#also the vice president who interrupted the filming to try to stop it

[iguessitsjustme]

Okay everyone. What do we think?

[defdaily]

‪[TRANSLATION] Nylon Korea Magazine June 2020 issue: JB's defined taste.

Translated by defdaily.

just JB

From GOT7’s leader to main vocal and even lead dancer… in other words, he is a multiplayer, and an all-rounder. We were in the midst of preparing the interview, and the editor who was researching JB could already come to know that all that was true even before meeting him. JB, who we meet on stage and on his own personal Soundcloud channel, really does well in everything. We were getting more and more curious about him before having met him. On the day of the cover shooting, we proceeded with the photoshoot first then had the interview after. Watching JB who was in the middle of his shoot, I could see that there are even more things that he is good at. While we talked about the concept and mood for the day, he faintly smiled and answered that he understood. And when he entered the shoot, we heard his answer even more clearly. He wiped the smile that he just had off his face and immediately showed through his actions that he understood what we talked about. In life, opportunities and good fortune are like a random game play but after seeing him we realised that it all came to find him. JB seemed as if he already knew that yet he was never impatient. I hope JB’s intelligent and sexy energy is relayed to Nylonias too.

“I’m doing music now, but be it vocals or dance, I’m not drawn to a particular side. They’re both similarly balanced, but the way I think about them is a little different. Singing is something I definitely want to do well, as for dancing, I want to have fun doing it. It’s good to be a good dancer. It would be really nice to be good at dancing, but since my aim for dancing is to enjoy it, rather than thinking ‘How can I dance better?’ ‘How can I dance more coolly?’, it’s more important that I enjoy myself and receive good energy while dancing.”

http://nylonmedia.co.kr/jb/#

Due to COVID-19, everyone’s daily lives have changed. How has JB’s life changed?

My time at home has expectedly increased. I play with the cats and sometimes go out for a walk. When I go out, I either go to my studio or even when meeting with friends, we try to choose places that are not crowded. It’s a period of time when we should all be careful so I think that we should do whatever we can.

Were you originally someone who spent a lot of time at home. There is a term “homebody” that reflects those tendencies.

There was a time when I stayed home and didn’t do anything for a few months, but I really felt stressed then. I realised then that being home alone too much isn’t good for you. But of course going out everyday is also tiring physically (laughs). That balance is important and when you’re at home, rather than lying down, collapsing and watching TV, it’s better to watch a film that you can relate to or read a book. I do those kinds of things at home.

When you were younger, you said all you did was dance. It could be a cliche question but what is dance to you? Isn’t the one thing that has been with JB or a long time.

The answer could be obvious but to me dance is something that feels like life and livelihood. Since young, rather than practising choreography that has already been set, it became a habit that I could dance freestyle to music that is being played. I don’t know, to me choreography is choreography and dance is dance, to me there is this distinction.

What standards do you think stand at the forefront of dance?

To me, I also consider nodding your head to music that is playing as dance. I think that’s my reply because I feel that  dance is an expression of your current feelings. In the past, something like that happened. When I was walking the streets and suddenly heard a song that I know despite it not being me who played it. Then I would suddenly start dancing. It happened when I was young, but now that I’m thinking about it, it’s a bit embarrassing (laughs)

It seemed like you were enjoying the rhythms of the songs that were being played on set today too.

Music that is my taste played so I was having fun while listening.

To many people, music is a hobby. But for JB that has turned into a career, has there not been times when it has been stressful?

While making music, the times when I can’t seem to create anything are the times (when it is most stressful) or when I had a certain thought or intention while making the song but it is interpreted differently. At those times I think, “Ah that’s not really it?”. Rather than stress, it’s a bit closer to regret.  When songs are not coming to mind, I often think, “Why can’t I think of anything?”, “Do I really not have any talent?” too. But you’re making something out of nothing so it can’t be helped that you collapse at times during the process. I also look back at myself. The stress I had at that time couldn’t be helped. I should put up with it.  

What do you think about while working on your music these days?

Being unlike myself? That’s the part I pay attention to the most. If a song turns out to be unlike me but not over-exaggeratedly, I think ‘oh that’s pretty good’ and can accept it. I try to avoid songs that are too like myself since it can be predictable.

I thought you would be the opposite and make music like yourself instead.

Because it feels like I’m locked up, so I don’t like that.

Do you think you have shown enough of songs that are like yourself?

That is not the case either. As JB, I’m the type to make songs like myself when making music for GOT7. Rather than myself, it has to be more like GOT7’s colour, so I think about that a lot. It’s not that I don’t like music that is like myself.

You seem to be the type that makes plans to clear things out and get them done.

I also have a spontaneous side. But I generally am the type to make plans. If I set my mind and think, “Let’s do this” then in the end I will end up getting it done.

Many people like JB as a singer. You may not have started with singing from the beginning, but you are now the main vocalist of GOT7 and worthy (of the position). What comes to mind when you look back at yourself as a vocalist.

I like my tone but I also don’t like it. Actually, I do think my tone matches well with bright moods or intense music but personally I think it has lacking points. I think it‘s too strong and bright, so I work hard to balance that out.

Is there another artist's tone that you think is good these days?

I often listen to Crush’s music, and I envy his soft tone.

When I see JB's collaborations with various artists, it‘s interesting how a new tone comes out each time.

That’s because I tailor it to whatever is needed each time. Sometimes it's fascinating to me too, that I express things differently depending on who I work with and how I came to meet them. I think vocal tone can be seen as an instrument that makes the music.

Fair skin and cold eyes, sharp nose and jawline, large build, twin moles. As they say, the image of a simple country boy and a cold city man seem to coexist. What is something people around you tell you is really cool about you?

People around me would never say that. Honestly, friends don't really talk about what's cool about each other right? We just curse and get cursed. (Laughs) Well, I know what I think (is cool) about myself.

We’re curious about that too.

Sexiness. Actually it’s more so the thought that I should certainly move forward possessing sexiness.

Is this something you’ve decided that represents you?

If we have to say that, then let's go with cute sexy.

Aren't you being too ambitious?

It’s just my own thoughts. (Laughs) In the past, I would have replied with ‘being free’. I thought that being myself without hesitation was a strength. But these days, it's more of a point that I have to fix rather than a strength. In reality I'm a very free-spirited person, but I don't think that is the right personality for celebrities or public figures.

Did something happen that might have made you feel that way?

I like being honest. But even I think I have a personality that can be misunderstood easily. Like peers my age, I sometimes talk without a filter when I'm excited. But I've been thinking, "Don't we need to manage our image?" Not a lot though. (Laugh)

You seem to be free-spirited, but with rules and such, you seem to be disciplined and have firm standards.

I always upkeep my own line/standard.  I’m not always on the clouds. It's the same for myself and also my friends around me, even for the members, if they cross the line, I am the type to calmly tell them “don’t you think maybe you shouldn’t say/do that?”.

You seem to be the type to say “that’s not it” right away when something is wrong.

Well, I think if I wait to say something, they might feel worse about it. So I’m the type to just say it right there and then that we should be more careful.

I’ve seen an interview in the part where the GOT7 members did not hesitate to say “JB is our leader. There is no other candidate.” But to be honest, being a leader, you can’t not have many burdens and responsibilities.

(Laugh) In the past that was the case so I used to get a lot of stress, but nowadays it’s not the case. Now everyone takes care of themselves and they’re all reliable. At some point, I started thinking that continuously saying "Let's do this" and "Let's do that" is starting to sound nagging. I don’t want that so unless it’s something that needs to be stopped, I don’t say much. Once I was really out of it so I asked Jinyoung to take care of team matters, he did really well so I’ve been leaning on Jinyoung a lot since then.

It feels like a president and vice president.

Nowadays I’m the vice president. (Laugh). I reinforce what Jinyoung says, I don’t interrupt and pretend to act like the head of the group.

Since GOT7 is a team of multi-national members, it would not have been easy to agree on things because of language and cultural differences.

The members are all very good at Korean, so there have never been any times when problems arose due to language issues. When we talk about our opinions, we ask, 'Okay so how do you want to go about this?' And then we go with the majority. This method is the most simple and fair.

Outside of your role as JB in GOT7, is Jaebeom the type to lead in friendships?

Not at all. In a friendship group, there’s always that one person who’s so quiet you don’t know if he’s there or not, right? That’s me. (Laughs) If you call for me, I’ll go out and have fun. But I’m not the type to go “ya~~~” to lead and start up the mood. (My character) is a character that disappears quietly after having fun together.

The latest mini album received a great response. It ranked No. 1 on iTunes music charts in more than 50 countries around the world. Domestic music charts and record sales were also overwhelming..

Out of ambition, I did hope it would be better. It is important for my name and the team’s name to be more known, however I hoped our music would reach more people.  

Looking at GOT7 onstage, everyone thinks you are a group that stands out with your performance.

We can be proud of that. It’s the thing we pay most attention to since we’re in GOT7. Now we also have some years of experience, so I think our skills should live up to that too. I thought that it’s a time when the team shouldn’t simply be releasing albums. I think we have to work hard so people go “ah great” when watching our performances.

Previously when we were doing the shoot, there was a cut that was a little revealing. Do you work out? There was a time when you were chosen as GOT7’s rep for having a “good body”.

These days I’m intending to start exercising again. And I usually don’t take things such as nutritional supplements, but I’ve come to think they’re important so recently, I stopped by a pharmacy to buy a variety of vitamins and probiotics etc and I eat them every morning.

Was there something that prompted that or did it just come to mind?

I’ve had a lot of interest in fashion, but I don’t really pay a lot of attention to my looks. I’ve come to realise recently that how you look is also part of fashion so I ‪want to take better care of myself. (Laughs) My body is the type to get big easily when I exercise so instead I tried to just lose weight by not eating. But I felt that my condition was starting to get out of control too so I told myself, “Ok, let’s combine (what we’ve done previously) with exercise as well and create a healthy body!”

How long have you been taking nutritional supplements for?

It’s barely been a week. (Laughs) I’m not sure if it’s because of my mood, but I already feel like I'm getting healthier. I woke up at 9 this morning. But I didn’t feel tired or anything, I felt so refreshed so I’m starting to believe more and more in the magic of nutritional supplements.

When we were talking about charms; you mentioned the term sexiness. What does JB think sexiness is?

How do I say this. Rather than forcibly thinking ‘I’m fatal’, true sexiness comes out in a natural situation or moment. Also when someone is working hard on what they do. I am also working hard on my job, and I especially pay attention to the atmosphere created by lyrics or songs. I think that sexiness comes to be when you naturally get caught in that kind of place.

Then what do you think being cool is?

When someone acknowledges their own weakness (problem) and knows how to take that in. Even if they can't fix it straightaway, they think about it once more, and are able to say 'I'm sorry’ or even discuss the issue more. That's what I think 'being cool' is.

Honestly when someone hears words that aren’t very kind, even though in your head you know what you should do, sometimes it’s hard to control facial expressions.

On the contrary, when hearing such things, if it was me I’d say ‘I fully understand what you mean. But to be honest, it doesn’t feel good.”  After acknowledging what I did wrong, I am the type to honestly express how I feel at that moment. Then I ask for some time if I need it or find the cause (of why I feel this way).

You seem to be someone that hates ambiguity.

But there are times when I act ambiguous too. Despite hating things like that. (Laughs) Sometimes I think ‘Am I this hypocritical?’ And have a hard time because of it, but again I guess everyone is like that in a way.

Translated by defdaily.

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: Iron Man 3

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Where We Continue Looking At The Marvel Cinematic Universe...

And With Phase One Now Behind Us We Move Now Onto The Start Phase Two, With The First Movie Of Phase 2, Iron Man 3...

This Film Sees Tony Stark Attempting To Deal With The Events That Happened In The Avengers While Also Dealing With Terrorist Attacks From A New Enemy Called The Mandarin, Will Tony Succeed In Stopping This New Threat While Facing His Own Issues?

Lets Find Out As We Watch Iron Man 3...

The Film Starts With An Intro From Tony Stark (Played Again By Robert Downey Jr) Before The Film Actually Begins With A Flashback On New Year's Eve In 1999 In Switzerland, Where Tony Is With A Girl Named Maya Hansen (Played By Rebecca Hall) And Happy (Played By The Person Who Should Have Directed This Movie, Jon Favreau) At A Conference Where Tony Actually Met Yinsen Before They Were Captured By The 10 Rings...

On His Way Up To His Room With Maya And Happy, Tony Meets A Fanboy Named Aldrich Killian (Played By Guy Pearce) Who Attempts To Get Tony To Join His Team At Advanced Idea Mechanics (Otherwise Known In Marvel As A.I.M.) Seemingly Interested, Tony Tells Killian That He'll Meet Him On The Roof In 5 Minutes...

But Being An Asshole Back Then Tony Doesn't Show And Instead Spends His Night With Hansen Only To Ditch Her The Next Day...

But Eventually Growing Out Of His Asshole Phase, We Come To Now As Tony Works On A New Mark 42 Armor...

Mark 42?!? We Were On Mark 7 How The Hell Did We Get To 42?

Well Turns Out That Ever Since The Battle With The Chitauri, Tony Has Been Without Sleep And Has Been Making Suits Like Crazy, Some That Are Just Plain Iron Man Suits And Others That Serve A Certain Purpose (Space Travel, Underwater Capabilities, Heavy Lifting Etc..) And This... Is Just Another Iron Man Suit...

(Start At 0:51, End At 3:04)

The Next Day, A Broadcast From A Terrorist Criminal Known As The Mandarin Goes Over The Airwaves And In Response To This New Threat, President Ellis (Played By The Bad Guy From Die Hard 2) Rebrands Rhodey As The Iron Patriot As The Name War Machine Did Not Test Well With Focus Groups...

War Machine Did Not Test Well With Focus Groups...

What Was The Age Preference For These Groups? Ages 2 To 3 Years Old?

Asking What's Going On With The Mandarin, Rhodey Tells Tony (Despite It Being Classified Information) That There Have Been 9 Bombings Despite The Public Knowing About 8 And There Have Been No Evidence Of Bombs Whatsoever...

Interrupted By Two Kids Asking For An Autograph, Tony Gives It But When One Asks About His Experience With A Black Hole In The Avengers It Causes Tony To Have An Anxiety Attack. Going To His Suit Outside, Tony Leaves...

Meanwhile At Stark Industries, Pepper Potts (Played By The Queen Of Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow) Has A Meeting With Aldrich Killian, Who Looks Less Geeky And More Suave And Debonair...

Anyway, Killian Is There To Show Pepper, A.I.M.'S Latest Project Called Extremis Which Hacks Into The Hard Drive Of A Living Organism And Recode It's DNA But With Pepper Believing That Killian's Project Is Dangerous, She Takes A Pass On It To Killian's Displeasure...

Returning To Tony's Mansion, Pepper Finds What She Believes To Be Tony Inside Of His Latest Iron Man Suit, Wanting A Kiss From Tony, Pepper Goes To The Lab To Get A Crowbar Only To Discover That Tony's Not Inside The Suit And That It's Just His Voice Coming From It....

Believing Their Date Night To Be Ruined, Pepper Decides To Go To Bed But Tony Stops Her When He Decides To Tell Her The Truth That Ever Since The Battle With The Chitauri, He's Been A Piping Hot Mess And That He Can't Sleep And The Only Reason He's Not In The Looney Bin Is Because Of Her...

Later That Night In Bed, Tony Has A Nightmare Accidentally Calls The Mark 42 Where It Attacks Pepper. Waking From His Nightmare, Tony Powers Down The Suit But Still Pissed Off Tony's Suit Almost Decapitated Her, Pepper Goes To Sleep On The Couch...

Meanwhile At The Chinese Theatre, Happy Follows Killian's Right Hand Man To There As He Looked Suspicious The Entire Time Killian Was Talking With Pepper And Boy, Was Happy Right, As He Seems To Be Selling Drugs To Someone...

(Start At 0:52, End At 3:10)

The Next Day A New Video From The Mandarin Is Released, As Tony Goes To See Happy In The Hospital Only To Do The Dumbest Thing In The World When Being Interviewed By The Press, He Gives Out His Home Address For The Mandarin To Come Face Him...

How Crazy Do Have To Be To Realize That This Is A Bad Idea?!?

So, Getting All Forms Of Information On The Mandarin From Everywhere And Even Recreating The Crime Scene In Virtual Reality, Tony Manages To Get A Look At The Dog Tags That Were Near Happy After The Explosion...

But He's Interrupted When He Gets A Visit From Maya Hansen...

Passing Out After Surviving That Attack, J.A.R.V.I.S. Eventually Wakes Up Tony When The Suit Reaches 5% Power And They're About To Crash Land In A Small Town In Tennessee, Letting Tony Out Of The Suit As The Power And J.A.R.V.I.S. Goes Out, Tony Drags The Suit Into The Workshop Of A Young Kid Named Harley Keener (Played By One Of The Kids From Jurassic World) Who Tony Recruits To Help Him Get His Suit Back On-Line...

Receiving A Call From Tony To Let Her Know That He's All Right, Pepper Ends Up Going With Maya Hansen, Who Believes That Her Boss, Aldrich Killian, Is Working With The Mandarin, Meanwhile Back In Tennessee, Harley Takes Tony To A Site Where A Former Military Solider Blew Himself Up, Killing 6 People In The Process...

But Tony Doesn't Buy It As There Are Only 5 Shadows On The Wall...

After Another Anxiety Attack When Harley Mentions The Avengers, They Get Back To Buisness By Talking To The Bomber's Mother Who Gives Him A File On Everything Only To Be Confronted By One Of Killian's Goons (And A Hot One At That, Despite The Scar On Her Face) Who Kills A Sheriff When Things Don't Go Her Way...

(Start At 2:52)

But When Killian's Right Hand Man Takes Harley Captive, He Uses A Device That Tony Gave Him Earlier Before Tony Blasts Him With A Handheld Repulsor Meant For One Time Use...

Stealing The Man's Car Keys Off Of Him, Tony Says Goodbye To Harley And Takes Off To Go Stop The Mandarin...

However As That Happens Another Message From The Mandarin Comes On The Screen, Stating That If The President Doesn't Call Him Within The Next Half Minute, He Will Kill The Accountant For The Roxxon Corporation, However, When The President Calls Him, He Shoots The Guy Anyway!....

Pissed Off About This, The President Tells His Vice President To Tell Rhodey To Find This Lunatic Now...

Looking Over The Files In His Car, Tony Realizes That A.I.M. Is Behind This, So, He Contacts Rhodey To Get His A.I.M. Account Name And Password As They Upgraded His Suit. Eventually Getting It, He Goes To A News Truck (Which Is Covering A Miss America Like Pagent Where Stan Lee Is Judging!)...

Stan Lee Cameo!

To Use Their Satellite To Encrypt Some Data Files But Only Problem Is Their Connection Is Slow To Say The Least, But Wouldn't You Know It The Guy Who Is Handling The Van Is A Tony Stark Fanboy...

So, He Speeds Up The Internet By About 40% So Tony Can Get His Files Which Reveal That Extremis Is What Is Causing People To Blow Up...

Pepper Talks With Maya At A Hotel Only For When Hears A Knock On The Door To Be Confronted By Killian Who Kidnaps Pepper As We Discover That Maya Is Actually Working With The Mandarin...

Meanwhile, Half Way Across The World, Rhodey Continues His Search For The Mandarin Only To Get Kidnapped Himself By...The Wicked Witch Of The West From Once Upon A Time...

Contacting Harley Back In Tennessee (Who Is Trying To Get The Suit Back On-Line) He Manages To Get Tony In Contact With J.A.R.V.I.S. Who Is Back On-Line And That After Factoring In A.I.M.'s Headquarters Around The World, Their Location Is In Miami...

That However, Is The Good News...

The Suit Is Charging But It Won't Be Enough Power To Revitalize The Mark 42. Having Another Anxiety Attack Without Harley Even Mentioning The Avengers Or New York, Harley Suggests That Since Tony Is A Mechanic That He Should Just Build Something...

So, Taking Harley's Advice To Heart Tony Does Build Weapons Before Driving To Miami..

Only For Tony And Us To Discover The Biggest F-You Moment Of The Entire Movie...

And That's That The Mandarin Is Not The Mandarin But An Actor Named Trevor Slattery...

What The Hell!?!

THIS HAS TO BE THE WORST TWIST IN A MARVEL MOVIE EVER!!!!

Why Did They Do This!?! Why Did They Think That We Would Be Shocked By This Huge Middle Finger Pointed At Us?

The Mandarin Is Supposed To Be A Genius Scientist And A Superhuman Martial Artist Whose Sources Of Power Come From Ten Rings That Adapted From Alien Technology From A Crashed Spaceship While Here You've Made Him An Actor Who Only Took The Job To Support His Drug Usage...

Screw You, Marvel, Screw You For Screwing Up A Good Character...

Knocked Out By Killian's Right Hand Guy, Tony Wakes Up Only To Be Confronted By Maya Who Asks Him To Help Her Fix Extremis, But Saying Go To Hell, Tony Is Then Confronted By Aldrich Who Tell Him Why He's Doing This Which Is Basically The Same Reason Syndrome Became A Villain In The Incredibles...

Yes, Everyone, Shane Black Is Stealing From Brad Bird's Closet...

Wanting To Repay Tony By Making Him As Desperate As He Was Killian Shows Tony That He Is Injecting Extremis Into Pepper, Not Liking This Maya Turns On Killian And Tells Him To Let Tony Go Or Else She'll Kill Herself By Injecting Extremis Into Her But Instead, Killian Decides To Leave Out The Middle Man And Just Shoot Her...

With Tony Calling Killian A Maniac, Killian Exits So He Can Attempt To Get Rhodey Out Of His Iron Patriot Armor By Burning Through It, Eventually Getting Rhodey Out, Killian's Right Hand Guy Knocks Him Out...

Guarded By 2 Guards, An Alarm Goes Off On Tony's Dora The Explorer Watch Which Gives Him The Go Ahead To Call The Mark 42 From Harley's In Tennessee...

With Pieces Of The Suit Coming One At A Time, Tony Takes Out The Guards. Going Outside, Tony Sees Killian Take Off In An Army Helicopter While His Second In Command Commanders The Iron Patriot Suit...

With Rhodey Coming To, He Takes Out Some Guards Before Contacting Tony Who Introduces Him To Trevor, Who Doesn't Tell Them Much About Killian's Plan Except That It's Happening On A Big Boat Off The Coast And It May Involve The Vice President...

Contacting The Vice President, He Tells Tony That He's Surrounded By Secret Service And He Doubts Anyone Will Attack And With The President Safe On Air Force One With Rhodey On-Board He Honestly Has Nothing To Say To Tony But When Rhodey Gets On The Phone Explaining Everything To The Vice President, He Tells Them That He'll Lock It Down And If Need Be, Have F-22's On Stand By...

However, It's Somewhat Implied By The Vice President's Crippled Daughter That He's Working With Killian...

With The President And "Iron Patriot" On-Board Air Force One, With The Plane Taking Off, Killian's Right Hand Man Locks 2 Security Guards In The Bathroom Before Taking Out The Security Guards That Are Guarding The President...

Placing The President Inside Of The Iron Patriot Suit, Killian's Right Hand Guy Is Preparing To Jump Ship, However, Tony May Have Something To Say About That....

(Start At 0:36, End At 3:56)

Tony Activates The House Party Protocol, While The President Arrives In The Iron Patriot On Killian's Ship, Asking What Killian Wants, He Tells The President Nothing Only Stating That With His Death The Vice President Will Have His Job...

Sneaking On-Board Killian's Freighter With Rhodey, They See The President Inside Of The Iron Patriot Suit Strung Up Like Jesus To The Cross, Only To Be Spotted By Killian's Men And Women Who Serve Him Who Start Shooting At Them...

(Start At 0:59)

With Pepper Alive, She Finishes Off Killian By Blowing Him Up Again...

What The Hell, If You Don't Succeed Killing A Guy With Explosions Once Then Try Try Again...

Understanding Now Why Tony Doesn't Want To Give Up Being Iron Man, Tony Promises Pepper To Find A Cure For Extremis By Limiting His Job As Iron Man Ten Fold By Activating The Clean Slate Protocol, Destroying All Of His Suits...

You Know, When I Saw This In Theatres I Thought This Was The End Of Iron Man, Tony's Suits Are Destroyed, His Arc Reactor Is Taken Out And Some Guy Who Yinsen Knew Takes Out The Remaining Shrapnel That Was In His Heart So There's No Way To Power His Suits So The Question Remained And Still Remains, How Could Tony Be Iron Man Without The Arc Reactor?

But Aside From That Lingering Question, The Vice President And Trevor Slattery Are Arrested, Tony And Pepper Spend Christmas In Some Continent, It Looks Like Happy Will Survive To See Spider Man Homecoming And Harley Gets A Laboratory Upgrade From Tony As A Thank You While Tony Tosses His Arc Reactor Into The Ocean As It's It Appears That He's Leaving Iron Man In The Past (Despite Us Knowing That We'll See Tony Again In Age Of Ultron)

After The Credits Roll We Get An End Credit Scene, Which Shows Us That The Person Tony Has Been Talking To All This Time Was Bruce Banner (Played Again By Mark Ruffalo) Who Fell Asleep While Listening To Tony Talk...

Before I Say What I Thought About The Movie I Think I Should Briefly Mention The Marvel One-Shot Entitled All Hail The King, (SPOILERS) Which Shows What Happened To Trevor Slatttery After The End Of Iron Man 3 As A Documentary Filmmaker Named Jackson Norriss Who Goes To Ask Trevor Some Questions About The Mandarin Incident...

Only For Us To Discover Later That Jackson Actually Is There To Break Trevor Out Of Prison So He Can Meet The Real Mandarin Who Wants Trevor To Pay For Impersonating Him On TV...

And Recently It's Been Revealed That We Will Meet The Real Mandarin In Shang Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, There's Only One Problem That I Have With This And That's That It's Not Iron Man Who's Going To Be Fighting Him But Shang Chi!

The Mandarin Is Iron Man's Bad Guy Not Shang Chi's And Now That (Again, Spoilers!) Iron Man Is Dead, We Can't, And They Think It's Just Okay To Place Him With Another Superhero?

Well, It's Not, You Had Your Chance At The Mandarin And You Blew It, So Move On To Another Supervillain That Doesn't Belong To Another Superhero! Because I'll Tell You When This Film Comes Out I Have No Intention Of Seeing It Unless They Somehow Resurrect Tony For This One Movie Or Have Someone That Is Connected With Tony In Someway (Like Rhodey) In It To Make Up For The Mistakes In This Movie!

But Enough Of This Rant And Onto What I Thought About This Movie...

It's Okay, The Action Scenes Are Good And Robert Downey Jr. Is Good As Tony As Always But The Rest Of The Film Is A Jumbled Mess, From The Story To The Villain This Movie Is Horrible Everyone Says That The Problem With The First 2 Iron Man Movies Is That The Villain Is Just A Guy In Another Iron Man Suit, Well, No Offense I Would Rather Have A Guy In An Iron Man Suit As A Bad Guy Than Getting What We Got Here...

Also I'm A Little Upset That They Kinda Killed The Best Character Of These Iron Man Movies....DUM-E!!!! NO!!!!!! But Of Course I Kid, As We See Tony With DUM-E's Remains At The End Of The Movie, Either Way, This Movie Is One Hot Mess And I Say Skip It And Just Wait Until Age Of Ultron To Get Your Iron Man Fix...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

[imran16829]

Who is Lt Col Alexander S. Vindman Biography, Wiki, Age, Family, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, National Security Council, Fast Facts You Need to Know

Alexander S. Vindman Biography, Wiki

Alexander S. Vindman is an American foreign affairs specialist serving on the National Security Council as director for European Affairs.

Alexander S. Vindman Age

He is 44 years old.

Early life and education

Alexander Vindman and his twin brother Yevgeny were born in Ukraine. After the death of their mother, they were brought to New York in December 1979 by their father, Semyon (Simon) along with their older brother. They grew up in Brooklyn's "Little Odessa" neighborhood. The twins and their maternal grandmother were in the Ken Burns film, "The Statue of Liberty (film)". Vindman speaks fluent Russian and Ukrainian.

Personal

Vindman is married to the former Rachel D. Cartmill. Vindman's identical twin brother, Yevgeny, is an attorney on the National Security Council. Alexander S. Vindman Bio Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman of the Army is a National Security Council's top Ukraine expert. Twice registered internal objections about how Mr. Trump and his inner circle were treating Ukraine, out of what he called a ‘sense of duty,’ he plans to tell the inquiry.” “He will be the first White House official to testify who listened in on the July 25 telephone call between Mr. Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.” Under #1, abusing official power for personal gain: “I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen, & I was worried about the implications”– @USArmy officer Alexander S. Vindmanhttps://t.co/ESGswS8j9m pic.twitter.com/Feytf54zwA — Alex Howard (@digiphile) October 29, 2019 Lt Col Alexander S. Vindman Trump Ukraine Call On October 28, 2019, Vindman's opening statement, issued before his statement on October 29, 2019, was released in a closed session of the House Intelligence Committee, the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Oversight Committee "In the spring of 2019, I noticed external influential people who propagated a false and alternative representation of Ukraine that contradicted the consensus opinion of the Interagency and" harmed the national security of the United States "and" the efforts of the government of the United States to expand undermined cooperation with Ukraine. " Vindman says he was also affected by two events he opposed in real time against senior officials and that he informed the Attorney General of the National Security Council. The first event took place on July 10 at a meeting of the then Minister of National Security and Defense of Ukraine, Oleksandr Danlylyuk, with the United States National Security Adviser John Bolton, at which Ambassador Volker and Sondland and the Minister of Energy Rick Perry participated in Sondland Ukraine will initiate investigations against the Bidens to receive a meeting with President Trump. Vindman said that Bolton had interrupted the meeting and that he and Fiona Hill both told Ambassador Sondland that his comments were inappropriate and that he had informed the NSC's superior council of concerns. “I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen... This would undermine U.S. national security.”—Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman, top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council who reported 7/25 Ukraine call https://t.co/RzKyRksJQG — Ted Genoways (@TedGenoways) October 29, 2019 The second event occurred on a July 25th phone call between President Trump and Zelensky when Trump directly asked Zelensky to investigate the Bidens in exchange for military aid. Vindman states, “‘I was concerned by the call. I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a US citizen, and I was worried about the implications for the US Government's support of Ukraine, and the potential to undermine US national Security." Vindman also reported this event to the NSC's lead counsel. Why do house researchers want to hear from Vindman? Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman will be the first White House official to testify who listened in on the July 25 telephone call between Mr. Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine that is at the center of the impeachment inquiry.https://t.co/fbZc3Dwbzr — VoteVets (@votevets) October 29, 2019 US officials previously told CNN that the standard procedure suggests that Vindman heard the July 25 conversation and probably played a role in handling the call log. In addition to the questions about the content of this conversation, Vindman will probably press during the minutes of the appeal to White House officials trying to control the implications. CNN previously reported that the confusion that occurred in the hours and days after the call and described by six people who are familiar with it is parallel and expands the details described in the whistleblower complaint. Concern and concern are reflected in a telephone conversation that deeply disturbed national security experts, even though Trump now insists there is nothing wrong with his own behavior. And it shows a failed effort ultimately to stop the agitation of lawyers in the administration. Vindman was also one of five Trump administration officials who were selected for a US delegation headed by Energy Minister Rick Perry to attend the opening ceremony of Zelensky in May, sent to Ukraine. The denunciation of the complainants alleged that the president had degraded the delegation and ordered that "Vice President Pence cancel his planned trip" because he wanted to see "how Zelenskyy decided to take office." Both Sondland and Volker have testified before the House committees in the political trial investigation. Perry, who is described by some as a key element of US relations with Ukraine, has pledged to work with lawmakers to investigate the allegations of the complainant. A source who accompanied Perry on this trip told CNN that they had never heard Biden in discussions or as part of the trip's mission. According to the source, Perry travels regularly at the request of the White House. Volker resigned from his post after being affected by the complaints of the complainant. Perry plans to cancel his position in the administration until December. Questions about Trump-Zelensky call transcript An NSC Ukraine expert complained to WH lawyers about Trump's appeal to Zelensky to investigate Biden. Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman will be 1st impeachment witness who heard July 25 call. “This would all undermine U.S. national security,” he will testify https://t.co/KNsC0Y4dJW — Julie Davis (@juliehdavis) October 29, 2019 House of Representatives Democrats are likely to be interested in knowing what Vindman calls the Trump-Zelensky call log immediately after the call, particularly claims by complainants that it was not stored in a security system. typical superior but in an inappropriate president system Previously, CNN reported that almost as soon as Trump hung up, news of what he had said in the teleconference was distributed among National Security Council personnel, particularly his request that Zelensky investigate Biden. The request was cause for concern for some of its national security officials, who discussed with each other if Trump had crossed a border. Initially, the process of transcription and archiving of the call followed the standard procedures for dozens of previous presidential talks with foreign leaders: the raw protocol was distributed to a small group of officials, including the National Security Advisor, the Deputy Security Advisor National, members of the Executive Secretariat and lawyers National Security Council. From there, the Director of the National Security Council for Ukraine, Vindman, verified the accuracy of the document before sending it to the then National Security Advisor John Bolton and his deputy Charles Kupperman. At this time, the document would normally be marked as "restricted access" and would be transmitted as necessary. But in a matter of days, a National Security Council lawyer, by order of his boss John Eisenberg, ordered Council officials to postpone transcription in the codified system, a former White House official said, despite the fact that He was there during the call. No encoded material was discussed. A person familiar with the matter said it was possible for Eisenberg to use the call log after his first call to the main CIA lawyer in the keyword system to "keep the record" because he realized that it was It could be a legal issue However, other people familiar with the matter said the measure had taken place after officials realized internal concerns and wanted to prevent others from reading the document. Fast Facts You Need to Know Conclusion The United States and Ukraine are and must remain, strategic partners, working together to realize the shared vision of a stable, prosperous, and democratic Ukraine that is integrated into the Euro-Atlantic community. Our partnership is rooted in the idea that free citizens should be able to exercise their democratic rights, choose their own destiny, and live in peace. It has been a great honor to serve the American people and a privilege to work in the White House and on the National Security Council. I hope to continue to serve and advance America's national security interests. Thank you again for your consideration, and now I would be happy to answer your questions.  Read the full article

[liz-goodwin]

On the left, a call to ‘Resist’ Donald Trump

Photo illustration: Yahoo News, photos: Getty Images, AP)

A few weeks after Donald Trump won the election, Neera Tanden, the president of the liberal think tank Center for American Progress, changed her Twitter photo from a headshot to a yellow square with a single word written in black.

“Resist,” her new profile photo said.

The word has become the unified rallying cry of the anti-Trump center-left since the reality show star’s upset victory in November — popping up everywhere from angry post-election hashtags to social media posts encouraging inauguration protests to Chuck Schumer’s opening speech on the floor of the Senate last week. Weeks before Trump was scheduled to take the oath of office, liberals began urging each other to form a “resistance” to push back against his promises of disruptive change — language that is far stronger than that used by minority parties in recent history. At the Department of Justice holiday party last month, Matt Miller, the former spokesman and a fierce Trump critic, even handed out pins with the Cross of Lorraine on them — a symbol of the French Resistance.

“Resistance became a watchword from Day One,” said Ben Wikler, the Washington director of the grassroots liberal organization MoveOn.

The night after Trump’s victory, MoveOn called for protests they described as “gatherings of solidarity, resistance and resolve.” Of those terms, the word “resistance” was the one that stuck out — and stuck. Wikler said it draws power from the way it evokes the image of the good guys fighting back against oppressive regimes in history and fiction, “from the French Resistance through the spirit of the rebel alliance in ‘Star Wars,’” which was again gaining attention thanks to the December release of the film “Rogue One.”

Grassroots activists have embraced the language, with the group carrying out civil disobedience actions at Trump Tower in Manhattan calling itself Rise & Resist. Since the election, Center for American Progress’ political action branch, Thinkprogress, has raised $200,000 selling black shirts that say “Resist” in white lettering. Last week, it was what a protester screamed when he interrupted incoming Trump press secretary Sean Spicer at a panel at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics. “This is not normal, people!” the activist shouted, before being escorted outside. “Stand up and resist!”

“There’s no secret committee that decided that this was going to be the word,” said Wickler. “It was something that everyone thought of at the same time, and that’s when you know an idea has legs.” This Sunday, the group is sticking with that collectively decided call to arms, organizing 500 meetings around the country for activists to plot how to “resist” Trump’s cabinet nominations and legislative agenda.

Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, speaks during the third day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia , July 27, 2016. (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

“Resistance” has made its way from the grassroots to the Senate floor. In his opening speech as minority leader last week, Schumer vowed several times to “resist” Trump and congressional Republicans under certain circumstances. “His biggest and most consistent pledge was that he would make America great, make the lives of Americans better,” Schumer said. “We will hold him accountable for that. And we will resist him if he breaks that promise.”

The intensity of the language of opposition is reflective of Trump’s deep unpopularity on the left. Just 10 percent of Democrats said they had a favorable view of Trump in a November Gallup poll — far fewer than the 31 percent of Democrats who said they liked George W. Bush right after he was elected. Overall, just 42 percent of Americans said they had a favorable view of Trump — a figure that’s more than 15 points lower than the previous three presidents before their inaugurations, and one that makes him the least popular incoming president in at least 25 years.

The call to “resist” also embodies some liberals’ refusal to accept Trump’s win as legitimate. Many argue his win was only possible thanks to Russian meddling before Election Day and the last-minute intervention of FBI Director James Comey. Trump’s incoming White House staffers and even some Democrats have chided this refusal to acknowledge Trump’s win. “It’s over,” Vice President Joe Biden told some House Democrats  who attempted to stop Trump’s Electoral College vote tally last week.

But others in the “resist” movement say the point is not to dispute Trump’s win but to organize around stopping his agenda. “He is the president, and people should not try to deny the fact that he had won fair and square in the Electoral College, but that doesn’t mean that Democrats or a majority of Americans that deemed him unfit should suddenly acquiesce to principles of his that are completely out of step with our core values,” said Brian Fallon, a former spokesman for Hillary Clinton’s presidential run.

In the idea of “resistance,” liberals also see a call to embrace new opposition tactics over the next four years, tactics that are needed because they say Trump’s campaign promises — building a wall along the entire U.S.-Mexico border, mass deportations, and banning Muslims from entering the country — fall outside the boundaries of acceptable political debate.

Signs across campus asking students to “First accept, then Resist” were vandalized to convey “Do not accept, resist.” Protests continued throughout campus on Wednesday, November 9, 2016 in Berkeley, Calif. (Rachael Garner/The Daily Californian)

“The most important thing we’re trying to signal is these are not normal political debates,” Tanden said. “These are not normal times. It’s not that we’re having disagreements about one thing or another. We believe he wants to change the rules of the game and that calls for stronger opposition across the board.”

It remains to be seen whether the left will mobilize into a sustainable protest movement of “resistance” as it has in previous decades.

“The language that’s being used — resist, resistance —i s notable, it says that there is a lot of controversy about where the Trump administration proposes to take the country, but it’s also not the first time the country has entered into these phases of intense political conflict,” said Alasdair Roberts, professor of public affairs at the University of Missouri and an expert in protest movements.

The antiwar protests and opposition to President Richard Nixon in 1968 were far more intense than the level of grassroots mobilization against Trump so far, Roberts added. Protests against President Herbert Hoover ahead of the 1932 election were also more extensive. “They had to call troops and tanks out in the streets of Washington to break up protests of veterans demanding better treatment from the federal government,” he said.

Amy Ard, a political organizer in religious communities who started a Facebook group called “Swamp Revolt” after Trump won to suggest ways to fight his agenda, said she is seeing liberals who never participated in protests before start to become activists.

“People are just getting used to what it feels like to resist, and probably never in a million years would have called themselves resistors,” Ard said.

Ard suggested the newly minted activists call their members of Congress to complain when House Republicans scaled back their internal ethics watchdog last Monday night. The outpouring of protest pressured the Republicans to reinstate the ethics office.

“It’s lucky for us that ‘Star Wars’ put out a new movie and ‘The Resistance’ sounds like the team you want to be on,” Ard said.

Read more from Yahoo News:

Trump blasts Meryl Streep for searing Golden Globes speech

Son-in-law: Trump didn’t actually believe birther conspiracy

U.S. spy agencies detail Russia’s role in boosting Trump

[glenngaylord]

GOOD OLD-FASHIONED, ALL-AMERICAN FUN - My Review of THE KING OF COMEDY (5 Stars)

Since Jerry Lewis died on August 20, it seemed only fitting to rewatch the 35th Anniversary screening of THE KING OF COMEDY on Labor Day.  Having been raised watching him on the Muscular Dystrophy Telethons every year on that holiday, I thought it fitting to honor him by revisiting what I feel is his greatest acting achievement.

Initially a box office bomb and largely ignored by critics, this prescient film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by the late Paul D. Zimmerman, a former NEWSWEEK film critic, is right up there with NETWORK and A FACE IN THE CROWD in predicting the onslaught of crazy or untalented people achieving fame and power. Sound familiar in this age of social media stars and Presidents?  I also think it’s Scorsese’s best film and Robert DeNiro’s greatest performance to date.  It also brought us a blazing, unforgettable performance by Sandra Bernhard in her debut.  Did I also mention it’s one of my favorite, squirm-inducing, funcomfortable, funny/sad anti-comedy comedies of all time?  Since I wasn’t in the game of writing movie reviews when it was first released, I thought it appropriate to take a stab at it now.

DeNiro plays Rupert Pupkin, an aspiring standup comic who lives with his mother and makes money as a messenger in NYC.  He idolizes Jerry Langford (Lewis), a Johnny Carson-esque late night talk show host, and dreams of a slot on his show as a ticket to instant stardom.  God forbid Rupert should pay his dues and go to every open mic night available.  Instead, he practices his appearances on the show in his basement, complete with cardboard cutouts of Langford and guest Liza Minnelli.  Every now and then, his daydreams get interrupted by the voice of his mother (a hilarious cameo by Scorsese’s own mother), instantly reminding us of Rupert’s place in the world.  We don’t know yet if Rupert is talented or not, in fact we won’t know until a scene near the end, but his corner-cutting entitlement predated so many Hiltons, Kardashians and Trumps.  

When we first meet Rupert, he’s outside Langford’s studio along with a throng of autograph hounds.  When Jerry enters his limo, a crazed fan jumps in after him.  That would be Masha (Bernhard).  Langford, adept at clocking a stalker when he sees one, immediately gets out and comes face to face with Rupert.  From inside the limo, the frame freezes on Masha’s hands pressing against the window, aching to make contact with Jerry.  Ray Charles’ “Come Rain Or Come Shine” plays on the soundtrack:  “I'm gonna love you, like nobody's loved you/ Come rain or come shine” - so eery in this context.  It’s such an indelible image of obsession and one in which I knew we were in for a masterful filmgoing experience.  

Seizing the moment, Rupert parts the crowd, shepherds Jerry to safety and then climbs into the limo himself.  He uses him time just long enough to convince Jerry to listen to a tape of his material.  Never mind that he hasn’t recorded it yet, Rupert takes Jerry’s condescending brush-off and uses it as invitation to much more subversive actions.  

Scene after scene shows Rupert trying to infiltrate Jerry’s offices, but he comes across the expert deflection of a knowing receptionist or Cathy Long (Shelley Hack in a cunning, astute performance), Jerry’s Development Rep.  Masha also schemes to get a love letter to Jerry, but also gets the cold shoulder.  In one amazing sequence, Masha chases Jerry down the street, but gets turned away at his revolving office door.  Eventually, Rupert and Masha team up to kidnap Jerry, allowing Rupert to appear on his show and for Masha to have some personal time with her prey.  

What works so well in this fairly straightforward, simple story is the tone.  It’s meant to keep you in a constant state of queasiness.  Scorsese, with his cinematographer Fred Schuler, locks the camera down most of the time so that we’re forced to sit still with our main characters…the better to make you squirm.  Things only get zippy when we’re out in the New York streets.  Lewis himself directed one of those scenes in which we watch Jerry walk to work.  With calls out from construction workers and cab drivers, Jerry has a little spring in his step.  A woman at a phone booth stops him to praise him.  Jerry thanks her but demures when she asks him to talk to her nephew on the other end of the line.  Turning on him instantly, she yells, “You should only get cancer! I hope you get cancer!”  And that, in a nutshell, is the brilliance of this film.  The journey from top to bottom, and vice versa, can be very short.  

At one point, Rupert reunites with his high school crush Rita (Diahnne Abbott).  She sees him for what he is, but can’t resist an offer to go to Jerry’s with him for the weekend.  Unbeknownst to her, they weren’t invited.  Jerry’s dead-inside reaction to this home invasion speaks volumes.  In scene after scene, Lewis plays against type.  Gone is the wacky clown, replaced by years of knowledge of the exact toll celebrity can have on a person.  It’s an astonishing, scary, unforgettable performance.  A prisoner of his own fame, Jerry can do nothing but be numb to the atrocities on display.  

Rupert is a delusional, entitled, lazy dreamer.  He was decades ahead of social media stars who made fortunes by posting a picture of their breakfasts.  DeNiro has never given a performance that’s anything like this.  He’s constantly gesticulating and unwilling to take no for an answer.  He’s dangerous.  Who would have imagined that 35 years later, a Rupert would become the leader of the free world?  

When we finally get to see Rupert’s act, done in one incredible single take, it’s mediocre at best.  Sometimes mediocrity is celebrated.  Oh what the hell am I saying?  This country has a history of putting mediocrity on a pedestal.  It explains Twenty One Pilots.  

I look at THE KING OF COMEDY as TAXI DRIVER’s funnier but just-as-ugly little brother.  Two delusional men find fame by committing crimes.  They both go after ideal but disinterested women.  One does it to save an innocent soul while the other is completely self-serving.  On second thought, which one is the darker film?

There’s too much to unpack, but I want to point out some details that get me every time:

-Rupert eyes the ceiling of Jerry’s waiting room.  It makes the weary receptionist look up. He notices and then asks her, “Is that cork?”  Probably the best use of insipid small talk in a film since NASHVILLE. -Masha’s entire head shaking wildly when she goes on one of her tirades -Rupert standing in front of a giant audience photo as he fantasizes about his big debut -The guy imitating Rupert behind his back, sending a signal to Rita that she’s having dinner with a schmuck. -The never-ending mispronunciation of Rupert’s last name (Pipkin, Pumpkin, Pupnik) -Members of The Clash in the scene where Masha yells at everyone, calling them “street trash” -Masha’s reprise of “Come Rain Or Come Shine”.  Funny how Bernhard’s career after this film always included a little comedy and a little singing. -Masha casually tossing the wine glass away. -Masha clearing the candlelit table as everything comes crashing down.  They threw in cat noises just to make it even funnier. -Masha’s one-sided conversation with Jerry, telling him, “I want to be black” and then doing an adorable yet frightening Tina Turner imitation. -Rupert asking Cathy, “Are you speaking for Jerry?”  Makes my skin crawl. -Editor Thelma Schoonmaker, a legend, smash cutting to the Jerry Langford show logo right after Masha strips down to her underwear and says that she and Jerry are gonna have “Good old-fashioned, all-American fun!” -Masha hauntingly blowing a kiss to Jerry.  She’s crazy scary.   -Rita proves she’s just as susceptible to the glow of fame when she steals a little box from Jerry’s house.  She’s supposed to be the saint of the story, yet even she can be bought. -The announcer cheerily chimes, “Rupert Pupkin, everybody!  Rupert Pupkin!” -The line:  “Better to be king for a night than schmuck for a lifetime.”  

I kept thinking about NETWORK and A FACE IN THE CROWD when watching THE KING OF COMEDY this time.  How ahead of their time these films were, and what would a prescient film made today look like?  Would we be predicting the end of fame?  The end of mediocrity?  A return to hard work and talent?  If only.  

[tialovestelevision]

Straight Trumpet

Back to Sound! Euphonium for a little… well, Sound! Euphonium. We just finished the auditions, where Hazuki failed to qualify for the competition band and Reina was given the solo trumpet part over the far more popular senior member Kaori. There’s going to be fallout, here.

1. Previously On, then the opening credits. It’s a little odd to still see Aoi in the opening credits, since she was basically written out of the show after her storyline. Buffy and Angel tend to pretty much excise all images of departed characters from opening sequences.

2. A sempai of Kumiko’s is yelling at her, because Kumiko made the competition and she did not. I’m not sure who it was… the scene was filmed in pretty deep shadow. She blames Kumiko, which is both irrational and oddly natural - a year ago, under the old seniority-based rules, she would have been guaranteed a slot while Kumiko would have had to compete for the remaining slots after all interested second- and third-years got theirs. But now there are auditions, and meritocracy sucks if you ain’t meritorious. Kumiko ruminates about this while she is emptying her spit valve, but Natsuki, who also failed to make the competition team and is Kumiko’s sempai, approaches her and says she wants to talk. Natsuki is smiling. She offers a treat, then Kumiko agrees to meet her and Natsuki leaves. Title card.

2a. I just rewatched that scene. It’s not a scene set in the present… there’s two details that point that out, both are really obvious, and I somehow managed to miss them both. Kumiko and the other girl are wearing middle school uniforms, and there’s a sign declaring it to be middle school. Oops. That reframes the whole scene - it isn’t about Kumiko being chewed out now; it’s explaining why she’s worried that Natsuki will be angry with her for making the competition band. The scene with Natsuki happens in the present, though - the flashback ends just before Kumiko cleaning out her spit valve. Now returning you to the original viewing of the episode.

3. Band practice, with the new, leaner concert band. They got the tempo right, which is important because if they go over they’ll just be cut off, which sounds like a death sentence for one’s dreams of a good placement. Taki asks them to bring blankets next time. Hazuki is asking about why, and also asks Kumiko to join her and Midori for sweets. Natsuki interrupts to say that she has a claim on Kumiko’s afternoon, and is still smiling. After Natsuki leaves, Kumiko mutters that Natsuki’s smile scares her; Hazuki points out that she said that out loud. Kaori’s fangirl is staring at Kaori, who is helping Haruka with her tempo changes. Kaori gets called over to help someone else. Reina passes the fangirl and tells her good luck. The fangirl stares after her like she has no idea what to do with that. The fangirl then goes and finds the notes Kaori wrote in her sheet music and is happy. The horns are gossiping about the trumpets.

4. Natsuki got Kumiko a milkshake. It’s strawberry. Natsuki likes chocolate. Natsuki brings up the audition; Kumiko immediately explodes with apologies. Natsuki says that she has only been playing the euphonium for a year. and is neither surprised nor upset that she failed the audition and Kumiko made it. Natsuki talks about how motivated she was to practice by Taki, and that Taki asked her to audition with parts she hadn’t practiced. She’s happy that Kumiko got the spot. She takes Kumiko’s sheet music, and writes on it, “Go for the gold! Let’s play together next year!” That’s painfully sweet. Natsuki is happy, but also pokes a little fun at Kumiko’s tendency to be polite and to cry.

5. Kaori’s fangirl - Yuuko! Yuuko! - is at the playground with Kaori, telling her about something. I think she thinks she knows why Taki picked Reina over Kaori for the solo part? Kaori doesn’t think whatever Yuuko thinks is going on is going on. Yuuko disagrees, but Kaori asks her to tell others not to spread whatever rumor it is that Yuuko has picked up on. Yuuko begs Kaori not to give up, and points out that this is Kaori’s last competition. “Your dream… your dream has to come true! Otherwise…” Then Kaori thanks her. I can see why Kaori is so popular… there’s a very compelling sort of serenity to her. She’d be a comfortable person to be near.

6. The band is laying out blankets on the floor. The reason is because the blankets will absorb sound, so they will have to play both louder and better to make it sound good with the blankets down. Why do that? Because the size of the concert hall for the competition will also deaden their sound. Now they’re going to practice. Yuuko says she has a question, and Taki allows her to ask it. Yuuko: “Is it true you knew Kousaka Reina before this?” Kaori looks stricken, and Reina twitches. The rest of the room gasps. Taki asks what Yuuko hopes to accomplish by asking that; Yuuko stomps over to Taki and accuses him of playing favorites. She demands the truth. Taki says he never played favorites, but that he did know Reina. Their fathers were friends. Yuuko asks why he didn’t reveal that before; he says there was no need to. Taki, here, is correct. He really shouldn’t be talking about it now, either. Yuuko starts to say something else, but Reina taps a window to get her attention and tells her to stop insulting Taki, and that Yuuko knows very well why she was chosen. It was because she is better than Kaori. Kaori tries to defuse it, but Yuuko stomps over to Reina to yell at her. Natsuki tells Yuuko to shut up, then Kaori yells at everyone to stop. She’s crying now. Reina: “If you’re going to complain, do it when you’ve surpassed me.” Burn. Inappropriately timed, Reina, but still burn. Reina leaves the room, and Kumiko chases after her. Midori looks after Kumiko, worried, but Taki tells the remaining students to finish setting up so they can start practice.

7. Kumiko catches up to Reina. Reina is annoyed, then stops walking, inhales a huge breath, and gives a wordless scream of rage. “So annoying. So annoying. Holy crap, what’s wrong with her? She can hardly even play! What’s her problem?” Kumiko starts to giggle a little, and Reina asks why. Kumiko says it’s because she thought Reina was depressed… and doesn’t finish the sentence because Reina throws her arms around her neck and hugs her. Reina asks, “Do you think I’m wrong?” Kumiko says she doesn’t.

8. Kumiko and Reina are outside, and Reina is giving backstory. Reina’s father was a trumpet player, and Taki’s was a conductor, so that’s how they met. Reina found out that Taki was coming to Kitauji, so she turned down an invitation to a more prestigious school to go there. Kumiko expresses surprise. Reina: “What could I do? I like Taki-sensei. Not in a ‘like’ kind of way. I mean in a ‘love’ kind of way.” Then she gives Kumiko a very vulnerable look. Kumiko asks about the word “love,” but Reina says not to repeat it because it’s embarrassing. Taki doesn’t know how she feels, and she says he’d never favor her in an audition. She’s upset that Yuuko would start complaining about Taki now. Kumiko agrees, and also thinks that Reina is cute. Reina calls Kumiko awful. Kumiko asks if Reina would ever give up her solo; Reina says no. “I’d probably just double down. That’s what it takes to become special.” Kumiko: “That’s you.” She then tells the audience that at the time, they didn’t know how arduous it could be to remain strong. We see Kaori looking out the window.

9. The stories about Taki and Reina continue. Reina’s father is being added to them. Taki is staying silent, which makes matters worse. Midori thinks it might be necessary for Reina to give up the solo for the good of the band. Hazuki disagrees, because Reina didn’t do anything wrong. Hazuki: “What does Kumiko think?” Midori: “After all, it’s about Kousaka-san…”

10. Teacher-student meeting between Kumiko and Michie. Michie tells Kumiko to relax, and asks her how things are going, then about her goals, which she has none of, so she should study hard. Especially math. Michie tells her not to get too distracted with band.

11. There are horn players jumping into the blankets. Taki comes in and sees them. He doesn’t approve. He asks why they are packing up; a student says they’re not, they’re just moving the blankets out of the way during break because it’s hot. Taki gets angry. Very angry. He yells that he didn’t say they could tear it down, and demands - politely - that they put it back. Then less politely. The students are starting to reassemble the room, but they look listless. He asks one what’s wrong; she says it’s nothing. Yuuko is sitting on the floor.

12. Back to sectionals, because things are too fraught for ensemble play. The horns and clarinets are unfocused, and the trumpets are a mess. Haruka has been trying to talk people down, but nobody trusts Taki. Natsuki complains that if they get Bronze again, there will be no point in her and Hazuki having failed the auditions. Midori and Hazuki want Asuka to fix things, but Natsuki doesn’t think she could. Gogo says he doesn’t think it’d be the same for the competition. Kumiko is asked to go speak with Asuka about it, because Asuka respects Kumiko. She’s been drafted. She uses “suckered into this” to describe it, then she hears someone playing trumpet. Sounds like Reina, but it’s Kaori. Asuka shows up behind Kumiko, startling her. “Caught you looking,” she says. Asuka is unsurprised Kumiko found the good stuff. Asuka talks a bit about Kaori, saying that she’s not giving up, but also not trying to garner sympathy. Kumiko asks Asuka what she thinks about the audition between Kaori and Reina. Asuka says she can’t answer that, because she’s the vice president and will stay neutral. Kumiko gets Flat Kumiko Look on and asks Asuka for her personal opinion, off the record. Asuka asks if Kumiko can keep it secret. Kumiko agrees to, and Asuka says she doesn’t care. Kumiko can’t tell if Asuka is telling the truth or not. She then runs into Haruka, who asks for Asuka. Kumiko tells Haruka that Asuka went back, and Haruka looks out the window to see Asuka talking to Kaori. Haruka focuses a moment, slaps herself lightly to build up determination. “You’ll have to do this by yourself, Haruka.” Do what?

13. The staff office! Taki is making copies. Michie asks him about the competition. She’s being nice. That makes me nervous. Michie knew Taki’s father. Then his copies finish.

14. Haruka is addressing the band. Two horns are talking off to the side, but Haruka actually calls them out for ignoring her. Haruka talks about the rumors, and that they’re doing damage. “Forget gold. I don’t even know if we can get silver like this.” She says there were no problems with the auditions, but tells people not to talk behind the leadership’s backs. If they have an issue, they can raise their hands. “Who has a problem with the auditions?” Yuuko’s hand goes up first, then a few other hands go up. I don’t think a majority, but a significant number. Taki has shown up at the door, and he looks stricken for a moment, but gets that off his face when Haruka addresses him. “You’re all quiet today,” he says. “Why the hands?” Yuuko immediately tells him. He comes in and says he has an announcement. He’s rented a concert hall for them to practice in. While there, he’s also willing to give second shots at auditions. He asks those who are interested in further auditions to raise their hands, and they’ll get a second before the whole band, so there’s no questions. Kaori stands up for a second audition for the solo part. Yuuko is crying, and Taki tells Kaori and Reina that they will have a second audition for the solo part. Episode end.

Overall: Reina and Taki - and, for that matter, Kumiko, though she is more hesitant to indulge it - are disruptors. They enter established systems and change them. As I talked about last time I did Sound! Euphonium, that casts them as villains in Japanese culture. In America, we love disruptors; Japan rather fears them. Both attitudes have their advantages (America gets Steve Jobs) and terrifying flaws (America gets Donald Trump). It does, however, make being a disruptor in Japan a difficult life.

Which is likely why Kumiko doesn’t show her disruptive side all that much.

I feel like I should talk about Reina’s feelings toward Taki, though I don’t much want to. They are, especially to a Western audience, one of the more uncomfortable things in the show, rating right alongside the utter dystopia that is Kumiko’s home life. It’s… not abnormal, in Japan, to have a crush on a teacher. It’s not even abnormal to express it to one’s friends, or to, in a moment of extreme emotion, even to the teacher (though having a moment of extreme emotion in public at all is a bit fraught, using it to express a crush on a teacher is not much more fraught a thing to do than to, say, burst out crying or eat a cake). But these are childhood and teenage crushes, and to let them linger past the acceptable age is abnormal. And a teacher allowing said crush to be acted on, or encouraging it, would be… I don’t think criminal the way it is in the United States, but definitely a massive breach of both social etiquette and trust. It would be a cause for shame, and shame is powerful. The intensity of Reina’s feelings would mark her out as strange, but the intensity of Reina’s feelings on everything she chooses to care about at all (Taki, Kumiko, the trumpet) are quite strange. Reina is a toweringly passionate girl.

We’re moving into the home stretch of season 1 here. There are two more regular episodes left, plus a special episode about the girls who failed the audition for the competition band. Stick with me; I won’t steer you wrong.