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prettywordsyouleft · 4 years ago

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The Cowboy - Part 10

Summary: Leaving the city for a rural area called Blayne seemed simple enough. Your task was to convince the people to agree with selling their land for a resort redevelopment. But once there, you soon realise that your city ways are entirely different to theirs. Winning their trust was going to take some effort, and when you start to fall for a local cowboy, you wonder if you really needed Blayne more than the city life after all.

Pairing: Jung Jaehyun x female reader

Genre: cowboy au / drama / romance / if you squint there’s some enemies to lovers up in here.

Warnings: Jung Jaehyun is a cowboy, need I say more? (a bit of angst and drama, and it sometimes might feel like you’re reading a Nicolas Sparks book, so I’m told lol) -- swearing, and I’ve never been to a rodeo in real life so I probably didn’t make a fully realistic scene, so don’t hate me, it’s fiction lol

Word count: 2281

This series will be updated every Thursday and Friday.

Preview | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

It truly was another world. The country music was playing live from the stage nearby and the endless row of stalls selling assortments from horse gear to food overstimulated you. You had lost Avery in the crowd, the tall man crossing paths with a group of women from high school.

Jaehyun smirked. “He’s always been the popular one.”

“And you the troublemaker?” you offered and Jaehyun laughed, shaking his head.

“You’re the troublemaker. How do you propose I deal with worrying about you when I’m warming up Trickster soon? Maybe you should come with me.”

“I’ll be fine exploring whilst you do that. I’ve seen you ride so much now, I’m convinced your butt is a perfect shape to mold to any saddle seat.”

“Well, you should know, having seen my butt how many times now?”

“Jaehyun!” you gasped, slapping his upper arm and looking around yourselves. You relaxed, realising you saw no familiar faces nearby.

He seemed to read your mind. “Avery knows about us. He’s helping me out by keeping his mother clueless.”

“Would anyone else come from Blayne today?” you asked, and Jaehyun shook his head.

“Not really. It’s more so people from the town over that will. And whilst you’re a household name in Blayne, you’re not on familiar terms yet with others. Which means…”

“Which means?” you repeated, grinning when Jaehyun reached for your hand, interlocking your fingers. You looked down at the gesture. “I felt that tremble, Jaehyun.”

“What tremble?” he feigned innocence for only a moment. “Maybe I have some butterflies about today. I want this to go well.”

“It will. I know it will.”

“Because I have your support?” he teased, and you shook your head, trying not to roll your eyes.

“Because it’s a passion of yours. I can tell you want this opportunity.”

“It would be real nice. Joey told me if I qualify, he can help me with the training. I’ll need to find extra time to do it, maybe travel to his barn a few times a week for evening training but it’s doable.”

“You’re so cute, you know that?” you said, recycling one of Jaehyun’s lines. He picked up on it and laughed. “I like seeing you this hopeful.”

“I’m hopeful about us too.”

“You are?”

“If I win today, my Dad will be pretty chuffed. Maybe we could tell him about us.”

“No more acting like teenagers over this. We’re grown adults, Jaehyun. Regardless of if you win or not, let’s tell him. I’m planning on meeting with him on Thursday for my business proposition, so if that goes well, I doubt he’ll have any concerns about us.”

“This is my Dad we’re talking about. There’s a whole lot about him, about us, that you don’t know.”

“Are you hiding someone in the attic?!” you asked, gasping dramatically. Jaehyun rolled his eyes. “You’ve got an entirely different life kept behind closed doors? How about being the culprit to-”

“Here you two are,” Avery interrupted, eyeing your linked hands with high interest. “Is this why you wanted to come today, Y/N? Away from the prying Blayne eyes, you can finally go on a date with your beau?”

“A date?” you pondered before looking up at Jaehyun. He grinned. “We’ve been on a few of those already in Blayne.”

“And no one knows that you two are together? Woah, I’m impressed with how well you’ve covered them up.”

“Not for long,” Jaehyun announced and you smiled happily, nodding in agreement. “But I am mighty glad you’re back, Avery. Can you keep an eye on this one? I’m sure if left to her own devices, some of the sellers in the market here will have her pulling out money she doesn’t need to spend.”

“You’re insulting my judgment so easily!” you called after Jaehyun’s departing back.

Avery grinned. “Well, you chose him over me. I’ve been doubtful of your taste this whole time.”

“Avery McConnell?”

Spinning to see another woman approach you both, you grinned. “He’s all yours. I’m going to go watch from the stadium.”

An hour had passed by, and you were struggling with the concept of being at a rodeo. On one hand, it was thrilling to watch but also reckless. You knew there was a danger behind the sport, as there was with most sports. But you didn’t realise how easy it was to fall off at this calibre of competition.

You gasped as a young girl, no older than fifteen hit into a barrel and her horse was deep in the turn, losing its footing and the pair fell, the horse landing on top of her. With bated breath, you watched as she managed to get back to her feet, albeit with an evident hobble.

“Your first time?” an older woman asked knowingly, and you nodded. “Not from around here?”

“Originally from the city,” you admitted sheepishly, and the woman laughed.

“Called that by a mile.”

“Do I stand out that much?”

“You’re no country pumpkin like me, that’s for sure.”

“Ah.” You looked her over and smiled. “I think you’re lovely.”

“I wasn’t meaning how we look, love. You’re here to support your boyfriend, aren’t you?”

“How did you know?”

“And he’ll come out here soon, and you’ll be the type to cheer. Don’t. It’s really tacky and could throw him off. Do you even know what barrel racing is about?”

“Some. There’s three barrels, and you have to make it through the sequence with the fastest time and without touching them.”

“It’s a dangerous sport. The horses are trained athletes. It might be all over in fifteen to seventeen seconds, but during that time, it’s a race against their life. They need to move without any issue, carry the weight of their rider perfectly, and dig deep to get around and then gallop off again. And the riders are just as focused. It’s more than just a sequence. Everything counts.”

“Wow, and he had a chance to go pro for this?”

She laughed loudly then. “All cowboys will tell you that, sweetie. Who are you rooting for?”

“Jung Jaehyun,” you mentioned and her amused expression dropped, scooting closer to you. Leaning back from her sudden invasion of your space, you laughed weakly. “Is that a problem?”

“Oh, he’s good. He’s back on the circuit? He took time off ever since the fire. I didn’t think he’d be back to this level.”

“What fire?”

“Blayne’s fire,” she replied, her eyes now peeled to the catalogue, checking out Jaehyun’s details. She gasped. “Joey Newman’s horse?! He didn’t come to mess around today.”

You smiled politely at the woman, slipping into your thoughts. You knew this was a big thing for Jaehyun, but was he that big of a deal in this world? The new information explained the nerves, but he had downplayed this to you all day long. The barrel racing was one of the last sports on the schedule for this rodeo, and for hours beforehand, Jaehyun had assured you it was like a training event. Yet, this woman now had you believing otherwise.

“Can I ask something?” you enquired, coming out of your reverie and the blonde woman nodded. “What happens if he makes the top five today?”

“He’ll be scouted. Perhaps he already is getting calls. He held the fastest time for five years straight in this region. Everyone wanted a piece of him before his father pulled him out.”

“Pulled him out?” you breathed, blinking rapidly. “Why did he-?”

“How about you ask your cowboy that you’re having a fling with all about it, once he’s done racing the clock, if you have further questions.”

“It’s not a fling,” you corrected and she smiled sadly at you.

“Darl, I was dating Billy Burke. You might not know that name but everyone around here did. He went pro, won the Nationals and become a million dollars richer.”

“A million dollars?!”

She shrugged. “I was pregnant with his baby at the time he got offered to go pro. We were supposed to get married. But, you know, it was his dream to go pro. When given the choice between love and the race, he chose the latter. So what if he has money? He has all that fame now too. All I have is his kid who hasn’t met his Daddy once. Let me warn you, cowboys might charm you with their country hospitality but they all have bigger goals than the farms they run back home. Once Jaehyun is given the chance, he’ll forget that Blayne even exists.”

“I doubt that,” you defended. “I’m sorry to hear of your circumstances, and even if Jaehyun and I end, I can confirm Blayne means more to him than-”

“You really don’t know what he did to Blayne, do you?” Pity for you emerged in her eyes. “What do you know aside from his body then?”

Getting up, you stormed out from the bleachers you had been sitting upon, feeling foolish for being so worked up by a stranger. Before you could leave, however, Avery leapt up towards you and clapped his hands together. “He’s next up. Where are you going?”

“Oh, I uh, need fresh air.”

“Worried about him falling off? Don’t be. He’s the best here today, you’re about to see it. No one else can go from being a farmhand to a decent barrel racer without practising than Jaehyun. Come on, you can get air after his run.”

Nodding numbly, you allowed Avery to push you along, taking a seat again. Avery greeted a few of the people around you, and you watched the horse and rider before you now, finishing their run with ease. You looked to the sidelines, wondering where Jaehyun was.

“I thought you said he was next.”

“He is. He’ll be making his way in any second now.”

The grating voice of the commentator muted as soon as you saw the spotted horse come racing into the arena, your eyes peeled on the pair heading towards their first barrel. Clasping your hands together, you watched on intensely, praying Jaehyun and Trickster would make it around safely.

The woman had been right. It was a sport that relied on precision and speed. You had always considered a minute to be such a short period of time, but as the seconds went by, you found yourself changed. Every second counted now.

Jaehyun and Trickster rounded the final barrel and galloped to the exit, Avery’s screams and sudden shaking your arm jostled you out of the blur that had been your vision towards the end.

Fifteen seconds was all it took to give you clarity on your feelings.

“He made it! That lucky son of a bitch!” Avery rejoiced, and you stood up jarringly, walking down the aisle to the exit. Avery was still full of energy at your side. “He’ll be cooling Trickster down, Y/N. Come this way to the holding pen.”

You followed along in a slight daze, your heart thumping with the thoughts within your head. You disregarded all the information, the warnings that stranger had given you. When you saw Jaehyun walking the heavily breathing animal around and patting his neck, you almost broke into a run to reach the side of the pen faster.

Noticing your arrival, Jaehyun grinned and walked the horse over. “Well, what did you think?”

“I think I’m in love you,” you announced sincerely.

“After seeing only one run?!” Avery joked, but Jaehyun’s expression grew serious, not shifting away from yours even as he continued to walk the horse around.

Distractedly, Jaehyun called out for the groom of Joey’s ranch and dismounted, walking over to you and ducking under the metal bar that separated you from him. “You mean what you say?”

You nodded, choking on the sudden emotions that had come with your confession.

“You can’t take it back after I give you this chance, Y/N. You mean it?”

“I love you,” you repeated, and that was all it took for Jaehyun to crash his lips upon yours.

There was no thought to the professionals around you, nor Avery who had stepped aside to give you albeit a tiny amount of privacy. You didn’t care at all who watched you lock lips with Jaehyun right now.

Because it felt right.

You hadn’t expected to arrive in Blayne and find yourself looking in different directions for your life. It had always been well-planned out. You would build your career and work hard during these years, so when you had achieved all you set out for you could relax into love and create a family.

The country didn’t work like that. The values were so different from what you had experienced in your fast-paced life. And now that you had been given the opportunity to slow down a little, to take in the world outside of an office and not be attached to a screen day in and out, you were finding your desires were changing too.

You liked the idea of waking up in someone’s arms and falling asleep whispering sweet nothings to one another. During those fifteen seconds, you imagined your life without Jaehyun in it, and it made you want to do absolutely everything in your power to remain at his side.

You meant the love confession. You had never spoken of love to another person before. It was liberating, fulfilling. As Jaehyun burned his lips into yours, you knew he felt the same.

It hadn’t been long between you. But this summer romance was shaping your world more than you believed it had for his parents all those years ago.

You couldn’t imagine going back to the city now.

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Part 11

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woodchoc-magnum · 4 years ago

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L0ne St@r 2x12 Hate Watch

DO NOT REBLOG THIS ONE - thanks, I’m trying to fly under the radar with my negative opinions here

Usual disclaimer, and I mean it this time: If you watch and love this show, that’s great and I hope you continue to enjoy it. Please don’t read this - simply go about having a lovely day.

If you do love this show and T*rlos and are braving this anyway - do not come in here. I mean it. This is not a T*rlos friendly zone. I do not ship it. Please enjoy your ship in peace and harmony. I have no intention of getting into arguments with anyone, I will simply ignore you.

I have done everything I can to avoid this showing up in the tags, whatever the LS tags are. Don’t send me hate on anon because I’ll delete them; I don’t care if you think I should stop watching the show, I’m not gonna. I like to suffer.

Eddie Diaz for calm and strength and to centre ourselves:

Hate, as always, under the cut:

Let's do this fucking thing, I've heard bad things about this episode

And I already know I'm wrong about the arsonist which is ANNOYING but maybe also too obvious so that's okay, I also know who the arsonist is and all the main plot points but I’ve still got to watch it to really appreciate the subtle nuances of the episode:

Oooh Billy

I ship it

Billwen for the win

This show is so dumb

Billy is smarter than Owen, maybe he should be the captain of the 126

I miss his lightning scars though

He's TWO HOURS LATER FOR DINNER

TK is looking as bland as always

They seriously waited for two fucking hours for this guy

Maybe should've put some deodorant on before going to dinner there Owen

You know I can't imagine the OG doing a storyline as dumb as this

So Carlos' dad thinks it's someone who works at the 126 or just a firefighter in general?

Well gosh darn it, it looks like Owen fits that profile exactly!

At least we get some Judd early in the episode and I love him

Angela Bassett is executive producer on this show as well? I hope she gets paid cash money for this

Billy is the red herring and I fell right into their trap

I just really wanted it to be him

Ooh Grace was listening

Oh it's 100% the arson investigator and Billy is 100% turning Owen in, I love him

Billy is amazing

He's my favourite character on this show

I hope he's not working with Owen to get the arson investigator? I hope he's actually this devious

I want him to be THIS DEVIOUS

Why the fuck does Owen wear that hoodie everywhere

TK is now having a little bitch fit

"they can't do that, can they?" he asks in a monotone, his face blank and devoid of expression

TK's real real dumb

Oh ho ho is this the shoving scene

IT IS

God Ronen CANNOT ACT

Okay so while I think it is wildly unbelievable that they would send TK's boyfriend to tell him that his father had been arrested by HIS father – it seems like a conflict – I would like to say that Carlos is being calm and reasonable

And TK is acting like a little BITCH

This is escalating quickly

Oh TK you so dumb

THE SHOVING

Wow

FOUR TIMES

Wow

Your fave is problematic, yo

Carlos deserves better than this whiny little piece of shit

And now, an interlude while I rant:

Let's talk about how Eddie Diaz yelled at Buck once in a supermarket and the fandom has never forgotten it; how his character has been villainised despite everything else going on in the show at the time, for that one fucking scene – let's talk about all the fics where Eddie hits Buck, or punches him, or rapes him – because you know those fics exist – let's talk about the "Eddie is violent" narrative that parts of this fandom like to push because Eddie yelled at Buck, one time, once, in a supermarket

Totally ignoring the fact that at no point at all, in any other episode he’s been in, has he been violent towards Buck, at all - let’s talk about how the street fighting arc was out of character for Eddie, because he was struggling to cope and looking for an outlet - let’s talk about how Buck and Eddie moved past that whole storyline and strengthened their relationship; how they built a family together, how they’re a team and they have each other’s backs no matter what, and how, not once in the entire show, have they ever been violent towards each other or pushed each other around in anger - NOT ONCE.

And let's talk about this scene, where TK, ya boy, ya sweet tender boy, just shoved the man he says he loved four times, violently, in front of people at the firehouse.

I betcha any money he doesn’t get tarnished with the Eddie-Diaz-is-violent brush, because he can do no wrong. He’s the fan favourite, and this is totally glossed over by the end of the episode and nothing will ever be said about it ever again.

Because wow, you guys. Wow. If this was my ship, I’d be pissed.

Back to the hate watch:

And I know that whole fight is for nothing because I know the plot twist – I know that the dads are working together in order to reveal the real arsonist, the investigator – so they've basically turned their children, who are in a relationship, against each other?

Also why is Billy allowed to be watching the interview?

Goddamn do we really have to show the gruesome burn victim photos

I really want Billy to be devious by the way, and not in on the plan

Oh here comes TK, looking like the little bitch he is

God he's a fucking awful actor

This is the dumbest plotline ever

Equating OWEN STRAND WITH THOR? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

BLASPHEMY

THOR IS THE GOD OF THUNDER

OWEN IS A DUMBASS

THE TWO ARE NOT EQUAL

Uh oh here comes the evil investigator

Do either of these men – Owen and Carlos' dad – stop to consider that what they're doing has kind of an impact on their children, who are currently in a relationship? No? Okay

Because this is one hell of an awkward situation

Does Owen genuinely think that Billy is the arsonist?

Interesting that the arson investigator wants any info Owen didn't give Carlos' dad, and he turned off the cameras/mics etc

This show is stupid

Arson investigator also knows that the sons are dating, interesting

"And you can pound sand!" oooh great comeback Owen

This episode is so BORING OMG

Why the fuck am I watching a shitty Law & Order knock-off when I should be watching a bonkers 911 episode

Oh no Judd's at Billy's

I really do think Billy Burke is good looking and it is a flaw of mine, I don't know what it is about him and he really doesn't look that good in this show but I really love Billy Burke okay

And I WANT HIM TO BE DEVIOUS

Oh Judd

Oh Judd thinks Billy is the arsonist

See this is why YOU DON'T LIE TO THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU

Oh he punched him

God damn everyone is violent in this show

Judddddddddddddd

Uh oh here comes trouble to the "vagrant's" hospital room

Oh it's the arson investigator, their little bluff worked, incredible, amazing, flawless etc

Wow how amazing

It was the ol' switcheroo

Judd punched Billy for nothing

TK and Carlos nearly came to blows for nothing

Now Owen is allowed to watch the interrogation? They'll just let anyone watch those things these days

OH MAN ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT BILLY WAS IN ON IT WITH OWEN THE WHOLE TIME?

Damn it I wanted DEVIOUS god damn it

Fucking cowards

"I assumed it was probably a trap at the hospital which is why I went there anywhere"

But why is he lighting fires

A FEW MONTHS?

A man is dead

Pure theatre

So annoyed that Billy isn't devious

But the Billwen ship sails on, clowns 🤡

Do we think the arsonist has the hots for Owen? 100% yes, right?

He's very happy to see him wink wonk

This doesn't even feel like an episode of 911, it's so goddamn dumb

"I knew you had darkness in you too" – that dude definitely wants to fuck him

Why is he lighting the fires?

They're so dumb

"And now I'm going to repay the favour" – he's talking about YOUR SONS

WHO HE KNOWS ARE TOGETHER

Wow these two dumbasses really have no fucking idea do they

OH HE'S BURNING HIMSELF ALIVE

Wow this is graphic

What the fuck is up with this show and the horribly graphic scenes lately?

That dude is dead yo

"Take away everything that's important to me" AND HE CALLS THE FIREHOUSE FIRST

THE FIREHOUSE IS THE FIRST FUCKING CALL???

Oh okay it did blow up and TK was there so I'll allow it

But hey look on the bright side – Owen gets to remodel again!

And isn't that what he's the best at?

Yo your firehouse is on fire dudes, better call the fire department

Does Judd apologise to Billy or no

Oh here we have TK and Carlos and their perfect love

And Carlos is the one apologising?

No.

Please tell me no

Carlos you are allowed to be pissed at him – ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME

"nobody has to apologise?"

YOUR BOYFRIEND PUSHED YOU AROUND

Oh my god

Wow

Okay.

Look I'm just saying that to me this would be a GIGANTIC RED FLAG but wtf do I know

I'm just saying because I have to – if Carlos was a woman and TK did that? Whole different story gang

Whole completely different mother-fucking story

This show, wow

Wow.

Wow. This is bad.

Domestic violence happens to men too, just saying.

Wow I'm so annoyed that I've paused it to type furiously and rant that wow, they're just not acknowledging that TK was totally out of line? Okay. Wow.

And everyone's just fine with it?

Oh they're just figuring out that he set more than one fire

Maybe there's something else you care about other than the firehouse, Owen

Maybe?

BILLY IS THE ONE WHO FIGURES IT OUT

See this is why Billy is the best

Oh no TK and Carlos are in danger

Oh it's so romantic isn't it? They're gonna fuck now that everything is okay

Wow he left a lot of bombs in Carlos' house

Damn Carlos is hot

No smoke alarms?

That fire has really taken ahold there guys

I'm gonna assume you do have smoke alarms and he disconnected them

Wow he really covered all bases didn't he

Put the bombs in the bedroom as well

RIP Carlos' nice house

"I love you too" after I violently shoved you around today

Oh who needs a fucking fire department when you've got Owen fucking Strand right?

"Carlos" he says flatly. "How are you doing?" he asks in a monotone

"I should've had an extinguisher in the bedroom" DUDE NO ONE DOES

And if TK wanted one in there, he's the fucking firefighter, he should've checked when he moved in instead of assuming like a dumbass

God this show is dumb as fuck and I hate it so much

Billwen for the win

"just a couple of crap magnets" fucking a-men Judd

This show sucks

Oh no TOMMY OH NO

WHAT'S HAPPENING

OH MY GOD

WHAT THE FUCK

What the fuck

Is he dead?

TAKE OWEN AND TK INSTEAD

I’m going to say one more thing about this T*rlos storyline - if they’d done this to Buck & Eddie in the OG, I’d be fucking devastated. Like... if Buck or Eddie pushed the other around the way TK pushed Carlos around, I’d be absolutely gutted. It’s really horrible that they went down that path - whether it’s OOC or not, and you can probably argue that it is - they shouldn’t have included the scene like that in the show.

It just raises a whole slew of questions, like... is TK violent? Is Carlos used to being pushed around in relationships? Is the show saying that it’s okay that they got a little physical because they’re both men? Domestic violence is never okay, and this is kind of... saying that it is, in certain circumstances?

That is problematic as fuck and such bad writing.

These two are in a relationship where they are living together and supposedly love each other, and this is how the writers choose to portray it? If you’re a T*rlos shipper and you’re upset about this episode, I get it. It’s really fucking terrible that they included that scene - and I would bet cold hard cash it’ll never be addressed again.

This is why LS is a bad show. It’s shitty writing. Shitty storylines. Characters who are interesting are shoved into the background and glossed over in favour of the male white characters. The OG doesn’t have this problem - for everyone complaining that Eddie hasn’t been featured as much this season (and yeah, I hate it too) - you can’t complain that the characters of colour don’t get equal screentime.

With LS - it’s the Rob Lowe show, and everyone else is just in the background. And that’s why it’s so frustrating to watch - they have a great cast, and this could be a really good show, but it’s just not.

Do you think the LS writers patted themselves on the back after this arc and were like, "yeah we nailed it, we're amazing?"

This episode is -1,000000/10. This show should be cancelled.

Two god awful miserable fucking episodes to go.

Diaz to cleanse:

#DO NOT REBLOG #lone star hate watch #enter at your own risk

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ssa-baby-outlaw · 3 years ago

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9-1-1 LONESTAR S2 EP11

• Oh yay its Carlos's father again😐

• Why was owen being arrested!? I'm interested now

• "I remembered to water the dog though" mateo is such a cutie

• Tommy and judd just casually catching up then we see the people hanging off a bridge...please take your time

• "I'll see you up there" well now we know he's gonna die

• Okay but why the fuck did they not secure the truck with a new chain

• Where's grace I miss her

• Why didnt billy burke have long hair in twilight 👀 this is a look

• THE CARLOS COW EYES

• "it absolutely wrecks people" 😭😭😭

• He forgot his juice 🥺

• Ooh I see now, shit's getting interesting

• I honestly wish this was Owen's villain origin story

• Marjan and paul being the best duo once again

• "I have an errand I need to run" just some light breaking and entering

#hendersnoots 9 1 1 lone star watch party #9 1 1 lonestar season 2 #carlos reyes #tommy vega #grace x judd #owen strand #captain strand #tk strand #grace ryder #judd ryder

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introvertguide · 4 years ago

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Goodfellas (1990); AFI #92

The current film up for review is Scorsese’s famous crime drama, Goodfellas (1990). It is the story of Henry Hill and how he lived through the psychotic and neurotic life of a mafia member. The film was nominated for six academy awards including Best Picture and Best Director, but only took one trophy home for Best Supporting Actor (Joe Pesci). I watched the movie 3 times over the last 2 weeks and my opinion changed from one opinion to another as I watched each time and I want to discuss why. First of all, however, we need to do summarize the plot with a standard warning...

SPOILER ALERT!!!!! I HAVE ALREADY GIVEN AWAY THE PLOT IN PREVIOUS POSTS AND I AM ABOUT TO DO IT AGAIN EVEN MORE SO!!!! CHECK OUT THE MOVIE FOR YOURSELF IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY!!!

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The movie begins with three men checking the trunk of their car and finding that the body in the trunk was actually alive. Tommy (Joe Pesci) stabs the man multiple times and then Jimmy (Robert DeNiro) shoots him multiple times. Henry (Ray Liotta) looks on and explains his life in voice over and how the men all got to this position.

In 1955, a young man named Henry Hill becomes enamored with the criminal life and Mafia presence in his working class Italian-American neighborhood in Brooklyn. He gets a job working for local mob boss Paul "Paulie" Cicero (Paul Sorvino) and is introduced to the entire family. Most important were associates James "Jimmy" Conway, an Irish truck hijacker, and Tommy DeVito, a fellow juvenile delinquent. Henry begins as an errand boy for Jimmy, gradually working his way up to more serious crimes. The three associates spend most of their nights in the 1960s at the Copacabana nightclub where they can impress women. Henry starts dating Karen Friedman (Lorraine Bracco), a Jewish woman who is friends with Tommy’s current date. She is initially troubled by Henry's criminal activities but is eventually seduced by his glamorous lifestyle. She marries him, despite her parents' disapproval.

We follow Henry and his rise in the mafia along with Jimmy and his growing paranoia and Tommy with his constant chip on the shoulder. In 1970, Billy Batts, a made man in the Gambino crew who was recently released from prison, repeatedly insults Tommy at a nightclub owned by Henry; Tommy and Jimmy then beat, stab and shoot him to death. The unsanctioned murder of a made man invites retribution; realizing this, Jimmy, Henry, and Tommy cover up the murder by burying the body in Upstate New York. Six months later, however, Jimmy learns that the burial site is slated for development, prompting them to exhume and relocate the decomposing corpse. At this time, Jimmy begins watching his back, Tommy feels invincible, and Henry takes on girlfriend while Karen stays at home with the kids.

Fast forward to 1974, Karen finds out about the infidelity and harasses Henry's mistress Janice and holds Henry at gunpoint. Henry moves in with Janice, but Paulie insists that he should return to Karen after collecting a debt from a gambler in Tampa with Jimmy. The mafia is all about family and there is no divorce and appearances must be kept. Things don’t go as planned because, upon returning, Jimmy and Henry are arrested after being turned in by the gambler's sister, an FBI typist, and they receive ten-year prison sentences. In order to support his family on the outside, Henry has drugs smuggled in by Karen and sells them to a fellow inmate from Pittsburgh. In 1978, Henry is paroled and expands this cocaine business against Paulie's orders, soon involving Jimmy and Tommy.

In 1979, Jimmy organizes a crew to raid the Lufthansa vault at the JFK Airport, stealing several millions in cash and jewelry. After some members purchase expensive items against Jimmy's orders and the getaway truck is found by police, he has most of the crew murdered. This part of the film is based on a true story Jimmy, in fact killed almost a dozen people in attempt to keep things silent. In his voiceover narration, as dead bodies are being discovered all over the city, Henry theorizes that Jimmy would have killed them anyway rather than share the profits of the heist. Tommy and Henry are spared by Jimmy since they had worked so close together. Also, Henry wasn’t actually involved in robbery and Tommy is going to be a made man and Jimmy wants the connection. Tommy is eventually deceived into believing he is going to be made, but he is murdered on the way to the ceremony, leaving Jimmy devastated.

By 1980, Henry has become a nervous wreck from cocaine use and insomnia. He notices that a helicopter is following him but is trying to visit with his family and deliver drugs at the same time. He sets up a drug deal with his Pittsburgh associates, but is arrested by narcotics agents and jailed. After bailing him out, Karen explains that she flushed $60,000 worth of cocaine down the toilet to prevent FBI agents from finding it during their raid, leaving them virtually penniless. Henry has nowhere to go so he returns to Paulie to ask for help and admits to dealing under the table. Feeling betrayed by Henry's drug dealing, Paulie gives him $3,200 and ends their association. Henry meets Jimmy at a diner and is asked to travel on a hit assignment, but the novelty of such a request makes him suspicious. Henry realizes that Jimmy plans to have him and Karen killed, prompting his decision to become an informant and enroll, with his family, in the witness protection program. He gives sufficient testimony to have Paulie and Jimmy arrested and convicted. Henry is grateful to be alive, but he is forced out of his gangster life and has to readjust to normal life once again; he narrates, "I'm an average nobody. I get to live the rest of my life like a schnook."

The end title cards state that Henry is still a protected witness as of 1990, but that he was arrested in 1987 in Seattle for narcotics conspiracy, receiving five years' probation. He has been clean since then. He and Karen separated in 1989 after 25 years of marriage, while Paulie died the previous year in Fort Worth Federal Prison at age 73 from respiratory illness. Jimmy is serving a 20 years to life sentence in a New York prison for murder, in which he will be paroled in 2004, when he will be 78 years old.

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Even more of an update from the end title cards, Henry Hill and Karen Hill divorced in 2001 and then Henry remarried and fathered one more child. Karen and her kids have lived in hiding and fear they will never escape possible retribution. Jimmy died in prison in 1996 before he was eligible for parole and Henry died in 2012 of cancer. With their history of explosive violence, I am kind of glad that all three of the main men (Tommy, Henry, and Jimmy) have shuffled off this mortal coil.

So I ended up watching this film three times in the last couple of weeks and I liked it less and less each time. So many people have such good things to say about the movies (including me), yet what the movie is most celebrated for is what I like the least. The first time I watched was with my housemates and they talked throughout the movie and laughed at the antics of Joe Pesci. I feel that many viewers enjoyed that crazy performance, and this was probably the reason for the Best Supporting Actor award. I am sure that capturing the volatile nature of a lunatic mafia hitman is very difficult and deserves praise.

I then watched it twice more to take notes on the different camera shots and then to compare to the real story of the Lucchese family and Lufthansa heist. I was not disappointed with the camera shots since Scorsese tends to let his actors go wild and then move the camera in interesting ways to capture the action while telling the story he wants to tell. He uses extreme close up shots and the vertigo trucking shot to represent the paranoia of Henry Hill and Jimmy Burke. He used the tracking shot to bring the audience into the world of the mafia man using the the character of Karen Hill as the “fish-out-of-water.” The choice of music was great including using the Sid Vicious rendition of the classic “My Way” popularized by Frank Sinatra. The colors were so bright in the beginning and became so bleak and washed out by the end. Fantastic cinematography and direction.

By the last watch, I realized that I did not like Tommy DeVito (real life name Tommy DeSimone) because he made everybody around him scared. It was like having a pet feral tiger and just hoping that he never turned on you. He was not loyal at all. In actuality, he tried to rape Karen Hill while she was married to Henry. He really killed a young bartender named Spider because Jimmy was teasing him. He brutally attacked and murdered out of anger because he was completely unhinged. Just watching Joe Pesci play the part made me anxious and I wanted him to go away every time he appeared on screen. I guess this makes him a great actor, but it also doesn’t make me want to watch his movies.

I brought this up with the Godfather movies on the list, but do Brooklyn based Italian-Americans act like these people in the movies? Constant noise in which men treat women terribly and the women go off to the kitchen and make food? I can except the loud large families and the giant shared meals, but I sure hope that the poor treatment of women and the huge lack of equality between the genders is fake or at least outdated. I have met some really nice Italian people who are nothing like the people in these films, so I believe it is a stereotype (if this is true, then Hollywood needs to stop promoting these stereotypes).

A final positive note towards the acting, I thought that Lorraine Bracco did a wonderful job as Karen Hill. She played a sheltered girl that wanted a little danger and got way more than she ever wanted. There is a scene in which she realizes that her husband is cheating and that she and her children are miserable and unprotected. She wakes up Henry with a gun in his face, but she can’t kill him because she wants that drama in her life. She is treated horribly and at one point barely walks away from a hit set up by Jimmy, yet she still stays with Henry until she is forced into the boring life of Witness Protection and she leaves him. After wading through the history of all the different characters from the movie, I actually find her story to be the most interesting.

In the end, I still want an answer for the same two questions. Does this film belong on the AFI top 100? Absolutely. It is a well made movie with a strong vision about one version of growing up in Brooklyn and how searching to realize the American dream can lead you down dark and dirty paths. Great vision by Scorsese and a well told story. Do I recommend it? Not really. I recommend doing the research on these American mobsters and get a feel for what these people were really like. I recommend checking out clips on YouTube that show the filming techniques that have become hallmarks of great directors. But don’t watch these portrayals and laugh. They are not fun or funny like they come off in the movie, these are horrible (yet interesting) people that should serve as a lesson/warning and not have their lives glamourized by Hollywood.

#goodfellas #hollywood #70s #joe pesci #ray liotta #Robert De Niro #Martin Scorsese #Oscar winner #crime drama #mafia #robbery #murder #true story #introvert #introverts

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classic-laugjhing-hollywood · 4 years ago

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Margaret Dumont (October 20, 1882 – March 6, 1965) was an American stage and film actress. She is best remembered as the comic foil to the Marx Brothers in seven of their films. Groucho Marx called her "practically the fifth Marx brother".

Dumont was born Daisy Juliette Baker in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of William and Harriet Anna (née Harvey) Baker. She spent many years of her childhood being raised by her godfather, Joel Chandler Harris at his home, Wren's Nest in Atlanta before returning to New York as a teenager.

Dumont trained as an operatic singer and actress in her teens, and began performing on stage in the U.S. and in Europe, at first under the name Daisy Dumont and later as Margaret (or Marguerite) Dumont. Her theatrical debut was in Sleeping Beauty and the Beast at the Chestnut Theater in Philadelphia, and in August 1902, two months before her 20th birthday, she appeared as a singer/comedian in a vaudeville act in Atlantic City. The dark-haired soubrette, described by a theater reviewer as a "statuesque beauty", attracted notice later that decade for her vocal and comedic talents in The Girl Behind the Counter (1908), The Belle of Brittany (1909) and The Summer Widower (1910).

In 1910, she married millionaire sugar heir and industrialist John Moller Jr. and retired from stage work, although she had a small uncredited role as an aristocrat in a 1917 film adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities. The marriage was childless.

After her husband's sudden death during the 1918 influenza pandemic, Dumont reluctantly returned to the Broadway stage, and soon gained a strong reputation in musical comedies. She never remarried. Her Broadway career included roles in the musical comedies and plays The Fan (1921), Go Easy, Mabel (1922), The Rise of Rosie O'Reilly (1923/24) and The Fourflusher (1925), and she had an uncredited role in the 1923 film Enemies of Women.

In 1925, Dumont came to the attention of theatrical producer Sam H. Harris who recommended her to the Marx Brothers and writer George S. Kaufman for the role of the wealthy dowager Mrs. Potter alongside the Marxes in their Broadway production of The Cocoanuts. In the Marxes' next Broadway show Animal Crackers, which opened in October 1928, Dumont again was cast as foil and straight woman Mrs. Rittenhouse, another rich, society dowager. She appeared with the Marxes in the screen versions of both The Cocoanuts (1929) and Animal Crackers (1930).

With the Marx Brothers, Dumont played wealthy, high-society widows whom Groucho alternately insulted and romanced for their money:

The Cocoanuts (1929) as Mrs. Potter

Animal Crackers (1930) as Mrs. Rittenhouse

Duck Soup (1933) as Mrs. Gloria Teasdale

A Night at the Opera (1935) as Mrs. Claypool

A Day at the Races (1937) as Mrs. Emily Upjohn

At the Circus (1939) as Mrs. Susanna Dukesbury

The Big Store (1941) as Martha Phelps

Her role as the hypochondriacal Mrs. Upjohn in A Day at the Races brought her a Best Supporting Actress Award from the Screen Actors Guild, and film critic Cecilia Ager suggested that a monument be erected in honor of Dumont's courage and steadfastness in the face of the Marx Brothers' antics. Groucho once said that because of their frequent movie appearances, many people believed he and Dumont were married in real life.

An exchange from Duck Soup:

Groucho: I suppose you'll think me a sentimental old fluff, but would you mind giving me a lock of your hair?

Dumont: A lock of my hair? Why, I had no idea you ...

Groucho: I'm letting you off easy. I was gonna ask for the whole wig.

Dumont also endured dialogue about her characters' (and thus her own) stoutish build, as with these lines, also from Duck Soup:

Dumont: I've sponsored your appointment because I feel you are the most able statesman in all Freedonia.

Groucho: Well, that covers a lot of ground. Say, you cover a lot of ground yourself. You'd better beat it; I hear they're going to tear you down and put up an office building where you're standing.

and:

Groucho: Why don't you marry me?

Dumont: Why, marry you?

Groucho: You take me, and I'll take a vacation. I'll need a vacation if we're going to get married. Married! I can see you right now in the kitchen, bending over a hot stove. But I can't see the stove.

Or her age (in their last film pairing, The Big Store):

Dumont: You make me think of my youth.

Groucho: Really? He must be a big boy by now.

Dumont's character would often give a short, startled or confused reaction to these insults, but appeared to forget them quickly.

Decades later, in his one-man show at New York's Carnegie Hall, Groucho mentioned Dumont's name and got a burst of applause. He falsely informed the audience that she rarely understood the humor of their scenes and would ask him, "Why are they laughing, Julie?" ("Julie" being her nickname for Julius, Groucho's birth name). Dumont was so important to the success of the Marx Brothers films, she was one of the few people Groucho mentioned in his short acceptance speech for an honorary Oscar in 1974. (The others were Harpo and Chico, their mother Minnie, and Groucho's companion Erin Fleming. Zeppo and Gummo Marx, who were both alive at the time, were not mentioned, though Jack Lemmon, who introduced Groucho, mentioned all four brothers who appeared with Dumont on film.)

In most of her interviews and press profiles, Dumont preserved the myth of her on-screen character: the wealthy, regal woman who never quite understood the jokes. However, in a 1942 interview with the World Wide Features press syndicate, Dumont said, "Scriptwriters build up to a laugh, but they don't allow any pause for it. That's where I come in. I ad lib—it doesn't matter what I say—just to kill a few seconds so you can enjoy the gag. I have to sense when the big laughs will come and fill in, or the audience will drown out the next gag with its own laughter... I'm not a stooge, I'm a straight lady. There's an art to playing straight. You must build up your man, but never top him, never steal the laughs from him."

For decades, film critics and historians have theorized that because Dumont never broke character or smiled at Groucho's jokes, she did not "get" the Marxes' humor. On the contrary, Dumont, a seasoned stage professional, maintained her "straight" appearance to enhance the Marxes' comedy. In 1965, shortly before Dumont's death, The Hollywood Palace featured a recreation of "Hooray for Captain Spaulding" (from the Marxes' 1930 film Animal Crackers) in which Dumont can be seen laughing at Groucho's ad-libs — proving that she got the jokes.

Writing about Dumont's importance as a comic foil in 1998, film critic Andrew Sarris wrote "Groucho's confrontations with Miss Dumont seem much more the heart of the Marxian matter today than the rather loose rapport among the three brothers themselves."

Dumont's acting style, especially in her early films, reflected the classic theatrical tradition of projecting to the back row (for example, trilling the "r" for emphasis). She had a classical operatic singing voice that screenwriters eagerly used to their advantage.

Dumont appeared in 57 films, including some minor silent work beginning with A Tale of Two Cities (1917). Her first feature was the Marx Brothers' The Cocoanuts (1929), in which she played Mrs. Potter, the role she played in the stage version from which the film was adapted. She also made some television appearances, including a guest-starring role with Estelle Winwood on The Donna Reed Show in the episode "Miss Lovelace Comes to Tea" (1959).

Dumont, usually playing her dignified dowager character, appeared with other film comedians and actors, including Wheeler and Woolsey and George "Spanky" McFarland (Kentucky Kernels, 1934); Joe Penner (Here, Prince 1932, and The Life of the Party 1937); Lupe Vélez (High Flyers, 1937); W.C. Fields (Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, 1941, and Tales of Manhattan 1942); Laurel and Hardy (The Dancing Masters, 1943); Red Skelton (Bathing Beauty, 1944); Danny Kaye (Up in Arms, 1944); Jack Benny (The Horn Blows at Midnight, 1945); George "Gabby" Hayes (Sunset in El Dorado, 1945); Abbott and Costello (Little Giant, 1946); and Tom Poston (Zotz!, 1962).

Turner Classic Movies’ website says of High Flyers: "The surprise... is seeing [Dumont] play a somewhat daffy matron, more Billie Burke than typical Margaret Dumont. As the lady who's into crystal gazing and dotes on her kleptomaniac bull terrier, she brings a discreetly screwball touch to the proceedings."

She also appeared on television with Martin and Lewis in The Colgate Comedy Hour (December 1951).

Dumont played dramatic parts in films including Youth on Parole (1937); Dramatic School (1938); Stop, You're Killing Me (1952); Three for Bedroom C (1952); and Shake, Rattle & Rock! (1956)

Her last film role was that of Shirley MacLaine's mother, Mrs. Foster, in What a Way to Go! (1964).

On February 26, 1965, eight days before her death, Dumont made her final acting appearance on the television program The Hollywood Palace, where she was reunited with Groucho, the week's guest host. They performed material from Captain Spaulding's introductory scene in Animal Crackers, including the song "Hooray for Captain Spaulding". The taped show was broadcast on April 17, 1965.

Dumont married millionaire American Sugar Refining Company heir and industrialist John Moller Jr. in 1910 and retired from stage work. The marriage was childless.

Moeller died during the 1918 influenza pandemic, after which Dumont reluctantly returned to the Broadway stage. She never remarried, and died from a heart attack on March 6, 1965. She was cremated and her ashes were interred in the vault at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles. She was 82, although many obituaries erroneously gave her age as 75.

#margaret dumont #the marx brothers #classic hollywood #classic movie stars #golden age of hollywood #classic comedy #1920s hollywood #1930s hollywood #1950s hollywood #1960s hollywood

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chiseler · 7 years ago

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THE DARK SIDE OF ROBERT WISE

When it comes to lists of great American directors, Robert Wise far too often swoops below the radar. Like Billy Wilder, he made films in nearly every conceivable genre, from horror and science fiction to romantic comedies, Westerns, wartime dramas, lavish musicals, even a big budget disaster movie. Also like Wilder, he provided most of those genres with not only hugely popular, but iconic entries (The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Haunting, The Sound of Music, etc.). But unlike Wilder, he never pandered to his audience, and in most instances shied away from hammering them over the head with messages. The problem is, with rare exception nobody ever seems to remember that Wise was the one who directed these films. Part of that may be because, as the general consensus has it, he had no signature style or trademark visual flourishes. Even after working as an editor on Citizen Kane and an uncredited second unit director on The Magnificent Ambersons, his own films would never be confused with Welles’. He was a storyteller, first and foremost, and one of the best to come out of the major Hollywood studios. He was also, in his own quiet way, far more radical and influential than most viewers realize.

When it comes to notable noir directors, Wise is rarely if ever considered among the likes of Raoul Walsh, Edward Dmytryk, Joseph Lewis, Joseph Losey, Delmer Daves, even Welles, Fritz Lang or John Huston. But over a career that spanned some sixty years, roughly one-fifth of the forty movies he directed could be considered noir films, far more than any other single genre in which he dabbled.

Wise got his start in the late ’30s as an editor at RKO, where he worked with Welles on Kane and Ambersons before teaming with producer Val Lewton. In 1944, he co-directed Curse of the Cat People, the almost completely unrelated sequel to the dark and atmospheric 1942 original. About a week after production began on Lewton’s The Body Snatcher the following year, he brought Wise in again to take over the directing duties. It would be Wise’ first solo directing credit, and though he later admitted to being quite nervous about getting tossed into an uncomfortable position as replacement director, the solid confidence of the storytelling, the sharp editing, and even the performances he got would become hallmarks of his work down the line. It’s interesting to note, at the very moment Wise was learning his craft, the influence German Expressionism would have not only on Welles and Lewton, but both the American horror films of the ’30s and ’40s as well as the crime dramas that would begin to emerge after WWII. It’s also interesting to note that The Body Snatcher itself danced the line between horror and noir. Although marketed at the time and remembered today as a horror film (it co-starred Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi after all, and had a shocker of an ending), in retrospect the film, loosely based on the Burke and Hare case, really plays in many ways more like a period noir film about murder, betrayal, blackmail, shadowy pasts and a sinister underground operation than a standard horror movie of the era. All the monsters here are human, and an innocent young medical student gets dragged unwittingly into some mighty sordid goings-on.

While other proto-noir films like, say, Stranger on the Third Floor had been released prior to this, it’s worth noting, unheralded as he remains, Wise’s position at that very horror/noir crux.

Although the public tends to reflexively think of Warner Brothers when it comes to noir pictures, they were much slicker, much brighter, and tended to have much larger budgets and more star power than the post-war crime dramas coming out of Columbia, Paramount, or especially RKO. Because RKO was smaller, with smaller budgets, fewer big contract stars and name directors, they actually released more noir films than Warners, as crime films could be churned out quickly and cheaply, and didn’t need lavish sets or big production crews. The crime films coming out of RKO were leaner, tougher, and because they remained under the radar, could get away with a lot more.

In 1946, a year after The Body Snatcher, Wise would direct his first straight crime film, Criminal Court, with Tom Conway, Robert Armstrong, and Steve Brody. The reliable but unremarkable Conway plays a lawyer who is planning to run for district attorney. Everything’s fine and dandy until he accidentally kills a local gangster and tries to cover it up. The twist comes when we learn the gangster owned the nightclub where the lawyer’s girlfriend worked as a singer. Right when it looks like the lawyer’s gotten away with murder, the cops pin the murder on his girlfriend. It’s a fairly standard B crime melodrama. Despite the tutelage of both Welles and Lewton, Wise avoided most of what would later become the expected cliches of the noir formula, especially in terms of the camera work. Later in his life, he would denounce those directors who played around with the camera too much—using weird angles or moving the camera unnecessarily—saying such things called attention to the mechanics of filmmaking and took the audience out of the picture. True to form he concentrates on the script and editing to tell the story at hand, about a man who makes a mistake and quickly finds himself in way over his head.

In an odd way, it was with 1947’s Born to Kill—an A film for RKO designed to establish Lawrence Tierrney as a matinee idol—that Wise at once solidified what might be seen as his own style while at the same time distancing himself from the other, more recognized noir directors of the day.

The story, in a nutshell, concerns the torrid and doomed love affair between a psychotic serial killer (Tierney) and a ruthless sociopath (Claire Trevor). Looking back now, 1947 remains perhaps the most singularly golden year of the noir era, with the releases of Out of the Past, Lady from Shanghai, Pick-Up on South Street, Dead Reckoning, Dark Passage, Raw Deal, and so very many others. But a part from the story, the psychology, the characters and the actors (the cast also includes Elisha Cook, Esther Howard, Phillip Terry and Walter Slezak), Wise avoids all the standard conventions of noir stylistics. There are no self-conscious camera angles, deep focus, or lighting tricks. There are no voiceovers or flashbacks. There aren’t even any rain-slick streets to count on. It’s just a tale of terrible people doing terrible things and meeting terrible ends. And though based on an earlier novel, the brutality, cruelty and simple nihilism at play here, more than most other noir films of the time, presaged the second generation of more nihilistic hardboiled pulp writers who would begin to emerge in the 1950s. In fact even calling it a noir film, as such things have come to be understood, might be pushing it a bit, if what you’re looking for is set dressing. It exists as a radical departure from its contemporaries, and points up Wise as a man who could work comfortably in any genre, but in his own subtle and unique way, and by his own playbook.

Wise’s next film, ’49’s The Set-Up, was an even more radical departure from the norm. On the surface it’s just another boxing movie about an aging, broken down third-rate boxer named Stoker (Robert Ryan), who believes he’s always been just one punch away from a title shot. But unlike other boxing films from the time, like Champion or Body and Soul, there’s nothing Romantic about it. It doesn’t end with a big, glitzy championship match at Madison Square Garden and a rousing, victorious climax. All the action takes place in and around a small and dumpy arena in Paradise City, and Ryan’s redemptive moment doesn’t take the form of a title bout, but just one more low-rent match in a long string of low-rent matches.

There is definitely a story and drama at play here, but the film, including all the side characters, takes the form of an allegory about the endless struggle that is daily life for most people. Paradise City is where people end up when they’ve completely run out of luck. In fact the losers who populate the film are a little too dirty, a little too lost in what may be seen as a hyper-naturalistic way. Ryan’s Stoker Thompson is a man who’s doomed without knowing he’s doomed, and he’s doomed in one way or another whichever way he turns come the end of the film.

The truly radical move Wise made here, though, and it was almost unheard of at the time, was to let the film play out in real time. The picture opens at 9:05, and we follow everything that happens not only to Stoker, but to everyone he encounters over the next 72 minutes. There are no flashbacks, no cutaway asides, just a panorama of storylines that unravel over the course of a single evening in a dingy fight club in a two-bit town. Yet thanks to the script and the performances, we come to know and understand all these characters intimately. In another fairly radical move for the time, there is no musical score, save for the ringing of the bell, and whatever music may be playing at a nearby arcade or on the street, It’s a gorgeous masterpiece, brilliantly edited and loaded with telling images which feed the allegory (like a man playing a claw game), and ends with one of the most brutal and realistic fights ever to appear in a Hollywood film.

It would be Wise’s last film for RKO, and the last film he would edit himself. It would also be the last noirish picture he would make for nearly a decade. During that stretch between 1945 and 1949 he’d made a few other pictures—costume dramas, Westerns, even a remake of The Most Dangerous Game—but always returned to dark crime dramas. Beginning in 1950, as he started moving around the other major studios, it was almost as if he made a conscious decision to stay away from crime films, hopscotching from Westerns to comedies to romances to newspaper dramas to war films to the corporate boardroom skullduggery of Executive Suite and the groundbreaking (in so many ways) science fiction of The Day the Earth stood Still.

After scoring a major hit with the all-star submarine drama Run Silent, Run Deep, in 1958 Wise again returned to noir. By then noir was all but dead as a genre, so much so that I’d still argue Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing, released two years earlier, worked as both homage and satire on a form that had run its course. Maybe realizing this, or maybe simply approaching the material as he always had, Wise brought a number of subtle twists to I Want to Live!. For one, the script was based on a true story, or more specifically on a series of newspaper articles about (and letters written by) Barbara Graham, who was convicted of murder and sent to the gas chamber in California in June of 1955. Moreover, while the film makes it clear Graham (Susan Hayward) was the victim of a frame-up and wrongly convicted, mostly on account of her loose morals, unlike most such films that would find her exonerated in the last reel, Wise closes the film with her execution. Most telling of all,while there are a few flashy sequences here (I’m thinking in particular of Hayward surrendering to the cops), he mostly approaches the material as naturalistically as he had the world of low-rent boxing in The Set-Up. In that earlier case, and after a great deal of research, he laid bare just how ugly, sad, and brutal that world can be, and here he takes that clear-eyed view one step further, by actually bringing the camera into the gas chamber and laying bare the mechanics of state-sponsored execution in a way that had never been seen before. The fact that it’s presented in such a cold, clinical, documentary style, without a dramatic swell in the music or quick cuts to the shocked witnesses in the gallery leaves it that much more shocking and disturbing. Audiences unfamiliar with Graham’s story at the time were undoubtedly expecting her last-minute vindication, but they didn’t get it. Even accepting that, though, they would never have expected Wise to actually show the execution itself in that much detail, but, well, he did, and did so without calling attention to himself.

A year later in 1959 noir was even deeper in the grave, and Wise used his last crime film as a way of hearkening back over the genre’s history, but with a contemporary angle and some rare stylistic flashes that are anything but noirish. It’s at heart a simple and straightforward heist picture, with Dave Burke (Ed Begley) hiring two ex-cons to help him pull off the proverbial easy bank job that could net each of them a cool $50,000 in small bills. Both men are down on their luck, both are having domestic problems, and one’s in deep to a local bookie. There are distinct and deliberate nods to The Asphalt Jungle, The Killing, and about four dozen other films that preceded it. The contemporary twist here is that the one with the gambling problem is Harry Belafonte, and the other, Earle (Robert Ryan again, in the Sterling Hayden role) is an angry and unapologetic racist. When you get right down to it, actually, both Belafonte’s Johnny and Ryan’s Earle are deeply racist, though they express it in different ways. In any case, it throws a bit of a monkey wrench into any hopes things might run smoothly. And no, in proper noir fashion, things don’t end well for anyone.

What makes the film so memorable, considering we’ve seen it play out so many times before, are the script (Wise was always the first to note the importance of the script) and the performances down the line. Within and on top of the well-worn, even generic storyline, however, Wise allows himself to hold certain shots for an extraordinarily long time, while playing with ambient noise and prolonged silences in anything but a cliched manner. You can’t point at this, or any of his films, and say “this is clearly a Robert Wise film,” but you can still call them great films in which something subtly different is going on.

After Odds Against Tomorrow, Wise went on to make anything but crime films, starting with West Side Story. He made a few more sci-fi films (The Andromeda Strain, Star Trek: The Motion Picture), a couple more horror movies, some comedies, The Sound of Music, The Hindenburg, and lord knows what else. Over his long career he remained a chameleon who perfected a kind of anti-style style, seeing film as a medium in which to tell stories, not showboat. Although deeply respected, ultimately, buy other directors who noted the confidence and control he had over the image on the screen, he remained mostly invisible to audiences. While he was nominated for countless awards throughout his career (winning his first Oscar for his work on Kane), most were either for his musicals or were lifetime achievement awards, and most of those were presented by European critics. Although The Set-Up won the Grand Prize at Cannes in 1949, the film was mostly panned in the states by critics who much preferred that other, much more crowd-pleasing boxing picture with Kirk Douglas.

Yes American audiences loved his big, bright musical fantasies, but when he went down in the gutter with the losers, the sociopaths, all those people who didn’t have a goddamn chance, and when he did so without following the prevailing conventions, well, that’s another story. In retrospect now, and putting the lie to so many self-satisfied critics and so-called experts, Wise’s crime films proved definitively that noir was much more a question of tone and mood and psychology than a checklist of technical aesthetic points.

by Jim Knipfel

#Jim Knipfel #Robert Wise #The Chiseler #Robert Ryan #Val Lewton #Kirk Douglas

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jrpneblog · 4 years ago

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Should I stay or should I go?

The international break leaves us a little time to focus on what is going to be an extremely important Summer for North End with 12 players out of contract. It has been a strange season as everybody knows and North End`s start has been patchy to say the least. I guess the conundrum for the club is whether to wait for the Summer and get some players off the wage bill whilst trying to get half of those out of contract to sign a new deal. I suppose it is always a numbers game and like everything else for the football fan of any era, it is a matter of opinion. Out of the twelve, thre are defenders, five are midfield players and four are stikers. If I was the benefactor of Preston North End (and I`m not!) these are my thoughts on whop should stay and who should go.

Defenders - Darnell Fisher, Paul Huntington and Ben Davies

Darnell Fisher - Offer a 2 year deal. Not always the easiest on the eye and get on the nerves of opponents but he is solid enough for a Championship full back.

Paul Huntington - Offer a 1 year deal. I know people will say this is out of sentiment as another year would give him a testimonial but if Ben Davies leaves we could be short at Centre back and one thing is for sure Hunts would not let us down even at 33 and as fourth choice centre back.

Ben Davies - Offer a four year deal. Clearly won`t be at North End for all of the four years even if he signs but at least it means the club can command the market rate fee for a player of his quality and I think that figure is currently aroun 12-15m

Midfield - Ben Pearson, Alan Browne, Daniel Johnson, Graham Burke and Paul; Gallagher

Ben Pearson - Offer a three year deal. Obviously North End`s Talisman and best player over the last few season. Not indispensable but again worthy of a long contract

Alan Browne - Offer a three year deal. The player I think that is most likely to leave having had the international exposure. Best position is central midfield but has a touch of class and is our best utility player.

Daniel Johnson - Offer a two year deal. I know Johnson has scored plenty of goals and is a very good penalty taker but I wonder which club would take him. I wouldn`t really want him to go but not in Browne or Pearsons class for my money

Graham Burke - Release. On a season long loan in Ireland and not Championship standard

Paul Gallagher - Release. Playing days are coming to an end but having said that offer a 12 month rolling contract as assistant coach

Forwards - Billy Bodin, David Nugent, Josh Ginnelly and Louis Moult

Billy Bodin - Release. Border line one is this but seems injury prone and will score a hatful when he drops down to League One.

David Nugent - Release. The second coming wasn`t what we hoped it would be but takes nothing away from what he did in his first spell with the club. Will probably drop down the league for a season or two...maybe Tranmere

Josh Ginelly - Release. On a season long loan in Scotland and is a player with speed and some ability. Just not progressed how we would have hoped and the Scottish Prem is probably a good standard for him to play in.

Louis Moult- Release. Another tough one this but again the lad seems injury prone. Perhaps a 12 month deal but I think we should look elsewhere

Getting back to the football and a poor result for North End at Rotherham last Saturday. I thought it would be a comfortable win if I am being honest but once again those games against teams near the bottom of the league prove even more difficult than the games against the big boys. The manager was not happy after the game and rightly so but I don1t like managers blaming player if I am honest and North End have two very big home games coming up after the internation break with managerless Sheffiled Wednesday coming to Deepdale before a midweek Ghost derby with Blackburn Rovers.

And finally this week - After 22 years of hurt the Scots finally managed to qualify for a major tournament after a penalty shootout win in Belgrade. Hopefully fans should be back into football grounds by the time we get to next Summer and with three games at Wembley against the Croatia, Scotland and the Czech Republic it seems like our next Summer`s viewing is sorted. The big date is Friday 18th June 8pm kick. England v Scotland at Wembley... say no more!

JR`s HIGH FIVES

CAMBRIDGE TO BEAT BARROW 11/10

A £5 Stake returns £10.50 on bet365

SEASONS STATS

Returns £43.75 Stake £50.00 percentage profit -12.5%

Predictions 10 won 4 lost 6

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greatvanheflinkennethtobeypie · 4 years ago

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Actor Kenneth Tobey

Kenneth Tobey (March 23, 1917 – December 22, 2002) was an American stage, film, and television actor, who performed in hundreds of productions during a career that spanned more than half a century, including his role as the star of the successful 1957-1960 Desilu Productions TV series Whirlybirds.

Early years

Kenneth Tobey In Remembrance Kenneth Tobey

Kenneth Jesse Tobey was born in 1917 in Oakland, California. According to the United States Census of 1930 for Oakland,13-year-old "Kenneth J." was the eldest of three sons of Jesse V. Tobey and his wife Frances H. Tobey. That census also documents that Tobey's father was an automobile-tire salesman and that young Kenneth was of Irish and Russian ancestry. His paternal grandmother's parents were both natives of the "Ireland Free State", and his mother's parents were born in Russia, although they apparently had immigrated to South America, where Frances Tobey had been born and where in her youth the preferred language spoken in her family's household—again documented in the census—was Spanish. Following his graduation from high school in 1935, Kenneth was headed for a career in law when he first dabbled in acting at the University of California Little Theater. That stage experience led to a drama scholarship, a year-and-a-half of study at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse, where his classmates included fellow University of California at Berkeley alumni Gregory Peck, Eli Wallach, and Tony Randall.

Kenneth Tobey 21 best Whirlybirds images on Pinterest Helicopters Leveon bell

During World War II, Tobey joined the United States Army Air Forces, serving in the Pacific as a rear gunner aboard a B-25 bomber. Throughout the 1940s, with the exception of his time in military service, Tobey acted on Broadway and in summer stock. After appearing in a 1943 film short, The Man of the Ferry, he made his Hollywood film debut in the 1947 Hopalong Cassidy western Dangerous Venture. He then went on to appear in scores of features and on numerous television series. In the 1949 film Twelve O' Clock High, he is the negligent airbase sentry who is dressed down by General Frank Savage (played by Gregory Peck). That same year Tobey performed in a brief comedy bit in another film, I Was a Male War Bride. His performance in that minor part caught the attention of director Howard Hawks, who promised to use the thirty-two-year-old actor in something more substantial.

The Thing from Another World

Kenneth Tobey Film and TV actor Kenneth Tobey was born today 323 in 1917 Boomers

In 1951, Tobey was cast in Howard Hawks' production The Thing from Another World. In this classic sci-fi film he portrays Captain Patrick Hendry, a United States Air Force pilot, who at the North Pole leads a scientific outpost's dogged defense against an alien portrayed by James Arness, later the star of the television series Gunsmoke. Tobey's performance in Hawks' film garnered the actor other parts in science fiction movies in the 1950s, usually reprising his role as a military officer, such as in The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) and It Came from Beneath the Sea (1956).

Television

Kenneth Tobey Kenneth Tobey 1919 2002 Find A Grave Memorial

Tobey appeared in the 1952 episode "Counterfeit Plates" on the CBS series Biff Baker, U.S.A., an espionage drama starring Alan Hale, Jr. He was cast too in the 1954-1955 CBS legal drama The Public Defender, starring Reed Hadley. He guest-starred in three episodes of NBC's western anthology series Frontier. His Frontier roles were as Wade Trippe in "In Nebraska" (1955) and then as Gabe Sharp in "Out from Texas" and "The Hostage" (1956). In 1955, he also portrayed legendary frontiersman Jim Bowie on ABC's Davy Crockett, a Walt Disney production, with Fess Parker in the title role. After Bowie's death in the series at the Battle of the Alamo, Tobey played a second character, Jocko, in the two final episodes of Davy Crockett.

Tobey then, in 1957, appeared in the syndicated religion anthology series Crossroads in the role of Mr. Alston in the episode "Call for Help" and as Jim Callahan in "Bandit Chief" in the syndicated western series The Sheriff of Cochise. Later that same year, Tobey starred in the television series The Whirlybirds, a successful CBS and then-syndicated adventure produced by Desilu Studios. In it he played the co-owner of a helicopter charter service, along with fellow actor Craig Hill. The Whirlybirds was a major hit in the United States and abroad, with 111 episodes filmed through 1960. It remained in syndication worldwide for many years.

In 1958, Tobey also appeared as John Wallach in the episode "$50 for a Dead Man" in Jeff Richards's NBC western series Jefferson Drum. In 1960, he guest-starred in the episode "West of Boston" of another NBC western series, Overland Trail, starring William Bendix and Doug McClure. He performed as well in the ABC western series The Rebel, starring Nick Adams. Tobey made three guest appearances on Perry Mason, twice in 1960 and once in 1962 as Jack Alvin, a deputy district attorney. On the long-running western series Gunsmoke, he portrayed a cruel, knife-wielding buffalo hunter, Ben Spadden, in the 1960 episode titled "The Worm". Tobey in 1962 also guest-starred on another western series, Lawman, playing the character Duncan Clooney, an engineer who seeks to move a shipment of nitroglycerin through Laramie, Wyoming. When the town is evacuated to allow passage of the explosives, two of Clooney's employees decide they will take advantage of the situation to rob the bank.

Tobey guest-starred as well in Jack Lord's 1962-1963 ABC adventure series about a rodeo circuit rider, Stoney Burke. In 1967 he performed on the series Lassie, in the episode "Lure of the Wild", playing a retired forest ranger who tames a local coyote. He also appeared as a slave owner named Taggart in "The Wolf Man", a 1967 episode of Daniel Boone, starring Fess Parker. A few of the many other series in which Tobey later performed include Adam-12 (1969), Gibbsville (1976), MV Klickitat (1978), Emergency! (1975), and Night Court (1985).

He became a semi-regular on the NBC series I Spy as the field boss of agents Robinson and Scott. Christian Nyby, director of The Thing From Another World, often directed those episodes. Tobey also portrayed a ship's captain on the Rockford Files, in an episode titled "There's One in Every Port".

Other films

In 1957, Tobey portrayed a sheriff in The Vampire (a film that some sources today often confuse with the 1935 production Mark of the Vampire). That year he also appeared in a more prestigious film, serving as a featured supporting character with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, the co-stars of John Ford's The Wings of Eagles. In that film, Tobey—with his naturally red hair on display in vibrant Metrocolor—portrays a highly competitive United States Army Air Service officer. In one memorable scene he has the distinction of shoving a piece of gooey cake into the face of John Wayne, whose character is a rival United States Navy aviation officer. Not surprisingly, a room-wrecking brawl ensues.

Tobey's work over the next several decades was increasingly involved in television productions. He did, though, continue to perform in a range of feature films, such as Stark Fear, Marlowe, Billy Jack, Walking Tall, The Howling, the war movie MacArthur (in which he portrays Admiral "Bull" Halsey), Airplane!, Gremlins, Big Top Pee-wee, and Gremlins 2: The New Batch.

Broadway

Although Tobey had a busy acting career in films and on television, he also periodically returned to the stage. In 1964 he began a long run on Broadway opposite Sammy Davis, Jr., in the musical version of Clifford Odets' play Golden Boy. Some of his other Broadway credits are As You Like It, Sunny River, Janie, Sons and Soldiers, A New Life, Suds in Your Eye, The Cherry Orchard, and Truckline Cafe.

Later years

As his long career drew to a close, Tobey still received acting jobs from people who had grown up watching his performances in sci-fi films of the 1950s, particularly Joe Dante, who included the veteran actor in his stock company of reliable players. Two appearances on the sitcom Night Court came the same way, through fans of his work. Along with other character actors who had been in 1950s sci-fi and horror films (John Agar, Robert O. Cornthwaite, Gloria Talbott, etc.), Tobey starred in a spoof originally titled Attack Of The B Movie Monster. In 2005, Anthem Pictures released the completed feature version of this spoof on DVD under the new title The Naked Monster. Tobey's scenes in that release were actually shot in 1985, so The Naked Monster is technically his final film credit, being released three years after his death. He had, however, continued to act throughout most of the 1990s. One of those notable roles is his performance in the 1994 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Shadowplay" as Rurigan, an alien who recreates his dead friends as holograms. Among other examples of Tobey's final decade of work are his two appearances as Judge Kent Watson on the series L.A. Law.

In 2002, Tobey died of natural causes at age 85 in Rancho Mirage, California.

https://www.wikipedia.org/kennethtobey

#biographies: kenneth tobey

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multiverseforger · 4 years ago

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Albert Francis Simmons was born in Detroit, Michigan. He is the second eldest of three children (Marc, Albert, and Richard) born to Bernard Simmons- a traveling salesman- and Esther Simmons- a devil worshipper. Simmons is a highly intelligent and physically strong Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Marine Corps. He later joins the United States Secret Service and becomes a highly decorated member. This leads to his recruitment to the Central Intelligence Agency(CIA). Once in the CIA, Simmons joins the U.S. Security Group- an umbrella agency encompassing the CIA, the NSA, and the NSC- commanded by Director Jason Wynn, and becomes a highly capable assassin.

After being murdered during a mission in Botswana when Director Wynn hires Simmons' friend and partner, Bruce Stinson (codename Chapel), to kill him, Simmons is sent to Hell due to his life as an assassin.[17][18][19] Making a deal with the devil, known as Malebolgia, Simmons agrees to become a Hellspawn and serve Malebolgia if he is allowed to see his wife, Wanda, one last time. Malebolgia agrees, and returns Simmons to the living realm, but stripped of nearly all his memories, with a badly burned body, and a demonic guardian, named the Violator.[20]

After his death and subsequent rebirth, Simmons- now Spawn- arrives on Earth in a daze, off-balance and disoriented. With only vague recollections of his past and how he came to be, he only knew his name, 'Al Simmons,' and that he died, but nothing else.

Occasionally experiencing painful flashbacks, he eventually remembers his deal with Malebolgia, but can't remember his wife's name in order to return to her.

Using CIA files, he tracks down his wife to find her married to his former best friend, Terry, with a daughter named Cyan,[18] and realizes that five years have passed since his death.

Spawn soon runs into a fellow Hellspawn who informs him that his powers are fueled by Necroplasm, and once they are fully depleted, he will return to Hell.

Not wanting to return to Hell, Spawn attempts to find a new purpose in life, while using as little power as possible. Spawn is thrust into several antihero adventures where he takes down street gangs and organized crime in New York City in a brutal fashion. Battling against Italian mobsters and later eventually killing a serial murderer and pedophile, Billy Kincaid, Spawn finds a new purpose in stopping evil.

Early historyEdit

In his early battles, Spawn faces street thugs and gangs, becoming a dark and brutal antihero, culminating in the brutal murder of a pedophile and child murderer named Billy Kincaid. As a result, he gains the attention of the detective duo of Sam Burke and Twitch Williams. It is around this time that Spawn becomes "King of Rat City", a gathering of alleys where bums and the homeless live. There he meets the bum Cogliostro, who seems to know much more about Spawn than he first lets on, and becomes his mentor.

Spawn is also hunted by the warrior angel, Angela, who hunts Hellspawns for sport,[18]and battles the cyborg mob enforcer Overt-Kill. This confrontation almost kills Spawn, but he is able to emerge victoriously. He is again hunted by Angela and fights the angelic warrior, Anti-Spawn a.k.a. the Redeemer, who was, in fact, Jason Wynn.[18]

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thefairefolk-rp · 7 years ago

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Hey, Nic! Your second character app for Preston Reed has been accepted!

Name/Nickname: Nic

Age: 27

Preferred Pronouns: She/her

Timezone: Central (US)

Activity and Availability (Please answer in words as well as rating your availability from 1-10): 7 I’m on pretty regularly, but will be moving (again) likely fairly soon and starting a new job.

Have you read the rules and FAQ? Yes

IC INFORMATION:

Desired Character: Preston Reed

Second Choice Character: Billie Spruce

What made you choose this character?: Preston is quirky and interesting, new to the fae world and wildly curious, which I find fascinating, as well as his need to research and learn everything he can about faeries.

Are there any changes you would like to make?: None that I can think of.

Questions/Comments: I’m not sure if my description of Preston’s experience being a Gifted human and having the Sight is completely accurate; please let me know if any of it is incorrect so I can write it more accurately in the future.

Writing Sample (Must be 300 words or more, third person limited, in the character you’re auditioning for’s point of view):

“This won’t do, this won’t do,” Preston mumbled under his breath, shifting through papers in such a hurry he knocked them from his desk onto the floor. “Drompits,” he said a bit louder, the closest he ever came to cursing being his own made-up words. He found cursing to be crude, especially in polite company, but he wasn’t above making up his own ways of expressing his frustration.

“Doctor?” A woman’s voice called from upstairs.

“Yes, I’m coming, I’m coming,” Preston called back, forgetting the paperwork and rushing for the stairs. He only stumbled twice in his rush up the stairs, smiling brightly despite his disheveled appearance when he appeared at the top of the stairs, into the small clinic he had set up.

It really was a nice set up. When the Queen had offered him room and board, he hadn’t known it would be quite to this extent. Perhaps he should have, when he was shown through Olia, where his office was to be set up. He had worried as he passed high-end shops and more than one fae clearly of high status, that the less well-off occupants of the area either wouldn’t know to come there, or that they wouldn’t be comfortable coming there to visit a doctor. His fears were allayed though, when he was given a house just on the edge of Olia. Easy access from just about anywhere, and still close enough that he could make trips to the castle when his services were needed there. That was a stipulation of this agreement, and not one he was unhappy with, that he be available should the Queen or anyone of her Court in the castle need him. The castle was quite spectacular, and he was more than willing to visit as often as needed.

His home though, was far nicer than he’d expected, and with ample space for what he needed and more. There was a large sitting room and office just off the side of it in the front of the house, which Preston used to meet his patients, taking them back into the office where he had set up various supplies to check over and treat his patients. The rest of the house was a dedicated living space, which was considerably too large for Preston by himself.

The downstairs of the house, though— Oh, that was his playground.

The basement had been a dingy, blank slate when he moved in, not nearly as nice as the rest of the house, but he had been ecstatic about it from day one. For the first week, he didn’t open his clinic, instead focusing on getting everything set up. The first two days had been dedicated to the space upstairs for the patients, while the remainder of the week he hardly slept, too focused on turning the basement into any scientist’s dream laboratory. Of course, he didn’t have most of the ingredients for medicines that he was accustomed to, but he had a wonderful time searching through an alchemy shop to see what he could find to work with. He wasn’t to the point of being able to truly do much research and experiments, not until he acquired more background information on the available plants and herbs in Wisteria, but he couldn’t be happier with his lab. The Queen had ensured he had everything he needed, only the best new equipment available.

When he found his way upstairs and into the large sitting room, a young boy that looked no older than twenty— though Preston knew he must be far older— was leaning against the wall watching him with an amused smile.

"Hello,” he said, slightly confused. He scanned the room before looking back to ask if this was his patient, but the boy was walking towards him, a look of interest on his face.

“So it’s true then, you have the Sight,” the boy said. It wasn’t a term Preston was unfamiliar with, at least not since he’d arrived in Wisteria a few weeks ago, though it did make him feel a bit like a petting zoo animal, the way people stared. But then, he stared in fascination at them in much the same way, so perhaps he couldn’t be too cross.

Despite them not saying it, he always knew what people meant when they made the observation. They had been trying to hide. Preston couldn’t tell when someone was trying to use a glamour or not, or trying to be invisible; he just always saw them, exactly as they were. It had made it rather difficult, on his way here when his escort from the castle had commented on some piece of decoration at a home, which he apparently thought was very impressive, but it had evidently been a deception, and Preston had only been able to nod and hum his agreement about some glamoured object he couldn’t see.

“Are you my patient?“ he asked the boy, deciding to ignore the observation. "I’m terribly sorry, I thought I heard a woman’s voice— how rude of me, I’m Dr.—“

“Preston Reed, I know,” the boy said, reaching out to shake his hand. Preston’s bright smile faltered slightly as he continued. “And no, I’m not your patient. I just chased her out, actually.

“You what?” Preston asked in disbelief. He dropped the boy’s hand and rushed to the window to look out, seeing a young red-haired woman retreating down the street. “Why on earth would you do that?”

“Because she wasn’t sick,” the boy answered. He waved dismissively. “Everyone’s curious, you know. She was as well. How the town’s new human doctor could cure illnesses of faeries. I expect that’s why most of your patients have come, haven’t they?” He asked. Preston just stared at him, uncertain how to answer.

Of course, it seemed that a majority of his patients (alright, probably all of them, with a few being incredibly good liars) that he’d had since he’d been open for the last two weeks really had no maladies for him to tend to. They seemed more curious and skeptical of a human doctor showing up to treat the illnesses of fairies. Which was probably a fair skepticism.

Preston still wasn’t entirely sure how he was to do his job, though he was having a wonderful and exciting time figuring it out. So far he had seen several people for headaches, most of whom miraculously felt better after only sitting and talking with Preston for a short time, usually dismissing his questions about their health in favor of asking him questions about his experience. He had bandaged a few scrapes and cuts though, so that was something.

“How many of your patients have you found to actually be ill, Dr. Reed?” The boy continued.

“One did have a rather bad cough,” Preston answered, a bit defensively. “Why are you here, Mr….?”

The boy smiled, more politely this time. “Sindri Burke, Dr. Reed. And I’m here because I found these,” he held out a handful of neatly stacked papers, which Preston recognized immediately. He took the stack and flipped through. A dozen posters all the same.

“You took down every one of them?” He asked, looking up at Sindri.

“You don’t need them any more,” he answered. “I expected that the first job of your new assistant would be to take down the advertisements of your need for an assistant, so I just jumped ahead a bit.”

Preston smiled, not bothering trying to tamper down his excitement at someone answering his posters. And a faerie no less! Of course, he shouldn’t be all that surprised, given where he was. But it still was all quite new, seeing and speaking to the fae that he’d seen in the woods for so long, always just out of reach. Now he had the opportunity to work with one!

“Your qualifications?” Preston asked, raising his eyebrows at the boy as he tried to put on a more professional air.

“I’m a quick study, my mother was a healer during the war, and I learned a lot from her. I’m also incredibly organized, and I’m good at telling when people are lying about being sick,” he added with a small smirk. “Saves you the trouble of bothering with idiots just trying to get a look at the town’s shiny new toy.”

Preston hummed thoughtfully, looking over the posters as though they held the decision that he already knew he was going to make. It did sound quite wonderful. He hoped the ‘shiny new toy’ visits would calm down after a week or two, once people got used to him being there, but until then, it would certainly be helpful to have someone to weed out those people. It saved Preston the trouble of having to dash up from his lab every few minutes to assess another faerie without an illness, only a curiosity.

“Alright, we’ll give it a shot,” Preston said, looking up at Sindri with a bright smile. “Can you start today?” He asked, reaching out to shake the fae’s hand again.

“Absolutely,” Sindri said, finally showing a level of excitement that Preston hoped for. He paused for a moment, suddenly a bit awkward as his eyes fell back to the posters. “Is there a— The poster said, room and board would be provided?”

“Oh, yes, of course, I’d nearly forgotten,” Preston laughed. Sindri relaxed with a soft smile, and Preston wondered if that was really the reason he’d come for the job. It wasn’t his business to ask, but perhaps he’d get to know the boy as time went on, so he didn’t press, but just gestured down the hallway. “Down there, kitchen’s on the left. The last room on the right is mine. There’s three other bedrooms, you can pick any one that you like. I’m thinking of turning one of the rooms into an overnight patient room, if anyone needs it, what do you think?”

Sindri looked surprised at being asked for his opinion already, but he looked down the hall thoughtfully. “Think it’d come in handy. Is this one of the rooms here?” He walked down the hall and pulled open the first door on the right, just across from the kitchen. “Yes, it’s closest to the rest of the medical supplies, I think this would be the best room for overnight patients. I’ll take one of the rooms further down.”

“Excellent!” Preston bounced up on his toes excitedly. Finally, he had someone else to share this place with, and his research. “Right, well, I’ll let you get settled in. We’ll work on turning this into a patient’s room later this week. If you need me, or if any patients need me, I’ll be in my lab downstairs. Feel free to come and see it as well, if you’d like. I rather like it. It’s not much, but it will be! Oh, it will be magnificent, Sindri!” He bounced away, back towards the stairs, not minding the soft chuckle that he heard from the boy behind him. Things here in this strange new land just seemed to get more and more exciting by the day.

#accepted

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fan-of-mulligan · 5 years ago

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FOM BLOG: FAVERSHAM TOWN 1-9 GILLINGHAM

My Thoughts On Faversham Town V Gillingham………….

I left my house at 10.50AM And I made sure I had the following things on me,,,,, (Money, Keys, My Sony Xperia XA1, Portable Charger, My Light-Weight Jacket, Lynx, My Gillingham Bag, Pad and Pens, and A Packet Of Polo’s) And I Double Checked I had everything on me before leaving the house, and I made the fifteen to twenty minute walk from my house to Rainham Train Station, And once I arrived at Rainham Train Station, I brought My Return Ticket To Faversham for £7.90, before going into the shop to buy A 500ML Bottle Of Coca Cola for £1.25, And I got on The 11.15AM Train to Faversham, sat down in my seat before posting a status update on Facebook and Twitter, And I uploaded the following,,,,, On my way to Salters Lane for the first match of The 2019 / 2020 Season as Gillingham take on Faversham Town in our first pre-season friendly, There should be a decent attendance at Faversham, And we get to see how well Gillingham's New Signings play for Gillingham Today. COME ON THE GILLS.

I also sent the following tweet to Cray Valley, Hello Cray Valley, Is There A DVD of The 2019 FA Vase Final available on sale ???, Because When I went to The FA Vase Final For Tunbridge Wells V Spennymoor Town in 2013, I was able to buy A DVD Of The FA Vase Final, And Cray Valley have been consistent with there responses by responding back with, We haven’t heard about one yet, And Cary Valley have put a lot of focus on the word yet, which suggests that there might be A DVD Of The FA Finals Day On Sale.

Once I arrived in Faversham, I walked from Faversham Train Station to Salters Lane, which is a ten / fifteen minute walk, And I arrived outside Salters Lane at 11.45AM, And I got speaking with Dom, Canaan and Liam, and we were speaking about Gillingham’s Aims For The 2019 / 2020 Season, Because Gillingham ended Thirteenth With Fifty Five Points Last Season, which is one point less then the number of points Gillingham picked up in the 2017 / 2018 Season, where Gillingham ended Seventeenth, So any improvement on Thirteenth Position, even if Gillingham ended Twelfth In League One would still be considered an improvement, While there has been talk of challenging for a playoff spot, If Gillingham don’t reach the playoffs and we are out of the promotion challenge well before the season ends, but Gillingham end the season twelfth, eleventh or tenth in League One, then that would still be considered an improvement on The 2018 / 2019 Season.

We also got speaking about the away matches Gillingham have got this season, Ipswich Town Away On Boxing Day is a devastating blow, Because I was looking to travel to Ipswich Town via train, Coventry City are playing there home matches at Birmingham City’s Ground, So that could catch a few Gillingham Supporters Out, Portsmouth Away Is In October, And Sunderland Away is on A Saturday In March, so hopefully, more Gillingham Supporters can go to The Stadium Of Light this time round, because last season, Sunderland V Gillingham was played on A Tuesday Night.

The turnstiles then opened up, and I paid £10 and this is the first match of The 2019 / 2020 Season, and I sent Stephen a picture of Salters Lane from behind the goal, Because I knew he was disappointed to be missing Faversham Town V Gillingham for the second time in three season’s, and for both matches that he has missed, Stephen has missed these matches because Faversham Town V Gillingham has been moved on both occasions, The previous match Stephen missed was also Gillingham’s first pre-season match of the season, and Faversham Town V Gillingham was played in-front of 1,214 attendance, I am not sure the attendance for Faversham Town V Gillingham will be as high as that, because there is The Kent County Show this weekend, and there might be a few supporters who could go to the match on Tuesday Night who were unable to go this match on The Saturday.

I got speaking with Loonpotter and we were looking forward to seeing how the new signings will play in Gillingham’s First Pre-Season Friendly and how it is good to have the football back again, Now Gillingham are going to have sterner tests in pre-season with home matches against Charlton Athletic, Millwall and Southend, But playing against Faversham Town and The Kent Non League Teams means that you can move around the ground, where as the home pre-season friendlies is going to be along the lines of sit where you have brought your ticket, And if there is only 1,000 inside Priestfield Stadium for a pre-season friendly, then chances are that Gillingham will have made a loss financially, where as 1,000 inside Salters Lane and Faversham Town are going to greatly appreciate 1,000 supporters inside the ground for a pre-season friendly.

I brought A Bacon Cheese-Burger and two cans of coca cola from the food bar for £6.70, there wasn’t a queue yet because we had arrived so early inside the ground, and we spoke about Tom Eaves, and neither Loonpotter or myself could see Tom Eaves staying at Gillingham Football Club and he is likely to sign for someone else very soon, It would be completely unexpected if Tom Eaves were to sign a new contract with Gillingham Football Club, and the likelihood of Tom Eaves signing a new contract is slim at best, I then notice someone with A Match-Day Programme and headed round to buy myself A Match-Day Programme For £2, And I then saw Lewis, and we got speaking about the new signings and this match being Gillingham’s First Pre-Season Friendly of the summer, I picked out Stuart O’Keefe and Ousseynou Cissé as players to watch out for, simply because Gillingham have needed to strengthen our defensive midfielder options and these two give Gillingham a much needed combative midfield now, Billy Bingham was injured for the majority of last season, and Alex Lacey, Dean Parrett, Mark Byrne, Darren Oldaker, Graham Burke, Callum Reilly and Josh Rees have all tried to fill the void when Billy Bingham was injured, so it is great to see Gillingham sign two players capable of playing as a defensive midfielder now.

I mentioned to Lewis which pre-season friendlies I am looking to go to and I am likely to go to the majority of these matches via train, Folkestone Invicta is the next match I am going to travel to, because Deal Town V Gillingham is on Tuesday July The Ninth, And because that match will likely be A U23 Gillingham Side combined with just how difficult it is to get to Deal Town, I am likely to give that match a miss, We also got speaking about the new kit, which does look very nice and Gillingham’s Black And White Kit will be kept on as our third kit as well, So with Gillingham’s New Signings, The New Kit, And Pre-Season getting under-way, everything is looking positive for Gillingham at this moment in time.

I did get speaking with Gillingham’s Social Media Team in the press area, and I was told that Gillingham will line up one to eleven in the first half, and twelve to twenty two in the second half, But don’t take the squad numbers the players wear in this match as the squad numbers the players will wear when The Football League Season Starts, Because Gabriel Zakuani wasn’t in the squad for this match because of injury, And Gillingham are surely likely to make more signings to strengthen the squad as well.

Eventually, Gillingham’s Team News Appeared On Twitter, And Gillingham Lined Up As Follows,,,,,,, FIRST HALF: Jack Bonham, Lee Hodson, Alfie Jones, Connor Ogilvie, Bradley Garmston, Mark Byrne, Stuart O’Keefe, Ousseynou Cissé, Mikael Ndjoli, Brandon Hanlan, Callum Reilly, SECOND HALF: Joe Walsh, Miquel Scarlett, Max Ehmer, Jack Tucker, Barry Fuller, Nathan Thomas, Darren Oldaker, Matty Willock, Elliott List, Roman Campbell, Regan Charles-Cook SUB: Henry Woods - Henry Woods is on the bench, just in-case someone picks up an injury, Dean Parrett and Josh Rees are not in the squad, which increases speculation about both players leaving Gillingham Football Club, But as I mentioned to Ben and James, It only takes for someone to pick up an injury in pre-season and Dean Parrett and Josh Rees can force there way into Steve Evans Plans, Joe Walsh also has a fantastic opportunity to try and force his way into contention to be Gillingham’s Back Up Goalkeeper As Well.

I got speaking with Ben and James about the summer transfer window this summer, and comparing the 2019 / 2020 summer transfer window to last summer’s transfer window, and this summer, Gillingham have already signed Jack Bonham, Lee Hodson, Alfie Jones, Connor Ogilvie, Stuart O’Keefe, Ousseynou Cissé, Mikael Ndjoli, Nathan Thomas and Matty Willock, and Gillingham are probably still looking to sign another four or five players, where as last summer, Steve Lovell signed Callum Reilly, Dean Parrett, Barry Fuller, Josh Rees, Regan Charles-Cook and Brandon Hanlan, But the bulk of our business was keeping the squad together with Gabriel Zakuani, Bradley Garmston, Mark Byrne, Noel Mbo, Bradley Stevenson, Darren Oldaker, Elliott List, Ben Chapman, Aaron Simpson, Finn O’Mara, Tom Hadler, and Navid Nasseri all signing contract extensions, And only Ben Nugent left the football club, and you rarely find a situation where almost every player you offer a contract to sign’s on the dotted line, because during that previous summer transfer window, Gabriel Zakuani and Mark Byrne were late to sign contract extensions and they were the players we were hoping that Gillingham can keep hold off.

I then found a spot to stand in the main stand, And I stood next to where the food bar was situated as both teams came out on to the pitch for the opening pre-season friendly of the summer, Faversham Town have got plenty of former Gillingham Players in there squad, with Ryan Huckle, Michael Freiter, Jack Sellens, Ollie Lee and Leroy Hlabi in there squad, Faversham Town just about managed to avoid relegation last season and Manager’s Phil Miles and Danny Chapman have spoken about going with a younger squad and developing young players into the first team, because Faversham Town have not got the finances to sign players on to expensive contracts.

Both teams then lined up on to the pitch, With Gillingham kicking towards the covered terrace in the first half, and when both teams switch ends at half time, I will also be looking to switch ends myself, and that’s something you can do when pre-season fixtures are played at Local Non League Grounds, you can move around the stadium, And With Referee Nick Dunn getting this match underway, Gillingham can kick off the opening pre-season match prior to The 2019 / 2020 Season - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIRST HALF:

And Gillingham started this match on the offensive from the kick off, as Bradley Garmston see’s his attempted through-ball towards Brandon Hanlan cutout by Donvieve Jones at the expense of conceding a throw on down the left side of the pitch, And Two Minutes Into The Match, Gillingham were again looking to open the scoring, Lee Hodson has possession of the ball down the right side of the pitch in Faversham Town’s Final Third, And Lee Hodson plays the ball towards Brandon Hanlan in Faversham Town’s Penalty Area down by the byline, and Brandon Hanlan manages to pass the ball through A Faversham Town Players Legs to pass the ball back to Lee Hodson, who passes the ball back to Alfie Jones in a central position in Faversham Town’s Half Of The Pitch, And Alfie Jones switches play to the left flank, And Bradley Garmston gets the ball under control, takes on his marker and is clipped and Referee Nick Dunn awards Gillingham A Free Kick, And It Is From The Resulting Free Kick Where Gillingham open the scoring, Callum Reilly passes the ball square to Stuart O’Keefe, who takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball back out-wide to Callum Reilly, And Callum Reilly whips in a fantastic first time cross, and there was Connor Ogilvie to header the ball into the back of the net via the underside of the crossbar to give Gillingham a early lead, Brandon Hanlan and Alfie Jones were also well positioned and anyone of those three players could have opened the scoring for The Gills.

Gillingham were then awarded a free kick, because Mikael Ndjoli was fouled by A Faversham Town Player, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Stuart O’Keefe passes the ball forwards to Mark Byrne, who passes the ball through to Lee Hodson on the over-lap, And Lee Hodson see’s his cross charged down at the expense of a corner kick, And Gillingham were quick to take the resulting corner kick, With Lee Hodson passing the ball towards Callum Reilly down the right side of Faversham Town’s Penalty Area, And Callum Reilly takes a touch to control the ball before dragging his shot wide into the side netting, and Simon Overland probably had that effort covered had Callum Reilly manage to get that shot off on target.

Faversham Town do at least look to try and catch Gillingham out at the back, with Alfie Jones blocking an dangerous cross and preventing the ball from going behind for a corner kick and Lee Hodson gets the loose ball and clears the ball and away from danger, And A Minute Later, Gillingham are looking to extend the score-line further in there favour as Stuart O’Keefe see’s his driven effort from distance blocked and the ball ricochets into Lee Hodson’s Path, And Lee Hodson see’s his cross charged down at the expense of conceding a corner kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Gillingham almost doubled there lead, Callum Reilly passes the ball short to Mark Byrne, who lays the ball off to Callum Reilly, And Callum Reilly passes the ball back to Stuart O’Keefe, who takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in an dangerous cross towards the far post and Ousseynou Cissé's looping header is tipped over by Simon Overland, And From The Second Corner Kick, Callum Reilly quickly passes the ball towards Lee Hodson, But this time Faversham Town were able to clear there lines and earn themselves a rest-bite from the relentless attacking intent from The Gills.

But the relentless attacking intent continued for The Gills, Because Brandon Hanlan skilfully manages to work his way towards the byline and fire in a fiercely driven cross across the face of goal and Bradley Garmston cannot get on the end of that cross and the ball goes out of play for A Faversham Town Throw On, Stuart O’Keefe tries to pick out Ousseynou Cissé with a threaded through-pass down the right side of the pitch, But Ousseynou Cissé couldn’t get on the end of that pass and the ball goes out of play for A Faversham Town Goal-Kick, and while the ball goes out of play, Connor Ogilvie requires treatment from Physio Gary Hemens and if there are any doubts about Connor Ogilvie being able to continue playing, then it would be wise for Gillingham to take precautions and substitute Connor Ogilvie, But at this present moment in time, Gillingham are going to play with ten men while Connor Ogilvie is getting some treatment.

Faversham Town are then awarded a free kick in The Twelfth Minute Of The Match, But Michael Freiter’s Free Kick is over-hit towards the far post and runs out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, And Faversham Town manage to win themselves another free kick on the halfway line, As Stuart O’Keefe and Ousseynou Cissé are both penalised for there respective challenges on Mitchell Chapman, But instead of the hosts creating a goal-scoring opportunity themselves, It Was Gillingham who looked to hit Faversham Town on the counter attack, with Alfie Jones passing the ball forwards to Mark Byrne, who runs forwards in possession of the ball before passing the ball through to Lee Hodson on the over-lap, And Lee Hodson manages to win another corner kick for The Gills - And Gillingham have looked very strong down the right side of the pitch - And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Callum Reilly whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post which is just over-hit and Brandon Hanlan manages to keep the ball in play before passing the ball back out-wide to Bradley Garmston, who takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in an dangerous in-swinging cross which is headed partially clear and Stuart O’Keefe passes the ball out-wide to Mark Byrne, who plays a one / two with Lee Hodson, And Mark Byrne stands the ball up towards the far post, And Callum Reilly chests the ball under control and Callum Reilly cannot quite manage to get a shot away on target, But Callum Reilly does at least manage to win Gillingham another corner kick.

And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Callum Reilly passes the ball short to Bradley Garmston, who manages to pick out Stuart O’Keefe on the edge of Faversham Town’s Penalty Area, And Stuart O’Keefe see’s his fiercely driven effort blocked and diverted out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, And From The Resulting Throw On, Bradley Garmston throws the ball towards Mikael Ndjoli, who runs forwards in possession of the ball down the left side of the pitch and cuts inside looking to twist and turn past his marker, And Mikael Ndjoli looks to tee himself up for a shot off on goal before laying the ball off to Stuart O’Keefe, And Stuart O’Keefe passes the ball forwards to Brandon Hanlan, who manages to retain possession of the ball despite almost losing balance, And Brandon Hanlan passes the ball back to Ousseynou Cissé, who passes the ball out-wide to Bradley Garmston, And Bradley Garmston does really well to win the competitive battle with Donvieve Jones when both players were down on the deck, And Bradley Garmston passes the ball inside to Callum Reilly, who looks to force his way through towards the byline, and although A Faversham Town Player manages to stop Callum Reilly from whipping in a cross, he cannot stop the ball going out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick.

And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Callum Reilly passes the ball short to Bradley Garmston, who passes the ball square inside to Callum Reilly down the left side of Faversham Town’s Penalty Area, And Callum Reilly works his way through towards the byline, And Callum Reilly see’s his pull back blocked and cleared by Matt Bourne and Connor Ogilvie gets to the loose ball first and Connor Ogilvie’s long ball down-field is headed clear towards the halfway line and Connor Ogilvie manages to win the second aerial challenge and the loose ball falls kindly to Stuart O’Keefe, who manages to get the ball under control before passing the ball out-wide to Mikael Ndjoli down the left side of the pitch, And Mikael Ndjoli uses his pace to take on two Faversham Town Players and work his way into a shooting position and Mikael Ndjoli fires the ball into the roof of the net to give Gillingham a two goal lead and there is nothing that Simon Overland can do about that.

And 2-0 almost turned into 3-0 for The Gills In The Seventeenth Minute Of The Match, Again, Gillingham look strong down the right side of the pitch, and Mark Byrne has whipped in a fantastic in-swinging cross and Brandon Hanlan’s Header is on target and Simon Overland does brilliantly to palm the ball over the top at the expense of conceding a corner kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Gillingham again go short, With Callum Reilly passing the ball short to Stuart O’Keefe, And Stuart O’Keefe see’s his in-swinging cross headed clear by Josh Dorling, but the second ball falls kindly to Bradley Garmston, who takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball through to Connor Ogilvie down the left side of Faversham Town’s Penalty Area, And Connor Ogilvie whips in an dangerous low cross towards the far post, And Mikael Ndjoli completely scuff’s his shot towards goal, But The Faversham Town Defender on the post can only divert the ball out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Lee Hodson passes the ball short to Mark Byrne, who lays the ball off to Callum Reilly, And Callum Reilly has fired in a fiercely driven effort towards goal which is brilliantly blocked and Faversham Town manage to clear there lines momentarily, but the relentless attacking intent continue’s from The Gills, With Ousseynou Cissé trying to pick out one of Brandon Hanlan or Mikael Ndjoli with a long ball over the top which runs all the way through to Simon Overland.

Gillingham have looked very strong down the right side of the pitch, And again, Mark Byrne passes the ball through to Lee Hodson on the over-lap, And Lee Hodson see’s his cross charged down and diverted out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, And It Is From The Resulting Corner Kick where Gillingham extended the score-line to 3-0, Callum Reilly whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the near post and Mikael Ndjoli’s glancing header finds the far left corner of the net, Two of Gillingham’s Three Goals scored have come from set plays and Gillingham are 3-0 up after just Twenty One Minutes, And 3-0 turned into 4-0 after Twenty Two Minutes, Mikael Ndjoli goes on a driving run forwards from the hallway line towards the edge of Faversham Town’s Penalty Area, And Mikael Ndjoli passes the square to Callum Reilly who manages to pick out the top right corner of the net with a first time finish - And fair play to Mikael Ndjoli, he could have quite easily gone for goal and try and secure himself a first half hat-trick, But Mikael Ndjoli passed the ball through to Callum Reilly, who has capped off his own excellent performance with a goal for The Gills.

Brandon Hanlan see’s his driven effort on goal from the edge of Faversham Town’s Penalty Area Blocked, and in the aftermath of that effort on goal from Brandon Hanlan being blocked, Faversham Town have been awarded a defensive free kick, It has essentially been a defensive display from Faversham Town and the hosts were perhaps expecting to be on the defensive for the majority of this match, But it has been the intensity and the quality of the finishing from The Gills which might have caught Faversham Town unawares.

I have mentioned how strong Gillingham have looked down the right side of the pitch, And once again, Lee Hodson has provided width with an over-lapping run and Mark Byrne has played the ball through to Lee Hodson, And Lee Hodson has whipped in a fantastic in-swinging cross which has somehow managed to go all the way through with no-one able to get a telling connection on the ball from either side, and if Gillingham are going to potentially line up with a 4.3.3 formation with three central midfielders and over-lapping full backs, then Lee Hodson and Bradley Garmston are providing Gillingham with plenty of width on either flank.

Again, Gillingham look strong down the right side of the pitch, And Lee Hodson has seen his cross charged down at the expense of conceding a corner kick, and from the resulting corner kick, Lee Hodson has quickly passed the ball short to Mark Byrne, And Mark Byrne whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Connor Ogilvie chests the ball under control and cannot quite manage to get a shot away on target, But Connor Ogilvie does manage to win another corner kick for The Gills, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Callum Reilly passes the ball short to Bradley Garmston, who takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in an dangerous in-swinging cross and Simon Overland does really well to punch the ball partially clear and away from danger, but the second ball falls kindly to Mark Byrne, who gets the ball under control, passes the ball back to Mikael Ndjoli on the edge of Faversham Town’s Penalty Area, And Mikael Ndjoli drags the ball back before firing his effort on goal over Faversham Town’s Crossbar - and that was the chance for Mikael Ndjoli to score a first half hat-trick for The Gills.

And Callum Reilly manages to win another corner kick for The Gills, However, on this occasion, when Callum Reilly whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross, Gillingham are penalised for a foul, And moments later, Callum Reilly see’s his driven effort on goal blocked by Ryan Huckle, and the tackles have just started to get a bit stronger now, Because Ousseynou Cissé was penalised for his challenge on the halfway line, while Donvieve Jones times his challenge on Brandon Hanlan to perfection.

But despite this match being one sided for the vast majority of the game, Faversham Town had a great opportunity to get themselves on to the score-sheet, because Anthony Adesite flicks the ball around the corner towards Jack Sellens who is through on goal, and from an acute angle, Jack Sellens see’s his shot on target saved by Jack Bonham, who has had very little to do throughout the match so far.

Brandon Hanlan then see’s his low cross across the face of goal saved and gathered at the second attempt by Simon Overland In The Faversham Town Goal, And Brandon Hanlan had the chance to get himself on the score-sheet yet again, because Brandon Hanlan see’s his fiercely struck effort on goal deflected out of play at the expense of conceding a corner kick, And it is from the resulting corner kick where Gillingham almost scored the fifth goal of the match, Lee Hodson passes the ball short to Mark Byrne, who whips in a first time cross and Ousseynou Cissé’s looping header clears Faversham Town’s Crossbar, And the final moment of the first half see’s Gillingham Defender Alfie Jones takes no chances and kicks the ball into touch for A Faversham Town Throw On, And The Half Time Whistle is blown by Referee Nick Dunn and Gillingham go in at the break with the score-line 4-0 in there favour.

HALF TIME: FAVERSHAM TOWN 0-4 GILLINGHAM

I uploaded the following tweet at half time, HT: FAVERSHAM TOWN 0-4 GILLINGHAM Reilly, Ogilvie and Ndjoli x2 have given Gillingham a commanding four goal lead at the break, Gillingham could have added to the score-line but Overland has made some excellent saves, Looks like Gills have lined up with a 4.3.3 / 4.4.2 formation, And as I made my way down to the opposite end of the main stand, I spoke with Luke at half time, and all in all, it has been a very decent first half for The Gills, I know we have got to take the level of opposition into consideration, But Gillingham were very good, especially in the opening twenty five minutes of the match where Gillingham scored four goals, and we spoke about Mikael Ndjoli, who could have scored a first half hat-trick, but opted to assist Callum Reilly for the fourth goal of the game.

I also saw Gills In The Blood At Half Time, and it has been a very impressive first half for The Gills, Lee Hodson, Mark Byrne, Mikael Ndjoli and Stuart O’Keefe were the players I picked out in-particular for there impressive first half performances, No-one has had a bad game for Gillingham and making sure that the players get minutes under there belts between now and the start of the season is what is important about everyone of Gillingham’s Pre-Season Friendlies, But it is good to see Mikael Ndjoli, Connor Ogilvie and Callum Reilly get themselves on the score-sheet in pre-season as well.

I don’t think you can fault any Faversham Town Player for there efforts in this match either, this is there first pre-season game, Faversham Town are a semi professional football club and they are playing against A Gillingham Team who are five division’s above them in The Football Pyramid, So Faversham Town clearly are not going to be playing against teams with League One Quality Players In The Ryman Division One South on a week in, week out basis, I just think that the way Gillingham started the match, and especially those opening twenty five minutes of the match has caught Faversham Town out.

Gillingham made ten changes from the team that started in the first half, and Gillingham Lined Up As Follows,,,, Joe Walsh, Miquel Scarlett, Max Ehmer, Jack Tucker, Bradley Garmston, Nathan Thomas, Darren Oldaker, Matty Willock, Elliott List, Roman Campbell, Regan Charles-Cook - Now Barry Fuller was supposed to play for Gillingham In The Second Half, But it appears that Barry Fuller has picked up an unexpected injury, so Bradley Garmston will play for Gillingham at Left Back In The Second Half, Hopefully we will see a few more goals from The Gills, But Faversham Town will now have to try and deal with the pace from Elliott List, Regan Charles-Cook and Matty Willock in the second half, all of those three will be keen to get themselves on the score-sheet in Gillingham’s Opening Match Of Pre-Season.

SECOND HALF:

And the first noteworthy moment of the second half see’s Miguel Scarlett’s through-ball through to Nathan Thomas go out of play for A Faversham Town Goal-Kick, But despite making ten changes from the team that started in the first half, that relentless attacking intent continued from The Gills, because Gillingham won a corner kick in The Forty Sixth Minute Of The Match, And Gillingham came very close to scoring from the resulting corner kick, because Nathan Thomas passes the ball short to Elliott List, who gets the ball under control, goes past his marker around the out-side and Elliott List has fired his effort against the far right post and somehow Elliott List’s Effort on goal fails to hit the back of the net, but the ball ricochets back to Max Ehmer, who was able to play a short pass through to Miquel Scarlett, And Miquel Scarlett is fouled inside the penalty area, but the loose ball runs through to Matty Willock, who see’s his fiercely driven effort on goal charged down by A Faversham Town Defender, and the clearance from the second Faversham Town Defender was very poor and Jack Tucker is on to the poor clearance, And Jack Tucker whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross and the initial header is headed up into the air by Ryan Huckle and Regan Charles-Cook’s back-header is cleared off the line and the ball ricochets back to Nathan Thomas on the edge of Faversham Town’s Penalty Area, And Nathan Thomas’s Lifted Effort only just about clears the crossbar, and Gillingham came very close to scoring the fifth goal of the game on a number of occasions there.

And Gillingham again came close to scoring in the next goal-scoring opportunity, Elliott List uses his pace to run down the left wing, And Elliott List manages to evade a challenge before continuing his run down the left side of the pitch and Elliott List manages to skip past another challenge before running towards the byline and pulling the ball back to Darren Oldaker, who see’s his initial shot on goal saved by Billy Lewins, and the follow up effort from Darren Oldaker from a wide angle was cleared off the line and Faversham Town manage to clear the ball out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, And on this occasion, Gillingham were unable to create a goal-scoring opportunity, Faversham Town are then awarded a free kick down the right side of the pitch, and from the resulting free kick, Michael Freiter whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross and Joe Walsh manages to punch the ball clear and the second ball drops to James Miles, who gets the ball under control before running down the left side of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And James Miles see’s his attempted pullback blocked by Max Ehmer, who kicks the ball long down-field towards Roman Campbell on the halfway line, And Roman Campbell manages to retain possession of the ball before passing the ball short to Darren Oldaker, And Darren Oldaker passes the ball forwards to Matty Willock, who takes a touch to control the ball before threading the ball through to Regan Charles-Cook, who has the pace to run around his marker, And Regan Charles-Cook see’s his shot on goal saved by Billy Lewins, who had came out to narrow the angle to make a decent save, The resulting corner kick see’s Bradley Garmston whip in a curling in-swinging cross towards the far post which runs out of play for A Faversham Town Goal-Kick.

Gillingham are then awarded a free kick in The Fifty Fourth Minute Of The Match, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Nathan Thomas whips in a fantastic in-swinging cross and Max Ehmer was unable to direct his header on target, But in the next attack, Gillingham did manage to extend the lead further to 5-0, Miquel Scarlett has possession of the ball down the right side of the pitch, And Miquel Scarlett passes the ball short to Matty Willock, And Matty Willock manages to pick out Bradley Garmston with a cross-field pass to the left flank, And Bradley Garmston takes a touch to control the ball before threading the ball through to Regan Charles-Cook, And Regan Charles-Cook runs with the ball into Faversham Town’s Penalty Area before picking out Matty Willock with a pass to the edge of the penalty area, And Matty Willock goes past one player before accurately placing the ball into the bottom right corner of the net, and there is nothing that Billy Lewins can do about that, A Good Passing Move and A Good Goal For The Gills.

And Matty Willock almost scored for Gillingham again a minute later, Nathan Thomas manages to get the ball under control on the right wing, and Nathan Thomas passes the ball to Matty Willock in a central position of the pitch, And Matty Willock goes past one player before firing a low effort towards the bottom left corner of the net, And Matty Willock’s low effort towards goal goes one yard wide of the far post, and that was so close to Gillingham scoring there sixth goal of the game.

And in the aftermath of that goal-scoring opportunity, Henry Woods comes on to replace Bradley Garmston after The Fifth Ninth Minute Of The Game, And Henry Woods is playing at Right Back, with Miquel Scarlett coming across to line up for Gillingham at Left Back, It is good to see Bradley Garmston play for almost one hour, and hopefully, Bradley Garmston can have an injury free 2019 / 2020 Season.

Faversham Town manage to win themselves a corner kick with Elliott List charging down an dangerous in-swinging cross down the left side of the pitch, and it is from the resulting corner kick where Faversham Town manage to get themselves on the score-sheet, Michael Freiter whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and there was Ryan Huckle to climb highest at the far post to header the ball into the back of the net, and two former Gillingham Players link up nicely for Faversham Town’s Opening Goal Of The Game, I don’t think Joe Walsh covered himself in glory there, But Gillingham’s Defence is very young and unbalanced with Henry Woods and Miquel Scarlett playing at Right And Left Back respectively, while Young Jack Tucker plays alongside Max Ehmer in the centre of defence.

And Gillingham came close to restoring that five goal lead in the next attack, Elliott List uses his pace to work his way through towards the byline, And Elliott List has fired in an dangerous in-swinging cross which is partially cleared away from danger, and Miquel Scarlett manages to keep the ball in play, cuts inside on to his favoured right foot, And Miquel Scarlett whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross which is saved by Billy Lewins.

Roman Campbell was next to try and get himself on the score-sheet for Gillingham, Elliott List runs down the left wing in possession of the ball, And Elliott List passes the ball back out-wide to Miquel Scarlett, who passes the ball inside to Roman Campbell, And Roman Campbell plays a neat one / two with Darren Oldaker before rolling the ball wide of the far right post, and that was another decent goal-scoring opportunity for Gillingham.

Miquel Scarlett is the latest Gillingham Player to try and get themselves on the score-sheet, Because Miquel Scarlett tries to catch out Billy Lewins at the near post, But Miquel Scarlett see’s his low effort on goal saved and gathered at the second attempt by The Faversham Town Goalkeeper, And A Minute Later, Miquel Scarlett tries to pick out Regan Charles-Cook with a threaded through-ball which is over-hit and runs out of play for A Faversham Town Goal-Kick.

Seventy Minutes Into The Match, And Elliott List has tried to chip Billy Lewins, But Elliott List has lifted the ball clear of Faversham Town’s Crossbar as well as lifting the ball over The Faversham Town Goalkeeper, But In The Seventy Second Minute Of The Match, Gillingham were awarded a free kick, as Henry Woods plays the ball through to Matty Willock, who allows the ball to run through to Roman Campbell, who passes the ball back into Matty Willock’s Path, only for The Gillingham Midfielder to be fouled on the edge of Faversham Town’s Penalty Area, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Gillingham manage to stick the ball into the back of the net, because Nathan Thomas manages to pick out the top left corner of the net with a magnificent free kick, and there is nothing that Billy Lewins can do about that.

I think we have found a potential replacement for Luke O’Neill when it comes to possible free kick takers, I actually thought that Darren Oldaker had scored that free kick, because Darren Oldaker has the ability to score remarkable free kicks, but that was a fantastic goal from Nathan Thomas and the best goal of the day, And Gillingham have now restored there five goal advantage, and the score-line is now 6-1 to The Gills.

And Gillingham are on the front-foot yet again, as Henry Woods manages to header the ball inside to Darren Oldaker on the edge of Faversham Town’s Penalty Area, And Darren Oldaker passes the ball short to Matty Willock, who is trying to tee himself up to get a shot off on target, But Matty Willock manages to pass the ball through to Roman Campbell down the right side of Faversham Town’s Penalty Area, And Roman Campbell see’s his in-swinging cross headed clear by Ryan Huckle and Henry Woods does really well to keep the ball in play by heading the ball forwards to Roman Campbell, And Roman Campbell see’s his second cross deflected out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Gillingham manage to extend the score-line further in our favour, Darren Oldaker whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and there was Jack Tucker unmarked to header the ball into the back of the net, Gillingham are now 7-1 up, and that goal from Ryan Huckle for Faversham Town looks like it has woken Gillingham up, Because Jack Tucker, Nathan Thomas and Matty Willock have all got themselves on the score-sheet for Gillingham In The Second Half.

Darren Oldaker almost manages to pick out Henry Woods with a threaded through-ball which is slightly over-hit and runs out of play for A Faversham Town Goal-Kick, But Gillingham did score there eighth goal of the game after The Eightieth Minute, Matty Willock passes the ball square to Elliott List on the halfway line, And Elliott List just uses his pace to go on a driving run forwards down the left flank and Elliott List is twisting and turning and working his way towards the byline, And Elliott List fires in a low cross across the six yard box which ricochets back into Roman Campbell’s Path, And Roman Campbell instinctively manages to stick the ball into the back of the net with a decent strikers finish, Faversham Town just cannot deal with Elliott List’s Pace, And Elliott List has been causing Faversham Town a lot of problems defensively, It is great to see Roman Campbell get himself on the score-sheet for The Gills and we are eagerly anticipating what the young striker can do for Gillingham this season, Because I can see Roman Campbell making a few appearances in The Football League Trophy and The Kent Senior Cup this season.

With the score-line at 8-1, every player on the pitch wants to try and get themselves on the score-sheet, And Regan Charles-Cook looks to try his luck from twenty five yards out, And Regan Charles-Cook’s long range effort from twenty five yards out only just about flashes wide of the far right post, But Gillingham do score there ninth goal of the match in the next attack after Eighty Three Minutes, Gillingham move the ball around the back unchallenged, And Jack Tucker passes the ball forwards to Matty Willock, who passes the ball forwards to Nathan Thomas, And Nathan Thomas gets the ball under control before skipping past his marker and Nathan Thomas manages to find the far left corner of the net with a very accurate strike, and there is nothing that Billy Lewins can do about that, And Gillingham have scored three goals in eight minutes and you want to see players get themselves on the score-sheet and boost there confidence levels before the season starts.

The commanding display from The Gills continued, With Gillingham looking to score there tenth goal of the match, Regan Charles-Cook passes the ball short to Miquel Scarlett, And Miquel Scarlett passes the ball square to Matty Willock on the edge of Faversham Town’s Penalty Area, And Matty Willock plays a one / two with Nathan Thomas, And Nathan Thomas, passes the ball short to Miquel Scarlett, who see’s his first shot on goal blocked, and his follow up effort was brilliantly saved by Billy Lewins, and the ball deflects out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, And it is from the resulting corner kick where Gillingham could have scored again, Regan Charles-Cook passes the ball short to Miquel Scarlett, who passes the ball back out-wide to Regain Charles-Cook, And Regan Charles-Cook takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball back to Miquel Scarlett, who plays a first time pass square to Callum Willock, who passes the ball square to Nathan Thomas, And Nathan Thomas clips the ball towards the far left side of Faversham Town’s Penalty Area, and the ball ricochets back into Elliott List’s Path, And Elliott List gets the ball under control before seeing his chipped effort partially saved by Billy Lewins and A Faversham Town Defender manages to clear the ball off the line, and the chance was still there for The Gills because Nathan Thomas gets the ball under control and passes the ball forwards to Matty Willock, who passes the ball square to Elliott List, And Elliott List uses his pace to run down the right side of Faversham Town’s Penalty Area and fire a fiercely driven effort towards goal which clips the top of Faversham Town’s Crossbar and goes out of play for A Faversham Town Goal-Kick.

Henry Woods also see’s his cross saved by Billy Lewins, As Gillingham look to score a tenth goal, Faversham Town however are looking to end this match on a high note and get themselves another goal on the score-sheet, Because the hosts managed to win themselves a corner kick, And Michael Freiter whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross which Henry Woods was able to clear and Elliott List wins the foot-race to get to the ball first, And Elliott List goes on a driving run forwards in possession of the ball down the left flank, And Elliott List manages to work his way towards the byline and win Gillingham another corner kick, And from the resulting corner kick, Regan Charles-Cook passes the ball short to Miquel Scarlett, who passes the ball towards Max Ehmer on the edge of Faversham Town’s Penalty Area, And Max Ehmer smashes the ball first time well over the crossbar and someone’s car in the car park must of got hit by the ball surely.

And in the next goal-scoring opportunity, Gillingham really should have scored there tenth goal of the match, Elliott List again is causing havoc Towards Faversham Town’s Defence, And Elliott List gets on to the end of Regan Charles-Cook’s Pass, And Elliott List runs forward in possession of the ball and passes the ball square to Regan Charles-Cook inside Faversham Town’s Penalty Area, But Regan Charles-Cook allows the ball to run through to Matty Willock, and the ball ricochets back to A Faversham Town Player, And Regan Charles-Cook intercepts the ball and see’s his shot on goal brilliantly saved by Billy Lewins, and the follow up effort from Regan Charles-Cook was cleared off the line by A Faversham Town Defender And Gillingham have been awarded a corner kick.

And from the resulting corner kick, Matty Willock is taken out from Gillingham’s Short Corner Routine and Karl Rook deserves a yellow card for his challenge, I think A Yellow Card is sensible considering that this is a pre-season friendly and I don’t think anyone was demanding for Karl Rook to be sent off here, and from the resulting free kick, Regan Charles-Cook’s Curling Effort On Goal Clears Faversham Town’s Crossbar, and that was the final noteworthy moment from Gillingham’s Opening Pre-Season Friendly Fixture At Salters Lane.

FULL TIME: FAVERSHAM TOWN 1-9 GILLINGHAM

I wrote the following on Twitter after The Full Time Whistle, FULL TIME: FAVERSHAM TOWN 1-9 GILLINGHAM - Reilly, Ogilvie, Ndjoli x2, Oldaker, Willock, Campbell, Thomas and Tucker all managed to get themselves on the score-sheet for Gillingham Today, A Fantastic Start To Pre-Season For The Gills - At the time, I thought Darren Oldaker scored the free kick until I was corrected and told Nathan Thomas scored.

This was a fantastic opening pre-season result for The Gills, Callum Reilly, Mikael Ndjoli, Connor Ogilvie, Nathan Thomas, Matty Willock, Roman Campbell and Jack Tucker have all managed to get themselves on the score-sheet for Gillingham, There were plenty of encouraging sign’s from this opening match, and I can tell looking at the likes of Mikael Ndjoli, Matty Willock, Regan Charles-Cook, Elliott List and Brandon Hanlan that Gillingham have got plenty of players with pace, and there could be more players signed specifically to add more pace to Gillingham’s Match-Day Squad As Well.

Nathan Thomas looks like he could Gillingham’s Answer as to who replaces Luke O’Neill on free kick duty, because that was a fantastic goal and the best goal of the day, Lee Hodson and Bradley Garmston got forward a lot and attacking full backs could be the way that Steve Evans wants Gillingham to line up going into our opening league game of the season against Doncaster Rovers, Of Course, Gillingham were not tested defensively because Faversham Town just offered very little in attack, But there are going to be sterner tests for Gillingham in pre-season.

I also think that Faversham Town V Gillingham is starting to become Gillingham’s Traditional Opening Pre-Season Fixture, and long may this continue, I think this friendly is a good opening pre-season friendly for The Gills, Salters Lane is close to Faversham Train Station, And although Faversham Town lost 9-1 against Gillingham, I am sure that the money Faversham Town have made from food, drink, match-day programme sales and gate receipts will help Faversham Town out a lot financially, It is clear looking at last season’s league table that Faversham Town struggled to avoid relegation and they had a very difficult 2018 / 2019 Season, And With Joint Manager’s Phil Miles and Dan Chapman insisting that they are relying on younger players to step up into the first team this season, then it is clear for all to see that Faversham Town are looking to be sensible with there playing budget.

But I do wonder if Gillingham can help Faversham Town out, and maybe the likes of Bradley Stevenson, Roman Campbell and Jack Tucker can sign for Faversham Town on loan, if and when required, because Ben Chapman, Louie Catherall and Ryan Huckle signed for Faversham Town on loan last season, And I think sending our young players out on loan to Kent Non League Clubs is best for there development. (Especially As Reserve Team Football Is Now In Decline).

Myself and Another Gillingham Supporter got speaking with A Faversham Town Supporter, And This Faversham Town Supporter mentioned that Guernsey have to pay for players flight and accommodation costs whenever a team travels to Guernsey, I asked how do Guernsey Survive Financially??? And they apparently have got a very large home support which helps the football club out a lot, I also read an article that Jersey are looking to put a team in The English Non League Pyramid and they could have a team in English Football for The 2020 / 2021 Season, Guernsey Also run a second football team within The Guernsey Football League System as well.

I made my way towards The Supporters Bar after the game, And I caught up with Louis and a few other Gillingham Supporters, and all in all, we were impressed with what we saw from Gillingham in our opening pre-season friendly of the summer, Yes, we do have to take into consideration that Gillingham have played against much stronger Faversham Town Sides in previous pre-season friendlies, But even when Gillingham have split there first team squad into two eleven’s playing for forty five minutes each, I have never seen Gillingham score nine goals against Faversham Town before, And I think it is so important for Mikael Ndjoli, Callum Reilly, Connor Ogilvie, Matty Willock, Nathan Thomas, Roman Campbell and Jack Tucker to get themselves on the score-sheet which will boost our players confidence levels, and for the attacking players like Mikael Ndjoli, Matty Willock, Nathan Thomas, Roman Campbell and Callum Reilly, It is important for those five to get on the score-sheet so that when the same situation happens against Doncaster Rovers on the opening day of the season, then our more attacking players will have the confidence to stick the ball into the back of the net.

Because I don’t think Gillingham will be able to sign a direct replacement for Tom Eaves, proven established strikers who are capable of scoring twenty goals a season in League One are going to cost Gillingham Football Club £300,000 at the very least, So Gillingham either need to find someone who can be a bit of a hidden gem and turn that striker into an established goal-scorer, like we did when Peter Taylor And Ade Pennock signed Tom Eaves two year’s ago, Or, You try and replace Tom Eaves by signing three players who can score between eight and ten goals a season themselves and have plenty of attacking options who can chip in with a few goals, And In Elliott List, Brandon Hanlan, Regan Charles-Cook, and new signings Matty Willock, Nathan Thomas and Mikael Ndjoli, Gillingham have got six players here who can chip in with a few goals.

I brought one pint of Coca Cola for £2 and I asked The Gillingham Social Media Team what was the attendance for today’s match, and no-one had been told what the attendance was at this present moment in time, I knew just by looking around the ground that the attendance wasn’t 1,214, which is what the attendance was two year’s ago, But the attendance did look like it was close to 1,000 though.

I noticed on Twitter that Billy Bingham’s Free Kick was saved in stoppage time, in a match where Bromley drew 0-0 against Fulham’s U23’s, And I then said c ya to Louis and a few others before I made my way from Salters Lane towards Faversham Town Centre, And Once I had walked back into Faversham Town Centre, I decided to go to The Local Chippy, Where I brought Small Fries, A Large Jumbo Sausage and A 500ML Bottle Of Coca Cola, and once I picked up my order, I stood out-side so I could essentially eat my dinner, Once I was done eating, I put the rubbish in the bin, before walking from Faversham Town Centre To Faversham Train Station, And Once I arrived at Faversham Train Station, I double checked what platform I needed to go on to get the train back to Rainham, And I went on to Platform Four, And I arrived just in time to get on 17.38 train back to Rainham.

And once I was back on the train, I sent the following tweet, Feel free to ask me any questions you have about Gillingham’s 9-1 win against Faversham Town Today, I had re-tweeted a few photo’s and clips I saw on Twitter, including one tweet from Ryan Huckle, And Nathan asked me the first question, Close Game?, And I replied back with the following,,,, The expectation going into this match was that Gillingham were going to win, but we were not expecting Gillingham to win 9-1, and the score-line could had been much higher had it not been for Simon Overland in The Faversham Town Goal In The First Half, I also sent Stephen a message, mentioning the 9-1 score-line for Gillingham against Faversham Town, And I asked a few Gills Fans who I know where were they situated inside Salter Lane, because I didn’t get to see them at the match.

I arrived back in Rainham at 18.08PM, And I made the fifteen to twenty minute walk from Rainham Train Station to my house, stopping off to buy another 500ML Bottle Of Coca Cola and I also responded to a few messages I had got on Social Media as well, and I arrived back home at 18.40PM, And Gillingham winning 9-1 against Faversham Town was better than expected, of course, we went into this match confident that Gillingham would win, but the way Gillingham played on the front-foot was very impressive and it was great to see Gillingham score nine goals in the opening pre-season friendly of the summer.

For Faversham Town, the success for them was The 830 Attendance, the attendance was announced later on in the evening, which means that Faversham Town gained a lot of money in gate receipts, food, drink, match-day programme sales and match-day lottery tickets, Faversham Town are not going to play against the likes of Mikael Ndoki, Nathan Thomas and Elliott List In The Ryman Division One South on a weekly basis, and while the defeat will of course be devastating, I think Faversham Town are trying to assemble a squad for The 2019 / 2020 Season.

Gillingham also played against and lost 4-2 against Deal Town in mid-week, And Josh Rees, Dean Parrett and Bradley Stevenson were the three senior Gillingham players involved in that squad, I was always going to give Deal Town V Gillingham a miss, especially with Folkestone Invicta V Gillingham On Saturday, And there are many other pre-season friendlies I am looking to travel to as well, And Finally, This was a great way for Gillingham to start pre-season with a convincing 9-1 win against Faversham Town and it’s great to have the football matches back on A Saturday once again - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#FavershamTown #Gillingham #Football

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pass-the-bechdel · 8 years ago

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LOST s04e05 ‘The Constant’

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, once.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Three (21.42% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Eleven.

Positive Content Rating:

Three.

General Episode Quality:

Arguably the absolute best of the entire series.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Charlotte and Juliet butt heads.

Female characters:

Charlotte Lewis.

Juliet Burke.

Penny Widmore.

Male characters:

Desmond Hume.

Sayid Jarrah.

Frank Lapidus.

Jack Shephard.

Daniel Faraday.

Martin Keamy.

Omar Idris.

Billy.

George Minkowski.

Ray.

Charles Widmore.

OTHER NOTES:

Those are some weak crunches, lads.

Let the record show that I love Kevin Durand.

My man Sayid, bein’ all practical again and not wasting time asking for unimportant details when he knows he can just pick it up later when they’re not in mid-crisis.

Due to time differences, Desmond, it might not actually be Christmas Eve when you call. Then again, Keamy and Omar did give you an idea of what area you’re in currently, so maybe you already factored it in, between flashes. Nice work, man, I can hardly keep track of the single hour difference that happens with daylight savings time.

God damn it, that phone call. My heart grew three sizes.

This episode is widely regarded as the best LOST ever did, and I gotta pretty much agree with that assessment, to be honest (I rank it as second best myself - my #1 is a little later this season). I tend to be pretty wary of time travel stories, because as fun and interesting as they can be they are also at extremely high risk of being majorly plot-holed and infuriatingly convenient, and a lot of shows are just interested in the gimmick of time travel and have no regard for the implications of its inclusion in their story. This, however, is exquisitely balanced; the limitations imposed by having ones consciousness ‘unstuck in time’ keep it from running wild, the concept is both simple enough to accept quickly and intriguingly unusual enough to keep the cynical viewer from rolling their eyes at having seen this idea a million times before, and the romance as a backdrop plays as a catharsis more than a cliche. We’re unlocking a heady concept here, but it’s wisely delivered through a self-contained character journey that makes it poignant and easy to follow instead of coming off as pretentious self-indulgence on behalf of the writers (and damn it, nobody needs writers who are busy ego-tripping on how much smarter they think they are than the audience). That’s another of the episode’s virtues, really: not only is it not trying to be too clever for its own good, but its easily-followed concept is not dumbed down to the point of being insulting, suggesting a level of trust in the audience’s intelligence which a lot of media is sadly lacking. Add in a compelling performance from the lovely Henry Ian Cusick and some gorgeous editing work for the production nerds to lap up, and you’ve got yourself a real winner.

P.s. my disc drive and I are having a disagreement, so I’m having to source my screencaps from the internet instead of capping my own. I could scour the web for exactly the pics I want, but I’ve chosen to live my life instead, so I apologise for any and all occasions (as per Penny above) when I fail to provide appropriate images. It’s the computer’s fault.

#LOST #LOST season four #Bechdel Test #female representation #The Constant

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nolimitsongrace · 4 years ago

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2020 Miracles on the Mountain: Coming Up and Out!

7 Ways to Become an Expert on Healing

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Healing can seem like a bear of a subject sometimes. And the devil would love for us to think it’s too much to comprehend, so we won’t even try. That tired trick is over because God’s people want to know about healing!

Though we can never know everything there is to know about God and healing, we can become an expert, which is defined as someone who has a comprehensive knowledge in a particular area. A real expert knows they should always be learning and would never claim to have “arrived” in any area. But being an “expert” on healing will help you take what belongs to you with confidence and minister the same thing to others.

Here are seven ways to become an expert on healing you can begin practicing today.

1. Study the Scriptures About Healing

To become an expert, it takes more than just reading about healing once in a while. You’ve got to spend time studying the scriptures about healing to really develop a deep understanding of the truth in God’s Word. Consider these tips for getting started:

Search the Word for healing scriptures. You can even use an online word search on a website like biblegateway.com.

Write the scriptures you find in a journal or notebook. Do this rather than printing them out, as research shows you remember things more when you write them down.

Meditate on them. Don’t just gather the info—think about each verse and what it means to you.

Speak them out loud. Take your list and declare them over yourself each day. Personalize them!

2. Meditate On the Whole Word of God

Part of developing a deeper understanding of healing is to also gain a deeper understanding of the Healer. In addition to studying healing, spend time reading and meditating on the whole Word of God. You will develop your faith in the LOVE of God and become an expert in healing at the same time!

3. Speak Only Words of Healing and Victory

An expert in healing knows that words matter. And speaking only words of healing and victory will also help you become an expert. When symptoms or doctors’ reports are yelling in your ear, talk back! Make your words of healing and victory shout louder than anything else.

4. Read Books About Healing

In addition to the Word of God, you can build your knowledge of healing through the revelation and experiences of others. Spend time reading healing books by people like Gloria Copeland, Norvel Hayes, Smith Wigglesworth, Andrew Murray orAndrew Wommack.

You can also watch teachings on VICTORY Channel™ like God Wants You Well with Gloria Copeland, or listen to teachings by healing minister Billy Burke.

5. Ask the Lord to Give You Revelation About Healing

To become an expert, you’re going to need one thing—supernatural help! There are things we still have to learn and discover about God, and it’s exciting finding them out! One way to keep growing in the Lord is to ask Him to give you revelation about healing and any other area of your life. Then, open your heart and allow Him to reveal truth to you in His Word.

6. Minister Healing to Others

Kenneth Copeland has said it time and again, “One of the best ways to develop faith for your own healing is ministering healing to others.”

Why?

Because it will FORCE you to tap into the deepest part of what you know and pull it out. It will motivate you to tune into the Holy Spirit, apply God’s Word, and stand in faith.

7. Praise God for Healing Every Day

Praising God is a faith builder. You can’t praise God and not grow in faith. When you praise Him, you’re reminding yourself of His goodness, love, compassion, mercy and sovereignty. If you praise Him long enough, you’ll be so stirred up, nothing will be able to stop you from taking what He’s given you.

Take time to praise God for healing every day. The experts do it—you should, too. They know the power in praise. Countless people have been healed simply by praising the Lord for who He is and the healing He’s already provided.

When you practice these seven ways to become an expert on healing, you WILL see transformation in your life. There’s a saying that nothing changes if nothing changes. If you want to see a change in the way you receive and minister healing, it all starts with a change inside you!

Watch this powerful healing service with Billy Burke!

How to Get and Keep Your Healing

5 Ways to Stand Your Ground for Healing

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brido · 7 years ago

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An Exhaustive Look at the 2018 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

The 2018 Baseball Hall of Fame ballots were just released. I fucking love that shit. I have time on my hands. And I wanted to weigh in before all the baseball nerds starts going crazy with it in January. Since the writers can only pick 10 guys, that’s what I’ll do too. And I chose Bill James’ Hall of Fame Standards numbers to decide what order I’d go in. I could have picked Jay Jaffe’s JAWS rankings for that. Maybe I will some other year. Maybe that last part about Bill James and Jay Jaffe was just to scare away the people who will complain about Trevor Hoffman because they think the save stat means something. Also, I decided I’ll be skipping over the steroid guys and putting them at the bottom of the list. If there are 10 guys I think should go in before them, I’ll call it a day. Sound fair? Let’s start.

Barry Bonds He goes to the bottom of the list. Let me get back to you on this.

Roger Clemens I’ll have to get back on this too.

Chipper Jones Jones played 19 seasons for the Atlanta Braves. He’s the best N.L. third baseman of his era and the 6th-best third baseman of all time, according to JAWS. Jones is also the 4th-best position player of his era, after Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols. Every player with similar stats is either in the Hall of Fame (Mel Ott, Al Kaline, Mike Schmidt, Jeff Bagwell, Billy Williams, Mickey Mantle) or should/will be (Gary Sheffield, Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Beltran, Adrian Beltre). 468 career home runs. 2,726 career hits. He won the N.L. MVP in 1999. The only eligible position player who had a better career is Bonds. This one is easy. My answer: Yes. (1/10).

Manny Ramirez I’ll have to get back to you.

Gary Sheffield Same here.

Vladimir Guerrero Gurrero played for 16 seasons with the Expos, Angels, Rangers and Orioles, swinging at horrible pitches and still hitting .318 on his career. He also hit 449 home runs and collected 2,590 hits, which puts him in selective company with only 20 other players, all of whom are inner-circle Hall of Famers, with the exceptions of Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, Rafael Palmeiro, Gary Sheffield, Chipper Jones, Adrian Beltre and Miguel Cabrera. And at least four of those guys will go in once they’re eligible. Guerrero also has similar career stats to Jeff Bagwell, Jim Rice, Willie Stargell, Billy Williams and Duke Snider. All of which makes it really surprising that WAR is not his best friend here.

When WAR is brought into the equation, Guerrero was only the best right fielder in baseball for one season (2005) and even more surprisingly, in the 1996-2011 timespan, he’s only the 4th-best right fielder behind Manny Ramirez, Bobby Abreu and Brian Giles. And he’s the 17th-best position player of his era. JAWS ranks him as the 21st-best right fielder in history, which would be behind Larry Walker, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Dwight Evans, Reggie Smith and Sammy Sosa. Is it possible that old stats love him more than the new ones?

Guerrero received MVP votes in 12 different seasons. He won the A.L. MVP in 2004. And got very close in 2002, 2005 and 2007. If I wanted to be a dick, I’d say Melvin Mora probably should have won in ’04. And I don’t see Vlad as a good candidate in ’07. Nevertheless, Guerrero consistently hit for power and average, only dipping below .300 in his brief call-up in 1996 and not again until 2009 and 2011). And those numbers added up. I mean, Brian Giles didn’t hit 300 HR or even get 1900 hits. So maybe he wasn’t a first ballot Hall of Famer. But I think he should get in. My Answer: Yes. (2/10).

Larry Walker Walker played for 17 seasons with the Expos, Rockies and Cardinals. During his career (1989-2005), he was the best right fielder in baseball. He’s the 10th best right fielder of all time, according to JAWS and the best right fielder ever not in the Hall of Fame. During his own career, Walker is the 5th-highest in WAR after Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Jeff Bagwell and Alex Rodriguez. His career stats (383 HR. 2160 H. .313 AVG) are similar to Duke Snider, Joe DiMaggio, Johnny Mize and Chuck Klein, as well as Vladimir Guerrero. He won the N.L. MVP in 1997. It looks pretty good on paper. You probably just need to decide if you care that Walker was better playing in the thin air of Denver than he was on the road.

If Walker is an iffy Hall of Fame player to begin with, it’s easy to dismiss his numbers as wind-aided. And there’s also the fact that Walker’s career was plagued by injuries (Walker missed 375 games between 1996-2004). So his counting stats are down for the steroid era - an argument that strikes me as fucking idiotic considering we’d be penalizing a player for NOT juicing, while also penalizing players who did. Also, there are stats that exist to adjust for ballparks and Walker still has an OPS+ of 141 for his career. For players with 1900 Games, that’s still 8th among right fielders after Babe Ruth, Stan Musial, Hank Aaron, Mel Ott, Frank Robinson, Harry Heilmann and Sam Crawford. They’re all in the Hall of Fame.

Also, everyone seems to be acting like Walker (who had three batting titles) was a one dimensional player. The guy had seven Gold Gloves in right. He was considered an exceptional baserunner too, as if that’s anything. And why are we treating Coors Field like it had magical fucking powers over one player? If Coors Field is so fantastical, why didn’t Andres Galarraga or Ellis Burks or Dante Bichette do what Walker did? Why do they play games there to begin with or even count those stats as valid? By that logic, the Rockies shouldn’t even have a team. By that logic, why not just have one team (it’s gotta be Oakland) where everyone is allowed to take PEDs?

The truth is, Walker was an elite player in Montreal. If you’re just going off his full time there (1990-94), you’d probably choose Walker as your starting MLB right fielder over Tony Gwynn. Then he went to Colorado and kept being good. Let’s not complicate things. So he didn’t hit .380 on the road. If he did we wouldn’t even be having this debate, we’d be naming the Hall of Fame after him. My answer: Yes. (3/10).

Jim Thome Thome played for 22 seasons with the Indians, Phillies, White Sox, Dodgers, Twins and Orioles. He was universally beloved everywhere he went. I don’t know if we need to delve into things too much here. Thome hit 612 career home runs and he’s not suspected of steroids. That’s automatic. But he also has comparable career stats with Frank Thomas, Reggie Jackson, Ken Griffey Jr., Mickey Mantle, Mike Schmidt and Willie McCovey (plus Sammy Sosa, David Ortiz and Fred McGriff). JAWS ranks him as the 10th-best first baseman of all time. I think he should have been the A.L. MVP in 2002. My answer: Yes. (4/10).

Mike Mussina Mussina pitched for 18 seasons with the Orioles and Yankees. And I’d say he was the ace of his staff 12 of those years, which is incredible. I think that if you finish in the top 10 in your league in WAR, FIP and ERA, you had an elite season. Mussina had 10 of those elite seasons, including his final season in 2008. That’s what you call consistency. He finished in the top 5 in Cy Young balloting six different times. And I think he should have won it in 2001. Mussina has similar career numbers to Juan Marichal, Jim Palmer and Carl Hubbell (as well as Curt Schilling). He’s the 28th-best pitcher of all time, according to JAWS (behind Roger Clemens, Jim McCormick and Schilling). And I’d say for his own playing era (1991-2008), he’s the 5th-best pitcher behind Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Clemens and Pedro Martinez. He even won seven Gold Gloves at pitcher. The fact that we’re even entertaining putting in Trevor Hoffman before Mussina is mind boggling to me.

I’d guess the one thing bringing down Messina’s chances might be his ERA (3.68). But his adjusted ERA+ (123) might make up for pitching in the steroid era. And not to beat a dead horse, but Mussina finished 3rd in the American League in ERA in 1992, 4th in 1994, 4th in 1995, 6th in 1997, 6th in 1998, 3rd in 1999, 3rd in 2000, 2nd in 2001, 8th in 2003, 4th in 2006 and 6th in 2008. My answer: Yes. (5/10).

Sammy Sosa Let me get back to you on that.

Jeff Kent Kent played 17 seasons for the Blue Jays, Mets, Indians, Giants, Astros and Dodgers. He was the best second baseman in the Majors in 2000 and 2002. He was the best in the N.L. from 2000-2002 and during the course of his playing era (1992-2008), he was the second-best second baseman after Craig Biggio. Kent’s career numbers are also similar to Jim Rice and Ryne Sandberg. His 377 home runs is the most ever for a second baseman. He won the 2000 N.L. MVP, even though I would have considered him 4th-best in the league that year.

Here’s the thing; since everything Kent did seems to hinge on comparing him to other second basemen, his JAWS ranking finally does him in. He’s 20th-best all-time, behind Bobby Grich, Robinson Cano, Chase Utley, Lou Whitaker, Willie Randolph, Ian Kinsler and Dustin Pedrioa. But, hey, he was on Survior and has the dumbest DL stint I can think of right now. My answer: No.

Edgar Martinez Martinez played for 18 seasons, all with the Seattle Mariners. Even with Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez on his team, Martinez was the best player on the Mariners in 1990, 1992, 1995 and 1999. He was the best third baseman in baseball in 1990. And he was the best DH in 1995, 1996 and 1998. During the time Martinez was a DH (1995-2004), no one was better. And he’s probably the 4th-best DH of all time after Frank Thomas, Jim Thome and Paul Molitor. He’s the only DH to win a batting title and they even named the DH award after him. But first, you just have to decide how you feel about the DH.

I say if American League pitchers (who don’t hit) can get in, so can a DH. At least they play every day. Now that that’s out of the way, we have do decide if Martinez’ numbers good enough. That part’s iffy. No one with similar numbers is in the Hall of Fame. But he did have six elite years between 1990-2000. I would have even given him the A.L. MVP in 1995. And if you look at all players’ WAR during that 11-year span, Martinez would be 5th overall, behind Barry Bonds, Griffey Jr., Jeff Bagwell and Frank Thomas.

Still not convinced? Okay. I already mentioned Major League Baseball naming the DH award after him. That’s gotta be something. And for my closing argument, I’ll use “The Double”. In 1995, Martinez closed out his outstanding ALDS against the Yankees with that famous walk-off double that scored Griffey. It not only sent the Mariners to the ALCS for the first time ever, it also might have saved baseball in Seattle. The excitement surrounding the team led to funding for Safeco Field and the rest is history. There are people in the Hall of Fame for dumber reasons than that. Except in Edgar’s case, you’ve got both Pedro Martinez and Mariano Rivera siting him as one of the toughest batters they ever faced. My answer: Yes (6/10).

Fred McGriff McGriff played for 19 seasons with the Blue Jays, Padres, Braves, Devil Rays, Cubs and Dodgers. He has similar career numbers to Willie McCovey, Willie Stargell, Jeff Bagwell, Frank Thomas and Billy Williams (as well as David Ortiz and Gary Sheffield). He also had five elite seasons between 1988 and 1994. I actually would have given him the A.L. MVP in 1989. And if he hit 7 more home runs in his career, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion.

In the meantime, JAWS isn’t doing McGriff any favors. He’s 31st all-time at first base, behind Albert Pujols, Jim Thome, Miguel Cabrera, Rafael Palmeiro, Todd Helton, Mark McGwire, Keith Hernandez, Joey Votto, John Olerud, Jason Giambi, Will Clark, David Ortiz and Mark Teixeira. I’d say in his own era (1986-2004), he’d be 5th, behind Jeff Bagwell, Palmeiro, Frank Thomas, McGwire and tied with Olerud. None of that is horrible company. Some of those are steroids guys. Some will probably get in at some point or are otherwise worth revisiting. I just wouldn’t say it’s helping.

So I have to go back and stare hard at that 493 number and think about the strike-shortened 1994 season, which was ironically the last year McGriff was an elite player. McGriff had 34 home runs through 113 games. There were 48 games remaining, McGriff had only missed one game that far and he was averaging a home run every 3.4 games. Even if he’d slowed down, seven more home runs in 1994 would have been a lock. McGriff may have been relatively forgotten because of the steroid era. But he was positively fucked by that strike.

If people use ��Coors Field Logic’ on Larry Walker, why can’t they use ‘Strike Logic’ on McGriff? At least Strike Logic makes actual logical sense. And if baseball turned a blind eye to the very steroid era that erased McGriff from relevancy in order to restore public interest following the strike, that means that not only did the strike fuck the Crime Dog, but the quick fix did too. From 1988-1994, McGriff was the 4th-best position player in overall WAR after Barry Bonds, Rickey Henderson and Cal Ripken. After that, everyone started pumping themselves full of growth hormone and bull semen or whatever until leading the league with 35 home runs seemed more like something that would happen at the All-Star Break. McGriff has been wronged. I think that should be corrected. And I hope he wears that foam Tom Emanski cap on his plaque. My Answer: Yes. (7/10).

Curt Schilling Schilling played for 20 seasons for the Orioles, Astros, Phillies, Diamondbacks and Red Sox. And he’s a fucking asshole. But that’s not really in question here. Schilling was elite for 8 different seasons between 1992 and 2004. He has similar career stats to John Smoltz and Don Drysdale. JAWS ranks him as the 27th-best pitcher of all time (only behind Roger Clemens and Jim McCormick for non-Hall of Famers). In his career (1988-2007), Schilling is the 5th-best, overall in WAR behind Clemens, Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez. He has 3 rings. He has the Bloody Sock game. And he’s a fucking asshole.

I guess starting public feuds with sportswriters isn’t always the best idea when those same sportswriters vote for these kinds of things. He’s also a Born Again Christian Creationist and a Trump guy and a Breitbart guy and a homophobe. And he’s also apparently challenging Elizabeth Warren’s Senate seat in 2018. And he’d probably be a nightmare to the steroids guys on the Veteran’s Committee. Plus, you know his Cooperstown speech would be a goddamned spectacle. And then you start to think of reasons to not vote for the guy. But I honestly liked him as a color commentator on ESPN and I have to keep telling myself that all his extracurriculars have nothing to do with what he did on the mound. He’s still an asshole though. My answer: Yes. (8/10).

Johnny Damon Damon played for 18 seasons with the Royals, Athletics, Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, Rays and Indians. And he stayed healthy and got a lot of hits. 2,769 to be exact. He was never an elite player or an elite center fielder (I’d have him 5th in his own era behind Andruw Jones, Jim Edmonds, Carlos Beltran and Mike Cameron). He was rarely the best player on his own team. He just happened to get a lot of hits. That puts his career numbers similar to guys like Paul Molitor, Tim Raines, Roberto Alomar, Robin Yount, Lou Brock and Roberto Clemente. But they all had other reasons for getting in. Damon is the 22nd-best center fielder of all time on JAWS. He’s less like those Hall of Fame players than he is Vada Pinson or Steve Finley. I loved some of his big moments on the Red Sox. And his hair was fun. He’s just not getting in. My answer: No.

Omar Vizquel Vizquel played for 24 seasons with the Mariners, Indians, Giants, Rangers, White Sox and Blue Jays. He played in 4 different decades and was the last Major Leaguer born in the 60’s and the last to play in the 80’s. This one is difficult because WAR is not Vizquel’s friend. He was never the best player on his own team. He wasn’t an elite shortstop, overall in his own time. JAWS ranks him as the 42nd-best shortstop of all time. And I don’t feel like naming all the non-Hall-of-Famers ahead of him. In his own lengthy era (1989-2012), he’d be behind Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Barry Larkin, Cal Ripken and Jimmy Rollins. So what argument is there?

Well, Vizquel has almost identical stats to Luis Aparicio and Rabbit Maranville. Aparicio even allowed his number to be un-retired when Vizquel went to the White. Sox in 2010. He’s also got similar stats to Ozzie Smith, Luke Appling, Pee Wee Reese and Nellie Fox. He was a defensive specialist in an era of big, slugging shortstops. And he has 11 Gold Gloves to show for it. Oh, and on top of that, he collected 2,877 hits over that long career.

But was he Aparicio? Aparicio got MVP votes in 10 different seasons. He finished second in 1959. He was a 10 time All-Star. He led the league in stolen bases his first 9 seasons in the Majors. On top of that, Aparicio had 9 Gold Gloves. From 1956-1973, Aparicio was second in WAR among shortstops to Ernie Banks. Vizquel didn’t do those things. I think I gotta hold off for now. My answer: No. But I could change my mind.

Scott Rolen Rolen played 17 seasons for the Phillies, Cardinals, Blue Jays and Reds. He’s one of the 3-5 best defensive third basemen of all time and, I’d say, the 3rd-best overall third baseman of his era after Alex Rodriguez and Chipper Jones (who will also be on the ballot for the first time). Rolen has a ring with the 2006 Cardinals. And according to JAWS and WAR, he’s the 10th best 3rd baseman of all time. Which all sounds great on paper. I just don’t know if it’s good enough.

Chipper Jones should get in before Rolen. So let’s take Chipper out of the equation for just a second. Rolen was only the best player on his own team in 1997, ’98 and ’04. He was only the best third baseman in baseball in 2002 and 2003. Of the top 10 similar players, only one (Ron Santo) is in the Hall of Fame. His Career Standards Number is a 40, which would make him below average for a Hall of Famer. 316 career home runs and 2,077 hits are good, but not great for his era. And although he ranked among the top 10 in the league in WAR in 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006, I would have only considered him a legitimate MVP candidate one time and that’s 2004, when I would have considered him 7th. Now it’s okay to go back and remember that Chipper Jones is also on the ballot.

It’s hard for me to look anyone in the eye and say the 10th-best at any position shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame. But then again, Ted Simmons, Bobby Grich, Bill Dahlen, Kenny Lofton and Larry Walker, not to mention Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Pete Rose, Manny Ramirez and six relief pitchers would all be in the same boat. Maybe that shoulder injury that nagged him throughout his prime got the best of him. But I think he’s gotta sit out at least this round. My Answer: No. But I could easily change my mind.

Jamie Moyer Moyer played for 25 seasons with the Cubs, Rangers, Cardinals, Orioles, Red Sox, Mariners, Phillies and Rockies. That’s an insane amount of seasons. Moyer is the only pitcher to throw shutouts in four different decades. He became the oldest player to do a lot of different things. I mean, he won 100 games after he turned 40. It’s crazy. Especially with that 81 mph fastball. I think Moyer is a great story. And I loved his resurgence on the Mariners. But he’s the 19th-best pitcher of his own era and 132nd all time. I’m impressed. I just wouldn’t put him in the Hall. My answer: No.

Carlos Lee Lee played for 14 seasons with the White Sox, Brewers, Rangers, Astros and Marlins. He hit 358 home runs in his career, but was the 13th-best left fielder of his own era and 72nd-best ever on JAWS. No.

Johan Santana Santana played for 12 seasons with the Twins and Mets, where he was usually the ace of both teams. He won two Cy Young Awards in Minnesota. I think he should have easily won three (the voters fucking BLEW IT in 2005). His peak is phenomenal. His career numbers are not. So you need to figure out how you feel about about that. Just try to keep in mind that a lot of more worthy pitchers (including Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling and Mike Mussina) aren’t in yet.

The go-to guy for a high peak without the career stats is always Sandy Koufax. But Koufax was putting up WARs of 9’s and 10’s. In Santana’s four-year reign of dominance, he had three seasons with a 6.7 WAR or higher and four total with a 5 or higher. That’s really good. But Dwight Gooden did that. Kevin Brown did that. Curt Schilling was above a 6.7 four times and above a 5 WAR six times. And if you just want to start listing guys who were above a 5 WAR on four separate occasions, we can throw in Fernando Valenzuela, Bret Saberhagen (5), Frank Viola, David Cone (5), Mike Mussina (10 fucking times), Kevin Appier, Andy Pettite and Javier Vazquez. I mean, Felix Hernandez has done it five times. Clayton Kershaw has already done it six times. Chris Sale has already done it. And if that many people have done it, it’s not quite great.

Fittingly, Santana is the 6th-best pitcher in WAR over the period of 2000-2012. JAWS ranks him as the 85th-best pitcher of all time. Nobody with similar numbers is in the Hall of Fame. Who knows what would have happened if not for injuries, but fans can still look fondly upon Santana for the first no-hitter in Mets history (even though Carlos Beltran should have broken it up in the 6th), the even-better 17-strikeout, 8 inning gem against the Rangers in 2007 with a 95 Game Score (the highest ever for a non-complete game), the Major League Triple Crown win in 2006, that insane second half in 2004 and that devastating changeup. Unfortunately, he’s just not a Hall of Famer. My Answer: No.

Andruw Jones Jones played for 17 seasons with the Braves, Dodgers, Rangers, White Sox and Yankees. He was hitting home runs in the World Series at 19. He was considered fat, washed-up and lazy by the time he was 30. And yet, he’s the greatest center fielder of his era (1996-2012), he’s the 7th-best overall position player of the same era and he might be the (gasp) greatest defensive center fielder of all time. And he has 10 consecutive Gold Gloves to show for it. JAWS ranks him as the 11th-greatest center fielder in history. Imagine what he would have done if he wasn’t lazy.

First, we probably need to get past the fact that Kenny Lofton (10th on JAWS) and Jim Edmonds (15th) didn’t make it past the first ballot. In Lofton’s own era (1991-2007) he was third in WAR to Ken Griffey Jr. and Jones, himself. In Edmonds’ era (1993-2010) he was second to Jones. Lofton was more of a stolen bases guy. Edmonds has no ‘black ink’ type of honors. Andruw Jones has a home run and an RBI title from 2005, when he hit 51 bombs. He hit 434 on his career. This is a defensive specialist, mind you. His WAR7 peak is 9th-highest in history (everyone above him is in the Hall, except for Mike Trout), while Lofton’s is 13th and Edmonds’ is 17th.

On top of all of that, the Braves made it to the post season every year from 1995-2005. Jones was there every year since ’96. And if you look at the WAR of every Brave from 95-05, Chipper Jones is first with a 57.3. And Andruw Jones is second at 55.0. If you make it 96-05, when he was actually on the roster, Andruw beats Chipper by 0.5 runs. He also beats Greg Maddux (50.0), John Smoltz (39.7) and Tom Glavine (27.1). They're all gonna be in the Hall of Fame. Why not Andruw too? You know, either that or we’re gonna have to wait until 2023 for Carlos Beltran to get in at center field. Or like, whenever Mike Trout retires. My answer: Yes. (9/10).

Wait. Okay, let me go back to Scott Rolen for just a second. I starting to feel bad that I said yes to 4 guys (Edgar Martinez, Andruw Jones, Vladimir Guerrero and Fred McGriff) who had lower career WARs than Rolen's. I also said yes to 3 guys (Jim Thome, Guerrero and McGriff) who had lower peaks than Rolen's. I didn’t like Rolen’s counting numbers (316 HR, 2077 H) but I’d say yes to Martinez (309 HR) and Jones (1933 H). He’s also higher on the JAWS ranking than Martinez by 0.8 points. No, Rolen’s not Chipper Jones. And there’s no award named after him. And he didn’t save baseball in Seattle. And he’s not the very greatest defensively at his position. And he didn’t win an MVP or come painfully close to hitting 500 home runs. But if I’m gonna stay consistent, I have to put him in. Yes. (10/10). I feel okay about that.

So there you have it. My apologies to Chris Carpenter, Billy Wagner, Carlos Zambrano, Hideki Matsui, Aubrey Huff, Kevin Millwood, Trevor Hoffman, Orlando Hudson, Livan Hernandez, Kerry Wood, Brad Lidge, Jason Isringhausen and also Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Manny Ramirez, Gary Sheffield and Sammy Sosa for not reviewing your careers. I just found 10 guys more deserving.

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