#Up the Sandbox

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Up the Sandbox (1972) Irvin Kershner

March 18th 2024

[jonfarreporter]

The Barbra Streisand Autobiography is an Omnibus, no doubt!

I was taken aback by how many chapters there are in Barbra Streisand’s autobiography; 59, wow!

Yet I have to say that her story and commentary is fascinating, especially for devoted fans.

One thing that surprised me the most was how much Streisand has accomplished as not only as a “superstar” artist but as a human being. Listening to her directly (I enjoy audio books the most) really does help the audience understand her better.

She is most authoritative when speaking about her life and experience in the theater and the arts. Her voice now mellowed with age does carry a certain assurance that truly speaks honestly and factually.

I liked just about everything she said about the arts, especially her work with acting and the entire “collaboration” of putting a production together from start to finish.

One thing I didn’t know about Streisand was that she got into singing because she wanted to act on stage and in movies. Obviously her tremendous voice served her well.

I was disappointed that she said little of her time in San Francisco. Especially when she performed in North Beach at The Hungry i.

Yet, I was very moved by the fact that she really did “pay her dues,” so to speak in attaining to the level of stardom she has achieved.

When she described what it was like to be on stage or in an acting class, I felt as if she is talking about the interior life of art itself. Acting and art students should listen and take to heart some of this book, seriously it’s important! This woman immediately recognized the distinction of a red that Rembrandt used in his paintings (a “Rembrandt red,”) as she calls it. And this was in her early days when she didn’t even attend an art history class.

Some aspects of her personal life are already known. But when you hear it directly from her there’s a resonance that’s deep, even if it seems familiar and cliche.

Like most celebrity books that speaks about the “behind-the-scenes” of movies and shows, it was interesting to hear about the details.

I was sad to hear that Streisand had a very difficult time with the move “Hello Dolly.” Actor, Walter Mathau treated her very badly and she knew instantly that she was too young (at age 27, then) to play the part of Dolly Levi, a middle aged widow, matchmaker, extraordinaire.

As a native SF Bay Area kid I was sad that San Franciscan Carol Channing was not chosen to portray Dolly in the movie. Even Streisand mentioned this. What was the director Gene Kelly thinking? Dolly was Channing’s signature role!

Channing proved she had the ability from her work on the hit film “Thoroughly Modern Milly.” Yet Streisand fulfilled her contract and remained professional.

What also struck me about Streisand is her ability to understand and articulate something intrinsically innate and deeply within herself or something. Like for example, her understanding of lighting and how to present material to an audience. What to wear, how to move around, etc.

Her taste is impeccable and she understands the creative process. That’s very clear in her work “Yentl.”

Speaking of “Yentl” Streisand took a lot of risks with that movie as well as another movie of hers called “Up The Sandbox.”

I was sad to learn that the author of ‘Yentl’ Issac Bashevis Singer didn’t like the movie and thought Streisand didn’t do it well.

Some time ago when I was speaking with a Rabbi’s son, (who now sells Kinish snacks) he mentioned that “Yentl, the movie is all about Barbra.” “It’s not anything about real Judaism,” he told me.

I imagine that type of criticism must have hurt Streisand very much. Especially since she clearly put a lot into that movie.

Let me clarify, I am not Jewish! But I thought the movie “Yentl” did a lot to shine a wonderful spotlight on Judaism and a bit of its history.

Isaac Bashevis Singer should have been pleased that someone like Streisand was willing to go the distance with his literary work. Ok, so it didn’t follow his vision exactly. But it did entertain and inspire, bringing a bit of the complexity of Judaism to the masses.

Also, Streisand helped make Singer’s work more approachable. Please note, I’m not an expert. But Singer writes about Jewish life similarly to that of author and playwright Sholem Aleichem. It was Aleichem’s work that inspired the hit musical “Fidler on The Roof.”

It seems to me, that Streisand tapped into that so that audiences could identify with the characters and life of those people. With all due respect, it seems to me that Singer was a bit of a recluse and preferred a sequestered life.

Streisand is not sequestered at all and it shows in all of her works.

Which, leads me into another dimension. Streisand of course is Jewish, especially as she portrayed comedian, Fanny Brice. Yet, Streisand transcends Judaism.

As I said before, there’s something innate within her that is universal and outstandingly unique.

She’s often imitated, parodied and sometimes made fun of. Yet it’s very clear to me, Streisand is a rare talent of a person that will not be duplicated. We probably won’t see anything truly like her again. God didn’t just “break the mold” as the old saying goes, he/(she) put an exclusive patent on it and it’s in heaven under his/her very special and exclusive contract.

[bixels]

In the past, people in the Animal Crossing community would make fun of Tom Nook as a sleazy landlord. Since then, he's really rehabilitated his image as this 'heart of gold' businessman (he's the one who puts bells and furniture in trees for you to find! he adopted orphans! he donates to charity!), but New Horizons genuinely paints the most devious version of him.

He's successfully privatized settler colonialism: you pay HIM to move to a "deserted island" (which apparently the oceans in the AC world are just full of) and start a colony that he is directly invested in. At best he's running a weird vacation package scam (you arrive on the island with no money and in debt for "using his services"). At worst, he's using you to set up company towns. For god's sake, he literally has his own fake currency that he forces you to use to pay off your debt. But don't worry, he's repackaged it in a way that definitely doesn't sound like an MLM scam: the Nook Mileage Program!

You're no longer just his tenant or his temporary part-timer, you're his business lackey. The entire tutorial section of the game has you spending actual weeks running around completing tasks and doing hard labor to set up his colony. You're even tasked with preparing his properties and finding buyers for them. No, you aren't a tenant anymore. You work for the landlord. You are directly responsible for finding tenants for him. And he doesn't even fucking pay you. Not for setting up town hall and museum, or his nephew's shop –– which is the ONLY store on the entire island that sells necessities –– or bringing KK Slider to town, or helping populate his town. Not a single cent. No, actually, you have to pay HIM to BUY infrastructure like bridges and stairs and park benches. And all the while, he's telling you're the "resident representative"; you get to call the shots! That the reward is the community's progress. That what you're doing is in everyone's best interest (but most importantly, his).

Since NH's release, people have done a lot of legwork to say that Tom Nook isn't a capitalist while the game shows him at his very worst. He owns the only general store in town. You're forced to use a phone that he modified and branded as his own. Buy Nook-branded furniture and merchandise at the self-serve kiosk in the town hall, a governmental building! There's no conflict of interest here!

But hey, if you're tired of being the landlord/business mogul's goon, you can also find work as a deluxe resort home designer for a company that also pays you in their special company currency that can only be used to buy their products instead of a real salary! Because that's what the Animal Crossing franchise needs! More vacation homes!!!

[thepastelpeach]

alright fuck it, women

thanks for the input! i have a few more design choices for the other sides but here are the main changes, fem!roman and fem!janus!!

here's the post that inspired this sassy interaction!!

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

i lose 80% of respect for a movie the moment a female protagonist wakes up in bed with artfully tousled hair and a full face of unsmudged makeup what is that mcfuckery

[proxycrit]

What if I redesigned some horses to fit MY favorite narrative trope: fallen gods and forgotten myths of old? Anyways.

Twilight’s mentor is a strange one. In a world of twilit planes forever shrouded in mystery, the older unicorn Lest and her adopted student Twilight are one in many common travelers, migrating the pitted wastelands and eeking survival within settlements that spring up around the glowing meteor shards. Despite living with Lest for the last four years, Twilight can’t help but seek answers to where her brother has gone— and in the process, perhaps dig a bit too deeply into the complexities of gods far older and dangerous then she can truly fathom.

On the otherhand, Celestia “Lest” Sol is having a terrible millenium. Her sister is no longer her sister, her student teleported herself halfway across the continent, and she got herself kidnapped by an old rival trying to attune with the elements of harmony to overthrow the current ruler of Equestria.

At least she gets a toxic yuri moment.

Meanwhile, Chrysalis is having a great time. She’s got kingdoms to conquer and people to feed and a waning god to taunt.

(The Selene Grace hates the sun monarch they deposed five centuries ago as they stay chained to their post, keeping the lunar and solar bodies from crashing into each other. Luna misses her sister, and the easier world where they haven’t hurt each other beyond reparation. Nightmare Moon misses their monstrosity, trapped in a host who’s grief has poisoned them with empathy.

Things are bound to tip. The celestial bodies are not bodies, but prisons, and the amalgamations we call alicorns the key. And something desperately wants to be freed…)

Anyways:

My mane 6 redesign here!

And my luna and celestia redesigns here!

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

ISAT & Dungeon Meshi swap!

[originalartblog]

concept: ADA!Chuuya, but All Men Are Equal gave him total control of his ability by stabilizing it and getting rid of his permanent singularity, so he reverted to his original power: enhancing others' abilities.

Bonus:

[redbean-nom]

Cadets

(aka trash children, chaos children, and children who understand 98 is getting graded on this)

Inspired by @thefoundationproject! Closeups under the cut:

jesse got this pic from jangotat:

[afterartist]

Ferryman deserves someone who isn’t a huge cringe fail of a wet cat

Can’t judge we have the same taste in men: pathetic /aff

[tomatoart]

beach episode 🦇🪼

[baconplasm]

ermmmm got into a new thing lately (by lately I mean 2 months ago)

[bakudekublogblog]

talking to normal people about mha is always so enlightening because someone told me they didn't like season six and i was like???? THE BIBLE??????? YOU DONT LIKE THE BIBLE??? BAKUGOU KATSUKI RISING?? THE APOLOGY??? THE CHASING AFTER HIM TO FIGHT SHIGARAKI, THE REVEAL KATSUKI HAS BEEN WORRIED ABOUT IZUKU, IZUKU'S FERAL RAGE WHEN KATSUKI IS STABBED, KATSUKI BEING THE ONE TO FIND IZUKU AND THEN THE ONE TO BRING HIM HOME??? YOU DONT ENJOY THE SACRED TEXTS?? and then i'm like oh right not everyone is a fujoshi high on that sweet, sweet bkdk yaoi

[mutopians]

the way im so pissed about how shitty about the minecraft movie that i want to go back to my old high school minecraft fic out of spite because i could ABSOLUTELY do the players isekaied into minecraft better than they could when i was like. 14-15 years old.

[bsptourist]

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created by RileySV

[mwagneto]

"oh they didn't explain-" "it makes no sense how-" it doesn't matter. it does not matter i promise you it doesn't matter at all. there was a story they wanted to tell and they twisted the laws of their fictional universe til they fit. same as donna's daughter being 15-16 even tho timeline-wise it makes no sense. literally don't worry about it it's easy