#grace ebert

[paintings-illustrations-art]

COLOSSAL

All images courtesy of Rodrigo Oñate Roco

Energetic Characters Collide in Roco’s Bold, Cartoonish Jumbles

October 22, 2024

Art

Grace Ebert

Rodrigo Oñate, a.k.a. Roco, marries the visual languages of graffiti, comics, and pop culture in his energetic paintings. Splitting his time between Chicago and Querétaro, Mexico, the artist works on walls and canvases, mish-mashing a flurry of characters along with simple patterns, squiggles, and the occasional surreal detail, like a gloved hand embedded with an eye.

Roco describes his process as entirely intuitive and almost like graffiti writing. “I throw some lines and from there. I start staging characters and elements adding textures and intricate forms,” he says. “I like movement and fluid forms, (and I’m) also always looking for a good balance of color and texture in the composition.”

Several cartoonish characters recur throughout the spirited works and often emerge from personal connections. Birds, for example, come from Roco’s mother telling him that the animals flocking to their family garden were ancestors visiting from another realm, while dogs mimic his three dogs.

Other creatures have broader symbolism, like the jaguars and large cats recalling the spiritual guides of Mexican mythology. And the primates? They’re included because they bring a sense of play and joy, the two feelings the artist hopes to convey with each work.

Prints and other goods are available in Roco’s shop, and you can find more on Instagram.

———————COLOSSAL——————

[salderi]

Yool Kim

South korean artist painter

“A Peaceful Afternoon”

“An Autumn Night”

“Cozy & Silent”

COLOSSAL

Swans, Plants, and Fragmented Figures Warmly Embrace in Yool Kim’s Paintings

November 28, 2024

Art

Grace Ebert

Warmth permeates Yool Kim’s most recent body of work, which portrays tangled masses of limbs and swans in rich palettes of reds, pinks, and oranges.

Laying dense lines in acrylic paint, the Seoul-based artist examines the interactions between living things and their sometimes contradictory desires. Her new paintings entwine fragmented iterations of human figures with graceful black and white birds, monsteras, and ferns to explore peace and equality.

“I wanted to express the beauty of being able to care (for) the weak and taking care of each other, without a sense of superiority and inferiority in living things that are set by the world,” Kim tells Colossal. “By hugging, touching, or leaning on each other, I highlighted the meaning of connection and warmth.”

As with earlier bodies of work, this series similarly explores the fractured nature of the self. Kim shares that she’s feeling calmer and more tranquil these days, which is reflected in the ways figures stretch to embrace one another.

“I also wanted to express that I have many egos and personalities within me; I am a human being full of complexity who cannot grasp existence as a single disposition,” she adds. “I’m always considering myself.”

Kim will show paintings in several exhibitions this spring, the first of which opens in March at Hall Spassov in Seattle.

OooooooooooooooooooooO

[fotos-art]

COLOSSAL

Art Craft Photography

Embroidered Patches Redefine Vintage Postcards and Photographs by Fiber Artist Han Cao

JULY 24, 2020. GRACE EBERT

“Nice hair.” All images © Han Cao

Through densely laid cross-stitches and whorls of thread, Han Cao revitalizes discarded photographs and postcards. Similar to the artist’s previous projects, her latest series New Nostalgia strikes a balance between the original subjects and the fiber-based additions. Sometimes covering faces with sparse dandelion puffs or confetti-like burst, Cao redefines the vintage pieces and explores how narratives linger as she stitches plumes of train steam that trail beyond the initial photograph’s edges.

Based in Palm Springs, the artist shares glimpses into her process on Instagram, and if you’re in Philadelphia, check out her embroidered pieces that are on view through August 22 at Paradigm Gallery. Cao also sells some of her mixed-media works in her shop.

Left: “Golden Conjurer.” Right: “Wallflower-Yellow Pansy”

“Mt Rainier”

“Runaway train”

“Runaway train”

“Generations”

Left: “A steady dissolution.” Right: “Sisters”

“Plume”

“Sister, sister”

#BIRDS #EMBROIDERY #FOUND PHOTOGRAPHS #HAN CAO #LANDSCAPES #TRAINS

COLOSSAL

[artghutry]

COLOSSAL

Art Craft

A Pair of Fluffy Felted Lambs by Holly Guertin Spring to Life in a Wooly Pasture

AUGUST 5, 2024. GRACE EBERT

Holly Guertin

Two spirited lambs bound across a new wooly work by Philadelphia-based artist Holly Guertin. Inspired by a spring visit to a local farm, Guertin felted a pair of sprightly youngsters with striking detail. Pink lines their ears and noses, and their adolescent bodies are covered in tight, wavy fibers, all sculpted through a combination of wet and needle felting techniques.

Titled “The Invitation,” the soft, fleecy work stretches approximately four feet on each side. Guertin shares with Colossal that she’s interested in the relationship between sheep and their wool and whether humans, like sheep, have something similarly tangible to offer.

#ANIMALS #FELT #HOLLY GUERTIN #SCULPTURE #WOOL

COLOSSAL

[biglisbonnews]

Mischievous Dogs, Moldy Fruit, and Crustacean Claws Unsettle Sabrina Bockler’s Still Lifes Two small dogs with long, silky hair stand atop an elegant table, one pawing at a basket of fruit and the other retrieving a fish from a platter. A bowl of strawberries has already been upturned, flowers pulled from their arrangement, a thickly piped slice of cake squashed by careless gluttony. Rendered in acrylic on linen, the still life (shown below) is titled “Decadence and Disaster,” an apt phrase to describe much of Sabrina Bockler’s body of work. More Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Mischievous Dogs, Moldy Fruit, and Crustacean Claws Unsettle Sabrina Bockler’s Still Lifes appeared first on Colossal. https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2023/02/sabrina-bockler-still-life/

[captaingimpy]

Hugo (2011): Placing One of Film's Pioneers on His Rightful Throne

Hey guys! I’m a little under the weather at the moment so the next couple of reviews are actually going to be repost just to give you guys something to read while I’m recovering. I decided to share this one because this was literally the first movie review I had ever written. I wrote this for a class called open “film genre and criticism. ” it wasn’t my first film class, but it was the first time…

[spaghettificationandpretzels]

Stranger Things Flight of Icarus Review

If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out my other Stranger Things Reviews. Like, Reblog, and let me know what your thoughts are regarding the show or the upcoming season! :)

Stranger Things Comics/Graphic Novels:

Stranger Things Six

Stranger Things Halloween Special

Stranger Things The Other Side

Stranger Things Zombie Boys

Stranger Things The Bully

Stranger Things Winter Special

Stranger Things Tomb of Ybwen

Stranger Things Into The Fire

Stranger Things Science Camp

Stranger Things “The Game Master” and “Erica’s Quest”

Stranger Things and Dungeons and Dragons

Stranger Things Kamchatka

Stranger Things Erica The Great

Stranger Things “Creature Feature” and “Summer Special”

Stranger Things Tie-In Books:

Stranger Things Suspicious Minds

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 1 of 3)

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 2 of 3)

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 3 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 1 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 2 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 3 of 3)

Stranger Things Rebel Robin Book and Podcast (Part 1 of 2)

Stranger Things Rebel Robin Book and Podcast (Part 2 of 2)

Stranger Things Hawkins Horrors Review

Stranger Things Episode Reviews:

The Vanishing of Will Byers (Part 1 of 2)

The Vanishing of Will Byers (Part 2 of 2)

Synopsis: Hawkins, Indiana: For most, it’s simply another idyllic, manicured all-American town. But for Eddie Munson, it’s like living in a perpetual Tomb of Horrors. Luckily, he has only a few more months to survive at Hawkins High. And what is senior year, really, but killing time between Dungeons & Dragons sessions with the Hellfire Club and gigs with his band, Corroded Coffin? At the worst dive bar in town, Eddie meets Paige, someone who has pulled off a freaking miracle. She escaped Hawkins and built a wickedly cool life for herself working for a record producer in Los Angeles. Not only is she the definition of a badass—with killer taste in music—but she might also be the only person who actually appreciates Eddie as the bard he is instead of as the devil incarnate. But the best thing? She’s offering him a chance to make something of himself, and all he needs to do is get her a demo tape of Corroded Coffin’s best songs. Just one problem: Recording costs money. Money Eddie doesn’t have. But he’s willing to do whatever it takes, even if that means relying on his dad. Al Munson has just stumbled back into Eddie’s life with another dubious scheme up his sleeve, and yet Eddie knows this is his only option to make enough dough in enough time. It’s a risk, but if it pays off he will finally have a one-way ticket out of Hawkins. Eddie can feel it: 1984 is going to be his year.

Observations:

Ordinarily, when I do these reviews, I sum up the synopsis in my own words to convey my experience reading it. This time, I took the synopsis word-for-word from the book cover because I found it unintentionally hilarious and teeth-grinding that the publishers at Random House Worlds would try to bait Stranger Things fans like this. They had to have known most people who bought this book already saw the fourth season and were aware of Eddie's eventual fate. Even if they hadn't seen it, a.) It's pretty much an open spoiler at this point, and b.) You can figure out real quickly from the title (Flight of Icarus) and your basic knowledge of Greek Mythology exactly how this story is going to go. Giving both the audience and Eddie a Hope Spot in thinking things might improve for him was a cruel joke.

I know that prior to this books release, there were fans accusing Netflix of trying to milk Eddie's popularity with the audience despite his eventual fate in season 4. Having finally read the book myself.................it's a little more complicated than that.

Yes, the book does bait the audience with the idea of things getting better for Eddie when we already know that's not going to happen. At the same time though, it wasn't a book devoid of substance. There were themes and character interactions that left a lot to chew on, and might even play an upcoming role in season 5. Just like with Rebel Robin, there were aspects of the book that struck a personal nerve with me because of how they related to what's gone on in my life and what's currently going on in the world right now.

I'll discuss the book in detail here (Spoilers Ahead!) and let you decide for yourselves if this is a book you want to read.

Part 1: Eddie's relationships to other characters

The synopsis covers the majority of the plot. Eddie's in senior year, failing school, and coasting by on the Hellfire Club, his band, and his dead-end job at a bar. Unlike his friend Ronnie, he has no future prospects ahead of him until he encounters a girl from Los Angeles named Paige, who overhears Eddie playing one night and invites him (and Corroded Coffin) to record their music for a studio called WR Records. The hopes are that her boss, Davey, will be impressed enough that he'll invite Eddie and the band to later fly out to Los Angeles for an audition with the executives. Following them recording for Davey, Paige reveals to Eddie that Davey's more impressed with him than his band and only wants him to come out to LA to become a rockstar. However, Eddie still needs the money to make this dream a reality. So when his dad shows up with an illegal job that involves stealing weed from a Kingpin's truck so they can sell it for money, he reluctantly agrees despite knowing things could go wrong.

And just based on where Eddie is by the time season 4 starts, you already know how this is going to turn out.

Eddie on the show was already established as being an outcast who gets blamed for the murders committed by Vecna, but this book further explores that he was the town scapegoat way before any of this happened. Part of it has to do with his low socioeconomic status, part of it has to do with the bad reputation the Munson family has in Hawkins as crooks and lowlifes thanks to the behavior of Eddie's father (who is a loser and a sorry excuse for a dad), part of it has to do with the Hellfire Club and all the pearl-clutching parents did in the 80s about D&D being linked to Satanism (which, as Erica puts it in season 4, was bullshit), and the rest are people in Hawkins projecting their issues onto Eddie. They want to believe the worst in Eddie, and don't care about creating a self-fulfilling prophecy with they way they treat him.

Wayne Munson also gets fleshed-out more in this book, which I appreciate because he's one of the few adult characters on the show that I like. Unlike Al, who is constantly absent from Eddie's life unless he needs something from him, Wayne is a parental figure to Eddie who made sure he was being fed and taken care of when he needed it.

He's also one of the only people who treats Eddie like a person and believes in him when no one else does.

On top of that, Wayne is shrewd and able to put the pieces together just by reading a situation. He's the kind of person who can look at someone and figure out if they're being honest or not. When Al comes back into Eddie's life, he knows Al is up to no good, and he puts together pretty quickly that Eddie is going along with Al's con to get money. He allows Eddie to make his own choices, but he also warns Eddie that he's lying to himself if he thinks this is going to go well for him.

On a semi-related note, the way Wayne is depicted here gives more context behind why he was willing to let Nancy interview him when Eddie went missing after Chrissy's death: Unlike other reporters , who were either gearing up to paint Eddie as the villain before anything was confirmed, or else were trying to get their big break with this story, Wayne could tell Nancy wasn't just there to advance her career. She genuinely had an interest in what happened, and Wayne likely suspected something else (i.e. the death of Barb) was motivating Nancy to look into this case.

Another relationship that gets more context as well is the one between Jason and Eddie. There were hints in the fourth season that these two had a history with one another before Jason wrongly suspected Eddie of killing Chrissy and led the basketball team in hunting him down. This book confirms that history. I will admit I had a headcanon for a while that Jason and Eddie used to be friends before falling out (which is also something Mason Dye joked about), but this book blows that out of the water by revealing they've been enemies since they knew each other. Jason was a part of a jock group led by Tommy Hagan (Steve's former best friend) who bullied students like Gareth who were either outcasts or part of the Hellfire Club. But because Tommy and Jason were valued basketball players at the high school, they were able to get away with their behavior whereas Eddie would get punished simply for trying to help out his friends.

This puts the cafeteria scene between Eddie and Jason in a whole different light: Eddie's disdain for Jason in that moment wasn't because Jason did basketball, but because he knew Jason as a bully and had nothing but contempt for him:

Just like with Lucas on the Line, this book doesn't paint Jason in a good light. Not only is he associating with Tommy (who is just as loathsome as he was in season 1), but the book also hints at the darker, zealot side of his personality that's going to be on display in two years following the events of this book:

Chrissy also makes an appearance, and she's just as nice of a person as she was on the show. She actually intervenes (unsuccessfully) on Gareth's behalf to stop Tommy and Jason from bullying him, and we get to witness the flashback to the talent show when Eddie first encountered Chrissy and she showed him empathy and compassion in a moment when Eddie was feeling vulnerable after his dad didn't show up to watch him perform.

While I'm not an Edissy/Hellcheer shipper, I understand the appeal of that relationship, as well as why the Duffer Brothers later regretted killing off Chrissy when there was more that could have been explored with her character. I'm also deeply sorry Grace Van Dien was harassed by immature Stranger Things fans because she liked the Eddie/Chrissy ship (to the point Joseph Quinn had to speak up in her defense). No actor or actress should ever have to put up with disgusting behavior like that. I wish people in this fandom would grow the hell up already, and stop treating the actors as if they're props to project themselves onto. 😒

We also get to know more about Eddie's parents in this book. Eddie's mom is dead by this point (though her love for music is a big reason why Eddie was inspired to take up guitar) and Eddie's dad is a contender for one of the worst fathers in the series. He isn't as awful as Neil Hargrove, but he makes little to no effort to raise Eddie (to the point Eddie is often fending for himself), is constantly engaging in illegal activities and ending up in trouble with the law, only comes back for Eddie when he needs something from him (something that Eddie is painfully aware of), and straight-up abandons his son to the cops the moment his heist plan lands both of them in trouble and results in a police officer getting shot. He's a selfish man who's good at lying to everyone around him, and even to himself. The sad thing is, because Eddie is so desperate to get out of Hawkins, he willingly believes his dad's plan to get them rich so they can move to LA and fulfill his dream, which makes it more of a gut punch when everything eventually goes downhill.

Given Eddie's death in season 4, I seriously question if his dad is going to show up at all if he ever hears about what happened to his son. Somehow, I doubt it.

The final character with any real significance is Gareth. In this book, he's a freshman who's up-and-coming in the Hellfire Club, and there's a whole subplot dedicated to Eddie helping him to craft a perfect D&D character that resembles who Gareth is rather than having him borrow someone else's character. Also, as noted before, Eddie is one of the few people who defends Gareth from high school bullies, which is why Gareth has a lot of loyalty towards Eddie. I know Gareth became an Ensemble Dark Horse for many fans when Season 4 premiered, and I would be thrilled if he, along with the rest of the Hellfire Club and Corroded Coffin, got significant roles in season 5. Maybe they could team up with the Party to defeat Vecna.

The rest of the new characters are by-the-numbers. Ronnie is Eddie's lifelong friend who has a future at NYU, and they both have a falling out due to disagreements with Eddie's choices. Paige gets into a romantic relationship with Eddie for a while (which also falls apart later), but she isn't really memorable and doesn't stick out the same way that other characters from tie-in materials do (i.e. Mr Hauser from Rebel Robin, Joey Kim from Zombie Boys, etc). Mr. Higgins, the principal who has it out for Eddie, is the embodiment of Mr. Vernon from The Breakfast Club, and his interactions with Eddie are pretty similar to the ones Vernon has with Judd Nelson's character (John Benson) in the movie. Officer Moore is a stereotypical asshole cop who harasses Eddie because he sees him as a future criminal who will grow up to be just like his dad.

There are a few brief cameo's from the main characters: Hopper appears towards the end when Eddie is arrested, and is one of the few people sympathetic to Eddie's plight. Will and Jonathan also make an appearance when Eddie defends Will from jocks who make fun of Will for being "Zombie Boy," gives Will some encouragement about being who he is and embracing his love for D&D, and even offers to sell Jonathan some weed (which is cheeky foreshadowing for Jonathan's drug habit that develops in season 4).

Out of all the interactions with the main characters, the one between Will and Eddie was my favorite. Even though Will never joined Hellfire Club due to moving to Lenora, it's nice seeing these two get to interact and bond over something they love.

So that sums it up for the characters and main story. Let's talk about the main themes:

Part 2: Eddie and "Forced Conformity"

Just like with El in season 4, and even Steve, there's always been this stigma that because Eddie did badly in school, it meant he was dumb. However, unlike El, who struggles to catch up with her peers because of the way Brenner raised her (but is keenly aware of concepts even if she doesn't have the words for them at the time), or Steve who was more interested in chasing popularity at the expense of his grades (but has demonstrated his intelligence and ability to make connections that other people miss), Eddie doesn't put effort into school because he doesn't care to. School and homework doesn't interest him. D&D, Corroded Coffin, playing songs on his guitar, and even the works of J.R.R Tolkien do, which is why he invests more time into those things:

There was a GIF set last year with bits of trivia about Eddie, and something that was noted in it is that Metallica's album Master of Puppets was released on March 3, 1986. Given the night Eddie performs their song "Master of Puppets" in the Upside Down was on March 27, 1986, this means he had less than 3 weeks to learn how to master the song on his guitar. Some fans will probably dismiss this as "lazy writing" (which I notice gets thrown around a lot these days when people don't want to think critically), but I beg to differ. Eddie is invested in music. It speaks to him. That investment, combined with doing something he loves, means he's going to put time and effort into learning the song. I can buy he learned "Master of Puppets" in less than 3 weeks because he's that good of a guitarist, and he was passionate about the song in the same way he's passionate about D&D and Tolkien.

The problem though is those kind of interests aren't considered "acceptable" by the school system, which is more interested in churning out "productive members of society" and punishing those who don't get on board with the program (This is a theme that's also explored in both Rebel Robin and Lucas on the Line). It doesn't help that Hellfire Club, D&D, and the music Eddie loves to play constantly come under fire due to the Satanic Panic at the time, which only causes Eddie's resentment towards Hawkins and his school to fester.

You'd think things would have changed in the 4 decades since this series took place, but given how we're still living in an era of "concerned parents" wanting to ban specific books from being read by kids, or else enforce a conservative viewpoint in schools that prevents any kind of critical thinking, it's fair to say we haven't. In fact, there's an argument that things have gotten worse in recent years.

We can talk all day about the problems with the education system and school curriculum in the United States until the cows come home, but the point is Eddie is aware of the "forced conformity" schools impose on students, and is having none of it. As a result, he's punished for rebelling against the system.

It doesn't help that none of the teachers, nor Mr. Higgins, are remotely interested in trying to reach out to Eddie. They have decided in their minds that Eddie is a waste of space, and are either condescending or dismissive towards him. Even Robin, Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Will had teachers like Mr. Clarke or Mr. Hauser who were interested in bringing the best out of their students. Eddie has been written off as a lost cause, and aside from his uncle Wayne (who's limited in what he can do for Eddie), no other adults believe in him. That just makes his eventual death later on harder to stomach.

I hate teachers and school authorities like Mr. Higgins. I get they have to put up with a lot of crap, both from kids and from the stress their jobs can bring, but I have no respect for teachers who either go to the lengths of bullying their students, or come up with preconceived notions about a student and then unfairly project that onto them so they can feel justified in treating them with contempt.

I had two teachers like this when I was growing up: One of them was from fifth grade. The second was my English Teacher from my senior year of High School.

The former was a straight-up bully who had a reputation for making kids cry (I was one of them) and was a Bitch in every sense of the word. I do not have good memories of her class, and I know several students who had their lives impacted by her for the worst: One of them was someone I went to the same church with whose mom later pulled him out to be home-schooled because he was frequently targeted by that teacher. The second was a former friend who had a rough time in her class, and later forfeited going to college entirely (and now works in retail) because of the impact she left on her. I make no secret that I DON'T miss her, and I hope she's no longer teaching.

As for my English Teacher, she was a condescending twat. She presented herself as an expert in literature, but I later found out that A LOT of her so-called "discussions" and "lessons" were taken straight from SparkNotes. I remember her going out of her way to publicly humiliate me in front of the class because I did a presentation that she didn't like, and then she later got patronizing with me over a different assignment several months later, saying she could see how I was struggling and then said "Allow me to give you some advice: Try harder." This was when I was also juggling 4 other AP classes and a Spanish class, along with my extracurricular activities, so this wasn't like I was half-assing my work. Once again, I was not the only person she treated like is. Multiple students despised her, and there was even a rumor for a while that she was a misandrist, which is why she treated the girls better than the boys. I can't confirm if this was true, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was. My brother (who's one of the smartest people I know) was fully aware of her reputation prior to his senior year, and specifically took a different English class just to avoid her. I still maintain that was the best decision he ever made.

I should briefly mention that, despite the two examples I just listed, I had some wonderful teachers growing up. Ones that not only encouraged me, but made their classes engaging to the point that I took an interest in topics I hadn't before. The entire reason I later pursued a degree in History is BECAUSE of my teachers in High School.

Regardless of whether people want to admit it, teachers are some of the most important people next to parents in a kid's life. They can either be the ones to elevate a student and set them on a good path, or they can be the ones to tear them down and dismiss them as a lost cause. It's a big reason I feel strongly about who teaches in schools and how our education system is structured, and why I get angry whenever teachers or school authorities either abuse their power, are apathetic about their jobs and their students, or else project their issues onto kids. I'm not saying there aren't kids out there without major behavioral problems that need to be dealt with (I literally had one such kid yell "Fuck You" at me two weeks ago from a speeding truck for no discernible reason, so I'm not advocating that all kids are sweet angels), but it infuriates me to see characters like Mr. Higgins who are smug in their belief that they have teens like Eddie figured out, and don't want to hear anything that contradicts that. People like that shouldn't be teaching in schools, period.

Part 3: The Evils of Society

Back in 2005, there was a horror movie called Chaos that was released, which got negative reviews and a scathing response from film critic Roger Ebert, who proceeded to call the movie "ugly, nihilistic, and cruel." The film's writer and director didn't take this well, and posted a letter to the Chicago-Sun Times where he condescendingly told Ebert that the movie was supposed to be ugly, nihilistic, and cruel as a way of conveying what evil was like in the 21st century, and smugly asked Ebert if he preferred the movie was sanitized of violence. Ebert later responded in a very classy and intelligent manner, where he not only called out the director for his sanctimoniousness, but also deconstructed his whole argument of depicting evil in a movie with no meaningful point or catharsis:

"I believe evil can win in fiction, as it often does in real life. But I prefer that the artist express an attitude toward that evil. It is not enough to record it; what do you think and feel about it? Your attitude is as detached as your hero's."

"Your real purpose in making "Chaos," I suspect, was not to educate, but to create a scandal that would draw an audience. There's always money to be made by going further and being more shocking. Sometimes there is also art to be found in that direction, but not this time. That's because your film creates a closed system in which any alternative outcome is excluded; it is like a movie of a man falling to his death, which can have no developments except that he continues to fall, and no ending except that he dies. Pre-destination may be useful in theology, but as a narrative strategy, it is self-defeating."

I've seen fans who've complained about the direction season 4 took in its tone and it's depiction of bullying and the Satanic Panic, with people complaining about it being "trauma/torture porn," which............I strongly disagree with. Trauma/Torture porn is (as Ebert points out) the kind of thing that has no point beyond indulging in meaningless suffering. Season 4 was dark (probably the darkest season they've done so far), but there was a message the Duffer Brothers were making with it; Not just in depicting how and why bullying becomes a pervasive problem, or how Vecna acts as a metaphor for depression and trauma driving people into despair, but also how the current social systems and attempts to force people to be "normal" cause long-term problems.

Bullies like Angela and Jason didn't suddenly decide to become awful overnight. Their behavior was enabled, not just by their peers, but by the adults around them who did little to nothing to stop the way they acted. Look at when El gets publicly humiliated at Rink-O-Mania by Angela and her friends, and how the adults there either participated with the other bystanders in it, or did absolutely nothing to stop what was happening to El (yet were conveniently available for Angela's benefit when El smashed Angela's face in with a roller-skate). Look at how Jason was able to turn a room of adults into a lynch mob to go after kids who were a part of the Hellfire Club by appealing to their fear of the Satanic Panic, as well as their fear of all the terrible things that had been happening in Hawkins.

Adults play a major role in whether kids become spoiled, entitled brats, and that was absolutely the case with Angela. As for Jason, he was a star basketball player who made Hawkins High look good, which is why Mr. Higgins and other teachers always looked the other way at his behavior (as depicted in both this book and Lucas on the Line). It's also why both Angela and Jason felt justified in their awful behavior: Angela was able to convince herself that El had snitched when she hadn't, and therefore deserved to be punished for it. And when El finally had enough and lashed out, Angela twisted the narrative in her head to make it out like she was the innocent victim and El was the bully. Same thing with Jason in regards to how he treats Eddie: Jason sees himself as the perfect "All American Boy" and Eddie as the freak who may one day become a criminal and gives Hawkins a bad name. And while the deaths of Chrissy and Patrick (combined with witnessing how Patrick died which he chalked up to Eddie being in league with Satan) played a major role in Jason's actions, he already had preconceived notions about Eddie without truly getting to know him first. There's an argument to be had that, even without Chrissy's death, he would have looked for any reason to go after Eddie if he felt justified in doing so.

Even isolated areas like Hawkins Lab weren't exempt from this: Dr. Brenner specifically fostered a culture among the special kids where he would put them at odds with one another to fight for his approval, and allowed El to be viciously bullied by Two and the others in the hopes it would unlock her potential and get him the results he wanted. Brenner established the institution where El grew up in, and was the main person who benefited from it. Two was a vicious bully similar to Angela, but the reason he became that is because Brenner and his cronies enabled his behavior (only punishing him as a means of building up resentment among the other kids towards El and making her more of an outcast as part of his plans).

Likewise, there's an interesting parallel between Eddie and Vecna: Both are "outcasts" whom society tried to force to be "normal." However, while Eddie still maintained compassion and empathy for others, as well as making it his mission to look out for other outcasts like Mike, Dustin, and Lucas so their lives wouldn't be miserable, Vecna internalized the rage and resentment of "performing in a silly terrible play, day after day" until it consumed him and turned him into the monster everyone feared. Now he intends to destroy everything and everyone so he can create the world he wants.

It's the Harvey Dent quote from The Dark Knight:

Eddie, despite being treated badly for most of his life, died as a hero, protecting those he cared about. Vecna lived to become the villain, and has abandoned his humanity in pursuit of his goals.

Tying this all back to Roger Ebert's letter: While Season 4 may have been dark, there was meaning to be found in the darkness: The season hit on the theme that, in spite of how Hawkins looks like a perfect suburban neighborhood, there's a lot of rot underneath, and NOT just from the Upside Down. There's an inherent bigotry in the town (and others like it, such as Lenora), of institutions trying to mold students and teachers into "productive members of society" at the cost of their happiness and well being, of punishing anything that's considered abnormal or against the status quo, of how ostracizing "outcasts" can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy where the person either becomes the monster (Vecna) or is scapegoated and can never escape those stigmas no matter how hard they try (Eddie).

The Duffer Brothers aren't apathetic in their attitude about how they depict characters and themes on the show. If anything, they care deeply. It's why they wrote the character of Eddie in the first place, and based him off of Damien Echols, one of the West Memphis Three who was wrongfully convicted in 1994 of the murder of three boys in Arkansas, with a lot of bias directed at them due to the three of them being "delinquents" (as well as how the police pressured them into giving false confessions), which resulted in their lives getting ruined. Likewise on the show, Eddie is accused of killing Chrissy when he didn't (simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time), and his life got destroyed because of it. Even if he was a delinquent with his own personal issues, he didn't deserve what happened to him. Neither did Damien Echols. Society failed both of them, and allowed the true killers to go unpunished.

There are a lot of problems in our society today that have carried over from the 80s: From cultures that enable bullies and punish their victims, to attempts to control what kids learn in schools and how they should act, to bigotry and biases that aren't just rooted in people but in the institutions and laws that uphold the social structure, to people like Jason who take the law into their own hands regardless of the collateral damage it will cause, to government corruption, to people dehumanizing others because it's more important for them to be right over being nice, and so on. Stranger Things may be a love letter to the 80s, but it does not shy away from deconstructing the uglier aspects of that decade, and conveying how some of those issues had carried over into today's culture.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, this book is a mixed bag. It gives interesting details about Eddie and his life, and provides better context for certain scenes in season 4. Given that Caitlin Schneiderhan (the author of the book) had talks with the Duffer Brothers and other Stranger Things writers prior to penning this, it's likely this book can be considered canon. It's also a book that inspires discussion (as you can tell from what I've written), which is always a plus.

However, if you're a fan of Eddie, and you were upset over his death, this book isn't going to give you any catharsis. Unlike others, I'm not going to claim it's milking off of Eddie's popularity. At the same time though, it is hard to read when it teases that things might get better for Eddie and you already know what Eddie's fate is going to be.

In other words, you have to decide for yourself if this is a book you want to read. I hope my synopsis and this review gives some idea of what to expect.

[hotvintagepoll]

This is a three-way poll. Only one of these women will continue to the fourth round of the bracket.

Propaganda

Ava Gardner (The Killers, The Barefoot Contessa)— She's so goddamn hot. Her and Frank Sinatra could've sandwiched me and I would've thanked them for the privilege

Leonor Maia (The Tyrannical Father)— She didn't do a lot of movies but in The Tyrannical Father she is so pretty and charming that there's a guy who's obsessed with her to such a degree he is still a meme 80 years later. Her character's name is Tatão and the guy would stare at her whenever she was there and say her name to the tune of everything. A clock ticking: ta-tão, ta-tão, ta-tão. And to this day one of the lines people know the best from that very quotable movie is "ta-tão". She inspired crushes and horniness of legendary levels.

Louise Brooks (Pandora's Box, Diary of a Lost Girl)—Louise Brooks started off as a dancer and went to work in the Follies before going to Hollywood. Disappointed with her roles there, she went to Germany and proceeded to make Pandora's Box, the first film to show a lesbian on-screen (not her but one of her many doomed admirers in the film), and Diary of a Lost Girl, both of which are considered two of the greatest films of the 20th century. She helped popularize the bob and natural acting, acting far more subtly than her contemporaries who treated the camera as a stage audience. After the collapse of her film career and a remarkably rough patch as a high-end sex worker, she was rediscovered and did film criticism, notably "Lulu in Hollywood," which Rodger Ebert called "indispensable." Also, christ. Look at her.

This is round 3 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Ava Gardner:

Ava Gardner is one of my favorite actresses of all time. Although a lot of her roles in movies are about her being beautiful and nothing else, there are some films where her acting truly shines.

Gifset: https://www.tumblr.com/pelopides/721438308726603776/ava-gardner-as-pandora-reynolds-pandora-and-the

Gifset 2: https://www.tumblr.com/portraitoflestatonfire/731899355804598272/if-the-loustat-reunion-doesnt-look-like-this-then

HER FACE. LOOK AT IT. Also was a life long supporter of civil rights and a member of the NAACP, had lots of fun love affairs with other stars, bullfighters, married several times but was also happy in between to just have lovers and was unapologetically herself.

I literally gasp every time I see her.

Between 1942 and 1964, Ava Gardner was credited in no less 50 films, and is still considered by some to be the most beautiful actresses that ever graced the silver screen. Despite life-long insecurities regarding her talent as an actress, she weathered public scandal, industry hostility, and outright condemnation by the Catholic Church with fearless grace. She would later in life talk candidly about the reality and pain of living through two (studio approved!!) abortions during her short marriage to Frank Sinatra, and while the two of them could not make their relationship work, they remained in each other’s lives for nearly 30 years. She would forever describe herself as a small-town girl who just got lucky, but always felt like a beautiful outsider.

Really genuinely one of the most beautiful human beings I have ever seen. An autodidact. Had amazing chemistry with Gregory Peck to the point where I do think about watching On The Beach again sometimes because they're so good together even though that movie did destroy me. Was a great femme fatale in many movies.

There is no additional propaganda for Leonor Maia.

Louise Brooks:

"Defined the style of the modern flapper. A gaze that could make a stone fall in love."

"Louise Brooks left a legend far greater than her real achievement as an actress, but even today few people have seen her films. In our own time, the fascination with Brooks seems to have begun in 1979 with a profile by Kenneth Tynan in the New Yorker, which revealed that the actress who made her last movie in 1938 was alive and living in Rochester, N.Y. Such was the power of Tynan's prose that people began to seek out her existing films, primarily this one, to discover what the fuss was about. What we see here is a healthy young woman -- she was 23 when the film was released -- with whom the camera, under G.W. Pabst's influence, is fascinated. There is a deep paradox in Brooks and her career: the American girl who found success in the troubled Europe between two wars; the vivid personality who briefly dazzled two continents but faded into obscurity; the liberated woman who had affairs with such prominent men as CBS founder William S. Paley as well as with women including (by her account) Greta Garbo but wound up a solitary recluse. And all of this seems perfectly in keeping with her most celebrated role in Pandora's Box. For despite her bright vitality, her flashing dark eyes and brilliant smile, Brooks's Lulu becomes the ultimate femme fatale, careering her way toward destruction, not only of her lovers but eventually of herself."

"She invented having bangs to indicate that you have borderline personality disorder"

"chances are if youve ever seen a "flapper girl" character or even just art of a generic flapper type made after the 20s it was based on her appearance - particularly the bob hairstyle! she had some pretty rough experiences through her life before during and after her tumultuous acting career which ended in 1938 but she made it to the 80s, wrote an autobiography and did a lot of interviews that she was never afraid of being honest in about her own life or peers of the age, and apparently was unabashed about some affairs she had with well known women (including greta garbo!!)"

"She read Proust and Schopenhauer on set between sets. She was one of the original flappers/new women of the 1920s. She had a one night stand with Garbo and was the inspiration for Sally Bowles in Cabaret. Truly a stone cold fox."

"on her wikipedia page it says her biographer said she "loved women as a homosexual man, rather than as a lesbian, would love them" and while i have no idea if this is true or not i thought that was very gender of her"

"despite being american she was big in german expressionist films and thus her aesthetic was unmatched!!"

So far ahead of her time in regard to portraying complicated women. Timeless elegance. "I learned to act by watching Martha Graham dance, and I learned to dance by watching Charlie Chaplin act.” - Louise Brooks

[xpuigc-bloc]

COLOSSAL

Design History Illustration Social Issues

A Rare Cross-Section Illustration Reveals the Infamous Happenings of Kowloon Walled City

GRACE EBERT

All images courtesy of Greg Jensen

At its height in the 1990s, Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong housed about 50,000 people. Its population is unremarkable for small cities, but what set Kowloon apart from others of its size was its density. Spanning only 2.6 hectares, the tiny enclave contained 1,255,000 people per square kilometer, making it the densest city in the world. For context, New York City boasts about 11,300 per square kilometer, while Manila, the most highly concentrated municipality today, tops out at about 42,000.

Kowloon was built as a small military fort around the turn of the 20th century. When the Chinese and English governments abandoned it after World War II, the area attracted refugees and people in search of affordable housing. With no single architect, the urban center continued to grow as people stacked buildings on top of one another and tucked new structures in between existing ones to accommodate the growing population without expanding beyond the original fort’s border.

With only a small pocket of community space at the center, Kowloon quickly morphed into a labyrinth of shops, services, and apartments connected by narrow stairs and passageways through the buildings. Rather than navigate the city through alleys and streets, residents traversed the structures using slim corridors that always seemed to morph, an experience that caused many to refer to Kowloon as “a living organism.”

The city devolved into a slum with crime and poor living conditions and was razed in 1994. Before demolition, though, a team of Japanese researchers meticulously documented the architectural marvel, which had become a sort of cyberpunk icon that even inspired a gritty arcade as tribute.

For a now out-of-print book titled Kowloon City: An Illustrated Guide, artist Hitomi Terasawa drew a meticulous cross-sectioned rendering of the urban phenomenon to preserve its memory. The massive panorama peers into the compact neighborhood, glimpsing narrow dance halls, laundry dangling from balconies, and entire factories tucked inside cramped quarters.

Thanks to psychologist Greg Jensen, we now have a stunning high-resolution scan of Terasawa’s illustration complete with annotations and diagramming. It’s worth viewing the full panorama in its entirety to zoom in on all the details of this infamous city. And, for photos of Kowloon and its inhabitants, check out this incredibly informative video detailing its history.

COLOSSAL

[cspasfan15]

TDA Orlando Predictions

Mini female

Top 20: navy Forrest, Elizabeth pugach, Amaya Rodriguez, Ella venerio, mila simunic, tinsley Wallace, Lainey Hess, Elliana macioce, Harper schwalb, Emma semtak, Reese braga, Marley Evans

Top 10: remi hilson, Antonia demartinis, Mikaela florez, leighton white, Amelia burres, lyric Simmons, Zoe ynguanzo

Top 3: Avery Altobelli, Sylvie win Szyndlar, Aliya yen, sienna dipietro

Mini Male

Top 3: jay ramos-Rivera, Rory Ross, Hudson Matthew’s, Isaiah santos

Junior Female

Top 20: Kendall brown, cydnee Abbott, Reagan Hess, Bianca rebellto, Elsie sandall, lily hackney, Estelle newsom, Leilani lawlor, Sara von rotz, Regan gerena

Top 10: olivia rose toneguzzo, madeleine shen, keringtyn spencer, ruby Arnold,Samantha geller, Berkeley scifres, Isabella zhong, Camila giraldo

Top 3: Helena olaerts, Anita Rodriguez, amabella tarrago, bristyn scifres

Junior male

Top 3: Gabriel gebara, Dylan Custodio, Josh Lundy, neo del corral

Teen Female

Top 20: ava d’ambrosio, miyah lagrant, Bella Rey d’armas, Jaya campagna Terrell, lekha rajkumar, savy luechtefeld, balbina cueva toussaint, joli du quenne, Brooklyn ladia, Stella eberts, Lilly Barajas

Top 10: desa jankes, Leila winker, braylynn grizzaffi, Hudson benayon, Hayley marshall, elie rabin

Top 3: Kylee casares, Bella rose Penrose, gracyn French, Giselle gandarilla

Teen Male

Top 20: Odin Baldwin, Nolan brinker, jack mckenzie, Holden griffin, nick d’ambrosio, Jayden hui, iain Cooke, jack Moore brown, Zolan laird

Top 10: Ryan Newman, Duane Ferguson, Sasha chernous, Anthony labritz, cam Williams, Angelo Durante, Jonathan archer

Top 3: Kylan wright, Blake metcalf, Kaden brown, garret sawyer

Senior female

Top 20: Elyse wingertsahn, Brooklyn law, Isabella bolivar Lopez, Ava Carroll, victoria reith, Gillian Gordon, Ellen grace olansen, sammi Chung

Top 10: preslie rosamond, sienna morris, Catherine Clayton, Savannah manning, Angel dimartino Palladio, Arianna quant, Lexi Blanchard, Ashley choy,

Top 3: Tatiana hagee, Sophie Garcia, dyllan Blackburn, sierra drayton

Senior male

Top 20: Patricio hoyo, Damian caraballo, Jayden lau, tyreke holt, Seth hendley, Anthony dessables, Alejandro Ruiz, Darius Goodson, Keaton Evans, Devon barner

Top 10: chance Phelps, skai llorente, cynsear epting, joshuah Rivera, Mekhi Johnson, Hugo Silva, Kaden Golding, Tristan gerzon, Jesse flaherty

Top 3: Nicholas bustos, Jackson roloff hafenbreadl, Sam Evans

[artisticlegshake]

THE DANCE AWARDS ORLANDO RESULTS 2023

TEEN SOLOS:

1st Ian Stegeman - WOODBURY JP!

2nd Gracyn French - P21 JP!

2nd Cami Voorhees - EVOLVE JP!

3rd Bella Rose Penrose - EVOLVE JP!

3rd Nathaniel Chua - THE NINE JP!

4th Giselle Gandarilla - STARS JP!

5th Ellen Grace Plansen - DWDE JP!

6th Harper Snell - SOUTHERN STRUTT JP!

6th Samantha Cascudo - MIAMI DANCE COMPANY JP!

6th Shaunaughsey Meagher - THE NINE JP!

6th Tristan Gerzon - EDX JP!

6th Kynadi Crain - JEAN LEIGH JP!

6th Avery Reyes - P21 JP!

6th Hayley Marshall - TRUE DANCE JP!

7th Naima Abram - SPOTLITE JP!

7th Kate Roman - CDC JP!

7th Caitlyn Polis - THE VISION JP!

7th Tim Zvifel - VLAD’S JP!

8th Logan Gallinger - EDX JP!

8th Balbina Cueva Toussaint - ALE MANCILLAS JP!

8th Catherine Clayton - STARS JP!

8th Onna Williams - EVOLVE JP!

8th Eve Schmeichel - EDX JP!

8th Richie Granese - P21 JP!

8th Sophie Garcia - STARS JP!

8th Ava D’Ambrosio - WESTCHESTER JP!

9th Nevaeh Covington - THE NINE JP!

9th Noa Levkov - EDX JP!

9th Stella Eberts - P21 JP!

9th Elyse Wingertsahn - EVOLVE JP!

9th Adina Rooney - STUDIO 412 JP!

9th Madeleine Matos - MIAMI DANCE COMPANY JP!

9th Joli DuQuenne - THE STUDIO PROJECT JP!

9th Maya Loureiro - P21 JP!

10th Kendyl Fay - P21 JP!

10th Alessia Pedone - VLAD’S JP!

10th Hudson Heath - WEST FLORIDA JP!

[flabebabe]

I was tagged by @oatmealstreetfighter to do this ask meme! Thank you!!!!

Last song: Spiders - System of a Down

I dunno if it's considered a popular song but I never hear anyone mention it so I'm gonna say it's underrated.

Favorite color: Periwinkle!!! Pure magic when the sky is this color.

Last book: Cujo. I'm like, 3 pages in.

Last movie: I Spit on Your Grave. Roger Ebert said it was a flaming pile of garbage. It's a rape/revenge movie and I think it was good AT WORST. That shit was satisfying as fuck.

Last show: The Owl House. I fucking love this show. I can't think of any one reason. It's just really good.

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: Sweet and spicy, whether it's one or both.

Relationship status: SINGLE. I am not going to give up my solitude any time soon. Maybe never. I can be as weird and distracted as I want.

Last thing I looked up: ... Periwinkle. Cause I wanted it to grace this post. But before that it was Hart Island. Some really fucked up shit happened there.

Current obsession: Dragon Quest. Still.

No ragrets.

Thanks again for tagging me. 😄

[canonicallyanxious]

on behalf of children, thank you // a fanmix for conrad schintz

01. Blue Lips | Regina Spektor // 02. Escapism (feat. AJ Michalka, Zach Callison & Grace Rolek) | Steven Universe // 03. Birthday Song | The Greeting Committee // 04. Empty Head | Frankie Cosmos // 05. Bug Like an Angel | Mitski // 06. My Bike | Kimya Dawson // 07. Trial & Error | Slothrust // 08. Monkey's Wedding | Nick Leng // 09. The Mute | Radical Face // 10. Bicycle Lane | Tom Rosenthal

"it's time to unlearn that lesson." // a fanmix for the fix

01. Devil's Gun | C.J. & Co. // 02. Boogieman | Childish Gambino // 03. When Everything Went Wrong | Fantastic Negrito // 04. Holy Roller (Hallelujah) | Portugal. The Man // 05. Truth | Alex Ebert // 06. 1940 | The Submarines // 07. The Chase | Broken Bells // 08. Formentera | Metric // 09. Spotlight (Son Lux Remix) | Mutemath // 10. Think | Two Door Cinema Club

[listen on spotify: Conrad & The Fix] / [my other d20 fanmixes]

[justbusterkeaton]

“Today I look at Keaton's works more often than any other silent films.

They have such a graceful perfection, such a meshing of story, character and episode, that they unfold like music.

Although they're filled with gags, you can rarely catch Keaton writing a scene around a gag; instead, the laughs emerge from the situation; he was “the still, small, suffering center of the hysteria of slapstick,” wrote the critic Karen Jaehne.

And in an age when special effects were in their infancy, and a “stunt” often meant actually doing on the screen what you appeared to be doing, Keaton was ambitious and fearless. He had a house collapse around him. He swung over a waterfall to rescue a woman he loved. He fell from trains. And always he did it in character, playing a solemn and thoughtful man who trusts in his own ingenuity.”

- Roger Ebert

[blowflyfag]

WORLD WRESTLING FEDERATION MAGAZINE :  JANUARY 1996

Remember the Name… and You Will… GOLDUST 

By Vince Russo 

If you’ve ever been to the corner of Hollywood and Vine, you know exactly what I’m talking about. As darkness blankets the sky and the warm glow of the moon filters the earth below, they all crawl out from under the marble stars. Who they are, or WHAT they are, I have no idea! Hollywood’s children–I guess. Green hair, purple hair, HIGH, STIFF hair, kabuki makeup, black lipstick and pierced EVERYTHING! They claim to be the “real” stars of Hollywood. Not the fictitious celluloid legends that are born and eventually die on the big screen, but the living, breathing souls who inhabit that sacred boulevards of Tinseltown. They’re the unknown stars of the street that literally “live to be seen.”

Goldust. Hollywood. In his mind, he is unquestionably the greatest star that the world has ever known. He has seen all the “so-called” legends come and go, but none–NONE–even come close to the glamor, the glitz, the grace of… SSSSSSSSSSSSS, GOLDUST. Fact or Fiction? You have to make the call yourself–but not until this editor throws his two movie stubs in! 

Will Goldust be successful in bringing his legend to the World Wrestling Federation, or will he simply be a box-office bust? That is the question that both moviegoers and Federation fans across the country are asking. However, in order to come up with the ending of this movie, you first need to see–AND UNDERSTAND–all of the scenes that precede it. 

Act 1–In the opening, you must first understand that Goldust is indeed a MAN. Not a man wanting to be his Aunt Edna, but a real, true, bona fide MAN! Based strictly on his appearance, many of you reading this column have called him many things–from a Liberace wannabe (who chooses to have long, golden hair rather than the stiff, hairsprayed pompadour look) to the president of the “To Wrong-Fu, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar, Fan Club!” Do you understand what it is that I’m trying to say? I mean, I’m saying it in the nicest way that I know how! Goldust is neither of those things. He IS a MAN! A 100 percent male Caucasian! 

Act 2–So then, if he is a man, then what type of man is he? Good question. I like to explain it by saying that Goldust simply has a SEVERE case of “Hollywood on the Brain.” If you understand that, then you will have a much better hold on his outrageous personality. Granted, on the surface it appears that he may be a few stars short of Hollywood Boulevard, but according to him, not only does he have it all together but that star-studded street isn’t even big enough to carry his precious star! So, now if you understand the first two acts–MAN with HOLLYWOOD ON BRAIN–we should be able to go on. If not, go back and study the lines! 

Act 3–OK, so now we know he is a MAN with HOLLYWOOD ON BRAIN–BUT the mystery remains: Can he wrestle? Well, based on his In Your House premiere where he slew the “villain” Marty Jannetty and his “Battle of the Legends” match where he edited out Savio Vega, I would have to say that I give his wrestling ability rave reviews! The MAN with HOLLYWOOD ON BRAIN can PERFORM! Don’t be fooled by the golden locks, Mr. DeMille. Once Goldust rips off that bleached blond hairpiece, he becomes a ruthless, vicious actor–or wrestler. He’s menacing, evil–what every big-screen bad guy WANTS to be! He punishes his opponents in much the same way that Siskel and Ebert punish B-rated films! He literally TAKES NO PRISONERS. In my opinion, the Survivor Series will be no different. Bam Bam Bigelow may simply serve as just one of the “projects” on the 14K road that leads to the inevitable Goldust BLOCKBUSTER!

Conclusion–I’m one who hates to give away endings, but in this case I will. In the opinion of this editor, Goldust will soon be wearing yet even more gold! He may not have yet reached “leading man” status here in the World Wrestling Federation, but the Intercontinental Championship may be only a few scenes away. 

Lights, camera, action–remember the name–AND YOU WILL–GOLDUST!

[biglisbonnews]

Expressive Women Emerge through a Haze of Oil Paint in Rosso Emerald Crimson’s Portraits Against backdrops of streaky paint strokes, scratches, and remnants of patterned wallpaper, Rosso Emerald Crimson (previously) depicts women at ease, their figures emerging from a haze of gauzy gowns and masses of hair. The London-based artist is interested in women’s psychology as she visualizes aspects of the feminine that vacillate from the confident and assured to the demure. Dressed in full garments that mask much of their bodies, the subjects’ facial expressions and comportments are the central focus. More Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Expressive Women Emerge through a Haze of Oil Paint in Rosso Emerald Crimson’s Portraits appeared first on Colossal. https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2023/03/rosso-emerald-crimson-oil-portraits/