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majingojira · 4 years ago

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Brief Review of Every Dinosaur/Prehistoric Documentary/Educational Short I’ve ever seen (1923-1996).

And thanks to a certain project, I’ve seen a LOT!

Evolution (1923) - This is the oldest of the bunch, a silent film. Mostly it uses modern animals to represent ancient forms, with a few statues and brief animated bits to fill things out. The only real highlight? Seeing where some of the “film real” segment from Gigantis the Fire Monster comes from!

Monsters from the Past (1923) - A short documentary with original stop motion (this was pre-The Lost World, so that’s to be expected). Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus, and Brontosaurus are the key creatures. Included as an extra on the second DVD release of The Lost World.

Prehistoric Animals (1938) - Reuses footage from The Lost World (1925) for its prehistoric segments. This will not be the last time it happens.

Prehistoric Times: The World Before Man (1952) - This thing is so quintessentially 1950s, it’s highly riff-able. It uses a mix of paintings, sculptures and some live animals to represent prehistoric life.

A World Is Born (1955) - Ya know what Fantasia needed? Overbearing Narration! That’s it. That’s what this documentary is. I saw this thing rebroadcast in the 90s on the Disney Channel, believe it or not.

The Animal World (1956) - Ray Harryhausen. Willis O’Brian. Their stop motion segment is the ONLY notable part of this documentary. This is also the only part that has seen some release in modern times, as a bonus feature on the DVD of The Black Scorpion.

Prehistoric Animals of the Tar Pits (1956) - Black and white, but also quintessentially 50s and riff-able. Aside from the bones, it shows some wooden models to represent the animals.

Journey into Time (1960) - Fantasia this is not, but it TRIES to be. Lord it tries. Or, rather, there’s a Fantasia-adjacent thing elsewhere which does the same thing. Has some unique choices for animals to represent, including showing Permian forms like Scutusaurus and Inostrancevia.

Dem Dry Bones: Archaeology, Paleontology, Identification, and Preservation (1966) - This was a lucky find, it was on Youtube for half a second. And not worth digging out, really. Stuffy, dry, and mildly condescending. It was still interesting looking at the dinosaur hall of the Smithsonian back in the 1950s.

Dinosaurs - The Terrible Lizard (1970) - The stop motion here is pretty neat, if slow and plodding, it’s refreshing after all this crap. The puppets for many of these would later be re-used for The Land of the Lost. Including Grumpy, Alice, and Spot.

NOVA: The Hot-Blooded Dinosaurs (1977) - Robert Bakker’s first appearance in a documentary. HE HAS SUCH LONG HAIR! Not bad, a little dry, with National Geographic titles. It reminds me of 1990s documentaries, just so show how long it’s taken for various ideas to filter down. Currently, it’s available on Archive.org.

Dinosaurs: A First Film (1978) - The art style for this half-animated 70s abomination makes identifying various prehistoric animals almost impossible. Almost painful to sit through. Stops with the Dinosaurs.

Dinosaurs: The Age of the Terrible Lizards (1978) - Similar to the above, but available from Rifftrax, so much more watchable. Also, it’s actually animated!

Dinosaur (1980) - Wil Vinton Claymation with Dinosaurs. A few edits of this exist, the latter works a bit better, but the original is interesting to track down. Most of the edits are audio only, so you aren’t missing anything. The dinosaur sin this are top notch for color and design. They even have Corythosaurus and Tyrannosaurus not dragging their tails!

Cosmos (1980) - the animated segment covering Evolution is still wonderful if only for the narration from Carl Sagan.

The Age of Mammals (1981) - A follow up of sorts to Dinosaurs: The Age of Reptiles. Decent stop motion if a little slow. Decent variety for the time.

64,000,000 Years Ago (1981) - A solid stop motion short film. Still worth checking out for stop motion fans. Available on Youtube legally!

Dinosaurs: Fun, Facts, and Fantasy (1981) - Nostalgic for some, but aimed at a rather young audience. Some interesting stop motion bits in here too... if awkward in that way British stop motion can be outside Aardman Studios.

Reading Rainbow “Digging up Dinosaurs” (1983) - Definitely nostalgic for me. Besides, it’s Reading Rainbow! And opens with a clip from One Million Years B.C.! What’s not to love?

Prehistoric Beast (1984) - One of the best stop motion shorts on this list. Included because it INSPIRED a documentary from it. Phil Tippett firing on all cylinders. Well worth watching. And he uploaded it on Youtube himself!

Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs (1985), More Dinosaurs (1985), Son of Dinosaur (1988), Prehistoric World (1993) - Gary Owens and Eric Boardman have a series of documentaries on dinosaurs and prehistoric life. The presenters are what really make these work. Colorful, fun, and yes, silly, these still hold a nostalgic gleam for people like me. The last one has Dougal Dixon talk about his After Man speculations. Fun times.

Dinosaur! (1985) - Hosted by Christopher Reeve, this is one of the best documentaries of its time. Reeves loved dinosaurs and was happy to work on this project with Phil Tippet behind the animation. Covers a lot in its hour long format, and well worth watching. Do you know how good this special was? When Reeve died in 2004, the Discovery Channel (or similar station) re-aired this thing as a tribute. It holds up that well!

Tell Me Why: Pre-Historic Animals, Reptiles and Amphibians (1986) - This is something I had when I was a little kid. Dry, straight forward, a “Video Babysitter” at it’s best. It consists of a narrator while looking at pictures of the Invicta Dinosaur Toys that were also on the poster.

Dinosaurs! A Fun-Filled Trip Back in Time (1987) - Wil Vinton’s Dinosaurs! tied with a short setup/framing device with the kid from the Wonder Years involving a low-animation music video (this was the MTV age) and a guide through art from various dinosaur books from the 1950s through the 1980s. Rather meh, but Wil Vinton is why we are here. This was the only way to get Wil Vinton’s short back in the day, and is the version of the short shown in Museums like The Academy of Natural Sciences.

Digging Dinosaurs (PBS-WHYY) (1988) - Something I managed to record of TV back in the day, though not much of it, about the uncovering and preparation of Avaceratops. Bone Dry.

Maia: A Dinosaur Grows Up (1988) - A VHS version of the picture book, with narration and the whole spiel. Actually not to bad for what it is, but it is what it is. The art for that book is rather wonderful.

Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives (1988) - David. Attenburrough. Need I say more? Not one of his best, but still wonderful. Hard to track down.

Dinosaurs (1989) - From the Smithsonian Institute, one of the video followups sold in various museums (I have one from the Royal Tyrell, but haven’t been able to track it down). Not great, but I’ve seen worse.

Infinite Voyage: The Great Dinosaur Hunt (1989) - A rather dry documentary, but one I find extremely relaxing and calming. Very nostalgic for me. But still dry.

Vestie Video Sitter: Dinosaurs (1989) - This is for babies. It hurt to watch.

In November, 1990, Jurassic Park (novel) was released, and thus began the great shift.

In Search of the Dragon: The Great Dinosaur Hunt of the Century (1991) - a.k.a. The Dinosaur Project, The Great Dinosaur Hunt, The Hunt for China’s Dinosaurs. Edited into a 1 hour NOVA special from a nearly two hour documentary, all about the joint Canadian/Chinese Gobi Desert Expedition in the 1980s that gave us Mamenchisaurus among many other species. With another stop in the Arctic for good measure. Some good stop motion and pencil animation for Troodon round this one out.

A&E’s Dinosuar! (1991) - There’s so many things named “Dinosaur” that I have to specify. Hosted by Walter Cronkite, this is rather dry, but still entertaining documentary series has some nightmare-fuel puppet-work. The ‘sad’ music gets caught in my head sometimes when I think about it. It is 4 episodes long. “The Tale of a Tooth”, “The Tale of a Bone”, “The Tale of an Egg”, and “The Tale of a Feather”

T. Rex: Exposed (1991) - a Nova Documentary on T. Rex. Not too bad overall, focusing on the Wrankle Rex unearthing. Parts of it are available on Youtube, but not all of it.

The Case of the Flying Dinosaur (1991) - the third in the “NOVA” 91 trilogy, this covers the bird-dinosaur connection as it was still contentious at the time.

PBS’ The Dinosaurs! (1992) - A gold standard for documentaries on dinosaurs. The hand drawn animation with colored pencil style still hold up today. The narrator has a bit of an accent and pronounces “Dinosaur” oddly, but that is the only complaint I can really give. It has 4 episodes: “The Monsters Emerge”, “Flesh on the Bones”, “The Nature of the Beast”, “Death of the Dinosaurs.”

Muttaburrasaurus: Life in Gondwana (1993) - A half-hour short about dinosuars and mesozoic life in Australia. Solid stop motion animation. Australian Accents makes it fun to listen too.

NOVA: The Real Jurassic Park (1993) - Jeff Goldblum narrates this bit of scientists going on about “But what if we really did it?” Quite fun, lotta fun details the movies and even the books didn’t get into. My favorite bit had Robert Bakker talking to a game keeper at the Rockefeller Refuge in a Louisiana Cypress Swamp about what could happen if they kept a few dinosaur there (Edmontosaurus, Triceratops, and T. Rex). Namely, he talks about housing ‘about a thousand” Edmontosaurs on the 86K acre facility, with 2 or 3 mated pairs of Rexes. It’s fun getting numbers like that.

Bill Nye the Science Guy “Dinosaurs” (1993) - BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! Not a bad kids entry for documentaries. Available from Netflix.

Paleoworld (1994-1997) - Running originally for 4 years, and being revamps once along the way, this rather dry, “Zoom in on paleoart” style of documentary was a good holdover for bigger things, and covered some pretty niche topics. Much of the later version has been uploaded to youtube.

Dinosaur Digs: A Fossil Finders Tour (1994), Dinosaurs: Next Exit (1994) - These films hurt me. They hurt me so much. I’ve seen some painful things, but these are hour long tour advertisements for road trips with annoyingly earworms. Available on youtube, but I ain’t linking anything!

Eyewitness: Dinosaur (1994) - Not a bad documentary, but I still hold a grudge on it for replacing Wil Vinton’s work at my local museum! Still, it is narrated by Martin Sheen. The clip selection is wide and varied, but we’re still getting The Lost World (1925) footage.

Planet of Life (1995) - This documentary series is rather dry, but boasts some interesting coverage of topics. Though some of it’s conclusions regarding dinosaurs are... not great. Still, the episode “Ancient Oceans” is a favorite of mine.

Once Upon Australia (1995) - The bests stop motion documentary on Australia’s prehistory. Has some humor to is, and Australian fauna that it does cover is solid. Though finding out how one of the animals is spelled, ( Ngapakaldia) drove me nuts for literally decades.

Dinosaurs: Myths and Reality (1995) - Like a little more polished episode of Paleoworld, with a lighter-voiced narration, this covers common myths about dinosaurs. Overall, a Meh. But it has a LOT of movie clips. Which makes sense given it was funded by the Disney Channel!

The Ultimate Guide: T. Rex (1995) - The Ultimate Guide series of docs were overall rather solid, as was the Tyrannosaurus one. Stop Motion animation along with puppets and some minor CG help round out the normal talking heads and skeleton mounts. Along with a solid narrator, it has a real mood to it.

The Magic School Bus “The Busasaurus” (1995) - The original Magic School Bus was a solid series, and their episode on Dinosaurs bucks trends even the reboot didn’t cover. The core thrust here wasn’t just dinosaur information, but the idea that Dinosaurs were not Monsters, but animals. And they conveyed it in a unique way.

I may do more of these mini-reviews, but there are a LOT of documentaries post The Lost World: Jurassic Park that don’t have as much easy access. Like, I’ve seen them, but digging out links/citing places to watch them is a lot harder.

#Dinosaurs #Documentaries #Documentary #Review #Dinosaur #Prehistoric

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imaginesforjohnnydepp · 4 years ago

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Architectural Digest (Power Couple extended imagine)

for @karlacce4 @takemepedropascal

Inside Johnny Depp and Y/N Y/L/N’s Stunning $1.9M New Orleans Home! - Article by Rita Joseph, November 2018

A casually dressed Y/N opens the door on a bright and sunny but chilly Friday afternoon. The Golden Globe nominated actress is just as stunning makeup free and in an old college sweatshirt and jeans and her hair pulled back from her face as she is in expensive designer gowns and jewelry; right behind her is her husband Johnny Depp and their dog Jack Sparrow. “Hey, come on in!” Immediately, I’m greeted with warmth and the scent of cinnamon. The entrance is narrow, and there is a wooden table next to the door with a small bowl which hold two sets of car keys, but there are two doorways across from each other: on the left is the sitting room, and on my right is the dining room with its painted blue walls contrasted with white curtains and a chandelier hanging above the table.

We start with the sitting room which holds a lime green couch adding a nice touch of color against the white walls. There is also a gold ceiling lamp and a glass coffee table. “This is our sitting room, but we use it for a little bit of everything, like a storage room or sometimes a guest would want to sleep in here when they visit because it’s so quiet as opposed to upstairs because we still have teenagers, and there’s a lot of banging around in the morning getting ready for school, or we’ll have friends over.” Those friends would include Brad and Angelina (before the divorce), Tim Burton and Eva Green, Helena Bonham Carter, and Depp’s Hollywood Vampires band mates Joe Perry and Alice Cooper. What great company to keep!

From the sitting room we head into the dining room. “We actually painted the dining room a week after we moved in. All of the walls in the house were white and we thought it was way too much, so we decided to paint it a different color,” Depp said. “The tables and chairs actually belonged to Y/N’s sister and we bought it off her in ‘07 when she moved to another city, and that couch in the other room we bought after Nathan and Noelle’s first birthday.” “It was their favorite thing to play on when they were babies. So hard to believe that was 2004,” Y/L/N reminisced. The blue walls are decorated with a few of Depp’s paintings with a molding of a deer’s head that Y/N got at a flea market.

As we exit out of the dining room, I get a good look at the other side of the wall facing the staircase as we go into the living room. The entire wall is covered in a black and white photo of a jazz band taken at a Mardi Gras parade a few years ago, and there is a nice sized wine cabinet which is the size of a recording booth with only one bottle of wine in it; Johnny has cut back on drinking, but still enjoys a glass of wine every now and then. “I’m not as young as I used to be, and I’m runnin’ around on stage all night so I want to be as healthy as possible when I’m performing and to see the rest of my babies grow up.” The rest of his babies would be Nathan and Noelle, fraternal twins born in 2003. Their oldest kids include 26-year-old Star Wars star John Christopher III, born in 1992, and 22-year-old The Greatest Showman actress Camille.

The living room is gorgeous but simple; an all white leather reclining sectional with built in cup holders surrounds a small wooden coffee table in front of the fireplace which has a flat screen television above it. There’s a chandelier in this room as well, similar to the one in the dining room, and the wooden table behind the sectional breaks up the whiteness of the room. “This is where everyone spends the majority of their time. Morning, noon, night, weekends, we are here, with the older kids when they come over for dinner on Sundays. They’ll come over in the afternoon and stay the whole day.” Even with the oldest kids moved out and with houses of their own, the Depps are still a close knit family with Camille and John Christopher, or Three as he’s called by friends and family, living minutes away. Depp family favorite weekend activity? “Cooking breakfast together and then going to the nearby park or to a flea market or farmers’ market. There’s always something to do do in the city so you’re never bored,” the Dark Shadows actor explained.

When I asked them why they decided to move away from Hollywood, it was an easy answer. Y/L/N said: “we wanted to give them a normal childhood, and you can’t really have that when there are people taking pictures of you in your school uniform heading into school.” The couple moved to the Big Easy before Johnny began filming the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie in 2002, and speaking of cooking, the kitchen is next, and it is every homeowner’s dream. The white marble kitchen island doubles as a sink with its clear backed chairs and a sleek gold light fixture hanging above. A few feet away is a rectangular table with four shelves.

“This is my favorite room. I’m always cooking, and this is pretty much multipurpose room. We do game nights, eat meals, the twins do homework here.” When I joked about the chandeliers, the two only laughed, with Y/N adding, “you’re gonna be seeing a lot of chandeliers in this house. I loved them as a child and always wanted one. Or thirteen. We actually got each of them at Home Depot or Wayfair, and they look good in every room.” At this point, Jack Sparrow begins barking and runs to the front door (the dog, not Depp who plays the beloved swashbuckler). Noelle and Nathan are home from school and they follow the dog into the kitchen.

They are taken aback as they take in the camera man, as they wash their hands in the sink before reaching for the snacks. “Oh, I thought this was happening tomorrow,” Noelle remarks as she reaches for a bag of trail mix from a cabinet and a bottle of water from the fridge. “You have drivers ed tomorrow,” Y/N instantly in mom mode. “And your uniforms are hanging up in the laundry room.” Johnny and Y/N are athlete parents with Nathan playing on his school football team while Noelle is a cheerleader. After getting an okay from the twins to tour their rooms, we head upstairs after the examining the wall of pictures in the upstairs hallway.

Some pictures that have never been made public: a tired looking Y/N in a hospital bed after giving birth to their children, followed by a procession of school portraits and certificates from school. John Christopher and Camille’s graduation and prom pictures. Family outings at the near by park which featured a heavily pregnant Y/N circa early 2000s. A picture of Depp’s late mother Betty Sue and Y/N’s Aunt Claudia smiling as they played cards. And then there were the family portraits.

One that started with John Christopher as a newborn in 1992, then adding Camille in 1996, followed by the twins in 2003. Black and white photos of grandparents and great-grandparents, photos of Depp and Y/L/N ancestors, and the framed Polaroids of Y/N and Depp in Vegas on their honeymoon, after they eloped in summer 1991 after less than a year of dating, and I had to ask the question that’s still on peoples’ minds years later: why elopement? “We were young and didn’t want to go through the process of planning a wedding. I proposed a day after meeting her aunt and uncle and two days later we were married.” You remember that day like it was yesterday; you and Johnny went on vacation to visit your aunt and uncle so they could meet him for the first time as your boyfriend. They loved him, of course and at that point, you’ve only been dating for four months and it was getting serious to the point where Johnny called you his future wife and mother of his children in interviews (which probably wouldn’t be too distant in the future since your period was late). He proposed the night before you left for L.A. after your aunt and uncle had gone to bed and you immediately said yes.

After settling back home, you two took a road trip to Las Vegas the very next day and twenty seven years later, you’re still very much in love. I asked them why move to New Orleans, to which Depp answered: “Y/N was filming a movie here after Three was born, and when I came to visit her with the baby, I think it was during Mardi Gras, we had an amazing time. The food was just incredible, and the people were amazing, and no one gave a fuck about who we were. Once Camille was born, we kept coming back as much as we could, and we decided we wanted to build a life here.” The first room we enter after reaching the landing is the master bedroom. The walls are painted a nice gray, and, you guessed it, a chandelier. “This is our room, where we rarely get any sleep because we have the kids always running in and out for whatever reason--”

“And we also climb into bed with them too,” Noelle interjects. “And other times we just do it to annoy them,” Nathan backs up his sister’s statement. The bathroom is gorgeous with a white tiled floor; the shower stall is in a corner next to Y/N’s vanity, and across from it is a jacuzzi tub set next to a window that had a few candles along the edge, and adjacent from the tub is a double sink. “This is our bathroom, and we do more unwinding here than the bedroom. Whenever one of us comes home from filming or press tours or whatever, we’re in the tub, probably falling asleep.” Next we move to Noelle’s room and it’s something out of a Pintrest board

Pretty pastel pinks and fluffy white rugs and throws with a nice swing chair in a corner, which she calls her reading nook. Black and white framed pictures of her mom from her modeling days as a teenager and pictures of friends and family fill in space on her walls. “Every piece of furniture came from either Wayfair or Overstock. They have such great deals on furniture and rugs, and I’m always scrolling through their websites.” Nathan’s room is a typical boy’s room. It’s a cool gray scale vibe with a portion of the wall behind his bed painted black and there are shelves on either side of the bed filled with books, picture frames and sports trophies. “Dad and I repainted this wall almost a month ago. The sun shines so bright in the mornings and it’s always a pain, and I love when a room is cold and dark.”

He admits to sleeping with the fan on at night, even in the winter. There’s a sleek desk in the corner that holds a laptop and a stack of books, and next to it, against the wall, is a decent sized book shelf. Nathan likes to read, a trait that he and the rest of his siblings picked up from their parents. He and Noelle are having a competition to see who could read the most books by the end of the year. The next room is a low ceilinged guest room which is where Depp’s mother Betty Sue lived her last days.

“This used to be Grandma Betty’s room. Jack comes in here all the time, and we’d find him just laying on the bed,” Nathan says, touching a portrait of his grandmother. The next room is pretty much a music studio, as there’s a drum kit, bass guitars, electric guitars, and a keyboard. The walls are covered with the kids’ school art projects over the years. The room is frequented by Depp’s band the Hollywood Vampires whenever they blow into town, where they write and record new music, and Noelle receives guitar lessons from her father and Cooper. The last room we reach is a game room/homemade home movie theater.

There’s a nice flat screen on the wall and plastic storage bins containing video games, game controllers, and DVDs; Noelle used the room to host a sleepover a few weeks ago, and Nathan and his friends used it to launch water balloons at the neighborhood boys during the summer, which he realizes he makes a mistake in admitting this in front of his parents. Finally we come to the last part of the tour, the backyard which holds a patio and a swimming pool. “I know it doesn’t feel like it now, but we were using the pool up until a week ago. During the spring and summer months, we’ll invite the neighbors over for barbecues or they’ll invite us.” It’s November, and Thanksgiving is a week away. The entire Depp family plans on spending the holiday at the Kentucky ranch Johnny bought for his mother with his siblings. Before we leave, Y/N offers me and the camera man Justin a snack of green tea and cinnamon rolls ushering us politely out of the door so they could have dinner and get ready for Nathan’s game.

The video is now up on architecturaldigest.com and on our YouTube channel.

The video is uploaded on YouTube to great reviews; the viewers love how down to earth and humble you are and that you didn’t spend a ton of money on furniture and other unnecessary miscellaneous items in the house while others wish they had a room like Noelle’s when they were teenagers. The comments range from: i’m a simple person. i see johnny depp’s name and i click on it-user26. i love how they live in a normal looking house in a normal neighborhood. i’m so glad they raised their kids outside of hollywood because john christopher and camille are the most humble nepo kids in the industry and always acknowledge their privilege. can’t say the same for others.- user89. When is Noelle gonna start her modeling career?- user85. i love how close they all are and that they live so close together to where they can get together on the weekends.- user63

dying at the looks johnny and y/n gave nathan when he said he and his friends threw water balloons out the window.- user14. when tf did the twins get so big??? why wasn’t i warned???- user 78. why do noelle and nathan get to look like they just stepped out of a j crew catalog after a day at school but i look like i got beat within an inch of my life by 4th period? - user52

#johnny depp imagines #johnny depp x reader #johnny depp imagine

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experimentaljournal · 4 years ago

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My range of texts

BOOKS

· “We’re all mad here” ― The Cheshire Cat from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol

· "If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn't.” ― Alice from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol

· “All the best people are mad.” ― The Mad Hatter from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol

· “After all this time?” (Dumbledore)

“Always” said Snape.

― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 33, The Prince's Tale

· “To you, who stayed with Harry right to the end.” ― (Dedication) J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

· “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

· "It is only in the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." From The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

LYRICS

· “Be patient, is very good advice,

But the waiting makes me curious,

And I'd love the change” ― Disney's Alice In Wonderland Movie (1951) - Very Good Advice (Lyrics)

· “Deep in the meadow, under the willow. A bed of grass, a soft green pillow. Lay down your head, and close your eyes. And when they open, the sun will rise. Here it's safe, and here it's warm. Here the daisies guard you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place where I love you.” (Lullaby Lyrics) ― Jennifer Lawrence from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Movie

Strange things did happen here

No stranger would it be

If we met at midnight

In the hanging tree

Where I told you to run

So we'd both be free

[Original line:] Wear a necklace of rope

[Line modified for effect:] Wear a necklace of hope

Side by side with me

―"The Hanging Tree" Lyrics (Jennifer Lawrence with James Newton Howard from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 Movie)

MOVIES

· “Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favour.” ― Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

STUDIO GHIBLI MOVIES

· "Sometimes You Have To Fight For The Things That Are Worth Fighting For.” - The Secret World Of Arrietty (2010)

· “They Say That The Best Blaze Burns Brightest When Circumstances Are At Their Worst.” - Howls Moving Castle (2004)

· "Always Believe In Yourself. Do This And No Matter Where You Are, You Will Have Nothing To Fear.” - The Cat Returns (2002)

· "It Doesn’t Really Matter What Color Your Dress Is. What Matters Is The Heart Inside.” - Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

· "Everybody, Try Laughing. Then Whatever Scares You Will Go Away!” - My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

· "Life Is Suffering. It Is Hard. The World Is Cursed. But Still, You Find Reasons To Keep On Living.” - Princess Mononoke (1997)

· "Once You've Met Someone, You Never Really Forget Them." - Spirited Away (2001)

· “It’s Funny How You Wake Up Each Day And Never Really Know If It’ll Be One That Will Change Your Life Forever.” - The Secret World Of Arrietty (2010)

· "Deny Death, And You Deny Life." - Tales From Earthsea (2006)

· "You Should Never Judge Others By Their Looks." — Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (2008)

· "But If His Love Isn't Pure, She'll Turn Into Sea Foam." "That Is Where We All Originate, My Darling." — Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (2008)

· “I’ll always love Ponyo. Whether she’s a fish, a human, or something in-between.” — Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (2008)

FAMOUS PRACTICIONERS QUOTES

· “The Designer is the artist of today.” Bruno Munari

· “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” Walt Disney

· “One person’s craziness is another person’s reality.” Tim Burton

· “Do everything by hand even when using the computer.” Hayao Miyazaki

· "Humans have both the urge to create and destroy." Hayao Miyazaki

· “You must see with eyes unclouded by hate. See the good in that which is evil, and the evil in that which is good. Pledge yourself to neither side, but vow instead to preserve the balance that exists between the two.” Hayao Miyazaki

· “Fantasy, Creativity, Invention think. Imagination sees.” Bruno Munari

TV SERIES (GAME OF THRONES)

“Are you a sheep? No. You're a dragon. Be a dragon.” ― Lady Olenna from Game of Thrones

“Winter is coming.” ― House Stark Motto from Game of Thrones

“Hold the door.” ― Hodor from Game of Thrones

“Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder.” ― Lord Baelish from Game of Thrones

“What do we say to the God of Death? Not Today!” ― Syrio Forel from Game of Thrones

“Valar Morghulis (All men must die). Valar Dohaeris (All men must serve)” ― from Game of Thrones

“When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.” ― Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones

“The lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.” ― from Game of Thrones

RONDOM (BOOKS)

You cross your arms. “Look, Joe. She’s alone. She’s scared. And she’s my friend.” ― from You (Chapter 19, pg. 175) by Caroline Kepnes

The Three Lord laughed. “You may ask anything you wish, little one. If it weren’t for you, we would be not here”. ― from Mistress of All Evil (Chapter 18 pg. 143) by Serena Valentino

The room had a central staircase with two set of stairs that both led to a second-story landing. ― from Let It Go, A Frozen Twisted Tale (Chapter 19 pg. 181) by Jen Calonita

The thing about the front bench was that it meant I had a good view. ― from How to Stop Time (Chapter London, 1599 pg. 157) by Matt Haig

Against this backdrop, once, or twice, or five times a year, somewhere in the world, there would be a recruitment. ― from Red Sparrow (Chapter 22 pg. 313) by Jason Matthews

You can’t blend in when you were born to stand out. ― from Wonder (Front Cover) by R. J. Palacio

My name is August. I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse. ― from Wonder (Back Cover) by R. J. Palacio

I am as harmless as a little child, but I don’t like to be dictated to. ― from Heart of Darkness (Chapter 2 pg. 60) by Joseph Conrad

Wendy: You are the littlest, and a cradle is such a nice homely thing to have about a house. ― from Peter Pan (Act IV pg. 134) by James Barrie

I was born and I have lived in a land of giants; giants have dragged me by the wrists since I was born out of my mother – the giants circumstances ―from The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Introduction XXXIX) by R. L. Stevenson

BOOKS REVIEWS

“Has the power to move hearts and change minds” ― Guardian about Wonder by R. J. Palacio (Back cover)

“Outlandish… Heart-warming… Perceptive” ― Daily Telegraph about How to Stop Time by Matt Haig (Back Cover)

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thinksthatit-sbesttonotlookback · 4 years ago

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How Well Do I Know My Bookshelf?.

Hello Everyone! In order to fight boredom while being cooped up, I decided to do the “How Well Do You Know Your Bookshelf” challenge. The way it works is that I have to answer 28 questions about my books, and each book is picked via coordinates that I have gathered from Random.org, @calamariscorpion, and @reverend-pootis . Once again, thank you for helping me with this! Normally you’re supposed to keep track of your score, but I’m too sleepy to care about score right at this moment.

(If you wish to try it, you can look up the questions online!) And now, here are the results!

- Without looking at the description, tell us what the book is about! (7, 41)

The book I ended up landing on was the first edition of the 3-in-1 Fullmetal Alchemist manga by Hiromu Arakawa. This book in particular is about Edward and Alphonse Elric, who are alchemists attempting to search for the Philosopher’s stone in order to restore their bodies.

-Without looking it up, what is the genre of this book? (9, 17)

The book I got was Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey Mcquiston. This is a LGBTQ+ Romance.

- Without looking at the book, tell us what is on the cover! (4, 37)

The book I got was The Curiosity House: The Shrunken Head by Lauren Oliver and H.C. Chester. I love this book so much that I practically memorized the cover. It’s of the Dumfrey Dime Museum, and our main quartet standing in each of the windows.

- Without looking it up, what is the main character's name? (4, 15)

I landed on A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs. The main character is Jacob Portman.

- Without looking, name a side character! (9, 32)

I got Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. I have not read this book yet, so I’ll just throw out the first name that comes into my mind: John. (I’m incorrect)

- Guess how many pages the book has without looking! (If you guess 25 below or 25 above the number, you can count it as a win!) [5, 23]

I landed on The Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. I actually DNFed this book, so I don’t know how many pages it has; I’ll guess 649. (I just checked, it’s over 800. I’m sad)

- Without looking it up, what rating did you give this book? If you land on a book you haven't read, pick a new set of numbers. (3, 21)

I landed on The Talisman by Stephen King, which I haven’t even opened. And since I don’t have extra coordinates, I went to the next available read book, which happens to be Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai. I gave this book 5/5 stars (It’s one of my all-time favs.)

- Without looking, where does this book take place? (4, 29)

I landed on Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. Even though I haven’t read this, I know that this takes place in Washington.

- Without looking, what are the parent's names? (1, 32)

I landed on This Book is Not good for You by Pseudonymous Bosch. Unfortunately, I don’t remember any of the three parents named in this book, so no points for me!

- Without looking at the hardback, what color is the book under the dust jacket? (6, 48)

I accidentally cheated on this question, so this one does not count for me. I originally got Case Study of Vanitas by Jun Mochizuki, which is a paperback, like all of my mangas. The next book with a dust jacket was Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender, and I could see under the dust jacket from my bed, which renders this question moot. (It was Yellow, if you wished to know)

- Without looking, is there anything on the hardback? Like an imprint or an image of some sort? (2, 39)

I got The Legend of Luke by Brian Jacques!!! I never took the dust jacket off of this book when I read it last, so I don’t know. I’m going to assume that it has one, because it’s written like an epic. (There wasn’t anything on it :( )

- Without taking the dust jacket off, what is the color of the font on the hardback? (1, 21)

I landed on Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo, which happened to be a paperback. The next available book with a dust jacket is All By My Selves by Jeff Dunahm. I believe that the font is yellow! (it’s actually this really nice red)

- Without looking do the chapters have titles or are they just numbered? (8, 46)

I got Soul Eater vol. 2 by Atsushi Ohkubo. Since this is a manga they have titles.

- Without looking at the book cover, does it have an award on it? (3, 7)

I got the Dark Half by Stephen King, and my copy does not have any type of award on it.

- Without looking, does this book have any author blurbs on the front cover? (3,4)

I got Skeleton Crew by Stephen King, and there are no author blurbs on the front cover.

- Without looking, does the book have a description on the back? (5, 4)

I landed on Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and I believe that my copy has a description on the back (No, it doesn’t. All it has is an introduction, some notes, and about the person who wrote the introduction)

- Without looking, does this book have an author photo? (7, 12)

I got the 2nd Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 by Hiromu Arakawa. I don’t believe she has an author photo of herself, but I do know that she has her cow persona on her author segment. Since this question is technically asking about a photo with a human, my answer is no.

- Without looking it up, is this author using a pen name? (6, 49)

I got the Volume 2 of Case Study of Vanitas. I do not believe that Jun Mochizuki is a pen name

- Without peeking, what POV is this book written in? 1st or 3rd? (2, 17)

I landed on Eulalia! By Brian Jacques. Having read quite a few of the Redwall Books, I can safely say that all of them are written in third person.

- Without looking are there any pictures or graphics in this book? (7, 20)

I landed on volume 2 of My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi. This is a manga, which is almost entirely illustrations.

- Without looking, does it have an epilogue? (4, 36)

I landed on The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. I just read this so i should remember this, but I am blanking out on this. I'm just gonna take a risk and say that it doesn’t have an epilogue.

- Without looking, does this book have a prologue? (8, 3)

I can safely say that the third volume of Ouran Highschool Host Club by Bisco Hatori does not have a prologue.

- Without looking, is this book signed? (6, 23)

I got the first volume of Black Butler by Yana Toboso, and it, like my other books, isn’t signed.

- Without looking, do the page numbers have a design above or below them or none at all? (7, 27)

I landed on the 2nd volume of Noragami Stray God by Adachitoka. Because it’s a manga, I know that there’s no designs on the page numbers.

- Without looking, do the chapter headers have designs on them? (4, 54)

I ended up on Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer again. Having not read them, I do not know, but I’ll assume that they don’t have any designs on them.

- Without looking, are the acknowledgements in the front or the back of the book? (4, 17)

The coordinates gave me Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan. I haven’t read this since middle school, but I’ll assume that it's in the back… (The book had no acknowledgements)

- Without looking, what year was this book published? (2, 33)

This is the question I was dreading, especially since I landed on Mossflower by Brian Jacques. I’m going to lowball it and say that this was written in 2004… (Turns out I highballed it. Mossflower came out in 1988!)

- Without looking, what year did you read this book? (5, 15)

I was also dreading this, as I don’t remember when I read books, just that I have read them. My final book was The Volcano of Fire by Geronimo Stilton. I’m just going to assume that I read it in 2015. (There’s no possible way to verify this)

Even though you don’t technically tag someone for one of these, I would like to challenge @cookiecutterwrites and @angelolytle to try this out. Who knows, you may like it!

[The edits aren’t saving]

#This took way longer than it should #I also learned that structurally #mangas are pretty similar!#Don't use the same coordinates as me tho #My range was 1-9 and 1-57 #Only because I have nine shelves #And one of my shelves has 57 books max)

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fuzzeffectsforbass-blog · 5 years ago

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A Beginer's Guide To Guitar Effects Pedals

We are going to attempt and provide a glance at the significant kinds of guitar effects pedals. Here in section 1 we will cover the fundamentals.

We are aware we have a million websites offering insight into this subject, but its been our experience that they are written by engineers, not musicians... they read just like microwave guides instead of a very helpful resource... Anyway... off we go.

Boost

I can not actually milk over a few lines from the subject. It is pretty cut and dry- an increase pedal will offer your signal a quantity increase - or reduce, depending on the way you've made it place. Most boost pedals function as a master volume controller allowing you a fairly broad assortment of usage.

Why do I want a boost pedal? To bring your guitar volume up across the remainder of the ring in a solo, to push your amp more difficult by feeding it a milder signal, to really have a set quantity change in the press of a button.

Overdrive

When many guitarists discuss overdrive, they're speaking to this eloquent'distortion' made by using their tube amps when pushed to the point of dividing. Overdrive pedals are intended to replicate this tone (with limited success) or push a tube amp into overdrive, making those yelling tubes beyond what they normally will be in a position to perform without wall vibration volume.

Why do I want an overdrive pedal? Overdrive pedals may be utilized as a boost pedal- in order to get those inherent advantages, you are going to find some extra girth to a tone in the distortion made by the pedal. Many overdrive pedals possess tone controller giving you broader tone design possibilities.

Distortion

According to our above definition of overdrive, distortion is really where overdrive leaves . From the stone guitar world believe Van Halen and outside to get a crystal clear instance of twisted guitar tone. Distortion pedals frequently emulate high gain amps which produce thick walls of noise little tube amps aren't capable of producing. If you are lucky enough to have a sizable Marshall, Mesa Boogie, Diezel or alternative creature amplifier to make your distortion you may not require a distortion pedal. However, for the rest of us mere mortals, distortion pedals are critical to contemporary guitar tone.

Why do I want a distortion pedal? You are interested in being relevant do not you? In spite of big amps, such as those mentioned previously, distortion pedals play an integral part in contemporary music. They give flexibility which fosters and overdrives can't equal.

Fuzz

God bless Ike Turner and the Kinks. Both functions attained their landmark tones using abused speaker cabinets. Ike dropped his onto the road walking into Sun Records to document Rocket 88, the Kinks clip their speakers using knives so the legends have it. However they obtained it, their tone changed the entire world. Some call it distortion, some call it fuzz, nevertheless, seeing the development from those ruined speakers into the fuzz boxes constructed to emulate these tones, I believe its safest to predict what Turner and Davies created/stumbled upon was fuzz.

Why do I require a fuzz pedal? Ya such as Hendrix, do not ya? In all honesty, the fuzz pedal is seeing resurgence in popular music nowadays. Bands like Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Muse and the White Stripes rely heavily on antique layouts on current releases.

Compressor

The task of a compressor would be to provide an even quantity output. It makes the delicate components louder, along with the loud parts thicker. Current state music guitar tone is pushed by the usage of compression.

Why would you require a compressor? Improved sustain, higher clarity throughout low volume playing.

Modulation

Flanger

The oldest"flanger" outcomes were created from the studio by enjoying two tape decks, both playing the very same sounds, while an engineer could slow down or accelerate the playback of a few of those dupe signs. This is the way you could create wooshing jet flows. The advantage of this old school tape reels is popularly known as the flange.

Why do I require a flanger? A flanger will supply a new colour to your tonal colour. You are able to live with out one, but you will not ever get some of this nuance coloring of this Van Halen's, Pink Floyd's, or even Rush's of this world.

Phase shifter

The phase shifter bridges the difference between Flanger and Chorus. Early phasers were supposed to recreate the turning speaker of a Leslie. Stage shifting's over use could be observed throughout the initial few Van Halen records.

Why do I require a phase shifter? Watch Flangers answer.

Chorus

Chorus pedals divide your signal in two, modulates among them by slowing down it and detuning itmixes it back in with the original sign. The result is supposed to seem like a few guitarists playing the identical thing at precisely the exact same time, leading to a wide swelling noise, but I do not hear it. You do receive a more lush tone, but it does not seem like a chorus of me.

Why do I require a chorus? Since Andy Summers utilizes a single, and Paul Raven says ... that ought to be good .

Tremolo

As a child, did you play with the volume knob on the TV or the radio manically turning this up and down? Yeah? Well you're a tremolo effect.

Why do I require a tremolo pedal? 6 words for ya: The Smiths 'How Soon Is Now'

Delay

A delay pedal produces a replica of an incoming signal and marginally time-delays its own replay. You may use it to make a"slap back" (single rep ) or a echo (multiple repetitions) effect. Who amongst us can not enjoy The Edges utilization of analog and digital delay during U2s livelihood?

Why do I require a delay pedal? Watch Flangers answer.

Wah

A factor band-pass frequency filter... Screw all that- you realize exactly what a wah wah is... its pornography music! It's Hendrix! It is Hammett. It is Wylde. It is Slash.

Why do I want a wah wah pedal? Do you truly have to ask now?

Dennis Mollan is the creator of Pro Tone Pedals. With 20 years experience as a practicing guitarist combined with his formal education in music theory and sound engineering Dennis is now a noted resource in most things rock guitar associated. Pro Tone Pedals premiered in 2004 to give hand built high excellent guitar effects into contemporary hard aliens. In the four decades after, the Dallas Texas based firm has had the chance to work with some of the greatest names in contemporary rock music. Pro Tone Pedals happen to be on tour and at the studio together with Velvet Revolver, Alice In Chains, Camp Freddy, Flickerstick, Ministry, Prong, Warrant, Poison, Overkill, Fear Factory, along with the Cult.

For further guitar pedal info and tips check out fuzz pedals for bass guitar buyers guide.

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melatonincycle · 2 years ago

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Love at First Perfect Silence

Recommendation: Listen to Ezra Bell's I Love You Too

Closer (2004, dir. Mike Nichols) holds itself to the tagline, “If you believe in love at first sight, you never stop looking.” This is certainly true for the characters in the film, as they all seem to continuously seek out something other than what they currently have. In the end, it is difficult to say whether or not any of these characters ever feel love for each other, or if they simply chase a self-pleasure that eventually tires itself out. While I watched Closer, and as Alice and Dan and Larry and Anna hurt themselves and each other, I kept thinking about how love at first sight is too risky. Sure, you can get hit by a car while locking eyes with Jude Law and think that counts as destiny, but what happens when Jude Law turns out to be unsatisfied with everything and everyone he finds himself falling for? Even though at this point in my life I do not find much truth in the idea of love at first sight, I find value in the Closer tagline in the sense that it conveys the continuous search for something.

What is that something? Christopher Matthews in his article explores the importance of the train in the Victorian-era idea of love at first sight. The destruction of the space between two people combined with the tight, inescapable shared space of the train car leads one to naturally focus on the other person sitting next to you, or across from you, or on the other side of the train. Although this phenomenon is not exclusive to Victorian-era trains, I would not describe the assumed connection one feels with another while traveling to love. I believe that “Interest at First Sight” is a better term. This interest may be what Alice and Dan felt for each other in Closer prior to the car accident. A person traveling in a busy city that stands out to you among hundreds of others is certainly enough to peak your interest for a moment. Is it love? As Dan and Alice’s story progresses, the answer veers further and further towards “No.”

So what is that thing we continuously search for if it is not love at first sight? When is this love felt, and how does it make itself known to us if it is not made known through a supposed instant connection or some shared glance in a train car?

On one cold December evening in Prague, I sat with a friend on the metro. We went to IKEA to return some furniture. We picked up some IKEA-branded beer and champagne, and traveled back to our warm apartment. My friend and I talked about very little, and other than the occasional joke about IKEA meatballs or incredibly bland discussions of the interior design of Prague Metro stations, we sat in silence. I remember this evening in its entirety not because it had some unforgettable, climactic moment, but because of the silence my friend and I shared on that near-empty metro to the outskirts of the city.

On this journey, on our own modern version of a 19th century train car, I found myself experiencing a sort of perfect silence. There are times when silence is uncomfortable or it feels as though it needs to be filled. This was not one of those times. Perhaps it was the confinement of the metro car that made me feel this way, or maybe it was the knowledge that this silence would come to a natural end when we reached our stop, but in that moment I came to a silent understanding that I loved my friend. This was not a romantic love, but a bond that justified itself in my ability to exist alongside my friend as the rhythmic rattling of the train car occupied the space around us.

Descriptions of love at first sight often involve this love making itself known because one person sees a hint of something extraordinary in another. It could be in the way they look, the way they are dressed, anything at all, but it defines itself in a sort of contrast. In Closer, Dan found this contrast in Alice’s strong juxtaposition against the grayness of the city. Although my metro ride is not a story of love at first sight, the first pure silence I felt with my friend is synonymous with the surface-level contrast of love at first sight. Our days and nights were occupied by the city noise, the non-stop classroom conversation, the eardrum-bursting nightclub music. These days spent among each other and our other friends formed the love in our friendship – that first perfect silence cemented it.

Both Closer and Christopher Matthews’ article account for a similarity among those who believe they experience love at first sight: It is less about the other person and it is more about how the other person makes one feel. One traveler may see another on a train car and believe that they are in love, but it does not matter who they are seeing. All that matters is that based on a surface-level observation, one person has sparked a sort of lustful interest in another. The person being observed is stripped of everything besides their outer characteristics and given the idealized form that the observer has crafted for them. That is what makes the idea of love at first sight far too hopeful; there is no truth to this love besides the truth that one manufactures based on what one is searching for.

I contrast love at first sight with love at first perfect silence because that silence is how I have found myself understanding the strength of this connection, the strength of this love. It is not a noticeably intense, instant bond, but something that is built up through conversation, laughter, and moment after moment that brings me closer to this other person.

While reading Matthews’ article and watching Closer, I found myself thinking “how do we know when it is actually love?” quite a few times. I find myself interested in many, many people when I walk through an airport. I watch as people my age sit and read before their flight and I find myself interested in these people, but it is not even close to what I would describe as love. I have felt the sort of “love at first perfect silence” that I have been discussing with two people in my life. It is in this infrequency that I find reassurance. The Closer tagline reads “If you believe in love at first sight, you never stop looking.” I believe in love at first perfect silence, and yet I have never found myself looking for it.

The characters in Closer fail because they are obsessed with talking themselves into sex, out of trouble, and into convincing themselves and another that they are in love. They are unable to get past the initial “love at first sight” infatuation and see the other person past a fantasized creation.

So much of what I am describing is about seeing the other person for who they are and being in love with every part of them. Perhaps this can be paralleled with Matthews — the love at first sight scenario involves a silent connection in which one convinces themselves that they are in love by combining surface-level features with an imagined, idealized personality.

The love I am describing finds itself in a somewhat similar silence, but there is no idealized personality. There is instead the person sitting, lying, sleeping beside me. I know this person; I do not need to invent anything.

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ljones41 · 7 years ago

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"4.50 FROM PADDINGTON" (2004) Review

"4.50 FROM PADDINGTON" (2004) Review I have been a major fan of Agatha Christie's 1957 novel, "4.50 From Paddington", ever since I was in my teens. In fact, I consider it one of my top ten favorite Christie novels of all time. So, it is not surprising that I would approach any movie or television adaptation of this story with great anticipation.

As far as I know, there have been at least two adaptations of Christie's 1957 novel. Both were television movies that starred Joan Hickson as Jane Marple in 1987 and Geraldine McEwan in 2004. Just recently, I watched the McEwan version and all I can say is . . . hmmmmm. "4.50 FROM PADDINGTON" (also known as "WHAT MRS. McGILLICUDDY SAW") begins with Mrs. Elspeth McGillicuddy leaving London by train, following a Christmas shopping trip. She is on her way to St. Mary Mead to visit her old friend, Miss Jane Marple in St. Mary Mead. Sometime during the journey, Mrs. McGillicuddy looks out of her window and spots a man with his back to her strangling a woman in a train traveling parallel to hers. Upon reaching St. Mary Mead, Mrs. McGillicuddy reports the murder to Miss Marple, before the pair reports it to an unbelieving railway official. While Mrs. McGillicuddy travels on to visit relatives in Ceylon for the holidays, Miss Marple takes matters into her own hands. She comes to the conclusion that the murderer had dumped the body off the train before it could be discovered at an estate owned by the Crackenthorpe family called Rutherford Hall, near Brackhampton. Miss Marple recruits a professional housekeeper named Lucy Eylesbarrow to hire herself out to the Crackenthorpes with the pretense that she wants to be near her "aunt" - namely Miss Marple - and hunt for the missing body. Eventually, Lucy does find the body . . . and more mayhem ensues. I was not particularly fond of the 1987 Joan Hickson adaptation. And if I must be brutally honest, I do not have a high opinion of this 2004 version. Both versions seemed to be marred by two major problems - too many changes and the love triangle involving the Lucy Eylesbarrow character. And if I must be honest, Lucy proved to be a problem all on her own. Stephen Churchett made changes that I found particularly unnecessary. The movie began with a World War II flashback that featured the death of the Crackenthorpe family matriarch, which seemed to have an impact on the family patriarch, Luther Crackenthorpe. Although poignant, this scene struck me as a complete waste of time that did not seem to have anything to do with the main narrative. And once again, this version ended with a resolution to the love triangle that surrounded Lucy Eylesbarrow. Apparently, no one seemed to care how Christie deliberately left the matter opened in regard to Lucy's choice. I have always regarded the Lucy Eylesbarow character as something of a "Mary Sue". The 1987 version of the character was transformed into a humorless prig. Although the 2004 version of the character managed to regain some wit, she also came off as an even bigger "Mary Sue" than the literary version. The television movie introduced Lucy singing with Noel Coward (of all people) to his guests at a dinner party. She was dressed to the nines . . . and still serving as a housekeeper. What the hell? When I saw this, I could not believe my eyes. And why on earth did Churchett and director Andy Wilson allowed Miss Marple to reveal the murderer to an audience . . . aboard a moving train? This struck me as incredibly contrived and rather uncomfortable. The movie also featured some severe character changes. Harold Crackenthorpe was transformed into a serial rapist, who has targeted Lucy as his latest victim. Alfred Crackenthorpe remained a minor crook, who seemed to be constantly weeping over a former girlfriend who had dumped him. Instead of being the oldest living brother, Cedric Crackenthorpe became the youngest sibling in the family and a failed painter. Why? I have not the foggiest idea. And Churchett completely jettisoned him from the love triangle concerning Lucy Eylesbarrow. This version featured a love triangle between Lucy, Bryan Eastley (Luther's son-in-law), and Inspector Tom Campbell, the investigating detective for the case. Yes, that is correct. Once again, the Dermot Craddock character (who was the investigating detective in the novel) was eliminated from another adaptation. In his place was another detective with close ties to Miss Marple. Which is ironic, considering that he had appeared in the 2004 version of "A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED". Speaking of Bryan Eastley, he was transformed into an American war veteran. Only the Luther Crackenthorpe, Emma Crackenthorpe and Dr. Quimper characters remained intact. However, "4.50 FROM PADDINGTON" did have its share of virtues. I have to give kudos to Jeff Tessler for his excellent production designs. His work made it very easy for television audiences to find themselves transported back to 1951. Also adding to the movie's setting were Pilar Foy's art direction and Phoebe De Gaye's costume designs. I also enjoyed the production's cinematography, thanks to Martin Fuhrer's sharp and colorful work. And Jeremy Gibbs's editing greatly enhanced the sequence in which Elspeth McGillicuddy first witnessed the murder. Despite my dissatisfaction with the overall adaptation of Christie's 1957 novel, I must admit that Andy Wilson did a solid job as director. This was evident in the movie's pacing and performances. Speaking of performances, I tried to think of one or two performance that seemed out of step to me. But if I must be honest, I could not find one. "4.50 FROM PADDINGTON" provided some pretty good, solid performances. Geraldine McEwan was in fine form, as usual, as Miss Jane Marple. And she clicked very well with three particular cast members - Pam Ferris, who did an excellent job in portraying the pragmatic Elspeth McGillicuddy; John Hannah, who gave a nice performance as the rather quiet and intelligent Tom Campbell; and Amanda Holden, who seemed to be a bundle of charm as the talented and dependable Lucy Eylesbarrow. Jenny Agutter gave a very poignant performance in her brief appearance as the dying Agnes Crackenthorpe. The movie also featured solid performances from the likes of Niamh Cusack, Griff Rhys Jones, Charlie Creed-Miles, Kurtis O'Brien, Ciarán McMenamin, and Celia Imrie, who was rather funny as a Russian dancing mistress being interviewed by Tom Campbell and Miss Marple. But there were four performances that proved to be my favorite. One came from Rose Keegan, who was even more funny as Lady Alice Crackenthorpe, Harold's aristocratic wife. My second favorite performance came from David Warner was at times, poignant, rather funny and very sardonic (depending on the scene) as family patriarch Luther Crackenthorpe. Ben Daniels was equally funny and sardonic as the despairing Alfred Crackenthorpe, who seemed to have more regard for the woman who had dumped him, than his family. And perhaps I should be grateful that screenwriter Stephen Churchett transformed the Bryan Eastley character to an American. This gave American-born Michael Landes a chance to make the character more than bearable. Landes did something that Christie's writing and actor David Beames failed to do in the 1987 version . . . make Bryan Eastley sexy and charismatic. I will not deny that "4.50 FROM PADDINGTON" had its virtues. The movie can boast fine performances from a cast led by Geraldine McEwan. I really had no problem with Andy Wilson's direction. And the movie's 1951 was beautiful to look at, thanks to the production staff. But I still had problems with the movie's adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1957 novel. There were too many unnecessary changes to a story that had become one of my favorites penned by the author. Pity.

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mfaunlv · 5 years ago

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Meet the New Class!

It is our pleasure to introduce you to the 17 writers who will join our UNLV community this coming Fall 2020 semester! Congratulations to everyone, and welcome to UNLV!

PHD/BLACK MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE FELLOWS

Dorothy Allred Solomon (nonfiction) was born into a polygamous household to the father of forty-eight children and his fourth wife, but married a Vietnam veteran who said, “One wife is more than enough.” She took her bachelor’s degree in literature, theater and communication and her master’s degree in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Utah. Her writing has received several awards, including the 2004 WILLA, the Utah State Publishing Prize, three first prizes from the Utah Arts Council, Distinguished Journalism Awards from Sigma Delta Chi and the American Academy of Pediatrics, and a Governor's Media Award for Excellence. Her books include the groundbreaking In My Father’s House (1984, Franklin Watts and 2008, Texas Tech University Press) Predators, Prey and Other Kinfolk: Growing Up in Polygamy, (W.W. Norton, 2003) Daughter of the Saints, (W. W. Norton, 2004) The Sisterhood: Inside the Lives of Mormon Women, (2007, Palgrave Macmillan) and coming in 2020 from Texas Tech University Press, Finding Karen: An Ancestral Mystery.

Areej Quraishi (fiction) was born in Dubai, UAE. Her fiction explores familial relationships, cultural identity, memory, and their effects on the psyche. She holds an MFA from the University of Washington-Seattle and an MA and BA in English from Rutgers University. Outside of writing, she enjoys food, trying out new recipes, teaching, graphic design, language, and dabbles in drawing and singing. Her stories appear or have been awarded Finalist spots in Entropy, Glimmer Train Press, and New Millennium Writings. She's super excited to attend UNLV and hopes that being raised in a desert has prepared her for the heat.

MFA Fiction

Mark Ranchez discovered the power of stories and storytelling at an early age. Moved from the Philippines to Hawaii in 2013, he finds himself in a constant journey into the unexpected and unknown, from which many of his stories he’s excited to write about were gleaned. By furthering his education and expertise of the craft, he aspires to someday bring these stories into life. His main writing interests involve the Filipinx experience both in the US and the Philippines. Currently he writes for The Hawaii Filipino Chronicle, an ethnic news publication based on Oahu. Hawaii.

Shani Boianjiu (not pictured)

Marlan K. Smith joins the MFA program as a fiction writer after completing his MA in English at the University of Idaho. A veteran of the video game industry, his academic interests include contemporary and Victorian literature, speculative fiction, and horror. His short stories (written pseudonymously) have appeared in Dark Moon Harvest magazine as well as Space and Time Magazine. As someone moving to Las Vegas during a global pandemic, he accepts that he has basically become a character in a Stephen King novel.

Alycia Calvert was born in Palo Alto California, and has been trying be be close to the ocean ever since. She graduated from UNLV in 2016 with a degree in English, with an emphasis in Creative Writing. Alycia mostly writes flash fiction and is interested in the processes of mothering and childhood in memory. She is the wife to one wildlife biologist, and mother to four curious children. In her “spare time” she can be found running, biking, kayaking, nursing a forest of house plants, tearing through audio books, and half-finishing house projects. She loves learning, and is thrilled to begin her MFA at UNLV.

MFA Poetry

Ben Socolofsky is a poet currently celebrating the mundane in Las Vegas, Nevada. He received a bachelor’s degree from Hampshire College, where he became a founding member of the Departure Collective, which organizes readings and produces chapbooks. His work has appeared in The Hampshire College Reader, WORKSHOP and Departure Anthology.

Sara Brown grew up in rural, middle-of-nowhere South Jersey on her grandparents’ two farms and on the coast. She started working at age 9 on her grandparents’ blueberry farm and then at a flower nursery while completing her Bachelors in Literature. Due to a very bad/good habit of being interested in everything, she enjoys reading and writing poetry and creative nonfiction, painting, growing plants, experimenting with film and digital photography, running and biking, and making music. She also has a chocolate problem and will ugly-cry when she has to leave her dog in NJ. Sara has spent many hours exploring the Mojave Desert while staying with her family and friends in Las Vegas and is beyond thrilled to start the MFA program at UNLV.

Benjamin Stallings is an American poet and musician who grew up in Beijing, China. He moved to America to attend Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, where he graduated with a B.A. in Literature and a B.A. in Writing. He performs as Dagger, playing guitar and writing songs in El Bandito Forever.

John Blake Oldenborg recently graduated from Florida State University with an M.A. in English Literature, Media, and Culture. His favorite pizza toppings are pepperoni and black olives. In his spare time, John enjoys visiting art museums and playing rogue-likes. He is scared of the screaming guy from the band Death Grips

Alice Letowt is convincing her endocrine system to behave. She is interested in light, spent two seasons working on a farm, and hopes to continue farming in the future. While practicing social distancing, she is discovering a fondness for azalea bushes. She can’t wait to stop in Kansas on her drive from Virginia to Nevada.

Harrison Bernard Nuzzo

“i stand outside me and watch myself"

- d.a. levy

MFA Nonfiction

Michael Hanson, a Minnesota native, has chased warm weather in Hawaii, California, Hong Kong, Australia, and now Las Vegas. When he isn’t winning sailboat races, he can be found camping, reading, or carousing with the local riff-raff.

Emma Hardy is from Melbourne, Australia. Her nonfiction has been published in Voiceworks, The Lifted Brow, the Monthly and Dumbofeather. She's interested in animals, the environment and nonfiction that lends itself towards the speculative and fabulative. She's also obsessed with comedy, and performs improv, clown, sketch and occasionally stand-up.

Journalist Travis Dunn was born in New York City and grew up in New Jersey and rural Pennsylvania. He holds a B.A. from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Md. His reporting has been published by the Center for Public Integrity, WhoWhoWhy, Alternet, Belt Magazine, and the now-defunct Baltimore City Paper.

Claire Mullen is a freelance writer, critic, audio producer, and translator based in Mexico City. Her work has appeared in outlets such as The Nation, Lithub, The Believer, and Ploughshares, and she is currently a National Book Critics Circle fellow.

Patricia Heisser Ph. D is a clinical Psychologist who is also an activist and writer. She has been a play producer one of her plays “The Wedding Band”, received the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award. She consulted on casting for movies, such as "The Color Purple", "Lethal Weapon" and "Planet of the Apes" and had a television talk show on CBS," L.A. Kids" which was featured in TV Guide's' Year of the Child. Patricia was also selected as a MS. Magazine Feminist Scholar focusing on international trafficking has testified for the United Nations on the Status of Women and Violence. She also was awarded the American Psychological Association accredited Clinical Psychology Fellowship at UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute.

#MFA

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jodybouchard9 · 5 years ago

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7 Inside Stories Behind the ‘Friends’ Set Design

Alice S. Hall/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

As you’ve probably heard, this fall marks 25 years since the premiere of “Friends,” NBC’s wildly popular sitcom about a sextet of pals set in a carefully rendered New York City. Whether the gang was cracking wise in their improbably spacious Greenwich Village digs or fretting in the Central Perk cafe, their surroundings—a vibrant, layered mix of flea-market finds and sight gags—ushered viewers into a distinct world. Here, “Friends” production designer John Shaffner and set decorator Greg Grande, both of Los Angeles, rewind some of its greatest decor hits.

The Jouets Poster

The Jouets poster

Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

In the fifth-floor walk-up that Monica Geller (Courteney Cox) and Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) shared, the living-room walls were broken up with artwork to ensure the apartment’s purple paint wouldn’t overwhelm TV viewers. An expanse over the television and 1930s buffet proved especially challenging to fill. “I was scrambling, so I picked out this image of a French vintage carnival poster from one of my research books and had it blown up,” Mr. Grande said. “It fit the apartment’s feminine, eclectic style, and it was believable for [aspiring chef] Monica because it was good design on a budget.”

The Boys’ Recliners

The recliners

Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) and Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) favored an unapologetically utilitarian bachelor-pad vibe. Exhibit A: Their hulking leather recliners. “I looked for the most obnoxious ones I could find,” Mr. Grande admitted. “Those chairs were about one thing: comfort,” Mr. Shaffner said. “And where to put your beer.”

Central Perk’s Sofa

Central Perk couch

NBCU Photo Bank

The group’s go-to haunt had to be cozy but different from the apartment sets, Mr. Grande said. “We went with repurposed, old-school pieces and a palette of rich earth tones.” The focal point? This early-1900s burnt-orange, tufted-mohair sofa, salvaged from a collection of old props at Burbank’s Warner Bros. Studios, where the series filmed from 1994 to 2004. Mr. Shaffner noted that the sofa’s low-slung design encouraged a slouchy, home-away-from-home posture.

The Peephole Frame

Peephole frame

NBCU/Getty Images

Monica and Rachel’s front door was an unadorned slab—standard-issue for NYC rentals—but it was a design snooze. “I’d bought this yellowish-gold papier-mâché picture frame at a craft fair intending to use it on a side table, but the glass broke,” Mr. Grande recalled. “I took the backing off and tried it over the peephole.” Added Mr. Shaffner, “I took one look and said, ‘Glue it on!”

The Apothecary Table

The apothecary table

WARNER BROS./EVERETT COLLECTION

Season 6 found Rachel moving in with Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow)—and trying to pass off a Pottery Barn table as an antique to her counterculture roomie. The fib flew—thanks to the item’s mahogany finish, brass hardware and apothecary drawers—until Phoebe discovered Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) owned the very same one. The not-so-subtle product placement had the desired effect; fans purchased the table in droves, and it was recently reissued by Pottery Barn.

Pat the Dog

Pat the dog

ALICE S. HALL/NBCU/GETTY IMAGES

What does success look like? For Joey, the answer is this molded-plastic greyhound statue. After the struggling actor got his big break—a recurring role on “Days of Our Lives”—he splashed out on a flashy new apartment. “The only note I got was ‘Give it a little Italian flair,’” said Mr. Grande, referencing the character’s heritage. “I went to a store called Italy 2000 and saw this dog. It had a seventies flavor and was too funny.” The piece took on a life of its own, rearing its canine head in numerous episodes. (Mr. Grande—playing a mover—can be spotted wheeling it out on the series finale.)

The Boys’ Laurel and Hardy Poster

The poster

NBCU

Isn’t it bromantic? Joey and Chandler’s brown-and-beige lair was left intentionally under-decorated, Mr. Grande said. “We wanted it to look a little barren and like they didn’t really care. Still, we had to fill the walls with something.” This black-and-white poster of early-20th-century entertainers Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy—unframed and haphazardly taped up—fit the bill perfectly. Plus, the late comedians’ famously codependent relationship cleverly echoed the boys’ own buddy dynamic. “Part of Joey and Chandler’s charm was that, in their own way, they were a couple,” Mr. Shaffner said.

The post 7 Inside Stories Behind the ‘Friends’ Set Design appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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caveartfair · 5 years ago

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Governments Are Giving Collectors Interest-Free Loans to Support Local Artists and Dealers

Customer Journey for Kunst Aan Zet at Base Alpha Gallery. Photo courtesy of Kunst in Huis.

Belgian artist Koen Vanmechelen was an optimistic youngster at the beginning of his career when a seasoned art dealer shared some harsh truths. “He said: ‘You have to see it in this way—how many people like art, maybe 20 percent of the population?’” Vanmechelen recalled. “‘How many of these people like contemporary art? Oh, that’s another number, maybe five percent? Who of these people are able to buy art? Hmm, maybe a half percent. And how many of these people are going to buy your art?’”

Decades later, Vanmechelen still vividly recalls the encounter and feels fortunate that, despite the odds, he’s been able to sustain his art practice. Others are less lucky—especially emerging artists, who are among the lowest earners in the Belgian cultural sector during the first 15 years of their careers. But the Flemish government hopes to bolster the region’s contemporary artists with a new initiative launching this September, Kunst Aan Zet, which will provide interest-free loans for purchasing local art.

The program, available through authorized galleries, helps buyers purchase works by artists living and working in Flanders or Brussels by lending sums ranging from €500 to €7,000 (about $570 to $8,000), to be repaid in monthly installments within a maximum period of two years. The artists and galleries are paid in full once the loans are approved.

As Flemish minister for culture Sven Gatz said in a statement, “Buying a work of art should be possible for everyone, even if you’re not an expert and don’t have a big budget.” As someone who stands to benefit from Kunst Aan Zet, Vanmechelen noted that it also provides artists with up-front funds to continue creating, which will stimulate the art scene in a few ways.

Improving the economic situation of artists and making art collecting more accessible are the primary goals of Kunst Aan Zet, and it is inspired by the success of similar programs in the U.K. and the Netherlands. Collectorplan, a program run by the Arts Council of Wales for over 30 years, offers interest-free loans of up to £5,000 ($6,300) toward the cost of artworks made by living artists in Wales. Another long-running program is KunstKoop in the Netherlands, which to date has been used by more than 50,000 collectors, who have bought more than €164 million ($186 million) in art since the initiative launched in 1997. KunstKoop is operated by the Mondriaan Fund, a public fund that supports Dutch visual art and heritage.

The loans available through Own Art, a program of the Arts Council England, are also completely interest-free and allow collectors to borrow up to £25,000 ($31,700) to purchase art, design, and craft objects. Since 2004, Own Art has loaned about £51.7 million ($65.6 million) in its efforts to invigorate the local creative economy and support galleries, collectors, and living artists.

“We’re making buying and collecting art more affordable for consumers who might consider it to be out of reach, and popularizing the concept of buying art, so it doesn’t remain a sort of exclusive and elitist pastime,” said Mary-Alice Stack, the chief executive at Creative United, which operates Own Art. “It’s very much about democratizing the art market, making sure that everyone feels entitled and able to discover and purchase work.”

While these interest-free loan programs are slowly spreading across Europe, there are no equivalent publicly sponsored programs in the United States. “It’s great that a country wants to get behind art and galleries, and try to create an infrastructure to support that,” said Heather Hubbs, executive director of the New York–based New Art Dealers Alliance. “It would be cool if someone could figure that out here. I don’t have a lot of faith that that would be possible without being something privately done by somebody who’s super philanthropic.”

Private, interest-free loans of up to $50,000 for purchasing art are available to Americans through Art Money, a company that began in Australia and launched in the U.S. in 2016. During its four years of operation, it has reported loaning funds to purchase 4,000 artworks, totaling $18 million in sales across 1,000 partner galleries (about 600 of which are in the United States).

Hubbs believes that interest-free loans are just one approach for governments to support contemporary art, and that there are other ways they can provide a boost. “What do galleries and artists need? They need space,” she said. “They need a space to run their businesses out of, and artists need space to make their work. Especially in New York, and to varying degrees in other cities, as well, the real-estate problem is real. If there was a way that galleries and artists could be more protected in terms of rents, that could potentially be more impactful.”

For now, for that percentage of the population that likes contemporary art, buying art through interest-free loans is just one way to support artists. Stack admitted that e-commerce and social media have changed the art market; when Own Art started 15 years ago, galleries were the main channels for buying contemporary art. Now, Own Art’s primary message is that art-buying is accessible, regardless of whether or not collectors apply for a loan through the organization.

“For many of the customers we reach, we’re simply inspiring them to go and look and discover,” Stack said. “We’re not selfish about it. If we can inspire more people to choose to buy a piece of original work by a living artist as opposed to a reproduction print, or [if] we can build their knowledge and confidence about what goes into the process of making an original, unique work, and why that’s important, and what the role of artists is in society, all these things are very much part of our marketing messages and core ambition for the scheme.”

from Artsy News

#Artsy News

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sallysklar · 6 years ago

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Answer Sheet: It’s National School Choice Week. What is That? (Possibly Not What You Think.)

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos greets students, parents and educators at a 2017 National School Choice rally on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Maria Danilova/AP)

This is National School Choice Week, an annual occasion that features (literally) tens of thousands of independent events around the country that celebrate the “school choice” movement. Its website says this:

These celebratory events raise public awareness of the different K-12 education options available to children and families while also spotlighting the benefits of school choice.

NSCW recognizes all K-12 options, including traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, private schools, online academies, and homeschooling.

Most, if not virtually all, of the events planned for the week are staged by schools and organizations and people who support alternatives to traditionally operated public school districts. Those include charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately run, sometimes by for-profit companies, and various programs that use public funds to pay for private and religious school.

National School Choice Week is an organization as well as a week, and came into existence in 2011. School choice proponents say that alternatives to traditional districts are necessary to give families options, especially in places where traditional public schools have failed. School choice opponents say that school choice is aimed at privatizing the public education system and that many of the choices being offered are not well-regulated, sometimes discriminatory and siphon funding away from local school districts. (You can be sure that this week’s events won’t mention the many charter sectors around the country that are riddled with scandal.)

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is a big fan of school choice and National School Choice Week, appearing at events in years past (as you can see in the picture above). DeVos has been advocating for alternatives to traditional school districts for decades and called traditional public schools “a dead end” before she became education secretary. She has stated that her mission as the nation’s top education official is to expand school choice.

[Betsy DeVos, in first public appearance after bike accident, criticizes helicopter parents who obsess on 'safety and security’]

This post about National School Choice Week is written by Carol Burris, a strong critic of school choice. She is a former award-winning New York high school principal who serves as executive director of the Network for Public Education, a nonprofit advocacy group.

Burris was named the 2010 Educator of the Year by the School Administrators Association of New York State, and in 2013, the National Association of Secondary School Principals named her the New York State High School Principal of the Year. Burris has been chronicling problems with modern school restructuring and school choice for years on this blog.

[Can charter schools be reformed? Should they be?]

By Carol Burris

This week is National School Choice Week. Despite its image of a grass-roots celebration of every imaginable alternative to neighborhood public schools, the week is a carefully crafted public relations campaign designed to remind lawmakers of the financial muscle of its sponsors.

Children, wrapped in bright yellow scarves, will dance and sing to inspire legislative and financial support for “choice.” Beneath all of the fanfare, however, is a push for policies designed to undermine most Americans' first choice — neighborhood public schools.

Planning and managing National School Choice Week is a year-long endeavor. National School Choice Week is an organization, yet it has no donate button, nonprofit status statement, nor 990 income tax form that I can find. It does have a president who used to work for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos at the American Federation for Children, a 501(c)(4) lobbying and advocacy group founded by her billionaire family.

The week has an official dance and on its website is a “happiness blog” on which representatives of an online charter chain, connected to the for-profit K-12, encourage everyone to paint a rock to show their love for “choice.”

youtube

It also has lots of right-wing billionaire bucks behind it. In 2016, Media Matters, a progressive nonprofit that researches conservative groups, did a masterful job of exposing where the money comes from to fund National School Choice Week. The week was started by the right-wing Gleason Family Foundation that also funds the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Uncommon Charter Schools, the libertarian Cato Institute and anti-union organizations that promote “right to work."

According to the Center for Media and Democracy, the National School Choice Week website listed the American Federation for Children, the Walton Family Fund, ALEC, SPN, the Freedom Foundation, FreedomWorks, Cato Institute, Reason Foundation, the Heritage Foundation, the James Madison Institute, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as education partners in 2016. Using the Wayback Machine, you will also find so-called progressive organizations such as Democrats for Education Reform (DFER), KIPP and Education Reform Now on the partners’ list that year.

You can’t find any of the partners or funding information on the website today, however, nor could you last year.

The “school choice movement” did not begin with its first celebratory week in 2011. The founder of the modern school choice movement was libertarian economist Milton Friedman who proposed the idea of school vouchers in 1955. A true privatizer, Friedman also believed that Social Security should be shut down because it created welfare dependency, that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should be abolished, and that the licensing of doctors should be eliminated because the American Medical Association was “a monopoly.”

In this video titled “The Enemies of School Choice,” Friedman begins by boldly claiming that choice and vouchers “would solve all of the critical problems” faced by schools. According to Friedman, school vouchers would eliminate discipline problems, reduce segregation and solve the problem of school busing. He presented no evidence, just claims based on his disdain for government regulation. When vouchers were deemed unconstitutional in some states and rejected by the public in others, advocates of choice moved to charter schools as well as neo-vouchers that are designed to disguise the public funding of private and religious schools.

The choice movement is now embraced by billionaires for whom it has become a cause celebre. They fund not only charter school chains but also groups that lobby on their behalf, as well as the political campaigns of those who want to expand charters, and in some cases, vouchers.

They will also fund campaigns deliberately designed to thwart the public’s will when it gets in the way. In 2012, for example, the Washington State Charter School Ballot Initiative passed by a very slim margin, 50.69 percent in favor to 49.31 percent opposed. But the close vote is not the story.

The 2012 initiative was Washington State’s fourth charter school ballot initiative. The previous three attempts failed — in 1996 (64.43 percent opposed to 35.57 percent in favor), 2000 (51.83 percent opposed to 48.17 percent in favor), and 2004 (58.3 percent opposed to 41.7 percent in favor).

The fourth and final attempt was not pushed by the parents of Washington State. It was pushed and funded by billionaires. The collection of signatures to get the charter initiative on the ballot was a well-coordinated effort that cost nearly $2.5 million.

Funders of the initiative included Microsoft founder Bill Gates (who contributed over $1 million) and California billionaire Reed Hastings of Netflix. A dark-money group based in New York — Education Reform Now Advocacy, an arm of Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) — contributed large sums as well.

After the referendum to approve charters was placed on the ballot, Gates put up over $2 million, a sum that was nearly matched by out-of-state billionaire Alice Walton. In all total, Washington billionaire Paul Vulcan spent over $1.6 million as well.

Without the financial push by billionaires both within and outside the state, the initiative, which barely passed on the fourth attempt, would likely have failed, as did the three previous efforts.

Let’s fast forward to 2019. What was the outcome for all of those millions contributed allegedly on students’ behalf?

The Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University, which is funded by pro-charter organizations, recently issued its report comparing the academic growth over a three-year period of students in Washington’s charter schools when compared with their true public school (TPS) counterparts. What it found was that charter school students did no better.

From that report:

“Over that time, the typical charter school student in Washington demonstrated no statistically different academic growth in reading and math when compared to their exact-match counterpart in nearby district schools (TPS). The trend across the two growth periods shows a slight downward trend in reading and math as the number of students served grew. The finding of no meaningful difference in learning gains held across most of the different student groups within the charter population. Only English language learners [ELLs] experience significantly higher learning gains associated with charter school attendance. Other student subgroups such as students in poverty, Black students, and Hispanic students experience non-significant positive gains on average. “

It should be noted that the small gains experienced by English Language Learners disappeared when Hispanic ELLs in charters were compared with Hispanic ELLs in public schools. The report also confirmed that charters in Washington, as elsewhere, enrolled fewer special education students and fewer ELLs.

No improvement for all of the millions spent.

To see all of the billionaires and dark-money organizations that supported the Washington referendum, read the Network for Public Education’s action report, “Hijacked by Billionaires: How the Super Rich Buy Elections to Undermine Public Schools.” In that report, you will find billionaires inserting huge sums of money to support both big and small elections across the nation to support privatized school choice.

In study after study, when it comes to academics, students in charters overall do no better than students in true public schools, and the preponderance of research on vouchers show that students who leave public schools for private or religious schools do the same or worse.

Meanwhile, the evidence of scandal and the abuse of taxpayer funds mounts. Choice is sometimes used to enable segregation. The civil rights of students are disregarded, especially in voucher schools. And yet billionaires still push the privatization of our democratically controlled public schools, siphoning public dollars away from them.

[North Carolina passes charter school law that critics say is intended to promote segregation]

elaine January 23, 2019

Source

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Answer Sheet: It’s National School Choice Week. What is That? (Possibly Not What You Think.) published first on https://buyessayscheapservice.tumblr.com/

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amongthegraham · 8 years ago

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Back in the M. Night Groove

Due to the success of “The Sixth Sense” (1999), “Unbreakable” (2000), and “Signs” (2002), filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan seemed like he could do no wrong. Then he made “The Village” in 2004.

“The Village” completely derailed his hot streak and rather than walking away unscathed like Bruce Willis’ character David Dunn in “Unbreakable,” Shyamalan appeared cursed as his subsequent films got worse and worse.

The awfulness of “Lady in the Water” (2006), “The Happening” (2008), “The Last Airbender” (2010), and “After Earth” (2013) made it really hard to take Shyamalan seriously. For me, his series of clunkers meant his career was officially dead.

In 2015, the trailer for the heavily promoted “The Visit” showed up in what felt like every single commercial break and the rampant exposure actually started to pique my interest. However, since the film had Shyamalan’s name on it there was no way I would venture to the theater only to be disappointed yet again.

When I finally rented “The Visit,” against my better judgment, I couldn’t believe that I was once again entertained by Shyamalan. Though “The Visit” was a good movie, it was far from being on par with his three best films, but was definitely a baby step in the right direction. Shyamalan saved his full return to glory with his newest film, “Split,” currently in theaters.

“Split” isn’t just redemption for Shyamalan, it’s also a pivotal performance for lead James McAvoy. Normally when I see McAvoy onscreen all I picture is his association with that pile of garbage action film “Wanted” where he could curve bullets and ludicrously utilized an army of rats individually equipped with bombs. I still want to know exactly how long it took to make all those rat bombs. However, I have renewed faith in the actor thanks to his stunning performance in “Split,” which is alone worth the price of admission.

For essentially a one setting film, “Split” remarkably has a lot going on and excellent pacing reveals shocking details a little at a time. After being kidnapped, three teenage girls are locked away in a small room that was purposely constructed for imprisonment. Two of the girls, Claire (played by Haley Lu Richardson) and Marcia (Jessica Sula), are close friends, while the third victim, Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), only happened to be out with the girls because Claire’s father made his daughter invite Casey. Even movie plots are anti-bullying now! Such progress!

As if having one captor isn’t bad enough, “Split” heightens the unsettling situation for the girls by having them held against their will by someone harboring 23 different personalities. McAvoy’s character suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder and the three girls never know who is going to be behind the door when he pays their room a visit. Each personality is so unique that one particular identity even requires insulin shots because of diabetes.

As the girls meet the different personalities, the audience learns even more about the main character when he goes to therapy appointments with his psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley). This was a clever way for Shyamalan to further explore the character instead of only allowing him to relate to his prisoners. It also helped change up the scenery since, as I mentioned, the movie has one central location. Flashbacks to Casey’s childhood, which also helps shift to new settings, periodically take over in an attempt to explain her odd behavior. You see, from the moment they awake in their prison, Claire and Marcia act panicked and are determined to escape, but Casey is strangely calm. Much like her captor, there is more to Casey than what we see on the surface.

Typically, actors don’t find their career-defining role in a horror film, but McAvoy reached a new level of his craft with “Split.” You can tell how invested he was in bringing the character to life by the way he completely lost himself in the role. Whether he was playing a woman, a gay fashion designer, or a 9-year-old boy, McAvoy dominated every second of screen time.

“Split” is 2017’s first must-see film and you will need to go out of your way to avoid spoilers. Merely Googling the film title will return one of the two huge twists that the movie offers so I would pick up a newspaper to check for show times instead of looking online.

It’s been a long time since Shyamalan made something special, but “Split” is shaping up to be the beginning of a possibly huge comeback for the filmmaker.

Concert Update: So far the most colorful concert package of the summer belongs to Deep Purple, Alice Cooper, and The Edgar Winter Band. Catch all three when they stop by Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in St. Louis on September 8, 2017. Tickets for the show go on sale Friday, February 3 at noon through Live Nation.

#m night shyamalan #split #james mcavoy

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plogan721 · 5 years ago

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Let the flood gates begin

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links within the post, I may receive a commission for your click and purchase. You do not have to make a purchase to enjoy this post, I only highlight products to help with the cost of running the blog, and I only post links to products relevant to the topic in that post and to companies I use and trust.”

Please Note: I started writing this blogpost in pen and paper. You know, the old-fashioned way of writing. I got the idea from an episode from Star Trek: Voyager where one of my favorite captains, Captain Janeway was sick of technology, after dealing with species 842 and the Borg. This was the episode that introduced Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine, a former Borg drone brought back by to her human self by The doctor, authorized by Captain Janeway. Captain Janeway decided to take to writing her captain’s log by this method. It is a practice that we should all do in the wake of this pandemic. To me, even though you are seeing my post in digital form, it was a way of getting back to things in a natural way.

Photo by Pixabay

This was the week when my city reopened for retail. Today was the day I ventured out to a new norm of new rules (other than what was already in place). As I drove, doing my errands of depositing money in my business checking account and going to a grocery store that carried a Starbucks kiosk, because the Starbucks down the street lied about being open, I was thinking, “was it all worth being quarantined for the past 2 ½ months?” The only difference was Columbus, Ohio all of sudden looked like a Japanese prefecture, with mask-wearing people out and about in the 70° plus weather. This is something that the Japanese and other Asians are used to doing, not Americans.

Americans are used to having the freedom to do whatever we want to do, and how we want to do it. If it puts us in jail, so be it. When we get out, some of us will try it again until someone ignores us, then it becomes a norm. If we have to protest, that is fine, it makes an interesting news story locally and/or nationally.

I am not sure how I feel about it.

OK, let me explain….

Since this whole Covid-19 started, I have been squeamish about a few things and those are:

What is my new norm?

How is the country supposed to work now that there is the new little bug that can wipe us out, especially in places like the city where I live and places that I love, like the Caribbean and Walt Disney World.

What is my new norm?

I have been a quiet person all my life. I get it from my mom. So, I do not mind being isolated during this time period. My only problem at first was wearing the mask and gloves, and I get it. I had no problem putting them on, the problem comes because my hands are the same size as a child. There are people who cannot be around others because of their immune system and they are the elderly and the young. I have 6 people I have to respect that. My parents and aunt all have pre-existing conditions and they are elderly. I have a niece who will be 3 months old next week, I have a friend who also has a pre-existing condition and a pastor who has a pre-existing condition. I also have to watch it because I have high blood pressure and I am pre-diabetic. Depending on the doctor, I either have diabetics, or it can come at any time. Either way, I have to watch my diet and my weight. Thank you, Corona for giving me the sense of ignoring those two things. I am much better at doing that now.

Also my new norm: My business. I could tell you that I have the easiest job I could ever have, but like most businesses, there is the struggle of getting gigs. There is a struggle of getting money for this business. I also could say that I like the stimulus package for small or even home businesses. I do not have a small business, I have a home business, and as a home business owner, we often get lumped in with small businesses. What Is a home business? It is a business that is operated out of the home and if you do have any employees, it is usually an assistant. Your revenue is lower than a small business. A good year is when a person is able to earn $1,000 plus per month.

Why offer help to small businesses if big businesses get approved?

Well, to be honest, the EIDLE and the PPP portion of the first stimulus package has done nothing for me and my business because of companies like Potbelly and The Lakers basketball team, who should not have been allowed to apply in the first place, nor their applications should never been approved. Potbelly has returned the money and I believe so has The Lakers. That still does not help P. Lynne Designs. I applied twice. The first application was on Go Alice, while the second application was on the SBA.gov site. I have not heard back, and I doubt I will at this point. I do not have any employees. This is just to maintain the business of one, and for growth. The government did not handle this process very well. I chucked as “I am getting no help as usual” and went about my day. Update: Last night, I was able to file for unemployment, a right that was not given to people like freelance writers and freelance graphic designers, which I am. I pray and hope they approve it.

So let us go back to what I was talking about

THE RETAIL STORES

I do not mind the retail stores being open. Personally, I will not be going in the very beginning. Actually, I am having fun online ordering. I do not have to worry about donning on a mask, fighting crowds, not finding what I want. In fact, I ordered a mystery Die cut bag from Tonic Studios at 3 am this morning. That is how much fun I am having to order online. Yes, I can always order online, then pick up at the store like Walmart.

Amazon has been my store of the hour, and ever since I was told by my governor that even pickup was impossible in the craft stores in my state, I said “okay”, and started ordering online. Ordering online is natural for me anyway, so it did not bother me that I could not go to any of my stores, except Ikea. That is another story for another day.

I have been to two grocery stores since lockdown. One was for last-minute stuff as I found out just today that the second store only allows me to do pickup ordering if the order was over $30. The reason: Cat food. Well my nephew came through with the cat food, so now I do not have to buy that.

It is best if all stores keep in mind a level of safety. My feeling is this since I do have pre-existing conditions, as well as my parents, I do not want to spread the super germs. I am calling Corona that until we find a vaccination for it

My hardest hit yet, Walt Disney World

I am having the hardest time with a Disney Vacation. Last May, I booked a stay for 12 at The Bay Lake Towers at The Contemporary Resort (its official name) for the time of December 15-20, 2019, with all the bells and whistles as this might be the last vacation with my parents, who are in their 80s.

This was a well-meaning trip as two things went wrong from the start: how to pay for a $30,627.00 trip that included a 3-bedroom villa, tickets to the parks, and a deluxe dining plan, and how to tell a Disney-hating father that we were going to the “land of the mouse” times 4 (The Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and The Animal Kingdom theme parks). It would not be a requirement for my parents to go into the parks unless they wanted to. In years past (1998, 2004, and Disneyland in 2007 respectively), my father stayed at the resort or drove around the property, Orlando, and surrounding cities (Cape Canaveral, Kissimmee, and Tampa are close by). This time, my mom, who loves the parks will join him if she wants to. She is not too keen on using a riding scooter.

We were going to drive down instead of flying. We were coming back home that Sunday so that my siblings and my nephew and niece can get back to work by that Monday before Christmas. The kids (Nephews (age 12 and 9) and niece (11)) was being pulled out of school. Ohio has a funny winter break schedule where they are out either the day before Christmas eve or a couple of days before Christmas. Either way, it would have been fun. I pulled the plug on that trip on October 15th, one month before our last cancelation date of November 15th. I did not cry because I was going to call them the day after Christmas with a new date of December 12-19, 2020.

Well with Ms. ‘Rona on the prowl, and for the first time ever since Walt Disney opened Disneyland in 1955, all the parks were close, due her not wanting to play fair, I decided to see what Disney is going to do with the guidelines that they and the State of Florida government, as well as the federal government, was going to say about a reopening date. For the moment, Disney reopened Shanghai Disneyland Monday, Disney Springs, Walt Disney World’s shopping area is reopening on May 20th, and Walt Disney World is excepting bookings starting July 1 (it has been delayed from June 1st).

I do not want a vacation in 2020. I feel like it is too soon to book a vacation and go in 2020. So, I have decided to wait until December 15-19, 2021 to take the trip. This all depends on two things: the health of my parents and the health of our savings. There is one more factor and I am not depending on whether I do or do not do for this vacation and that is to get another Disney Vacation Club membership. This will affect how we pay for this trip. Naturally, this membership is a timeshare, and I have spoken about timeshares before on this blog. That is a talk for my yet to be created a new blog, which will be Disney-related. I took all the travel stuff off of my blog, Home Prep because it is not related.

Some good has come out of all this…

My stories are not all bad, in fact, some of them quite funny.

Last week, a friend had a birthday. She announces it each year 6 days in advance. This year was no different. What I love about Facebook is the ability to have people donate to your favorite charity in loo of presents for your birthday. I am going to do one, I am not sure where yet. July 21 has not gotten here yet.

Anyway, her sister and mother thought that since Ms. ‘Rona decided to cancel my friend’s plans, a surprise drive-by birthday salute was in order. Can I tell you that I do not know how to do one, LOL?

First, I told her mother that I was coming by via Facebook invite. I have seen lineups, so I thought that I was going to meet at her mother’s house, and we would fall in line to go to my friend’s apartment. After all, it was a surprise. Since I am one of those people who would show up late to her own wedding if given a chance, I decided to arrive early so my friend’s mother cannot say that I was late. So, I drove to the house at 4:46 and I did not see any cars. “Good, I am the first one,” I thought, so I went the next street over to turn around. Okay, next thing I knew, I saw my friend’s daughter, who is 3, then my friend. I thought, “Oh, Crap”, and I drove off to my parent’s house who live around the corner. This drive-by was at 5, so I killed some time at my parent’s house and went back over there. It turned out to be an “individual” happy birthday, as my friend and her mother sat there while people drove by, wishing her a happy birthday. It turned out great, and this goofy person now know the proper drive by, LOL.

Business Dealings….

I was able to get some things done for my business while on lockdown. I was approved for an affiliate that I have been wanting since 2017. You know how much I love Erin Condren products, so you will be seeing more affiliate links from that company. As always, I only support companies that I love and believe in, and you are not obligated to make a purchase, but it would be nice for the support. It is a way to put money back into my business. Some of these companies with affiliates, like Erin Condren, Cricut, and Amazon may have links that will help you save money as well. So in that case, if you need the product, it is good to help out a blog and save money at the same time.

I am also working on some things that will help improve this blog, including the infamous blog move.

Even though I was down and out during this period of time, I am fine now and living a new norm. For the moment, my state is wrapping being on lockdown. This is the reason for this title. Let the flood gates open!!! Well, I am over my limit. Be well and safe. Wear a mask, and I will talk to you later.

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marcusssanderson · 6 years ago

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73 Gratitude Quotes Celebrating Life, Love & Friends

Looking for an awesome list of inspirational gratitude quotes for a greater sense of appreciation and thanks for our life, family, and friends? Below you’ll our collection of gratitude quotes that will bring love in your heart.

We all want to be appreciated, but are we also expressing our appreciation in return?

This is such an important part of our relationships with others, and in both them and ourselves knowing what they mean to us, or how we mean to them.

These gratitude quotes on appreciation will motivate you to either express your appreciation for others or to identify what we have been lacking and need to hear often.

Let them inspire you to be thankful for life, love, family, and friends.

Below is our collection of inspirational, wise, and thoughtful gratitude quotes, gratitude sayings, and gratitude proverbs, collected from a variety of sources over the years.

Gratitude Quotes About Life

Here are some inspirational gratitude quotes about life.

1.) “Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” ― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

2.) “I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, “Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes gain.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

3.) “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough” ― Oprah Winfrey

4.) “The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter.” ― Paulo Coelho, Veronika Decides to Die

5.) “Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.” ― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

6.) “Music has always been a matter of Energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel. I have always needed Fuel. I am a serious consumer.

On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio.” ― Hunter S. Thompson

7.) “At the end of the day, let there be no excuses, no explanations, no regrets.” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

8.) “To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.” ― Mark Twain

9.) “Forget yesterday – it has already forgotten you. Don’t sweat tomorrow – you haven’t even met. Instead, open your eyes and your heart to a truly precious gift – today.” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

10.) “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!” ― Mae West

Inspirational Gratitude quotes about friends

11.) “What I’m not sure about, is if our lives have been so different from the lives of the people we save. We all complete. Maybe none of us really understand what we’ve lived through, or feel we’ve had enough time.” ― Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go

12.) “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive—to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love — then make that day count!” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being

13.) “Dance. Smile. Giggle. Marvel. TRUST. HOPE. LOVE. WISH. BELIEVE. Most of all, enjoy every moment of the journey, and appreciate where you are at this moment instead of always focusing on how far you have to go.” ― Mandy Hale, The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass

14.) “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it. People think pleasing God is all God cares about. But any fool living in the world can see it always trying to please us back.” ― Alice Walker, The Color Purple

15.) “My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a bonus.” [The Science of Second-Guessing (New York Times Magazine Interview, December 12, 2004)]” ― Stephen Hawking

16.) “Love is made up of three unconditional properties in equal measure:

Acceptance

Understanding

Appreciation

Remove any one of the three and the triangle falls apart. Which, by the way, is something highly inadvisable.

Think about it — do you really want to live in a world of only two dimensions? So, for the love of a triangle, please keep love whole.” ― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

17.) “It’s funny how, in this journey of life, even though we may begin at different times and places, our paths cross with others so that we may share our love, compassion, observations, and hope. This is a design of God that I appreciate and cherish.” ― Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience

18.) “Some books are undeservedly forgotten; none are undeservedly remembered.” ― W.H. Auden, The Dyer’s Hand

19.) “It’s funny, but have you ever noticed that the more special something is, the more people seem to take it for granted? It’s like they think it won’t ever change.

Just like this house here. All it ever needed was a little attention, and it would never have ended up like this in the first place.” ― Nicholas Sparks, The Wedding

20.) “The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

21.) “This place was truly the highest and the lowest of all worlds – the most beautiful senses, the most exquisite emotions…the most malevolent desires, the darkest deeds. Perhaps it was meant to be so. Perhaps without the lows, the highs could not be reached.” ― Stephenie Meyer, The Host

Gratitude Quotes About Appreciating Our Life

22.) “Just an observation: it is impossible to be both grateful and depressed. Those with a grateful mindset tend to see the message in the mess. And even though life may knock them down, the grateful find reasons, if even small ones, to get up.” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

23.) “In societies where men are truly confident of their own worth, women are not merely tolerated but valued.”(From a speech read on video on August 31, 1995 before the NGO Forum on Women, Beijing, China)” ― Aung San Suu Kyi

24.) “Don’t forget, a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.” ― H. Jackson Brown Jr., Life’s Little Instruction Book: 511 Suggestions, Observations, and Reminders on How to Live a Happy and Rewarding Life

25.) “The problem that we have with a victim mentality is that we forget to see the blessings of the day. Because of this, our spirit is poisoned instead of nourished.” ― Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience

26.) “Every one of my fans is so special to me” ― Justin Bieber, First Step 2 Forever

27.) “Be happy with who you are and what you do, and you can do anything you want.” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

28.) “If we never experience the chill of a dark winter, it is very unlikely that we will ever cherish the warmth of a bright summer’s day. Nothing stimulates our appetite for the simple joys of life more than the starvation caused by sadness or desperation.

In order to complete our amazing life journey successfully, it is vital that we turn each and every dark tear into a pearl of wisdom, and find the blessing in every curse.” ― Anthon St. Maarten, Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny

29.) “Those who have the ability to be grateful are the ones who have the ability to achieve greatness.” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

Gratitude quotes about being thankful

Be inspired by these gratitude quotes about being thankful.

30.) “Ten long trips around the sun since I last saw that smile, but only joy and thankfulness that on a tiny world in the vastness, for a couple of moments in the immensity of time, we were one.” ― Ann Druyan

31.) “You are evidence of your mother’s strength, especially if you are a rebellious knucklehead and regardless she has always maintained her sanity.” ― Criss Jami, Killosophy

32.) “Life is not made up of minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years, but of moments. You must experience each one before you can appreciate it.” ― Sarah Ban Breathnach

33.) “We can’t undo a single thing we have ever done, but we can make decisions today that propel us to the life we want and towards the healing we need.” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

34.) “I would rather be able to appreciate things I cannot have than to have things I am not able to appreciate.” ― Elbert Hubbard

35.) “A very small percentage of the people in this world will actually experience and live today. So many people will be stuck on another day, another time that traumatized them and caused them to spiritually stutter so they miss out on this day.” ― Steve Maraboli

36.) “Admiration for a quality or an art can be so strong that it deters us from striving to possess it.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

37.) “The difference between appreciation and flattery? That is simple. One is sincere and the other insincere. One comes from the heart out; the other from the teeth out.

One is unselfish; the other selfish. One is universally admired; the other universally condemned.” ― Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People

38.) “Finding happiness should not be seen as finding a needle in a haystack. Happiness is within. Each day is a blessing that brings an abundance of happiness. Therefore, finding happiness should be like finding a gift in a stack of gifts.” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

39.) “A grateful mindset can set you free from the prison of disempowerment and the shackles of misery.” ― Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience

40.) “The creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus adds his contribution to the creative act.” ― Marcel Duchamp

Motivational Gratitude Quotes For Life and love

41.) “Sometimes we fight who we are, struggling against ourselves and our natures. But we must learn to accept who we are and appreciate who we become. We must love ourselves for what and who we are, and believe in our talents.” ― Harley King

42.) “Connecting with those you know you love, like and appreciate you restore the spirit and give you the energy to keep moving forward in this life.” ― Deborah Day, BE HAPPY NOW!

43.) “Now and then, however, he is horribly thoughtless and seems to take a real delight in giving me pain. Then I feel, Harry, that I have given away my whole soul to someone who treats it as if it were a flower to put in his coat, a bit of decoration to charm his vanity, an ornament for a summer’s day.” ― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

44.) “For the yesterdays and today’s, and the tomorrows I can hardly wait for – Thank you.” ― Cecelia Ahern, The Book of Tomorrow

45.) “The honey doesn’t taste so good once it is being eaten; the goal doesn’t mean so much once it is reached; the reward is no so rewarding once it has been given. If we add up all the rewards in our lives, we won’t have very much.

But if we add up the spaces *between* the rewards, we’ll come up with quite a bit. And if we add up the rewards *and* the spaces, then we’ll have everything – every minute of the time that we spent.” ― Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

46.) “Not having money to spend doesn’t mean we can’t have well-spent moments every day.” ― Sarah Ban Breathnach, Peace and Plenty: Finding Your Path to Financial Serenity

47.) “In prison, I fell in love with my country. I had loved her before then, but like most young people, my affection was little more than a simple appreciation for the comforts and privileges most Americans enjoyed and took for granted.

It wasn’t until I had lost America for a time that I realized how much I loved her. ” ― John McCain, Faith of My Fathers: A Family Memoir

48.) “Be thankful for your allotment in an imperfect world. Though better circumstances can be imagined, far worse are nearer misses than you probably care to realize.” ― Richelle E. Goodrich, Smile Anyway: Quotes, Verse, and Grumblings for Every Day of the Year

49.) “Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” – Denis Waitley

50.) “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” — Gilbert K. Chesterton

51.) “Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.” —Zig Ziglar

52.) “ ‘Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding.” —Alice Walker

53.) “Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.” — Henri Frederic Amiel

54.) “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” —Robert Brault

55.) “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” – Melody Beattie

56.) Sometimes we should express our gratitude for the small and simple things like the scent of the rain, the taste of your favorite food, or the sound of a loved one’s voice. – Joseph B. Wirthlin

57.) “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” — William Arthur Ward

58.) “The way to develop the best that is in a person is by appreciation and encouragement.” — Charles Schwab

Attitude of gratitude quotes

59.) “Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty.” ―Doris Day

60.) “Appreciation can make a day—even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.” ―Margaret Cousins

61.) “There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.” ―Ralph H. Blum

62.) “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” – G.K. Chesterton

63.) “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” ― Marcus Tullius Cicero

64.) “Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” ― Voltaire

65.) “Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.” – Brian Tracy

Other inspirational gratitude quotes and sayings

Here are some more inspirational gratitude quotes for you.

66.) “Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.” – Aesop (c.620-560 BC)

67.) “Since we cannot get what we like, let us like what we can get.” –

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