#asylum 1 2007

[j2spntranscripts]

☆ 2007 Asylum (Sunday)

Official name: Asylum- A Supernatural and Smallville Convention Location: Leofric Hotel, Coventry, UK Time: Sunday May 13, 2007 (between 9:30am-5:30pm) (GMT-0) Panelists: Jensen Ackles Last episode: 2x21 "All Hell Breaks Loose Part 1" May 10, 2007 Next episode: 2x22 "All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2" May 17, 2007

Question Index: *(questions maybe be out of order, not fully transcribed, and/or labeled correctly due to lack of information) a- Prank-ish, Drag "J2" b- Thoughts on "Fan fiction" c- unknown

(video links and transcripts below the cut)

(*if you notice any mistakes in the video transcripts or found more video coverage of the con please point them out thanks*👍) (*tumblr doesn't like dailymotion vids so I can only hyperlink them*)

[click here]

Jensen_sunday_enter_snall by _sin_attract (0:00)-intro

Moderator: -To the stage Mister Jensen Ackles!

Audience screams and claps. Spn’s theme music starts playing. Jensen walks through the room’s door and walks up to the stage, waving at everyone as he went. He shakes hands with the moderator and then stands in front of his chair and looks at the crowd before him. He then grabs the mic from the moderator and raises one of his hands.

**Jensen: **Well, I made it. Huh? (audience woo’s) Heya, bud. (audience laughs) Alright, shall we? (sits down)

Moderator?: (sits down) Absolutely

Jensen: (leans back in chair) Woo!

Jensen Ackles before Q&A at Asylum by kellybubble (0:00)-intro2

Moderator: Okay, so we get started at 10!

The audience laughs. Jensen flops forward in his chair. The audience laughs harder. The audience starts yelling things.

Moderator: 9.

The audience yells out some more things.

[click here]

Jensen_sunday_1 by _sin_attract • (0:00)- Asylum07B;Qa – Prank-ish, J2 Cross Dressing

Moderator: -Person who (?) There was a time when you and Jared- (audience starts yelling) In Brooklyn, I’m sorry. You and Jared dressed up as women or say? (audience laughs, cheers, and claps)

Jensen: (looks at the audience for a while then shrugs at the Moderator) Yeah. (audience and moderator laugh) (sits up) Um, (shrugs) (audience giggles) (?) We were a little bored. There was a, I think- I believe it was, uh- Wigs were being made in the hair and make-up trailers, uh, for some (?movie? or ?reason?) that had (?drill clippings for the mosque?) earlier (?in the evening?) for something that we, uh, were shooting.

Uhhhh, and, um, and for some reason, uuum- Well, I-I don’t know if we were having a few drinks or, uh, (audience laughs) well we just decided to get a little randy and do something bit crazy. So. (audience laughs) We, uh, (?Naomi?) threw our wigs on and-and went in for a-a-a- a rehearsal. And, uh, I guess (?uuh-uh-uh-?) Brooks is, uh, was on and she was, uh- she was, uh, obviously you guys know but, uh, “Asylum.” She was in “Asylum” in the first season. Um, (?We always have to-?) to make the, um, guest stars feel as uncomfortable as possible. (audience laughs) So, we, uh, you know, we tried a few things. (audience giggles)

Girl ask Jensen Ackles about fanfictions (legendado) by Carol Padalecki • (0:00)- Asylum07B;Qb – Thoughts on “Fan fiction”

Jensen: Thank you.

Fan: I have a question. Uh, yesterday you told us that.. you are very protective of Dean. Uh, what do you think about.. fanfiction? The audience gives a mixed reaction of groaning, cheers, claps. Jensen looks at the moderator and then rubs his eyes. The audience starts clapping. Jensen then rubs his forehead and drags his hand down the side of his face.

Jensen: You- Not you, but s-s-some of those fan fictions have some very, very crazy ideas. (audience laughs and claps) And sometimes very.. disturbing… ideas. (audience laughs) Um, one of my favorites is, um.. wincest. (audience laughs, cheers, and claps) I- I-I- I only hope that my grandmother never sees it. (audience laughs and claps) with-(Jensen laughs) With-

Jared and I got a good laugh out of that one. (audience laughs) Although, it was only brought to our attention because Kim Manners posted it. (audience laughs) So, uh, thanks for that.

Moderator: I think the audience (?were felt?).

Jensen: Moving- Moving on (audience laughs)

Asylum 1 by nevernilien • (0:00)- Asylum07B;Qc – unknown

The audience cheers and claps

Jensen: Uh, I think one of my favorites is, “Dean! Salt gun!” (audience laughs, cheers, and claps) Ah, I love the way he said that.

[click here]- Asylumcon_closingceremoney by _sin_attract

Closing ceremony:

Jensen: Uuhh, (laughs) Listen, this is, uh, this has been my first convention ever. And-and I want to just thank you all for a- for a great experience. And-and it’s been truly nice to see, uh, when you work so hard and you- and you-and you put a lot of.. time and effort and love and blood and sweat and tears in something and you really believe in it. Um, it’s nice to see that people appreciate it. So, I thank you for that from the bottom of my heart. Anddd, I’m going to thank you for Jared as well. Because if he was here, he’d say the same thing. So. Thank you. (audience claps and cheers.) (hands over the mic to Alan Ritchson.)

Alan Ritchson: (?Alright?) I-I think he said it perfectly, I show the same sympathies- (video transistions to Alona)

Alona Tal: (?) Important (?buddy?) that is out here for showing up to see us, because it’s really awesome to us (?) Thanks (?) for preparing all those questions and things that (?) Thank you. (audience claps and cheers. Jensen and Ritchson? clap) (hands the mic to Mack)

Allison Mack: Um, (laughs and looks back at Hartley)

Justin Hartley: Chloe! (audience giggles)

Mack: Yeah, I just thank you. (?As we put it?) Thank you so much, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do if we didn’t have you. So, I appreciate you and I love, uh, coming in here and sharing the attention and appreciation (?). Thank you very, very much. (audience claps) (Mack hands the mic to Hartley) (audience cheers)

Justin Hartley: (?) Guys, mostly ladies, have been, uh, (audience laughs) And, uh, yeah, quite- quite friendly spirits. Because you never know (?) kind of things turn out. (?) been fantastic. So, um, thank you for opening you’rrre proverbial door, and we’ll see you guys next year or something like that. (hands the mic to Jason Manns.) (Audience claps and cheers)

Jason Manns: Uuum, (points the mic at Hartley)

Hartley: (?Throw up?) (audience laughs. Jensen smiles)

Manns: Um, It’s pretty much everything that they said, ditto. And, also, uh, you guys are probably-

The moderator crouches in front of the stage, and then gets back up. The audience laughs.

Manns: (to the moderator) Thank you. (audience laughs) (to the audience) You guys are probably the best crowd that I’ve ever played on a show for. So. (audience cheers and claps. Jensen and Ritchson clap.) Thank you. (hands the mic to Aycox.)

Nicki Aycox: I think everybody has said pretty much exactly.. what it is. And, I’m think I agree with you a lot, if it wasn’t for you guys at all we would not even be doing this. We’d probably be on the streets. Uhm, So. (audience laughs) Thank you very much. And Thank you for being so positive and-and giving us loving words and just that you enjoy it. And, (?) show up so that we are (throws up hand) happy.. to have you guys here to see you. (audience claps. Video skips ahead.)

Jenny Mollen?: (?) from one of these and every time I (?) always blown away by just how- just, you know- I’ve-I’ve never been embraced (?), you know, so many strangers. And, (audience chuckles) (Jensen wipes his forehead) No, no- I – it really is…It’s- such a, you know, wonderful- wonderful feeling. You know, makes (?) the time when you’re (?) in LA and you’re doing your thing and spilling (?) to continue in the world, makes it all sort of worth it. So, Thank you. (hands the mic to Mark Lutz) (audience cheers and claps. Jensen and Ritchson clap.)

Mark Lutz: (scratches head) Yeah, and again. I’d just like to reiterate, you guys have been, uh, fantastic. You know, we really- really appreciate you coming out and-and, uh, (?) with us. And (?) (wipes eyes)(audience laughs) I promised myself I wasn’t gonna cry. (wipes eyes) (audience laughs) But, uh, also I think we would be completely remiss if we didn’t thank the fantastic staff that- (audience claps and cheers) (Mollen leans the mic over to herself and says something) (?) round of applause because they got this thing done. It wasn’t us, so. Yeah, they really deserve, uh, a lot of the applause. And (?Dwayne?) for putting this whole thing on. So, thank you very much. (The audience screams. The Panelists and audience clap.)

Brooke Nevin: (?) Um, (?) Unique (?) This is just one of those extra special treats. (?) extra special and wonderful. (raises hand) You guys rock! Thank you. The audience claps and cheers. All the panelists clap. Brooke places the mic down on the ground. Mollen walks up near the exit to the stage. (?The Moderator blocks her?) Mullen then goes back to the line up on stage. The audience laughs.

Mollen: I thought that we were-

Moderator: (?) There are a lot of people who- (skips)

The actors, now accompanied by body guards, are exiting the stage. The audience is clapping.

[fractualized]

I present a collection of normie Jokers (aka how Joker might look if he never fell into the vat), with the following parameters:

no masks/prosthetics

all adults grown into Joker face

limited rehashing of TKJ (only including versions I felt had different vibes)

1) Joker as Arthur Wilde — Joker (1975) #5, Irv Novick

2) Unnamed former lab assistant and struggling comedian — The Killing Joke, Brian Bolland

3) Joker disguised during "Death in the Family" — Batman (1940) #427, Jim Aparo

4) Joseph Kerr in the "Going Sane" storyline — Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (1989) #66, Joe Staton

5) Unnamed TKJ-esque husband — JLA (1997) #35, Mark Pajarillo

6) Unnamed worker drone/comedian — Batman: It's Joker Time #3, Bob Hall

7) Jack the criminal in "Lovers and Madmen" — Batman Confidential #7, Denys Cowan

8) Unnamed mobster (at times known as Jackie, Sonny, or Hap) in "Case Study" — Batman: Black & White (Vol 2), Alex Ross

9) Unnamed criminal in Joker's own mind — The Brave and the Bold (2007) #31, Chad Hardin

10) Eric Border, Arkham Asylum orderly — Batman (2011) Annual #2, Wes Craig Batman (2011) #36, Greg Capullo

11) Alby, corrupt businessman — Detective Comics (2011) #27, Bryan Hitch

12) Unnamed amnesiac from the "Superheavy" storyline — Batman (2011) #48, Greg Capullo

13) Jack Napier in the White Knight series — Batman: White Knight #2, Sean Murphy

14) Unnamed comedian — Batman: Gotham Nights (2020) #9, Neil Edwards

15) Jack Oswald White — Flashpoint Beyond #5, Xermanico

16) Darwin Halliday, chemist and head of Halliday Industries in "The Bat-Man of Gotham" — Batman (2016) #134, Mike Hawthorne Batman (2016) #135, Jorge Jiménez

(Once again, thanks to @distort-opia for assistance!)

[sasheneskywalker]

books and articles about about comics, superheroes, dc and batman

books Ahrens, J., & Meteling, A. (Eds.). (2010). Comics and the City: Urban Space in Print, Picture and Sequence. A&C Black.

Bongco, M. (2014). Reading comics: Language, culture, and the concept of the superhero in comic books. Routledge.

Brode, D. (Ed.). (2022). The DC Comics Universe: Critical Essays. McFarland.

Brooker, W. (2013). Batman unmasked: Analyzing a cultural icon. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.

Burke, L., Gordon, I., & Ndalianis, A. (Eds.). (2020). The superhero symbol: media, culture, and politics. Rutgers University Press.

Dittmer, J., & Bos, D. (2019). Popular culture, geopolitics, and identity. Rowman & Littlefield.

DiPaolo, M. (2014). War, politics and superheroes: Ethics and propaganda in comics and film. McFarland.

Dyer, B. (Ed.). (2009). Supervillains and Philosophy: sometimes, evil is its own reward (Vol. 42). Open Court Publishing.

Geaman, K. L. (Ed.). (2015). Dick Grayson, boy wonder: Scholars and creators on 75 years of Robin, Nightwing and Batman. McFarland.

Giddens, T. (Ed.). (2015). Graphic justice: Intersections of comics and law. Routledge.

Heer, J., & Worcester, K. (Eds.). (2009). A comics studies reader. Univ. Press of Mississippi.

Irwin, W. (2009). Batman and philosophy: The dark knight of the soul. John Wiley & Sons.

Langley, T. (2022). Batman and psychology: A dark and stormy knight. Turner Publishing Company.

McKittrick, C. (2015). Fan phenomena: Batman, edited by Liam Burke.

Ndalianis, A. (Ed.). (2009). The contemporary comic book superhero (Vol. 19). Routledge.

O'Connor, L. R. (2021). Robin and the Making of American Adolescence. Rutgers University Press.

O'Neil, D., & Wilson, L. (Eds.). (2008). Batman Unauthorized: Vigilantes, Jokers, and Heroes in Gotham City. BenBella Books.

Packer, S., & Fredrick, D. R. (Eds.). (2020). Welcome to Arkham Asylum: Essays on Psychiatry and the Gotham City Institution. McFarland.

Pearson, R., & Uricchio, W. (Eds.). (2023). The many lives of the Batman: Critical approaches to a superhero and his media. Taylor & Francis.

Pearson, R., Uricchio, W., & Brooker, W. (Eds.). (2017). Many more lives of The Batman. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Picariello, D. K. (Ed.). (2019). Politics in Gotham: the Batman universe and political thought. Springer.

Pustz, M. (Ed.). (2012). Comic books and American cultural history: An anthology. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.

Romagnoli, A. S., & Pagnucci, G. S. (2013). Enter the superheroes: American values, culture, and the canon of superhero literature. Scarecrow Press.

Smith, M. J., & Duncan, R. (Eds.). (2012). Critical approaches to comics: Theories and methods. Routledge.

Smith, M. J., Brown, M., & Duncan, R. (Eds.). (2019). More critical approaches to comics: theories and methods. Routledge.

Weiner, R. G. (Ed.). (2009). Captain America and the struggle of the superhero: Critical essays. McFarland.

Weldon, G. (2017). The caped crusade: Batman and the rise of nerd culture. Simon and Schuster.

White, M. D. (2019). Batman and ethics. John Wiley & Sons.

Worcester, K., Heer, J., & Hatfield, C. (Eds.). (2013). The Superhero Reader. University Press of Mississippi.

articles Authers, B. (2012). What Had Been Many Became One: Continuity, the Common Law, and Crisis on Infinite Earths. Law Text Culture, 16, i.

Austin, S. (2015). Batman's female foes: the gender war in Gotham City. Journal of Popular Culture (Boston), 48(2), 285-295.

Avery, C. (2023). Paternalism, performative masculinity and the post-9/11 cowboy in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. The Australasian Journal of Popular Culture, 12(1), 65-81.

Bainbridge, J. (2007). “This is the Authority. This Planet is Under Our Protection”—An Exegesis of Superheroes' Interrogations of Law. Law, Culture and the Humanities, 3(3), 455-476.

Best, M. (2005). Domesticity, homosociality, and male power in superhero comics of the 1950s. Iowa Journal of Cultural Studies, 6(1).

Brienza, C. (2010). Producing comics culture: a sociological approach to the study of comics. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, 1(2), 105-119.

Camp, L. D. (2017). ‘Time to ride the monster train’: multiplicity, the Midnighter and the threat to hegemonic superhero masculinity. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, 8(5), 464-479.

Camp, L. D. (2018). "Be of Knightly Countenance": Masculine Violence and Managing Affect in Late Medieval Alliterative Poetry and Batman: Under The Red Hood (Doctoral dissertation, University of South Carolina).

Cocca, C. (2014). Negotiating the third wave of feminism in Wonder Woman. PS: Political Science & Politics, 47(1), 98-103.

Coogan, P. (2018). Wonder Woman: superheroine, not superhero. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, 9(6), 566-580.

Cohn, N., Hacımusaoğlu, I., & Klomberg, B. (2023). The framing of subjectivity: Point-of-view in a cross-cultural analysis of comics. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, 14(3), 336-350.

Costello, M. J., & Worcester, K. (2014). The politics of the superhero: Introduction. PS: Political Science & Politics, 47(1), 85-89.

Crutcher, P. A. (2011). Complexity in the comic and graphic novel medium: Inquiry through bestselling Batman stories. The Journal of Popular Culture, 44(1), 53-72.

Curtis, N. (2013). Superheroes and the contradiction of sovereignty. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, 4(2), 209-222.

Fennell, J. (2012). The aesthetics of supervillainy. Law Text Culture, 16, i.

Giddens, T. (2015). Natural law and vengeance: Jurisprudence on the streets of Gotham. International Journal for the Semiotics of Law-Revue internationale de Sémiotique juridique, 28(4), 765-785.

Guynes, S. (2019). Worlds Will Live, Worlds Will Die: Crisis on Infinite Earths and the Anxieties and Calamities of the Comic-Book Event. Inks: The Journal of the Comics Studies Society, 3(2), 171-190.

Hall, K. J., & Lucal, B. (1999). Tapping into parallel universes: Using superhero comic books in sociology courses. Teaching sociology, 27(1), 60-66.

Hatchell, R. (2023). ‘We prefer protégé’: The temporal function of sidekicks in Young Justice and Titans. The Australasian Journal of Popular Culture, 12(1), 83-97.

Jeong, S. H. (2020). Sovereign Agents of Mythical and (Pseudo-) Divine Violence. Walter Benjamin and Global Biopolitical Cinema. The Philosophical Journal of Conflict and Violence, 4(2), 81-98.

Jimenez, P. (2021). Wonder Woman, Feminist Icon? Queer Icon? No, Love Icon. In Wonder Woman (pp. 23-36). Routledge.

Lang, R. (1990). Batman and Robin: A family romance. American imago, 47(3/4), 293-319.

Petrovic, P. (2016). Queer resistance, gender performance, and ‘coming out’of the panel borders in Greg Rucka and JH Williams III’s Batwoman: Elegy. In Superheroes and Identities (pp. 221-230). Routledge.

Philips, M. (2022). Violence in the American imaginary: Gender, race, and the politics of superheroes. American Political Science Review, 116(2), 470-483.

Pitkethly, C. (2016). The pursuit of identity in the face of paradox: indeterminacy, structure and repetition in Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. In Superheroes and Identities (pp. 87-94). Routledge.

Powell, T. (2023). ‘You’re a refugee, are you not?’‘Extraordinary bodies’, monstrous outsiders and US refugee policies in superhero comics. The Australasian Journal of Popular Culture, 12(1), 9-20.

Romero, L. G., & Dahlman, I. (2012). Justice framed: Law in comics and graphic novels. Law Text Culture, 16, vii.

Schott, G. (2010). From fan appropriation to industry re-appropriation: the sexual identity of comic superheroes. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, 1(1), 17-29.

Sereni, E. (2020). "When I'm Bad, I'm Better": from early Villainesses to contemporary antiheroines in superhero comics.

Sharp, C. (2012). 'Riddle me this…? 'would the world need superheroes if the law could actually deliver justice'?. Law Text Culture, 16, 353-378.

Shyminsky, N. (2011). ‘‘Gay’’ Sidekicks: Queer Anxiety and the Narrative Straightening of the Superhero. Men and Masculinities, 14(3), 288-308.

Valentine, G. (2021). Empire of a wicked woman: Catwoman, royalty, and the making of a comics icon. In Wonder Woman (pp. 93-112). Routledge.

Weston, G. (2013). Superheroes and comic-book vigilantes versus real-life vigilantes: an anthropological answer to the Kick-Ass paradox. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, 4(2), 223-234.

Whaley, D. E. (2011). Black cat got your tongue?: Catwoman, blackness, and the alchemy of postracialism. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, 2(1), 3-23.

Wolf-Meyer, M. J. (2006). Batman and Robin in the nude, or class and its exceptions. Extrapolation (pre-2012), 47(2), 187.

York, C. (2000). All in the Family: Homophobia and Batman Comics in the 1950s. International Journal of Comic Art, 2(2), 100-110.

[ninemelodies]

The David Tennant Filmography Checklist

Including his most popular works (list made by @literatemisfit )(check what you've watched!)

Dramarama (1988) ☑️ Rab. C. Nesbitt (1993) ☑️ Takin' Over the Asylum (1994) ☑️ The Tales of Para Handy (1995) ☑️ The Bill (1995) ☑️ Duck Patrol (1998) ☑️ L.A. Without a Map (1998) ☑️ The Last September (1999) ☑️ Love in the 21st Century (1999)☑️

The Mrs Bradley Mysteries (2000) ☑️ Being Considered (2000) ☑️ (just his part) Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) (2000) ☑️ High Stakes (2001) ☑️ People Like Us (2001) ☑️ Foyle's War (2002) ☑️ Nine 1/2 Minutes (2002) ☑️ Bright Young Things (2003) ☑️ He Knew He Was Right (2004) Blackpool (2004) Casanova (2005) ☑️ The Quatermass Experiment (2005) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) ☑️ Secret Smile (2005) The Chatterley Affair (2006) Recovery (2007) Learners (2007) Extras (2007) Einstein and Eddington (2008) Glorious 39 (2009) The Sarah Jane Adventures (2009) Doctor Who (2005-2023) ☑️ St. Trinian's 2 (2009) The Catherine Tate Show (2007-2009) Hamlet (2009) ☑️

How to Train Your Dragon (2010) ☑️ Single Father (2010) United (2011) The Decoy Bride (2011) Fright Night (2011) ☑️ This is Jinsy (2011) Much Ado About Nothing (2011) ☑️ True Love (2012) Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger (2012) Spies of Warsaw (2013) The Politician's Husband (2013) The Escape Artist (2013) Richard II (2013) The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot (2013) Broadchurch (2013-2017) ☑️ What We Did on Our Holiday (2014) Gracepoint (2014) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2015-2016) Jessica Jones (2015-2019) Family Guy (2016) Mad to Be Normal (2017) DuckTales (2017-2021) You, Me, and Him (2017) Bad Samaritan (2018) ☑️ Hang Ups (2018) Mary Queen of Scots (2018) There She Goes (2018-2023) Camping (2018) Criminal: UK (2019) Good Omens (2019-2023) ☑️

Deadwater Fell (2020) Des (2020) Screening (2020) Staged (2020-2023) ☑️ Around the World in 80 Days (2021) ☑️ The Legend of Vox Machina (2022) Meet the Richardsons (2022) The Sandman (2022) ☑️ Inside Man (2022) ☑️ Litvinenko (2022) Good (2023)

[literatemisfit]

A Comprehensive List of David Tennant Whump

(to be made more specific in terms of episodes and plot points with time) ***SPOILERS on PLOT POINTS***

Chronologically:

Takin' Over the Asylum (1994)

Manhandling and intimidation, abuse of power by authority, forced confinement and treatment, given blame for having a mental health disorder, unsupportive family, death of a friend

The Bill (1995)

Short moment of physical violence and intimidation, arrest, manhandling

LA Without a Map (1998)

Short stint of imprisonment, physical violence, fish out of water vibes, intimidation

Casanova (2005)

Violence and grievous injury, imprisonment, emotional anguish, disturbing sexualized environment

Doctor Who (2006-2010)

2x0 The Christmas Invasion

Regeneration sickness, manhandling, pain and fainting, nursed back to health

2x1 New Earth

Loss of consciousness by poison, imprisonment, loss of control and ownership over one's body

2x7 The Idiot's Lantern

Alien TV face sucking, loss of consciousness

2x8 The Impossible Planet &

2x9 The Satan Pit

Fall into an abyss and regaining consciousness at the bottom, religious and moral dilemmas

2x13 Doomsday

Emotional anguish, loss of loved one, inability to communicate feelings in time

3x1 Smith & Jones

Manhandling, forced to have blood sucked through straw against his will, loss of consciousness, lack of oxygen for everyone

3x2 The Shakespeare Code

Voodoo attack, loss of consciousness, one heart stops, threat of execution

3x7 42

Intense pain and panic, screaming, freezing, burning up from the inside, admitting to fear

3x9 The Family of Blood

Human innocence when faced with danger, tantrum at not wanting to die, fear of not being John Smith, taken prisoner, hunted by killers

3x12 The Sound of Drums

3x13 Last of the Time Lords

4x2 The Fires of Pompei

4x6 The Doctor's Daughter

4x9 Forest of the Dead

4x10 Midnight

4x12 The Stolen Earth

4x13 Journey's End

0x3 The Waters of Mars

0x4 The End of Time Part 1

0x5 The End of Time Part 2

Recovery (2007)

Brain injury, mental anguish

Hamlet (2009)

Grief, arrest with light bondage, insanity, tantrums, death

Single Father (2010)

Manhandling, grief, anger

United* (2011)

Fright Night (2011)

Past trauma and fear, vampire attack, trapped and helpless, injury, thrown

Spies of Warsaw* (2013)

The Politician's Husband* (2013)

Richard II (2013)

Broadchurch (2013-2017)

Heart problems, dizziness, fainting, collapsing, surgery, grief, trauma, flashbacks, violent crime, sexual crime

Camping (2018)

Jessica Jones (2016-2019)

Criminal UK (2019)

Good Omens (2019-2023)

Deadwater Fell (2020)

Around the World In 80 Days (2021)

Inside Man (2022)

Litvinenko* (2022)

* these I have not seen nor do I have confirmation that whump-like drama occurs but I include them in case they apply.

If you have any insider information or suggestions for what might be added in terms of listed works or details about the plot points and triggers to include, let me know. I will begin working on this as I gather information and research and rewatch certain shows and movies.

Enjoy 🌈

[adarkrainbow]

Spooky season fairytales (1)

I have been covering it these past weeks, and it is a perfect fit for Halloween: Hansel and Gretel.

This is one of the creepiest "popular" fairytales, that has terrified many children. The witch in the gingerbread house not only exemplifies so many bogeymen that caused children's nightmares, but is also one of the two most famous examples of witches in fairytales - and we know Halloween is one of the witchy holidays. And the whole story revolves around a house made of sweets - in modern day interpretations, Hansel and Gretel is THE candy-fairytale. And Halloween is THE holiday for treats and sweets.

Despite being an obvious choice to make fairytale horror movies, and the fairytale having inspired several great horror classics (the scene I posted before in Stephen King's IT involving the witch of Hansel and Gretel), the tale doesn't actually have a lot of treatment in the world of horror... Yeah, it is surprising, but the first true "horror movie" about Hansel and Gretel would be the Korean 2007 movie of the same name, that was recognized as a great Korean horror piece and a very touching tragic story, but is not an actual retelling of "Hansel and Gretel" - or rather it is a twisted, reversed-retelling that mostly uses Hansel and Gretel as a motif and reference rather than actual plot material.

To have "Hansel and Gretel" REALLY enter the horror movie world, we would have to wait for the year 2013, and a dual release. The first one is a famous movie by fairytale enjoyers, that is still quite popular online: "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters". This movie is what the 2005's "Van Helsing" movie was to Dracula.

What to say about this movie? It is a dark fantasy, action-movie acting as a sequel to the original fairytale and depicting the two protagonists as gun-and-arbalet-wielding witch hunters. It is everything you except from a a big studio classic action gritty-fantasy movie. In fact, that's the main flaw of the movie: it is extremely generic, formulaic and "by-the-book". There's no real inventivity or uniqueness in terms of plot, setting or characters. If you played dark fantasy action video games, you watched this movie already. It didn't even invent the concept of Hansel and Gretel as witch hunters - Fables for example had done it already by making Hansel a fanatical Puritan witch hunter in the style of the Salem witch trials. As a result, what could have been a really good, inventive, interestng movie is just... a neutral, generic movie. The kind you can watch and enjoy but that won't transcend anything and isn't groundbreaking in any way.

Not that the movie is bad, it has some highlights and qualities to it that avoid making it bad. For example, several of the actors in this movie are really good and give their best despite playing bland or generic characters (and in fact it sames some flat characters, who are given depth by their actors' work) ; and there is a true visual work, with some fascinating designs. This all makes the movie enjoyable in several aspects - but just having good actors and good visuals won't make the movie good given how generic it is in plot and style, and how incoherent the worldbuilding and the tone feels, tiptoing around anachronisms for the sake of "let's make it cool and steampunk", and failing to find a balance between dark comedy and serious movie. (Oh yes and it also dreadfully suffer from the awful "3D movies" trend of the time)

And to this movie answered another movie: 2013's "Hansel and Gretel", aka The Asylum's Hansel and Gretel. A movie which is the perfect twin to "Witch Hunters" - in fact you could say they are the yin and yang to each other.

This movie is a full horror movie, not a dark fantasy/action piece. This movie is a retelling of the original story, not a sequel to it. This movie takes place in modern day, the 21st century, instead of a fantasized Germany of unclear era. And whereas "Witch Hunters" kind of fails at meeting the hype it built up, and is a neutral, average, not-good not-bad big budget movie, this movie is... surprisingly good for what it is, and ends up much better than what it should be.

If you do not know The Asylum, the group behind this movie, they are well-known producers of mockbusters, unofficial sequels and B-movies, and very proud of it. In fact it is their goal: make mockbusters to propose a cheaper alternative to big-studio movies, and turn the making of "second-rate" movies into a true art. They make their movies very fast, they release them against big studios movie they openly took inspiration from, they use cheap special effects, they select for actors either "no-names" or "has-beens"... I think I can sum it up enough by the fact they are the makers of the "Sharknado" movies. As a result, this movie was probably going to be an utter mess and ridiculous schlock...

... But it was surprisingly good. Better than what it should be. Of course The Asylum's marks are still there. The movie opens and closes on two very ridiculous scenes (the first victim's flight in the night ; the explosion of the house), there is some cheap "sexy-horror" audience-appeal (it is no mistake the only victims to be eaten are women that are forced in underwears before being pushed in the oven), and the plot is basically Hansel and Gretel X The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. BUT all that being said, this movie actually works! In its own, small-budget, no-real-ambition way. It doesn't try to be too snobby or arrogant - it knows it is a small, derivative, B-horror movie, and it stays in its lane. There are some interesting scenes and concepts (such as the drugged-colorfed nightmares). They do manage to create some disturbing elements - while also purposefully breaking several horror stereotypes and cliches. They try to keep a "maybe magic, maybe mundane" approach to the story in their own clumsy way but that is interesting. And more importantly - the character of the witch is SO GREAT!

I can't say enough how I enjoyed the witch (Lilith) on screen, and I do believe that this is due to the incredible work of her actress. Because she is played by none other than Dee Wallace (a horror movie regular who began her career with E.T.) - and she manages to make the character entertaining and disturbing. It really works, and I suspect that if a bad actress had been placed there, the role might have felt flat and generic. But she brings extremely well the disturbed state of mind, the humanity of the monster, and the true descent into horrible madness of the character. They are notably the first movie, to my knowledge, which actually acknowledges and reflects upon the special relationship between Gretel and the Witch, invoking elements that would later become common in "Hansel and Gretel" retellings, such as the witch wanting to make Gretel her "heir", or seeing her as a daughter substitute.

Beyond the year 2013, of course, now, you hit "Hansel and Gretel - horror" in any web research system, and you get the recent horror movie by Oz Perkins, the 2020's "Gretel and Hansel".

I do believe that this movie, and The Asylum's movie, truly reflect the two sides of horror movies and how one same story can be treated under these two lenses. The Asylum's is a gory, brutal, low-budget but decent and interesting horror movie, that still works in its limitations and intends to be just your random "fun little horror slasher movie" ; this movie is the artistic, big-budget, much more stylized and psychological disturbing horror movie that veers more into dark fantasy sometimes and tries more to be an actual nightmare, in the most abstract and eerie sense.

Personally, I did enjoy the movie as a whole and I think it is a good Hansel and Gretel movie. I do think they did a good job at mixing the fairytale with the entire Christian myth of the witch as built by the witch-hunts and other countryside superstitions (they weaved in the story for example the topics of the magical ointments and the idea of witches feasting on the dead) ; and I did love the dark twists and reveals at the end ; and I also liked very much the subtle references to other fairytales slid in the story (Little Red Riding Hood, and The Juniper Tree).

However it is not a movie without flaws - and I would never call it a perfect movie. It got the ideas, the visuals, the will, the inspirations, but... sometimes it does too much, there's unecessary things that could have been cut out and do ridiculize a bit the movie (the first third of the movie is filled with unecessary and random moments like the bizarre hostile man in the abandoned house, or the "mushroom" scenes, which clearly were not needed - there's also jumpscares that are just... there, for jumpscare sakes, when this movie clearly does NOT need jumpscares). There is also the fact that while often it manages to drive its themes, messages and topics in subtle or clever ways (the dialogues of Gretel and the witch, about things such as power, womanhood, the world, are all very well done), a few times it becomes suddenly very clumsy and awkward (one particular moment was the line of Gretel about "the system" in her very first scene, which felt definitively too political and modern to fit in the context).

I do remember the so-called "debate" there was when this movie was released, and the so-called "scandal" of putting Gretel's name first. But it makes full sense when you understand that Gretel here is the main character, that we are told the story through her, and that it doesn't try so much to be a Hansel and Gretel retelling, as rather a dark and morbid fantasy movie that uses the Hansel and Gretel tale as a driving plot to explore more things - the European witchcraft myth, the theme of "Faustian deals", etc, etc... And despite some clumsiness here and there that do flaw the movie (I haven't mentionned it, but the choice of the tattoos for the witch's "final" form seemed very random and ill-thought, which is one of the several little details that don't work ; balanced by details that do work, such as the idea of having a more modern architecture for the witch's house), it still works for most of its course.

To conclude this post, I need to talk about one last "Hansel and Gretel" movie. A movie which American audiences are not actually familiar with. Because it is a German movie, that got released around Europe (I saw it in French), but to my knowledge never crossed the Atlantic. Made by Anne Wild and written by Peter Schwindt, this movie is probably the eeriest Hansel and Gretel adaptation I have seen. It is not "disturbing", "shocking" or "horrifying" - it is just creepy and unsettling. It is not a rewrite or a "retelling" per se, because it stays faithful to the original tale and barely changes anything. Out of the five movies I present you, this is the most faithful movie when it comes to adapting the brothers Grimm fairytale.

EDIT: I originally wrote this part thinking the movie was very hard to find... TURNS OUT IT WAS POSTED ON YOUTUBE! The full movie is on Youtube - in its original German though

This movie made the fairytale eerie with two things. 1) Little unsettling and creepy details in terms of style and movie editing. This movie actually has several things in common with the 2020's Gretel and Hansel - such as the heavy use of the forested landscape to make one feel both lost and trapped at the same time (helped by the fact the protagonists are here played by actual children), and bizarre camera angles and movements (including disturbing close-ups and brutal cuts). The score also includes eerie songs and creepy children whispers, that add to the general spookyness. 2) A work on the realism on the tale. There's still magic and supernatural in there, definitively. But overall it is all... "realistic" in style, making it all more unsettling. Hansel and Gretel behave like actual children - and are in fact often unaware of the danger they are getting themselves into. The color palette is drab and lightless.

Don't get me wrong: this is not an adult-aimed movie, it is not a horror movie. It is still a kid-oriented, fairytale movie, with some moments of humor (though it is mostly dark humor, such as Hansel, blissfully unaware of the witch's plan, coming to enjoy his life in a cage eating good food all day long), a happy ending, and many beautiful visuals (the witch's bedroom is especially interesting - slight spoiler but there is the beautiful visual of the witch keeping petrified birds and butterflies in her room, that come back to life once she is dead). It has poetry to it - but it is definitively not a Disney movie and not what we usually think of as "fairytale movie for kids". It is a quite dark one.

One good illustration of this would be the family dynamic at the start of the tale, and how this movie slightly changes the whole abandonment episode. In this movie, the character of the mother is actually sick - and having her suffering from what will be a deadly disease puts her entire character into a very different light. Another major change they did is that the second time the children are abandoned - the parents do not hide the fact they are abandoning them. Hansel and Gretel know it, and the parents don't bother lying or even pretending, but there is still this sort of untold shame as they don't openly admit it and flee from their crying children... It hits hard.

The creepiest part of the whole movie is however, without a doubt, the witch. By gosh, this is one of the creepiest incarnations of the character I saw. She is a perfect embodiment of the uncanny valley: she is not some cartoonish monster, she is just this pale middle-aged woman that never blinks. She does perform magic, but her magic keeps with the "realism" style of the movie - no flash, no music, no smoke. When she teleports, she is just here one moment, another the next. She prevents Gretel from leaving by casting a spell that makes it so that each time she walks away, she ends up finding herself in front of the house - despite it being impossible. Her rhyming "Who's nibbling on my house?" is actually a disembodied whisper in the ears of the children as they see nobody, making their answer "It's just the wind" an actual comforting sentence they say to themselves thinking they imagined it all. Her bedroom cannot actually exist because it is located in an impossible part of the house that does not appear from the outside. And there are those little details that do hint at her maybe not being actually human but just looking like a human - when she moves sometimes her bones crack, and other times her voice seems to double itself in a strange echo... And when she is pushed into the oven (light spoilers too) - she doesn't scream. She doesn't make a sound. Once she is pushed and the door is closed, it is dead silence, and that makes it even more disturbing than if she actually screamed in agony.

And there are other little morbid details in the movie - too many for me too count. But one thing that does stick with me was the way Gretel pieced up together the witch's real intentions for Hansel (because of course she didn't tell them she was going to eat them), by noticing little details straight out of Pan's Labyrinth - such as Gretel noticing the witch's wind-chimes is made of bones and hair ; and the witch keeping in her house a closet filled with an ungodly amount of toys in various states of aging. This latter detail was notably taken back by "Gretel and Hansel", where the first hint of the witch's previous victims are toys scattered in the wilderness around the house. In fact, I do wonder if Perkins didn't take some inspiration from this 2005 movie, because there is definitively something similar between the two.

And with this, you have to my knowledge the perfect Hansel and Gretel movies for the spooky season.

The supernatural tragedy inspired by, and a famed piece of Korean horror. The surprisingly good B-horror movie that turns the story into a new "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". The dark fantasy action-packed blockbuster that is just halfway there. The recent, heavily stylized, witch-hunt inspired artsy/socio-political horror movie. And the eerie, unsettling, faithful retelling as a dark German children movie.

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

The clips I been seeing about the Barbie…it gotten to the point that we must live upside down world where the 2007 Transformers movie execute the “Long ass toy commercial disguised as a movie” idea better than Barbie.

Yes we got better films like Rise of the Beasts. But how in the nine hells did Micheal Bay executed the idea better than Barbie? Am I crazy? Am I in Arkham Asylum with the Joker as a roommate?

Because Michael Bay's only goals with Transformers were

Make money

Make hot actresses bend over cars

Keep the series going so 1 can be repeated indefinitely

He put in I think one Bush joke in the entire series, and that was about as overtly political as they got. But these days movies don't exist to tell a story, or exploit a franchise, or even to make money. They exist to promote a message and nothing else.

Who would have thought that we'd be nostalgic for cheap, low-effort cash grabs?

[icekingofhope]

have you ever see a show/game/movie/book and you like it but you don’t want to get into the fandom cause you have very unpopular opinions that would basically rain hell and bite you on the ass?

….

that’s how I am with the tmnt fandom when I say I think leosagi is problematic now lemme explain on this

now just note I’m not in the tmnt fandom due to the problematic nature it has but I do like tmnt (my most favorite is the 2007 verison) but I am in the usagi yojimbo fandom and been trying to read the comics online and this is just my opinion cause I know I won’t change others minds I just like to express my opinions over the internet cause why not

but it basically frustrates me when I go to look up usagi content everyone is talking about shipping him with the turtles kinda gives me a ick

Especially since in the title teenage mutant ninja turtles there is teenage in the first sentence and the turtles always been told they were teenagers

and usagi is canonically said to be in his late 20s to early 30s now before you say “but 2003 usagi is a teenager” or something like now for 1 it does not say that anywhere I checked myself and it’s nowhere seen

And plus the main comics literally start as him being a adult and he acts like a adult in the adaptions I personally see 2003 usagi being a father figure or a older brother to Leo due to how they interact

now don’t think this is the only unpopular ship opinion I have I mean I shittalk about like shadowpeach in the past

so yeah basically

it’s hard to join fandoms without being attack for a opinion you have (it’s honestly personally why I don’t interact with fandoms most of the time people start to act like people in mental asylums some worse then others (COUGH COUGH GENSHIN IMPACT COUGH COUGH)

So what’s the lesson here?

don’t be a dick to people who have different opinions and if your scared to interact with the fandom due to opinions don’t if you like the franchise then be happy do what you do

[dearsholmes]

1) A Study in Scarlet

(Back to main post)

Originally titled "A Tangled Skein"

Sherlock Holmes was originally "Sherrinford Holmes" with partner John Watson originally "Ormond Sacker"

This is the book that first established the magnifying glass as a tool used by detectives to solve crimes!

Page from the original manuscript:

First Published in Beeton’s Christmas Annual November 1887

Extra Information:

founded by Samuel Orchart Beeton

Beeton’s Christmas Annual was sold to Ward, Lock & Co publishing

ward lock n co founded by ebenezer ward and george lock

Had three works:

"A Study in Scarlet" by A. Conan Doyle, pp. 1–95.

"Food for Powder" by R. André, pp. 96–114.

"The Four-Leaved Shamrock" by C. J. Hamilton, pp. 115–138.

Copy once sold for $156,000 at Sotheby's on 21 June 2007, estimated 75,000-125,000 USD

Original manuscript was rejected by other publishers until Ward, Lock & Co offered and accepted £25 for the copyright

(equivalent to £3,371.95 considering inflation)

he got no royalties, just a flat fee - eventually had to pay two hundred times the original price of sale to get the copyright to that one story back.

Conan Doyle wrote back to ask for a percentage on sales. Here is the publisher's answer of 2 November 1886: Dear Sir, In reply to your letter of yesterday's date we regret to say that we shall be unable to allow you to retain a percentage on the sale of your work as it might give rise to some confusion. The tale may have to be inserted together with some other in one of our annuals, therefore we must adhere to our original offer of £25 for the complete copyright. We are, dear Sir, Yours truly, Ward, Lock & Co.

illustrated by David Henry Friston

this sold originally for one shilling

ward lock n co then republished this outside of beeton’s christmas annual

Lippincott’s magazine commissioned a sequel:

The American editor of LIPPINCOTT'S MAGAZINE read it and decided to commission a sequel. He invited Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to dinner at a London restaurant with the editor and another writer he was trying to court, and during the course of the evening Sir Arthur agreed to another Sherlock Holmes novel and he went home and wrote THE SIGN OF THE FOUR, and the other writer, who was Oscar Wilde, said, "Oh, yeah, sure, I'll give you a short novel," and he went home and scribbled out THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY.

A STUDY IN SCARLET sold for (the equivalent of) $2,951.39 and ran 43,704 words. Six and three-quarters cents a word. SFWA rates are five cents a word.

Page 90, line 23 second paragraph fourth line

copies that are lacking the “I” of “I fancy that he suspected…” are the true first edition, first issues of this magazine

Recorded copies

34 total confirmed

21 in libraries

University of Minnesota - 4

Yale - 3

may have had another two previously

11 complete copies with original wrappers and advertisements

one of which is bound

one has a spine

23 lack original wrappers and/or advertisements

some of which have facsimile replacements for the missing original parts

two copies are signed by ACD

one copy had. an unsigned inscription by him but the page was stolen and now missing

page 90 “I”

14 don’t

18 do

2 not available

11 extra excluded copies

either missing, unknown status, no record, or destroyed

one also might be one of the confirmed copies, matching description

link to facsimile (identical yet modern reprint):

Ward, Lock & Co July 1888

Extra info:

Illustrated by his father Charles Doyle

6 of them

Charles Doyle while he was by then confined to an asylum on account of his epilepsy and alcoholism

one shilling

Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincot March 1890

First Edition

American Edition

Ward, Lock, Bowden & CO (formerly Ward, Lock & Co) 1891

Extra info:

Illustrated by George Hutchinson

Some Covers

[j2spntranscripts]

☆ 2007 Asylum (Saturday)

Official name: Asylum- A Supernatural and Smallville Convention Location: Leofric Hotel, Coventry, UK Time: Saturday May 12, 2007, (around 10:45am) (GMT-0) Panelists: Jensen Ackles Last episode: 2x21 "All Hell Breaks Loose Part 1" May 10, 2007 Next episode: 2x22 "All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2" May 17, 2007

Question Index: *(questions maybe be out of order, not fully transcribed, and/or labeled correctly due to lack of available footage) a1- First Impressions on Jared a2- Filming in California vs Vancouver, Kim Manners b- Kripke’s vision c- Hours on Set d- What Character would you like to play? e- Pranks; Jared vs Jensen f- Impala 67 g- Singing (Jensen)

(video links and transcripts below the cut)

(*if you notice any mistakes in the video transcripts or found more video coverage of the con please point them out thanks*👍) (*tumblr doesn't like dailymotion vids so I can only hyperlink them*)

[click here]

Jensen_saturday_1 by sin attract on Dailymotion • (0:00)- Asylum07A;Qa1 - First Impressions of Jared

Jensen: -“I hope (laughs) I hope you’re good, man.” (audience laughs)

And, uh, And we hit it off right away. You know, we-we, umb-uh, He’s, uh, he’s a- he’s a good- good kid from Texas. And I grew up in Texas as well. So, we had a lot of- a lot in common, uh, there. And-and we- we just hit off right away. And we got into the room and-and there was just kind of.. instant brother chemistry. And, uh, (audience aw’s) he’s got an older brother-

Hey, easy. (audience laughs) If you repeat any of this to him I’ll kill you. (audience laughs)

Audience member: No chick flicks! (Jensen and audience laugh)

Jensen: So, uh, so there was that instant, uh-uh, connection in- in the acting. And, uh, iiit-it just worked. You know, he’s got an older brother. So, he was able to- you know he was very familiar with that. And, I got a brother too, so- so I was familiar. And it just- It worked. And, um.. uh. The executives all stood up in the room and gave us a standing ovation and said, “Congratulations.” (audience laughs) And I was like, “Well, thanks. I mean, great.” (audience laughs, claps, and cheers)

I did- I did do much better than he did in the room. (audience laughs)

Moderator: That’s what he says as well. (audience laughs)

Jensen: He’s lying. (audience laughs)

• (1:18)- Asylum07A;Qa2 – filming in California vs Vancouver, Kim Manners

Moderator: (? Sometimes you noticed that the pilot and say?), “Do you think that was shot in California, wasn’t it?”

Jensen: Yes, the pilot was shot, uh, in and around, uh, Los Angeles. Uhm, and, uh, And- uww- We actually thought the show would be- You know, that the series if-if it got picked up would be shooting in Los Angeles. I know I was excited about that because I’m working at Vancouver on Smallville. (audience laughs) And I actually called up Tom Welling, and I was like, “Hahhahhah.” (audience laughs) “I’m going to LA bud.”

And, um.. he got the final laugh on that because (audience laughs), uhhh, when they did pick it up at th-at the eleventh hour they were like, “Eeeeh, listen we’ve done the math and we-we’ve run the numbers and it’s just going to be cheaper for us to film it in Vancouver. So…” (audience laughs) (tilts head) “Pack it up kid.” (audience laughs) Uuuh, so that was- th-but it- but it’s been good. Vancouver is great. And, uh, amazing crew up there. I’m very familiar with it, and so there’s nothing new. So, it’s-it’s-uh, I’m very excited. That’s a good question.

Moderator: Yeah. (? Peace is undeserved?) A veritable industry, TV (? at their hours for every shows that’s been made.?) And-

Jensen: It is.

Moderator: Hollywood North as they put it.

Jensen: Yes, Hollywood North. That’s- that’s what they call it dow- And, you know, it’s- it’s just really flourished in the past, uh, you know, 15-20 years. I think, uh, “21 Jump Street” really kind of (audience cheers) kicked off the industry.

Uh, and actually, uh, a story there.. the- the director of the pilot.. of “21 Jump Street”.. is.. “Supernatural” ’s very own Kim Manners. (audience cheers and claps) Sooo. Yeah. (nods) So, we’re very fortunate to have him. He’s- He’s been, uh- He’s been quite a- quite an asset to the show.

Moderator: Yeah. You can also (? go to?) “X-Files” (?which is the other breach??)

Jensen: Absolutely. Yeah.

Moderator: (?Which is the?) promenade side of the Vancouver flim industry. How long was it, and what sort of times (?gackles between each other?) being in “the Pilot” being done (?And your shenanigans being gone for a series?)

Jensen: Uuum. There’s usually, um, (rubs forehead) So, we finished the- shooting the pilot around the end of March. And then I think, probably about a month went by before they were, uh- Before they gave us the official word. And, uh- and yeah. So, it was, uh, it was a very long-

[click here]

Jensen_saturday_2 by sin attract • (0:00)- Asylum07A;Qb – Kripke’s vision

Jensen: -Uh, with Eric Kripke for, you know, for a length of time of just about- for the arc of the characters and where they were going and we knew he had a (gestures to his head) map in his head. And we knew that he- he had done tons of research. And this was actually a project that he had been, uh, kind of working on and building for at least seven years. So, he- he really- he really done a lot of (?talk?) and put a lot of thought into it.

So, we knew we were in good hands, and-and- and I kind of like the- the ideas that he had. And-and I knew it was going to be, uh, you know, it- We’re on to something cool. Yeah.

Moderator: Ah, um- I kind of (unintellible)

[click here]

Jensen_saturday_3 by sin attract • (0:00)- Asylum07A;Qc – Hours on Set

Jensen: -Constantly, uh, you know, pleading with the- with Eric to- to write in more series regulars. (laughs) (audience chuckles) We’re like, “We need some help here, man. You know?” (audience giggles)

Uhh, we do, because we- we work, uh, you know everyday. And, uh, you know, twelve to fifteen hours Monday through Friday. And it’s- it’s, uh- It’s a very, very taxing schedule. Um, but, you know, that’s, uh- that’s what you get when the show’s about, you know, two characters.

Uumm, even with “X-Files” you had- you had the reoccurring regulars, you know. And-and the Fbi agents, and the-the informants and then the (?smokey manaid?) and things like that, who were always around. And, you know, could kind of handle the a little bit of the work load. Um, but with the, you know, “Supernatural,” it’s, uh- We come and go through so many towns. And, you know, the guest stars come in and then they’re gone. And that’s it. That’s back to the boys, and here we go, off in the car. (audience chuckles)

Moderator: (?How are you actually filming that?)

Jensen: Um, we arrre, uh-

[click here]

Asylum 07 - Jensen's panel - Indiana Jones by dullemarulle • (0:00)- Asylum07A;Qd – What Character would you like to play?

**Jensen: **Um. Ummm. (audience laughs) …(laughs) Well (rubs eye) uh, as a- as a kid, uuuhh, my-my-ish- Indiana Jones (audience cheers and claps) (nods) Um, and to this day I-I still think of that as such a cool character. (audience laughs) And, uh, you know, other than that- I mean, come on you got your- you got your James Bonds-

**Audience member: **Yeah. (audience m2: woo!)

Jensen: You got, uh- there’s- there’s so many amazing characters out there. I could- I could make it a list. (audience laughs) (Jensen chuckles)

[click here]

Jensen – pranks by dullemarulle • (0:00)- Asylum07A;Qe – Pranks

Fan: -You discredit yourself for a personal matter.

The audience laughs. Jensen looks away and smiles. Some of the audience claps. Jensen leans forward a little and then rocks back. The audience giggles. Jensen rubs his eyes with the back of his hands and makes a scrunched face. The audience starts talking to themselves.

Jensen: (?It seems I do that?) all the time. (audience laughs) Uhhh, I’ve never been asked that question. (audience laughs) That’s a good question.

Fan: (?I know.?)

Jensen: Um, (holds a finger to the audience) the first part of the question you were asking if we played any practical jokes? Is that it?

Audience: yes.

Jensen: Uh, Jared and I.. have-have found that it’s better to- to stick together as a team. (audience laughs) Um, as opposed to going at each other. (smiles) (audience laughs) Um, but I mean we have gotten a few in.

Um, we, uhh..h.. about the middle of season.. season 2, um, (waves) our trailers, uh, kind of broke down, actually both of them at the same time. (audience giggles) (chuckles) It was- (gestures) It was a big move. It was a big rainstorm, (gestures) thunderstorm. And then, for whatever reason, in the move they-they were kind of busted the nut working and it was leaking. (grimaces) And so, uh- um, before we got there were like, you know, (briefly raises hand up) “Come on guys. Let’s-let’s-let’s go home.” (laughs) “The trailer is just, like, a foot of water in here.”

[click here]

Asylum 07 - Jensen's panel - Impalas by dullemarulle **• (0:00)- Asylum07A;Qf – Impala 67

Jensen: -No, absolutely. (rubs forehead) We actually got about, uhhh, like four or five of them now. Uuum, and they- they serve different purposes. We got- we kind of got the hero one, we call it. That’s the one that- that I drive most of the time. (audience laughs) (shrugs)

And, uh, and then we got the stunt car, which is, uh, which is really kind of just tricked out with, uh, you know, uh-uh, power break- uh, big, uh, big heavy sliding breaks. And uuum, you know, a-a beefier engine and-and (wiggles hand) a certain, um, (gestures) certain stuff that makes it, you know, (briefly leans forward) (?skid it place on bode?), and things like that.

And then we got a mincer car that’s just used for, uum, when Jared and I are sitting and things (mimics scenery passing) are going by behind us but we’re actually just sitting on stage. (audience laughs) (nods)

The magic of film making, uhhm.

Jensen Ackles talking about his music by dullemarulle • (0:00)- Asylum07A;Qg – Singing

Jensen: Um, (adjusts his position) you know that’s, um, probably- (laughs) probably never-never something I’m gonna pursue. And I, you know, I-I got friends that are musicians and in fact, uh, you’ll be seeing one of them tonight. (audience cheers and claps) (nods) A very, very, very close friend of mine Jason Manns (gestures to his left) who’s sitting right over here.

Um, and the reason I-I’d-I’m- have sang back up and probably never, like, really sing is because of friends like my friend Jason Manns over here. (audience chuckles) Ahh, because they’re really- I mean is s-so good. And, when you- when you, you know, you see that kind of talent and-and you realize that, “Man, that’s just, uh-” (gestures) Well, I know when to take a backseat. (audience chuckles)

Um, but I-I- I enjoy playing the guitar. I enjoy just kind of jamming out with my buddies. And, uh- So, that’s-that’s pretty- (gestures) that’s what I get out of it. You know, it’s very therapeutic to just sit and.. sit and jam out for a little bit.

Manns: You want to Jam out tonight?

Jensen laughs. Audience screams and claps. Jensen rubs his face with his hand and then stokes his beard repeatedly.

Jensen: (looks down) Ohhh, you’ll pay for that (?in a moment?). (audience laughs) (looks up) We’ll see. I- (audience screams)

Saturday night:

[click here]- Jensen_jason_crazy by _sin_attract

audience cheer and woos while Jensen talks to Jason off mic.

Jensen: (to audience) We're having a negotiating process that's about to happen.

The audience cheers. Jason and Jensen talks some more off mic.

Jason: (in the mic) I- I'll sing it in this half. No. But I will say this though. I- I, uh- No, pictures with like little innuendos at the bottom. We're sharing a microphone. (audience laughs and claps) Completely platonic. Just be (?) (starts playing guitar then stops) If, um, just singing on-

Jensen: (steps back from the mic) I'll be here.

Jason: (smiles) yeah. (audience laughs)

Jensen makes a ready rocking motion towards the mic and the audience laughs again. Jason starts playing his guitar again. The audience cheers. Jason starts singing Crazy Love. Jensen goes to the other side of the mic and Jason and starts harmonizing with Jason.

The song ends and the audience screams and claps. Jensen gives Jason a hand grab side hug and then pats him on the back and shoulder while he walks off leaving Jason on stage.

[click here]- Jason and Jensen by _sin_attract

Jensen: (to audience) Just real quick, uh, I- I get the pleasure of listening to this guy play quite often. He's one of my closest friends. So, it's, uh, that's something I'm very proud of. (audience aw's)

Um, if you guys liked what you've heard here tonight and- and you want to listen to 'em and want to hear more of his stuff, he does have some CD's out in the back. (audience yells, screams, and then claps)

Jensen and Jason look at each other and then fist bump.

Jensen: Um, I think they're- they're- they're- I think they're running about, uh, ten pounds a piece and there's a very limited supply. There will be some here, uh, more tomorrow. And, I think if, uh, we run out tomorrow, (gestures to Jason) you-you got, uh- What are some other ways they can get ahold of some?

Jason: (steps back up to the mic) If

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 9.6 (after 1940)

1943 – The Monterrey Institute of Technology is founded in Monterrey, Mexico as one of the largest and most influential private universities in Latin America. 1943 – Pennsylvania Railroad's premier train derails at Frankford Junction in Philadelphia, killing 79 people and injuring 117 others. 1944 – World War II: The city of Ypres, Belgium is liberated by Allied forces. 1944 – World War II: Soviet forces capture the city of Tartu, Estonia. 1946 – United States Secretary of State James F. Byrnes announces that the U.S. will follow a policy of economic reconstruction in postwar Germany. 1952 – A prototype aircraft crashes at the Farnborough Airshow in Hampshire, England, killing 29 spectators and the two on board. 1955 – Istanbul's Greek, Jewish, and Armenian minorities are the target of a government-sponsored pogrom; dozens are killed in ensuing riots. 1962 – The United States government begins the Exercise Spade Fork nuclear readiness drill. 1962 – Archaeologist Peter Marsden discovers the first of the Blackfriars Ships dating back to the second century AD in the Blackfriars area of the banks of the River Thames in London. 1965 – India retaliates following Pakistan's Operation Grand Slam which results in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 that ends in a stalemate followed by the signing of the Tashkent Declaration. 1966 – Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, the architect of apartheid, is stabbed to death in Cape Town, South Africa during a parliamentary meeting. 1968 – Swaziland becomes independent. 1970 – Two passenger jets bound from Europe to New York are simultaneously hijacked by Palestinian terrorist members of the PFLP and taken to Dawson's Field, Jordan. 1971 – Paninternational Flight 112 crashes on the Bundesautobahn 7 highway near Hamburg Airport, in Hamburg, Germany, killing 22. 1972 – Munich massacre: Nine Israeli athletes die (along with a German policeman) at the hands of the Palestinian "Black September" terrorist group after being taken hostage at the Munich Olympic Games. Two other Israeli athletes were slain in the initial attack the previous day. 1976 – Cold War: Soviet Air Defence Forces pilot Viktor Belenko lands a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 jet fighter at Hakodate in Japan and requests political asylum in the United States; his request is granted. 1983 – The Soviet Union admits to shooting down Korean Air Lines Flight 007, stating that its operatives did not know that it was a civilian aircraft when it reportedly violated Soviet airspace. 1985 – Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105 crashes near Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, killing all 31 people on board. 1991 – The Soviet Union recognizes the independence of the Baltic states Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. 1991 – The Russian parliament approves the name change of Leningrad back to Saint Petersburg. The change is effective October 1. 1995 – Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles plays in his 2,131st consecutive game, breaking a record that had stood for 56 years. 1997 – The Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales takes place in London. Well over a million people lined the streets and 21⁄2 billion watched around the world on television. 2003 – Mahmoud Abbas resigns from his position of Palestinian Prime Minister. 2007 – Israel executes the air strike Operation Orchard to destroy a nuclear reactor in Syria. 2013 – Forty-one elephants are poisoned with cyanide in salt pans, by poachers in Hwange National Park. 2018 – Supreme Court of India decriminalised all consensual sex among adults in private, making homosexuality legal on the Indian lands. 2022 – Boris Johnson resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and is replaced by Liz Truss. Their meetings with Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle were the Queen's final official duties before her death two days later. 2022 – Russo-Ukrainian War: Ukraine begins its Kharkiv counteroffensive, surprising Russian forces and retaking over 3,000 square kilometers of land, recapturing the entire Kharkiv Oblast west of the Oskil River, within the next week.

[lady-of-glass-and-bone]

Duck's Halloween Movie Picks!

I love Halloween and spooky season in general. So here's my list of many, many (but not all) horror movies to watch this October!

🧠 Zombies 🧠

Sometimes dead is better.

Night of the Living Dead (1968) & (1990)

Return of the Living Dead (1985)

Diary of the Dead (2007)

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Overlord (2018)

Pet Semetary (1989)

Dead Snow (2009)

Dead Alive (1992)

#alive (2020)

Train to Busan (2016)

Little Monsters (2019)

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015)

Zombie (1979)

Wonderfully Witchy

It isn't Halloween without a witch.

The Witch (2015)

The Craft (1996)

Practical Magic (not a horror movie but I don't care, I love it) (1998)

Hocus Pocus (a true classic) (1993)

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Don't Knock Twice (2016)

Drag Me To Hell (2009)

Ghastly Ghouls

Ghosts, Demons, and Poltergeists oh my!

Includes but is not limited to: haunted houses and/or people, demons, cursed objects, beings from other dimensions, etc.

The Exorcist (1973)

Insidious (2010)

The Conjuring (2013)

The Nun (2018)

Poltergeist (1982)

Verónica (2017)

Hellraiser (1987) & (2022)

Candyman (1992) & (2021)

Thir13en Ghosts (2001)

The Shining (1980)

Evil Dead (1981)

The Fog (1980)

Paranormal Activity (2007)

House on Haunted Hill (1959) & (1999)

The Frighteners (1996)

House (1985)

Hell House LLC (2015)

Pumpkinhead (1988)

Gonjian: Haunted Asylum (2018)

Possession (1981)

Carnival of Souls (1962)

Ringu (1998)

The Entity (1982)

Vicious Vampires

Because they're bloody sexy.

Nosferatu (1922)

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1999) plus all the other million dracula movies

Interview with a Vampire (1994)

30 Days of Night (2007)

Boys From County Hell (2020)

Underworld (2003)

Bloodsucking Bastards (2015)

Near Dark (1988)

Salems Lot (1979)

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Fright Night (1985) & (2011)

Stakeland (2010)

The Black Water Vampire (2014)

Werewolves

Fluffy and vicious, the perfect combo.

Dog Soldiers (2002)

An American Werewolf in London (1981)

Night of the Wolf: Late Phases (2014)

Ginger Snaps (2001)

The Wolf Man (1941) & (2010)

The Company of Wolves (1984)

Cursed (2005)

The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020)

Howl (2015)

The Howling (1981)

Silver Bullet (1985)

Wer (2014)

Bad Moon (1996)

The Beast Must Die (1974)

Miscellaneous Monsters

All monsters need love, not just the classics.

The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

The Mummy (1999)

Frankenstein

Wishmaster (1997)

Eight Legged Freaks (2002)

Feast (2007)

IT (1990) & (2017)

The Descent (2005)

Jaws (1975)

Jeepers Creepers 1 + 2 (2001) & (2003)

Horror Express (1972)

Cold Ground (2017)

Devil's Pass (2013)

The Ruins (2008)

Cabin in the Woods (2011)

The Monster Squad (1987)

Under Wraps (1997)

The Babadook (2014)

Slashers

Because people are scary too.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Friday the 13th (1980)

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Halloween (1978)

The Collector (2009)

House of Wax (2005)

The Strangers (2008)

The Crazies (1973) & (2010)

SAW (2004)

Scream (1996)

The Hills Have Eyes (1977) & (2006)

The Burning (1981)

The People Under The Stairs (1991)

Sleepaway Camp (1983)

Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

Terror Train (1980)

Stage Fright (2014)

You Might Be The Killer (2018)

The Toolbox Murders (1978)

Hell Fest (2018)

Revenge (2018)

The Invitation (2016)

Audition (1999)

It Came From Space!

As if space isn't scary enough on it's own.

Includes: anything sci-fi related, not just space stuff.

The Thing (1982)

Alien (1979)

Predator (1987)

AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)

Event Horizon (1997)

DOOM (2005)

Monsters (2010)

Re-Animator (1985)

Bride of Re-Animator (1990)

Pandorum (2009)

Chopping Mall (1986)

The McPherson Tape (1989)

Extraterrestrial (2014)

Always Anthology

The more the scarier!

Creepshow (1982)

Creepshow 2 (1987)

Tales from the Hood (1995)

V/H/S (2012)

V/H/S: 2 (2013)

V/H/S: 94 (2021)

V/H/S: 99 (2022)

Body Bags (1993)

Asylum (1972)

Trick 'r Treat (2015)

All Hallows' Eve (2019)

Holiday Specials

We can't leave out these holidays during spooky season!

My Bloody Valentine (1981) & (2009)

Prom Night (1980)

April Fool's Day (1986)

Black Christmas (1974)

[thoughtportal]

Sinéad O’Connor, Dies at 56

Sinéad O’Connor, has died, The Irish Times reports. She was 56.

Her cause of death has yet to be revealed.

Her family said in a statement: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”

O’Connor, who was outspoken about her decades-long struggle with mental illness, wrote on her Facebook page earlier this month that she had moved back to London after 23 years and was finishing an album to be released next year. She also shared plans to tour in Australia and New Zealand in 2024, and in Europe, the United States and other territories in 2025.

O’Connor had a difficult childhood after the separation of her parents when she was eight. The singer claimed from an early age that her mother, who she lived with after the separation, physically abused her, which led to O’Connor’s vocal advocacy for abused children. At 15, O’Connor spent eighteen months at a Magdalene Asylum due to her truancy and shoplifting. Even at an early age, however, O’Connor showed musical talent and, after moving schools, recorded a four-song demo. She eventually formed the band Ton Ton Macoute, dropped out of school, and moved to Dublin.

O’Connor’s career progressed after she began working with ex-U2 record head Fachtna O’Ceallaigh and she found early success with the 1987 release of her debut album “The Lion and the Cobra,” which achieved gold status and earned her a Grammy nomination for best female vocal rock performance.

Her international breakthrough came with the release of her second album, “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got,” which included O’Connor’s new arrangement of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” a song originally written by Prince and released under his side project, the Family. O’Connor’s rendition reached No. 1 in several countries, and remained atop the charts in Ireland for 11 weeks. The song earned her a Grammy nom for record of the year, as well as another best female vocal rock performance nod. The album won her a Grammy for best alternative music performance.

She also appeared as Our Lady in Neil Jordan’s 1997 film “The Butcher Boy.” O’Connor went on to release eight more albums, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Long Form for her live concert VHS “Year of the Horse” in 1990. Her 1996 song “Famine” also received a Grammy nod for Best Music Video, Short Form. In 2012, the song “Lay Your Head Down,” which she performed for the soundtrack to the film “Albert Nobbs,” received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song.

Throughout her career, O’Connor has gained notoriety for her outspoken nature and several controversies that have surrounded her. In 1993, O’Connor ripped a picture of the Pope into pieces while singing an a capella version of Bob Marley’s “War” on “Saturday Night Live” as a protest against sexual abuse within the church; NBC received over 4,400 complaint calls as a result.

In 2013, O’Connor wrote an open letter to Miley Cyrus regarding Cyrus’ sexually explicit imagery and warning her of the treatment of women in the music industry, urging Cyrus not to allow herself to be “pimped” by music executives. The letter received mixed responses from the public, and musician Amanda Palmer wrote an open letter in response stating that O’Connor was “off target” with her critique.

O’Connor revealed in a 2007 interview that she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2003 and had attempted suicide in 1999 on her 33rd birthday. Seven years later, however, she stated that she had gotten three further opinions stating that she was not bipolar.

In 2015, O’Connor posted on her Facebook page that she had taken an overdose as a result of troubles between herself and Donal Lunny, her ex-husband and the father of her youngest child Shane. Irish police later said they had located O’Connor and she was “safe and sound” and receiving medical attention.

In August 2017, she posted an emotional video to her Facebook page, stating that she had three mental illnesses and felt alone after losing custody of her 13-year-old son Shane. She continued that she had wanted to kill herself for several years and that only her psychiatrists and doctor were keeping her alive. She pleaded for someone in her family to take care of her, and added that she was “one of millions” who are stigmatized for their mental illness.

O’Connor is survived by her three children. Her son, Shane, died by suicide last year at age 17.

O’Connor had switched to a new Twitter account at the beginning of July, using her full name. Her final Twitter post on the new account, on July 17, alluded to her son’s suicide, as she linked to a “Great Tibetan Compassion Mantra” and wrote, “For all mothers of Suicided children.”

[mariacallous]

As a key supporter of Ukraine, the largest post-communist country in the European Union, and a staunch U.S. ally, Poland’s October 15 parliamentary elections will have far-reaching consequences. Poles will choose between four more years of a populist government accused of several violations of the rule of law, undermining the EU, and xenophobic policies since it first came to office in 2015, or its long-standing opposition, and the chance for Poland to restore its democratic institutions and its international reputation. Regardless of the outcome, Polish politics will remain polarized.

The incumbent Law and Justice party (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, PiS) gained power in 2015 on promises of “good change” and appeals to moderation. Its controversial chair, Jarosław Kaczyński, the country’s prime minister from 2006 to 2007, did not run for a leadership position, relying instead on more palatable proxies. It was only after PiS gained power that the party suborned the judiciary, used government media as a propaganda mouthpiece while limiting the free media, and eroded independent institutions of monitoring, oversight, and accountability. It has also built a loyal constituency of older, more rural, more conservative voters that brought the party to power in 2015 and reelected it in 2019.

The campaign

The electoral gap has narrowed between PiS and the opposition Civic Coalition (Koalicja Obywatelska, KO), led by Donald Tusk, prime minister from 2007 to 2014 and president of the European Council in Brussels from 2014 to 2019. PiS has been polling around 36%; KO around 30%. Other players include Confederation (Konfederacja), an economically libertarian and politically conservative party aimed at young voters; the Third Way (Trzecia Droga) coalition, made up of the Peasants Party and a movement led by a television celebrity; and the New Left (Nowa Lewica), a coalition of left-wing parties. The hundreds of thousands of supporters marching in the huge opposition demonstration in Warsaw on October 1 was a show of opposition strength — and utterly ignored by the state media.

So far, PiS has used strategies familiar from previous elections: giving retirees extra pension payments, increasing subsidies for children by 60%, lowering gas prices to the point that wholesale prices are higher than those in gas stations, and attacking its rivals as un-Polish, traitorous, and for “punishing children for praying in Polish.”

These may not be enough: Despite many popular policies and the party’s support for Ukraine, PiS faces a demographic problem. Its electorate is overwhelmingly elderly and may be dying off. Inflation and a worsened economic situation may also lead many of its voters to stay at home. Voter mobilization is crucial, since most voters are already loyal to either the government or the opposition.

To mobilize this electorate and ensure its victory, PiS has pursued three additional tactics.

The first is doubling down on popular policies. Despite having signed off in June on the EU’s new migration pact — which aims to create a fairer distribution of asylum-seekers and (at least according to critics) reduces overall protections for them, the party has now announced its opposition to it. It is counting on a repeat of 2015, when the party’s hostility to the wave of immigrants then arriving in Europe was seen as instrumental to its victory. PiS representatives have also been traveling to small cities and highlighting local investments (most of which are funded by the EU).

The second, and least effective, was a new bill that would investigate “Russian influence” in Polish politics and bar those found guilty from politics, a thinly-veiled attack on the opposition. The bill, rife with legal contradictions and vague specifications, was immediately ridiculed and has foundered since.

Third, the party announced in mid-August that the October ballot would also include a four-question referendum: with leading questions on the sale of state enterprises, raising the retirement age, supporting “the admission of thousands of illegal immigrants from the Middle East and Africa,” and removing the wall on the border with Belarus. The idea is to transform anger into turnout.

The opposition, for its part, has decided to focus on substantive alternatives — in the case of KO, exactly 100. The party is mobilizing women by declaring abortion, in vitro fertilization, and contraception to be fundamental rights, especially important after a near-total ban in 2021. Other policy ideas include simplifying gender self-identification, and civil partnerships for same-sex couples (almost two-thirds of Poles favor the latter). The left has also pursued a similar course, proposing to expand the definition of rape and giving women menstrual leave from work. Finally, the opposition has made hay of a recent corruption scandal, where bribed Polish officials were found to have sold Schengen visas despite PiS’ anti-immigration rhetoric.

So, what is at stake?

Ukraine

Poland has been one of Ukraine’s biggest backers after the Russian invasion began in 2022. Poles warmly welcomed over 3 million Ukrainian refugees in 2022, and the government has steadfastly supported Ukraine with military and humanitarian supplies, and in various international organizations, such as NATO, the EU, and the United Nations.

But this strong relationship has recently come under fire: Ukraine is selling grain in Poland. It is within its rights to do so, since the EU’s April embargo on Ukrainian grain sales in Europe has expired. But the timing is awful: The rural agricultural electorate is critical to PiS, and Ukrainian grain flooding the market sent prices plummeting earlier in the year.

PiS is choosing its voters over its commitment to Ukraine and is criticizing Ukraine in unusually harsh terms. President Andrzej Duda referred to Ukraine at the U.N. as “a drowning man” who is dangerous because he pulls his saviors into the water, while Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that Poland is not transferring new arms to Ukraine because it needs to defend itself.

These statements, which have been highly controversial within Poland itself, are more indicative of PiS’ anxiety over the electoral returns than a fundamental volte-face. Polish governments have repeatedly rejected Russian influence (whether political or material). No matter which government is in power after October 15, it will not turn to supporting Russia (unlike their counterparts in Hungary, or the winner of the September 30 Slovak elections, the notoriously anti-Ukrainian SMER party).

European Union

Much like its Hungarian neighbor, Poland under the PiS has had a difficult relationship with the EU. On the one hand, the two illiberal governments rely on EU funding to survive, and EU policies have allowed them to thrive. On the other, they have repeatedly criticized the EU as infringing on their sovereignty, and are themselves regularly rebuked for violations of the rule of law. While some observers have argued that the Russian invasion of Ukraine will shift the EU’s center of power more toward Poland, that is unlikely: While Poland was right about Russian intentions, it has not developed a sophisticated vision for the future of the EU, much less built a coalition around it. Instead, the party pursues petty conflicts with Germany designed to appeal to domestic supporters.

These are partly partisan problems: A more liberal government in Warsaw would have much easier relations with its EU peers. But some of these issues are structural: On topics such as the European Green Deal, the euro (the EU’s common currency, which Poland has not adopted), or immigration, we can expect little change, thanks to an economy still dominated by agricultural and coal interests and an insistence on Polish sovereignty and border security in Warsaw that transcends party lines.

Domestic politics

For the 2023 elections, the party is waiving any pretense of moderation. Kaczyński himself announced that currently, there is “no democracy” in Poland, but “this time, no one will stop us” in further transforming the polity. For example, the party’s 300-page program announces further judicial changes. If implemented, the policies would further limit judges and the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction and ability to review the government’s policies and actions. The program also calls for the reorganization of the court system and the abolition of the current Supreme Court. The new judges, presumably, would be replaced by PiS-verified candidates. So much for an independent judiciary.

If PiS again governs alone, we can expect the further deterioration of both Polish democracy and its relationship with the European Union. If KO wins, it faces an uphill battle in renewing Poland’s commitment to democracy and reversing PiS’ attempts to shape the constitutional order to its advantage. If either party governs with a coalition partner, its commitments will be diluted and its hold on office more vulnerable, in keeping with the venerable Polish tradition of unstable coalition governments. Whatever the outcome, Polish society will remain polarized. Poland might revert to full democracy — but that can also mean government instability and the promise of more elections to come.

[aroundtheworldiej]

Sir Alfred: A life spent waiting

By Nassim Belhadj

On November 12, Mehram Karimi Nasseri known as "Sir Alfred" died at Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport at the age of 77.

An eventful start to life

Born in 1945 in Iran following a love affair between a dead father and an English mother who never wanted to recognize him. Mehram left to study in September 1973 at the University of Bratftordin in England, thanks to a student scholarship. While in England in March 1974, he participated in a demonstration against the Shah of Iran. He returned to the country on August 7, 1975. As soon as he arrived in the country he was tortured and imprisoned for 4 months by the Iranian secret police, before being expelled from the country without his papers.

The beginning of a great crossing of the desert

He will seek asylum several times in Berlin, then in Netherlands in 1977. But also in France and Yugoslavia in 1978 and in 1979 in Italy. All of these requests will be rejected. On October 7, 1980, the United Nations Commission granted him his asylum request. Mehram lives until 1986 in Belgium. He decides to go back to the United Kingdom, to look for his mother with proper papers. He embarked on November 16, 1984 for Folkstone. Arriving in Great Britain, he returned his refugee card from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Brussels, thinking that he could no longer be sent back to Belgium. He found himself in Boulogne sur Mer in 1985, where he was sentenced by France to three months in prison for illegal stay on the national territory.

Credits: FreeRoyaltie

Release from prison, and a life that ends in France

After his release from prison, he will live in Terminal 1 at Roissy. In 1988, he will do 5 months in prison for trying to reach England without papers. He finally succeeded in obtaining French papers in 1989. He then went to Bobigny, to be able to collect his new papers. But when he arrived there, he declared: “I refuse to sign his papers, they are not in my name. I am no longer who I was. My name is now Sir Alfred Mehran and I am not Iranian. My father was Swedish and my mother Danish. He then returns to live in the departure hall of Terminal 1 of the airport. He resided at the lower level of the shop, in the middle of many boxes, he receives postal mail and visitors. Sir Alfred leaves the airport at the end of July 2006 to be hospitalized. At the end of January 2007, he left the hospital. He was cared by the Red Cross, then has been transfered on March 6 to an Emmaüs France foster home in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Nevertheless, he return live to the airport in October 2022.

Credits: Own Work

He dies a few weeks after his return to the airport. He was 77 years old. His incredible story will notably inspire Steven Spielberg in the film: "The Terminal".

[randgugotur-6]

NOVEMBER 07 2023

Happy Birthday

Greg Tribbett

Gregory Arnold Tribbett Jr. (born November 7, 1968) is an American guitarist who is one of the founding members, lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the metal band Mudvayne.[1] He is also the former lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the metal bands Audiotopsy and Hellyeah.[2][3] He's been with Mudvayne from their inception in 1996 until their dissolution in 2010, and again from 2021 to now.[4] He has named Randy Rhoads as the guitarist who most influenced him.[5] Greg has 3 brothers; Derrick "Tripp" Tribbett, who previously played bass for Dope, and sang for Makeshift Romeo and Twisted Method,[6] The Late Dustin "Diggz" Tribbett, once the bass player for Element, and Dead End Asylum, is now an independent musician and writer, and also Matt Tribbett, who was a drum technician for the American metal band Slipknot.

Mudvayne

edit

Main article: Mudvayne discography

Studio albums

L.D. 50 (2000)

The End of All Things to Come (2002)

Lost and Found (2005)

The New Game (2008)

Mudvayne (2009)

Compilation Albums

By the People, for the People (2007)

Playlist: The Very Best of Mudvayne (2011)

EPs

Kill, I Oughtta (1997)

The Beginning of All Things to End (2001)

Live Bootleg (2003)

Hellyeah

edit

Main article: Hellyeah discography

Studio albums

Hellyeah (2007)

Stampede (2010)

Band of Brothers (2012)

Audiotopsy

edit

Studio albums

Natural Causes (2015)

The Real Now (2018)