#annie errol

[jazzandother-blog]

WES MONTGOMERY (1923-1968)

(English / Español / Italiano)

Wes Montgomery never used a pick, only the fleshy part of his right thumb. He never stood up but sat back, holding his guitar at a semi-horizontal angle, 45 degrees from his lap. His solos would swell into octaves and block chords, driven more swiftly and cleanly than most players can articulate single-string notes.

In later life one of Wes’ most intriguing quotes was: “You shoulda heard me 20 years ago, when I could really play.” Fans took this with a pinch of salt, yet his remarkable self-deprecation was probably genuine and rooted in the fact that he was an ear player, entirely self-taught and unable to sight-read music. Many great musicians have found it necessary to conceal this fact, because learning by ear instead of learning by eye remains the last taboo.

When asked if he could read, the great pianist Erroll Garner once replied: “Not enough to hurt my playing.” Art Tatum, Monty Alexander and Django Reinhardt (in his way every bit as distinctive a guitarist as Wes) did not read music either. All are or were not only wonderful ear players but also magnificent individualists whose recorded work, unlike that of so many conservatory graduates, can be recognised instantly. Guitarist Martin Taylor, who learned to read only after learning to play, once defined jazz as a process of elimination, involving the acceptance of attractive ideas and the rejection of unattractive ones. “In that sense all jazz musicians are self-taught,” he concluded. “Particularly the best ones.”

Listen here The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery

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Wes Montgomery nunca utilizaba púa, sólo la parte carnosa de su pulgar derecho. Nunca se ponía de pie, sino que se sentaba, sosteniendo la guitarra en un ángulo semi-horizontal, a 45 grados de su regazo. Sus solos se hinchaban en octavas y bloques de acordes, ejecutados con más rapidez y limpieza de la que la mayoría de los guitarristas pueden articular notas de una sola cuerda.

Más tarde, una de las frases más interesantes de Wes fue: "Deberíais haberme oído hace 20 años, cuando sabía tocar de verdad". Los aficionados se lo tomaron con humor, pero su notable autocrítica era probablemente genuina y tenía su origen en el hecho de que era un músico de oído, totalmente autodidacta e incapaz de leer música a primera vista. Muchos grandes músicos han tenido que ocultarlo, porque aprender de oído en vez de a ojo sigue siendo el último tabú.

Cuando le preguntaron si sabía leer, el gran pianista Erroll Garner respondió una vez: "No lo suficiente como para perjudicar mi forma de tocar". Art Tatum, Monty Alexander y Django Reinhardt (a su manera, un guitarrista tan característico como Wes) tampoco leían música. Todos ellos son o fueron no sólo maravillosos intérpretes de oído, sino también magníficos individualistas cuya obra grabada, a diferencia de la de tantos graduados de conservatorio, puede reconocerse al instante. El guitarrista Martin Taylor, que aprendió a leer después de aprender a tocar, definió en una ocasión el jazz como un proceso de eliminación que implica la aceptación de ideas atractivas y el rechazo de las que no lo son. "En ese sentido, todos los músicos de jazz son autodidactas", concluyó. "Sobre todo los mejores".

Escucha aquí The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery

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Wes Montgomery non usava mai il plettro, ma solo la parte carnosa del pollice destro. Non si alzava mai in piedi, ma stava seduto, tenendo la chitarra a un angolo semi-orizzontale, a 45 gradi dal grembo. I suoi assoli si gonfiavano in ottave e accordi di blocco, guidati in modo più rapido e pulito di quanto la maggior parte dei musicisti possa articolare le note di una singola corda.

In età avanzata una delle citazioni più intriganti di Wes era: "Avreste dovuto sentirmi 20 anni fa, quando sapevo suonare davvero". I fan hanno preso questa affermazione con un pizzico di sale, ma la sua notevole autoironia era probabilmente genuina e radicata nel fatto che era un suonatore ad orecchio, completamente autodidatta e incapace di leggere la musica a vista. Molti grandi musicisti hanno dovuto nascondere questo fatto, perché imparare a orecchio invece che a occhio rimane l'ultimo tabù.

Quando gli fu chiesto se sapesse leggere, il grande pianista Erroll Garner una volta rispose: "Non abbastanza da danneggiare il mio modo di suonare". Anche Art Tatum, Monty Alexander e Django Reinhardt (a suo modo un chitarrista altrettanto particolare di Wes) non leggevano la musica. Tutti sono o erano non solo meravigliosi suonatori di orecchio, ma anche magnifici individualisti il cui lavoro registrato, a differenza di quello di molti diplomati al conservatorio, può essere riconosciuto all'istante. Il chitarrista Martin Taylor, che ha imparato a leggere solo dopo aver imparato a suonare, una volta ha definito il jazz come un processo di eliminazione, che comporta l'accettazione di idee attraenti e il rifiuto di quelle non attraenti. "In questo senso tutti i musicisti jazz sono autodidatti", ha concluso. "Soprattutto i migliori".

Ascolta quì The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery

Source: Reviews | Jazzwise

[curiositasmundi]

Sociologia di Alain Delon

Ci lasciava, l’altro ieri, Alain Delon. A ottantotto anni il divo francese si è congedato da una vita che, come lui stesso diceva, da tempo gli era diventata estranea e pesante.

Immediatamente i social si sono messi in moto. Celebrazioni, ricordi, considerazioni politiche, estetiche, cinematografiche.

Era fascista, leggo su molti post. E quindi? Mi domando. Fascisti, anzi nazisti, erano Céline, Ezra Pound, Leni Riefenstahl, Von Karajan, Heidegger.

E decisamente reazionari e conservatori furono e sono Errol Flynn, Charlton Heston, il grandissimo Clint Eastwood.

Walter Chiari, Giorgio Albertazzi, Carlo Dapporto, Ugo Tognazzi, Marcello Mastroianni e persino Cesare Pavese – che scrisse due lettere di stima e sottomissione al Duce – furono iscritti alla Repubblica Sociale.

La Sofia nazionale è zia niente di meno che della Mussolini. E non è certo una sinistrorsa. Neanche un esempio di virtù cardinali o artistiche per la verità. Potrei andare avanti ma non credo sia necessario.

Era omofobo e maschilista Delon, scrivono ancora in molti. Beh, trovatemi un uomo degli anni Trenta del secolo scorso che non lo fosse. Persino Che Guevara lo era. Era la cultura del tempo.

Picchiava le donne ed era un pessimo padre. Certo, aspetti deplorevoli e finanche vergognosi. Ma qua se andiamo di morale dovremmo impiccarci tutti.

A cominciare dai cattolici. Per proseguire con comunisti e anarchici. «Chi è senza peccato scagli la prima pietra» diceva un tale che di queste cose se ne intendeva.

Ma soprattutto, se vogliamo utilizzare la matita rossa e blu del politically correct non solo non campiamo più. Ma l’arte tutta dovremmo metterla in un cesso.

Come purtroppo in questo arbitrario delirio antidialettico contemporaneo sta spesso accadendo.

A maggior ragione se l‘arte la giudichiamo in relazione alla vita suoi creatori. Da Rimbaud a Mozart. Da Picasso a Modigliani. Da Brando a Bette Davis. Da Bukowski a Carmelo Bene.

Fino a quello sregolato soggetto geniale che fu l’artista pallonaro Maradona. Gente per lo più pessima nella vita privata.

Una cosa che non perdono però a Delon è l’aver sparato sui vietnamiti in quanto legionario nella guerra di Indocina.

Ciò detto, stiamo ai fatti. E soprattutto stiamo al Cinema.

Era bellissimo Alain. Non discuto. Anche se a me non diceva molto. Troppo carino. Troppo effeminato.

Come bellezza maschile preferivo Marlon Brando. Che quanto a carisma, fascino e soprattutto bravura attoriale se lo fumava arravogliato dentro ad uno spinello.

Anche come “maledetto” Delon era poca cosa. Vuoi mettere l’angelo luciferino Helmut Berger che girava col pippotto per la cocaina appeso al collo?

Ma Delon piaceva indiscutibilmente ad uomini e donne. A mia madre no. Diceva che era ” ‘na meza femmena”.

A lei, oggi novantenne, piacevano e piacciono uomini più alti e maschi. A me però m’ha fatto curto. Curto ma bello. E maschio. E sì, oramai me lo dico da solo. Che tristezza!

Insomma, a mammà piaceva Rock Hudson. Che quanto a virilità era piuttosto discutibile. E immaginate dunque come ci rimase quando seppe che era gay. Una tragedia.

Ad ogni modo Delon lavorava soprattutto perché di evidente apolinnea bellezza. E perché di lui si innamoravano tanti registi. Oltre ovviamente a tantissime donne e partner sul set.

E allora diciamola tutta. È morto un sogno. E i sogni, si sa, svaniscono all’alba. Lasciando impercettibili, confuse sensazioni.

È morta una leggenda. Ma una leggenda da rotocalco. Un’icona, dicono molti. Piuttosto un’immagine incendiata sulla celluloide, dico io. Come le statue filiformi di Giacometti.

Una storia da gossip in un cinema mitico. Una visione sgranata dal tempo. La visione contemplata dentro uno specchio infranto, che il narciso Alain non seppe ricomporre.

È morto un riflesso d’estate. Una forma plagiata da Apollo. Non certo l’incubo suscitato dal conturbante Dioniso della rinascita. Lo strazio della poesia che lacera l’anima e l’intelligenza, fino a desiderare la morte.

Le sue interpretazioni “memorabili” sono il frutto del lavoro di grandissimi registi. Visconti, Antonioni, Melville, Duvivier, Malle. Non certo della sua raffinata arte recitativa.

Con Delon se ne va, insomma, la bambola Barbie versione maschile del cinema d’oltralpe.

Gli attori, gli artisti, la bellezza crudele che sanguina sono un’ altra faccenda.

Vincenzo Morvillo - via: Contropiano

[pitflight]

10 songs with 10 names in the titles that i like tagged by @machinegirldemo thank youuu

louisiana bob - MAXIMUM THE HORMONE

adam’s song - blink-182

lucretia - megadeth

annie’s song - john denver

marceline - WILLOW

judas rising - judas priest

nica’s dream - horace silver

rosalie - erroll garner

the miracle (of joey ramone) - U2

rio - duran duran

not doing all 10 but tagging @rhaaclaws @lesbincineroar @bilaius @funnytown @quintushazard @oceancracker if you want ✌️

[indiejones]

THE 100 GREATEST SCREEN-PAIRS IN HISTORY OF WORLD CINEMA (@INDIES)!

.RAJESH KHANNA - MUMTAZ

.WALTER PIDGEON – GREER GARSON

.HUMPHREY BOGART – INGRID BERGMAN

.RICHARD BURTON – ELIZABETH TAYLOR

.ETHAN HAWKE – JULIE DELPY

.CHARLES CHAPLIN – EDNA PURVIANCE

.HUGH GRANT – JULIA ROBERTS

.KEANU REEVES – CARRIE-ANN MOSS

.RICHARD GERE - JULIA ROBERTS

.REX HARRISON – AUDREY HEPBURN

.CHARLES FARRELL – JANET GAYNOR

.CLARK GABLE – VIVIEN LEIGH

.UTTAM KUMAR – SUCHITRA SEN

.ROBERT REDFORD – BARBRA STREISAND

.DEV ANAND – WAHEEDA REHMAN

.CARY GRANT – INGRID BERGMAN

.KEANU REEVES – SANDRA BULLOCK

.GARY COOPER – INGRID BERGMAN

.JOSEPH FIENNES – GWYNETH PALTROW

.CHARLES BOYER – INGRID BERGMAN

.CARY GRANT – KATHERINE HEPBURN

.GURU DUTT – WAHEEDA REHMAN

.RAJESH KHANNA - TANUJA

.DILIP KUMAR - MADHUBALA

.TOM HANKS – MEG RYAN

.RAJESH KHANNA – SHARMILA TAGORE

.HUGH GRANT – RENEE ZELLWEGER

.SPENCOR TRACY – KATHERINE HEPBURN

.AMITABH BACHCHAN – PARVEEN BABI

.MICHEL PICCOLI – ROMY SCHNEIDER

.WOODY ALLEN – DIANE KEATON

.RAJESH KHANNA – REKHA

.MICHAEL DOUGLAS – GLENN CLOSE

.ALAIN DELON – ROMY SCHNEIDER

.ROD STEIGER – ROMY SCHNEIDER

.SHAMMI KAPOOR – ASHA PAREKH

.MARCELO MASTROIANNI – ROMY SCHNEIDER

.YVES MONTAND – SIMONE SIGNORET

.ALAIN DELON – ANNIE GIRARDOT

.JOHNNY DEPP – JULIETTE BINOCHE

.LAURENCE OLIVIER – VIVIEN LEIGH

.CLARK GABLE – JOAN CRAWFORD

.TREVOR HOWARD – CELIA JOHNSON

.PATRICK SWAYZE – JENNIFER GREY

.PREM NAZIR - SHEELA

.VINCENT CASSEL – MONICA BELLUCCI

.CLARK GABLE – AVA GARDNER

.JEAN-LOUIS TRINTIGNANT – ROMY SCHNEIDER

.JACK LEMMON – SHIRLEY MACLAINE

.HEATH LEDGER - JULIA STILES

.ANTHONY PERKINS – INGRID BERGMAN

.TOBEY MAGUIRE – KIRSTEN DUNST

.GREGORY PECK – AUDREY HEPBURN

.TOM CRUISE – RENEE ZELLWEGER

.AMITABH BACHCHAN - REKHA

.JAMES STEWART – MARGARET SULLAVAN

.RYAN GOSLING – RACHEL MCADAMS

.PRADEEP KUMAR – MEENA KUMARI

.ROBERT MONTGOMERY – ROSALIND RUSSELL

.JOHNNY DEPP – HELENA BONHAM CARTER

.BOBBY VERNON – GLORIA SWANSON

.DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS JR. – LORETTA YOUNG

.CLARK GABLE – CLAUDETTE COLBERT

.RAJESH KHANNA – ZEENAT AMAN

.GLENN FORD – GERALDINE PAGE

.LEONARDO DI CAPRIO – KATE WINSLET

.RAJESH KHANNA – ASHA PAREKH

.MEL GIBSON – CATHERINE MCCORMACK

.RAJ KAPOOR - NARGIS

.BRAD PITT – ANGELINA JOLIE

.CHRISTOPHER REEVE – MARGOT KIDDER

.CARY GRANT – SOPHIA LOREN

.SOUMITRA CHATTERJEE – MADHABI MUKHERJEE

.HUMPHREY BOGART – AUDREY HEPBURN

.SALMAN KHAN – AISHWARYA RAI

.ANTONIA BANDERAS – CATHERINE ZETA JONES

.RYAN O’ NEAL – BARBRA STREISAND

.JOHNNY DEPP – GWYNETH PALTROW

.MICHAEL DOUGLAS – KATHLEEN TURNER

.JAMES STEWART – CLAUDETTE COLBERT

.LAURENT MALET – ANNIE GIRARDOT

.DICK POWELL – OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND

.TOMMY STEELE – GERALDINE PAGE

.GEORGE BRENT – OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND

.MAURICE RONET – BRIGITTE BARDOT

.RAJESH KHANNA - SRIDEVI

.WILLIAM POWELL – MYRNA LOY

.ANTHONY PERKINS – ROMY SCHNEIDER

.MICKEY ROONEY – JUDY GARLAND

.RAJESH KHANNA - RAAKHEE

.SHAH RUKH KHAN - KAJOL

.RAAJ KUMAR – MEENA KUMARI

.MAHIPAL – ANITA GUHA

.RALPH FIENNES – JULIETTE BINOCHE

.ERROL FLYNN – OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND

.JOHN BOLES – BARBARA STANWYCK

.DHARMENDRA – MEENA KUMARI

.PETER FINCH – AUDREY HEPBURN

.MARLON BRANDO – KIM HUNTER

.MAURICE RONET – ROMY SCHNEIDER .

(P.S. - THE 2 PEOPLE WITH MOST ENTRIES IN THIS LIST, ARE-

RAJESH KHANNA OF INDIA WITH 8 ENTRIES, FOLLOWED BY ROMY SCHNEIDER OF AUSTRIA/FRANCE WITH 7 ENTRIES!)

[thingstol00kat]

2024 Watches

Maestro (2023) Bradley Cooper

Fallen Leaves (2023) Aki Kaurismäki

Paris is Burning (1990) Jennie Livingston

Asteroid City (2023) Wes Anderson

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) Julian Schnabel

Household Saints (1993) Nancy Savoca

Saltburn (2023) Emerald Fennell

Stories We Tell (2012) Sarah Polley

May December (2023) Todd Haynes

Hot girls Wanted (2015) Jill Bauer and Ronna Gradus

Streetwise (1984) Martin Bell

Videodrome (1983) David Cronenberg

Poor Things (2023) Yorgos Lanthimos

All of Us Strangers (2023) Andrew Haigh

50 Minutes by Moyra Davey

Homage to Edvard Munch and all my Dead Children - Tracey Emin

Happy together (1997) Wong Kar Wai

Pipilotti Rist - I’m Not The Girl Who Misses Much

The Thin Blue Line (1988) Errol Morris

“Theme Song” Vito Acconci

Window Water Baby Moving. Stan Brakhage. 1959

Scorpio Rising (1963) Kenneth Anger

Perfect Days (2023) Wim Wnders

Fuses (1967) by Carolee Schneemann

Oppenheimer (2023) Christopher Nolan

Promising Young Woman (2020) Emerald Fennell

Time (2020) Garrett Bradley

Problemista (2023) Julio Torres

La Chimera (2024) Alice Rohrwacher

Challengers (2024) Luca Guadagnino

Run Lola Run (1998) Tom Tykwer

Starstruck (1982) Gillian Armstrong

Tuesday (2024) Daina Oniunas-Pusic

Kind of Kindness (2024) Yorgos Lanthimos

Janet Planet (2024) Annie Baker

Funny Face (1957) Stanley Donen

The Lives of Others (2006) Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Opening Night (1977) John Cassavetes

Fanny and Alexander (1982) Ingmar Bergman

Five Easy Pieces (1970) Bob Rafelson

Three Daughters (2024) Azazel Jacobs

Nyad (2023) Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

Trainspotting (1996) Danny Boyle

We Live in Time (2024) John Crowley

Anora (2024) Sean Baker

Rendition (2007) Gavin Hood

Queer (2024) Luca Guadagnino

Strangers on a train (1951) Alfred Hitchcock

Oh Canada (2024) Paul Schrader

Invincible (short film) (2023) Vincent René-Lortie

Conclave (2024) Edward Berger

Parthenope (2024) Paolo Sorrentino

[agrpress-blog]

È morta a Los Angeles all’età di cento anni l’attrice teatrale, cinematografica e televisiva britannica Glynis Johns, nota per il ruolo di Mrs. Banks nel celebre Mary Poppins di Robert Stevenson. Nata a Pretoria - in Sud Africa - nell’ottobre 1923 durante una tournée dei genitori (una pianista e un attore di origini gallesi), Glynis Margaret Payne Johns debutta giovanissima, nel ’35, danzando al Garrick Theatre di Londra ed inizia a recitare nel teatro di prosa all’Old Vic con il dramma St. Helena, seguiti poi da La calunnia e The Melody That Got Lost, Judgement Day, e, nel ’37, in Cinderella. Pur continuando nell’attività teatrale, esordisce al cinema in La cavalcata delle follie (1938) di Victor Saville. Negli anni Quaranta appare in piccole parti in alcuni film, fra cui due di Alexander Korda: Intermezzo matrimoniale (1945), con Deborah Kerr, e Un marito ideale (1947), tratto dall’omonima commedia di Oscar Wilde. Negli anni Cinquanta ottiene ruoli di maggior rilievo e da protagonista con Il viaggio indimenticabile (1951) di Henry Koster, con Marlene Dietrich e James Stewart, Asso pigliatutto (1952) di Ronald Neame, con Alec Guinness, Roy Boy, il bandito di Scozia (1953), con Richard Todd, Penitenziario braccio femminile (1954) di J. Lee Thompson, Il giullare del Re (1956) di Melvin Frank e Norman Panama, con Danny Kaye e Angela Lansbury, Il giro del mondo in ottanta giorni (1956) di Michael Anderson, tratto dal romanzo omonimo di Jules Verne ed interpretato da David Niven, Shirley MacLaine, Cantinflas e Robert Newton, in cui fa una piccola apparizione, Il fronte della violenza (1959) di M. Anderson, con James Cagney, Don Murray, Michael Redgrave e Richard Harris (al suo secondo film), I nomadi (1960) di Fred Zinnemann, con Robert Mitchum, Deborah Kerr e Peter Ustinov, e con cui ottiene una nomination all’Oscar come Miglior Attrice non Protagonista, La tela del ragno (1960) di Godfrey Rayson, Sessualità (1962) di George Cukor, con Jane Fonda, Efrem Zimbalist e Claire Bloom, per il quale avrà una nomination per Miglior Attrice in un film drammatico. Due anni dopo arriva il ruolo per il quale è più nota, quello della mamma dei piccoli Jane e Michael Banks (Karen Dotrice e Matthew Garber) in Mary Poppins (1964) di Robert Stevenson, con Julie Andrews (Oscar come Miglior Attrice Protagonista), Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson e Elsa Lanchester. Negli anni successivi dirada le sue apparizioni cinematografiche, fino a Un amore tutto suo (1995) di Jon Turtletaub, una commedia degli equivoci con Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, Peter Gallagher e Jack Warden. Nel frattempo rimane attiva a teatro e in televisione. Nel ’73 torna a Broadway - dove aveva recitato nel ’56 in Il maggiore Barbara di George Bernard Shaw - con il musical A Little Night Music di Stephen Sondheim e Hugh Wheeler - versione teatrale del film Sorrisi di una notte d’estate (1955) di Ingmar Bergman - per il quale ottenne grande successo di pubblico e di critica ed il Tony Awards alla Miglior Attrice Protagonista in un musical. Fu così la prima interprete della canzone Send in the Clowns. Sarà nuovamente interprete del medesimo musical al James Doolittle Theatre di Los Angeles nel ’91. In televisione, fra gli anni Cinquanta e i Novanta, appare in alcuni episodi di serie e miniserie - The Errol Flynn Theatre (1956), The Frank Sinatra Show (1958), Avventure in paradiso (1961), La città in controluce (1961), Il dottor Kildare (1962), L’impareggiabile Glynis (1963, tredici episodi), La parola alla difesa (1964), Batman (1967), Gloria Vanderbilt (1982), Love Boat (1984), La signora in giallo (1985), Benvenuti a “Le Dune” (1988-89, quindici episodi).

[personal-reporter]

Storie delle Olimpiadi: I fratelli Nadi, assi della scherma

Due fratelli che vissero una vita davvero straordinaria nel mondo dello sport italiano del primo Novecento… Nedo Nadi nacque a Livorno il 9 giugno 1894 in riva al Tirreno e fece il suo debutto nel mondo della scherma a soli cinque anni, con il padre nel ruolo di allenatore. I risultati si videro presto e nel 1907, a quindici anni, Nedo vinse a Vigevano il primo torneo e nello sport internazionale debuttò un anno dopo, a Vienna, nel Torneo dell’Imperatore. Nel 1911, nel torneo Re Alfonso di Spagna, Nedo affrontò per la prima volta, finendo battuto, l’asso della scherma francese Lucien Gaudin e nel 1912  prese parte ai Giochi Olimpici di Stoccolma e,  dopo un lunghissimo viaggio in treno, ancora malconcio per i postumi di una influenza, vinse la medaglia d’oro nel fioretto con sette vittorie su sette assalti. Il giovane Nadi aveva solo diciotto anni e la giovane età, che era in contrasto con l’autorevolezza che mostrava in pedana, sorprese tutti gli osservatori. Mentre la stella del fratello Aldo, che era nato il 23 aprile 1899 a Livorno, cominciava a brillare, Nedo torno alle Olimpiadi nel 1920, ad Anversa e, iscritto a cinque gare, in tutte vinse la medaglia d’oro, risultando primo nelle prove individuali del fioretto e della sciabola oltre che determinante nelle tre prove a squadre. Dopo i Giochi di Anversa, Nedo accettò l’invito di dirigere la sezione scherma del Jockey Club, a Buenos Aires ma tornò, deluso e depresso, nel dicembre 1923, distrutto nel fisico e prostrato nell’animo, poi riprese con la scherma, tra nuove sfide ed esibizioni nei teatri contro le più celebri lame, uscì imbattuto da 72 tornei e, oltre alle sei medaglie d’oro olimpiche, nel 1930 conquistò nella spada anche il titolo di campione del mondo dei professionisti. L’ultimo scontro di Nedo avvenne nella serata del 4 febbraio 1931, al Lirico di Milano, battendo alla sciabola per 16 a 12 l’ungherese György Piller, il formidabile spadaccino ungherese che, nel 1932, divenne campione olimpico battendo Giulio Gaudini. Terminata l’attività agonistica, Nadi fu CT della squadra azzurra per i Giochi di Los Angeles, un incarico mantenuto anche per i Giochi di Berlino, insistendo per inserire nella squadra  Edoardo Mangiarotti, e poi, dal 1935, fu nominato presidente della Federazione italiana di scherma, incarico che mantenne fino alla prematura scomparsa, avvenuta a Roma il 28 gennaio 1940, a soli 46 anni, per un’emorragia cerebrale. Invece Aldo Nadi, più irrequieto e impulsivo nel carattere, lasciò l'Italia negli anni Trenta per trasferirsi negli Stati Uniti, dove divenne il compagno dell’ereditera Elizabeth Arden, pur continuando ad occuparsi di scherma, diventando il maestro di generazioni di star di Hollywood, da Errol Flynn a Maureen O’Hara, fino alla morte, che lo colse a Los Angeles il 10 novembre 1965, ponendo fine alla grande storia dei fratelli Nadi. Read the full article

[impossiblestrangercollectionable]

Anna Frank

Anna di Franco? No, piuttosto Anna di Norvegia nelle mani dei Franckenstein

Che la giovane Anna Frank sia veramente esistita non é mia intenzione metterlo in dubbio ma sembra che abbiano utilizzato questa sua storia per raccontarne un’altra, una che riguarda l’erede di Norvegia e la sua famiglia nelle mani dei Franckenstein, veri responsabili del nazismo, che pretendevano il trono, e a quanto pare alla fine lo hanno ottenuto...

Attenzione quindi alla Tesla e a Twitter, perché il padre di Elon Musk é il fratello di “Anna Frank” e tutto quel che la sua famiglia possiede appartiene ai Franckenstein

(Anna Frank non somiglia esattamente alla principessa di Norvegia ma in qualche modo si somigliano nella maniera di sorridere In realtà nei tratti più nel dettaglio somiglia a Errol Musk, come ad esempio la forma dei denti, il naso, gli zigomi e il colore degli occhi)

Come faccio a saperlo? Perché é stata mia madre per più di 50 anni (io sono solo la figlia di comodo, non sono la sua vera erede, non so nemmeno se i figli che partoriva e sostituiva con bambini comprati siano stati fatti sopravvivere, ma inizio a credere che le abbiano fatto tutto il male del mondo, forse se l’avessero deportata avrebbe sofferto di meno)

I figli probabili sono: Bill Gates (figlio di Andreotti?!)

E la cantante Madonna 

Non ho nessuna foto di mammina altrimenti l’avrei postata Questo é tutto quel che so sull’argomento ma temo che tutte le monarchie con le loro discendenze siano soltanto un ammasso di bugie perché alla fine sempre di bambini adottati o rapiti si tratta

[medea10]

My Review of Shoukoushi Cedie

(a.k.a. Little Lord Fauntleroy; Our Boy Ceddie; etc.)

Let’s get back to watching some World Masterpiece Theater animes with another anime loosely based on another novel by Francis Hodgson-Burnett. Unlike my familiarity of her other works like The Secret Garden and A Little Princess, I never knew this story.

I’ve heard of the name many times (mostly used as an insult) and would see movie adaptations here and there, but would never sit down to watch any of them. There are movies to this story. Quite a bit, actually! There are two prominent versions out there that people would flock to. The first would be the 1936 adaptation with Freddie Bartholomew and Mickey Rooney. And the other would be the 1980 adaptation starring future dick-head Ricky Schroder.

Cedric Errol (Ceddie to those who know him well) is a happy-go-lucky child. He lives with his parents in Brooklyn, NY. He loves baseball. He’s a wide-eyed optimist. If any of his friends are in a jam, he will always help them out. Would anybody think this little boy could be an heir to an earl in England? Ceddie’s father James was trying to hide that previous life by moving far away from England. But misfortune struck with James’s brother suddenly passing away and then James winds up passing away with a heart attack. This leaves Ceddie without a father but also leaves him with a title across the pond.

Sometime after James’s death, Ceddie was visited by his grandfather’s lawyer, Mr. Havisham and the intentions are to take Ceddie away from Brooklyn and have him live with his grandfather in England. His grandfather is the Earl of Dorincourt and with all of his sons gone, Ceddie is to be the next heir to the earldom. Upon arrival, Ceddie was given literally everything a child could want and more. The only downside to this is that his dearest mother could not live with him. The reason is because Ceddie’s grandfather has a disdain for the American woman his son married.

Probably because she looks like his dead wife. Whatever that reason may be, they promised to keep it away from Ceddie to keep him from hating his grandfather. Once meeting his only grandson, The Earl bonded with Ceddie in a way he didn’t expect to. Will Ceddie soften the heart of this crotchety old earl?

BETWEEN THE SUB AND DUB: Once again, I’m reviewing an anime from the World Masterpiece Theater collection so that means there’s no licensing or an English dub. There’s word that this anime aired in England back in the 1990s and it was dubbed. But I have been unable to locate any footage or proof that it exists. As for the sub, I found this interesting tidbit. This was Ai Orikasa’s voice acting debut. I always like to hear voice actor’s first role and see how far they’ve come from there. It looked like Orikasa was on good terms as she went on to voice another major character in the World Masterpiece Theater collection. Now, I want to bring to your attention the availability of this anime on the internet. This was the one anime I found difficulty finding with semi-decent subs. So just be aware of this little hurdle you might come across if your wish is to view this story. With that said, here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

*Ceddie is played by Ai Orikasa (known for Ryoko on Tenchi Muyo, Ren on Fruits Basket 2019, Jakotsu on InuYasha, Shizuru on Yu Yu Hakusho, Tohma on Gravitation, and Romeo on Romeo’s Blue Skies)

*The Earl is played by Takeshi Watabe (known for Gamabunta on Naruto) [R.I.P.]

*Annie is played by Tomoko Munakata

RESPECTED CHARACTER: This honor goes to Annie. Ceddie’s mother gets my full respect. Annie has persevered through the hardest moments in her life. In the span of several months, Annie lost her husband to a heart condition, became the bread winner of her house, had to uproot her entire life to another country, and be separated from her one and only son because her father-in-law said so. Despite all of that, she still put on a brave face. While living in Dorincourt, she would help those around her, especially the sick and disabled. I’m happy that Annie was eventually able to see Ceddie every now and then throughout the series. I just wished The Earl would have come to his senses early on. Who taught Ceddie all of those manners you like him for? His mother Annie, that’s who!

PROTECT THAT SMILE: This is Cocky. I like Cocky. Protect her smile at all costs!

DISLIKED CHARACTER: Hmm…does this anime have a snot-nosed bitch for me to rag on or a bastard old man?

Oh my, it does! However, my hatred for Bridget was only for a few episodes. Her mother on the other hand is another story. Thankfully, we don’t see them that often and the whole thing with Bridget was resolved sooner than you’d think. As for the bastard old man, that would be The Earl. Like with Bridget, my hatred for him waned over time. Yes, he did piss me off when he got in a hissy-fit whenever Ceddie’s mother was brought up. I’ve dealt with that in my youth where certain family members trash-talked my mother. I hate them. But the Earl slowly became accepting of Annie and most of that thanks goes to Ceddie. He’s a saint. I think everyone can come together to hate one, single character. And that is…

Newick! Nobody likes him.

He’s a debt collector. He’s an asshole. He lies to cover his own ass and steals. That’s all there is to him. He’s terrible. Oh and he tried to hurt Cocky. Fuck this guy!

Oh, you thought I was going to say Minna, weren’t you? That’s the obvious choice. My hatred for Newick gradually built over a certain amount of time because he was on the series longer than that gold-digging ho.

SADDEST MOMENT: Death is a familiar topic brought up throughout nearly all of the stories featured in Japan’s World Masterpiece Theater. And the ones I saw in previous animes from this collection didn’t really strike a chord with me. Don’t get me wrong, they were tragic, but most of them were just followed by an intense streak of anger brought on by the circumstance. Most notably, Fantine’s death in Les Miserables and Alfredo’s parents assassination in Romeo’s Blue Skies got me angry. Watching Ceddie’s father die was just sad!

Watching James cry while saying his final words on this earth as Ceddie performs his favorite song is enough to blast you in the gut. And little Ceddie is just so innocent in this scene and thinks his father just fell asleep. Scenes like that just don’t get any easier to watch. That’s why I get choked up when Mufasa dies in The Lion King and Simba tries to wake him up.

ACCURATE OR NOT: Okay, a lot of these animes I’ve been watching have been pretty good with accuracy. Will this one do the same? Ehh…hard to tell. Filler episodes are everywhere here so anything is possible. This’ll be smaller than usual.

*Even though Ceddie’s father is hardly ever seen in any other adaptation, we do see him significantly in the first 5 episodes. In the anime, his name was James Errol. But in everything else he’s known as Captain Cedric. Usually, he’s dead before the story begins. I’m also pretty sure that Ceddie’s father never worked for the newspaper.

*Apparently, The Earl had three sons in total. In the anime, we only know of James (Ceddie’s father) and Bevis. Whatever the case, all three are dead now.

*Dearest Annie! Watching this anime with even the crappiest of subtitles, one thing that I know for sure is that Ceddie never once called his mother “Dearest” like in every other piece of media with this story. I’m actually relieved on that one. Next to men calling their wives “mother”, that is too cringy for my liking. I know Ceddie calls his mother “Dearest” because that’s what his father called her and so Ceddie took over calling her that. In the anime however, Ceddie calls her “mother”. It’s quite possible they gave her the name Annie in this adaptation after the song “Annie Laurie”, the song Ceddie constantly plays on his instrument.

*I really can’t find anything proving that Cocky was a real character in the novel or any other adaptation. And that sucks because I really liked her. Yeah, a lot of memorable characters in the anime were not really there in the actual story. And if they were, they probably didn’t have a name or went by something else. At least I know the dog actually existed.

ENDING: Ceddie might not be the rightful heir to become Earl. It’s not like Ceddie isn’t really The Earl’s grandson. They’re related, there’s no doubt about that. And The Earl loves Ceddie! I mean, he loves his grandson dearly. If Ceddie weren’t around, he’d still be in that mansion, stomping his cane around being a crusty old crone. The reason behind this new turn of events is that he might have a surprise grandson. Let me explain!

Ceddie’s father James had an older brother named Bevis. Bevis might have fucked around with some random lady and they had a son. I think the woman’s name was Minna or something. I don’t know, I’m just gonna call her Lyin’ ass ho. And you know the rules, first sons are the heirs and everyone else is the spare. Not my rule, this shit goes back to Henry VIII times. So, what now? Does Ceddie get cast aside for this illegitimate heir? Does that mean Ceddie can at least live with his mother now? Could this possibly mean that Ceddie and Annie are going to go back to Brooklyn? The Earl was not having this malarchy in his mansion. He threw out this lyin’ ass ho and her son.

The thought occurred with Annie and Ceddie about returning to the states. But all of the people they helped throughout this story pleaded with them not to go. During their time in England, Annie and Ceddie helped the people of the area known as Earl’s Court. Annie would look after the sick and disabled. And Ceddie persuaded his grandfather to rebuild the entire area when it was discovered that everyone there was practically living in squalor. Hell, Ceddie was able to soften his grandfather’s heart and The Earl ended up opening up a bit.

Now comes an ugly ultimatum. Bevis’s so-called ex-wife has been challenging to go to court on the matter of having her son become Little Lord Fauntleroy. But she’s willing to drop it if she lets her son move in and have Ceddie leave the mansion. Yeah, I hate this bitch. Come on anime, we’ve got one episode left. Is this bitch gonna get her comeuppance or what because tick-tock!? Ceddie decides to leave the mansion to prevent being a burden to his grandfather. He decides to stay with his mother and Cocky. Back in the states, Ceddie’s friends and acquaintances have been following this whole story. Mr. Hobbs the storekeeper has been getting frequent letters from Ceddie and the newspaper has been getting stories from across the pond about the development in the alleged new earl case.

Well, time for this shit to be blown up. Ceddie’s NY friend Dick recognized the woman claiming to be Bevis’s ex with his child. Dick and Mr. Hobbs make an unexpected trip to England to straighten out this ugly situation. The evil woman claiming she has the real Lord Fauntleroy is a lyin’ ass ho. Dick’s brother Ben is the real father to this poor kid. So, he’s not related to the lord or Ceddie. Lyin’ ass ho was caught in that web of lies she concocted in front of the lord, Ceddie, her son, the baby-daddy, the servants, all of that. Turns out Lyin’ ass ho was married to Dick’s brother and had a baby with him, but was tired of being poor. So, she ditches both her husband and son to go searching for a sugar daddy. That’s when she met and married Bevis (Ceddie’s uncle). But when their relationship lapsed, she came back to take the child she ditched and went away somewhere the father couldn’t find.

Yeah, this story would make anyone’s blood boil. The Earl was ready to lay down some much-welcomed punishment on this evil woman. But Ceddie pleaded with his grandfather to not be cruel and even went so far as to threaten renouncing his heirdom if he does something cruel to the lyin’ ass ho. That’s the one thing that always annoyed me about Ceddie. This woman did a lot of damage to the people around her. She should not be let off easy. Then again, the only time you’ll see Ceddie lose his temper is if anyone insults his mother. Anyways, The Earl decided to just let her go and she left her son with his father and left without a fuss. So, Ceddie is officially Little Lord Fauntleroy. And even better, his grandfather did something nice for Ceddie. He is finally allowing his mother Annie to live with her son in the mansion and offered a heartfelt apology for his stubbornness.

I guess the characters get a happy ending. Dick’s brother gets to live with his son on a farm somewhere in the states. Dick is working for Mr. Hobbs instead of shining shoes. Ceddie and his mother get to live with each other. And now it’s time for the family to make a trip to New York to visit James’s grave and pay their respects.

This was an okay story. Once again, I like this version than the movie versions I watched. I gotta say, Ceddie was one of the luckier of the children featured in Japan’s World Masterpiece Theater. I know he lost his father at a young age and was separated from his mother shortly after. But you’ve gotta admit he’s luckier compared to other characters like Cosette, Romeo, and Sara Crewe.

A few gripes…Besides the animation, that’s a given. I should save my breath when it comes to all of the early Nippon animations. One of my gripes has to do with the previews. The previews talk about the next episode and when the next episode comes, the stuff they talk about happens at the end. What a cock-tease! The other gripe is that the ending felt very rushed. All the stuff with who was the rightful Little Lord Fauntleroy comes at the very last second. In a 43-episode long series, they save something big like this to the last 3 episodes. And for something as serious as proving paternity, the matter was taken care of rather quickly in the final episode.

Recommendation wise…eh, it’s a toss up for me. I was just okay with it. It wasn’t a favorite of mine and would recommend other animes that came from the same company. I honestly thought it was too cute and wholesome for my liking. It’s weird for me to say that when you see some of my taste in anime, but that’s how I felt. But if you’re curious and have read the book or watched some of the older movies to Little Lord Fauntleroy, give it a watch. But only if you’re able to find the entire series. Like I said before, this series was difficult to find with semi-decent subtitles.

Okay, I’m going to replace Little Lord Fauntleroy with yet another World Masterpiece Theater anime. And funny enough, this anime was the one that replaced Little Lord Fauntleroy after original its run.

Peter Pan!

Oh God. The Little Lord Fauntleroy anime looks like a Makoto Shinkai masterpiece compared to what they did to Peter Pan.

[only-johnny-deppp]

Johnny Depp, through the lens of Annie Leibovitz, 18 years ago, on this day (December 10), at his home/studio in Los Angeles, California.

Although the photo was taken on that day, it was only released 4 months later on the March 2004 issue of Vanity Fair magazine, along a short article about him and Pirates of the Caribbean.

“The Rapscallion Johnny Depp, actor Twenty five films.

He smokes, He lives in France. He has 12 tattoos and a Beatnik’s goatee. In a politically touch climate, he says bad things about George W. Bush. And yet Johnny Depp is more popular than ever, thanks to his bizarre but lovable performances in the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced Disney hit Pirates of the Caribbean. Playing Captain Jack Sparrow as a cross between Keith Richards and Pepe Le Pew, Depp gave this theme-park ride of a movie some humor and soul. The first big swashbuckler hit since the days when Errol Flynn was causing moviegoers to go weak in the knees. Pirates has grossed more than $300 million to date, making it Disney’s most profitable live-action production ever (and Depp Disney’s biggest star). And so, after years spent running from a teen-idol past (remember 21 Jump Street?) in a series of “interesting films” (Edward Scissorhands, What’s eating Gilbert Grape. Benny & Joon). One of the greatest actors of his generation finds himself a box-office champ about to take on something totally new for him – a sequel – when Pirates of the Caribbean 2 starts shooting later this year.”

> What does “Rapscallion” means?  Rapscallion is an archaic word for “rascal”, also used to say that someone is a mischievous or cheeky person, but mostly in an affectionate way, once this person, even being a “rogue” is not a bad person, but instead is a comical, funny loving, charming man who does funny things just for fun.

[norashelley]

Errol Flynn, Claude Rains, Ava Gardner, Shirley Maclaine, Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford, Janet Gaynor

Errol Flynn Favorite - The Perfect Specimen, Never Say Goodbye Least Favorite - Santa Fe Trail

Claude Rains Favorite - Now, Voyager, The Unsuspected, Mr. Skeffington, Notorious Least Favorite - Cesar and Cleopatra

Ava Gardner Favorite - One Touch of Venus, Pandora and the Dutchman, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, On the Beach Least Favorite - She Went to the Races

Shirley MacLaine Favorite - What a Way to Go, The Trouble With Harry, The Children's Hour Least Favorite - Joan of Arc

Lillian Gish Favorite - Way Down East, The Wind, The Night of the Hunter, La Boheme Least Favorite - Duel in the Sun (I haven't seen Birth of a Nation but from what I've heard that would probably be a least favorite so I refuse to watch it)

Mary Pickford Favorite - Little Lord Fauntleroy, Sparrows, Little Annie Rooney, Poor Little Rich Girl Least Favorite - Taming of the Shrew

Janet Gaynor Favorite - Lucky Star, One More Spring, Ladies in Love, The Young In Heart, A Star is Born Least Favorite - The Man Who Came Back

Thanks so much for all of these, it was a lot of fun to do many at once!

Send me the name of an actor/actress and I will tell you my favorite and least favorite film of theirs.

[gilmoregirlsrevival2016]

Season 1 Gilmore Girls References (Breakdown)

Yay! All the season 1 references have been posted. Before I start posting season 2, I wanted to post this little breakdown for your enjoyment :) It starts with some statistics and then below the cut is a list of all the specific references.

Overall amount of references in season 1: 605

Top 10 Most Common References: NSYNC (5), Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (5), Taylor Hanson (6), Leo Tolstoy (7), Lucky Spencer (7), Marcel Proust (7), PJ Harvey (7), The Bangles (8), The Donna Reed Show (8), William Shakespeare (10)

Which episodes had the most references: #1 is That Damn Donna Reed with 55 references. #2 is Christopher Returns with 44 references 

What characters made the most references (Only including characters/actors who were in the opening credits): Lorelai had the most with 237 references, Rory had second most with 118, and Lane had third most with 48.

First reference of the season: Jack Kerouac referenced by Lorelai 

Final reference of the season: Adolf Eichmann referenced by Michel 

  Movies/TV Shows/Episodes/Characters, Commercials, Cartoons/Cartoon Characters, Plays, Documentaries:

9 1/2 Weeks, Alex Stone, Alfalfa, An Affair To Remember, A Streetcar Named Desire, Attack Of The Fifty Foot Woman, Avon Commercials, Bambi, Beethoven, Boogie Nights, Cabaret, Casablanca, Charlie's Angels, Charlie Brown cartoons, Christine, Cinderella, Citizen Kane, Daisy Duke, Damien Thorn, Dawson Leery, Donna Stone, Double Indemnity, Double Mint Commercials, Ethel Mertz, Everest, Felix Unger, Fiddler On The Roof, Footloose, Freaky Friday, Fred Mertz, Gaslight, General Hospital, G.I. Jane, Gone With The Wind, Grease, Hamlet, Heathers, Hee Haw, House On Haunted Hill, Ice Castles, I Love Lucy, Iron Chef, Ishtar, Jeff Stone, Joanie Loves Chachi, John Shaft, Lady And The Tramp, Life With Judy Garland: Me And My Shadows, Love Story, Lucky Spencer, Lucy Raises Chickens, Lucy Ricardo, Lucy Van Pelt, Macbeth,  Magnolia, Mary Stone, Mask, Midnight Express, Misery, Norman Bates, Officer Krupke, Oompa Loompas, Old Yeller, Oscar Madison, Out Of Africa, Patton, Pepe Le Pew, Peyton Place, Pink Ladies, Pinky Tuscadero, Ponyboy, Psycho, Queen Of Outer Space, Rapunzel, Richard III, Ricky Ricardo, Rocky Dennis, Romeo And Juliet, Rosemary's Baby, Sandy Olsson, Saved By The Bell, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, Schroeder, Sesame Street, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Sex And The City, Sixteen Candles, Sleeping Beauty, Star Trek, Stanley Kowalski, Stella Kowalski, Stretch Cunningham, The Champ, The Comedy Of Errors, The Crucible, The Donna Reed Show, The Duke's Of Hazzard, The Fly, The Great Santini, The Little Match Girl, The Matrix, The Miracle Worker, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Outsiders, The Shining, The Sixth Sense, The View, The Waltons, The Way We Were, The Scarecrow, This Old House, V.I.P., Valley Of The Dolls, Vulcans, Wild Kingdom, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, Wheel Of Fortune, Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf, Working Girl, Yogi Bear, You're A Good Man Charlie Brown

Bands, Songs, CDs:

98 Degrees, Air Supply, Apple Venus Volume 2, Backstreet Boys, Bee Gees, Black Sabbath, Blue Man Group, Blur, Bon Jovi, Boston, Bush, Duran Duran, Everlong, Foo Fighters, Fugazi, Grandaddy, Hanson, I'm Too Sexy, Joy Division, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Kraftwerk, Like A Virgin, Livin La Vida Loca, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, Man I Feel Like A Woman, Metallica, Money Money, My Ding-A-Ling, NSYNC, On The Good Ship Lollipop, Pink Moon, Queen, Rancid, Sergeant Pepper, Shake Your Bon Bon, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Sister Sledge, Smoke On The Water, Steely Dan, Suppertime, Tambourine Man, The B-52s, The Bangles, The Beatles, The Best Of Blondie, The Cranberries, The Cure, The Offspring, The Sugarplastic, The Wallflowers, The Velvet Underground, Walk Like An Egyptian, XTC, Ya Got Trouble, Young Marble Giants

Books/Book Characters, Comic Books/Comic Book Characters, Comic Strips: 

A Mencken Chrestomathy, A Tale Of Two Cities, Anna Karenina, Belle Watling, Boo Radley, Carrie, David Copperfield, Dick Tracy, Dopey (One of the seven dwarfs) Goofus And Gallant, Great Expectations, Grinch, Hannibal Lecter, Hansel And Gretel, Harry Potter (book as well as character referenced), Huckleberry Finn, Little Dorrit, Madame Bovary, Moby Dick, Mommie Dearest, Moose Mason, Nancy Drew, Out Of Africa, Pinocchio, Swann's Way, The Amityville Horror, The Art Of Fiction, The Bell Jar, The Grapes Of Wrath, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, The Lost Weekend, The Metamorphosis, The Portable Dorothy Parker, The Unabridged Journals Of Sylvia Plath, The Witch Tree Symbol, There's A Certain Slant Of Light, Tuesdays With Morrie, War And Peace, Wonder Woman

Public Figures:

Adolf Eichmann, Alfred Hitchcock, Angelina Jolie, Anna Nicole Smith, Annie Oakley, Antonio Banderas, Arthur Miller, Artie Shaw, Barbara Hutton, Barbara Stanwyck, Barbra Streisand, Beck, Ben Jonson, Benito Mussolini, Billy Bob Thornton, Billy Crudup, Bob Barker, Brad Pitt, Britney Spears, Catherine The Great, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Charles I, Charles Dickens, Charles Manson, Charlie Parker, Charlotte Bronte, Charlton Heston, Charo, Cher, Cheryl Ladd, Chris Penn, Christiane Amanpour, Christopher Marlowe, Chuck Berry, Claudine Longet, Cleopatra, Cokie Roberts, Courtney Love, Dalai Lama, Damon Albarn, Dante Alighieri, David Mamet, Donna Reed, Edith Wharton, Edna O'Brien, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Elizabeth Webber, Elle Macpherson, Elsa Klensch, Elvis, Emeril Lagasse, Emily Dickinson, Emily Post, Eminem, Emma Goldman, Errol Flynn, Fabio, Farrah Fawcett, Fawn Hall, Flo Jo, Francis Bacon, Frank Sinatra, Franz Kafka, Fred MacMurray, Friedrich Nietzsche, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Gene Hackman, Gene Wilder, George Clooney, George Sand, George W. Bush, Harry Houdini, Harvey Fierstein, Henny Youngman, Henry David Thoreau, Henry James, Henry VIII, Herman Melville, Homer, Honore De Balzac, Howard Cosell, Hugh Grant, Hunter Thompson, Jack Kerouac, Jaclyn Smith, James Dean, Jane Austen, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Tandy, Jim Carey, Jim Morrison, Jimmy Hoffa, Joan Of Arc, Joan Rivers, Jocelyn Wildenstein, Joel Grey, John Cage, John Gardner, John Muir, John Paul II, John Webster, Johnny Cash, Johnny Depp, Joseph Merrick AKA Elephant Man, Judy Blume, Judy Garland, Julian Lennon, Justin Timberlake, Karen Blixen AKA Isak Dinesen, Kate Jackson, Kathy Bates, Kevin Bacon, Kreskin, Lee Harvey Oswald, Leo Tolstoy, Leopold and Loeb, Lewis Carroll, Linda McCartney, Liz Phair, Liza Minnelli, Lou Reed, M Night Shyamalan, Macy Gray, Madonna, Marcel Marceau, Marcel Proust, Margot Kidder, Marie Antoinette, Marie Curie, Marilyn Monroe, Mark Twain, Mark Wahlberg, Marlin Perkins, Martha Stewart, Martha Washington, Martin Luther, Mary Kay Letourneau, Maurice Chevalier, Melissa Rivers, Meryl Streep, Michael Crichton, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Miguel De Cervantes, Miss Manners, Mozart, Nancy Kerrigan, Nancy Walker, Nick Cave, Nick Drake, Nico, Oliver North, Oprah Winfrey, Oscar Levant, Pat Benatar, Paul McCartney, Peter III Of Russia, Peter Frampton, Philip Glass, PJ Harvey, Prince, Queen Elizabeth I, Regis, Richard Simmons, Rick James, Ricky Martin, Robert Duvall, Robert Redford, Robert Smith, Robin Leach, Rosie O'Donnell, Ru Paul, Ruth Gordon, Samuel Barber, Sarah Duchess Of York, Sean Lennon, Sean Penn, Shania Twain, Shelley Hack, Sigmund Freud, Squeaky Fromme, Stephen King, Steven Tyler, Susan Faludi, Susanna Hoffs, Tanya Roberts, Taylor Hanson, Theodore Kaczynski AKA The Unabomber, The Kennedy Family, Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Zeppo, and Gummo Marx AKA The Marx Brothers, Venus and Serena Williams (The reference was "The Williams Sisters"),Thelonious Monk, Tiger Woods, Tito Puente, Tom Waits, Tony Randall, Tonya Harding, Vaclav Havel, Vanna White, Vivien Leigh, Walt Whitman, William Shakespeare, William Shatner, Yoko Ono, Zsa Zsa Gabor

Misc:

Camelot, Chernobyl Disaster, Cone Of Silence, Hindenburg Disaster, Iran-Contra Affair, Paul Bunyan, The Menendez Murders, Tribbles, Vulcan Death Grip, Whoville, Winchester Mystery House

[365days365movies]

February 21, 2021: The African Queen (1951) (Part 1)

The leading man!

It’s an old term from old Hollywood, and while leading men certainly exist today, it’s not something we really use anymore. And yet, we all have some concept of the leading man. First modern one that came to mind for me was Chris Evans. For the GF, it was this guy:

And that’s valid! But if we’re gonna talk about Hollywood’s leading men, we have to go BACK. FAR back, to the beginning of film, and to some of the most iconic film stars that helped define the term. These are guys like Errol Flynn, Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, James Dean, Rock Hudson, yesterday’s Cary Grant, and of course, Clark Gable.

And some of those guys will appear on this blog at some point this year, most likely. One of them is gonna pop up this month, even! But there’s one more leading man to talk about, and that’s Humphrey Bogart, one of the most prominent of the leading men of the 1940s and ‘50′s.

I mean, come on! Casablanca! He’s a classic leading man, and I’m excited to see more of him. But every leading man needs his leading lady, and there are plenty of classic ones to choose from. Lauren Bacall, Jean Arthur, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Natalie Wood, Mae West, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Greta Garbo, Lena Horne, Sophia Loren, yesterday’s Deborah Kerr, my mom’s favorites Doris Day and Audrey Hepburn, and OF COURSE, today’s star: Katharine Hepburn.

The Philadelphia Story, Bringing Up Baby, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner! Another classic leading lady in another set of classic films. And, OF COURSE, these two starred together in today’s movie, The African Queen. And who’s the director of this film? MOTHAFUCKIN’ JOHN HUSTON BOIIIIIIIIIIII

Director of The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Asphalt Jungle, Moby Dick, The Misfits, the original Casino Royale, and weirdly enough, Annie. AND he was an actor in The Bible, Chinatown, The Hobbit, The Black Cauldron, and weirdly enough, Annie! Goddamn, this movie’s got a lot of talent behind it! I’m genuinely looking forward to watching this, considering that it’s often considered one of the best films of the 1950s. So let’s do it, yeah? SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/2)

We begin in German West Africa, where...yeah, it’s a little uncomfortable from modern day standards, as a group of indigenous people are in a service at a constructed Methodist Church, where two missionaries, Rose Sayer (Katharine Hepburn) and her brother, Reverend Samuel (Katharine Hepburn), are pretty unsuccessfully leading the singing of hymns.

As they do so, a boat called the African Queen pulls up, captained by Charlie Allnut (Humphrey Bogart). When he pulls up, he delivers needed supplies and mail to the village, which disrupts the ceremony (thank God), and leads to an interaction between Allnut and the Sayers, who invite him to tea.

The Canadian Allnut seems to be pretty relaxed, while the British Rose and Samuel are obviously pretty stuck-up. But this is probably not going to matter soon, as Allnut delivers the news that World War I has begin, leaving the status of the British missionaries in German-occupied West Africa in danger.

And as soon as they realize this, a group of German soldiers comes through the village, and soldiers gather up all of the people from their houses, and...Jesus, they set fire to the place! Why? I mean, it’s war, duh, but WHY? The villagers are taken away for what I’m sure are totally good reasons, as the village of Kungdu burns to the ground. Samuel and Rose are left behind, and Samuel’s clearly a little fucked up by the encounter with the soldiers.

Soon after, Samuel seems ill, forgetting that they’re even in Africa. She helps him to his room, and he falls to the ground, obviously not well. It’s central Africa, so this could be malaria, trypanosomaisis, yellow fever, a BUNCH of shit. But I’m sure he’s gonna be fine. He’ll be fiiiiiiiiiiiiine.

Oh, wait, he’s dead. We find that out when Charlie arrives to deliver more bad news: people are being taken from their homes to forcibly join the army, and the villages are destroyed in order to give them no place to go back to. Which is...disgusting, fuck me. 

They bury Samuel, and Charlie takes Rose onto The African Queen so that they can get away from the village before the soldiers return. This is backed by...very light-hearted music. Very poorly-timed sprightly music. I dunno, it really just doesn’t match the done, given that Sam just died, and they’re trying to escape.

We learn what some of the issues are for our two. The British won’t easily be coming because of the various German fortifications, including a large ship called the Königin Luise on a nearby lake. Said boat has a massive gun on it, posing major damage to any enemies. 

But Rose has an idea: using explosive gel and some pipes and cylinders, she has an idea to use The African Queen itself as a torpedo to plow up the Luise. Charlie points out that the only where there is down the dangerous Ulanga River, and past a German fort. And Rose guilts him for not wanting to help his Queen and country. And, with that, he agrees.

From there, it’s time for a boat trip! Like a road trip, but with a boat! Katherine learns to steer, and Charlie notes that he hasn’t fixed the safety mechanism on the engine because he likes kicking it. Y’know, psychologists say that catharsis doesn’t work like that, Charlie.

It would seem that Charlie knows this, and settles instead for a drink. And as he brings out his bottle of gin, Rose looks ABSOLUTELY HORRIFIED. Like he brought out a dead body instead of a bottle of alcohol; it’s even backed by this bombastic DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUN in the score! It’s weirdly hilarious.

The two take separate baths in the river, which has gotta be FULL of a bunch of stuff, but whatever. They tuck in for the night as it rains, and Charlie’s stuck outside while Rose gets the tent. Which is...supremely unfair, and ASKING for Charlie to get malaria or other diseases. Thankfully, Rose realizes this and allows him inside.

The next day, they come upon the rapids, which look dangerous...but also kind of fun, it that weird to say? I dunno, I’d go rafting down those. On a related note, I’ve never been whitewater rafting. Maybe one day, huh? Well, despite the ride and again, WEIRDLY sprightly music, they survive...and more. See, Rose LOVED it. Like, really LOVED it. She compares it to a bonafide religious experience, and says that she’s never experienced such joy from a...physical experience.

So, either she’s an adrenaline junkie, or that was some, uh...foreshadowing. Charlie’s a little less excited by this, and notes that the upcoming rapids are far worse. And Rose is just...SO FUCKING PUMPED for this. Shit, I think something’s awoken in her. Get this lady to a theme park, STAT!

But again, Charlie is NOT happy about this, and gets kinda drunk later in the day. While drunk, he insults her plan, and goes back on his agreement to go on. She calls him a coward, and she calls him a “crazy, psalm-singin’, skinny old maid.” Um, Charlie, maybe not the best idea to do that to a woman who’s just learned to joys of adrenaline and tsting her limits. She might retaliate by, I dunno...throwing all of your gin over the side of the river while you’re asleep.

Yeah, like that. Exactly like that. Some drunk fish in the river today, lemme tell you.

Anyway, despite this, Rose is pissed off, as Charlie still won’t go down the river. As he insists that all that’s down the river is death, she still insists that he promised to go. He finally agrees, despite thinking that they’re doomed to be food for the crocodiles. And so, they go.

They pass the fort, the Shona, and the Germans do indeed fire at them as they go down. And I mean the ENTIRE time they pass. They hit the engine, and Charlie has to fix it right amidst all of this. They also hit the boxes of blasting gel, but they don’t go off. And, as Rose rightly suggested earlier, the sun gets in the soldiers’ eyes as they try to fire on them. And they pass without a hitch! Except for oooooooooone tiny detail.

HALFWAY POINT! See you in Part 2!

[axnvlc]

Woody Allen - Songs from Woody Allen's Films.

Woody Allen - Songs from Woody Allen's Films From “Blue Jasmine” to “Stardust Memories”, from “Midnight in Paris” to “Hannah and her sisters”, from “Radio Days” to “Mighty Aphrodite”, from “Annie Hall” to “Bullets over Broadway”, Woody Allen has always used jazz in his films. The music underlines the storyline and merges beautifully with each scene. Some of the greatest names in jazz and many of the greatest big bands have featured in his creations: Tommy Dorsey, Billie Holiday, Harry James, Django Reinhardt, Glenn Miller, Bix Beiderbecke, Ben Webster, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong, Chick Webb, Lester Young, Erroll Garner, Artie Shaw, King Oliver, Red Garland, Jelly Roll Morton, and many more …

[letterboxd]

Life in Film: Michael Tyburski.

The Sound of Silence director Michael Tyburski shares some insights into the making of his debut feature, and answers our new “life in film” questionnaire.

In The Sound of Silence, Peter Sarsgaard is Peter Lucian, a house tuner in New York City who believes that the notes emitted from a household’s appliances must harmonize in order to bring peace to its residents. However, his state of mind collapses when he struggles to apply his methods for a new client, Ellen (Rashida Jones).

Directed by Michael Tyburski and based on a short film he made with co-writer Ben Nabors in 2013, The Sound of Silence debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and stood out for its “remarkably silly” unique premise and strong performance from Sarsgaard. Fans of ASMR, get your headphones out; the film’s sound design will trigger those sensations.

The Sound of Silence started life as your short film Palimpsest. Is the ‘house tuner’ occupation at all based in reality? Michael Tyburski: The short answer is no, it’s a fictional profession. The character idea is something that my co-writer Ben Nabors brought to me. Right away, I loved the idea of a practise where someone shows up at your door and offers you a solution to the emotional problems that you’re having.

A lot of alternative therapies exist in New York City so it didn’t seem so far from reality that people would take someone intellectual, dressed well in a tweed blazer, with professional-looking tools, seriously. I really liked that as a conceit. We tried to base it in real science and looked at sound engineers and acousticians for what tools they would use. We tried to make it exist in a very real New York City; that’s why we have touchstones like the character being profiled in The New Yorker.

How has your research into music theory affected your own domestic space? Actually, I moved, for the first time in ten years—after living on a pretty noisy commercial street—during the course of developing and making this movie. Somehow, during the edit, I made my first apartment move within New York City, to a much quieter street. I also took a cue from the main character, Peter Lucian, because I moved my office below my apartment, in a subterranean space. At least I can control the sound a little bit more now that I’m cut off from the surface level, similar to the way Peter does it in his “fallout shelter”.

Michael Tyburski and Peter Sarsgaard on the set of The Sound of Silence. / Photo: James Chororos

The character Peter Lucian feels like a perfect fit for Peter Sarsgaard. When did you have him in mind? He was my first pick. I knew I wanted him from the beginning when I first started thinking about who would be the perfect house tuner. I feel so lucky to have him and fortunately the script resonated with him right away. He’s someone who’s very musically inclined and he plays a number of musical instruments. I was so gratified that he connected to the part so closely.

He’s such a chameleon of an actor. He can play a lot of dark roles, but also he has a very scientist-like intellect. I also think he has one of the best voices, it’s very unique and I enjoy hearing him. So for a movie about sound, it kind of seemed fitting that someone with those types of qualities would work for the role.

What was important to you about keeping Peter’s house-tuning technology analog instead of digital? I think he’s just someone who has the philosophy of “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it”. Even though his tools are a little more dated, they’re still as effective. They might not be as efficient as digital technology so he’s a little slower, but they still work. There is at least one sound engineer in New York City who we found in our research who measures the sound in rooms, and there’s one thing called a spectrum analyzer that we use in the film that we completely got from this guy’s tool bag.

Director Michael Tyburski.

The film is carefully crafted and you have Peter obsessing over every inch of New York City. What degree of obsession did you have in the making of the film? I’m pretty obsessive as an individual in general. I like to be very organized and have everything mapped out. We had been developing the screenplay for so many years that I got tired of reading it, so before we made the movie, the first thing I did after Peter came on board was sit down and record the entire script in audio format. I kind of had this radio edit of the movie. That transitioned into a rough animatic of the film that I put into the timeline and I was able to add in location references, tonal reference photos, dialogue in different room tones, and then music.

Logistics-wise, we only had 21 days to shoot the movie which is very conservative especially because we had a lot of ground to cover, but I just needed to be as efficient as possible, so it was helpful to have that thorough, animatic tool.

With all the technical departments it was a very close collaboration and I like to be very involved in all details. For the sound design, I wanted to re-record all of the tuning forks, which were kind of an aural motif through the film. When you’re shooting in the elements, you don’t always have the control over the environment, so I hand-recorded each one of the tuning forks myself. We were aiming for that level of precision.

We’d like to ask a few questions about your life in film. What was the film that made you want to become a filmmaker? My choice is probably not that unique but when I was 13, maybe a little too young, I got a VHS copy of Pulp Fiction. That stunned me and took me from A to B. It shook up how I thought contemporary American stories could be told.

Which film do you think is the best love letter to New York? Annie Hall, closely tied with Midnight Cowboy. I suppose I love that era of New York.

Which film has the greatest sound design work of all time? There’s a lot, but one of my favorites is Play Time.

Nice choice. Greatest production design of all-time too. Yeah, not bad. I used a few frames for my look book.

Jacques Tati’s ‘PlayTime’ (1967).

Which is the most overlooked performance from Peter Sarsgaard? I loved him in Experimenter, which I think is an underrated film. More recently too, Errol Morris’s Wormwood. I don’t know how many people went down that rabbit hole because it was long, but I think he was so good in it.

What films did you watch to prepare you for The Sound of Silence? There were three that we were looking at, for a lot of different reasons. We watched Jonathan Glazer’s Birth for the mood and that fairytale vibe it has in a mysterious, alternate New York City.

Being John Malkovich for its bizarro version of science, and I love the naturalistic quality to that film. And obviously The Conversation for its production design and how it follows a man obsessed with sound.

This is a nicely-timed, autumnal, gentle film. What films give you those peaceful autumn vibes? My favorite is Hannah and Her Sisters.

What mindfuck movie changed you for life? I’ll have a couple Kubrick on this list, but for this probably A Clockwork Orange.

It’s Halloween next month. What movie do you watch every Halloween? The Shining! There’s my next Kubrick.

As a teenager, what film character felt like a total mirror to what you were feeling at the time? One of my favorite coming-of-age films is Harold and Maude. I definitely identified with Harold.

What’s your go-to comfort movie? And how many times do you think you’ve seen it? My favorite film of all time, which I promise will be my last Kubrick, is Barry Lyndon. I think it’s just a perfect movie and I’ve certainly seen it dozens of times. I think it does everything I want in a movie. I don’t even know what genre to call it because it’s funny, it’s dramatic, it’s an epic. I love the idea of doing a perfect epic movie that covers a lot of ground.

Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Barry Lyndon’ (1975).

What film do you have fond memories of watching with your parents? We were a big Chevy Chase household and National Lampoon’s Vacation holds up as a fine movie.

What’s a classic you could just not get into? Maybe Brazil. Admittedly I think I need to rewatch it because I first saw it when I was 14 or 15 and I just didn’t quite get it at the time.

What classic are you embarrassed to say you haven’t seen? Two Kurosawa films; Rashomon and Seven Samurai. They’re always on my list to brush up and they seem to come up in conversation more and more.

Which movie scene makes you cry the most? Definitely the holiday classic It’s A Wonderful Life.

What film was your entry point into non-English language cinema? That was a good one, I like that question. I remember when I was in my freshman year of high school I was given two VHS copies from someone who knew I was getting into film. One of those films was Persona, but then the other one, which I knew I watched first, was a film called Woman in the Dunes.

What filmmaker—living or dead—do you envy the most? If Kubrick, go for living… If it’s Kubrick go for living? Oh my gosh.

I feel like you’re going to say Kubrick. Yeah. Envy is a funny word. Kubrick has an admirable career for the depth of his filmography. You know, like a lot of film nerds I’m a huge Paul Thomas Anderson fan.

Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Prestige’ (2006).

What’s a film that you wish you made? I would love to make a movie about magic but ever since I saw The Prestige I think it would be hard to compete with that. That period, that Victorian era of illusion, I don’t know if you can top that.

It’s time for best-of-decade lists. What’s the greatest film of the 2010s? If we went back even further it would be easier. For the last 10 years, I think Phantom Thread is pretty great.

‘The Sound of Silence’ was released on September 13 by IFC Films and is in select cinemas now.

[corvidcantina]

Chiamami col mio nome. Quello giusto, però.

MetaMoro cliché!au: sei il barista che sbaglia sempre il mio nome e a questo punto mi chiedo se tu lo stia facendo apposta

Ermal è stanco

E ha bisogno di un buon caffè

È a Londra da soli tre giorni e se ne vuole già andare

Peccato debba rimanerci altri tre anni per fare l'università

Ma siccome è appena arrivato e tra pacchi, coinquilini e tutto ancora non ha per niente visto la città e, soprattutto, non è entrato in un bar che sia uno

Quindi per fare il fighetto va da Costa

Fa una fila infinita (chissà cosa si aspettava in centro a Londra di sabato pomeriggio, eh)

Ma chi la dura la vince e quindi dopo venti minuti arriva il suo turno

E il barista (pieno di tatuaggi, con delle braccia da svenire) lo accoglie con un sorriso (da svenire anche quello)

Riesce chissà come a borbottare il suo ordine e

“And whose name should I call?”

“Eh?” Errori da prima media (perché è lì che ti dicono che, se non capisci, la tua domanda dovrebbe essere “I’m sorry, could you please repeat?” e non “eh” come i peggio maleducati), vai Ermal, si vede proprio che sei qui per studiare lingue

“What’s your name? So that I can write it on the cup and give you your order”

“Ahhhh, right”

@ barista, capiscilo, questo t'ha visto e ha smesso di connettere

Momento di pausa in cui le rotelline girano ed Ermal si rende conto che forse gli dovrebbe dire qualcosa, a sto pover'uomo

“…your name?”

“Oh, right, sorry. I’m Ermal”

And yours? Vorrebbe chiedergli, ma non lo fa, perché sarebbe strano (e comunque dovrebbe avere la targhetta)

Che Ermal però, preso a far funzionare il cervello, non controlla

Ma tanto il barista l'ha lavata per sbaglio è ribelle e quindi non ce l'ha, la targhetta

Cinque minuti dopo, quando lo chiamano, Ermal capisce che c'è qualcosa di sbagliato

E infatti legge il nome scritto sul bicchiere e “Hermann”

Strano, l'ultima volta che mi sono visto allo specchio non mi sono sembrato tedesco, pensa sarcasticamente e ha quasi l'idea di dirlo al barista

Eccetto che dopo aver chiamato il suo nome, lo stronzo lascia lì il bicchiere e torna a servire i clienti

Ma non è colpa sua, stellina, è da solo perché il collega si è defilato per fumare e c'è una coda che n'altro po’ esce dal locale

Retail is hell

Fabrizio lo sa bene

Abita a Londra da tre anni, e il fatto che il suo lavoro lo obblighi a stare a contatto costante con la gente lo ha aiutato un sacco con la lingua

Anche il fatto che il suo collega sia italiano non è stato malaccio, i primi tempi, quando era a disposizione per tradurre

Ora, però, che nella migliore tradizione mediterranea ha deciso di balzare allegramente il suo turno quando gli pare e lasciare a Fabrizio l'onere di servire gli innumerevoli clienti, il romano non è più tanto convinto che sia stata una buona cosa

Il giorno dopo, Ermal si ripresenta

Quando sa per certo che il barista del giorno precedente è in servizio

Ma non perché ha chiesto al collega che ha incontrato appena fuori dal locale e a cui ha prestato l’accendino dopo che il suo si era scaricato, no no

E anche stavolta, sorrisone da manuale

E anche stavolta, nome completamente cannato

Ermanno

C o s a

Due giorni dopo, stessa storia

Elmer

Vaffanculo, non sono l’elefante di un libro per bambini! è quello che pensa

Però non lo dice, perché Elmer era un bravo elefante

E così continua

Edgar

Ti sembra che io rapisca gatti?

Errol

Seh, sono un gufo

Erik

Magneto was right, you asshat

And I’d be right if I decided to deck ya in da face

Or... kiss your stupid lips

Either would be satisfying tbh

(Sì, sta iniziando anche a pensare in inglese, perché dopo aver vissuto per un certo periodo in un luogo a volte capita di pensare in quella lingua, provato sulla mia pelle ed è terrificante)

Ender

Come, scusa?

Ma un po’ inizia a divertirsi anche lui

Perché comunque comprendere cosa passi per la testa del barista quando scrive i nomi è sempre un’avventura

E il fatto che ogni giorno le loro interazioni si allungano è un grande incentivo a tornare

Anche perché non crede di poter fare a meno di quel sorriso

Però ci ha provato, a fargli capire come si scrive il suo nome

Il nono giorno gli ha fatto lo spelling

Lo s p e l l i n g capito

E quando il nome scritto sul suo bicchiere è stato Eoghan, Ermal non ha potuto fare a meno di scoppiare a ridere

Mezzo bar si è girato a guardarlo, ma l’importante è stato aver strappato un sorriso incantato al barista, che ha dato uno sguardo con la coda dell’occhio verso di lui e

ha dovuto fermarsi nel bel mezzo della preparazione di un cappuccino

e ha fatto cadere il latte sul bancone

Quindi evidentemente Ermal non è l’unico ad essersi preso una cotta

Dieci giorni dopo, però, Ermal arriva p r e p a r a t o

Perché se non è stato sufficiente fare lo spelling, evidentemente ci vuole qualcosa di più concreto

Ergo, il finto cartellino che porta appeso al petto

In fila davanti a lui ci sono due ragazzini, chiaramente fidanzati

E chiaramente italiani

Ermal non vuole origliare, ma mentre il barista finisce di servire la cliente prima di loro, la ragazza chiede al fidanzato “ma esattamente cos'è Costa?” e lui le risponde “tipo Starbucks”

E il barista

Sorride

E “a regazzi’, qui è meglio de Starbucks”

Ermal lo vuole soffocare

E si vuole anche un po’ buttare, perché da solo mica ci era arrivato al fatto che quell'accento fosse romano

“Ao’ Fabbrì, che ce fai qua? Manco t’avevo riconosciuto!” esclama il ragazzino, entusiasta

“Ma come, e io che pensavo che m’avessi fatto ‘na sorpresa!”

E scherzano per tutto il tempo che ci vuole per prendere l’ordine

Dieci minuti

Ermal si sta iniziando a spazientire

Perche vuole parlare col barista

(Che ora ha un nome)

(Un nome anche abbastanza inusuale)

(Ne ha conosciuto tipo uno di Fabrizio)

(E tra tour e concerti e Sanremo e l’Eurovision...)

(Una cosa che non si aspettava era il numero enome di persone nuove che aveva conosciuto. Un’altra era non essere riconosciuto da nessuna parte.)

(Ma un po’ gli fa piacere: insomma, così può essere semplicemente Ermal.)

(O, come ha deciso di chiamarlo il barista, Eoghan)

Ma si sta iniziando a spazientire anche perché, ecco, ha una lezione tra venti minuti e non vuole fare come quello del meme che arrives fifteen minutes later with Starbucks, perché quello non è Starbucks e perché lui i primi quindici minuti di letteratura inglese non se li può perdere, dato che la lezione successiva ci sarà il primo test del semestre

Quindi quando finalmente i due si spostano per aspettare che vengano pronti i loro drink, Ermal fa un passo avanti

E Fabrizio viene prontamente avvicinato dal collega, che gli chiede se vuole fare una pausa

Eh, no, cazzo

Non ora.

Fabrizio fa per abbandonare la postazione, ma Ermal lo ferma

“No.” dice

E lo sa che è una cosa molto stronza da dire

Ma,,,

Ha bisogno di fargli capire come si chiama

“I’m sorry?” chiede Fabrizio, girandosi

Ma poi vede che è lui

E quindi

“Oh, hi! If that’s not my favourite customer! What can I get you today?”

“Il tuo numero” vorrebbe dire Ermal

“You could get my name right, for starters” dice Ermal, scazzato

“And what would that be?” chiede Fabrizio, con un sorrisetto proprio shit eating

(Avrei fatto meglio a scriverla in inglese? Avrei fatto meglio a scriverla in inglese.)

“Ermal. Vedi? Sta scritto sulla targa” risponde Ermal, tentando di imitare il suo accento

E Fabrizio scoppia a ridere

“Che cazzo ridi” si lascia sfuggire Ermal

E una mano vola subito a coprirsi la bocca mentre realizza cosa ha appena detto

Ma Fabrizio non se la prende

Anzi, sorride

“So’ due settimane che vieni qua, secondo te ancora non l’avevo capito chi eri? Ah, la tua canzone è stupenda, m’è piaciuta un sacco.“

“...grazie?”

“Ah, comunque se volevi chiederme de usci’ non dovevi sta’ qua un giorno sì e l’altro pure. ‘A roba qua costa.”

“Ti prego, dimmi che non era un gioco di parole”

Fabrizio si limita a sorridere

E quando Ermal prende il suo drink, direttamente dalle mani di Fabrizio stavolta, c’è un numero di telefono scritto sul bicchiere

Immediatamente sotto Emlyn

Accanto al quale c’è un “Ermal” barrato

“A presto, allora...” dice Ermal allontanandosi

“...Francisco.”

Storia semi-divertente: la reazione di Fabrizio al commento di Niccolò è quella di un barista di Costa dell'aeroporto di Londra al mio commento (paro paro a quello di Niccolò). Ancora non conoscevo l'espressione “lanciarsi” ma è stata quella la sensazione. Niente, stavo cercando dei nomi plausibili che si potessero capire al posto di Ermal e invece sono capitata su: Fabrizio è un nome che risale all’epoca romana, dove rappresentava un’antica e nobile famiglia di origine plebea, quella dei Fabricii. Deriverebbe, secondo la maggior parte degli studiosi, dal vocabolo “faber” che significa “artefice, operaio” e, solo più tardi, anche “fabbro”. L’esponente più illustre di questa famiglia fu Gaio Fabrizio Luscino che passò alla storia per la rettitudine e incorruttibilità con cui governò. In epoca contemporanea è d’obbligo ricordare il cantautore genovese Fabrizio De Andrè, recentemente scomparso, e l’attore Fabrizio Bentivoglio, interprete di numerosi film di Gabriele Salvatores, primo tra tutti Marrakech Express. (e, direi, Fabrizio “Moro” Mobrici ma siete liberi di fare come volete ok) Fonte: bimbisaniebelli. Se non avete capito i riferimenti,,, then perish. No, allora: Elmer l’ho già spiegato ed era stra-inspirational e feel-good e mi piaceva un sacco quando ero piccolina; Edgar è degli Aristogatti; Errol è il gufetto di Ronald Billius Weasley; Erik è Erik Lensherr, Magneto degli X-Men (Magneto was right è una specie di meme). Avrei voluto inserire Emrys ma è un cognome,,,,, sigh