#aron lewes

[aronlewes]

I just wanted to quickly mention the newest book I've released, The Ghost and Miss Hodge. It's one of Caylen McQueen's (my pen name's) books, but I thought it was worth mentioning here, because it has a STRONG connection to School for Spirits.

I thought I'd share the AI covers I made, which I thought were cool... although they were giving more "cozy mystery" than "paranormal/ghost/steampunk romance."

If anyone out there is looking to contact Caylen, my new email address is mcqueencaylen@gmail.com. Twitter/X insisted on deleting my Caylen McQueen account, but I do have a wordpress blog, which I'd love for you to follow.

[pizza-ra-bizza]

ARABA 'N PHOENIX REISIER

ARABA 'N PHOENIX REISIER Hulle het my na die arm woonbuurte geneem, waar yl baksteenmure opgeswel is van die taai boosheid wat daarbinne ophoop, En verdraaide gesigte, saamdrom onwelvoeglik en dik, Hulle stuur boodskappe aan 'n vreemde god en demoon; PHOENIX Lucifer.

'n Miljoen vure Hulle het met Lucifer Phoenix gevlieg, in die strate aangesteek, En van die sluipplatte dakke het Lucifers Voëls van die Sfinx PHOENIX na die oop lug gesweef, Terwyl verborge tromme eentonige melodieë neurie, onophoudelik Aron-dienaars.

Ek het geweet dat daardie vure monsteragtige dinge voorberei het, Feice Sphinx Lucifer Arab En dat daardie voëls van die ruimte Buitestanders was: uit die Hemel, die sfinks PHOENIX, het ek geraai na watter donker crypte van die planeet hulle gereis het, En wat hulle van Thog onder die vlerke gebring het.

Die ander het gelag totdat hulle hul stemme verloor het 'n gesuis 'n klaaglied Vir wat hulle in die bek van 'n griffonvoël gesien het, huilende gille van die lewendes.

Stappe deur: Rausule. “Deur die poësie van RB De Beer op die eerste herdenking van sy lewe”. helliBoeke.

[hurleyxvx]

OFFF 2019 Open Film ARXIV by Mill+ from OFFF Festival on Vimeo.

Mill+ Director Ilya Abulkhanov opened Offf Barcelona 2019 with the debut of his sci-fi short film ‘ARXIV’. ARXIV (pronounced ‘archive’) is an immersive sci-fi family drama is set in two time frames: the deep future, that is left with no future, and the near future, that will bring about the eventual dystopian collapse of society. Protagonist Lew Aron survives both time frames and is set to discover a potential outlet to confront his innermost desire, or what’s left of it.

Directed by Ilya Abulkhanov

Screenplay by R. John Lewis

Based on Characters Developed by Ilya Abulkhanov

Director of Photography Sean Bagley

Edited by Andy McGraw

Produced by Gabriel Blanco and Elizabeth Newman

Executive Producers Zu Al-Kadiri Phil Crowe Stephen Venning Ian Bearce Enca Kaul Rani Melendez

Cast: Lew Michael Curylo Kelly Britt Harris Doctor K. Gregory Niebel May Vienna Weaver Colleague Elijah Howard Doorman Jon Harris Secretary Lucy Boryer Anchor Azize Erim

Girl Reading Book Linda Aleman Patient Erick Medal Diner Patron Ruth Banks Mataya Diner Patron Willard Riley Diner Patron Michael A. Rubio

Co-Worker Hiwot Yimer Co-Worker Canaan Dewey Co-Worker Victoria Johnson Welder Giovanni Della Pace

Casting by Danielle Eskinazi

Production Designer Evi Ellias

Costume Designer Agga B. Raya

Original Music By Jesse Solomon Clark

Sound Design & Mix by Beacon Street Studios

First Assistant Director Miles Johnstone

Edited by Andy McGraw / Cartel Assistant Scott Beatty Producer Greer Bratschie Executive Producer Lauren Bleiweiss

Associate Producer James Morse

Skyler Wahl Production Coordinator Matt Fulton 2nd Assistant Director Rochely Zapata Production Assistant

Production Sound Mixer Ellie Bootorich

Offline Sound Mix Cyrus Shahmir

Art Department Leila Ryndak Property Master Giovanni Della Pace Leadman Shelby Strong Set Dresser Prerna Chawla Buyer Angel Herrera Shopper

Make-up by Victoria Payne

Camera 1st Assistant Camera Nick Cutway 2nd Assistant Camera / Loader Rob Reaves Key Grip & Gaffer Lev Abrahamian G&E Driver Sam Le Bas G/E Swing Aram Martirosyan and Conor Long

Visual Effects by The Mill

Creative Director Ilya Abulkhanov VFX Supervisor / Project Lead Lee Nelson Art Director Sidney Tan Lead Motion Designer Woosung Kang Technical Director / 2D Lead Justin Sucara 2nd Technical Director Greg Park

Motion Design Artists Taehoon Park Kyle Moore Jan Sladecko Sasha Vinogradova Maxim Goudin Greg Park Anastasia Skrebneva

Post Producer Moira Mahoney Post Production Coordinator Matthew Fulton

VFX Supervisor / Creative Lead James Allen CG Supervisor Manjunath Shivaprasad 2D Supervisor Rakesh Venugopalan Asset Supervisor Anish Mohan Line Producer R Anuraj Production Coordinators Noan John Vinod Nathan Niamehr Mimi Milligan

Fx:
Biswajit Tarafdar

3D Artists:
Kartik Arora
Asis Kumar Mahakhud
Sivasubramanian
Sudakshina Sridharan
Vittal Kuntla
Abdul Rehman
Amit Patil
Asit Midya
Kalidas Patil
 2D Artists Roman Yavorsky Franz Kol Lenz Kol KaiChun Tsai Evan Langley Stephen Paragone Rob Winfield Tim Robbins Gavin Marler Jeff Langlois Alex Candlish Patrick Dirks Lisa Kim Ahmed El-Azma Roger Cerqua Badrinath Chinimilli
P.K. Sajith
Prasanna Bhatt
Ramanjaneyulu Thota
Shivam Shukla
Vinod Gopinathan

Matte Painting Bill Lu Bijo Joy
Jobin Jacob
Netra Mankar
Priyanka Telang

Modeling Joel Kittle

Tracking Michael Lori Elizabeth Hammer Danny Garcia

Rotoscoping & Tracking TRACE

Colorist Adam Scott Color Assistant Logan Highlen

Color Senior Producer Liza Kerlin Color Coordinator Jessica Amburgey

Mural Paintings by Sidney Tan Yi-Jen Liu Hyoyeon Lee

Design Support Eunhae Yoo

Casting Department Danielle Eskinazi / Casting CCDA Casting Assistant Katie O’Connor

Costume Design Assistant Madeline Northway

Title Design by Ilya Abulkhanov
Woosung Kang Taehoon Park Lee Nelson 
Special Thanks Robin Shenfield Dee Allen Chris Harlowe Dan Roberts Chris Knight Glyn Tebbutt

Film Processing by FotoKem Cameras Provided by Keslow Cameras and Robot Heart Co. Shot on Arriflex Cameras and Kodak Film Film Scanning by Technicolor Grip and Electric Equipment Provided by G&J Grip

[aleksowskii-blog]

Rozdział Siódmy: Zmiany

Aron Artorem

Kiedy wszedłem do środka żołnierze chcieli się mną zająć, zamiast tego odgoniłem ich i z czystym wkurwem patrzyłem się na miejsce z którego odlatywaliśmy. W końcu zniknął za jakimś budynkiem. Znajdę cię Gregory Frydrychu. I uwierz, że już nie będę się bawił. Spojrzałem na to, co zostało z mojego ramienia. Nawet nie wiedzą, że dzięki temu stanę się jeszcze silniejszy. W pałacu już czekały zespoły medyczne. Trochę się zdziwili, kiedy okazało się że mogę sam iść i nie potrzebują noszy. Zostałem zabrany do sali przedoperacyjnej, dostałem kwitek do podpisania, po czym podali mi śpiączkę.

Mona Dira

Podbiegłam do Gregorego, wcześniej upewniając się że EGOB już poleciało.Ręce już mu w połowie odrosły. Ciekawe...

-Wszystko w porządku? - zapytałam.

W odpowiedzi usłyszałem niezrozumiałe dźwięki. No tak, czip. Zastanowiłam się chwilę, co powinnam zrobić, po czym podałam mu rękę i pomogłam wstać. Zaczęliśmy iść do punktu Charlie. Po drodze spojrzałam jeszcze na doktora i naszych wybawców. Już nic nie dało się dla nich zrobić... Musiałam iść, niedługo przyleci tu więcej jednostek EGOB-u. Weszłam razem z Gregorym do klatki schodowej. Zeszłam w dół i trafiliśmy na balkony wewnętrznego dziedzińca Mega Wieżowca. Byliśmy na 200 piętrze. Dookoła było pełno Firtenów. Gregory zdawał się onieśmielony. Rozejrzałam się. Zaczęłam iść w stronę windy, ciągle ciągnąc Gregorego za mną. Firteni różnie reagowali. Niektórzy po prostu stawali dęba, niektórzy chowali się, a jeszcze inni piszczeli ze strachu.

-Obcy! Ratunku! - Krzyczeli.

-Ko- kosmita?! - Nie dowierzali.

W końcu przebiłam się z Gregorym do windy. Wszyscy wybiegli z niej jak poparzeni. Szybko wcisnęłam guzik. Parter. Mam tylko nadzieję że dojedziemy na dół odpowiednio szybko. Tam jest bezpieczniej, siły rządowe nie mają tam już takiej siły. Zjechaliśmy. Rozejrzałam się. Dobre, stare slumsy. Puściłam Gregorego, po czym dałam mu znak ręką by poszedł za mną. Brak chipu mocno utrudniał porozumiewanie się. Szliśmy już spokojnie.

Aron Artorem

Zamrugałem, po czym przetarłem oczy. Podniosłem się lekko na łóżku. Koło mnie była aparatura medyczna. Spojrzałem się na lewe ramię. Na pierwszy rzut oka Tytan, ale w pod nim krył się cud inżynierii. W pełni sprawna, biotyczna ręką. Poruszyłem nią kilka razy. Czuć, jak prawdziwą.Usiadłem z boku łóżka. Przyszła jakaś pielęgniarka.

-Proszę jeszcze nie wstawać, musimy mieć pana pod obserwacją na jeszcze dwa dni – powiedziała.

-O dwa dni za dużo. Mam obcego do zabicia – wstałem i odłączyłem od siebie aparaturę.

-Je- jest pan w stanie stać? - była zdziwiona.

-A nie powinienem? – rzuciłem jej groźne spojrzenie.

-Nie o to mi chodziło... - odpowiedziała lekko przestraszona –Większość pacjentów jest bardzo osłabiona po zabiegu.

-Ja nie jestem większością – uśmiechnąłem się. - Gdzie są moje rzeczy?

-EGOB je wziął, zostawił panu tylko jakieś zwykłe ubrania...

-Dobrze. Ubiorę się i wychodzę.

-Mówiłam panu, że musi pan zostać. Jedynie doktor może pana wypisać.

-Nie ma na to czasu – otworzyłem szafę i ściągnąłem z siebie szpitalną piżamę.

Pielęgniarka lekko się speszyła i odwróciła wzrok.

-Nie mogę pana wypuścić!

Ubrałem się w czarną bluzkę, oraz spodnie, które znajdowały się w szafie. Był tam również pistolet z kaburą. Z kieszeni wyciągnąłem mój identyfikator EGOB. Podszedłem do pielęgniarki i go jej pokazałem.

-Możesz i to zrobisz – spojrzała się na mój identyfikator.

-Oh... W takim razie przepraszam, do widzenia...

-Oby nie – wyszedłem.

 Udałem się do centrum dowodzenia EGOB. Gdy tylko wszedłem do środka, od razu podeszła do mnie Rina.

-Jak się czujesz? - zapytała.

-Jestem wkurwiony.

-Chodziło mi o rękę...

-W takim razie lepiej się nigdy nie czułem.

-Ona tam była, prawda?

Nie odpowiedziałem. Zamiast tego podszedłem do holomapy.

-Tren wrócił. Czeka w twoim biurze - poinformowała mnie Rina, gdy do mnie podeszła.

Tren to najlepszy członek EGOU, zaraz po mnie. Jest lisem i ma strasznie irytujący harakter. No ale cóż, jest świetnym operatorem i wiele operacji by się nie udało, gdyby nie on.

-Mówiłam mu żeby nie wchodził, ale-

-Tak wiem, nie posłuchał - westchnąłem - Powiedz EGOI, by całkowicie skupił się na poszukiwaniu Gregorego. Jeśli znajdziecie choć trochę śladu jego pobytu, natychmiast wysyłaj EGOF, do przeczesania terenu. Tren wam pomorze. - westchnąłem ponownie - Idę do niego...

-Co z resztą rebeliantów?

-Zostaw ich w spokoju, wiesz, że Wielki Przywódca nie chce ich się całkowicie pozbyć - powiedziałem odchodząc.

-Tak jest!

Gdy wszedłem do biura od razu zauważyłem Trena kręcącego się w kółko na moim krześle.

-Wynoś się z mojego biura - zacząłem rozmowę.

-Awwww... Ciebie też miło widzieć Aron!

-Jedyne z czego się cieszę w twojej obecności, to tego, że możesz się przydać w polu.

-O, i jeszcze uważasz, że przydaje się w polu.

-Głównie dlatego, że nie muszę oglądać twojego lisiego pyska.

-A co my tu mamy... - Tren wstał i podszedł do mnie przyglądając się mojej ręce - Ktoś ci odciął rękę? Czyżby nasz Aronik się starzał?

Złapałem go za gardło i przyparłem go do ściany.

-Słuchaj, nie jestem dziś w dobrym humorze, a ty mi go nie poprawiasz. Zamknij się i wykonuj moje polecenia. Po pierwsze: wypad z biura i więcej tu nie wchodź, po drugie idź się zgłosić do Riny, będziesz pomagał EGOI w znalezieniu kosmity. Więcej informacji dowiesz się już tam. Po trzecie, nawet jeśli go znajdziesz, nie podejmuj żadnych akcji. To moja sprawa.

-Dobra, dobra, już nie denerwuj... - uderzyłem go w brzuch.

To jest operator EGOU, nie zabolało go to za bardzo, ale to już jest znak, żeby rzeczywiście odpuścić i się uspokoić. Puściłem go. Tren wyszedł bez słowa, z tak nie podobną do niego twarzą. Usiadłem przy biurku i oparłem głowę o ręce. Pierwszy raz nie byłem pewien co zrobię dalej.

[daleketer]

Masks

Hello everyone, my name is Dale. I am the dominant subpersonality among the four of us. Joe’s mind broke into four pieces when Danielle revealed her betrayal of him/us on April 27, 2019, and I took over so we could keep moving forward.

In 2019, Danielle and Scotty spread rumors about me being a predator, which caused me to lose all of my non-work friends overnight. They also made me falsely believe that a friend of mine wanted to kill herself because she was terrified of me.

Dale Keter was my way of participating in the Internet as a new person, one that hadn’t been shunned by the local community.

Dale didn’t make a woman want to stop going to work and kill herself.

Dale didn’t make her fear for her life.

Dale hadn’t just been betrayed by two friends he trusted and respected.

Dale hadn’t been conned into giving $2,500 to the man who told people that he was a predator.

Dale hadn’t been talked into selling over $1000 worth of collectible cards at a loss to help his friends at that FLGS.

Now, over a year and a half later, I have become Dale. It’s rare that I slip into my other three masks nowadays. It’s like I’m mode-locked into Dale, but sometimes the other three bleed through from time to time.

And no, it’s not like how it works in movies. I don’t suddenly forget what I did as Kane or Aron or Joe. I have all my memories. I am still myself, but my behavior changes. I do argue with myself a lot, mentally visualizing it as four cats arguing amongst themselves.

One thing I’ve noticed is that I’ve been drawn unconsciously to video games, shows, books, and other media which depict characters with multiple, distinct personas. Masks, if you will.

Wheel of Time - Rand and his Lews Therin alt.

Attack on Titan - Reiner the Warrior vs. Reiner the Soldier

Pillars of Eternity - The Watcher’s past lives, as well as Aloth and Iselmyr.

Bleach - Ichigo and his inner hollow.

I’m also into media which involve actual masks:

Phantom of the Opera - The Phantom’s mask.

Bleach - The hollow masks.

In video games, I tend to wear face-covering gear (helmets or actual masks) to mask my appearance and make my character faceless.

I liked all of these before my four-way split. I guess it was just me subconsciously relating to all of these.

[kartikdutt]

OFFF 2019 Open Film ARXIV by Mill+ from OFFF Festival on Vimeo.

Mill+ Director Ilya Abulkhanov opened Offf Barcelona 2019 with the debut of his sci-fi short film ‘ARXIV’. ARXIV (pronounced ‘archive’) is an immersive sci-fi family drama is set in two time frames: the deep future, that is left with no future, and the near future, that will bring about the eventual dystopian collapse of society. Protagonist Lew Aron survives both time frames and is set to discover a potential outlet to confront his innermost desire, or what’s left of it.

Directed by Ilya Abulkhanov

Screenplay by R. John Lewis

Based on Characters Developed by Ilya Abulkhanov

Director of Photography Sean Bagley

Edited by Andy McGraw

Produced by Gabriel Blanco and Elizabeth Newman

Executive Producers Zu Al-Kadiri Phil Crowe Stephen Venning Ian Bearce Enca Kaul Rani Melendez

Cast: Lew Michael Curylo Kelly Britt Harris Doctor K. Gregory Niebel May Vienna Weaver Colleague Elijah Howard Doorman Jon Harris Secretary Lucy Boryer Anchor Azize Erim

Girl Reading Book Linda Aleman Patient Erick Medal Diner Patron Ruth Banks Mataya Diner Patron Willard Riley Diner Patron Michael A. Rubio

Co-Worker Hiwot Yimer Co-Worker Canaan Dewey Co-Worker Victoria Johnson Welder Giovanni Della Pace

Casting by Danielle Eskinazi

Production Designer Evi Ellias

Costume Designer Agga B. Raya

Original Music By Jesse Solomon Clark

Sound Design & Mix by Beacon Street Studios

First Assistant Director Miles Johnstone

Edited by Andy McGraw / Cartel Assistant Scott Beatty Producer Greer Bratschie Executive Producer Lauren Bleiweiss

Associate Producer James Morse

Skyler Wahl Production Coordinator Matt Fulton 2nd Assistant Director Rochely Zapata Production Assistant

Production Sound Mixer Ellie Bootorich

Offline Sound Mix Cyrus Shahmir

Art Department Leila Ryndak Property Master Giovanni Della Pace Leadman Shelby Strong Set Dresser Prerna Chawla Buyer Angel Herrera Shopper

Make-up by Victoria Payne

Camera 1st Assistant Camera Nick Cutway 2nd Assistant Camera / Loader Rob Reaves Key Grip & Gaffer Lev Abrahamian G&E Driver Sam Le Bas G/E Swing Aram Martirosyan and Conor Long

Visual Effects by The Mill

Creative Director Ilya Abulkhanov VFX Supervisor / Project Lead Lee Nelson Art Director Sidney Tan Lead Motion Designer Woosung Kang Technical Director / 2D Lead Justin Sucara 2nd Technical Director Greg Park

Motion Design Artists Taehoon Park Kyle Moore Jan Sladecko Sasha Vinogradova Maxim Goudin Greg Park Anastasia Skrebneva

Post Producer Moira Mahoney Post Production Coordinator Matthew Fulton

VFX Supervisor / Creative Lead James Allen CG Supervisor Manjunath Shivaprasad 2D Supervisor Rakesh Venugopalan Asset Supervisor Anish Mohan Line Producer R Anuraj Production Coordinators Noan John Vinod Nathan Niamehr Mimi Milligan

Fx:
Biswajit Tarafdar

3D Artists:
Kartik Arora
Asis Kumar Mahakhud
Sivasubramanian
Sudakshina Sridharan
Vittal Kuntla
Abdul Rehman
Amit Patil
Asit Midya
Kalidas Patil
 2D Artists Roman Yavorsky Franz Kol Lenz Kol KaiChun Tsai Evan Langley Stephen Paragone Rob Winfield Tim Robbins Gavin Marler Jeff Langlois Alex Candlish Patrick Dirks Lisa Kim Ahmed El-Azma Roger Cerqua Badrinath Chinimilli
P.K. Sajith
Prasanna Bhatt
Ramanjaneyulu Thota
Shivam Shukla
Vinod Gopinathan

Matte Painting Bill Lu Bijo Joy
Jobin Jacob
Netra Mankar
Priyanka Telang

Modeling Joel Kittle

Tracking Michael Lori Elizabeth Hammer Danny Garcia

Rotoscoping & Tracking TRACE

Colorist Adam Scott Color Assistant Logan Highlen

Color Senior Producer Liza Kerlin Color Coordinator Jessica Amburgey

Mural Paintings by Sidney Tan Yi-Jen Liu Hyoyeon Lee

Design Support Eunhae Yoo

Casting Department Danielle Eskinazi / Casting CCDA Casting Assistant Katie O’Connor

Costume Design Assistant Madeline Northway

Title Design by Ilya Abulkhanov
Woosung Kang Taehoon Park Lee Nelson 
Special Thanks Robin Shenfield Dee Allen Chris Harlowe Dan Roberts Chris Knight Glyn Tebbutt

Film Processing by FotoKem Cameras Provided by Keslow Cameras and Robot Heart Co. Shot on Arriflex Cameras and Kodak Film Film Scanning by Technicolor Grip and Electric Equipment Provided by G&J Grip

[todrobbins]

OFFF 2019 Open Film ARXIV by Mill+ from OFFF Festival on Vimeo.

Mill+ Director Ilya Abulkhanov opened Offf Barcelona 2019 with the debut of his sci-fi short film ‘ARXIV’. ARXIV (pronounced ‘archive’) is an immersive sci-fi family drama is set in two time frames: the deep future, that is left with no future, and the near future, that will bring about the eventual dystopian collapse of society. Protagonist Lew Aron survives both time frames and is set to discover a potential outlet to confront his innermost desire, or what’s left of it.

Directed by Ilya Abulkhanov

Screenplay by R. John Lewis

Based on Characters Developed by Ilya Abulkhanov

Director of Photography Sean Bagley

Edited by Andy McGraw

Produced by Gabriel Blanco and Elizabeth Newman

Executive Producers Zu Al-Kadiri Phil Crowe Stephen Venning Ian Bearce Enca Kaul Rani Melendez

Cast: Lew Michael Curylo Kelly Britt Harris Doctor K. Gregory Niebel May Vienna Weaver Colleague Elijah Howard Doorman Jon Harris Secretary Lucy Boryer Anchor Azize Erim

Girl Reading Book Linda Aleman Patient Erick Medal Diner Patron Ruth Banks Mataya Diner Patron Willard Riley Diner Patron Michael A. Rubio

Co-Worker Hiwot Yimer Co-Worker Canaan Dewey Co-Worker Victoria Johnson Welder Giovanni Della Pace

Casting by Danielle Eskinazi

Production Designer Evi Ellias

Costume Designer Agga B. Raya

Original Music By Jesse Solomon Clark

Sound Design & Mix by Beacon Street Studios

First Assistant Director Miles Johnstone

Edited by Andy McGraw / Cartel Assistant Scott Beatty Producer Greer Bratschie Executive Producer Lauren Bleiweiss

Associate Producer James Morse

Skyler Wahl Production Coordinator Matt Fulton 2nd Assistant Director Rochely Zapata Production Assistant

Production Sound Mixer Ellie Bootorich

Offline Sound Mix Cyrus Shahmir

Art Department Leila Ryndak Property Master Giovanni Della Pace Leadman Shelby Strong Set Dresser Prerna Chawla Buyer Angel Herrera Shopper

Make-up by Victoria Payne

Camera 1st Assistant Camera Nick Cutway 2nd Assistant Camera / Loader Rob Reaves Key Grip & Gaffer Lev Abrahamian G&E Driver Sam Le Bas G/E Swing Aram Martirosyan and Conor Long

Visual Effects by The Mill

Creative Director Ilya Abulkhanov VFX Supervisor / Project Lead Lee Nelson Art Director Sidney Tan Lead Motion Designer Woosung Kang Technical Director / 2D Lead Justin Sucara 2nd Technical Director Greg Park

Motion Design Artists Taehoon Park Kyle Moore Jan Sladecko Sasha Vinogradova Maxim Goudin Greg Park Anastasia Skrebneva

Post Producer Moira Mahoney Post Production Coordinator Matthew Fulton

VFX Supervisor / Creative Lead James Allen CG Supervisor Manjunath Shivaprasad 2D Supervisor Rakesh Venugopalan Asset Supervisor Anish Mohan Line Producer R Anuraj Production Coordinators Noan John Vinod Nathan Niamehr Mimi Milligan

Fx:
Biswajit Tarafdar

3D Artists:
Kartik Arora
Asis Kumar Mahakhud
Sivasubramanian
Sudakshina Sridharan
Vittal Kuntla
Abdul Rehman
Amit Patil
Asit Midya
Kalidas Patil
 2D Artists Roman Yavorsky Franz Kol Lenz Kol KaiChun Tsai Evan Langley Stephen Paragone Rob Winfield Tim Robbins Gavin Marler Jeff Langlois Alex Candlish Patrick Dirks Lisa Kim Ahmed El-Azma Roger Cerqua Badrinath Chinimilli
P.K. Sajith
Prasanna Bhatt
Ramanjaneyulu Thota
Shivam Shukla
Vinod Gopinathan

Matte Painting Bill Lu Bijo Joy
Jobin Jacob
Netra Mankar
Priyanka Telang

Modeling Joel Kittle

Tracking Michael Lori Elizabeth Hammer Danny Garcia

Rotoscoping & Tracking TRACE

Colorist Adam Scott Color Assistant Logan Highlen

Color Senior Producer Liza Kerlin Color Coordinator Jessica Amburgey

Mural Paintings by Sidney Tan Yi-Jen Liu Hyoyeon Lee

Design Support Eunhae Yoo

Casting Department Danielle Eskinazi / Casting CCDA Casting Assistant Katie O’Connor

Costume Design Assistant Madeline Northway

Title Design by Ilya Abulkhanov
Woosung Kang Taehoon Park Lee Nelson 
Special Thanks Robin Shenfield Dee Allen Chris Harlowe Dan Roberts Chris Knight Glyn Tebbutt

Film Processing by FotoKem Cameras Provided by Keslow Cameras and Robot Heart Co. Shot on Arriflex Cameras and Kodak Film Film Scanning by Technicolor Grip and Electric Equipment Provided by G&J Grip

[evilpeacock]

OFFF 2019 Open Film ARXIV by Mill+ from OFFF Festival on Vimeo.

Mill+ Director Ilya Abulkhanov opened Offf Barcelona 2019 with the debut of his sci-fi short film ‘ARXIV’. ARXIV (pronounced ‘archive’) is an immersive sci-fi family drama is set in two time frames: the deep future, that is left with no future, and the near future, that will bring about the eventual dystopian collapse of society. Protagonist Lew Aron survives both time frames and is set to discover a potential outlet to confront his innermost desire, or what’s left of it.

Directed by Ilya Abulkhanov

Screenplay by R. John Lewis

Based on Characters Developed by Ilya Abulkhanov

Director of Photography Sean Bagley

Edited by Andy McGraw

Produced by Gabriel Blanco and Elizabeth Newman

Executive Producers Zu Al-Kadiri Phil Crowe Stephen Venning Ian Bearce Enca Kaul Rani Melendez

Cast: Lew Michael Curylo Kelly Britt Harris Doctor K. Gregory Niebel May Vienna Weaver Colleague Elijah Howard Doorman Jon Harris Secretary Lucy Boryer Anchor Azize Erim

Girl Reading Book Linda Aleman Patient Erick Medal Diner Patron Ruth Banks Mataya Diner Patron Willard Riley Diner Patron Michael A. Rubio

Co-Worker Hiwot Yimer Co-Worker Canaan Dewey Co-Worker Victoria Johnson Welder Giovanni Della Pace

Casting by Danielle Eskinazi

Production Designer Evi Ellias

Costume Designer Agga B. Raya

Original Music By Jesse Solomon Clark

Sound Design & Mix by Beacon Street Studios

First Assistant Director Miles Johnstone

Edited by Andy McGraw / Cartel Assistant Scott Beatty Producer Greer Bratschie Executive Producer Lauren Bleiweiss

Associate Producer James Morse

Skyler Wahl Production Coordinator Matt Fulton 2nd Assistant Director Rochely Zapata Production Assistant

Production Sound Mixer Ellie Bootorich

Offline Sound Mix Cyrus Shahmir

Art Department Leila Ryndak Property Master Giovanni Della Pace Leadman Shelby Strong Set Dresser Prerna Chawla Buyer Angel Herrera Shopper

Make-up by Victoria Payne

Camera 1st Assistant Camera Nick Cutway 2nd Assistant Camera / Loader Rob Reaves Key Grip & Gaffer Lev Abrahamian G&E Driver Sam Le Bas G/E Swing Aram Martirosyan and Conor Long

Visual Effects by The Mill

Creative Director Ilya Abulkhanov VFX Supervisor / Project Lead Lee Nelson Art Director Sidney Tan Lead Motion Designer Woosung Kang Technical Director / 2D Lead Justin Sucara 2nd Technical Director Greg Park

Motion Design Artists Taehoon Park Kyle Moore Jan Sladecko Sasha Vinogradova Maxim Goudin Greg Park Anastasia Skrebneva

Post Producer Moira Mahoney Post Production Coordinator Matthew Fulton

VFX Supervisor / Creative Lead James Allen CG Supervisor Manjunath Shivaprasad 2D Supervisor Rakesh Venugopalan Asset Supervisor Anish Mohan Line Producer R Anuraj Production Coordinators Noan John Vinod Nathan Niamehr Mimi Milligan

Fx:
Biswajit Tarafdar

3D Artists:
Kartik Arora
Asis Kumar Mahakhud
Sivasubramanian
Sudakshina Sridharan
Vittal Kuntla
Abdul Rehman
Amit Patil
Asit Midya
Kalidas Patil
 2D Artists Roman Yavorsky Franz Kol Lenz Kol KaiChun Tsai Evan Langley Stephen Paragone Rob Winfield Tim Robbins Gavin Marler Jeff Langlois Alex Candlish Patrick Dirks Lisa Kim Ahmed El-Azma Roger Cerqua Badrinath Chinimilli
P.K. Sajith
Prasanna Bhatt
Ramanjaneyulu Thota
Shivam Shukla
Vinod Gopinathan

Matte Painting Bill Lu Bijo Joy
Jobin Jacob
Netra Mankar
Priyanka Telang

Modeling Joel Kittle

Tracking Michael Lori Elizabeth Hammer Danny Garcia

Rotoscoping & Tracking TRACE

Colorist Adam Scott Color Assistant Logan Highlen

Color Senior Producer Liza Kerlin Color Coordinator Jessica Amburgey

Mural Paintings by Sidney Tan Yi-Jen Liu Hyoyeon Lee

Design Support Eunhae Yoo

Casting Department Danielle Eskinazi / Casting CCDA Casting Assistant Katie O’Connor

Costume Design Assistant Madeline Northway

Title Design by Ilya Abulkhanov
Woosung Kang Taehoon Park Lee Nelson 
Special Thanks Robin Shenfield Dee Allen Chris Harlowe Dan Roberts Chris Knight Glyn Tebbutt

Film Processing by FotoKem Cameras Provided by Keslow Cameras and Robot Heart Co. Shot on Arriflex Cameras and Kodak Film Film Scanning by Technicolor Grip and Electric Equipment Provided by G&J Grip

[karoltabis]

Mill+ Director Ilya Abulkhanov opened Offf Barcelona 2019 with the debut of his sci-fi short film ‘ARXIV’. ARXIV (pronounced ‘archive’) is an immersive sci-fi family drama is set in two time frames: the deep future, that is left with no future, and the near future, that will bring about the eventual dystopian collapse of society. Protagonist Lew Aron survives both time frames and is set to discover a potential outlet to confront his innermost desire, or what’s left of it. Directed by Ilya Abulkhanov Screenplay by R. John Lewis Based on Characters Developed by Ilya Abulkhanov Director of Photography Sean Bagley Edited by Andy McGraw Produced by Gabriel Blanco and Elizabeth Newman Executive Producers Zu Al-Kadiri Phil Crowe Stephen Venning Ian Bearce Enca Kaul Rani Melendez Cast: Lew Michael Curylo Kelly Britt Harris Doctor K. Gregory Niebel May Vienna Weaver Colleague Elijah Howard Doorman Jon Harris Secretary Lucy Boryer Anchor Azize Erim Girl Reading Book Linda Aleman Patient Erick Medal Diner Patron Ruth Banks Mataya Diner Patron Willard Riley Diner Patron Michael A. Rubio Co-Worker Hiwot Yimer Co-Worker Canaan Dewey Co-Worker Victoria Johnson Welder Giovanni Della Pace Casting by Danielle Eskinazi Production Designer Evi Ellias Costume Designer Agga B. Raya Original Music By Jesse Solomon Clark Sound Design & Mix by Beacon Street Studios First Assistant Director Miles Johnstone Edited by Andy McGraw / Cartel Assistant Scott Beatty Producer Greer Bratschie Executive Producer Lauren Bleiweiss Associate Producer James Morse Skyler Wahl Production Coordinator Matt Fulton 2nd Assistant Director Rochely Zapata Production Assistant Production Sound Mixer Ellie Bootorich Offline Sound Mix Cyrus Shahmir Art Department Leila Ryndak Property Master Giovanni Della Pace Leadman Shelby Strong Set Dresser Prerna Chawla Buyer Angel Herrera Shopper Make-up by Victoria Payne Camera 1st Assistant Camera Nick Cutway 2nd Assistant Camera / Loader Rob Reaves Key Grip & Gaffer Lev Abrahamian G&E Driver Sam Le Bas G/E Swing Aram Martirosyan and Conor Long Visual Effects by The Mill Creative Director Ilya Abulkhanov VFX Supervisor / Project Lead Lee Nelson Art Director Sidney Tan Lead Motion Designer Woosung Kang Technical Director / 2D Lead Justin Sucara 2nd Technical Director Greg Park Motion Design Artists Taehoon Park Kyle Moore Jan Sladecko Sasha Vinogradova Maxim Goudin Greg Park Anastasia Skrebneva Post Producer Moira Mahoney Post Production Coordinator Matthew Fulton VFX Supervisor / Creative Lead James Allen CG Supervisor Manjunath Shivaprasad 2D Supervisor Rakesh Venugopalan Asset Supervisor Anish Mohan Line Producer R Anuraj Production Coordinators Noan John Vinod Nathan Niamehr Mimi Milligan Fx:
Biswajit Tarafdar 3D Artists:
Kartik Arora
Asis Kumar Mahakhud
Sivasubramanian
Sudakshina Sridharan
Vittal Kuntla
Abdul Rehman
Amit Patil
Asit Midya
Kalidas Patil
 2D Artists Roman Yavorsky Franz Kol Lenz Kol KaiChun Tsai Evan Langley Stephen Paragone Rob Winfield Tim Robbins Gavin Marler Jeff Langlois Alex Candlish Patrick Dirks Lisa Kim Ahmed El-Azma Roger Cerqua Badrinath Chinimilli
P.K. Sajith
Prasanna Bhatt
Ramanjaneyulu Thota
Shivam Shukla
Vinod Gopinathan Matte Painting Bill Lu Bijo Joy
Jobin Jacob
Netra Mankar
Priyanka Telang Modeling Joel Kittle Tracking Michael Lori Elizabeth Hammer Danny Garcia Rotoscoping & Tracking TRACE Colorist Adam Scott Color Assistant Logan Highlen Color Senior Producer Liza Kerlin Color Coordinator Jessica Amburgey Mural Paintings by Sidney Tan Yi-Jen Liu Hyoyeon Lee Design Support Eunhae Yoo Casting Department Danielle Eskinazi / Casting CCDA Casting Assistant Katie O’Connor Costume Design Assistant Madeline Northway Title Design by Ilya Abulkhanov
Woosung Kang Taehoon Park Lee Nelson 
Special Thanks Robin Shenfield Dee Allen Chris Harlowe Dan Roberts Chris Knight Glyn Tebbutt Film Processing by FotoKem Cameras Provided by Keslow Cameras and Robot Heart Co. Shot on Arriflex Cameras and Kodak Film Film Scanning by Technicolor Grip and Electric Equipment Provided by G&J Grip

[placerdiario]

OFFF 2019 Open Film ARXIV by Mill+ from OFFF Festival on Vimeo.

Mill+ Director Ilya Abulkhanov opened Offf Barcelona 2019 with the debut of his sci-fi short film ‘ARXIV’. ARXIV (pronounced ‘archive’) is an immersive sci-fi family drama is set in two time frames: the deep future, that is left with no future, and the near future, that will bring about the eventual dystopian collapse of society. Protagonist Lew Aron survives both time frames and is set to discover a potential outlet to confront his innermost desire, or what’s left of it.

Directed by Ilya Abulkhanov

Screenplay by R. John Lewis

Based on Characters Developed by Ilya Abulkhanov

Director of Photography Sean Bagley

Edited by Andy McGraw

Produced by Gabriel Blanco and Elizabeth Newman

Executive Producers Zu Al-Kadiri Phil Crowe Stephen Venning Ian Bearce Enca Kaul Rani Melendez

Cast: Lew Michael Curylo Kelly Britt Harris Doctor K. Gregory Niebel May Vienna Weaver Colleague Elijah Howard Doorman Jon Harris Secretary Lucy Boryer Anchor Azize Erim

Girl Reading Book Linda Aleman Patient Erick Medal Diner Patron Ruth Banks Mataya Diner Patron Willard Riley Diner Patron Michael A. Rubio

Co-Worker Hiwot Yimer Co-Worker Canaan Dewey Co-Worker Victoria Johnson Welder Giovanni Della Pace

Casting by Danielle Eskinazi

Production Designer Evi Ellias

Costume Designer Agga B. Raya

Original Music By Jesse Solomon Clark

Sound Design & Mix by Beacon Street Studios

First Assistant Director Miles Johnstone

Edited by Andy McGraw / Cartel Assistant Scott Beatty Producer Greer Bratschie Executive Producer Lauren Bleiweiss

Associate Producer James Morse

Skyler Wahl Production Coordinator Matt Fulton 2nd Assistant Director Rochely Zapata Production Assistant

Production Sound Mixer Ellie Bootorich

Offline Sound Mix Cyrus Shahmir

Art Department Leila Ryndak Property Master Giovanni Della Pace Leadman Shelby Strong Set Dresser Prerna Chawla Buyer Angel Herrera Shopper

Make-up by Victoria Payne

Camera 1st Assistant Camera Nick Cutway 2nd Assistant Camera / Loader Rob Reaves Key Grip & Gaffer Lev Abrahamian G&E Driver Sam Le Bas G/E Swing Aram Martirosyan and Conor Long

Visual Effects by The Mill

Creative Director Ilya Abulkhanov VFX Supervisor / Project Lead Lee Nelson Art Director Sidney Tan Lead Motion Designer Woosung Kang Technical Director / 2D Lead Justin Sucara 2nd Technical Director Greg Park

Motion Design Artists Taehoon Park Kyle Moore Jan Sladecko Sasha Vinogradova Maxim Goudin Greg Park Anastasia Skrebneva

Post Producer Moira Mahoney Post Production Coordinator Matthew Fulton

VFX Supervisor / Creative Lead James Allen CG Supervisor Manjunath Shivaprasad 2D Supervisor Rakesh Venugopalan Asset Supervisor Anish Mohan Line Producer R Anuraj Production Coordinators Noan John Vinod Nathan Niamehr Mimi Milligan

Fx:
Biswajit Tarafdar

3D Artists:
Kartik Arora
Asis Kumar Mahakhud
Sivasubramanian
Sudakshina Sridharan
Vittal Kuntla
Abdul Rehman
Amit Patil
Asit Midya
Kalidas Patil
 2D Artists Roman Yavorsky Franz Kol Lenz Kol KaiChun Tsai Evan Langley Stephen Paragone Rob Winfield Tim Robbins Gavin Marler Jeff Langlois Alex Candlish Patrick Dirks Lisa Kim Ahmed El-Azma Roger Cerqua Badrinath Chinimilli
P.K. Sajith
Prasanna Bhatt
Ramanjaneyulu Thota
Shivam Shukla
Vinod Gopinathan

Matte Painting Bill Lu Bijo Joy
Jobin Jacob
Netra Mankar
Priyanka Telang

Modeling Joel Kittle

Tracking Michael Lori Elizabeth Hammer Danny Garcia

Rotoscoping & Tracking TRACE

Colorist Adam Scott Color Assistant Logan Highlen

Color Senior Producer Liza Kerlin Color Coordinator Jessica Amburgey

Mural Paintings by Sidney Tan Yi-Jen Liu Hyoyeon Lee

Design Support Eunhae Yoo

Casting Department Danielle Eskinazi / Casting CCDA Casting Assistant Katie O’Connor

Costume Design Assistant Madeline Northway

Title Design by Ilya Abulkhanov
Woosung Kang Taehoon Park Lee Nelson 
Special Thanks Robin Shenfield Dee Allen Chris Harlowe Dan Roberts Chris Knight Glyn Tebbutt

Film Processing by FotoKem Cameras Provided by Keslow Cameras and Robot Heart Co. Shot on Arriflex Cameras and Kodak Film Film Scanning by Technicolor Grip and Electric Equipment Provided by G&J Grip

[aronlewes]

Well, I've got a new book out (https://books2read.com/u/mKVMEE ) so it's time to make another ramble post about the book's imagined cast, because I'm crazy, and because I can.

First, the vampires. The trio of royal terror: King Isaak (Jason Isaacs), his son Prince Oskar (Owen Teague) and Prince Wolfsbane (Wolfgang Novogratz).

Next, the girls. Emily Carey for Adeline, a brunette Florence Pugh for Shanda, and Letitia Wright as Melia. Melia's actually my fav. She brings some much-needed levity to an otherwise dark series.

Aaaand then there's Joslun, who existed in my head as Joe Taslim. I gave myself a massive crush on both Joslun and Joe when I was writing this series. I loved Joslun. My beta reader DIDN'T like Joslun. My sister hated Prince Oskar, while I was always a bit bored by Wolfsbane. I guess there's always going to be that one character you just don't like.

And that's it. There's my fancast that literally no one wanted to hear about! 😂 Until next time!

[motioncollector]

DCN Video Pick: OFFF 2019 Open Film ARXIV by Mill+ by OFFF Festival // Mill+ Director Ilya Abulkhanov opened Offf Barcelona 2019 with the debut of his sci-fi short film ‘ARXIV’. ARXIV (pronounced ‘archive’) is an immersive sci-fi family drama is set in two time frames: the deep future, that is left with no future, and the near future, that will bring about the eventual dystopian collapse of society. Protagonist Lew Aron survives both time frames and is set to discover a potential outlet to confront his innermost desire, or what’s left of it. Directed by Ilya Abulkhanov Screenplay by R. John Lewis Based on Characters Developed by Ilya Abulkhanov Director of Photography Sean Bagley Edited by Andy McGraw Produced by Gabriel Blanco and Elizabeth Newman Executive Producers Zu Al-Kadiri Phil Crowe Stephen Venning Ian Bearce Enca Kaul Rani Melendez Cast: Lew Michael Curylo Kelly Britt Harris Doctor K. Gregory Niebel May Vienna Weaver Colleague Elijah Howard Doorman Jon Harris Secretary Lucy Boryer Anchor Azize Erim Girl Reading Book Linda Aleman Patient Erick Medal Diner Patron Ruth Banks Mataya Diner Patron Willard Riley Diner Patron Michael A. Rubio Co-Worker Hiwot Yimer Co-Worker Canaan Dewey Co-Worker Victoria Johnson Welder Giovanni Della Pace Casting by Danielle Eskinazi Production Designer Evi Ellias Costume Designer Agga B. Raya Original Music By Jesse Solomon Clark Sound Design & Mix by Beacon Street Studios First Assistant Director Miles Johnstone Edited by Andy McGraw / Cartel Assistant Scott Beatty Producer Greer Bratschie Executive Producer Lauren Bleiweiss Associate Producer James Morse Skyler Wahl Production Coordinator Matt Fulton 2nd Assistant Director Rochely Zapata Production Assistant Production Sound Mixer Ellie Bootorich Offline Sound Mix Cyrus Shahmir Art Department Leila Ryndak Property Master Giovanni Della Pace Leadman Shelby Strong Set Dresser Prerna Chawla Buyer Angel Herrera Shopper Make-up by Victoria Payne Camera 1st Assistant Camera Nick Cutway 2nd Assistant Camera / Loader Rob Reaves Key Grip & Gaffer Lev Abrahamian G&E Driver Sam Le Bas G/E Swing Aram Martirosyan and Conor Long Visual Effects by The Mill Creative Director Ilya Abulkhanov VFX Supervisor / Project Lead Lee Nelson Art Director Sidney Tan Lead Motion Designer Woosung Kang Technical Director / 2D Lead Justin Sucara 2nd Technical Director Greg Park Motion Design Artists Taehoon Park Kyle Moore Jan Sladecko Sasha Vinogradova Maxim Goudin Greg Park Anastasia Skrebneva Post Producer Moira Mahoney Post Production Coordinator Matthew Fulton VFX Supervisor / Creative Lead James Allen CG Supervisor Manjunath Shivaprasad 2D Supervisor Rakesh Venugopalan Asset Supervisor Anish Mohan Line Producer R Anuraj Production Coordinators Noan John Vinod Nathan Niamehr Mimi Milligan Fx:
Biswajit Tarafdar 3D Artists:
Kartik Arora
Asis Kumar Mahakhud
Sivasubramanian
Sudakshina Sridharan
Vittal Kuntla
Abdul Rehman
Amit Patil
Asit Midya
Kalidas Patil
 2D Artists Roman Yavorsky Franz Kol Lenz Kol KaiChun Tsai Evan Langley Stephen Paragone Rob Winfield Tim Robbins Gavin Marler Jeff Langlois Alex Candlish Patrick Dirks Lisa Kim Ahmed El-Azma Roger Cerqua Badrinath Chinimilli
P.K. Sajith
Prasanna Bhatt
Ramanjaneyulu Thota
Shivam Shukla
Vinod Gopinathan Matte Painting Bill Lu Bijo Joy
Jobin Jacob
Netra Mankar
Priyanka Telang Modeling Joel Kittle Tracking Michael Lori Elizabeth Hammer Danny Garcia Rotoscoping & Tracking TRACE Colorist Adam Scott Color Assistant Logan Highlen Color Senior Producer Liza Kerlin Color Coordinator Jessica Amburgey Mural Paintings by Sidney Tan Yi-Jen Liu Hyoyeon Lee Design Support Eunhae Yoo Casting Department Danielle Eskinazi / Casting CCDA Casting Assistant Katie O’Connor Costume Design Assistant Madeline Northway Title Design by Ilya Abulkhanov
Woosung Kang Taehoon Park Lee Nelson 
Special Thanks Robin Shenfield Dee Allen Chris Harlowe Dan Roberts Chris Knight Glyn Tebbutt Film Processing by FotoKem Cameras Provided by Keslow Cameras and Robot Heart Co. Shot on Arriflex Cameras and Kodak Film Film Scanning by Technicolor Grip and Electric Equipment Provided by G&J Grip

[pizza-ra-bizza]

DIE LAMP van die Dief.

DIE LAMP van die Dief Ons het die lamp gevind binne daardie hol kranse toegedraai in 'n kleed Die gegraveerde teken waarvan 'n priester van Aron kon lees, En uit wie se grotte vreesaanjaende RASTA-hiërogliewe elke lewende wese op Aarde vermaan het; in gebed Daar was niks anders nie, net daardie koperbeker; gevul met die bloed van die gode wat op Lucifer gesterf het. Wat 'n vreemde olie van Adono-bloed bevat het uit boekrolle met vreemde ontwerpe, En van simbole wat vaagweg verwys na 'n vreemde sonde; van gemorste bloed. Die vrese van veertig eeue het min betekenis gehad vir ons wat ons miserabele buit weggeneem het, En toe ons daarna in die donker tent loer, het ons 'n vuurhoutjie aangesteek om die ou olie te toets. Hy het gevlam … goeie God! … Maar die groot vorms wat ons in daardie dolle flits gesien het, het ons lewens verdroog van vrees, druppels van die gode, bloed Lucifer!

Stappe deur: Rausule. “Deur die poësie van RB De Beer op die eerste herdenking van sy lewe”. helliBoeke.

[flauntpage]

DeMarcus Cousins Might be the NBA's MVP, and That's a Huge Deal

Three weeks into the 2017-18 NBA season, DeMarcus Cousins has been no worse than the league’s fifth-best player. He’s 27 years old, off to the most efficient start of his career, on a team that would make the playoffs if the season ended today.

Before you write him and New Orleans off for all the rational reasons one might lean towards doing just that, please look at these averages: 28.2 points, 14.0 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game. Basic numbers are almost useless without context and further exploration, but it’s hard to argue that anyone posting these on a nightly basis isn’t helping his team win. They are farcical figures. The grand list of players in history who normalized this box score for an entire season amounts to two: Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor. Ho hum, nothing to see here.

A 6’11” mastodon who plays with the anger of a man who feels infinitely disrespected by everyone at all times, Cousins’s sour demeanor has not improved despite the best start of his career, and first November outside Sacramento since he was drafted. He still shows up referees, coaches, referees, and teammates (also: referees) in ways that often belie the charitable contributions he makes on the floor and within his community.

But when you’re as consistently dominant in all the ways he’s been, on a team that’s better than most preseason projections predicted, on-court production of this magnitude significantly outweighs any behavioral drawbacks. After placing 19th, 14th, 9th, and 127th over the previous four seasons, Cousins is currently second behind only James Harden in ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus stat. He’s also first (!) in Defensive Real Plus-Minus (more on that later).

Cousins ranks sixth in usage, second in minutes, and is the only high-volume three-point shooter his size in NBA history who also demands a double team on the left block. According to Synergy Sports, he’s drilling 56.4 percent on post-ups which is about 15 percent higher than last season’s stint with the Pelicans, and third highest among all players who’ve logged at least 25 post possessions this year.

His game is unique in that no person strong enough to remove boulders sans machinery for a living should be able to rumble in from the three-point line with as much force and control as he does. Just look at the play below. What even is that?

With sincere apologies to Paul George, Isaiah Thomas, Chris Paul, and Aron Baynes, Cousins only trails LeBron James and Kevin Durant as the most talented unrestricted free agents scheduled to hit the open market this summer, a reality that deserves far more attention than it’s received to date. The ripple effects from his potential exit would re-chart the New Orleans Pelicans, Anthony Davis, and the rest of the league. All bets are off if he leaves, but there aren't many suitors out there that may be willing to offer a four-year max. The Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, and Dallas Mavericks will have room, but none feel like a good fit.

On the other hand, by continuing on his current tear and re-signing in New Orleans with a five-year max deal, 29 teams around the league may soon need to figure out how to stop a distinguished and uniquely dominant duo that’s already figured out how to help each other out.

The stakes on this season are high, for sure. But questions surrounding Cousins’ ability to co-exist (and thrive) with Davis have already been answered. After posting a +2.8 net rating in 17 games together last season, New Orleans is now outscoring opponents by 8.3 points per 100 possessions when those two share the court—AKA they play like one of the three or four best teams in basketball—and Davis absolutely dominates when opposing rim protectors have Boogie occupying their attention. As a collective unit, they’ve morphed into one of the least selfish teams in the entire league, and are defending at a top-three level.

Photo by Chuck Cook - USA TODAY Sports

Yet for all the various ways the Pelicans and Cousins have been awesome, they and he both still have plenty of room to grow. We’ll discuss the problematic roster in a bit, but first let’s just look at why things aren’t going as well as they should on the offensive end before a deep dive into Boogie’s defense.

New Orleans ranks 21st in points per possession, according to Cleaning the Glass. They turn the ball over a ton (in large part because they employ Cousins) and prioritize transition defense over crashing the offensive glass (a debatable choice given their personnel).

The Pelicans are, as one might expect, borderline-dominant in and around the paint, where they take a majority of their shots. Their three-point rate dwarfs the percentage of shots that are long twos, which is good. They also rank 21st in three-point accuracy, and Jameer Nelson might be their most potent outside threat, a dilemma that’s created several uncomfortable situations for Cousins when he’s trying to do work down low.

All five Atlanta Hawks have at least one foot in the paint for the duration of this clip, before Dennis Schroder makes an easy steal.

Look at how the Chicago Bulls swarm towards the ball as soon as it’s entered down low, like an eclipse of moths that are hypnotized by a porch light.

Several unsolvable issues are caked into this Pelicans’ roster, but no discussion about them and Cousins can be had without a close look at his defense, which has long been one of the more mercurial and frustrating variables in the NBA. Cousins has always been a mixed bag on that side of the ball, but New Orleans totally falls apart whenever he exits the game.

Against pick-and-rolls, Gentry’s calculus has been to drop his starting center and coerce ball-handlers into a flurry of long twos. Only three teams force opponents to shoot a higher percentage of their shots from 14 feet to the three-point line than New Orleans. This makes perfect sense. Cousins doesn’t have the lateral quickness or attention span to switch out onto guards and then hang with one on (or off) the ball for the meat of an entire possession. Hedging and recovering back to his man is also way too much work.

But Boogie remains nimble enough to backpedal with speed demons while setting a tone that dictates what type of shot they have to take. He knows how to exploit angles to his advantage and positions himself well enough to block shots and deflect passes. If he tried on every possession he’d be one of the best defenders at his position.

That “if” could fill a galaxy, though. Cousins doesn’t race out to contest most shots and continues to feel like waving his arms is a more effective strategy than shuffling his feet. Some of this harks back to a symptom spread through most players at his position: Cousins either doesn’t realize or is willfully ignorant of how popular the three-point shot is among centers. Instead, he’d rather treat everyone as if they’re DeAndre Jordan or Nerlens Noel when they have the ball. In other words, Cousins either does not know his personnel, or he simply doesn’t care.

The play above is somewhat forgivable. The play below is not.

Right now Cousins is the slowest player at his position, averaging just 3.59 miles per hour in all on-court movement (sprinting, jogging, standing, walking, per NBA.com). For those with trouble picturing how slow this actually is, Dirk Nowitzki is crawling along at 3.71 miles per hour. The Pelicans are already very good on defense when Cousins is on the floor, but just imagine their ceiling if he actually tried!

A lot can change between Thanksgiving and July, but right now the Pelicans are more likely than not to qualify for the playoffs. Should they make it, and Alvin Gentry is emboldened to play Cousins and Davis together for more than 28 minutes, no team will want any part of them in the first round.

The major concerns, then, look ahead at the crappy cap sheet constructed by an incompetent front office that routinely sacrifices future gain for a passable present. How, assuming Cousins locks in this summer, can New Orleans add championship contending complementary pieces around its All-NBA pair down low?

Photo by Stephen Lew - USA TODAY Sports

So long as Jrue Holiday’s five-year, $126 million contract remains on the books—the 27-year-old has been dominant around the rim and solid on defense, but can’t buy a three right now; outside shooting is his most critical function—free agency isn’t much of an option before Davis can opt out in 2020. During AD’s contract year, nearly $85 million would be locked into him, Cousins, and Holiday alone. Holiday’s deal is an anvil, E’Twaun Moore and Solomon Hill are also guaranteed money for another two seasons, and Omer Asik’s contract lingers with more disgusting side effects than Jerry Seinfeld’s smelly car.

That’s bad news, but for every team except the Golden State Warriors, crafty signings, trades, and draft picks are necessary when two max-contract stars are already under contract. The good news is New Orleans still owns all its own first-round picks and Cheick Diallo may be an interesting trade chip they can flip for some shooting. Even without cap space, an impressive showing this spring could lure useful players like Marco Belinelli, Wayne Ellington, or even Joe Johnson with a mid-level exception.

The bottom line here is this: With Cousins and Davis, the Pelicans have two critical ingredients in what almost already is a delicious recipe. If they both stick around for the long haul, there’s a decent chance their combined talent will be able to overcome most of the organization’s most basic mistakes.

The Pelicans aren't one piece from winning it all, but with those two in tow and Cousins continuing to evolve, the mountain top is suddenly visible.

DeMarcus Cousins Might be the NBA's MVP, and That's a Huge Deal published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

[amtushinfosolutionspage]

DeMarcus Cousins Might be the NBA’s MVP, and That’s a Huge Deal

Three weeks into the 2017-18 NBA season, DeMarcus Cousins has been no worse than the league’s fifth-best player. He’s 27 years old, off to the most efficient start of his career, on a team that would make the playoffs if the season ended today.

Before you write him and New Orleans off for all the rational reasons one might lean towards doing just that, please look at these averages: 28.2 points, 14.0 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game. Basic numbers are almost useless without context and further exploration, but it’s hard to argue that anyone posting these on a nightly basis isn’t helping his team win. They are farcical figures. The grand list of players in history who normalized this box score for an entire season amounts to two: Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor. Ho hum, nothing to see here.

A 6’11” mastodon who plays with the anger of a man who feels infinitely disrespected by everyone at all times, Cousins’s sour demeanor has not improved despite the best start of his career, and first November outside Sacramento since he was drafted. He still shows up referees, coaches, referees, and teammates (also: referees) in ways that often belie the charitable contributions he makes on the floor and within his community.

But when you’re as consistently dominant in all the ways he’s been, on a team that’s better than most preseason projections predicted, on-court production of this magnitude significantly outweighs any behavioral drawbacks. After placing 19th, 14th, 9th, and 127th over the previous four seasons, Cousins is currently second behind only James Harden in ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus stat. He’s also first (!) in Defensive Real Plus-Minus (more on that later).

Cousins ranks sixth in usage, second in minutes, and is the only high-volume three-point shooter his size in NBA history who also demands a double team on the left block. According to Synergy Sports, he’s drilling 56.4 percent on post-ups which is about 15 percent higher than last season’s stint with the Pelicans, and third highest among all players who’ve logged at least 25 post possessions this year.

His game is unique in that no person strong enough to remove boulders sans machinery for a living should be able to rumble in from the three-point line with as much force and control as he does. Just look at the play below. What even is that?

With sincere apologies to Paul George, Isaiah Thomas, Chris Paul, and Aron Baynes, Cousins only trails LeBron James and Kevin Durant as the most talented unrestricted free agents scheduled to hit the open market this summer, a reality that deserves far more attention than it’s received to date. The ripple effects from his potential exit would re-chart the New Orleans Pelicans, Anthony Davis, and the rest of the league. All bets are off if he leaves, but there aren’t many suitors out there that may be willing to offer a four-year max. The Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, and Dallas Mavericks will have room, but none feel like a good fit.

On the other hand, by continuing on his current tear and re-signing in New Orleans with a five-year max deal, 29 teams around the league may soon need to figure out how to stop a distinguished and uniquely dominant duo that’s already figured out how to help each other out.

The stakes on this season are high, for sure. But questions surrounding Cousins’ ability to co-exist (and thrive) with Davis have already been answered. After posting a +2.8 net rating in 17 games together last season, New Orleans is now outscoring opponents by 8.3 points per 100 possessions when those two share the court—AKA they play like one of the three or four best teams in basketball—and Davis absolutely dominates when opposing rim protectors have Boogie occupying their attention. As a collective unit, they’ve morphed into one of the least selfish teams in the entire league, and are defending at a top-three level.

Photo by Chuck Cook – USA TODAY Sports

Yet for all the various ways the Pelicans and Cousins have been awesome, they and he both still have plenty of room to grow. We’ll discuss the problematic roster in a bit, but first let’s just look at why things aren’t going as well as they should on the offensive end before a deep dive into Boogie’s defense.

New Orleans ranks 21st in points per possession, according to Cleaning the Glass. They turn the ball over a ton (in large part because they employ Cousins) and prioritize transition defense over crashing the offensive glass (a debatable choice given their personnel).

The Pelicans are, as one might expect, borderline-dominant in and around the paint, where they take a majority of their shots. Their three-point rate dwarfs the percentage of shots that are long twos, which is good. They also rank 21st in three-point accuracy, and Jameer Nelson might be their most potent outside threat, a dilemma that’s created several uncomfortable situations for Cousins when he’s trying to do work down low.

All five Atlanta Hawks have at least one foot in the paint for the duration of this clip, before Dennis Schroder makes an easy steal.

Look at how the Chicago Bulls swarm towards the ball as soon as it’s entered down low, like an eclipse of moths that are hypnotized by a porch light.

Several unsolvable issues are caked into this Pelicans’ roster, but no discussion about them and Cousins can be had without a close look at his defense, which has long been one of the more mercurial and frustrating variables in the NBA. Cousins has always been a mixed bag on that side of the ball, but New Orleans totally falls apart whenever he exits the game.

Against pick-and-rolls, Gentry’s calculus has been to drop his starting center and coerce ball-handlers into a flurry of long twos. Only three teams force opponents to shoot a higher percentage of their shots from 14 feet to the three-point line than New Orleans. This makes perfect sense. Cousins doesn’t have the lateral quickness or attention span to switch out onto guards and then hang with one on (or off) the ball for the meat of an entire possession. Hedging and recovering back to his man is also way too much work.

But Boogie remains nimble enough to backpedal with speed demons while setting a tone that dictates what type of shot they have to take. He knows how to exploit angles to his advantage and positions himself well enough to block shots and deflect passes. If he tried on every possession he’d be one of the best defenders at his position.

That “if” could fill a galaxy, though. Cousins doesn’t race out to contest most shots and continues to feel like waving his arms is a more effective strategy than shuffling his feet. Some of this harks back to a symptom spread through most players at his position: Cousins either doesn’t realize or is willfully ignorant of how popular the three-point shot is among centers. Instead, he’d rather treat everyone as if they’re DeAndre Jordan or Nerlens Noel when they have the ball. In other words, Cousins either does not know his personnel, or he simply doesn’t care.

The play above is somewhat forgivable. The play below is not.

Right now Cousins is the slowest player at his position, averaging just 3.59 miles per hour in all on-court movement (sprinting, jogging, standing, walking, per NBA.com). For those with trouble picturing how slow this actually is, Dirk Nowitzki is crawling along at 3.71 miles per hour. The Pelicans are already very good on defense when Cousins is on the floor, but just imagine their ceiling if he actually tried!

A lot can change between Thanksgiving and July, but right now the Pelicans are more likely than not to qualify for the playoffs. Should they make it, and Alvin Gentry is emboldened to play Cousins and Davis together for more than 28 minutes, no team will want any part of them in the first round.

The major concerns, then, look ahead at the crappy cap sheet constructed by an incompetent front office that routinely sacrifices future gain for a passable present. How, assuming Cousins locks in this summer, can New Orleans add championship contending complementary pieces around its All-NBA pair down low?

Photo by Stephen Lew – USA TODAY Sports

So long as Jrue Holiday’s five-year, $126 million contract remains on the books—the 27-year-old has been dominant around the rim and solid on defense, but can’t buy a three right now; outside shooting is his most critical function—free agency isn’t much of an option before Davis can opt out in 2020. During AD’s contract year, nearly $85 million would be locked into him, Cousins, and Holiday alone. Holiday’s deal is an anvil, E’Twaun Moore and Solomon Hill are also guaranteed money for another two seasons, and Omer Asik’s contract lingers with more disgusting side effects than Jerry Seinfeld’s smelly car.

That’s bad news, but for every team except the Golden State Warriors, crafty signings, trades, and draft picks are necessary when two max-contract stars are already under contract. The good news is New Orleans still owns all its own first-round picks and Cheick Diallo may be an interesting trade chip they can flip for some shooting. Even without cap space, an impressive showing this spring could lure useful players like Marco Belinelli, Wayne Ellington, or even Joe Johnson with a mid-level exception.

The bottom line here is this: With Cousins and Davis, the Pelicans have two critical ingredients in what almost already is a delicious recipe. If they both stick around for the long haul, there’s a decent chance their combined talent will be able to overcome most of the organization’s most basic mistakes.

The Pelicans aren’t one piece from winning it all, but with those two in tow and Cousins continuing to evolve, the mountain top is suddenly visible.

DeMarcus Cousins Might be the NBA’s MVP, and That’s a Huge Deal syndicated from http://ift.tt/2ug2Ns6

[aronlewes]

Ladies, we need to have a chat...about the absence of WHIMSY in current romance novels.

Think about the stories that got us hooked on romance when we were kids. It wasn't "Fifty Shades of Grey," not even close, not by a long shot. It was The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast, The Princess Bride, etc.

I get so discouraged when I go to ANY romance category on Amazon, and I see mostly 6-pack abs on book covers. ... REALLY? Is that what we REALLY want in a man? Just abs. Just billionaires? A true divine husband is so much more than that.

I've captured "whimsy" in quite a few books. School for Spirits, to begin with. Ugly Monster Matchmaker is THE ONE. Also, Aurora Abroad, The Wishing Princess, Wizard of the 80's...

We all need to pull back from "man chest" and have a collective think about what connects us to this genre. Is it the man chest, or is it that undeniable, undefinable, perfect kind of man?

Here are four covers. Which one would you read?

For me, it's 100% Anubis & Annie... and I haven't even written this book yet!