeup Department Head: Michal Bigger Line Producer: Pete Singh Key Hair Stylist: Amanda Miller Line Producer: Anadil Hossain Line Producer: Bruce Wayne Gillies Line Producer: Carson Ng Original Music Composer: John Powell Executive Producer: Mohamed Khalaf Al-Mazrouei Associate Producer: Gerry Robert Byrne Line Producer: Wesam Seif Elislam Hairstylist: Lisa Hazell Book: Valerie Plame Executive Producer: Jeff Skoll Co-Producer: Avram Ludwig Stunt Coordinator: G. A. Aguilar Stunt Coordinator: Peter Bucossi Co-Producer: Kim H. Winther Casting: Joseph Middleton Producer: Bill Pohlad Co-Producer: David Sigal Producer: Janet Zucker Set Decoration: Sara Parks Executive Producer: David Bartis Executive Producer: Mari-Jo Winkler Costume Design: Cindy Evans Producer: Jerry Zucker Editor: Christopher Tellefsen Stunts: Anthony Vincent Producer: Akiva Goldsman Art Direction: Kevin Bird Production Design: Jess Gonchor Stunts: Stephen A. Pope Executive Producer: Kerry Foster Movie Reviews:

[goalhofer]

2024 IIHF Worlds Austria Roster

Wingers

#3 Peter Schneider (E.C. Red Bull Salzburg/Klosterneuburg)

#5 Thomas Raffl (E.C. Red Bull Salzburg/Villach)

#16 Dominic Zwerger (C.D.H. Ambrì-Piotta/Dornbirn)

#17 Manuel Ganahl (Klagenfurt S.S./Bludenz)

#52 Paul Huber (E.C. Red Bull Salzburg/Graz)

#70 Benjamin Nissner (E.C. Red Bull Salzburg/Vienna)

#96 Mario Huber (E.C. Red Bull Salzburg/Innsbruck)

#98 Benjamin Baumgartner (S.C. Bern/Zell Am See)

Centers

#9 Ali Wukovits (E.C. Red Bull Salzburg/Vienna)

#19 Vinzenz Rohrer (Zürcher S.C./Rankweil)

#21 Lukas Haudum (Klagenfurt S.S./Linz)

#23 Marco Rossi (Minnesota Wild/Feldkirch)

#48 Lucas Thaler (E.C. Red Bull Salzburg/Villach)

Defensemen

#12 Daniel Maier (Klagenfurt S.S./St. Veit An Der Glan)

#14 Kilian Zündel (C.D.H. Ambrì-Piotta/Dornbirn)

#18 Paul Stapelfeldt (E.C. Red Bull Salzburg/Braunau)

#20 Nico Brunner (Vienna Hauptstädte/Villach)

#24 Steven Strong (Klagenfurt S.S./Villach)

#32 Bernd Wolf (C.D.H. Lugano/Vienna)

#81 Ramón Schnetzer (C.D.H. Thurgau/Feldkirch)

#91 Dominique Heinrich (Vienna Hauptstädte/Vienna)

#92 Clemens Unterweger (Klagenfurt S.S./Lienz)

Goalies

#30 David Kickert (E.C. Red Bull Salzburg/Korneuburg)

#31 David Madlener (Pioniere Vorarlberg/Feldkirch)

#33 Thomas Höneckl (Steinbach Schwarze Flügel Linz/Schwarzach Im Pongau)

[arsmusica]

Songs of Love & Peace

Datum: Mi, 24.04.2024, 19:30 Uhr

RICARDO VOLKERT & FRIENDS - SONGS OF LOVE & PEACE

Mitwirkende: Elke Brüsch (Berlin) - Gesang

Dirk Trageser (Berlin) - Gitarre und Gesang

Bernhard Seidel - Kontrabass und Gesang

Ricardo Volkert - Gitarre und Gesang

Uli Maier - Gitarre und Gesang

Veranstalter: ars musica e.V.

Location: LUISE Kulturzentrum

Adresse: Ruppertstraße 5, 80337 München

Eintritt: € 18,- / erm. € 15,-

https://www.ticketino.com/de/Event/Songs-of-Love-Peace/184763

Beschreibung:

Songs of Love & Peace

...weil sie aktuell sind wie nie zuvor und weil es immer Liebe & Frieden braucht

Wir singen Songs of Love & Peace aus Lust und Überzeugung, aus Begeisterung und Freude zusammen zu singen und sich mit Gitarren zu begleiten.

Songs of Love & Peace sind Lieder die um die Welt gingen, Lieder die wir vor "ewiger" Zeit schon gesungen haben, jeder für sich...und mit anderen zusammen...

Songs die wir lieben, von Songwritern geschrieben für ihre Zeiten voll Liebe & Gewalt, zwischen Summer of Love und Vietnamkrieg, zwischen Bürgerrechtsbewegung und Woodstock - das sind Songs of Love & Peace.

Klassiker wie Bob Dylan (Blowin in the wind, Don't think twice, The times they are a changing), Leonard Cohen (So long Marianne, Halleluhja), Pete Seeger (If I had a hammer, Where have all the flowers gone), Simon & Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, Crosby Stills Nash & Young....

Klassiker von Gestern für unsere Zeit: atomare Bedrohung, Naziparolen, Judenhass, AFD... Populismus... und angesichts des Krieges in der Ukraine wieder aktueller denn je.

Wir singen sie dagegen, die Songs of Love & Peace

Mit

Elke Brüsch (Gesang) – Berlin: SingerSongwriterin, Chorsängerin

Dirk Trageser (Gesang/Percussion) – Berlin: Gitarre und Gesang bei der international tourenden Band 17 Hippies Discografie: https://www.discogs.com/de/artist/1673274-Dirk-Trageser

Ricardo Volkert (Gitarre/Gesang) - Ammersee: Mehrfacher Preisträger internationaler Songwettbewerbe, Kopf mehrerer Ensembles rund um die Spanische Gitarre. www.ricardo-volkert.de

Uli Maier (Gitarre/Gesang) - München: Gitarrist und Frontmann des Rock-Trios Magic Buzz, Mitglied der in den 80er Jahren bekannt gewordenen Mundart Kultformation Henry Caddie Band.

Bernhard Seidel (Kontrabass/Gesang) - München: Klassik, Jazz, Weltmusik, Bayrisch, Bossa & Bolero. Ein mit allen musikalischen Wassern gewaschener Virtuose.

http://konzert.name/home.

Admin: Frank McLynn

[bethereader]

“Ahora vuelvo a estar en casa y no me funciona ninguna de mis habituales estrategias de evasión. Suelo ver un montón de películas. Si es posible documentales sobre solitarios, marginados, pioneros. Dame líderes de sectas, oscuros personajes históricos, músicos muertos. Me atraen las personas con enfermedades raras y que tienen capacidades extraordinarias. Quiero ver cómo los incomprendidos por fin son rescatados del olvido. Uno de mis favoritos trata de una niñera llamada Vivian Maier, que resultó ser una de las mejores fotógrafas del mundo, aunque nadie descubrió su talento hasta después de su muerte.”

Querido Evan Hansen — Val Emmich, Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul.

[calendario-gp]

April 22

Moleskine Detour Arles 22 april - 14 may 2023 Opening Exhibition of notebooks from the Moleskine Foundation Collection Artists: Erdem Akan, Yasser Alhasan, Tamadher Ali Alfahal, Batool A. Aziz AlShaikh, Joël Andrianomearisoa, Yuval Avital, Leilah Babyrie, Ruth Bekele, Quentin Bidaud, Mirko Borsche, Jason Brooks, Simonetta Capecchi, Giancarlo Carnevale, Joel Chu, Kellyn Lisbeth Córdoba, Julien D’Ys, Paul Dewis, Jean-Claude Ellena, Robert Gligorov, Michael Graves, Steven Guarnaccia, Martha Kazungu, William Kentrige, Diobédo Francis Kéré, Toshiyuki Kita, Libri finti clandestini, Carl Liu, Giorgia Lupi, Hans Maier-Aichen, Rachel Marks, Davide Masi, Reg Mombassa, Alioum Moussa, Daniel Müller, Aida Muluneh, Tatiana Musi, Stéphanie Nava, Ou Ning, Roberto Paci Dalò, Maurice Pefura, Pi Piquer, Julie Polidoro, Oki Sato, Paula Scher, Julian Semiao, Cheikh Yakhouba Sidibe, Carlo Stanga, Mark Todd, Siren Elise Wilhelmsen, Amina Zoubir Festival du Dessin Eglise de Saint Blaise, 33 rue Vauban Arles, France

[k00283010]

Photography and moving image workshop 07/02/23:

In todays workshop with Deborah we were given an introduction to lens-based media and camera techniques.

These are my notes i took during the class:

developing ideas

Task one: research

Visual elements. Compositional elements. Elements and principals of design.

Exercise; pick one location, stand in one spot and take 24 unique photographs, you cannot move your feet.

These are a selection -

Other activities i could try

2; photograph 12 abstracts of a common object.

3; restrictions

4; shoot a roll of film

List of Artists that Deborah gave us to explore:

• Sally Mann

• Vivian Maier

• Francesca Woodman

• Richard Billingham -this is England

• Bill Viola

• Edward Steichen

• Irving Penn

• Steven Klein

• Alexander McQueen

• Daniel Sannwald

• George Rousse

• Steve McQueen

• Sam Taylor Wood

• Una Spain

• Paddy Jolley

• Gregory Crewdson

• Tim Walker

[tehri]

Well hey, good morning to me, I had forgotten I made this post even if I didn't forget about... *squints at notes* demetrious polychron nope i'm still not keen on believing that this is his actual name what the hell

So an important thing to note here is this quote from the BBC News article on this: "The estate's UK solicitor, Steven Maier of Maier Blackburn, said: 'This is an important success for the Tolkien Estate, which will not permit unauthorised authors and publishers to monetise JRR Tolkien's much-loved works in this way.'"

Note the wording. "[...]will not permit unauthorised authors and publishers to monetise JRR Tolkien's much-loved works".

So yeah, literally where Mr Polygon- sorry, Polychron. Where this guy went wrong is very much where he officially published his fanfiction on a commercial website with the intention of making profit on it. And yes, he did intend to make profit. It was on there to be bought, not handed out for free. Which, you know, not the smartest thing to do if you're a fanfic-writer.

Maybe he just hasn't ever heard about AO3. Or maybe he has and decided that he better make some money on his self-proclaimed... *squints at BBC News Article wording* "pitch-perfect sequel to The Lord of the Rings"?

wow

Anyway, long story short, fancreators don't need to worry, this was just the Tolkien Estate reacting to A - being sued over the copyright they still hold, and B - being sued by the very dude who decided to make money on his fanfiction by putting it up on Amazon and making it clear that he intended that story to be the first one of SEVEN that he also very much intended to sell. Aka, they're not coming after fancreators who don't try to monetize their stuff, and Demetrious Polychron is an idiot who should maybe look into making an AO3 account instead.

The Bonkers Lawsuit of Demetrious Polychron (I Wish This Were A Joke)

In other bonkers news I have just learned through my LotRO server’s certified Deep Lore Guy (bless you, Rana, may you never see this), apparently there’s a very literal fanfiction writer by the name of Demetrious Polychron (yes, I was also very surprised that this is his name) suing both Amazon and the Tolkien Estate for $250 million because he claims RoP was based on his book “The Fellowship of the King” - which is very blatantly a post-canon AU LotR fanfiction using several characters from Tolkien’s works, including Elanor Gardner, Elladan, Elrohir, and Eldarion.

One part of his reasoning is apparently that “there is a hobbit character in RoP named Elanor, this is obviously stolen from my book”, which makes no sense to begin with.

He also very clearly admits that his work was “inspired by the LotR and JRR Tolkien” (”inspired by”, lol) - when it is very much set in Tolkien’s Middle-earth and even starts in the Shire and involves several of the characters from the books and so on and so forth.

He has written a very literal post-canon AU fanfiction. Which he has published. On Amazon. And now he’s trying to sue both Amazon and the Tolkien Estate because he thinks they ripped off his book.

[rookie-critic]

The Pale Blue Eye (2022, dir. Scott Cooper) - review by Rookie-Critic

The Pale Blue Eye sees Christian Bale giving a masterclass in acting in a movie that, otherwise, is just fine. I'm big fan of writer/director Scott Cooper, having seen and loved 2 of his earlier films, Out of the Furnace and Crazy Heart, but his last couple of films, while not bad, necessarily, have been disappointing. His last film, Antlers, felt content to idle its way through its story until it just, kind of, ends; never seeking to dive too deep into any of its very interesting characters enough to develop any true impact on the audience. The Pale Blue Eye also has this issue. A lot of the film isn't terribly interesting. That's not to say that the central mystery isn't interesting, because it very much is, which makes it all the more surprising that none of the investigation or surrounding story was very awe-inspiring or gripping. It had its moments of "oohs" and "aahs," but they were fleeting. I was concerned with how the story would resolve itself, but never too concerned to be more than passively invested. I will say the sets and production design of the film are top notch, and for a period piece (which I confess aren't necessarily always my cup of tea) I found the movie very visually engaging when the script and storytelling were lacking. The story also suffers from from a structuring problem. It feels terribly disjointed, and again, that meandering pace makes it feel like it drags in certain areas, but the biggest confusion comes in the form a very unexpected fourth act.

Our mystery gets solved at about the 90-minute mark. The whodunnit is resolved and we reach what anyone would conceivably call a final scene. Then the film decides that no, it's not over, but in fact still has 38 minutes left of its runtime. It's jarring at first; you really are stuck thinking "what could we possibly be using 38 more minutes for? Is this really necessary?" While I do think the movie's true finale feels a little out of place with the rest of the film, and the buildup to this moment is almost non-existent, I have to say that is also, by far, the best section of the entire film. The absolutely legendary performances given by both Christian Bale and Harry Melling (who is playing a very young, very green, and very Virginian Edgar Allan Poe) in this final sequence is genuinely more awe-inspiring than the entire rest of this movie and all of Antlers put together. Bale is in peak form, and every inch of his face is crawling with anger, remorse, regret, sorrow, and maybe even gratitude. Melling gives an incredible monologue and proves himself capable of keeping up with Bale, and the fact that Melling is taking up so much of the linguistic space of the scene makes Bale's performance even more impressive because he is somehow still the center of your attention, without even saying much for a lot of that final bit. There's one shot in particular (keeping it spoiler-free here) where the camera just lingers for close to 10 seconds on Bale's face as he looks forward past the camera, and his expression grows from complete disbelief slowly to sorrowful acceptance. I've had this issue with the last few movies I've seen of Bale's. He was practically the only good thing of note in Thor: Love and Thunder, and he was also the clear standout of Amsterdam, a movie that I would describe as "good, but not great." I love that he is the kind of actor that, no matter what he's in, he is going to crush it. I know I'm in safe hands with Bale even if the film itself is lacking, but I hope that soon he starts to fight in his own weight class again, because Christian Bale with a solid script is honestly something truly wondrous.

As it stands for this movie and its script, I'd say that The Pale Blue Eye is perfectly serviceable, but flawed, even without that final sequence. However, if the entire film had been as riveting as that fourth act, this may have been an easy 10, but I can't justifiably give it an amazing score like that based purely off of one sequence. Instead, I'll settle on a score of "could have been better" and patiently away Cooper's next film in hopes that it is as good as I know he is capable of.

Score: 7/10

Currently streaming on Netflix.

[ramascreen]

Official Key Art For THE PALE BLUE EYES Starring Christian Bale

Official Key Art For THE PALE BLUE EYES Starring Christian Bale

Netflix has released this official key art for their new film The Pale Blue Eye On Netflix January 6, 2023 In Select Theaters December 23, 2022 Written & Directed By Scott Cooper Based on the book by Louis Bayard Produced by Scott Cooper, Christian Bale, Tyler Thompson, John Lesher Executive Producers Tracey Landon, Dylan Weathered, Louis Bayard, Chris Sharp, Jennifer Lamb, Emily Salveson, Ryan…

[hexalt]

[Steven] Maier and [Martin] Seligman had repeatedly administered painful electric shocks to dogs who were trapped in locked cages. They called this condition “inescapable shock.” Being a dog lover, I realized that I could never have done such research myself, but I was curious about how this cruelty would affect the animals.

After administering several courses of electric shock, the researchers opened the doors of the cages and then shocked the dogs again. A group of control dogs who had never been shocked before immediately ran away, but the dogs who had earlier been subjected to inescapable shock made no attempt to flee, even when the door was wide open—they just lay there, whimpering and defecating. The mere opportunity to escape does not necessarily make traumatized animals, or people, take the road to freedom. Like Maier and Seligman’s dogs, many traumatized people simply give up. Rather than risk experimenting with new options they stay stuck in the fear they know.

— The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk

[thesinglesjukebox]

PEGGY GOU - "(IT GOES LIKE) NANANA"

It's summer somewhere, and it's also 9PM somewhere.

[7.05]

Kat Stevens: Peggy's continued shameless tactic to lure me in with random snippets from Ibiza Anthems vol 1-4 mixed by Alex P & Brandon Block is absolutely working. [8]

Oliver Maier: Absolute head-empty stuff. Pretty 90s inasmuch as it sounds like "I Like To Move It" for a corporate boat afterparty. In, like, Dubai. [6]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: The kind of big dumb pop hit that feels all the sweeter after a half-decade of sophisticated, fashionable house music from Peggy Gou. Somehow, I feel like this is her true form -- a hook-focused trickster spirit hitting all the dopamine release points as quickly as possible. Everything else -- all the long-form odyssey-like qualities of her earlier work, all the couture and style and glamor -- fades away. In pop music -- and "Nanana" is excellent pop music -- all that is secondary to the sheer sugar-rush joy on display here. [9]

Crystal Leww: Peggy Gou has made something like five songs in like five years, and yet somehow her status in dance music is now enormous -- she regularly sells out massive crowds in at least three continents despite incredible price tags (her last NYC show was on a Wednesday and tickets were one hundred and forty eight American dollars each). Yet, if you've ever seen a video of Peggy Gou DJing, it's all cameras up, with no one seemingly doing any actual dancing except maybe Peggy herself. Her whole schtick is like the culmination of the blurring of lines between DJ and influencer -- it's seemingly just as important to be seen at a Peggy Gou show as it is to actually enjoy a Peggy Gou show. All this being said, all five or so of Peggy's songs sound so incredibly warm and timeless despite the fact that they are perfectly engineered to trend chase after all. "(It Goes Like) Nanana" hops on the trance and eurodance revival that's been percolating the last two years, with an unmissable ATB sample and yet unlike what it's ripping -- corny, goofy, silly -- it's engineered to be so cool, conjuring images of exclusive parties on yachts and perfect bob haircuts that cost $1,000 a pop. "It Goes Like (Nanana)" works because it gives anyone a chance to feel like they could be a part of that exclusivity - it's a song meant to played in rooms with wood paneling and on expensive soundsystems while twirling around in circles with your best friends. [7]

Nortey Dowuona: She used to be good, what the freak happened? Are we all so desperate to run back to 1985 just cause Studio Ghibli was founded that year? They're not shuttered yet! [5]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: Peggy Gou never changes, nor does she need to. [7]

Ian Mathers: She just doesn't miss! What's that? Lenny Kravitz? No idea what you're talking about. [8]

Scott Mildenhall: Finally, a song worthy of a one-hour YouTube loop. Peggy Gou's work doesn't feel formulaic so much as geometric -- "Nanana" has the colour and kinetics of a game of Breakout, pinballing predictably, but forever satisfyingly. [8]

Katherine St Asaph: Bliss is the absence of thought. [7]

Alfred Soto: In Peggy Gou's eternal 1998 and 1987, plinkety-plonkety pop house is the lingua franca. I'll admit to confusing "(It Goes Like) Nanana" and Kylie Minogue's "Padam Padam." Who wouldn't? [6]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: nah nah nah [4]

Claire Biddles: The Peggy Gou: The Complete Singles compilation that comes out in 2034 is going to be the greatest dance pop album of all time. [8]

Edward Okulicz: I didn't have "Peggy Gou gets an actual hit single" on my 2023 bingo card, but if you'd told me that it was going to happen last year with a song that steals as much from K-Klass as it does from ATB, I wouldn't have batted an eyelid. The whole song's as slick as the little "9PM" guitar line and if it's too soft to be a real floor filler, that seems like a decision rather than a flaw. [8]

Aaron Bergstrom: Answering the question, "How do you get from 'I Go' to 'featuring Lenny Kravitz" in one step?" [6]

David Moore: I love the small touches in this, especially the chintzy pitch-bend synth guitar, even though this song's massive success after "I Go" kind of feels like when a major director finally gets an Oscar for a merely competent movie after getting snubbed for their masterpiece. I'll take it, though. [7]

Peter Ryan: In the right light a bit of a supercut of Annie's Endless Vacation tracks. I can't complain; Gou's track swells in sync with the lyric's devolution into a heady non-verbal state. She gets it -- don't think, just move. [9]

Brad Shoup: Now this is a Eurodance text: verb choices just a couple degrees away from expected, similar clauses chained together, a big arrow pointing at the universal hook. If ATB could clone his hit i don't see why Gou can't. I dunno if this is a one-off trance dalliance but if not: try "The Lonely One" next. [7]

Taylor Alatorre: A dance song which performs its intended function ably and effectively, and which is committed to becoming a throwback club hit even as it is afraid to commit to representing anything beyond that. Those little bent synth phrases after the chorus sound cool. [6]

Will Adams: A panoply of musical choices designed to hit every pleasure point in my brain -- mindless, wordless hook; house piano chords; organ bass; synthetic guitar straight from an ATB classic -- that its slightness doesn't really matter. [7]

Vikram Joseph: This deserves to be heard under a high sun by a glittering sea so much that, listening to it for the first time right now, I almost want to hold myself back from it so that I can save it for the summer of '24. But to do so would be futile, because there's nothing delayed about the gratification that "(It Goes Like) Nanana" provides. It's so deeply kinetic, decorated with lashings of house piano, sweet pulses of synth and a fleeting quarter-century echo of the motif from "9 PM (Till I Come)"; it might have a big, dumb club-goading chorus but it's also smart enough to under-stay its welcome. Best just to give yourself entirely to it -- I mean, it's summer somewhere. [8]

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