#greta gerwig is a treasure

[cassiebones]

I'd just like to say one thing about The Barbie Movie:

They chose the right person to drop the F bomb for the PG-13 rating.

[outsidereveries]

very old asks from curiouscat (july 2023—11th august 2023)

13th july 2023

who will be the next group that YGE is intening to promote in the west?

9 of swords rx, 7 of swords • 3 of wands

The company is thinking about them promoting in Australia, Europe and America (the continents). However, it looks like the company will be discreet in some way. They might be scandalous in the future: either will have scandals or have had them already. Despite this, YGE is open with them traveling. Because of previous readings, I’d say BABYMONSTER. However, for TREASURE is also possible to expand their activities and promotions there. If they happen to have scandal(s) in the future, the boys might be the ones too. The numbers in the cards are odd, so as of now i think i see BAEMON.

why Winner renewed their contract with YGE when the agency is doing bare minimum for them?

Justice, Lovers • Chariot

Winner wanted to renew because they’re satisfied with the treatment they receive by the company. The boys weren’t forced at all so the company doing the bare minimum doesn’t matter because they’re satisfied. It looks like the bare minimum for WINNER is enough. I also feel the boys are free when they’re in YGE. Maybe they want to be relevant only in South Korea? (and eventually SEA countries)

how will YGE treat Winner after they're back from hiatus?

5 of pentacles, queen of swords, queen of cups • temperance

I’d say the same as before. Nonetheless the boys are satisfied in this way, they’re feeling in the greatest way like that (I mean their treatment) because the boys are feeling the best in this way YGE treats them.

will the "next bts" be a subunit of treasure?

8 of swords rx, page of pentacles, the lovers • eight of pentacles

it looks like as of now it’s up to yge if a subunit of treasure, no matter t5 or 5t (the other sub-unit) will reach similar popularity and success as bts. however.. they will have to work HARD. the potential is there but it’s not as polished answer as i want to see, so i’d say “uncertain”.

fifty fifty, career reading (next 3 months?)

the sun, 3 of pentacles, queen of wands, 10 of swords rx, 5 of cups rx • the hanged man

I don’t see the girls will disband, I feel they’ll continue as a group. HOWEVER it looks like they’ll be rebranded. I feel they’ll be in ATTRAKT because of the last card, but it will take a lot of time before the whole issue resolves. (excluding the people in WMK and The Givers) The Sun indicates happiness and optimism, so this might be about ATTRAKT’s CEO’s hopes and whole character about everything. 3 of Pentacles is about the girls as a group, if it was reversed, I’d see different answer. Queen of Wands helps the Sun imo, it might be someone specific no matter the girls or someone in ATTRAKT. 10 of Swords RX is the group rebranding such as the name/concept/etc. 5 of Cups RX shows to me that the girls will reconcile with ATTRAKT’s CEO and therefore, someone leaving as of now after this whole issue.. seems unlikely to me. I am aware that FIFTY FIFTY and some other trademarks are already in The Givers’ hands so the girls’ stage names might be changed too. The bottom card to me is about that it will take a lot of time. If the girls happen to leave for The Givers, I can see the idea of creating a new girl group happening, I saw an article hours ago about it. Therefore, 5 of cups RX shows moving on to The Givers and ATTRAKT creating new girl group.

nct dream, career reading (2023)

Page of Pentacles, Knight of Pentacles, Knight of Cups, 8 of Cups, 4 of Pentacles RX • 9 of Pentacles

I see the contract negotiations here, doesn’t matter if there are page and knights here. I feel there are talks about it even now (despite it’s 9 am there), and I see withdrawals and someone (some people) not renewing. Possibly 3 members? 2 of them with earth energy and one of them with water one (big 3 astrology-wise). Jaemin could be here too despite that he’s Leo. Nothing else..

how well Treasure's albums sales wll be this comeback? will they have positive or negative growth?

10 of wands rx, ace of cups rx, 10 of pentacles, 6 of cups, 5 of swords rx, 4 of wands • king of swords

I don’t see negative growth, however YGE expects way more sales. Like a million or two? It looks like it will be less than a million to me. Between 500k and 900k in my opinion. It feels like YGE has nothing to say? Like, i can see they’ll do as similar as previous comebacks. There’s something familiar though, so the numbers might be similar as another comeback/debut release?

mino and jinwoo (both from winner), dynamics reading

8 of swords rx, ace of pentacles, six of pentacles • the sun

Honestly.. their bond seems to be on the business perspective. Despite the bottom card, I think currently they’re not close between each other to the extent they’re having their free time together.. no. I see their relationship in work is wonderful though and even though there’s potential for them to be closer, the boys seem to have issue that has to be resolved before becoming closer between each other. Their bond could be better, but it’s not the worst one I’ve seen.

15th july 2023

what's jinwoo (winner)'s career calling?

4 of wands, the hierophant, strength, 5 of swords rx, 6 of pentacles • 4 of pentacles rx

He feels as a whole when he's not alone, when he's with people he knows/cares for/loves. Both acting and singing seem to be his thing for real, but honestly, i am leaning towards singing a bit more. I see Winner as a group for some reason. So .. singing. As WINNER member.

21st july 2023

will newjeans be the "next bts"?

2 of cups, 5 of pentacles rx, the world • the lovers

The chance is realistic and it’s there as long as ADOR is persistent and/or flexible with the girls’ concept as now about releasing comebacks and activities overall despite if the opportunities are individual or as a group. Min Heejin should rely on collaborations a bit more - collab stages, sub-unit covers, similar things. This might include the girls’s brand ambassador jobs (I have no clue who’s an one and who isn’t, sorry) too. However with the bottom card they MUST be careful for any dating rumors or anything that involves someone from the opposite sex. The Lovers is apparently a warning card for career-related questions sometimes. So will they be the next BTS as you asked, I’d say uncertain. The chance is there.

will akmu leave yge?

Judgement, Page of Swords, 7 of Cups • Ace of Pentacles

Honestly, I see the contract expiration is later (Page of Swords) or if it’s expiring soon, the talks about it are delayed? They seem to be aware of the pros and cons if AKMU resigns with the company (Judgement). They’re also .. how to say, favoritised by the company (7 of Cups)? I’ve felt it for a while and to be honest, I’m suprised that my intuition is right. I see the contract itself will be negotiated a lot if they decide to resign. Honestly, I don’t see exact answer, however the thoughts for resigning or leaving are there. They might have offers from different companies so I can see the contract is expected to expire soon. The answer isn’t clear to me, but the chances are literally 50:50.

will txt's soobin get a chance to debut as an actor in the future?

2 of swords, 2 of pentacles, the star • 3 of swords rx

In 1-2 years, maybe even at smaller timeframe, it looks like Soobin is on a crossroad, so he is thinking about it for sure. If not, he will think about it. To be honest, I see that Soobin is weighing the advantages and disadvantages of starting acting career by himself and I really think there’s fear that Soobin himself will ignore his group if he decides to do it. There seems to be offer that he WANTS WANTS to accept either now or in the future but he seems to be afraid. The chance is there. He might do it but Soobin decides what his priorities are: it really feels like that if he accepts that one offer, he will be booked busy and busier in that sphere. It looks like that Soobin himself feel/see it. It looks like if Soobin accept this, TXT’s activity as a group might be at risk. Maybe there could be long break or something similar? I have no clue. And yet he’s actually aware of this obstacle. I’d say the answer is unstable.

23rd july 2023

how well will Treasure do in their comeback on 28th july?

4 of pentacles rx, 7 of swords rx, death rx • king of swords

The energy was odd when shuffling, the cards were even slower to show, so with that, I’d say they.. won’t do as well as YGE is thinking. At its best, similar as previous releases. The energy for the comeback itself is either focused on the company being generous to TREASURE for some reason or to re-gain missed opportunities in the past to the boys. Their 2nd album release seems to be their last chance for real to somehow prove themselves? I’m sensing financial instability for TREASURE. This won’t be what YGE is expecting. Oh, are YGE stealing money or ideas from the boys? Because it looks like they possibly do that. Something might be exposed, like money-related issue? I don’t see scandal personally to someone in the group but probably to the company themselves. It can be similar to the one when a manager stole from Lisa 50 million won, but I don’t really have a clue if this is actually going to happen at all. Even though this might be the moment Treasure should reform and go back to their original idea, it’ll be for the worst. Their future as a group will be uncertain if something happens to YGE’s reputation around Treasure’s upcoming promotions. Overall, possibly worse than usual. At its best, similar as previous comebacks and releases.

is dang hong hai going to debut under fantagio? what's his future under there?

king of cups rx, wheel of fortune, 2 of swords rx, 2 of wands, justice • the chariot

Overall I doubt he’ll debut there. It looks like Fantagio doesn’t treat him the best, is he back in his trainee period? Because it feels like Fantagio’s plan is to debut him in their upcoming boy group. I see him leaving Fantagio and possibly changing companies. He isn’t sure what he wants to do after he leaves, Hong Hai looks puzzled to me. He has to choose between two things? I’m not sure if this will be legal dispute, or he will find the heaven place for him to fulfill his potential at that time, but everything will be okay. He doesn’t have to be stressed. If his family is in Vietnam, fortunately or not, he won’t be back home. At least that’s what I see.

27th july 2023

YGE issued a statement on 27 July 2023 about Haruto on hiatus due to his grandfather's health problem. is his departure really happening?

is the reason for Haruto’s hiatus accurate: 2 of swords rx, queen of wands, 4 of pentacles rx, 8 of pentacles rx, 5 of swords rx • the hermit

unfortunately, it seems to be inaccurate as i don’t see ANYTHING related to his family. haruto seems to be there with the queen of wands but not anyone else.

after the hiatus allegedly ends, will he return to the group or will leave: 7 of pentacles, 4 of cups, queen of cups rx, ace of swords, 10 of pentacles rx • 6 of pentacles

unfortunately, it looks like there’s chance for haruto to leave the group. it looks like he’s blocked to be creative in some way: it could be personal creative block as well as yge not giving haruto to do what he wants. he might have no choice but to leave. if he happens to leave, the choice seems to be personal and not decided by someone else. if yge acts like a shit towards haruto, the reason behind it won’t be explained by them. they’d rather block for the person they don’t want under them anymore to be creatively involved and to force them to leave.

30th july 2023

1. will TREASURE not doing well in their last release cause YGE to delay/postpone their debut in U.S. market even though they have already signed with Columbia Records? 2. how big will they hit once they debut in the USA market?

1. ace of wands, knight of pentacles, queen of cups • page of wands

No, the sales Treasure will apparently have for their 2nd full album won’t make YGE postpone their plans to push them into the USA. However, it might be something else. (For more explanation, the second question���️)

2. the emperor, death, the hanged man, the sun • 5 of pentacles rx

As of now it might be so and so, eventually I feel it will be better than their relevance in South Korea, the potential for them to do really well in USA is there. The energy is currently in that way because there’s change that has to be done before their official debut there and I’m assuming this is probably because of Haruto’s current hiatus no matter what the actual circumstances surrounding him are. The change in question will make postponement of the boys’ USA debut in my honest opinion. Overall, the potential for TREASURE to hit the jackpot exists, but not under their current circumstances.

bb girls, career reading

3 of swords rx, 5 of wands, 2 of cups rx, 2 of pentacles, page of swords • 7 of cups

As of now, there’s dispute about their future activities. There’s disharmony between BB Girls and their current company about what they want to do. The offers ARE THERE and they indeed exist, but they seem to be on hold. Nonetheless both sides try to balance their relationship with each other but this will affect their activities in some way. Unfortunately, I feel that unless WMK and BB Girls decide about the individual or group activities from their rebrand release on, at its worst all of their upcoming activities will be delayed. It looks like WMK thinks the best of the girls, however the girls seem to be defensive about the things they want to do. Unless this is discussed and eventually decided mutually, their future success is uncertain.

what's the current energy of TREASURE's future comeback?

4 of cups rx, 7 of pentacles, the empress, 9 of swords rx, 7 of swords • king of swords

Honestly, same as usual🤷🏻‍♀️ The same team working hard in their way as usual (with The Empress, I see there might be some laziness, but it might be only my card that I see the person holding bananas, lol), them choosing carefully the songs but they have to be as adaptable as possible. There might be some songs (or all of them, or one of them) that were previously from their seniors such as BIGBANG, WINNER or even iKON’s. I’d add 2NE1 and BLACKPINK too. It could be revealed with the time. By the bottom card, I somehow see the company’s founder watching them. Is he back on the track again for them? That would make sense why they reformed.

if haruto (treasure) leaves, will TREASURE become more relevant?

wheel of fortune rx, the sun rx, the fool rx • knight of cups

No. It looks like they have reached their peak as a group. Unfortunately, they should focus on individual opportunities until their contract expiration date as a group. There seem to be individual offers.

31st july 2023

are YGE making plans/preparing anything for Winner during their hiatus?

4 of cups rx, page of wands rx, queen of wands, the magician rx, 8 of swords rx • page of cups

I don’t see them, so no, YGE doesn’t have any goals, plans, preparations, whatever you want it to call. Either this or WINNER wants the hiatus to feel and be like an one.

will Mina become an ambassador for FENDI?

4 of pentacles rx, king of cups, page of pentacles, 5 of swords rx, the world • 7 of cups

I see why there are rumors: It was offered, wasn’t it? I see 2 people, one of them is probably Mina herself but talks.. preparations.. do they actually exist? It feels like there aren’t any. Either “yes” and she will be soon announced because there aren’t any talks or “no” and the offer is just sitting there, waiting for an answer… Unfortunately, I’m leaning towards the negative answer…

3rd august 2023

were there any offers to Mina as an ambassador from any other brand than FENDI?

5 of cups rx, 4 of pentacles rx, strength, ace of wands, 8 of swords rx • 10 of wands

currently no, either in the future she might or she received in in the past but was denied. i am not sure how to interpret it this time.

4th august 2023

what'll be the next big k-pop scandal?

knight of wands, page of cups, 8 of cups, justice rx, judgement • page of swords

2 people who are very young seem to withdraw/leave from something/someone/somewhere. they are young, under 30 (int. age). one of them is heavily influenced by fire signs or their anger, while the other one seems to be influenced by water signs or their emotions/intuition. both of them want to explore their own career path: the wands person wants to fight for their future while the other one cherish its fate so much that they will do anything to do it in their own way. they are aware of their actual feelings. despite of the circumstances that they’ll be still getting satisfying amount of money, they know that this isn’t their place and they have no choice but to set boundaries about their actual, 100% freedom. the people in question seem to be mistreated and they’re aware of what they actually deserve/want but it’s not given to them to the amount they want to. the people that I see are very smart and are aware of the possible consequences but will do this nonetheless because they know it’s right to do it. the bottom card either seems to be about delay in some way or it’s about another person that will join them. the scandal in question might be released too late. Unfortunately, I see BLACKPINK. Again. More specifically Lisa/Rosé (knight of wands and page of cups) and Jennie (bottom card). Jisoo seems to either renew or isn’t in the same page as them.

5th august 2023

are the news about aliens in the US a distraction?

queen of wands, ace of wands, temperance, the fool, king of cups rx, strength rx • six of pentacles

yes and no. yes for obvious reasons: they hide something that’s related to their current issues and obstacles. no because they finally admitted to us the people that there’s (some?) truth to this. there’s some sort of manipulation for the reason why there’s disctraction. it seems that usa were caught🤡

what's the chances winner will debut in usa?

8 of clubs, 2 of clubs, 2 of spades, six of clubs, king of diamonds • 7 of diamonds

Around the middle. It looks like YGE has offered them this but WINNER had declined. both by colors and by cards’ meanings: 40 to 50%. WINNER seem to prefer their comfortable zone. They don’t believe the company’s manipulation tricks and that’s why WINNER is very serious in this answer. I heard strong “NO.” and one of the sides not believing the other. The reason WINNER is still there is probably that they seem to be the only one with stronger, dominant energy than the rest and perhaps WINNER has the upper-hand.

8th august 2023

does rosé know about the viral joke where the celebs she takes pics with end up breaking with their partner? if yes, what does she think about it?

the hermit, judgement, knight of pentacles • page of cups

she seems to be aware of that joke as there’s tendencies that she thought about it. however, she doesn’t realise what can happen for these people next (like you said, the celebs breaking up with their partner) and thinks that’s not serious from the outsiders’ side. honestly, by this whole spread i see that rosé doesn’t care at all. she minds her own business and according to her, everyone else should do it too.

seok matthew's career path after zb1 (allegedly) disband

nine of cups rx, the lovers rx, king of pentacles rx, the chariot rx, queen of pentacles • page of pentacles

After the group disbands, I see Matthew leaving MNH as it makes him feel like (as an individual person) he is under nightmare company. Apparently Matthew will feel really attached to the boys and nothing seems to be compared with them. He might have not guts to do something regards his future but will do it nonetheless. The energy for him establishing his own company is still there and honestly, I’m very suprised that I happened to be .. i don’t know, right?

lisa and minnie, dynamics reading

7 of cups, king and queen of swords, the tower rx, 9 of swords rx • the hanged man

Their current bond isn’t as good as it can be. However, due to recent situation that happened between both of the girls, they should react to it with their mind rather than their emotions. Because of, I assume, manipulating tendencies, the relationship between both of the girls isn’t as nice as we think and obviously they’re delaying the inevitable to distance themselves from each other. I wouldn’t be suprised if after the contract negotiations from Lisa’s side they won’t be friends anymore.

10th august 2023

will twice have another hit in their next comeback?

page of cups rx, 5 of wands, 4 of swords, 6 of pentacles rx, knight of cups • 10 of wands

overall, no, i doubt it. with more details, there seems to be some sort of scandal (5 of wands confirmes it’s scandal-related thing to me) or something else that will shake the things up. it can be about mina since i saw there can be such a thing about her months ago. after that there’s rest and possibly departure OR postponement from the group’s next comeback, depending on how everything will turn out. it seems to happen around the comeback promotions despite if there will be pre-release or not.

how karina and wonyoung see each other?

Karina: The Chariot • 6 of Wands

Wonyoung: Justice • 8 of Cups

Karina sees Wonyoung as someone whose relevance can chase in some way, someone who’s famous FAMOUS. Karina’s thoughts seem to be all about Wonyoung’s relevance and there’s nothing much about anything else. On the other hand, Wonyoung sees Karina as someone with whom she will treat as she treats her. If Karina dislikes Wonyoung, she’ll return it back. If Karina treats Wonyoung like a princess, she’ll return the gestures back. However, Wonyoung doesn’t trust her at all as she seems to have trust issues about her intentions overall. Wonyoung seems to attach towards people easily and because of her relevance and/or another situations in her life the younger possibly has abandonment issues.

what newjeans (girl by girl) think about their perfomance in lollapalooza (chicago)?

Minji: 4 of wands • 3 of pentacles

Hanni: the empress • the star

Danielle: 7 of wands • 3 of wands

Haerin: 5 of wands rx • page of cups

Hyein: judgement • knight of pentacles

Minji and Hanni’s thoughts are really positive, they think they did great. Minji loved the way the group worked at that time performance-wise, while Hanni felt she was the star at that time (with good intentions!).

Similar as Minji and Hanni, Danielle was in her spirit at that time and she loves the way she performed!

Haerin on the other hand felt that she could do better. She seems to be perfectionist in this case, she might’ve felt that she did at its best minor mistakes for some reason.

I assume Hyein thought about it in the recent past, and she still seems to think about it too. She was very dedicated to do her best. It looks like the maknae is thinking of her mistakes if there were any at that time and how to make them dissapear.

11th august 2023

out of ryujin and yuna, who's the most talkative in itzy?

Ryujin: 3 of wands • temperance

Yuna: the chariot rx • page of wands

out of them two, Ryujin. Yuna seems to be more.. i don’t know, reserved? I’m not sure if Ryujin is the most talkative member out of the group or it’s someone else from the “unnie” line. (Chaeryeong isn’t definitely the most talkative one from what I saw a while ago)

what i-netz think of ive? (originally asked "international fans")

the hermit, temperance rx • 7 of swords rx

“in their own bubble”, very disbalanced as a group. they seem to be aware of the bigger relevance for yujin and wonyoung because they were former iz*one members. i wouldn’t be suprised if many of the international dives were wiz*ones at first. majority of them bias either of them. doesn’t approve starship’s treatment towards the group, many of them might be even solo stans. some of the dives have totally different opinions about everything. the fandom outside of south korea seem to be very disconnected.

opinions on greta gerwig's achievement that she's the first female director to have $1B profits (originally asked .. in different wordorder)

king of pentacles • 7 of cups

many people are congratulating her for the achievement for sure HOWEVER a part of them aren’t sincere. to me the thoughts and feelings are very divided. the thoughts seem to be positive with many of the people saying congratulations and applauding her for all she did to Barbie (the 2023 film), however the feelings aren’t that much sincere compared to the thoughts, some of them seem to envy her, hate her and this similar things. however, the seven of cups can be interpreted as some of the people’s hope for female directors and etc. in the film/tv industry to be more active and similar stuff. (apart from the protests that i’m aware as of now)

brief career reading for the next 3 years, zhang hao

10 of swords rx, king of pentacles, death, 9 of pentacles, 3 of pentacles, 7 of pentacles, wheel of fortune • 4 of cups rx

slowly but steady zhang hao will be more and more relevant and build his name out there in the k-pop industry. hao is dedicated to zerobaseone amd seems to build his reputation as member of that group rather than the zhang hao for example (as individual). he will work really hard and the hard work will be seen over the time. overall, great times will come towards zhang hao success and career wise.

zb1's success: comparison between them and anyone else in the k-pop industry (originally worded differently)

queen of cups rx, 10 of wands, judgement • knight of pentacles

Roughly the potential is there, the direction isn’t. There’s lack of direction, like path despite if it’s for the boys’ storyline or their individual activities in total (or another thing). Wakeone isn’t aware they’re the gold they have to cherish while it’s in their hands that much. The boys’ relevance can be better if Wakeone wakes up. The issue is completely the company.

winner's relationship with yge

2 of swords rx, knight of swords, the chariot rx • page of wands

On hold, they don’t talk with each other. Possibly because they’re on hiatus?

huening kai, career reading (next 3 months)

6 of pentacles rx, 10 of pentacles rx, the magician • ace of pentacles

Career-wise, individually Huening Kai seems to have something that will be snitched towards another person. This can lead to some burst ideas towards him. It seems to be individual offer that will be given to someone else without him realising. Apart from the this, as usual. Nothing seems to change🤷🏻‍♀️

are KISS OF LIFE the next BTS?

4 of swords rx, the empress rx, queen of cups rx • king of swords

no, they aren't the next BTS. the potential doesn't exist.

will haechan get chance to be a brand ambasador?will haechan get realease his solo song this year when haechan will get solo album?

#1: the magician, queen of cups rx • the empress

#2: ace of wands, 10 of cups rx • justice

#3: 10 of clubs, 5 of clubs, 6 of clubs, 3 of clubs, jack of spades (haechan)

#1: I see Haechan being brand ambassador somewhere, but for some reason I don’t think he will like the experience.

#2: The chances for him releasing individual song is there but he won’t be that happy? He might be dissatisfied about the song’s final outcome.

#3: Everything depends on Haechan himself, but if I remove the jack, between 3 days and 6 months or on average, roughly month and a half to two.

what does lisa think of the attack her solo stans (lillies) are doing towards newjeans?

10 of cups, judgement • 9 of swords rx

Lisa, obviously, isn’t happy.. if she’s aware about it. She seems to not know about this.

what are the chances trump will become the president? again? this prediction is more likely to get wrong

queen of swords, the lovers, 5 of cups, queen of cups, the hierophant rx • knight of pentacles

Depending on USA’s citizens, low. They seem to like someone else more now..

—o—

note: i've reached the tags' limit, so i'm stopping here :) will continue in the next post. beware these readings ARE OLD

[whinlatter]

beasts | from the postbag 🦉

it is a source of great delight, great gratitude and great guilt that i have an inbox full of juicy questions i haven't answered. reckon it's about time i got around to answering some of them! this is a bumper post with lots to answer and plenty to rummage around in, so if you have sent me a question i hope you will find it answered in here! (if i haven't replied, please know that i have treasured/been tickled by every one and will never not be pleased as punch that people reach out to say hi and chat about stuff i put out into the world). alright. to business!

it’s a fair question anon, and the answer is at least partly as you suggest: neville and seamus are loyal to ginny (dean, ofc, wasn’t there). in c.12 harry talks about having spoken with neville about it, and though he tells ginny about it, he also reassures her neville didn’t spill her secrets - harry doesn’t like people talking about him behind his back, and he’s right to assume ginny wouldn’t either. (i mean, i also think waiting for someone to be ready to talk about something is a basic mark of respect for a loved one - and learning to be patient and not demanding information from people is a skill a certain mr potter could do with learning). but, as i hope c.14 gestured towards and as the flashback chapters will unpack, ginny also had a very specific war that was particular to her and who she was vis-à-vis harry and the order. neville and (to a lesser extent) seamus know some of it, but they don’t know the whole picture. hope this helps!

i live to gag! (thank u anon!) 

i played with writing ginny having different emotional reactions in the final scene of c.14, but in the end decided i liked having her quiet, resigned to it, like she knew this was coming (they’ll all know soon, as she tells herself throughout this chapter). for someone who is often kicking off and raging at people bearing bad news, it’s a lot of fun to write ginny as someone with the wind knocked out from her every now and then. 

i won’t spoil this one, anon, but i will say that i think ginny understands harry, his good intentions, and the reasons for his blindspots. they’ve got chats to have for sure. but will she be throwing hands imminently? i would not bet on it. 

it was little women! the same book hermione's reading in chapter 3. the granger girlies love a classic. they prefer the winona ryder adaptation but hermione takes the family to see the greta gerwig version and bawls and ron has to mop her up in the richmond everyman cinema.

to these lovely anons and the others i am keeping close to my chest - i am reaching into the screen and tenderly stroking your rosy little cheek. thank you for waiting for next bits of my fic !!!

on harry's characterisation - harry is a cranky crabby little grouch with a temper and a good sulk in him. he also is not beating the softie/sentimental allegations and will always be a sweetpea when it comes to those with good vibes and freckles in spades. and we should not forget it!

anon, i don’t know what you’re like as a host, but if two horny teenage houseguests decided to use my hut for a spot of snogging and heavy petting i’d be putting my foot down and setting the skrewts on them.

more seriously - there are lots of reasons, and most are boring. some are just ‘plot’. these are two characters who are not just physically removed from one another, but having to clock their emotional distance from each other, or at least the distance in their experiences of war and how that has changed them. having them physically distant and trying to find their way back to each other through new ways of communicating is a part of this story. it would be a much much more boring story if harry and ginny could see each other every week. i love a hinny hangout as much as the next person. but the story wouldn’t work if they had endless access to each other. and this is where the other reasons come into play - story conventions, or the rules put in place by canon, where characters beyond hogwarts very rarely set foot on hogwarts’ grounds without serious reason, and the school behaves pretty much like every other english boarding school, which is strictly controlling visitor time and not just letting people rock up and hang out with the students whenever they feel like it. 

you best believe michael A&R corner will be handing out the ravenclaw lads’ mixtapes outside the courtroom, anon!

this is definitely an agree-to-disagree on this one, anon. i think, if there were no post-war justice, no trials, no public reckoning, no need to immediate need to clear snape’s name, then maybe. but i think harry would get one whiff of death eaters trying to blame their crimes on old sev and say, not on my watch. he’s literally the only person who can clear snape’s name posthumously. do i think he felt weird about it all? absolutely. but i think he would do as he does in ootp re clearing his own name and make it his business to get the truth out. i don't know if you've noticed but that young man is really rather righteous. he also couldn't wait to tell voldemort snape was actually a goodie. he was chomping at the bit, he was salivating. he had the goss and he could not wait to spread it. he's just like me fr!

thank you sm anon! i have talked a little bit about my view of hermione and ginny's relationship here (forgive the link to an old thing, i am terrible for repeating myself), but i think their relationship as you see it in beasts is my way of trying to write the middle ground between the two views of their friendship often doing the rounds in fandom - eg. they're absolute soulmate besties who totally get each other all the time vs they're basically not friends at all. i am just a bit of a sucker for hard won female friendships earned by girls growing up and getting a grip. now - if harry and ginny had an argument, i imagine ginny would be right, and hermione is always on the sign of reason. but even if ginny wasn't right, i reckon hermione would have a quiet word with her about it, but still make sure she told harry off to, just because it's good to never let the men in your life know peace.

i yelped! you dreamed of my fic! that's bonkers and brilliant in equal measure. look if chapter 15 gets revealed to you in a dream and it's better than in the google doc i'll be soooo fuckin pissed.

[lithiumcreepblog]

I love movies and tv shows. One of my fondest childhood memories is watching The Dark Knight in a packed cinema with my dad. I rewatch the paintball episodes of Community every time I feel down. I have experienced some of the best storytelling of my life in front of a TV screen. Some films and shows follow me days, months, years after my first viewing, taking me back to that time when I first watched it, whether it’s a particular line or a certain performance.

All of these things that movies and shows make me feel, all of the memories I treasure, all the late night conversations I have had raving about whatever I watched that day, they’re not because of a studio or a company.

I’m not going to the cinema to see Barbie because it’s produced by Warner Bros. I’m watching Barbie because I know it was made with passion, by everyone involved, from Margot Robbie to writer/director Greta Gerwig to Sarah Greenwood the set designer to the film crew to the extras.

People, countless people, have worked on all the films and shows I have loved over the years. Writers transform mere ideas into cohesive narratives, they collaborate with others, workshop things to death until something clicks. Actors translate those narratives into something tangible on screen, embodying every emotion and word to their best abilities. Many other people help along the way, to make something that can potentially inspire others to tell their stories as well.

Those people are the ones I remember. They’re the reason I go to the movies or eagerly wait for the next episode to air on television. Not Bob Iger or David Zaslav, but the people who give their time and lives towards making art out of nothing. And they deserve to be compensated fairly. They deserve to be respected in their own industry. They deserve so much more than what they are getting right now.

Now, both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA are on strike, which will effectively halt the production of all film and television in the US. Shows will be postponed, projects will be cancelled. And I say, good. The studios and the CEOs need to be faced with the harsh reality that they’re nothing without writers and actors.

I love movies and shows, but I love the people who make them even more, and their livelihoods need to be protected and fought for. I stand with the writers, actors and everyone else who is on the picket lines.

Solidarity with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA till the end.

[fashionbooksmilano]

Barbie : The World Tour

Margot Robbie, Andrew Mukamal

Foreword Edward Enninful, Photographer Craig McDean

Rizzoli, New York 2024, 168 pages, 24,5x33,5cm, ISBN 978-88-918-4158-2

euro 52,00

email if you want to buy booksinprogressmilano@yahoo.it

For the press tour following the record-breaking release of Greta Gerwig’s award-winning, acclaimed Barbie movie, producer and star Margot Robbie and her stylist Andrew Mukamal immersed themselves in some of Barbie’s most iconic outfits and curated vintage pieces, then approached designers, from Giorgio Armani to Donatella Versace, to create looks inspired by the doll-size originals. Many of these looks were not seen as the official Barbie press tour was cut short—so Margot and Andrew worked with renowned fashion photographer Craig McDean to shoot her in the looks exactly as they were curated: Schiaparelli in Los Angeles, Vivienne Westwood in London, vintage Chanel with matching Steamline luggage at the airport, and beyond.   Accompanying McDean’s sumptuous photography are original Barbie dolls from the period, a treasure trove of rare materials from Mattel’s Barbie fashion archives, and the designers’ sketches and Polaroids from fittings, layered into evocative collages by Fabien Baron, who conceived and produced the shoots and art-directed the book. With text by Margot Robbie and Andrew Mukamal, as well as handwritten contributions from the designers behind the looks (from Olivier Rousteing and Michelle Ochs to Manolo Blahnik and Jeremy Scott), this unique book blends the serious chic of high fashion with the serious fun of Barbie world—the dolls, the history, and the style that have captured imaginations for 65 years.

11/05724

[bombshellsandbluebells]

7, 10, 15 👀🎥

7. A film you wish had a sequel?

Treasure Planet! It was one of my favorites as a kid, it had two planned sequels that got axed when it underperformed, and I've been left forever wondering what those were going to be.

While there wasn't more source material to adapt, the world they built with the first was so rich and fun that I would have loved to see more stories take place there.

(Honestly I think I have a longer list of movies that SHOULDN'T have had a sequel than ones I wish had one.)

10. What's your favorite movie director?

Edgar Wright hands down. I adore his style, the way that he never lets you forget that film is first and foremost a visual medium.

Great runner ups involve Jordan Peele, Jennifer Kent, Bong Joon-Ho, Greta Gerwig, Martin Scorcese, Steven Spielberg's early years

15. A film everyone loves but you hate?

The Notebook lol. It's....fine. I do find the overall framing device of him telling her about their life because she doesn't remember sweet, but overall I find the whole movie either boring, way over dramatic, or just kind of annoying. I don't find their romance very romantic, I'm more annoyed with the guy demanding dates than charmed, and the first time I watched I just kind of left with the overall sense of "THIS is what people were hyping up so much??"

Thanks for asking!!! :) I could talk about movies all day.

[peroxidejuliet]

Barbie: The World Tour

For the press tour following the record-breaking release of Greta Gerwig's award-winning, acclaimed Barbie movie, producer and star Margot Robbie and her stylist Andrew Mukamal immersed themselves in some of Barbie's most iconic outfits and curated vintage pieces, then approached designers, from Giorgio Armani to Donatella Versace, to create looks inspired by the doll-size originals. Many of these looks were not seen as the official Barbie press tour was cut short--so Margot and Andrew worked with renowned fashion photographer Craig McDean to shoot her in the looks exactly as they were curated: Schiaparelli in Los Angeles, Vivienne Westwood in London, vintage Chanel with matching Streamline luggage at the airport, and beyond. Accompanying McDean's sumptuous photography are original Barbie dolls from the period, a treasure trove of rare materials from Mattel's Barbie fashion archives, and the designers' sketches and Polaroids from fittings, layered into evocative collage by art director Fabien Baron. With text by Margot Robbie and Andrew Mukamal, as well as handwritten contributions from the designers behind the looks (from Olivier Rousteing and Michelle Ochs to Manolo Blahnik and Jeremy Scott), this unique book blends the serious chic of high fashion with the serious fun of Barbie world--the dolls, the history, and the style that have captured imaginations for 65 years.

[shelbbswrites]

I only know life before the Barbie movie  and after the Barbie movie.

Unsurprisingly & delightfully, Greta Gerwig did it AGAIN — 3/3! I LOVED IT.

America Ferrera is a national treasure. Ryan Gosling is a comedic genius. Margot Robbie’s performance is my favorite I’ve seen from her.

[professionally-confuused]

i watched the barbie movie last night and HOLY SHIT. i'll never be the same. my life has changed. i cried TWICE. they put crack in that movie i swear to you. i laughed. i cried. i gasped. i cackled. i SOBBED. greta gerwig is a national treasure. i walked in with a pretty pink outfit and thought i was gonna have a giggly fun time and i left questioning my relationship with my mother. what the fuck.

[wonderfullymadechild33]

Money Makes the World go Round! (Sigh)

If money were not a factor in my life, everything would be going exactly as I had hoped. There would be no doubt in my mind that I couldn't get through what I'm trying to get through right now-- but this just isn't the case because of money. And trying to solve your money problems somehow makes things worse. The added stress of finally having the thing you need to survive yet not knowing how to manage it. The older you get, the more the cliche sayings you've grown up hearing make sense. I try not to stress because I don't want to be that kind of person; the kind that lets money rule their every move. Life is much greater than that, despite what capitalism may want you to believe. So, during this time of chaos in my life, I'd like to turn the root of my issue into less of a villain, and hopefully that way feel a little more secure. I'll be doing that by listing a few good things that money has brought us, more specifically me.

Lady Bird (2018, Greta Gerwig)

There is no such thing as a perfect movie-- with the one exception of course: Lady Bird. Every shot, actor, line, angle, design-- everything about that movie lands exactly in the nooks of my brain where there are missing pieces. I never knew the impact of film until watching this movie. It is the perfect adaptation of being a selfish, ambitious, and (ashamedly) admittedly resentful daughter of a deeply loving parent with just as strong as a personality as your own. This makes the list because no movie can be made without a budget, but more specifically, the budget for this film made it what it was. Director Greta Gerwig was working with a 10-million-dollar budget (the things I would do for 10 million Washingtons), and while that is enough of a reason to make the list, one of the greatest things to happen to the film was the camera used for filming. Due to budget constraints, Gerwig had to film on a different camera than she had intended to use and add filters and effects in post-production. Of course, we'll never know what the movie would have looked like if filmed on a different camera, but I can confidently say I don't care to. I meant it when I wrote it the first time: this movie is perfect for every aspect of its production. Thus, money (or lack thereof) led this film to be the amazing work of art that it is.

2. Personalized checkbook designs

I have oddly specific memories from when I was younger of looking at the mail that my mom brought inside. Among those flyers, envelopes and bills was almost always a catalog containing a variety of personable checkbook designs to help your checks stand out from the crowd! I was never old enough to pick one out for a checkbook of my own, and by the time I was, checkbooks had checked out. But I think it's cute that the need to quickly share money led to a business surrounding the personalization of sed slips. I loved the kitten designs and always thought I would have my own someday. Personalization in this world is really important, yet frequently overlooked. Therefore, I think this is perfect for the list. Let's not forget who we are, even when we're losing our heads over money.

3. Thrift stores

If it weren't for the stressor or money and the inability for everyone to access it equally, thrift stores wouldn't have a use. I see thrift shopping as treasure hunting. I've found a plethora of unique items in thrift stores that would otherwise have been thrown away. Its a really interesting way to pass the time as well-- you could spend hours in one thrift store picking up different items of clothing wondering what stories and lives had been lived in them before they ended up in your hands. On top of thrift stores housing these items for a little longer than their life expectancy, they're cheap! And that's the point of this entry, right? The world would be a much lovelier place is things were cheaper-- or even affordable would do.

4. All you can eat pancakes at IHOP

It was only for a limited time, but it was fun while it lasted. I can't remember the last time something so amazing only cost $5. It was so short-lived I didn't even have a chance to try my hand at a never-ending pancake stack. But If I had to guess, I could have probably eaten 8 pancakes, putting me at about 63 cents per pancake--that's a deal. That's a beautiful thing that only a little bit of money (at one point) could buy you.

5. $5 movie Tuesdays

Cinema has got the be one of the greatest things to happen to artists. Film deserves to be displayed on big screens, but the modern-day movie ticket is kind of ridiculously priced-- unless you want to hit the theater on a TUESDAY! I honestly don't know why this discount came to be, but it came back around in 2022 after being dismissed just after the COVID pandemic began. This took a serious toll on AMC, and the company almost went to Bankruptcy that year. Alas, the conglomerate stands as top dog in the movie realm, and I don't mind (especially on Tuesdays).

Thank you for taking the time to read my short list of nice things that money has been able to give me. My frustrations remain, but I feel a little happier to remember that I'm lucky enough to have the money to participate in the things that I enjoy. I hope you can find a few dollars in your pocket and spend it on something you like-- you deserve it. And remember, don't let money drive you crazy. You're smarter than that.

WMC

[newagesispage]

                                                                             APRIL 2024 

 THE RIB PAGE 

Look for it May 3: Catching Fire: The story of Anita Pallenberg. Scarlett Johansson is her voice from an unpublished memoir. 

***** 

The 96th Oscars happened! Kimmel did a great job. It felt calm and relaxed. Da’vine Joy Randolph got herself an Oscar. The usual suspects won everything with Poor Things and Oppenheimer doing quite well. Emma Stone was great in Poor Things but I was so routing for Lily Gladstone. American Fiction won best adapted screenplay. I was so happy that War is Over won and it was great to see Sean Ono Lennon and he asked the audience to yell Happy Mothers Day to Yoko!! Just about the best part of the night. Zone of interest won best International pic and it came with a controversial speech. My best dressed were Zendaya and Lily Gladstone. Other bests were Rita Moreno, Jodie Foster, Billie Eilish, Ke Huy Quan, Greta Gerwig, Florence Pugh, Issa Rae, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, Kirsten Dunst and Jessie Plemons, Charlize Theron, Mary Steenburgen, Jeffrey Wright, Mark Ruffalo, Tantoo Cardinal and Lupita Nyongo. America Ferrera and Brendan Fraser’s wife were like shiny book ends and I loved it. Emily Blunt and Margot Robbie looked stressed and uncomfortable. Melissa Rivers thought there was not a lot of structure on the red carpet. I disagree, thought there were too many. She was right about the ties, though.. More ties. It is not always cool with open collars. There was a lot of fabric being pulled along behind on this carpet. ** Many changed for the Vanity fair afterparty. Waiting in line to get into the party there were some more best dressed like Lindsay Lohan, Salma Hayek and Emily Blunt. ** Toward the end of the show, Scary Clown 45 weighed in and Kimmel against advice had to comment with, “Isn’t it past your jail time?”. There are now t-shirts and mugs with the line. 

***** 

Dr. Dre and Martha Reeves got their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. ** Missionary is Dr. Dre and Snoop back after 30 years with an answer to Doggy Style. 

***** 

We are really going backwards this summer with Ghostbusters and Beetlejuice. But, I guess Retro will be the word of the season cuz they will probably be big! 

***** 

Clerks III just made me bawl my eyes out. - Tyler Lappin 

***** 

There is a new kickoff rule in the NFL. The kicker’s teammates will now line up at the opponents 40- yard line. 

***** 

Suffs on Broadway looks awesome with Hillary Clinton producing. 

***** 

Jonathon Haidt is out with a book called The Anxious Generation. It is filled with alarming statistics about the smart phone age. The rewiring angle is so true. This is why I don’t have a smart phone. We must pay attention to the depression, anxiety and suicide in the world. 

***** 

The Will and Jada Pinkett Smith family charity is shutting down. Revenue has dropped drastically in the past couple of years. Journalists are looking into their donations and some are a mystery. They gave to Rebecoming and they can’t seem to be found. Smith tax info will be released soon. 

***** 

Can’t wait for Ezra with Bobby Cannavale, Robert DeNiro, Vera Farmiga, Rose Byrne and Whoopi Goldberg. Tony Goldwyn is directing. 

***** 

There is no point in giving a gift unless one also treasures it oneself. - Madam Colette 

***** 

RFK Jr. has chosen Nicole Shanahan as his VP. 

***** 

Summer Blizzard flavors are here: Picnic Peach Cobbler, Ultimate Cookie and Peanut Butter cookie dough party. ** Cherry dip is back at DQ. 

***** 

Are you creating more terrorists than you are killing? - Donald Rumsfeld 

***** 

The British board of film classification changed the Mary Poppins and Ratatouille rating from U to PG.  

***** 

Banksy has new artwork in London that seems to be a message of environmentalism.  

***** 

Tommy is back on Broadway. 

***** 

Krispy Kreme is coming to McDonald’s. 

***** 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is tightening restrictions on imports of African elephants. 

***** 

Tori Spelling filed for divorce from Dean McDermott. 

***** 

The Black Crowes have a new album with Happiness Bastards. 

***** 

Jennifer Ehles character on Law and Order: Organized Crime is so fuckin’ good that she needs to be a regular or have her own spin off. How about Law and Order: Small Town!! I have lived in enough small towns to know that they can compete with the big city on scandal and secrets. 

***** 

Look for the Power of the heart tribute to Lou Reed CD on April 19.  Artists will include Keith Richards, Lucinda Williams, Rufus Wainwright, Roseanne Cash, Angel Olsen, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Rickie Lee Jones. 

***** 

Warner Brothers has sidelined Coyote Vs. Acme. The movie that Will Forte calls, “incredible”, is complete. The film with Forte and John Cena has been left on the shelf for tax purposes? Ugh! 

***** 

Why does Biden get so much shit for Afghanistan? This was Trump’s baby and Biden just carried out the time frame. I mean, they always so conveniently forget. 

***** 

So.. The Chinese are bringing their own countrymen over here and forcing them to work on U.S. pot farms?? Why is our world filled with such heartless greed? There should be no angst involved with the weed industry. 

***** 

Joseph Cuffari is under investigation for failing to notify congress of missing secret service text messages from Jan. 6, deleting text and a settlement with a former employee. He claims he isn’t being investigated and that he is a whistleblower. LIES! They deny deny, they create their own truths. WTF? ** Why does the one Trump judge not seem to really understand the Presidential Records Act? 

***** 

Spiritual Narcissist? What a label. 

***** 

Oregon decriminalized illicit drugs 3 years ago but are rethinking things. Unfortunately, fentanyl use has exploded which brought OD’s. The state decided to recriminalize possession last month. The bill encourages authority to refer people to treatment, though. 

***** 

The Feds are considering changing marijuana’s place in the controlled substance act list.  

***** 

The Eagles trial ended with a thud. Three men were charged with trying to sell stolen notes about Hotel California. Mid trial, the judge dismissed the charges after new evidence that had been withheld surfaced. Ed Sanders obtained the notes legally as he was writing a never released book about the group. 

***** 

Days alert: Greg Vaughan was hospitalized after severe altitude sickness while on vaca. ** Bring back Jen Lilley!! ** I didn’t think I would miss Nicole but I think I will. Please let the powers that be work this out. ** I miss Justin and Bonnie!** I caught a GH the other day. I hadn’t seen it in years but it seems that so many of the characters look alike. On Days, there is a lot of individuality. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. ** Is Sammy on her way home?? 

***** 

The Daytime Emmy’s are set for June 7. 

***** 

Tennessee is discussing the “Chemtrail bill”. The sponsor says that the bill only applies to geoengineering. Some environmentalists say it is conspiracy theory nonsense. Chemtrails is a conspiracy theory related to the lines of vapor coming from jet planes. The bill says that intentional injection release or dispersion by any means, of chemicals, chemical compounds, substances, or apparatus within the borders of this state into the atmosphere with the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of the sunlight is prohibited.” The bill passed the Tennessee senate. ** This almost seems like a direct response to Biden’s measure of instructing the office of science and technology to work with NASA on research of climate intervention. 

***** 

The Republicans against Trump campaign have put together $50 mil to support the 30% or so of their party. ** Recent studies have shown there is a growing distance between young people in this country. There are more and more young men that identify as republican and more and more young women that call themselves democrats. Mixed political marriage may be a thing of the past. An older group of women call themselves, “the wives of the deplorables.”  

***** 

The Ruth Bader Ginsburg women of leadership Award which last year went to Streisand has suddenly changed. The organization that gives the award, the Dwight Opperman Foundation, shortened the name to the Leadership award. The recipients are Elon Musk, Rupert Murdoch, Sly Stallone, Martha Stewart and Michael Milken. Ginsburg’s family and Streisand say they do not support those choices. The Justice’s family has no affiliation with and does not endorse these awards. - Ruth’s daughter Jane. 

***** 

SCOTUS refused to hear the former New Mexico county official, Covy Griffin case. The Cowboy for Trump was ordered to step down from the Otero Co. Board of commissioners after he breached the Capital grounds and was convicted. It is the first time an elected official was removed from office for rebellion against the U.S. since the Civil War. 

***** 

Happy Gilmore 2? Yes, Please! 

***** 

A new prehistoric bird was discovered in China. Imparavis Attenboroughi or Attenborough’s strange bird existed 120 million years ago. It is one of the few in early cretaceous to have no teeth. 

***** 

Of course, the classified doc report from Robert Hur was shady. Hur reported about Biden being a sympathetic, well- meaning elderly man. What? The “confusion” he seemed to refer to was a mix up of a few dates which I think we could all be guilty of. The report tells us that Biden remembered many stories with no problem. In fact, Hur seemed impressed with how solid Biden’s recall was. He has a great memory. ** You appear to have a photographic memory with understanding and recall. - Robert Hur 

***** 

Why does Corey Reynolds not have a pile of Emmy’s?? He just gets better. He is sheer perfection on Resident Alien. Love him!!! 

***** 

The Pope told Ukraine to stop fighting. What? 

***** 

Biden has approved air drops of aid into Gaza. Air drops are the most expensive and least effective way to help. Hey Israel: Stop blocking aid to Gaza! He whispered at the SOTU that Netanyahu will have a “come to Jesus moment.” BTW, State of the Union was awesome. Weak? Confused? I don’t think so. He was wired! Let’s hear more about 3% inflation, low unemployment, the chips act and see the real faces of abortion and IVF restrictions. And so glad that he mentioned the Freedom to vote act. And why did MTG look like a Wal Mart greeter? And why is she shying away from questions about her space lasers? And why is she so rude when others are talking? No manners whatsoever, it was as if she was raised by well, wolves would have done a better job. And Mike Johnson looks so unpleasant. Why does he seem to hate some of us? We haven’t done anything to him. Let’s be proud of America and all that it is and can be. And why do some take credit for an infrastructure bill they voted against? I am so glad that Biden mentioned that. I have been saying that for months. And why won’t people applaud for the education of children? I understand the usual party in charge applauds and the other side sits on their hands but c’mon!! **Steven Nikoui was arrested for shouting at Biden. He and others say, “ Biden never honored those killed at the Abbygate in Kabul. Last year, the President put out a statement mourning the lives of the service members and civilians killed in the horrific terrorist attack. **  George Santos was there. Can’t seem to truly get rid of him. He says that he will run again as an independent. Clarence Thomas was not there. I see the big guns are really starting to speak out. Max Brooks gave us all a great list to appreciate all that Biden has done for this country. He compares the President to FDR. There are policies in place that will benefit us for many years to come. It is time to quit fucking around. I am sure we will see more and more humans with actual brains make their case. ** Some voters say the Biden administration is just nothing. What? Infrastructure? Ever improving economy?  Sustainable energy? We will see the residual effects of all this administration has done for years. Nothing? 

***** 

Rebuttal: What a joke! If some had not heard of Katie Britt before, they sure have now. Republican woman in the kitchen is sort of the perfect statement on the conservatives. She told a specific, horrific sex trafficking story to make Biden look bad. The story took place in Mexico and was during the Bush administration. ** Katie Britt is so bad that she couldn’t be in one of my movies. -Tom Arnold ** Well, that Katie Britt experience was.. Experimental. - Michael Steele ** I guess Katie Britt just failed her VP audition. Godawful! -Roger Stone ** Sen. Katie Britt says that sexual assault is the worst thing that can happen to a woman while encouraging Americans to vote for a convicted sexual predator. - Shannon Watts 

***** 

Marjorie Taylor Greene filed a motion to oust Mike Johnson, but will she pull the trigger? 

***** 

Marjorie Taylor Greene: America’s most embarrassing cousin. - Bill Maher ** She is the true white trash of our country. ** It’s St. Patrick’s Day when Lauren Boebert jerks off a leprechaun. - Bill Maher ** Maher fired CAA after 20 years. ** Not sure what to think about Kara Swisher but she did call out Maher on his Elon crush. 

***** 

Did I see Nicholas Braun as Andy Kaufman for the SNL movie?? 

***** 

When I saw an ad for the new horror, Immaculate, I was sure that it was an Agnes of God remake. 

***** 

We celebrated the NAACP Image Awards. My best dressed were Kerry Washington, Keke Palmer, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Andra Day, Ava Duverney and Misty Copeland. Winners included Victoria Monet, Brandee Younger, Mike Epps, Quinta Brunson and Colman Domingo.  New Edition was put in the Hall of Fame and Usher was entertainer of the year. 

***** 

There is a Waltons cookbook in the works!!!!!!! 

***** 

I usually have a pretty good annoyance with tv ads but I so loved this Wal Mart/ Dino ad. So cute! 

***** 

Kamala Harris toured a Planned Parenthood clinic. Goos for you, VP. 

***** 

Tony Goldwyn had big shoes to fill when he replaced Sam Waterston on Law and Order but it is a perfect fit. 

***** 

History is full of the errors of states and Princes. -Ben Franklin 

***** 

10 years after the water crisis in Michigan, Flint residents have got $0 of the $626.25 mil fund for the lead in their water. Lawyers have gotten their $47.9 mil. 

***** 

Nikki Haley is out. She did take Vermont.  Jason Palmer is out. He did beat Biden in American Samoa. Bloomberg won that territory in 2020. Dean Phillips is out. 

***** 

Rupert Murdoch is engaged to Elena Zhukova.  

***** 

Gov. Abbott in Texas and those crazies have taken over Eagle Pass and the citizens living there are not too happy about it. A local Republican rep says “wetback” for the cameras and does not think twice. 

***** 

Mark Robinson is running for N. Carolina Gov. He is proudly anti- homosexual, trans, Beyonce (satanic), Martin Luther King (communist), Parkland school shooting victims (spoiled little bastards). Yikes! 

***** 

The USPS has unveiled their new Betty Ford stamp which goes on sale April 15 for 68 cents. Looking forward to the Dungeons and Dragon stamps which have no release date yet. 

***** 

An independent investigator cleared Police in the Uvalde shooting. 

***** 

New Jersey’s Jose Uribe pled guilty to 7 charges including conspiracy to commit bribery, wire fraud, obstruction of justice and tax evasion.  It is alleged that he gave Sen. Bob Menendez’s wife a car. He could face 95 years but is cooperating. The indictment says the Senator helped Uribe by trying to persuade prosecutors to go easy on associates. ** Sen Bob Menendez and his wife Nadine have been charged with obstructing justice. 

***** 

In the fake elector plot, Kenneth Chesebro pled guilty in Georgia’s RICO case. People seem to think this can’t happen here but here it is. Stop screwing over your fellow citizens!! ** Hate democracy?? Love dictators?? If ya’ll want to be in Russia so bad, GOI!!!! They have the system that the red hats seem to want. Don’t turn America into Russia, go there! Reagan must be rolling over in his grave. **  

***** 

Chuck Schumer asked for new leadership in Israel.  

***** 

Two men pled guilty to shooting and killing 3 wild donkeys with AR- style rifles in the Mojave Desert. They will be sentenced in July. 

***** 

Sexual assault news: Former Mormon Bishop, John Goodrich, was arrested on felony child sex abuse charges. ** Oh Yeong Su was convicted of sexual misconduct. 

***** 

Tik Tok ban? Is it wrong? What does Jeff Yass have to do with all this? After he visited Trump, suddenly Trump wants Tik Tok to stay.  

***** 

Archeologists in Egypt found the top half of a statue of Ramses II. The bottom was found in 1930. 

***** 

Australia grew the biggest blueberry ever at 20.4 grams. 

***** 

Pierce Brosnan pled guilty to trespassing off of a Yellowstone trail. He was fined $1,500.00. 

***** 

The RNC has elected Michael Whatley and Lara Trump as the new leaders. Some are calling it a mob like takeover. The first thing they did was to lay off most of the staff. They are told to reapply. They also ended the minority outreach program. ** They say the Trump legal bills come to about $230 thou a day.  The money has to come from somewhere and Lara Trump vowed to use the RNC money for her father –in- law. The down ballet races need to fend for themselves because if they defend and save the head of the snake, they will all be alright, I guess.?  

***** 

Kari Lake did not contest her statements in a defamation lawsuit in Arizona. She seems to just want to leave it behind her. 

Some say that Trump should have a VP apprentice. Tulsi Gabbard is in the mix as a VP pick. Her Father, Mike Gabbard is one of the longest serving Dem Senators in the Hawaii legislature. He established the non- profit, ‘Stop promoting Homosexuality.’ Tulsi worked for the anti-LGBTQ organization. So, of course, Trump is interested. She has played both sides, just like him. 

***** 

The laughing stock of the country does not have enough lawsuits so he sued George Stephanopoulos for defamation.  

***** 

Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin will step down in April, ahead of the end of his term in January. This will bring the house Republicans to a 1 point difference with the Dems. Gallagher introduced the bill to ban Tik Tok. 

***** 

Robert Telles, former Clark Co. Public administrator in Vegas is on trial for killing reporter Jeff German. The trial was postponed as they wait for the State Supreme Court to decide if German’s cell phone and computer were protected from disclosure. 

***** 

Princess Kate has cancer. The Press finally shut up about it. 

***** 

Rod Blagojevich tried to reverse a ban on his return to public life. Every shady character will try it now, thanks to Scary Clown. “No. Just go.”- Judge Seeger 

***** 

Sandy Hook never happened. They’re all actors. - Aaron Rodgers** This is a possibility for VP, along with Jesse Ventura for RFK Jr. I guess this all we need to know. 

***** 

CVS and Walgreens now have Federal certification to dispense mifepristone for medical abortions. It is rolling out in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, California and Illinois. 

***** 

Alaia Baldwin Aronow was arrested in Georgia for simple assault, simple battery, battery and criminal trespassing. This included throwing a used tampon at a female staff member. This happened just after Father Stephen Baldwin posted a message asking for prayers for his other daughter, Haley and her hubby Justin Bieber. 

***** 

Former WWE wrestler, Billy Jack Haynes was charged with murder in his wife’s death. 

***** 

The DOJ is giving a full investigation to Boeing. 

***** 

Dr. Phil has a new network, Merit Street Media and will host Dr. Phil Primetime.  

***** 

Reporter Steve Baker was arrested by the FBI and charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority. He was also charged with disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a capitol building and parading, demonstration or picketing in a Capitol building. 

***** 

Regular church goers have dropped to under 50%. What other ways can we get together as a community? 

***** 

Why is Alabama’s murder rate 3 times higher that NY? And why do conservatives always talk about crime in NY? 

***** 

France has made an abortion a constitutional right. 

***** 

Liberty University will pay $ 14 million in fines for ‘failure to disclose information’ about crimes on campus and treatment of sexual assault survivors under the Clery act. The facility put itself out there as one of the safest. LIES!! Many sexual assault victims were scared to report and when they did, victims were blamed. The University acknowledged incorrect statistical reports and often warnings and emergency notifications were not sent. The schools net assets are $3.5 billion. Liberty settled a lawsuit in 2022 by 12 women on the unsafe environment and mishandling cases of sexual assault. 3 years ago, Falwell Jr. And the U have filed lawsuits against each other. 

***** 

Trump hates leap year. He thinks it is a woke plot to make black history month longer. -Bill Maher ** Isn’t it strange that they always talk about Trump and the working class. We all know it is the prejudice, the racist faction that support him. ** The Republican agenda is 800 pages long. They speak about downsize and change but their 800 pages makes it clear that it is business as usual. The main difference is that they promise to fire hundreds of government employees. The Heritage Foundation is signing up loyalists at rallies to take their place. This country would become a Trump enterprise and we all know how well his businesses are run. ** Scary Clown 45 is taking credit for a 2014 Veterans bill that Obama signed. He also claimed that leaders in ISIS call him, “your highness.” ** Traitor + President= Tresident.  

***** 

Brian Butler is the 20 -year Trump employee that is giving testimony in the documents case.  He claims they were moving boxes as the Feds were looking for them. ** Word is that there may be less Trump rallies as they use all the $ for lawyers. ** The hush money trial was delayed because of new evidence. Manhattan asked for this a year ago and just now got it. ** A California Judge has recommended disbarring John Eastman, a Trump lawyer that challenged the 2020 election results. 

***** 

Police in Mississippi who called themselves the Goon Squad were sentenced. In 2023 the group beat, shocked and sexually assaulted 2 black men for hours. One of the men was shot but they survived. 3 of the 6 also pled guilty to a separate incident. The Sheriff of Rankin County has a $400mil lawsuit against him for failure to properly train the officers. 

***** 

James Carville is at it again. He tells us that Trump literally stinks. Is that why they are drawn to him. Are these just a bunch of stinky minions? 

***** 

133 people were killed in a Moscow Concert Hall and ISIS took credit for it.  

***** 

Will Trent just gets better!! 

***** 

So, NBC hires the election denier, Ronna McDaniel and then fires her after the other talking heads freak out. Figures it is NBC. Why is it always NBC?  

***** 

Fani Willis will stay on the case in Georgia. Her acquaintance is off the case. 

***** 

Will the Supreme Court give Presidents complete immunity? What will Biden do with the power? 

***** 

Kyrsten Sinema won’t run for reelection. 

***** 

Trump is a snake oil salesperson. If they were having his (Biden) wake and it was him V. Trump and he was being given last rites, I would still vote for Joe Biden. - Mark Cuban 

***** 

Trump: He’s so fucking stupid. He’s a fucking moron. - Robert DeNiro 

***** 

We need a better education system in this country since people can’t seem to see what is real. RFK Jr. and Trump yell about the truth all the time and they seem to be the biggest liars I have ever seen. ** Scary Clown 45 won the golf club championship and the senior club champion. He is amazing. 

***** 

Red Bull Racing boss, Christian Horner was investigated after accusations of misconduct. He was cleared but things seem to keep escalating. Team members are threatening to leave and leaked e mails of inappropriate behavior. 

***** 

The Freaky Friday sequel is on the way. 

***** 

Oprah told the world that Steadman eats Octopus and Okra every morning.  

***** 

Elon Musk was interviewed for Don Lemon’s new show and then Musk cancelled it .** Musk seems worried about AI being too woke. ** Musk and his right -wing cohorts now seem to think there is a Haitian cannibal invasion. 

***** 

The pillow guy is begging for 100% of your money.  

***** 

R.I.P. David Culhane, Iris Apfel, Moscow concert hall victims, Janice Burgess, Amnon Weinstein, Thomas Stafford, Martin Greenfield, Rockford stabbing victims, Dorie Ladner, Peter Anthony Morgan, Kenneth Mitchell, Micheline Presle, Akira Toriyama, Ohio tornado vicims, Byron Janis, David Seidler, Dan Wakefield, David Breashears, Richard Serra, Marjorie Perloff, Francis Scott Key bridge collapse victims, Jerry Foley, Max Hardy, Steve Harley, Michael Culver, Roni Stoneman, Bud E.S. Lamareaux III, Richard Truly, Jim Beard, Malachy McCourt, Eric Carmen, Robyn Bernard, David Mixner, M. Emmet Walsh and Steve Lawrence. 

[greensparty]

BEST MOVIES OF 2023

2023 was a tough year for movie fans. In some ways it was good in that we had directors who took chances on a large scale, i.e. Christopher Nolan. But in other ways, fans of physical media and collecting movies like me had some major setbacks like Netflix discontinuing their DVD by mail service and then Best Buy announcing they’d discontinue physical movies as well. I completely get that most people prefer the convenience of streaming, but with physical media you have ownership of that movie that’s going to come and go from a platform. The biggest surprise message of a movie I saw in 2023 was Leave the World Behind. While it had a lot to say about society, technology and more, the most powerful statement the film made was the importance of physical media. Wow! A movie made by Netflix said this? The company that put video stores out of business in the 00s and discontinued their DVD mail service made this statement? But I digress. The biggest grossing movie of 2023 was Barbie. Here are my picks:

Honorable Mentions:

Showing Up Kelly Reichart

Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain  Paul Briganti

Joy Ride  Adele Lim

Asteroid City Wes Anderson

Creed III  Michael B. Jordan

10. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse  Joaquim Dos Santos / Kemp Powers / Justin K. Thompson

Tie. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One  Christopher McQuarrie

9. You Hurt My Feelings Nicole Holofcener

8. May December Todd Haynes

7. Barbie  Greta Gerwig

6. Killers of the Flower Moon Martin Scorsese

5. Past Lives  Celine Song          

Told over the course of 24 years, Celine Song made a remarkable directorial film debut about the way that people change, evolve, process and move on!

4. Air Ben Affleck

The story of Air Jordans is a sports movie without the sports, where sales and marketing are more competitive than professional sports and even as you know the ending you’re fully engaged the whole time!

3. Flora and Son  John Carney

Much like Carney’s other films about how music can bring people together, here it works its charm with a mother and son bonding through music and it had so much to say about how people connect in the age of zoom!

2. Oppenheimer  Christopher Nolan

J. Robert Oppenheimer’s creation of the atomic bomb is a powerhouse biopic of visual spectacle and internalized drama! Nolan’s sheer cinematic ambition is on full display!    

The Holdovers  Alexander Payne

Payne’s 1970s New England boarding school dramedy was not just the best of the year, it is sure to get better at each holiday viewing. Payne’s mastery of combining comedy and tragedy is topnotch and here he’s wearing his Hal Ashby influence on his sleeve, but beyond the phenomenal cast, it’s reuniting with Sideways star Paul Giamatti that truly made this the movie event of the year to see one of the great actor-director relationships of this century!

[rainglade]

Men identifying with on-screen characters that were developed to satirize toxic masculinity will always be one of the most annoying, amusing, yet icky things about films.

The most recent iteration of this I've noticed is the Barbie movie. It's so interesting how the "Ken" character was developed to very obviously satirize masculinity, from the way he behaves in the real world to his solo song "I'm just Ken." Somehow, men will watch the movie and identify with his traits, fully believing that they found an anthem to perceive themselves through, and not even thinking about considering the idea that they're just proving the fact that they're a walking red flag.

It reminds me of a comment I saw a few years ago where someone was saying something along the lines of how you could literally name a movie "This is a film of a delusional abuser ruining his life and the people around him in the pursuit of a constructed perception of manhood!" where the main character's core traits are being egotistical, self-centered, sexist, playing the victim, feigned incompetence, etc, and men will watch the movie and be like "yeah! that's a character I can relate to! Wow, what a great movie! I loved the part where he talked about how he's better than everyone around him and his character development journey!"

I hate to sound like a film bro, but Greta Gerwig is a national treasure, and it sucks how all her genius goes over the heads of most of her (male) audience.

[my-weird-news]

Barbie vs. Oppenheimer: The Epic 'Barbenheimer' Meme Showdown! 🤯

Barbieheimer: The Epic Battle of the Cinematic Titans (Sort Of) Move over, black and pink! Step aside, battle of the sexes! There's a new power couple in town, and it goes by the name #Barbieheimer. It's not just about mixing colors or gender wars on the big screen – oh no! It's more than that. It's a meme. It's a mood. It's a vibe. It's a lifestyle. Heck, it's even a potential savior of the cinema world! Okay, maybe I'm pushing it a smidge with that last one, but hey, this is serious business we're talking about: the great clash of Barbie and Oppenheimer. So picture this: Greta Gerwig's Barbie and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, two films that have less in common than a peanut butter and sardine sandwich, strutted onto the scene like mismatched siblings. These summer blockbuster oddballs managed to rally the troops of movie buffs everywhere, squeezing out an astonishing $300 million in combined opening earnings. That's more cash than a pirate's treasure chest and more excitement than a puppy in a bacon factory. Barbie, the dazzling concoction of girl power and bubblegum fun, managed to rake in a whopping $162 million at the box office, giving Gerwig the kind of entry into the record books that Barbie herself would envy. And let's not forget the weekend itself – it's officially up there among the cinematic legends. To think, all this for two films that are basically on a first-name basis with the meme community. Have you seen the virtual explosion of jokes, memes, comics, and fan art that pair these polar opposite releases? It's like the internet decided to play matchmaker between chalk and cheese. But hold onto your popcorn, folks – the enthusiasm for Barbieheimer is as real as the love for bacon-wrapped anything. The phenomenon has transcended the digital realm, infiltrating the real world like an enthusiastic aunt at a family reunion. Fans of Nolan, fans of Barbie, and those who just really dig films have turned the movies' premiere weekend into the ultimate double feature. Oppenheimer's grim history lesson about the dude behind the nuclear madness? Check. Barbie's fizzy, sugar-powered dance-a-thon? Double check. They even brought Tom Cruise and Cillian Murphy along for the ride – it's a full-blown film party, y'all. Oh, and get this – even AI-generated Barbieheimer fan art is making waves. You know a meme is legit when the robots join the fun! But here's the twist in this twisted tale: some fans are fretting that all this Barbieheimer jazz is casting shadows over the individual merits of each film. And honestly, they might have a point, because there are whole essays about the right order to watch these movies. It's like deciphering the Da Vinci Code, but with more popcorn. Some say "Oppenbarbie" means Oppenheimer first, while "Barbieheimer" means Barbie first. But honestly, who cares? Let's face it, seeing Oppenheimer right after Barbie might be like serving kale salad after a candy buffet. And don't even get me started on the competition these two are brewing. It's like a cinematic showdown of David and Goliath, if David wore glitter and Goliath had a nuclear explosion for a slingshot. From marketing tactics to projected earnings to potentially awkward content (hello, R-rated nudity in Oppenheimer!), these two couldn't be more like strangers meeting at a party and awkwardly realizing they're wearing the same outfit. But hold on to your reclining chairs, because this isn't your typical movie matchup. Sure, same-day releases have been around, but this Barbieheimer thing? It's like the Super Bowl halftime show of cinema. And guess what? Nolan's probably loving it, even if his film is the nerdy kid facing off against the cheerleading squad. But let's not forget, Oppenheimer is Nolan's first non-Warner Bros. venture in ages – a separation fueled by the whole "Tenet was a box office puzzle during a pandemic" saga. Nolan's still trying to decide if he wants to be friends again, and now he's got Barbie and Oppenheimer duking it out in his honor. Meanwhile, the film that conquers the box office throne might not just be the champion of cash – it could be the reigning soul of cinema. Sounds grandiose, right? Like trying to determine the best ice cream flavor based on a dance-off. But hey, we're in 2023, and anything goes. Gerwig herself is all for it, encouraging us to take in Oppenheimer's nuclear explosion before cleansing our souls with Barbie's pink sparkle. And when the dust settles, when the memes have faded into internet history, remember this: while audiences might've been lazing on their couches instead of theaters, the power of Barbieheimer managed to rally the troops and remind us why we fell in love with the flicks in the first place. It's like a cinematic defibrillator, shocking the heart of the industry back to life. And as summer brings us a smorgasbord of films, from action-packed blockbusters to terrifying horrors to mutant ninja turtles, let's not forget the true meaning of cinema: a wild ride, a dash of drama, and a double scoop of Barbie and Oppenheimer. Because, my friends, why settle for one when you can have both? 🎬💥# Barbieheimer: The Epic Battle of the Cinematic Titans (Sort Of) Move over, black and pink! Step aside, battle of the sexes! There's a new power couple in town, and it goes by the name #Barbieheimer. It's not just about mixing colors or gender wars on the big screen – oh no! It's more than that. It's a meme. It's a mood. It's a vibe. It's a lifestyle. Heck, it's even a potential savior of the cinema world! Okay, maybe I'm pushing it a smidge with that last one, but hey, this is serious business we're talking about: the great clash of Barbie and Oppenheimer. So picture this: Greta Gerwig's Barbie and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, two films that have less in common than a peanut butter and sardine sandwich, strutted onto the scene like mismatched siblings. These summer blockbuster oddballs managed to rally the troops of movie buffs everywhere, squeezing out an astonishing $300 million in combined opening earnings. That's more cash than a pirate's treasure chest and more excitement than a puppy in a bacon factory. Barbie, the dazzling concoction of girl power and bubblegum fun, managed to rake in a whopping $162 million at the box office, giving Gerwig the kind of entry into the record books that Barbie herself would envy. And let's not forget the weekend itself – it's officially up there among the cinematic legends. To think, all this for two films that are basically on a first-name basis with the meme community. Have you seen the virtual explosion of jokes, memes, comics, and fan art that pair these polar opposite releases? It's like the internet decided to play matchmaker between chalk and cheese. But hold onto your popcorn, folks – the enthusiasm for Barbieheimer is as real as the love for bacon-wrapped anything. The phenomenon has transcended the digital realm, infiltrating the real world like an enthusiastic aunt at a family reunion. Fans of Nolan, fans of Barbie, and those who just really dig films have turned the movies' premiere weekend into the ultimate double feature. Oppenheimer's grim history lesson about the dude behind the nuclear madness? Check. Barbie's fizzy, sugar-powered dance-a-thon? Double check. They even brought Tom Cruise and Cillian Murphy along for the ride – it's a full-blown film party, y'all. Oh, and get this – even AI-generated Barbieheimer fan art is making waves. You know a meme is legit when the robots join the fun! But here's the twist in this twisted tale: some fans are fretting that all this Barbieheimer jazz is casting shadows over the individual merits of each film. And honestly, they might have a point, because there are whole essays about the right order to watch these movies. It's like deciphering the Da Vinci Code, but with more popcorn. Some say "Oppenbarbie" means Oppenheimer first, while "Barbieheimer" means Barbie first. But honestly, who cares? Let's face it, seeing Oppenheimer right after Barbie might be like serving kale salad after a candy buffet. And don't even get me started on the competition these two are brewing. It's like a cinematic showdown of David and Goliath, if David wore glitter and Goliath had a nuclear explosion for a slingshot. From marketing tactics to projected earnings to potentially awkward content (hello, R-rated nudity in Oppenheimer!), these two couldn't be more like strangers meeting at a party and awkwardly realizing they're wearing the same outfit. But hold on to your reclining chairs, because this isn't your typical movie matchup. Sure, same-day releases have been around, but this Barbieheimer thing? It's like the Super Bowl halftime show of cinema. And guess what? Nolan's probably loving it, even if his film is the nerdy kid facing off against the cheerleading squad. But let's not forget, Oppenheimer is Nolan's first non-Warner Bros. venture in ages – a separation fueled by the whole "Tenet was a box office puzzle during a pandemic" saga. Nolan's still trying to decide if he wants to be friends again, and now he's got Barbie and Oppenheimer duking it out in his honor. Meanwhile, the film that conquers the box office throne might not just be the champion of cash – it could be the reigning soul of cinema. Sounds grandiose, right? Like trying to determine the best ice cream flavor based on a dance-off. But hey, we're in 2023, and anything goes. Gerwig herself is all for it, encouraging us to take in Oppenheimer's nuclear explosion before cleansing our souls with Barbie's pink sparkle. And when the dust settles, when the memes have faded into internet history, remember this: while audiences might've been lazing on their couches instead of theaters, the power of Barbieheimer managed to rally the troops and remind us why we fell in love with the flicks in the first place. It's like a cinematic defibrillator, shocking the heart of the industry back to life. And as summer brings us a smorgasbord of films, from action-packed blockbusters to terrifying horrors to mutant ninja turtles, let's not forget the true meaning of cinema: a wild ride, a dash of drama, and a double scoop of Barbie and Oppenheimer. Because, my friends, why settle for one when you can have both? 🎬💥 Read the full article

[denimbex1986]

'1. BARBIE VS. OPPIE

Barbie was easy. The movie was playing everywhere, and there was no sense that it had to be seen in any of the special branded formats that movie theaters now offer: Dolby Cinema, Laser at AMC, RealD—let alone the bespoke analog formats that Christopher Nolan had commanded for Oppenheimer. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie was playing in Standard, and despite record presales and a massive, successful, vertically integrated and authentically viral marketing campaign for the film, I was able to get same-day tickets to a Friday showing and slip in among a crowd dotted with pink.

Getting into Oppenheimer, though, was an ordeal. There are only thirty theaters in the world playing the film in 70mm IMAX, a format that costs millions extra to shoot in and introduces major technical complications, but that produces an image of incomparable beauty and power, unmatched, for now, by digital. Nolan is the only director who still uses it—the only one who is allowed, as it were, to use it, because he can still make what used to be Hollywood’s main product but what is now a rare and treasured thing: high-concept blockbusters that always earn back their budget. All this lent a weird aura of scarcity to what is, after all, mass media. Weeks before the film’s premiere I spent hours trying to reserve a seat at the AMC in Lincoln Square, booking three different early-morning Monday screenings for successive weeks and in various questionable seat locations whose viewing angle I would later spend more time trying to decipher. When the day finally came, there was a line out the door of New York’s seventies-era and now-dingy marquee multiplex, and the ticket-taker was saying, “That’s good, that’s good—anything in seventy millimeter is gonna be good.”

Hype is its own art, and indeed has replaced art as the ineffable quality that the gurus of culture are paid to conjure. But “Barbenheimer,” the social-media-christened double-premiere, on July 21st, of these two seemingly contrasting films, had the increasingly rare sense of being a genuine event. A lot of people were talking about it, and it didn’t feel like they were being paid to. Something was happening, not exactly organically but in spite of all the artificiality and planning. These films were two Hail Marys for the two fronts of an ailing twentieth-century mass culture: prestige drama and bubblegum ubiquity, the atom bomb and the plastic doll. I doubt that Universal and Mattel, or Nolan and Gerwig, coordinated this. But neither did the Little Boy bomb, dropped on Japan in 1945, and the Barbie “Teen-Age Fashion Model” doll, manufactured for Mattel in Japan in 1959, have to coordinate with each other to give birth to a sublime and monstrous era. Barbenheimer promised to bring us all back to the origin story of the American century, that most fantastic of recent inventions. Would we still believe in it?

Barbie’s premise is as wonderfully simple as the doll herself. Barbie, played by Margot Robbie, lives in Barbieland, a utopian world where everything is made of plastic and every day is like the previous one and the next one: “perfect.” But one day, inexplicably, things start to go wrong. Barbie trips, has a bad hair day, discovers cellulite on her thigh. The invisible water in her shower is the wrong temperature; in the middle of a slumber party in her Dreamhouse, she even has “thoughts of death.” It turns out that when someone playing with Barbie in the Real World is troubled, the problems are transferred to Barbieland. So Barbie (along with a stowaway Ken) must travel to the Real World—where among other things, she discovers the Mattel Corporation and a mysterious phenomenon called the Patriarchy—in order to restore Barbieland to its original, plastic perfection.

Barbie gives a postmodern twist to the quest narrative, in which the protagonist must visit the fantastical realm to win order back for the real world and return a hero. Here it is the imaginary world that is the rightful order. Gerwig describes the look of the film as “authentic artificiality”: the plastic houses, painted sunsets, and depthless scale of Barbieland are what make it a genuine home for the Barbies and the Kens. Unlike in The Truman Show, they’re fully aware of what’s going on: the problem isn’t that they don’t notice they are living on a set, but that the set is malfunctioning, and the goal, rather than breaking out of it, is to fix it.

This is where the film’s “subversive” appeal is supposed to lie, running parallel with what Gerwig calls its “feminist” politics. Over the course of her quest to restore Barbieland and its second-and-a-half-wave-feminist matriarchy where women spend all their time primping and looking pretty while simultaneously performing neurosurgery and space missions, Barbie realizes that she wants to become human. “I don’t want to be the idea,” she tells Ruth, the woman who designed her, in the film’s climactic scene. “I want to do the imagining … I want to be part of the people that make meaning.” But it turns out that when it comes to being human, wishing is enough to make it so. Barbie bootstraps her way to a soul: there is no inner substance to be unveiled, no self that yearns, like the Little Mermaid, to rise from the depths. What we realize is that Barbie, played perfectly by Margot Robbie, is already human. Her plastic affect and Instagram vibes seem actually quite normal. The film insists that dreaming and imagining are what make us human, but it also suggests that these are activities that happen automatically. Barbieland is a utopia that governs itself, or rather, is governed by our toys.

We are supposed to play with dolls: they are figures for the projection of our desire, complex and ambivalent objects that allow us to play out our feelings of aggression, love, hate. You can torture Barbie or you can have tea with her, but when you start going to her for philosophy lessons, you’re in trouble. The film’s narrative thrust and emotional tone frame Barbie’s depthlessness as an achievement, indeed, as the truth of being human. The thing to be saved is not the real world but the fake one, which, in true dime-store-postmodern fashion, contains the truth that redeems the real one. The film’s lesson is that desire is all on the surface, and thus without limit or goal: like America, Barbieland is a dream that magically realizes itself, spreading outward until all the world has remade itself in its image.

When she says she wants to “do the imagining,” “be part of the people that make meaning,” we understand that Barbie wants to become like her creator—to become an artist. What would that look like? Judging from this movie, it would look like nothing more than an extended advertisement. Barbie distills the bleak, decadent current state of the culture industry, the world of zombie Marvel remixes and movies about Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, where everything new must be spun off from already-existing so-called “intellectual property.” The truly dystopian reality that Barbie depicts is ours, one in which, no longer capable of imagining anything new ourselves, we look to the products we have already created and ask: What would their inner lives look like—what would they dream of?

Like Barbie, Oppenheimer tells the story of a person of seemingly fantastical accomplishments. Barbie, in addition to having a seemingly impossible figure, has been president, fashion model, astronaut, microbiologist, doctor, firefighter, and UNICEF ambassador, among other achievements. Oppenheimer—who was perhaps even thinner than Barbie—was a physicist who led the Manhattan Project, which resulted in the development of the atomic bomb. The book on which Nolan’s film is based, by Martin Sherwin and Kai Bird, is called American Prometheus, and although the Manhattan Project involved hundreds of other scientists and half a million workers, there is something mythic about Oppenheimer himself, an embodiment of the human drive to harness and redirect the fundamental forces of nature. Oppenheimer, of course, was a real person before he became a myth. But everything in a Christopher Nolan film is Epic, Cinematic, and so while Oppenheimer is a biographical drama composed mostly of scenes of dialogue, each moment is a crescendo, and our understanding of the man’s life becomes completely suffused with the sense of overwhelming historical importance. The film is absolutely riveting, and in some sense this is due simply to Nolan’s craftsmanlike mastery of cinema on the grandest Hollywood scale. He pulls out all the stops, and, in an inversion of Gerwig’s “authentic artificiality,” marshals incredible technical and logistical resources to create a realistic and immersive illusion. (Barbie and Oppenheimer both were budgeted over $100 million; Gerwig’s film seems to have cost slightly more.)

But the deployment of all this armature to tell this particular story is not an accident. Nolan’s cinematic effects overwhelms the human story, and what this means is that in the film, Oppenheimer becomes a cipher too. The simplest conversation is drowned out by highly processed strings blasting at ear-splitting volume. Fifty feet tall, sensuously detailed in 70mm, Cillian Murphy’s haunted, skeletal face resolves almost into abstraction. What was going on in the mind of the man as he transformed into, as he put it, quoting the Bhagavad Gita, “death, destroyer of worlds”? How did he justify pursuing the initial A-bomb, and then later speaking out against the more powerful H-bomb? How did he reconcile his leftist politics and desires for international governance with helping the generals select targets in a nearly-defeated Japan? Other characters seem mystified, too: “But what do you think, Robert?” he is asked again and again. What, for that matter, does Nolan think? The film never really tells us: or rather, what it shows us is that it doesn’t really matter. When, halfway through the film, we see the Trinity test on screen, we don’t need to know what it means to Oppenheimer because, like him, we can feel it obliterating meaning itself. After the bomb is dropped, Oppenheimer predicts, nuclear war will become “unthinkable.” What we realize, along with Oppenheimer, is that this doesn’t mean it’s not possible. What has been unleashed is something sublime, something precisely beyond the human scale: something that no one can truly imagine, and therefore something that can never be truly controlled.

2. THE AVENGERS

On the night of the London premiere, Oppenheimer’s cast walked out of the screening in support of the just-announced Screen Actors Guild strike, which joined the Writers Guild in stopping work. This was the first time both unions had been on strike together since 1960, when Ronald Reagan was SAG president. The dispute circles largely around how actors and writers will be compensated in the new landscape of entertainment dominated by streaming services and algorithmic intelligence, both of which hand studios greater power to manipulate and monetize the “content” that actors and writers “generate” without their input, and further the automation of cultural production (which has, of course, been underway for a long time). With AI, studios can pay an actor once and then permutate her indefinitely, like a real-life Barbie; large language models, bombarded with enough scripts, break into narrative’s atomic structure and recompose it, generating infinite “content” for free.

It has been suggested (partly because of the strikes) that Barbenheimer should be seen as a swan song for Hollywood—the last Big Pictures conceived and executed according to coherent and distinctive visions. But these are also, whether they know it or not, films about this ending of an era, and how it got started. It was not just nuclear power, but a new and fantastically abstract consumer desire, a power hidden in images and objects, that marked the postwar era of American hegemony. Neither power has proven possible to control. “She’s everything,” Barbie’s tagline reads. We shape our tools, and then they shape us; art is also one of these tools, with the distinction that (if we are ready to look) it can show us its human form, reflecting back to us our own role in making it and reminding us that we could, therefore, do things differently. Both of these films are myths about the technology that shaped the American century. One of them is the best film of the last ten years; the other is just another product. But the story they both tell is of a world where the distinction no longer makes a difference.'

[autumnsup]

So.... I've been a little sleep-deprived lately, through no fault but my own, because my brain has decided that this is the week I try to catch up on the list of films I've been meaning to watch for ages. I've found myself gravitating towards the ones with stellar women actors, such as:

Toni Collette in Hereditary. Like, how does she do that? With her face, her voice, her way of walking, shambling, crouching, and floating across the screen? I was blown away by her performance in The Sixth Sense and The Staircase, but this one might be the most memorable one yet (in the horror movie genre anyhow). The whole look of the film was stunning too, in a dark, sinister way.

Margot Robbie in Barbie. Obvs she's a treat to look at, and while I'm still getting a sense of her range as an actor, some of her scenes in the Barbie movie just took my breath away. Including the ones with Kate McKinnon (who is of course a national treasure).

Saoirse Ronan in Greta Gerwig's Little Women. I've loved her performance in every film I've seen her in, but I watched this film specifically because I wanted to see how Gerwig interpreted such a classic tale. She did not disappoint, although I was initially a bit puzzled by some of her other casting choices. But it all came together in the end, in the most lovely (and quietly empowering) way. I will probably watch the 2017 BBC version next, if I can get access to it.

Cate Blanchett in Tár. She's another actor who knocks my socks off in pretty much every role I've ever seen her in, even if I didn't like the film as a whole. I am a bit on the fence about this one because of the subject matter and how it ends, but she did a fantastic job as always, and the fake interviews and "is Lydia Tár a real person?" articles that sprang up after its release are highly entertaining. I'm looking forward to watching her in a less villainous role in Carol, my next film on the list.

Alongside all these powerhouse performances, I've been enjoying fluffier fare in the form of Good Omens, season 1. I will of course be tuning in for season 2 when it drops this Friday, because it seems a shame not to support its continuation into the final season 3, after languishing in the shadows of Mr. Gaiman's imagination all these years. (Assuming that the writer's strike gets to a satisfactory place for everyone, that is).

It'll be a miracle if I still have eyeballs by the end of the week, but I'm kind of enjoying this cinematic spree while it lasts!