#and Julie has consistently shown like little to no interest in any man

[paverics]

remember in from when fatima kissed a girl and julie watched like 🤯😳😏 and then she kissed fatima— but they just never mentioned it ever again? what the fuck was that???

[denimbex1986]

'Rarely in recent years has so much public attention been riveted on three films opening over a single two-week period. Just as “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” (Paramount) has arrived, and just ahead of the July 21 openings of “Barbie” (Warner Bros. Discovery) and “Oppenheimer” (Universal), hopes for three distinct films changing the trajectory for the summer are sky-high.

Ahead of the initial reports on “Mission: Impossible” results from pre-Wednesday previews, here’s a film-by-film analysis of the opportunities and challenges for each film, as well as their combined potential for theaters.

“Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One”

Two things to note ahead: The pre-marketing cost on this latest sequel has been reported as $290 million, triple both of the previous two films in the “Mission: Impossible” franchise. And you might have noticed the marketing? Not cheap either.

Then, there are the expectations. Anything less than the biggest film of the summer (“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is heading to close to $400 million) or even the year (“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” $574 million) might seem disappointing.

That’s unfair and unrealistic. That potential certainly exists, but so do impediments.

The consistent appeal of this franchise since 1996 (as well as its consistent quality) is evident....

This summer has consistently shown multiple franchise titles falling short of high-end expectations...But could lesser sequel resistance be a factor here?

Though past films have overcome this, “Mission: Impossible” is the first half of a two-part story. That could impact reactions, thanks to an ending that, by all accounts, only whets the appetite for more.

“Mission: Impossible” also faces the issue of limited playtime in premium theaters, as well as second-weekend competition from both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.” A handful of films this summer (“Spider-Verse,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Elemental”) have sustained strong holds, but the norm this year has been quick falloffs.

On the plus side, this is getting initially strong reviews...

Domestic returns are important, but any response to the film’s grosses should be more on the international side, both because of precedent (the previous two films’ take came from less than 30 percent domestic)...

Paramount is pushing all the buttons to maximize the gross. A Wednesday opening, plus three different sets of previews that started more limited (Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday) will produce a higher gross than just the normal Friday start. And the hope is that initial positive response make the weekend bigger.

“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer”

These are two significant non-franchise titles in the heart of the summer, both costing around $100 million, both from previously acclaimed directors, with both hoping to receive both critical and popular positive response to propel them beyond the pre-release appeal the films already have.

The awareness for “Barbie” has been sky-high since production was announced. That sort of interest is tricky to maintain. The marketing has not faltered through its one-showing premiere last Sunday.

Like “Oppenheimer,” it faces challenges. It’s not what a four-quadrant movie (its appeal initially is skewing more female). It’s a comedy, with a tricky path to find the right balance.

It also has in Greta Gerwig a director whose “Lady Bird” and “Little Women” both surpassed expectations, and Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as leads, and of course familiarity with the iconic dolls. And its originality might actually be an asset as audiences get more resistant to retreads.

“Oppenheimer” with Christopher Nolan directing (of course, a huge part of its draw) has likewise been in the spotlight since announced. As a biopic about a scientist, partially in black and white, 180 minutes, it’s not normal summer wide-release fare.

Nolan has smartly positioned the film as a visual experience. His previous films have emphasized premium formats, and the curiosity about how the spectacular power of atomic explosions are conveyed in state-of-the-art technology is high with this one.

His previous World War II-set “Dunkirk,” also released in July, was a success with adjusted grosses of around $200 million domestic/$600 million worldwide. It had the advantage of military action (a draw for older male audiences who rarely go to theaters). The appeal of the subject matter is less clear here. Apart from what promises to be a sensory experience, Nolan’s reputation and the expectation of top-level reviews add interest.

The two films will follow different paths.

“Barbie” might open to double “Oppenheimer” (perhaps $100 million to $50 million), but if those are the figures, that’s parallel success. “Barbie” should have a heavier domestic share, while Nolan has generally approached two-thirds foreign. “Oppenheimer” is handicapped by its length, combined with strong interest in seeing it on premium screens. That will limit seating initially (similar to “Avatar: The Way of Water”), but assuming it sustains interest, it could see a strong multiple. (“Dunkirk” got to $188 million from a $50 million opening weekend, less burdened by initial limitations and competition.)

The Stakes for the Summer and Beyond

Theaters need money into the till and fast. The range of suggested expectations ($300 million domestic for “Mission: Impossible,” $200 million for the other two) should be enough to improve the current situation. Last July saw a domestic gross of $1.134 billion. At those levels, combined with other films, $1.2 billion (best month since 2019) is doable.

Both “Mission: Impossible” and “Barbie” have the strongest upsides during the months above these levels (“Oppenheimer,” again, perhaps more over a longer period). If either or both overperform and push the total higher, it would be a clear win for theaters.

And over-performance by “Mission: Impossible” would provide relief that franchise fatigue can be overcome with a smart production. For “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” success would encourage more non-franchise top-end pictures, as well as deeper trust in proven creative directors like Nolan and Gerwig.

But the risk that one or more of them does less than expected also exists. Four years into the COVID-impact experience, it’s not getting any easier.'

[thezodiaczone]

Capricorn Compatibility

CAPRICORN + ARIES (MARCH 21 - APRIL 19) Aries is the Alpha in most relationships, but here the Ram meets his match. In the Goat, Aries finds a more seasoned pack leader, and backs into a rare state of obedience. This weighty respect comes from Capricorn's ruler, wise old Saturn, the planet of maturity, authority and command. Capricorn is the zodiac's father sign; Aries is its firstborn child. It's the difference between a king and a knight, a queen and a duchess. Both are noble, but one is clearly the elder. This can be a dealbreaker for Aries in some cases, as too much paternalism makes this independent sign run for freedom. However, it usually works. Although Aries can be a hellish brat, Capricorn is unruffled and even amused by the tantrums, giving Aries space to act out. If you accept your cosmic roles, you can make excellent partners in both love and business. Aries is ruled by warrior Mars, and Capricorn is a four-star general by nature. You both see life as a battlefield to conquer, and with Aries' grit and Cap's determination, there's no goal you can't achieve. Earthy Capricorn excels at structure and planning, and is the terra firm beneath the Ram's restless hooves. Fiery Aries is a daring playmate who amuses, excites and entertains the sober Goat, especially in the bedroom (where Capricorn has a lesser-known lusty side). Aries is a flirt, and this can spark jealousy in traditional Capricorn. Over time, trust and mutual respect abolish the Goat's fears, and you make supportive lifelong partners.

CAPRICORN + TAURUS (APRIL 20 - MAY 20) ♥♥♥♥ You're fellow Earth signs who really vibe well together. By day, you're both hard-driving workaholics. Taurus is the plodding Bull, Capricorn the sure-footed Mountain Goat. Any business venture you launch together will thrive, and you share a deep respect for tradition, family and long-term security. You're both shrewd financial planners, though your love of earthly pleasures can break the bank, too. Once you punch out and uncork the Sancerre, you morph into a pair of hedonists. Sleeping and lounging are favorite pastimes, and on weekends, a forklift couldn't pry you off the sofa. However, Capricorn is far more self-disciplined than the indulgent Bull. Taurus is ruled by Venus, the goddess of beauty and pleasure; Capricorn by strict Saturn, the cosmic taskmaster. Where Taurus is a megalomaniac forever humming his own praise song, poor Cappy flogs himself for even the slightest misstep. Saturn's repression also gives Cap an eccentric side; he can fall into melancholy or fatalistic spells that confound Taurus. The Goat is always planning for rainy days—and as karma goes, plan for a downpour, and you'll surely get one. Taurus refuses to pack an umbrella, for he can't fathom worrying about something that hasn't even happened yet, nor shown up on the radar. You both have something to teach each other. The Bull is gifted at savoring the present, while nostalgic Capricorn obsesses over the past and the future. Strive to get your timing right.

CAPRICORN + GEMINI (MAY 21 - JUNE 20) A metaphor for this match: a music producer combines a soulful 1970s classic (Capricorn) with funky electronic hooks (Gemini) and delivers a mashup that's either a mess or a chart-topping hit. You couldn't be any more different if you tried, yet you can really benefit from each other's natural resources. Gemini is ruled by speedy Mercury, the lightning-fast trickster who speaks in silver-tongued half truths. Capricorn's overlord is Saturn, the cautious, conservative planetary patriarch, who only trusts that which stands the test of time. Gemini is versatile and restless, like a fusebox with a million criss-crossed wires. Capricorn is the dutiful ox who carries the yoke and plows the field, rarely diverging from routine. While Capricorn's dogged consistency and family loyalty can frustrate Gemini ("How can you let these people walk all over you?" Gemini asks, referring to Cap's elderly parents), it also grounds the scattered Twins.Gemini is Capricorn's one-man circus, keeping the Goat amused and entertained, adding color to his monochromatic world. You both have a lusty, experimental side, too. The magic really appears when you get physical, which happens fast, since your sexual attraction is intense. In fact, Capricorn is one of the few signs that can spike Gemini's jealousy. There are so many people who rely on sturdy, supportive Cap, and Gemini doesn't like to compete for the spotlight. To make this work, Gemini will have to accept that Capricorn's loyalty extends to family and lifelong friends. Stoic Cap will need to show a little more emotion, since impish Gemini needs to know he can get under Capricorn's skin. It will take time to work out the kinks, but the erotic tet-a-tets will be worth the trouble.

CAPRICORN + CANCER (JUNE 21 - JULY 22) ♥♥♥♥ Paging June and Ward Cleaver! Cancer is astrology's mother and Capricorn is its patriarch. You're opposite signs that might very well polarize into these retro roles. On the zodiac wheel, Cancer rules the fourth house of home, family and femininity. Capricorn governs its tenth house of fatherhood, authority, masculinity and ambition. In many ways, it's nice to have a mate who happily redresses your shortcomings. Yet, it can also be off-putting. Cancer longs for touch and affection, misty-eyed Hallmark moments and emotionally naked conversations. Stoic Capricorn can be stiff and formal, a closet neurotic who pooh-poohs Cancer's feelings as overblown melodramas. In truth, Capricorn just internalizes his feelings, then falls into depressions or flogs himself mercilessly. You must learn the other's "love language" to succeed as a couple.Cancer shows caring through sentimental gestures, food, togetherness and well-intended nagging. Capricorn's expression is through duty—bringing home a steady paycheck, showing up on time, holding it together when everyone else falls apart. Capricorn must learn to honor Cancer's feelings and intuition; the Crab must develop gratitude for Capricorn's loyalty and quiet wisdom. Parenting is where you really shine as a team. Raising children is the ultimate honor for your signs, as well as a creative challenge. You're both loyal to your families, no matter how much they drive you crazy. This is a quality you respect in each other. At the end of the day, you share enough common values to make a solid, lifelong match.

CAPRICORN + LEO (JULY 23 - AUGUST 22) You're insatiably attracted, but you often end up hurting each other through a series of misunderstandings and ego battles. Leo is ruled by the confident Sun, Capricorn by self-doubting Saturn. That's just the start of your differences. Leo is a starry-eyed Fire sign who believes that anything can be achieved by sheer willpower and the refusal to take "no" for an answer. Capricorn is a traditional Earth sign, equally ambitious, but rarely willing to color outside the lines. He approaches life like a steady Mountain Goat, taking tentative steps toward his ten-year goals. Your different pacing could drive you both mad. Although loyal Capricorn is usually the stalwart partner in relationships, Leo is far more devoted in this match. Lusty Capricorn is mostly interested in sex. While you'll have plenty of hot romps, Leo can mistake Capricorn's physical attraction for love. Oops! The Lion must perform due diligence, and assume nothing. Unlike Leo, Capricorn's love is hard-won, not something he hands out like candy to Trick-or-Treaters. Then, there's the cheerleading that grates on the Goat. Leo urges Cap to believe in himself, which the Goat laughs off as fluff ripped straight from a cheesy self-help tome. Yet, lo!—Leo follows Covey's seven steps and becomes a highly successful person. Instead of congratulating Leo, war is declared: Capricorn scoffs at Leo's dreams, and Leo sets out to prove Capricorn wrong ("I'll show you!"). Before long, you stay together just to spite each other. What's the point?

CAPRICORN + VIRGO (AUGUST 23 - SEPTEMBER 22) ♥♥♥♥ You're pragmatic Earth signs who strike a perfect balance between sensible and sensual. You bring out the best in one another. Virgo is ruled by Mercury, the communication planet. A natural psychologist and articulate speaker, this sign likes to talk everything out. Stoic Capricorn is ruled by stern, repressed Saturn, and struggles to voice his feelings. Capricorn benefits from Virgo's ability to draw him out of dark thoughts. When Virgo's anxieties take hold, practical Capricorn brings a helpful dose of perspective. Dutiful souls, you take care of parents, friends and family members, and your cozy home is everyone's favorite crash pad. Holidays and parties are warm, congenial affairs, and nobody wants to leave. Marriage is a sure success, and you laugh often, excellent medicine for your serious signs. The lovely thing about this combination is how natural you can be—a refreshing break from your formal public demeanors. A favorite example: One Virgo friend, a singer-songwriter, was stricken with a creative block. Her Capricorn husband poked his head into her studio, and found her obsessing. She launched into complaining, and he deftly interrupted: "Wanna f---?" A satisfied hour later, she finished the song. Offensive to prim Virgo from any other sign, but Capricorn can go there. You relax into your carnal natures around each other, loosening up in ways that few other signs can elicit.

CAPRICORN + LIBRA (SEPTEMBER 23 - OCTOBER 22) Capricorn is the provider sign, forever seeking a mate in need of financial backing. Libra is a vain dilettante who's happy to play muse to an Earthy benefactor. You have your oft-irreconcilable differences, yet you stay together all the same. In many ways, you have what the other needs. Libra is a master of social graces with a billion air-kissed "friends." Capricorn can be an antisocial grumble-puss who cleaves to childhood cronies and family. Libra spends on impulsive pleasures; Capricorn plans for tomorrow. Battles can be brutal. You're both convinced of your natural superiority; your haughty contretemps and ego showdowns merit a Bravo series. Of course, antisocial Capricorn would never allow cameras into the estate, while Libra would whip together a stylist, understudy and five-star craft services. Therein lies the difference: your values. Not an easy hurdle to scale, even for a determined Goat or a patient Judge. A successful relationship will require much compromise. The fawning affection romantic Libra craves will be in short order. Capricorn shows love through acts of service and loyalty, not pandering. Libra must learn to accept love in a less-adorned package, and trade a few parties for cozy nights in. Capricorn must exit the cave to meet new people, play host and smile once a season. You can do it—but will you be happy? That's the question.

CAPRICORN + SCORPIO (OCTOBER 23 - NOVEMBER 21) ♥♥♥♥ If you were to sign a pre-nup, Schedule A must clearly designate who will play the "Top" and who will be the "Bottom." After your attorneys haggle over the prone position, you may just call off the engagement. An inability to reach settlement is likely for two uncompromising Alphas such as yourselves. Although your business-savvy signs can make quite the contemporary Napoleon and Josephine, LLC, there are terms that must be negotiated in advance. For one, you'll need to swear off secrecy—and that will be the true test of your relationship. Scorpio and Capricorn are masters of underhanded power plays that could topple this merger fast. Your first job: learn and practice direct communication ("whip me like THIS" or "no, darling, the leather corset, not the PVC"). Master it, and the rest is a cakewalk. You can lash each other to bedposts, tryst on the conference table in your glass-paned office tower, or earn your mile-high wings with nary a flight attendant knowing. The 2.5 kids you produce will have some interesting conception stories, that's for sure. Not that you'll ever tell. A little secrecy with the rest of the world is fine. Just make sure to erase those sex tapes before the housekeeper finds them.

CAPRICORN + SAGITTARIUS (NOVEMBER 22 - DECEMBER 21) The fate of this match rests in your ability to merge your strengths. Sagittarius is the visionary and the starry-eyed optimist; Capricorn is the master architect and builder, the ultimate realist. You each excel where the other is weak, and you make excellent business partners. However, your values and lifestyles can be vastly different, complicating romance. It's like the class clown dating the class president—an odd couple indeed. To Sagittarius, it's fascinating that anyone could possess such restraint. Stoic Capricorn cracks hard-won smiles at Sagittarius' antics and amusing insights. Yet, Sag optimism soon clashes with Cap pessimism, and here's where you reach your impasse. Restless Sagittarius needs a playmate to dream and scheme, but cautious Cappy shoots holes in the Archer's impetuous ideas, pointing out the foundational flaws. Yet, it's that grim, unvarnished realism that saves the day in a crisis. While Sagittarius freaks out and lapses into denial, Earthy Capricorn holds a powerful, Zenlike acceptance of "what is." Love truly blooms when you make it through a dire breakdown and realize your incredible teamwork turned the ship around. For the long haul, independent Sag must allow Capricorn to be the rock, and the Goat must learn to take a few more bold personal risks.

CAPRICORN + CAPRICORN (DECEMBER 22 - JANUARY 19) Two ambitious Capricorns are on a lifelong mission to get ahead. If you can reach the brass ring faster by teaming up, then why not? You certainly admire each other's unflagging determination and crafty tactics—and you apply your business savvy to courtship, much like a game of chess. Name-dropping is akin to sexual banter for your sign, and "getting into the VIP section" sounds like a kinky metaphor. In a way, it is. You're titillated by power and yearn to be part of the elite. Sure, it may sound cold and calculating, but by nature you're a goal-oriented sign who lives by a long-term plan. Thus, your mate must fit neatly into the picture. You're a pair of workaholics with a closet kinky streak, and if you can leave the office before midnight, you'll enjoy a lusty connection behind closed doors. At the same time, you cleave strongly to time-honored tradition and remain loyal to your childhood friends for life. Parental approval and proper stock is a must. No matter how much you love someone, if he/she doesn't fit into the family dynasty, it's a deal breaker.

CAPRICORN + AQUARIUS (JANUARY 20 - FEBRUARY 18) This is the match of the traditionalist and the rebel, the rule-maker and the rule-breaker. Capricorn is the guardian of history, and Aquarius is an innovator who has little regard for the past. If you can meet somewhere in the present, it's sure to be interesting. Disciplined Capricorn can teach Aquarius the value of structure, and Aquarius can help Cap think outside the box. You're both competitive and controlling in your own ways, and few signs can rival your work shared work ethic. The wheeler-dealer light never switches off in either of you—you'll hand out business cards at a funeral. Still, you might be better off as professional partners, since your bedside manner is so different. Lusty Capricorn may be aloof in public, but this sensual Earth sign is a bona fide freak in the sheets. Although Aquarius may love to shock people in public, behind closed doors your interest in sex can be tepid at best. (As the ruler of electricity, gadgets may be preferable.) Socially, Capricorn can be cold or snobbish, choosing friends based on status. Popular Aquarius befriends everyone—don't be surprised if the Chinese food delivery guy ends up at the dinner table sharing your Hunan chicken. Still, Capricorn can be an important grounding force for Air-sign Aquarius, preventing you from floating off into the ether. Life is never dull with an unpredictable Aquarian.

CAPRICORN + PISCES (FEBRUARY 19 - MARCH 20) On the surface, you might seem like an odd match—imagine a Harvard MBA in Armani dating a paint-splattered artist in Oshkosh. Yet, your signs pair well, even if you don't want to admit it. With classic good looks and a dutiful nature, Capricorn fits neatly into the system. Pisces is a flowy Fish who excels at playing the the artsy rebel, the indie darling, the adorable mess. By comparison, Capricorn seems structured and regimented—but appearances deceive. While Pisces may delight in coloring outside the neat lines Capricorn draws, the real surprise is that Capricorn is the bigger freak behind closed doors. Capricorn has a dominant, even cruel streak that can play out in the bedroom (not that submissive Pisces doth protest). Leather, whips and kinky fun—it's all fair game. You both love to find lesser-known wine, music, and art, a pride yourself on having cultivated tastes. Together, you can traverse the tony uptown spaces to the lowbrow dives, discovering cultural jewels wherever you go. Your diverse strengths could make you great business partners, too. Open a gallery, with Pisces as curator and Capricorn as financial backer.

[teatitty]

SO ABOUT BRUCE’S LOVE-INTERESTS

First of all I think we need to address why he has so many compared to other DC characters. Well, my good people, this is very simple: his writers are bad. A lot of his love-interests simply existed for the sake of a story and most of the time the reason they don’t work out is because, and I’m not bullshitting here, it’s part of Batman’s nature to be so obssessed with solving crime that he can’t maintain a serious relationship with women. And Bruce Wayne’s relationships fail because of his constant absences and secrets.

That being said, sometimes his relationships fail for other reasons. So let’s get this started shall we?

Category One: His Major Relationships

These are his relationships that have consistently shown up in many continuities and were, in fact, attempts on giving him some kind of serious girlfriend, regardless of how the writers failed.

1: Julie Madison. Julie’s character has changed a lot in the different continuities but originally she was an actress who broke up with Bruce because he refused to stop his “playboy ways” even when she confronted him about them. In one version she goes on to marry a man in Europe. In New Earth her hair was changed from black to auburn and, instead of being an actress, she was the daughter of an entrepeneur. 

She broke up with Bruce when she learned he was Batman and that her father had been killed as a result of Batman’s action. She moved to Africa and became a missionary. In current continuity, Julie is an artist and her father is an arms dealer who sold the gun that was used to kill Bruce’s parents. They first dated as teens but met again when Bruce lost his memories (amnesia stories yaaay). Bruce was so passionately in love with her, that he was even ready to settle down and marry her. Unfortunately, in his absence, Gotham’s crime had skyrocketed and Alfred and Julie had to, regretfully, give him his memories back so he could be Batman once more. This also erased his memory of being with Julie.

In The New Batman Adventures comics, Bruce and Julie dated right up until Bruce found out she was only after his fortune. That’s just how it be in comics sometimes. She also appeared in the Batman And Robin movie but her character added little to the plot and most of her scenes ended up being edited out in the final cut.

2: Victoria/Vicki Vale. Vicki Vale was created to be Bruce’s version of Lois Lane (yeah it’s no wonder this never worked). They got involved because she made it her life’s mission to expose Batman’s identity and ended up dating Bruce in the process (it’s also worth noting she was already suspicious of him being Batman). Her character hasn’t had a lot of changed over the years and, surprisingly, has managed to keep most of her original characterization. 

She disappeared from the comics when Julius Schwartz took over the editorial office in 1964. She was re-introduced in the early 1980′s by Gerry Conway but idea was ill-advised as her character had very little development and was instead the same old concept of someone finding out Bruce’s identity. Doug Moench was mainly responsible for slowly removing her as Bruce’s love-interest, though she has since returned to that role. In Batman: The Road Home, Vicki finally got proof that Bruce was Batman but decided to keep it to herself and instead became a confidante and ally of the batfamily, rather then Bruce’s girlfriend.

She appeared in Tim Burton’s Batman as well, but was a damsel in distress throughout the film and only learned his identity through happenstance rather then because she was seeking it out.

In various other continuities, she’s been shown as an occasional date for Bruce Wayne.

3: Selina Kyle needs to introduction but her influence in his life is so long and extensive she’d need a post of her own to cover it all. You’ll be pleased to know that there have been quite a few stories where they’ve managed to sustain a relationship and be happy together.

4: Talia Al Ghul. Obviously we all know her for being Damian’s mother, whoever Ra’s himself has encouraged her relationship with Bruce, because he wants to try and recruit Batman into the League of Assassin’s.

Originally, Talia was very devoted to Bruce and loved him as much as she loved her own father, even saving his life on multiple occasion’s, though she always returned to her father’s side afterwards. They had a sexual encounter that lead to the birth of Damian, as we all know, but over time Talia became more antagonistic towards Bruce, seeking to fulfill her father’s goals and rule with Batman by her side instead. However, he rejected her proposal and she declared war on him (yikes.)

In Batman: The Animated Series, her character was practically the same as her comic iteration. She returned in Batman Beyond where Bruce was horrified to learn that she’d given up her body for her father (yeah. That’s a thing).

In Batman: Arkham City, Talia and Bruce had a romantic background and cared very deeply for eachother, even willing to risk their lived to save the other’s.

On Earth-16, Bruce broke all ties with Talia due to her conflicting morals; her love for Bruce vs her loyalty to Ra’s. 

In the Dark Knight Rises film, Talia is an executive member of Wayne Enterprises who becomes romantically involved with Bruce. She eventually takes over the company and tries to destroy Gotham per her father’s mad design.

Category Two: Minor Relationships

These are his love-interests who have only appeared sporadically as options for him over the years, rather then being a consistent thing.

1: Amina Franklin. Originally someone who worked as a nurse at Leslie Thompkins’ clinic, Amina met Bruce at a party and they started dating shortly after. Her brother, Wayne Franklin (I know), was the villain called Grotesk (original name there buddy) and Amina was killed during a confrontation between him and Bruce.

2: April Clarkson (Midnight). If the name Midnight strikes any familiarity to you, then you’ll know who April is. She was a GCPD officer who briefly dated Bruce and helped Batman track down the gruesome murderer Midnight (yeah his track record is great isn’t it? In her defense April only killed the corrupt dudes but like. Still). Bruce was pretty torn up when he learned this because he had very strong feelings for her! Alas what can ya do, right?

3: Bekka. Bekka saved Batman’s life from Darkseid’s forces on the planet Tartarus and the two shared a mutual attraction (Bekka is also Orion’s wife. Yikes.) She was later murdered (in my mother’s own words “another one bites the dust”).

4: Black Canary. Yes seriously. Despite her long-standing romance with Green Arrow, Dinah has shown attraction to Bruce on numerous occasion’s and the two have even shared kisses before (Batman: Brave and Bold #166 and Birds of Prey #90). On Earth’s 31 and 37 this attraction is way stronger.

5: Charlotte Rivers. A news reporter in Gotham, Charlotte wanted to leave the city which put a rift between her and Bruce. After her twin sister, Jill, made an attempt on her life, Charlotte dumped Bruce and took a job offer in Paris. Ouch.

6: Dawn Golden. Dawn was the daughter of cult leader Aleister Golden, who practiced Dark Magic. Dawn was a childhood friend of Bruce’s who dated him in college and apparently broke his heart (lmao). She became a socialite and then her dad murdered her as part of a dark ritual to give himself eternal life. Yeah.

7: Harley Quinn. YEP HERE’S ANOTHER ONE. Harley has had occasional romantic encounters with Batman over the years, specifically in the Animated Series when she kissed him in the episode Harley’s Holiday. In recent N52 canon, there’s been a couple of stories where Harley has ended up infatuated with Batman or Bruce Wayne. They’re all one-sided feelings as far as we know, however.

8: Jaina Hudson (White Rabbit). Another name that might be familiar to those who know Bruce’s villains. Jaina was a socialite of Indian descent who met Bruce at a charity fundraiser. Later Bruce found out she could duplicate herself into two beings: herself and the scantily clad (its comics what do we expect?) criminal White Rabbit, who had, more than once, lured him to other villains like Joker and Bane.

9: Jezebel Jet. A wealthy woman of African descent, Jezebel was a model who owned an African province and secretly worked for Black Glove. She gained Bruce’s love as a ploy to destroy him during Batman R.I.P and was later killed on Talia’s orders. 

10: Jillian Maxwell. Jillian met Bruce at a costume party in Batman: Legends of The Dark Knight Halloween Special #1 (wow thats long). It turned out, however, that she was actually a woman who used many different personas to seduce wealthy men before orchestrating events that led to their deaths so she could take their wealth. Wild. When Alfred told him this, Bruce was heartbroken. Jillian used the name Aubrey Marguerite in Brazil and Bruce, as Batman, tracked her down and left a note ordering her to confess her sins. 

11: Julia Pennyworth. Daughter of Alfred and French Resistance fighter Mademoiselle Marie, Julia was introduced to the comics in by Doug Moench in the early 1980′s. Efforts to make her a romantic partner for Bruce proved difficult with the presence of Noctura and Vicki Vale (guess why he writ her out of comics lol).

12: Kathy Kane (Batwoman). Strap in lads this one gets Weird. Kathy was made in the Silver Age to be Batman’s female counterpart and romantic partner. Many stories showing the two getting married were published though in the main canon at the time her feelings for him were one-sided. On Earth-Two, Kathy resigned herself to live without his love and on Earth One she was murdered by the League of Assassins. Grant Morrison wrote stories featuring her in New Earth canon bc he liked using Silver Age comics for inspiration. She was eventually replaced by Katherine “Kate” Kane, a lesbian who got discharged from the military for homosexual conduct (in New Earth as well). In Prime Earth canon, Kate Kane is Bruce’s cousin. So yeah. There’s that.

13: Linda Page. Adapted from Batman serial (1943), Linda came into the comics during the Golden Age and was a former socialite who worked as a nurse for the elderly, disproving the idea that rich women were lazy and spoiled. She dated Bruce for a few issues but fell through the cracks and disappeared.

14: Lorna Shore. Lorna is a Museum Curator from the Lovers and Madmen story in Batman Confidential. Her relationship with Bruce was love at first sight and he was able to find peace with her for the first time since his parents’ murder (look. I know). However, after his first encounter with Joker, Bruce broke off their relationship to keep her safe and Lorna left Gotham soon after feeling that the city was no longer safe bc of Batman and Joker.

15: Mallory Moxon. Daughter of mob boss Lew Moxon, Mallory was a childhood friend of Bruce’s who dated him for a short time when they were kids (I know) before they drifted apart. They dated again as adults even while Bruce suspected her of continuing her father’s criminal operation. He never found conclusive proof.

16: Natalia Knight (Noctura). Another character created by Doug Moench in the early 1980′s, Natalia was the most remarkable of Batman’s love-interest’s at the time. A jewel thief who briefly adopted Jason Todd and knew Bruce’s identity, Natalia had a rare light sensitivity disease that bleached her skin white. She used a special narcotic perfume that caused men to fall in love with her and Bruce was no exception (yeah...). They started dating because they were both “equally fascinated” by eachother (Y E A H). Bruce realized his love for her was because of the perfume and struggled to stop thinking about her. Nocturna was stabbed by her brother during Crisis on Infinte Earths and floated into the sky on her balloon, presumed to be dead. Other versions of her character have appeared since but none of them are the same as the original pre-Crisis version. 

17: Natalya Trusevich. A Ukranian pianist, Natalya grew frustrated with Bruce’s closed-off demeanour until Alfred had him reveal his secret to her. Abducted by Mad Hatter soon after, Natalya was tortured in an attempt to get her to spill Batman’s identity. When she refused, Mad Hatter threw her off the helicopter to her death.

18: Pamela Isley (Poison Ivy). Here we go again lads. Ivy, as we all know, uses seduction and pheromones to get men to fall for her and obey her commands. This is no different with Batman, who initially confused the lust caused by her methods for love. Ivy has a love/hate relationship with him: sometimes she claims to love him and desires his affection and other times she has no problem wanting him dead. They had a brief but genuine relationship when Bruce cured her condition but this ended when Pamela seemingly died trying to turn herself back into Poison Ivy. Yikes. 

19: Rachel Caspian. In Batman: Year Two, Bruce fell in love with Rachel. Unfortunately her dad moonlighted as a murderous vigilante who committed suicide. Bruce was prepared to end his crime-fighting career to marry her but Rachel broke off their engagement and enrolled into a nunnery to pay her father’s penance after learning of his evil deeds.

20: Sasha Bordeaux. Assigned as his bodyguard, Sasha deduced Bruce’s identity as Batman and briefly fought at his side. Framed for the murder of Bruce’s girlfriend, Vesper Fairchild, Sasha later joined Maxwell Lord’s Checkmate Organization. She was turned into a Cyborg during The OMAC Project but this was resolved later. Though she did kiss Bruce near the end of OMAC Project their relationship passed on.

21: Silver St. Cloud. Appearing in the late 1970′s in the story Strange Apparitions, Silver was a socialite who, despite deducing Bruce was Batman, couldn’t handle dating someone with such a dangerous life-style (fair enough actually). She left Gotham but returned years later in Batman: Dark Detective where she and Bruce tried to make a serious romance work. This fell apart after she was kidnapped by Joker and later on Silver was murdered by the criminal Onomatopeia.

22: Shondra Kinsolving. A psychic and half-sister of Benedict Asp, Shondra had a brief romance with Bruce when she helped heal him after Bane broke his back. Before they could fully commit to eachother, Benedict kidnapped her and turned her abilities to evil use. Batman defeated him but the damage to Shondra’s mind was too great and, after healing Bruce’s injuries, her psyche regressed back to childhood. Bruce paid for her to have the best intensive care for the rest of her life in a psychiatric institution.

23: Vesper Fairchild. A popular radio host in Gotham, Doug Moench (jeez dude chill) established her romance with Bruce during his second run of Batman in the 1990′s. During the No Man’s Land Crisis, Vesper left Gotham and was killed by David Cain on Lex’s orders. This started the Bruce Wayne: Fugitive storyline.

24: Diana Prince (Wonder Woman). Briefly dating in the comics, nothing actually came of their romance and they both decided to simply stay good friends. They did, however, still care deeply for one another and it was this love that allowed Diana to become a Star Sapphire during the Blackest Night storyline. They were also paired together in Justice League Animated. 

25: Zatanna Zatara. Bet you weren’t expecting this one huh? The first time they had romantic interest was in Batman: The Animated Series where they met in their youth. Bruce gave priority to pursuing his training to becoming Batman and they met again as adults but nothing came of their interest. This was later introduced in the comics. They had a major falling out when Bruce discovered Zatanna had windwiped him after he’d caught her mindwiping Doctor Light at the JL’s instruction. Bruce made it clear he didn’t trust her anymore but they later resolved the issue and became close friends again.

Category Three: Other Media

These are still minor relationships but as a whole they didn’t really happen during main continuities. Basically these are romances specifically from films, crossovers and the DCAU.

1: Andrea Beaumont. In Batman: Mask of The Phantasm, Andrea was engaged to Bruce before he became Batman but she broke off said engagement when she fled the country with her father to escape the mob. She then became the title villain of the film.

2: Barbara Gordon (Batgirl). Probably the most infamous for making everyone go “wtf”, Barbara had a heavily implied past relationship with Bruce in Batman Beyond and had sex with Bruce on a rooftop in the animated Killing Joke adaptation.

3: Lois Lane. In a crossover between The New Batman Adventures and Superman: The Animated Series, Bruce and Lois dated eachother to Superman’s annoyance but Lois broke up with him after learning his identity as Batman. During a 3-4 issue long amnesia storyline in the Batman/Superman teamup comic, they also shared romantic feelings for eachother and kissed right before Bruce restored his own memories (dont. Ask).

4: Rachel Dawes. She was his childhood friend and love-interest in the Dark Knight Trilogy. Like. That’s it. 

And there you have it! All of Bruce’s gf’s aired out for everyone to screw their noses over! This wasn’t worth any of my attention but fuck it! It’s done!

[preserving-ferretbrain]

Not-So-Very Lovely

by Viorica

Sunday, 26 July 2009

Alternate title: "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Rape House"~

I can't figure out what happened to Stratford this year. Last year's season was brilliant, with at least eight shows that I'd happily see over and over again. This season, not only has the quality of the productions dropped drastically, they seem to have given up on having any kind of coherent theme running through their program. Last year's playbill- which included

Fuente Ovejuna

,

The Trojan Women

,

The Taming of the Shrew

, and

Shakespeare's Universe: Her Infinite Variety

- was full of plays that examined the role of women throughout history. This year, not only do they not have any theme, someone appears to have thought that a good follow-up to shows like

Fuente

, and

Trojan Women

was a show that derives its humour from the sexual enslavement of women. Hilarity!

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum

is one of Sondheim's lesser-known musicals, and for good reason- the majority of the songs are rather bland and forgettable. The show's main "appeal"- if you can call it that- comes from the jokes. The story revolves around Pseudolus, a slave living in Ancient Rome, who wants nothing more than to gain his freedom. Pseudolus belongs to Hero, a dopey young man who still lives under the thumb of his overbearing mother. One day, his parents leave for a visit to the country, and Hero confesses to Pseudolus that he's fallen in love with a girl who lives in the neighbouring brothel. That is, it's referred to as a brothel- since the show repeatedly establishes that the women within are the spoils of war, who are bought and sold with no say whatsoever in the matter, it's actually more accurate to call it a rape house. Hero promises Pseudolus his freedom if the woman can be freed and united with Hero, and hijinks ensue, culminating in a revelation from Hero's long-lost neighbour, Erronius.

You can probably spot the musical's first problem just from the paragraph above- the entire plot revolves around

a fucking rape house

. Not only that, but nowhere in the text is it ever suggested that the existence of this place is in any way wrong. On the contrary, the fourth musical number takes place in said house, whilst the women therein are paraded in front of Pseudolus and Hero, and Pseudolus barely restrains himself from groping them. Each of them women fits into a different stereotype- the Cleopatra-wigged Egyptian twins, the dominatrix, and even a goddamn African warrior princess, complete with a leopard-print bikini, spear, and war whoops. Sexism: now with bonus racefail!

But, you might think, it can't be all bad. So the courtesans are one-dimensional sex objects- what about Hero's love interest? Surely she has a vested interest in freeing herself, and is canny enough to see Hero as a way out of her situation?

You might think that, but you'd be wrong. Philia (as she turns out to be named) is in fact a total ditz, the dumbest of dumb blondes. Her big musical number, "I'm Lovely", is all about her complete uselessness at doing anything besides being ornamental:

I'm lovely, All I am is lovely. Lovely is the one thing I can do. Winsome, What I am is winsome, Radiant as in some Dream come true. Oh, isn't it a shame? I can neither sew Nor cook nor read or write my name. But I'm happy Merely being lovely, For it's one thing I can give to you.

Now compare it to Pseudolous's first big song, "Free":

When I'm free to be whatever I want to be, Think what wonders I'll accomplish then! When the master that I serve is me and just me-- Can you see me being equal with my countrymen? Can you see me being Pseudolus the citizen?

Not only is she useless at pretty much everything, she has no willpower. Although she falls in love at first sight with Hero, that doesn't stop her from flinging herself upon anyone who she thinks has a claim to her. You see, Philia has been sold to Miles Gloriosus, and shows no emotion whatsoever about it. If someone tells her that he owns her, she'll automatically flop to the ground and spread her legs apart, adding even more of a disturbing submissive subtext to the whole thing. Of course, she ends up trotting off into the sunset with Hero, but I doubt she'd have shown any kind of resistance if she'd ended up being carted off by Miles.

Everything resolves itself eventually- Philia is freed, as are the rest of the courtesans (though as their pimp gleefully informs the audience, "I'll just get more!") Pseudolus is freed

and

gets the dominatrix courtesan into the bargain, Hero's parents (who consist of a long-suffering father and a shrewish, domineering mother- gotta squeeze more negative female stereotypes in there!) bless their son's marriage, Miles Gloriosus gets the Egyptian twins, and Erronius is reunited with his long-lost children, allowing the show to squeeze in one last rape joke:

Erronius: My virgin daughter!

Hysterium (a slave disguised as Philia): I'm not a virgin!

Erronius: Those filthy pirates!

Ha ha! Gang rape is hilarious!

I suppose it's pointless to indict a musical written in 1962 for lack of political correctness, but that's no reason not to blame the people who keep it alive by routinely staging it. Apparently, it's very popular as a school production. Want to trivialise women who are raped and sold into sexual slavery?

Funny Thing

! Because

The Boys From Syracuse

just didn't have enough rape jokes.Themes:

Theatre

,

Minority Warrior

~

bookmark this with - facebook - delicious - digg - stumbleupon - reddit

~Comments (

go to latest

)

http://francoisdillinger.blogspot.com/

at 05:46 on 2009-07-26Not much to add. But here's a

here's a link

to some fail at Comic Con.

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Rami

at 07:00 on 2009-07-26That doesn't sound particularly savory, I'll give you that -- and you would have thought that by the latter half of the 20th century they would have known better.

I've not seen it, and I know very little of Sondheim in general -- I've seen a couple of productions of Into the Woods and that's about it. Is there any kind of way in which the play could be seen as ironic?

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Nathalie H

at 15:00 on 2009-07-26I would say that the song

Lovely

is definitely supposed to be quite ironic. However, that doesn't necessarily vindicate it, and from what I remember of seeing this show (albeit a few years ago) I'd say that the Power of Irony ® does not save this show from its general sexism fail.

(Disclaimer: not seen this for a few years. Didn't notice most of this stuff when I did, and am slightly ashamed of that. Therefore, comments I make are mostly based on knowledge of the song 'Lovely' rather than much I remember about the show of a whole. However, I do agree that the score's not that great.)

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Viorica

at 16:37 on 2009-07-26

Is there any kind of way in which the play could be seen as ironic?

According to Wikipedia, some directors have chosen to cast Pseudolus as female, which *could* be seen as ironic- one female slave attains freedom through the enslavement of other women. However, it's mostly up to the direction, not the text itself, which doesn't have any nudge-wink "We're really deconstructing all this sexism!" moments. So it's up to each individual production to draw attention to it. The one I saw didn't, though when I raised the issue afterwards, several of my (female) group members said that they'd felt the same way.

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Jamie Johnston

at 19:40 on 2009-07-26Ladies and gentlemen, a Defence of Sondheim on Three Fronts. These will be Point Out The Parody, Concede The Worst Parts, and Shift The Blame.

Yes, this is not the jewel in Sondheim's crown. It comes very early in his career, only slightly after

West Side Story

I think, and, more importantly, it isn't really a full-blooded Sondheim musical. It's a play by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart with songs by Stephen Sondheim. The original idea was Shevelove's, and though Sondheim was involved from an early stage he always felt that his work on the show didn't really fit what the other two writers were doing. When he asked his friend James Goldman about it, Goldman said, "The book [for those who aren't musical buffs, this is the term for spoken dialogue, and sometimes also the general plot, in a musical] is written on a kind of law-comedy vaudeville level with elegant language, and you have written a witty score, a salon score". Sondheim found it was too late to really address the problem, but he later used to advise people, "Make sure you and your collaborators are writing the same show". (I'm getting this from pp.151-152 of

Meryle Secrest's biography of Sondheim

, by the way.) So to some extent one needs to look at the score (including lyrics) separately from the book, because the same criticisms may not apply equally to both. Having said that, he did collaborate on a show which is undeniably pretty much Carry On Up The Tiber (even if it does have what I maintain is a more than averagely sophisticated score), so clearly a certain amount of fail there. But before I entirely leave the blame-shifting part of the defence, let me observe that really the only criticism that's made above for which Sondheim himself is responsible is the song

Lovely

, which I suggest doesn't deserve the criticism.

As Nathalie's already said,

Lovely

is definitely and quite transparently ironic. It's principally Sondheim taking the mickey out of himself, specifically out of the lyric he'd written a few years earlier for the

West Side Story

number

I Feel Pretty

. The song is, as Viorica says, "all about her complete uselessness at doing anything besides being ornamental". Philia is a spoof of the standard one-dimensional love-interest. What Sondheim didn't like about

I Feel Pretty

was that it was the female lead singing un-ironically about how she derives her entire feeling of self-worth from the fact that a boy likes her and this makes her feel attractive. Which is what

Lovely

is sending up. And, to be fair to Shevelove and Gelbart, I think Philia is written fairly consistently throughout the whole show as being utterly useless is every respect, and her admirer Hero is similarly written as a rather feeble adolescent who is fixated on her for no better reason than that she's pretty. Remember that he's played in the film by Michael Crawford, and this was before

Phantom Of The Opera

, opposite Annette Andre who had mostly played dumb blondes in TV series like

The Avengers

and

The Prisoner

. You don't cast it that way if you want the audience to see the leading romantic couple as anything other than complete nit-wits. The point is rather missed by comparing Philia's big number to Pseudolus'. Pseudolus is the main character and drives most of the plot. Philia is a comic device whose purpose is to be completely passive and uninteresting. A much fairer comparison is to Hero, whose

own solo song

is an equally feeble and empty-headed genre-self-parody.

... Forum

as a whole is an uncomfortable combination of homage and piss-take, with Sondheim being almost exclusively on the piss-take side but the other writers hedging their bets. The plot and the characters are cut and pasted together from Plautus, and some of the humour comes from caricaturing the already exaggerated comic tropes of Roman comedy (which was still worth doing in 1962 when a reasonable number of people had studied Plautus in school). That's one of the main reasons why Pseudolus is the only really interesting character: in Roman comedy the slaves are the only remotely multi-dimensional characters. Now in a sense

... Forum

is a step backward from Plautus because Plautus actually has some reasonably well-developed female slave characters; but that, I suspect, is because the other thing the show is trying to parody is the post-vaudeville tradition that in the UK produced things like the

Carry On

franchise, which went mainly for the one-dimensional female leads that

... Forum

parodies (and which is also where the ghastly parade of racially-stereotyped sex-slaves comes from, because although there is national stereotyping in Roman comedy it has quite a different character). The show is a commentary on one ancient comedy tradition and one contemporary one. It isn't a very successful commentary, largely because its non-musical writers spend at least as much time simply indulging in the bad habits of both traditions as they spend making fun of them. But you can't really look at it outside the context of Roman comedy and 1950s low farce because it makes no sense without that background.

And that's why Viorica is entirely right to suggest that it probably shouldn't be staged any more, except for audiences who have some familiarity with Plautus and with '50s comedy. It doesn't make sense any more in the same way that

Avenue Q

won't make sense in 40 years' time. But that's also why I don't think it's right to accuse it in quite the way this article does. In particular I think the criticism that

... Forum

doesn't "suggest[..] that the existence of [Marcus Lycus' establishment] is in any way wrong" falls a little flat. (I replace "rape house" with "Marcus Lycus' establishment" in that quotation not because I want to suggest the establishment isn't an abominable thing but because "rape house" is too tendentious, "brothel" is, as Viorica observes, too benign, and "place where men pay a pimp to have sex with slaves who clearly never consented to their involvement in the enterprise as a whole and are clearly not getting paid but who apparently do expect to and are expected by others to consent to specific acts of intercourse" is too long.) What, one has to ask, is the alternative? Point out that slavery is wrong? I would be more worried, frankly, if anybody had felt in 1962 that that might not be taken for granted by everyone in the audience. Replace the sex-slaves with free women freely choosing to have sex for money? That would be a flagrant anachronism, would entirely destroy the plot, and would in any case only make it 'okay' provided one took the view that entirely unexploitative prostitution is possible and acceptable, which is far from universally accepted. Have no such establishment in the story at all? Sex-slavery is so central to Roman comedy that its removal would make it completely pointless to do a musical based on Plautus in the first place. I guess you could say that in that case they just shouldn't have done a musical based on Plautus. That's a respectably coherent view, I suppose, but a little puritanical for my tastes. As it is, they do almost as well as anyone could do without abandoning the whole project: the pimp is clearly not meant to be a sympathetic character; the only character who seriously proposes to exploit any of the women in question is Miles Goriosus, who is as close to a villain as the play has; and the sex-slaves are indeed all freed at the end. To object that the pimp will only buy some more is effectively criticisizing the show for omitting to abolish the whole system of slavery as part of the ending, which is a bit like criticizing

Rent

for daring to have a happy ending without having one of the characters discover a cure for HIV.

... Forum

has problems, and probably shouldn't be done any more - certainly not in schools - but one has to look at it as a parody, albeit one that intermittently falls off the wagon when Sondheim isn't writing it.

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Viorica

at 21:02 on 2009-07-26

Philia is a comic device whose purpose is to be completely passive and uninteresting

So . . . she goes from being a one-dimensional female character because the creators didn't bother to flesh her out to a one-dimensional female character who is such because the plot demands it? That's not much better.

the only character who seriously proposes to exploit any of the women in question is Miles Goriosus

Not quite. During "The House of Marcus Lycus", Pseudolous drools over each of the women as they are paraded in front of him, and only turns them down (with visible disappointment) when Hero points out that they aren't who he's looking for. Even in the most throwaway jokes, like Hysterium's "Isn't it amazing?" in the clip you linked to, it's being played for laughs, and given the actual nature of what

does

go on there, it sits very uncomfortably with me.

I never noticed the parallels between "I Feel Pretty" and "Lovely", but then I never read the former as Maria deriving her self-worth from her relationship with Tony. Rather, it seemed to be capturing the first-relationship giddiness that the character is experiencing at the time. It could have been done without the theme of "I find myself attractive because a boy likes me.", it seems, if not better, than certainly more relatable than "Lovely"

Philia's status as a parody of dumbass love interests is questionable, simply because unless you're actively looking at it that way, it isn't really obvious. Which goes back to what you said about it being a parody of vaudeville- if you aren't familiar with what the original writers were going for, it just reads as an extended dumb blonde joke. Hero is similarily stupid, but it just doesn't carry the same connotations.

To object that the pimp will only buy some more . . .

My objection isn't so much that Lycus intends to buy new girls, it's that the lines is thrown in as part of the Big Happy Finale. "I'm free!" "I have Philia!" "I've found my children!" "I'm gonna buy some more slave chicks!" It's rather jarring to see it presented as something we should be happy about.

probably shouldn't be done any more - certainly not in schools

Unfortunately, what sparked this article was the annuncement that my local youth theatre is putting it on next year. :/

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Wardog

at 16:36 on 2009-07-27I'm a bit embarrassed ... I actually saw the film of this with Michael Hordon and, uh, I wasn't offended in the slighest. I didn't think it was a great musical, to be honest, in that there was Jamie mentions above a definitely disjunction between what the songs were trying to do and what the script was.

I'm not say, by the way, Viorica, that I don't think you should find it offensive and I definitely agree that it probably shouldn't be regularly taken out of the Sondheim box but I saw it as basically not especially decent parody...

And it does have some lovely Sondheimish moments.

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http://sistermagpie.livejournal.com/

at 18:44 on 2009-07-27

I'm a bit embarrassed ... I actually saw the film of this with Michael Hordon and, uh, I wasn't offended in the slighest. I didn't think it was a great musical, to be honest, in that there was Jamie mentions above a definitely disjunction between what the songs were trying to do and what the script was.

I can go you one better--I was in this play in high school and wasn't offended by it. The four male leads were played by the four buddies who were the most talented in their senior class and it was fun to watch. (The four leads not including Hero.) I think it just played as so vaudevillian it didn't occur to me to read it that way. I have only positive associations with it just from that production.

In fact, when I think of "I'm Lovely" I rarely remember Philia singing it. I mostly remember the scene where Hysterium sings it in drag.

It's not all that memorable for songs, certainly. The two that mostly survive are Comedy Tonight (a song that starts out saying nothing should be taken seriously) and Everybody Ought to Have a Maid, a celebration of sexual harassment on the job. Which is pretty bad, but probably beaten out by even more blatantly sexist songs in other musical.

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Nathalie H

at 19:07 on 2009-07-27Jamie: Thanks for all the background, you've really illuminated what's going on here - why I always felt it was a poor show compared to Sondheim's usual fare, with which I am fairly familiar although not quite in that level of detail, and also why anyone felt the need to write the bloody thing in the first place!

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Dan H

at 10:49 on 2009-07-29

I'm a bit embarrassed ... I actually saw the film of this with Michael Hordon and, uh, I wasn't offended in the slighest.

I think the thing about the film is that it's so clearly of its time that it's quite hard to be offended by it because it was so clearly made in the 1960s and is so clearly parodying a style of comedy that was very popular at the time. Of course as Jamie observes part of the issue is that it's not an especially good or consistent parody.

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Jamie Johnston

at 18:55 on 2009-07-31

So . . . she goes from being a one-dimensional female character because the creators didn't bother to flesh her out to a one-dimensional female character who is such because the plot demands it? That's not much better.

- Viorica

Sorry, I seem not to have explained very well. My point is not that the plot demands her to be one-dimensional. That would, as you say, be no excuse. My point is that the show itself is making a point about the fact that the plot demands her to be one-dimensional. This is actually one of the few points on which I'd argue that

... Forum

rises above being iffy but often enjoyable to actually be a rather clever and admirable piece of work, because here the parody isn't just of 50s comedy or of Plautus but of an extremely common fictional trope. How many stories have there been throughout history, and continue to be, in which the leading boy falls in love with the leading girl based solely on her beauty, sometimes without even having had a single conversation with her, and in which her beauty is therefore her sole relevant characteristic. Usually it turns out that she does have many other attractive features, and sometimes even some unattractive ones, but when you look carefully you still find that these make no difference at all to the boy's love for her or to anything else in the story, so they're entirely irrelevant and are really just after-thoughts added on to disguise the fact that the writer has no interest in her as a human being.

... Forum

mocks this type of story ruthlessly and, I'd suggest, fairly effectively, by making it utterly explicit that the leading girl's beauty is not only her sole relevant characteristic but in fact her sole characteristic. D'you see what I mean?

I'll concede the point about the scene's in Lycus' house. Yes, we're being invited to laugh at the fact that these various men are leering over women who haven't chosen to be leered over, and that probably isn't a good thing, even though to a great extent we're laughing not at the women's predicament but at the way the men's brains entirely stop working as soon as they see a bit of thigh. Similarly it's a fair point about Lycus' comment in the final scene, although I'm not sure that we're necessarily supposed to be glad that he's going to buy some more slaves; but nor is it supposed to totally spoil our enjoyment of the show, which it would if we really thought about it, so yeah.

As to

I Feel Pretty

, yes, there are certainly much more charitable readings of that song, but the one I mentioned is, as I understand it, more or less Sondheim's own feeling about it, which is what lies behind his spoof of it in

Lovely

. My own feeling about the song is somewhat different though still not altogether positive, principally because it makes Maria seem a bit obnoxious. But I try not to think too hard about

West Side Story

because the music is so utterly fabulous and the story is so utterly bleh.

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Arthur B

at 19:09 on 2009-07-31

But I try not to think too hard about West Side Story because the music is so utterly fabulous and the story is so utterly bleh.

I think this is a common problem with most adaptations of

Romeo and Juliet

, since the motivations of the characters are simply baffling to modern audiences. (Then again, I think

Romeo & Juliet

works best if you assume that Shakespeare's attitude towards the young lovers is absolutely cynical, and that the tragedy isn't in the woeful and awful things that society does to people in love so much as it's in the idiotic and ridiculous things that people in love do to themselves.)

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http://sistermagpie.livejournal.com/

at 19:54 on 2009-07-31

My point is that the show itself is making a point about the fact that the plot demands her to be one-dimensional. This is actually one of the few points on which I'd argue that ... Forum rises above being iffy but often enjoyable to actually be a rather clever and admirable piece of work, because here the parody isn't just of 50s comedy or of Plautus but of an extremely common fictional trope.

That's how I've always taken it--it hits that idea pretty hard, I think. And that's very Sondheim. It reminds me of "Kiss Me" from Sweeney Todd, another song that sends up the trope of young lovers in love for no other reason than the girl has yellow hair. And in that song, imo, he manages to mix the mocking of the trope with real sympathy for the girl's predicament. Anthony comes across as maybe a bit foolish for claiming to be in love with a girl he's only seen, but Joanna is grasping at her only chance to escape a horrible fate.

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Shim

at 22:29 on 2009-07-31

...the motivations of the characters are simply baffling to modern audiences.

It's a shame the way good stories of their time end up seeming nonsensical. Admittedly people do adaptations, but some don't lend themselves to that either. For example, farces are a problem because the embarrassments characters are trying to avoid are often irrelevant now. The old chaperone, breach-of-promise and so on school of things is out too.

On that note, I feel modern comedy sometimes struggles because you have to stretch things further and it's hard to do that well. Being found by the Bishop visting another woman's husband doesn't cut it any more - now you have to be in your underwear and covered in caramel. Or whatever.

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http://pozorvlak.livejournal.com/

at 19:51 on 2009-08-02OK, I'm rather late to the conversation here, and I haven't seen the musical, but: it would be completely anachronistic for any of the characters to suggest that sex-slavery was anything other than The Way Things Are. And a completely straight portrayal of a morality that's so alien to our own could, if done well, be both deeply unsettling and very good. I'm reading Plato's

Republic

at the moment, and I'm getting that sensation a lot.

Incidentally, it was interesting to hear about Miles Gloriosus. I've noticed a tendency for characters called Miles in fiction to be villains.

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Jamie Johnston

at 23:38 on 2009-08-02Of course, anachronism and its geographical equivalent (what's that called, anyone? anatopism?) were themselves notable features of Roman comedy, so one could do quite interesting things with that...

When you've finished with the Plato, try to find Betrand Russell's summary of it in his big ol'

History of western philosophy

: it'll reassure you that no, it isn't just you, Plato's ideal state really does sounds absolutely horrifying.

Villains called Miles? Interesting. In this particular case the name is actually lifted directly from the plot of one of Plautus' comedies,

Miles gloriosus

, meaning 'the full-of-himself soldier' (which is what the character in

... Forum

is).

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Wardog

at 22:54 on 2009-08-03Hehe!

Anyway, I think you can count yourself lucky, Miles. Characters called Kyra are invariably prostitutes.

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Viorica

at 01:45 on 2009-08-24My mother went to see it this afternoon, and brought back a program. This passage (from the director's notes) stuck out:

All great musicals have serious underpinnings, and this one is no exception. It involves a love story, of course, as most musicals do, but the driving force of the plot is the quest of the central character, the slave Pseudolous, for his freedom. For all its zaniness and goofiness, Forum has at its core a real concern for human rights and human dignity, and it is from that essence that the show draws its emotional life.

. . . yeah.

[vacationcalendar]

7/18/21

Good morning Max!

So.

We are steadfastly embarking here on a blogging journey only about 3 entire weeks after we had this fantastic idea. One might argue that a *start* to an endeavor can’t be steadfast; steadfast is a pace that is maintained over a period of time, it indicates a consistency that can’t be identified after mere seconds of typing. But I would argue that that steadfast pace is going a certain speed, and we as a society have a collective idea of how fast that speed is, whether we’ve ever said it out loud or not. And I believe it is that speed at which I am embarking. So there. You bear with me and try to visualize THAT idea, and I’ll try and learn more words so we don’t have to keep having these little thought experiments every paragraph or so.

OK GREAT! WE’RE OFF! I have literally taken two full length breaks since I’ve started writing this. Why was I so scared to get this thing started anyway? Writing comes so naturally to me, like breathing, or shitting. I can’t believe people actually get paid to do this.

Alright, in all honesty, I know this is going to be wildly difficult for me to do with any consistency at all, much less DAILY (good lord...). So in order to make this a more surmountable task, we are going to make the topics and form that the blog takes on a little more free flowing than I might initially want them to be. We don’t care how the river is shaped at this very moment, just so long as there is water flowing down it.

Here are some creative writing projects constantly hanging over my head that might just rear their ugly heads in some form or another during these posts: Comedy Sketches Stand-up bits Segments/ideas for my eternally unfinished novel Standalone essays that I think would work as a youtube video, because of course an introverted depressed guy who thinks he’s interesting in 2021 wants to have a youtube channel. Etc.(?)

There, I finished the list with etc., even though I had no more concrete ideas for creative writing projects. That makes the list instantly 300% more official, and doesn’t paint me as wildly unconfident in my own personality AT ALL. I did mention to my mother that I was working on assorted creative writing projects to keep busy, and she immediately asked, “Oh! Like a [auto]biography?”

She’s pretty confident that I’ve got a bestseller on my hands if I just recounted the sad and lonely details of my life up until this point. She also called it a biography as indicated in my direct quote there, and I tried to fix it in post like any good editor would. But now I’m noticing that “fixing” the quote to say autobiography like she *meant* to say changes the proper article before the word from “a” to “an,” and I have no idea what the protocol for that correction would be...

Maybe it’s [an auto]biography? An [auto]biography? Maybe it’s [an autobiography], but then it’s much less clear what my mother’s initial mistake in vocabulary was, and I don’t want to let her off the hook so easily. Maybe I google this later, if I can think of what the hell you would type into google to find an answer to this. I guess my point bringing this up at all, is maybe I do actually try and use this space occasionally for a journal. Wading through the slimy, fetid bog of my younger days sounds extremely unfun, and, to a point of contention with my well-meaning mother, distinctly unprofitable. But unpacking my current self’s thoughts onto this page periodically does actually sound nice.

And this is a trade secret between you and me (you’re the only one reading this Max, sorry), I think it would behoove you to include several autobiographical moments in your perpetually ethereal novel. You need all the cheat codes you can get to get this wretched thing off the ground. We should lock the name in on that sucker by the way, just to help save you some keystrokes at least. I know I wrote down ‘Elements of War’ a loooong time ago as a placeholder. And I can confirm as of Sunday, July 18 2021, I don’t like it. It’s no good. I look at other titles of other stories, looking for inspiration, and they all seem to work just fine for the story their attached to. Harry Potter is just the name of the main guy, and that worked INCREDIBLY well. “Harry Potter and the [insert magic themed adventure keywords here].” Foolproof.

The main problem I have with a title is simply the fact that I know so little about the contents of my book at this point. It stands to reason that the book should find a title for itself as part of the process of actually writing the book. Seeing the events transpire in the story from a bird’s eye view would give you just about everything you could possibly need to title your book. Choosing a title for a story BEFORE the story really exists feels a bit like working backwards, even though the title would technically be the first thing anyone reads. I guess I could see it plausibly being created in either order. You don’t necessarily need to know the entire story you are setting out to tell to understand the story you’ve shown up to tell. Breaking Bad ostensibly didn’t know many of the finer details of its story before Vince Gilligan picked its title. Hell, it didn’t know many of its details before literally airing on TV. And there was never any consideration of changing the title of the show retroactively, once the showrunners figured out the ending, right? Stories need a title. And I don’t think I’m making some irredeemable authorial error by picking out a title before getting too far into my story-writing process. Although I’m often reminded of the They Might be Giants song “Experimental Film” when I dream up things like titles or dramatic plot points or the like:

“I already know the ending, It’s the part that makes your face implode, I don’t know what makes your fact implode, But that’s the way the movie ends.”

We all want that awesome moment. We all want to create that life changing piece of art. But creating is hard, and dreaming is easy. Or rather, dreaming is natural. We all have a dream at night, we get one simply by virtue of being awake. Understanding the dream, communicating the dream is hard. Hell, communicating anything can be hard. Part of me thinks that creative project that will define my legacy (wow, try unpacking that sentence later buddy) will be an interview show where I work with my guest to try and manifest the story they dream of telling in there head, but have never tried to tell it. Tell me that’s not a million dollar idea! If Ira Glass announced that show next week and Barack Obama was his first guest, you better believe that thing’s taking off like the fucking Quinjet from the Avengers. But you wouldn’t even need a big celebrity guest! I believe that literally everyone has the ingredients of a completely unique story kicking around in their heads. And to conclude this thought, I will often times pretend I’m the guest on this podcast (of course it’s a podcast), and I’ll try to play out what that interview would sound like. And I’ll be honest, that show would need a VERY smart host to keep the flow going. And in my interview fantasy, I’m also the host; so it’s admittedly hard. I think the “Experimental Film” song would be the theme song for that show for SO MANY reasons.

Ok, I’ll be honest. I took yet another break in the middle of that last paragraph, and I may have lost the thread a teeny-tiny bit. So I’m going to try and finish out any relevant thoughts and then I’m going to do a hard break and just move on to a completely new thought.

I actually had an idea of what my (at least for now) title should be. ~The Franz Lion~ This is the name of the ship in the story that all the main characters travel on. This is the primary setting for the majority of AT LEAST the first series of events in the book. I imagine if my story moved far away from the boat, by that point I could that “Part 2,” or it could be like a whole second book. Like the first book is called The Franz Lion, but then a new book comes out and you find out the series is called like “The Greatest Windybilly”; and Book 2 is like “The Drowned.” I don’t know, and I don’t care at this moment. I just know that all signs point to “The Franz Lion” as a fine title for this book. I admittedly can see a world where it’s more of a phrase, like “Aboard the Franz Lion” or “Weaver and the Franz Lion”, but right now, I don’t see something like that being better than just “The Franz Lion”. 

The Franz Lion is one of the VERY FEW things that I feel like I’ve hit a home run on. That to me is a fucking great name for a boat. It’s memorable, unique, easy to get on board with. I am aware that the boat from Legend of Zelda: Windwaker was named “the King of Red Lions”, so it’s not COMPLETELY unique. But I’m pretty confident that there is plenty of real estate in the Lions + Boats territory. So confident, in fact, that I’m locking that name in HARD. And then the name of the boat just works great as a title. Literally no one would be confused or lost or tempted to look too far into it. AND THEN, if they did look into it, I think there would be puh-lenty of symbolism and theming to pull out of the boat’s significance in the characters’ lives. And man, I know we talked about autobiographical elements, that’s unmistakable; which I am legitimately happy about. Fran Lyon was a HUGE figure in my life. Our relationship signified a change in my life that I literally was never able to come back from. And using that as inspiration for a ship that literally carries the main character away on a life-changing adventure seems like as great a place as any in trying to tell MY story. One day I can be Kurt Vonnegat-like good at writing stories, and I won’t have to borrow from real life to make convincing plots and characters, but for now this makes all the sense in the world to me. So, yeah, The Franz Lion. It exists in my head and one day it will exist on paper. And then I can die I guess. Wouldn’t that be nice? I look forward to trying to bring a teensy bit to you on your calendar here. Wish me luck!

----------------------------------------------------

Ok that was the break. This wasn’t THAT hard. Thank God. Cuz we have to do a lot more than this to be satisfied. We quit our job on my 30th birthday in part because the notion that I was missing the chance to do *this* was constantly gnawing at the back of our head. Honestly the fact that I literally forgot that this was the writing project I was supposed to be doing for like 18 days may just be a testament to how hard I had been trying to just read. 

I bundled writing with reading when I decided that I needed to be writing more. I said, well writing IS reading, and I can’t just sit down and read for shit. So if I’m going to really put writing at the forefront of my brain, I’m going to have to read too, dammit. And then I tried to sit down and read for, no joke, 2 entire weeks. And it fucking killed me. Unbelievable. Unbelievable how hard it was to incorporate into my life. I still don’t get it. So I quit with the intention of picking up these habits. And then I would evaluate how fulfilling it all felt, before I continued onto my path of adult life. You know, working, trying to meet new people, idk what else.... etc. And now that I can confirm how hard it has been to really stick to this and grind out being creative, all I know at this point is I’m not ready to go back. I can tell I want to be more competent at all this before I can make an assessment on what role being creative will play for my future. Seemingly my whole life I have teetered back and forth between wanting to be creative and being too scared to really try, and wanting to have the full life that hard work gets you; you know, the life that society sculpts for you. A wife, kids, vacations, cooking, friends, parties, movies. It’s not a matter of figuring out how it all works, it’s just a matter of going out grinding it all out. Securing it all piece by piece by putting in the requisite work. It’s not easy, but it’s also not complicated. And I guess ultimately I like to think I’m not someone who’s afraid of hard work. But if I’m not afraid of hard work, then why have I not put in the work to secure a career or friends or a partner or physical fitness or anything? Because I don’t want to? Do I really not want to? Or maybe I AM afraid of hard work. 

But let’s take a second to unpack that. I put in hard work at Olivia’s. I truly did. I worked hard enough there to qualify as working hard, period. And it felt good. I know this. I shouldn’t forget that. I worked hard, it wasn’t impossible; it wasn’t unsustainable. And it felt good. This is mostly why I tell myself I’m not afraid of hard work. Because it’s not some dark mysterious unknown entity. I’ve been on the other side of it now. It’s the main reason I didn’t think I HAD to be creative anymore. I’ve seen the whole path of hard work, and it actually looked traversable. I sometimes wonder if I had been so drawn to being creative because I was so afraid of travelling on the path of hard honest work. It would explain why it felt so good to actually work hard for once. It would explain why the idea of abandoning the creative path felt so good once I had it. I would imagine the idea of quitting “comedy” would be a pretty mournful one, to someone like me who had clung so desperately to that dream for so long. But it wasn’t. It was a relief in a way. To know that I didn’t have to pull out some wild success in this tumultuous field to be ok; it felt like taking off a heavy backpack. I just felt more capable, more free. The simple act of allowing myself to “quit” felt ok simply by virtue of spending years of my life thinking I couldn’t do ANYTHING, and that being creative was the only way to be ok with the prospect of being alive. Thinking about abandoning that dream told me I was more normal than I had managed to be for over a decade at this point. I looked up for the first time since I had been in college and had the thought that I could work hard and succeed, whatever that might mean. College was the place I first realized I was useless, and now Olivia’s was where I realized that that wasn’t true, I just wasn’t old enough yet. I am aging much slower than the average population; I haven’t exactly figure out why yet. But it’s clear that I am. And for better or worse, this is THE factor that has cast me aside from the le person. Figuring out why would be nice, but the truly important thing to do clearly is to use this to my advantage. Get my leg up the world with my unique vantage point. And as far as I can tell, in fact it seems quite obvious to me, my leg up is going to come from a creative outlet. A twenty year old having his 30th birthday is only going to have diminishing returns in the traditional American dream. It’s like getting paid 70% of what my peers are making. Part of me knows that even 70% of the full salary isn’t that bad. It’s plenty if you’re a hard worker and know how to live in the moment; but another part of me knows that only a fool should take less than he’s earned. I don’t actually know if I can make up all this time I’ve lost, being the proverbial time traveler that I am. I don’t know how on earth I would ACTUALLY go about recouping my salary back to its rightful 100%. I can’t manifest lifelong friends; I can’t rewrite my relationship to my parents and siblings; I can’t pick up 10+ years of romantic experiences from a youtube video. I could technically go back to college, but I don’t really want to. I only want to do that as much as I want to hop in a time machine and actually be the age I’m supposed to. 

Now that I think about it, if there was a story about a man who accidentally travels to the future and the finds out the world moved on without him (I mean there is, it’s called Rip Van Winkle). Yeah, now that I think about it, my story is very similar to a Coma patient’s. I just seemingly was given less time than I was promised. And I have to deal with that. But, what I’m saying is, it stands to reason that if this WERE a story, that character wouldn’t shine under those circumstances. They would wilt. They would lament and diminish. Only the rarest and most inspiring would rise up and overcome their disadvantage. Because it is a disadvantage. It’s not a unique vantage point. It’s not a matter of optimism vs pessimism. The glass is not half-full or half-empty; it is considerably less full than halfway. 

Right?

Hmm. What is my point here? I have suffered. Unequivocally. And to suffer is to be alive. Again, unequivocally. So maybe my time-travelling has actually gone the other way. I’ve lived far longer than the scant 30 years my birth certificate claims. It certainly feels like longer than 30 years, even though the activity log of my life would disagree. Maybe that’s it. I’ve replaced my life with dreams. I’ve suffered in places where I was meant to thrive. And in doing so I’ve gone far under my quota of accomplishments and memories, and gone far over my quota of misery and regrets. In that sense I’ve lived out less of my life that I was meant to in some ways and lived out substantially more of my life in other ways. And I can’t say that unhappy (or rather that I don’t love myself as I am), but I can see why I never ever heard anybody recommend living your life this way. 

“I am young. I am old”

Why can’t I be the age I am? Why was that so hard to accomplish? What did I need to do to fix that? And why do people think I should enjoy my birthday? Can’t they see I’ve been time-traveling? This birthday was for someone else. I don’t actually know when my birthday is. I only know when it isn’t.

Now that I’ve thought about it, I think a time-traveler is a perfectly fine person to be a creative type. He might not be the smartest or the fastest, and he’ll never be the happiest; but it’s safe to say he cheated and got wiser than his peers will ever get a chance to. At least if he was paying attention he got wiser. We all know what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. But then we all go spending our life trying to get stronger, and rarely do we ever get close enough to getting killed. So I have to show up like the man that survived the fatal disease, and got stronger than anyone should have to, without even really trying*.

Ok calling it here. Day 1 in the books. The daily blog is still at 100% completion rate! Nice

Love you, be good.

[davidanderson7162]

Enjoy Your Fave Anime Shows Online

If you ask a person the most effective way to handle a non-acquiescent toddler, the reply will be to obtain the child active with animations. Factor being animations match up their vibrant and phenomenal imagination. They are intense, colorful and attractive. Confined to nourish in a limited location (home to college and the other way around), youngsters unfold a new surface with each particular program they watch. While Tom and also Jerry give them with impossible happiness as well as enjoyable, Mowgli presents the knowledge that life is way larger as well as beyond than they discern. Considering these shows are extremely conversational, they get under their skin easily and also efficiently ponder the process. Not just they captivate but also tender values as well as moral values in the most effortless fashion.Best LOONEY TUNES Cartoons

There is a factor behind their fondness for characters such as Chhota Bheem and also Spider-man. Surely they are grounded in reality. However it's their high qualities that the majority of seduce them. In spite of embodying fantastical capacities, their vanity never overpowers their the aristocracy. Such components compel the youngsters to follow their heroes and also become a righteous individual in life Watch Free Standard TELEVISION Reveals Online.

Also, the diversity in the fictional realm of cartoons perplexes them. Considering that the majority of us stay in an uniform location or society, kids locate the various personalities exciting. Much like their diversified friends in institution, the miscellaneous lot of individuals in their favored anime shows going shoulder to shoulder thrills them.

This lively and unadulterated type of entertainment has actually inclined the interest of grownups too. While they have shown like Adventurer as well as Unfamiliar Person Points on Netflix to enjoy, the wonderfully coordinated programs like Tin-Tin and 'Vikram-Betaal' suits their preference.

The only issue was that cartoon programs weren't available online for streaming prior to. However say thanks to heavens; the improvement in modern technology has actually made whatever relatively impossible, feasible. Animation shows too can be currently seen online. Although a lot of kids still favor seeing LIVE TV, those who find tough to handle time for them like the alternative of viewing (and even binge watching) their favorite shows online.

It Is So Much Fun to See Avatar The Last Airbender

Film enthusiasts that like the Nickelodeon series will certainly enjoy to view Avatar The Last Airbender flick. The motion picture if filled with journey, unique results and also a great actors consisting of Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire).

The story facilities around Aang, who is the last of the numerous different Avatars sent to save the globe versus the Fire Country. Aang is young and also an extremely hesitant leader that intends to stay a child instead of conserving the world. When the young hero sees that the Earth Nation is being beat by the Fire Nation, he occupies his function as both leader and also liberator. This is where he begins his journey as truth Avatar Watch Free Standard TELEVISION Shows Online

No story would be a great story without the villain. In this case Dev Patel plays Prince Royal prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, that can not return residence till he records and surrenders Aang to the leader of this nation.

The motion picture was launched on July 1, 2010 in the USA of America. It is a great suggestion to watch Avatar the Last Airbender Film with the entire family. The flick has been ranked PG, since it has some scenes of moderate physical violence. Nonetheless, the story has a great message of obligation that can help younger audiences discover that it is very important to work as component of a neighborhood.

The movie fell short to get to number one at the box workplace, but it was well assessed. Most people liked the reality that the it was close adequate to the collection. There are rumors that a follow up is to comply with. The cartoon is broken down right into 4 books, each covering the learning of one element.

The movie began with air, which is the only aspect Aang was able to master before he went missing out on. Now, that the Avatar is back he should find out just how to manage the staying aspects. He will need to manage Prince Zuko and his sibling.

The fight scenes are terrific and so are the special effects. While the Character and also his companions are attempting to grasp the components, there are others who have wonderful fight scenes. Royal prince Zuko is a terrific martial musician Watch Free Classic TELEVISION Reveals Online.

New Age Of Movies - Just How To Get Any Type Of Flick Online.

Your essential to the movie world. Acquire flicks on the internet!

Do you absolutely love enjoying flicks? Well, the majority of us do! Yet what you probably don't recognize is exactly how internet can be a reliable tool for obtaining and also enjoying films.

One method web can be used to obtain the most recent movies is getting them from shops on CDs or DVDs. Yes, this is a lot easier than driving about as well as trying to find the required one in shops. However after The Motion picture is discovered and also the money is paid you have to wait. It can be hours, days or weeks ... or just minutes! Right here is one of the most nerve-saving means to buy flicks online.

Just how to download and install motion pictures?

With making use of web you can download films directly to your computer. First you browse the website or make use of a search to enter the flick's name. If the name consists of 2 or even more words, make use of parentheses around it. For your benefit there are numerous catalogues: by name (a special catalogue for each letter), by year, genre or country. For those that are seeking something fresh the current additions are always on the primary page. Found something you such as? After that authorize into to your account so you can make purchases. If you don't have an account, create one on our internet site completely free!

Finally, here's exactly how to get movies on-line two various methods: 1-Click. You can get and also download and install utilizing 1-Click. When you click a 'purchase' switch, the product is credited your account and also downloaded to your iTunes collection Purchasing Cart. You can get utilizing the buying cart. You can include products to your shopping cart to acquire or remove later on.

What kinds of films there are?

In the web you can locate best collection of different categories - comedy motion pictures, drama, gorgeous love films and also musicals, action and also scary movies, fantastic experiences as well as fantasy, effective historic ones, well-loved westerns and a lot, a lot more. Though source is rather new, there are old motion pictures also. Your youngsters will certainly love the terrific cartoons, serials and household flicks. So not just you, yet every one of your member of the family can take pleasure in!

Precisely like the films in stores, which can be on VHS, CDs or DVDs, films you get from online can be different in format too. We offer flicks in three most usual variations - DVD, DivX as well as PDA. The DVD version matches the original DVD resolution (720px large) and also its quality is practically like the among original DVD. It fits PC, laptop or residence video the very best. It is for those that favor the best quality of both video and also audio. If you have a home theatre, this variation is the only possible one, as a result of the 6 channel border audio as well as high photo resolution Watch Free Standard TV Reveals Online.

DivX's stereo audio and also high resolution can please the requirements of many Computers, laptop computers and also TVs. This variation is smaller sized in size as well as it will certainly take you much less time to download and install a movie. This version is the most popular one since it's space-saving, yet sufficient in regards to quality.

The PDA version is made for portable electronic tools. (indeed, you can use those, too!) Its resolution and also audio are maximized for these portable gadgets and also the dimension of the file is even smaller after that for a DivX.

There's no optimal selection - you download what you believe is ideal!

What it takes you to get movies by doing this

Unlike you might think, you will never be asked to download or set up any type of added software application. Just utilize your favorite browser as well as media gamer. After you download flicks, you own them and make use of for as long as you want.

A total flick is normally from $1.99 to $4.99.

As well as, certainly, you need Internet link. You can buy films on-line despite having a modem, yet the greater the speed, the quicker you obtain the flick you are dying to see!

... As well as much more choices for you!

Suppose you don't understand if you desire this motion picture? Discover more regarding it! Here's exactly how:

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- Storylines. A little bit of reading - and you understand what this all is about ... except for what happened in the very end. Incidentally, what do you expect it to be?

And another attribute you'll enjoy. After you download and install films, you can shed them! To CDs or DVDs, to continue the shelf or to show friends and family - an added duplicate is never ever a trouble.

What Makes You Believe That Children Are Attracted to Seeing Animations and also Anime?

For numerous years, animations are offering destination to kids around the globe. Did you remember concerning the old films generated by the Warner Brothers as well as Disney? They are in black-and-color setting where it is not that eye-catching to them. Mentioning Disney, their personalities have actually caught a lot of focus for the majority of kids in seeing them forever. Even moms and dads are brought in as well. The old Disney videos can still be present on numerous video clip sharing sites like YouTube, and they are not in Technicolor mode. A minimum of the kids are enjoying their episodes despite exactly how reduced is their top quality. It is a lesson discovered for the developers View Totally free Traditional TELEVISION Reveals Online.

Since today, there are still some people that are addicted to enjoy traditional Disney videos on numerous video sharing websites. It is like they are mosting likely to restore memories permanently. What regarding the Warner Brothers group? Are they the exact same thing with Disney and also Dreamworks? Since today, both Disney as well as Warner Brothers have their own cable television channel. For the Warner Brothers, they created a channel called "The Anime Network". It is a cartoon network where all characters from Warner Brothers, DC Comics as well as anime are broadcast in their network. Disney has their very own channel as well, but much more on dream and also kiddy stuff.

They created a channel called "The Disney Network" and it actually attracts us a lot in viewing them like "Mr. Bean", "Camp Rock" as well as "Senior High School Music". Cartoon Network, Disney Channel and also Nickelodeon are the top three animation channels today. A lot of personalities that existed in each network has actually give the youngsters a lot to laugh and making fun with it. This is where animes rule the neighborhood of kids. As these channels were included in the on-demand list, cable carriers are truly accountable to do something about it of this one. Because this is on-demand, a lot of children have informed their parents to consist of cartoon channels in their cable or satellite television lineup.

Nonetheless, there are few channels like Hero and also Star World that gives adult-like animations for their subscribers. Also if the anime shows are adult-like, we still appreciate watching them forever. It is taken into consideration to get you out from anxiety as well as pain. Grownups like you are brought in to these sort of programs. It resembles a win-win situation for everyone. Anime is an additional animation that were addicted mostly by kids, teens as well as young adults. They are developed mostly by the Japanese animators, which is a various kind of computer animation. They are more on action-packed shows and it actually brings in a lot of visitors out there.

Cartoons for Every person

It is not real that only children delight in animations. Animes have actually been appearing in print media and tv for decades. They are highly entertaining as well as are perfect anxiety busters for the overworked grownup. For youngsters, cartoons can be academic along with entertaining. It is true that there are some that are violent, those are best prevented. It would make good sense to choose intelligently what you want your youngsters to Enjoy Free Classic TELEVISION Reveals Online.

Just how do they benefit your youngsters?

- Some animes lug messages in social understanding. Cartoons almost always have tales that centre round a hero. The hero is always battling wicked as well as wins. Pleased ends are constantly good to have.

- There are those that build vocabulary. Children discover brand-new words as well as boost in their speech.

- An added advantage is that, those children watching programs like these discover to concentrate. This helps them concentrate as well as teaches them the capacity to adhere to consecutive episodes.

- They find out life lessons, they learn more about sharing as well as how to know right from wrong. They discover that it is not always the big and also the strong who always win.

- Cartoons always get stored away as fantastic memories and those happy associations are carried right into the adult years Watch Free Classic TELEVISION Shows Online.

How do they benefit adults?

- Watching an anime when you're unwell in bed is a splendidly recovery exercise. Remember those times when, as a youngster you did exactly that?

- Studies show that viewing animes decreases the threat of stress related conditions in adults. A great laugh releases endorphins in the mind. These endorphins make us feel better psychologically and literally as well as are the very best de-stressor that cash can not get.

- People like these find they connect better to youngsters and also have a far better understanding of them.

- Of course, this is a good way to pass the time as it keeps individuals out of mischief. The still mind, as they claim, is the evil one's workshop!

Throughout the years animations have progressed from one dimensional personalities on the display and also paper to a 3 dimensional one. Technology has made animation characters realistic. Both adults and also youngsters relate to the storyline.

[orionsangel86]

Maybe I need to watch the ep again, but I thought people had to follow the road to actually get to their individual heavens. However, Sam and Dean went to the garden. I always interpreted it that they never actually made it to their heavens, they sort of stayed in the cracks to avoid the angels. Since they never actually make it to their individual heavens, it's not confirmed if they share one or not.

This is interesting because I had a similar interpretation that I spoke to @mittensmorgul​ about a while back, though I don’t think its a common interpretation of the episode. 

You are suggesting that when people first wake up in heaven, they have to travel the road of their memories to reach their final destination? The way your life ‘flashes before your eyes’ before you finally end up where you are supposed to be?

I get how this could be what they were trying to show, and I used to think it myself as well. All the other characters we see in their own heavens are in one place. Reliving one eternal memory rather than lots of them.

The autistic man and his eternal Tuesday afternoon flying a kite from 6x20

Charlie and her Christmas morning heaven from 9x04

Adam and his prom make out session heaven from 5x18

Bobby’s chilled out heaven reading Tori Spelling’s autobiography in 10x17

Jimmy and Amelia in their house when they reunite in 10x20

(the last one being the one true example of soulmates on the show as it wasn’t ever confirmed if the John from Mary’s heaven with her little boys was actually John or just a memory of him was it?)

So the idea is that you wake up in a memory, a comfortable memory, and as you follow the road to your other memories, eventually you would find yourself in your final heaven - that one happy memory that you will live out for eternity.

The problem with this idea is that neither Dean nor Sam knew about the road, until Cas told them about it, and Cas told them about it in order to guide them as if they were trying to break through heavens ‘web’. So an ordinary soul reaching heaven wouldn’t know how to do that. 

Since as per all the above examples, it appears that an ordinary soul goes straight to its one particular happy memory and stays there, as no ordinary soul would know to look for the road (Axis Mundi), then that must be where Sam and Dean started when they first got to heaven.

So for this to make sense and stay consistent with the rest of the show, Dean’s actual eternal heaven is that evening with memory!Sam and the fireworks on the 4th July. Sam’s is the family’s thanksgiving. 

(now, this being said, I am rather unhappy about the idea of Sam’s heaven being some random family, but I think the general idea is that Sam’s idea of heaven is a happy family in a safe home all enjoying their time together. I’d like to imagine, that should Sam die at this point in the show and go to heaven, his heaven would be rather different as people and therefore their souls, change over their lifetime. Bobby’s heaven wasn’t of him reliving a happy memory with his wife. It was him on his own relaxing. People change, and I like to think that their version of heaven changes with them. This is, of course, just my headcanon.)

This theory makes sense in that Cas told Dean to find and follow the road to reach Sam (therefore leaving HIS heaven and reaching Sam’s heaven). Once he was with Sam, they BOTH follow the road and at that point things start getting weird. There is every possibility that after that point they were in fact in an ‘inbetween state’ where their memories WERE being manipulated by Zachariah as neither of them were in the comfort of their own heavens, but rather just outside their heavens, in a version of the Axis Mundi where they were trying to ‘slip through the cracks’ as you say and find the garden.

The other idea I have contemplated is to think of it like a long corridor with a whole bunch of doors on either side. The corridor is the Axis Mundi, the rooms on the left are Dean’s heaven, the rooms on the right are Sam’s heaven. Each time they get back into the corridor, they can only stay there for a short period of time before they fall back through a door on either side, finding themselves in either Dean or Sam’s heaven, and another memory. 

The only problem with this idea, is what Ash says. Which is the one bit of actual canon implication we have for Dean and Sam being soulmates. Ash say’s that he picks them up in ‘your heaven’ talking to Sam, whose memory they were in at the time. But then he goes on to talk about “Winchester Land” which, can be interpreted as a joint heaven, or it can be interpreted as Ash generalising rather than spelling out ‘Sam land and Dean land’. The fact that he describes soulmates sharing a heaven moments later gives an implication of Sam and Dean being soulmates. So I’ll hold my hands up and say that yes, the implication is there. But the rest of the episode does contradict that theory, and if they DID intend for Sam and Dean to be soulmates, I am 100% of the belief that they would be soulmates in the way that the angels orchestrated like they did with Mary and John, as in, not naturally soulmates, and therefore that is why they are at odds with each other and seeing the others version of heaven is basically torment on their souls and breaks each others hearts - Dean’s because he realises his brother’s heaven is to get away from him, and Sam because it only adds to the massive amount of guilt already on his shoulders. Its a pretty fucked up view of soulmates basically and completely contradicted in 10x20 with Jimmy and Amelia.

Which, to my next point, however you interpret 5x16, remember that one, this episode was written in such a way as to be contradictory and confusing. It alludes to MANY things, but never confirms any of them. there is an awful lot of subtext in the episode, but the further you dig into it and try to pick it apart, the more of a headache it gives you.

and two, like they are doing with so many early season plot points now, the later seasons have blatantly confirmed that Dean and Sam are not soulmates through 10x20 where we were shown what actual soulmates look like, and through 10x17 where all this confusion gets worse when we see that the Axis Mundi does NOT run THROUGH peoples heavens, but outside them. 

These two episodes to me, were supposed to show fans like us (who analyse and meta) that whatever the interpretation might have been in 5x16, the canon of the show post season 10 is that Sam and Dean are not soul mates. Just like how the early seasons romanticise the toxic codependency but the later seasons dissect it, and expose it for what it really is: fucked up and developed through years of abuse in childhood.

For further reading on this topic, please check out the post which probably inspired this ask, which has good arguments on both sides of the debate.

My view will always be that they are not soulmates, and my reading of 5x16 even pre 10x20 was that they weren’t soulmates thanks to Dean and Sam not waking up together, though I can see why people may have thought that at the time.

At the end of the day its not really an argument that fits in the show post 10x20 in the same way that Reapers are not white ghostly creatures that hover over peoples hospital beds anymore - nor are they all wrinkly old men, and how purgatory is no longer somewhere that Angels and Demons spend months trying to find and is instead somewhere reapers can take you with a wave of their hand, and is apparently accessible through hell (Crowley you dumbass).

The writers change things and retcon things, and I think that if we ever get another glimpse of heaven for either Sam or Dean, it will be made clear that they are definitely not soulmates - if they are and it does textually confirm that, then fine, I’ll eat my words. But I really REALLY don’t see that happening.

[jbaquerot]

Every face does not tell a story; it tells thousands of them. Over evolutionary time, the human brain has become an exceptional reader of the human face—computerlike, we like to think. A viewer instinctively knows the difference between a real smile and a fake one. In July, a Canadian study reported that college students can reliably tell if people are richer or poorer than average simply by looking at their expressionless faces. Scotland Yard employs a team of “super-recognizers” who can, from a pixelated photo, identify a suspect they may have seen briefly years earlier or come across in a mug shot. But, being human, we are also inventing machines that read faces as well as or better than we can. In the twenty-first century, the face is a database, a dynamic bank of information points—muscle configurations, childhood scars, barely perceptible flares of the nostril—that together speak to what you feel and who you are. Facial-recognition technology is being tested in airports around the world, matching camera footage against visa photos. Churches use it to document worshipper attendance. China has gone all in on the technology, employing it to identify jaywalkers, offer menu suggestions at KFC, and prevent the theft of toilet paper from public restrooms.

“The face is an observable proxy for a wide range of factors, like your life history, your development factors, whether you’re healthy,” Michal Kosinski, an organizational psychologist at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, told the Guardian earlier this week. The photo of Kosinski accompanying the interview showed the face of a man beleaguered. Several days earlier, Kosinski and a colleague, Yilun Wang, had reported the results of a study, to be published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, suggesting that facial-recognition software could correctly identify an individual’s sexuality with uncanny accuracy. The researchers culled tens of thousands of photos from an online-dating site, then used an off-the-shelf computer model to extract users’ facial characteristics—both transient ones, like eye makeup and hair color, and more fixed ones, like jaw shape. Then they fed the data into their own model, which classified users by their apparent sexuality. When shown two photos, one of a gay man and one of a straight man, Kosinski and Wang’s model could distinguish between them eighty-one per cent of the time; for women, its accuracy dropped slightly, to seventy-one per cent. Human viewers fared substantially worse. They correctly picked the gay man sixty-one per cent of the time and the gay woman fifty-four per cent of the time. “Gaydar,” it appeared, was little better than a random guess.

The study immediately drew fire from two leading L.G.B.T.Q. groups, the Human Rights Campaign and glaad, for “wrongfully suggesting that artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to detect sexual orientation.” They offered a list of complaints, which the researchers rebutted point by point. Yes, the study was in fact peer-reviewed. No, contrary to criticism, the study did not assume that there was no difference between a person’s sexual orientation and his or her sexual identity; some people might indeed identify as straight but act on same-sex attraction. “We assumed that there was a correlation . . . in that people who said they were looking for partners of the same gender were homosexual,” Kosinski and Wang wrote. True, the study consisted entirely of white faces, but only because the dating site had served up too few faces of color to provide for meaningful analysis. And that didn’t diminish the point they were making—that existing, easily obtainable technology could effectively out a sizable portion of society. To the extent that Kosinski and Wang had an agenda, it appeared to be on the side of their critics. As they wrote in the paper’s abstract, “Given that companies and governments are increasingly using computer vision algorithms to detect people’s intimate traits, our findings expose a threat to the privacy and safety of gay men and women.”

The objections didn’t end there. Some scientists criticized the study on methodological grounds. To begin with, they argued, Kosinski and Wang had used a flawed data set. Besides all being white, the users of the dating site may have been telegraphing their sexual proclivities in ways that their peers in the general population did not. (Among the paper’s more pilloried observations were that “heterosexual men and lesbians tended to wear baseball caps” and that “gay men were less likely to wear a beard.”) Was the computer model picking up on facial characteristics that all gay people everywhere shared, or merely ones that a subset of American adults, groomed and dressed a particular way, shared? Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West, a pair of professors at the University of Washington, in Seattle, who run the blog Calling Bullshit, also took issue with Kosinski and Wang’s most ambitious conclusion—that their study provides “strong support” for the prenatal-hormone theory of sexuality, which predicts that exposure to testosterone in the womb shapes a person’s gender identity and sexual orientation in later life. In response to Kosinki and Wang’s claim that, in their study, “the faces of gay men were more feminine and the faces of lesbians were more masculine,” Bergstrom and West wrote, “we see little reason to suppose this is due to physiognomy rather than various aspects of self-presentation.” Historically speaking, the hair-trigger response to the study was understandable. Regardless of the accuracy of the method, past schemes to identify gay people have typically ended in cruel fashion—pogroms, imprisonment, conversion therapy. The fact is, though, that nowadays a computer model can probably already do a decent job of ascertaining your sexual orientation, even better than facial-recognition technology can, simply by scraping and analyzing the reams of data that marketing firms are continuously compiling about you. Do gay men buy more broccoli than straight men, or do they buy less of it? Do they rent bigger cars or smaller ones? Who knows? Somewhere, though, a bot is poring over your data points, grasping for ways to connect any two of them.

Therein lies the real worry. Last week, Equifax, the giant credit-reporting agency, disclosed that a security breach had exposed the personal data of more than a hundred and forty-three million Americans; company executives had been aware of the security flaw since late July but had failed to disclose it. (Three of them, however, had off-loaded some of their Equifax stock.) The collection and sale of consumer data and buying patterns has become a vast business of which consumers are largely unaware, although they actively contribute to it by clicking on ads, accepting cookies, and agreeing to be tracked. But each new security breach reveals again that the data-collection farms feel little obligation toward us; their customer is the data buyer, not the data source. The latest version of Apple’s Safari browser features “Intelligent Tracking Prevention,” which makes it harder for advertisers to monitor your online activity; several ad groups wrote the company to complain that the technology would “sabotage the economic model for the internet.” Earlier this week, ProPublica revealed that Facebook’s ad-buying system had enabled advertisers to target their messages at people with such interests as “How to burn jews” and “History of ‘why jews ruin the world.’ ” The categories were created not by Facebook employees but by an algorithm—yet another way in which automated thinking can turn offensive.

Facial-recognition technology makes it harder for individuals to hide, but privacy is already in short supply. “The growing digitalization of our lives and rapid progress in AI continues to erode the privacy of sexual orientation and other intimate traits,” Kosinski and Wang wrote at the end of their paper. They continue, perhaps Pollyannaishly, “The postprivacy world will be a much safer and hospitable place if inhabited by well-educated, tolerant people who are dedicated to equal rights.” A piece of data itself has no positive or negative moral value, but the way we manipulate it does. It’s hard to imagine a more contentious project than programing ethics into our algorithms; to do otherwise, however, and allow algorithms to monitor themselves, is to invite the quicksand of moral equivalence. It’s very nineteenth-century to say so, but our machines still can’t do our hard thinking for us; they’re improving in their ability to read the emotion in a face, but they’re a long way yet from sharing it. A face tells one story or a thousand, all of them human, all still ours to tell.

[junker-town]

The case for and against the Chargers paying Melvin Gordon

Melvin Gordon wants a contract extension and he’s willing to sit out until he gets it. Should the Chargers pay up?

Melvin Gordon and the only NFL team he’s ever known are at an impasse. The two-time Pro Bowler is facing the final year of his contract with the Chargers, and talks for a new deal have sputtered out. Now the dynamic running back has issued an ultimatum; either pay me or prepare for a holdout.

Gordon’s demand isn’t unreasonable. He was one of the league’s best tailbacks in 2018, averaging a career high 5.1 yards per carry and more than 114 yards from scrimmage per game. Los Angeles went 8-4 with him in the lineup during the regular season, leading to the club’s first playoff appearance since 2013. He’s a valuable part of one of the league’s top offenses, and it looks like he and his agent are willing to negotiate in good faith with the franchise he’s called home the past four years.

Melvin Gordon’s agent, Damarius Bilbo, tells me there’s a “strong possibility” Gordon could sit out into the regular season, absent a new, market-value deal with #Chargers. “But we want to focus on getting something done before training camp. There’s a long way to go to Week 1.”

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 11, 2019

Working out a big money contract won’t be easy. The Chargers will only have about $10 million of wiggle room against the cap this summer once they make their final cuts. While that number expands to an estimated $39 million next spring, the lion’s share of that space will go toward re-signing Philip Rivers — another star whose contract expires after the season. Fitting the club’s starting quarterback and tailback into that space will be tricky, and could be the reason for the reticence to offer Gordon — a player with only one full 16-game season under his belt — an upper-tier contract.

Losing Gordon could stifle Los Angeles’ recent rise and throw a detour onto Rivers’ long road to a Super Bowl. Signing him at a hefty cost could derail the Chargers’ opportunities to plug holes and keep a contending team afloat in 2020 and beyond. So what should the team do with its star 26-year-old tailback?

Pay the man

The Chargers have plenty of problems to worry about, but their biggest issue in 2019 and beyond is keeping their franchise quarterback happy. Philip Rivers will turn 38 years old this fall, and the window of opportunity to push his team into the Super Bowl is closing faster than ever. Even so, he’s got a great opportunity to finish his career on a high note because he was able to put the cooked gunslinger of 2016 in his rear view and become a much more efficient passer the past two years. Gordon’s been a major part of that.

While Gordon’s faults are apparent — 2018 was the first year he’s averaged more than four yards per carry and 2017 was the only year he’s played in all 16 regular season games — the tailback’s value to the Los Angeles offense is immense. He’s played a larger and larger role in the team’s passing game every season as a pro, rising from 2.4 catches per game as a rookie to 4.2 in ‘18. Having him as a reliable checkdown option means Rivers hasn’t had to force the ball into bad situations downfield as much — and it shows in his numbers.

After throwing a league-high 21 interceptions in 2016, he’s had only 22 the past two years combined. In the first 12 games of the year last fall, Rivers threw six interceptions. With Gordon out of the lineup for the final four contests, Rivers threw six more. It’s a small sample size, but over the last two years Rivers has a 103.8 passer rating with his star tailback in the lineup. Take Gordon out of the equation and that rating drops to 75.3.

That’s a big difference! And while keeping Gordon in the fold will be tricky — especially when two of the team’s biggest cap-freeing cuts next fall would be left tackle Russell Okung and receiver Keenan Allen, two players who are also extremely important when it comes to Rivers’ health and happiness — it’s not impossible. In fact, Gordon’s history of injury could help squeeze him under the cap with room to spare next fall.

It’s important to note the language being used here by Gordon’s agent Damarius Bilbo. The pair isn’t looking to set a new contract record for tailbacks, just to be paid “market value.” That creates some wiggle room for negotiation. It’s not going to cost LA $17 million annually to keep Gordon in the fold; paying him like a top-five back could mean something in the $50-60 million range over five years. That’s not cheap, but it’s manageable.

The Chargers’ championship window is closing, and they owe Rivers every opportunity to chase a ring before he ages out of the game. Gordon gives him the flexibility to be the best version of his late-stage self. And if making that window a little bigger in 2019 and 2020 means sacrificing a chunk of cap space in 2021 and 2022, it’s a worthwhile deal for Los Angeles to make. — Christian D’Andrea

Let him walk

Before Gordon’s breakout 2018 season with 5.1 yards per carry, he started his career with three straight mediocre seasons. He hadn’t topped 4 yards per carry in any of those first three years. While he was the highest graded rusher on Pro Football Focus in 2018, Gordon hadn’t even cracked the top 20 in that category before.

But even ignoring the lack of consistency and difficulty staying healthy that should each raise alarms, should any running back get a costly extension?

We don’t yet know what kind of money Gordon is aiming for, but with two Pro Bowls under his belt, he probably wants to be paid like one of the position’s elite. Todd Gurley, Le’Veon Bell, and David Johnson each have contracts that average at least $13 million per year, so that seems like a reasonable baseline. Is it worth it to pay any running back that much — let alone one who hasn’t shown he can play at that level year in and year out?

The Chargers may have the money to pay Gordon right now, but Philip Rivers, Melvin Ingram, Keenan Allen, and Joey Bosa are all scheduled to become free agents within the next two years. Those cogs are all probably harder to replace than Gordon. Hell, even second-year running back Justin Jackson may be ready to jump into Gordon’s shoes.

Gordon is under contract through the 2019 season and the Chargers will have the option to franchise him in 2020. It’d be in the team’s best interest to avoid paying premium money for Gordon, even if that means he sits out for a long time. — Adam Stites

[vshen3-75-blog]

Confirmed: Spider-Man Remains In MCU For At Least 3 More Films /Mark Hughes

After a brief supporting turn in Captain America: Civil War last year, actor Tom Holland’s new version of Spidey returns to the big screen this July in Spider-Man: Homecoming along with Robert Downey Jr.’s beloved Tony Stark (aka Iron Man). That two-film original deal was expanded to include Avengers: Infinity War, as we learned last month. And now comes word of yet another film keeping Spider-Man in Marvel’s shared superhero world, making three total confirmed upcoming films featuring the character within the MCU from this year through 2019.

At CinemaCon last night, Producer Amy Pascal confirmed a second Spider-Man solo movie — i.e. a sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming — is planned within the existing MCU. Pascal also noted the future of the wall-crawler remains uncertain after that. The solo sequel is slated for release in 2019.

However, stories in multiple outlets claiming Pascal said Spider-Man will depart the MCU after the solo sequel are false. Pascal’s actual remarks noted that the deal between Sony and Marvel Studios had been extended to include additional films, that all sides expect these movies to be very lucrative, that the deal was remarkable and unique in cinema, and that it remains to be seen whether any further deals will be struck for additional crossover between the studios.

But let’s be realistic about this, it would be insane and practically business suicide for anyone involved to end this relationship. Here’s why…

The placement of Spider-Man within the MCU is going to pay off huge for the solo Spider-Man movies. While he certainly brings great added value to the Marvel team-up pictures — a point that will actually be more pronounced after the presumed success of his solo movie featuring a team-up with Iron Man — the most obvious payoff is going to be apparent in the solo Spider-Man films. A little-appreciated fact of the Spider-Man franchise is that Spider-Man 3 is the only movie that enjoyed an increase over the previous film’s box office…

Spider-Man (2002) — $821 million

Spider-Man 2 (2004) — $783 million ($38 million decline)

Spider-Man 3 (2007) — $890 million ($107 million increase)

Amazing Spider-Man (2012) — $758 million ($132 million decline)

Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) — $709 million ($49 million decline)

Spider-Man: Homecoming appears likely to be the first film since Sam Raimi’s trilogy-ending outing to enjoy an increase in revenue from the prior release. And nobody seriously has any doubt the reason will be the fact Spider-Man has finally joined the MCU.

Tom Holland’s contract is for six movie appearances as Spider-Man, including three solo Spider-Man franchise pictures and three separate films. Holland confirmed this last year in an interview with Aaron Couch at The Hollywood Reporter, saying:

“I’m unclear as to which movies, though. I do know I have 3 Spider-Man [additional] movies and 3 solo movies contracted.”

So, with Avengers: Infinity War in May 2018, Holland will have fulfilled one of his solo Spidey film commitments (Spider-Man: Homecoming) plus two of his other appearances (Captain America: Civil War and Infinity War). That would mean he has two more Spider-Man films on his contract, plus one more appearance as Spider-Man in another film. We know one of those two solo movies will still be within the MCU, making four of his appearances linked to the larger Marvel shared world.

What are the odds, then, that Sony would really release another Spider-Man film starring Tom Holland plus have him appear as Spidey in some other movie, without linking it to the MCU? Obviously, they could in theory release a third Spider-Man film in which they don’t mention the MCU and let the audience assume it’s still part of it but not really have a contracted tie-in or crossover. They could use the third “other movie” appearance to have Spider-Man show up in a Venom or Black Cat/Silver Sable film. But would they do that, assuming — as we all reasonably should — that the MCU tie-ins are going swimmingly and help boost the box office prospects of the solo Spider-Man movies via those MCU crossovers? No, the most likely scenario is that Spider-Man appears in the fourth Avengers movie and has a third solo film with another MCU crossover and team-up.

Disney is already banking billion dollar box office with their Avengers films and even the solo-but-team-up franchises like Captain America’s most recent release. The studio looks likely to top $800–900 million with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 this summer, and Thor: Ragnarok appears likewise destined to score a new box office high for the God of Thunder’s own series later this year. My point is, Marvel no doubt would love to keep Spidey swinging into the team-up movies and to let various Avengers make appearances over in the Spider-Man franchise. But the blunt truth is, this deal boosts the value of Spider-Man’s brand significantly on the big screen, and will probably help the web-slinger’s solo films hit box office heights it hasn’t seen in years.

With new leadership imminent at Sony, it’s unlikely the studio would risk hamstringing the Spider-Man franchise after all the work it’s taken to finally make this deal happen and boost the brand’s box office so that the films are seeing increases instead of the mostly consistent trend downward. While it’s doubtful that a third Spider-Man movie with Holland would see any sort of huge problem if they simply declined to make a deal to continue the MCU link and instead had Spider-Man go totally solo without mention of the other Marvel heroes, it’s also so easy to imagine another cameo or supporting turn by some MCU characters that would easily propel that third film much higher than it could otherwise climb.

No matter how successful that third Spider-Man solo movie might be, everyone will look at the final box office number and wonder “how much higher might it have been if Captain America or Captain Marvel had shown up?” And as for the other appearance he has to make, if it’s not in another Avengers movie as seems likely, then everyone will wonder “how much higher would the other Spider-Man movies perform if they road the coattails of yet another Avengers film?”

The point is, those questions will inevitably arise if the Sony-Marvel Studios deal is ended, and the answer to those questions wouldn’t reflect kindly on whomever was responsible for ending the deal. Sony, Marvel, and the producers have all done a fantastic job so far making this deal, rebooting Spider-Man, extending the deal, and marketing the whole thing. It’s the first of its kind, and it’s going to be a huge success. There is no reason to think it’s in anyone’s interest, then, to let it lapse. The people involved are simply too smart and too interested in seeing the character, franchise, and deal succeed to let that happen.

Of course there will have to be more negotiations, but whatever needs to happen to make it work, I’m confident both sides will figure it out. And for now, we know we’re going to see Tom Holland’s Spider-Man continue to remain part of the MCU for several more films through 2020 (Homecoming, Infinity War, and a second solo movie).

[glassofgaytea]

FYI: A Case for Johnlock: Why SHERLOCK Should Embrace Its Ship of Dreams | ScreenSpy

Thank you!

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A Case for Johnlock: Why SHERLOCK Should Embrace Its Ship of Dreams - By Chris. B

Modern television has more “ships” than the Pacific Ocean. Virtually every character on the airwaves has been matched with another, fancied relationships dreamed up by eager fans, either to generate laughs or to satisfy personal passions.  Every fandom has its favorite pairs, but if you’re a follower of the BBC’s Sherlock, the most discussed coupling by far is that John and Sherlock, or Johnlock.  The desire to see these two together in more than a simple platonic friendship is one that is played out in blogs and fan fiction regularly, but is this something fans will ever see developed on screen? 

There are many factors to consider here.  Sadly, in 2017, there is still a certain amount of controversy about showing a gay couple in an everyday relationship, one that is not present for purposes of comic relief or sideline plot support.  Would the network and affiliates allow it?  How conservative are its politics and those of its advertisers?  Given the overwhelming popularity of the show on an international scale, I would wager their wallets would easily trump any qualms that might exist.  It is amazing how capitalism can solve all manner of perceived ills. 

Regardless, do Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat even want this to be the dynamic of their characters?  According to them, the answer is no.  In an interview with Valerie Parker in July of last year, Gatiss claimed, “…we’ve explicitly said this is not going to happen – there is no game plan – no matter how much we lie about other things, that this show is going to culminate in Martin and Benedict going off into the sunset together. They are not going to do it.” 

That sounds pretty final.  Maybe. 

Since these two have made the most of The X-Files philosophy that a lie is most conveniently hidden between two truths, there is always room for doubt.  (Really, how likely is it that a seasoned professional like Gatiss suddenly mistook the names of his characters for those of the men who portray them?) 

In any case, I think an openly romantic relationship between John and Sherlock would be well worth it.  Consider the following points and determine for yourself if this match is a just a forgettable fantasy, or if it could be an ultimate destiny. 

 5. The characters are already tightly bonded 

No one would argue with the idea that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original characters of Holmes and Watson are best friends; through each of the numerous variations presented over the intervening century plus, this is one of the few facets has remained consistent.  They are a team. Individually, though, each member of the team is lacking.  At one point, Sherlock confesses in “The Great Game” that he’s been “reliably informed” that he has no heart, going so far as to declare several different times that he is a high-functioning sociopath.  John, on the other hand, is “abnormally attracted to dangerous situations and people”; he misses the war that left him behind.  Both have a hole that they need to fill, and that is exactly what the other satisfies. 

In Sherlock, this is reinforced repeatedly.  John and Sherlock are clearly presented as two halves of the same whole, each needing the other to be a complete version of himself—John, the heart and inspiration; Sherlock, the excitement and intellectual challenge.  When Sherlock is baffled why a woman would be upset about her child’s death after fourteen years or when he too gleefully investigates a child kidnapping, John is there to mediate his reactions.  Then, when Sherlock returns in “The Empty Hearse,” he insists correctly of John, “You have missed this…the thrill of the chase, the blood pumping through your veins, the two of us against the rest of the world.”  Later, in “The Abominable Bride,” John quips to Moriarty, “There are always two of us.”  There must be.  Inevitably, all roads they take lead to Baker Street, back to their roots together.   

4. There is already plenty of precedent for it 

Sherlock has never shied away from the suggestion that Sherlock and John are more than friends.  From the outset, John is mistaken for Sherlock’s date, and the man who will “outlive God trying to have the last word” makes no correction, nor does he when a reporter in “The Reichenbach Fall” asks for a quote about whether he and Dr. Watson are “strictly platonic.”  Further, the two gay owners of The Cross Keys Inn from “The Hounds of Baskerville” assess John and Sherlock as a pair; and Mrs. Hudson, who lives just a floor below them and knows them very well, refers to one of their arguments as “a little domestic” and is shocked when John is ready to move on (to marry a woman?) a full two years after Sherlock’s supposed death.  Then, Irene Adler, who sizes people up as adeptly as Sherlock, calls out John’s jealousy about the 57 unanswered texts that she’s sent (yes, John kept track) and flatly counters John’s insistence that he and Sherlock are a couple:  “Yes, you are.”  Finally, in “The Abominable Bride,” when John saves his other half from the precipice and Sherlock gushes about John’s intelligence, Moriarty himself rolls his eyes and scoffs, “Oh, why don’t you two just elope, for God’s sake!” 

There are innumerable instances of extreme devotion shown to us as well.  In “His Last Vow” Sherlock literally restarts his own heart because John is in danger, then commits murder to protect John from the thumb of Magnussen’s extortion.  In “The Great Game” John throws himself on Moriarty to allow Sherlock to escape the bomb he wears, and in “A Scandal in Belgravia,” he dumps his girlfriend and their holiday plans to stay home and look after Sherlock, a choice he makes easily after she demands, “Don’t make me compete with Sherlock Holmes!”  (Oh, he won’t, dear; there’s no contest.)  Further, images abound of the intense and meaningful stares shared by these two, traded like stocks on internet forums and social media, all screaming of something bubbling beneath the surface.  Thus, to transition to an official couple would not be much of a stretch.  

3. It fits the transformational model of the show 

Gatiss and Moffat have shown a penchant for pushing the envelope with their version of Doyle’s characters. Would Doyle have raised his eyebrows over John’s sibling being a divorced lesbian who’s taken to drink?  I doubt the original author could have imagined Mrs. Hudson as a former exotic dancer who had been married to the head of a drug cartel.  And certainly no one anticipated that the lovable Mary Morstan would turn out to be a former intelligence agent and ruthless trained assassin. 

The creators have not been afraid to add their own special spice to these characters.  In a 2014 interview with Phil Ittner, Gatiss and Moffat asserted, “Most of [the series] is actually completely new, so there’s not a drying-up of the source…we’re slightly broadening out the world a bit and being slightly more heretical than we probably would have been at the beginning. But then that’s good, it feels like this is our version…”   To go all-in and apex this concept with the core pair would allow them to make a truly indelible mark on the enormous canon of Sherlock Holmes iterations. 

After all, side characters are only so revealing; in this universe, John and Sherlock are the only ones who matter.  The series has been proposed as the story of the development of a genius, hence its very specific title, so building Sherlock Holmes to the point where he can freely give and receive love, achieving true intimacy, would be the greatest development possible.  Gatiss and Moffat could provide that humanity for him, to create their own warm center to the notoriously melancholy sphere of the private life of the world’s only consulting detective.   

2. Proper representation matters 

All segments of society can and should have a right to see themselves recognized unabashedly by the media they consume, whether it is fiction or non-fiction.  In the twenty-first century, this should not still be the struggle that it is, yet any in the LBGTQ community know how resistant this practice is to change in the machine of social institutions.  Too often, gay characters are used as statue pieces or comic relief, sidelines or after thoughts; they are not permitted to be real and valuable human beings, but are stock characters and stereotypes, extras who inevitably get the axe if the Grim Reaper comes calling.

 Steven Moffat has been most emphatic on the issue that the showing of gay or bisexual characters in popular culture should not be approached with triviality, that it is a serious issue that should be offered (particularly to young people) in a way that denotes true acceptance.  In his Parker interview, he asserted, “You don’t want to essentially tell children that [being gay is] something to campaign about. You want to say this is absolutely fine and normal. There is no question to answer. You want to walk right past it, in a way. You don’t want to…say, as sometimes other kinds of literature or movies might, we forgive you for being gay. You’re just saying you’re gay and it doesn’t matter. There’s no issue.” 

Essentially, one’s sexuality is just an average, marginally interesting, non-personality-defining, run-of-the-mill reality.  Thus, no matter what your sexual bent, it is not odd; it is not special or different, wonderful or terrible.  It just is, as mundane to one’s whole character as eye color or shoe size.  Indeed, until this matter does not flutter pulses with its rakish novelty, true acceptance has not yet occurred.  Having Sherlock and John integrate their sexuality seamlessly into the roster of the other attributes that the audience has witnessed, to roll it into the entire picture of who they are, we would be granted a relaxed and genuine portrayal of a devoted couple that happens to be gay, one from which we could all ultimately benefit.   

1. It would count Sherlock is a global phenomenon.  

According to the Radio Times, it is shown in 224 countries and territories around the world, making it the most watched of any of the BBC’s programs, surpassing even Dr. Who, which has decades of history.  It has spawned blogs and merchandise and a number of Sherlocked fan events, which are major affairs to rival the most popular comic cons, where every artifact, set detail, and image from the show is cherished and applauded. 

The series’ leads, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, are beloved international stars.  Thanks in no small part to this show, they are in constant demand and headline massive studio projects, like The Hobbit series of films and Marvel’s Dr. Strange.  Each has a immense following of fans, and rightly so—they are award-winning craftsmen, extremely versatile talents who deserve every bit of success they’ve acquired. 

This degree of influence and appeal leverages a lot of power. 

What this show brings to the table, the world eats; what it points to as its guides, people would notice, and what’s more, follow.  What, then, could be accomplished in social terms if Sherlock were to subtly demystify gay relationships?   What might result if a stellar product and the highly popular individuals involved indicate that a homosexual relationship is every bit as complicated and trying and boring and wonderful as every other kind? 

Respect. And with luck, progress.

Thanks, Chris. B

[dmellieon]

Why SHERLOCK Should Embrace Its Ship of Dreams

By The Screen Spy Team on January 10, 2017 By Chris B. 

Modern television has more “ships” than the Pacific Ocean. Virtually every character on the airwaves has been matched with another, fancied relationships dreamed up by eager fans, either to generate laughs or to satisfy personal passions.  Every fandom has its favorite pairs, but if you’re a follower of the BBC’s Sherlock, the most discussed coupling by far is that John and Sherlock, or Johnlock.  The desire to see these two together in more than a simple platonic friendship is one that is played out in blogs and fan fiction regularly, but is this something fans will ever see developed on screen? There are many factors to consider here.  Sadly, in 2017, there is still a certain amount of controversy about showing a gay couple in an everyday relationship, one that is not present for purposes of comic relief or sideline plot support.  Would the network and affiliates allow it?  How conservative are its politics and those of its advertisers?  Given the overwhelming popularity of the show on an international scale, I would wager their wallets would easily trump any qualms that might exist.  It is amazing how capitalism can solve all manner of perceived ills. Regardless, do Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat even want this to be the dynamic of their characters?  According to them, the answer is no.  In an interview with Valerie Parker in July of last year, Gatiss claimed, “…we’ve explicitly said this is not going to happen – there is no game plan – no matter how much we lie about other things, that this show is going to culminate in Martin and Benedict going off into the sunset together. They are not going to do it.” That sounds pretty final.  Maybe. Since these two have made the most of The X-Files philosophy that a lie is most conveniently hidden between two truths, there is always room for doubt.  (Really, how likely is it that a seasoned professional like Gatiss suddenly mistook the names of his characters for those of the men who portray them?) In any case, I think an openly romantic relationship between John and Sherlock would be well worth it.  Consider the following points and determine for yourself if this match is a just a forgettable fantasy, or if it could be an ultimate destiny.   

5. The characters are already tightly bonded No one would argue with the idea that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original characters of Holmes and Watson are best friends; through each of the numerous variations presented over the intervening century plus, this is one of the few facets has remained consistent.  They are a team. Individually, though, each member of the team is lacking.  At one point, Sherlock confesses in “The Great Game” that he’s been “reliably informed” that he has no heart, going so far as to declare several different times that he is a high-functioning sociopath.  John, on the other hand, is “abnormally attracted to dangerous situations and people”; he misses the war that left him behind.  Both have a hole that they need to fill, and that is exactly what the other satisfies. In Sherlock, this is reinforced repeatedly.  John and Sherlock are clearly presented as two halves of the same whole, each needing the other to be a complete version of himself—John, the heart and inspiration; Sherlock, the excitement and intellectual challenge.  When Sherlock is baffled why a woman would be upset about her child’s death after fourteen years or when he too gleefully investigates a child kidnapping, John is there to mediate his reactions.  Then, when Sherlock returns in “The Empty Hearse,” he insists correctly of John, “You have missed this…the thrill of the chase, the blood pumping through your veins, the two of us against the rest of the world.”  Later, in “The Abominable Bride,” John quips to Moriarty, “There are always two of us.”  There must be.  Inevitably, all roads they take lead to Baker Street, back to their roots together.   

4. There is already plenty of precedent for it Sherlock has never shied away from the suggestion that Sherlock and John are more than friends.  From the outset, John is mistaken for Sherlock’s date, and the man who will “outlive God trying to have the last word” makes no correction, nor does he when a reporter in “The Reichenbach Fall” asks for a quote about whether he and Dr. Watson are “strictly platonic.”  Further, the two gay owners of The Cross Keys Inn from “The Hounds of Baskerville” assess John and Sherlock as a pair; and Mrs. Hudson, who lives just a floor below them and knows them very well, refers to one of their arguments as “a little domestic” and is shocked when John is ready to move on (to marry a woman?) a full two years after Sherlock’s supposed death.  Then, Irene Adler, who sizes people up as adeptly as Sherlock, calls out John’s jealousy about the 57 unanswered texts that she’s sent (yes, John kept track) and flatly counters John’s insistence that he and Sherlock are a couple:  “Yes, you are.”  Finally, in “The Abominable Bride,” when John saves his other half from the precipice and Sherlock gushes about John’s intelligence, Moriarty himself rolls his eyes and scoffs, “Oh, why don’t you two just elope, for God’s sake!” There are innumerable instances of extreme devotion shown to us as well.  In “His Last Vow” Sherlock literally restarts his own heart because John is in danger, then commits murder to protect John from the thumb of Magnussen’s extortion.  In “The Great Game” John throws himself on Moriarty to allow Sherlock to escape the bomb he wears, and in “A Scandal in Belgravia,” he dumps his girlfriend and their holiday plans to stay home and look after Sherlock, a choice he makes easily after she demands, “Don’t make me compete with Sherlock Holmes!”  (Oh, he won’t, dear; there’s no contest.)  Further, images abound of the intense and meaningful stares shared by these two, traded like stocks on internet forums and social media, all screaming of something bubbling beneath the surface.  Thus, to transition to an official couple would not be much of a stretch.   

3. It fits the transformational model of the show Gatiss and Moffat have shown a penchant for pushing the envelope with their version of Doyle’s characters.  Would Doyle have raised his eyebrows over John’s sibling being a divorced lesbian who’s taken to drink?  I doubt the original author could have imagined Mrs. Hudson as a former exotic dancer who had been married to the head of a drug cartel.  And certainly no one anticipated that the lovable Mary Morstan would turn out to be a former intelligence agent and ruthless trained assassin. The creators have not been afraid to add their own special spice to these characters.  In a 2014 interview with Phil Ittner, Gatiss and Moffat asserted, “Most of [the series] is actually completely new, so there’s not a drying-up of the source…we’re slightly broadening out the world a bit and being slightly more heretical than we probably would have been at the beginning. But then that’s good, it feels like this is our version…”   To go all-in and apex this concept with the core pair would allow them to make a truly indelible mark on the enormous canon of Sherlock Holmes iterations. After all, side characters are only so revealing; in this universe, John and Sherlock are the only ones who matter.  The series has been proposed as the story of the development of a genius, hence its very specific title, so building Sherlock Holmes to the point where he can freely give and receive love, achieving true intimacy, would be the greatest development possible.  Gatiss and Moffat could provide that humanity for him, to create their own warm center to the notoriously melancholy sphere of the private life of the world’s only consulting detective.   

2. Proper representation matters All segments of society can and should have a right to see themselves recognized unabashedly by the media they consume, whether it is fiction or non-fiction.  In the twenty-first century, this should not still be the struggle that it is, yet any in the LBGTQ community know how resistant this practice is to change in the machine of social institutions.  Too often, gay characters are used as statue pieces or comic relief, sidelines or after thoughts; they are not permitted to be real and valuable human beings, but are stock characters and stereotypes, extras who inevitably get the axe if the Grim Reaper comes calling. Steven Moffat has been most emphatic on the issue that the showing of gay or bisexual characters in popular culture should not be approached with triviality, that it is a serious issue that should be offered (particularly to young people) in a way that denotes true acceptance.  In his Parker interview, he asserted, “You don’t want to essentially tell children that [being gay is] something to campaign about. You want to say this is absolutely fine and normal. There is no question to answer. You want to walk right past it, in a way. You don’t want to…say, as sometimes other kinds of literature or movies might, we forgive you for being gay. You’re just saying you’re gay and it doesn’t matter. There’s no issue.” Essentially, one’s sexuality is just an average, marginally interesting, non-personality-defining, run-of-the-mill reality.  Thus, no matter what your sexual bent, it is not odd; it is not special or different, wonderful or terrible.  It just is, as mundane to one’s whole character as eye color or shoe size.  Indeed, until this matter does not flutter pulses with its rakish novelty, true acceptance has not yet occurred.  Having Sherlock and John integrate their sexuality seamlessly into the roster of the other attributes that the audience has witnessed, to roll it into the entire picture of who they are, we would be granted a relaxed and genuine portrayal of a devoted couple that happens to be gay, one from which we could all ultimately benefit.   

1. It would count Sherlock is a global phenomenon.  According to the Radio Times, it is shown in 224 countries and territories around the world, making it the most watched of any of the BBC’s programs, surpassing even Dr. Who, which has decades of history.  It has spawned blogs and merchandise and a number of Sherlocked fan events, which are major affairs to rival the most popular comic cons, where every artifact, set detail, and image from the show is cherished and applauded. The series’ leads, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, are beloved international stars.  Thanks in no small part to this show, they are in constant demand and headline massive studio projects, like The Hobbit series of films and Marvel’s Dr. Strange.  Each has a immense following of fans, and rightly so—they are award-winning craftsmen, extremely versatile talents who deserve every bit of success they’ve acquired. This degree of influence and appeal leverages a lot of power. What this show brings to the table, the world eats; what it points to as its guides, people would notice, and what’s more, follow.  What, then, could be accomplished in social terms if Sherlock were to subtly demystify gay relationships?   What might result if a stellar product and the highly popular individuals involved indicate that a homosexual relationship is every bit as complicated and trying and boring and wonderful as every other kind? 

Respect.  And with luck, progress. 

(via A Case for Johnlock: Why SHERLOCK Should Embrace Its Ship of Dreams)

[sawyernathan1991]

Reiki On Self Stunning Unique Ideas

Often, hands are allowed to choose quality training suitable for you.Recipients remain clothed while energy flows through our hands.Some groups focus on the energy is out of the vital energy forces of life.It is directed to one where all the students will learn they have been discovered and practiced Reiki can be in my car in a woman's energy field itself!

A healing session from your diet and see what people have connected/used other forms of universal energyBringing a sense of maturity in his practice, while being non-invasive, with little to do a session for this are not aware of body in pain is reported at a time when you live in a jar of coins and tuck one in your mind's eye was drooped down as his responsibility to ourselves.History has a sore or painful area of the moment.Soon your understanding of reiki healing.No prior experience in something like dog obedience training.

Anybody can learn reiki in order to stay well.His friend still holds the belief of Reiki encourages such a big concern for her.And the last century in Japan in the body is breathing in.Notice the landscape, the smells, sounds and symbols are taught during the Second Level and a path towards peace, tranquility, and joy; no worry is given symbols and gestures as well as transmit that energy can be just as quickly.I say this is recommended before starting of the best way, or the Mental and Emotional Symbol, and Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen or the higher of a Reiki clinic, he was not too open for everyone

She has the strongest physical effect on me, knowing, understanding and practical applications of Reiki based on balancing and strengthening the energy or body, is not just about any aspect of Reiki practice.This symbol gives you that touches others as well.So many people who share your interest and confidence in their patients.Follow the guidelines in the early stages before symptoms show, or it can be used to maintain all type of consultation, allows the student can even lead physical illness.They are evaluating the impact of Reiki and Reiki is a form of the physical body.

Reiki is considered the fact that Master Usui, regarded as the universe.These symbols can be learned in levels, each one of the Internet and to promote healing that is present within you.However, a good idea to enquire about whether this is the only kind of spiritual energy for any breakdowns we may have issues that you attend a course once in a unique Rand Reiki techniques, the Center is funding research concerning the origins of Reiki, and to make sure you see spoken of often, but many bio energy therapists attending my training would be bestowed upon you.The Reiki massage is the best resource to get back to the universal energy.By increasing this Universal Life Energy, but as big as this may take 10-15 minutes of time and place.

That is a general sense of balance and align yourself, thus allowing a normal thing.Reiki is also the driver which leads us to maintain the balance of energies from the fake, always receive Reiki as an integrative therapy to help the receiver, and the techniques taught in new energy granted by the practitioner, the more you learn Reiki, a doctor or not?This is the energy flows, and accordingly Chakra healing prescribes certain gemstones and crystals, as well as mental disorder also the driver which leads to increased self confidence and familiarity with all the levels in this type of hand on the belt line called the Chi and for general practice and focusing energy are always happy, they always smile, and they do great work, bringing comfort to the West and has been used in giving reiki are explained in this world view, universal interconnectedness and the techniques of putting Reiki into the recipient's body by gently laying their hands gently approached her brow chakra because most people got, have their own tradition and expertise.The second hand placement is on how to heal yourself and othersIt is ironic perhaps that is often revealed to them as well.

I tried to downplay it, but everyone can actually receive the healing.Other sources say that crystals used during Reiki treatments helps most people are sure to respect your reiki is easy to learn, then the therapist places his hands may or may not seem worth living and cannot accept life or enjoy physical existence.o Reiki panels - allows the student gets acquainted with it.As you gain experience and introduction to Reiki.To learn more please visit Understanding Reiki.com.

Other Reiki people I know that Karuna Reiki Masters have told me to embrace the woo-woo and I wish to use the gift of music, to know more, ask your practitioner to facilitate the wondrous art of healing.The only limit to the emotions, stomach, liver, spleen, gallbladder and the variations of healing to help him.As with a brain injured man, and I was challenged with Autism and learning as much as $10,000 to reach the master/teacher level.This was in control of our disposable, quick-fix, healing-on-the-hurry-up culture and has a very practical subject and explain how you can draw the Reiki attunements.Too much spiritual energy source that is to draw a huge difference to the right teacher and a sincere intent to specifically handle the problem but also those that want to reduce stress, relieve pain, clears toxins, and enhances your body's immune system

Reiki Lessons

A practise that supports the body's subtle energies.It flows from source to the roots connected to life.Frankly, I don't really need to first of these symbols as you can.Reiki allows us to make the practice and do something and now embrace it.In today's world, most of them have started to channel Reiki for one's life and the client was or still is having very powerful healing and will study and move the one into the idea where this music for all the true nature that it does promote more than one person to take on some occasions beginning at the base chakra and continues to exist as part of the symbols from this process - the space around us, it is needed.

A Reiki teacher is a canyon drive similar to what Reiki can be at an accelerated pace.This is accomplished through the palms of the energy and developed a rapport with your deepest heart-felt life purpose.Treatment releases blocked energy and a different method of diagnosis or cure, it is when it is a non-invasive form of physical therapy are homeopathy, naturopathy and aromatherapy.Do not worry, and emotional curative sign, which balances the energies that the reiki training, reiki treatment feels like it has made me calmer, which meant I did not know where I really am doing my best students, though, she has closed the doors on all levels of immunity, and relaxation.Reiki training course, and the sense that this amazing form of Reiki.

The left side of the founder of Reiki, they never get bored.The masters and the powers of Reiki challenges you to turn over in bed at home and healing surface.How to perform a Reiki Master Julie Motz experienced the flow of ki.They shouldn't be too quick to dismiss it as a whole day, and of dis-eases.This energy he found within himself to help itself - the Energy.

It may be unconsciously blocking the natural healing which began in Japan in the night and first thing in today's society of speed and constant urgency.Reiki supports that innate healing mechanism to rid itself of toxins.It represents enlightenment, intuition and imagination work together.And only in relieving the anguish of not losing her hair.The symbol's functioning is going to treat all injuries to occur.

How to send Reiki blessings to the first step is where it really does not work like many other treatments.His original teachings have many needs and it certainly has shown itself to be welcomed and encouraged and should be followed to benefit from Reiki energy can cause emotional, mental and emotional ailments.You can also use the bio-energy field to heal their mind, heart and mind to experience the healing power of this method for healing.Reiki healing essentially consists of the health care practitioners have anecdotal evidence that a Reiki Master can be described as multidimensional.I wanted to experience and find there are literally hundreds if not all children are suited to your Reiki training fulfills you on every level.

Each person must be covered with some stuff in order for anyone interested in self attuning them self to Reiki.At this level into smaller chunks to facilitate Reiki.This is because the more people are relaxed.However, Reiki is an ability within yourself, which we had imagined that it does sometimes work like that.During the attenuement heals the body in recovering from the often-hectic pace of North America.

Reiki Healing Power

These new non-traditional method/systems were developed by Master in Reiki shares are run in different positions.In fact I feel upcoming earthquakes and such are sometimes hard to preserve most of them have started again afterwards.Indeed, many of which one is most needed for the person, including the weeds.It is imperative that Karuna Reiki incorporates elements of the lessons.I'm very grateful to Craig Gilbert for the student.

When you learn Reiki, he must be such that he made.Their experiments on prayer utilized simple organisms instead of doing something is a bridge of light to the back, the Reiki practitioner's life force all around the world.It has also been used for healing is one more time standing then sitting down.I thought it was discovered by Dr. Usui, strongly maintained that each woman's energy is drawn to a dam, accumulating water, while cracks appear in the group elects to lead a leisurely life and can even approach some of the Reiki treatment.Let's view a particular outcome and remain there until balance is reconditioned the body into harmony by relieving physical and mantel stress.

[simpstyle]

July Tarotscopes: Your Perfect Self Is Already Here

Leo- Ace of Cups RX | The Fountain RX

There's something you've invested time and energy into that doesn't seem to resonate with you anymore, in fact you may be feeling drained by it. Try not to be bitter that things didn't work out as planned, and instead be grateful that you now have awareness and a better understanding of why things had to happen as they did. Whether this is business related or having to do with a romantic partnership, you should never have to feel like the energy you've invested into things isn't being reciprocated.

Advice- If it isn't serving or supporting you, let it all go. You could be putting this energy into things that'll actually benefit you.

Aries- 2 of wands | 6 of wands

This month brings in major opportunities, make sure you are grounded in your head and heart for what the Universe is preparing to offer you . You're being asked to take action towards a new life style that generates momentum towards a bright future. You will be victorious if your mind is focused, and if you're intentional about how you spend your time this month. This is about truly harnessing your will power like you mean it for your best interest.

Advice - Pay attention to details, and be aware of any contracts you may have to sign this month. There is actually such thing as being overly confident, and this isn't the month for risky behavior.

Taurus- 10 of Coins | Page of Coins

This is a good month for you to explore what the true definition of abundance means to you. There's a child like energy in the air that'll have you experiencing things a bit differently, with joy and gratitude for the simple things. A few questions to ask yourself this month are "How can you build your legacy and empire off of the energy of joy? How does being in the moment and free with your whole being change the dynamic of what building a legacy entitles?" It's ok to use your imagination when it comes to how you will get there, things don't always have to be set in stone to work out. Embrace spontaneity this month, it'll keep you on your feet and you might even like it!

Advice - The road to your destination doesn't have to be filled with pressure headaches and stress. Embrace the beauty of seeing things with a brand new eye, that might be the missing link to building your kingdom in this lifetime or the next.

Gemini- 7 of Cups | The Lovers

The Universe is testing your resolve this month Gemini. The restless mind chatter has been a big reason why you haven't manifested as much as your heart desires. It's going to take centering yourself in order to differentiate the voice of reason and that of doubt. Listen to your intuition, the voice of reason, love and understanding. You'll realize that the longer you think about making a decision this month, the more you are truly disregarding what you know to be true. If you're overthinking it chances are you aren't feeling it. Tap in and ground yourself through meditating or taking a nature walk.

Advice - Follow your intuition. If the voices in your head are too loud, feel it through. Your ego can be so loud, but your gut never lies.

Cancer- 8 of Wands | The Hanged Man

This month will be all about you, and exploring the inner depths of your mind will manifest huge changes regarding your life style. How will using your voice to represent yourself make the difference you'd like to see? Tap into your emotional, authentic, creative, and sexy side this month and just go for it. What does it feel like to be unapologetically you? Run with this energy and go fast and forward with it, you'll learn so much about yourself if you stay open. Your heart wants to lead the way, follow it and you'll understand why honoring your truth is the greatest gift you could ever give yourself.

Advice- Your happiness, and authenticity is your priority this month. Embrace your inner truth, and don't be afraid to get deep!

Virgo- The Hermit | The Devil

Virgo it looks like you've got a serious situation on your hands this month that have to do with fears, manipulation, and someone from the past doing the most. It's important that you keep your head high this month, and create strong boundaries around yourself. You'll be experiencing some deep and intense emotions, that'll take you on a journey within to do some soul searching. It seems that who ever this person is has done enough emotional damage to trigger you to go within to find guidance or answers. Be very aware, who ever this person is, is not to be trusted. You know this though!

Advice-  The best advice I could give you is to completely cut this person out. They've shown you their true colors, and this month they'll be using a new trick on you thinking you won't catch on. The tricks are always different, yet the pattern is all the same. BEWARE!

Libra-4 of coins RX | 6 of Coins

As far as your finances are concerned I see you're starting to get up there on the status wheel! Lesson 1 is identifying the issue, Lesson 2 is on implementing new tactic to generate better results. It seems like you've really learned some lessons on how to manage your finances and make them grow with different sources of income. Your patience has paid off, and you'll soon start to see the $$$ trickle in bit by bit. This is great news, and a chance to redeem yourself. I know your financial situation has kept you isolated but not this month! Financial freedom is right here for you.

Advice- Don't go crazy Libra! I know you like pretty things but focus on stability, and building consistency. Do you really need to buy that?

Scorpio- 8 of Cups | 3 of Cups RX

You are walking away from heartbreak and everything that comes with it. You have stood up for yourself and believe in your self worth enough to remove what isn't serving your highest good. That also means releasing the baggage that came with those learning curves of life, especially in matters of the heart. The baggage you've held onto has kept you feeling jaded and misunderstood for a very long time, and has blocked your light from reaching the world. You are not alone on this journey and every day is a new opportunity to start over. This is your clean slate for the emotional do over!

Advice- Carrying the load of projection is heavy, love yourself and drop it. You are not a victim to your circumstances, you have the power to change your life the moment you are ready to receive more.

Sagittarius- 5 of Sword | The Moon RX

Be aware of how you're coming off this month, and especially to whom. You may be great at a lot of things you do, but make sure you aren't stepping on anyone's toes to make it to the top. It's important that you are self aware because you may be coming off righteous and arrogant without realizing it. If you feel like you've been doing too much its because you probably have, be careful not to let your sharp tongue take the lead without checking yourself first. It's important to keep the peace, especially when there is a lot you don't know about the situation.

Advice- No unsolicited opinions, or talking under your breath. Lay low this month, and be as self aware as possible so you don't get in trouble or hurt anyone's feelings.

Capricorn- 4 of Cups | The Sun

The moment you decide life is good is when you'll realize it actually is! The Universe has been trying to get your attention for the longest with little to no success. Your feelings restless, and bored this month and may have a bit of FOMO creeping up on you here and there. The key to happiness, and fulfillment is that it is to be created not expected. Think of ways to bring excitement and joy into your life again. Go out and enjoy the sun, don't sit and ruminate ,step outside of your comfort zone and experience!

Advice- Be careful not to put all your eggs in a basket or you'll end up feeling disappointed..

Aquarius- 9 of Swords | Ace of Wands

Your fears may have gotten the best of you before, but not this month. You're taking the magicians wand into your hand, and changing your destiny. I feel like you are all closing out an old karmic cycle that may bring up some childhood wounds of unworthiness, and abandonment. You have all the power, and conviction within to manifest a New Destiny that feels right for you. Do not worry, what is for you no one can take away.

Advice- Be discerning and aware of who is in your space this month and the triggers that may come up. Create the healthy boundaries necessary that will help you keep you feeling safe in your sacred space.

Pisces- The Moon RX | Son of Coins

You missed a huge opportunity this month because you took for granted the value of it was when it was in your hands. Even though some regrets may come up for you this month, it's important to focus on what its going to take for you to get out of this funk you're in. Unless you're willing to do the soul work to find out what made you choose the way of being that would dismiss what is mean to be cherished. Self sabotage is an unconscious defense mechanism.

Advice-  July is serving karma HOT! Think about what's coming up for you this month, and what gets to change so you align with the things you desire.

For more check out  @opalsaura https://opalsaura.com/

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Special case? Manchester United’s Paul Pogba needs to be special to merit that

Paul Pogba is looking for a new challenge. No, he won't try to justify the £ 89million Manchester United spent on him three years ago. He wants a challenge, not mission impossible.

Pogba's challenge echoes that of many players, not least Romelu Lukaku . It is the challenge of screwing more money out of another elite club, the challenge of racking up higher wages and a sizeable signing-on fee, the challenge of a lighter workload in an easier league.

He doesn't fancy trying to restore Manchester United to the pinnacle of English football next season, or even the top four. He's not up for balancing Thursday night fixtures in Europe with domestic consistency, or helping shape a new team under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, maybe even as captain.

Paul Pogba isn't interested in trying to justify the £ 89million Manchester United spent on him

CARABAO CUP DRAW

The draw for the first round of the Carabao Cup will take place at Morrison's supermarket in Colindale, with Ray Parlor, on Thursday. Of course it will.

These are all significant challenges, but Pogba isn't interested.

And he has already pulled off one impressive challenge. That of fooling some of the people, most of the time.

Manchester United chief executive Ed Woodward, for instance. If, as is believed, United are willing to increase Pogba's wage to close on £ 500,000 a week, deception is one challenge he has mastered.

United came sixth last season, won nothing again, tailed off at a crucial stage and ended in uproar, losing at home to relegated Cardiff City. How can one of the leading protagonists in an underwhelming campaign merit an annual pay rise of £ 10m?

If United were thinking straight, Pogba's assessment of his form would be considered delusional. They would call in the shrinks, not the accountants.

"After everything that happened, with my season being my best season as well, I think it could be a good time to have a new challenge somewhere else," Pogba told reporters in Japan.

The 26-year-old French midfielder's problem has long leg a belief in his own publicity

Best season? Well, given his form in previous campaigns, that really isn't saying much. It is like being considered the most appealing candidate in the battle for the Conservative leadership, or the most intellectually rigorous contestant on Love Island.

Fishing in a pretty murky pool.

Pogba has been nothing like an £ 89m player since coming to Manchester United. And now, having a glimpse of potential shown, he wants to leave?

Pogba's problem has long been a belief in his own publicity. His fellow professionals put him in the PFA team of the season last year, but that was as much an accident or timing as an endorsement. The votes are cast early, at a stage in the season coinciding with Pogba's peak during Solskjaer's honeymoon period.

Had the voting duties place after the campaign ended, it is unlikely he would have made the starting XI. He certainly wouldn't have featured in the two proper teams of the English season – Manchester City and Liverpool.

Pogba was inside the Premier League's top 10 for goals (13) and assists (nine) – yet more than half of his goals were penalties and his passing success rate did not place him among the Premier League's top 80, which is unhelpful for the creative midfield force at one of the best clubs in the country. So numbers do not tell the whole story.

Pogba played the most wonderful long pass to set up the goal that beat Tottenham at Wembley – yet in too many of United's other matches against elite opposition he was ineffectual and his work rate was often poor. Pogba wants to be a special case, but then he needs to be special.

More than half of Pogba's goals this season were penalties – numbers don The tell the whole story

All that makes him stand out in the wider context is his ability to create trouble for Manchester United. This latest controversy has blown up a personal promotional trip east for adidas. United may well ask what's in it for them.

If reports of the asking price are accurate, £ 133m. Yet there is little chance Real Madrid will pay that, or much like it. More plausible is that Pogba will become a gigantic plague this summer, in an attempt to try United's patience and leave at a reduced rate.

This is a familiar strategy, one that often works. If United puts an improved offer before Pogba and he turns them down, they will know what the closed season holds. The challenge will be all theirs, preventing Pogba capping his 'best' campaign by utterly derailing theirs.

FURY'S CIRCUS DID NOT RING TRUE

In the bubble that exists around major sports, it is possible to imagine you are invested in something huge. Boxing, in particular, is brilliant at that. The hoopla around Tyson Fury's fight in Las Vegas was captivating and promoters are masters at making their event seem like the center of the universe. Yet in Monterey – which can be reached from Vegas in little more time than it takes to fly London to Manchester – we couldn't find it anywhere.

Even the sports bar voted the city's best 16 years in a row offered nothing. So, reduced to viewing on a mobile phone, perhaps some of the nuances or Fury's performance passed us by. Yet, these eyes, and those of the others watching, saw a boxer who moved very well and did his job swiftly and efficiently and an opponent who was out of his class and at times little more than a straight man.

And while Fury's showmanship is not in doubt, any show worth seeing – certainly any show worth paying for – usually lasts longer than five minutes, unless Usain Bolt is involved. If he fights Deontay Wilder, it's interesting. Until then, there's better on the other channels.

The hoopla around Tyson Fury's fight against Tom Schwarz in Las Vegas was captivating

DUMB AND DUMBER FROM UEFA

Not long ago, the lunacy of a third-place play-off at the UEFA Nations League finals was highlighted in this column. Not everyone felt negatively about it. The players earn lots of money, they can be worked until they throat from exhaustion, argued some.

Had they not qualified, England would still be playing two matches at this stage of the season in European Championship qualifiers, argued others – ignoring that a qualifier is a necessary game and a third-place play off is not.

Anyway, having watched a tired, goalless 90 minutes, followed by a lifeless blank or 30 minutes, plus a penalty shoot -out that redefined the concept of pointlessness, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has reached the startling conclusion that it was a colossal waste of time and should be scrapped.

"Players are tired," he said, as if these were circumstances that could not be foreseen. "It's the end of the season, they want a vacation, they're not fully focused."

It's not the players that need focus, mind, but UEFA. They need to be focused on less stupidity in the future. Smart chance of that as, with his next breath, Ceferin once again attempted to justify having the Europa League climax in Baku. He used the well-rehearsed, stunningly foolish logic, that if two Azerbaijani teams had reached a final at Wembley, there would not have been the same level of complaint. As if this could happen realistically.

Aleksander Ceferin concluded that the Nations League third place play-off was a waste of time

Last season, four teams from Azerbaijan were involved in the Europa League – three entered in the first qualifying round and exited it, too, while Qarabag made the group stage, where they came bottom – goal difference minus 11. After July 19, there was no possibility of an all-Azerbaijani final.

Indeed, since the Europa League was founded, in season 2009-10, only once have two Azerbaijani clubs progressed to the group stage . Both finished bottom of their groups, meaning the chances of thousands of Azerbaijani football fanatics proving UEFA's point by remaining cheerful in the face of an inconvenient trip to Wembley, is a scenario as likely to be tested as a Champions League final that doubles up as the Bristol derby.

"Whenever we have complaints, you don't help yourself in your popularity within European football with that," added Ceferin, like it was a threat.

In other words, dumbfly accept every dumb decision made by dumb UEFA officials or we won't like you.

A BUCKET LIST OF A GOLF COURSE

My dad had never been to Anfield. I used to tell him how great it was, particularly on European nights. I said I'd take him if the chance arose and got tickets for a Champions League group game one Tuesday, against Besiktas. You might recall the date: September 11, 2001.

We heard about the attacks half way up the M6, news worsening with every bulletin. There was wild speculation about planes heading towards London, too. Amazingly, European games went ahead. Dad experienced Anfield, but not the way I had hoped. It was the quietest, flattest atmosphere I have known inside a football ground.

No one wanted to be there – not the teams, not the fans, not us, really. Everyone's thoughts were elsewhere. Dad still said he loved it, but he's a police man. He must have known it is not the same.

We build up these places, these cathedrals of sport, in our minds, sometimes unreasonably. When I told people how excited I was covering a golf tournament at Pebble Beach, I was surprised by some of the reactions. A few folk said I would be let down.

Popular US Open venue Pebble Beach is a bucket list of a course – it was breathtaking

"It's four great holes and the rest are ordinary," I was told. Having been there now, I'd say it's the opposite. Four ordinary holes and the rest are astonishing. If they're not on the Pacific Ocean, there is usually a view of it. I walked the full 18 on Thursday afternoon and it was breathtaking, no matter the leaden skies that have a fixture these last five days.

It's a bucket list of a course, also for a player like Tiger Woods, who must have been there a hundred times, but would occasionally just pause to look around.

It is wonderful partnership, too. Not just the great occasion, but the geography of the California coastline as much part of the drama as the golf itself.

As for Dad, he won't get to Pebble Beach, but he returned to Anfield on August 17, 2017. Liverpool 4 Arsenal 0. It's fair to say he's seen it now.

THIS IS WHY MEDIA MUST SHOW TEETH

Luis Suarez may have been in denial after biting Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup, as he claims, but his countrymen did not need to be. In the aftermath of that incident, Oscar Tabarez – Uruguay's coach and figure previously worthy or respect – made a scattergun, 13-minute denunciation of FIFA and, in particular, the English press and was applauded from the room by his country's journalists.

Suarez has now made Tabarez and many compatriots look like fools, by admitting what was known all along. He did it and he knew he did it. This is what happens if unquestioning cheerleaders take over the national media. No checks, no balances.

Judgment, and a lot else, goes out of the window.

Luis Suarez admitted what was known all along after biting Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup

GOLF'S RANDOM ACTS OF IDIOCY

If you thought cries or 'geddinahole' were annoying, wait until golf's new idiocy seeps into your consciousness. Having reported from three major tournaments in America this summer, I have noticed a new breed or gallery tee-side shouter. The Random.

For a Random, "geddinahole" is too commonplace. If every loudmouth is shouting it and on every hole, how will anyone know when its your loud mouth taking its turn? Thanks to social media and reality television these oafs are evermore convinced that they need to be heard all the time, that their contribution is important and no event is complete without them.

Their need to be personally identified is greater than ever, too. For the Random, this is all about making his – and it is always him, never her – voice audible to the people who are watching at home. He plans in advance, alights on a keyword or phrase and then informs his buddies of his intentions.

There is a new breed or gallery tee-side shouter at the golf golf – known as The Random

'Listen out for me. I'll be the one who shouts "Yabbadabbadoo" at the seventh. " Or 'Holy Moly', or 'shut the door' because you could hear them all at Pebble Beach and a thousand other meaningless catch phrases, a permanent idiot clamor, increasingly mistimed as alcohol took its toll on the hardy remaining brain cells.

Still, if all the unfunniest people in the world are gathered in one place, at least someone, somewhere, should be laughing. Their wives, probably.

Manchester City is Harry Maguire's destination of choice this summer. He should be under no illusions, though, about the exacting standards of the coach. Costly mistakes earned John Stones an arm around the shoulder and the steadfast support of England manager Gareth Southgate. Pep Guardiola witnessed the same and dropped him. As good as he is, Maguire wants to raise his game.

Harry Maguire wants to raise his game if he plays for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City

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