#cinema without borders

[haute-lifestyle-com]

The Doris Duke Foundation is pleased to announce its continued commitment to uplifting Muslim stories through a $1 million grant to Sundance Institute. Through a three-year commitment, the grant establishes the Building Bridges Fellowship and Completion Fund

[sayruq]

London’s biggest screening party for the Eurovision Song Contest finals has been canceled, the venue Rio Cinema and organizer Eurovision Party London have said. “Following discussion with the organizers of Eurovision Party London, we have collectively decided not to screen the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest this year while Israel remains in the competition,” the Rio Cinema said in a statement on X. “The Eurovision Party London has been a beloved partner of The Rio Cinema for many years, and we will continue to work with them in the future. We firmly believe that the Eurovision Song Contest has the power to bring people together across the world, and when its core values of inclusivity, equality and universality are upheld, it can be a genuine force for good. With its own slogan in mind, we hope that we can all be United By Music again soon. We will continue to organize fundraising events for the charities we support, including Doctors Without Borders and Medical Aid for Palestine.”

[awrkive]

tlp jk is def the type to absolutely sob when he sees oc walk down the aisle/when he’s trying to propose to her and it maybe just me but I feel like after that one year anniversary he’s like I’m wifing this girl DOWNN cause I feel like he lich has the ring and everyth ready to go he’s waiting he’s prepped 😭

here it is!!! #thee proposal drabble this is literally the cutest thing ever i wish love was real 😖🥹 hope u enj!!!!!!!!!!

summary: in which jungkook proposes and it doesn't start off well

w/c: 3.7k

warning/s: tlp couple is extremely in love that is a warning. they're also cry babies. listen to something by the beatles for the major feels 😔

“Baby,” Jungkook sighs, matching your pace. “Are we really fighting right now?” 

“No.” Is your stern response, continuing your quick steps without even bothering to look back at him. 

“I guess we are fighting right now.” Jungkook mumbles to himself, taking two big strides so he can finally catch up with you. 

You don’t pay him any attention when he slides his arm around your waist while the other holds the bag of large popcorn you bought a while ago, leaning down to kiss the side of your head. Jungkook doesn’t even care about the people passing by around the cinema; they have lives to care about on their own – he can kiss his girlfriend wherever and whenever he wants. 

“I’m sorry.” He whispers in your hair, enough for only you to hear. 

There’s a crease on your forehead that hasn’t ceased ever since you left the restaurant you had your dinner at. But after a few beats, you let out a sigh. 

“I just really wanted to see the movie in IMAX.” you lament, and Jungkook feels bad. He really does. 

“I know, baby, I really am sorry,” he apologizes once again. “We can see it tomorro—” but he realizes you both have a full-time shift, so he opts for, “–next week?” 

“Jungkook, the screening ends in the next two days.” you say, tone bordering on annoyed now. You reel it back in, gently saying, “I just– I told you to hurry up earlier, but you kept on changing your hair even though– you know what, forget about it. Which cinema were we in, again?” 

Jungkook’s nerves begin to kick in, because you look like you’re genuinely upset now. He can tell it by the tone of your voice, the disappointment and the simmering irritation of having to deal with the situation. You don’t get angry often – no scratch that, you don’t get angry at all. However, it does come in withdrawal-like gestures and behavior – like now. 

And again, Jungkook really does feel bad for having to do what he did earlier. You weren’t able to purchase tickets online so you had to make do with buying on the actual booth – and because Jungkook took way too long in the comfort room of the restaurant fixing his hair, you arrived at the cinema way too late and the tickets for the last IMAX screening of the night ran out. It left you with no choice but to go with the regular one instead, and needless to say, you’re not at all that happy about that. 

Well, shit. Jungkook thinks. This date is not going well at all. The waitress at the restaurant you ate at a while ago openly flirted with him on your table and he was too stunned to do something that you had to tell her off by yourself. That had obviously taken a hit on your mood, and the cinema thing just kind of maybe amplified it and Jungkook thinks he’s beginning to get fucked.

“I’ll make up it up to you, baby–” 

“The tickets, Jungkook.” 

Jungkook purses his lips into a thin line and gives them to you.

You walk alongside each other quietly, but Jungkook doesn’t let go of your waist while you head towards the dark and quiet hallway, leading to the seats. You don’t pry his hand off so maybe – maybe – that’s a good thing. 

But god, this night isn’t going well like he wanted it to be. Suddenly, he’s nervous again. More nervous that he was in the shower awhile ago when you were still prepping for the date back at home. He’s anxious about fucking the whole thing up, and sure, he could trust his track record of never fucking up when it comes to doing big things in his life, but this is different. This will be different. And he’s just so fucking scared that he checks on his watch again. 

8:22pm. 

Eight minutes before the movie starts in your cinema. And eight minutes more before the–

“Jungkook,” You call him, and he’s just in the middle of pushing the seat down for you when you do so. He looks at you. Confused, you ask, “Do you have somewhere to go?” 

“Huh?”

“You keep on looking at your watch. You have been since we were at the restaurant.” 

Jungkook’s eyes widen and he’s thankful there’s barely any lights in the hall.

“I– no. No.” He shakes his head, placing down the bag of popcorn in the middle and takes your hand instead, interlocking your fingers. “I’m sorry, did I keep doing that?” He asks consciously.

He’s really fucking this up, and you’re noticing it. 

“Yes, it’s bothering me a little,” You shuffle in your seat a little, facing Jungkook. Softly, you ask, “Do you wanna go home? We can ditch the movie. I’m sorry for being a dickhead the whole night. It’s not an excuse but I really wanted to watch this movie in IMAX… but it’s fine. I’m not mad at you. I’m just in a… mood. And I know I’m taking it out on you. I’m sorry. I’m being so unappreciative over here – I know you were supposed to work on your research–”

“Hey,” Jungkook stops you before you can even finish that. “No, baby. This is our date. I don’t wanna go home yet and I’m genuinely really sorry for missing the IMAX screening.” He’d add he didn’t mean to take long in the comfort room earlier… but that would be a lie. He intended to do that so you can both arrive here on time like planned. 

You purse your lips into a thin line. “Still… I’m sorry for being a little bitch.” 

“Not true. You’re an angel.” Jungkook says and brings your interlocked hands up to kiss your knuckles. “Love you.” 

You frown. “Love you too.” 

That earns you a hearty chuckle from him. “I love you more.” 

“Not that again.” You sigh, turning sideways to look ahead on the screen but not breaking away from his hold. 

Jungkook contains his smile as his gaze falls to the big screen as well, nerves crumbling down a little at the exchange. You’re the only person who can make him nervous but the only one who can take it away at the same time. 

“Huh,” you utter suddenly in the middle of some trailer playing. “It’s so weird there’s only a few people here.”

At that, Jungkook’s heart rate picks up a bit. “Y-yeah? Well, it’s late at night.” 

“Fair.” 

“And this movie’s not really new, right? Just an anniversary screening thing.” Jungkook continues to add, as if determined to justify your claim. 

You nod. “I guess you’re right.” 

“Yep.” 

His phone lights up and you’re busy sipping on your drink so Jungkook takes that as an opportunity to check the messages he received.

tae [8:28pm]: starting in 2

tae [8:28pm]: good luck buddy

Jungkook swipes his tongue over his lips – a nervous habit – quickly turning it off and pocketing the device. He places his arm on the arm rest and taps his fingers on the plastic surface anxiously. 

It feels like there’s a ticking clock above his head when the trailer finally ends, because he knows the thing should start rolling. 

And Jungkook swears he’s prepared for this for so many weeks. Months for the matter. It’s now May and the ring has been bought since February. What was once tucked away from the depths of his closet is now snugged in the pockets of his trouser, deep enough that you couldn’t pinpoint the bulging outline of the box.

Jungkook originally planned for you both to be out of the country when he does it. But things got really hectic at the hospital and while he personally could’ve still taken a leave, you couldn’t. Jungkook brought up the idea of vacationing a little, “Just for a week,”, he said, but then you sadly told him that you couldn’t even if you wanted to and he understood that greatly. He’s in the same line of work, after all. 

So, with what seemed to be the nth deliberation with Doyeon, Taehyung, and Nayeon, he ultimately decided on this set-up. You know; trick you into going to the mall with him so you can pass by the cinema and he successfully executes the proposal seamlessly. But obviously, it didn’t go as smoothly as that.

After your dinner, you impulsively decided that you wanted to watch a movie in IMAX, but it starts at exactly as Jungkook’s proposal, and so he had to compromise a little bit; the admittedly poor (but effective) solution coming in the form of intentionally staying a little longer in the comfort room of the restaurant just so you two would be lat. 

And Jungkook swears it’s for a good reason! Because everything’s prepped and ready to roll and he can’t have himself waste another perfect opportunity. He remembers almost popping the question three months ago, two months ago, month ago, few weeks ago and heck, even last night – but he’d always get cold feet and think the time wasn’t right. 

Right now, though, is different. 

And he wants it so badly to be different.

Good thing you settled things quickly. Now that his being late is past you, he can be a little more confident in what he’s about to do. 

The next trailer shows up and Jungkook sits upright, knowing what’s coming. He has it memorized, down to each frame. He was the one who edited it, after all, a product of his humble multimedia skills, that is. Jungkook could’ve gone to a professional but he really wanted to do it himself, scared they wouldn’t be able to tell you what he wanted to. And so he did. The gang also told him that it would be better if he did it himself.

And now he’s showing it to you – you, who’s completely clueless beside him. 

It starts as a bit of a misdirect. There’s an intro from a famous movie studio, and a scene from a real movie – and so of course you don’t suspect anything, as Jungkook could say from his peripheral view.

Suddenly, the screen goes black. It causes a pregnant pause, stretched to exactly five seconds (again, Jungkook edited that), and then, a familiar clip suddenly plays. 

It’s a video of you taken from Jungkook’s camcorder back in med school. First year, around the second semester. You were at Moon’s Printing Shop and you were looking down at your notes when Jungkook, behind the camera, called your name. 

You looked up, hair messy from an all-nighter study but Jungkook’s certain the Jungkook behind the scene was still thinking you were the prettiest girl he’s ever seen just like he’s thinking now. 

“Who would you wanna be if you were given the chance to be somebody else in your next life?” 

You grimace. “Hopefully, still me.” 

“So boring,” Jungkook exaggerated, his laughter reverberating in the hall of the theater. “Be serious.” 

You looked flustered in the video. “I’m serious. I don’t wanna be somebody else.” 

In his seat, Jungkook feels the real you sitting beside him tugging at your enclosed hands together, so he looks at you. 

“Jungkook, what is this?” You say, evidently unaware of what’s currently happening, your brows furrowed in that cute confusion. 

“Just something I’ve been working on for the past three months.” he smiles, bringing your hands together to his lips again. He just couldn’t stop kissing and touching you even if he tries.

You stare at him with your mouth agape, but you don’t say anything else, your gaze falling back to the screen once again. 

“Okay, since you don’t wanna play this game I wanna be Darth Vader.” Jungkook said in the video. 

“What? The evil guy from Star Wars?” You frowned. “That’s not… hmm… okay. I guess I wanna be… Spongebob, then.” 

“Oh. Wow. Interesting. Alright, Darth Vader’s out. I wanna be Patrick instead.” 

“I like that. So we’ll still be bestfriends, right?” 

“Yeah. And I still get to stress you out even in the next life.” 

That made you laugh, the warm burst of laughter filling the hall which makes Jungkook’s lips curl up as he watches the screen. He can never get tired of it; your smile, your laugh, your face as it lights up. There’s something so incredibly angelic about you he sometimes thinks you’re not human at all. Or maybe just part-human… nonetheless, he feels grateful. For literally everything. 

Something in the way she moves…

The video transitions to another reel of you taken by Jungkook while The Beatles’ Something plays in the background. 

"Oh my god..." Jungkook hears you gasp beside him, but he doesn't allow himself to break just yet. Instead, he tightens his grip on your hand, feeling your response as you hold on just as firmly.

The screen continues to show candid moments of you from med school. All recorded and taken by Jungkook; the trips you took during that time, that rave party you went to where you got extremely drunk – and when that showed up, you giggled beside him and said, “I told you to delete that.”, which he just laughed at. 

Later on, the clips got more recent, you in your lilac dress and Jungkook’s white tux… it was a video of you dancing in Nayeon’s wedding. 

“W-wha–… I didn’t – who took that?” You whisper, sounding in awe. 

“Nayeon was apparently recording from the stage at that time.” Jungkook says, looking at you and smiling when he sees that you have your eyes glued to the screen. 

“This is so…” you trail off, but you don’t really say anything in continuation. 

Recent videos of you play, capturing moments from the two years you’ve been together. There’s that clip in Vienna, a few in Florence, Paris, Melbourne... It’s surreal to think that he captured those memories, never imagining they’d be used for something like this. 

Something in the way she knows

And all I have to do is think of her

Something in the things she shows me

I don't want to leave her now

You know I believe and how

The song fades to an end and so did the compilation of your videos. The screen shows Jungkook this time instead. He leaned towards the camera, checked the optics, and then smiled a little. From the background, you know it was taken by the wall of his room, near the window because you can see the Sanrio plushie you put on the table beside there. It’s a little out of frame but you can still recognize it. 

Then, he spoke. 

“Uhm, hi,” He started, and you hold your breath, feeling like you’re on the edge of your seat but not in that anxious way. “I don’t really know where I’m going with this. I’m thinking of doing this video… for my proposal – and ah, my proposal – wait, I really should’ve written a script for this but I wanted this to be natural as much as possible and I’m going off-track so we’ll move on to what I really wanna say,” 

You can’t help but laugh at that, and you hear Jungkook joining in with you. 

“__, you’re the love of my life. You’re my lover, but you’re my best friend most of all. I look back on the times we’ve spent together – a decade. There was no time in those years that I didn’t thank my lucky stars for knowing and meeting you. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, and I really hope you know how much I love you because no matter how hard I try to put it into action and words, no amount of it would tell you how I truly feel.” A pause. Then he took out something from his pocket. Raising his hand, a red velvet box appeared in the frame. He was about to open it when suddenly, your voice is heard behind the camera. 

“Jungkook?” 

Jungkook quickly pocketed the box, and the camera shook a little, the angle now distorted, probably due to his panic upon hearing your voice. 

“Yes, baby?” The audio played. 

“You were doing something?” 

“Nah. Just trying out my new camera.” Jungkook said. 

“Oh. Lemme see.” 

The camera got picked up, and Jungkook switched the camera to you.

In your seat, you nibble on your bottom lip upon seeing your own face this time, a poor attempt to stop your jaw from breaking apart because you couldn’t stop yourself from smiling watching the whole thing. 

“Pretty girl.” You hear Jungkook say behind the recorder. His hand came up to caress your face in the video, thumb rubbing over your cheek. “I love you.” 

You looked confused at first but then you told him, anyway, “I love you too.” 

You leaned down, and the video gets switched out to another one of Jungkook on a different day. 

“Sorry the video got interrupted by my gorgeous girlfriend.”

You both laugh at that, and as if on cue, your eyes meet – silently acknowledging that you’re thinking the same thing. In that shared glance, it's clear you both understand how things escalated in that moment, that night – how that kiss turned into something more.

“I just wanted to say that, uh, I love her. No, you, I’m talking to you–” He sighed in the clip, and you can’t help but chuckle. “Anyway. I love you. I love you so much, baby. More than anything else in the world. I feel like I don’t say it enough although Taehyung teases me about convulsing if I can’t say it to you for no longer than five minutes – he’s probably right but that’s not the point. What I wanna say is – again – is that, I love you, __. And I want to spend the rest of my lifetime with you. I wanna grow old with you. Spend every day and every night with you. I want us to wake up together every morning, make our breakfast together, go to work together, do laundry together, our taxes – man, I don’t know. Anything. I just want to do anything and everything with you. Maybe adopt a dog in the near future, if you want to, that is. You’re probably gonna be watching this in the theater by this moment – god I hope I don’t fuck the whole thing up, the gang is gonna be so pissed – but I’ll drop the question for you and I know we already talked about it many times before and two months ago you said you were ready if I was also ready. I couldn’t tell you I’ve been ready since the first week we started dating. But I hope… what you felt two months ago is still what you feel right now…” 

Then, the big screen fades to black, and suddenly, a few lights in the hall flicker on, illuminating Jungkook—now on his knees. In his hand is a red velvet box, now open, revealing a stunning ring that’s so beautiful it leaves your jaw slack.

He clears his throat. “__, you’re my best friend. Have been and always will be. You’re my home, my partner. I will love you for as long as you let me and–” Jungkook doesn’t mean it but there’s suddenly a lump in his throat that forms along the way and he has to choke it back, making his voice crack a little bit as he looks into your eyes. “– and I really want to live all my remaining years with you and be yours forever.” He bites his lip, looks up at you with those doe eyes you love so much. Then, the question comes, “Can I be your husband?” 

“Jungkook…” You look down at him, your mouth opening and closing, lost for words. You’ve passed the point of holding back tears, and when your eyes meet his—so full of sincerity and revere—you completely break. “Y-yes. Yes! One hundred percent yes,” you manage to say through your sobs, nodding fervently as your vision blurs from the tears streaming down your face.

As soon as you say that, all the lights in the room turn on and there’s a holler from the direction of the projection room that you can’t help but look at. 

“Congrats!” 

You gasp as you see Doyeon and Nayeon. They’re both waving at you with huge grins on their faces. Genuinely surprised and confused at the same time, you start to look around, and suddenly, you realize that everybody is literally… your family. Taehyung, your dad, your mom, your sister and Seokjin all occupy the front rows, and in front of them are Jungkook’s own family as well. From afar, you see Jungkook’s father coming up to give your dad a hug which he reciprocates as they laugh together. 

Your eyes are drawn back to Jungkook. 

“Jungkook… they’re all here,” you say, struggling to hold back the onslaught of tears. They won’t stop.

And at this point, Jungkook can’t help it. Not anymore. He sees you crying and he can’t help but do it as well. He sniffs, taking your hand and kissing the back of your palm.

“Yes, baby. Everybody is here.”

“Baby, why are you crying?” You ask him despite yourself.

Jungkook chuckles in between his tears, swiping a hand on his eyes. “I’m just so happy. You make me so happy. Thank you. Thank you for saying yes.”

That makes you cry even more, earning another laugh from Jungkook but it’s filled with endearment. Slowly, he takes your hand and you watch teary-eyed as he finally inserts the ring around your ring finger. 

The diamond-encrusted band, with a larger diamond glimmering in the center, fits perfectly around your finger. You stare at it in awe, admiring how gorgeous it looks—trying to recall a time when Jungkook measured your finger to make it fit so flawlessly. But you can't remember, and you don't mind at all, instead looking up at him as he stands to his feet.

"I love you, Jungkook. I really do," you say with all the sincerity in your heart, hoping he knows as much.

"I can't wait to marry you," he replies, his voice full of emotion before he pulls you into his arms and leans down to kiss you gently on the lips. It’s soft and it’s sweet just like the love he’s given you all these years.

A cheer erupts around you, and normally, you'd feel shy about kissing in front of your family. But this time, you don’t feel embarrassed at all.

It’s just you and Jungkook. Bound for a lifetime of unadulterated love.

[riotinyellow]

I don't know who needs to hear this. Just because now you've started paying attention to Palestine doesn't mean that now suddenly they need "distractions."

The met gala isn't a "distraction." Whatever new film in the cinema isn't a "distraction." The IDF never needed distractions. The IDF never needed to hide its war crimes.

For decades, the IDF carried out their plans without needing to distract you. You sound like a conspiracy theorist when you keep calling every form of celebration or entertainment a government psyop.

Shaming people for enjoying a film that is completely unrelated to the genocide isn't as ally as you think it is. I'm so sick and tired of people learning a few new words and turning their saviour complex up to a hundred.

I live in egypt. we have had daily blackouts going on 2 years now because of this conflict. They are currently bombing at our border. We have continuous protests and fundraisers. The boycott is still on going on a national scale, and somehow, We still have football matches. we still have new films, and we still have new music.

Caring about silly things doesn't diminish anyone's work and efforts. Shaming people for enjoying something isn't the activism you think it is. Speak out, donate, and stop harassing people for existing.

[chaos0pikachu]

Is BL Being Overly Influenced by Modern Western Romance Tropes?

Short answer: No. anyways, in the following essay I will explain that James Cameron is a weeb...

(okay fine~~ lets actually do this)

TLDR: discussing what media globalization is, how fandom can distill it down to only American/European cinema, showcasing how a lot of current BL is influenced by countries within it's own proximity and NOT "the west" but each other, also James Cameron is still a weeb

I had seen a post that basically proposited that BL was being influenced by modern western romance tropes and had used things like omegaverse and mafia settings as an example. I found this, in a word, fucking annoying (oh, two words I guess) because it's micro-xenophobic to me.

It positions western - and really what we mean by this is American/European countries, we're not talking about South American countries are we? - cinema as the central breadbasket of all cinema in and of itself. Inherently, all following cinema must be in some way, shape, or form, influenced by American/European standards, and as such America/European countries are directly responsible for cinema everywhere else, and these places - namely non-white countries - do not influence each other, nor have their own histories in regards to storytelling or cinema and do not, in turn, also influence American/European film making either.

Now like, do I think all of that~~ is intentionally malicious thinking on behalf of folks in fandom? No, so chill out.

I do, however, think a lot of it is birthed from simple ignorance and growing up in an environment where ~The West~ is propagated to be central, individual, and exceptional as opposed to the monolith of "Asia" - by which we mean China, Korea, Japan don't we? How often in discussions of Asian countries is Iran, India, or Saudi Arabia brought up even tho they are all Asian countries? - or the monolith that is South America - in which some folks might believe regions like the Caribbean and/or Central America belong to, but nope there both North America.

Anyway, what we're talking about here is the concept of "media globalization":

"The production, distribution, and consumption of media products on a global scale, facilitating the exchange and diffusion of ideas cross-culturally." (source)

"The media industry is, in many ways, perfect for globalization, or the spread of global trade without regard for traditional political borders. [...] the low marginal costs of media mean that reaching a wider market creates much larger profit margins for media companies. [...] Media is largely a cultural product, and the transfer of such a product is likely to have an influence on the recipient’s culture." (source)

Typically when I see fandom discussing what falls under MG the topic is usually focused on how "the west" is influencing Thai/Korean/Chinese/Japanese media.

Enter, Pit Babe.

Surely Pit Babe was influenced by Supernatural right? Omegaverse is huge in the west - love it, hate it, meh it - it originated in the west - specifically via Supernatural after all.

Nah.

Omegaverse has been popular in Japan and China for almost a decade, if not longer. The earliest omegaverse manga I can think of is Pendulum: Juujin Omegaverse by Hana Hasumi which was released in 2015, almost a decade ago.

(what if you added furries into omegaverse? WHAT IF?? - Japan)

There's countless popular omegaverse manga too, and the dynamics only moderately resemble the ones we're familiar with in the west. Juujin is part omegaverse and part furry/beastmen - the alphas are all beastmen the omegas are humans - while something like Ookami-kun Is Not Scary only slightly resembles omegaverse dynamics as a hybrid series - beastmen are really popular in Japan in part b/c of historical mythology (you see the combination of romantic Beastmen and Japanese culture & folklore in Mamoru Hosoda's work The Boy and the Beast and Wolf Children).

Megumi & Tsugumi (2018) is so popular they're an official English edition published by VIZ's imprint SuBlime and that's a straight up omegaverse story.

(look at the omega symbol on the cover loud and proud baby)

So if Pit Babe was influenced by anything, it certainly wasn't "the west" it was Japan, Korea and China. Because those countries have a thriving omegaverse sub-genre going and have had such for 10 plus years now. Supernatural is popular in Japan, yes, and that may be where Japan and Japanese fans originally found omegaverse as a fictional sub-genre.

HOWEVER

Japanese fans took the sub-genre, bent it, played with it, and evolved it into their own thing. As such, other countries in their proximity, like Thailand, China, and Korea who read BL and GL manga, found it and were like "hey, we wanna play too!"

(is that an omegaverse yuri novel I spy?? yes, yes it is)

When I watched the Red Peafowl trailer, it had more in common with Kinnporsche, History: Trapped, along with films and shows like: Jet Li's The Enforcer, and Fist of Legend, Donnie Yen's Flash Point, Raging Fire, and Kung Fu Jungle, Han Dong-wook's The Worst of Evil, Kim Jin-Min's My Name, Lee Chung-hyeon's The Ballerina, Baik's Believer & Believer 2, Yoshie Kaoruhara's KeixYaku, popular Don Lee films The Gangster, the Cop and the Devil and Unstoppable alongside BL manga like Honto Yajuu and Bi No Isu (probably one of the most well known yazuka manga to date).

Like, we're seeing a rise in mafia based BLs and people think that's because of "western influence" and not the absolute insane success of kinnporsche??? Especially in countries like China, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines and other Asian countries???

Mafia films and gang shows aren't even that popular here in America/Europe; don't get me wrong, they still get made and exist, but the last full length film was The Irishman which did not make it's budget back, and while Power is still on-going it's not a smash hit either. The heyday of Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, The Wire, Goodfellas, and Scarface are long gone. And if you've watched any those shows or films they have very little in common with Kei x Yaku, Kinnporsche, or Red Peafowl in tone, or style.

(who knew martin just wanted to make his al pacino/robert de niro fanfic come to life all these years?)

Another example, The Sign, which is clearly taking inspiration from Chinese costume dramas: Ashes of Love, Fairy and Devil, White Snake (and it's many adaptions), Guardian, & Ying Yang Master Dream of Eternity. Alongside Hong Kong and Korean cop and romance shows like Tale of the Nine-Tailed, Hotel Del Luna, Director Who Buys Me Dinner, First Love, Again, and previously mentioned cop dramas.

Like, I know y'all don't think Twins is influenced by, what, American sports classic Angels in the Outfield?? Gridiron Gang?? Rocky?? Nah that shit is inspired by the popularity of sports manga like Haikyuu!!, Slam Dunk, Prince of Tennis (which even has a Chinese drama adaption), and the like. And also probably History 2, & Not Me but I'm like 87% sure Twins is just Haikyuu fanfic.

So like, does this mean that there's NO history in which American and European cinema influenced these countries? What, no, obviously that's not true, American/European totally have had media influence on countries like Korea, Japan, etc.

Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka considered "the father of manga" was inspired by Walt Disney's work on Bambi. Another more recent and prominent example is director Yeon Sang-ho and his film Train to Busan.

"And it was Snyder’s movie [Dawn of the Dead, 2004], not the 1978 original, that filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho recalled as his first encounter with the undead. “That was when I started my interest in zombies,” Yeon said, in an email interview through a translator from South Korea. Even today, he added, “it’s the most memorable and intense zombie movie I’ve ever seen.”" (source)

HOWEVER, the global influence doesn't stop there. It's not a one-way street. Yeon Sang-Ho was inspired by Zack Synder's Dawn of the Dead, a remake of George Romero's own work, but Yeon Sang-Ho's work has inspired countless Korean film makers to make their own zombie media; following Train to Busan there's been: Kingdom (2019 - current), All of Us Are Dead (2022), Zombie Detective (2020), Zombieverse (2023), Alive (2020), Rampant (2018).

And hey, wouldn't you know it now we're starting to see more zombie media coming out of places like Japan (Zom 100 the manga, movie, and anime) and High School of the Dead.

Do you know what Domundi's series Zombivor (2023, pilot trailer only) reminds me of? It's NOT The Walking Dead (which is the only relevant zombie media America has created in the last decade) it's Korea's All of Us Are Dead (2022). Comparing the trailers, the settings, the tone, it's clear where Zombivor is pulling inspiration from: Korean zombie cinema. NOT American zombie cinema.

In fact a lot of Domundi's shows - Cutie Pie, Middleman's Love, Naughty Babe, Bed Friend - are all very clearly inspired by Korean filmmaking, specifically that of romantic kdramas from the 2016 - 2020 era. Not always in story, but rather in technique.

This is media globalization. It's not simply ~The West~ influencing non-American/European countries but countries who are often more close in terms of: proximity, culture, and trade are going to have more influence on each other.

It is far more likely that Aoftion (Naughty Babe, Cutie Pie, Zombivor) was influenced by watching Train to Busan, All of Us Are Dead, and other Korean zombie shows and films than a single episode of Walking Dead.

My point isn't that this goes one way only, but rather it is very literally a global thing. This includes American and European film makers being influenced by non-American and European cinema.

Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Darren Aronofsky, Christopher Nolan, the Wachowski sisters, George Lucas and James Cameron have all been influenced by Japanese film making, especially the works of Akira Kurosawa, Satoshi Kon, and Mamoru Oshii.

John Wick's entire gun-fu sub-genre is heavily influenced by classic Hong Kong action films, specifically John Woo films. Legend of Korra, The Boondocks, Voltron, Young Justice, My Adventures with Superman are all obviously inspired by Japanese anime but animated by a Korean animation studio (Studio Mir). Beyond that, the rise in adult animated dramas like Castlevania, Critical Role Vox Machina, and Invincible to name a few are very clearly taking inspiration from anime in terms of style. The weebs that were watching Adult Swim's Inuyasha, Bleach, and Dragon Ball Z have grown up and are now working in Hollywood.

Okay so like, what's the point of all this? What's the issue? Since American/European cinema does influence et all cinema does any of this really matter?

YES.

I take contention with this line of thinking because it centers "the west" and our supposed individual importance way to much. Declaring definitively that "BL is being influenced by western tropes" and then including tropes, narratives, and film making styles that aren't inherently western and actually have major roots in the cinema of various Asian countries, removes the existence of individual history these countries have which are rich, varied, and nuanced. It removes the "global" part of globalization by declaring "the globe" is really just America and Europe.

It distills these countries down to static places that only exist when American/European audiences discover them.

BL doesn't exist in a vacuum you can trace the development of Korean BL to the development of Korean het dramas almost to a T. You can also trace their development to the queer history of each country and how Thailand interacts culturally with China, Japan, Korea, etc and vice versa. It also ignores the history of these countries influencing American cinema as well. Don't mistake "the globe" for only your sphere of experience.

Anyway James Cameron is a damn weeb y'all have a good night.

Check out other posts in the series:

Film Making? In My BL? - The Sign ep01 Edition | Aspect Ratio in Love for Love's Sake | Cinematography in My BL - Our Skyy2 vs kinnporsche, 2gether vs semantic error, 1000 Stars vs The Sign | How The Sign Uses CGI | Is BL Being Overly Influenced by Modern Western Romance Tropes?

[like these posts? drop me a couple pennies on ko-fi]

[history-deep-dive]

Napoleon (2023): How Not to Make a History Film

The upcoming release of Gladiator 2 has inspired me to reflect on Ridley Scott’s last crack at bringing history to the big screen. I have many thoughts on this movie. Unfortunately, most of them are bad. As a lifelong Napoleonophile, I was, perhaps, inevitably going to be disappointed by this film, but I think there’s more to it than that. Saying that this film is bad is not an especially novel or useful observation. People far more talented than me have made that argument at length. Instead, I want to talk about why its bad, and what that tell us about how best to use history in cinema and fiction more generally.

(1) What is this movie even about?: managing scope in historical narratives

Napoleon’s biggest problem as a movie is its pacing. This film is trying to cram 30 of the most tumultuous years in modern European history (1793-1821) into 2:30. There is simply too much information and not enough runtime to convey it to the audience. The result is a movie which moves from one event to the next at a bewilderingly fast pace with almost no context or explanation of how one scene relates to the next. One moment Napoleon is blowing holes in the pyramids, and 20 minutes later St. Petersburg is on fire. The film moves so quickly it borders on incomprehensibility.

This issue is compounded by the fact that it contains far too many overlapping themes and subplots, which compete for limited screen time. It’s trying to be a biopic, a romance, a war movie, a political drama, and a tragedy at the same time. Each of these individual threads is interesting in its own, right, but they drown each other out. This effect contributes substantially to the general sense of “what the hell is going on?” that prevades the whole film.

Incidentally, this leads into one of the most important lessons this movie provides about how to (not) use history in fiction, controlling scope. The great thing about history as opposed to fantasy is that it provides a nearly infinite potential for detail. 185,000 people fought at Waterloo, and every one of them could be the subject of a movie all their own. The downside of this enormous depth is that it makes it very easy to go too “wide” if you aren’t paying attention and end up with a movie that doesn’t make any sense (ie Napoleon 2023). In order to make use of the fantastic depth and complexity that a historical setting provides, the overall scope of the story has to be limited. A detailed, nuanced film about Austerlitz, Waterloo, or for that matter Josephine, is almost always going to be more interesting than a film that skips through all of those historical subjects without really doing any of them justice.

(2) Who is this guy anyway?: Historical accuracy and cause and effect

This film does Napoleon Bonaparte dirty. Scott transforms one of the greatest geniuses in modern history as a foolhardy, dimwitted, emotional teenager who thinks with his dick first and his brain second Almost every decision Bonaparte makes in this film is motivated by lust and jealousy regarding Josephine. Those that aren’t are mostly impulsive and ill considered. In short, Napoleon Bonaparte is an idiot.

The reason for this is fairly straightforward. The toxic romance at the center of this film requires the protagonist to be kind of dumb, and so he is. The problem with this is that it creates a jarring disconnect between the historical events portrayed in the film and the characters involved. Throughout this movie, the audience is left wondering how this idiot we’ve never once seen make a good decision has inexplicably ended up master of Europe. Radically changing the personalities of the characters involved while keeping the events of the historical narrative the same results in a story where noone‘s behavior or motivations make sense.

This brings us to another fundamental law of writing good historical fiction, don’t fight the history. Despite what the nature of this blog might imply, I’m not actually a great stickler for historical accuracy. Changing a little something here or there for the sake of the narrative is totally fine and even beneficial. The problem is that history is all about cause and effect, everything is connected. Altering substantive details effectively removes the events you’re discussing from their appropriate place in the chain of causality. Change one thing too significantly, and you can easily end up creating a story that no longer makes sense.

The way to create compelling historical narratives is to go with the flow of the source material, not against it. Find what’s compelling about the history and then write a story about that. Don’t write a story in a vacuum, and then artificially impose it onto a historical setting.

(3) Verdict and closing thoughts

I generally don’t enjoy writing about media I dislike. In most cases, I subscribe to the principle of “don’t like, don’t watch/read”, but I wanted to organize my thoughts about Napoleon (2023) because my problems with it cut to the heart of what I think constitutes good or bad historical fiction. A lot of reviews of this film have focused on the fact that it’s wildly historically inaccurate. They’re right, of course, but that’s not really the problem. The problem is that it doesn’t use history well. The historical setting feels like deadweight rather than something that enhances the film and brings it to life. Dissecting why this movie doesn’t work can help us create historical fiction that does, and I think that’s worthwhile.

Review: 3/10

[christinethalassinou]

Okay, regardless of me accepting this change or not (no, I'm not, not in a million years), this scene is undoubtedly peak cinema; but more importantly, peak acting.

The more I think about this series, the more I see how everyone, really, everyone is fucked up in their own way. There is not a single character without a substantial trauma or three.

Like, if you connect the dots, it turns out Tora's been in survival mode from his fucking childhood. Not for a few months or perhaps years but for fucking decades. No wonder he turned out the way he is now, but the fact that he still has the capacity to care, to love and to grieve is a damn miracle in and of itself. Sure, he's edging on the border of sociopathy more than once, and I bet he has very severe trust issues, but I'd rather still be with him in a locked room than any of the other Regents, the Jesuits, or even any of the Kashigis.

Especially that he'd most probably figure out how to escape in mere minutes, but I digress.

[caffeacolazione]

agosto ubiquo 9. Cinema, serata Ozu, senza confini

ubiquitaire Août 9. Cinéma, soirée Ozu, sans frontières

ubiquitous August 9. Cinema, Ozu evening, without borders

[liesmyteachertoldme]

History of Kamala

The year was 1994. Former NFL superstar OJ Simpson has just fled from police in the infamous low speed chase in his white Ford Bronco. Pulp Fiction was playing in the cinemas.

And 29 year old Kamala Harris began dating one of the most powerful politicians in the State of California— Willie Brown.

Brown had been in politics for decades at that point and has risen to become the Speaker of California State Assembly, then Mayor of San Francisco.

(And despite having spent his entire adult life in politics, Brown somehow managed to amass a collection of $6,000 suits and expensive sports cars.)

Willie Brown was also at 60 years of age back in 1994 (he’s 90 now), three decades older than his girlfriend Kamala.

Obviously she was in it for love. I’m sure that’s the case.

But it just so happened that, barely a few months into their steamy relationship, Speaker Willie Brown appointed Kamala to multiple, senior-level positions in the state, including a seat on the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and the Medical Assistance Commission.

I’m also sure that Brown appointed his girlfriend due entirely to her competence, and absolutely no other reason whatsoever.

These appointments, along with Sugar Daddy's public support and endorsement, were integral in Harris's later campaign to become San Francisco District Attorney, then Attorney General of California in 2010.

Willie Brown also endorsed her for Senate when she declared her candidacy in 2016, and was instrumental in securing her top endorsements, including from Joe Biden and Barack Obama.

Again, all of this success was clearly due exclusively to Kamala’s tremendous competence and nothing more.

Now, a lot of people have been remarking lately that Kamala is a DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) hire.

But that’s completely unfair. Talk about a low blow. I mean, Kamala’s critics have completely missed the point that this woman— who claims to embody female empowerment— got her start by having sex with a powerful California politician 30 years her senior.

So let’s give credit where credit is due: she slept her way to the top well before she became a DEI hire.

In fact it wasn’t until she was picked to be Joe Biden’s running mate that she started benefiting from the DEI obsession.

Curiously, it is now considered racist to even bring this up. CNN has decided that calling Vice President Kamala Harris a “DEI Candidate” is a “pseudonym for the N-word” and “racist dog whistle”.

That’s absurd. Joe Biden’s entire presidency has been about promoting DEI candidates, and he admitted this himself recently when he said:

“To me the values of Diversity, Equality, Inclusion are literally— and that’s not kidding— the core strengths of America. That’s why I’m proud to have the most diverse administration in history that taps into the full talents of our country. It starts at the top with the Vice President.”

Biden also made it perfectly clear in 2020 that he wanted to select a woman of color as his running mate.

So why exactly is it controversial to assert that Kamala was a DEI hire? Is it also controversial that the sky is blue, or that Michael Jordan was an exceptional basketball player?

But these people in charge have a way of acting offended about even the most basic and obvious truths. It’s quite a talent.

Speaking of talent, Kamala has none.

Whenever she opens her mouth, she is as incompressible as Joe Biden yet without the excuse of age and dementia. Like this gem:

“So I think it’s very important... for us, at every moment in time, and certainly this one, to see the moment in time in which we exist and are present, and to be able to contextualize it, to understand where we exist in the history and in the moment as it relates not only to the past, but the future.”

This is also the person that was put in charge of the border security, which has been a total disaster. But in her televised explanation, she justified having not been to the border by saying she hadn’t been to Europe either.

Wow, really racking up those foreign policy credentials!

And on the topic of foreign policy, check out this inspiring quote as Kamala showcased her encyclopedic understanding of European affairs:

“Ukraine is a country in Europe. It exists next to another country called Russia. Russia is a bigger country. Russia is a powerful country. Russia decided to invade a smaller country called Ukraine, so, basically, that’s wrong.”

Note that this wasn’t an interview on Nickelodeon or some event with elementary school kids. This was an actual response in a real interview about the war in Ukraine.

One of my favorite Kamala stories, though, is when she visited Puerto Rico earlier this year.

Protesters were in the streets of San Juan, singing in Spanish. Kamala merrily clapped along, until an aide quietly whispered that the song was protesting her visit as a representation of the federal government’s “colonization” of Puerto Rico.

Her track record as a prosecutor is also far from impressive.

As the Attorney General of California, she prosecuted and incarcerated cannabis users. But in 2019, asked if she herself had ever smoked weed, she cackled and said, "I have. And I inhaled."

In 2014, Kamala’s office argued to keep non-violent inmates (including from minor drug convictions) locked up so that the state would have free prison labor to fight wildfires.

But Kamala would prefer that her Black Lives Matters voters forget about all that.

The Big Lie they are now force-feeding us is that the party of democracy is energized and united around Kamala Harris.

Personally I think they are terrified and desperate. Deep down they know this woman is an incompetent buffoon. And more importantly, they are still incredibly fractured.

This continues to look like a group that is completely out of touch, but insists that they have everything under control... which is pretty much par for the course given the last few years under Biden.

Having said all that, it would be foolish to think they won’t pull out all the stops— continue to create all the propaganda, tell whatever lie, manufacture whatever hoax, and suppress whatever truth is necessary to win.

[pochiperpe90]

[ENG] Luca Marinelli: "I'm a candidate for the David, I love uncomfortable challenges. And in Spoleto I will make my debut as a director, in theater"

Shy, solitary and light-hearted, the Roman actor has become one of the reference points of auteur cinema: "There are also Ficarra and Picone in the running for the most important prize in cinema. Those who raise fences against comedians have understood nothing".

With his big rapacious eagle nose rising above an astonished and emaciated expression, Luca Marinelli loves characters to climb, all energy and restlessness, as happens in Le Otto Montagne, a journey towards the absolute. It's the film for which he's nominated for the David di Donatello (with the other protagonist, Alessandro Borghi). Shortly afterwards, on July 8th at the Spoleto Film Festival, the 38-year-old Roman actor, who has become a point of reference for the auteur cinema, will make his debut as a director, in theater, with "A Report to an Academy", based on Kafka's story.

Marinelli is an atypical Roman who moved years ago to Berlin for love, a city that "stimulates the creative dimension". Shy, reluctant to talk about himself, cautious and ironic, solitary and light-hearted, he calibrates his words with the rhythm of a fifteenth-century monk amanuensis. He was not admitted to the Experimental Center of cinematography where he told the commission that the film of his life is Batman. He took his revenge in the field in projects that few believed in, in the part of the criminal in Lo chiamavano Jeeg Robot and the junkie in Non essere cattivo. In Venice he won the Coppa Volpi for Martin Eden. He would love to talk only about Kafka.

What strikes you about this text, which is almost an existential labyrinth?

"I saw it in Paris many years ago and I was struck by it. I think of the truth, despair and lucidity in speaking metaphorically about the condition of existence in society. The monkey was taken from its context and forcibly taken elsewhere and from this "new life" it speaks to us. In the text, the monkey is a narrator who speaks of a way out at a scientific conference, of the need to find a solution to the problem of imprisonment but without getting lost behind the concept of freedom, too often used in an elusive way, creating many problems to human beings".

Kafka walks on the border between animality and humanity.

“He learns human behavior just to get out of the cage. It's a matter of survival, rather than freedom. I thought several times about acting it myself, but I saw Fabian Jung perform with his vibrant soul at his graduation essay at the Ernst Busch school and I asked him if I could be his director".

What will be seen on stage?

"A well-dressed being who tells the academic audience about his journey, from his previous life as a monkey to today, with his appearance and his behavior quite human, such as to be able to have some success".

A metaphor for the human condition?

"It's a metaphor for many things, including existence, how we behave, what we believe in. And much more. If the monkey is Kafka, in feeling different that has accompanied him throughout his life? I don't allow myself to interpret it. I like his style and what he communicates, his gaze on society".

The protagonist in Spoleto is a German actor.

"Well, the aspect that I find interesting is that Fabian Jung recites in Italian not knowing a single word of our language. He studied this monologue from scratch. It's a similar situation to that of the monkey. The fact of approaching the text as a sound or a rhythm was fundamental. We did a rehearsal in Berlin for some friends and family."

After the theatrical direction will you make one at the cinema?

"In the meantime, let's see how this show will be received. I don't hide being very worried, but it's a feeling I like. Not being comfortable is a quality I appreciate. Directing a film would be another beautiful and uncomfortable experience".

Let's change subject. What does the David nomination represent?

"It will be a pure emotion, a beautiful evening full of colleagues I love and with whom I have shared a part of this job. Alessandro Borghi, for me, is a brother".

Does the presence of Ficarra and Picone mean that prejudices and fences are falling on comedians?

"Those who have prejudices and raise barriers against comedians have understood nothing of the art of acting".

Apart from Batman, another idol of yours was Indiana Jones.

"Because as a boy I wanted to be an archaeologist. Today my archetype is writers who want to enrich themselves by traveling. But I am in love with my job and I feel lucky to be able to live what I dreamed of as a student at the Academy. I see this work as a great opportunity for exchange between human beings".

You have already been to the Venice Film Festival five times: what would you change about festivals?

"I would remove the barriers to shake hands with the public."

Corriere

Like always, sorry for my English

[disparition]

What do the titles "Hexe", "Ende", and "Cinema Locria" refer to?

Hexe is the beginning of Granicha, and the purpose of Granicha as a work is to undo the curse of borders and nations. I do not of course think myself so influential as to be able to undo so strong and deeply embedded of a curse as nationalism, but I'm chipping away at it with many others, doing my small part. In this opening piece, Hexe, I draw upon the human name of a river (the Severn) that was in the past used as a border but whose role as such has since faded. Not faded entirely, not culturally, but as a means of control or restricting the movement of peoples, it is no longer used that way.

Cinema Locria is a sort of imaginative piece about a tiny theatre on a small Greek island, in a village with empty streets during the day but the films and music still play.

Ende is so-called simply because it's the final track on Satellite State. Satellite State itself is the only Disparition album without much of a concept, it was just the first time I thought I had enough songs good enough to share publicly.

[haute-lifestyle-com]

On September 5, at the Karo 11 Oktyabr cinema, the premiere of the documentary film "Looking Inside Yourself" took place about the creation of unique fragrances by blind perfumers that reflect human states and emotions. Moscow Film Features Blind Perfumers & The Fragrances They Create #janetwalker #hautelifestylecom #theentertainmentzonecom #russiancinema #filmmaking #russia #cinemawithoutborders 

[slam-dunkrai]

Moving back in with my parents because I'm broke and need to job hunt without paying rent has been a mix of pros and cons — mostly cons, honestly; very little to do with them (although to be frank, I don't love sleeping in a living room, and I am in year five of increasing radicalisation on the subject of parrot ownership) and more to do with the fact this town is even more of a nightmare shithole built to induce misery than it was when I left to go to university (the seafront promenade is just experientially fucking awful; there's a white supremacist rally taking place in the town centre tomorrow; housing is scarcer and less affordable than it once was, forcing more people to sleep on the streets; the narrower operating and staffing hours of the libraries bear the slash lines of severe budget cuts; despite this place being home to around 150,000 people, there was no cinema in town for a full year recently — you had to head about six miles north — and the one we finally got to replace it is an independent joint run with an ineptitude bordering so close to malice, everyone thinks it'll go out of business in two years. Tops).

There are upsides in almost all things, though. My favourite terrible attraction in town — a very large, expensive, noisy and gauche pirate-themed arcade whose website contains some beautifully stupid ad copy and whose interior is much less fun — installed a new ride. It's called a sky rider. Apparently you can pay £3 for a "swashbuckling journey" with "thrilling highs and adventurous lows". This is meaningless to me, but I do get to add a fourth this place-centric anecdote to my repertoire. Moments like these don't come along that often.

[matchtaco]

It's after 1:30 AM in my country, I should be sleeping because tomorrow (Thursday) not only do I have to go to my course, but I also have to go see "Barbie" at the cinema, but 1- I'm catching up with the fics for the lestappen wk (between today and Friday I feel that I can already advance to the third day, I hope!!), 2- I'm writing chapter six but I have started again because a scene came out sadder than what I thought I would like it lol and 3- I just had a damn idea for an OS that had NOTHING to do with 3316 at the beginning and without realizing it I put lestappen as a secondary couple bordering on being the main one (also this usually happen to you? or is it just me that I can't conceive of writing without somehow including lestappen??)

idk, I hope to finish everything soon

[open-hearth-rpg]

#RPGCovers Week Eleven Blurred Lines (2021) Guilherme Gontijo

While I’m a fan of horror and I dig some giallo films, there’s something about the best of them– the ones which work disconcertingly with color and staging– which makes me anxious, disoriented, and occasionally nauseated. Yet still I watch. 

My favorite of these are the ones with a male protagonist, who would usually be positioned as heroic, being stalked and threatened. I love that reversal of position. 

Blurred Lines is a solo, giallo-inspired zine rpg. The interior graphic design’s amazing and if you’re at all interested, you should check it out. But it was the cover which caught my eye and took me down the rabbit hole.

I love how it echoes the elements and feel of giallo without definitively referencing a specific poster or promo image. We have the bold contrasting colors and likewise the strong contrasting faces, split and blending with uncertain lines. Add to that the use of eye imagery, a strong component of various giallo (and later Italian pure horror directors). 

Finally there’s the bent font, with a literalism to the artistic representation and the stark white border on the bottom of the page. It limits the image and echoes a movie poster or even the cinema itself.

[theretirementstory]

04/08/2024. Greetings from a partly cloudy Bar-sur-Aube where the temperature is currently 19c.

Don’t ask if it’s been a busy week, aren’t they all? However, I was in Paris on Monday then again on Tuesday. It was very hot on Tuesday, at one point it was 43c in the taxi. We could have been home earlier than 18:30 but we had another patient to pick up at a different hospital and although it was an opportunity for photographs I would have preferred being home. Never mind, people have extended their departure waiting for me so it was just payback time. Thursday it was to the hospital in Troyes for my transfusion, I was glad to see the weekend when I could relax before it all starts again next week!

When I was having my treatment at the hospital on Monday, I met a lady who had lived in London for 40 years and had come back to France to look after her mother. Even more surprising was that she actually lives in Troyes. It was wonderful to chat in English with her, unfortunately I fell asleep and missed her leaving. Maybe I will see her next week.

Pauline has been in Porto for a little holiday before she returns to Paris to find work. She sent me photos and to say I was a little envious was an understatement. At the present time, however, I don’t have the energy to walk into town never mind sightseeing in a city!

Monique messaged to say that she was bored as the car was in the body shop and she was stuck at home. I was going to try and manage with my shopping but then Anie messaged to see if I needed anything so I was fortunate enough to have new supplies delivered.

As the cleaner was unable to give any time to come and clean my house, I was “stuck” again. Anie came to the rescue, she thinks that she has found a lady and hopefully she will start next week. What wonderful friends I have here.

“The Photographer” and his children have had a wonderful time in the motor home. They all slept well, it’s the fresh air. The site was basic but young children just need a playground and some grass to run about on. They were happy to see Grandad when they got home and of course will be telling Mummy about their adventures too.

“The Jetsetter” had met up with “The Photographer” and family to have a picnic on the Knavesmire in York. My grandson, who loves pineapple, was pleased that there was some at the picnic.

To me holidays are all about making memories and that is what were made this last fortnight.

“The Trainee Solicitor” has had yet another busy week. I am not sure if he and the “The Recovery Coordinator” managed to go to the cinema. He has however booked the flights for a visit to see moi! We are all looking forward to it.

“The Recovery Coordinator” is now counting down the days until her holidays. She is looking forward to coming out to see me and I can’t wait to see them.

Yesterday it was a memorial football match for a young man who sadly passed away in 2016. He was a school friend of “The Trainee Solicitor” and both he and “The Photographer” used to play football with this lovely young man. Sadly, cancer is no respecter of age and to lose anyone to cancer is sad but for a parent to lose a child to the disease is so very very sad. Both men went to the match, “The Photographer” was taking the photos and “The Trainee Solicitor” was just catching up with people he hadn’t seen for a while. He saw the “young man’s” Mum and managed to talk to her without becoming emotional.

It’s the weekend for the grand getaway for the people who have holidays in August. Let’s hope that traffic is light in Paris tomorrow. Goodness me “what is a holiday?” I was booked to go on one last year and was planning another this year and both times my holiday was spent in hospital! Well to all of those managing to get away from it all, enjoy.

You may be wondering why I haven’t mentioned my garden lately. Goodness me the shrubs are possibly more than 2 metres high, the weeds in the borders are taking control and I am sure that a cherry stone has produced a new shrub (in my neighbours garden) which is now encroaching into my garden. In the front, the Weigela plant which was cut back last year, has thrived and I am having huge problems keeping one of the gates open. I hope the gardener comes soon to trim all of these back otherwise I will be lost in the shrubbery!

The music this week is a bit of a change for me, the first song is back to 1981 it’s “Don’t Stop Believin’ “ by Journey and the second one is from 1989 it’s “Back To Life” by Soul II Soul. I hope you listen to these songs and like them.

I am really into the Olympics, good heavens I have watched BMX racing, archery, the fencing, I really have enjoyed them. Of course athletics, swimming and gymnastics took my fancy as well as cycling but I was surprised to find myself watching judo.

The above photo is of the Fontaine de la Place Gambetta and the photo below is of more beautiful architecture, this building has Sapeurs Pompiers on the stonework.

I wish you all a Bon dimanche.