#baby's first canadian convention
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pelipper · 2 years ago
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I'm back home from my trip to Canada! This was the first time I'd been to Canada since high school, so it was a very special trip for me. I had a fantastic time at YetiCon and can't wait to share more photos with you all! 💖
Thank you to @iron-rose-revolution-blog for taking the photo of me on the Blue Mountain sign!
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astoundingbeyondbelief · 2 years ago
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Kaiju Week in Review (June 11-17, 2023)
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Tsuburaya Productions released a five-minute trailer for Ultraman Blazar, focused on the human cast. Between this and the unveiling of a bunch of the monsters (a combination of originals and some deep cuts), it continues to look extremely promising.
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Toho launched a Twitter account for their next Godzilla film on June 12. It's been counting down all the "core" (live-action and Toho-produced) entries in the series at the rate of one per day, starting with Shin Godzilla. Presumably, they'll reveal the poster, title, and maybe more for the new one at the end (so July 11). The way they're doing this also lends credibility to the rumored Godzilla Zero title.
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Hoshi 35, Megumi Odaka's triumphant return to movies, released a trailer, poster, and a bunch of stills (gathered on Wikizilla). Alas, no shots of the daikaiju in the trailer, just the baby.
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Bandai's finally going to be producing Ultraman toys for the U.S., with the first wave focused on the animated Netflix movie due next year.
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For those of you headed to G-Fest next month, the full schedule is out, and they finally announced the Friday and Saturday movies at the Pickwick: Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Godzilla (2014), respectively. King Kong Escapes will also replace Shin Ultraman on Thursday. Dunno if I'll go to GXMG (I just rewatched it before the Tokyo SOS Fathom Event), but I'm lunging at the chance to see G14 properly-lit and with booming sound. They showed it in 2017 too and it was a blast. For the hotel's film festival, the big title of interest is Yuzo the Biggest Battle in Tokyo, a Yoshikazu Ishii joint set during the pandemic. And if you haven't caught Iké Boys yet, that's playing twice (very much before the audience it was intended for).
Also, go to my friend Alana's panel about designing kaiju gijinkas for cosplay (Saturday at 1). If you've been to either of the past two cons, you probably remember her Mothra costumes, and we're both working on a bunch more for this year.
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Oh yeah, and there's a third North American kaiju con, Super G, starting up in the fall... well, sort of. It might be better termed a convention within a convention (Northern National Collectors’ Convention). September 29-October 1 in Windsor, Canada, right on the Michigan border. Not many specifics yet, but the press release says, "Super G will offer fans a variety of guest celebrities and artists, direct from Japan and around the world, who worked on Kaiju franchises making either their first-ever or first-Canadian convention appearances. Inclusion opportunities feature program panels, contests, experiences, theatrical showings, collectables, cosplay, and more."
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I haven't been keeping up with Godziban's multi-episode collaboration with Televi-Kun—seems like pretty routine stuff—but then they had to pay homage to Sharknado in the newest installment. I knew, of course, that this day would eventually come. Now which one of you said sharknadoes weren't kaiju back when I was unhealthily obsessed with that series?
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fruitcoops · 3 years ago
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Sometimes I forget that Leo is 19 and can’t drink in the states. I think he would get away with stealing drinks from the boys or having someone on the team order for him in public for a while but once the season’s started and people are actively watching the games, the bartenders and wait staff start to figure out who he is and catch him being sneaky
I only write drunkenness on a case-to-case basis because it squicks me out sometimes, but something about this ask really stuck with me. To @lalalasocks, I hope your sinuses feel better! Have some outside perspective of Coops to soothe the soul <3 SW credit goes to @lumosinlove!
TW for a drunken rookie (no explicit alcohol)
“Pots and I are going to take it up the left,” Sirius said, never taking his eyes off his whiteboard as he drew out the lines of the play. iPads were generally the more conventional tool, but he had a thing for tradition and Sirius Black’s flair for the dramatic never ceased to amaze. “Knutty?”
Leo nodded and leaned forward, swiping a drop of sweat off his temple with a glance toward the game as Talker flew past. “I’ll be in for the rest of the period as soon as Coach calls it.”
“Bien.” He tapped Remus’ shoulder pad with the end of his pen and marked a path up the other side. “Loops, the puck is coming to you fast, so you need to keep eyes on us. Once you get it, turn on the jets and get it in. Good?”
“Good,” Remus confirmed, bumping fists with James. Leo watched them with no small amount of surprise—even though Remus had only been a player for six months, their line was rock-solid. James was the powerhouse while Remus flashed down the ice; Sirius counterbalanced them both in the middle. He was grateful he wasn’t the one to see them coming at him on plays.
“1, 6, 7, 12!” Coach barked. Leo clenched his teeth around his mouthguard and got ready to hop the boards. A swish of skates, a bump of Kasey’s shoulder, and it was game time.
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“I love you,” Leo hiccupped, plopping himself down in Logan’s lap and tangling a hand in his dark curls. He went to kiss his cheek, then frowned. “Oh.”
“Hi,” Sirius laughed with a gentle pat his side. “Good night so far, Knutty?”
Leo made a face. “Where’s my Canadian?”
“I have no idea.”
His lip slid out even further into a pout. “He told me I could sit on his lap,” he whined plaintively, resting his head in the crook of Sirius’ shoulder with a heavy sigh. The bar was warm—a little too warm, actually—but it felt nice to be sitting on something soft rather than feeling the sticky floor under his sneakers. And there was one more reason he needed to find Logan, one other highly important thing… “An’ I gotta give him a kiss.”
“Do you want to go look for him?”
Leo made a noncommittal noise and swung his leg under the table absently, letting the alcohol in his system lift all his post-game tiredness away. His head hurt a little from being awake so long. “How ‘bout I stay here and wait?”
“I think it’s about time to get you home.”
Leo sighed again, picking at a string on the knee of his ripped jeans. “Am I squishing you?”
“Non.”
“Mmkay.” A bright square of light half blinded him and he squinted. “Who’re you texting?”
“Finn.”
“Why?”
“So that he can pick you up and get you home before you fall asleep on me,” Sirius said, quite amused for some reason. “Comfy, rookie?”
He shifted even closer into the warmth and closed his eyes. Usually he got horny when he drank, but that feeling had already passed and a nap was sounding awful nice. “I like it when you call me that. Hate when other people do it, but it’s different with you.”
Sirius gave his upper arm a light squeeze. “Glad to hear it.”
“Used to drive me nuts,” he snorted. “Those first couple’a weeks on the team were rough.”
“…why?”
“Cause I had a huge crush on you.”
Cozy silence fell between them until Sirius moved to look at him. Leo blinked sleepily. “You what?”
“Well, Kasey was my first crush, right? I had his jersey an’ his poster an’ he’s fucking hot, but you’re the captain.” Sirius was so nice to him. Not everyone would have let a 6’4” hockey player sit on their lap and wait for their boyfriends. At the moment, though, Sirius looked a bit like Leo had thrown ice water in his face. “And obviouslyFinn and Logan are my boys and I love them so much and they were sopretty when I met them but, y’know, it’s the thrill of the captain vibe.”
“Am I interrupting something?” a new voice asked through poorly-suppressed laughter.
Leo turned his head to look up with a smile. “Hey, Loops, how’re you?”
“Pretty good.” Remus shared a look with Sirius, grinning, before taking the seat next to them. “You two look…content.”
“Oh, fuck off,” Sirius said immediately, though Leo felt his chest hitch with a laugh; he tapped Leo lightly on the elbow a moment later. “Finn’s heading over, d’accord?”
“But I just got here,” he mumbled.
“You’re in my spot,” Remus teased, sliding a glass over. “Drink up, bud.”
Leo narrowed his eyes. “What is it?”
“Water.”
He thought for a second—he wasn’t thirsty, but his mouth was getting dry—and yawned, sitting up enough to stretch before grabbing it. In two gulps, it was gone. “Aw.”
Remus bit his lip and passed a different glass over. “You can have mine too, it’s okay.”
“How are both of you so nice?” he asked, looking between them in something like distress. The music was getting too loud, but they were both watching him intently. “It’s not even fair, man. Can’t you just be an asshole for once so the rest of us don’t look bad?”
Sirius shook his head and pressed the water cup into his hand. “Been there, done that. Do not recommend. Besides, the designated drivers don’t get to be mean.”
Leo felt a little better once the water was gone; he blinked slowly, scanning the crowds for any signs of Finn’s hair or Logan’s ass. Both were identifying features he would never get tired of. “Loops?”
“Yeah?”
“Why is your hair soft?”
“I—” He tilted his head to the side in confusion. “Have you ever touched my hair?”
He leaned back against Sirius, stretching his legs out until his knees popped. “No, but it looks soft. Like Finn’s, if Finn was blonder and had curls. Fluffy.”
“It’s very fluffy,” Sirius confirmed, pulling him up a little more.
“Hey!” Leo protested. “Watch the hands, your boyfriend is right there!”
Sirius rolled his eyes with a huff. “I was making sure you didn’t slide off the bench.”
“Sure,” Leo said with a suspicious glare. “Just ‘cause I won MVP for this game—”
“Okay,” Sirius groaned, standing and detangling his limbs to transfer Leo’s weight onto Remus. “I’m going to go get your boyfriends from wherever they got distracted, and then you’re going to go home and sleep so you’re not dying at practice tomorrow. Oui?”
He disappeared into the mass of people without giving Leo time to respond, wiping his hands on the thighs of his jeans as he craned his neck to see over people’s heads. “Rude,” Leo sulked, cuddling up into Remus’ side instead.
“I know, right?” He took a sip of something lemony and Leo pulled a face. “What?”
“Aren’t you DD?”
“Last I checked, DD’s are allowed to drink lemonade,” he laughed, patting the top of his head. “That was an awesome save in the third, by the way. You could’ve got the hat from that one alone.”
“Which one?” Leo yawned again, licking his lips to rid them of the stickiness he could feel forming.
“The splits one.”
“Mmm, yeah, that was pretty badass.” More people darkened his periphery and he scooted over to make room. “Hey, mes amours.”
“I hear you were bothering our dear captain?” Finn asked, kissing his cheek with a grin. There was no alcohol on his breath, only the mint from the peppermint candies he always stole from the little container by the bar. “Come on, baby, time to go.”
“But Loops and I were talking,” he whined, though it only took a small tug on Finn’s part to get him to snuggle up into his soft shirt. “He was telling me how good I did in the game.”
A warm hand stroked his hair out of his eyes; warmer lips brushed his forehead, and he felt Logan’s hand on his knee. “Bedtime, love,” he said in a quiet voice, almost too soft for Leo to hear over the noisy bar. “Wanna be in the middle?”
Leo looked up in hope. “Really?”
“Ouais. C’mon, Knutty, up you go.”
He wobbled a little as he stood, but got his feet under him within a few moments with the help of Finn’s arm around his waist and waved off everyone else’s offered help. “Gonna be fine for practice,” he promised, patting Sirius’ hand with a nod. “Totally fine, don’t worry. Go—hic—go grind on your boyfriend, ‘kay? You both need it.”
“Sweet Jesus,” Sirius muttered. “I pity your head in the morning.”
“I’m fine,” Leo scoffed. He was already sleepy—there was no way he would have a headache, not after he had two whole glasses of water. “G’night.”
“Drive safe,” Sirius and Remus chorused as Logan fit himself under Leo’s other arm to kiss his neck twice, sending butterflies through his stomach. The outside world was nice and quiet; Leo barely got himself buckled into his seat before dozing off with his head against the cool passenger window.
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javatpoint · 2 years ago
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Kate Chopin Biography
Kate Chopin Biography
American writer Kate Chopin, real name Katherine O'Flaherty, was born in Louisiana on February 8, 1851, and passed away on August 22, 1904. She is one of the most well-read and well-known writers of Louisiana Creole descent, and academics view her as a precursor to American 20th-century feminist novelists of Southern or Catholic origin, such as Zelda Fitzgerald.
Chopin, whose parents were Irish and French, was raised in St. Louis, Missouri. After getting married, she and her spouse relocated to New Orleans. Later, they relocated to the country and settled in Coulterville, Louisiana. From 1892 until 1895, Chopin penned short stories for both kids and adults that were included in popular journals such as The Century Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, Vogue, & The Youth's Companion.
Two short story compilations & two novels were among her most well-known works. The albums' names are Bayou Folk (1894) & A Night in Acadie (1895). Her well-known short stories include "Désirée's Baby" (1893), which is about miscegenation in colonial Louisiana, "The Story of an Hour," and also "The Storm" (1898). The prequel to "At the Cadian Ball," which was included in her debut collection of short stories, Bayou Folk, is "The Storm."
At Fault (1890) and also the Awakening (1899), two novels by Chopin, are respectively situated in New Orleans & Grand Isle. Most of her characters are Creoles from Louisiana, and a lot of them are of different racial or ethnic backgrounds. Within ten years after her passing, Chopin was regarded as among the greatest authors of her days.
Early Years
Chopin was born in O'Flaherty, Katherine in Missouri's St. Louis. Thomas O'Flaherty, her father, was an accomplished businessman native of Galway, Ireland, who emigrated to the US. As the child of Athénase Charleville, a Louisiana creole of French-Canadian ancestry, Eliza Faris, his second wife, was a prominent member of St. Louis' ethnic French community.
One of the first European (French) residents to Dauphin Island, Alabama, was Chopin's ancestors. Although Kate was the third among 5 children, all of her sisters passed away when she was a little kid, and both of her step-brothers passed away in their early 20s.
They were brought up following the French and Irish Roman Catholic traditions. She developed a voracious reading habit, devouring ancient and modern literature, poetry, religious parables, and fairy tales. She received her diploma at St. Louis' Sacred Heart Convent around 1868.
Following the passing of her mother, her business, & her husband, Chopin experienced sadness. Chopin's obstetrician & family friend Dr. Frederick Kolbenheyer suggested she begin writing because he believed it would be healing for her.
He understood that her exceptional energy might find a focus in writing, which could also serve as a source of revenue. By the early 1890s, Chopin's short stories, essays, and translations had begun to appear in periodicals, such as literary magazines and St.
Louis Post-Dispatch newspapers. She was considered a local author who contributed regional flavor during a time when folk stories, dialect works, and other aspects of Southern traditional life were widely published. Her literary prowess was disregarded.
The Awakening, her second book, was released in 1899. Some newspaper critics gave the book high marks. But the reviews were overwhelmingly unfavorable. According to reviewers, the behavior of the novel's characters, especially the women, and Chopin's broader handling of motherhood, female sexuality, & marital infidelity was objectionable since it went against existing moral standards.
This novel, which is her best-known creation, depicts the tale of a woman who is imprisoned within the boundaries of a repressive society. Before becoming recaptured in the 1970s, when women's literature was the subject of a flurry of new research and praise, it had been out of publication for some decades.
It has won praise from critics for both the caliber of its artistry and its importance as a pioneering work of feminist literature from the South.
Critics claimed that sensational masterpieces like The Awakening just weren't socially acceptable because they were scandalous. Despite feeling extremely frustrated by the slow response, Chopin continued to write and eventually turned to short stories. In 1900, she released "The Gentleman of New Orleans," and the following year, she was included in the inaugural Marquis Who's Who.
Awards and Recognition
Early in the nineteenth century, Alexis Cloutier and Oscar Chopin constructed their house in Coulterville. In the late twentieth century, the house became recognized as the Kate Chopin House, a National Historic Landmark (NHL), because of its literary significance. The Bayou Folk Museum was built inside the house.
By October 1, 2008, a fire destroyed the home, leaving just the chimney standing. In 1990, Chopin received a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. At the Writer's Corner in St. Louis' Central West End neighborhood, an iron bust of her head was erected in 2012. It is located across the street from Left Bank Books.
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semper-legens · 4 years ago
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91. The Testaments, by Margaret Atwood
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Owned: No, library Page count: 415 My summary: The Handmaid’s Tale chronicled the rise of Gilead. Now the Testaments will show its fall. Three women entangled within the net of Gilead tell their tales of what happens when a corrupt society crumbles. My rating: 4/5 My commentary:
Finally, some capital-L Literature! I first read The Handmaid’s Tale a long time ago in school, and I really liked it as a dystopian novel. I thought the style and framing of it was interesting, the way it blurred the lines of truth and reality to tell its story, revelling in ambiguity. When this came out, I decided that I wasn’t going to buy a copy, but if it was in the library I might read it. And it was. So I did! Overall, it wasn’t what I expected, but I think that’s a good thing. I’m not sure what I’ve taken away from it if anything, but I certainly found it engaging and entertaining, and I’m not sorry I read it.
The narrative splits between three women involved in the fall of Gilead - let’s start with Aunt Lydia, a character from the first novel. Here, we get her backstory, as well as the unfolding story of her rebellion against and role in the destruction of Gilead. I found her to be an interesting and complex character, at once a collaborator and a rebel, not sorry about all of the objectively terrible things she has done to survive but with enough of a conscience to help girls as well as destroying them. She knows she can’t save everyone, but she saves who she can. She knows she will not survive Gilead, but she still works towards its fall. She knows that to save some you have to kill others, and makes those sacrifices unflinchingly. She’s a hard and dangerous woman, and a very engaging narrator.
Then there’s Agnes, a girl raised in Gilead to be a wife and mother, who eventually joins the Aunts. Her development is interesting to watch, at first the blind obedience to and acceptance of the world into which she has been born, as well as a commentary on exactly what Gilead does to the young women who grow up within its borders. In the first book, babies were born but we didn’t spend much time with the young children - here, we see exactly how they are raised and taught. Agnes is herself an interesting character, not overly headstrong in the way of many dystopian teenage heroes, but a realistic depiction of how someone raised in this world might think and behave, and the framing device of her story being told after the fact allows for her to comment on her own narrative, showing her character development and later self-awareness.
The final protagonist is Daisy, a Canadian girl who finds out that she’s the legendary Baby Nicole, saved from Gilead by her Handmaiden mother (heavily implied to be Offred) and spirited away to safety. She’s part of a plot to get evidence against Gilead out of the country, and in my mind she was the weakest of the three protagonists. Lydia is a fascinating character study, Agnes is a developing character and new perspective on Gilead, but Daisy feels like every teenage dystopian protagonist under the sun. She’s spunky and snarky, she’s tough, without much else to her. The reveal that she is Baby Nicole is so obvious I’m surprised it was actually treated as a reveal. She doesn’t offer a new perspective of Gilead, really, being a mirror of the reader’s likely opinion. Her segments weren’t bad or anything, I just couldn’t click with her as a character.
As to the worldbuilding - this look at Gilead is a lot clearer than the account of the Handmaid’s Tale, but no less horrifying. In a lot of ways, it’s a more conventional narrative than its predecessor, though I did enjoy the historical analysis put forward by the final chapter in the same way that the original had a chapter discussing the story’s veracity. There isn’t a lot new about this Gilead, though? It’s a couple of decades on but the structure of it is still broadly the same. I don’t know what I was expecting in this vein, but it was a curious choice to just sort of brush over any new insights as to what was happening in Gilead in favour of new perspectives on that which we already knew, if that makes sense.
That’s all I have to say on that - I still don’t know entirely what to think about it, but I did engage with it and enjoy it, such that you can enjoy this sort of material. Next up, back to Animorphs, and we’re searching the web.
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soranis-sunshadow · 4 years ago
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The Evil Horde vs The Rebel Alliance: A question of morality.
        Hordak doesn't use child soldiers, but the Rebel Alliance did. The horde does train minors to become soldiers once they are adults. That is irrefutable. How they become part of the horde is not specified in the show. They may be orphans of the war or they might not be, it’s never really specified except for Adora. She was brought on Etheria by a portal of Light Hope’s design and would have died of exposure as a baby if Hordak hadn’t ventured to the portal’s location and found her.
Some people headcanon that they steal those children, but that is merely fan speculation. It is never confirmed in the show or by the show runners. They do not send them on the front lines until they have the proper training and are close to adulthood. Adora and Catra were almost 18 by the time of the series’ first episode and Adora hadn’t seen the frontlines yet.
The alliance however don’t mind having 11 year old Frosta on the frontlines. She is a magical princess so with supernatural powers so she is by no means helpless but she is terribly young.
Flutterina however (before they found out she was DT) is just as young and arguably powerless. She has no training, no weapons and no protective gear. What conceivable reason would she have to be on the frontlines besides being cannon fodder?
The prohibition of using child soldiers was started on Earth in 1949 by the Geneva convention. I would argue that the Rebel Alliance are exempt from the Geneva conventions because there is no Geneva on Etheria so they might have a different moral code when it comes to minors and warfare.
Fun little trivia. Canada uses child soldiers too : "In Canada, people may join the reserve component of the Canadian Forces at age 16 with parental permission, and the regular component at 17 years of age, also with parental permission. "
As a bonus, Canada is an actual colony of the British Empire. So, if you want to bash on some child soldier colonizers, go bash Canada and leave the fans of a harmless cartoon alone to stan in peace.
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letterboxd · 4 years ago
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Best of SXSW 2021.
From properly good Covid comedies to an epic folk-horror doc and an Indigenous feminist Western, the Letterboxd Festiville team reveals their ten best of SXSW Online.
We dug out old lanyards to wear around the house, and imagined ourselves queuing up the block from The Ritz (RIP). We dialled into screenings and panels, and did our level best to channel that manic “South By” energy from our living rooms.
The SXSW festival atmosphere was muted, and that’s to be expected. But the films themselves? Gems, so many gems, whether shot in a fortnight on the smell of an oily stimulus check, or painstakingly rotoscoped over seven years.
When we asked SXSW Film director Janet Pierson what she and her team were looking for this year, she told us: “We’re always looking for films that do a lot with little, that are ingenious, and pure talent, and discovery, and being surprised. We’re just looking for really good stories with good emotional resonance.” If there was one common denominator we noticed across this year’s SXSW picks, it was a smart, tender injection of comedy into stories about trauma, grief, unwanted pregnancy, chronic health conditions, homelessness, homophobia and, yes, Covid.
It’s hard to pick favorites, but here are the ten SXSW features and two short films we haven’t stopped thinking about, in no particular order.
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Recovery Directed by Mallory Everton and Stephen Meek, written by Everton and Whitney Call
“Covid 19 is in charge now” might be the most hauntingly funny line in a SXSW film. In Recovery, two sisters set out on a haywire road trip to rescue their grandmother from her nursing home in the wake of a severe Covid 19 outbreak. There’s no random villain or threat, because isn’t being forced to exist during a pandemic enough of a threat in itself? If ever we were worried about “Covid comedies”, SXSW managed to flush out the good ones. (Read about the Festiville team’s other favorite Covid-inflected comedies, including an interview with the directors of I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking).)
Alex Marzona praises the “off-the-charts chemistry” between leads Mallory Everton and Whitney Call. Best friends since they were nine, the pair also wrote the film, with Everton co-directing with Stephen Meek. Every laugh comes from your gut and feels like something only the cast and crew would usually be privy to. “You can tell a lot of the content is improvised, which just attests to their talent,” writes Emma. Recovery doesn’t make you laugh awkwardly about how awful the last year has been—rather, it reminds you that even in such times there are still laughs to be had, trips to be taken, family worth uprooting everything for. Just make sure you’ve packed enough wet wipes for the road, and think long and hard about who should babysit your mice. —EK
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The Spine of Night Written and directed by Morgan Galen King and Philip Gelatt
Don’t get too attached to any characters from its star-studded cast—nobody is safe (or fully-clothed) in The Spine of Night’s raw, ultra-violent and cynical world. Conjured over the last seven years, directors Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King’s rotoscoped epic recaptures the dazzling imagination and scope of their influences Ralph Bakshi and Heavy Metal. Approaching an anthology-style structure to explore how ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely’—a proverb more potent now than when Gelatt and King began their project—the film packs a franchise’s worth of ideas in its 90-minute runtime. Though the storytelling justifiably proves itself overly dense for some, it will find the audience it’s after, as other Letterboxd members have declared it “a rare treat” and “a breath of fresh air in the feature-length animation scene”. For sure, The Spine of Night can join Sundance premieres Flee and Cryptozoo in what’s already a compelling year for unique two-dimensional animation. —JM
Kambole Campbell caught up with Gelatt and King (who are also Letterboxd members!) during SXSW to talk about animation inspirations and rotoscoping techniques.
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The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson Written and directed by Leah Purcell
Snakes, steers and scoundrels beware! Writer-director-star Leah Purcell ably repurposes the Western genre for Aboriginal and female voices in The Drover’s Wife. Molly Johnson is a crack-shot anti-heroine for the ages, in this decolonized reimagining of a classic 1892 short story by Henry Lawson. And by reimagining, we mean a seismic shift in the narrative: Purcell has fleshed out a full story of a mother-of-four, pregnant with her fifth, a missing husband, predatory neighbors, a mysterious runaway and a young English couple on different paths to progress in this remote Southern land. Purcell first adapted this story for the stage, then as published fiction; she rightly takes the leading role in the screen version, too.
As a debut feature director, Purcell (Goa-Gunggari-Wakka Wakka Murri) already has a firm grip on the macabre and the menacing, not shying away from violence, but making very careful decisions about what needs to be depicted, given all that Molly Johnson and her family are subjected to. She also sneaks in mystic touches, and a hint of romance (local heartthrob Rob Collins can take us on a walk to where the Snowy widens to see blooming wildflowers anytime). Judging by early Letterboxd reviews, it’s not for everyone, but this is Australian colonization through an Indigenous feminist’s eyes, with a fierce, intersectional pay-off. “Extremely similar to a vast majority of the issues and themes explored in The Nightingale,” writes Claira. “I’m slowly realizing that my favorite type of Westerns are Australian.” —LK, GG
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Swan Song Written and directed by Todd Stephens
Udo Kier is often the bridesmaid, rarely the bride. Now, after a lifetime of supporting roles ranging from vampires and villains to art-house muse, he finally gets to shine center-stage in Swan Song. Kier dazzles as a coiffure soothsayer in this lyrical pageant to the passage of queer times in backwater Sandusky, Ohio. “He is absolutely wonderful here,” writes Adrianna, “digging deep and pulling out a mesmerizing, deeply affecting and emotionally textured performance, proving that he’s an actor with much more range than people give him credit for.”
A strong supporting cast all have melancholy moments to shine, with Linda Evans (Dynasty), Michael Urie (Ugly Betty) and Jennifer Coolidge (Legally Blonde) along for the stroll. Surreal camp touches add joy (that chandelier, the needle drop!) but by the end, the tears roll (both of joy and sadness). Writer-director Todd Stephens ties up his Sandusky trilogy in this hometown homage, a career peak for both him and Kier. Robert Daniels puts it well, writing that Swan Song is “campy as hell, but it’s also a heartfelt LGBTQ story about lost lovers and friends, vibrant memories and the final passage of a colorful life.” —LK
Leo Koziol spoke with Todd Stephens and Udo Kier during SXSW about Grace Jones, David Bowie and dancing with yourself.
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Islands Written and directed by Martin Edralin
Islands is a Mike Leigh-esque story that presents a Canadian Filipino immigrant family full of quirk and character, centered around Joshua, a reticent 50-year-old homebody son. The story drifts in and out of a deep well of sadness. Moments of lightness and familial love make the journey worthwhile. “A film so Filipino a main plot device is line-dancing,” writes Karl. “Islands is an incredibly empathetic film about what it’s like to feel unmoored from comfort. It’s distinctly Filipino and deals with the psychology of Asian culture in a way that feels both profound and oddly comforting.” In a year in which we’ve all been forced to physically slow down, Islands “shows us how slow life can be,” writes Justin, “and how important it is to be okay with that.” Rogelio Balagtas’s performance as Joshua—a first-time leading role—won him the SXSW Grand Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance. —LK
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Ninjababy Directed by Yngvild Sve Flikke, written by Flikke with Johan Fasting and Inga H. Sætre
Ninjababy is as ridiculous as its title. When 23-year-old Rakel finds herself accidentally pregnant, scheduling an abortion is a no-brainer. But she’s way too far along, she’s informed, so she’s going to have to have the baby. The ensuing meltdown might have been heartbreaking if the film wasn’t so damn funny. Ninjababy draws on the comforting and familiar (“Lizzie McGuire if she was a pregnant young adult,” writes Nick), while mixing shock with originality (Erica Richards notices “a few aggressive and vulgar moments [but] somehow none of it seemed misplaced”).
An animated fetus in the style of Rakel’s own drawings appears to beg and shame Rakel into motherhood while she fights to hold onto her confidence that not wanting to be a mother doesn’t make her a bad person. Ninjababy’s greatest feat is its willingness to delve into that complication: yes, it’s righteous and feminist and 21st-century to claim your own body and life, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to turn away from something growing inside of you. It’s a comedy about shame, art, finding care in unlikely places—and there’s something in it for the gents, too. The titular ninjababy wouldn’t leave Rakel alone, and it’s unlikely to leave you either. Winner of the SXSW Global Audience Award. —SH
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The Fallout Written and directed by Megan Park
Canadian actress Megan Park brought the youthful wisdom of her days on the teen drama series The Secret Life of the American Teenager to her first project behind the camera, and it paid off. Following the scattered after-effects of a school shooting, The Fallout may be the most acute, empathetic depiction of childhood trauma on screen in recent memory. “It sneaks up on you with its honesty and how it spends time with its lead, carried so beautifully by Jenna Ortega. Even the more conventional moments are poignant because of context,” writes Kevin L. Lee. Much of that “sneaky” honesty emerges as humor—despite the heavy premise, moments of hilarity hang on the edges of almost every scene. And Ortega’s portrayal of sweet-but-angsty Vada brings self-awareness to that humor, like when Vada’s avoidant, inappropriate jokes with her therapist reveal her desperation, but they garner genuine laughs nonetheless.
In this debut, Park shows an unmatched understanding of non-linear ways that young people process their pain. Sometimes kids try drugs! Sometimes they scream at their parents! But more often than not, they really do know what they want, who loves them, and how much time they need to grieve (see also: Jessie Barr’s Sophie Jones, starring her cousin Jessica Barr, out now on VOD and in theaters). The Fallout forsakes melodrama to embrace confusion, ambiguity and joy. Winner of both the SXSW Grand Jury and Audience Narrative Feature Awards, and the Brightcove Illumination Award. —SH
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Ludi Directed by Edson Jean, written by Jean and Joshua Jean-Baptiste
When Ludi begins, it’s quiet and dreamy. The film’s opening moments conjure the simple pleasures of the titular character’s Haitian heritage: the music, the colors, the people. Ludi (Shein Monpremier) smiles to herself as she starts her morning with a tape recording her cousin mailed from Haiti to Miami, and listens as her family members laugh through their troubles before recording an upbeat tape of her own. But that’s where the dreaminess ends—Ludi is an overworked, underpaid nurse picking up every shift she possibly can in order to send money home. Writer-director Edson Jean fixates on the pains and consequences of Ludi’s relentless determination, which comes to a head when she moonlights as a private nurse for an old man who doesn’t want her there.
Ashton Kinley notes how the film “doesn’t overly dramatize or pull at false emotional strings to make its weight felt. The second half of the feature really allows all of that to shine, as the film becomes a tender and empathetic two-hander.” George’s (Alan Myles Heyman) resentment of his own aging body steps in as Ludi’s antagonist. Jean throws together jarring contrasts: George throwing Ludi out of the bathroom, followed by Ludi’s memories of home, followed by another lashing out, followed by a shared prayer. The tension is unsustainable. By interspersing the back-breaking predicament of a working-class immigrant with the sights and sounds of the Caribbean, Ludi elegantly, painfully reveals what the cost of a dream can be. —SH
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Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror Written and directed by Kier-La Janisse
Building on the folk horror resurgence of films like The Witch and Midsommar, Kier-La Janisse’s 193-minute documentary Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched is a colossal, staggering undertaking that should school even the most seasoned of horror buffs. “Thorough is an understatement,” says Claira.
Combining a historian’s studied, holistic patience with a cinephile’s rabid, insatiable thirst, the film, through the course of six chapters, broadens textbook British definitions, draws trenchant socio-political and thematic connections, debunks myths and transports viewers to far-flung parts of the globe in a way that almost feels anthropological. As Jordan writes, “Three hours later and my mind is racing between philosophical questions about the state of hauntology we generationally entrap ourselves in, wanting to buy every single one of the 100+ films referenced here, and being just a bit in awe of Janisse’s truly breathless work.” An encyclopedic forest worth losing yourself in—get ready for those watchlists to balloon. Winner of the SXSW Midnighters Audience Award. —AY
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Introducing, Selma Blair Directed by Rachel Fleit
There’ll likely be some level of hype when this intimate collaboration between actress Selma Blair and filmmaker Rachel Fleit comes out later in the year on Discovery+, and that’s okay, because that is Blair’s intention in sharing the details of her stem-cell transplant for multiple sclerosis. There’d be little point in going there if you are not prepared to really go there, and Introducing, Selma Blair is a tics-and-all journey not just into what life is like with a chronic condition, a young son, and a career that relies on one’s ability to keep a straight face. It’s also an examination of the scar tissue of childhood, the things we are told by our parents, the ideas we come to believe about ourselves. “I almost felt like I shouldn’t have such intimate access to some of the footage in this documentary,” writes Andy Yen. “Bravo to Selma for allowing the filmmakers to show some truly raw and soul-bearing videos about her battle with multiple sclerosis that make us feel as if we are as close to her as family.” —GG
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Femme Directed by Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping
I May Destroy You fans, rejoice: Paapa Essiedu, who played Arabella’s fascinating best friend Kwame, takes center stage in Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping’s intoxicating short film Femme. It’s a simple premise—Jordan, a femme gay man, follows his drug dealer (Harris Dickinson, mastering the sexually repressed brusque young man like no one else) home to pick up some goods on a night out. Except, of course, it’s not that simple. The co-directors build a world of danger, tension and electricity, with lusciously lensed scenes that lose focus as the threat rises. Frankie calls it “hypnotizing and brutal and gorgeous” and we couldn’t agree more. A crime thriller wrestling with hyper-masculinity seen through the eyes of an LGBTQ+ character, with a sucker-punch ending to boot, the world needs more than twenty minutes of this story. —EK
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Play It Safe Directed by Mitch Kalisa
If you (unwisely) thought that the vulnerable, progressive environment of drama school would be a safe space for Black students, Play It Safe confirms that even a liberal bunch of actors (and their teacher) are capable of being blind to their own egregiously racist microagressions. Mitch Kalisa’s excellent short film explores structural prejudice head-on, in an electric acting exercise that rests on where the kinetic, gritty 16mm camera is pointing at every pivotal turn. At first, we’re with Black drama student Jonathan Ajayi as he receives the assignment; then we are with the rest of the class, exactly where we need to be. “Literally in your face and absolutely breathtaking,” writes Nia. A deserving winner of the SXSW Grand Jury and Audience narrative shorts prizes. —GG
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possiblyjad · 3 years ago
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So I noticed that I have had a bunch of new followers over the last month or so and I haven't taken the time to send you guys love and a proper intro! So here we go:
Hi! My name is Jade, but you can also call me Jad. I'm 27, Canadian (I live in Niagara Falls), and super queer. I use both she and they pronouns. I have two conflicting aesthetics of super cutesy pastel stuff and emo renaissance. I love fashion, makeup, and body modification as outlets of expression. I go to school VERY soon to be an esthetician, and I'm currently looking into the possibilities of getting a piercing apprenticeship.
Under the cut will be 25 random facts about me. Click to see them:
1. I grew up in a smallish town called Bowmanville, which is about an hour east of Toronto. It's rapidly expanding but in the heart of it is a bevy of picture esque historic neighborhoods lined with centuries old mansions. If you ever go, the one place I highly recommend food wise is Norm’s Deli downtown. The handmade pierogis and cabbage rolls are unmatched. Also, if you’re a tattoo fiend like me, some of my all time favourite artists are in Bowmanville/Oshawa.
2. I currently have 4 tattoos and 12 piercings, with the strong desire to get more.
3. My favourite colours are pastels mainly, baby blue, mint, lavender, and millennial pink.
4. I have a caffeine addiction which is usually fueled by coffee (mainly iced) and sugar free energy drinks.
5. I don't really care for alcohol too much, I like the occasional beer at Taps or a cocktail on a hot day, but I hate getting drunk and I'm also not fairly comfortable around drunk people unless I'm also drunk. (I don't really do parties anymore for that very reason)
6. I've been pescatarian since Feb 2020 and I've been trying my hardest to use cruelty free personal care products since the beginning of 2020.
7. My favourite CF makeup brands are Colourpop, Milk Makeup, Sugarpill, and Anastasia Beverly Hills.
8. Even though I'm trying really hard right now, I am USELESS when it comes to hair. I don't really know how to curl hair, I don't know how to braid, and I cannot be trusted with bleach (I won't fry your hair, it'll just be very uneven). I'm trying to learn hair curling now, though!
9. I smoke weed almost everyday. Depending on what I smoke with, it actually levels me out anxiety wise and allows me to focus and think like a normal person. I also smoke before bed to help treat my insomnia. On occasion though, I DO like to get mind numbingly stoned.
10. I actually have a hard time getting close to people, predominantly because of my past relationships with toxic people. My broken brain automatically considers most relationships temporary until proven otherwise, in an attempt to protect myself from further heartache. I always want to make new friends, I swear! Just keep interacting with me and I'll open up at some point.
11. I don't shut the fuck up. Ever. I'm either talking my friends' ears off or I'm complimenting a stranger because I can. Let’s just say that I’m a hit with my friends’ parents or family.
12. I LOVE TTRPG, it’s likely my biggest creative outlet right now. I play both DnD 5E and Pathfinder 1E. I partake in 5 games right now.
13. I’m a first time DM! I started a campaign for a bunch of people who are relatively new to DnD a few months ago and it’s been a hit so far! I absolutely love flexing my creative muscles and writing for my friends!
14. I also write as a hobby as well. Mainly fantasy drabble based on my TTRPG characters, but it’s still something.
15. I’m almost always either listening to music or finding new musicians to listen to. I curate playlists all the time and daydream to songs constantly.
16. My favourite artists/bands right now are: Lights, Marianas Trench, Mothica, BMTH, Halsey, Ashnikko, Billy Talent, Stand Atlantic, and a plethora more.
17. I’m technically the oldest in my family. I have a younger brother (also queer and trans, he recently started HRT!!), and a little half sister who is the literal light of my life.
18. I LOVE animals! I have a senior cat, Willow, who does not look or behave like a senior cat. I also have a lionhead/dwarf rabbit named Theodore, or Theo. I’d get more pets if it weren’t for the fact, we don’t really have the room for other animals in our apartment, and also the fact that Willow hates other cats.
19. I’m TERRFIED of bees/wasps. I understand their importance to the world and they can vibe and save the planet as far away from me as possible.
20. My favourite food is sushi. I’m also a massive sushi snob and I have strong opinions on many of the places I’ve been to in my lifetime. The best I’ve had is still this place in Freehold, NJ that I don’t remember the name of. In Ontario, thus far, is tied between Oishi Maki in Whitby, ON, and the St Catharines location for Wind.
21. I’m also a sucker for good bubble tea. It’s one of the easiest ways to win me over.
22. I just love tea in general. Hot or iced. You should see my tea/coffee cupboard, it is PACKED. I’m a huge David’s tea fan but I also like trying other loose-leaf teas as well, and I prefer herbal/fruit infusions over most other teas. Except for chai, you can win me over with a good chai.
23. I marched in a pride parade once! It was the Durham Pride Parade in Oshawa in 2014! I was still very much in the closet at the time, but I did get photographed by the news and everything! I would LOVE to go to Toronto Pride once in my life with a bunch of my other Alphabet Mafia fiends when things die down.
24. I am a shameless collector of Pokemon and Alpacasso plush.
25. Back when we could, I used to go to conventions a lot! I’ve been to Anime North, Fan Expo, and Con Bravo thus far. My favourite out of all of them is easily Con Bravo, but I would LOVE to check out other Ontario conventions when things open up!
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loveburnsbrighter · 4 years ago
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37? Lol for the prompt
37. "I missed you."
i'll have this up on ao3 soon but i'm excited to have it finished. and it's been so long you probably forgot you asked for this oop. i hope you like it!
There's a man in David's house.  He can hear him moving around downstairs.
There's a man in his house and it's three in the morning and Patrick isn't here to protect him, he's away at a Canadian Small Business Bureau convention.  For the whole long weekend.  So David is going to die alone, probably by way of ax murder or something equally grisly, and he won't even be able to tell his husband he loves him one last time.
David listens to the intruder come up the stairs with a slow, heavy gait and thinks about how he should have let Patrick buy a dog.  When they moved into their house and finally had a yard ("finally" was Patrick's word), Patrick had wanted to get a German Shepherd.  Apparently he'd had one as a child and they'd been nigh inseparable.  If David had only given in and allowed Patrick to bring an animal into their home, the dog could bite the murderer before he got to the bedroom.
The footsteps proceed down the short hallway, and David squeezes his eyes shut and holds his breath and listens to the door open.  The hinges have been creaking since the day they moved in; for almost an entire year now David has been meaning to oil them.  The slow creak as the door opens a centimeter at a time, as though the intruder is trying to be silent, makes David feel like the victim in a horror movie.
The door creaks back closed, which is just plain unsettling.  What kind of ax murderer closes the door first?  David dares to crack one eye open — 
The murderer is standing right over David.  "I have a weapon!"  He scream-lies, using all the breath he's been holding and every ounce of adrenaline in his body to get the words out.
"What the fuck?!"  The murderer says, voice as startled as David feels.  Except that it's a familiar voice. 
"…Patrick?"  David says tentatively into the darkness.  "Why are you trying to ax murder me?"
"What?"  The lamp on Patrick's bedside table clicks on; David blinks through the yellow rings in his eyes and ascertains that his assailant is, in fact, Patrick.  "I'm trying to come to bed!"
David, finally breathing properly again, pauses for a second to ensure that he hasn't pissed himself in fear — all clear, thankfully — and then lifts up onto his elbows so he can scrutinize Patrick with an appropriate level of judgement.  "You're supposed to be at a motel in Elm Ridge!"
"The conference was a bust, so I came home early!  I missed you!"  Patrick is looking at David like he's rabid.  
"You crept up the stairs in the dark!  You didn't call!"
"I decided to leave late!  I didn't want to wake you!"
Patrick and David stare at each other, at an adrenaline-spiked, incredulous impasse, and finally, Patrick cracks, laughing.
David puts a valiant effort into being offended, because it's just plain rude to scare someone half to death and then laugh at them, but finally he cracks up right back at Patrick — Patrick, who's standing there with his shirt only still on one arm, who decided at what must have been around midnight that he missed David and decided to drive three hours in the middle of the night to be with him.
"I mean," David says, as their laughter softens, "I missed you too?"
"Clearly," Patrick says, "Seeing as how you shrieked like you were being attacked at the mere sight of me."  He tugs off his jeans with an undignified little wiggle of his hips, and sits on the edge of the bed in just his boxer-briefs, which have some Doctor Who something on them — because David has married exactly the sort of ridiculous man who buys novelty underwear.
"I did not shriek," David insists.  "I have never in my life shrieked.  I did a very masculine…yell, of, of startlement."
"Okay," Patrick says, completely mocking David's distress.  He pulls back his side of the covers and slides in.  Then he tries to curl backwards into David, and really, there is a line to how much David is willing to take.  He doesn't move from his position propped on his elbows, choosing instead to clear his throat meaningfully.  Patrick cranes his neck to look at him.  "What?"
"I know that usually I let you be the little spoon when you get back from these trips."
"Because sleeping alone in a strange bed is awful, and I want my husband to hold me," Patrick says defensively, rolling back to look at David properly, brow furrowed.
"Mhmm."  David reaches out to brush an errant, slightly greasy curl from Patrick's face.  "And I completely sympathize, but usually you don't end these trips by trying to give me a heart attack.  I'm still very shaky."
Something in David's face must convince Patrick that he's serious, because his face softens and he reaches for David, cradles his cheek with one broad hand.  "I'm really sorry, baby," he says.
"I'm not mad," David rushes to assure him.  "It's very sweet of you to have missed me that much that you would drive in the middle of the night, but you did actually give me a scare and I could just…really use being held by you right now."
"Of course," Patrick says.  He snuggles down and opens his arms, and David wriggles forward into them, burying his face in Patrick's chest, warm and bare and familiar.  He hooks his arms around Patrick's waist, and Patrick drapes a heavy arm over his shoulders.
After a few moments of soaking up the comfort, they have to adjust; David has scrunched himself down to press himself into Patrick, and Patrick has to reach back and turn off his lamp.  In the inky darkness, David twists up and rolls backwards against Patrick; he feels Patrick's nose and forehead against the back of his neck.  "Hey David?"  Patrick says quietly against David's cotton sleep shirt.
"Hmm?"
"When you yelled when I came in, you said — why did you say that you had a weapon?"
"I don't, but, like, a murderer wouldn't know that," David justifies.  "I mean, I don't think it makes me look any tougher than I am, but it could at least make me look like more trouble than I'm worth, you know?"
"That almost makes sense," Patrick says, approvingly.
"I learned it from my mom," David says, because he learned everything from his mom — how to dress, how to dance, how to be a big fuckin' drama queen when need be.  He feels Patrick nod slowly.  "Although, in case a murderer does come in here, maybe we should keep, like, a baseball bat or something."
"Okay, dear."  David feels Patrick's smile where he's pressing it into his back.
"This kind of teasing is not a good look for you," David informs him, but he can't help snuggling back a little into Patrick's embrace.
"Hey David?" 
"Mm?"
"I really, really missed you."
David smiles to himself.  "I really missed you too."
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vitalitymd75 · 4 years ago
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Dr. Shari Caplan MD, CCFP, FCFP, FAARM
Functional Medicine
Dr. Caplan excels at whatever she does and has always been ahead of her time.
She graduated Medicine with Honours at the age of 24 from the University of Toronto. From there, Dr. Caplan went into Family Practice at the Women’s College Hospital where she was the Chief Resident.
She was the only Resident to do a 3 month Obstetrical Fellowship within her Family Practice training. She was the first F.P. Resident to go directly to a staff position at Women’s College Hospital, where worked for over 20 years as Family Practice Inpatient Attending, delivering babies, seeing Outpatients, and teaching residents and medical students. Dr. Caplan is also a Lecturer at the University of Toronto
As a result of her expertise in Women’s Health, Dr. Caplan was given a GP Focused Designation in Gynecology in 2011.
Her areas of expertise are Women’s Health, Pediatrics, Low grade Infertility, Postpartum depression, PCOS, PMS, Perimenopause, Menopause, Andropause and TBI.
Her passion is Health Optimization and Hormone Balancing using Integrative, and Functional Medicine approaches.
She is amongst a few Canadian physicians to have become Board Certified in Anti Aging and Regenerative Medicine and formalized her training in 2011 with a Fellowship in Anti-Aging and Regenerative and Function Medicine (FAARM).
On top of it all, Dr. Caplan has a Fellowship in Metabolic and Nutritional Medicine with the Metabolic Medical Institute. It is her intent to use this knowledge and experience and help optimize your health.
Functional Medicine is designed to find the root cause of medical conditions. It has evolved through the efforts of scientists and clinicians from many fields including clinical nutrition, molecular biology, biochemistry, physiology, genetics, Environmental Medicine, Conventional Medicine and many other disciplines. Functional Medicine evaluates the body as a whole, with special attention on how lifestyle, nutrient deficiencies, hormone imbalances, stress and toxic load play on the body. Functional Medicine tests such as Organic acid test (OAT), CDSA (comprehensive stool analysis), SIBO testing, genetic testing, micronutrient testing offer additional information that conventional tests often don’t provide. They are based on scientific literature and evidence but are not often accepted by conventional Medicine.
The College (CPSO) has a policy on Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM). It can be viewed on the College’s website.www.cpso.on.ca CAM Policy #3-11. Dr. Caplan abides by the College’s Policy and will inform you of diagnoses, testing and therapies which Conventional Medicine may not consider customary or usual. Patients have the right to make health care decisions that are in accordance with their own values, wishes and preferences. CAM services provided by Dr. Caplan and VitalityMD are informed by evidence and science. VitalityMD is motivated to provide therapeutic options that are in the best interest of the patient.
Proprietary Interest DisclosureDr Caplan wishes to disclose to her patients that she has a proprietary interest in the case of diagnostic and therapeutic services which are performed at VitalityMD inc., as well as sales of certain products and supplements which are available for purchase from VitalityMD inc.
For patients who are thinking of undertaking or purchasing any of these services or products, we wish to remind you that you may do so at any facility of your choice and we can provide a selection of alternate providers if desired
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silent-era-of-cinema · 4 years ago
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Marie Pauline Garon (September 9, 1900 – August 30, 1965) was a Canadian American silent film, feature film and stage actress.
Marie Pauline Garon was born in Montreal, Quebec on September 9, 1900, the daughter of Pierre and Victoria Garon. She was of French and Irish descent. Her father first worked for the Canadian postal department, then worked at an insurance agency, where he managed to gain enough money to send his youngest child (out of eleven children) to the Couvent Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart Convent) in Montreal, one of the most prestigious schools in the city. Garon attended this school for seven years. She was the first graduate of the institution to perform in the theater. Garon did not learn English until she was ten years old. Around age 20, Garon ran away to New York City where she began work on Broadway.
Garon made her film debut in Remodeling Her Husband as a body double for Dorothy Gish. She was associated with D.W. Griffith when she first came to Hollywood in 1920. Garon's first important role came in 1921's The Power Within. She also played the body double for Sylvia Breamer in Doubling for Romeo (1921).
In 1923, she was hailed as Cecil B. DeMille's big new discovery. He cast her in only two films. One was Adam's Rib (1923). She was selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1923. Even before her "discovery", Garon had been a steadily rising star. She appeared opposite Owen Moore in Reported Missing (1922). Garon received much praise for her role in Henry King's adaptation of Sonny. She had been chosen for this role by King after he saw her portray the role in the stage production on Broadway. She co-starred with Richard Barthelmess in the First National Pictures release.[citation needed]
Garon was making at least five films a year after her popularity soared. She was playing many lead roles in B movies and supporting roles in more glamorous films. She co-starred with Gloria Swanson and John Boles in The Love of Sunya (1927).
By 1928, Garon's career began to decline dramatically. She appeared mostly in French renditions of Paramount Pictures movies. She was cast in less popular English films as well. By the early 1930s, Garon was given small uncredited roles. By 1934, she had vanished from film. Garon played a bit part in How Green Was My Valley (1941) and appeared briefly in two westerns, Song of the Saddle (1936) and The Cowboy and the Blonde (1941).
On February 20, 1928, Garon became an American citizen.
While filming The Average Woman in 1924 rumors began to spread that Garon had become engaged to Gene Sarazen, the professional golfer. In March 1924 she issued a complete denial of the rumors.
Garon married three times. She wed Lowell Sherman on February 15, 1926. Sherman's influence led Garon to refuse a long-term contract with Paramount.
She separated from Sherman in August 1927.[citation needed] In February 1940 she eloped with radio star and actor, Clyde Harland Alban, to Yuma, Arizona. Garon and Alban divorced in 1942. She married Ross Forrester, widower of actress Marion Aye, in May 1953 and remained with him until he died.
Garon died at Patton State Hospital, a psychiatric institution in San Bernardino, California, in 1965, ten days before her 65th birthday. The cause of death was a brain disorder. Garon's health had been precarious for some time. She collapsed at the 20th Century Fox studios in June 1952.
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sweetsmellosuccess · 4 years ago
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TIFF 2020: Days 1 & 2
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Films: 5 Best Film of the Day(s): One Night in Miami
One Night in Miami…: I guess you could form an argument that basing a film on a pre-existing play would make the feature easier to put together, but that wouldn’t be taking into account the tremendous differences between the mediums, their relative strengths and weaknesses. For her feature debut, the Oscar-winning actress Regina King has cinematically adapted the stage play  by Kemp Powers about a fictionalized fateful night amongst four famous Black men in 1964. Those men, Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), and Cassius Clay (Eli Goree), are all in town ostensibly to celebrate Clay’s beatdown of Sonny Liston to first become the heavyweight champion of the world at the tender age of 22. But the film puts them all together in Malcolm X’s modest hotel room, watched over by Nation of Islam security men, to spend a night, essentially, debating the merits of what they bring to the struggle for Black equality and economic emancipation, and arguing back and forth about their distinct positions. Here is precisely where many play adaptations falter, without the dramatic friction of a live performance to power the emotional core, such conventions generally fall flat on the screen, but King’s virtuoso acting instincts serve her able cast well, and her work with DP Tami Reiker allows the film to flow, seemingly organically between its few location movements. Working from a skilled script by Powers, the celebrated figures feel three dimensional, which gives even their more didactic diatribes (Malcolm), and pithy rebuttals (Cooke) enough weight to avoid sounding contrived. The cast work wonders on the material, granting a needed organic vibe to their nonfiction characters, echoing the essences without tipping into caricature. It’s a strong debut for King, and the film’s complex ruminations on the responsibility of successful Black people towards their community as a means of bringing attention to the country’s oppression couldn’t be more on point. At one point Clay tells Cooke the four of them will always remain friends, because they are among the few who can possibly understand what it’s like to be “young, Black, famous, righteous, and unapologetic.”
Shiva Baby: Danielle (Rachel Sennott) is in the midst of having a day. Turns out Max (Danny Deferrari), the sugar daddy with whom she has frequently been visiting as part of her regular prostitution gig, is somehow a friend or cousin of the deceased at the same Shiva she has come to attend with her well-meaning, but completely overwhelming parents (Polly Draper and Fred Melamed). If that weren’t enough in Emma Seligman’s spry comedy, Danielle is also horrified to find Maya (Molly Gordon), a successful young woman she’s known for years, and a recent ex, also there. Crammed into the Shiva house, full of cousins and aunts and uncles all kvetching about everyone else, and being physically grabbed and moved about by her mother, Danielle faces this house of horrors, with everyone commenting concernedly on her weight-loss (“You look like Gwyneth Paltrow  —  on food stamps!” her mother hisses at her), and her lack of job prospects when she graduates, and her parents telling scathingly embarrassing stories about her in front of Max and his shiksa wife (Dianna Argon), whose 18-month-old baby, her mom says is “freakishly pale  —  and no nose,” with no respite in sight. As a result of this sort of hyper-scrutiny, Danielle goes the only route that makes any sense: Lying to everybody about nearly everything, from her current major (“gender business”), to the many job interviews she has supposedly lined up. She’s just trying to get through the ordeal, one that Seligman, along with a continually spiraling score from Ariel Marx, ratchets up, until, near the end, poor Danielle is in a near fugue state, sweat glistening on her face, and the attendees, shot in unflattering slo-mo, and distorted lenses, take on the sheen of a waking nightmare. At a brisk 77 minutes, the film still doesn’t have quite enough to sustain its running time  —  at a certain point it begins doubling back on itself  —  but it’s still a lot of horrific fun, as Seligman expertly captures the absolute loss of agency one can feel, swallowed up in a claustrophobic family gathering, where escape feels futile.
Limbo: If Scotland has a cinematic identity, as such, it seems like the kind of place, desolate and unforgiving, where individuals come to exit regular society and come to a land filled with eccentric loners (stoic and unique in their oddities), in order to get better in touch with their souls. Ben Sharrock’s serio-comedy captures both the pitiless beauty of the land, and the lonely plight of a Syrian immigrant, Omar (Amir El-Masry), waiting with a group of other men from across the Middle East and Africa, on an island off the mainland, for word from the Immigration Office that his bid for political asylum has been accepted. Omar, sweet-faced and approachable, was a musician by trade in his native Syria, and walks around everywhere carrying his precious oud, bequeathed to him by his grandfather, also a musician, even though his right hand is locked in a cast from an unspecified injury. Even without the cast, however, you get the sense that his heart really isn’t into playing, despite the entreaties from Farhad (Vikash Bhai), his Afghani roomie and self-appointed “agent and manager,” who wants him to enter a local music contest. Omar is carrying a significant amount of weight beyond missing his mother’s fragrant home-cooking. Talking to her on the lone payphone on the island, where other immigrants-in-waiting stand in line for a chance to hear from home, she implores him to speak to his older brother, who chose to stay behind in Syria and fight in the Civil War that has plagued the region for years. Omar feels guilty for having left, and suffers from having disappointed his father in the process. It doesn’t help him that the culture he finds himself in seems so foreign to him, despite his speaking flawless English. Sharrock’s brand of deadpan perfectly suits the setting, but as funny as the film can be (when asked in a culture/language class to create a sentence using the “I used to” construction, one immigrant offers “I used to be happy before I came here”), it doesn’t paint a rosy affirmation for Omar and his ilk, stuck as they are, as the title suggests, between countries and lives. Omar’s pain is real, and for every positive step forward he takes, it’s one further away from his family and his beloved home country.
Enemies of the State: Sonia Kennebeck’s challenging and curious documentary seems at first to present a case for its protagonist, Matt DeHart, a young teen hacker interested in social justice, who through his work with Wikileaks runs afoul of the U.S. government, and his beleaguered parents, Paul and Leann, who vigorously defend their only child against the evil forces conspiring against him. Through a series of personal interviews with Paul and Leann, both retired Air Force intelligence officers, who believe their country has turned against them for what Matt had downloaded from his computer into secret thumbdrives shortly before the FBI arrived at their door and confiscated all his equipment, and various lawyers they employed, first to protect Matt from what they claim as utterly bogus child-porn charges, then, after they slip away to Canada in the middle of the night, the lawyers trying to earn them asylum. While in Canada, under close supervision and confined to his parents’ apartment, Matt uses his charms, his hackavist bonafides, and his skill at PR, to generate enough interest in his case to become a digital cause celebe, along the lines of Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning. Protests are fronted, defense funds gathered, and pressure put on the government to come clean about why they seem so hard-driving against the young man. During a peculiar reenactment set in a Canadian immigration hearing  —  Kennebeck employs actors who apparently lip sync their lines in perfect time with the actual recorded audio  —  DeHart describes a harrowing ordeal earlier in the affair, after having moved to Canada to attend college, being abducted by the FBI shortly after crossing the border to renew his Visa, and tortured for days for information related to the material on the thumb-drives. Some documentation seems to corroborate his claims (even Paul and Leann, as fierce supporters as can be, were shocked to see just how ready the FBI were to snatch him), but as the film continues, and we hear more and more from the investigators and prosecuting attorneys about the original child-pornography crimes, it becomes clear that our sympathies are being played with by Kennebeck. By the end, the film itself becomes an indictment of our rapid-assumption culture, in which decisions of guilt and innocence are determined in seconds online and forever after based on the presentation of information before us.
The Way I See It: For non Trumpites, the switchover from eight years of the dignified, intelligent, and measured leadership of Barack Obama, to the perma-tanned tackiness of power-mad, narcissistic bloviating of Donald Trump, was like a double-feature that went from Citizen Kane to Kevin James’ Loudest Farts. One man better than most to measure Obama’s time in office against the subsequent regime is photojournalist Pete Souza, who served as the official White House photographer for both of Obama’s terms, and has gone on to become an outspoken critic of Trump by way of his devastating IG account, in which he juxtaposes stately Obama photos with Trumps scandal-du-jour. Lest you think he’s just another divisively partisan liberal, you have to take into account his previous turn in the White House, as one of the official photographers for Ronald Reagan’s presidency. In fact, Souza’s fly-on-the-wall quality was considered one of his strengths in the oval office. Documentarian Dawn Porter travels with Souza as he makes the media rounds promoting his newest book, Shade, a collection of those IG photos that have earned him millions of social media followers (a sort of companion piece to his previous book Obama: An Intimate Portrait). Hauling from far-off India (where he gets a standing ovation before he even takes the stage), to domestic conferences and speaking engagements, Souza emerges as a man becoming more used to being out from behind his ever-present Canon lens. Through that lens, as he displays to his rapturous audiences, he has taken many hundreds of indelible photos, showing Obama’s various interactions with foreign dignitaries, his council of cabinet members, and his more raucous time with his two daughters (one shot of Obama with his girls making snow angels on the rear lawn during a heavy snow storm remains his computer screensaver, Souza says with pride). As Porter moves from talking heads to public oratories, Souza’s remarkable photos  —  brilliantly composed, and inspiringly intimate, having been given nearly unlimited access to the president  —  play throughout, showing us a collection of images that capture the inspiring hope the president inspired and the agonizing rigors of the job he was elected to perform. The film spends little time on his Reagan years, except to note how media and image-savvy the former Hollywood actor and his wife were (Souza professes no political ill-will towards the Reagans, other than noting that while he didn’t always agree with him, he was a genuinely caring man, who at least understood the parameters of leadership). At first, the film trolls Trump by a sort of subtweet level of backhandedness: Without directly naming names, Souza makes it entirely clear who he finds failing in comparison to Obama’s empathetic, engaging deportment, but by the time the film comes around to his notorious IG account, there can be no doubt the subject of his ire. Souza maintains it has less to do with his partisan feelings (his political affiliation is never revealed), and more the way he finds the current president’s undignified manner and total disrespect for the office and the leadership it demands unacceptable. Trumpers will of course take great exception to the portrait the film portrays of the sitting president, but even the most hardcore GOP folks won’t be able to help noting the blatant differences between the loving, genuinely close Obamas; and the preening, viciously competitive Trumps, each trying to outdo the others in acting as their father’s primary sycophant.
In a year of bizarre happenings, and altered realities, TIFF has shifted its gears to a significantly paired down virtual festival. Thus, U.S. film critics are regulated to watching the international offerings from our own living room couches.
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tamorasky · 4 years ago
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Mistress Anna Chapter 19
Summary: It wasn’t uncommon for the women to be eventually cast aside, Anna was just naive enough to believe it would never happen to her.
Rating: M
Relationship: Anna/Kristoff 
Canadian Frontier AU
Masterlist 
AO3
Notes: 
Editing will not be great in this one I kinda burned myself out this week with work.
BUT MORE EXCITING NEWS, THERE IS ART FOR MISTRESS ANNA NOW! Created by the wonderful @epbaker: 
Mistress Anna Artwork 
I'm still so excited about it, thank you so much for doing that!
Her arms ache as she carries firewood through the snow, attempting to make her way through the white powder. Anna shifts uncomfortably as the wet spot on her skirt begins to freeze. She closely follows Elsa, trying desperately not to trip over her snowshoes as she had been all morning.
"How are you doing back there?" Elsa asks, looking back at her sister, taking long strides through the snow. Anna looks up from her feet with a sigh, she couldn't believe she had forgotten how much work it is to live in Ahtohallan during the winter.
"I'm fine," Anna calls back, wanting nothing more but to continue forward, the weight in her arms is becoming unbearable. Elsa pushes forward, reluctantly so does Anna. Her cheeks burn as the wind whips past them, her chest constricting as she suppresses a violent shiver. She can feel her toes becoming stiff with every step, her leather boots and woollen socks now at their limit, no longer keeping the cold at bay.
Overwhelming relief floods over her as the house comes into view, knowing soon that she'll be warm in their cabin. She ascends the porch steps with tired legs, watching as Elsa discards her bundle of firewood next to the door. Anna places hers on top of the pile, sighing as her arms fall to her sides.
"I'm going to fetch the last bundle." Elsa states. "Are you coming?"
Anna shakes head, sitting on the rocking chair, unbuckling her snowshoes. "I'm going back inside. Eliza will be up from her nap now. Besides, I think my toes have nearly frozen off."
"Suit yourself." Elsa shrugs, carefully stepping from the porch. "Remember supper at Bulda's tonight."
"I know. I’ll be going over there soon." Anna nods, grabbing her snowshoes from the porch with her gloved fingers. Elsa looks back at her sister, taking in the way she is dressed, in only a woollen shawl, thin gloves, and leather boots. Unable to ignore that her sister is dressed as the European women dress during their winters in Rupert’s Land; the same reason why many of these women catch colds through the season.
"You know, most of your winter clothes have been packed away if you want to grab them. If nothing fits, I'm sure some things in mama's chest that would fit you." Elsa offers, looking down at her own hands, which are covered in her beaver fur mitts.
Anna sighs, she had been avoiding looking in those chests, full of items she denied before leaving for Arendelle. Hesitantly she nods, "I'll take a look."
"Good. I hate watching you freeze. I will see you in a little while." Elsa waves to her sister before trudging through the snow back to Kai's property. Anna's gaze remains on the brunette as she makes her way through the white landscape.
With a sigh, Anna enters the house, the heat a welcome sensation as she closes the door behind her. Looking over to the bed, she sees Eliza still soundly asleep on their bed, snuggling the doll she and Elsa had made for the toddler for Christmas.
She smiles as she discards the snowshoes against the wall next to the door. The young woman comes to sit at the table, shucking off her boots with much difficulty thanks to her frozen hands. Peeling off her socks, Anna hisses as she exposes her toes to the warm air; they sting painfully as she flexes them.
Looking at the socks in her hands, Anna notices the moisture clinging to the fabric. She stiffly rises from the chair, walking on her frozen feet to place her socks over the warm stove. Resigned Anna knows she can't continue this way during the winter, she needed real winter clothing.
She shuffles across the floor towards the two chests tucked away in the corner of the cabin. Her fingers brush against the top of the trunk, displacing the dust that had settled on the lid. With a sigh, she unlatches the buckle, lifting the top with shaking hands.
Upon opening the first chest, Anna knows this one was her own. The moccasins that once had been her favourite garment lay atop the other clothing that she had left behind. Hesitantly Anna reaches forward, picking up her ceremonial buckskin moccasins embroidered with red and pink flowers. White beads covering the deer hide; the very ones she wore the night she met Hans.
Her mouth quirks up at she sees another pair of moccasins, her tanned moose hide moccasins beaded with green and orange flowers in the centre of the vamp. Placing the white ones back into her chest, she grabs her moose hide moccasins, allowing them to fall to the ground. Anna slips her feet into the slippers, wiggling her toes against the soft fleece.
She slides the wooden chest off of the other, trying her best to guide the heavy object to the floor. Pulling out various garments, Anna runs her hands over the fabrics and ribbons that she had left behind. At the bottom of the trunk, tucked into the corner, are her mukluks.
The brown rabbit fur, which lines the exterior is still soft to the touch as she removes them from the chest. Her thumb brushes over the embroidery and beadwork detailed on the vamp and the upper leather above the boot's fur. The orange, white and dark red flowers beaded into the leather are loose against the buffalo hide.
She knows she will have to re-secure them onto the boot, but they would work for now. Peering back into the trunk, Anna smiles as she sees green wool covering the wood, her capote coat.
The fabric has pilled slightly over the years, but it would still keep her warm through the winter, she grabs the burgundy sash that accompanies it; placing the long garment over her legs as she slips the coat over her shoulder.
The wool scratches against the skin exposed on her wrists, but she smiles, flipping the oversized hood over her head. She giggles as the fabric covers her eyes slightly, readjusting it, so the hood met her hairline.
Kristoff had always made fun of her for wearing a man's coat throughout winter; he still cited that while it was common to see Elsa in men's clothes but never her. Despite the convention of women wearing only blankets around their shoulders during the winter, Iduna insisted the girls wore real coats; without any men in the house, they needed to do all the work.
She grabs the sash resting atop her thighs as she stands, wrapping the coat around her body tightly before circling the sash around her waist to close the capote. Anna stops going through her trunk as she hears movement from the bed, indicating that Eliza is up from her nap.
Reluctantly Anna pulls herself away from the trunk, seeing her daughter sitting up in their bed, bouncing against the mattress. "Mama!"
The young woman smiles as Eliza grabs for her, the doll discarded next to her. As Anna picks up her daughter, she wonders if she couldn't find any of her old baby moccasins in one of the neglected trunks.
She carries Eliza back to the corner, shoving aside her, now empty, chest as she settles on the ground in front of the one which must be her mother's. Her breath hitches as she opens the lid, resting her hands over the silk fabric which lays at the top of the trunk, Iduna's fancy shawl.
Her mother only ever brought this garment out for St. Joseph's Day, or when she danced, Iduna always kept special care of the shawl. All Anna knew about the wrap that it was made by her Cree Câpân.
Great-Grandmother.
With Eliza seated between her crossed legs, Anna reaches forward, the long fringe and ribbons clinging to the chest as she pulls it to her. Her fingers brush over the flowers and stars stitched into the fabric.
Anna warmly smiles as Eliza reaches forward to touch the shawl. The woman giggles, tickling her finger against her daughter's belly, emitting a laugh from both of them. Anna takes the shawl, wrapping Eliza's small body into the fancy shawl, much to the little girl's delight.
With Eliza secure in the shawl, Anna uses her free hand to search the trunk, slowly moving garments and items around neatly to locate baby moccasins. As she feels rabbit fur, Anna moves her hand against the item, deciding that based on the size and the leather bottoms she had located them. She grabs the shoes, pulling them from underneath a few of her mother's dresses.
The moccasins in her hands are deer hide, trimmed with white rabbit fur and beaded with blue flowers; Elsa's moccasins.
Placing them onto the ground in front of her, Anna reaches back into the chest in the same area she had found Elsa's moccasins. Her heart leaping as she finds another pair, pulling them out with the same amount of force as she previously had.
She grins as she pulls out the small buffalo hide moccasins, trimmed with copper fur and green flowers; Her baby moccasins.
Upon looking at both pairs, Anna knows they will be slightly too big for Eliza, but she would grow into them in time. Grabbing the moccasins with her free hand, Anna stands with much difficultly as Eliza wiggles in her arms.
Stalking towards the bed, Anna deposits Eliza onto the mattress, the little girl giggling as she bounces on the surface. Much to Eliza’s dismay Anna unwraps the toddler from Iduna's shawl, placing the garment at the end of the bed. With much effort, she grabs Eliza's wiggling feet, putting the moccasins which once belonged to her, onto her daughter's small feet.
Anna's mouth curves into a smile as Eliza coos at the feeling of the buffalo fur footbed, enjoying the sensation. Grabbing Eliza's wrist gently, Anna stops her daughter from grabbing at the rabbit fur to salvage what was left on the moccasins.
Picking up her daughter, Anna makes her way towards the door, grabbing the white point blanket hanging beside the entrance. She wraps Eliza in the blanket, fighting with the toddler as she struggles against the scratchy wool. Tucking the bottom of the blanket up, Anna makes sure Eliza's feet are covered.
Anna meanders over to the spot that she had left her mukluks with her daughter in her arms, slipping her feet into the wide boots. As she steps forward, the young woman finds it initially awkward to walk in the mukluks but quickly falls into the routine.
Awkwardly Anna slips her hand from under Eliza opening the door, shutting it tightly with her freed hand. She curves Eliza to her breast, protecting her face from the cold winter wind. The wind whips painfully past Anna as she makes her way to the road.
She recalls what she was doing last year, seated comfortably in front of a fire in the library, feeding Eliza as she sang to her daughter. Her hood slowly slips off her head, her ears burning painfully, for the first time since leaving Anna wishes to be back in Arendelle.
Reaching the road, the wind is not as harsh as the coverage the trees provided along the path, much to Anna's relief that she does not have to worry over Eliza. She takes wide steps through the deep powder, her mukluks covered in white as she wades through the undistributed terrain.  
Despite the cold and the harsh temperature, Anna could not help gaze in awe as the hoar frost sticks to the trees, creating a canopy of white over her. The urge to run through the willow trees overcomes Anna, wanting nothing more than to disturb the frost to cause the crystalline flakes to fall. But she suppresses it, shifting Eliza in her arms as she continues forward.
She had to reach Bulda's before the cold becomes too much for the toddler in her arms. Holding Eliza closer to her body Anna continues along the road, travelling as fast as her legs will allow her to. Relief floods over the young woman as Bulda's house comes into her view.
With a wide step, Anna steps over the snowbank connecting the road to the property, a chill going through her body as snow falls over into her mukluk. She does her best to ignore as the flakes melt against her barefoot.
Anna looks up in surprise as she approaches the front porch of Bulda's home. Marguerite emerges from the house, a red point blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she prepares to walk into the cold. The auburn-haired woman furrows her brows as she notices Bulda's youngest child is carrying a pair of men's moccasins.
"Daisy," Anna calls as she walks towards the other woman. Marguerite gives her a strained smile as Anna steps onto the porch, noticing how the brunette fiddles with the moccasins' leather in her hand.
"Anna," Marguerite says, sharing the auburn-haired woman's surprise at her presence. "I did not know you were coming over this evening."
She nods, readjusting Eliza against her body. "Your mother invited Elsa and me over for dinner tonight."
"Of course, she did." The brunette huffs, rolling her chestnut eyes before focusing them on the landscape before them. Looking over her shoulder, Anna sees two unmistakable figures walking towards them; Sven clad in a brown capote coat and Kristoff in his capote similar to the colors Eliza is wrapped in. She faces Marguerite with a sly smile.
"I should leave you to it." Anna comments, walking past Marguerite to reach the door. Her hand hovers above the door handle as she turns her head to look at her friend, who walks further away from the house.
Turning the handle, Anna walks into the house, her cheeks warming as she crosses the house's threshold. Bulda and Angelique are not crowded around the stove as she had expected. Instead, the two women stand at the window, ignoring Helene as she pulls her mother's and Kookoum's skirts.
At the sight of the newly 4-year-old, Eliza begins to move her body as much she can in the tightly bound blanket. Anna places her daughter on the kitchen table, unwrapping her quickly before unleashing the toddler onto the Bisset-Labelle family.
Still holding onto the woollen blanket, Anna walks towards the women as she folds it. Her shoulders shake as she chuckles, noticing that Angelique and Bulda stood so close to the window that their breath melts the frost caked on the glass.
"What are we looking at?" Anna inquires, folding the point blanket over the back of a chair. Angelique steps away from the window momentarily to take Anna by the wrist, jerking her to stand in front of the window.
"Just scratch at it." The raven-haired woman instructs. Furrowing her brow, Anna begins to pick away at the frost on the window, the tip of her finger turning cold as she slowly defrost the glass.  
As the crystals melt from the pane, Anna sees Kristoff and Sven standing on the property, Marguerite standing in front of them. Kristoff walks past his younger sister, ruffling her hair as he strides towards the house. Sven pecks the young woman on the cheek as he attempts to get past her, the dry cold clearly bothering the Newfoundlander. But Marguerite grabs him by the elbow, guiding him to stand in front of her.
The door opens, allowing an unwelcome gust of wind into the cabin. The three women look away from the window to the front, all of them clearly displeased with Kristoff's lingering in front of an open door. He closes it as he raises a brow, interested in why they were crowded around the window.
"What are we looking at?" He asks, tracking snow into the house as he meanders to stand next to Anna. Both Angelique and Bulda shush him before turning their attention back to the scene before them. Kristoff raises his hands as if he was defending himself, causing Anna to giggle as she faces the window again.
She stills as Kristoff braces his arm against the wall, standing behind her. Her back is only inches away from the rise and fall of his chest, trying to best not to move as not to touch him. With a deep breath, Anna focuses on the scene before her.
Marguerite pulls her blanket tighter around her shoulders as Sven tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear. Anna can't help but smile as Marguerite's cheeks redden, the woman who has never been bashful.
The brunette looks up at her lover, pushing him gently by his shoulder as he makes a comment. Sven looks down the moccasins, pointing to the slippers in Marguerite's hand. Bulda and Angelique giggle excitedly as Marguerite shoves the moccasins to Sven's chest, speaking to him as her head is tilted to the ground.
Anna furrows her brows as Sven collects Marguerite into his arms, nearly wrapping himself around the petite woman's frame as he holds her close. Looking behind her, Anna comes to stare at Kristoff; his gaze focused on the scene before him, a gentle smile occupying his face as he watches his sister and best friend.
She observes his features closely, noticing the redness of his cheeks from the cold, slightly burned from the sharp winds. She wonders if she reached up to touch them if they would be chilled to the touch, but she suppresses the urge as his gaze meets hers.
Kristoff's smile widens as his eyes search hers, the corners of Anna's mouth turn up to return the gesture. She jumps as Angelique and Bulda shriek loudly, clasping each other's hands. Anna turns towards the window, wanting to see the young couple once again.
She finds herself smiling, despite not know what is occurring in front of her. Glancing back down at the moccasins in Sven's hands, the tradition comes racing back to the young woman. If a young man accepts a pair of moccasins made by his lover, an engagement is made, and a marriage contract is established.
Sven is lifting Marguerite from the ground, spinning her in a fashion that reminds Anna of how Kristoff used to hold her. The moccasins still gripped in the man's hands, Sven places Marguerite down as he captures her lips with another kiss.
Behind her, Kristoff groans, removing himself from the window. Bulda tears herself away from the window, only noticing that her eldest still wears his mukluks.
"Take those off. I don't want my floors wet because of you." The older woman huffs as she walks towards the stove, lifting the lid off a pot to check on the soup. Kristoff nods, sitting at the table as he unlaces the binding around his boots.
"I know, Ma." Kristoff nods, pulling his foot free from the mukluk as he begins to unwind his other foot.
"They are coming back!" Angelique exclaims, grabbing Anna by shoulders to lead the young woman away from the window, settling her in the chair next to Kristoff as Angelique goes to stand next to her mother.
Marguerite holds onto Sven's arm as they enter the house, Sven bending slightly as they walk through the doorway. She detaches herself from his side as the Newfoundlander shuts the door behind them, removing the point blanket from her shoulders.
"Mama, I saw you and Angelique standing by the window," Marguerite states as she folds the blanket over the back of the chair over Anna's. Angelique and Bulda both let out shrieks of excitement, Bulda nearly shoves her oldest daughter to the side to take her youngest child's face into her hands.
"I am so happy for you." The older woman pecks Marguerite on the cheek, letting her out of the grasp to move towards Sven. Bulda beckons for her future son-in-law as she stands in front of him. Chuckling, the tall brunette leans over, allowing her to cup his cheeks, smiling as Bulda pressing a kiss to his cheek, repeating the motion she had performed only moments ago.  
As Angelique holds her sister's hands and bounces on the balls of her feet, the raven-haired woman reaches out for Anna. She stands from the chair, taking the two sister's hands into her own joining Angelique on bouncing excitedly.
"It's been so long since we've planned a wedding!" Angelique exclaims, causing her sister and brother to laugh in response. The scraping of a chair against the wood floors results in the girls quietening as Kristoff stands and makes his way to his youngest sister. He places his hands-on Marguerite's shoulder, patting them as he whispers a congratulation to her before Angelique drags her deeper into the house.
Anna stands alone, fidgeting with her pigeon berry coloured skirt, as Bulda withdraws from Sven. "I think this calls for a drink! Cliff's chokecherry wine from two summers ago should be ready to drink now."
The older woman ventures into the kitchen, opening up various cupboards. Marguerite and Angelique sit on their parents' bed, going through a small box of mementos from Angelique's wedding.
The brunette looks up from the dried flowers in her hands, her brows knitting together as she looks towards her mother. "Where is papa?"
"He is ice fishing with Pierre and Gabriel," Kristoff responds, walking to his mother's side as she struggles to reach the wine, stocked on the highest shelve in the kitchen; placed there by Cliff intentionally, so his wife would not be able to access it.
"You do that on purpose." Bulda rolls her eyes as she grabs the bottle from her eldest child. He chuckles, pressing a kiss to the top of his mother's greying hair.
"I do." He responds, smirking as he hands her the corkscrew.
"Alright, well, make yourself actually useful and open this." Bulda nearly shoves the clear bottle back into Kristoff's hands, handing the corkscrew back to him. The older woman grabs six mugs from the raw edge shelve above the stove, placing them as the room echoes with the popping of the cork being freed from the bottle.
Kristoff comes to stand in front of the table, pouring the wine evenly in each mug as Bulda hands out the tin vessels. The sister’s removed themselves away from the bed, standing before the table. Sven and Anna approach the table, she stands between Bulda and Angelique. The Newfoundlander stands next to his fiancé and Kristoff, taking the wine with a grin as he places an arm around Marguerite's shoulder.
Bulda raises her mug into the air, everyone surrounding the table mimics the gesture as the matriarch of the family speaks over the screaming of children.
Anna does not pay attention to the woman's toast directed towards her daughter and future son-in-law. Instead, her eyes slowly drift from the young couple to the man standing next to Sven, staring at him with a small smile occupying her features as his gaze meets hers. Their gazes remain locked as Bulda continues, Kristoff's smile dropping as he regards her further.
Her own smile drops as he stares at her tenderly, her hands shaking from the pounding present in her chest. Anna blinks away as Bulda finishes her toast,
"May your union be a blessed one!" The older woman's words echo through the room as everyone repeats her finals words, finally able to drink the wine. The wine is tarter than Anna remembers, trying her best not to sputter at the unexpected flavour.  
Her gaze scans up to meet Kristoff's once more as Sven laughs, clapping his friend on the back and uttering to him. "You are next."
Kristoff's cheeks darken in colour at the comment, still staring at Anna. Under his gaze, Anna's eyes flicker back down her wine, staring at the light red liquid in her mug. Unaware that Bulda looks back and forth between her son and the young woman, and the way Sven grins knowingly at the couple.
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corkcitylibraries · 4 years ago
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The Irish Marriage Equality Campaign and Referendum
by Deirdre Swain
May 22 of this year was the fifth anniversary of the marriage equality referendum, which made it legal for same-sex couples to marry. In 2011, when the Labour and Fine Gael political parties formed a coalition government, they agreed to establish a Constitutional Convention which would consider and make recommendations on six specific issues, including provision for same-sex marriage. Following from this, in April 2013, this Consitutional Convention was scheduled to discuss same-sex marriage and to either reject or recommend it for constitutional change. The Convention secretariat proposed that Marriage Equality, the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) would make presentations on one side and that the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the Knights of Columbanus and the Evangelical Association of Ireland would present on the other. 79 of the 100 delegates voted to ask the Government to change the Constitution to allow for civil marriage for same-sex couples. On November 05 2013, the government announced that a referendum on same-sex marriage would be held in 2015, and on February 20 2015, the Taoiseach announced that the date of the referendum would be May 22 that year.
An organisation called Marriage Equality was formed to support Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan’s High Court case to get their Canadian marriage recognised in Ireland. GLEN had been campaigning for full legal and constitutional equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual people since 1988. The ICCL had been a long-time champion of gay rights over much of its 40-year history. These three organisations now had one common objective: to legalise same-sex marriage. Gráinne Healy from Marriage Equality, Brian Sheehan of GLEN and Mark Kelly of ICCL met regularly and, together with the barrister Noel Whelan, who joined them later, became the main leaders of the marriage equality campaign. “Yes equality” was the name chosen for the campaign, as it did not identify the campaign as LGBT, but rather, it was about the collective values of the Irish people as a whole.
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  The first undertaking organised by Yes Equality was the Register to Vote initiative. The Union of Students in Ireland (USI), college societies, the LGBT youth organisation BeLonG To as well as other LGBT organisations galvanised young people to register to vote. Voter registration clinics were run by LGBT groups across the country. The aim of reaching young people worked well through social media. The Register to Vote initiative put at least 40,000 new voters on the electoral register.
One of the main strategies of Yes Equality took its inspiration from Scotland: during the Scottish Independence referendum campaign, a woman had held a home-made placard on which she had painted the words, “I’m Voting Yes, Ask Me Why”. The personal stories were crucial to the yes side of the marriage equality campaign. These included not just stories from gay and lesbian people themselves, but from their children, their parents, and also from heterosexual people who explained why they were voting yes. Two groups in the United States, Freedom to Marry and the Human Rights Campaign, who had campaigned for marriage equality across the United States, shared their experiences with Yes Equality. This advice as well as focus group research done in Ireland revealed to Yes Equality that the segment of the electorate which could be easily swayed to vote no were men between the ages of 40 and 60. These advisors in the USA stated that the best way to reach these soft voters was to use the personal stories of heterosexual people and parents of gays and lesbians, as well as people who had not been in favour of same-sex marriage but who had changed their mind. For example, the actor Colin Farrell, a heterosexual man, declared his support for the Yes vote on Claire Byrne Live, stating that his brother was gay and had had a very hard time in school because of his sexuality, and he wanted him to experience equality. Former President Mary McAleese, whose son Justin is gay, spoke in favour of the Yes vote as well. And Simon Coveney recounted on Newstalk that he had previously had reservations about same-sex marriage because of his traditional views on marriage, but that he now believed that everyone had to be treated equally. The focus of the campaign was therefore on personal stories, which were credible and uncontrived. The campaign would engage with doubts and reassure. Yes Equality was non-threatening and would strive not to show the No side to be victims. People were not being directed to vote yes. They were being asked if they wanted to hear why other people were voting yes.
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The other important strategy of Yes Equality was to challenge misinformation and misleading messages. The focus of the No campaign was on children and parenting. One of their posters showed a picture of a baby with 2 parents, stating that a child needs a mother and a father. Another No poster contained a photo of a small vulnerable child on her own, stating that a child needs her mother forever, not just for 9 months. The arguments that these posters were raising were that children should not be adopted or raised by same-sex couples, and that surrogacy for the benefit of same-sex couples was not in the best interests of a child. Both of these arguments were completely irrelevant to the question in hand, because nothing would change with regard to either of these issues if same-sex marriage were legalised. Children already existed who had same-sex parents. As Safia, Colm O’Gorman’s daughter said on the Ray D’Arcy Show of her two dads: “My parents are my parents and I think my family is great, as it happens”. She went on to say that: “It should not matter whether a child’s parents were a man and a woman or two men or two women as long as the child is loved, cared for and supported.” Gay couples could already adopt children, and this would not change if same-sex marriage were voted in. The instance of surrogacy would not necessarily increase either. The first poster actually caused upset to non-gay- and lesbian-headed families, because it was implying that any family which did not have both a father and a mother (including a family with a widowed parent) was damaging to a child. Even though the No side’s arguments had nothing to do with what was being voted on in the referendum, Yes Equality felt it was important to tackle these points, in order to engage with voters’ doubts. To this end, Geoffrey Shannon, child law expert and chairman of the Adoption Authority of Ireland was on the Claire Byrne Live show during a media debate on same-sex marriage. He pointed out that irrespective of whether the adoption applicant was single, a married couple, a cohabiting couple or a same-sex couple, the assessment looked at the potential parent’s or parents’ capacity to care for a child until they became an adult, and it was not concerned with gender or sexual orientation. He emphasised that birth mothers are centrally involved in the decision about the placement of a child and actually determine who a child is placed with. Most importantly, he stressed that whether the Yes vote won or not, the adoption process would not change. On a different episode of Claire Byrne Live, the Health Minister Leo Varadkar spoke about surrogacy. He explained that only around 10-12 children were born each year in Ireland through surrogacy, most of whom were born to an opposite-sex couple who had fertility difficulties. He stated that anonymous sperm and egg donations were already banned in Ireland and that forthcoming legislation would not only ban all commercial surrogacy but would require those seeking to avail of altruistic surrogacy to be approved in advance on criteria similar to that currently operating for adoption. These authoritative independent voices were important to reassure people with concerns about adoption and surrogacy. Yes Equality also emphasised that every children’s organisation, including ISPCC and Barnardo’s, supported a Yes vote in the referendum. 
The third argument that the No campaign made was that civil partnerships were available to same-sex couples, so marriage was not necessary. One powerful counter-argument to this put forward by Yes Equality was that civil partnership did not recognise children whose parents were gay or lesbian. Katherine Zappone affirmed that even if civil partnership contained all the same rights and obligations as marriage, it was still exclusionary; it was a lesser form of acknowledgement and was rooted in a principle which promoted inequality.
  The closing argument of Yes Equality was the message that gay men and lesbian women were part of every voter’s community; that they could be your neighbour, your uncle, your teacher, your friend. This idea was depicted in posters. The number of people who travelled home from abroad to vote in the referendum was astonishing. The turnout (just over 60%) was one of the highest ever for a referendum. The referendum was passed by 1,201,607 Yes votes (62.07%) to 734,300 (37.93%) No votes. All constituencies except Roscommon had Yes vote majorities.
  References
Gilligan, A. L. and Zappone, K. (2008). Our lives out loud: In pursuit of justice & equality. Dublin: The O’Brien Press.
Healy, G., Sheehan, B. and Whelan, N. (2016). Ireland says yes: the inside story of how the vote for marriage equality was won. Co. Kildare: Merrion Press.
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jaimitchell · 5 years ago
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⌠ AVAN JOGIA, 25, GENDERFLUID, HE/THEY ⌡ welcome back to gallagher academy, JAI MITCHELL! according to their records, they’re a FIRST year, specializing in SEDUCTION & FLIRTATION + MCGUYVER SURVIVAL SKILLS AND NAVIGATION; and they DID NOT go to a spy prep high school. when i see them walking around in the halls, i usually see a flash of (golden touches on his clothes, pointy boots, quirky sunglasses). when it’s the (leo’s)’s birthday on 8/2/1994, they always request CHOCOLATE CHIP WAFFLES from the school’s chefs. looks like they’re well on their way to graduation. ⌿ 
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HERE’S JAI. 
Okay,  baby boy is Canadian, but moved to New York when their parents got divorced when he was about eight years old, so he’s basically a living breathing New Yorker. Accent and all. 
His parents divorced and Jai didn’t really understood why, because they seemed to have a really good sort of relationship in front of him, but a couple years later, he found out he had another family, with more kids, the oldest, his own age. And all his walls came up, stopped trusting people and… well, life became a mess.
His mother tried to give Jai the best life possible, but New York was expensive, and it wasn’t always possible. Even less so, when she started going blind, and just a few months later, it became impossible for her to work. Jai was only thirteen, but he had to become the one pilar in his family. Working, although sometimes illegally, and that’s how he found out his very useful quick and quiet fingers. He started steal from people in the streets, started out small. Bills, coins, wallets, cheap necklaces, anything he thought he could resale later on. 
Eventually, it escalated to bigger, richer people. Fancy watches, diamond rings, lots of different expensive things, which of course came with much more issues, like other robbers claiming their spots, violence, alcohol, drugs… His mother didn’t exactly know or agreed with this. He was sure she would be disappointed, but it was the only choice he had. 
He was about sixteen when he tried to steal a rolex watch from this man walking down the financial district in New York. He grabbed his hand before he could unclasp the thing, Jai going pale in the moment, but the man must have seen something in him. Instead of accusing him, he invited Jai to work for him. Helped him get clean, and paid a decent amount to do things like drive around, take things here and there…
And then Sofia comes into play. They dated for a while, while he worked for her father. It was the most intense thing he had ever felt. He was ready for marriage and all, knew she was his person. But things eventually went south, they broke up, and Jai, as sensitive of a man he is… he… just stopped showing up to work. 
His mother developed an illness in the brain, and Jai felt helpless, moneyless…. She inevitably died in just weeks, which of course led Jai to his doom. 
He sold whatever they had, took a bus to a different city, Chicago this time around. 
The history repeats itself pretty much. Jai went back to his old habits, alcohol mostly. He became reckless, didn’t mind it if he got caught or killed– in fact, he was probably looking for it. And eventually the former happened. He got caught, put in jail and suddenly he was told he was being bailed out by some random Charles Graves person.
Jai didn’t question it, just walked out, but the second he stepped out of the station, he was being told to get in a car, where he was offered a chance to be a part of this sort of.. gang family. They had been tracking him since New York, which made him feel insecure and fearful for his life and all, but they offered a good deal. And a home, which Jai hadn’t had in months. 
It all worked out for a while. Jai was the happiest he could be, wearing the expensive things he always wished for. But of course, on some sort of heist him and one of the other girls working for Graves got caught. Of course they had ties with the cops, let them out, but they weren’t given much of a choice. Either prison or Gallagher for her, Blackthorne for Jai. 
Jai HATED Blackthorne. He was there for just a few weeks before he begged Mr. Graves for a second chance, which he was granted because he needed someone like him for some other crime in his mind. 
When Gallagher opened their doors to male students, it became much more tempting to be in there. Plus, how nice the idea of being trained to be a spy sounded, he ended up enrolling into Gallagher, back in first year. He probably imagines old spies lives, martinis and fancy suits.
Personality
He’s got a very extra personality and he’s not afraid to show it in his clothes, which not always he’s gotten the conventional way. He loves thrift shops, but he’s quite the cunning man and knows how to get around. 
He’s a very, VERY, physical person. Very very sexual, truest pansexual character I’ve had. If he could have an orgy, he’d be like… this is the best day of my life. I’m sorry. That’s just facts. 
He’s also very respectful though, and very into consent and being very attentive to the other person. It all stems from him having literally the best mom in the world who taught him well (for the most part).
Very sensitive too. He will cry with a song, a good book, any movie, specially cartoons. He’s not exactly afraid of that either, but opening up and trusting someone is definitely hard for him. 
He’s too flirty, he’s never serious, but he’ll take your word for it if you offer something. 
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brokehorrorfan · 5 years ago
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Event Report: Rhode Island Comic Con 2019
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The eighth annual Rhode Island Comic Con took place November 1-3 at the Rhode Island Convention Center and the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI. With the new layout implemented the previous year proving to be successful, the show ran like a well-oiled machine. When not enamored by the countless vendors, I spent a good deal of the weekend in the panel rooms listening to anecdotes from a host of beloved actors.
The first panel of the weekend was with The Office's Brian Baumgartner (who played Kevin) and Leslie David Baker (who played Stanley). After being forced to turn away dozens of fans from last year's The Office Q&A with other cast members, the convention smartly booked the bigger panel room this time around. They discussed the show's longevity and the possibility of a revival. "It will never be the same," Baker stated, but they remain open to the idea; he encouraged fans to write to NBC if they want to see it. Many laughs were had, with Baumgartner occasionally slipping into his character’s voice, in addition to dropping not one but two "That's what she said!" jokes.
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Richard Dreyfuss' panel immediately followed. The Academy Award-winning actor opened by saying that he has answered every Jaws question over the years, so if you ask one he hasn't heard he'll give you $10 - but if you ask one he has heard you owe him $10. He promised more than just funny stories from film sets - although that's what most people wanted to hear. More than half of the 45-minute discussion was dedicated to the absence of civics in today's educational system, a subject on which Dreyfuss wrote a soon-to-be-published book. He did answer a few film-related questions, but the moderator - a local podcast host - did not help the situation.
A Q&A with Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund, was a fun way to cap off the first day. A born storyteller with an encyclopedic knowledge of film, his panels are always fascinating. He discussed his work in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise at length, citing Part 4 has his favorite performance, New Nightmare as his favorite to make, and Tina from Part 1 as his favorite death scene. With questions culled from Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, Galaxy of Terror, and Never Too Young to Die, Englund called it his most esoteric panel. He concluded by telling the audience about True Terror, a new Travel Channel series he's hosting that's set to premiere in February.
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I've never watched a single episode of Star Trek, but I had a hunch that William Shatner's panel would be wildly entertaining - and he proved me right. With no need for a moderator, he began by telling the captive audience about The Ride, an upcoming documentary following his eight-day motorcycle journey from Chicago to Los Angeles, and his new blues album that's due out next year. Surprisingly, there were no Star Trek questions; topics of conversation ranged from Judgment at Nuremberg and Better Late Than Never to working with whales and his likeness being used for Michael Myers' mask in Halloween.
The godfather of the modern action figure, Marty Abrams, shared the fascinating story of his Mego Corporation. While Abrams remained diplomatic, Mego consultant Paul Clarke asserted their side of the infamous Star Wars story. Abrams did not pass on the Star Wars license; he was in Japan working on Micronauts and never had a meeting. In a "perfect storm," Kenner happened to be located in the same building and signed the deal before Abrams returned. He estimates it cost him billions of dollars. It was a riveting companion to the Kenner-centric Star Wars episode of Netflix's The Toys That Made Us. Abrams also revealed that a Micronauts TV series and movie are in development. The recently relaunched Mego is looking into more contemporary packaging and more play value to appeal to the younger demographic. They're also continuing to expand their licenses, with Star Trek: The Next Generation coming soon.
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I attempted to attend the Stranger Things panel on Saturday evening, but my lack of a mysterious wristband - about which no advanced information was issued - prevented me from doing so. It was a blessing in disguise, however, as I used the spare time to score a front-row seat for Elijah Wood's Q&A. Despite being one of the headlining guests, Wood was in the smaller panel room, which quickly reached capacity.
Wood shared several anecdotes about The Lord of the Rings, confirming that the fellowship actors have matching tattoos and disclosing that he has never read J.R.R. Tolkien's source material. ("I lived the books," he quipped.) He revealed that although Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency is likely done for good, there have been talks of an animated continuation. He also expressed his desire to direct, stating that he would gravitate toward genre films. He cited The Thing, The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, Don't Look Now, Carrie, and The Innocents as his favorite horror films, with Goodnight Mommy, Hereditary, and The Witch being recent favorites. He even rushed off stage to hug a Canadian fan who drove over four hours to see Mandy - produced by Wood's SpectreVision - on the big screen.
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Sunday morning kicked off with Christina Ricci's panel. A self-described "very different child," she hypothesized that being raised in a chaotic atmosphere led her to darker roles as a child actress, but playing those parts also impacted her. She cites Buffalo 66 and The Ice Storm among the roles she's most proud of. She loved the technical aspects of working on The Addams Family and considers herself particularly lucky to have worked with Raul Julia. When asked about playing Morticia in an Addams Family reboot, she said she'd be happy to, but it would make more sense for her to play an adult Wednesday. She also discussed making her debut at the age of 7 in a Saturday Night Live skit, an embarrassing experience filming Casper’s kissing scene in the early days of CGI, smoking her first cigarette with Winona Ryder on the set of Mermaids, and understanding the importance of Lizzie Borden upon appearing in New England that weekend.
Like his Star Trek co-star, George Takei was not accompanied by a moderator. He began by speaking about They Called Us Enemy, his new graphic novel about being imprisoned in a Japanese-American interment camp at the age of 5 following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, despite the fact that he and his family were born in America. The subject matter sadly remains relevant, but it was heartening to hear his resolve as well as the audience's reaction. The actor/activist also publicly revealed his support of Pete Buttigieg for the Democratic presidential nomination. He discussed how Star Trek has "lived long and prospered" for over 50 years before proudly speaking about his recent work on AMC's The Terror: Infamy, on which he served as a consultant in addition to acting. While answering fan questions, he shared a humorous anecdote about doing the Howard Stern show for the first time without knowing what he was getting into.
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Rhode Island Comic Con marked comedy legend Chevy Chase's first convention, leading a Vacation family reunion, and saw the final public appearance of Sesame Street's former Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, Caroll Spinney. In addition to those mentioned, the guest list included Gaten Matarazzo (Stranger Things), Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange), Evanna Lynch (Harry Potter), Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones), Anthony Michael Hall (The Breakfast Club), Patrick Warburton (The Tick), Alex Kingston (Doctor Who), Robert Patrick (Terminator 2), Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead), Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk), Jaleel White (Family Matters), Richard Brake (Three from Hell), professional wrestling legend Mick Foley, and dozens more.
Beyond the impressive line-up of celebrity guests and a wide variety of vendors, Rhode Island Comic Con also featured comic book creators ranging from big names to indie up-and-comers, exclusive merchandise, after parties, kids activities, geek speed dating, and more. Cosplayers are always a highlight, so I was eager to catch the costume contest on Sunday afternoon. A great Buzz Lightyear - who nailed not only the costume but also the mannerisms - took home the grand prize, bringing the weekend’s fun to infinity and beyond.
Click here to see all of my Rhode Island Comic Con 2019 photos.
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