#When the Cat Comes (1963) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

tilbageidanmark · 1 month ago

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MOVIES I WATCHED THIS WEEK #204:

THE EXECUTIONER (1963) is a classic Spanish dark comedy. Naïve funeral worker Nino Manfredi meets the daughter of a state executioner. Both are social outcasts because of their dreaded associations with death, so they are pushed toward each other, to marry and start a family. In order to win the right for a new government apartment, meek Manfredi is being lured to take over his father-in-law's job, and the time eventually comes when he has to perform a gruesome killing by garroting his first 'customer'. (Screenshot Above). This is my second film this month with delightful old actor José Isbert (after 'The wheelchair'!), whose character of Amadeo carries the plot. 7/10.

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There were quiet a few opulent spectacles about the election of Popes recently (The two Popes, The young Pope, Amen, The Borgias, We have a Pope, and of course, Godfather 3). It's a genre that lends itself to magnificent production design and reverence to authority.

CONCLAVE adds a dramatic chapter to this sub-genre. It's a very well made thriller with an imposing cast of carpet-chewing male thespians, (Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow), with the addition of the beautiful Isabella Rossellini. It's a tense and riveting story, with a terrific score. It ends with a black-and-white power struggle between liberalism and conservatism, and an unexpected bombshell finale. 8/10.

(Don't watch the trailer). My second by Edward Berger (after 'Your Honor'. Now I want to see his 'All quiet on the western front').

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5 MORE LATVIAN ANIMATED MOVIES, 3 BY GINTS ZILBALODIS:

🍿 FLOW is a stunning adventure story about a solitary black cat who learns to live with others. It feels like The Age of Water in 'Myst', done in a striking visual style, lifelike animal movements and with a wordless, genuine heart. It's Latvia's submission to this year's Oscar, and I hope they win. I also hope that there will never be 'Flow2', and that the director Gints Zilbalodis never goes to work for Pixar, even if they offer him $10M. 9/10.

🍿 The young director, Gints Zilbalodis, tells in an interview that up until 'Flow' he had made all his movies alone, without any co-workers. His previous feature, the 2019 AWAY, was an impressive world-building experiment like 'La Planète sauvage' for the 21st century. A boy undertakes a mysterious journey through (another) Myst-like island, followed by an 'Iron Giant'-like creature that may or may not be unfriendly. Wordless, beautiful, highly creative, but without the emotional depth that 'Flow' employs. 💯 score on Rotten Tomatoes.

🍿 His 2014 FOLLOWERS was more like a loud sketch. A boy who runs away from school, joins an escaped prisoner.

🍿 ELECTRICIAN’S DAY (2018), an original story about an ordinary day at a mental hospital, which started with a power outage. Disgusting visuals and sound effects. 8/10.

🍿 There must be an active animation scene over there. BIRTH (2009) is my second animation by Signe Baumane (after her genial, and better, 'Rocks in my pocket'). A clueless pregnant teen must learn about giving birth. Supported by (and done in similar style to) Bill Plimpton. [*Female Director*]

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SYMBOL (2009) is a truly-weird surrealist fantasy by a popular Japanese comedian. It tells two separate stories that have no connection to each other at all. In the main one, the comedian, dressed in a colorful polka-dot pajamas, wakes up in a giant, empty white room, not sure how and why he got there. Hundreds of tiny angel dicks sprout out of walls, and every time he touches one, a certain object drops into the room (?) from a hidden door. [I remember the documentary about Nasubi ("Eggplant"), a contestant in a Japanese game show who was left (naked) in a similar room for a whole year, so this must be common theme on TV over there.]

The second unrelated story is about a Mexican Lucha libre wrestler named Escargot Man, it is told in Spanish, and done in a realistic style. The combination between the two is crazily 'different', but in the end the whole premise doesn't work at all.

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2 FILMS ABOUT CANNIBAL FAMILIES:

🍿 "...We know what to do, but we do not do!..."

Talking about bizarro!

SLACK BAY (2016), my second film from French director Bruno Dumont (after Léa Seydoux 'France'). Placed at the gorgeous, half-empty Bretagne of 120 years ago. A vacationing family of inbred industrialists (including half-witted Juliette Binoche) meet a clan of ugly mussel-gatherers, who indulges in cannibalism [Basically, they're 'eating the rich']. Then the visiting hermaphrodite daughter falls in love with the coarse elder son of the fishermen, and all hell breaks loose. There are also a couple of policemen who look like Hergé's Thompson and Thompson investigating the disappearances of all the previous visitors, and everybody keeps tumbling down all the time in various ridiculous ways. And towards the end, people start elevating and float up in the sky. It's a really absurd class war fable.

(Unfortunately I could only watch it without subtitles, so I must have missed a lot, but that's okay.)

🍿 "What was this before it was leftovers?..."

For me, Bob Balaban will always be François Truffaut's translator in 'Close Encounter of the third kind'. But he came from a distinguished family and himself had an impressive career as a creator. PARENTS (1989) was his debut feature, and is more of a Lynchian atmospheric suburban nightmare than a black comedy horror flick. Maybe it's because of the score by Lynch collaborator, Angelo Badalamenti's. Maybe it's because the ambiguity which is told from a young boy's point of view. But it's strange and disturbing, and definitely not for vegetarians like me. Randy Quaid's creepiest performance.

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DAAAAAALÍ! (2023), my first film by Quentin Dupieux is a fake surrealist meta-biography of the eccentric painter, played here by four different actors with exaggerated mannerism and an odd accent. A framing Buñuelian plot about a miscast journalist who tries repeatedly to score an interview with him, but she doesn't have any insights to interest him, or us. It has 💯 score on Rotten Tomatoes, but I found it woefully unsatisfactory: Dalí deserved so much better.

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LEONARDO DA VINCI is the new, 4-hour PBS documentary by Ken Burns, his first non-American subject. Exploring the life and legacy of the most celebrated Renaissance Man who ever lived. Using an extensive overview of his many notebooks, scientific inventions, his search for knowledge and artistic journey, it's a visually fascinating trip, while being explained by a group talking heads (and blabbering heads alike). Still the topic is too captivating to spoil. Recommended. 7/10.

“…On a page dedicated to an 1,800-year-old Euclidean geometry problem, he trailed off: “It was time to eat. Et cetera”, he wrote, “because the soup is getting cold”. It was among his last notebook entries…”

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"Yes, I can see now..."

I need some sweetness in my life, so I turned again to Chaplin's CITY LIGHTS. Extremely sentimental, defiantly romantic with a final scene that made Einstein cry and that James Agee called "the greatest single piece of acting ever committed to celluloid". 9/10. Re-watch ♻️.

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2 PORTUGUESE SHORTS BY AKI KAURISMÄKI:

I've seen 13 of Aki Kaurismäki features. I need to watch the rest of his work:

🍿 "Sopa 1,80..." TAVERN MAN (2012), a lonely innkeeper is preparing lonely soup and waiting at a lonely bus station with a lonely bouquet of flowers.

🍿 BICO (2004), a poetic postcard from one of them half-abandoned, half-empty mountain Portuguese villages close to the Spanish border. 10/10.

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VAL LEWTON X 2:

🍿 VAL LEWTON: THE MAN IN THE SHADOW (2007) is a fair Martin Scorsese tribute to the legendary producer, responsible for a slate of terror/horror B-movies at RKO Studios during the 40's.

🍿 "Drink your milk!"

THE SEVENTH VICTIM, my 3rd horror film produced by Lewton, a story of a young woman discovering a Greenwich Village satanist cult. I understand that he was a "Producer-Auteur" and that his atmospheric mood pieces contained symbolic "underpinnings about sexuality, colonialism, power", but they are just not for me. The devil worshipers of Rosemary's Baby were more of my thing. But, Oh boy; That Bureau of Missing Persons surely was busy!

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ADVENTURES IN PERCEPTION is a Dutch introduction to M. C. Escher's art. It's a terrible documentary, which is not helped by the dissonant modernist score, and the fact that this copy was of low-resolution. It was nominated for an Oscar in 1971. 1/10.

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I've seen a bunch of documentaries about The Newport music festivals, both the jazz and folk varieties. 'Jazz on a Summer's Day' was masterful, and the Dylan ‘Don’t look back’ stood out. But this unfocused 1967 FESTIVAL was terrible, in spite of the rich lineup of dozens of folk, blues, gospel and bluegrass artists. Shoddy editing, very little exciting music and boring snippets of random people expressing their uninteresting opinions. 'Maggie's Farm', and a few seconds with Mimi & Richard Fariña, were the only worthy numbers. The crowd were 100% all white. 2/10.

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Re-watch ♻️: The ZAZ posse, Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker, made some great spoof comedies (Airplane!, The Naked Gun movies, Hot shots, Police squad!, etc), and some not so-great straight comedies, like RUTHLESS PEOPLE (1986). "They were entirely different kinds of movies" and I forgot how forgettable this one was. It gets 1 point from me for the Jimi Hendrix's 'Foxy Lady' use, and 1 for credit animation by Sally Cruikshank, but that's about all. So, 2/10.

"Hey! It's Enrico Palazzo!" RIP, Jim Abraham.

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SOME SHORTS:

🍿 CARS WITHOUT A HOME (1959) a quirky, jazzy mockumentary about abandoned cars in Czechoslovakia.

🍿 In MOTHERLAND (2022), a young Korean adoptee raised in America, returns to Korea to search for her birth mother. It's one of many movies about the Korean diaspora. (Via). [*Female Director*]

🍿 While waiting for her new Oscar picked film 'Arzé', I took in Mira Shaib's 2021 STILL ❤ BEIRUT. It covers some of the responses to the giant chemical explosion that devastated the city, and caused a national trauma, but wasn't very good. [*Female Director*]

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This cute story by one Jameela Jamil got me curious enough to check out a television show called THE GOOD PLACE. One episode of "smart" fantasy, "creative", all inclusive and bright. But so so glib, shallow pop culture trying to appear deep. After two minutes of the second episode, I had enough.

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(ALL MY FILM REVIEWS - HERE).

#Movies #spanish cinema #film reviews #movie review #letterboxd

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homestuckreplay · 3 months ago

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Computer Literacy (For Bug People)

(page 707-717)

We’ve seen quite a few functions of WV’s four-monitored computer now, so here’s a breakdown of what each known button and command does.

CAPS LOCK [Keyboard button] – opens a LOCKbox that stores 16 CANS (1 letter away from caps) and a book on human etiquette, perhaps necessary if someone is making use of caps lock.

TAB [Keyboard button] – opens a lockbox that stores 16 cans of TAB soda.

ESCAPE [Keyboard button] – escapes the current screen view and loads a list of previous commands. Does not cause a literal escape. Currently all of the commands to John have been entered by WV, but some commands to set up the computer were entered by a previous user.

=> SWITCH 2 [Command] - opens a view of what’s probably Rose’s house. It is a tragic scene. Zazzerpan the Learned has been taken out, a casualty of an unknown conflict. This is a shame, because I wanted him to be prototyped with Rose’s kernelsprite so badly. A massive undead cat wizard sounds like the perfect companion. Zazzerpan has lost his orb hand and most of his hat, but the screen glitches too badly to make out the surroundings. Screen 2 is locked, fixed on a static moment in time with WV unable to see or command Rose.

=> SWITCH 3 [Command] – opens a view of the roof of Dave’s building. Dave, ‘another one of these rapscallions’ (p.716 – a really excellent description of him tbh). His shitty ninja sword has been broken, Cal has been destroyed, and it looks like Dave’s shirt has been slashed too. Dave has prototyped his sprite with the RAMBUNCTIOUS CROW that he accidentally killed earlier with a different sword, possibly out of guilt from the murder. Crow plus sword are likely a single item for prototyping purposes, just like harlequin doll plus fake arm were for John, so this looks like the first prototyping only. Screen 3 is also locked.

=> SWITCH 4 [Command] – opens a view of whoever’s behind the fourth screen. The obvious answer is gardenGnostic, but we have no confirmation of this, and there’s plenty of room to subvert these expectations. Unknown if this screen is locked or unlocked.

=> SWITCH 1 [Command] – presumably re-opens a view of John bouncing around his house with the pogo hammer. While this screen is in view, WV can type instructions into the command prompt, which are transmitted through time and space directly into John’s mind. Our previous view of John was earlier in linear time than our brief views of Rose and Dave, which show events that haven’t happened yet from John’s perspective – so it’s not known what determines which moment in time the screens focus on, or if it’s possible to move back or forward in time.

=> HOME [Command] – All four screens switch on and show a large Sburb house logo above a timer counting down from four hours and thirteen minutes. What happens when the timer reaches 0 is unknown, but given how literal some functions have been, it could just… send the user home. The question is whose home – WV’s, on the ominous planet? John’s, inside the Medium? Sburb’s home or place of creation, wherever that may be?

Previously, on page 178 a timer began counting down from 4 minutes and 13 seconds, with the timer reaching 0 marking the end of the first act. Like this new timer, that one was mysterious in its effects at first, with the coming meteor revealed on page 196. I’m guessing that WV’s timer will carry us to the end of act 2, and some similarly explosive event. Which is really exciting. Homestuck hasn’t had a lot of patterns but I haven’t felt much cohesion in act 2 as a piece of the story – I want to look back on it as a whole and see if it reads differently in hindsight.

On pages 709-710 we get MULTIPLE gifs of WV being so, so excited about cans of Tab, flashing and glowing pink as they guzzle down this soda, thrilled by its existence, with its visible ‘A Product of the Coca-Cola Company’ logo. Tab was Coca-Cola’s first diet soda drink, released in 1963, although its popularity was eclipsed by Diet Coke (1982). Its very prominent and very branded presence here could be referencing Mac and Me, a movie famous for its blatant Coca-Cola product placement, as the titular Mac is a young alien who loves to drink the stuff just as much as WV loves Tab. Mac and Me is one of the movie posters on John’s wall, although he’s been meaning to take it down, because even he doesn’t think this movie is good (p.253).

The nature of the countdown timer is my biggest question right now, but I remain curious about who put in the original commands to set up WV’s computer, why they locked room 3 with the password ‘password’ (this is my assumption whenever I see an 8-character password), how room 2 ended up locked, and what it is about WV that means they can both enter commands and be commanded.

#homestuck #reaction #the return of my beloved zazzerpan.... but at what cost....#chrono

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metaforadohomeminvisivel · 1 year ago

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The Cassandra Cat AKA When the Cat Comes Vojtěch Jasný, 1963

#60s #60s aesthetic #cats in movies #movie cats #When the Cat Comes #cat with sunglasses #Vojtěch Jasný #cult classic #The Cassandra Cat #czechoslovak new wave

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annakie · 3 months ago

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Fixing The House, Chapter 8: Master of Bathrooms

Part One: I Do Not, In Fact, Have the Power

Part Two: Let’s Spend Lots of Money!

Part Three: All These Things That I’ve Done

Part Four: I Really Want to Stay At My House

A little interlude.

Part Five: Power Down

Part Six: You Will Leave Some Paint

Part Seven: Backwards to go Forwards

Part Eight: Master of Bathrooms (YOU ARE HERE)

Part Nine: Within a Room, Somewhere

Part Ten: Rooms With No View

Part Eleven: Big Bang Room Part A and also Part B!

Part Twelve: We Can Make It On the Outside

Part Thirteen: Mauve Haze Symphony

Part Fourteen (A) - In the Kitchen

Part Fourteen (B) - Copper Green

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Thought a lot the last couple of days about what to start posting about next and I think I'm ready to show y'all the Master Bathroom. Then who knows what else next update.

I was surprised that a house this small (1100 square feet!) had two full baths. That's kind of a lie... the master bathroom shower/tub was uhhhhh... not a full tub? It was truly a size that I had not seen before. I honestly don't know where they would have even gotten the tub. Maybe it was custom built? I'm sure it was from the 60's.

Posted a couple of "Just bought the house" pics above. Let's take a look through the last 21 years of this bathroom and how we got where it is today.

TBH this post is ridiculously long for the smallest room in the house, oh well.

It's not a big bathroom at all. It fit the three things you need for the requirement of full bath, sure, but that's about it. And, of course, everything in it was original to the house built in 1963 or AT BEST it's possible from the 1980's.

It was also, ya know, gross.

I posted this in the previous update but that's the wallpaper I was met with. It had a barebones mirror, and NGL, I did kinda like this lighting? Honestly, it kinda ruled. I miss it a little. That was the only good thing in this room.

It's a bathroom with a window that looks out on the patio, and that window has always been gross and cloudy.

Even today, that window is there, Arturo promises me the new one should be in next week, so I will probably post another pic or two once that comes in.

I think the pics now posted in here are the only ones I have of the original.

With my near-zero budget after buying the house, all I could really afford to do in here was clean it as good as possible, new shower curtain and rug, and slap some fresh paint on it after taking down the wallpaper, which I believe was very easy in here, at least. I don't remember a struggle.

The original color scheme I went with was purple and green, basically to honor my paternal grandmother, who had recently passed and those were her colors.

Oh also put up this very cheap little shelf in lieu of a medicine cabinet.

lol look at that joke of a shower. The showerhead and shower caddy were also new.

A like $5 thrifted little Van Gogh print, the height of sophistication I could afford. (It's actually STILL THERE, RIGHT NOW. I really DO love it.)

Ugh, those green blinds. Hey at least the window was covered with SOMETHING!

I was very, very proud of myself, I put that little cabinet together and put it up all by myself.

It's still up! I do wish I'd gotten a bigger one with a shelf underneath, though.

So that's what it looked like late 2003 until 2012.

Around 2004 I started realizing that if took a shower for too long, water started leaking out from the wall under the window under the trim. Yep I'd shower and then the floor would be flooded.

I just stopped taking showers in there.

Honestly the tub ended up being storage. I kept the cats carriers in there so I could get them in there and then get them in their carriers without much problem. Anytime I fostered cats, it became the stray/foster cat room until they trusted me enough to let me pet them.

It was essentially a half-bath for the last like 18 years.

In 2012 when my parents and I did bathroom renovations, things got better!

Ooh, much prettier!

The new toilets were one of my favorite changes ever. Big, tall, sturdy ones I've never had a problem with.

I had been thinking about selling the house so the purple and green were changed to beige, to match the sink. Also new towels, rug, etc. Kept the same shower curtain for then, but in the next year or so I changed it.

Accent over the shower, on the small wall by the toilet and on the windowsill was a brownish orange. And kept light green for all the linens.

Yeah the window like I said is still that terrible window, FOR NOW.

Also... did y'all notice anything missing?

LIKE SOMEWHERE TO PLUG IN A HAIRDRYER OR LITERALLY ANYTHING!?! A bathroom... without an outlet. When I had roommates, I'd have to blow dry my hair in front of my vanity in my bedroom. So annoying.

So one of the original like 5 things Arturo was brought in to do, that kicked off everything else was to put an outlet in that bathroom. It's on a wall that isn't as convenient as I'd like it to be, but Arturo has A Technological Reason it has to be there, so I'll take it. With the rewiring, it's also surge protected, so even though it's not as great as I want it, it's a small compromise I can live with.

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I didn't take a single picture of consequence in the master bath in the next 12 years or so. Honestly sometimes I'd go a month or two without even going in there.

For the years when Patchy lived in the master bedroom this was a little extra space for her, but she rarely went in there.

The other purpose it served was the place where I kept the bag of food for the outside cats. Sometimes also extra kitty litter space, overflow medicine, TP etc. space... but all in all it was pretty neglected space for a long time. I'd clean in there once every six months maybe to mostly get rid of dust. I only used it either in the middle of the night, or when Patchy was alive to spend a few extra moments with her while taking a bathroom break.

At one point a few years ago I tried turning on the shower just to see what would happen and I couldn't even get the knobs to move.

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Getting this bathroom fixed up was secondary to the hall bath, since that was the main bath. So when I showed Arturo the bathrooms to see what he thought, I stressed that this one was not important, maybe just if he could get the knobs working and knew why the water would flow out from the wall.

But his price was so good, of course I wanted to get both done.

Since we needed one bathroom to work, and this was the one most fucked up, he started there, as the first project they'd do after the electricity was mostly put back together and working.

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I hadn't even noticed the demo had started (remember most of the work was happening while I was also working, like, my job, even though it's WFH!) and so the first time I walked by the bathroom and saw this I honestly wanted to weep with joy.

The fiberglass... the weird-ass tub... gone. Just a hole where it all was, and a hole in the ground as well. They dug through the cement and dirt underneath to figure out what the hell was wrong with the plumbing.

Welllllllllllllllllllllll... it turns out what the hell was wrong with it was that it wasn't connected to the sewer.

Like... the pipe was just draining right into the ground. And when the ground was saturated, the water crept up into the wall and came out that way!

Arturo told me it was a really good thing I'd stopped using that shower. I'd managed to avoid a dangerous and costly black mold problem.

So, Arturo fixed it and hooked the plumbing back up to the sewer.

He replaced all the piping you see exposed there.

There was no shower pan in the really weird size of that space, so Arturo had to build the new walk-in shower with cement. He made a mold, poured cement both for the little wall and the new floor, and for a few days, we left a fan pointed at it and let it cure.

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Also the reason for that one square out of the accent wall was Arturo wanted to see if there was any wasted space in that intersection where the back of the fridge, the back of the hall bath and the shower/toilet area of the master were all kind of meeting up. Turns out... nope. All the space was used. It got patched, you can't even tell there was a hole there now, you'll see.

You'll also notice there's a curtain on the window. Like I said, I'd found a new shower curtain set I really liked not long after the 2012 renovation. I also picked up the matching rug. And I liked the shower curtain so much that I bought a second one that my mom made into a curtain for the window! With the extra material, she made a curtain for her own bathroom window.

So it came time to pick out new colors for the bath, I spent a lot of time with my BFF Sherwin Williams Swatch Book. After awhile, I went all in on using the colors from the shower curtain as the colors for the room.

(I also spent a few hours scouring the internet for a backup shower curtain and FINALLY found one on Ebay in great condition. Considering I bought it around 2013 I was thrilled. It's now in the linen closet waiting for the day when this one gets a little rough. It's fine now, remember I'd never even taken a shower while this shower curtain was in the room. I'm still looking for a backup rug. Anyway, back to paint.)

Contented was a shade darker than the curtain, maybe a little greener, but I fell in love with that color and wanted to use a soft green as the standout color, because the tile and wood in the room weren't changing. The Bathroom would be very beige and brown, so the Contented green would keep it from being too beige and brown.

And I fell in love with Llama Wool the moment I saw it. I know you should never let a color's name influence your decision, it's just what some person at Sherwin-Williams (in this case) decided to call it, but Llamas are sort of a thing with my friend group, and I wanted to use that color as a bit of a tribute to them. It was, again, a shade or two darker than the brown in the shower curtain, but I thought it'd look great.

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I'm not posting pictures until THE REVEAL because of THE DRAMA, okay? I think it'll be worth it.

Arturo brought a sample of the ceramic main shower tile, 89c per really big piece. It was beige, would match the floor OK, and was perfectly neutral. It was great, a place we could get some savings so there'd be more money for important things.

Accent Tile was another big thing for me. I had always, always, always wanted glass mosaic accent tile in the shower and above the sink. I tried to get my dad to do some during the 2012 renovation but he said no, that was too much work for that weekend. So I was determined to use accent tile I loved.

Arturo had brought me a couple of samples and I'd okayed two of them, but they'd yet to be bought past that. One of them I loved and had marked it for the hall bath, the other I'd thought was fine, and thought I'd put it in the master.

And slowly my mind changed.

First I thought the one I loved would work better with the shower curtain and Llama wool. It was $15 sq/ft, which was definitely on the higher end of the budget, but it was worth it, and putting it in the master would mean we'd just need less of it.

(Arturo said we spent about as much on the main tile as we did 2 pieces of the accent tile, haha.)

And then Arturo told me I needed to find a tile for the shower floor, and I should go to Home Depot and/or Lowes and find something.

TBH, I spent time on both of their websites, then went to Amazon. I'd been browsing a lot of like, Pinterest and just google results of bathroom renovations and knew I wanted a pebble-style tile for the floor. I couldn't find exactly the right thing to match with the accent tile I adored for the master.

And then I looked on Amazon.

And I fell in love instantly. Without consulting Arturo, I bought five boxes of it at almost $90 a box. I didn't care. I had to have this.

I showed it to Arturo on Monday and he was like "YES. PERFECT. I'm glad you didn't wait, let's get started." Unfortunately only 3 boxes had shown up that day so it was a couple of days delay.

Next was picking out a grout that would work with the wall tile and accent tile and floor tile.

I picked a light beige one, the color of sand, on purpose, hoping it would fit my vision for the shower floor.

I also had to pick out shower fixtures... a showerhead/controls. Arturo suggested something to me, and it aligned with what I also really wanted. It was another place where I decided it was OK to splurge.

The master bath shower was just a useless space to me for so long... I wanted it to be perfect.

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One day, I think it was a Saturday, I walked by the shower as the tile was going up and uh, I noticed that the main tile was going awfully high and realized that the guy installing it had forgotten about the accent tile. The accent was just one stripe around face-high. I stopped him as politely as I could in my slight panic and called Arturo. Also, I just realized, Arturo had yet to create the shelf, which would also include the accent tile.

Luckily, the mud was still fresh on the wall, and only two rows had to come out. The tile could also be salvaged after cleaning off the back. Arturo got there later that day and got the shelf made. A day or two later, the accent tile went on and a few days later, the shower was finished.

Okay enough words... here's the first pic of the finished shower.

Y'all.. I love it so much. SO. MUCH. Rainfall showerhead, a sprayer hose... the floor looks like you're walking on a sandy beach. I literally wanted to weep with joy... idk I might have, when I saw it all together like this the first time.

Still lots to do, but that night was the night I posted the little interlude where I talked about how so much is happening and how I had no time.

When work was done that day, I was so excited to take a shower.

And then my shower curtain rod was now too long, even at the minimum size, since the tile had added like an extra inch.

I wasn't deterred. I went to Home Depot, then Lowe's, then Target trying to find a shower curtain rod I loved to replace the old one. Each place only had shitty cheap rods in that small of a size and none were brushed nickle. So I bought a $7 rod (and a new curtain liner) and a few other things like shelf liner at Target... then went home and ordered a rod I loved on Amazon. When that was done, I took my first shower in the master bath in like 18 years.

And it was fucking MAGICAL. It was like being in a spa. I showered maybe longer than I'd ever showered in my life, definitely the longest I've ever showered in this house.

To me, for the last 20 years, showers were a fucking CHORE that I had to get through. You'll see when I talk about the hall bath more about why. I just absolutely hated showering -- not the getting clean part, obviously, but just being in the shower, either shower, in my house. I wanted to get out ASAP.

I just stood there and was like... I love being in here. This is the most beautiful part of my house right now. I want to stay in here for hours.

I washed my hair twice. I moved my facewash in there to have more to just do in the shower.

It's like going to the spa, every night.

I'd bought new towels, Turkish bathsheets. Huge, soft, absorbent.

Luxury.

Something I never thought I'd associate with my house.

My shower was beautiful. Maybe the first thing I'd ever really associated with that word in this house.

I look forward to my nightly shower now.

I'm using getting to go take it as a reward for finishing this post. :D

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(Oh, oops, I forgot to show you the shelf! Btw, did you notice the COPPER in the backsplash? Have I mentioned I love copper? You have no idea how much I love copper. Just you wait.)

The one thing that I didn't love was that little shower head on the hose. It had nearly no pressure. So I ordered two new sprayer heads, one for each shower. Much better. And this one has a switch you can flip for a high-pressure sprayer hose to help clean the shower/tub easier. Not as sleek, but very worth it.

A few days later I walked by and smelled paint. Peeked in and uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

....someone had painted the bathroom.

The Wrong color.

It was painted the same peachy color as the master bedroom, not my Contented green (and no sign of Llama Wool!) Arturo facepalmed and pointed out the right color to his worker.

This is wrong and bad and LOOKS TERRIBLE.

Eventually, it was painted right and I loooooved it.

Also hey, there's the new outlet! See, not that convenient, but livable. I can recharge my toothbrush with the stand on the windowsill, and a hair dryer plugs in there just fine. Way better than none!

The dumb little shelf came out. We literally ran out of the accent tile with ONE MORE TO GO at the edge of the sink. Then our local Lowe's was out of it. And then the one near Arturo's house was out of it. I refreshed the Lowe's website for like two weeks until it was back in stock, and one Saturday ran straight over there, picked up the one tile and a couple of other things I needed, and it sat here in the house a couple more weeks. Just this week it got put on and grouted, lol. SO NOW I can show you pics of the sink area, too!

---

Beige Turkish hand towel (tbh they are like half the size of a regular towel, I love it.) The same decent cabinet as before but now elevated by its surroundings. Beautiful backsplash keeping the wall safe.

Oh, and that faucet?

My old faucet... the plunger part was broken so it would no longer close and the sink wouldn't hold water. Arutro was all "Oh, I have one in my shed you can just have." So he threw that in for free. It's a Delta! FOR FREE! He even installed it for free.

Y'all, I have so much to say about Arturo, he's amazing.

Now the faucet is chrome and the rest of the bathroom fixtures are brushed nickel, but tbh, I don't care. It works, and it looks nice, and it's a well-respected brand, and it was free. I'm HERE FOR IT.

Also, notice the wall color... I am very content with Contented. It's just the right amount of color against all the beige and brown.

And yes, the medicine cabinet has a place where you can insert your own photo under the glass, and YES I have had that medicine cabinet since 2012 and YES IT STILL HAS THE "Insert your own 8x10 photo here!" paper in it. LIKE I SAID this room was neglected. I am happy to report that I have ordered an art print I like that will be in there in a few days.

----

There were a couple of other improvements here. A new overhead light went in, replacing the old overhead light, this one has a fan. Yeah, there was no fan in this bathroom before, lol. And LED lighting. It's much brighter and nicer.

I also got a very basic bidet for both toilets. That just went in a couple of days ago and I am still getting used to it. It's COLD, didn't get a fancy heated one.

One thing we're going to talk about later is the trim and doors and stuff throughout the house. This is the only room that retained the Cream color that I used to have throughout the house as the trim.

You can really see the difference in this pic. Also, Fry!

There's an amusing story about the cream color on the trim that belongs elsewhere, that and the window were the reasons I'd been holding off talking about this room for awhile but, eh, screw it. You can see the windowsill and trim on the floor are that cream, so is the inside of the door. The shelf above the toilet also got painted that color, and it all blends really well I think. I painted the windowsill, door and the cabinet myself.

And yes, the floors need a real good cleaning. They ALL do. There's paint splatters and various other stains all over all the floors. I'm going to tackle all of it at once, when everything is done. No point in having to do it multiple times.

---

So here's the finished product, all that stuff all done and the Llama Wool color on the accent wall!

This pic I just took tonight, for this post. The bathroom is more or less complete.

I love it. It went from the room non grata to one of my favorite places in the house. And when I post this, I'm off to take a spa-like shower in it before enjoying a dessert and a couple of hours of TV time before bed.

My only regret is that I really wanted to use the Llama Wool color more. I wanted to do the windowsill and trim in that color but Arturo insisted he'd have to buy a different kind of paint for it, which would be an extra expenditure I couldn't justify, especially since we already had the right kind of paint in the old cream color and it also looked great in there. I honestly almost felt bad for having him buy a whole can of paint just for that one tiny accent wall, but I don't regret it! I tried to think of other places in the house it could have been used but... there aren't any, really.

Thank you, btw, for coming along on these extremely long, self-indulgent posts with me. They're largely written so I can look back at this time and marvel and what Arturo and I did, and how a lot of money and work was all worth it. This bathroom is just one course of several of what's to come! There are three (or four) other rooms that I now love just as much as this one. :)

#personal post tag thingy #fixing the house #fixing my house #btw if you want me to alert you when I post one of these lmk and I'll PM you a share when I do

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aismaton · 2 years ago

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Až přijde kocour / When the cat comes (1963), dir. Vojtěch Jasný

#when the cat comes #the cassandra cat #vojtěch jasný #czech new wave #cinema #až přijde kocour

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theyoungeragrippina · 1 year ago

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💫 5 gentlebeard fic recs

to see if we have similar taste or find more to read, you can access 15 more recs here, or my current master recommendations list as an ao3 collection.

all the works on this particular post:

are longer-form (40k+)

have no steddyhands (simply not my thing)

are generally, all around brilliant (well-written, had me kicking my feet and giggling, laughing, or crying)

are complete!

enjoy <3 !!!

The Angriest Chicken In The Apothecary by @ignisentis

49k, explicit

"Stede's a lonely apothecary owner looking for love. Ed's a jaded potions master looking for his place in the world. This is how they find what they're looking for in each other."

so funny & creative & witty. i would actually die for stede's chicken familiar clemmy. clemmy stan club for life. i love her. this is SOOO good.

The Curse of Blackbeard's Sword by @dimplyowl

69k, explicit

"Stede is beside himself when he's hired to acquire and restore the infamous sword of Blackbeard, the scourge of the Caribbean and Stede's childhood obsession. He didn't expect that the sword would come with the ghost of Blackbeard attached, for Blackbeard to be so interested in him, nor for his simple offer to help Blackbeard's soul move on open the gates to a relationship right out of his deepest fantasies."

a super fun magical realism quest/romp/rom-com. also i LOVE witch frenchie and stede's cat and poor third-wheeling lucius.

Hold Fast by @cuddlytogas

304k, explicit (all the sex scenes except the last one are pretty easy to skip, but definitely still worth reading without it. pls feel free to message me if you want pointers on where to read around in the last bit and i can summarise/signpost for u!!)

"Stede Bonnet is free at last, and on his way back to his love. As "Captain Thomas Edwards", he'll learn a lot about sailing and emotional availability, and perhaps even make a name for himself as the man either brave or foolish enough to hunt the legendary Blackbeard. But rumour has it that Blackbeard may be the opposite of welcoming, if and when he ever catches up..."

this is so long and so well characterised that it felt like an alternate canon continuation to the show. every time i came back to it it was like sinking into a warm and comfortable and familiar bed <3 so easy and emotional and incredible and SO well written.

Liquid Gold by @perkynurples

79k, mature

"Stede Bonnet, recently divorced, returns to the town he once knew with a plan. He's got the house, he's got the bees, and he's going to be(e) happy if it's the last thing he does. (Stede is, as it turns out, a bit miserable no matter how hard he tries.) Ed Teach has been keeping all of his various demos at bay more or less successfully for years now. He's known as THE beekeeper in town, always meticulous, always gentle, never too bothered with rules, expectations, or protective gear for that matter. (Ed is also, no matter how hard he tries, a bit bored at this point.)"

ed and stede are so well characterised, heaps of cat and bee and flower rep, fantastic sassy and nosy lucius. just a fun and funky and good time! (also contains my personal no. one favourite piece of fanart ever).

To Stede, This Morning by keriiiocabinet

71k, mature (nothing sexually explicit!)

"In July of 2003, music journalist Lucius Spriggs travels to Valle Crucis, North Carolina to secure the interview of a lifetime: a candid, one-on-one conversation with with the elusive country music legend Edward Teach. He expects the basics - talking to the infamous Man in Black about what the industry was like at his prime, the potential to unlock an exclusive confession or two, if he was lucky. But the story Lucius gets from Ed starts in the spring of 1963, when Ed Teach met Stede Bonnet. A story of chances taken, D-I-V-O-R-C-E, nudie suits, and an unconditional love spanning across forty years."

this is one of THE best pieces of fiction i've ever read, but also i am genuinely weeping. it is 9:30 on a thursday morning and tears are streaming down my face. unbelievably bittersweet.

let me know if there's any works you've loved or written that i've missed!

#please send me more to read ur nice lil replies and comments make me so pleased #i've been reading a bit slower since the last list sorry #i will probably do some recs between 20-40k for the next list so hmu if u have any you think deserve this coveted place #applying for rental apartments is an agonising and time consuming process #our flag means death #ofmd #gentlebeard #blackbonnet #blackbonnet fanfic #blackbonnet fic recs #gentlebeard fic recs #gentlebeard fanfic

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filmap · 11 months ago

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Až přijde kocour / When the Cat Comes Vojtěch Jasný. 1963

Show nám. Zachariáše z Hradce 1, 588 56 Telč, Czech Republic See in map

See in imdb

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haveyouseenthismovie-poll · 5 months ago

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End of month update - July

Hello, all! This is the end-of-month update, where I post Tumblr’s current top four films that have received the highest percentage of “yes,” “no,” and “haven’t even heard of this movie” votes.

As of today, the top four films with the highest percentage of “yes” votes are:

Finding Nemo (2003) | Shrek (2001) | Monsters, Inc. (2001) | The Lion King (1994)

Next, the top four films with the highest percentage of “no” votes are:

Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) | Sausage Party (2016) | Pinocchio (2019) | Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014)

This top four changed through the new addition of Fifty Shades of Grey (2015), which replaced All Quiet on the Western Front (1930).

Finally, the top four films with the highest percentage of “haven’t even heard of this movie” votes are:

Faat Kiné (2001) | Now Add Honey (2015) | Like a Cat on a Highway (2017) | Dean Spanley (2008)

That’s it for July’s end-of-month update! Remember that you can view last month’s update by clicking here. Additionally, you can view the full ranked Letterboxd lists of movies that have come up on this blog by clicking the following links:

This list is ranked from highest-to-lowest percentage of “yes” votes.

This list is ranked from highest-to-lowest percentage of “no” votes.

This list is ranked from highest-to-lowest percentage of “haven’t even heard of this movie” votes.

#end of month update #text

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neonrebels · 1 year ago

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When the Cat Comes (1963), dir. Vojtěch Jasný

#when the cat comes #film #cinema #Vojtěch Jasný #dailyworldcinema #czech new wave

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drifting-pieces-blog-blog · 1 year ago

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Breaking down the comics: Denial is Strange (Issue 36)

Moon Knight, Issue # 36: Ghosts

Written by Alan Zelenetz and drawn by Bo Hampton

Now, I’m a long time fan of Dr. Strange. In fact, he’s number three on my list of favorite comics! (Number two being Scarlet Witch and number one being MK if I even need to mention that). So a Moon Knight with early Dr. Strange cross-over? Yeah, I’ll dip into that no problem!

The first page is a note from the editor, Denny O'Neil. You see, in previous issues, they had asked where fans wanted to see Moon Knight go. They were running low on ideas and didn't know how they wanted to further develop the character, as it looked like he was going to stick around for a while.

Since Moon Knight started in a supernatural horror book (Werewolf by Night), it only seemed fitting that Moon Knight continue to carryon his career as leaning heavily on the supernatural side of things. A fist of the moon and Spector of vengeance, they have decided to let Moon Knight continue on his path of walking the line of what lurks on the other side of the shadows.

"Lots of heroes catch crooks. Moon Knight will be going after a different quarry. We hope you'll go with him."

Also it's interesting to note that they introduce Zelenetz and Bo Hampton as the new MK team, when they only did three issues before the 1980s series ended and things had to get a re-vamp as MK again went in a new direction. Hmm. (He does come back periodically in later runs, but doesn’t stick around.)

For those unfamiliar with Dr. Strange, ....things get strange. An original Marvel character from back in the day, created in 1963 by Steve Ditko himself, he embraced the psychedelic comic art style of that time. Let me put it this way, if Dr. Strange gets involved, you know things are about to get colorful, confusing to look at, and WEIRD.

That out of the way, we open in Nubia, in Ancient Egypt during the twentieth century B.C.

We see a classic Egyptian styled man about to sacrifice a cat for 'the demons of the dark'. He declares himself Amutef, first among necromancers and worthy to be a pharaoh.

Okay. That's a start.

Suddenly a bunch of men run into the room. "Seize him, priests of Khonshu!"

Yeah, it's illegal to slay 'the holy cat in mockery of the gods.'

Amutef declares revenge (Mummy style). "On a moonlit night, ages hence when we meet once again."

Once the mummification of Amutef is done, the head priest prays to Khonshu that 'this enchanted pendant will keep the base Amutef's soul bound within these linen grave clothes for all eternity."

Amutef's spirit enters into the necklace, waiting for his curse to come to light.

And right on cue, we head to the present where we see a beautiful blond woman wearing the necklace.

"I may have been an archeologist's daughter, but these cat mummies can still give me the creeps."

Aw jeeze. It's Marlene.

And we see her there with Steven at the grand opening to an Egyptian wing of a museum as a memorial to her father.

Marlene, why are you wearing an antique Egyptian necklace?

"It will go to the museum one day, Mr. Director. I'm wearing it tonight for the first time since my father found it in one of the tombs of the Seti Kings."

Yeah no.

Their social session is interrupted by a security guard trying to kick out a party crasher.

"Listen, we get all kinds of crackpots crying CURSE every time we open an Egyptian exhibit--"

"But I am Stephen Strange, and my conjurations have led me here. I fear that evil will be born this night--"

(I’ll start by saying the art style reminds me of the comic art from around late 1960s, but I’m also not a fan of how Marlene is portrayed here. She’s too soft and arm candy-esque. I miss the Marlene from Bill’s days where she was capable and intelligent.)

Also, Steven clearly has NOT heard of Strange fully if he dismisses him after that display. You’d think by now that Steven would be like ‘oh. Right. I’ve fought zombies. This isn’t that odd for me.’

A cat (belonging to the security guard?) breaks loose and instantly goes to attack Marlene. Steven backhands it easily before it can sink it's fangs into Marlene.

"In the name of the Vishanti! Don't you see? The animal senses evil."

"Look. How are you at sensing harassment suits, Mister Magic?"

"Dr. Strange, this is a museum, not a circus show."

I love how no one ever takes Dr. Strange seriously when they first meet him. Even in today's age, they just write him off as a cheap palm reader.

Marlene notes she feels terrible and wants to go home. Steven and Marlene head home and Stephen follows above.

Stephen…This is why no one takes you seriously. I hate to hear how he talked BEFORE he became a sorcerer. Can you imagine him in the ER? “By Gray’s Almighty Anatomy, someone hand me the mighty retractor of Senn!”

(Stephen what is that pose? Steven…What is that lurking image of you?)

He scans Marlene while doing what I like to think of as his Vampire flight pose.

"Yes--But wait, there is a mystic aura about this man, Grant, as well. Then there are occult forces at work here that appear to defy even earth's sorcerer supreme, thus--"

He lays a protection spell on Marlene that will keep the possession at bay for the next 24 hours then flies home to do research.

Back in the mansion, Marlene gets into her usual skimpy night gown STILL WEARING THE NECKLACE.

Look, if I ever go to bed still in a necklace that gaudy, please consider me cursed.

Marlene is worried about the curse. She feels terrible and she's a little spooked.

Steven Grant feels differently.

"That black cat at the museum has got you all strung out. You'll sleep it off. As for curses... You should know better than anyone, Marlene, that these days--for sanity's sake, I like to keep a cool distance between myself and thoughts of the supernatural."

Steven no…

Jokes aside, we must remember that DID is a form of self preservation, protection, processing, and denial. When it comes to their DID, Stephen has ALWAYS been the first one to go "Nawh. I'm fine." and then try to strong arm his way through every situation. Marc is the first to go "May as well die" and throw himself head first into a dangerous situation, and Jake is the first to go "It ain't my problem. I'mma chill here with my buds."

Here is classic Stephen Grant, fresh off his most recent run of self doubt and slow crawl into a mental break (for the third or fourth time) and he's living in denial land and choosing a path that he feels is the most conducive to compartmentalize and keep his distance from their trauma.

"I try to forget that the ruthless mercenary I once was--Marc Spector-- apparently died and was reborn in a desert tomb years ago...

Under the gaze of a cold white statue of Khonshu, God of the moon... Whose spirit I use to believe reanimated me."

And yet you won't shut up about it. (I kid, but seriously, Steven.)

"Believed only too well. I relied on that superstition until I'd almost lost my mind --Forgot just where Khonshu ended and Spector or Grant began."

Why does he always forget about Jake?

"But you helped me see that I derived my strength and abilities from my own will and commitments, not from some long-dead mythology. You redeemed my soul and my sanity, Marlene...

And I'm not about to lose either of them again. So no more talk of witchcraft, okay? Just sleep tight while Moon Knight makes the rounds."

Steven sure is in a mood. I don't blame him.

(I also love how depending on who tells it or remembers it, we either see bloody beaten up Marc at the foot of the statue or we see a gently and sexily sprawled out Steven rendition with a gently weeping Marlene memory. I’d love to see how Jake remembers it.)

Moon Knight takes off and a clearly possessed Marlene mutters a classic line about “After thousands of years we have met once more, fool Thosbi. Now Amutef’s spirit, given voice by inhabiting the mortal frame, shall utter incantations of revenge.”

Classic.

Meanwhile, Stephen Strange is doing his own thing.

Stephen is...wordy. I'm going to summarize the WALL OF TEXT that is his ramblings and chantings.

Marlene is possessed by an ancient sorcerer. Steven Grant has been mystically endowed with the spirit of an ancient priest of Khonshu.

Meeting up on this moonlit night spells trouble with a capital T and now the curse is real.

He must get Steven Grant to cooperate with him or it will spell doom for them both.

And then we cut to Moon Knight, still angry about the implication of something supernatural happening to him.

"Steel and glass and concrete. There's reality for you. No room in a city like this for superstitions."

He spots some thugs assaulting a couple and he decides to glide down to intercept.

Yeah that…that seems about right.

He barely manages to dodge a gun shot, his crescent dart whacks a guy right in the face and cuts him, and he barely manages to catch up with the other two fleeing villains.

And of Course Detective Flint arrives to drive in the nail.

"Say, everything okay? Not like you to lose your wind over a trio of amatures."

"Just an accident, Detective--Cape got caught, you go on and treat the punks to a night in the slammer. Put it on my tab."

And to make his night even better, Stephen Strange shows up.

"It was no accident, Steven Grant."

"YOU again!? Am I supposed to admire your persistence or--Wait, you called me Grant?"

"Yes, it was Steven Grant I sought, and I'm afraid your costume does little to disguise HIS psychic aura. But, that is inconsequential--It is your life, not your identity, that is in jeopardy."

I...Could have SO much to say about breaking down that statement and we'd be here all night as I talked about the psychic aura of Steven vs. the others, his life vs. his identity, and all that fun stuff... But I have a feeling the writer wasn't aiming for that line...sadly... SO I'll leave it alone....this time.

He tells Steven that he's in danger and Steven demands to be shown the demons after him.

Stephen tells him that they were the ones that grabbed his cape, but he banished them before they could destroy him.

Moon Knight still isn't buying it.

I swear, half the Dr. Strange cross-over comics are spent with Stephen trying to convince everyone that magic is real and that he isn't full of it.

"I have learned that you are endowed with the spirit of a priest of Khonshu whose mystic powers are needed to save Ms. Alraune from the evil spirit which possesses her."

Honestly, while this isn't the first instance of the OG comic showing the cult of Khonshu and the priests, this is the first time someone has considered Moon Knight to be imbued with the spirit of a priest of Khonshu.

As many of you may be aware, the current run with MacKay pushes heavily into the Priest of Khonshu plot line, which has often been dropped and lost by subsequent writers after this one.

However, Strange is insisting that the priest himself is inside Moon Knight, while it's long been determined that Khonshu himself has imbued Marc and the others with his own power to make Moon Knight his own sort of priest.

Let's see how this issue plays it out.

"I would have mesmerized you without asking in order to summon the Ancient Priest within your being... But even your unconscious will is incredibly strong and I could not break through it."

I'm cackling about this. Imagine Strange trying to get in there and just being met by a really pissed off Jake Lockley.

"Bet on it, Mister." Steven is thinking the same thing. You know it. "My will's like granite, because that's what holds the real world out there together for me. It's my sanity."

Oh Steven...

Moon Knight calls Khonshu a myth and make-believe. "Do you think I'd ever embrace that madness again?"

He calls for Frenchie. He's done with this.

"If the spirit is not exorcised from Ms. Alraune by tomorrow night, she will be the one who knows true madness. Without the mystic aid of KHonshu, my spells can protect her no longer than that." Stephen Strange calls after him.

Moon Knight calls him a "blasted Looney" and takes off.

The next evening at Grant Mansion, the doctor informs Steven that he can't figure out what's wrong with Marlene.

Steven tells her that he'll cut the Moon Knight patrol short and be back before midnight.

(She's still wearing the necklace).

As Moon Knight leaves, Marlene sits up, possessed again, and sending the evil spirits out after the Khonshu priest Thosbi.

This time they attack the chopper.

Oh no. Not the chopper!

While the possessed Marlene chants of vengeance from the balcony, cats start to gather in the nearby tree.

Dr. Strange arrives to the chipper and starts to fight off the invisible demons that only he can see.

Frenchie tells Moon Knight to glide to safety. The chopper is going down. (My dear Frenchie always looking out for his friend.)

Moon Knight refuses to jump and the chopper starts to function again.

A particularly nasty demon shows up to fight Strange.

"Begone, Mage, for my chaotic powers are summoned by a spell more ancient than any your mortal lips can utter." It taunts him.

While Strange battles the demons, Frenchie manages to land the chopper.

Side note, I do love the way they draw Moon Knight’s costume. This is the start of the era where his shorts start to actually look like shorts and not underwear outside his outfit. You also see more black mixed in with his top and leggings. While you see the muscles, he isn’t drawn HUGE and ridiculous. It’s believable.

Also behold Strange before the goatee! It looks wrong…

Anyways, Moon Knight is not pleased to see Strange again.

They argue and give me my most favorite image of Frenchie EVER.

This man. I love this man.

Look at it. The moon hat. The lighting on his face. The relaxed sit. The smoke rings. Not one not two but THREE pens in his pocket. The gloves. The match book in his other hand. This is just another day for him.

The copter nearly crashed for unknown demonic reasons and his BFF super hero buddy is outside arguing with a wizard about being possessed by an ancient Egyptian priest.

Jean-Paul Duchamp I love you.

Strange tells him that if they don't contact the priest of Khonshu within the hour, Marlene is going to be lost to them.

Moon Knight concedes. He jumps in the chopper and they follow Strange back to the mansion. ....Why he doesn't let Strange fly in his chopper but makes him fly...You got me?

They arrive to find the mansion crawling with cats and Marlene in a trance staring contest with one of them.

Moon Knight decides to take a short cut to get to Marlene as fast as he ....OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. THERE ARE SO MANY Other WAYS TO ENTER YOUR MANSION! YOU BUILT IT!

(Adds another hash tag to the list)

Moon Knight crashing through his own window with his nunchucks out in a room full of cats. I just... He is the ultimate catboy.

They send away the cats, who were apparently there to attack the evil.

Stephen sets the room up for the ritual and Steven carries Marlene to a chair. "Save her, Strange... Even if it costs me my mind."

We get some interesting art here... They made Steven look like a bad anime magical girl transformation reaction or something. I can't even begin to describe this. I apologize for what I’m about to show you.

Flew too close to the sun with Frenchie. Now we must all pay the price with anime boy Steven Grant.

So Strange does his thing and forces the demons to show themselves.

"Do you think to conquer Amutef with glibness of tongue, mage?! I who was first among necromancers, who dared blaspheme the names of Khonshu and Osiris.." He summons his own demons to battle Strange.

He summons the priest of Khonshu through Moon Knight and we get some CLASSIC Dr. Strange art. We got the symbols, we got the squiggle lines, we got the colors, we got the eyes, we got the floating heads and we even got the floating hour glass.

As much as I love Dr. Strange, it takes me a while to read his old comics. My processing skills can't handle the barrage of EVERYTHING on every page. I’m glad it’s just a little in this comic.

We watch the two men do battle through time and space and in King Arthur's backyard for some reason... We see the great pyramids and some temples that my geographically challenged mind does not recognize...

Just as the battle is picking up...

"What?! I sense emotions of abnormal pitch. No! They flow from the mind of Grant. The strain on his will is too great! But he can't succumb now---!"

We see chanting and...wait... those words... They sound familiar...

"Khonshu, Nehem kua her entet ari-na maat! Amutef, thosbi! Affirms thee no longer to be!"

Parts of that sound suspiciously like something Harrow chanted from the MCU show. HMMMMMM....

Yeah, the battle is over and Marlene and Steven come out of their trances.

"You've survived, Steven Grant, and your mind is whole, stronger than before. You have experienced life AND death, the natural and supernatural. You have mastered your will and become a complete man."

Then Strange essentially does the "I must go now" thing and zips away to fight the occult forces of evil elsewhere.

We are left with Steven thinking things over.

"Occult forces. Like Marc Spector's dying and being reborn through the ghost of an ancient priest. You know, Marlene? I believe him. I don't for one minute like the idea...But I believe him."

The End!

Okay you guys… This was a wild one. It was a disaster start to finish but it did what comics are meant to do and it made me laugh and it was fun.

The art was…all over the place. It worked for an issue with Dr. Strange, but they made everyone FAR too baby faced and pretty. What’s weird is that the next issue is the same artist but he gets his shit together and it’s back to Moon Knight nitty gritty. What the hell happened? Let’s blame Dr. Strange on this one.

But….

Can you imagine THIS being the face of Steven Grant, Marc Spector, and slap a mustache on that and you got Jake Lockley!? THIS?!

He’s so judgy!

I’m dying out here you guys. Someone draw a mustache on that and I��ll love you forever. I think this broke me.

So… Aside from the… What ever all this was… It reminds me of the issue recently with Mackay. Where we got to go into Moon Knight’s mind-scape and we got to see Marc, Steven, and Jake all work together to defeat outside forces. They worked as a team and it was their special weapon. Going after Marc? No you aren’t. You’re gonna get punched in the face by Jake and Steven (steven gonna look at you like a highly disapproving father). In this early run, we don’t have the wonderful understanding and research into DID to fully comprehend or experience this, but looking back, I like to imagine it’s there under the surface.

I also look at the priest as not being the one that revived them. Again, I cite Khonshu himself. The priest issue can be folded into current and then building lore of the Priesthood of Khonshu. This was an early and powerful priest that happened to have a grudge against this particular bad guy. Perhaps this is where Mackay starts taking his ideas and lore from. We’re already seen other ideas from the OG run that he’s explored. If this is the case, it’s nice to see him doing his research and getting back to basics.

So what did you guys thing? Did it make you laugh too? Are we all cursed by the Magical Anime Steven image?

Next time I’m dipping back into the past to cover some of the issues I skipped. We’re getting to the home stretch you guys.

#Moon Knight #Moon Knight Comics #Analyzing the comics #Marc Spector #Steven Grant #Jake Lockley #Marlene Alraune #Jean-Paul Duchamp #Dr. Strange #This issue broke me you guys #I've been laughing for an hour #LOOK AT HIS FACE #WHY DOES HE LOOK LIKE THAT #Oh my god #I want to put that image of Frenchie on my wall

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