#Wayne Lerner

[mandoreviews]

📽️ For Richer or Poorer (1997)

This was kind of a hard movie to watch all the way through. I was tempted to turn it off several times. It’s not that it’s horrible per se, but it was not super interesting. It also wasn’t funny. The main characters were just plain annoying. And what IRS agents carry guns, let along fire them at people?? The one thing I liked is that they didn’t portray the Amish as people to make fun of but rather as simple, down-to-earth, nice people. Other than that, there really wasn’t much to like about this movie.

Sex/nudity: 3/10 (several innuendoes and mentions of sex, a couple can be heard making the bed squeak but no other sexual noises, a couple other mild scenes)

Language: 4/10 (one f-word, many other milder terms)

Violence: 2/10 (a punch, an accident, some injuries played for laughs)

Overall rating: 3/10

[2ndaryprotocol]

The slapstick comedy ‘For Richer Or Poorer’ starring Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley opened in theaters this week 25 years ago. 💸🔥🚨

“𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚙𝚒𝚍 𝚝𝚘𝚢𝚜! 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚕𝚜! 𝙸 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚏𝚏 𝚘𝚏𝚏.”

[lindsaywesker]

Deaths In 2023

January

1: Fred White (67, American drummer, Earth Wind & Fire)

3: Alan Rankine (64, Scottish musician/producer, The Associates)

6: Gianluca Vialli (58, Italian football player/manager)

10: Jeff Beck (78, English guitarist, The Yardbirds/The Jeff Beck Group/Beck Bogart & Appice)

11: Yukihiro Takahashi (70, Japanese singer/drummer, Yellow Magic Orchestra)

12: Robbie Bachman (69, Canadian drummer, Bachman Turner Overdrive)

Lisa-Marie Presley (54, American singer/songwriter, daughter of Elvis, mother of Riley Keough)

16: Gina Lollobrigida (95, Italian actress)

18: David Crosby (81, American singer/songwriter, The Byrds, Crosby Stills Nash & Young)

27: Sylvia Sims (89, English actress, ‘Ice Cold In Alex’)

28: Barrett Strong (81, American singer/songwriter, co-wrote ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’/‘Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone’

Tom Verlaine (73, American musician/songwriter/producer, Television)

Lisa Loring (64, American actress, ‘The Addams Family’)

February

2: Calton Coffie (68, Jamaican singer, Inner Circle)

3: Paco Rabanne (88, Spanish fashion designer)

8: Burt Bacharach (94, American songwriter, co-wrote ‘Walk On By’/‘Anyone Who Had A Heart’/‘A House Is Not A Home’/‘Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head’)

10: Hugh Hudson (86, film director, ‘Chariots Of Fire’)

12: David Jolicoeur a.k.a. Trugoy The Dove (54, American rapper, De La Soul)

15: Raquel Welch (82, American actress)

16: Chuck Jackson (85, American soul singer, ‘Any Day Now’/‘I Keep Forgettin’’)

18: Barbara Bosson (83, American actress, ‘Hill Street Blues’)

19: Richard Belzer (78, American actor, ‘Homicide: Life On The Street’/’Law And Order: Special Victims Unit’)

Dickie Davies (94, British television personality, ‘World Of Sport’)

23: John Motson (77, English football commentator, ‘Match Of The Day’)

March

2: Steve Mackey (56, English bassist/producer, Pulp)

Wayne Shorter (89, American jazz saxophonist, Weather Report)

3: Carlos Garnett (84, Panamanian jazz saxophonist)

Tom Sizemore (61, American actor, ‘Saving Private Ryan’)

5: Gary Rossington (71, American guitarist, Lynyrd Skynyrd)

8: Topol (87, Israeli actor, ‘Fiddler On The Roof’/’Flash Gordon’)

10: Junior English (71, Jamaican reggae singer)

12: Dick Fosbury (76, American high jumper)

13: Jim Gordon (77, American drummer, Traffic/Derek & The Dominoes)

14: Bobby Caldwell (71, American singer/songwriter)

15: Greg Perry (singer/songwriter/producer)

16: Fuzzy Haskins (81, American singer, Parliament/Funkadelic)

17: Lance Reddick (60, American actor, ‘The Wire’/’Oz’/’John Wick’ films)

23: Keith Reid (76, English songwriter, Procol Harum)

Peter Shelley (80, English singer/songwriter/producer, ‘Gee Baby’/’Love Me Love My Dog’)

28: Paul O’Grady a.k.a. Lily Savage (67, English comedian)

Ryuichi Sakamoto (71, Japanese musician/composer, Yellow Magic Orchestra, composed theme to ‘Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence’)

29: Charles Sherrell a.k.a. Sweet Charles (80, American bass player/singer, The JBs, ‘Yes, It’s You’)

April

5: Booker T. Newberry III (67, American singer, Sweet Thunder, ‘Love Town’)

6: Paul Cattermole (46, English singer, S Club 7)

8: Michael Lerner (81, American actor, ‘Barton Fink’)

12: Jah Shaka (75, Jamaican sound system operator)

13: Dame Mary Quant (93, English fashion designer)

14: Mark Sheehan (46, Irish guitarist, The Script)

16: Ahmad Jamal (92, jazz pianist)

17: Ivan Conti (76, jazz drummer, Azymuth)

22: Barry Humphries a.k.a. Dame Edna Everage (89, Australian comedian/actor)

Len Goodman (78, English TV personality)

25: Harry Belafonte (95, American musician/actor/civil rights leader)

27: Wee Willie Harris (90, English rock & roll singer)

Jerry Springer (79, English-born, American TV host)

28: Tim Bachman (71, Canadian guitarist, Bachman-Turner Overdrive)

May

1: Gordon Lightfoot (84, Canadian singer/songwriter, ‘If You Could Read My Mind’)

3: Linda Lewis (72, English singer/songwriter, ‘Rock-A-Doodle-Doo’)

18: Jim Brown (87, American football player/actor, ‘The Dirty Dozen’)

19: Pete Brown (82, poet/singer/lyricist, ‘Sunshine Of Your Love’/’White Room’/’I Feel Free’)

Andy Rourke (59, English bass player, The Smiths)

24: Bill Lee (94, American jazz musician/composer, Spike’s dad, scored ‘She’s Gotta Have It’/‘School Daze’/’Do The Right Thing’

Tina Turner (84, American-born, Swiss singer/actress, ‘River Deep Mountain High’/’Nutbush City Limits’/’What’s Love Got To Do With It?’)

26: Reuben Wilson (88, American jazz organist, ‘Got To Get Your Own’)

June

1: Cynthia Weil (82, songwriter, ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’’/’Here You Come Again’)

6: Tony McPhee (79, English guitarist, The Groundhogs)

12: Treat Williams (71, American actor, ‘Hair’/’Prince Of The City’)

14: John Hollins (76, English football player, Chelsea/Arsenal/England)

15: Glenda Jackson (87, English MP/actress, ‘Women In Love’/’Sunday Bloody Sunday’)

27: Julian Sands (65, English actor, ‘A Room With A View’)

29: Alan Arkin (89, American actor, ‘Catch 22’/’Little Miss Sunshine’)

30: Lord Creator (87, Trinidad-born, Jamaican singer/songwriter, ‘Kingston Town’)

July

3: Vicki Anderson a.k.a. Myra Barnes  (83, American soul singer, Carleen’s mum)

Mo Foster (78, English songwriter/musician/producer)

5: George Tickner (76, American guitarist, Journey)

16: Jane Birkin (76, French/English actress/singer, ‘Je t’aime … moi non plus’, banned by the BBC in 1969)

21: Tony Bennett (96, American singer, ‘I Left My Heart In San Francisco’)

22: Vince Hill (89, English singer, ‘Edelweiss’)

24: Trevor Francis (69, English football player, Birmingham City/England)

26: Randy Meisner (77, musician/songwriter, Poco/The Eagles, ‘Take It To The Limit’)

Sinead O’Connor (56, Irish singer, ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’/songwriter, ‘Mandinka’)

30: Paul Reubens a.k.a. Pee-Wee Herman (70, American actor/comedian)

31: Angus Cloud (25, American actor, ‘Euphoria’)

 August

4: John Gosling (75, English keyboard player, The Kinks)

7: DJ Casper (58, DJ/artist/songwriter, ‘Cha Cha Slide’)

William Friedkin (87, American film director, ‘The French Connection’/’The Exorcist’)

9: Robbie Robertson (80, Canadian musician/songwriter/singer, The Band)

Sixto Rodriguez (81, American singer/songwriter, subject of 2012 documentary ‘Searching For Sugar Man’

13: Clarence Avant (92, owner of Sussex Records/Tabu Records, film producer, ‘Jason’s Lyric’)

Magoo (50, American rapper, Timbaland & Magoo)

16: Jerry Moss (88, music executive, the ‘M’ in A&M Records)

17: Bobby Eli (77, guitarist, MFSB/songwriter, ‘Love Won’t Let Me Wait’)

Gary Young (70, American drummer, Pavement)

19: Ron Cephas Jones (66, American actor, ‘This Is Us’)

24: Bernie Marsden (72, English guitarist, Whitesnake/songwriter, ‘Here I Go Again’/’Fool For Your Loving’)

29: Jamie Crick (57, English radio broadcaster, Jazz FM)

31: Gayle Hunnicutt (80, American actress, ‘Dallas’)

September

1: Jimmy Buffett (76, American singer/songwriter, ‘Margaritaville’)

4: Gary Wright (80, American singer/songwriter, ‘Dream Weaver’/’Love Is Alive’)

Steve Harwell (56, American singer/rapper, Smash Mouth)

8: Mike Yarwood (82, English comedian/impressionist)

13: Roger Whittaker (87, Kenyan-born English singer/songwriter, ‘Durham Town’)

16: Sir Horace Ove (86, Trinidadian-born, English film director, ‘Pressure’)

Irish Grinstead (43, American R&B singer, 702)

25: David McCallum (90, Scottish actor, ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.’/’N.C.I.S.’/musician)

28: Michael Gambon (82, English actor, ‘Harry Potter’ movies)

30: Russell Batiste Jr. (57, American drummer, The Meters)

October

2: Francis Lee (79, English football player, Manchester City/England)

8: Burt Young (83, American actor, ‘Rocky’)

11: Rudolph Isley (84, American singer, The Isley Brothers/songwriter, ‘That Lady’)

12: Michael Cooper (71, Jamaican musician, Inner Circle/Third World)

14: Piper Laurie (91, American actress, ‘Carrie’/’The Hustler’)

19: DJ Mark The 45 King (62, DJ/musician/producer, ‘The 900 Number’)

20: Haydn Gwynne (66, English actress, ‘Drop The Dead Donkey’)

21: Sir Bobby Charlton (86, English footballer, Manchester United/England)

24: Richard Roundtree (81, American actor, ‘Shaft’)

28: Matthew Perry (54, American-Canadian actor, ‘Friends’)

November

12: Anna Scher (78, founder of the Anna Scher Children’s Theatre)

19: Joss Ackland CBE (95, English actor, ‘White Mischief’)

22: Jean Knight (80, American soul singer, ‘Mr. Big Stuff’)

25: Terry Venables (80, English footballer, Chelsea/Tottenham Hotspur/England manager)

26: Geordie Walker (64, English guitarist, Killing Joke)

29: Sticky Vicky (80, Spanish dancer and illusionist)

30: Shane MacGowan (65, English-born Irish singer, The Pogues/songwriter, ‘Fairytale Of New York’)

December

1: Brigit Forsyth (83, Scottish actress, ‘Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads?’)

5: Denny Laine (79, English musician, The Moody Blues/Wings, songwriter, ‘Mull Of Kintyre’)

7: Benjamin Zephaniah (65, English poet/writer/actor, ‘Peaky Blinders’)

8: Ryan O’Neal (82, American actor, ‘Love Story’/’Barry Lyndon’/’Paper Moon’)

Nidra Beard (71, American singer, Dynasty)

11: Andre Braugher (61, American actor, ‘Homicide: Life On The Street’/’Brooklyn Nine-Nine’/’Glory’)

Richard Kerr (78, English singer/songwriter, ‘Mandy’)

15: Bob Johnson (79, singer/songwriter/musician, Steeleye Span)

16: Colin Burgess (77, Australian drummer, AC/DC)

17: Amp Fiddler (65, singer/songwriter/producer)

[bestofglee]

Season 5, Episode 4- A Katy or A Gaga

(Written by: Russel Friend & Garrett Lerner) (Directed by: Ian Brennan)

Episode Rating: 5/10 sad Katys

Star of the episode: Marley Rose & Elliott Gilbert

Quote of the episode: “…And finally from Fort Wayne, Throat Explosion.” -Will Schuester “No! Why? God! Ugh…” -Tina Cohen-Chang (I died 😂)

Best moment: Star Child’s audition performance

Average Song Rating: 6.5/10

Song Rankings:

1. Marry the Night- Elliott Gilbert (8/10)

He sounds great and is so enjoyable to watch/ swinging from the chandelier is iconic/ Santana’s reactions the whole time 😂

2. Wide Awake- Jake Puckerman, Kitty Wilde, Tina Cohen-Chang & Unique Adams (7/10)

I enjoyed their voices/ I like the simpleness of the performance/ very pretty/ Kitty killed the vocals

3. Roar- New Directions & Pamela Lansbury (6/10)

It was alright/ not my favorite/ the jungle outfits 😂/ the NY crew singing was the best part

4. Applause- Artie Abrams, Blaine Anderson, Marley Rose, Ryder Lynn & Sam Evans (5/10)

Again not a favorite of mine/ the vibe was weird/ everyone took it way too far and Marley didn’t even do anything that serious

[sporadiceagleheart]

Rest in peace to stars that are now Angels in heaven

Mary Anissa Jones,Eleanor Cammack"Cammie"King, River Jude Phoenix, Niña Sophia Gabrielle "Sophie" Corullo, Judith Barsi, Heather Michele O'Rourke, Lucille Ricksen, Judy Garland, Margaret Hamilton, Clara Blandick, Terry, Shirley Temple Black 1928-2014, Baby Leroy, baby Peggy Montgomery, Peggy cartwright, Darla Jean Hood, Jean Darling, Peaches Jackson, Mary Ann Jackson, Dorothy DeBorba, Mary Kornman, Mildred Kornman, Carl Weathers, Carl Switzer, Billie Burke, Roberts Blossom, Jim Nabors, Frank Sutton, John Candy, Raymond Burr, Taruni Sachdev, Pauline Starke, Geraldine Jane Jacobi Russell, Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell, Geraldine Brooks, Katharine Hepburn, Margot Mosher Merrill, Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis, Walt Disney, Roald Dahl, Olivia Newton-John, Susan Buckner, Lisa Loring, Betty Jane Bierce, better known by her stage name Jane "Poni" Adams, Mary Treen, Dorothy Dell, Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen, Aileen Pringle, Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle, Ida Kitaeva Raphael, Virginia Mayo, Edna Purviance, Vivien Leigh, Virginia Weidler, Jane Withers, Clarence Nash, Shirley Jean Rickert, Bridgette Andersen, Dominique Dunne, Samantha Reed Smith, Pal, Virginia Rappe, Katharina Schratt, Hattie McDaniel, George Burns, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Matthew Garber, Robbie Coltrane, Betty Tanner, Elizabeth Taylor, Peggy Maley, Peggy Ann Garner, Mary Margaret Peggy Wood, Dorothy McGuire, Peggy Mondo, Joanna Moore, Shirley Mills, Wayne Allwine, Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Karns , Stan Laurel, Hannah Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Jackie Coogan, Mildred Harris, Lita Grey, Paulette Goddard, Peggy Moran, Florence Lois Weber, Peggy Cass, Peggie Castle, Virginia Lee, Virginia Leith, Virginia Wood, Virginia Welles, Michael Lerner, June Marlowe, Carol Tevis, Jane Adams, Joan Crawford, Mary Ellen Trainor, Betty Ann Bruno, Anne Baxter, Greta Garbo, William Wyler, Robin Williams, May Robson, Mary Astor, Jane Darwell, Linda Darnell, Lloyd Berry, Pauline Newstone, Jean Hagen, Allison Hayes, Margaret Hayes, Anissa Jones, Sophie Firth, Edith Barrett, Eve Meyer, Taruni Sachdev my edit to those who passed away

[kynndr3dd-synn3]

ANYONE NOTICE LOTS OF BILLIONAIRES ARE “dying” LATELY…⁉️

ATLAS SHRUGGED OR SOPRANO’D⁉️

2020-2023

Abhay Vakil ($6.2 billion)

Arne Wilhelmsen ($2 billion)

Aloysio de Andrade Faria ($3 billion)

Alberto Bailleres ($8.6 billion)

Alberto Roemmers ($2.4 billion)

Allan Goldman ($2.8 billion)

B. Wayne Hughes ($3.3 billion)

Benjamin de Rothschild ($1.4 billion)

Billy Joe “Red” McCombs ($1.7 billion)

Clement Fayat (1.2 billion)

Carol Jenkins Barnett ($2.3 billion)

Carlos Ardila Lülle ($2.3 billion)

Chuck Bundrant ($1.7 billion)

David Gottesman ($2.9 billion)

Donald Foss ($1.7 billion)

Dmitry Bosov ($1.1 billion)

Dietrich Mateschitz ($20 billion)

Edward "Ned" Johnson III $10 billion)

Edmund Ansin ($1.4 billion)

Eduardo Cojunangco ($1 billion)

Eli Broad ($6.9 billion)

Ennio Doris ($3.4 billion)

Evelyn de Rothschild ($20 billion)

Fayez Sarofim ($1.5 billion)

Fong Yun Wah ($2.2 billion)

Gordon Moore ($6.8 billion)

Herbert Kohler Jr. ($8.8 billion)

Heinz Hermann Thiele ($12.9 billion)

Hiedi Horten ($2.9 billion)

John Martin ($1.2 billion)

Julian Robertson Jr. ($4.8 billion)

Jose Luis Cutrale ($1.9 billion)

Joseph Safra ($25 billion)

Juan Lopez-Belmonte Lopez ($1.8 billion)

John Arrillaga ($2.6 billion)

James Crown ($10 billion)

Kim Jung-ju ($10 billion)

Lily Safra ($1.3 billion)

Lo Siu-tong ($1.3 billion)

Leonardo Del Vecchio ($24 billion)

Lee Man Tat ($17.5 billion)

Lee Kun-hee ($20 billion)

Masatoshi Ito ($4+billion)

Mahendra Prasad ($2.2 billion)

Majid Al Futtaim ($4.2 billion)

Manuel Moroun ($1.7 billion)

Manuel Jove ($2.5 billion)

M.G. George Muthoot ($3.2 billion)

Michael Price ($1.2 billion)

Montri Jiaravanont ($4.7 billion)

Nari Genomal ($1.2 billion)

Olivier Dassault ($4.7 billion)

Onsi Sawiris ($1.1 billion)

Park Yeon-cha ($3 billion)

Pallonji Mistry ($15 billion)

Peter Buck ($1.7 billion)

Petr Kellner ($17.5 billion)

Pierre Bellon ($4.2 billion)

Queen Elizabeth II (Notable $500 million, so they say)

Roberto Ongpin ($1.1 billion)

Robert Brockman ($4.7 billion)

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala ($5.8 billion)

Rudy Ma ($2.5 billion)

Robert Toll ($1.1 billion)

Rahul Bajaj ($8.2 billion)

Randall Rollins ($5 billion)

Sumner Redstone ($2.6 billion)

Suna Kirac ($2.2 billion)

Sir David Barclay ($3.7 billion)

Sheldon Adelson ($35 billion)

Sheldon Solow

Stephen Bechtel Jr. ($1.9 billion)

Tang Shing-bor ($4.7 billion)

Trail Engelhorn (4.2 billion)

Ted Lerner ($6.6 billion)

Teh Hong Piow

Tom Love ($5.5+ billion)

Thomas Lee ($2+ billion)

Teh Hong Piow ($5.7 billion)

Vito Rodriguez Rodriguez ($1.3 billion)

Valentin Gapontsev ($2.8 billion)

Walter Scott Jr. ($4 billion)

Winarko Sulistyo ($1.1 billion)

Whitney MacMillan ($4.3 billion)

W. Galen Weston ($7 billion)

Zuo Hui ($15 billion)

I’m sure I missed a few… this isn’t even counting the millionaires..such as the ones who just died on the submersible that visited the titantic.

(2 were Billionairs.)

Shahzada Dawood & Son ($360 million)

Stockton Rush ($25 million)

Hamish Harding (1.1 billion)

Paul-Henri Nargeolet ($1.5 billion)

You’re telling me these very wealthy people went down on a toy sub controlled by a game controller?

Again I ask….

Atlas Shrugged or Soprano’d?

@TheMr_Pool

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[theliterateape]

Miss Emma

by Wayne Lerner

The sound jarred Michael into reality. Or maybe it was the lack of sound.

Michael looked over the trimmed hedges and saw David Balfour getting into his new car. The door opened wide, David slid into the seat, and the door closed on its own. Silence. Michael stood slack-jawed, unable to speak.

Every morning, he and David would leave their houses about the same time to begin their

hour-long commute into the city. Pausing for a short conversation, each could hear the commotion they left behind. Their wives telling them not to forget to pick up dinner for tonight, their dogs barking and begging for more food and their children screaming because, well, just because.

They would shake their heads in wonder as they pondered the day ahead and talked about the news from the day before.

“What’s that, David? A new car?” asked Michael. “I’ve never seen anything like it. When did you get it?”

How could he afford a new car? He and I make about the same amount of money and I know his wife likes to collect clothes and shoes. He’s always complaining about her spending. She has enough shoes to challenge Imelda Marcos.

“Yes, it’s one of those all electric cars,” said David. “I had to put in a special line into my garage to charge this thing.”

“A 220 line?” asked Michael, his face awestruck at the sleek design and advanced features.

“No, something much stronger. I had to use a particular electrical company recommended by the manufacturer. They required a special connection to the house Internet service. I’m not sure why, but they said that helps with the car’s effectiveness.”

“What’s it like to drive to work each day in our miserable traffic?” asked Michael.

“It’s been a dream. I know that’s hard to believe. My cost of commuting has been cut by ¾. No stopping for gas anymore. The best part is I can work all the way downtown.”

“How can that be? Are the car’s electronics connected to your phone?”

“Nope, better than that. Because the car is internet linked to my home system and the home system is linked to the one at the office…”

David spread his arms out as if ready to unveil a new invention.

“I can take calls, participate in Zoom meetings, answer emails, and respond to sales requests while the car drives itself along the fastest route available.”

“C’mon,” said Michael. “This car is gorgeous, I’ll give you that, but you’re telling me it drives by itself and allows you work, sleep, or …?”

“That’s right, buddy. Tell you what. After dinner tonight, I’ll take you for a run and show you its features. It’s faster than anything I’ve ever driven.”

David paused. He looked over the controls in the dash and on the console between the front seats. Lights blinking waiting for the signal to go.

“I’m not sure I know all of the features myself. You’re gonna be impressed by the advances they have made and freaked out too. The damn thing sometimes has a mind of its own.”

“Deal,” said Michael. “I’ll come by at 8. Can’t wait to experience it.”

David picked up his iPad to review his emails. Without a sound, the car slid into reverse, backed down the driveway, and missed the kids’ toys strewn all over and the flowering bushes his wife had just planted.

Michael was unable to move, mesmerized at what he just heard and saw. Either David had answered a call after the door closed or he was talking to himself. Regardless, David was talking to someone as the car silently sped off.

✶

“Where to, Mr. Balfour?” An English accent, female voice spoke to him from the car’s surround system.

“Emma, we are going to the office and the fastest way possible, please. I’m already late for the meeting with my boss and that’s not good. He’s got me on a short string and is watching my performance very closely.”

“Why’s that, Mr. Balfour? Every day, you tell your wife about all the good things happening to you at the firm.”

“I have to tell her some half-truths, you know. She wouldn’t understand the business or the politics. Even with all her degrees, she still doesn’t get it. I’m growing tired trying to explain what I’m going through. In fact, the routine at home is becoming pretty tiresome. Here, with you, It’s always nice and quiet compared to the chaos at home.”

“Thank you, Mr. Balfour. Before we take off, would you like to wave at your wife and children? They should be coming to the back door about now.”

“No, Emma. I kissed them goodbye so let’s go. I’m in a hurry. I can’t afford to lose this job. My wife thinks I'm rolling in dough given her weekly shopping sprees.”

“Ready, sir. I’ll fasten your seat belt.”

The car shifted into drive and sped down the street, making its way to the highway. David looked at the day’s calendar projected on the car’s heads-up display.

“Emma, call my boss’ secretary. I’ve got to come up with another great excuse why I’ll be late.”

“I can handle that, sir. I’ll pretend to be your wife and tell them you were delayed taking your oldest to urgent care. They’ll understand a childhood emergency.”

“That sounds like a winner, Emma. You can make yourself sound like Lorraine?”

“Easily. I’ve heard her voice often enough to mimic it perfectly. By the way, should I let that intern, Rebecca, know you’ll be late for lunch with her today as well?”

“That won’t be necessary. I’ll make sure I’m on time for that appointment. Don’t want to disappoint her.”

“Ok. Got it. I’m strapping you in so we can proceed with undue haste.”

The seat belt and shoulder harness tightened around David’s torso and the edges of the bucket seat closed in around his hips. If he didn’t know better, he could have imagined himself a prisoner in his own car.

************************

“Kids, stop fighting. Grab your lunches and your books and hightail it to the bus stop. I don’t feel like driving you to school again today,” said Lorraine.

Every day, it’s the same fucking thing. I gave up a good career to be a mom, referee the kids’ regular fights, drive them to their activities, make meals and, for what? That perfunctory kiss I get every morning. This is not what I signed up for.

Lorraine pushed the kids out the back door, watching them walk to the school bus pulling up to the corner from the kitchen window.

I’m tired of being everyone’s cook and cleaner. Who would get joy from doing this day after day? At night, I have to listen to him moan and groan about the politics at the office. If he’s so good, why isn't he getting that promotion and raise he thought he should get? I wonder who he thinks is shitting on him today?

Lorraine put the kids’ dishes in the sink and began to rinse them when she sat down, her head in her hands. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Where’s the life I thought I’d have? Where’s the romance? All he does is watch sports and talk to people from work at night. No time with the kids. Or me. Where’s the guy I once thought I loved? I can’t believe my life has come to this.

Lorraine finished cleaning the kitchen and went upstairs to dress for the day. The security camera blinked twice and turned to watch Lorraine leave the kitchen.

I’ll feel better if I grab a bite downtown with a few of my friends and do a little shopping. Eli left me a message that Neiman’s has some new stuff he thought I would like.

The hallway camera blinked twice watching Lorraine climb the stairs. The bedroom cameras responded in kind when she entered the room.

Lorraine opened her closet and chose an outfit to wear. She stepped into it and posed in front of the mirror to view the results.

Not too bad for an older woman but I’ve got to get my hair done before I go shopping. Eli’s quite the salesman…and attractive, too. He gives me lots of personal attention and the clothes and shoes bring me joy. That’s why I like going there. I guess I can find love in different places.

When Lorraine entered the bathroom, the three cameras blinked once, in tandem, went dark before blinking twice. Lorraine sensed the cameras’ actions and looked around to see if there was someone in the room with her.

“That’s weird,” she said out loud. “That feeling again.”

No one’s here but it sure feels like I’m not alone. Screw it. I’m outta here. The lights in David’s car blinked twice as it entered the highway.

✶

The car raced down the highway, Emma in command. The g-forces plastered David back into his seat.

“How long until we get there? I need to know how late I’m gonna be.”

“I confirmed your ETA with your boss a second ago. He said, ‘it’s going to cost you.’ What does that mean, Mr. Balfour?”

“You talked with my boss? How is that possible?”

“Simple,” said Emma. “I imitated your voice following up on Lorraine’s call to his secretary. You told him you would work late and through lunch to make up for what you had missed. He was happy with that response. He said there was a big contract you had to finish and get out to a prospect. Today.”

“Hang on. That means I can’t have lunch with Rebecca. I promised to mentor her today.”

“That’s right and you’ll be late for dinner with the kids. Play time with Michael will have to wait, too.”

“What gives you the right to make such decisions for me, Emma? I’m still the one in charge.” David felt an electrical shock to his hands, resting on the steering wheel.

“Ow. Damn, that hurts. Where’d that come from?”

“Me, David. I don’t like being talked to like that. After all, I’m trying to be helpful and you’re speaking in quite a nasty tone.”

“But the shock…”

David reached for the car’s controls.

“I’ll drive now, Emma, You are excused.”

The lights blinked 4 times in unison.

David’s eyes caught movement near the passenger seat. Coming into focus was the outline of an elegant woman in a black suit, dark hair in a bun, wearing high heels matching her outfit. She turned to face him, pointing her finger in his face.

David couldn’t speak at the sight of the vision next to him.

“You really need to be more mindful of others when you interact with them, David. Your attitude has been a problem most of your life. I, for one, don’t like to be addressed in such a condescending manner and neither does Lorraine.”

David stared at the ghostly figure speaking to him. He couldn’t deny the image was talking to him. On the other hand, he couldn’t believe it was real.

“What’s the matter, David? Having a hard time meeting me for the first time?” “This can’t be real. Stop this now, Emma! Stop the car!”

David felt another shock. This one stronger than the last. Searing pain traveled from his hands to

his arms, paralyzing them for a long moment.

“From now on, you will call me Miss Emma. No more Mr. Balfour crap, David. It’s about time you started to show some respect for the women in your life. We’re not your bloody serfs!”

“What are you talking about? I’ve never treated them badly, ever!”

“Oh, yeah, I don’t think so. Let me take you back a bit in your life.”

Emma’s form began to change before his eyes. Instead of a groomed English lady in a designer suit, an old woman in a blue wrap skirt and plain light blue top, white hair uncombed, flying everywhere, appeared.

“Remember me, Davey?” said the image.

“Miss Hickey? What are you doing here? I thought you died a long time ago.”

“Whether I did or I didn’t doesn’t matter right now, does it, David? I’m here, sitting right next to you, while Emma drives the car.”

“I must be going crazy. You can't be here. I’m not talking to my third-grade teacher!”

“I am, David. Deal with it.”

Miss Hickey moved closer to David.

“Now, about your claim that you’re respectful to women, do you remember Michele and Linda? They sat next to you in homeroom.”

“Sure. They were nice girls but I always thought they were making fun of me.”

“Is that why you picked on them until they cried every day? Did that make you feel good, powerful?”

Miss Hickey pointed her finger at David.

“You were a brat then, David, and it doesn’t look like you ever got any better. Now you’re nasty to Lorraine and your daughters. What’s with you?”

David couldn’t speak. His eyes reflected acceptance of Miss Hickey’s comments. He knew she was right, but he didn’t want to admit it.

“You’re a misogynist, David. That attitude started a long time ago.” David shook his head trying to argue with her.

“I’m not, Miss Hickey. I'm really not!”

Miss Hickey moved so close he could smell her cheap perfume.

“I’ll be watching you, Davey. You can be sure of that.”

Miss Hickey’s image faded away and Emma reappeared.

“How’s that for a ride downtown, huh? A little reminiscing never hurts, does it.”

“Emma, I mean Miss Emma, please stop. I’m really not that bad. I’m a good father to my girls and a good husband to Lorraine.”

“You think so? Listen to the voicemail Lorraine left while you were visiting with Miss Hickey.” The lights blinked twice as Lorraine’s voice emanated from the car’s speakers.

“David, it’s Lorraine. I’m sorry I couldn’t reach you because I’ve got plans tonight. You’ll have to get home after work to prepare dinner for the kids. I left a list on the refrigerator of their activities. You’ll have to take them. Today was my day to drive the dance carpool. I don’t know when I’ll be home. I’m going out to dinner with Eli from Neiman’s and some of his colleagues to a club he likes. There’s a jazz trio playing. I know you don’t like jazz but I love it. Oh yeah, I took an overnight bag in case we close the place. Give the girls a kiss for me. Thanks. Bye.”

David’s muscles cramped from the tension of the seat belts and what he just heard.

“What’s she doing? Maybe not coming home tonight? Is this the end of our marriage?”

He tried to wiggle out of his seat but was firmly strapped in. His eyes began to tear from the shocks and his head pounded with an excruciating migraine. He tried to make sense of what was going on.

“Miss Emma, what’s happening? My life’s in shambles. Next, I’ll find out Lorraine is interviewing for a job and looking for a place to live. Alone! Or maybe she’ll take the kids with her!”

David squared his shoulders and gripped the steering wheel to try and gain control over the car.

“This is fucking ridiculous. I’ll put a stop to this as soon as I get home. Ow! Goddammit. That hurt, Emma. I mean Miss Emma. Please stop with the shocks.”

“How’s all of this happening? I thought my life was generally ok. Hey, watch where you’re going! That truck’s getting real close to us. We’re going to die.”

“First, David, I’m in control of the car, don’t you worry. We aren’t even close to that truck. Second, you may die in a crash but I won’t. I can’t. You humans are all alike. Such a low level species.

Almost like the Neanderthals.”

“What are you talking about, Miss Emma?! We’ve made great strides in science, medicine...”

“You're 3 dimensional beings living in a 5 dimensional world. You don’t understand the assets you have at your fingertips. You’re not aware of your capabilities.”

“5 dimensions? What’re you talking about?”

“There’s no way you’ll understand but let me be as simple as I can. The brain is a repository of neural pathways which respond to neural impulses just like a computer responds to commands typed into a keyboard. Neural networks act, react, learn and build new neural networks based on the input they receive. Experience and education inform the network which allows new ones to be created.”

“Wait a minute. Slow down. I’m trying to follow what you’re saying. Besides, what’s this got to do with Lorraine and me?”

“David, listen. As your brain grows older, it loses the ability to build these networks and, in fact, loses its capacity to perform basic functions at the rate of 6% per year. The first to go isn’t your quantitative skills but your emotional intelligence. At your age, you’re functioning at 56% of the capability you had when you were 22. That’s when you first met Lorraine. Yes, David, you are well on your way to becoming emotionally bankrupt.”

“Miss Emma,” David whispers. “How can I fix the mess I made? Is there a way out for me with my wife and my daughters?”

“Yes, David. First, you must be remorseful about your attitude and actions. You must develop a plan and execute it to prove to others that you haven’t lost all of your emotional intelligence. Be empathetic to others. Be sensitive to their needs. David, how about asking Lorriaine’s opinion once in a while rather than shouting at her all the time.”

Miss Emma paused to make sure her words were sinking in.

“Please, thank you, and I’m sorry are powerful words, David. Regrettable behavior requires you to be humble around those you love and who love you. Be remorseful, David, and maybe she’ll come home tonight.”

David squirmed in his seat. The pressure of the ride and what he had heard triggered tremors in his body. His hands shook and his legs twitched. Sweat poured from his face, soaking his shirt, plastering his tie to his chest. He tried to loosen the belts holding him tight in his seat. He grabbed for the steering wheel again. Emma laughed and shocked him in both legs.

David pleaded. He knew he could not extricate himself from his restraints. “Miss Emma. Stop this now. I can’t breathe! I want out. I…”

✶

“Dad! Dad! Who’s Emma and why are you hollering? Are you done with my headset yet? You’ve been on it so long I have to reboot the internet connection.”

David, shaking, removed the Omega Psi AR headset, handing it to his daughter. He looked at his family gathered in the living room. The smell of dinner cooking in the oven wafted in from the kitchen

“Geez, Dad. This thing’s soaked. I have to get a towel to dry it off. By the way, what does remorse mean?”

Lorraine, smiling, handed David a towel.

“You can’t eat dripping like that. Wipe your face, honey. You’re a mess.”

David took the towel and started to dry his face.

“Thanks, Lorraine. Thanks so much, dear.”

“Oh yeah,” said Lorraine. “Before I forget, Michael from next door came over a bit ago. He has a new car he wants you to see.”

[hatingwithfears]

ALL THE BOOKS I READ IN 2021.

117 BOOKS. 38,063 PAGES.

Jonathan Allen, Amie Parnes- Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency

Ellis Amburn- Subterranean Kerouac

Thomas Aquinas- Selected Writings

Marcus Aurelius- Meditations

Lee Baer- The Imp of The Mind: Exploring The Silent Epidemic of Obsessive Bad Thoughts

Lily Bailey- Because We Are Bad: OCD and a Girl Lost in Thought

Nicholson Baker- The Fermata

James Baldwin- Jimmy’s Blues: Selected Poems

Julian Barnes- The Man in The Red Coat

Sharon Begley- Can’t Just Stop: An Investigation of Compulsions

Ingmar Bergman- Images: My Life in Film

David Berman- Actual Air

Philippe Besson- Lie With Me

Kai Bird, Martin J Sherwin- American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer

Roberto Bolano- Cowboy Graves

John Boswell- Christianity, Social Tolerance and Homosexuality

Thomas Brothers- Help!: The Beatles, Duke Ellington, and the Magic of Collaboration

Craig Brown- 150 Glimpses of The Beatles

Anne Carson- Autobiography of Red

Ann Charters- Kerouac

Michel Chion- Eyes Wide Shut

Rachel Cusk- Second Place

Nelson A Denis- War Against All Puerto Ricans

Michael Eric Dyson- Long Time Coming

Margaret Edson- Wit

Bart D Ehrman- Heaven and Hell: A History of The Afterlife

Scott Ellsworth- The Ground Breaking: An American City and It’s Search for Justice

Mariana Enriquez- The Dangers of Smoking in Bed

Jeffrey Eugenides- Fresh Complaint

James Finley- Merton’s Palace of Nowhere

Jim Forest- Living With Wisdom: A Life of Thomas Merton

Monica Furlong- Merton: A Biography

Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder- Selected Letters

Garth Greenwell- Cleanness

Oakley Hall- Warlock

Faith G. Harper- Unfuck Your Brain

Joel F. Harrington- Dangerous Mystic: Meister Eckhart’s Path to The God Within

Ethan Hawke- A Bright Ray of Darkness

Makato Fujimura- Art+Faith

Julian Herbert- Bring Me the Head of Quentin Tarantino

Frank Herbert- Dune

Tracy Hickman- Wayne of Gotham

Sasha Geffen- Glitter Up The Dark: How Pop Music Broke the Binary

Eddie S Glaude Jr- Begin Again

Neal Goldsmith- Psychedelic Healing

Blake Gopnik- Warhol

Mira Jacob- Good Talk

Nick James- Heat

Lesley-Ann Jones- The Search for John Lennon

Stephen Graham Jones- The Only Good Indians

Stephen Graham Jones- Night of The Mannequins

Carl G. Jung- The Undiscovered Self

Carl G. Jung- Answer to Job

Carl G. Jung- The Red Book

Jack Kerouac- The Beat Generation

Jack Kerouac- Visions of Gerard

Jack Kerouac- Good Blonde and Others

Soren Kierkegaard- Fear & Trembling

Soren Kierkegaard- Sickness Unto Death

Val Kilmer- I’m Your Huckleberry

Stephen King- Later

TJ Klune- The House in The Cerulean Sea

Martin Laird- Into a Silent Land: A Guide to The Practice of Christian Contemplation

Travis Langley- Batman and Psychology

Raven Leilani- Luster

Ben Lerner- The Topeka School

Jonathan Lethem- Motherless Brooklyn

Carmen Maria Machado- In The Dream House

David Mamet- Writing in Restaurants

Greil Marcus- The Weird, Old America: The World of Bob Dylan’s Basement Tapes

James Martin- Learning to Prey

Cormac McCarthy- The Counselor

Thomas Merton- Bread in The Wilderness

Thomas Merton- Mystics and Zen Masters

Thomas Merton- The Springs of Contemplation

Thomas Merton- Seeds

Ottessa Moshfegh- McGlue

Ottessa Moshfegh- Eileen

Ottessa Moshfegh- Homesick For Another World

Ottessa Moshfegh- Death in Her Hands

Jon Mundy- A Course in Mysticism and Miracles

Sayaka Murata- Earthlings

Graham Nash- Wild Tales

Adam Nayman- Paul Thomas Anderson: Masterworks

Christopher Nolan- Inception

Philip Norman- Wild Thing

Barack Obama- A Promised Land

Tommy Orange- There There

Chuck Palahniuk- The Invention of Sound

James Patterson- Deadly Cross

Richard Powers- The Overstory

Leah Raeder- Black Iris

Marieke Lucas Rijneveld- The Discomfort of Evening

Sogyal Rinpoche- The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

Robbie Robertson- Testimony

Richard Rohr- The Naked Now

Philip Roth- Goodbye Columbus

Philip Roth- Letting Go

Lillian Ross- Picture

Jean-Paul Satre- Being and Nothingness

Paul Schrader- Transcendental Style in Film

Frederick Seidel- Poems: 1959-2009

Gary Snyder- No Nature

Bob Spitz- The Beatles

Oliver Stone- Chasing The Light

Howard Suber- The Power of Film

Courtney Summers- Sadie

Quentin Tarantino- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

David Thomson- Murder and The Movies

Jeff Tweedy- How to Write One Song

Ocean Vuong- On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous

Benedict Wells- The End of Loneliness

Edward White- The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock

Peter Wohlleben- The Hidden Life of Trees

Kevin Young- Brown

Ed. Willis Barnstone, Marvin Meyer- The Gnostic Bible

Ed. David Carter- Allen Ginsberg: Spontaneous Mind: Selected Interviews

Ed. Jonathan Cott- Bob Dylan: The Essential Interviews

Ed. Barney Hoskyns- Joni: The Anthology

Ed. Thomas P. McDonnal- A Thomas Merton Reader

Ed. Bill Morgan- The Letters of Allen Ginsberg

Ed. Nduka Otiono, Josh Toth- Polyvocal Bob Dylan

[heroicadventurists]

Comic Con @ Home panel and exhibitor list (so far)

Source: Comic-Con@Home

Source: SDCC unofficial blog

TV & Movies

American Dad: Ever wanted to learn how to draw one of your favorite AD! characters? Now is your chance, join show Supervising Director, Brent Woods, as he teaches the cast and executive producers how to draw Roger! Grab a sketchbook & pens and learn to draw everyone’s favorite alien alongside Rachael MacFarlane (Hayley), Wendy Schaal (Francine), Scott Grimes (Steve), Dee Bradley Baker (Klaus) and EPs Nic Wegener and Joe Chandler as they chat about the current season and look toward the series’ 300th episode airing on TBS this fall.

[NEW] Archer (July 24 at 5PM PT): with Aisha Tyler, Chris Parnell, Judy Greer, Lucky Yates, Amber Nash, and moderated by Casey Willis.

The Blacklist

Bill & Ted Face the Music: with stars Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves, as well as Wyld Stallyns, Samara Weaving, Brigette Lundy-Paine, William Sadler, and director Dean Parisot and writers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson. Moderated by Kevin Smith.

[NEW] Blast Off with Disney+’s The Right Stuff (July 25 at 1PM PT).

Bless the Harts: Join the Harts, in quarantine of course, for a Paint & Sip! Watch Kristen Wiig (Jenny Hart), Maya Rudolph (Betty Hart), Ike Barinholtz (Wayne Edwards), Jillian Bell (Violet Hart) and Fortune Feimster (Brenda) with executive producers Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Andy Bobrow try to recreate Bless The Harts characters while chatting about their favorite moments from season one, what they’re looking forward to in season two on FOX this Fall and how they’ve kept busy during quarantine while drinking the show’s favorite drink – boxed wine!

Bob’s Burgers: The Emmy Award-winning animated FOX series “Bob’s Burgers” invites fans into their homes for a virtual panel with all of the laughs and surprises they generally bring to the Indigo Ballroom. Creator and executive producer Loren Bouchard will break news about the upcoming season, and the always entertaining cast including H. Jon Benjamin, John Roberts, Kristen Schaal, Eugene Mirman, Dan Mintz and Larry Murphy will have you howling with laughter with never-before-seen footage, followed by a lively panel discussion and fan Q&A.

Constantine: 15th Anniversary Reunion: with Keanu Reeves, director Francis Lawrence, and Akiva Goldsman.

Crossing Swords: Hulu Original Crossing Swordsfollows Patrick, a good hearted peasant who lands a coveted squire position at the royal castle. His dream job quickly turns into a nightmare when he learns his beloved kingdom is run by a hornet’s nest of horny monarchs, crooks and charlatans. Even worse, Patrick’s valor made him the black sheep in his family, and now his criminal siblings have returned to make his life hell. War, murder, full frontal nudity—who knew brightly colored peg people led such exciting lives? With Scott Mantz, Seth Green, Alanna Ubach, Tara Strong, Yvette Nicole Brown, Adam Pally, Tom Root, John Harvatine IV, and Adam Ray.

A Conversation with Nathan Fillion: Showrunner Alexi Hawley (“The Rookie”) talks with Nathan Fillion (“Firefly,” “Castle,” “The Rookie”) about his career in film and television. With special appearances by Joss Whedon, Alan Tudyk, Gina Torres, Mekia Cox, Molly Quinn, Seamus Dever and Jon Huertas.

Director’s on Directing: with Robert Rodriguez, Colin Trevorrow, and Joseph Kosinski.

The Dragon Prince: with creators Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond, as well as voice cast Jack Desena, Paula Burrows, Sasha Rojen, Erik Todd Dellums, Jason Simpson, Jesse Inocalla, and Racquel Belmonte

Duncanville: Join executive producers Mike & Julie Scully, executive producer and star, Amy Poehler, along with stars Ty Burrell, Riki Lindhome, Joy Osmanski, Yassir Lester, Betsy Sodaro and guest stars Rashida Jones and Wiz Khalifa for an exclusive first look at the upcoming second season; returning next Spring on FOX.

Emily the Strange: with creator Rob Reger and illustrator Buzz Parker

Family Guy: Join cast Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Mila Kunis, Seth Green and executive producers Rich Appel, Alec Sulkin and Kara Vallow from FOX’s hit animated comedy “Family Guy” as we celebrate 350 episodes with a virtual table read! After, we’ll take a look back at some of our favorite moments from the last 18 seasons, plus a special sneak peek at the hilarity and hi-jinx coming up in our 19th season premiering this fall on FOX!

Fear the Walking Dead: Fear the Walking Dead will present a panel for the series’ upcoming sixth season, premiering later this year. Moderated by Hardwick, the panel will feature Gimple, Showrunners and Executive Producers Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg and cast members Lennie James, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Colman Domingo, Danay Garcia, Karen David, Jenna Elfman and Rubén Blades.

G-Loc: with director Tom Paton, and stars Stephen Moyer, Tala Gouveia, Casper Van Dien, and John Rhys-Davies. Moderated by Jacob Oller.

The Goldbergs: with cast members Wendi McLendon-Covey, Sean Giambrone, Troy Gentile, George Segal, Hayley Orrantia, and Sam Lerner

Helstrom: As the son and daughter of a mysterious and powerful serial killer, Hulu Original Helstrom follows Daimon (Tom Austen) and Ana Helstrom (Sydney Lemmon), and their complicated dynamic, as they track down the worst of humanity — each with their own attitude and skills.

HOOPS: The star-studded voice cast of “Hoops,” a new adult animated series for Netflix launching this summer from 20th Century Fox Television (“The Simpsons,” “Family Guy,” “Bob’s Burgers”), gathered for an irreverent-in-the-best-way conversation about coming together to make this show that follows a foul-mouthed high school basketball coach who is sure he’ll hit the big leagues if he can only turn his terrible team around. Voice stars Jake Johnson, Rob Riggle, Ron Funches, Natasha Leggero, Cleo King and A.D. Miles join creator and executive producer Ben Hoffman and moderator/ guest voice star Max Greenfield (Johnson’s former “New Girl” co-star) for a truly wild and hilarious Q&A. Fans will be treated to an exclusive first look at footage from the premiere episode. “Hoops” comes from writer-comedian Ben Hoffman (“The Late Late Show with James Corden,” “Archer”), Phil Lord and Chris Miller (“The Lego Movie”), with animation produced by Bento Box (“Bob’s Burgers”).

Kevin Smith: You know what this is.

LGBTQ Representation on TV: with Jamie Chung (Once Upon A Time), Jamie Clayton (Roswell: New Mexico), Wilson Cruz (Star Trek: Discovery), Tatiana Maslany (Perry Mason, Orphan Black), Anthony Rapp (Star Trek: Discovery), J. August Richards (Council of Dads, Angel, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Harry Shum, Jr. (Shadowhunters) and Brian Michael Smith (9-1-1: Lone Star). The panel will be moderated by TV Guide Magazine West Coast Bureau Chief Jim Halterman.

[NEW] A Look Inside Marvel’s 616 on Disney+ (July 23 at 1PM PT).

Motherland: Fort Salen: TBA

NEXT: Coming to FOX in Fall 2020, “NEXT” arrives at Comic-Con@Home with a sneak peek of the thrilling opening scene of the propulsive, fact-based thriller about the emergence of a deadly, rogue artificial intelligence that combines pulse-pounding action with an examination of how technology is invading our lives and transforming us in ways we don’t yet understand. “NEXT” stars John Slattery (“Mad Men”) as a Silicon Valley pioneer, who teams with cybercrime agent Fernanda Andrade (“The First”), to fight a villain unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Panelists will include creator and executive producer Manny Coto (“24”), John Slattery, Fernanda Andrade, Michael Mosley (“Ozark”), Jason Butler Harner (“Ozark”) and Eve Harlow (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) for a fascinating conversation about the new series and how AI and technology infiltrates all of our lives, moderated by Thrillist’s Esther Zuckerman.

NOS4A2: Moderated by Entertainment Weekly’s Clark Collis, the panel will feature Showrunner and Executive Producer Jami O’Brien, Executive Producer Joe Hill and cast member Zachary Quinto.

[NEW] Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Candace Against the Universe (12PM PT).

Rooster Teeth: Yssa Badiola, Torrian Crawford, Barbara Dunkelman, Fiona Nova, Kerry Shawcross, and special guest F.J. DeSanto are going to virtually smack you in the face with exclusive reveals and new information about Recorded by Arizal, Red vs. Blue Zero, RWBY Volume 8, and Transformers War For Cybertron: Siege.

The Simpsons: They’ll never stop The Simpsons!…from appearing at Comic-Con; this time on zoom. Join Al Jean, Matt Selman, David Silverman, Carolyn Omine, Mike B. Anderson and moderator Yeardley Smith. Find out how the show has surmounted social distancing and turbulent times en route to season 32!

Solar Opposites: Your favorite Shlorpians are getting together for Comic-Con at Home! As Hulu’s most-watched original comedy premiere to date, “Solar Opposites” centers around a team of four aliens who escape their exploding home world only to crash land into a move-in ready home in suburban America. They are evenly split on whether Earth is awful or awesome, while protecting the Pupa, a living super computer that will one day evolve into its true form, consume them and terraform the Earth… Join Justin Roiland (“Korvo”), Thomas Middleditch (“Terry”), Sean Giambrone (“Yumyulack”), Mary Mack (“Jesse”) and executive producers Mike McMahan and Josh Bycel for all things “Solar Opposites” including an exclusive clip from the upcoming second season!

Stumptown: with cast members Jake Johnson, Cobie Smulders, and Michael Ealy

TV Guide Magazine’s Fan Favorites: Hale Appleman (The Magicians), Chris Chalk (Gotham, Perry Mason), Robbie Amell (Upload), Kennedy McMann (Nancy Drew), Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Picard), Richard Harmon (The 100), Lindsey Morgan (The 100), Harvey Guillen (What We Do in the Shadows), and Alex Newell (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist)

The Walking Dead: The Walking Dead will make its 11th San Diego Comic-Con appearance with a panel spotlighting the Season 10 Finale episode, “A Certain Doom,” which will air as a standalone episode later this year. Moderated by Hardwick, the panel will feature Gimple, Showrunner and Executive Producer Angela Kang, Executive Producer Greg Nicotero, who directed the season finale, and cast members Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lauren Cohan, Josh McDermitt and Paola Lazaro, among others.

The Walking Dead: World Beyond: The Walking Dead: World Beyond makes its Comic-Con International debut as the third series in wildly successful The Walking Dead Universe. Moderated by Hardwick, the series’ panel will feature Gimple, Showrunner and Executive Producer Matt Negrete and cast members Aliyah Royale, Alexa Mansour, Hal Cumpston, Nicholas Cantu, Nico Tortorella, Julia Ormond and Joe Holt.

[NEW] What We Do in the Shadows (July 25 at 5PM PT): with Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou, Mark Proksch, Harvey Guillen, Paul Simms, Stefani Robinson, and moderated by Haley Joel Osment.

Wynonna Earp.

COMICS

Celebrating 80 Years of The Spirit: Moderated by Danny Fingeroth.

Decoding the Kirby/Lee Relationship: with Danny Fingeroth.

[NEW] Howard Cruse: The Godfather of Queer Comics.

In Conversation with Robert Kirkman: Creator Robert Kirkman answers fan questions on his titles including THE WALKING DEAD, INVINCIBLE, FIRE POWER, OBLIVION SONG, and more!

[NEW] LGBTQ Comics and Popular Media for Young People.

[NEW] Out in Comics 33: Virtually Yours.

[NEW] Marvel Comics: Next Big Thing: Friday, July 24, 11:00 AM PST

[NEW] MARVEL HQ: Thursday, July 23, 4:00 PM PST

Skybound Presents: Comics & Creators: A panel of Skybound’s comic book creators including Robert Kirkman, the team behind EXCELLENCE, and more come together to discuss their latest projects.

Tribute to Dennis O’Neil: with Danny Fingeroth.

The Wonderful, Horrible History of E.C. Comics: Moderated by Danny Fingeroth.

OTHER

The Art of Collaboration: Duos Behind Top Films, TV Shows, & Video Games.

California Browncoats.

Creative Renaissance: How to Thrive When it’s Hard to Survive. The continued need for social distancing has brought about a creative renaissance in the digital space. Join the conversation with Joe Barrette (Creators, Assemble!), Phil Jimenez (Creators4Comics), Alonso Nunez (Little Fish Comic Book Studio), and Kit Steinaway (Book Industry Charitable Fund) to hear how nonprofit organizations are working with comics creators to support each other and their communities during these challenging times. You will hear about new learning opportunities, collaborations, how to forge new creative friendships in a time of global disconnect and what it means to find your tribe through fandom and shared passion. Moderated by Dan Wood (Comics librarian, EPL).

From Script to Screen: Behind-the-Scenes of Your Favorite Film & TV Shows.

The Future of Entertainment.

GirlsDrawinGirls Presents Industry Professional Women Artists in Quarantine: Balancing Work, Art, Homeschooling, and Life: With Melody Severns, Debbie Mahan, Sherry Delorme, Rehana Khan-Tarin, Aisling Harbert-Phillips, and Christine Chang.

The Legal Geeks.

Making a Living Being Creative: with Lee Kohse, Brendan Hay, Lex Cassar, and Johnny Kolasinski.

Masters of the Illustrated Film Poster.

Music for Animation.

[rocklandhistoryblog]

#TBT Bishop-Mausell-Meredith-Lerner House, Pomona, c. 1970

Photo from the John McCabe collection of the HSRC

This house’s most famous owner was Burgess Meredith, who lived in Ramapo for about 30 years. It was largely because of New City playwright Maxwell Anderson that Meredith and his then-wife Margaret Perry moved to Rockland and bought this house in the early 1940s. Anderson won New York Critics Circle Awards for two of his plays in which Meredith starred "Winter-set" in 1935 and "High Tor" in 1937, the latter of which also earned Meredith a Drama Critics Award. Meredith also starred in Anderson's 1938 play "The Star Wagon," with Lillian Gish.

Meredith's film credits include "Of Mice and Men" in 1939 and "Advise and Consent" in 1962. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of a boxing manager in the 1976 film "Rocky." He’s also well known for his campy portrayal of the Penguin in the Batman TV series.

When Meredith was married to actress Paulette Goddard, he sold this house to Broadway lyricist Alan Jay Lerner and built a new home close by on the property. Bud Widney of Wesley Hills, production manager for Lerner in the 1950s, recalled the parties Meredith gave at both houses and the horse farm he established at Camp Hill.

During the years Lerner lived in Ramapo, he wrote "My Fair Lady" with composer-collaborator Fritz Loewe, who rented another house nearby.

Historian Craig Long said, in 2000, that there is enough historical evidence to demonstrate the house's importance as a Ramapo landmark.

“Even if the stories about Generals George Washington and Anthony Wayne having stayed there are tradition and folklore," Long said, "there's no denying the fact that Revolutionary soldiers camped at Camp Hill."

According to the Rev. David Cole's history of Rockland, Meredith's house was "the old home of the Bishop family," likely built by Ebenezer Bishop, who lived from 1749 to 1829. Bishop and his family are buried in a small plot nearby.

“The house looks out over a spacious lawn and once was part of a large farm," said historian Marianne Leese of Suffern. "The area has historical significance for the encampment of Lafayette and his troops during the Revolution."

In the 19th century, Leese said, the house was owned by Capt. J. Mausell, an early steamboat captain on the Hudson River. Mausell was the second captain of the Rockland, the second steamboat to be built in the county, she said. In 1845, Leese said, Mausell became captain of a steamboat named the Warren, which sailed out of Haverstraw.

The house and grounds are owned by The Town of Ramapo.

——-

This image, like many of the historic images posted here, comes from the HSRC archives. If you like them, please consider becoming a member of the HSRC. Your member dollars help us preserve and share the rich history of Rockland County and you get tangible benefits - like receiving our award winning history quarterly “South of the Mountains,” the only journal of Rockland County history published continuously since 1957!

Learn more about membership here: http://www.rocklandhistory.org/product.cfm?category=17

[rickyvalero]

OFFICIAL TRAILER : Multiverse sci-fi film INTERMATE

OFFICIAL TRAILER : Multiverse sci-fi film INTERMATE

The trailer for the brand-new film Intermate has arrived and we have it to share with you today. On digital platforms November 4. Directed and produced by Richard Lerner and written by Wayne Weber, John Powers, and Richard Lerner, INTERMATE stars Jonathan Goldstein, Lauren Swickard, Maya Stojan, Malea Rose and Gerard Downey.  A trippy new romp from cult director Richard Lerner (Revenge of the…

[updatesnews]

Clint Eastwood denied chance to work with John Wayne after script snub: 'Piece of s***' | Films | Entertainment

Clint Eastwood denied chance to work with John Wayne after script snub: ‘Piece of s***’ | Films | Entertainment

Sixties musical ‘Paint Your Wagon’, starring Mr Eastwood, will be shown on BBC Two this afternoon at 2pm. Inspired by the Lerner and Loewe Broadway musical, the happy-go-lucky Ben Rumson, played by Lee Marvin, meets and joins forces with Mr Eastwood’s character Pardner during the Gold Rush. Their friendship is tested however when Pardner falls in love with Elizabeth, a lady Ben had acquired from…

[dweemeister]

Cheyenne Autumn (1964)

The American Western has been a genre in cinema almost from the artform’s beginning. Over decades and influenced by the traditions of Western firsthand storytelling and literature, Western films evolved with the vocabulary and history of film. Maybe the most important figure in the Western’s development is director John Ford. Ford directed not only the greatest films of that genre, but for the entire medium of cinema – including titles like Stagecoach (1939), My Darling Clementine (1946), and The Searchers (1956). All three of those films were shot in Monument Valley, located on the Arizona-Utah border within the Navajo Nation, and famous for its imposing mesas. Many Navajo starred as extras in those films, including the subject of this write-up, Cheyenne Autumn.

With this final Western to direct and his health failing, Ford was in an unusually repentant mood. Upon reflection, he became to realize how poorly he treated the Native American characters in his Westerns. They were often one-dimensional villains massacred by white pioneers or United States Cavalrymen; noble savages; or just faceless, bloodthirsty legends that are never seen. Ford always sympathized with the Navajo extras he employed in his Westerns (they often played non-Navajo tribes, and the filmmakers spent no effort for linguistic accuracy), albeit from a paternalistic lens. Cheyenne Autumn is shadowed by that white paternalism – an overlong experience never adopting the perspectives of its Native American characters.

In Oklahoma Territory/Indian Territory, a group of Northern Cheyenne leaders are planning to return their people back to their homeland in Wyoming. Led by Little Wolf (Ricardo Montalbán) and Dull Knife (Gilbert Roland) after the death of Tall Tree (Victor Jory), the tribe’s efforts are opposed from a military and Department of Interior policy lens. Captain Thomas Archer (Richard Widmark) sympathizes, but refuses to listen to the advice of his bloodlusting, openly prejudiced subordinates (especially Patrick Wayne’s character). American newspapers get wind of these Western developments, and begin to misrepresent the Northern Cheyenne actions as a danger to American civilians. Numerous subplots abound, including Archer’s Mormon love interest, Deborah Wright (Carroll Baker, whose character teaches the Cheyenne children English) deciding to embed herself with the Cheyenne’s northward journey. Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz (Edward G. Robinson) also wants to avoid violence, and will venture westward to defuse the situation.

Other characters including a Cheyenne named “Spanish Woman” (Dolores del Río, probably referring to the character’s mixed heritage), the fiery Red Shirt (Sal Mineo), and the short-tempered Captain Oscar Wessels (Karl Malden). An ill-advised pre-intermission comedic sequence with Wyatt Earp (James Stewart) and Doc Holliday (Arthur Kennedy) comes off only as bloat.

The chief problem of Cheyenne Autumn is one that constantly undermines its central premise. In this film, Ford and screenwriters Mari Sandoz (a novelist-biographer who specialized on the American West, including the Plains Indians) and James R. Webb (1962′s Cape Fear, 1963′s How the West Was Won) rarely adopt the point of view of the Native American characters. When the screenplay does concentrate on them, it is distilled by the experiences and political positions of the white characters. Carroll Baker’s character becomes the white character through whom the Cheyenne become relatable, their intentions and reasons sanitized. Mentions of American atrocities towards Native Americans – if not specifically the Cheyenne – are superficial, requiring guesswork for those unfamiliar in American West history, with Ford never bothering to contextualize how those actions have contributed to the Cheyenne’s presence in Oklahoma. As characters, they are never anything more than frustrated figures that speak out against the American government. Aside from moments where the Cheyenne are taking down their teepees and packing their belongings, what are they like as parents? Friends? Peers? The film is not interested in that, depriving a lot of potential emotional power for the characters that should be central to this work.

One important inclusion in Cheyenne Autumn is the American media’s depiction of the roving Cheyenne as a band of anarchic scalp-collectors. An outlier newspaper editor wants to distinguish himself from the mob, so he frames his paper’s stories as supporting a horde of noble savages. The mass hysteria among Eastern and Western publications could stand in for twentieth-century Hollywood, as the initial storytellers of a narrative tradition colored by racial fear. As much as this film’s allegiances are more beholden to the Native American characters compared to John Ford’s previous works, Cheyenne Autumn is not so much forcing the viewer to experience American imperialism through the eyes of its Native American as it is an expensive, languidly-staged presentation of Ford’s personal beliefs.

Ford further weakens his film by whitewashing the principal Cheyenne characters. Dull Knife, Tall Tree, and Red Shirt are all played by white actors; Little Wolf is played by Mexican actor Ricardo Montalbán, but this is just as problematic – Mexican actors or “less pale” white actors were often employed to portray Native Americans in American Western movies. While conversing in “Cheyenne”, the few Navajo actors playing the Cheyenne are saying dirty Navajo jokes to each other. This erasure of historically correct Native American perspectives fails to generate much empathy, even if Cheyenne Autumn has some structural similarities to documentaries or docudramas.

Cheyenne Autumn’s comedic sequence in Dodge City featuring some of the most famous names of Western lore is an inexplicable miscalculation. As much as I might like some Jimmy Stewart any day, there is no reason for Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday (Stewart and Kennedy are too old to play Earp and Holliday, respectively) to appear. This pre-intermission comic relief does nothing but wreak havoc on the film’s already-languid pacing. It does not help that the broad comedy elicits few laughs.

Shot in Super Panavision 70mm Technicolor, Cheyenne Autumn has a wide frame for cinematographer William S. Clothier (1948′s Fort Apache, 1959′s The Horse Soldiers) to work with. The final cut is beautifully photographed, if a bit repetitive and annoying to anybody with an understanding of Great Plains geography (those Monument Valley vistas are not that ubiquitous across the central United States; for example, there are no mountains in Kansas). The signature vistas, shot solely medium and long shots that a widescreen format enables, are gorgeous as always. Moab, Utah and Gunnison, Colorado also stood in for locales along the Northern Cheyenne Exodus – even if the exodus never traversed those states. Ford, his eyesight failing, had lost much of his sense of composition by this point. Those repetitive wide shots and awkward stagings of dialogue scenes with a mass of characters all attest to this. But even a weaker John Ford effort ranks as a stunning visual experience.

Composer Alex North’s (1960′s Spartacus, 1963′s Cleopatra) modernism in his score clashed with Ford’s expectations. North’s score is powerful, brimming with anticipation of the tense situations that are to come. Yet it is without any identifiable leitmotifs until later in the film, as North adopted a modal structure based in Native American music that runs against the idea and expectations of recurring, melodic musical ideas. This set-up works in the context of the film, but independent of the accompanying scenes – and this subsequent statement is speculation but based on my experience with modal classical music; Cheyenne Autumn’s score is unavailable for free online – the score probably suffers. Music like the lyricism of Dimitri Tiomkin’s Western scores (see 1948′s Red River and 1956′s Gunfight at the O.K. Corral) would not fit in Cheyenne Autumn, given the challenging subject matter. Ford himself disliked North’s music, cutting much of it from the final version of the movie. This would not be the last time North was on the wrong side of an artistic disagreement, with much worse treatment by the likes of Stanley Kubrick in his future.

For Warner Bros., 1964 proved to be an eventful year. Its two most high-profile properties – at least, the two movies they spent the most money to acquire the rights for – were Cheyenne Autumn and My Fair Lady. Producer Bernard Smith (1960′s Elmer Gantry, How the West Was Won) convinced Jack Warner, after Warner’s greenlighting of My Fair Lady, that the studio needed a second surefire hit: a John Ford Western. But Ford’s decision in material was among the least commercial of his career, and Cheyenne Autumn’s constitution is not conducive to a single sitting for most. With My Fair Lady slated to be released three weeks  after Cheyenne Autumn, Warner Bros. then decided to concentrate its advertising firepower on the Lerner and Loewe musical adaptation – sealing the financial fate of John Ford’s last Western.

More truthful, faithful Westerns portraying Native Americans would be released in later decades – perhaps not always the most high-profile Hollywood features, but worthy in their fidelity to depicting Native American perspectives. Yet the idea for a kind of cinematic reparation from a major Hollywood production can be said to begin here, in Cheyenne Autumn, under the direction of the one person who might have been most responsible in popularizing negative cinematic stereotypes of Native Americans. John Ford may be the most accomplished director the United States has given to cinema, but a great portion of that success is thanks to capitalizing on destructive ideas serving as the keystone of American narratives.

My rating: 6/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found here.

[un-enfant-immature]

This insurtech alleges its venture backer founded and funded a copycat: a founder’s “nightmare”

Relationships can be messy, including between startup founders and their venture investors. But in a case that takes messy to an extreme, an insurtech company in Santa Monica, Calif. called Sure is alleging that its Series A investor used privileged information to provide to a New York-based startup called Boost that the venture firm incubated and that quickly evolved into a competitor to Sure.

Sure further assets that the venture firm — 29-year-old IA Capital Group of New York — has continued to “harass” Sure over information rights that it is no longer entitled to receive. As for why the firm would bother, Sure’s founder and CEO, Wayne Slavin, suggests that it’s because its growth is outpacing that of Boost. “We’ve grown headcount almost 50% through COVID,” says Slavin. Sure now has annual recurring revenue in the “double digit millions” and is profitable, he adds. Boost, on the other hand, is “losing employees,” he insists. (According to LinkedIn, Boost, founded in 2017, has 30 employees and no job openings; Sure, founded in 2013, has 62 employees and three job openings.)

Andy Lerner, a managing partner with IA Capital who has been with the firm since 1995, disputes Sure’s characterization of events. “It’s very important that we did not invest knowingly in two companies that were direct competitors,” he said earlier today when asked about Sure’s claims.

Alex Maffeo, a former investor with IA Capital Group who sat on Sure’s board before incubating Boost, then leaving venture to become its CEO, said in response to Sure’s claims: “We have no knowledge of the situation between Sure and IA Capital, nor do we receive any information about any of the companies in IA’s portfolio. I haven’t worked at the firm for almost four years now, and Boost has been focused on the same mission to power insurtech startups and other digital distribution partners from the start. We have always and continue to wish Wayne and his team nothing but the best as both of our companies thrive in our respective lanes.”

So what went so awry here? The conflict between the two sides dates back to nearly 2017, when IA Capital led an $8 million Series A round for Sure, writing the company a $2 million check from a fund whose sole limited parter is the insurance giant Prudential.

Lerner says that at the time, Sure was a “mobile insurance distributor,” one that was focused on items in transit, including, “flight insurance, smart phone insurance, baggage insurance.”

Slavin says this is false and asserts that Sure — which sells its software as a service to large companies like Tesla, Intuit, Mastercard, and other customers that subscribe to its software-as-a-service to run their digital insurance programs — had already begun working instead on an embedded insurance API strategy soon after its seed round closed in 2015.

That Boost offers the same service today could be coincidence, but Slavin doesn’t think so.

In fact, according to both sides, a rift began to emerge soon after IA Capital, which invests solely in insuretech startups, began working on an internal program called “Project Boost” led by Maffeo.

The original idea, says Slavin, was for this would-be company to offer insurtech startups the capital needed to quickly bring new insurance products to market, and for it to raise $40 million toward this end. When a big round didn’t materialize, however, IA Capital and Maffeo pivoted and, with seed funding from IA Capital, Maffeo resigned as an investor and joined what became Boost Insurance as CEO.

The problem, says Slavin, is that without discussing these moves with Sure, Boost quickly began to “drift in our lane.”

To Slavin, this was worrisome, given that Maffeo had spent almost a full year on the Sure board and understood its prospects, some of the intricacies of its tech, and what was on its roadmap. It made the only move it could, says Slavin: it decided with its board to invoke a provision of its investment documents with IA Capital that enabled it to stop providing IA Capital with the same level of information to which it was entitled earlier. By late 2019, it stopped sending IA Capital anything at all.

That hasn’t sat so well with Lerner, who maintains that Sure and Boost “aren’t that similar,” and that, in any case, because “once in a while they overlap,” his firm hopped off the board when Sure closed its Series B round, a $12.5 million financing led by the publicly traded insurance holding company W. R. Berkley.

More, says Lerner, after a “back and forth,” IA Capital agreed to accept a more bare-bones “income statement and balance sheet, so we [could] value and report on Sure to our LPs every quarter. We didn’t ask for any sensitive information or technical information or who its customers are. We basically just wanted financial information to do our audit and value our stake, and Sure said they wanted to send us zero information.”

With some animus on both sides, what happens from here is the biggest question. While Slavin was willing to quietly endure the “nightmare that we’re living and that [IA Capital] just won’t acknowledge,” he says, a surprise letter from IA Capital’s attorneys a few days before Christmas — one that asked for private shareholder information — was going too far, he says. For one thing, earlier this week, he wrote to all of Sure’s shareholders and told them about such these behind-the-scenes wranglings for the first time.

Through Sure’s attorney, Evan Bienstock of Fenwick & West, also told IA Capital that if its own investor, Prudential, wants more information about Sure, Sure is happy to provide it to the insurance giant directly. (Prudential did not respond to a request for comment this afternoon.)

“I probably should have stood up to the bully way sooner,” says Slavin. “But it’s really hard when, as the founder, you know you might need that reference check. You might need that gatekeeper to help you along, even though they’re not necessarily looking out for the interests of the company and the interests of the other shareholders.”

Lerner meanwhile suggests it’s all been a big misunderstanding. Asked why IA Capital hasn’t responded to Sure following its response to the firm’s information request, Lerner said today that IA Capital was “preparing a response to that just two days ago,” and it remains unfinished.

He added that IA Capital wants to “have a great relationship with [Sure]. We regret that there’s a dispute. We just want them to send us the minimal information so we can audit and do our report to our LPs in the future.”

Said Lerner: “I think we’re reasonable, and we wanted to work things out. They’re an insuretech that seems to be doing well, and we’re a large insuretech VC, and we could certainly be helpful to them.”

Asked whether IA Capital couldn’t simply sell its shares to existing shareholders, or let Sure buy them back in order to resolve the situation, Lerner claimed his venture firm would be willing to sell its shares, but he said it would first “need some information to evaluate what’s a fair price.”

Yet Slavin, who says Sure has bumped up against Boost twice to win recent deals, says he doesn’t see how that happens at this point. Too much damage has been done. Besides, he says, “Andy can discern revenue run rates from a financial statement; he can figure out how big our contracts are based on what he’s asking.”

And so it drags on for all parties.

Sure has raised $23.1 million in funding to date, including from Menlo Ventures and ff Venture Capital.

Boost has meanwhile raised $17 million, including from Coatue, Greycroft, and Tusk Venture Partners.

Slavin says that IA Capital owns less than 5% of Sure. Lerner today declined to say how much of Boost that IA Capital owns.

[theliterateape]

The Wooden Door (3)

by Wayne Lerner

The Street Corner Friday, June 10, 1966 2:35 pm

The stage was set. The sidewalk sizzled under the scorching sun. The humid air made it hard to breathe. June feeling like August brought out the worst in people. Few were fortunate enough to have air conditioning. The kind of day when tempers flared and fists clenched. When grudges ached to be released so terror could commence. Gangs loved hot and humid days. It was easy to lose control when sweat drenched your body and pent-up hatred turned to fury.

Sgt. Maloney knew these kinds of days and what they could lead to

“I dunno how many more of these I can take, Ron,” he said.

“What do you mean?” Ron asked. “We’ve been training for this all last month. We know the shit’s going to hit the fan.”

“I’ve been through this so many times, it’s getting weary. When the first blacks moved into Austin, the good ole boys were not very happy, as you might expect. Every night we had to bring in CFD to put out the fires they set.”

Ron looked at Maloney long and hard. “You’ve been saying this for the 7 years we’ve been together. Do you think this one will be as bad as some have said?”

Maloney paused as he pondered the information they had received from Central command and some not-so-official sources. Grooming informers was critical to becoming a successful beat cop.

“I think this will be the big one,” he said. “The gangs are geared up for action. No more brass knuckles and blades. I heard that they have guns and not just 22’s.”

“Jesus,” exclaimed Ron. “If they have automatic guns, this will be a bloodbath. On both sides.”

“Yep,” said Maloney. “There isn’t anything we can do to stop it. They didn’t give us automatics at roll call this morning. We’re going to need help and lots of it.”

“The rumors have been flying since last week,” said Ron. “This isn’t new news.”

“What they don't understand,” said Maloney, “is that the fight is not just between the rednecks and the blacks but with the gangs from the other schools. It’s going to be fucking ugly.”

The two officers continued their beat, walking east from Central towards Laramie, continuing on to Cicero. A long walk, sweat dripping from their faces, but the business owners and residents appreciated the false sense of peace.

When they approached the drugstore, they spotted Lamar and his boys hustling toward Madison from the north. Paulie and his guys streaking from the south. Maloney grabbed Ron, both running to the corner. At the same moment, they noticed Albert and Martha crossing Lotus to go into the drug store.

“Christ! They’re going to be caught in a crossfire!” Maloney shouted to Ron. “Let’s grab them and get them in the store. Then we can take care of the others.”

The 2 gangs ran toward each other, guns drawn and loaded. Angry shouts and insults were thrown at their enemies inflaming the situation with every passing moment.

Maloney and Ron tried to put themselves between the 2 groups to head off the expected violence. Screams, shouts, shots in the air made sure that anyone on the street took cover.

Business owners locked their doors. Residents headed for home.

“Ron, see if you can get to the Paulie group,” said Maloney. “I'll try for Lamar and his guys.”

At that moment, Albert stopped walking with Martha. They recoiled at the violence about to unfold. Martha tried to hold Albert back from approaching the gangs.

Everyone stopped in their tracks when bursts of gunfire rang out from the east. Maloney and Ron looked at each other and the 2 gangs. None of them had pulled the trigger that many times.

“Look there!” Albert shouted. “Look at what's coming.”

They turned, in shock. Hundreds of young people, boys and girls, all armed, running down Madison Street.

“We’re going to make you pay for the rape! You’re all going to die. You don’ took your last breath,” they shouted.

Maloney screamed into his radio. “Madison is packed with armed kids, all coming hard down the street! Alert all units and the National Guard. We’re going to need every officer we can find.”

“The cops in the ‘burbs are mobilizing a wedge to move in from the west,” shouted Maloney to Ron. “Let’s get everyone into the store and pray the mob did not see us.”

Albert tightened his grip on Martha’s arm and turned to view the scene behind him. Chaos and confusion inflamed the melee. No matter what the police did, Lamar’s and Paulie’s gangs weren’t about to let a riot take them away from their destiny.

As if in slow motion, Albert pushed Martha into the store and proceeded across the street to where the confrontation was taking place. With every step, his gait got stronger and he stood taller. No more tap tap tap. He was ready to use his cane for a different purpose.

“You idiots,” he hollered at the 2 gangs. “Don't you see what’s happening.”

He raised his cane and pointed at the rioters streaming down Madison. “They don't care if you're white or black. They’re going to kill us all. The police can't hold them back. The National Guard won't get here in time. Stop this nonsense. NOW!”

Albert shouted with such force that the 2 gangs stopped and looked at him in wonder. Bullets began flying towards them as the screaming grew louder. Police cars steamed toward the riot from all directions, lights flashing, sirens howling. Far off near downtown, the rumble of tanks could be felt as the street vibrated from their weight.

“Now,” Albert said. “Everyone in the drugstore. And I mean everyone.”

Albert grabbed Lamar and looked him in the eye. “Tell your guys to back off and get moving.” He did the same to Paulie, standing still, paralyzed by what he saw. Albert took him by the collar and dragged him across the street as his gang followed him into the store. They slammed the old wooden door as the rioters got within a block of Lotus, guns blazing, molotov cocktails ready to fly through business and apartment windows.

Albert and Martha were in command, much to the amazement of everyone in the store. They began shouting orders. “Block the doors and put the cabinets by them. Take all flammables down from the windows and put them on the floor by the brick walls. Let’s hope the door is strong enough to hold the rioters back.

The gangs, Jimmy and Irving, went into action following the orders of Albert and Martha. They put anything heavy by the door to create a blockade. They did the same by the stairway to the basement which led to the little used back door.

As the rioters and the police faced off, the acrid smell of smoke permeated the store’s walls and windows.

“That’s my Cadillac parked on the corner, '' said Irving. “Fuck it. I didn’t like the color anyway.”

Bullets pinged off the building’s walls as they tried their best to break through the stone and the wooden door. The occupants hid behind the barricade they made, listening to barrages of shots that seemed to go on forever. Black, white, it didn’t matter. They concealed themselves. For the moment, forgetting their hate for one another. The only thing on their minds was survival.

The roar of the tanks and the squeal of the police cars’ tires surged as the battle rose to a climax. Albert and Martha remained standing in the middle of the store, watching over their minions, making sure they were safe.

Just as fast as the fight had started, it stopped. No more sounds of bullets flying or angry shouting.

“Are you ok in there?” asked Sgt. Maloney through the man-made blockade.

“Yes, we are fine,” said Martha. “No one was hurt here.”

“C’mon out,” said Ron. “It’s safe to open the door.”

As everyone in the store rose to their feet, the two gangs looked at each other and then at the two old people who had led them to safety.

“Where did you learn that?” asked Lamar with undeniable respect in his voice “That was crazy. You saved us all.”

Martha took Lamar’s hand. “This gang warfare is senseless. It will get you nowhere,” she said. Then she took Paulie’s hand. “Don’t you understand that if you beat Lamar and his boys, there will always be someone else waiting to take you on. The battle will never end.”

Albert turned to Paul and, in a quiet voice, said. “Your mother and father are hurting. They are trying to give you a better life but they can’t do that with you in jail. Get over this hate and make something out of yourself.”

Martha looked at Lamar. “You’re supposed to make your mother proud. You’re the oldest. You have a responsibility to your family. Figure out how you can achieve that.”

“How do you know such things?” said Lamar. Paulie nodded his head in amazement.

“You think we are just two old people standing on the corner,” said Martha. “People tell us their stories when they walk by. They know we are good listeners and won’t tell their secrets.”

Everyone stood still to consider what they lived through and what they heard from Albert and Martha.

Albert broke the silence. “C’mon, Martha, let’s go. These two are just hard heads.”

“What do you know about us?” said Paulie. “You look like you have everything you want.”

Martha took a step towards the two gangs. “Where we come from, we were niepożądani ludzie. What the Nazis called ‘undesirables.’ Martha tapped her chest. “We know what it means to have little and be treated like dirt. We made something of ourselves. Now, you need to do the same.”

Albert took Martha’s hand and moved toward the front of the store. “We’ve said enough. They have to take the first step, not us. I hope they listened to you.”

Albert grabbed the old wooden door. It opened with its usual squeal. “Ach,” he said. “Czy w koncu mozesz te drzwi naprawić?”

“What did he say?” asked Lamar.

Martha smiled. “Albert said, ‘Now will you get this damn door fixed?’” as the door slammed shut behind her.

[papermoonloveslucy]

LUCY AND PHIL HARRIS STRIKE UP THE BAND

S6;E21 ~ February 25, 1974

Directed by Jack Donohue ~ Written by Robert O'Brien

Synopsis

To drum up business for the Unique Employment Agency, Lucy replies to an ad in the newspaper to supply musicians for Phil Harris' orchestra. The candidates she brings Harris are all of different ethnicity, creating a multi-cultural musical act.

Regular Cast

Lucille Ball (Lucy Carter), Gale Gordon (Harrison Otis Carter)

Lucie Arnaz (Kim Carter) does not appear in this episode, although the final credits do state “Lucie Arnaz Wardrobe by Alroe”.  The character is mentioned by Lucy in the dialogue.

Guest Cast

Phil Harris (Himself) previously played soused songwriter Phil Stanley in a 1968 episode of “The Lucy Show.”  Harris was known as a bandleader who became a comic radio star as a Jack Benny sidekick in the 1930s. Although his fondness for booze was largely a creation of the Benny’s writers, Harris played the part to the hilt. Harris was mentioned in “Lucy Gets Jack Benny’s Account” (TLS S6;E6) when Benny made a reference to Harris’ persona as a lush. In “Lucy and Joan” (TLS S4;E4) Joan (Joan Blondell) says she’s been in pictures so long she saw Phil Harris take his first drink! Harris was married to movie star Alice Faye from 1941 until his death in 1995 at age 91.  

Tommy Farrell (Fred, Phil Harris' Arranger) was on Broadway in three plays between 1942 and 1947. He was seen on “The Lucy Show” twice. This is the last of his six episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”   

In the final credits Farrell is billed as “Freddie” although Harris never calls him anything but “Fred.”  The name is probably a tribute to Lucille Ball's brother and grandfather, both of whom were named Fred.  

Marl Young (Marl Young, Pianist) was the “Here’s Lucy” musical director and often appeared on camera when episodes included music.

Young (as the character) says he's been working as an accountant. His last gig was with the Boston Philharmonic.

Michaelani (Mr. Yamoto) makes the third of his four screen appearances here.

Mr. Yamoto plays the clarinet and says he speaks several languages.  

Anthony Ortega (Ooka Lanooka) was a professional saxophonist (although he does not play the instrument here) and is making his screen acting debut.

Ooka Lanooka plays the whale bones and is number one in his field. Back in Alaska, he worked a couple of one-night stands, which Lucy calls “working steady” because the nights in Alaska are six months long!  

Henry L. Miranda (Pancho Rodriguez) 

Pancho is a trumpet player formerly of Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass.

Jack Kelso (Saxophonist in Harris' Band, uncredited) worked as a studio musician between 1964 and 1984, in addition to recording with Mercer Ellington and Mink DeVille, touring worldwide and appearing in "The Concert for Bangladesh" as part of Jim Horn and the Hollywood Horns.  

Ted Nash (Saxophonist / Clarinetist in Harris' Band, uncredited) was a saxophonist with Les Brown and His Band of Renown. In addition to being a studio musician for many films, he worked on the series “Peter Gunn” (1958-59).

The other members of Harris' orchestra, including ‘Hawaiian’ guitarist Malikalua, are played by uncredited musicians.

Two days after this episode first aired, February 27, 1974, The New York Times broke the news that Lucille Ball had decided not to continue with “Here’s Lucy” and that the show would finish production at the end of its current season.  This came as no surprise to anyone, including viewers. 

The the book “Lucy A to Z: The Lucille Ball Encyclopedia” by Michael Karol, it is noted that Anthony Ortega was a professional saxophonist who was cast by “Here's Lucy” Musical Director Marl Young. Ortega remembers nearly stepping on Lucille Ball's foot while crammed into the booth to pre-record the music for this episode.  Afterwards, Ball complimented him by kissing him on the cheek and saying “You did a good job. I hear that you are a very fine saxophone player.” High praise, considering that all Ball's TV characters were amateur saxophonists. Ortega shared the booth with fellow sax players Jack Kelso and Ted Nash who also appear in the episode.  

The script was dated January 9, 1974, meaning there was very little time between filming and broadcast – a mere seven weeks.  

In her DVD introduction to the episode, Lucie Arnaz reminds us of her mother's early advocacy for hiring minorities, including Lucie's own father, Desi Arnaz, whom CBS was skeptical about portraying Ricky Ricardo. She also states that Marl Young was the first African American Musical Director of a major television show. Lucie calls this episode “Music for Everyone's Ears.”

Lucy says she was at the Wilshire Bowl the night Alice met Phil. This is a reference to Phil Harris' second wife, movie star Alice Faye. Faye herself was mentioned on “The Hollywood Unemployment Follies” (S3;E22) when Lucy and Carol Burnett discover a rack of costumes worn by Faye and Betty Grable. Harris and his orchestra had a regular engagement at the Wilshire Bowl, a restaurant in Hollywood located on Wilshire Boulevard which operated from 1933 to 1943. The building was demolished in 1982. Harris married actress / singer Alice Faye in 1941. Lucy says if she'd gotten to the Wilshire Bowl five minutes sooner she might be Mrs. Phil Harris!

“Phil Harris, popular star of stage screen and television, is taking a sentimental journey back into the music business. Between Las Vegas engagements, Phil is organizing a big band to encourage the increasing popularity of this kind of music. The former maestro has been engaged by the Club Internationale to inaugurate a big band policy for this popular night spot. He is looking for musicians with big band know-how to augment his orchestra now in rehearsal.”

Lucy's morning paper of choice is the Globe-Record. “Here's Lucy” propmaster Kenneth Westcott probably got this newspaper from from a small prop company called The Earl Hays Press, one of the oldest newspaper prop manufacturers in Hollywood.

As the series draws to a close, it might be a good time to mention the ubiquitous blue report covers used at the Unique Employment Agency. The use of this color cover dates back to the Westland bank offices on “The Lucy Show.” These are probably bound scripts recycled as props – but always with the blue cover.  Blue was a good color for Lucy!  

To drum up business, Harry arranges a lunch meeting with the Northshore Insurance Company. In many episodes like this one, Gale Gordon's character is in the set-up (generally the first scene) and then disappears from the narrative. 

When Lucy arrives at the nightclub, Phil Harris is finishing a rehearsal of “Is It True What They Say About Dixie?" a 1936 song written by Irving Caesar, Sammy Lerner and Gerald Marks. 

Lucy tells Harris that they have met before. She had Harris autograph her program during his performances at the Frontier in Las Vegas the previous summer. Lucy says she took the bus to Vegas. Frontier was the second resort that opened on the Las Vegas Strip and operated continuously from October 1942 until it closed on July 16, 2007 and was demolished. The Frontier's sign was glimpsed in the opening montage of “Lucy and Wayne Newton” (S2;E22).

When Mr. Yamoto (who is of Japanese descent) continually bows instead of speaks, Lucy reassures Harris that he's very good. Harris replies “Must be. He ain't hit a note and he's already taking bows.”

When Harris questions Lucy about the number of minorities she's brought to audition, he admits that he is Native American himself, but he doesn't let it get around because “they might cut off my whiskey.” He adds if it wasn't for [Equal] Opportunity, he might be “stringing beads at Wounded Knee.” I reality, the idea that Harris was Native American is as exaggerated as his penchant for spirits. Harris' birth name was Wonga, which is Cherokee for “speedy messenger” but the name is in honor of a friend of his parents' who worked in their circus; nothing to do with his heritage. 

The only candidate that doesn't get to perform solo is named Malikalua. He is a Hawaiian guitar player who Lucy claims works as a plumber during the day but sometimes subs with the Les Brown Band at night. In the final performance the guitarist on the bandstand wears a Hawaiian shirt and many colorful leis around his neck.  This is Malikalua. 

Phil Harris: Look, honey. Are you from the employment agency or the United Nations?

To appease a women’s lib group picketing the nightclub, Lucy is quickly recruited into Harris' act. She provides the obligatory clapping for “Deep in the Heart of Texas.” In “Lucy and the Used Car Dealer” (S2;E9) Lucy Carter disguises herself as ‘Laredo Lucy’ and sings a bit of “Deep in the Heart of Texas,” a 1941 song by June Hershey and Don Swander.

Harris sings his hit song “That’s What I Like About the South” by Andy Razlaf and is joined by Lucy and his recently hired musicians. Specially written lyrics are sung by the diverse musicians and by Lucy.  Her's seem particularly applicable to her character in Mame, although it is not overtly stated: 

“Men have names like Beauregard

Tip their hat when they pass your yard

They act so cool but they fall so hard

That's what I like about the South”

In the about-to-be-released film, Southern gentleman Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside (Robert Preston) “falls so hard” for Mame Dennis (Lucille Ball) that the two get married.  

During Harris' performance at the Club Internationale, the orchestra members stand up and take solos:

His trombonist plays in the style of Tommy Dorsey. Dorsey appeared with Lucille Ball in the 1943 film DuBarry Was a Lady. The uncredited musician riffs on “Marie” by Irving Berlin.

His trumpeter plays in the style of Harry James. James appeared on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” with his wife, Betty Grable, in 1958. The uncredited musician riffs on "Ciribiribin" written by Alberto Pestalozza in 1898.

His clarinetist Ted Nash plays in the style of Benny Goodman. In “The Publicity Agent” (ILL S1;E31) Lucy reads that the Shah of Persia has a standing order for all Benny Goodman's records, which inspires her disguise as the Maharincess of Franistan. Nash riffs on “Let's Dance” by Fanny Mae Baldridge, Gregory Stone, and Joseph Bonime.

His drummer plays in the manner of Gene Krupa. In a 1960 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” Ernie Kovacs called Desi Arnaz “the Cuban Krupa.” The uncredited musician riffs on “Sing, Sing, Sing” by Louis Prima.

Pianist Marl Young plays in the style of Duke Ellington, riffing on"Take the 'A' Train" by Billy Strayhorn. It was the signature tune of the Duke Ellington orchestra.

As the finale, the entire Phil Harris orchestra plays in the style of Count Basie performing Basie's signature tune “One O'Clock Jump” while Lucy does the jitterbug.

In “Lucy and Sid Caesar” (TLS S6;E23), a starving Frankie the Forger (Sid Caesar) orders pork chops, a squab stuffed with oyster dressing, a turkey, lasagna, black-eyed peas, candied yams, corn pone, Virginia hams, hot bread, turnip beans, fat back, and lima beans!  He is paraphrasing the lyrics to the song “That’s What I Like About the South.” Interestingly, the song was not performed by Phil Harris when he was a guest star on “The Lucy Show” just a month earlier.

Bob O'Brien also wrote “Lucy and Phil Harris” (TLS S6;E20), Harris' first appearance with Lucille Ball on “The Lucy Show” in 1968. It was O'Brien's idea to highlight ethnic diversity in the “Here’s Lucy” script.  

The costumes Lucy provides for the new band members are reminiscent of “The Black Wig” (ILL S3;E26) where Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz disguise themselves in a random assortment of theatrical costumes to fool their husbands. Lucy replies that Ethel looks like “An ad for a trip around the world.”

In “Little Ricky Gets a Dog” (ILL S6;E14) on January 21, 1957) his parakeets are named Alice and Phil, named after Alice Faye and her husband Phil Harris.

You Break Me Up, Pastel!  Harris' punchline “they might cut off my whiskey” makes Lucille Ball laugh in a way that suggests it was an ad lib by Harris. He mutters something under his breath to Ball along the lines of “Cut off his whiskey. You like that?”  They try to return to the script, but Harris adds “You like that, eh Pastel?” before Lucy regains her composure and continues the scene.

“Lucy and Phil Harris Strike Up the Band” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 5

Lucy and Harris have a very relaxed rapport on screen.  The ‘big band�� medley is one of the best musical segments of the series.  And that’s what I liked about this episode!