#covid entertainment

[liminalweirdo]

from themme_fatale's piece On Compliance

"In the face of every daily piece of horrifying news coming out of the US (and our own copycat conservative politicians at home), it’s clear that being willing to stand out and stand up for something - to be disobedient in the face of immense pressure - is only going to get more vital. Artists, performers and event producers are uniquely placed to help foster spaces where we can practice this.

Even (and especially) alone though, we need to get comfy with it. Building this confidence is absolutely possible, but it’s a skill that takes practice. Dr Devon Price has written a great piece on practicing disobedience - definitely recommended reading (especially if you’re also neurodivergent). There are so many ways to practice the act of awkwardly, defiantly, not doing what’s expected of you. Chucking on a mask is just a particularly good one as you can do it anywhere, it’s good for you too, and it doesn’t even require you to say anything!

More importantly, you have disabled people literally begging you to wear one to help them stay alive in a world that’s increasingly openly eugenicist; you have shitty politicians and cops trying to restrict your right wear one; there are thousands of people in mask blocs across the globe trying to give you masks for free; quality masks offer near perfect protection at preventing the spread of airborne illness; they offer you a little privacy - a valuable thing in a surveillance state; wearing a mask is class solidarity with workers who are over-exposed and underpaid; and pettily - masks also just really, really annoy a certain type of right winger.

If you’re someone who deeply feels the pressure of social expectations, someone who hates disappointing people, or someone who’s ever described yourself as a “people pleaser”, and you’re also someone who valorises the work of defiant activists past… consider this your challenge for the week: Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Notice the smoke. Call fire. Chuck a mask in your pocket and then pick some moments throughout your week and put it on."

[sleepn0tfound]

?

“Is this…”

.

Her breath was ragged.

.

“What justice means to you?”

.

She looked up at those who were supposed to be the embodiment of justice, revealing that the pupils of her eyes had turned into slits.

.

“Answer me!”

.

Her voice echoed through the halls, firm and authoritative, forcing even the mightiest down onto their knees.

[coolerhope]

[multishipperbish]

uhhh i also do these for like. south park if anybody's interested.

song : Good Luck, Babe! by Chappell Roan

[verba-amoris]

[americanews101]

world news link click 👇

[july-1804]

nicojack + mila kidfic prompt list

This list was compiled from @youneedsomeprompts and @bwoahtastic ty <3

Rules: Send me a number + any other people you want featured and I'll write either a drabble, dot point fic or full fic depending on inspiration!

"They are so tiny!"

"Welcome home, little one"

"We want you to be their godparent."

"I love these baby snuggles"

"They threw up on me!"

"Don't cry baby, [parent]’s got you."

"You're worth the sleepless nights."

"I can't do this alone!"

"Stop calling them your little Stinker" "But they are my little Stinker!"

 "Come on little one, walk over to [parent]!"

"I too want to have a breakdown in the supermarket but your [other parent] told me to get bread fast and we are in a rush darling!"

"Shouldn't you go and play with your friends?" "Want cuddles!"

"With the rate uncles/aunts/grandparents/friends are buying stuff for you, you will be the most spoiled kid ever"

"[Parent], I lost my teddy!"

"You are just going to sit with [other parent] for a bit, okay?"

"My tummy hurts..."

"Don't be scared, I've got you."

Watching their baby sleep while holding each other in their arms.

Sending the child with their request to the other parent because they don't want to be the strict one.

Noticing traits of their significant other in the child.

Bringing the child to bed and brushing their hair while telling them a good-night story which is a variation of how their parents met.

Coming home to the other one making a huge mess in the kitchen with the child because they were trying to make cookies.

They are trying to calm the child that is crying because the other parent is away.

One is always using nicknames for the child while the other is saying the given name.

One of them not knowing how to handle a little human being and freaking out.

[tithsokphanny31]

My Top 25 Favorite 2020s Kids Backpack?

[compacflt]

This is niche (maybe) but please share more about ice and mav at Oshkosh!! Do they go yearly? Or just the one time? Are they part of any aviation enthusiast communities???

yes yes yes!!! going to air shows is 100% a date for both of them. i feel like: a couple things:

- they’ve both probably seen the blue angels so many times it’s not super exciting anymore, and until they retire & become private citizens it’s also too big of a Thing for them to go, so they try to go to civilian/private air shows if they can

- one exception is fleet week for obvious rzns. They both probably have to do shit for fleet week on the reg. Ice especially

- i do keep thinking it would be funny for mav to do like a two year tour with the BAs at some point but there wasn’t room for that in the narrative so it’s Schrödinger’s headcanon

- before they retire their schedules are super crazy packed & don’t always line up, even if they request certain dates (like each other’s birthdays, Xmas, thanksgiving, Oshkosh etc) off in advance, so Oshkosh specifically doesn’t become yearly until after they retire. But after they retire they do annually fly in to Oshkosh in their p-51. lots of picnic lunch breaks in Reno/Omaha/Boise etc

- theyve been to the big international air shows (farnborough, Paris, NOT dubai for security/gay people issues, etc) together a couple times when they can swing it. (Me looking for any excuse to send them back to europe on vacation) but before they retire it’s also probably a Thing. So Thing-ness (public & Navy engagement etc) has to be accounted for when they’re planning their trip. they do have a responsibility to rep the Navy as best as they can etc etc

- Thing-ness also has to be accounted for when joining aviation enthusiast groups… after they retire & get married hell yes!!! they probably have a ton of civilian aviation friends & are pretty involved. not before their marriage though. It takes a while for them to come out of the hidden little shell they’ve been living in for thirty years & make friends as a real couple. but they do eventually.

[whitehartlane]

regardless of how the further results go and if we actually win anything under this manager, the way ange is committed to his attacking style and philosophy in the modern game that has become boring and risk averse is a breath of fresh air

[catkin-morgs-kookaburralover]

friend: *has conflicting schedule for something church-related*

friend's mum: hey do you [meaning me] want to run it

me, instantly: absolutely not.

[paulagnewart]

Trans40mers Pt. 1/12: Of Movies, Muppets and Madman Mayhem!

The grand space year of 2024 may have closed, but the 40th anniversary celebrations for The Transformers are far from being all over.

Not every country got the series at once. These rollouts took time, particularly during decades past. Regions including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and parts of Europe had to wait until 1985 before the Autobots and Decepticons brought their conflict to local shores. A delay definitely worth the wait for budding fans and shareholders alike.

Keeping in line with the above nations, Australia has consistently kept Transformers on toy shelves since the beginning. No US-style gap years, for there was always something to see, read or buy out there. It's a testament to the brand's longevity and fandom's enduring passion. As the Transformers Universe trailer attested, "They were always real to me".

As seen elsewhere, rather than belt out another year's worth of rodent-based ramblings, this account instead will highlight a slathering of fascinating yet ultimately useless knowledge from Transformers history in Australia. But unlike elsewhere sharing them bang on their respective dates, this account's waiting until month's end for a single, easy to read post.

There's one from each and every year; some glad, some sad, some outright bonkers including (and far from limited to) Mark Wahlberg's Sydney press tour, Otter Press' Dreamwave reprints, that time comedian Tony Martin crushed an Optimus toy on prime time TV, various VHS and DVD releases, newspaper clippings condemning the series, Happy Meal promotions, that time Beast Wars Airazor and Razorclaw toys topped Christmas sales, exclusive toys, and many more.

Best of all? They're free. Yes, free. No social media influenza mentality begging for dollarydoos at each opportunity to read fan wikis aloud here. The title is hardly the most imaginative or inspiring wordplay, but certainly beats the sad, self-aggrandising trend where anyone with half an ego and aspiration for digital fame make a hashtag using their own name.

11th January 2008: Promoting their new release of The Transformers: The Headmasters on DVD, Madman Entertainment choose three winners in its 'Design a Transformer' contest. Among the entrants was late comic book artist Lindsay Walker, with her fan character Ultra Fairmont.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Kicking off this robotic retrospective is a trip back to early 2008. Michael Bay's first live-action film had been an unprecedented success, and companies looked for a slice of that sweet energon pie.

Retro toys were back in, and it's hard to believe there was a time when Madman were the only game in town for 'classic' Transformers merchandise. Having a keen eye for fans since the early 2000's, they produced a swath of licensed G1 and Beast Wars DVD's and apparel. When time came for catering to Japanese audiences, they went all-in, announcing this contest.

Dozens of fans hoping to be the next Alex Kubalsky picked up their artistic tools, logged into their Madman accounts and submitted venerable masterpieces. Of the 46 entries, all-new characters were order of the day, though a few redesigns of old favourites managed to slip through.

So which lucky fans walked away with the top prizes? In first place stood Channandeller and their time-freezing Decepticon saboteur, Time-Ex. Second place went to davetec, who uncovered a long-lost photograph from 1903 featuring the autonomous horseless carriage, Albion. Rounding out third was Norcinu with their evil, mind-controlling Adminbot representative, Comcall. An outstanding trio of well-deserved winners.

The contest was open to casual and professional fans alike, among the latter was rising star Bendigo artist Lindsay Walker. A fan since the Transformers began, Ms. Walker was by that point making a name for herself in the comic book industry. Illustrating both fan and licensed products, her artistic prowess covered the likes of King Kong, Voltron, Sheena, Street Fighter and Hack/Slash. She developed video games, worked art galleries, and proud advocate for the trans community.

After submitting Ultra Fairmont, Ms. Walker went on to fulfil her dream illustrating her beloved Ghost Who Walks for Moonstone Books, and later for the character's local publishers. A career which abruptly ended in tragedy come late September 2016.

17th January 2021: As Covid weaved its deadly web, Sydney's Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace lights the fandom's darkest hour with a screening of 1986's The Transformers: The Movie. Billed as a one night only experience, the event proved popular enough to run multiple times.

-=-=-=-=-=-

"A rare screening of the 1986 animated classic!" proclaimed those fine folks over at Hayden Orpheum; and true to their word, this fateful night had been a long time coming for local fans.

At a time when licensing issues cancelled an earlier Melbourne screening, to say nothing to rising daily Covid cases placing lives and livelihoods at risk, it looked like Aussies may never see the film score an official rerelease. But now they had, and with jubilation came trepidation. Plus jealousy from hardcore fans in other states who'd face mandatory 14 day quarantines.

Despite the brisk drive, the writer of these posts opted not to attend that first night for obvious reasons. But several hundred other fans did, and they had a grand time. Cheering, booing, even recreating the Junkion dance number. A much-needed escape into summer fantasy for many during a perilous period.

For those technical inclined, this edition of the movie was the US 'star cast credits' version, as opposed to the international 'Star Wars Scroll' variant which played at cinemas here back in 1986, & sourced from Madman Entertainment's Blu Ray released June 2009. Spite of being slightly zoomed in to fit the wider cinema screen, nor the option of a crisp physical 35mm print to load up and play, the video was nonetheless an impressive improvement over previous copies.

Unfortunately cracks began to appear when, rather than go with the old Mono track, they used its "enhanced" Dolby 5.1 edition. It made the dialogue pop, but many sound effects (notably when Optimus Prime transforms & takes down the Decepticons) were suppressed, while others replaced by new "improved" sounds. It only got worse from "Megatron must be stopped" right until the film's end, as the entire audio track was delayed by about half a second. Hardly noticeable with the dialogue, but the action suffered. Moments like the satisfying crunch of Prime's uppercut, or the duel between Hot Rod, Kup and the Sharkticons, were painfully out of sync.

27th January 1995: Agro's Cartoon Connection came to the rescue of parents hoping to peacefully sleep off yesterday's public holiday bender. Alongside new host Terasa Livingstone, Agro dedicated our morning to the last ever public TV repeat of The Transformers: The Movie.

-=-=-=-=-=-

What's the deal with The Transformers: The Movie and public holidays?

For years both were invaluably intertwined. A fascinating partnership enough for some imaginative fan to make quite the venn diagram; much like an unspoken yet underlying overlap between followers of both long-running Archie Sonic the Hedgehog comics, and 2003 Teen Titans cartoon.

One month after the Commonwealth Film Censorship Board ordered Spike's expletive outburst be deleted, The Transformers: The Movie arrived in Australian cinemas on Boxing Day 1986. The Sydney Morning Herald ran a colouring contest through Easter 1987, where six lucky readers won a poster plus copy of said movie on VHS or Betamax. Any fans yearning for a nostalgic new year experience got exactly that on 1st January 1989; Channel Seven heeded their wishes and premiered it at 9am.

Despite one critical slamming of "a long advertisement for the fad toys of the 80's", that didn't stop Seven rolling out their cinematic outing again and again. It aired midday Tuesday 25th September 1990, kicking off the spring school holidays. Another repeat followed on Boxing Day 1991. Fans still collecting were treated to double runs in 1993; first at 11:30am on Mother's Day, followed by (surprise surprise) a 9am repeat on Boxing Day, this time one half of a shared feature with Machine Men: Battle of the Rock Lords.

Fast-forward to 1995. A year had passed since all states and territories agreed to mark 26th January a national public holiday. Fireworks were lit and alcohol guzzled, leading to many-a sore heads the following morning. For kids not tuning in to watch the last TV screening of DiC's The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog among the rotting husk of Tim Bailey's The Big Breakfast, once more Australia's favourite bathmat offered salvation. Kicking off at 6:30am where, following a mandatory repeat of Hanna-Barbera's The Ruff and Reddy Show, Agro and Terasa's Friday morning movie successfully ruined a nation's childhoods one final time.

[frightkid]

The Last Day of Dandy Bear ): Taken from the video (that made me cry) touring the last Dandy Bear Entertainment Center on the day of its closing. Featured interviews with the locals, photos of their childhood birthday parties and even a memorial for the Dandy Bear animatronic set up in the parking lot so people could say goodbye.

[newsalert247]

Savinho and Haaland find answers to Manchester City’s problems at Leicester

[hypodermicfroggy]

Me: "Our vax fever broke literally day before yesterday, can we PLEASE do something productive with our time now? At least to distract from the pain of the giant welt in our arm?"

My brain, on loop for the past 36 hours: YOU ARE FAR TOO NICE, MERCY HAS A PRICE, IT'S THE FINAL CRACK WE'RE BOUND TO BREAK THE ICE NOW, YOU REVEAL YOUR NAME THEN LET HIM LIVE, UNLIKE YOU I'VE GOT NO MERCY LEFT TO GIVE 'CAUSE RUTHLESSNESS IS MERCY UPON OURSELVES-

[sparanero]

Vladimir Blum in ALAN WAKE II (2023)