#doug anthony all stars

[daas-yass]

It is time for TIM! (I love his face going ‘the fuq are you?’ in that first one xD)

Apparently this has been in my drafts, I must have had some use for it, but oh the days of making gifs!

(if anyone wants the original video, I’ll have to go find it lol)

[v-as-in-victor]

Feeling nostalgic for my teenage boyband crush

[mariocki]

Play for Today: A Touch of the Tiny Hacketts (BBC, 1978)

"It is very possible that I could have stopped it ever getting into the papers."

"Well, I don't see how, we don't even know how they found out about it."

"You're missing the point, Ray, there are things like injunctions for contingencies like this."

"Against who?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'm a legal expert. But I will say this: I am experienced enough in life to know the value of the Mr. Ridleys of this world."

"Well, I know he was very good over the crazy paving, but is he capable of slapping injunctions against newspaper editors? I mean, particularly when they only printed the truth?"

"I dunno. But we could've tried him. And failing him - had you told me - who knows? I could have taken it to the ombudsman!"

[poebrey]

hate that the closest thing we’re getting to a musical episode of discovery is the carpool karaoke episode and that one scene where they sing space oddity

[saintedseb]

"Motorcycle Saint Sebastian" performed by the Doug Anthony All Stars on The Big Gig (ABC Television, 1989-1991)

Alternatively, a link with significantly improved audio, but no visuals.

Lyrics under the cut (the first part is deliberately incomprehensible):

Broken down, ditch water brown Pure radiance and another dead city I heard a voice alluring and cool say "Live to ride, ride to live, hey!"

The gasket's blown, the engine's shot Mercy, mercy, to a grinding halt Stench of petrol, brand new martyrs Live to ride, ride to live, hey!

Motorcycle St Sebastian (Ba-ba-bada ba-ba ba-da-da) You're a leather clad lad, you're a rapscallion (Ba-ba-bada ba-ba ba-da-da) They hit you once, they hit you twice That's the sort of shit you like Motorcycle St Sebastian

Lit like a live fuse, never settled Come on child, press the pedal to the metal Got a one way ticket, no turning back Live to ride, ride to live, hey!

No one leaves they just move on Never forfeit your dignity You got your diesel heart, pure air in your lungs Live to ride, ride to live, hey!

Motorcycle St Sebastian (Ba-ba-bada ba-ba ba-da-da) You're a leather clad lad, you're a rapscallion (Ba-ba-bada ba-ba ba-da-da) If they hit you once, they'll hit you twice That's the sort of shit you like Motorcycle St Sebastian

But yet, the will rolled onward like a wheel In even motion by love impelled That moves the sun in heaven and the stars Live to ride, ride to live, hey!

Motorcycle St Sebastian (Ba-ba-bada ba-ba ba-da-da) You're a leather clad lad, you're a rapscallion (Ba-ba-bada ba-ba ba-da-da) They hit you once, they hit you twice That's the sort of shit you like Motorcycle St Sebastian

Motorcycle St Sebastian (Ba-ba-bada ba-ba ba-da-da) Motorcycle St Sebastian (Ba-ba-bada ba-ba ba-da-da) Motorcycle St Sebastian (Ba-ba-bada ba-ba ba-da-da) Motorcycle St Sebastian! (Ba-ba-bada ba-ba-badada) Motorcycle! (Ba-ba-bada ba-ba-badada) Motorcycle! St Sebastian! (Ba-ba-bada ba-ba-badada) Live to ride, ride to live, hey!

[annieqattheperipheral]

Team Coaches: Doug Gilmour & Wendel Clark

Puck Drop: Darryl Sittler

Players: Ryan Getzlaf, Nick Kypreos, Anthony Stewart, Phil Oreskovic, Max Domi, Stevie Leskovar, Porter Martone, Ryerson Leenders, Jack Ivankovic, Mitch Marner, Chris Chelios, Travis Barron, Cole Perfetti, Dylan Strome, Chris Pronger, Tessa Bonhomme, Jack McBain, Liam Foudy, Cody Hodgson, Renata Fast, Erik Gudbranson

[pyramidsoul]

Jeffrey Dahmer was a terrifying person and no one should forget that

Because of the Dahmer Netflix series, always more people approached the case and informed themselves by reading books or following old interviews. Jeffrey Dahmer’s figure is been brought back and became subject of discussion worldwide again after 30 years. He became a trend topic but it has also aroused much criticism, especially from the families of the victims.

But Jeffrey Dahmer was different, he was a unique type of serial killer, and this is the reason why he made people feel so fascinated. His crimes were gruesome, horrible and extreme, something that the human mind struggles to understand, yet Jeffrey Dahmer wasn’t a sadistic psychopath and he felt some kind of remorse too. At the end, he also wanted and tried to help victims’ families he felt sorry to. He’s indeed a man who surprised people with his behaviors and so many people came close trying to figure him out. But like a double-edged sword, some people’s response isn't all puppy dogs and rainbows.

Jeffrey Dahmer in 1991 in his first court appearance - via The Milwaukee Journal

People felt close to him, after the news broke out many people find themselves to feel for Jeffrey. It’s not a very big new news, the most infamous serial killers always found out themselves having “groupies” often assisting at their trials, or people writing to them stating how similar they felt. In the worst occasions, it was a case of Hybristophilia.

In modern days the same thing is happening and it’s too easy to forget the man’s abhorrent crimes. Too easily people tend to minimize the eerie of the acts, making appear Jeffrey like a wounded victim as well. Jeffrey suffered for some things too, and had a couple of mental diseases. It was undeniable that he too was a human being and displayed of human emotions. “Humanising” a serial killer is not a bad thing, it makes us realise we don’t have a monster but another person. Defining a criminal “monster” or “devil” only help us to dissociate from him, not considering him “one of us”. It makes us feel safer, having a demoniac entity to point the finger to, but the sad truth criminals are humans as well. Jeffrey was human.

Jeffrey Dahmer during Inside Edition interview with Nancy Glass in 1993.

But in the other side, some people tended to overemphasize the man’s problems too much, and made him become a new victim. But Jeffrey Dahmer was a murder first of all and took the life of 17 innocent people. He was selfish and careless, he saw people as objects for his own sexual purposes and he disposed of them when they were no longer needed.

“Reflecting on the invitation, Jackson remembered how he and Dahmer were outside on the rear landing. Dahmer on the steps going upstairs to the second floor while Jackson was below. Dahmer starred straight ahead, transfixed, never looking at Jackson when he extended the invitation.”

- From ‘Monster The True Story of Jeffrey Dahmer Murders’. Writer Anne E. Schwartz describes the meeting she had with a Oxford Apartments tenant Doug Jackson

Jeffrey Dahmer was aware of what he was doing, and even if he knew it was wrong, he allowed himself to act how he wanted. His modus operandi was the same: inviting the person at home, drugging them, raping them, killing them, using the corpse how he wanted to then disposing the body. Jeffrey Dahmer was responsible for the following crimes:

Serial murder

Rape

Child molestation

Sexual assault

Sexual harassment

Public nudity

Necrophilia

Cannibalism

Jeffrey Dahmer victims. From left to right: Steven Hicks; Steven Tuomi; James Doxtator; Eddie Smith; Oliver Lacy; Matt Turner; Ricky Beeks; Richard Guerrero; Ernest Miller; David Thomas; Joseph Bradehoft; Curtis Straughter; Errol Lindsey; Anthony Hughes; Konerak Sinthasomphone; Anthony Sears; Jeremiah Weinberger

“Konerak, colloquially known as ‘Khum’ or ‘Kolack’, was a friendly, high-spirited youngster who did not make enemies. The next evening, Saturday, 25 May, he went to a party at Crystal Palace with Laotian friends. On Sunday morning he took a shower at 10 a.m., then went downtown. That was the last time his brother saw him. The brother was called Somsack; for Konerak Sinthasomphone was about to be the second member of this immigrant family to fall into the hands of Jeffrey Dahmer”

- The Shrine Of Jeffrey Dahmer

Jeffrey’s first victim was named Steven Hicks. It was 1978 and Jeffrey was just 18 years old. He found himself alone at home and decided to take a ride with his car. It’s when he met Steven, a hitchhiker, and together reached Dahmer’s house to have some fun. June 18 1978, the last day Steven Hicks was seen alive, his parents were waiting for him to come home to celebrate his dad’s birthday. Dahmer killed him because he didn’t want to let him go, he tried to dispose the body throwing the parts from a ravine he knew but when a police office stopped him he decided to spread the rests on the yard behind his house. After 9 years he tried to behave correctly trying to moderate his impulses, but in September 15, 1987 he fell again and Steven Tuomi, a 24 years old man, became his second victim. Dahmer put him in a suitcase and disposed of the body at the grandma’s house. Following these two killing accidents, many more would follow, and Dahmer would eventually surrender. He gave in to his impulses, making a total of 17 victims, among which two were minors of 14 years old of age. In between of the years before the homicides arrest, Dahmer was arrested for other crimes as indecent exposure, disorderly conduct and sexual assault of a 13 year old boy, Somsak Sinthasomphone. After that he was followed by probation officer Donna Chester, they had to meet twice a week, and even if Dahmer was a cooperative client, he never expressed himself about the crimes he was committing and he didn’t seek for help. He continued to commit his crimes, drugging and raping attractive gay men he found, killing some as well. He kept rests of the victims, reducing what was left to three black garbage bags, and so from a day to another a human being was wiped off the face of the Earth. And more he continued, less careful he became, turning himself into a killing machine. He lost his job, he was going to loose the apartment as well, but he was only interested to follow a sexual pleasure, trying to find more boys to carry home. He wondered around the place unstoppably asking from a man to another to come to his house, when the escape of Tracy Edwards followed and Dahmer was subsequently arrested.

From left to right: Shirley Hughes, mother of Tony Hughes; Catherine Lacy, mother of Oliver Lacy; Dorothy Straughter, mother of Curtis Straughter

“One of his workmates, Richard Burton, was driving with a friend when he saw him standing on a street corner and gave him a ride. Dahmer said he wanted to get out of Wisconsin and go to Florida. Burton wished him luck, and he got out. To his friend, Burton said he thought Jeff had ‘lost it all’ – no job, no friends. A little later he spotted him again talking to a black man at a bus-stop.

On 21 July, after dismembering the body of Joseph Bradehoft, he was wandering around the Grand Avenue Mall where, in two separate incidents, he propositioned Hispanic men with the invitation to earn money by posing for pictures and watching videos. They were Joseph Rosa and Ricardo Ortiz. Both refused.

The events of 22 July depict a mind at once unfocused, listless, and delirious, unhinged. Dahmer got up late, in the midst of his human debris, and went out for a beer. Sopa Princewill accosts him in the corridor with a 40-ounce bottle, and warns him that he may not last until his lease runs out at the end of the month – he may be evicted sooner because his place smelt so awful. He listens, but does not react in any noticeable manner. He goes downtown and is walking along 3rd Street near Wells Street at 2 p.m. when he sees a black man sitting on a sidewalk bench. This is twenty-year-old Ormell Holmes. He asks Holmes if he wants to earn $50. What do I have to do for that? asks Holmes. Pose for pictures and drink some rum. Holmes indicates that he is not interested in that kind of thing, and Dahmer moves on. He approaches another man in the same street, with the same result.

He now goes to his favourite haunt, the Grand Avenue Mall, and has some fast food. He is seen there at 3.30 talking to a man on one of the benches. A little later, he asks a sixteen-year-old black boy called Anderson to come home with him and watch movies, and his offer is again declined. At 4.30 Dennis Campbell, who works at Milwaukee’s famous German restaurant, Karl Ratzch’s, is in the Mall with his girlfriend Julie Weyer, and goes to the men’s room on the first floor. Having urinated, he is drying his hands on a wall dryer when the door opens and a scruffy white man with several days’ growth of beard walks in and stands behind him, then moves beside him. There is no long preparatory choreography. The white man says straight out, ‘Do you want to make fifty dollars real quick?’ ‘Doing what?’ says Campbell. ‘Come to my apartment and watch videos.’ ‘I don’t think so,’ says Campbell, and the man, whom he thought ‘weird, creepy and very unusual’, says, ‘O.K.’ He told Julie about it afterwards and she laughed.”

- The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer

[scotianostra]

The singer Lonnie Donegan was born on April 29th 1931 in Bridgeton Glasgow.

Donegan was born Anthony James Donegan, the son of a Scottish father and Irish mother. His father was a professional violinist who had played with the Scottish National Orchestra.

He moved with his mother to London at an early age, after his parents divorced. Inspired by blues music and New Orleans jazz bands he heard on the radio, he resolved to learn the guitar, and bought his first at the age of fourteen. He took his first name after a New Orleans blues singer he admired called Lonnie Johnson.

The first band he ever played in was the trad jazz band led by Chris Barber, who approached him on a train asking him if he wanted to audition for his group. Barber had heard that Donegan was a good banjo player; in fact, Donegan had never played the banjo at this point, but he bought one and managed to bluff his way through the audition. His stint in this group was interrupted, however, when he was called up for National Service in 1949.

In 1952, he formed his first own group, the Tony Donegan Jazzband, which found some work around London. On one occasion they opened for the blues musician Lonnie Johnson at the Royal Festival Hall. Donegan was a big fan of Johnson, and took his first name as a tribute to him. The story goes that the host at the concert got the musicians’ names confused, calling them “Tony Johnson” and “Lonnie Donegan”, and Donegan was happy to keep the name.

Donegan recorded a reworking of an American folk tune, Rock Island Line. Decca released the song in 1956, billed by the Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group. The record, with its talking sequences, homage to Americana, and fast train shuffle climax, became a major hit in Britain and America. Because he was paid a flat fee for the session, Donegan didn’t receive any royalty payments for his most popular and influential song until the label struck a new deal for him 40 years later. However, Rock Island Line made him a star in his own right and would remain his signature song throughout his career.

From 1956 through 1962, he enjoyed a string of 34 British hits including Puttin’ on the Style and Cumberland Gap, which hit number one in 1957, Don’t You Rock Me Daddy-O, which reached number four in the same year, and the raucous sing-along My Old Man’s a Dustman which climbed to the top of the charts in 1960. It’s not hard to see why Lonnie is regarded as the first real pop star, his fans included the likes of Lennon and McCartney, who’s first group, The Quarrymen were a skiffle group. he Shadows, the Searchers, the Hollies, Herman’s Hermits, Gerry & the Pacemakers, and Cliff Richard all began their musical lives doing skiffle.

As the swinging sixties rolled on Donegans hits dried up but he was always in demand for gigs at home and across the world, he also dabbled in a wee bit acting and his own song publishing business, his most popular song he bought the rights for being Nights in white Satin. In the 70’s he popped upon the occasional TV shows during breaks from touring, in 1972 Tom Jones covered one of Lonnie’s songs and it went top 5 on both sides of the Atlantic. As a performer he continued to record and lease unsuccessful sides to Pye, Decca, Black Lion, and RCA.

A 1976 heart attack forced Donegan into an uneasy semi-retirement in California. Two years later, Chrysalis Records organized an all-star recreation of his early hits Puttin’ on the Style. Produced by former British teen idol Adam Faith and boasting duets with Ringo Starr, Elton John, and Rory Gallagher, it was his last major-selling album. Follow-ups with respected session ace Albert Lee and Cajun-fiddler Doug Kershaw seemed to point him towards country music, but a series of heart attacks in 1979 ended his full-time career.

In later years Donegan made a series of guest appearances with old friend Chris Barber including a featured spot on Van Morrison’s Skiffle Sessions: Live in Belfast 1998. Just before his death, he returned to touring full time, exhibiting much of his classic verve and humour before standing-room-only crowds. Donegan died on November 3rd, 2002, in Peterborough.

[litcityblues]

Weird Feelings, But A Fond Farewell

I have weird feelings about Star Trek Discovery. When it was first announced, I was less than thrilled. Another prequel, I thought, and not even a particularly interesting one. (There's a whole blank page of history between The Original Series and The Next Generation that remains largely unexplored in the chronology. What happens in the Temporal Wars or the aftermath of the Dominion War? I would have been intrigued to see that any of those-- a prequel to the Original Series? Not so much.)

The first couple of seasons were interesting and I'm still not entirely sure how to feel about them. For a start, Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) is not exactly your typical Trek Captain. Point of fact, she starts out by getting her Captain, Phillippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) killed and starting a war with the Klingons. If that wasn't enough, we get more wrinkles thrown at us: Michael's parents had been killed in a Klingon attack on their colony, and with no other family, she gets adopted by Sarek of Vulcan and his wife, Amanda Grayson.

That's right: Spock had a secret adopted human sister.

Now, that part didn't bother me. In fact, it was logical, after a fashion- though why we hadn't met her before was still something of a mystery. But if you're Sarek and you've got a human wife and a half-human son that you struggle to understand and connect with, a human sibling (even an adopted one) would be something worthy of consideration should the opportunity to present itself.

The fact that Michael gets raised on Vulcan also makes the character make sense-- if Spock has trouble dealing with his emotions from time to time, Michael lets logic get in the way of hers, which is why she insists on firing on the Klingons, believing, logically, that they will only respond to a show of force.

Speaking of the Klingons: not the Klingons you've come to know and expect-- which I was also of two minds about. On the one hand: Discovery era Klingons are far more alien than 90s-Trek Era Klingons. They feel alien. They feel new-- their leader, T'Kuvma, lights the beacon of Kahless and unites the warring houses behind him in a war against the Federation.

We then meet a prisoner Michael Burnham who gets swept aboard the Discovery where we meet Tilly (Mary Wiseman), Stamets (Anthony Rapp), Saru (Doug Jones) and Dr. Culber (Wilson Cruz) and we soon find ourselves running around the Mirror Universe with Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs) using a spore drive, where Discovery jumps from Point A to Point B instantaneously using the spore network that runs throughout the Universe.

After we get the first season dealt with, we get a plot twist for the second season when they encounter the U.S.S. Enterprise and Pike (Anson Mount) takes command to investigate seven mysterious signals that have been appearing all over the galaxy.

Pike was so good in this role and the introduction of the Enterprise went so well that we got Strange New Worlds out of the deal, so if Discovery did anything for Trek, there's always that. You can hate every episode of this series, but we got Strange New Worlds out of it, so something good came of it. (I don't hate this series, by the way. I think parts of it are very good indeed.)

But what I think turns the show is the decision at the end of Season 2 to send Discovery 900 years into the future.

Whether it was because the showrunners and writers realized that had sort of written themselves into a corner or whether it was the plan all along, I don't know but it was the boldest move in the history of the franchise- they BOLDLY WENT-- how much more Star Trek could you get than that?

Season 3, Discovery's First in the Future was interesting. The Federation and the Galaxy were devastated by a disaster known as 'The Burn' where all the dilithium was suddenly rendered inert by something-- Discovery, once it reaches the future, sets about finding what's left of Starfleet and putting it back together, which they successfully do and defeat the Emerald Chain which is the preeminent power in the galaxy. By the end of the season, Discovery is transporting dilithium to start the process of reconnecting planets and the Federation starts coming back together little by little.

(Honestly, I need to rewatch this season at some point. I might be judging it a little unfairly. But it feels like the weakest of the five to me. There's more than a touch of Andromeda to it and the ultimate cause of The Burn should have been something more grounded in science than I remember it being, in my opinion. But overall, the story breaks new ground-- good for Trek and takes big swings-- which is also good for Trek, so on balance, I'm okay with it.)

Seasons 4 and 5 were where I think this show started to find its feet a bit. You can have issues with the serialized storytelling of both seasons, but they worked really well for me and ultimately, I think I'm going to come down to the notion that this show deserved at least one, maybe two more seasons.

The finale was good. There was a wedding and nobody died (which might be a first for Star Trek?). It was not revealed to be a holodeck adventure that Commander Riker was enjoying as a spectator. Nothing can probably top 'All Good Things' but I'd slot 'Life Itself' probably just behind 'Endgame' in terms of finales. You got the sense- especially with Zora and Discovery just being sent away for an unspecified mission- that there was more story to be told, but it also felt like an ending. It felt earned. It felt final and I could work with that.

It wasn't all perfect: Owo and Detmer were more or less absent from the back half of season five, which sucked- they do make an appearance in the finale though. And if Discovery wasn't that great at something, it was probably exploring the lives and characters of the rest of the bridge crew more effectively. I think they got better at the deeper into their run that they got, but it was still never what it should have been, in my opinion.

They left some interesting story possibilities on the table as well. I've seen a lot of older, crustier Trek fans complaining about how all the characters do is examine their feelings and their various traumas and yes, there's some of that, but also, look what these characters have been through: if you left your entire family behind and traveled 900 years to the future, you'd probably need some therapy too.

But it's not the Discovery crew that would have made the interesting storyline there-- it's the Starfleet that stayed hidden and stuck together through the years of The Burn. What was that like? Do those Captains resent the sudden intrusion of these randos from the past? (I think Rayner's character was meant to play with this idea a bit in the final season.)

Overall: I was left wanting more and who could ask for anything more than that? (Other than two more seasons and a movie, maybe?) Discovery may have fallen victim to the ongoing churn in the streaming wars, but I do think, on a rewatch, it will hold up better than people think.

But as the first new Trek series in over a decade when it debuted in 2017, it's worthy of appreciation. It took big swings. It wasn't afraid to challenge franchise orthodoxy and most importantly, to me, as a fan, it went boldly where no other Trek show had gone before.

Did I like the serialized storytelling? Not always. Did I like every episode? No. Do I think it could have been more grounded in parts? Yes. Did it miss opportunities and storylines? Yes. But on balance, this is a worthy addition to the franchise and I do think people are going to reassess this show positively when they look back on it. (My general impression is that people either love this or absolutely hate it.) My Grade: *** out of ****

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Is It Really That Bad?

There are very few bad movies quite as legendary as this one. I’ve been sitting on this one for a while, because boy did I need some time to process what I saw. And what better day to finally drop this review than on May the 4th, 2023, a year where good Star Wars content is few and far between.

Still, even with how bad the franchise can get these days, we need to be grateful it even survived this special to get to the point where there were any good films at all. Something as negatively received as this was, to the point that it has never aired again after its initial broadcast and only exists via bootlegs, is the sort of thing that completely tanks a franchise that was just getting off the ground. All they had to go off of was A New Hope back then; Empire Strikes Back was still a ways off, so literally all there was was the original film and this.

Nobody involved with the franchise has ever had anything nice to say about it. George Lucas has stressed his lack of involvement, Carrie Fisher said she had a special copy to put on to make guests leave parties, Mark Hamill has said he’s never sat through the whole thing, Harrison Ford has said he has never seen it, and Anthony Daniels called it a turd in his autobiography. The official website even has little kind things to say about it, with the only praise being for the Boba Fett animated segment (which pretty much everyone agrees is the highlight of the thing). And outside people who have worked on the franchise, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone willing to defend this film. Internet critics like Doug Walker and JonTron have all gone for this film’s throat at one point or another, and even in nerdier circles the special is basically the butt of all sorts of jokes. It’s the one thing everyone can agree on when it comes to Star Wars, or so it seems anyway.

But really, looking back on this little holiday special, is it honestly so bad? Is this the television special equivalent of Order 66, or is there enough of the Star Wars magic to keep this from being utterly unwatchable?

THE GOOD

Yes, there is some good stuff here.

First off, there are the concepts the worldbuilding here has to offer. This was still when Star Wars was in its infancy as a franchise, so there was a lot more wiggle room, and so we get some really interesting concepts. The existence of a holiday like Life Day is pretty cool, and Chewie having a family he’s out fighting for gives his character a lot more depth (even if the characters themselves aren’t the most amazing thing ever). The Imperial occupation of Kashyyyk is touched upon slightly, and though not in an intelligent way it still gives a little bit of insight. Plus, as stupid as most of the diversions are, it’s kind of interesting to see the sort of media the residents of the galaxy far, far away like to watch.

This special also marks one of the earliest efforts of Stan Winston of all people, but I guess everyone has to start somewhere. The music isn’t the worst thing either, with a solid Jefferson Starship number and a fun little tune sung by Bea Arthur being the most notable, though at the very end you get to see a coked-out-of-her-mind Carrie Fisher singing a song along to the Star Wars theme music.

Then we have the animated segment, which is actually, genuinely good. I know, it’s shocking, but how can it not be when it introduced the world to everyone’s favorite jobber, Boba Fett? Here he rides a big dinosaur and also backstabs the heroes after seeming like a helpful guy, so he’s quite a bit cooler than he usually is outside of that one awesome fight scene in The Mandalorian.

Oh, there’s also a funny Stormtrooper who trips, falls over a railing, and dies. Complete with a Wilhelm Scream! You can always count on random mooks in Star Wars to be far more entertaining than anyone else.

THE BAD

Nerds can argue all day about whether Jar Jar or Rose Tico are the worst characters in Star Wars, but they’ll be wrong, because Chewie’s father Itchy is literally the worst of them all. Sure, his yeti-like design is kind of cool, but the dude watches softcore VR porn in the middle of the living room. That alone makes him more repulsive than even someone like Watto. There’s a fucking kid around, dude!

Then there’s Chef Gormaanda, the star chef of a cooking show Chewie’s wife watches. Gormaanda is entirely insufferable, and what’s more, is played by a man in drag looking like what appears to be blackface. It’s pretty clear, too, that the “it’s a man dressed like a woman!” is the sole joke of this segment, which doesn’t exactly endear it or the character to me.

And… Look. I get it. Early on in franchises, before you really establish what you’re going for, I think it’s fine to play around and see what ideas work and what don’t. Freddy’s Revenge is a great movie even if it’s an oddball in the series because it went in a different direction than the first film, for instance; it manages to feel fresher and more interesting than a lot of the later films. But the thing with that movie is that it doesn’t feel tonally out of place in the franchise. Sure it’s a lot more homoerotic than later films, but it’s still a supernatural slasher movie.

This, though? This is a goofy 70s variety show following up an epic science-fantasy space opera. I get wanting to try new things and experiment, but some weird ass space variety show is not exactly what I’d want to see Luke, Han, Leia, and the rest have to endure after watching the pulpy space opera goodness of A New Hope. Obviously this wasn’t meant to be an actual, canonical continuation of the story, but it boggles the mind why this is the first thing they’d try and jump into immediately after the first film. The franchise is lucky it even exists the way it does after this, because a lesser franchise just would not be able to recover from something like this, a special that just veers into completely baffling territory for no good reason.

IS IT REALLY THAT BAD?

This special is definitely bad, but I think time has been far kinder to it than most movies.

Like this is undeniably stupid, it is an absurd idea to try and do a variety show in the Star Wars universe, and even back in a time before it became a supermassive franchise this should still have been regarded as a very poor decision. And yet, it happened, and there’s a sort of quaint, cozy 70s insanity to it that is undeniably charming. Maybe it’s boring, maybe it’s weird, maybe it’s horrendously stupid, but the fact it happened at all is just so genuinely funny it’s hard to muster genuine hatred for it.

And with how bad some of the later Star Wars films got, it’s easy to look at this and at least cut it a tiny bit of slack. Sure, it’s not good, but at least it is genuinely something unique and different and not trying to pass off bad writing as “subverting expectations” like The Last Jedi did. And it is honestly, genuinely a better film than The Rise of Skywalker. I’m dead serious. As stupid and terrible as this special is, there was more heart, soul, effort, care, and interesting ideas put into it than the big budget supposed grand finale of a franchise that has made more money than I can even imagine. It really says more about how bad The Rise of Skywalker is than anything, but this special needs to take its wins where it can get them.

There’s not really any way to fault someone for hating this, because it’s not good by any means, but there’s something fascinating about it that makes me unable to muster much hate for it despite it putting me to sleep a couple times. It’s a cultural milestone, a signifier of how big Star Wars was even way back in its earliest years, and its one of the most amusing jokes in any franchise ever. To this day it’s still the punchline of jokes and even manages to influence canon, with Life Day, Bea Arthur’s character, and Chewie’s family (sans Itchy, thank god) making the jump into the main continuity in spinoff media, with Life Day getting a notable name drop in The Mandalorian.

Frankly, its score on IMDB is perfect. It’s a bad special for sure, no argument there. But I’d still argue it is an important movie, an interesting movie, and a culturally significant movie. It’s “so bad it’s good” at its baddest and goodest, and it’s worth checking out just to see how far Star Wars has come.

Now my biggest hope is for the next film to have Poe come out and say “Somehow, Itchy has returned.” Let Itchy be the next big villain, Disney. No man who watches VR porn when his grandkid could wander by at any moment is a good guy.

[daimonclub]

Halloween great quotes

Halloween great quotes and aphorisms Halloween great quotes and aphorisms, 50 famous and amazing ideas for your pleasure by the World of English or English-culture.com blog Halloween for the year 2022 is celebrated/observed on Monday, October 31st. What the dead had no speech for, when living, They can tell you, being dead: the communication Of the dead is tongued with fire beyond the language of the living. T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets Be silent in that solitude, Which is not loneliness – for then The spirits of the dead, who stood In life before thee, are again In death around thee, and their will Shall overshadow thee; be still. Edgar Allan Poe If human beings had genuine courage, they’d wear their costumes every day of the year, not just on Halloween. Doug Coupland The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. H P Lovecraft Be wary then; best safety lies in fear. William Shakespeare Treats and tricks. Witch broomsticks. Jack-o-lanterns Lick their lips. Crows and cats. Vampire bats. Capes and fangs And pointed hats. Werewolves howl. Phantoms prowl. Halloween’s Upon us now. Richelle E. Goodrich It’s Halloween, The night we all play, Trick or treat, We won’t go away. Be we ghoul or goblin, ghost, We’ll knock on your door, To see who scares you the most. Anthony T.Hincks Halloween shadows played upon the walls of the houses. In the sky the Halloween moon raced in and out of the clouds. The Halloween wind was blowing, not a blasting of wind but a right-sized swelling, falling, and gushing of wind. It was a lovely and exciting night, exactly the kind of night Halloween should be.” Eleanor Estes The jack-o-lantern follows me with tapered, glowing eyes. His yellow teeth grin evily. His cackle I despise. But I shall have the final laugh when Halloween is through. This pumpkin king I’ll split in half to make a pie for two.” Richelle E. Goodrich There is magic in the night when pumpkins glow by moonlight. Anonymous Shadows of a thousand years rise again unseen. Voices whisper in the trees, “Tonight is Halloween!” Dexter Kozen On Hallows Eve, we witches meet to broil and bubble tasty treats like goblin thumbs with venom dip, crisp bat wings, and fried fingertips. Richelle E. Goodrich Witch and ghost make merry on this last of dear October’s days. Author Unknown

Halloween quotes by English-culture Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Christmas and the others can end up making you sad, because you know you should be happy. But on Halloween you get to become anything that you want to be” Ava Dellaira Halloween is fun, but it wasn't always my favorite holiday. I think Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Tobin Bell Tis now the very witching time of night, When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out Contagion to this world. William Shakespeare When witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers, ‘tis near Halloween. Author Unknown We are born from the star dust, and there we have to come back, under some nice carpets, to enjoy some cheerful Halloween parties! Carl William Brown Clothes make a statement. Costumes tell a story. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Fear has many eyes and can see things underground. Miguel de Cervantes There is nothing that gives more assurance than a mask. Colette On ol' Halloween Night These monsters join the living If they had it their way They'd stay until Thanksgiving. Casey Browning Halloween wraps fear in innocence, As though it were a slightly sour sweet. Let terror, then, be turned into a treat... Nicholas Gordon Halloween isn't the only time for ghosts and ghost stories. In Victorian Britain, spooky winter's tales were part of the Christmas season, often told after dinner, over port or coffee. Michael Dirda Every Halloween for six years, I was a Ninja Turtle, and Mikey was my favorite. The turtles really made me who I am today. They got me into martial arts, meditation, surfing, skateboarding; big time influence on who I am today. Greg Cipes Halloween is bigger than Christmas in America. I've experienced it in New York, Los Angeles and Washington D.C., and if you're in the right neighbourhood, every house is decorated with spooky ghosts, spider webs, and jack-o-lanterns. Rhys Darby

Halloween best quotes ever If ever there was a holiday that deserves to be commercialized, it's Halloween. We haven't taken it away from kids. We've just expanded it so that the kid in adults can enjoy it, too. Cassandra Peterson Where there is no imagination there is no horror. Arthur Conan Doyle People value Halloween, like Valentine's Day, because they can tell themselves that it's not merely secularized but actually secular, which is to say, not Christian, Jewish, Hindu or Muslim. Amity Shlaes This Halloween the most popular mask is the Arnold Schwarzenegger mask. And the best part? With a mouth full of candy you will sound just like him. Conan O'Brien On Halloween, kids get to assume, for one night the outward forms of their innermost dread, and they're also allowed to take candy from strangers - the scariest thing of all. Kate Christensen Charlie Brown is the one person I identify with. C.B. is such a loser. He wasn't even the star of his own Halloween special. Chris Rock Once in a young lifetime one should be allowed to have as much sweetness as one can possibly want and hold. Judith Olney True love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about but few have seen. Author Unknown They that are born on Halloween shall see more than other folk. Saying of unknown origin Proof of our society's decline is that Halloween has become a broad daylight event for many. Robert Kirby

Halloween best quotes and decorations Proof of our society's decline is that Halloween has become a broad daylight event for many. Robert KirbyWhen black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam, May luck be yours on Halloween. Author Unknown When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam, May luck be yours on Halloween. Author Unknown It's said that All Hallows' Eve is one of the nights when the veil between the worlds is thin - and whether you believe in such things or not, those roaming spirits probably believe in you, or at least acknowledge your existence, considering that it used to be their own. Even the air feels different on Halloween, autumn-crisp and bright. Erin Morgenstern Halloween starts earlier and earlier, just like Christmas. Robert Englund I see my face in the mirror and go, 'I'm a Halloween costume? That's what they think of me?' Drew Carey There is nothing funny about Halloween. This sarcastic festival reflects, rather, an infernal demand for revenge by children on the adult world. Jean Baudrillard In Britain, the major public holiday used to be Guy Fawkes Day... that was celebrated on November 5th with things like bonfires and fireworks... I think that made Halloween seem preferable. The idea of having pumpkins and costumes and parties seemed much more appealing than burning down your neighborhood. Lisa Morton In our town, Halloween was terrifying and thrilling, and there was a whiff of homicide. We'd travel by foot in the dark for miles, collecting candy, watching out for adults who seemed too eager to give us treats. Rosecrans Baldwin On Halloween, don't you know back when you were little, your mom tells you don't eat any candy until she checks it? I used to be so tempted to eat my candy on the way to other people's houses. That used to be such a tease. Derrick Rose I'm not a real Halloween kind of guy, because Halloween is every day. Al Jourgensen

Halloween quote by the great poet Poe For about 30 years, Halloween was taken over by pranksters. By the '30s, pranks were causing cities millions of dollars of damage. They considered banning Halloween in many cities, but instead, parents got together and came up with party ideas for kids, and a lot of them involved dressing up and costuming. Lisa Morton There haven't been organized protests, but I have heard of protests where people have wanted to celebrate Halloween. Lisa Morton You look at Cheney, Rumsfeld, Karl Rove, and Bush - if you saw them on Halloween, they wouldn't need a costume. You'd give them a treat and compliment them on what great-looking demons they were. They are demons. There's no doubt about it. Tommy Chong I live in New Orleans part of the year, and it's a really fun eating town. I bought two homes there, one to live in and one as an investment. They love to eat, drink and dress up in costumes. There are so many reasons to dress up - Mardi Gras, Halloween, Southern Decadence. Jennifer Coolidge I hear from many a man around Halloween that's dressed up as Mama for Halloween. It's a great costume. Vicki Lawrence I'm a really big fan of all things macabre in general; Halloween happens to be my favorite holiday. Dove Cameron I love Halloween, trick or treating and decorating the house. And I love Thanksgiving, because of the football and the fall weather. And of course, I love Christmas - that's my favorite of all! Joe Nichols I learned to glitter the pumpkins for Halloween not because I went into it thinking, 'I'm going to glitter some pumpkins!' No. I bought all of these big, cold, slimy, disgusting pumpkins and tried to carve them, and it was gross, so I had to find something else to do with them. Glitter was life-changing. Jen Lancaster I hate Halloween. I hate dressing up. I hate - I wear wigs, makeup, costumes every day. Halloween is like, my least favorite holiday. Amy Poehler My favorite scary movie was always 'Halloween.' I love that there's hidden emotion underneath Michael Myers' psychotic behavior. Plus, he has the best mask, hands-down. Chris Zylka I've never seen 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre', I've never seen 'Halloween', I've never seen any of the 'Friday the 13ths.' Lin Shaye Download the pdf file about Halloween History If you like Halloween you can also read the following articles: Halloween great and famous quotes Halloween or All Hallows’ Eve Halloween quotes and aphorisms Halloween death poems http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ceNe5q9xfI   Read the full article

[simptasia]

May I request buffy for the dashboard osmosis if you haven't seen it? Or if you have then steven universe

i'll do buffy

isabel, i like and respect you. but i hear about buffy a lot on tvtropes (in fact tvtropes started as a buffy fansite??) and almost everything i hear sounds... bad. it sounds like a cringe show. i'm sorry

i haven't seen it at all so thats not fair of me. but. yeah

or maybe the show isn't cringe but the fandom is. or both. hmm

buffy the vampire slayer was a 90s supernatural show made by joss whedon at his peak LOOK IM A FEMINIST fuckery

it stars sarah michelle gellar (who i know primarily as daphne in the live action scooby doo movies, and that bitch from cruel intentions) as buffy summers. and she's The Slayer. slayers are like chosen ones, and its a title thats passed on for i dunno hundreds of years

slayers... slay vampires, i presume

she talks in a specific manner hence the trope Buffy Speak. it's basically like a weird simple talky thingy (that was buffy speak)

one of the characters is willow rosenberg played by allison hannigan. and as a bi activist engrossed with fiction, i have certainly heard of this character. basically, she's the poster child for The 90s Being Weird About Bisexuality. as she was into dudes and then she's into a girl and the show is weird about it and she's Suddenly Lesbian. and like, yes, lesbians discovering themselves after dating dudes is totally a thing but thats not the logic being used here, it's just awkward biphobia. oh yes. i've heard much about willow and tara

tho, willow/tara is a case of Fair For It's Day

seth green played oz, a sardonic werewolf of little words. he was the dude willow was into before her bisexuality activated

david borealis and james marsters are angel and spike, they're two vampires that buffy is super into and i get the vibe that their love triangle is like a Big Thing in this show and/or the fandom. angel is the "good" one, spike is the bad one. i read that buffy and spike raped each other (with the buffy raping spike being played for laughs because life is a fucking nightmare). so that's fucked

angel got his own spin off called angel and one time angel became a muppet in it. i approve

angel is one of those brooding "i can never be good, theres no hope for me" types of vampires. the kinda guy tailored for certain women to be like "ohhh i can fix him" or whatever. it's kinda funny. on the flipside i assume spike is for the "mmm i don't wanna fix him" types

this is before this type of thing was subject to parody

there's some blando guy named xander, i think he's a nerd and meant to be an audience self insert. i've seen ppl say he has nice guy syndrome but i dunno how true that is. dunno who plays him

anthony head plays rupert giles, he's the exposition and mentor dude. makes dry remarks and spouts encouragement, i think

charmed, a show i love, apparently stole buffy's vibes a lot

buffy is the first show where somebody used google as a verb. as in "googled"

theres a musical episode wherein dancer and singer hilton battle Absolutely Fucks. oh and everybody has musical numbers, including one that ends with tara levitating from cunnilingus. this was noteworthy because sapphic characters being sexual was actually rare in mainstream media in the 90s. again, fair for it's day

oh, this is a monster of the week show where some overarching story each season. doug jones made a few appearances

i get the impression that buffy is one of those shows that has good actors and concepts but fucky writing. it happens, i feel you

is buffy a cheerleader or did i imagine that. i might be thinking of heroes (which also suffered from great acting, fucky writing)

anyways thank you for your time

[omarandjohnny]

TEN SONGS!

Tagged by @havocinthebluebox to share ten songs <33333333333

(links and favorite lyrics/lines included)

Raincheck/Tin Star

When the orange is fully wound I still have time to go to ground To go get lost before I get found

Spinning Away/John Cale & Brian Eno

One by one, all the stars appear As the great winds of the planet spiral in Spinning away, like the night sky at Arles In the million insect storm, the constellations form

Fuck You/Dean and the Weenies (deeply satisfying to sing, a longtime favorite)

Why are you talking to me? Please leave immediately Where is your dignity? Please get away from me Why don't you choke on a fashion accessory?

Drop the Pilot/Joan Armatrading

You're kissing cousins, there's no smoke, no flame If you lose that pilot I can fly your plane If you want solid ground, come on and try me Oh I can take you so high that you're never gonna wanna come down, I say

Home/Depeche Mode

The heat and the sickliest sweet-smelling sheets That cling to the backs of my knees and my feet Well, I'm drowning in time to a desperate beat

Little Bird/Annie Lennox

They always said that you knew best but This little bird's fallen out of that nest now I've got a feeling that it might have been blessed so I've just got to put these wings to test

The Flame Still Burns/Strange Fruit (original by Foreigner, but I MUCH prefer this version because Still Crazy is one of the best rock movies ever ;))

I, I want my thoughts to be heard The unspoken words of my wisdom Today, as the light starts to flow Tomorrow who knows who will listen But my life has no language of love No word from above is appearing Oh the time, in time there's a fire that's stoked With a reason of hope and believing

Demolition Man/Grace Jones

I'm a walking nightmare, an arsenal of doom I kill conversation as I walk into the room I'm a three line whip I'm the sort of thing they ban I'm a walking disaster I'm a demolition man

Throw Your Arms Around Me/Doug Anthony All Stars vers. (original by Hunters & Collectors)

And if you disappear out of view You know, I will never say goodbye Though I try to forget it You will make me call your name and I'll shout it to the blue summer sky

Nemesis/Shriekback

But we know pleasure is not that simple Very little fruit is forbidden Sometimes we wobble, sometimes we're strong But you know evil is an exact science Being carefully correctly wrong

And I'm tagging anyone who wants to share ten songs!

[docrotten]

DEATH SHIP (1980) – Episode 267 – Decades of Horror 1980s

“Forty years at sea and you end up being a straight man for a smart-ass comedian.” Good heavens, the Captain is a party pooper. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Crystal Cleveland, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr – as they take a cruise on the Death Ship (1980).

Decades of Horror 1980s Episode 267 – Death Ship (1980)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! Click the alert to get notified of new content! https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

Gruesome Magazine is partnering with the WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL (https://wickedhorrortv.com/), which now includes video episodes of Decades of Horror 1980s and is available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, and its online website across all OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.

A mysterious ghostly freighter rams and sinks a modern-day cruise ship whose survivors climb aboard the freighter and discover that it is a World War II Nazi torture vessel.

Directed by: Alvin Rakoff

Writing Credits: John Robins (screenplay by); (story by) Jack Hill and David P. Lewis

Selected Cast:

George Kennedy as Captain Ashland

Richard Crenna as Trevor Marshall

Nick Mancuso as Nick

Sally Ann Howes as Margaret Marshall

Kate Reid as Sylvia

Victoria Burgoyne as Lori

Jennifer McKinney as Robin Marshall

Danny Higham as Ben Marshall

Saul Rubinek as Jackie

Murray Cruchley as Parsons (as Lee Murray)

Doug Smith as Seaman No. 1

Anthony Sherwood as Seaman No. 2 (as Tony Sherwood)

Andrew Semple as Strangled Sailor (uncredited)

Death Ship (1980) has a great poster and a decent cast (George Kennedy, Richard Crenna, Sally Ann Howes, Nick Mancuso, Victoria Burgoyne, Kate Reid, and Saul Rubinek). Its premise is also promising: A WW2 Nazi torture ghost ship rams and sinks a modern-day cruise ship and wreaks havoc with the nine survivors. To top it off, the film is co-scripted by Jack Hill (Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told; 1967) and  David P. Lewis. The ingredients appear to be a potent combination, but do they combine to create a palatable whole? Of course, the Grue Crew has some thoughts on the matter. Check out their talkabout and discover the Gruesome truth.

At the time of this writing, Death Ship is available to stream from Amazon Prime and Tubi, and is also available on physical media as a Blu-ray formatted disc from Scorpion Releasing. 

Every two weeks, Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1980s podcast will cover another horror film from the 1980s. The next episode’s film, chosen by Crystal, will be Prom Night (1980)! Jamie Lee Curtis stars in her third of five horror films released 1978-1981. Slasher time, everyone!

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans – so leave them a message or comment on the Gruesome Magazine Youtube channel, on the Gruesome Magazine website, or email the Decades of Horror 1980s podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com.

Check out this episode!

[denimbex1986]

'...Coming up on the 25th anniversary of “The Talented Mr. Ripley” later this year, IndieWire asked Damon about that film’s effect on recent titles, with Netflix’s Andrew Scott-led “Ripley” and Emerald Fennell’s “Saltburn,” which was heavily inspired by the 1999 psychological thriller. Matt Damon starred as the titular Tom Ripley.

“I don’t know,” Damon told IndieWire when asked if he would ever return to the Ripley character. “You know, I associate the one that we did so much with Anthony Minghella, who’s passed away now, that I don’t know. I even had trouble watching the new one, as beautiful as it was and as great as everybody was. It was hard at first for me to sink back into it just because I have so many great memories, but they’re all wrapped up in these personal feelings about the experience.”...'