#afi coach

[hindustanmorning]

Watch: Neeraj Chopra Trolls Departing Coach with Viral Instagram Trend "Give Me My Money"

Neeraj Chopra, India’s javelin star, performed a funny trick on his coach Klaus Bartonietz in a special Instagram video. In the video, which featured Neeraj, Bartonietz, and physiotherapist Ishaan Marwaha, the Tokyo Olympics gold medalist made fun of the German, who is slated to leave his current position at the end of the season. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) engaged Bartonietz as a…

[heavenboy09]

Happy Birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊 To The One Of The Few Old🧓 Fashioned Legendary Academy Award Winning Actors Of Our Time and Honored by His Many Memorable Roles in Acting.

Born On September 25th, 1944

Douglas was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the first child of actors Kirk Douglas (1916–2020) and Diana Dill (1923–2015). His parents met at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

He is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AFI Life Achievement Award.

The elder son of Kirk Douglas and Diana Dill, Douglas earned his Bachelor of Arts in drama from the University of California, Santa Barbara. His early acting roles included film, stage, and television productions. Douglas first achieved prominence for his performance in the ABC police procedural television series The Streets of San Francisco, for which he received three consecutive Emmy Award nominations. In 1975, Douglas produced One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, having acquired the rights to the Ken Kesey novel from his father. The film received critical and popular acclaim, and won the Academy Award for Best Picture, earning Douglas his first Oscar as one of the film's producers.

Douglas went on to produce films including The China Syndrome (1979) and Romancing the Stone (1984), for which he received the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and The Jewel of the Nile (1985). Douglas received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone's Wall Street (1987), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor (a role he reprised in the sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps in 2010). Other notable roles include in Fatal Attraction (1987), The War of the Roses (1989), Basic Instinct (1992), Falling Down (1993), The American President (1995), The Game (1997), Traffic (2000), and Wonder Boys (2000).

In 2013, for his portrayal of Liberace in the HBO film Behind the Candelabra, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie. Douglas starred as an aging acting coach in the Netflix comedy series The Kominsky Method (2018–2021), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy. He has portrayed Hank Pym in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with Ant-Man (2015).

Douglas has received notice for his humanitarian and political activism. He sits on the board of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, is an honorary board member of the anti-war grant-making foundation Ploughshares Fund and he was appointed as a United Nations Messenger of Peace in 1998. He has been married to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones since 2000.

Please Wish This Iconic Legendary American & Prestigious Academy Award Winning Actor Of Acting. A Very Happy Birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊

YOU KNOW HIM FOR YEARS, YEARS& YEARS & PROBABLY MOST RECENTLY IN HIS LATER WORK , FOR ALL YOU GEN Z'S 😉

HE HAS SWOON THE BIG SCREEN IN MANY WAYS & NOW THE SMALL SCREEN AS WELL & COMES FROM A VERY HIGHLY REGARDED LEGEND OF A FATHER & MOTHER IN ACTING HISTORY

& HE IS STILL SO FREAKING FRACKING LUCKY TO BE MARRIED TO THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WELSH ACTRESS IN THE WHOLE DAMN WORLD & SHARE THE SAME BIRTHDAY AS WELL. DANG NAB HIM 😒😠😣😫

THE 1 & ONLY

MR. MICHAEL KIRK DOUGLAS 🧓 Michael Douglas

HAPPY 80TH BIRTHDAY 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊 TO YOU MR. DOUGLAS 🧓& HERE'S TO MANY MORE YEARS TO COME

#MichaelKirkDouglas

[ghanashowbizonline]

Sports Today - 13th African Games: Black Princesses coach Yussif Basigi names starting XI to face Ethiopia

Ghana Sports Today; bringing you all trending sports news as it happens. Get daily comprehensive summary of the recent sports – football news that have rocked the online scene. Check out the news below. #image_title Black Princesses coach Yussif Basigi has named a strong starting XI to battle Ethiopia in their first appearance at the 13th African Games women’s football tournament.  Afi Amenyaku…

[doonitedin]

भालाफेंक के कोच हॉन पद से हटे, AFI ने कहा- दो नए विदेशी कोच करेंगे नियुक्त

भालाफेंक के कोच हॉन पद से हटे, AFI ने कहा- दो नए विदेशी कोच करेंगे नियुक्त

Image Source : TWITTER Javelin throw coach Uwe Hohn out, AFI says it is hiring two new coaches भारतीय एथलेटिक्स महासंघ (एएफआई) ने सोमवार को घोषणा की कि उसने भालाफेंक के राष्ट्रीय कोच उवे हॉन से नाता तोड़ दिया है क्योंकि वह उनके प्रदर्शन से खुश नहीं था और वह जल्द ही दो नये विदेशी कोच नियुक्त करेगा। पूर्व विश्व रिकॉर्ड धारक 59 वर्षीय जर्मन हॉन का अनुबंध टोक्यो ओलंपिक तक ही था। एएफआई अध्यक्ष आदिल…

[introvertguide]

Forrest Gump (1994); AFI #76

The next film that was reviewed for the AFI top 100 was perhaps the most Americana movie of them all, Forrest Gump (1994). This is the story of a relatively simple man who truly experiences life by doing what people tell him he should do. The film won at the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Visual Effects, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Editing. Tom Hanks won his second consecutive Best Actor role after winning for Philadelphia the previous year, and this really put his stamp down as an A-List talent with huge box office draw. Robert Zemeckis was finally recognized by the Academy for the consistently good work he had done in the 80s and 90s for films like Romancing the Stone (1984), Back to the Future (1985), and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). The story of Forrest Gump is quite the journey (quite literally), so I want to go through it before pointing out some behind the scenes aspects of the film. This, of course, means that wonderful part of all of my reviews:

SPOILER WARNING!!! THIS IS A GREAT STORY AND THERE ARE DEFINITELY SOME ASPECTS TO SPOIL, SO PLEASE CHECK OUT THE MOVIE BEFORE READING ANY FURTHER! IT IS WORTH SEEING WITHOUT KNOWING THE ENDING!

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In 1981, at a bus stop in Savannah, Georgia, a man named Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) recounts his life story to strangers who sit next to him on a bench. He makes the very famous statement that really frames the entire film: "Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna' get."

In 1956, in Greenbow, Alabama, young Forrest is fitted with leg braces to correct a curved spine since he is unable to walk properly. Forrest is named after the founder of the Klu Klux Klan as a reminder what foolish things people do. His father ran away (his mom calls it being on vacation), so he lives alone with his mother (Sally Fields), who runs a boarding house. Forrest has an IQ of 80, which should keep him from the public school, but his mother works out a deal with the principal. Mrs. Gump is very shrewd and is able to attract a lot of interesting characters to their home including a young Elvis Presley, who plays the guitar for Forrest and incorporates Forrest's jerky dance movements into his performances. Being able to attend school, Forrest takes the bus and meets a girl named Jenny Curran, and the two become best friends.

Forrest is often bullied because of his physical disability and low intelligence. One of those things suddenly changes because, while fleeing from several bullies (Run, Forrest, run!), his leg braces break off, revealing Forrest to be very fast. Forrest and Jenny (Robin Wright Penn) remain best friends through to college age, and the bullies continue to chase him. During one particular escape, Forrest is discovered by University of Alabama coach Bear Bryant. This talent for running gets Forrest a football scholarship and a college education. At his time at the college, he is coached by Bear Bryant, witnesses Governor George Wallace's Stand in the Schoolhouse Door (during which he returns a dropped book to Vivian Malone Jones), becomes a top kick returner, is named to the All-American team, and meets President John F. Kennedy at the White House.

After graduating college in 1967, Forrest enlists into the U.S. Army. During basic training, he befriends a fellow soldier named Benjamin Buford Blue (nicknamed "Bubba" and played by Mykelti Williamson), who convinces Forrest to go into the shrimping business with him after their service. Later that year, they are sent to Vietnam, serving with the 9th Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta region under Lieutenant Dan Taylor (Gary Sinise). After months of routine operations, their platoon is ambushed while on patrol, and Bubba is killed in action. Forrest saves several wounded platoonmates – including Lieutenant Dan, who loses both his legs – and is awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

At the famous anti-war March on the Pentagon rally, Forrest briefly reunites with Jenny, who has become a drug addicted hippie and anti-war activist. He is kicked out of a Black Panther meeting when he defends Jenny from an abusive boyfriend. He also develops a talent for ping-pong and becomes a sports celebrity as he competes against Chinese teams in ping-pong diplomacy, earning him an interview alongside John Lennon on The Dick Cavett Show, influencing the song "Imagine". He spends the 1972 New Year's Eve in New York City with Lieutenant Dan, who has become an alcoholic, embittered about his disability and the government's apathy towards Vietnam vets. Forrest's ping-pong success eventually leads to a meeting with President Richard Nixon, whose administration get him a room in the Watergate complex, where he unwittingly exposes the Watergate scandal.

Discharged from the army, Forrest returns to Greenbow and endorses a company that makes ping-pong paddles. He uses the earnings to buy a shrimping boat in Bayou La Batre, fulfilling his promise to Bubba. Lieutenant Dan joins Forrest in 1974, and they initially have little success. After their boat becomes the only one to survive Hurricane Carmen, they pull in huge amounts of shrimp and create the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, after which Lieutenant Dan finally thanks Forrest for saving his life. Lieutenant Dan invests into what Forrest thinks is "some kind of fruit company" (MacIntosh) and the two become millionaires. Forrest also gives half of his earnings to Bubba's family for inspiring the venture. Forrest then returns home to his mother and takes care of her as she dies of cancer.

In 1976, Jenny – in the midst of recovering from years of drugs and abuse – returns to visit Forrest. He starts to realize how angry she is with her life and father, so he of course decides to propose to her. She says no because she will only hurt him, but that night she tells Forrest she loves him and the two make love, but she leaves the next morning. Heartbroken, Forrest goes running "for no particular reason", and spends the next three years on a relentless cross-country marathon, becoming famous again before returning to Greenbow. This so beautiful because Forrest is so lost without Jenny or his momma, so he falls back on the only thing that he really knows how to do.

In 1981, Forrest reveals that he is waiting at the bus stop because he received a letter from Jenny, who asked him to visit her. Forrest is finally reunited with Jenny, who introduces him to their son, Forrest Gump Junior. Jenny tells Forrest she is sick with an "unknown virus" and the three move back to Greenbow. Jenny and Forrest finally marry, but she dies a year later. The film ends with Forrest seeing his son off on his first day of school.

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This film has a lot of greats, but also a couple of bads. The story is very engaging and turns into the most nostalgic American history lesson of all time. Tom Hanks plays a constant fish-out-of-water character, because Forrest has intelligence levels, which lead to a constant need for explanation. It is a fantastically filmable concept and Zemeckis takes full advantage of it.

Speaking of filming, the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous. The different shots that replay those historical moments (the integration at the University of Alabama, the Mekong Delta during the war, the protest at Washington DC), the beauty of the American roads, the Bayou when they are shrimping, and the giant Gump property are all beautiful. They also did a pretty good job of editing Forrest into stock footage as far as the body goes. It was groundbreaking at the time, but it can be done in After Effect by Youtubers at this point. What was not impressive and obviously does not hold up is the face tracking. Specifically bad are the presidents and John Lennon when they altered the mouths on historical footage to try and make them say different things. It is terrible. It does not break the movie, but it is both noticeable and laughable, especially since the film won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.

The score written for the film is simple and elegant, really adding to the mood and the tone. The songs can be somber and a little sad, but there is this child-like simplicity that is constantly hopeful and moving forward. Very much like Forrest Gump. The rest of the soundtrack follows the popular rock anthems of the time and the whole thing is a pleasure to listen to. I used to just let it play when I was trying (with moderate success) to do my calculus homework in high school.

The statements that Forrest Gump makes throughout the film carry more and more weight as we realize that he is saying these things from his own experience and not just because somebody told him. The phrase "I am not a smart man, but I know what love is" is so powerful coming from Forrest. He says this after Jenny turns him down for marriage, and it becomes apparent that his loss of Bubba and his mother taught him what caring for somebody really means. He might not be able to give a psychological definition of love, but he has experienced it. Beautifully written and emotionally delivered.

One other thing that might be good or bad, depending on how you see it, is that the movie is blatantly sentimental. It tugs at the heart strings, but it is really trying to do it. Bubba dies, Lieutenant Dan loses his legs, Jenny is constantly in trouble, Mrs. Gump dies...all of these things have the same downward shots with somber music. These scenes are all followed up with forward movie scenes and uplifting music. The film constantly pulls the audience all over the place, which makes the tone go all over the place. Knowing that this was Robert Zemeckis directing, it makes me think that this was purposeful. Forrest Gump had a very difficult time knowing what was going on, so he depended on the context and what people said to tell him how he should feel. The audience truly experienced what it was like to be Forrest, and we all went on a life journey with him

One thing that I saw when browsing through interviews was that the unknown virus that Jenny died of was not AIDS. It was supposed to be Hepatitis, according to the director, the author of the source material, and the screen writer. AIDS was just the major disease on the global mind at the time, but it wasn't that common in the early 80s. It was hard to tell because most deaths close to Forrest were not shown at the point of passing. Forrest doesn't want to talk about those moments, and he is the real narrator.

Does this movie belong on the AFI top 100? Of course. This is the most Americana film I know of, and it showcases a simple view of two decades of the American experience. Would I recommend it? Hell yeah! This movie is a whole lot of fun and a really easy watch. There are some technical flaws, but the story and acting are superior to just about anything else I have seen.

[theartistknownaslymond]

A couple of things about the methodology of this blog that date the author:

Hearing Weezer or AFI will always remind me of school trips on a coach where we swapped cassettes or CDs of new albums so people could take them home and copy them <3

Hearing Kaiser Chiefs or Arctic Monkeys will always send me into an apoplectic rage. Occasionally because I grudgingly admit one of their songs is good. There are different reasons for this but my hatred originates in the same period of history.

[thesportsgrail]

Mr Gurphool Singh 72, Formar National Athletic Coach AFI, Ex teaching Faculty NIS Patiala & Kolkata invitation to Runners Across India & world to participate in "GANGA SUSTAINABILITY RUN-RISHIKESH" on 9th October @5.30am - 10km, 2.1km, 35km, 50km. SportsGrail is the Digital Sports Media Partner.

Registration on www.gangasustainability.com

www.thesportsgrail.com

[indizombie]

When I came here I thought I could change something but it’s probably too difficult with these people at Sports Authority of India (SAI) or Athletics Federation of India (AFI). I don’t know if it’s lack of knowledge or ignorance. Beside camps or competitions even when we ask via our nutritionist for supplements for our athletes we don’t get the right stuff. Not even for Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) athletes — medal contenders handpicked by the Sports Ministry.

Uwe Hohn, India’s javelin throw coach

[dinoandrade]

It’s Sunday and today’s Classic for Connor is the RKO Radio Picture’s 1938 screwball romp “Bringing up Baby” directed by Howard Hawks and starring Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Nissa the trained leopard! I love this film and there are 4 things I find the most remarkable... 1st: The Peter Bogdanovich farce “What’s Up, Doc?” was directly inspired by this film. Bogdanovich even consulted with Howard Hawks before filming. This is why the character dynamics of Barbara Streisand and Ryan O’Neil in that film exactly match Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant in “Baby”. 2nd: Seeing this film you’d think Katherine Hepburn had an extensive background in comedy.... nope. Despite the role being written for her she was so unsure about her comedy skills that early into filming famed vaudeville comic Walter Catlett had to be brought in to coach her. She was so grateful she insisted that Catlett be given the role of the bumbling Sheriff in the movie. 3rd: Hard to believe but Cary Grant was Howard Hawks’ last choice for the lead opposite Hepburn. The role was written with Harold Lloyd in mind but Lloyd was rejected by the producer. The role was then offered to, and turned-down by Fredrick March, Ray Milland and Robert Montgomery before Grant was finally considered. I just can’t imagine anyone other than Grant in the role. Finally: Howard Hawks only made “Bringing Up Baby” because of production delays in what was supposed to be his next film “Gunga Din”. However, “Bringing Up Baby” turned out to be such a box office disaster that “Gunga Din” would be taken away from Hawks and given to another director. Ironically, much like Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “Bringing Up Baby” would eventually be embraced as a beloved masterpiece, preserved by the Library of Congress and listed by the AFI as one of the Greatest American Films of All-Time. And here in 2021 the film would go on to receive the coveted “Connor thought it was funny” award for making the little booger laugh... a lot. https://www.instagram.com/p/CKuNnzEjX0J/?igshid=1mt5pn2uimhwo

[papermoonloveslucy]

FRED MACMURRAY

August 30, 1908

Frederick Martin MacMurray was born in Kankakee, Illinois. His aunt was a vaudeville performer and actress. Before MacMurray was two years old, his family moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where his father was a music teacher. He later attended school in Quincy, Illinois before earning a full scholarship to Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin. At Carroll, MacMurray played the saxophone in numerous local bands. He did not graduate from the college. Before signing with Paramount Pictures in 1934, he appeared on Broadway in Three's a Crowd (1930) and alongside Bob Hope in Roberta (1933).

Fred MacMurray (1908-91) appeared in over 100 films in his career. He is perhaps best remembered for the film Double Indemnity (1944). 

MacMurray’s name was first mentioned by Ethel in 1953 in “The Black Eye” (ILL S2;E20) when flowers arrive for Lucy mistakenly signed “Eternally yours, Fred.” 

LUCY: “Oh, now, Ethel, you certainly don’t think that these are from Fred Mertz, do you?” ETHEL: “Well, this card certainly wasn’t written by Fred MacMurray.”

MacMurray’s 1954 film The Caine Mutiny was often mentioned on “Lucy” sitcoms, often in the context of the film’s source material, a book and a play. In “Lucy Writes A Novel” (ILL S3;E24), Lucy plans to name the sequel to her novel “Sugar Cane Mutiny,” a pun on Cuba’s main export and the title of the (then) recently released film. In “Guess Who Owes Lucy $23.50?” (HL S1;E11) Van Johnson orders security guards to escort Lucy Carter out of the studio. A bitter Lucy says that now she’s glad he got court martialed The Caine Mutiny.

The first time that MacMurray appeared on screen with Lucille Ball was in “Lucy Hunts Uranium” a 1958 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” set in the Nevada desert and Las Vegas. MacMurray played himself, and was briefly joined by his real-life second wife, June Haver. The storyline has MacMurray competing with Lucy for a claim on Uranium discovered in the desert. 

Lucille Ball later said that MacMurray was “fine enough” in this episode, but she really had to work with him on his comic timing, especially in the telephone booth scene. Ball and MacMurray clearly had different styles.

MY THREE SONS 

MacMurray is perhaps best remembered for playing Steve Douglas on “My Three Sons” (1960-72).

MacMurray and the long-running show was on the cover of TV Guide nine times! 

From 1960 to 1965, MacMurray was joined by William Frawley as Bub O’Casey, the family’s live-in maternal grandfather. 

When Frawley left the show due to ill-health he was replaced by another Desilu alumni, William Demarest, as Uncle Charley. Demarest did three films with Lucille Ball. For Christmas 1959, Frawley and Demarest both appeared with Lucy and Desi in “The Desilu Revue”. At the time, Demarest was working on the Desilu lot appearing in NBC’s “Love and Marriage.” 

On “My Three Sons” two of  Steve Douglas’ “sons” had been seen on “The Lucy Show”: Don Grady (Robbie Douglas) had played Chris Carmichael’s friend Bill and Barry Livingston (Ernie Douglas) had played Mr. Mooney’s son Arnold. Ted Eccles, who assumed the role of Arnold Mooney when Barry Livingston was busy on “My Three Sons,” also did an episode. Ralph Hart (who played Viv Bagley’s son Sherman), Jimmy Garrett (Jerry Carmichael) and Candy Moore (Lucy Carmichael’s daughter Chris) were also on the show.

Other “Lucy” performers on “My Three Sons” include: Mary Wickes, Doris Singleton, Shirley Mitchell, Barbara Pepper, Verna Felton, Kathleen Freeman, Jerry Hausner, Reta Shaw, Elvia Allman, Eleanor Audley, Burt Mustin, Olan Soule, Alberto Morin, Herb Vigran, Bill Quinn, Barbara Perry, Nancy Kulp, George Neise, Maxine Semon, Flip Mark, Roy Roberts, Lou Krugman, Ted Eccles, Richard Reeves, Dorothy Konrad, Ed Begley, Gail Bonney, Jay North, Rolfe Sedan, Tyler McVey, J. Pat O’Malley, Paul Picerni, Sandra Gould, Richard Deacon, Mabel Albertson, Joan Blondell, Leon Belasco, Dayton Lummis, Lurene Tuttle, Robert Foulk, Dick Patterson, Jamie Farr, Larry J. Blake, Amzie Strickland, Barbara Morrison, Louis Nicoletti, Frank Gerstle, Willy Lally, Gil Perkins, Tommy Ferrell, Eve McVeagh, Remo Pisani, Dub Taylor, Frank J. Scannell, Ray Kellogg, Romo Vincent, Stafford Repp, Jay Novello, and Leoda Richards.

The show’s Dialogue Coach / Director was Adele Sliff, whose name was used in the dialogue of “In Palm Springs” when Rock Hudson tells Lucy and Ethel a sad story.  Adele was also the “I Love Lucy” script clerk.

In 1961, MacMurray took part in “This is Your Life: William Frawley” in tribute to his co-star. Naturally, Lucille Ball also took part in the show. 

MacMurray was cast as Frank Beardsley in Yours, Mine and Ours (1968) opposite Lucille Ball, but withdrew and the role went to Henry Fonda.

In 1978, Lucy and MacMurray took to the dais to tribute Henry Fonda in “AFI Salutes Henry Fonda”. 

Two months later, Lucy and Fred were both seen in “Happy Birthday, Bob: A Salute to Bob Hope’s 75th Birthday” taped at the John F. Kennedy Center.

In 1986, they were both back for “AFI Achievement Award: A Tribute to Billy Wilder”. Curiously, neither MacMurray nor Ball had ever worked with Wilder. 

The last time Lucy and MacMurray shared the small screen (with June Haver) was at the “All-Star Party for Clint Eastwood” in 1986.

He married Lillian Lamont on June 20, 1936, and the couple adopted two children. 

After Lamont died of cancer on June 22, 1953, he married actress June Haver the following year. The couple adopted two more children in 1956. MacMurray and Haver's marriage lasted 37 years, until Fred's death at age 83 in 1991. 

[empowertutorials]

Hima Das was an unknown entity when the youngster was unexpectedly picked as part of the Indian athletics contingent for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

The then 18-year-old Indian sprinter had always wanted to play football but her raw speed while running across the muddy rice fields of Assam convinced a school coach that she should try out athletics.

And it turned out to be a career-making decision. Hima Das, with barely any training under her belt, won the 100m bronze at the state meet and subsequently made it to the finals of the Junior National Championships.

Impressive showings at the U-18 nationals, the Asian and World Youth Championships in 2017, where she narrowly missed out on bronze in the latter, convinced the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) to pick the athlete for the senior national camp.

Despite achieving all her success in the 100 and 200m sprints, the coaches decided to switch Hima to run the quarter-mile to give her a better shot at international success. This turned out to be a masterstroke.

At the Federation Cup in Patiala in March 2018, Hima Das comfortably won the 400m gold in 51.97 seconds, breaking the 52-second qualifying mark for the Commonwealth Games later that year.

The girl from the remote village of Dhing in Assam, who was originally picked in the national camp for the Asian Games in mid-2018, found herself fast-tracked to the national team for the Commonwealth Games in April itself.

www.empowertutorials.com #WorldOfMaths #WorldOfScience #Empower_Tutorials #EmpowerTutorials

[13milestogo]

Day 10?

Finally got 8 hours of sleep.  Much better.

La familia and I started watching the AFI Top 100 movies.  We checked off the ones we’ve seen and are using a random generator to pick the next.  Last night was The French Connection.  Had to go back and read the reviews.  Ground breaking in 1971.  Meh today.

Spoke with Coach C about mixing it up.  Since swimming is out, we’re using bands to simulate to pool. 

Three sets of 40.

Followed by the Sunday run.  Includes 15 x 1min on/1 min off.

Chilly in the Mid-Atlantic, but going to spend some time outside today.

[midnightswithdearkatytspb]

Lorna Dane-Maximoff & Pietro Maximoff

Often mistaken for a married couple, Lorna is the older half-sister of Pietro as well as Wanda. They share the same father Erik Lehnsherr. Lorna loves her younger siblings and would do anything to protect them, including paying their way to America. Lorna is one of Melinda’s former cases, they stayed in touch, when she found out about Pietro and Wanda she offered them two of the only open apartments, the trio quickly sweeping in, taking them. Lorna works at X Marvel Tattoo as a piercing artist and tattoo apprenticeship. People always seem quick to judge her for her dark hair, hand tattoos, and multiple piercings, but Lorna just like grunge, she's kind as well as loving. She gravitates towards Reyna, Natasha, Frank, Clint, Wade and her siblings most of the time.

Pietro, sometimes Pete, is a listener and an all-around helper. You need someone to help paint hour bedroom or kitchen, just ask him. You need to make cupcakes for a bake sale, ask him to help you. You need to get to the other side of the city at 10 at night and Frank and Eddie are too busy, he will do it. You drank and too scared to tell your parents, call up Pietro, he’ll come to get you, make sure you get home safely. Pietro works as a receptionist at both X Shield Tattoo and Wanda’s Psychic shop. Pietro also coaches track and field at Midtown STEM High School, he's an avid runner and has been since he was a child. He once dreamed of going to the Olympics. He gets along with everyone in the building and has an open door policy, meaning you can always come to him.

Playlist:

1. The River | Good Charlotte, Matt Shadow & Syn Gates

2. Next To Me | Imagine Dragons

3. You | The Pretty Reckless

4. What Would You Do | Bastille

5. In the Shadows | The Rasmus

6. Intermission: fLoWer | ZAYN

7. Good Enough | Evanescence

8. I Was Here | Beyoncé

9. Wings of a Butterfly | HIM

10. Hey Brother | Avicii

11. Close Yet Far | CKY

12. Stronger | Kanye West

13. Lost Boys | The 69 Eyes

14. Sleeping With A Friend | Neon Trees

15. Bittersweet | Apocalyptica, Ville Valo & Lauri Ylönen

16. Shadow of the Day | Linkin Park

17. I’m Not The One | 3OH!3

18. Afterlife | Avenged Sevenfold

19. Anna Sun | Walk The Moon

20. Toxicity | System Of A Down

21. We Are The Champions | Queen

22. Angels Fall | Breaking Benjamin

23. Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm | Crash Test Dummies

24. Prayer Of The Refugee | Rise Against

25. Hand Clap | Fitz and The Tantrums

26. Miss Murder | AFI

27. Better Now | Post Malone

28. A Little Piece of Heaven | Avenged Sevenfold

29. Am I Pretty? | The Maine

30. I Write Sins Not Tragedies | Panic! At The Disco

31. The Monster | Eminem & Rihanna

[letterboxd]

Pop star.

Dominic Corry heads to the AFI Fest screening of Natalie Portman’s new film Vox Lux, then hears what the Oscar winner has to say about it.

In Vox Lux, late 2018’s other pop star drama, Natalie Portman gives one of her rawest ever performances as Celeste, a global superstar about to embark on a huge tour. Even among fictional singers, Celeste has a unique backstory.

The first third or so of the film chronicles how a young Celeste (played by English actress Raffey Cassidy from Tomorrowland and The Killing of a Sacred Deer) barely survives a high school mass shooting. At a memorial for her fallen friends, she performs a song with her sister, and it goes viral. A manager (played by Jude Law) takes notice, and Celeste is on her way to Taylor Swift levels of idolatry.

The film then jumps ahead two decades to 2018, with Celeste now played by Natalie Portman. In a high-concept casting gambit that ends up working extremely well, her teenage daughter Albertine is also played by Cassidy.

Like in A Star Is Born, there is a resentment-laden relationship with a talented older sibling, Celeste’s sister Eleanor, played in both time periods by the ethereally ageless Stacy Martin (Nymphomaniac).

But ultimately Vox Lux treads a very different path to Bradley Cooper’s smash hit. This is an intensely intimate film that culminates with a spectacular meltdown and an arena-worthy pop star performance from Portman, who absolutely kills it performing songs written by prolific pop music genius Sia. It’s rare that “fictional” hits sound so convincing.

Raffey Cassidy and Natalie Portman in Brady Corbet’s ‘Vox Lux’.

Vox Lux was written and directed by Brady Corbet, who first came to prominence as an actor in films such as Gregg Araki’s Mysterious Skin (2004) and Michael Haneke’s 2007 remake of his own Funny Games. Vox Lux is Corbet’s second film behind the camera, following the 2015 period drama The Childhood of a Leader.

With Vox Lux, he ties tragedy and celebrity together in a thorny character study.

Following a recent screening of the film in Los Angeles, Portman got on stage to discuss making Vox Lux. Here’s some of what she had to say:

On what drew her to the role: Natalie Portman: It was an incredible opportunity to play a character that I’d never had the chance to play before. And also to work with someone like Brady who I think is incredibly talented and interesting and full of great ideas. And then also, I think a lot of the themes are really relevant to the world we live in. It feels like a really accurate portrayal of what it’s like to live in this moment in history, which feels very specific in a way that I hadn’t seen reflected before.

On how she approached the character: The biggest part of the character was the writing. Brady wrote such a specific character that felt so rounded and just like a real human being. Sometimes she’s really authentic and sometimes she’s totally fake. Sometimes she’s cruel and sometimes she’s gentle. And sometimes she’s performing and sometimes she’s being. It was really just remarkable reading it. So I feel like that really provided a great blueprint.

On whether or not she discussed how to approach Celeste with Raffey Cassidy, who plays the younger Celeste: We actually didn’t and I think that was intentional for Brady because he really wanted them to be different characters. Because she’s really changed obviously from this innocent young woman at the beginning and then we catch her after twenty years of hard life and I loved the fact that he chose to skip that period because we all know how to fill it in, we know plenty of, you know, the hard times of a pop star, the rocky road until their resurrection, it’s such a familiar tale to us so we don’t have to see it.

On working alongside Cassidy, who also plays her daughter, Albertine: Raffey’s remarkable. We didn’t rehearse together, we just started working together. The first time I saw her as young Celeste was when I saw the finished film, so to see how she could modify her performance so subtly [as Albertine] and really be believable as two completely different characters. I really thought Brady was nuts, I was like, “Are you sure? You’re gonna make me stand next to the actor that played me in the beginning and try to make people believe that we’re the same character?” But Brady was really convinced about it, and I think it’s so powerful in the film. I think we still often see our kids as versions of ourselves, and how we relate to them with all the self-hatred and self-love, alternately, or sometimes all at once. And then I think it’s just so powerful to have it embodied, the entire time she’s with her daughter, she’s also with her younger self. Both as what that means for everyone experiencing parenthood, but also for the film to see both of these versions of this woman together. I think it works because it’s like a metaphor but it also works literally. She does such a great job of acting. You do always believe that both characters are different people, but she holds within her both characters, so there’s like a doubling of meaning all the time.

On working with Jude Law again: Jude is just one of the greatest actors. His voice in this is different than I’ve ever heard. It has such amazing resonance. He is again also one of the kindest most wonderful people I know, a real major talent. It was very lucky ’cause this is the fourth film I’ve been in with him. We worked together for the first time on Cold Mountain almost twenty years ago, and then Closer, and we both were in the Wong Kar-Wai film My Blueberry Nights, [but] we didn’t have scenes together. So I’ve known him over the course of like, twenty years. We’ve never been like buddies or hanging out or anything, but I’ve worked with him and so it was lucky going into this that we had a history and comfort level to play off of, so like day one, I already felt at ease.

On performing songs written by Sia: It was incredible when I received the script to have the Sia songs with it, I remember getting an email with these attachments of the songs, and she sings them herself on the demos so of course they’re just gorgeous. Beautiful, beautiful songs, really great pop songs so I knew that it was realistic, because if you read a script and it says “and then she writes a hit pop song” and you don’t see the song, you’re like: okay good luck getting that. But it was clear from the beginning that it had this incredible music. And then getting to record it was really fun, because I got to work with [longtime Sia collaborator] Chris [Briade] who’s incredible and just the loveliest person. To see what they can do, they’re the real artists, they can do so much magic to make things sound like what we’re used to hearing.

On how she prepped for the lengthy song and dance performance finalé: Physically it was a lot of preparation, I worked with [movement coach] Raquel [Horsford], I worked with my husband on the choreography, across like a month. I actually prepped the film twice, because the night before, I think I was on my way to the airport, the first time, and they were like, “Turn home, the financing has come apart”. The movie was cancelled and I had prepped everything. When everything got pulled back together again it was a few months later, even though of course it was relatively recent in my memory, I had to kind of start over. So that was kind of nice because it gave me a longer time to prep, and a longer time to sit in my head and my body and all that.

So physically, it was dance training, physical training to have this endurance, and then emotionally I kept asking Brady if I should be kind of ‘off’. She’s had this massive breakdown, she’s had this drug experience, and he was like, “No, she’s out of it but she’s a professional, and she’s done this a million times…”.

She can handle it to the point where the audience isn’t aware that she had a drug-fuelled meltdown minutes earlier. So that was really informative in terms of the headspace, that she can kind of enter a space and leave everything behind her. Which is an interesting key to the character too because there’s a certain kind of erasure that I think must have to happen.

‘Vox Lux’ is in US theaters now.

[introvertguide]

Singin’ in the Rain (1952); AFI #5

The next movie on the AFI list is perhaps the most popular musical in American Film, Singin in the Rain (1952). This film is far and away the highest ranked musical on the AFI list. It is a comedy set in early Hollywood when movies switched from silent to having sound. A lot of actors were suddenly exposed as talentless with a pretty face and the old vaudeville performers suddenly regained popularity. A film that didn’t hold any punches as to the difficulty Hollywood had with understanding this new aspect of movie media, this is definitely worth checking out. I want to go over story details before addressing the behind-the-scenes aspects, so...

SPOILER WARNING! THIS DESCRIPTION COMPLETELY SPOILS THE STORY SO WATCH THE MOVIE FIRST!

At the premiere of his latest film, The Royal Rascal, Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) tells a gathered crowd an exaggerated version of his life story, including his motto: "Dignity, always dignity." His words are humorously contradicted by flashbacks showing him alongside his best friend Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor) working all the undignified jobs involved with acting. He is with his shallow leading lady Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), who turns out be very screachy and stupid. The new movie is a hit and Don leaves with Cosmo to the producer after party when the car breaks down and Don is recognized. To escape from his fans, Don jumps into a passing car driven by Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds). She drops him off, but not before claiming to be a stage actress and sneering at his "undignified" accomplishments as a movie star.

At a party, the head of the studio, R.F. Simpson (Millard Mitchell), shows a short demonstration of a talking picture, but his guests are unimpressed. To Don's amusement, Kathy pops out of a mock cake right in front of him, revealing herself to be a chorus girl. Furious at Don's teasing, she throws a real cake at him, only to accidentally hit Lina in the face. She runs away. Don is smitten with Kathy and searches for her for weeks. While filming a love scene, Lina tells him that she had Kathy fired. Don finally finds Kathy working in another Monumental Pictures production. She confesses to having been a fan of his all along.

After a rival studio has an enormous hit with its first talking picture, the 1927 film The Jazz Singer, R.F. decides he has no choice but to convert the next Lockwood and Lamont film, The Dueling Cavalier, into a talkie. The production is beset with difficulties, including Lina's grating voice and strong New York accent. An exasperated diction coach tries to teach her how to speak properly, but to no avail. Don is also given diction lessons which turns in a great tap number with Cosmo to Moses Supposes. The Dueling Cavalier's preview screening is a disaster; the actors are barely audible thanks to the awkward placing of the microphones, Don repeats the line "I love you" to Lina over and over, to the audience's derisive laughter, and in the middle of the film, the sound goes out of synchronization, with hilarious results as Lina shakes her head while the villain's deep voice says, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" and the villain nods his head while Lina's squeaky soprano says, "No! No! No!"

Don, Kathy, and Cosmo come up with the idea to turn The Dueling Cavalier into a musical called The Dancing Cavalier, complete with a modern musical number called "Broadway Melody". The three are disheartened when they realize Lina's terrible voice remains a problem, but Cosmo, inspired by a scene in The Dueling Cavalier where Lina's voice was out of sync, suggests that they dub Lina's voice with Kathy's. R.F. approves the idea but tells them not to inform Lina about the dubbing. When Lina finds out, she is infuriated. She becomes even angrier when she discovers that R.F. intends to give Kathy a screen credit and a big publicity buildup afterward. Lina threatens to sue R.F. unless he orders Kathy to continue working uncredited as Lina's voice. R.F. reluctantly agrees to her demands, as a clause in her contract states that the studio is responsible for media coverage of her and she can sue if she is not happy with it.

The premiere of The Dancing Cavalier is a tremendous success. When the audience clamors for Lina to sing live, Don, Cosmo, and R.F. tell her to lip sync into the microphone while Kathy, concealed behind the curtain, sings into a second one. While Lina is "singing", Don, Cosmo, and R.F. gleefully raise the curtain, revealing the fakery. Lina flees. A distressed Kathy tries to run away as well, but Don proudly announces to the audience that she's "the real star" of the film. Later, Kathy and Don kiss in front of a billboard for their new film, Singin' in the Rain.

I really enjoy the movie, but I have to admit a couple things that I have noticed over the years on different viewings. One thing is that the acting is not very good. It is all very hokey and I like to believe that this was done on purpose, but I have seen other productions from these actors and the acting from all three is  pretty similar. Another thing is that the pitch for the “modern number” that turns out to be the Broadway Melody was just shoved in for timing reasons and it comes out of nowhere and goes nowhere. I noticed that Rita Morena is in this film and she is a complete triple threat, but a 19-year-old Debbie Reynolds got the lead.

There are some very well known behind the scenes trivia notes that are pretty general knowledge to American movie fans, but I will go over a couple things. The Singin’ in the Rain number was set up but Gene Kelly was very sick with a fever so he did a practice take and went home. They continued filming the next couple of days but most of what is in the movie came from that initial sick take with fill shots from the other takes. 

Debbie Reynolds was not a dancer or a singer, but a gymnast. She had to be taught how to dance and you can see in her face how hard she is trying. Strangely, the speaking that she put in for Lina Lamont was actually the actress Jean Hagen (who played Lamont and was nominated for best supporting actress) who did not have that high pitch voice but a deep smoky voice. The singing that was dubbed over was not Reynolds either, but a professional singer named Betty Noyes. 

The film had a lot of difficulties as takes had to be redone because the crew did not really know what they were doing. There were episodes where the mic was poorly placed on the actor’s body (Debbie Reynolds) and there was difficulty getting clean takes, including an episode when the mic picked up her heartbeat. Donald O’Connor had to do the Make Em’ Laugh number twice because the cinematographer left the lens aperture open and the film fogged over. A lot of numbers actually had to be redone because of a fire. 

None of the other actors in this film ever reported working with Gene Kelly as a positive experience. Kelly had a very high standard and a very specific style which could be difficult as Reynolds was not a dancer. Kelly also had just come off of filming the previous year’s best picture, An American in Paris, and really wanted the movie to do just as well. He was mean to Reynolds and made her cry. He also had her do the Good Morning number over and over until vessels broke in her feet and she started to bleed all over the stage. O’Connor did not like the way the Kelly pushed around the other actors and referred to Kelly as an aggressive control freak. Gene Kelly admitted later to being far too hard on his fellow actors during this filming and both O’Connor and Reynolds forgave him suggesting it was a learning experience. It still sounds like pretty awful working conditions to me (edited)

Only two of the songs in the film were original for the movie, Moses Supposes and Make Em Laugh, although the former was based on a children’s rhyme and the latter was very similar to Be A Clown by Irving Berlin. This was actually the seventh movie that had Singin’ in the Rain as a feature song. It seemed like an homage to the popularity of the Follies in the 1920′s, using all of the popular notes of the year to commemorate the past. 

So should this film be on the AFI List? Absolutely, although I don’t know if I would have put it in the top 5. It is a lot of fun, it is very well known, it is still mentioned frequently in current popular media, and the actors really put a lot into the production. However, I wouldn’t put it above movies like Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz. That is a little much. And would I recommend it? Of course! This movie is a lot of fun and one of those movies that the pace pulls you through without ever needing to check the time. The dancing is fabulous and the show of the misunderstanding of sound in movies by the characters is truly hilarious. It is 100% certified fresh an Rotten Tomatoes and I completely agree. 

[onlyblogs]

Football Going Global??

Football is the game we all love, and adore for some of us never want to stop watching it. Football is the lifeblood of American sports because it is America's favorite sport it embodies grit and resiliency which is the mindset of most Americans. But let's say you were new to the sport and you would ask yourself how big the game of football is. In the last forty years, football has grown to become the biggest sport in the United States.

image courtesy of https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/07/us/dallas-cowboys-black-rifle-coffee.html

In every US state including Hawaii and Alaska, there is football being played whether it is high school, college, semi-pro, or pro football. In my experience, I have played football for almost ten years and coached for almost four years since I was the age of eight I grew up holding a pigskin, and I have seen some of the craziest games to the wildest endings. Football is a sport that changes lives and the reach it has on people is astonishing. Football is a game designed to teach people life lessons like accountability, resiliency, grit, respect, heart, character, teamwork, and what it means to win. These types of lessons are crucial for developing a strong-willed person and show players that no matter the obstacle you can be capable of anything.

image Courtesy of http://www.bowlingwiththestars.ca/3/miscellaneous1.htm

The type of game is eye-opening to all age groups making the game desirable to anyone who wants their children or young adults to learn moral concepts. In the past years, football's reach has exploded because of the game's cause, and how fun it is to play. Multiple Leagues and teams have started in Europe, and Canada because of how popular and fun the sport is to watch and play. The National Football League is the standard for big-time professional football across the world and they are crucial for creating a cultural passion for football in new countries to expand its reach. In Canada, one of the biggest leagues in the world was developed years ago called the Canadian Football League, and it has been a massive success with some of its games airing on American TV. It has been a huge league encompassing thousands of fans a handful of teams, and hundreds of players generating millions in revenue.

image courtesy of https://www.americanfootballinternational.com/afis-all-europe-team-the-full-squad/

In Europe, American Football is starting to take shape mainly in Germany and England with multiple Semi-Pro teams playing in multiple league championships. Almost every year the National Football League hosts games in cities like London and Mexico City to promote the sport of football outside of the United States to expand its reach of football. This type of brand marketing is driving a passion for football abroad, and developing football as a rival to other sports. Also in the United States, alternative leagues like the United States Football League have been reactivated to compete domestically with the NFL to open football to a broader audience.