#for context its a story following the lives of 4 queer people at one night in a queer bar in 1950's LA

[chronicowboy]

the marker of my final piece this year has so spectacularly missed the point of my story that i want to fucking scream

[yeoldontknow]

so I watched brief encounter last night because I was curious... I don’t understand what the main character meant by her committing the violence of falling inlove. I don’t think I understand how being in love could be violent- is it because she’s married?

hi anon! ahhhh! im so happy you decided to watch it! and then came to discuss with me pls do you know how delighted that makes me ;^; if youre not used to classic cinema, or even classic melodrama, i can see how the film would be a bit slow or a bit difficult to connect with. so i really appreciate you taking the time to watch and come up with questions for things. when i say this made my day i mean it lmaooo

the quote i believe youre pulling from is this:

I’ve fallen in love. I didn’t think such violent things could happen to ordinary people.

there are several layers to this statement - emotional, moral, political, societal, etc. im happy to break these down contextually so you can have a better understanding of why this statement is painful and, also, why love is an extremely violent experience. going under a cut because...i have this entire masters degree in film and im not using it so im gonna use it here lmao

at its most basic, yes, you are correct. she says love is a violent experience because she is already married. to love, really love, is an act of violence, especially when you are already promised and making a family to another person. there is an element of ruination here that plagues laura, love as a threat to the stability of the home and family. and we can see this when her son is playing in the street and gets into an accident - a completely innocuous event, but one she sees as an omen of her violence against her own family. karma, but at a level that would start a war among her family and community.

in most filmic universes, romantic comedies especially, we are used to the relatively easy expectations that come from learning to love someone - you meet, you flirt, you are both, ideally, free to experience these types of intense emotions, you come together, you separate (due to...any sort of obstacle), you come back together. in this traditional narrative, we are presented with the notion that falling in love happens in a linear fashion and that, once the two characters have ended their arc and achieved their happy ending, there is not much else that occurs. they lived happily ever after, ever after being an indeterminate amount of time in which we are meant to assume they exist within this state, ceaselessly.

in general, there are two types of love stories - tragedies and comedies. where romantic comedies (in the modern sense, and i am stressing modern sense) end with ‘happily ever after,’ the other alternative for lovers is death. you either overcome your initial obstacle, or you perish, in love, where love becomes a death. so where does that leave brief encounter? neither party have been put to death, but the death is of the will, the passion. and, in brief encounter, it is killed by morality. by choice. i will be coming back to this. because passion is an extremely important element of this film, and it carries the narrative from start to finish.

at its core, brief encounter is a melodrama. melodrama has its own sect of film theory, but in this case ill do my best to keep it simple. and its really important to recognize that this film is british - british melodrama are two extremely different experiences and come from two completely different places of expression.

american melodrama, the most broad sense, was a stylistic set of films, usually from the 40s-50s (even some released in the early 60s) which use a lot of the tropes of classic cinematic narrative story telling - but as irony, parody, or pastiche. great examples of these films would be rebel without a cause, mildred pierce, from here to eternity, imitation of life, etc. in all of these films, and again i am paraphrasing because there is so much relating to melodrama as its own theory and practice, there is an onus on emotional expression and sensationalism. the narrative is driven by passionate action, emotional action, and, almost always, the swell of music weve come to recognize in hollywood cinema. music swells with character emotion, thus assisting in informing the audience in how to feel, and so we are ok regardless if these characters are successful in their plight, because we have felt.

british melodrama operates from an entirely different perspective. yes, like their historical theatrical roots, they favor spectacle and avoid realism. and, again, there is a reliance on the music to lead the narrative. however, the focus shifts from the societal body to the familial body; body concrete rather than body politic. culturally, this is a significant change from the usual reserved emotional experience within britain. and that is where brief encounter becomes something extremely important.

brief encounter was released in 1945, in a post-war period when there were significant changes to womens daily and societal lives, and this film really hones in on the causative anxieties that are born from these sudden changes and, yes, sudden notions of emotional liberation from their families - a new found independence. with the context of this film coming off the tails of WWII, in a post-war society in which there is meant to be peace, laura calls the act of falling in love violent which, for an audience member at the time of release, would have immediately associated that element of violence with war time violence. love is a threat. its dangerous. love at this level is repulsive. love is an insurrection - love is a revolution. and it came to her without her permission. she is bereft. she is on the brink of collapse - and ordinary women, the traditional family house wife, is never meant to feel so eager to ruin her family for a sensation that is, inherently, selfish.

so this brings us back to passion. something that comes up quite a lot in brief encounter, most explicitly at the cinema when alec and laura see a trailer for a film called flames of passion (this is a real film btw! and you might be able to watch it - it too is a melodrama. theres also a queer reading within brief encounter, because of the inclusion of flames of passion, but thats for another day). this brings us to the moral question of love as violence. for this, we can turn to hume and his 4 thesis on moral philosophy, the morals that drive humanity. primarily we will look at the following points:

1. reason alone is not enough to motivate the will, but rather is a slave to passion 3. moral distinction is derived from moral sentiment: feelings of approval (praise) and disapproval (shame, blame) through our inter-relations with others, or through the perceptions of others as they perceive us

for hume, the passions are simply emotions, but they are broken down as direct or indirect. desire is a direct emotion and it arises, without thought, from a place of good or evil, pain or pleasure - and it is only after these feelings have arisen that we are able to consider the feeling. by that same token, bodily or carnal appetites, our carnal desires, is another instinct that arises from unknown origin and only is able to be thoughtfully experienced after we have been confronted with it. and that is the most important piece - desire and carnal desire is an instinct. for hume, love, on the other hand, does not directly cause action - because love is not an instinct. love is learned.

in brief encounter, laura is admitting that not only does she thoughtfully love alec - love in a way that would not necessarily cause action, but brings her unparalleled pleasure in comparison to a man who simply helps, but she desires him. desires him enough to take action, to release the shackles of her political body and engage in her carnal body, with an appetite that is almost reductive in theory, aligning her with something base. this pleasure inherently causes her pain, yet still, she craves it - without morality.

and through her perception of those around her - her friends, her acquaintances, her own husband - she distinguishes this moral experience as shameful. but, in that shame, she still does not surrender her carnal body. her apetite is awakened, unable for her to be returned to its normal, thoughtful state. at war, now, with herself and her desires, laura is conflicted and ruined, simply because she learned to love and to desire, a violence an ordinary housewife should never experience.

[rigelmejo]

Well I did start 那些風花雪月 by Gong Zi Huan Xi last night, read 2 chapters, and here are my thoughts so far:

The language is arguably ‘simple’ but there are definitely new words for HSK 4-5 learners. A lot of the new words are arguably useful in daily life, so they might as well be learned. I’m definitely looking up like 1/2 of most sentences right now ;A;

It has become apparent I clearly am not reading a genre I like SO FAR, I could care little to zero about childhood enemies falling in love over the years of childhood to adulthood. The first 2 chapters were about kindergarten to 2nd grade and. I could live without this story. But it was recommended as a good story to build up the skills to eventually read GZHX’s other works, and priests works, so I will tough through it. ESPECIALLY since its only 20 chapters. I can finish this within a month, and probably within a week if I do a few chapters a day. Because its a new author and totally new material (I have no background context on the story), its taking me 30-40ish minutes to get through a chapter. But that should slim down to 15-20 minutes once I’m used to the author. (It generally takes me an average of 15-30 minutes to get through chinese webnovel chapters with a dictionary). I think some people may really enjoy this story though - I can say the writing is a nice style, and the characters don’t feel cardboard (although since i’m only in chapter 2 they still sound quite generic to me... which is partially the fact i just started, and partially probably due to the simple style, so details will come through later in actions instead of description nuances earlier on like it does in priest novels)

It was a LIE that this author doesn’t use chengyu much LOL. I looked up at least 10-20 chengyu a chapter, and only a few were the kind that are pretty self explanatory to me. a LOT more than ttwtadsl, and a lot more than TamendeGushi. Not sure if as many as Priest - but to be fair, in priest novels, the sheer volume of specific description words requires a higher vocabulary to follow without a dictionary, regardless of if there are chengyu. I would hope though, since this was a recced novel, that learning these chengyu will be beneficial - as in they’re common enough, I’m bound to run into them in other novel hopefully. 

I was spoiled ROTTEN with TamendeGushi being my first webnovel I read in chinese. The writing was exceptionally easy, all new vocab was generally applicable and broadly useful to most any genre or conversation, there was very little chengyu except truly SUPER common ones and ones that have a self explanatory meaning, and the author purposely managed to sculpt a MOOD with the way things were written even though everything used simple language. Most important - that story literally starts on a rebirth scene, where the character is like “i committed suicide? WHY am i here again???’ and then the first chapters lead up to WHY they did what they did, and how conflicted they feel about being reborn with the knowledge of what happened later. And also the way its presented makes it clear the narrator has self worth issues, and also views quite level headedly that no one is the villain of this story - things just didn’t work out, got messy. All of that REALLY pulls a reader in, I think. The first scene guarantees this is about to be a do-over story with that one ‘magic’ element to it, and the rest grounds everything in the mundane reality and in emotions that anyone queer or who’s loved someone who left them is bound to find something to relate viscerally to. It also immediately guarantees, since its a rebirth story, that while the end of the first life is sad, we have no idea if the second time around will be more hopeful - but the main character has a chance. 

So the Tamendegushi intro hooks, then the next chapters build up and answer questions it gave us. Then we return to the intro scene about 1/3 into the novel, now left with totally new questions of WHAT is gonna happen different this time/WHAT will the character do now that they’re trying to avoid the misery of last time? It is a very engaging way to tell a story, and its not completely static (it goes from present, to past, to present again, so you feel the variety). And its written in simple enough language, that even though the writing can convey tone of emotion and jump time periods/lives, its quite easy to follow with a dictionary. In comparison...  那些風花雪月 starts out the same way the SECOND chapter of tamendegushi starts, and there’s no promise of any magical device like a second chance at this life. It starts just very traditionally of young kids who are enemies who grow to be fond as they grow up. While that’s all fine and good (and possibly easier for a beginner reader), I love when I read stuff that’s doing multiple different genres or playing with a few things (like slice of life with One magical element, or a xianxia but subverted, sci fi that also adds very fantastical campy elements, procedural grounded gritty piece with sci fi elements, etc). So for me this very start at the beginning of their lives approach is... not capturing my attention lol.

Basically: the shock of adjusting to a new reader means I am definitely back to looking things up galore. I definitely think of everything I’ve read recently, ttwtadsl is the most attention-grabbing and the short chapters make it easy to read through. I do however, think this novel  那些風花雪月 is better preparation for learning words likely common at least in modern novels (because ttwtadsl is VERY sparse on descriptive paragraphs, and so it does not provide much practice or vocabulary acquisition in that area). I am unfortunately back to spending 30-40 minutes on one chapter instead of 4 lol. But even though this is taking as long as the Pingxie fanfic HanShe for me? The fanfic hanshe HANDS DOWN had more difficult vocabulary, so I think overall it was more of a struggle. That said, hanshe’s writing definitely ‘suited’ my kind of novel reading more - the way of writing was more similar to priest, the language was sentences i found easy to grasp grammar wise, and there were few chengyu except used in ways extremely self explanatory to figure out. However,  那些風花雪月 uses chengyu so often i am struggling to follow most sentences clearly. I’m having major issues following the grammar of sentences in  那些風花雪月 even though i don’t think they’re too hard as far as i can tell? I think I’m just not used to reading ‘this style’ of writing. So its giving me a bit of trouble. though that will hopefully improve uvu.

I may post my october goals met post soon, since october is almost over. It was a less productive month, but i did get some stuff done!

[migleefulmoments]

"No one will ever convince me he made that statement, and if you listen to his ACTUAL words about that, he didn’t say he wouldn’t take any more LGBTQ roles." Darren literally said that the gay community would have his head if he took another gay role but somehow to tinhats like Cassie, that means the next role he takes will be a gay character. I guess Darren meant that he knows the gay community will try to murder him, but he has faith in his ability to avoid their attempts. They're such freaks.

When they make grandiose and sweeping statements like this, I feel the full weight of the disinformation campaign they all embrace. Cassie claims “When you listen to his actual words…he didn’t say he wouldn’t take any more LGBTQ roles” so we have to see if she’s telling the truth or she’s manipulating reality in order to soothe their anxiety and allow them to easily fetishize the gay version of Darren. 

What did Darren say? (You can read the entire Bustle piece (X))

“There are certain [queer] roles that I’ll see that are just wonderful,“ Criss explains when we speak at a recent event for Clorox’s What Comes Next in New York, a few days after he returned from an overseas tour with his Glee co-star Lea Michele. ”But I want to make sure I won’t be another straight boy taking a gay man’s role.“Although Criss says it’s “been a real joy” playing queer characters like Blaine, Cunanan, and Hedwig in the Broadway musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, he now doesn’t feel comfortable taking those roles, which is “unfortunate,” he says. “The reason I say that is because getting to play those characters is inherently a wonderful dramatic experience,” he adds. “It has made for very, very compelling and interesting people.”

One of the reasons they claim they don’t think Darren said the words is because they claim that print interviews are fake: 

12/18/18  ajw720 answered: 

I would like to see a video as well, nonnie, as I don’t actually think he said any of this shit. Print articles are never, ever to be trusted. They are generally fabricated.  

If you recall nonnie, D himself called out an article earlier this year (it may even be the one referred to in this piece of crap) for taking a quote of his out of context about his Filipino Heritage, likely as he was sick of being called white repeatedly.  Fact is, while he is able to correct the “white” narrative, he, at this time, is not able to correct the straight narrative so he can’t even defend himself when this utter nonsense is published in his name.

First of all print articles aren’t generally fabricated and most CAN be trusted if you vet them properly. Claiming  “ALL print articles are fabricated”- and therefore not to be trusted is a perfect cctrope because it gives them the out they need to label everything they don’t like-every single quote, every single story, and every single description as fake news. It’s the perfect strategy for ignoring everything Darren talks about that proves he isn’t Blarren- all the puns and sexual innuendos, all the crude comments, all the sweet things he says about Mia or his sexuality. All they have to do is remind their followers that it was in a print article and Woosh- it’s invalid. Trump is doing the same thing with his base-he’s grooming them to believe that the media is dangerous and that everyone fabricates stories about him. He calls them “the enemy of the people” so when the. NYT proves he laundered money for years through the Russian mafia or that he actively cheated during the 2016 election and is trying to cheat in 2020, his base will scream “fake news” and threaten to go all 2nd amendment on the rest of us.  

Once again Abby uses something to prove her point but misses the fact that it actually proves she’s full of shit- Darren did push back on the interview where he was misquoted regarding his Filipino heritage but he hasn’t pushed back on any other interview he’s ever given. We can see he’s capable of pushing back, he’s interested in making sure he is quoted accurately and yet we’ve seen no other example- the reasonable conclusion is that is because the other interviews weren’t misquoted.    

e Bustle piece and understand that he said he will no longer play LGBTQ characters. It’s clear that Darren has a far deeper understanding of the issue than Cassie and Abby.  Splitting hairs and claiming he didn’t specifically say he would never play a bisexual or trans character is stupid. What Cassie and Abby are missing in the article is this paragraph:

This conversation about straight actors being cast in gay roles is about more than just LGBTQ actors losing out on Oscars, of course. It’s about Hollywood missing an opportunity to embrace new talent who would better serve these stories. And over the years, actors like Criss have become more sensitive to these types of concerns. The Versase star understands that there is an added honesty to actor getting to play characters who share their identities. “The commitment to that drama is told in such a way that it can really effectively reach people’s lives,” Criss says. “I think that really is important.”

Abby gets her wish- there is an audio recording of him making this statement-albeit it was 4 months prior to the Bustle interview and he seems to have evolved his understanding of the importance of representation in those 4 months. In the Hollywood Reporter interview he said:  

“….But I do think about that now, you know, if roles come by that are LGBT leaning - I really think it would be insensitive to the gay community if I were to take another role. I think they’d have my head. You know, I would totally understand that. So I’m certainly cognizant of it. And while it is very tricky, I think the discussion and the questioning is really really important. And I think it’s good that we’re uncertain and I hope that we can find some kind of balance.” -Darren Criss, 8/26/18 

I am an idiot and can’t remember how I got the audio portion of the interview on to my blog so I have to refer you to my old post if you want to hear Darren say the words (X). 

I think you are correct- Darren is well aware the gay community will kill him but he doesn’t care because he has superpowers. 

EDIT** I found this charming comment from Chrisdare who is a “journalist” yet she knows nothing about journalism. I got in an argument with her once and she schooled me that journalists aren’t educated.and will say anything a publicist tells them too.  Whatever, Valentina,  Google should be your friend.     

Anonymous asked: It wouldn’t matter if you saw a video because you wouldn’t believe it anyway. You would say he was being forced to say it. Fact is CCers haven’t believed a thing

ajw720 answered:I believe many things nonnie. I also have a deep and fundamental understanding about hollywood works nonnie and that is something you clearly lack.

Further, if D was straight, i believe he would never allow them to portray him as an asshole.  D is an incredibly intelligent human being, he knows exactly how negatively the straight push reflects on him. and frankly, it would not be necessary if he exclusively slept with female persons with vaginas.

Have a nice life living in delusionville.    

chrisdarebashfulsmiles JCS shut the f** up. 

When we talk about articles and how they are made we talk about facts. I hate when you come here busting balls on professional stuff when you don’t know anything. You can’t even imagine all the shit we do as journalist

It’s not a matter of cc but the fact they are ruining D’s life and career. And if you are a fan you need to start opening your eyes and stop being an enabler. I swear you should feel guilty when he will come out because you helped keeping him in the closet.

Talk about dellusionville! 

**********Edit Edit *******(X)

chrisdarebashfulsmiles  Because there’s a power of attorney that allows RR and Ab to do so. To say something D has to prove that the article is harmful and he has to do it through a legal action. And this means breach of contract with all it entails like the two years of stop from signing an anything.

That IS NOT how “power of attorney” works.  But nice try- 10 points for originality and imagination! 

***Edit Edit Edit *********

Anonymous asked: An article you should read to help you understand how journalism works .tinyurl/com/y9s49tms. German Reporter At Der Spiegel Fired for Fabricating Stories “On A Grand Scale”. “I’m so angry, horrified, shocked, stunned,” Der Spiegel deputy foreign editor Mathieu von Rohr tweeted Wednesday. “Claas Relotius faked, he cheated on us all.” Journalists can’t just make up stories or publish falsities no matter how much you want to believe that is happening in Hollywood.

chrisdarebashfulsmiles answered: It’s amazing how is crystal clear that you never worked in a magazine or in a PR firm. I work since 2004 and I don’t need an article… I know how it works. We aren’t talking about WSJ and serious stuff. We are talking about gossip and showbusiness so don’t try to be smug because you are failing.

Have nice day/ night wherever you are. :) it’s evening here and I’m enjoying my free time.

bjpb8 Oh, my gosh who is this person. People thrive on gossip and “Rags”. IT SELLS. First begain with papers like En/quire, The Globe, etc. Then spread to SM with blinds. You think other magazines and papers do not want to make money. Everyone prints what sells depending on audiences. Embellishment is part of the trade. They want to catch your interest, which feeds right into what PR wants to sell! Tts a sybiotic relationship at best! It is just some are more talented at making what sounds like truth out of lies. Its called entertainment. You might want ro “read” about it.

The author of the Bustle interview has a master’s degree in journalism from CUNY New York so it is more like the wall street journal than it is the “website” you work for Valentina. Journalists have a degree in journalism.  Anyone can be a blogger - you’ve proved that. 

****Edit Edit Edit Edit *******

D/arren did not write that post! (X) 

12/19/18

ajw720 I have enough faith in Dar/ren Cri/ss personality and his respect and love for his fans to know that the comments attributed to him were not his.  I’ve seem this happen before…I’m sure many of you have, also.  Darr/en is stuck between a rock and a hard place right now.  When he finally writes a memoir about this time, he will let us know about his anquish, anger and remorse.  If one is a TRUE CC and Dar/ren fan, after years of roller-coaster rides via PR, et al…I will continue to take the advice of the person that runse THIS SITE.  “Trust the process…”

***********************************************************************

@geminess We have to trust the process and believe that C and D are working hard towards an ending to this absolute tragedy that is legally clean and does not jeopardize either of their careers.  

I believe in them, I cannot accept that D would ever willingly choose to represent himself in this manner and to continue this nightmare of a charade surrounded by utterly and completely vile, disgusting human beings.

Please, please, please may we be right.  I cannot repeat enough there is no alternative ending that is acceptable but D breaking free by ending this sham of an encage, severing ties with his inhumane team, and eventually coming out.  

And yesterday proved once again just how frightening the alternative is.  I would fear for his career and his life.  And it baffles and amazes me that anyone watching, even if you believe he is the straightest man alive, cannot see how harmful that article was.  It was like he used the LGBT+ community to win his awards and is now ready to dismiss them.

(X) 12/19/18

Anonymous asked: On the bright side, this means we’re coming to the end right?

ajw720 answered: Anon, we honestly don’t know, but we can only hope. If D extends his time with these assholes, it will be very ugly for him personally and professionally.

But logic seems to say that this article, the literally offends every fan but the blind and naive, is wholly unnecessary if in fact they are going to continue a professional relationships. And it did not just the fans, think about how many award voters they offended yesterday with that utter piece of crap.

Absolutely and utterly unreal. Hard to believe they are able to get away with working against their client at every turn.

Logic? One thing the cc fandom has proven in the last 10 years is that they do not understand or care about logic. 

12/24/18 (X)

ajw720 It’s interesting how there are such varying opinions on the “straight boy” article. And I think it comes down to 2 questions:

1. Do you believe D is a willing participant in his closeting?

2. Do you believe he actually said what the article alleges?

My answer to both is a resounding no (though he will be forced to validate the comments) and I have good reason to think this. But I certainly see why ones perspective is different if you answer one or both as yes.

This being said, no matter your answers to the above, I don’t see how it can be justified that he would dismiss b/laine in such a manner. And the timing, because I still think it makes him look like an ass and /or a coward as awards are voted for playing queer. And to repeat, I don’t think he should play queer again until his team is dismissed, so I’m not disagreeing with the premise, just the manner it was done, which again, I believe was without his consent.

Not posting to start a fight. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. I clearly am not afraid to state mine, which is very reasoned and based on a lot of information I’ve collected.

Just interesting that some very intelligent people, all of whom believe he’s closeted, can vary so much in what they believe.

[banquishedtotheglasshill]

Beltane Films

It’s a bit shit we can’t go frolic with the fae in the fields this Beltane and your one allocated government walk a day isn’t exactly the same as sitting, saturated by the sun all day on the Heath getting melted and eating strawberries. So I’ve made a list of my favourite films to help magically transform our inside lives into one that suitably reflects the mood of a fertility and love festival. Freya forbid it rains on friday but if it does dampen our witchy festivities at least we can get cosy and escape into nature through our imagination. 

1. Practical Magic (1998); 90s dreamy scene scape, botanical witches, cute vintage dresses, midnight margaritas, chocolate cake for breakfast and a true love story, is there anything more worth watching on the Witches valentines? It ends on Samhain it’s a perfect witchy Beltane extravaganza- I mean that greenhouse tho

https://ww2.123movie.cc/movies/practical-magic/

2. The Love Witch (2016)

Beltane is about LOVE and WITCHES duh. There’s a Beltane ritual, the visuals are everything I want and need, it’s a smart, aesthetically appealing deep dive into the subversion of the male gaze. Anna Biller made all the costumes (!!) herself, she wrote, directed, produced it and personally I believe it to be one of the best horror flicks to have emerged in the past decade. Reminisce on all those terrible, tragic and non-consentual love spells I know you cast long long ago and indulge in some glamourous murder. 

https://ww7.123moviesfree.sc/mov/the-love-witch-2016/

3. Tuck Everlasting (2002)

   A film about a family that lives forever after drinking some magical spring water in the woods? Very Beltane. It has that 00s dreamy sheen, edwardian costume, a love story, a coming of age story and it’s all set in New England right at the end of the turn of the last century. In the original story our protagonist Winnie Foster was 10 years old and it was originally written as a children’s book which honestly is a bit creepy. Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful story about finding yourself, acknowledging the wheel of time and appreciating life death life cycles. Also whatshername from Gilmore Girls is in it. Cute. Perfect for a spring festival. There’s also a musical that flopped massively but some of the songs are worth a lil listen. 

https://www.putlockers.cr/movie/tuck-everlasting-4736.html

3. FairyTale: A True Story (1997)

It’s Beltane we must have fairies! I was obsessed with this film as a child, particularly with the teeny tiny furniture they make for the fairy dolls house. I also spent a lot of time trying to untie myself from ropes like Houdini.This is the fictional retelling of the true story of the Cottingley girls who were caught up in the popular mysticism craze in the early 1900s and accidentally became celebrities after photographing the ‘fairies’ at the bottom of the garden. The story was a national sensation but after further investigation it was discovered that the photos had in fact been faked. No shit. The truly shocking thing is that the Cottingley girls seem to have escaped unharmed by the fae. It’s a great heartwarming film and features an interesting depiction of the British obsession with fairies and mysticism following rapid industrialisation. It also celebrates the beauty of Yorkshire and the British countryside in a very understated manner and honestly it might have been this film that launched my deep desire to run away into some woods and never look back. 

https://ww2.123movie.cc/movies/fairytale-a-true-story

4. The Last Leprechaun (1998) 

Ok this one is a bit mad. Another childhood favourite of mine, this film was given to me on a tape by my Scorpio Sun Gemini Moon Scottish grandad and within that context this film makes a lot of sense to me. It’s set in Ireland, this American family move into this huge house and discover the land is populated by the fae, quel surprise. There are banshees, there are fairies in a mine, there’s leprechauns looking for gold, it’s batshit and nowhere near as visually appealing as the films listed above but it’s a really fun watch. A good reminder at this time of year- don’t mess with the little people. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFd63gzYamw

5. Globe Theatre productions/ Online Theatre

This time of year would normally herald the start of outdoor concerts, festivals, garden parties and theatre out in the open air. Nothing compares to the magic of experiencing theatre outdoors, combining my two favourite lasting loves, theatre and nature in one. Naturally I’m devastated to be missing an entire season of outdoor theatre but thankfully the Globe has made loads of productions available online for FREE. Unfortunately, one of my favourite plays to watch at this time of year, As You Like It, is not part of the Globe’s free offerings https://globeplayer.tv/videos/as-you-like-it but if you’re looking for love and romance set in a forest with a good smattering of witty repartee and cross dressing look no further. Shakespeare’s birth and death day just passed us by (23rd) and if you haven’t yet celebrated this Taurean by indulging in a bit o cultchah I’m gently suggesting that you’d enjoy it. Equally, I’d recommend Emma Rice’s production of Midsummer Night’s Dream from the Globe, it’s literally the best production I’ve ever seen and at this point I’ve likely seen over 20 different productions of Dream so take me up on it. The cabaret artist Meow Meow plays Titania and I can’t think of anyone playing the Fairy Queen better.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p08b015k/culture-in-quarantine-shakespeare-a-midsummer-nights-dream

FREE ON BBC IPLAYER!!!

The customs in the play are somewhat a mixture of Beltane and Litha practices so tbh it’s good sabbat to sabbat. I guess you could also watch the Tempest if you really wanted but I kind of hate it ngl. 

Angela Carter’s ‘Wise Children’, dir. Emma Rice

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0892kf6/wise-children

Free on BBC iPlayer, I was lucky enough to see this show in person while it was at the Old Vic and yes, I’m a massive Emma Rice fan and if you watch it you’ll understand why. The show has nothing to do with the fae or Beltane but it is from modern myth maker Angela Carter (who wrote the Bloody Chamber) so there’s lots of folklore and mythical elements woven in. It’s just a bloody good time, it’s colourful, queer and musical whilst unconventionally exploring family trauma. 

A Winter’s Tale, Royal Ballet

The Royal Opera House/Royal Ballet is screening their production of A Winter’s Tale on Friday at 7pm, it’s very magical, it’ll be available for a week, wahey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-byR-6p-qA

6. Anne with an E: Season 3, Episode 5, Netflix

https://www.netflix.com/watch/81025449?trackId=13752289&tctx=0%2C4%2Cf5cee1ae-463c-468c-90ac-6ccae34b01ad-31458487%2C%2C

 I wasn’t too keen on Anne of Green Gables before Netflix made it dark and hashtag real. I particularly love this episode which features a Beltane ritual at the end, I know I wish I could meet you all round a bonfire waving ribbon wands in my nightgown. The last season in particular really solidifies Anne as symbolic of wild woman in tune with nature and the rhythms of her own soul and I could probably deep dive into this ad infinitum. 

Skip to 40:14 minutes if you wish to only see the ritual. 

7. Honorable mentions:

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) because fairies 

https://www4.123movies.gr/movie/pans-labyrinth-2006/

Midsommar (2019) because although I know this film is really more for Litha, they have a Maypole so I think we can make it work

Far from the Madding Crowd ( 2015) Carey mulligan and countryside and terrible life decisions, the soundtrack is also very soothing on its own. You can watch it free (legally, shocker) on the BBC website. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfilms/film/far_from_the_madding_crowd

Tess of the D’urbervilles (2008) the TV series!! with Gemma Arteton (?) as Tess; pastoral life, nature pagan goddess allusions and a finale at Stonehenge very Beltane. Once you get past all the religion stuff Hardy’s aight. 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2739yo

Happy Beltane Witches!!! 

[wanderingwomanwondering]

So I wrote a long ass letter to SYFY/NBC re The Magicians. Here it is...

Greetings!

I am writing to share my concerns in the wake of season four of The Magicians on SYFY. I watched seasons one and two on Netflix two years ago and became an avid fan at that time. Naturally, I dove into season three live when it aired and season four as well. From my perspective as a Black queer person living with mental illness, the show has had a host of common problems with its plotting and character development as it relates to marginalized and underrepresented identities from the very beginning. However, in my mind, those problems were mitigated by the humorous storytelling and the seemingly sincere attempt to represent real people who often do not see themselves reflected in popular TV characters.

Evidently, my trust in the The Magicians showrunners - Sera Gamble, John McNamara and Henry Alonso Myers - was misplaced. All of my hopes for a dynamic and honest portrayal of the lives and challenges faced by queer people and people living with mental illness were shattered on April 17, 2019 when the thirteenth episode of season four, entitled The Seam/No Better to Be Safe Than Sorry, aired on SYFY. In this letter, I hope to communicate a meaningful measure of my despair and explain exactly why I was so profoundly impacted but the heinous and imprudent end that Quentin Coldwater met in that controversial episode.

In this television adaptation of Lev Grossman’s The Magicians trilogy, viewers are introduced to Quentin Coldwater, an awkward, queer, anxious and “depressed super nerd” who is struggling to find happiness and meaning in his life. As a fan of the fictional Fillory and Further novels, Quentin finds wonder and escape as a child that carries into his adulthood. In addition, he finds the will to keep living through his connection to the fantastical land of Fillory, which helps him navigate his suicidal depression. These aspects of Quentin’s lived experience are canon, clearly stated and/or demonstrated by the on-screen narrative.

Quentin is immediately and deeply relatable to the very group of people that flock to The Magicians and television programs like it. We are Quentin Coldwater in real life! His story is our story. Honestly, it feels odd to say that as a queer person of color in America with a mental illness, but it is true. Even when I was at odds with aspects of Quentin’s behavior, thoughts, or feelings, there were others that I felt reflected important parts of who I am. Just as Quentin is not “just some White guy”, I am not “just some Black person”. Quentin and I are both queer and we are both mentally ill. Those shared identities mean just as much as the ones that we do not have in common.

This is the crux of intersectionality. What it means for Quentin to be White is influenced and shaped by his identity as a man, both being shaped and influenced by his identities as a queer person and as a person living with mental illness. Quentin must be constructed and understood as a complex and nuanced concert of identities shaping and informing one another. The privileges that he possesses as a White man are mitigated by the marginalization and oppression that he is subjected to as a queer person living with anxiety and suicidal depression. Gins (greywash) does a wonderful job of examining Quentin’s intersecting identities in her article on Medium which you may access here.

The marginalization and oppression of queer communities and people living with mental illness cannot be disrespected, minimized, or erased from the real life socio-cultural and political context in which the fictional world of The Magicians is situated, nor can that larger context be extricated from Quentin’s characterization and narrative without said vulnerable communities noticing and speaking out against it. Simply put, if SYFY channel and the showrunners of The Magicians wish to include marginalized and vulnerable communities in the stories that you tell, then you must be careful and conscientious in how you depict those characters and their associated real life communities, because, as the refrain of the decade goes: “Representation Matters”.

The plotting and character development in The Magicians has real consequences for how queer people and people living with mental illness feel about ourselves and whether or not we feel seen and heard by the larger society of which we are a part. When The Magicians identified Quentin on screen with real life queer people and with real life people living with suicidal depression, that creative choice came with ethical responsibilities that the showrunners violated rapidly and unapologetically. What happened throughout season 4 - culminating in episode 13 - endangered, invalidated, and not so subtly erased identities that Quentin possesses, identities that were incredibly salient to many real life people who relied on The Magicians through Quentin to portray their story respectfully and faithfully. The ethical considerations in this situation do not evaporate with flowery statements about creative vision, good intentions, and entertainment value.

The Magicians showrunners plotted Quentin’s death by suicide under the guise of so-called heroism in the finale. In order to accomplish this, they spent the entirety of the season bludgeoning his mental health to create “ambiguity” (Hollywood Reporter interview) around the suicidal aspect of Quentin’s death. In a nutshell, writers killed his father, isolated him from his friends, traumatized him through the Monster’s killing sprees and through Alice’s unwanted (until episode 12) romantic advances, and maniacally exploded the protected and protective fantasy of Fillory. On top of all of this, in the fifth episode of the season, the showrunners elevated from subtext and canonically confirmed Quentin’s queer identity and introduced a real chance for him and Eliot to explore their complex and nuanced relationship within a romantic context. The showrunners then immediately returned Quentin and Eliot’s relationship to the realm of subtext and denied Quentin permission to achieve catharsis around this plot point, instead disrespectfully and irresponsibly using it and the aforementioned problems as fodder for the canon suicide plot.

If you wish to understand a fuller measure of the devastating effect that this has had on real life people who identify with Quentin as a queer character fighting suicidal depression, spend a few hours searching #QuentinDeservedBetter #PeopleLikeMe and #Queliot on Tumblr and Twitter. The finale did shock queer fans and those living with mental illness, but it did not do so in a constructive way that affirmed our experiences or our right to exist beyond entertainment for people who see us as “other”.

Ironically, in their attempt to down cast Quentin’s privileged identities as a White man (Hollywood Reporter interview), the showrunners accomplished the exact opposite; they trampled over his marginalized identities, seeking “beautiful tragedy” in the finale. Many people have no problem extracting their Wednesday night entertainment from the blood and tears of marginalized and vulnerable queer and mentally ill “others”. This is evident in the social media posts hailing season 4 as a triumph. Privileged fans have this in common with the showrunners whose own privilege is embarrassingly obvious to marginalized people, but sadly flies below the radar of the showrunners’ own awareness.

It is 2019. Our culture and society can no longer afford to have television programming that is ignorant of the larger social and cultural context in which it exists. We cannot afford to have networks, showrunners, and writers who do not understand the complexity and nuance of intersectionality, power and privilege. We cannot abide television shows that naively miss or maliciously ignore their ethical responsibility when telling the stories of marginalized and vulnerable people; please do not attempt to tell our stories if you cannot or will not tell those stories ethically and responsibly. However, I really do believe that with professional consultation, fan focus groups, and thoughtful determination in plot and character development, SyFy channel and The Magicians can continue Quentin Coldwater’s story respectfully and ethically.

As network executives, showrunners, and writers, you are aware of the power of story. In many ways, television is the contemporary campfire around which humans huddle to transmit the stories that establish and reinforce collectively who we are and who we hope to become. The stories that we tell on television and in other media have had and always will have power for this reason. The beauty of the stories that emerge in the science fiction and fantasy genres in particular is that we not only endeavor to see ourselves as we truly are, but we then endeavor to “imagine greater” as the SYFY slogan aptly phrases it. The Magicians, in the beginning, implied that it was ready and willing to do this and to center at least two marginalized and vulnerable communities in the process: queer people and people living with mental illness. It is my sincere hope that The Magicians showrunners and others involved in the creative process will examine themselves honestly and critically using feedback from fans and others with a stake in the stories being told and imagine greater.

All of the above considered, the way forward from my perspective would include the following:

Please issue a thoughtful apology that considers those of us living on the margins of society.

Please continue Quentin Coldwater’s story, with or without Jason Ralph. If, in fact, Mr. Ralph does not wish to return to The Magicians, there are other talented actors capable of breathing life into Quentin Coldwater. The characters live in a magical world where literally any explanation could account for a new actor portraying this much beloved and sorely needed character.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Me

*i tried to fix the formatting issues here in Tumblr to no avail. The email was cleaner than this format-wise.

[spellofhelterskelter]

RuPaul’s Drag Race Analysis

Overview

RuPaul’s Drag Race is an American reality competition TV show where the contestants compete to be named “America’s Next Drag Superstar” and earn a cash price of US$100,000 and a cosmetic supply sponsored by some major makeup brand like Anastasia Beverly Hills. It is hosted by RuPaul Charles, a famous American Drag Queen and fashion icon, and it counts with the participation of countless celebrity guest judges. The show was released on 2009 and launches a new season every year. This February the season 12 will be premiered. The contestants are mainly American, but the main requirement is just to be living in American, so in these years many non-American Queens coming from Australia, England, Puerto Rico, Panama, South Korea, amongst others, have competed for the title. The contestants are basically all male but in its 11 past seasons, the show has counted with the participation of some transgender women that still compete as Drag Queens.

Format

The show has a much defined format, where every episode starts with a mini challenge followed by a main challenge and it closes with a runway presentation. At the end of the episode, the contestants with the lowest performance are selected and they must make a lipsync competition to earn the right of remain in the competition until there is only 3 or 4 contestants left, who will move to the grand final and the winner is announced in a live show held in a theater. At the beginning of the season, the challenges tend to be group challenges, but as the competition moves forward and the Queens are eliminated, the challenges tend to become individual or pair challenges. RuPaul himself is the main judge and its present in every episode, along with Michelle Visage as a permanent judge and it usually have 2 celebrity guest judges that goes from TV show actors to big Hollywood personalities.

Queer Community

Since its release and due to the notoriety that the show has earned with the time, the show has become a world symbol for the queer community. This has happened not only because of the change of the Drag Queens image, that went from being only associated to night clubs and comedy to the runway of mayor couture brands, but also because RuPaul Drag Race has been treating the contemporary problems associated to the LGBTQ community since the very first episode. From supporting charities to speaking up for transgender rights, the contestants and RuPaul himself has made a mayor impact when it comes to these issues. Since the show became very popular, is not uncommon to see characters related to it in the Pride season all over the world and taking over social media to speak about issues like gay marriage and sexual discrimination. The show has also served as an inspiration for queer people all over the world to make front to their personal issues related to their sexuality and its even known that it has helped the same participants to overcome past disagreements in their families, since it puts a strong emphasis in the acceptance and the concept of family in the queer community, and also in the problems of bullying or generalized discrimination against the LGBTQ community.

Impact

The impact that this show has had on the world is not limited to the queer community. After RuPaul Drag Race’s first episode and with the popularity boom that the show has experienced over the years, Drag itself and Drag performers’ image started to change. Since it was an open TV show (currently it can be seen on VH1 and Netflix), the art of Drag came out of Night Clubs and became more approachable as the reality behind it and the life of the ones involved are shown naturally as part of the episodes, so the audience can know the reality behind something that they used to see only on the stage. The “behind the scenes” of the Drag scene was exposed in a massive way for the first time, so it was not just the performer what we were seeing on the screen, but we also had a look at the person behind the mask, and that even became relatable for people with a similar lifestyle. The popularity of the show has grown to such a level that it had to stop being exclusive of America and in 2019 was premiered the first season of RuPaul Drag Race UK, also featuring RuPaul himself and Michelle Visage as main judges but with british contestants and guest judges. Although not necessarily from RuPaul’s hand, other Drag shows also came up after Drag Race, like Drag Race Thailand, Queen of Drags (Germany), La más draga (México), The Switch (Chile), amongst others. Even in these international versions of the competition, it is common to see former Drag Race alumni as guest judges or even contestants. Not only the show itself brought Drag closer to the masses, but the creation of the Drag Con on 2015 (a massive event with a format like the famous Comic Con but with Drag as a main theme) also helped to take Drag out of the closed sphere were it used to be to put it in a weekend-long event where families and even kids can assist and get to know a little bit closer what it means to be a Drag Queen. With discussion panels, runway shows, sales booths and meet & greet with the different contestants, the popularity of the Drag Con has already reach a level where the event is held in different cities at least twice a year. This month was also held the first Drag Con UK after the huge success that the british version of Drag Race had last year after its first season. Hollywood has also recognized Drag Race as something big. The show has won several Emmy awards and different recognitions for its visual and reality-TV quality, including the award of best reality TV show host given to RuPaul. On the other hand, Drag Queens became usual characters in big Hollywood productions, like the case of the movie “A Star is Born” featuring Lady Gaga. The Fashion World has also expressed its interest as it became more and more usual to see the contestants attending famous designer’s shows, being the stars of Fashion Week and even walking in important runways and appearing in ads for mayor brands like Prada, but the ultimate success in the Fashion World happened on 2019, when for the very first time Drag Queens walked on the red carpet at the Met Gala sponsored by brands like Nyx cosmetics and Moschino. Drag Race has even reached the beauty world as the collaboration with established brands or the launch of original cosmetics collections by the participants became a reality, and now is even possible to find a perfume inspired and co-created by Season 7 winner, Violet Chachki. The popularity of the show comes mainly from its groundbreaking character; is the first time that something like this is done. If well it’s true that Drag had appeared in pop culture before, like in the documentary Paris is Burning or under the hand of Divine, a famous Drag Queen, Drag Race was able to reach a whole new level by opening the Drag art to the rest of the world and presenting it in a way that turned out entertaining a pleasantry to watch. Also, since we are talking about a reality show, each contestant can tell his story freely, which ads a layer of authenticity and makes the program more relatable. It is also entertaining and visually appealing, as the show focus a lot on visual aspects, glamour and beauty, since Drag is truly and art, and Drag Race honors it as such. But is not only the visuals of the show what put it in the top, but the fact that it deals with issues related to the LGBTQ community in such a direct and straightforward way is what made it attractive for the target audience, people inside the community and the so called “allies”.

Analysis

There are 3 main points that are worth to talk about when it comes to Drag Race. The first one is gender, which turns out to be the most and the less important thing. The most important because is the most obvious topic related to Drag Queens since Drag is all about the gender fluency, and the less important because it doesn't really matter; when it comes to drag, the lines separating the masculine and the feminine are completely gone. Drag tells you that regardless of the gender you were born with, you can express yourself like you want without considering the social constructions and the labels that has been put into certain things, like makeup and heels being taken like something exclusively feminine. The second element is clothing. Drag is all about visuals, and clothes say a lot about how you want to present yourself. If you want to be a fashion queen, a conceptual queen or a comedy queen, the first thing to pay attention is the outfit. Especially in the show, the runway outfits will always be part of the evaluation and many challenges are about creating customes that fit into a theme, so the show pays special attention to the details on how the queens look. The third element is the role of TV. When it comes to reality TV shows, entertainment and drama are the first, but Drag Race goes beyond that. As it was mentioned before, the issues related to the LGBTQ community are a mayor thing that is constantly being mentioned and discussed in the show. Whether from the point of view and personal experience of the participants, the way of thinking and historical context provided by RuPaul himself or even the activism that happens off screen, problems like equal rights or the discrimination against queer community are never left out and educating the audience about them is something that always seems to be on RuPaul's mind ("educating the children" is a phrase that can often be heard), so when it comes to Drag Race, entertainment is always there, but TV also takes an active educational role on a certain issue that has a mayor importance on the show.

[lifejustgotawkward]

My Favorite Albums of 2017

10. TLC, TLC

Standout Tracks: “Way Back” (feat. Snoop Dogg), “Perfect Girls,” “Start a Fire,” “American Gold,” “Scandalous,” “Joy Ride”

From the moment TLC’s self-titled, fifth and final album kicks off with the vibrant opener “No Introduction,” a contradictory yet inspiring reminder of this R&B girl group’s indomitable spirit, I knew that I was in a for a good time. I’m so glad that Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas returned to the studio for a follow-up to 3D, which came out shortly after Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes’ death in 2002. T-Boz and Chilli bring elements of R&B, pop and funk to TLC, infusing many tracks with a 90s-throwback vibe that never feels dated. Lead single “Way Back" is the album’s best example of that particular style, but I love the atmospheres created by acoustic guitar on the empowerment anthem “Perfect Girls” and on the sultry ballad “Start a Fire,” as well as the social commentary of “American Gold,” the braggadocio of “Scandalous” and the retro groove of album closer “Joy Ride.” I can’t tell you how encouraging it is to know that T-Boz and Chilli are still crazy, sexy and cool enough to put together an album this enjoyable from start to finish.

9. Feist, Pleasure

Standout Tracks: “Pleasure,” “Any Party,” “A Man Is Not His Song,” “Century” (feat. Jarvis Cocker), “Baby Be Simple,” “I’m Not Running Away“

Feist’s Pleasure is a slow-burner. Like the title track, the album as a whole takes a while to warm up, but after a while I found that the melodies had stuck with me and didn’t leave. Without question the best song on the album is “Century,” an uptempo masterwork of songwriting, performance and production; many of the album’s highlights have relaxed paces, though, and it’s hard to argue against the loveliness of “A Man Is Not His Song” (which has my favorite lines from Pleasure: “A man is not his song/And I’m not a story/But I wanna sing along/If he's singing it for me”), “Baby Be Simple” (which, dare I say it, begins to feel magical at the 4:39 mark) and “I’m Not Running Away.”

8. Marika Hackman, I’m Not Your Man

Standout Tracks: “Boyfriend,” “Gina’s World,” “My Lover Cindy,” “Apple Tree,” “So Long,” “Eastbound Train”

The rock influences of the 1990s are all over English singer-songwriter’s Marika Hackman’s second full-length album. This is a good thing, like how opening track/lead single “Boyfriend” recalls Radiohead’s “My Iron Lung” and how “Gina’s World” contains echoes of Nirvana. And for my money, “My Lover Cindy” is probably the #1 song of the year; with a dark sense of humor and sunny guitar licks, it’s an ideal pop-rock jewel that will lodge in your brain and never leave.

I love that Hackman’s songs wittily observe the highs and lows of queer identity while maintaining a universality that every music fan can appreciate. With I’m Not Your Man, Hackman has shot to the top of my list of the most talented women in indie rock right now, alongside Angel Olsen and Courtney Barnett.

7. Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie (aka Buckingham/McVie)

Standout Tracks: "In My World,” “Red Sun,” “Lay Down for Free,” “Game of Pretend,” “On with the Show,” “Carnival Begin”

It may be uncool or corny to admit it, but I love the recent album by Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie. Few critics feel the same way, but what can I say? I’m a sucker for a well-crafted tune. Buckingham/McVie, as they are often credited, have been in this business for half a century, so it’s safe to say that they know a thing or two about how to make memorable music. Whether you’re a fan of the duo from back in their peak Fleetwood Mac days or you’re a younger listener who just wants to savor some great earworms, you can’t go wrong with the infectious melodies of “In My World” and “On with the Show” and the slower, more sensual motion of “Carnival Begin.”

6. Texas, Jump on Board

Standout Tracks: “It Was Up to You,” “Tell That Girl,” “Sending a Message,” “Great Romances,” “Won’t Let You Down,” “Round the World”

Like the Buckingham/McVie album, Jump on Board by Scottish band Texas was labeled mediocre by most music critics. But I knew that Texas’s tenth studio album (their debut, Southside, came out in 1989) would be fun before I even heard it; I’ve been a fan for years, ever since I heard a charming BBC Radio interview with lead singer Sharleen Spiteri - isn’t that a fantastic name for a rock band frontwoman? - and the radio show’s host played the wonderful Texas song “Detroit City.” I became an immediate devotee of the group and have adored their work ever since. Jump on Board’s “Tell That Girl” has a similarly 80s-ish aura, but the sound branches out on “Won’t Let You Down,” which evokes classic Pretenders ballads; “Great Romances” (my personal favorite), which borrows its beat from the Angels’ “My Boyfriend’s Back”; the shimmering rhythms of “It Was Up to You” (like updated disco, reminiscent of Roxy Music and solo Bryan Ferry); and the smoldering rockabilly voodoo of “Sending a Message.”

P.S. Last year, Sharleen Spiteri wrote a really nice piece for The Guardian about Harry Dean Stanton, whose film Paris, Texas sparked her band’s name. If you haven’t read it, please do.

5. Father John Misty, Pure Comedy

Standout Tracks: “Pure Comedy,” “Total Entertainment Forever,” “Ballad of the Dying Man,” “When the God of Love Returns There’ll Be Hell to Pay,” “The Memo,” “So I’m Growing Old on Magic Mountain“

Full disclosure: I don’t know much about Father John Misty, outside of some essays and reviews I’ve read over the years. I’m not familiar with his catalog prior to Pure Comedy, although I keep telling myself that I’ll listen to Fear Fun and I Love You, Honeybear, in addition to his releases under the “J. Tillman” name, at some point. As a newbie who approached his Pure Comedy album from what I hope is a fairly fresh perspective, I must say I’m impressed. I know that his music is polarizing and engenders a lot of “masterpiece”/”overrated hack” arguments, but I like when that happens with artists; it makes me think that they’re doing something right to inspire such extreme views.

The lyrics on this album are superior to just about everything else that has been released this year and I could easily put a spotlight on nearly every song, although “Total Entertainment Forever” - the first track I heard prior to the album’s release - is the one that will probably stay with me the longest, capturing our freaky zeitgeist with insight, morbid humor and a little snazzy saxophone. There’s no way to top the sheer audacity of its opening lines: “Bedding Taylor Swift/Every night inside the Oculus Rift/After mister and the missus finish dinner and the dishes/And now the future's definition is so much higher than it was last year/It's like the images have all become real/And someone's living my life for me out in the mirror...” Truly a songwriter for these bizarre, unbelievable times.

4. Lana Del Rey, Lust for Life

Standout Tracks: “Lust for Life” (feat. The Weeknd), “Cherry,” “When the World Was at War We Kept Dancing,” “Tomorrow Never Came” (feat. Sean Ono Lennon), “Change,” “Get Free”

Lust for Life is the first Lana Del Rey album that I have loved from beginning to end. I wasn’t enamored of the opening track, “Love,” when I first heard it last year, but hearing it in the context of the entire album has given me a renewed admiration for the lushly produced songscapes that Del Rey creates. You really fall into a different world when you listen to her music.

“Lust for Life” is yet another 2017 song to reference “My Boyfriend’s Back” (as well as having “do-do-do-dos” similar to Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side”), while the lyrics of “Cherry” allude to the classic duet “Summer Wine” by two of Del Rey’s heroes, Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood. “Beautiful People Beautiful Problems” and “Tomorrow Never Came” are collaborations with Stevie Nicks and Sean Ono Lennon, respectively, while the uplifting album closer “Get Free” cites Neil Young (”out of the black... into the blue”) and the chord progression of Radiohead’s “Creep” (Lana’s not alone; Angel Olsen kind of did that too on her single “Fly on Your Wall,” although the bigger similarity is with Crowded House’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over”). But my absolute favorite track on Lust for Life is “Change,” a haunting statement about realizing the abilities we all have to learn, grow and improve our world that pays homage to Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” along the way.

3. Blondie, Pollinator

Standout Tracks: “Doom or Destiny” (feat. Joan Jett), “Long Time,” “Fun,” “My Monster,” “Too Much,” “Fragments”

If there is any truth we can rely on in this weird world of ours, it’s that Blondie can always deliver top-quality records. Pollinator, the renowned band’s eleventh album since 1976 (they were on hiatus during 1982-1997), has the same glorious New Wave/pop-punk dynamism that Debbie Harry and company have gifted us with for these past forty years. They worked with some excellent collaborators this time around, featuring Joan Jett on the chorus of “Doom or Destiny” (which has a terrific, politically charged music video), as well as the lyrical contributions of Blood Orange (aka Dev Hynes) on “Long Time” and Johnny Marr on “My Monster,” plus a cover of “Fragments” by An Unkindness (Adam Johnston). Chris Stein is still a legend on the guitar and Clem Burke - in my most humble of opinions - continues to be one of the best rock drummers on the planet, worthy of going toe to toe with anyone half (or even a third) his age. Extra special mention goes to the Greg Cohen Spirit of 79 remix of “Fun,” which is even better than the version on the album.

2. Harry Styles, Harry Styles

Standout Tracks: “Meet Me in the Hallway,” “Sign of the Times,” “Carolina,” “Only Angel,” “Ever Since New York,” “Woman”

I was never a serious follower of the ultra-successful boy band One Direction, but you can put me down as a fan of “What Makes You Beautiful,” “One Thing” and “Temporary Fix.” Those are three genuinely delightful songs. So I looked forward to what Harry Styles had to offer as an individual performer, interested in what, uh, styles (sorry) he would display on his first solo effort. Luckily, his self-titled debut turned out to be an entertaining achievement, filled with the exuberance and sincerity of a man eager to forge his own path in the music industry. I knew as soon as the album’s first song, “Meet Me in the Hallway,” began that this was not going to be a typical millennial endeavor, and I remained impressed throughout the next nine tracks. I applaud young Mr. Styles’ high levels of ambition.

Worldwide hit “Sign of the Times” has timeless appeal, while “Only Angel” and “Kiwi” burst with brazen vigor, “Woman” is a soulful jam and the love songs “Two Ghosts,” “Sweet Creature” and the Badfinger-inspired “Ever Since New York” are more quietly impactful. Styles shows further maturity on the album closer, “From the Dining Table,” perhaps not lyrically but certainly from an artistic POV. If I have to pick one favorite cut from the album above all, though, I might have to go with “Carolina,” Styles’ most exuberant ode to his muses from the 70s. (I especially love the la-la-las in the background vocals.) Does Harry Styles want to be David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Marc Bolan and Pete Ham, all at the same time? Yeah, probably. But it works for me.

1. Slowdive, Slowdive

Standout Tracks: “Star Roving,” “Don’t Know Why,” “Sugar for the Pill,” “Everyone Knows,” “No Longer Making Time,” “Falling Ashes”

In the early 90s, Slowdive was a pioneering band in the shoegaze subgenre of indie rock, lending the dreamy vocals and guitar sounds of Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead to the albums Just for a Day (1991) and Souvlaki (1993), in addition to the more experimental textures of Pygmalion (1995). (Some favorites of mine from this era include "Spanish Air," "Brighter" and "When the Sun Hits.") The group - which I gather was pretty underrated in their early years, never popular with mainstream listeners and disliked by music critics - disbanded shortly after the critical and commercial failures of that third album, but Slowdive’s triumphant reunion in 2014 led to their latest, self-titled release. And it’s incredible.

Slowdive is only eight tracks long, but each one shines in a unique way. “Slomo” is a perfect opener, slowly unfolding with a classic Slowdive ambience. The feeling endures as the album progresses, especially beautifully in “Don’t Know Why,” which melts my ears into heavenly bliss and is definitely one of my top five favorite songs of the year, and in the final track, “Falling Ashes,” an eight-minute epic propelled by an insistent piano hook. You could listen to any of Slowdive’s recordings, though, and be dazed by the constant splendor. More than any other album in 2017, Slowdive fused past, present and future to shape a collection that glows with both alt-rock imagination and delicate, poignant finesse.

HONORABLE MENTIONS (alphabetical)

Charlotte Gainsbourg, Rest (”Lying with You,” “Kate,” “Deadly Valentine,” “I’m a Lie,” “Les Oxalis”)

Valerie June, The Order of Time (”Shakedown,” “If And,” “Man Done Wrong,” “Just in Time,” “Slip Slide on By”)

Angel Olsen, Phases [B-sides, rarities, covers and new recordings] (”Fly on Your Wall,” “Special,” “Sweet Dreams,” “For You,” “How Many Disasters”)

Phoenix, Ti Amo (”J-Boy,” ”Ti Amo,” “Goodbye Soleil,” “Fleur de Lys,” “Role Model”)

Ride, Weather Diaries (”Lannoy Point,” “Charm Assault,” “All I Want,” “Home Is a Feeling,” “Cali”)

Alexandra Savior, Belladonna of Sadness (”Audeline,” “Cupid,” “’Til You’re Mine,” “Vanishing Point,” “Mystery Girl”)

[newyorktheater]

“Moulin Rouge The Musical” is opening on Broadway this month, and both comedian Dave Chappelle and singer Barry Manilow will have “Broadway residencies,” which is a pretentious way of describing the spate of concert or stand-up gigs at the Lunt-Fontanne that run for as little as two days and no more than several weeks.

Moulin Rouge

from The Rolling Stone

Dave Chappell

Joe Iconis

Marga Gomez in Hot Festival

Off Broadway, Third Rail Project (Then She Fell) presents their latest immersive theater project.) and Luis Alfaro (Oedipus El Rey) returns with another update of a Greek tragedy. Kate del Castillo performs in a solo show, and Annie Golden stars in a musical by Joe Iconis.

Since it’s summer time, there are also the summer theater festivals such as the New York Musical Festival (where Iconis is presenting a concert of his songs), and such FREE theatrical concerts as the weekly Broadway in Bryant Park

The shows described below are organized chronologically by opening night, except the festivals and the “Broadway residencies,” which are presented by their first day.  Each title is linked to a relevant website for more information

Color key: Broadway: Red. Off Broadway: Purple, blue or black. Off Off Broadway: Green.Theater festival: Orange. Puppetry: Brown. Immersive: Magenta.

July 2

Rock of Ages (New World Stages)

Tenth anniversary re-production this jukebox musical of 1980s rock anthems that tells the story of a small-town girl, a city boy, and a rock ‘n’ roll romance on the Sunset Strip

Hot Festival (Dixon Place)

Billed as the longest-running LGBTQ festival in the world, this month-long celebration of queer culture featuring 48 shows begins tonight with a FREE sampling of festivals offerings

  July 5

Crushing Baby Animals

Two artists full of self-doubt decide as a last-ditch effort to adapt Dante’s Inferno,  bringing audiences along “on an uncharted adventure through parallel dimensions and personal hells.”

July 8

New York Musical Festival

This year’s festival runs July 8 to August 4, and features ten full productions, including Till, a musical telling the true story of Mamie Till and her son Emmett, a black teenager who in 1955 was murdered  for looking at a white girl. There are also 11 staged readings and nine concerts, including one by Be More Chill’s Joe Iconis.

July 9

Dave Chappelle Live on Broadway (Lunt-Fontanne)

  July 10

Corkscrew Festival

In its third year, the festival will present eight productions and four (free) staged readings by “early-career artists” from July 10th to August 3rd. Up first: “Mad” (one of the free staged readings):  young gay black man struggles to find the balance in which he can safely be himself, so he cooks up an autobiographical theatrical production in his mind

July 11

The Bacchae (CTH at Marcus Garvey Park)

A new 70-minute adaptation of Euripides’ tragedy by Theater of War’s Bryan Doerries (Antigone in Ferguson) performed FREE by Classical Theatre of Harlem in the Richard Rodgers Amphitheatre in Marcus Garvey Park

Synopsis: “Dionysus, the god of wine, prophecy, religious ecstasy, and fertility, returns to his birthplace in Thebes in order to clear his mother’s name and to punish the insolent city state for refusing to allow people to worship him.”

July 12

No One Is Forgotten  (Rattlestick)

In this new pay by Winter Miller, Lali and Beng are held captive.

Rent Party (Drama of Works at The Tank)

Drama of Works’ toy theater reproduces a Harlem block from the 1920s, where a party is taking place to collect contributions towards a neighbor’s rent.

July 14

I Wan Jan: Puppetry from Taiwan (Flushing Town Hall)

  July 15

The Rolling Stone (Lincoln Center’s Mitzi Newhouse)

In this family drama by Chris Urch, two Ugandan brothers at odds – one a gay man in a secret relationship, and the other a church pastor.

The Evil Plays: Short New Play Festival (Red Bull at Lucille Lortel)

Eight new plays, one night only

July 17

Mojada (Public Theater)

Playwright Luis Alfaro and director Chay Yew (the team that brought us a modern version of Oedipus,Oedipus El Rey) do it again with this modern version of Medea, following a young Mexican mother who gives up everything to bring her son to America, only to find America demands even more

July 18

I Spy A Spy (Theatre at St. Clements)

In this musical comedy set in Hell’s Kitchen, an undocumented Mexican delivery man and a woman who’s a Russian spy both have an American dream

The Way She Spoke (Minetta Lane)

Kate del Castillo portrays an actress in this play by Isaac Gomez who enters a theater, picks up a script, and begins to read a disturbing account of the murder of thousands of women in Juarez, Mexico.

Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow (MCC)

Halley Feiffer’s contemporary reimagining of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters,” we follow the joys and heartbreaks of one lovably dysfunctional family over the course of several pivotal years.

The Privilege of Escape

“Referencing escape rooms—immersive environments where groups solve a series of hands-on puzzles against the clock—this project distills the complexity of privilege by placing it in context of a thrilling game. Upon arrival, attendees find themselves cast as subjects in a study conducted by a cutting-edge institute. In the experiment, groups will race against the clock to solve a series of interactive, sculptural puzzles designed by the artist that resemble popular board games.”

  July 19

Summer Shorts  Series A (59e59)

Three short plays, by Courtney Baron, Nick Payne, and Danielle Trzcinski

July 23

  Broadway Bounty Hunter (Greenwich House Theater)

Annie Golden stars in this comic musical from “Be More Chill” writer Joe Iconis as a down-on-her-luck actress who become a real-life, Kung Fu-fighting bounty hunter.

  July 24

Midsummer A Banquet (Cafe Fae)

From Third Rail Projects (creators of “Then She Fell“) and Food of Love (“Shake and Bake: Love’s Labour’s Lost,”) comes this 360-degree environmental staging of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” complete with tasting menu.

  July 25

Moulin Rouge The Musical (Al Hirschfeld)

Aaron Tveit and Karen Oliva star in this adaptation of the 2001 movie by Baz Luhrmann as Christian, an ambitious, lovesick writer, Christian, and Satine, a dazzling chanteuse.

July 26

Summer Shorts Series B (59e59)

Three short plays by Nancy Bleemer, Neil Labute, and Sharr White.

Manilow Broadway

July 29

Hannah Senesh (folksbiene at MJH)

An English-language play with music an song written and directed by David Schechter, based on the diaries and poems of a heroic young woman who risked her life to save European Jews from the Holocaust. At the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

July 31

Rinse, Repeat (Signature)

A play by Domenica Feraud about a woman’s fight for her life in the face of an eating disorder.

July 2019 New York Theater Openings "Moulin Rouge The Musical" is opening on Broadway this month, and both comedian Dave Chappelle and singer Barry Manilow will have "Broadway residencies," which is a pretentious way of describing the spate of concert or stand-up gigs at the Lunt-Fontanne that run for as little as two days and no more than several weeks.

[robinsoncenter]

[Qsc_asuw] SPRING! Newsletter Week 10

Welcome to Week 10!      <3 

Alchemy Poetry Series      Return with Anastacia Renee      (Tuesday, June 4, 2019) 7 PM - 11      PM @ Wa      Na Wari      911 24th ave, Seattle, Washington 98122       Join us at Wa Na Wari for our return installment of the series on      Tuesday, June 4, 2019 featuring Anastacia Reneè            $5 Admission / ALL AGES     

Anastacia-Renee           is a multi-genre writer, educator, and interdisciplinary artist. She           is the current Seattle Civic Poet and author of six books.     

Alchemy is a curated performance art space that elevates      voices that are often silenced. Performers in our community focus on the      brilliance of storytelling by offering personal stories and reflections      that are socially relevant. We are powerful artists and our space allows      our audience to witness the craft at its highest form. We believe that      art is a divine power to create community.            Every first, third and sometimes fifth Tuesday of the month at 7pm, we      call on two featured performers and a showcase mic at Wa Na Wari.            ACCESSIBILITY      INFORMATION:      

One           flight of stairs to the first floor. 

      The           restroom is up another flight of stairs, on the second floor.

      Street           parking is available.

      There           are couches and folding chairs inside the venue.

      It           is near bus lines 3, 48 and 8.

      Please           email us at alchemypoetryseattle [at] gmail [dot] com with any           questions or concerns.

Healing Embroidery      (Thursday, June      6 2019) 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM @ Columbia      City Church of Hope      3818 S Angeline St, Seattle, Washington 98118            Want to learn a new, creative approach to self-care? Join the NW Network      for a completely free, all supplies included, 3-hour embroidery workshop      in which we will:     

Learn           more about the NW Network’s services for LGBTQ+ survivors and other           community supports

      Discuss           how embroidery and fiber art has been used by queer and marginalized           communities to express grief, solidarity, and resistance           ** Brainstorm ideas for a self-care toolbox including easy-to-start           creative projects

      Learn           basic stitches, pattern creation techniques, and project ideas

      Meet           new crafting friends and maybe start a queer sewing circle     

No creative experience, skills,      knowledge, or tools required. All materials will be provided and      participants take home a starter set and a how-to zine to continue      projects at home.            This workshop is open to:     

LGBTQIA           folks and our loved ones who pre-register on Eventbrite. Given the           limited quantity of supplies, this is important to ensure that           everyone has materials to work with. If you can’t make it, please           call or email to cancel so we can give your space and supplies to           someone else. If registration fills up, contact Peter to get on the           waitlist: peter@nwnetwork.org           206-568-7777 

• What food will be available?      We will provide snacks. You’re welcome to bring food into the space if      you’re unable to eat beforehand.            • What supplies will be provided? Can I bring some of my own?      Each participant will get one hoop (5”), 1 needle, a seam ripper, 3      colors of floss (thread), a disappearing ink marker, two squares of      canvas, and a pattern- either a premade one or one you create.      Participants will also get a how-to zine. You can take all the above home      after. If you have some embroidery supplies already that you want to      bring, that’s cool, too.

The           space is down a steep ramp with hand and guard rails that lead to           flat landing. While there are no steps to the Community Engagement           Space, we have a hard time describing this as a wheelchair           accessible space because of this ramp. Our staff is glad to problem           solve around access to this space and we are actively seeking other           alternatives that are truly accessible. 

      Interpreters           are available and happily provided free of cost. Please let us know           ASAP if you need an interpreter, since we will need to book them in           advance. 

• Entry doorway is 6 feet wide,      double doors, with no center bar      • Bathrooms are all gender with single and multi-stall bathrooms.      • Please let us know if you have any allergies, food or animal related.      • We ask that folks come to the series with low-to-no scents to keep      everyone welcome and present during the workshop. Space is low fragrance      but not fragrance free. To lessen the effects of chemical exposure on our      community members please come as fragrance free as possible. For more      information on why we ask this, check out the following links:      https://www.brownstargirl.org/blog/fragrance-free-femme-of-colour-realness-draft-15      https://eastbaymeditation.org/resources/fragrance-free-at-ebmc/            Other questions, needs, comments, concerns? Contact Peter! peter@nwnetwork.org      206-568-7777

Queer Me Out - 50 Years      from Stonewall in Seattle      (Thursday, June      6, 2019) 5 PM - 7 PM @ W      Seattle Great Room - 2nd Floor      1112 4th Ave, Seattle, Washington 98101

Up-close           with the movers, shakers & boundary breakers who are pushing the           LGBTQ+ movement forward. Join us at W Seattle for a Queer Me Out           event, followed by Q&A for our amazing panelists, and drinks and           a DJ in the Living Room. This is an Official PrideFest event and           complimentary to the public (but register for a guaranteed seat)!     

***This is a complimentary public      event but please buy a ticket so we can have an accurate head count of      seats. Registered ticket owners will be let in first and if there is      additional room, anyone without a ticket will be let in.            RUN OF SHOW      5PM-5:45PM - Doors Open + Cocktail Hour      5:45PM-6:30PM - Panel Discussion      6:30-6:45PM - Q&A      6:45PM - Network, Cocktails and DJ in the Living Room            LED BY: EGAN ORION  

Egan           Orion is the founder of Seattle PrideFest and a longtime fixture in           the Capitol Hill LGBTQ community. He has been producing PrideFest at           Seattle Center for 12 years now and PrideFest Capitol Hill for 5           years. He also is director of the Broadway Business Improvement Area           and Executive Director of the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce. He’s           also running for Seattle City Council District 3. In his free time,           he writes novels, climbs mountains, and goes on long walks with his yellow           lab, Oke. 

PANELISTS      CANDIS CAYNE

Candis           Cayne is an American actress and performance artist. Known in the           NYC nightclub scene since the 1990s, Cayne came to national           attention in 2007 for portraying transgender mistress Carmelita on           ABC’s prime time drama Dirty Sexy Money. The role makes Cayne the           first transgender actress to play a recurring transgender character           in prime-time television.    

ARSON NICKI     

Arson           Nicki is Seattle's preeminent aggressively transgressive drag           artist. They produce, host, and perform at Rapture at the Timbre           Room every second Saturday, as well as at Fresh at 18th & Union:           An Arts Space every quarter. Arson has showcased their work at the           Seattle Art Museum, The Factory, Mokedo, project205 (Portland, OR),           and performed in clubs and bars up and down the West Coast. Their           work focuses on pushing drag's creative boundaries, presenting queer           performance in unconventional contexts and spaces, and expanding           underserved populations' access to drag.     

SARAH TOCE   

Sarah           Toce is an award-winning journalist Sarah Toce was honored with the           2017 Community Builder Award by Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. In           2017, she was recognized as one of the most powerful journalists by           Curve magazine. She was also the recipient of the distinguished 2016           LGBT Leadership Award from the Washington Diversity Council.   

MONSERATT PADILLA  

Monserrat           Padilla is the coordinator of the Washington Immigrant Solidarity           Network, a powerful statewide coalition of over 150 organizations           that are building the defense line to protect our immigrant and           refugee community. She was a co-founder of the Washington Dream           Coalition and has led national & statewide campaigns. Monserrat           has been organizing LGBTQ, immigrant and communities of color on the           ground for over 10 years to build collective movement power.   

TONY RADOVICH     

Tony           Radovich - Tony Radovich is a queer, activist, elder, Radical Faerie           and mentor who has been living with HIV for over 30 years. As a           community organizer he has helped to shape the communities we live           in, always carrying forward the power and legacy of direct action           and leadership. He has been a champion of peer-based recovery           support services for over a decade; always meeting people where they           are at with dignity and respect. These days he helps to organize           low- and no-income Washingtonians with VOCAL-WA (Voices of Community           Activists and Leaders) a community-based organization made up of           former and active drug users, homeless, and those affected by           HIV/AIDS or Hep C, or impacted by the failed war on drugs and mass           incarceration. "As older activists, our role now is to walk           alongside young leaders, not to disappear and leave them to           it." Jane Shepherd

PAUL BLAKES (KALUHA ICE)     

Born           and raised in Seattle, it took Paul Blakes coming out twice to fully           find his footing in the early 1990s when he became friends with a           group of gay men who thought him about drag, gay life, cruising, the           family you choose, bad decisions, AIDS, and love. As with every drag           queen, Paul’s queen career began at Neighbours on Halloween night           October 1990 as Kahlua Ice. With the help of some amazing drag           queens to help show him the way, Kahlua became the co-host to           Neighbours lip sync nights and eventually hosted for over 10 years.           During that time our community was constantly in a fight against           HIV, AIDS, Homophobia, fights for gay marriage and equal rights,           along with so many other threats. Paul says that “what would appear           to be the worst of times were also the best of times, because we           were in the fight for our lives together.” Throughout his career as           Kahlua Ice, Paul became Miss Gay Seattle 28, along with a member of           the Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle and the Olympic and Rainier           Empire where he was able to raise money and awareness for homeless           gay youth, aids research, gay marriage/equality and any of the           multiple issues that where plaguing the community in the PNW but all           around the country. Kahlua Ice was also the 1st runner up to Lafamme           Magnifique International, as well as Miss Gay Vancouver 121/2, Half           Empress of Bellingham, La Femme Magnifique of Seattle and the           creator of the Mr., Miss and Ms. NEIGHBOURS pageant. After a while,           Paul decided to move away from Kahlua, and did a rotation with the           national tour of Sound of Music, as Supervisor of hair and makeup           until he was diagnosed with end stage renal failure. After many           humbling experiences and countless surgeries later, Paul is grateful           for what he has been through because he wouldn’t be where his is           today as a licensed hairdresser working at a high-end salon and spa           in Seattle.

Queer Art      Party!      (Friday, June 7,      2019) 6 PM - 9PM @ Friday Afternoon      4228 Stone Way N, Seattle, Washington 98103

In           celebration of Pride Month, we at Friday Afternoon Tea are excited           to host our first ever Queer Art Party! View the art of local talent           Laura Cameron and create your own fabulous work of art to take home.     

This is a family-friendly event and      all art supplies will be provided.

Transgender &      Gender Diverse Support & Social Group @ U.T.O.P.I.A Seattle       205 E. Meeker St. Kent, Washington 98032     

[trans]           ACTION is           a support/social group for sex workers that is held every first           Wednesday of every month. It is an opportunity that provides sex           workers a safe space to engage in topical discussions relating to           their life and/or work. This gathering is open to transgender and           gender diverse sex workers with current or past experience in the           sex trade. 

Upcoming Dates :      

Wed           June 12 (6-8pm)    

Discussions include topics such as:            

*Safety           and self- care

      *Decriminalization           and Destigmatization of sex work

      *Know           your rights training

      *Legal           assistance

      *Employment           & housing 

      [trans]           ACTION promotes and values confidentiality regarding interactions           within the group.

ACCESSIBILITY      INFORMATION:    

The           undisclosed location has ample parking, all-gender and           ADA-accessible restroom. Come and build community with us! For more           information please email Ara-lei at ara@utopiaseattle.org.

Queer Art Walk      (Thursday, June      13, 2019) 5 PM - 9 PM @ Capitol      Hill (Seattle)      500 E Pike St, Capitol Hill (Seattle) 98102, 98112, 98122

A           partnership between PrideFest and the Capitol Hill Art Walk, June's           show features queer artists at various venues around Capitol Hill           (usually numbering 15-20 altogether). An easy, gentle June stroll           through some of the best art the queer community has to offer.     

Poster design by Angelita Martinez and Nikoli Shaver

Let’s Talk is a free      program that connects UW students with support from experienced      counselors from the Counseling Center and Hall Health Center without an      appointment. Counselors hold drop-in hours      at four sites on campus:            

Mondays, 2-4 PM, Odegaard Library Room 222

      Tuesdays, 2-4 PM, Ethnic Cultural Center Room 306

      Wednesdays, 2-4 PM, Q Center (HUB 315)

      Thursdays, 2-4 PM, Mary Gates Hall Room 134E     

Let’s Talk offers      informal consultation – it is not a substitute for regular therapy,      counseling, or psychiatric care.      To      learn more, visit letstalk.washington.edu.            The HUB’s front entrance is wheelchair accessible and the common area is      to the right of the main desk.      An all-genders restroom can be found at the 3rd floor, down the hallway      from the Q Center. Gender binary bathrooms with multiple stalls can be      found on each floor of the HUB.      The HUB IS not kept scent-free but we ask that you do not wear      scented/fragranced products (e.g. perfume, hair products) or essential      oils to/in the Q Center in order to make the space accessible to those      with chemical injury or multiple chemical sensitivity. 

Thank you for being a part of our community <3       We are so glad that you are here, and we are so glad to get to know      you!       Have questions about the QSC? Just want to get involved? Find our office      hours online at hours.asuw.org.      To hear more from the QSC be sure to like us on facebook, and follow us on twitter & instagram to stay up to date with      all queer and trans related happenings on campus and in Seattle!             With love,       Mehria, Outreach & Engagement Intern. 

Find Out More

[butchstolemysweetroll]

Tagged by @saxrohmerwon ages ago on my brief other blog and just noticed it, thanks bruh ily <3

Rules:  Always post the rules, answer the questions given to you, then write 10 questions of your own, and tag some friends!

1. Favorite city (or town/small island/et cetera) in the world and why?

I guess it’d be Avalon. I basically spent every summer of my life there with family and it’s really small (only seven miles long) so you wind up going to the same few ice cream places or antique stores or pizza shops all the time but you never really get bored of it. The whole place has a quiet, old-timey shore town nostalgia to it too that’s super sweet. And like some of my all time favorite memories were staying on the beach until sunset when the lifeguards were gone so we could swim wherever we wanted, or climbing on the outfall pipe and walking to see how far out I was brave enough to go (it got “higher” ((read: the sand started to disappear)) the further out over the water you went), or walking on the beach at night. That was my favorite part, the nighttime. It’s weird how quiet but how alive everything got after dark, and I could hunt for ghost crabs or watch fireworks and the lights from town on the water, and the sand never bothered me as much when it was cool from the dark.

2. Describe your favorite scent/s.

Autumn, if that counts as a smell. But the combined scent of really brisk air and smoky burning leaves and fresh damp ones and hay and I guess plant life generally decaying, but in a sweet way? I also like flower smells obviously, and food smells, but those are boring to talk about. Gasoline, the specific kind of fake (cotton) paper money is printed on. Coffee. I’ve learned to kind of like the smell of cigarettes on clothes, because my boyfriend smokes and I like waking up in the sweater I wore the night before with that smell still on it. People have smells too. Like my mom smells like perfume even when she isn’t wearing any, and it’s nice. And babies smell rad and trigger ALL of my maternal impulses (cannot wait to reproduce, it’s gonna be gr8). And the boy smells really nice... Not even in like a what-deodorant-are-you-wearing kind of way but like skin and sweat and waking up warm in a cold house on Wednesday mornings. And when he comes home from work smelling like fresh cut grass and wet dirt it’s v nice.

3. Who is/was your favorite teacher and why?

My Romantic Lit professor currently, because he teaches exactly what I want to teach and I have a career crush on him. He’s also just super excitable and enthusiastic (let’s talk about that WEIRD weekend in Geneva the Shelleys took guys! Blake was an EDGELORD!) which I love.

I also had a professor at my old school who was super cool and helped me through a lot of shit? I took her personal essay class right as I was sort of in recovery for depression following a terrible, low key emotionally unhealthy (abusive? I still don’t know if I can use that word? Either way, OVER-SHARING YAY) romantic relationship and I explored that and a lot of other stuff pertaining to my childhood and relationships and discovering my queerness in my work for her class, and she was super supportive and involved in helping me experiment with new formats and really use writing as a therapeutic tool and it helped me heal a lot. She was also just a super cool lady (lots of tattoos and wispy blonde hair and a quiet voice, kind of a hipster fairy) who hung out with me at a local music festival in town when I was like fresh out of the hospital and having trouble being around my normal friends. She just always made sure her door was open and went out of her way to make me feel better, and to this day I appreciate that.

4. What is your favorite poem?  (Substitute with “song” if you don’t have a favorite poem.)

Oh my GOD, don’t make me choose. I’m obsessed with the Romantics and a few contemporaries have my heart, but I guess I’d have to say “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost. It’s just beautiful and hopeful and simple enough that tiny me could fall in love with it and appreciate it almost in its fullness when I was too young to grasp other works.

5. Weirdest thing you’ve ever heard out-of-context?

Ever? I don’t tend to remember stuff like that for a long time unless I’d like hypothetically overheard a murder or something, but last night some girl was walking back from our student center with her friends and angrily shouted that she wanted to “put her dong through a snare drum” which made me laugh.

6. Best concert experience?  (If you have never been to a concert, what do you hope your first concert will be?)

Still gotta say Green Day after just turning 15 years old. I’d never been to a concert before and they were my favorite band at the time. I was so proud to be there because I had 0 dollars to my name and no one would hire me because I was underage, so I had to earn every penny for those tickets doing gross menial work like removing and scrubbing window frames that hadn’t seen soap in maybe a decade (SO MANY SPIDERS), and teeny bopper me thought that was 'punk.’ And at one point Billie Joe Armstrong, who my pathetic little emo self wanted to MARRY told the audience he was proud of everyone who’d worked their ass off to afford to come see them play and I remember turning to my dad and screaming “HE MEANS ME!” It was so wholesome.

7. Favorite holiday (or other special occasion) and why?

Christmas! My house was THE Christmas house growing up. My parents put so much effort into it and it was the cutest thing. Besides the outrageous amount of decorations and the amazing food that takes all week to make and the cute tradition of having my grandparents spend the night to watch us open presents first thing in the morning, the best part of Christmas growing up was definitely the effort my family put into making us kids believe Santa was real for way longer than necessary. One year my uncle got a flashlight and a red solo up and climbed trees in our yard so we’d see “Rudolph’s nose” if we looked out the window. We put out reindeer food every year. My dad would stomp around shaking jingle bells and someone always climbed on the roof making noise, and my mom knew calligraphy, so she’d write us scrolls from Santa on legit parchment and toast it in the oven so it would curl. One year we had an old, old family friend who was a Santa impersonator show up with a legit sleigh and a giant book with all the family member’s names and the years they were naughty and nice in it and stories about why and it was so cute. So whereas most kids found out around like 8 my parents went to extreme lengths so that I believed it until I was like 11 and honestly, I’m really glad they did, because it was a kick ass childhood. I definitely want to be that level of extra when I become a parent.

8. Did you ever play an instrument growing up?  If so, how did it go for you?

Guitar, bass, after I learned guitar I could play pretty much anything pluckable with strings, so I had a Romanian lap harp (I was such a cool kid) and I would sometimes play my sister’s viola (often incorrectly and like a guitar, but it was fun to sample when I recorded stuff). I haven’t sang or touched an instrument in like seven years though. I kind of gave up after sad life stuff happened but I want to pick it back up again. I really miss music.

9. If you were given $100 today, what would you do with the money?

Use it toward Christmas presents for loved ones. Since I’m basically not allowed out of the house after I go home for break I have to do Christmas early with the friends and boyfriend.

10. What’s the scariest movie you have ever seen?  (Define scary however you like.)

I love scary movies so this is hard, but I guess anything in which children are genuinely evil? Like not even in a supernatural way; it’s not horror but watching We Need To Talk About Kevin fucked me up. I guess being a mom is like so much something that I want, and imagining that happening would def keep me up at night. Especially because I would not know what to do.

Now, for questions:

1. What’s your favorite article of clothing?

Dresses but also plain black leggings. And I have very soft sweatpants that fit just right.

2. Do you still sleep with a stuffed animal?

Nope. I can’t sleep with the live one either lol, Bynx likes to sleep RIGHT where I want to roll over and screams and puts his paws in my mouth when he wants attention.

3. Do you believe in heaven? Hell?

Both, Catholic.

4. Do you listen to podcasts? What are your favorite ones?

Not really, but I’d like to, in theory. It just seems like more effort somehow than watching TV and I am always tired.

5. What was your go-to game during recess?

Four square.

6. Where do you see yourself in the next ten years– not in a job interview kind of way, but actually?

Awwww this is cute to think about. I guess I’d like to be living in like a really woodland but not isolating place, somewhere where my house can be on a lake or by woods or mountains but if I drive ten minutes there’s a cozy-sized town with all I need. Maybe in like Virginia or Vermont. I’m a professor of Gothic Literature at the local college, and my students are engaged and inspiring and call me by my first name. I’m in a pretty and not-too-big house, but it’s warm and smells like our fireplace. I’m married to my lovely guy, and both our jobs are flexible enough that we can have dinner as a family and spend time with our brood of kids. And they pay well enough that we might not be wealthy but we never have to worry. The cat’s still with us and we’ve got a dog, too. We go on camping trips and The Lumberjack teaches the kids how to build fires and tie knots and dad stuff like that. One of the kids at least loves reading and the house is full of books - I’ve got a home office full of bookshelves and a reading nook. We’ve got a porch where we can bundle up and drink wine in the evening after the kids are in bed. We’re not rich but not poor, and our families get along and come to visit. My parents still ask us over for Christmas every year. Wherever I teach, my kids can go there for free.

7. Do you have a favorite visual artist? Who are they?

Oh lord, I don’t know. I mean I like art but I hate the process of liking art. It’s so much more involved than “I like how this piece makes me feel” and I don’t enjoy that. I like individual pieces and I don’t know enough about art to really speak on it.

I guess, though, I like Dali and Khalo as people. They seem unpretentious and fun. Which is surprising because I guess the way their work is talked about you’d think the opposite.

8. Do you really like a food that most people think is disgusting? Or, do you like a popular food to a disgusting degree?

Not really but like I put too much hot sauce / jalapenos on everything and it disgusts people. And I put way too much sugar in coffee, and creamer too.

9. What music did your parents play in the house/car?

My mom is a New Wave junkie like me and my dad had more complicated taste. He was never big into music, so he only really likes a few artists for their voices and some songs for nostalgia. So we listened to a lot of oldies and swing and Judy Garland, but he also loved Blondie and Boston.

10. What would you tell your 15-year-old self?

I’d tell her she’s a lot stronger than she’s going to think she is one day and to tough it out. That people love her and will love her. That when you get older, family is hard, but it’s worth it to work on things. That she’s smarter than she thinks she is and should try harder in school, because when she finally does have faith in herself, it’ll pay off. 

Tagging whoever else wants to do this - it’s cold and rainy (here at least) and we could all use a day of warm socks and procrastinating with asks, honestly.