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soundsof71 · 4 years ago

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So, considering you are a passionate fan of music released in 1971, I feel justifiably obligated to ask you what you think of Buffy Sainte-Marie's 'She Used to Wanna Be a Ballerina' album. 😂 (Also, it would make me beyond happy if you could post more about Buffy, my friend! Thank you! ❣)

Buffy Sainte-Marie + Crazy Horse - what’s not to love? LOL I confess that it was the Crazy Horse connection that caught my attention first. I had a general idea who Buffy was, had seen her on TV a few times, but I was a big Crazy Horse fan. News that they were her backing band for this album was easily enough for me to scoop it up.

They weren’t doing anything much with Neil Young in 1971 (other than this album, on which Neil also appeared!), but they had released a tasty solo album in February 71, produced by Jack Nitzsche (who also produced this, and would later marry Buffy), and featuring Ry Cooder (also featured here, although did not marry Buffy).

(btw, the first place that Buffy, Ry, and Jack worked together was on the Nic Roeg film Performance, starring Mick Jagger. People obviously remember Mick in that, but musically, Buffy was the best part!)

She Used To Wanna... also features Jesse Ed Davis, a Native American guitarist and singer who was a frequent “usual suspect” at these sort of “sure, invite everyone!” jam albums of the era, and played a prominent role at 1971′s biggest concert (at least in the US), The Concert for Bangladesh on August 1.

(I know you know RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked The World, the documentary about indigenous music’s influence on rock and roll, which has chapters on both Buffy and Jesse Ed. I just watched it again recently, and love it! A reminder of Buffy’s pivotal role in classic rock history. Not mentioned in the film: she relentlessly championed the work of her fellow Canadians Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen, helping them get their first record deals.)

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I haven’t listened to She Used To Wanna Be A Ballerina for a while, so I definitely need to do that, along with posting more pictures of Buffy. (I can’t believe I’ve only posted two!)

But I’ll tell you what still stands out to me about that record years later. “Smack Water Jack” is an underrated track from Carole King’s Tapestry that got a ton of airplay at the time. Quincy Jones did an instrumental cover as the title track for his terrific 1971 album, too, but it has somehow faded to obscurity since then. Buffy takes a playful trifle, and turns it into a powerful fable of men of color who explode into violence in response to the violence visited upon them, and self-satisfaction of whites in authority who answer their demands for better living conditions by killing them on the spot.

No need for a trial when you can murder them in the streets, right? “You can't talk to a man when he don't wanna understand / And he don't wanna understand” hits different when Buffy sings it, and in 2020 for that matter.

It’s also just a terrific performance whose combination of soul and rock and roll and driving piano in a sort of Old West-sounding context would have made this sound right at home on a record like Elton John’s Tumbleweed Connection or something by The Band. I’m limited to five video embeds per post so I can’t embed it here, so I'm linking instead: anyone who hasn’t heard this definitely needs to.

Her cover of Neil’s CSNY track “Helpless” has things I like even better than Neil’s original, including Merry Clayton standing in for CSN. Buffy’s version is more muscular (thanks again to Crazy Horse), and taps even more deeply into the isolation of the song that the star power of CSNY somewhat obscured.

Buffy’s version also made a brief but memorable appearance in the 2018 film Hotel Artemis, starring Jodie Foster. A weird little movie that I loved maybe more than it deserved LOL but I recommend nonetheless:

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I know that this album gets attention because of the unusual number of covers, including one by Leonard Cohen, and a cover of a cover that Leonard had made famous on top of that, called "Song of the French Partisan” (hers is the far superior version imo, a song of French resistance to Nazi occupation from the perspective of a woman hiding a resister), but there are a couple of standout originals too.

I love the title of this record, and the title track is a delightful little stomper that playfully cautions against equating the intentions of grown women with the childhood fantasies they’ve grown out of. More Merry Clayton goodness here on backing vocals too.

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“Soldier Blue” is a powerful song first written for the 1970 film of the same name, billed at the time as “The most savage film in history” -- and maybe it was. It used the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre as a metaphor for Vietnam, and it's still shockingly brutal. It was the third-highest grossing movie in the UK in 1971, though, and the single became a top-10 hit for Buffy there.

It didn’t do as well here, either the song or the movie. Perhaps not shockingly in retrospect, Soldier Blue was pulled from American theaters after a few days, the Vietnam metaphor not at all lost on the Nixon administration.

As horrifying as it was, this is about when I was reading Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee (first published in 1970), and Soldier Blue resonated with me in a whole lot of ways. Here’s the song in the opening credits of the movie.

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I was also really struck by “Moratorium”, which is the story of “Universal Soldier” (from her 1963 debut, but a bigger hit for Donovan in 1965), coming from the opposite direction. In the earlier song, she blamed war on the soldiers who think that fighting is honorable, but here, she has empathizes with the young men, boys really in many cases, who’ve been lied to by their countries, their parents, and even their friends. They’re not vainglorious. They’ve been duped by people they trusted.

(I don't think she takes enough into account how many men sign up to fight because they want to embrace and celebrate their worst, most violent impulses, which was of course an undercurrent of “Universal Soldier”, but I appreciate her empathy here. More than one thing is true at a time.)

Buffy goes even farther, though, calling on soldiers to support and validate demands for peace as explicitly supporting them, summed up in the unforgettable cry, "Fuck the war and bring our brothers home!"

1971 was the peak of antiwar demonstrations in the US, with the biggest crowds ever seen in this country until the 2017 Women’s March. The May 1971 demonstrations pretty much shut down Washington, culminating with Vietnam Veterans Against The War throwing back their medals on the steps of the US Capitol, incredibly powerful stuff to see on TV in my formative years, and Buffy was right there in it. Anti-war songs were a cottage industry for sure, but nobody was writing with the nuance and empathy that Buffy was.

Here’s a 1972 performance of “Moratorium”, Buffy and a piano, and more emotionally bare than that:

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There’s obviously lots more to say about Buffy, far outside the realm of protest music that was actually just a small part of her musical palette -- her pioneering experiments with electronic music, her educational philanthropy starting in her 20s, Sesame Street, you name it. Her commercial peak was still in front of her, and while I can’t say that this is my favorite of her records, it does have some of my favorite songs of hers, and 1971 and She Used to Wanna Be A Ballerina is definitely where I went from knowing who Buffy Sainte-Marie was to being a fan.

I'll also note as I do now and again that while this blog started as an offshoot of a book on 1971 that I’d started but abandoned, I mostly listen to music released now. That’s always been my policy, including in 1971. When 1972 rolled up, I was mostly listening to music from 1972, music from ‘80 in ‘80, ‘91 in ‘91, 2018 in 2018, etc., to name just a few other favorites. (Plus The Beatles, okay? LOL I still listen to The Beatles every day. No apologies.) Honestly? It took me until 2011, in my fifties, when a whole bunch of 40th anniversary editions of 1971 albums got released all at once that made me think, “Wait a minute, this was maybe THE pivotal year in classic rock history!”

So yeah, the historian in me dug into 1971, but even though I happened to be alive and enthralled by music in that year, what I’m doing here has nothing to do with nostalgia, or any idea that that was the *best* year in music, even if for the narrow slice of music that is classic rock, yeah, it absolutely is. For soul/R&B too, and for the explosion of women artists outside the even narrower confines of pop as well. This is not subject to debate. No year like it, before or since. It's just that classic rock is a such a narrow slice, and I like my slices wide. LOL Which is also why my blog has less and less 1971 content as I go along.

While my general policy is that my favorite year for music is THIS year, this particular year hasn’t left me as much energy as usual for listening to music. Some of it is These Trying Times™, some of it is my bipolarity and schizophrenia getting the better of me in waves, as is the way with these, uhm, things. (Keep taking those meds, kids!) I listen to music and post about the people making it as a creative act, not a passive or reflexive one, and I just haven’t felt as creative as usual.

(This is also has everything to do with why so many Asks have been piling up unanswered. I apologize if you’re one of the many kind and indulgent souls who’s gotten in touch, but I swear I’m gonna get to ‘em all!)

To get an idea of what I’m ACTUALLY passionate about right now, my “to be edited later” running list of 2020 favorites randomly added to a playlist as I encounter them, to be properly curated later, is at Spotify, cleverly entitled “2020″ -- 94% women, which is about right. LOL

But since I do in fact listen to old stuff (by which I mean 2019 LOL), I made a list of mostly 2020 bangers from women rockers with some tasty treats from 2019 that I haven’t been able to let go of just yet, inspired by a post I saw at tumblr saying that punk music by women is just plain better (also beyond debate), called “Women Bangers: A Tumblr New Classics Jam”. I’ll be posting an essay with a YouTube playlist soon, because god forbid that I only talk briefly about anything LOL and most of these women need to be heard AND seen.

Like Buffy Sainte-Marie, whom you'll both see and hear more often on my blog soon. Thanks for the reminder! Always a pleasure to hear from you and be challenged by you. :-)

Peace, Tim

#ask #musicrunsthroughmysoul #buffy saint marie #women in rock #1971 #she used to wanna be a ballerina #1971 album #youtube #1971 single #crazy horse #essay #me

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onestowatch · 4 years ago

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Catching Up With Cannons Ahead of a Summer to Remember [Q&A]

Photo: Pooneh Ghana

Electro-pop trio Cannons have been making music ever since frontwoman Michelle Joy posted a Craigslist ad looking for bandmates in 2013. Luckily, soon-to-be members and friends Ryan Clapham (guitar) and Paul Davis (bass and keyboard) responded.

They've been using the years since that fated, and thankfully not missed, connection to craft a sound that is simultaneously novel and nostalgic. It’s little surprise then that Cannons' breakout song “Fire For You” exploded on the Alternative Billboard charts, climbing to the #1 position and landing them a deal with Columbia Records.

Cannons are set to hit the this road this summer, including numerous festival stops at Lollapalooza, Firefly, Outside Lands, and more. Ones To Watch got the incredible chance to speak with Michelle Joy of the group ahead of a summer to remember.

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Ones To Watch: We heard you recently celebrated your birthday and got engaged?!

Michelle Joy: I know, it’s been an insane year, but all good things! It was very exciting and a dream come true. I couldn’t imagine all these great things happening to me. It’s very surreal.

You’re set to play Firefly, Lollapalooza, Life is Beautiful, and more, but the one I'm most excited for is Outside Lands, because you’re playing on Halloween, the same day as Tame Impala. I don’t know how far in advance you prepare for Halloween, but do you have a costume in mind?

I usually don’t plan far ahead. I’m more of a day- of- person, but based on the comments for the music video “Bad Dream,” I’ll be going as The Disco Dazzler! She’s a Marvel X-Men character who can convert sound into light beams. She’s just so cool!

How do you feel about playing live according to mood ring colors? Black (stressed), yellow (nervous), blue (calm), (purple) happy, or green (mixed emotions)?

Purple for sure!

Based on the lyrics of “Bad Dream,” Michelle are you always a person in the back row of shows?

I think it’s been changing. Now I’m a person who would move to the front because I want to see everything and see what they’re using. When I was in college at Florida State University, we had this place called Club Downunder. I got to see tons of shows for free! I would sit on the couch and just relax there.

Plus, Cannons is going on tour with Sir Sly and lovelytheband this fall! Are you excited?

We’re so excited to play live in like twenty-three different cities. We’ve just been playing shows on Zoom and then IG live. It’s just not the same and we miss getting out there.

In high school, you were involved with a radio station. Tell us about your experience.

That was the most fun class I took because we could program the music and my friends had radio shows. People would skip their other classes just to be in radio. We just had a blast and it was totally worth it!

Were you worried nobody would respond to the craigslist ad that originally birthed Cannons?

No, I wasn’t. I’m not sure why I posted it at that exact time, but I just wanted to make music with other people. When I posted that, I got a flood of emails. There were a lot of people that I felt I didn’t connect with. When Ryan hit me back... he listened to all the same music as I did and he liked my voice. Ryan, Paul, and I can work on a song without meeting up, which made me feel comfortable. Cannons is my first band and it’s been magical for seven years.

Where do you see Cannons a decade from now?

I always just see us on an upward path. It’s exactly what we’ve done in the beginning. Some of my biggest dreams were to play festivals and have people hear us on the radio. I’m just soaking up the moment feeling grateful.

What did you do before Cannons?

I had so many jobs before Cannons. When I moved out to Los Angeles, I worked as a barista, at a restaurant, a photographer representative, and a behavioral therapist for kids with autism.

Going back to your breakout song “Fire For You,” can you speak a bit about the duality present between the lyrics and overall mood?

The thing about that song is that it's super sexy. One thing I like to do with songs is make it upbeat with a melancholic message. They are always going to be conflicting, so it can take on many emotions.

Your music has a real Studio 54 vibe, so if you could make a ‘70s/‘80s playlist, who would be on it?

Prince, Rose Royce, Fleetwood Mac, Marvin Gaye, Motown artists, and Bee Gees!

What’s a song you wish Cannons wrote?

Prince’s “Nothing Compare 2 U.” I’ve been listening to a lot of Prince.

We heard a new album is in the works, when can we expect more new music to drop?

We’re going to be releasing new singles until November when we tour. We’re working on the album art cover now. I’m so excited to put it out!

What's your In-N-Out order?

A #2. I just had that the other day (laughs).

Who are you Ones To Watch?

Remi Wolf and Cautious Clay.

#cannons #interview #electropop #alternative pop #pop

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birdlord · 4 years ago

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Everything I Watched in 2020

We’ll start with movies. The number in parentheses is the year of release, asterisks denote a re-watch, and titles in bold are my favourite watches of the year. Here’s 2019’s list.

01 Little Women (19)

02 The Post (17)

03 Molly’s Game (17)

04 * Doctor No (62)

05 Groundhog Day (93)

06 *Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home (86)

07 Knives Out (19) My last theatre experience (sob)

08 Professor Marston and his Wonder Women (17)

09 Les Miserables (98)

10 Midsommar (19) I’m not sure how *good* it is, but it does stick in the ol’ brain

11 *Manhattan Murder Mystery (93)

12 Marriage Story (19)

13 Kramer vs Kramer (79)

14 Jojo Rabbit (19)

15 J’ai perdu mon corps (19) a cute animated film about a hand detached from its body!

16 1917 (19)

17 Married to the Mob (88)

18 Klaus (19)

19 Portrait of a Lady on Fire (19) If Little Women made me want to wear a scarf criss-crossed around my torso, this one made me want to wear a cloak

20 The Last Black Man in San Francisco (19)

21 *Lawrence of Arabia (62)

22 Gone With the Wind (39)

23 Kiss Me Deadly (55)

24 Dredd (12)

25 Heartburn (86) heard a bunch about this one in the Blank Check series on Nora Ephron, sadly after I’d watched it

26 The Long Shot (19)

27 Out of Africa (85)

28 King Kong (46)

29 *Johnny Mnemonic (95)

30 Knocked Up (07)

31 Collateral (04)

32 Bird on a Wire (90)

33 The Black Dahlia (05)

34 Long Time Running (17)

35 *Magic Mike (12)

36 Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (07)

37 Cold War (18)

38 *Kramer Vs Kramer (79) yes I watched this a few months before! This was a pandemic friend group co-watch.

39 *Burn After Reading (08)

40 Last Holiday (50)

41 Fly Away Home (96)

42 *Moneyball (11) I’m sure I watch this every two years, at most??

43 Last Holiday (06) the Queen Latifah version of the 1950 movie above, lacking, of course, the brutal “poor people don’t deserve anything good” ending

44 *Safe (95)

45 Gimme Shelter (70)

46 The Daytrippers (96)

47 Experiment in Terror (62)

48 Tucker: The Man and His Dream (88)

49 My Brilliant Career (79) one of the salvations of 2020 was watching movies “with” friends. Our usual method was to video chat before the movie, sync our streaming services, and text-chat while the movie was on.

50 Divorce Italian Style (61)

51 *Gosford Park (01) another classic comfort watch, fuck I love a G. Park

52 Hopscotch (80)

53 Brief Encounter (45)

54 Hud (63)

55 Ocean’s 8 (18)

56 *Beverly Hills Cop (84)

57 Blow the Man Down (19)

58 Constantine (05)

59 The Report (19) maddening!! How are people so consistently terrible to one another!

60 Everyday People (04)

61 Anatomy of a Murder (58)

62 Spiderman: Homecoming (17)

63 *To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (95) Of the 90s drag road movies, Priscilla is more visually striking, but this has its moments.

64 Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (92)

65 *The Truman Show (98)

66 Mona Lisa (86)

67 The Blob (58)

68 The Guard (11)

69 *Waiting for Guffman (96) RIP Fred Willard

70 Rocketman (19)

71 Outside In (18)

72 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (08) how strange to see a movie that you have known the premise for, but no details of, for over a decade

73 *Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country (91)

74 The Reader (08)

75 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (19) This was fine until it VERY MUCH WAS NOT FINE

76 The End of the Affair (99) you try to watch a fun little romp about infidelity during the Blitz, and Graham Greene can’t help but shoehorn in a friggin crisis of religious faith

77 Must Love Dogs (05) barely any dog content, where are the dogs at

78 The Rainmaker (97)

79 *Batman & Robin (97)

80 National Lampoon’s Vacation (83) Never seen any of the non-xmas Vacations, didn’t realize the children are totally different, not just actors but ages! Also, this one is blatantly racist!

81 *Mystic Pizza (88)

82 Funny Girl (68)

83 The Sons of Katie Elder (65)

84 *Knives Out (19) another re-watch within the same year!! How does this keep happening??

85 *Scott Pilgrim Vs The World (10) a real I-just-moved-away-from-Toronto nostalgia watch

86 Canadian Bacon (92) vividly recall this VHS at the video store, but I never saw it til 2020

87 *Blood Simple (85)

88 Brittany Runs a Marathon (19)

89 The Accidental Tourist (88)

90 August Osage County (13) MELO-DRAMA!!

91 Appaloosa (08)

92 The Firm (93) Feeling good about how many iconic 80s/90s video store stalwarts I watched in 2020

93 *Almost Famous (00)

94 Whisper of the Heart (95)

95 Da 5 Bloods (20)

96 Rain Man (88)

97 True Stories (86)

98 *Risky Business (83) It’s not about what you think it’s about! It never was!

99 *The Big Chill (83)

100 The Way We Were (73)

101 Safety Last (23) It’s getting so that I might have to add the first two digits to my dates...not that I watch THAT many movies from the 1920s...

102 Phantasm (79)

103 The Burrowers (08)

104 New Jack City (91)

105 The Vanishing (88)

106 Sisters (72)

107 Puberty Blues (81) Little Aussie cinema theme, here

108 Elevator to the Gallows (58)

109 Les Diaboliques (55)

110 House (77) haha WHAT no really W H A T

111 Death Line (72)

112 Cranes are Flying (57)

113 Holes (03)

114 *Lady Vengeance (05)

115 Long Weekend (78)

116 Body Double (84)

117 The Crazies (73) I love that Romero shows the utter confusion that would no doubt reign in the case of any kind of disaster. Things fall apart.

118 Waterlilies (07)

119 *You’re Next (11)

120 Event Horizon (97)

121 Venom (18) I liked it, guys, way more than most superhero fare. Has a real sense of place and the place ISN’T New York!

122 Under the Silver Lake (18) RIP Night Call

123 *Blade Runner (82)

124 *The Birds (62) interesting to see now that I’ve read the story it came from

125 *28 Days Later (02) hits REAL FUCKIN’ DIFFERENT in a pandemic

126 Life is Sweet (90)

127 *So I Married an Axe Murderer (93) find me a more 90s movie, I dare you (it’s not possible)

128 Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (67)

129 The Pelican Brief (93) 90s thrillers continue!

130 Dick Johnston is Dead (20)

131 The Bridges of Madison County (95)

132 Earth Girls are Easy (88) Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum are so hot in this movie, no wonder they got married

133 Better Watch Out (16)

134 Drowning Mona (00) trying for something like the Coen bros and not getting there

135 Au Revoir Les Enfants (87)

136 *Chasing Amy (97) Affleck is the least alluring movie lead...ever? I also think I gave Joey Lauren Adams’ character short shrift in my memory of the movie. It’s not good, but she’s more complicated than I recalled.

137 Blackkklansman (18)

138 Being Frank (19)

139 Kiki’s Delivery Service (89)

140 Uncle Frank (20) why so many FRANKS

141 *National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (89) watching with pals (virtually) made it so much more fun than the usual yearly watch!

142 Half Baked (98) another, more secret Toronto nostalgia pic - RC Harris water filtration plant as a prison!

143 We’re the Millers (13)

144 All is Bright (13)

145 Defending Your Life (91)

146 Christmas Chronicles (18) I maintain that most new xmas movies are terrible, particularly now that Netflix churns them out like eggnog every year.

147 Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse (18)

148 Reindeer Games (00) what did I say about Affleck??!? WHAT DID I SAY

149 Palm Springs (20)

150 Happiest Season (20)

151 *Metropolitan (90) it’s definitely a Christmas movie

152 Black Christmas (74)

THEATRE:HOME - 2:150 (thanks pandemic)

I usually separate out docs and fiction, but I watched almost no documentaries this year (with the exception of Dick Johnston). Reality is real enough.

TV Series

01 - BoJack Horseman (final season) - Pretty damned poignant finish to the show, replete with actual consequences for our reformed bad boy protagonist (which is more than you can say for most antiheroes of Peak TV).

02 - *Hello Ladies - I enjoy the pure awkwardness of seeing Stephen Merchant try to perform being a Regular Person, but ultimately this show tips him too far towards a nasty, Ricky Gervais-lite sort of persona. Perhaps he was always best as a cameo appearance, or lip synching with wild eyes while Chrissy Teigen giggles?

03 - Olive Kittredge - a rough watch by times. I read the book as well, later in the year. Frances Mcdormand was the best, possibly the only, casting option for the flinty lead. One episode tips into thriller territory, which is a shock.

04 - *The Wire S3, S4, S5 - lockdown culture! It was interesting to rewatch this, then a few months later go through an enormous, culture-level reappraisal of cop-centred narratives.

05 - Forever - a Maya Rudolph/Fred Armisen joint that coasts on the charm of its leads. The premise is OK, but I wasn’t left wanting any more at the end.

06 - *Catastrophe - a rewatch when my partner decided he wanted to see it, too!

07 - Red Oak - resolutely “OK” steaming dramedy, relied heavily on some pretty obvious cues to get across its 1980s setting.

08 - Little Fires Everywhere - gulped this one down while in 14-day isolation, delicious! Every 90s suburban mom had that SUV, but not all of them had the requisite **secrets**

09 - The Great - fun historical comedy/drama! Costumes: lush. Actors: amusing. Race-blind casting: refreshing!

10 - The Crown S4 - this is the season everyone lost their everloving shit for, since it’s finally recent enough history that a fair chunk of the viewing audience is liable to recall it happening.

11 - Ted Lasso - we resisted this one for a while (thought I did enjoy the ad campaign for NBC sports (!!) that it was based on). My view is that its best point was the comfort that the men on the show have (or develop, throughout the season) with the acknowledgement and sharing of their own feelings. Masculinity redux.

12 - Moonbase 8 - Goodnatured in a way that makes you certain they will be crushed.

13 - The Good Lord Bird - Ethan Hawke is really aging into the character actor we always hoped he would be!

14 - Hollywood - frothy wish-fulfillment alternate history. I think the show would have been improved immeasurably by skipping the final episode.

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tpwktaron · 5 years ago

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My Quarantine Watchlist

hello! i hope this post finds you in good health. today i decided to go a little out of my category of what i usually post and make a movie watchlist. if you haven’t seen what i usually repost, i’m a huge movie buff, and are always adding new films to my watchlist. (you should add me on letterboxd! same username.) so, i compiled a list of my top 10 movies. some of them aren’t considered to be critically acclaimed, but they are still comforting and happy, especially during this rough time we are having. i hope you give these a try, and let me know what you think! disclaimer: i am not a movie expert! some terminology i use is definitely not correct lol.

1. rocketman - dir. dexter fletcher, 89%

this movie really means so much to me, it’s definitely one of my absolute favorites. taron egerton does an absolutely amazing job as elton john, not just through his performance but his through his singing. yes, he sings the music as well! the music is also perfectly placed throughout the movie to tell the story of elton john’s life.

synopsis: pretty self explanatory; a musical fantasy about the life of elton john.

2. onward - dir. dan scanlon - 87%

really awesome pixar movie! definitely a great movie for anyone who is a fan of animation, some of the most beautifully animated scenes i have ever seen! i guess that’s just pixar for you.

synopsis: a teenage elf ian lightfoot and his brother barley are given a spell to bring their late father back to life, but when they mess up the first time, they have to go on a quest to find a phoenix gem to bring him back.

3. eddie the eagle - dir. dexter fletcher - 82%

another masterpiece by the dexter fletcher and taron egerton! this is my favorite movie of all time. it’s so heartwarming and motivating, it’s a great pick-me-up film for when i’m feeling down. taron egerton is definitely a chameleon actor, and can slip into any role with ease! him and hugh jackman have such great chemistry, and this movie easily displays that.

synopsis: based on a true story, olympics-bound eddie edwards trains for the winter olympics as a ski jumper, one of the most dangerous sports in the world, with help from his drunken “coach,” bronson peary.

4. lady bird - dir. greta gerwig - 99%

ugh. this movie. i can’t! when i first watched it it left me speechless. it’s an outstanding coming-of-age film, and a great mother-daughter film as well. christine and her mom’s relationship is hilariously heartwarming. another touch i love is the grainy filter throughout the movie. it was a great touch to add an early 2000′s feel! saoirse ronan’s performance was extraordinary. everything about this movie is 10/10, and i cannot recommend this movie enough, especially to teenagers heading off the college.

synopsis: marion mcpherson, a nurse, works tirelessly to keep her family afloat after her husband loses his job. she also maintains a turbulent bond with a teenage daughter who is just like her: loving, strong-willed and deeply opinionated.

5. love, simon - greg berlanti - 92%

love, simon is a perfectly made film to demonstrate the experience of coming out as a gay teen. it’s funny and witty, with some heart-warming yet heart-wrenching drama. i can’t explain it, but this movie makes me feel things i didn’t think i could feel. nick robinson is a great actor, and this movie got paid dust!! by everyone!!

synopsis: everyone deserves a great love story, but for 17-year-old simon spier, it’s a little more complicated. he hasn’t told his family or friends he’s gay, and he doesn’t know the identity of the anonymous classmate that he’s fallen for online. resolving both issues proves hilarious, terrifying, and life-changing.

6. jojo rabbit - dir. taika watiti - 80%

when i first saw this movie in the theater, i wasn’t sure if i was going to like it. i’m not a fan of war movies and violence, so i was a little uneasy. turns out this could possibly be one of the best movies of 2019! roman griffin davis is the best child actor i’ve ever seen. this movie is a wonderful depiction of anti-hate, and of what life was like for germany during world war II. it shows in a funny way how silly nazi views are. it creates humor over such a sensitive subject, yet you don’t feel bad for laughing!

synopsis: a world war II satire that follows a lonely german boy whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother is hiding a young jewish girl in their attic. aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, adolf hitler, jojo must confront his blind nationalism.

7. little women - dir. greta gerwig - 95%

greta gerwig strikes again! she literally has never made a bad movie. this movie is based off of the famous novel little women. it has a star studded cast of timothee chalament, saoirse ronan, florence pugh, emma watson, and laura dern. the power of women!!

synopsis: in the years after the civil war, jo march lives in new york and makes her living as a writer, while her sister amy studies painting in paris. amy has a chance encounter with theodore, a childhood crush who proposed to jo but was ultimately rejected. their oldest sibling, meg, is married to a schoolteacher, while shy sister beth develops a devastating illness that brings the family back together.

8. the greatest showman - dir. michael gracey - 56%

my favorite original musical movie. hugh jackman is such an amazing singer and actor! this movie was one of the first movies that really turned me into a true film admirer. the music has some of the most beautifully written lyrics i know, and it’s a great family movie! it’s intense, yet happy, yet sad, yet exciting, yet every single emotion one person could feel.

synopsis: growing up in the early 1800s, p.t. barnum displays a natural talent for publicly and promotion, selling lottery tickets by age 12. after trying his hands at various jobs, p.t. turns to show business to indulge his limitless imagination, rising form nothing to create the barnum & bailey circus.

9. bohemian rhapsody - dir. bryan singer - 60%

although it may have it’s inaccuracies here and there, this movie is still heartwarming and conveys a heartwarming message and moral. rami malek performs as freddie mercury wonderfully, and the chemistry between the cast is indescribable. and what takes the cake? the live-aid re-enactment at the end of the movie, with the band’s mannerisms and everything recreated to the t.

synopsis: freddie mercury - lead singer of queen - defies stereotypes and convention to become one of history’s most beloved entertainers. the band’s revolutionary sound and popular songs lead to queen’s meteoric rise in the 1970s. after leaving the group to pursue a solo career, mercury reunites with queen for the benefit concert live aid - resulting in one of the greatest performances in rock ‘n’ roll history.

10. anchorman - dir. adam mckay - 66%

my favorite comedy of all time. will ferrell, steve carrell, and paul rudd are all my favorite comedians, so this movie speaks to me. it’s hilariously stupid, but i still love it and recommend it to everyone i know.

synopsis: hotshot television anchorman ron burgandy welcomes upstart reporter veronica corningstone into the male-dominated world of 1970s broadcast news - that is, until the talented female journalist begins to outshine burgandy on air.

#movies #movie watchlist #letterboxd #rocketman #eddie the eagle #onward #lady bird #love simon #jojo rabbit #little women #the greatest showman #bohemian rhapsody #anchorman #quarantine #coronavirus #boredom #popcorn

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talesofafangirlwithadvr · 5 years ago

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January 2020 Picks

And we’re back!!! Been watching a lot of great stuff recently that I’m excited to chat about. These are just a few of highlights. I’m not 100% caught up on the Arrowverse shows yet, but did enjoy the Crisis a lot-especially after the second watch through. Check out my full review on that here: https://talesofafangirlwithadvr.tumblr.com/post/190372384413/crisis-on-infinite-earths-reactions

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

ANNE WITH AN E

This 3rd season was my FAVORITE so far, which makes it even more depressing that this is the end. I watched it the fastest and even stayed up till 1 AM to finish the series after watching four straight episodes. (Normally I try to space out bingeing stuff because I don’t want it to end so fast.) This series has always taken liberties with the source material to make it even more relevant to today, but I especially felt that during this season. It did not feel forced one bit. From Bash losing Mary and overcoming being a minority in Avonlea to Ka’kwet’s story line that brings me to tears every time I think about it-especially because she made it ALL the way home just to be taken back. Would love to believe she’s back with her parents, but the ending this season doesn’t show it. Perhaps they were thinking about pursuing it more if there was a 4th season. Josie Pye’s assault was a nice commentary on the Me too movement as well as the Human Rights and Women’s Rights march. I’m so happy Matthew survived this series! I was so worried for him. (As readers know he dies at the end of Anne of Green Gables the novel. Most adaptations often keep it in and I am happy we diverted from the original this time.) Jerry and Diana were adorable at the start, but Jerry deserves so much more! (He got SO TALL! As I often remarked while watching this season.) I absolutely loved the boy craziness this season because they were “Now 16!” Tillie balancing two guys! Ruby’s crush on Moody was super cute. I loved when Anne was forced to ask Gilbert about having babies by the girls. THE STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS!! (applause) 1) Mrs. Stacy: as a widower she will not settle for just anyone to marry. 2) Prissy Andrews: I really like that they brought her character back up and that she attended college. So sad that Billy will still be the head of her family. 3) Diana gets to go to Queens (a change from the novel as well, but one that was a great choice). I really liked her chat with Aunt Josephine. 4) Of course Anne Shirley. There’s so much to say about Anne, but one of the things I really liked this season was getting insight into her own personal family history. Seeing her mom’s book at the end was very touching. I love that she also had red hair. Last thoughts: Delphine is the CUTEST BABY EVER! Seriously a fantastic actress. Her relationship with every person in the show was amazing. And of course my beloved Shirbert. I knew they were endgame (because of the source material), but BOY did they take their time getting there). Screw Winnie! Anne and Gilbert’s relationship hurt my heart throughout it all, but so many adorable moments between them proving they are meant to be. Forever my OTP!

SANDITON

I am seriously feeling the period pieces this month (but then again when am I not). As a HUGE Jane Austen fan I was extremely excited when I heard that her unfinished novel, Sanditon, would be adapted for the TV screen. Because I was unfamiliar with the story (which is always a fun time when one of your favorite authors has been dead for the past few hundred years) I made sure to add the novel to the top of my 2020 list. Due to its length I was able to finish it before the series started a few weeks ago. While I was not a huge fan of the unfinished novel, because I found it difficult to connect with any of the characters or see where the story was headed, I already feel differently about the mini-series. By the end of episode 1 I was already hooked and very happy that PBS aired the second episode immediately afterwards. I can see parallels to Austen’s work as well as echoes to other Austen novels (naturally Pride and Prejudice). When listening to the Masterpiece podcast in which they interview Rose Williams (who plays Charlotte Heywood) she described Charlotte as a cross between Elizabeth Bennet and Catherine Morland (from Northanger Abbey), which I think is really accurate. I like how Charlotte goes to Sanditon because of her interest in seeing this place that Tom Parker gets so excited about. She honestly isn’t looking for a husband, but rather an occupation. Something different away from her farm. Is romance involved? You betcha. This is an Austen adaptation afterall. But that is not her main focus. There’s so many other things going on with the story, but I’d have to dedicate a complete other post to explain it all. I really feel it is fitting in well with other classic book to screen adaptations coming out right now like Little Women and Anne with an E. If you’re a fan of either one then Sanditon is worth a try. And of course if you love Jane Austen and the 1995 Andrew Davies adaptation (he’s producing this one as well) then it’s worth a shot!

THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE-SEASON 4

Just like with Anne with an E, I think this was my favorite season of The Man in the High Castle (and ironically also the last season. Although this series knew that going in to production). It held my interest very well and I watched it faster than the previous season. I really don’t think I’ve been this invested since season 1. Lots of new characters were introduced and while I missed some of the old it just shows you how much this show has developed. I also felt myself liking the new characters really fast. At first all of the multi-verse stuff was pretty intense and a little hard to follow, but it got easier as the show went on-EXPECT FOR THE END! Were all those people coming through because their worlds were much worse? What happens next? How are the Smith children? Amy and the other students who were brainwashed-will they change? Kido will stay. Did Childan find Kikuko? (Loved their relationship btw. I’m going to believe they got to be together in the end. It will make me sleep easier.) I was constantly saying to myself: How are they going to wrap this up in only 4 episodes...3...2...etc.. But I feel like it could have been a bit stronger. Despite this I still am a big fan of this season. I just get picky when it comes to series finales.

DOCTOR WHO

Last I had posted about Doctor Who I was very behind. Like I only watched last year’s holiday special this year behind. It was just tough for me to get into last season. I’ve really enjoyed Jodie Whitaker’s take on the Doctor. I feel she brings a new energy, but at the same time reminds me of the way Tennant and Smith portrayed the role. It’s just that I missed some of the familiarity of the show. It’s always hard getting a new Doctor because the show takes on a different feeling, but with all new villains, companions, TARDIS, etc it was tough. I wanted a couple more old references. I also didn’t love all of the episodes (although a bunch of them were really good: Rosa Parks, Demons of the Punjab, Kerblam! to name a few). So when I watched last year’s special at the beginning of the month I felt I zoned out a bit. However, Spyfall (parts 1 & 2) that kicked off this season were entertaining and I’ve been hearing good stuff about this season so far. Now that the show is on its second season with these characters, I’ve heard there’s more of a rhythm. I can’t wait to continue. I also can’t wait to see these guys again:

PLUS I discovered a HUGE spoiler about last week’s episode that honestly that has honestly gotten me so pumped; it is the main reason why I am catching up faster. (I won’t spoil it here if you still don’t know it. I foresee I’ll probably write an article just about that episode.)

VIOLETTA

My guilty pleasure that I have been bingeing on Disney+. This musical telenovela from Buenos Aires has three seasons of 80 episodes a piece! (That’s right I have my work cut out for me.) Currently only the first season is up on Disney+ and the show is pretty hard to find, so I am really hoping that by the time I finish it they release at least the second season. I only started it in the new year and am already on episode 42, so you can say I’m enjoying it... :) Basically once I hit 30 I was hooked. (Although I was enjoying it a lot before that, now I’m just more obsessed.) There are several characters in the show from the students, to the teachers and family members, but the main character is Violetta who has lived in many different countries all her life with her dad who is a very successful businessman. She has been home-schooled forever due to their lifestyle and because of her dad’s worry that she will be hurt in the real world. Her mother was a popular singer who died when Violetta was very little that she barely remembers her. When they move back home she secretly gets enrolled in a music school that her mom just so happened to attend. Her tutor is secretly her aunt (who no one recognizes because Violetta’s dad told her that her mom had no relatives) and she has to hide attending the music school and singing which is her ultimate dream. That’s just the basics because there is so much more drama in the series. Lots of lying, deceit, love triangles that just won’t quit, ridiculousness and music. While they repeat a lot of the same songs, many of them are quite good and really catchy that you can’t help but get them stuck in your head. My sister (who loves this show) kept talking about it and that made me want to watch once we got Disney+ (she was lucky to watch two seasons when it was still on Netflix). As she said to me, you should watch it in the original language, which is Spanish with English subtitles. I feel like I’m learning more Spanish while watching it. Probably be fluent by the end (ha ha ha ha-not really).

So, what are your favorites of this month? Are we watching any of the same things? Anything look interesting to check out? Let me know!

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bbclesmis · 6 years ago

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The Guardian: Les Misérables' Andrew Davies: 'I haven't added much sex to it. Sorry to disappoint'

Britain’s greatest transformer of literary classics on his BBC One adaptation of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece

We’re just minutes into our interview and already the conversation has turned to brothels and sadomasochism. But perhaps this is not entirely surprising. Sauce is, after all, Andrew Davies’s trademark. As Britain’s greatest transformer of literary classics into raunchy, bodice-busting primetime TV, Davies is the man who added incest to War and Peace, put daddy-issue sex into the backstabbing Westminster drama House of Cards, and reinvented Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice as a wet-shirt-clad Colin Firth. None of those things, purists note, appear in the original texts.

Despite all these achievements, the 82-year-old writer never quite managed to smuggle his steamiest offerings into the nation’s living rooms. Take his adaptation of Fanny Hill, the 18th-century “memoirs of a woman of pleasure” that became one of the most prosecuted and banned novels. “This is a pornographic book,” says Davies. “There are lots of whips and sadomasochism – and I did try a couple of more explicit brothel scenes. But one works with a producer and a script editor, and they might say: ‘Um, we don’t think this is quite right for the BBC, Andrew.’ And so OK, it was worth a try.”

Speaking with Davies, who lives in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, is not unlike watching one of his dramas: innuendo and humour keep appearing, to spice up the serious and the considered. Conversation can quickly take on the slight sensation of romp, like when he talks about visiting sets. “I tend not to go much during filming,” he says. “As the writer, you don’t have a job so you’re hanging round like the spare prick at a wedding. I’ll go a couple of times, arrive before lunch, tell the actors they’re brilliant, and then leave shortly after.”

It’s easy to forget his advancing years: Davies has a mischievous laugh and still writes every day. But the biggest difference between now and when he started out comes whenever he goes to an award ceremony. “I’ve got a bad back,” he says, “so I don’t do as much dancing.”

As we speak, he is excited about Les Misérables, his much-heralded adaptation of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece of the 1832 Paris uprising. Three years in the making, and about to headline BBC One’s new year schedule, the series is spread over six hour-long episodes and boasts a principle cast of more than 100 – including Dominic West, Olivia Colman and David Oyelowo. The aim, clearly, is to be every bit as epic as the original 1,400-page novel – and, possibly, to banish memories of Russell Crowe bursting into song in the 2012 Hollywood musical version.

“Our tagline is ‘nobody sings’,” says Davies, who has won five Baftas and two Emmys. “It will be interesting to see how fans of the musical react, because I think they will be surprised by how much of Victor Hugo’s original story never made it into the musical. There’s so much more to it than many people know: about the cat-and-mouse relationship between Javert and Jean Valjean, and about Fantine and her early life – her happiness before the misery. We have explored all that. We’ve done it properly.”

The big question is of course this: how has he sexed it up? There have been rumours that Dominic West’s rear end gets an airing. He laughs. “You know, I do think sex is a huge motivation in a lot of these great 19th-century books but not so much in Les Misérables. I don’t think I’ve put a great deal in that wasn’t there. I’m sorry to disappoint.”

In reality, Davies rarely disappoints. He is a master of his craft. His gift lies in taking complex, sprawling novels and, while retaining the original spirit, boiling them down to something fast and fierce, full of fun and frolics. In his adaptations, nothing is sacred. Classic scenes are hacked away and completely new ones added, while beloved characters get killed off early or just never appear.

In House of Cards – his 1990 take on Michael Dobbs’ novel about Tory party skullduggery �� he decided he wasn’t keen on the story’s original ending. His solution? To reverse it entirely and have the bad guy win. Dobbs liked it so much that, in a re-released edition of the book, he did likewise. When Netflix transferred the drama to Washington for a new US version in 2013, it followed suit.

“I think we all have this feeling when we’re reading a book: ‘Oh, I wish they’d written a scene between this character and that character.’ Or: ‘I wish this person wasn’t quite so prominent.’ And for me, it’s a question of being alert to those feelings, then writing them in. I do what I would like to see and hope the audience goes with me.”

Generally, it does. His credits read like a best of British TV and include definitive Dickens adaptations of Bleak House and Little Dorrit (in which the reclusive Miss Wade was transformed into an insatiable lesbian). Then there was Tipping the Velvet, complete with taboo-busting dildo revelry, not to mention Sunday night favourites Mr Selfridge and Doctor Zhivago. Among his fans is none other than Vladimir Putin: the Russian president said 2016’s War and Peace “captured the Russian soul, the epoch and the depth” of Leo Tolstoy’s original. “I’m certainly no fan of Putin,” says Davies. “But I’m happy enough he’s a fan of mine.”

He hopes Les Misérables, which has been made by the same team, will receive similar international acclaim. While writing it, he found himself surprised by its relevance, finding parallels between 19th-century France and the world in 2018. “This huge difference between the haves and have-nots still exists,” he says. “People are taking to the streets in Paris right now, but the inequalities are here in Britain too. And you wonder if anything has been learned. We had a very grand BBC launch in Piccadilly and it was pouring with rain and you had beggars sitting there on the wet pavement with nothing as we tiptoed past them in our best clothes and went in for a champagne reception.” He seems momentarily troubled. “There is a huge irony there. I see it, but I don’t know what can be done.”

Davies is rumoured to be the highest-paid screenwriter in the business but he comes from a background more aligned to the have-nots. Born in Cardiff, the grandson of a miner, his main dream as a young writer, he once said, was to “go to London, get drunk a lot and have loose women”. His first TV play, called Who’s Going to Take Me On?, was broadcast when he was 29, yet it was another 21 years before he became a full-time scriptwriter. In the meantime, he moved to the Midlands with his wife, Diana Huntley, had a couple of children and taught at schools and universities while continuing to write screenplays.

In a way, the teaching was a great apprenticeship. “I spent years trying to bring these classics to life for students,” he says. “In a sense, doing it on screen is just a grander, more expensive way of doing a lecture.” He chose to focus on adaptations, he has said, because his original works were always autobiographical – and this was a problem. “I live a very quiet life. There’s not very much to write plays about.”

His most famous work is perhaps 1995’s Pride and Prejudice, a Jane Austen retelling so filled with life, lust and laughter that it revolutionised costume drama. “We wanted to show that these were young people with all the same passions that we have,” he says. “They weren’t just bonnets.”

He is currently working on a new Austen adaptation. Sanditon, which will begin filming in spring, is a reworking of her great unfinished work about the transformation of a fishing village into a seaside town. ITV has described it as “lavish”. “She only wrote 100 pages or so,” he says, “which I’d used up midway through the first episode. So the rest I’ve had to make up. It’s been a blast.”

Yet there have been critics of the project. Some have asked if it is still appropriate for a man to transform the work of a woman. The word “appropriation” has been used. “To adapt a novel,” he says, “whether it’s by a man or a woman, it doesn’t matter what sex you are. You just have to know a lot about novels and a lot about adapting – which I do. You know, Sarah Waters didn’t have any problem with me doing Tipping the Velvet, which is not only by a woman but about lesbians. And I’m not one of those either. Will people say you have to be a murderer to write a convincing killer? It’s barmy.”

Sanditon is not the only thing he’s working on. He may be in his 80s but Davies hopes this decade will be his most productive yet. Another project is his upcoming version of A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth’s majestic novel set in post-colonial India. It will be the BBC’s first drama featuring an entirely non-white cast.

Another is a series based on John Updike’s Rabbit novels, which may be Davies’s first work made for a streaming service. “It’s early days but that might be on the cards,” he says, mentioning both Netflix and Amazon as potential platforms. “It would be a thrill.” And neither, I suggest, is averse to turning up the phwoar factor. “I know,” he says and gives that mischievous laugh one last time.

• Les Misérables starts on BBC One on Sunday. (x)

#les mis bbc #bbc les mis #Andrew Davies #Interviews

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flavorweight-blog · 6 years ago

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Become A WEIGHT TRAINING EXERCISE Lion

This may be the hardest article I've ever had to write, it really is the very first time I've admitted, that I might be getting older. ROB! Yes, we are receiving older but, remember the rest of the sentence...AND BETTER! Most of us remember Mufasa! The solid, brave, protecting, heroic lion from the Lion King. Make without doubt about it Mufasa was The King!! That's right just like Elvis (showing my age group). Mufasa died fighting heroically to safeguard his satisfaction now. I'm not saying it had been age group that was his undoing. BUT who knows, if he had changed his training strategy during the last few years-trained just a little smarter......probably he wouldn't have gone his battle in the gym and had even more in the tank on game time. Could the results have been different??? Ok! back again to real life or at least my edition of it. Tammy Renee my Mufasa (boss, greatest friend, blah blah blah) provides approached me more than once about writing an article designed to help the ageing athlete. That is right, us siblings in Iron are sportsmen. My thoughts were....why would I end up being asked by her? What perform I understand about aging athletes?? I train as i have always.......I'm a global champion! Hello there!! earth to rob..you're 51 years outdated!! You are a mature athlete!!!! WOW!! It dawned on me then ..the things I i did so all night take me forever to accomplish now...BUT that is clearly a different story. We can save that for a different content. GINA - Aging sportsmen? Oh my....Can't we come up with a more correct term politically? lol Rob, haven't you noticed 40 is the new 30, 50 is the new 40? I actually injured my shoulder winning the W.A.B.D.L. Masters Bench Press Globe Championship in 2005. I competed in Bodybuilding in 2006 coming in 4th place in the W.B.F.A Team USA vs the World competition. I thought that easily actually got my conditioning right down to a research and came in shredded I could do some harm in 07. I thought then...am I a bodybuilder really? Is normally that where my interest is? My pal, occasional training partner and incredible powerlifter Phil Davi was in the fitness center working out. He talked me into seeing what I got on the bench that day time. Now I hadn't benched weighty in a long time. To say my initiatives were sloppy would be an understatement. However I did so max out in the 455lb range somewhere. For those of you at home and especially us Mufasa types....PLEASE don't get a max out from the crystal clear blue and wonder why you obtain injured. Some people are slow learners just. Phil checked out the existing world records in the alphabet soup of powerlifting agencies and discovered with some schooling, I would be right there and perhaps able to break a global record or 2 in the bench press for my generation and weight course. I actually asked my good friend, fellow article writer, fitness model, fitness competitor, amount competitor, fitness center owner, fitness expert of the entire year, one of the hottest Mothers and hottest women on the planet........drum roll.......... Gina Ostarly what she thought which was her response: "I am 99.9 % sure you ALREADY 'know" the answer...so this is just a 2nd thumbs up...I think.....I always go with my interest....whats in my heart...sounds like yours is in power lifting....always has been...As long as your 2005 injury is healed and can not hinder you...go for the record! The only reason I've not made it back to fitness .....is because my body won't allow it all...We keep getting harm...hell getting old...haha...but, I have not given up....in the suggest time I will be the very best figure competitor I could be.... From the source want Gina how may i not listen. Okay...that I understand now, I am growing older let's implement a few of our fresh found knowledge, in my own quest to set the 50 to 54 age course 220 lb pounds class bench press world record. My recuperative skills are not what they were in the past. I've had to create this concession to age group already. So over-teaching is a large issue around babyboomers. I have been guilty of the especially, In my over zealousness to earn championships, break information, play soccer or what have you I want to go obtain it and throw caution to the wind just. Well, after a torn hamstring, torn bicep, ligament harm in both ankles, sore knees and over all everyday aches and pains. Training: Okay hear we go. People talk to me on a regular basis if I reside in the fitness center or how many hours a day time do I workout?? There is a period when I would train with weights 6 days weekly and do cardio 6 or seven days a week. that was a couple of years ago. The cardio part especially, that was more for sports activities than for appearances. once I used powerlifting I think my just cardio was operating from the couch to the refrigerator. (Gina) Rob, people talk to me the same issue or make the assumption, " all day long must be educated by you, everyday." Well, my secret is CONSISTENCY, as time passes. Its not really about how much you do "this week" or "this month" Getting and residing in form is a prolonged dedication. Its doesn't imply killing yourself all night in the gym, it about creating stability and living realistically. Training 2-3 days weekly CONSISTENTLY will yield a better result in a calendar year than somebody who works out everyday for a week skips 3, functions how hard direct for 3 weeks.....drops off the true face of the planet earth for 2 months....etc....You get my point. My teaching had remained the same for several years basically. Pushes on Mon & Wed - ie.. chest, shoulders, tri's & abs Pulls on Tues & Fri - ie.. back again, bi's and obliques Legs & lower back again on Wed & Sat - Wed will be more squat oriented . Sat will be more deadlift oriented Based on what We was training designed for my weights might vary but also for the the majority of part the scheme was the same. As I stated cardio was as required. EASILY was trying to accomplish something where I needed to move actually. I would run or play basketball. EASILY was training for something where movement wasn't a concern...believe me I wouldn't move. The heaviest I've ever weighed was 277 in 2003. Breathing was a problem, my ex said during the night I snored like a rhino in high temperature. When breathing becomes a nagging problem it may be time to go back to the drawing board. That is while you are still able to draw.....My blood pressure I'm sure was sky high....never had it checked. I was the epitome of the ostrich strategy. Keep my head in the sand and what I don't know won't harm me. Training Mufasa: Ok! For us old lions...what can be done? Get yourself a physical: That's right! First factor head to your Doctor get a complete check-up and make sure that finely tuned or at least soon to be finely tuned machine is ready to go. Shed a few pounds: For the majority of us that is probably the first plan of action. Help to make it less complicated on those muscle tissues and joints (not to mention your mate) and drop a few. In case you are still fighting trim you get yourself a gold star here but I'd like a notice from your own significant other, just in case you're filled with it. Do cardio: I've dropped from an average fat of approx. 265 to now even more in the 225lb range. My heart, my joints, my blood pressure and my puppy Hank (the rhino in heat noises musta taken there toll) are thankful. Although I significantly changed my diet to get right down to 215 for the BB contest. I have since been eating a complete lot more but daily cardio sessions have kept my weight down. Not to mention again the primary muscle, my center (yes I have one) is appreciative. So for all of us Mufasa's cardio is crucial. Listen to the body: Train together with your mind, not over it. No, that can be done over head presses still. Just use common sense in your workout routines. Pass feel whether it's there and you feel like lifting a little heavier go for it. If not. listen to your body. Cool off the heavier weights for a good work out or 2. Don't pressure it! Consider shorter rest periods and go just a little lighter. There are way's of keeping your workout strength without setting world or also personal records. Go for QUALITY not Volume, and yes Rob, always pay attention to your body! Great suggestions. There are therefore many variants of you skill when exercising. Hardly ever feel like you need to "force thru it." Dealing with the big headed attitude could have you pushing for the LAST TIME! Don't overtrain: As I mentioned earlier. I was and at times am still, a habitual overtrainer. This correlates with the above directly. Listen to the body. Over teaching at this stage of the overall game, is more detrimental than when we are younger. As a young child we can get away with a little more. Today all we're gonna obtain is a severe limp and some catabolism on top of that. Seriously, this is not a joke. DO NOT OVERTRAIN. For the majority of us, three resistance training sessions weekly should fill up the bill. Use the K.We.S.S. (keep it basic stupid) in your workouts. Work each muscle mass group once a week. Nutrition: Nourishment is up to 80% of the battle. Breakfast is either the most or second most important meal of the full day. Your post workout meal is definitely it's competition. Be sure to eat protein with each meal. Start your day a good hearty breakfast. This gets the machine which is certainly you in movement. Look at the body as a furnace, you should gasoline it to maintain it burning properly. Obtain it started very first thing each morning (breakfast) and maintain fueling it every 3 hours. Look at a fire, you don't throw all of the logs on simultaneously. Throw a log in at even intervals and it will burn efficiently. Throw them all in simultaneously (supper) and it'll smother and fail. Avoid the All-American meal program. The coffee is known by you and a doughnut for breakfast, more espresso and a Hostess cake off the roach trainer for break period. Deli sandwich, coke and a handbag of chips for lunch. Then devour what ever the heck you may get your hands on for dinner not to mention our 2 Vermont buddies Ben and Jerry or Krispy Kreme (right Gina??) before bed. Post workout beverage: This along with breakfast is very important. Your post workout drink should contain a quality protein drink with some simple carbs (dextrose). More hints You need to take advantage of the window of opportunity right here 30 to 45 min. after your exercise. You body is in an emergency state right here and is preparing to make use of these crucial nutrients. Glucosamine and chondroitin: This have already been a miracle treat for me. Remember they take up to 30 day's to get into your system and don't stop acquiring them once you start to experience better......or back to painsville!!! As you can see a little modification here and there and some common sense is all that is needed!! As Gina so aptly put it " we are getting older but remember all of those other sentence..... AND BETTER"

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unlessimwrongwhichyouknowimnot · 7 years ago

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The Miraculous Discovery of Captain America

Happy New Year, @jemmahearteyessimmons!!! For a second year in a row, I am your FitzSimmons Secret Santa!! I’m sorry I didn’t get this posted when I said I would, but I hope you enjoy it!!

Prompt: Fitzsimmons Buzzfeed Unsolved AU

Summary: Fitz and Jemma record an episode and then go out to celebrate Fitz's birthday with their friends.

Read on AO3

Jemma entered the studio and smiled at the sight of her best friend sitting at their desk reviewing his script. “Fitz!” she cried cheerfully, “happy birthday!”

Fitz looked up and smiled at her. “Thanks! You’re coming to Hawkins’ Pub with the group tonight, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Jemma told him.

She sat down next to him and a comfortable silence fell as Fitz went back to reviewing his notes and Wendy came over to apply make-up. There was a map of Greenland and the Arctic on the desk in front of them. Jemma pulled out her own copy of the script and reviewed it quickly.

“Okay, are we ready?” the director asked, coming over to stand in front of the desk. Jemma and Fitz nodded and put their scripts away. The director moved behind the camera. “Three, two, one, action.”

“Today on Buzzfeed Unsolved,” Fitz began, “we’re looking into the miraculous discovery of Captain America. Captain America, also known as Steve Rogers, was born on the 4th of July, 1918-”

“Very patriotic,” Jemma commented.

“Very patriotic, indeed, Simmons,” Fitz said. “When World War II began, Steve Rogers joined the army as soon as he was able, serving first as an actor promoting war bonds, before finally joining the famous Howling Commandos, where he got to see a bit of action. Steve Rogers’ plane went down in the Arctic Ocean in 1945 and he was assumed dead. However, in July 2011, Steve Rogers was found, still alive. Now, we know the story we’ve been told, that Steve Rogers was given a super serum that made him into a real life superhero and that serum allowed him to survive in ice for nearly seventy years, but what exactly that serum was, was never released to the public. If there actually was some kind of magic potion that could change people the way it allegedly changed Steve Rogers, why haven’t more people recreated it and used it for themselves?”

“Others have tried,” Jemma said. “Bruce Banner, for one. And Peggy Carter wrote in her autobiography that the serum was deemed too dangerous to keep.”

“That’s assuming the serum is in fact the truth,” Fitz said.

“You have other theories?” Jemma asked.

“I do have other theories,” Fitz confirmed. “Three, to be exact.”

Jemma sighed. “All right, let’s hear them.”

“Theory one: This man claiming to be Steve Rogers, is not, in fact, the real Steve Rogers.”

“So, he’s like the Dread Pirate Roberts?”

“Yes,” Fitz agreed, “or maybe Anastasia.”

“So, you’re saying the real Steve Rogers is actually dead, and this man is an imposter.”

“Yes.”

“That’s depressing. And how is he faking the super strength? That’s not really something you can fake.”

“Maybe he has a punishing exercise routine?” Fitz suggested.

“I don’t buy this theory,” Jemma told him.

“Okay, then theory two: Cloning.”

“Like Dolly the sheep?”

“Yeah, like Dolly the sheep. What if Captain America did crash in the Arctic, but was rescued before he died? He knew the world would continue to need superheroes, so he had his rescuers take DNA samples, in order to be used for cloning purposes.”

“But why wait until 2011 to reveal this cloned Captain America?”

“Maybe the first attempts at cloning didn’t work out?” Fitz suggested. “Plus, they would have had to wait until the clone grew up and was the same age as the original.”

“Well, this theory is a bit more likely than the super serum, but I’m still not fully buying it.”

“Well, wait until you hear my third and final theory,” Fitz told her. He paused for dramatic effect. “Aliens!”

Jemma rolled her eyes. “Ugh, Fitz!”

“What if, when Captain America’s plane went down, aliens happened to be passing by Earth and decided they needed a superhero of their own?”

“Some kind of guardian of the galaxy?” Jemma asked sarcastically.

“Exactly! Captain America helped the aliens fight their battles, and then requested that they drop him off exactly where they found him.”

“Then how do you explain him not aging?”

Fitz shrugged. “Erm, they kept him in cryo-freeze when they didn’t need him?”

Jemma rolled her eyes again. “Look, as improbable as it sounds, I believe the initial theory that we were told about Captain America.”

“But you only believe it because Peggy Carter says it’s true.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Because what if she only says it’s true because she was forced to say it’s true?”

“What?”

“I dunno, some Men in Black type agency feeds her this lie in order to cover up the alien abduction.”

“Ugh, Fitz!”

Fitz smiled at the camera. “You know what I believe; you know what Jemma believes; now, you lot will have to decide for yourselves about the truth behind Captain America’s miraculous discovery.”

“Cut!” the director called out. “That was good, guys. Jemma, maybe you could add a little more eye rolling? And Fitz, a bit of a longer pause before the alien theory. Okay, let’s go again, guys.”

They spent the next few hours re-shooting with different camera angles, new line additions, and various reactions. When they were finally done, Jemma was more than ready to relax at the pub with Fitz and their friends.

Some would call Hawkins’ Pub--with its 80’s theme--hipster, but Jemma preferred to think of it as charming. She and Fitz entered and immediately spotted their friend, Daisy Johnson, at the bar, flirting with the young, 20-something bartender who had a glorious mane of hair.

“Hey, guys,” Daisy said cheerfully when they approached her. “I was just telling Steve here all about your birthday, Fitz. He’s promised us some free drinks.”

“Happy birthday, dude,” Steve said, handing over a tray of shots.

“Cheers, mate,” Fitz told him as he picked up the tray.

Daisy led them to a large, round booth where Mack, Elena, Piper, and Prince were waiting. There was a chorus of greetings and “happy birthday”s as Fitz and Jemma slid in.

“Davis texted,” Piper announced. “Their babysitter fell through, so his wife is gonna stay home while he comes to celebrate.”

“They could’ve just brought the baby,” Hunter commented as he and Bobbi approached the booth. “That’s what we did.”

“We didn’t really have a choice,” Bobbi said, one hand rubbing her rather large, pregnant belly. “Get me a chair, Hunter; I won’t be able to fit in the booth.”

“Yes, dear,” Hunter said.

“So, what crazy theories did you record today?” Piper asked Fitz and Jemma once everyone had settled into the booth.

“Captain America was abducted by aliens to be a guardian of the galaxy,” Fitz told her and everyone at the table began to laugh.

“What if he’s some sort of programmable robot?” Elena suggested.

“Oh, that’s a good one!” Fitz said. “Maybe we could do another quick reshoot tomorrow?” he suggested to Jemma.

“Maybe,” Jemma said, “but we’re supposed to be filming about that little girl from Indiana that people claimed was telekinetic.”

“Telekinetic, that would be a cool superpower,” Hunter commented.

“Oooh, let’s go around and name your ideal superpower,” Daisy suggested. “I’ll go first! Um, well, telekinesis would be nice, or maybe super strength. What about you, Fitz?”

“Erm, the ability to talk to animals?” he suggested.

“Animals, or just monkeys?” Mack asked.

“Well, I’d mainly use it to talk to monkeys,” Fitz admitted.

“You could have a monkey sidekick!” Daisy suggested.

“Yeah!” Fitz grinned at the idea. “He could help me get through laser fences with his adorable little hands.” He turned to Jemma. “What superpower do you want, Simmons?”

Jemma thought, one hand tapping her chin. “Oh, I know! The ability to breathe in places where humans typically can’t, such as underwater, or in outer space.”

Mack chose the ability to know if someone was a robot or not, Elena chose super speed, Hunter chose X-ray vision or invisibility, Bobbi chose healing powers, Prince chose teleportation, Piper chose flight, and Davis, when he arrived, chose the ability to see the future. Fitz and Davis then got into a discussion/argument over the possibility of being able to change the future.

Jemma smiled as she listened to their friendly bickering, chiming in occasionally to help Fitz prove his point about spacetime. She really did have the best friends. Her mind drifted toward Steve Rogers. If he really was a man out of time, like they’d all been told, and not some sort of clone or alien, then all of his friends were dead. How sad.

She was quiet as she and Fitz walked back to her apartment, her mind still on Captain America and everything he had lost. They stopped outside her door, and Jemma fidgeted with her key.

“Fitz,” she said, and he turned to look at her with an expectant smile. “I’ve been thinking a lot about how much Steve Rogers lost, being frozen for nearly 70 years, and I just want you to know--you’re my best friend in the world, Fitz.”

Fitz smiled. “I love you, too, Jemma.”

Jemma kissed his cheek. “Happy birthday, Fitz.”

#fitzsimmonssecretsanta #jemmahearteyessimmons #thefitzsimmonsnetwork #aosficnet2 #fitzsimmons #agents of shield #fanfiction

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real-faker · 7 years ago

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Do you have any specific artists that you look up to or admire, that influenced you to do art and animation?

I mean I think everyone draws little tidbits of inspiration from everything they enjoy, but if I had to narrow it down to specific artists and animators…David Silverman - Animation director on the Simpsons. This is kind of a weird one to list, because I didn’t really know the extent of his contributions or role in the creation of the show until a few years ago, but he was largely responsible for coming up with the “rules” for animating the characters, and whenever there was a particularly important (or visually difficult) scene, he would usually just animate it himself. And seeing as how the Simpsons was pretty much the only TV cartoon I had growing up, I think it’s important to mention him, even though his influence on me is… largely subconscious, haha.Milt Kahl - Any one of Disney’s 9 Old Men are great, I’ve just always been more drawn to Milt Kahl’s characters for some reason. Can’t put my finger on why, they just have this weird balance of rough sketch and precise detail that I really like. (I’m just reading this now; he apparently draws a circle for the mass of the head, and then immediately starts filling in details, which is such a bizarre way to work for an animator of his ilk. I associate that method with like…. ME, as a pre-teen, doodling anime faces in the margin of my school notes, but he’s apparently some kind of savant who can just stare at the paper and trace the pose he’s just sat there hallucinating. Something about that resonates with me lol.)He also mentored Brad Bird, who is obviously hella’ influential in the industry, and again, another guy largely responsible for the development and direction of The Simpsons. I guess this is a 2-for-1!John K. - Creator of Ren and Stimpy. Around the time I graduated highschool and started going to community college, I had rewatched all of R&S on DVD. I was a big fan when I was a kid, and we only had cable ‘til I was about 3 years old, so I got to see the very beginnings of 90′s TV animation and that was pretty much IT (See above, where I mentioned only having The Simpsons). I discovered John K. had a blog where he’d just… fucking rant about animation? And I found it fascinating so I got into the habit of checking it every other day or so. It was the first really accessible animation resource I’d encountered, and it was from the guy who was LARGELY responsible for turning the tide from the toy-commercial cartoons of the 80s to the creator-driven cartoons of the 90s, so I was super into it. He’s kind of an opinionated asshole and I don’t agree with him on everything, but he’s super knowledgeable and he was just sharing it with anyone who was reading. Finding his fuckin’ blog is literally the only reason I started considering animation as a career path, and I think in some way that drives me to answer questions like this. Rebecca Sugar - this is also kind of a weird one, because I actually first saw her work through John K’s blog? He had just made a post one day like “idk who this girl is, but she’s going places”, and so I clicked the link and found some of her comics: Pug Davis, and Don’t Cry For Me I’m Already Dead. John K. normally only speaks with reverence to Golden Age animators like Tex Avery and Bob Clampett, so seeing him give a shout-out to some kid on deviantArt was kind of cool, and it made me start keeping a look-out for other contemporaries… just artists online who seemed like they were headed towards an animation trajectory. I don’t think I need to elaborate on how dope it is that R-Sug is the first woman to create a show for CN, or the ways in which SU is pushing a lot of boundaries for representation in media, because that’s a given.JUST FUCKIN’ TALENTED DOPE PEOPLE I FIND ONLINE - As mentioned above, I’ve always kept a look-out for cool artists to follow online, and it’s worth mentioning that 2 more hella’ talented women cartoonists I discovered around the same time: Tara Billinger and Aisha Thani. This kind of all comes back to the first sentence I typed… I think it’s important to draw inspiration from everyone and everything! You’ve kinda got the right idea… I think if an artist inspires you, dig a little bit and find out who or what inspires them, and why! It’s all these little pieces that kind of connect together and drive you to keep making work and getting better! HOPE THAT HELPS! : )

#ASK #art #advice #animation #influences

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cadpadawan · 5 years ago

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31-Day Music Challenge

The social media is now flooded with all kinds of funny challenges, as people are stuck at home with nothing much to do. I guess online gaming, or getting shitfaced, becomes increasingly boring, when all kinds of tiresome responsibilites, like work, do not present any restrictions and limitations anymore. In a way, Facebook has started to resonate the air of those naive first few years, when your newsfeed was basically just one continuous stream of challenge that and challenge this.

Well, why the hell not?

What else is there to do, in order to pass the time with your mental health intact?

So, here I am...just another bored individual to join this endless crusade to make life worth living again, to make my personal life great again. Thus, I jumped on the wagon, and took on this fancy 31-day music challenge, that has been circulating in Facebook (for years, I think).

Although, I didn't find it challenging enough to just type the daily keyword in the Spotify search box and post the result in my Facebook wall. Because: more is more.

(Go ask Yngwie Malmsteen, if you don't believe me...)

The challenge for day #1 was to pick a song with a colour in the title.

I could immediately come up with a bunch of songs, only to realize that the vast majority of the song titles were themed around two basic colours: black and blue. I guess songwriters are a lazy bunch, when it comes to colours. It's pretty obvious, why lyricist everywhere find these two colours exceptionally appealing and resort to the abundant use of them, neglecting all the wonderful possibilites posed by the other colours of the spectrum. Of course black and blue, in terms of emotion and imagination, are much stronger than, say, yellow and orange. So, instead of just settling with the first few titles that came to mind, I wondered if I could come up with one song for each colour I can think of. I mean: a song that bears some personal meaning to me. In practice, this challenge basically meant that I would have to think hard while rummaging through the main three Spotify playlists that I have compiled with something like +16k or +17k songtitles, with the addition of my personal collection of some +2600 cd's – at least the rarities section for songs that are not available in Spotify.

Let's see if I have the stamina to go through my cd-racks, though. I had the forethought to organize my cd's in alphabetical order, by the name of the artist, years ago. For some weird reason, my beloved spouse has not yet agreed to the idea of re-furnishing our apartment with the central theme being those precious compact discs. That's why the cd-racks are placed in somewhat random and impractical fashion: most of them are located in the living room, with a few sections located in our bedroom. I guess, it's a good thing I had disposed of my vintage Rhodes-electric piano by the time when we started dating 20 years ago. I'm pretty sure she would have opposed strongly to the idea of having the instrument as a kitchen table, with the giant lid down. My Rhodes-piano was the so-called suitcase model, with a keyboard of 73 keys. When I moved out from my parents' house in the mid-90's, I decorated my one-room-apartment in the ethos of Japanese minimalism, due to the fact that I spent most of my income on records and alcohol. That Rhodes-piano served as a kitchen table, when I wasn't actually playing with it. Because: why the hell not?

Ok, then. The first colour...it shall be black.

Oh, boy! What a multitude of choices it presents! Should I pick an iconic 90's grunge anthem, like Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun? After all, I saw the band on stage in Helsinki cirka 1995. (I say ”cirka” because I'm not 100% sure about the year, and I'm too lazy to look it up in Google) The fond memories of those grungey early years in the 90's instantly remind me of a couple of equally important bands: Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains. Although, I've never seen either of them live. Pearl Jam had a song titled Black on their breakthrough debut album Ten. Alice in Chains had a killer track titled Black Gives Way to Blue. That epochal Pearl Jam album played non-stop in my car stereos at the time of its' release. I had it copied on a C-cassette. Remember that vintage format, anyone? (Yes, I'm THAT old...) With this particular AIC song I fell in love much later, as it was the title track on the band's comeback album, released in 2009 with the new singer William DuWall. First, I kinda hesitated to give this new AIC line-up any chances, but it turned out to be pretty damn good. Obviously, nothing can top the impact, that the Laney Staley-fronted AIC made with their Dirt-album in 1992. At the time of its' release, that album was a full-blown mindfuck! In retrospect, the year 1992 seems to have been pretty kick-ass, in terms of album releases:

Alice in Chains: Dirt

Rage Against The Machine: Rage Against The Machine

R.E.M.: Automatic for the People

Pantera: Vulgar Display of Power

Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes

Faith No More: Angel Dust

Dream Theater: Images and Words

Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works 85-92

Prince & The New Power Generation: (Love Symbol Album)

Stereo MC's: Connected

Tom Waits: Bone Machine

Sade: Love Deluxe

The Prodigy: Experience

Megadeth: Countdown to Extinction

Eric B. & Rakim: Don't Sweat the Technique

The Orb: U.F.Orb

k.d.Lang: Ingenue

Suzanne Vega: 99.9 Fº

Stone Temple Pilots: Core

Curve: Doppelganger

Nick Cave: Henry's Dream

Neneh Cherry: Homebrew

Maybe I should choose something less obvious? At least, it would make this challenge less arduous for me, because it's evident that making a choice between two particularly dear songs from the past is nothing short of impossible. When in doubt, go for the dark horse! So, here goes: my choice for the song with the colour black in the title is:

Bonobo: Black Sands

Being something of a jazz aficionado, despite not really possessing any of the musical prowess to actually play jazz myself, it was love at first soundbite, when I chanced to hear the title track from Bonobo's 2010 album Black Sands on Bassoradio's morning special back in the day. Bonobo is the musical alias of British DJ-producer-musician Simon Green. His career spawns from the 90's trip hop aesthetics, with heavy influences of jazz and world music. Spicing up electronic beats with raw jazz samples, or even live musicians, was the thing to do, somewhere along the mid-90's. I guess it all started with a few insightful hip-hop artists layering their ghetto stompers with the occassional hardbop jazz sample back in the late 80's. For a short period, acid jazz was the coolest shit ever in the early 90's. In a somewhat natural chain of events, jazz eventually made its way to the brand new genres that evolved around the middle of the decade, trip hop and jungle, too.

That's how I got sucked into the all-consuming whirlpool of this abominable voodoo music – jazz. It's a wonder no-one has come up with a gateway theory yet, regarding the highly addictive nature of jazz music. It usually starts with small doses: an occassional jazz sample is slipped in the hip-hop track, or the breakdown section of a rock song is ornamented with a brief, improvised saxophone lead. Then you find yourself craving for more, and start delving into the depths of acid jazz, nu jazz, or whatever new genre that has incorporated jazz as an inherent element in its' aesthetic toolkit. After this honeymoon period, that might spawn over years and years, you eventually catch yourself red-handed, holding a genuine jazz album in your hands at the local record store, probably the usual entry-level drug-of-choice jazz classic: Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. It has been awarded the title of the greatest jazz album of all time – and for a reason, too. Multiple times. Then you're hooked. Next thing you know, you'll be blasting John Coltrane at a family reunion, with your beloved relatives giving you the dead-eyed stare, doubting the state of your mental well-being. Long story short: you simply cannot go wrong with a mellow waltz rhythm that's punctuated with the organic groove of a flesh-and-blood jazz drummer, and topped with hauntingly beautiful brass harmony.

Next up: the colour blue...

Again, I could go for something utterly obvious, like the song titled Blue by A Perfect Circle. Those lucky few, who know me in person, should be well aware of the fact, that I'm quite a diehard fanboy of the band. I was lucky enough to see the band's live performance a few years back, when they paid Finland a visit. Nevertheless, I think I can come up with something more unexpected.

Just let me think for a sec...

Remember the band Europe? Of course you do! (Unless you were born yesterday, like some, eww, millennial!) I think it would've required some exceptional measures in the noble art of cutting contact with the external world to not have been exposed to the band's 1986 megahit Final Countdown, during the past 34 years. (Fuck! Do I feel old yet?!?) BUT...before you dismiss the band as yet another hair-metal has-been, check out this song:

Europe: Not Supposed To Sing The Blues

It's pretty damn hard to believe it's a song by the same band that's responsible for that Final Countdown atrocity. To be honest, that particular throwback 80's hard rock ear-worm wouldn't probably get under my skin in such a thoroughly repulsive fashion, had I not performed the song countless times myself. It was quite an essential part of the live repertoire of the party band, that I toured with cirka 2004-2008. The modus operandi of this covers-only band was to play the most annoying 80's megahits, with the lyrics translated in Finnish with a liberal amount of tongue-in-cheek references to gay erotica. (On a side note, the band was actually quite popular in certain small regions, despite this dubious approach and the substantially high level of bad taste incorporated in the lyrics and live performances. We even ended up playing in a genuine gay wedding once. The humour of the band was, after all, benevolent albeit a bit harsh, at least in the context of these politically correct times...)

The song Not Supposed to Sing the Blues was released in 2012. It's pretty evident, that during this 26-year-period, following the release of Final Countdown, Europe managed to grow some serious balls, hidden somewhere below my musical radar. The oriental sounding motif, played with some cool mellotron string patch in the refrain before the chorus, has a nice Led Zeppelin-esque feel to it. You can't really go wrong with a slowed-down hard rock blues that is sugar-coated with a grain of Kashmir-strings, now can you?

Next up: white...

What first comes to mind? Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum, and Nights in White Satin by the Moody Blues, obviously. You see, I had both of these tracks in vinyl format, way back in the early 90's, when I was going through my ”moustache prog from the 70's”-phase. (Although, this particular Procol Harum song was actually released in 1968, and the Moody Blues song in 1967 – but, in order to be consistent and thorough, I had to dig deeper, to the roots of the prog...to the very dinosaur fossils)

I could throw in White Room by Cream, too. I used to listen to these particular tracks A LOT! In the age of vinyl, conducting a music marathon themed around, say, 60's and 70's ”moustache music”, was actually quite a laborous ritual. Every 25 minutes, or so, I had to flip the side of the record. Shuffling songs totally at random was simply a no-go-zone. Nowadays, it's so easy to compile a lengthy set of personal favorites in Spotify, WinAmp, iTunes, or whatever the fuck application you'd prefer, and just hit the randomize-button...fucking millennials, they have it SO easy. They have no idea of the struggle.

That's why we had those vintage C-cassettes: to copy that very special selection of songs, compiled with tender love and care, onto a format, that didn't require you to be on a constant lookout for when the album side was closing to an end. Besides, before the onslaught of cd-players, those vintage C-cassettes were the only way to impress people with either your refined taste in music, or with the lack of it, while you were occupied with the gentle art of pussy racing, driving around downtown in your awkwardly tuned-up mirthmobile, every goddamn Friday night.

I could pick White Wedding by Billy Idol, too...

It was one of those 80's hits that I used to play with the ”covers only”-party band.

Nah...

I think I will have to choose between Aisles of White by the Aussie soft-prog band the Butterfly Effect, and The Heart of a Cold White Land by the Finnish doomsters Swallow the Sun.

My beloved wife introduced me to Aussie prog, some 10 years ago. The gateway drug, I think, was Karnivool with their music video for All I Know. One day, when I was coming home from work, I caught my wife watching this particular video in YouTube. A little bit later, she unearthed a shitload of Aussie bands in Spotify. I guess she must've been hitting that ”similar artists”-link quite relentlessly. The Butterfly Effect was one of those magnificent bands she discovered. I remember hearing the song In A Memory for the first time. It struck a chord with me, in such a profound way, that I felt compelled to order the album Imago ASAP from some Australian music webstore. At the time, the back catalogue of the Butterfly Effect wasn't available in Finland. I don't know, if it's available even now, because the band is no longer active, I think. Aisles of White is the track #2 on that album, released in 2006. The band released one more kick-ass album in 2008, titled Final Conversation of Kings, and then I don't know what the hell happened.

Swallow the Sun is a bit doomish Finnish metal band, and I'm not really sure, when I actually found the band's music. I think I had their debut album The Morning Never Came (2003) in my cd-rack for years, but it wasn't until 2012, with the release of the magnificent Emerald Forest and the Blackbird album, that I truly fell in love with the band. It took me some five years to actually haul my ass to their gig for the first time. Every single time, when I found out that they were touring nearby, I was too busy with some utterly meaningless work-related bullshit to make it. Finally, in 2017 it happened. I had managed to get rid of my soul-sucking job, although due to a pretty hardcore reason (a brain tumour), so when I found out that Swallow the Sun was performing in Helsinki, in the legendary rock venue Tavastia, I definitely made sure that I was there – and fuck me sideways! It was indeed one of the best live performances that I have ever experienced, hands down!

In 2015, Swallow the Sun released a monolithic triple album Songs From the North, and this particular track, The Heart of a Cold White Land, is on the disc II, that is focused on the beauty side of the band's doom palette.

Swallow the Sun: The Heart of a Cold White Land

Next up: Red

Sielun Veljet was one of the most iconic Finnish rock bands in the 80's. The band released only a couple of albums with lyrics in English, of which the 1989 release Softwood Music Under Slow Pillars was the only one with the songs originally written in English. There was some other attempts to gain international fame and fortune, but in those cases, the songs were merely English translations of their most beloved hit songs, initially written in Finnish. This particular album was planned for international release – but the label executives were pretty disappointed, to say the least, when the band came up with an album full of acoustic psychedelia. It was released only in Finland and Sweden. The artwork on the album cover is actually a painting by a Peruvian artist Pablo Amaringo, depicting the shamanic ayahuasca ritual. Listening through this album in one go is somewhat similar experience, I would guess: a rewarding journey into the depths of the human psyche, albeit potentially exhausting, especially if you're not exactly in the proper mindset to begin with.

Well, ever since I got exposed to the oriental psychedelia of, say, Jimi Hendrix, Kingston Wall, and the like, I seem to have acquired a taste for this kind of weird and druggy, over-the-top freeform musical expression.

Sielun Veljet: Hey-Ho, Red Banana

Ok, then...What next?

What other colours are there, anyway? The three primary colours are: red, yellow and blue. All the other colours can be derived from these three fuckers. To be precise, I think black does not actually qualify as a colour... So, I've got most of these covered already. Of course, in order to pick some hairs, printers actually use magenta, yellow and cyan as their primary colours – and black, obviously. I can't recall a single song with ”magenta” or ”cyan” in the title, though. I could come up with a band or two, with these colours in the band name, such as Magenta Skycode, or Cyan Velvet Project, but song titles?

Nada.

Maybe, if I combed through my post-rock and soundtrack archives, I could come up with some epic 15-minute instrumental with either cyan or magenta mentioned in the lengthy piece of contemporary literature, that is supposed to be the title of the song...but I guess those tracks would not exactly mean worlds to me, as I clearly cannot remember them now. If something comes to mind, while I'm writing down this epistle, I'll address that particular colour and song, accordingly. Now, I shall get on with this challenge journal, onto the next ”normal”, everyday colour...

Which is?

The colour green.

Having played keyboards in a dubious number of proggy bands, with the tonal preferences leaning heavily toward everything vintage, I might as well pick a mellow Hammond-organ classic, such as Green Onions by Booker T. & the MG's, or a vintage synth classic from THE motion picture soundtrack album of all time: Memories of Green by Vangelis, from the timeless Blade Runner soundtrack.

But I won't...

It wasn't actually easy to come up with that many titles with the colour green mentioned. Excluding these two aforementioned classics, I could barely come up with four! As much as I like the desert rock stonerism of Kuyss, the song Green Machine is not my personal favourite in their back catalogue. So that narrows my options to three. The problem is that two of these songs seem to defy the laws of quantum physics: they both take a firm stranglehold on my soul, and throw it casually down the dark and dangerous alleys of nostalgia.

In the midst of 90's acid jazz boom, I had a peculiar habit of buying compilation cd's at random, if the heading on the cover somehow suggested that the contents of the cd had anything to do with this particular genre of music. By impulse-buying music I discovered a lot of gems, like the song Apple Green by Mother Earth. The band was an English acid jazz outfit, virtually unheard of in Finland, despite the tidal wave of acid jazz washing over also these rural perimeters. If Jamiroquai, the Brand New Heavies et al. rub you the right way, you definitely need to check this band out. I can still remember clearly, as if it happened yesterday, how I picked this acid jazz compilation from the vaults of the local record store that no longer exists.

Mr. Big was a band everybody just loved to hate at the turn of the decace, when the gigantic hair-do's of the 80's started to flatten out, and flannel shirts were showing faint signs of becoming the next level shit in the never-ending quest for cool. At the time, I was an under-aged college drop-out, devoting my attention to the finer things of guitar playing techniques, instead of studying for a decent profession. I had received my first electric guitar from my parents in 1988, and for the following 5-6 years, I spent most of my time and energy in an attempt to unravel the secrets of how to play guitar like Jimi Hendrix. I listened to quite a lot of speed and thrash metal on the side, too. Y'know, bands such as Anthrax, Metallica, Slayer and Stone, which was quite a legendary Finnish speed metal band in the late 80's. My budding personal artistic expression was anyhow more influenced by legendary old timers, like Hendrix. I simply loathed all sorts of pyrotechnical wankery (with the exception of certain tracks by Steve Vai and Joe Satriani). Mr. Big's lead guitarist Paul Gilbert was famous for that very special blend of technical stuff, that I wasn't interested in, not in the slightest. So, I never really gave the band a chance. I think my misconception of the band's music as some kind of a shit-show of technical masturbation was due to some instructional videos hosted by Gilbert. After all, his fame as a highly skilled guitarist must have derived from his contributions to several guitar magazines and instructional videos, instead of his career in Mr. Big. So, everytime I heard the intro of, say, To Be With You, on my car radio, I simply had to change the channel. In order to do so, I had to manually rotate the tuning knob. Yes, my first car stereos were THAT vintage! What a time it was to be alive! Years later, with the maturity of age like with a fine wine, I finally listened to the worn-out hits of this horrid band only to find out that – bummer! - in terms of songwriting, those goddamn Mr.Big hits were actually not that bad at all. The song Green-Tinted Sixties Mind was released on the album Lean Into It in 1991. Now, everytime I am exposed to this particular song, I am instantly reminded of what a stuck-up elitistic music snob I used to be during those emotionally tumultuous times.

So, I could resort to the luck of the draw, but luckily I've got one more candidate to go.

Lonely the Brave is one of my most recent findings. It's an English alt.rock band from Cambridge, formed in 2008. I really don't know much about the band, just this one song titled The Blue, The Green. I was exposed to it while playing the music trivia game Songpop 2 with my mobile phone during the past two years, I think. The game is about guessing songs within the timeframe of a 15 second clip. Pretty addictive at first, actually. This 15-second-soundbite was enough to gain my full attention, so I had to check out the song in full, instantly. I cannot pinpoint what exactly it is, but this particular song has that vague feeling of ”something”, that draws me to listen to it, time and time again.

Lonely The Brave: The Blue, The Green

Next up: yellow.

I was first introduced to Frank Zappa's unique music in the late 80's, by my classmate Jussi, who kindly exposed me to the timeless classic Bobby Brown Goes Down. At the delicate age of 15, it was a pretty anticipated reaction that the explicit song lyrics would strike a chord. A few years later, as I was browsing through the vinyl section at the local second hand record store, I came across a pure treasure: the gatefold vinyl edition of Roxy & Elsewhere by Frank Zappa & The Mothers. In mint condition, too! Dropping the needle on the first groove on the black vinyl back home was like taking the first hit of some mind-altering illegal substance. My perception of reality changed in an instant – and there was no going back. Such an exciting mixture of fusion jazz, rock and harsh satire was sure to make me an addict. So, in no time at all I built up enough tolerance and moved onto semi-lethal dosages, and purchased the albums Hot Rats, Grand Wazoo and Apostophe('). The last one was released in the year, when I was born (1974), and it included the hilarious 4-part rock suite about the unfortunate adventures of an eskimo named Nanook. One part of the suite is titled: Don't Eat the Yellow Snow. Sound advice at the time of a global pandemic, that originated from some peculiar pathogen spillover event in China, don't cha think?

Frank Zappa: Don't Eat The Yellow Snow

Not many colours left, I think...

Next up: purple.

I was exposed to the music of Jimi Hendrix via a documentary on TV, when I was a rosy-cheeked 7th grader in junior high. It happened around the same time, when I got my first electic guitar. So, I guess it must have been written in the stars, or something. The universe simply wanted me to focus on the noble art of guitarism, instead of getting a college degree on psychopathological marketing or accounting (fuck no!). My first guitar was a cheap stratocaster-copy with a Williams-logo on it. In a way, it resembled the vintage Mellotron keyboard: it simply would refuse to keep in tune. One of the first songs that I learned, despite the frustrating limitations imposed by the crap tuners on the guitar, was Purple Haze by Hendrix. I had to learn it by ear. You see, back in the gloomy days of the late 80's, there just wasn't that many guitar tabs around. Not in Finland, anyway. Later I did find an instructional guitar playing manual at the local library, with a few pages dedicated to the art of Jimi Hendrix. Mainly, the only viable option to learn any contemporary rock song, or even any classic from the days long gone, was either to learn it by ear, or to resort to the occassional tabs provided by the international guitar magazines – if you were fortunate enough to spot these much-sought publications at your local bookstore. (These fuckin' millennials have it SO easy!) On the other hand, learning to play primarily by ear must have developed my improvisational skills a great deal, as an added bonus. Improvisation is not so much about throwing up some pre-programmed fancy gimmicks at any given chance, but actually LISTENING to what your fellow musicians are playing and responding accordingly.

Next up: grey.

I think it was my dear wife, once again, who first introduced me to the band Thrice, by playing the song Digital Sea from the band's double album Alchemy Index, a long, long time ago. The band's vocalist/guitarist Dustin Kensrue is one of those few singers, who are blessed with a distinctive voice that speaks, or to be more precise, sings volumes. He might not have the same gravitas like Mark Lanegan or Tom Waits, but nevertheless, he has the voice of a protagonist who's been to hell and back. Mark Lanegan sounds like he's got a season ticket, and Tom Waits sounds like he's the devil running the show – or, to put it in Waits' own words:

”Don't you know, there ain't no devil,

that's just God when he's drunk...”

 Tom Waits: Heartattack and Vine

Anyways, the lyrics in a Thrice song could be compiled of a list of phone numbers, or the decimals of Pi (like Kate Bush actually did), and it would still sound like a profound wisdom concerning the transformative journey of being fully human.

Thrice: The Grey

Last but not least, the colour: turquoise.

For years, I actually thought that Boards of Canada was indeed a Canadian outfit. Y'know, indie bands in particular come up with these band names that have some funny and ironic twist. Somewhere along the way, it finally dawned on me that this magnificent electronic duo is actually from Scotland. Well, of course it is! If my memory isn't playing any tricks on me now, I'm pretty sure that Soulsavers and Hidden Orchestra are Scottish, too. And they all have something in common. Each of these electronic outfits has an extraordinary and unique, boss-level prominance in the way they manage to capture emotion in their instrumentals.

Boards of Canada released a 5-minute electronic epic titled Turquoise Hexagon Sun on the album Music Has the Right to Children in 1998. The name of the song is actually a reference to the duo's recording studio Hexagon Sun. It makes it even more marvellous, that an instrumental track with a title deriving from something so mundane can touch your heartstrings so deeply. It's not that often, when an electronic instrumental with a hip-hop beat, glassy vintage synth motifs and deliberately lo-fi production paired with grainy samples, manage to do that. These Scottish bastards must've been onto something...

Well, that's pretty much all there was to the first day in this music challenge! I was supposed to pick one song, and I ended up writing a fucking novel about it...Tomorrow the plot shall thicken even more, when I introduce you to the theme of the day #2.

In the meanwhile, you can do yourself a favour and listen to:

Boards of Canada: Turquoise Hexagon Sun

Stay tuned! Cheers!

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houseofvans · 8 years ago

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Art School | Edward Colver | Interview Part II

We spoke to photographer Edward Colver, the man behind some of the most iconic photographs from the 1978 to mid-1984 punk movement in Los Angeles, before his upcoming exhibition ‘Idol Worship II’ at Lethal Amounts Gallery in our Part 1 interview with Edward Colver for Art School. We finish up that same interview in this Art School Part II with Edward Colver, where Ed talks about his latest exhibition “Idle Worship II,” what inspires him, and how he was able to capture his iconic “Wasted Youth Flip” photograph. ‘Idol Worship II’ is viewable till the end of June.

Photographs courtesy of Lethal Amounts gallery For gallery hours, contact [email protected] Recorded and transcribed by Michael C. Hsiung

Tell us about the collection of unpublished works and how this exhibition came about for ‘Idle Worship II’? There is at least 40, maybe 50 photographs that no one’s seen, but I have TOOONNNNSSS more. There’s actually one of Rozz that was a performance at the Brave Dog down by the Atomic Cafe. It’s got Ron Athey and Rozz with his hair all spiked out and Clare Gidden and Patrice from GOBSCHEIT and a couple other Goth girls in the photo.

You’ve probably got quit a bit of unpublished works still? I have so much stuff and never printed most of it. I’d shoot a band in like five locations and print one set up, and that’s what people would see. It’s like I got all these others. I found there’s some stuff on The Lords of the New Church that I FORGOT entirely that I shot. I was like “Oh Fuck I do those?” I know I did a couple photo shoots with them or two. I’ve got one of Stiv Bators on a Sphinx statue, riding it all, you know, he’s in leather and stuff … The outtakes aren’t bad at all and stuff. It’s just what I choose and stuff usually.

What are some of the photographs in the upcoming exhibition that people you check out? There’s a really nice one of the pit at the Black Flag in 83, but I have one that I shot where there’s this guy sideways with his plaid pants and stuff. But this one’s available light of the crowd and you can see all the way to the back to the back wall. And a whole bunch of faces are recognizable. Oh and I printed one from when I did the Circle Jerks “Group Sex” cover I have a picture of the Adolescents playing down in the Punch Bowl at night and you can see Tony, Hokey and Frank and Rikk and Casey all visible in the photo.

So the entire band is in the shot? Rad. That was a big thing about shooting bands I wanted EVERYBODY to show. You know, somebody posted a pictures of Rick and Scott from The Mau-Mau’s and I said, “That’s the Mau’s” That’s half the band, you know, Rick and Scott of “The Mau’s” –that’s applicable, but that’s NOT The Mau-Mau’s.

Your photographs have inspired generations of kids, photographers, skaters, musicians and artists. Where and who do and did you look to for inspiration now and then? Well, when I started photography, I didn’t know much about many photographers at all. I was art school background, applied art, but never studied art history. I just paid attention to the art I liked that spoke to me and that I cared about. All the rest is like I don’t care. I don’t give a damn… I didn’t even want to take those classes. I kind of like art after the advent of photography because it replaced all the portrait painters and landscape painters with realism and stuff. Then it sort of inspired abstraction and stuff like that. The last hundred and fifty years is basically when I like art, which is kind of funny, and it was changed because of photography. Put all these people out of business. It did– the camera did it better.

What kind of photographs do you personally own? I have a collection of antique post-mortem photographs–they’re really cool! People laid out on coffins and stuff. I was collecting those in the early ‘80s and it’s like I actually inspired a book about them. And the one photo of mine that was going to get used didn’t get used, which sort of bummed me out because it INSPIRED the book.

What are your thoughts on photography today? Well I love this expressions there’s a lot of “faux” tographers. . Ha That’s a great word. In that whole ’83 Black Flag thing you could not see any other photographers taking other pictures.

Were there any other photographers at the shows? Some around, some times.

Where were you usually shooting from during the live shows? For Wasted Flip Youth photo – the fact that made it so good was I was on stage. You don’t see all the guitar players and lights and all that garbage–he’s floating in this void, which really makes it. That was because I was ON STAGE! When I was standing at the gallery “I was like I shot that from on stage, I shot that one from on stage, and that one from on stage. It was actually kinda of weird. It was a whole bunch of them. Like that pit one from that Black Flag, I’m in the middle of the front of the stage. I’m taking that picture. That’s the kind of access I had back then because I was PART of IT… Robert Hill –he’s a photographer and I got him into like 300 hundred shows because he was with me. Hah.

Where was that Wasted Youth Flip photo taken? Tell us a little about it. I shot those three miles from here at the Perkin’s Palace in Pasadena July 4, 1981. I found out the actual date I probably would have found out now, but originally found out from Bev Davies, DOA’s photographer. She actually has an airborne picture of him, but he actually out in the crowd. She’s actually in my photo! We did a rescan of that photo which was AMAZINGLY BETTER that the “hi-res” scan that I had done. It was totally DIFFERENT. Nobody’s really seen this one yet. I think Vans used it. It’s totally different it’s not as contrasty [sic], you can see stuff in the background, and you can see way more people’s faces and everything. It’s REALLY cool.

Did that guy land? He’s landing. He was landing on his feet. It’s Chuck Burke– is his name. He’s a skateboarder. We made each other famous. Hah!

It’s an amazing photo –the timing of that flip in the darkness with the faces in the crowd. People call it a “back flip.” He was doing a “forward flip.” He’s rolling his head under that’s a forward flip. It’s like; no it’s actually not. It was during the Adolescents. He kept doing it, and he was landing on his feet. He did it, I don’t know, at least three or four times. I know I got at least two different.

Did you have any idea that that photograph was going to be so perfect? I was hoping, you know. Hey, that’s in focus –and it was the perfect millisecond to shoot it. He had the perfect form. The only thing I regret about that photo is I wish it was THAT (motioning with hands) … a little less headroom and a little more crowd faces. But hey, it’s in focus and I framed it! Because I mean he ran diagonally … choo-choo- BAM. And that was quick, and no autofocus, no telephoto, no motor drive. People think that the vertical one and the horizontal one are shot with the motor drive–same jump. It’s like nnnooo–the bouncer has a jacket on in one. And with a motor drive you can’t shoot a horizontal and immediately a vertical picture either. It’s like WHAT? It’s really funny.

How were you able to capture these moments at shows with so many things happening at once? It’s chaos. It was a skill I like to say, you know. You know what’s really weird–I watched all these punk shows like through a keyhole, like all of them. I was losing my peripheral in everything. I was just watching and waiting. I’d have the shutter down and like duh-duh-duh-duh Oh there’s something BAM. My little cheesy flash would take like 8 or 10 seconds to recycle. I’d see these guys come in with a press packet and just baddda-badddaa !! It’s like FUCK what concept! I just timed my stuff. I wasn’t rich like I was burning through film, I had money for gas and coffee and stuff like that, you know.

Besides photography, what other forms of art do you experiment with? I started doing socio-political assemblage sculptures in ’84 when I got my studio. I pretty much did those up till 2002 –and when I moved out of my studio space it all became you know boxed up and packed away. Gone. So…

Other medium you wanna try? Uh no not really. I like doing the socio-political assemblage sculptures with found antique objects and I don’t like to force them together. They just like to go together I think. I like to address things and talk about kind of how long it has been a problem. . . If you’re not addressing an overall problem in a timeless manner– it’s just like a trendy movement.

What’s coming up for the rest of the year? I don’t have any plans on anything I hope to do another book!

Follow Edward Colver Website: http://edwardcolver.com Instagram: @edwardcolver

#Art #Edward Colver #Interview #LA punk movement #photographer #vans art #art school

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myrelevantwriting-blog · 8 years ago

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The Wild, 18-Minute Ride That Is Daydream Believer: A Review by a Former Teenaged Girl

Every generation has its “coming of age” movie: the movie that sees its main character through the naivety of adolescence to a catalyst that makes them realize they’re *gasp* growing up. The ‘70s had American Graffiti, the ‘80s had The Breakfast Club, the early ‘90s gave us the tearjerker My Girl (I’m still holding that vigil for Thomas J). All of these films had characters nearly everyone could identify with. Maybe you were the Cameron to your best friend’s Ferris Bueller. Perhaps you knew exactly what Jim Stark’s deal was in Rebel Without A Cause.

But then, in 1998 came a little known short film with a character so damn relatable it brings up memories you thought you buried so deep in the soil of your brain, it could only be unearthed by years of intense therapy.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Daydream Believer!

Let me start off by saying when my friend Rosie posted this movie to her blog I had no clue what the hell I was getting into. The 1970s film grain and the awkward silence (save for the chirping birds) when we meet our homegirl Susan made me half-expect one of those “What’s Happening to my Body?” filmstrips they made us watch in the 4th grade.

“Are you there, God? It’s me, Susan. All my friends are getting their periods except me. What have I done to anger you so?”

Right away we know Susan is different. She does weird things like…walking (especially when she has a perfectly good Schwinn on the front porch).

God, look at this freak.

“Look at her using her legs for non-jump-rope purposes like a fuckin’ loser.”

So it turns out that Susan’s a loner because she’s always daydreaming about her fab marvy crush…because she’s 11 and this is what 11-year-olds do: daydreaming and hurrying home and catch her fave rave on TV.

To be honest I was expecting it to be Davy Jones...the pirate, not the Monkee.

Yeah, Little Susie’s got fuzzy feelings for Mike Nesmith of the Monkees, to the chagrin of her concerned-yet-not-concerned-enough-to-actually-talk-to-their-kid parents. Susan’s mom is looking at her daughter like she didn’t wet herself over Sinatra back in her day. I mean, Susan can’t be that obsessed, though. She’s only got like, one album and a single pinup on her wall like she’s some kind of amateur. And she’s pretty reserved in her screaming at the TV so that’s considerate of her.

Her disappointment over lack of mammaries perfectly mimics Mike’s face which in turn perfectly mimics how I feel about this movie so far.

The film then takes somewhat of a weird turn and becomes from here on out a wild rollercoaster ride of “What the actual fuck?” We take a journey into Susan’s brain as she sees herself as a 45 year-old woman teenager, getting ready for her date with-…oh my God.

YOU DON’T SAY

I’m somewhat flabbergasted by their casting decision to go with a paunchy, late-30s Ashkenazi Mike Nesmith but whatever. I’m not gonna judge Susan. She’s 11. When I was 11 I wanted to hang out with Gabe Kaplan circa ‘75. It’s a weird age.

So after her date with Mack Nussbaum we find Susan back at school, going for one of her weird daydream walks and completely oblivious to a group of bitches talkin’ shit behind her back.

“I bet she doesn’t even listen to the Banana Splits. Dweeb.”

“Joke’s on you! Me and Marc Nesbitt are gonna go closed-mouth kiss behind the JFK Memorial Tree. Hope I don’t get pregnant!”

I’m not even going to comment on this next scene. There’s nothing I can add to how utterly perfect it is in its understanding of the pre-teen girl’s brain so I’m just gonna let the caps do the talking.

But trouble rears its ugly head in the form of Susan’s teacher, glaring at her disapprovingly and telling her she’s “a much better writer than this [homework],” before proving this to be a bold-faced lie as we cut to a scene in which Susan writes in her diary:

Mike is so beautiful. He has lovely brown eyes. His hair is so soft and silky. I want to run my fingers through his beautiful hair. He has a sweet Texas accent that is so beautiful to listen to. I could listen to him read a book for hours and hours. He’s divine enchanting!!!

This nonsense reads like a 1st grade primer. Girl, I know you’re 11 but this is clearly not your first day at the Mike Nesmith Rodeo. This should all have been covered on page one.

Also, I hope Susan asked for a thesaurus for Christmas.

So homegirl’s studies are suffering because she can’t keep her mind out of Mike’s pants and daydreaming about going on a romp with Mork Nerfherder to the song Papa Gene’s Blues. As you do…

“Whatchu thinkin’ about?” “Oh nothing…just statutory stuff.”

…that is until your cockblock of a teacher calls you out for not paying attention and embarrasses you in front of the entire class (a situation I knew all too well, so I actually empathize with her here). Susan goes home to complain to Raggedy Anne and delve into yet another daydream in which Mike takes her home to meet “the guys.” Oh boy, I can’t wait to see what small town community theater actors they got to play the Monk-…..wait what?

They look as confused as I do right now.

After an awkward introduction to the roommates (we’ve all been there. College, amirite?!) Murk and Susan go up to Mulk’s room…

I’m suddenly feeling rather uncomfortable and it’s not for the severed clown head in the corner.

…where Malk puts on bossa nova music and they start making out…

Oh my God, No….

NO!!!

NONONONONONONONONO!

YOU’RE GONNA CUT BACK TO THE CHILD ACTRESS AND MAKE THIS MORE AWKWARD THAN IT IS?! WHAT ON EARTH IS WRONG WITH YOU?!

Those lines under Raggedy’s eyes are from all the internal screaming.

No…………………….this is not how I wanted to die.

OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN HALLOWED BE THY NAME….

…AS I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH….

HAS THIS BEEN A PORNO THE ENTIRE TIME?!

BRB SETTING MYSELF ON FIRE…

There isn’t a word for how unnerved I am right now, so I’m just going to make one up. I am extremely floopnozzled, I am totally and immensely…wait a second…

As I breathe a gargantuan sigh of relief, Bra-vo!

After Susan has finished violating her poor Raggedy Anne doll, her dad barges into her room and in a very ominous voice says they need to talk.

The clown in the back but on a brave smile but what his eyes have seen cannot be unseen.

They go to a parent-teacher conference to talk about Susan’s failing schoolwork and conclude it’s Mike’s fault, so they ban her from the living room and the TV. And for whatever reason I don’t quite understand, there’s a scene where Susan has to listen to her parents bone on the couch. I guess as part of her punishment? I dunno.

Girl, same.

EDIT: @legrandennui has informed me that it’s possible the voices she’s hearing aren’t her parents but her daydreams distracting her again. I still think it’s the parents, though.

And even though her parents think she’s obsessed with Mike and forbid her from watching The Monkees, her enabling Mom comes home from the grocery store and gives her flowering junkie a hit of the hard stuff via Teen Life magazine with the Monkees on the cover. I heard this was how Sid Vicious died.

At first Susan is overjoyed, until slowly her smile fades as she reads an article. She storms off into her room and screams at her magazine “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE MARRIED?!”

Lol wut? Child, where have you been? How are you going to be all up on Mike’s dick but not know anything about him beyond his brown eyes and silken hair? That’s like, page 1 in How to Obsess.

So we get one last daydream sequence in which Susan tells Mike she’s leaving him because she’s grown and wants to move on…

…which I guess in this case means getting back to her schoolwork and keeping her grades up…amongst other things.

“Wait, does this mean Shatner doesn’t make her want to bone? Is that the lesson here?”- @legrandennui

I’ve watched a lot of movies about adolescence in my years but this was the first one I’ve seen that had perfectly nailed it in terms of being a young girl with a fave rave. I had gone through nearly everything in this movie: the nonstop daydreams, the constant writing about the object of my surging hormonal lust, not paying attention in school, the concerned look from my parents, and I’m not ashamed to admit my pillow had gotten the Raggedy Anne treatment. My room was a bit more intense than that, pin-up wise but I can’t imagine they had a lot to dress the set with in 1998. This was like looking straight into my own past and as uncomfortable as it was to see what I was like from a 3rd party view, I have to say at the same time it’s incredibly amusing to watch someone flip out over a teen idol while sitting back with a knowing, sympathetic nod.

If you want to watch the film it’s here on Youtube.

#The Monkees #Daydream Believer #short film

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womenofcolor15 · 5 years ago

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‘T’ Magazine Gathered 7 Bomb Black Actresses And - Naturally - Fabulousness Ensued

NY Times’ “T” magazine pays homage to 7 esteemed black actresses that are paving the way for the next generation of black actresses to come. Go inside to see their fabulous flicks, witness their sisterhood and more inside…

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Hollywood has always been a mercurial experiment, with white men holding the reins of power, making progress, inclusion and diversity at best a seasonal proposition. Almost 20 years on, @HalleBerry remains the only African-American woman to win a best actress Oscar. And yet there is an increasing sense that it is the Academy that is behind the times. We are living in an age in which some of our greatest, most successful actors are black women, near 50 or older, veterans who have fought against an industry that for much of its history would have rather ignored them. Some of them, like @TarajiPHenson and Berry, began with bit parts on TV. Others, like @ViolaDavis, who got her start in the theater, or Mary J. Blige (@therealmaryjblige), who had almost 10 years of hit singles to her name before being cast in her first film role, came to cinema later in their careers. Click the link in our bio for @BrianKeithJackson's full story on the esteemed black actresses who finally have the spotlight. Pictured: #TarajiPHenson, #MaryJBlige, #AngelaBassett (@im.angelabassett), #LynnWhitfield (@mslynnwhitfield), @HalleBerry and #KimberlyElise (@ikimberlyelise) photographed by Mickalene Thomas (@mickalenethomas) and @RacquelChevremont, styled by Shiona Turini (@shionat). #TCultureIssue

A post shared by T: The NYTimes Style Magazine (@tmagazine) on Apr 14, 2020 at 5:14am PDT

Putting some RESPECK (no typo) on their names!

NYTimes’ “T” magazine gathered 7 bomb black actresses to give them the praise they so rightfully deserve. The magazine rounded up esteemed actresses Halle Berry (the first black woman to win a best actress Academy Award), Angela Bassett, Lynn Whitfield, Taraji P. Henson, Kimberly Elise, and Mary J. Blige for a group portrait to be featured in their Culture Issue. The Hollywood veterans talked about their trials and tribulations in the industry and how their hard work eventually thrusted them in the limelight. Viola Davis was also in the mix, although, she’s not featured in the group shot.

Black actresses have long been overlooked by Hollywood as if they’re invisible, but it’s their time to shine now and boy are they SHINING!

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I’m pleased to have written an essay about these amazing women,@violadavis, @im.angelabassett, @halleberry, @tarajiphenson, @ikimberlyelise, @mslynnwhitfield @therealmaryjblige, for @tmagazine, @nytimes, Culture issue. Pick it up on Sunday, 4/19 or check it out online now at tmagazine.com. Link in bio. #Tcultureissue, #ourstory, #fortheculture, #represent, #rise, #repeat. Ph. @mickalenethomas, @racquelchevremont. styled @shionat

A post shared by Brian Keith Jackson (@briankeithjackson) on Apr 13, 2020 at 5:49am PDT

”We are living in an age in which some of our greatest, most successful actors are black women, near 50 or older, veterans who have fought against an industry that for much of its history would have rather ignored them,” the magazine writes.

African-American actresses are no longer just scooping up supporting roles, they’re leading blockbuster films and popular TV shows like some female bosses. Our leading ladies of today made sure to pay homage to the trailblazers that came before them that paved the way for them.

When money for projects with black casts dried up in Hollywood by the end of the ’90s, these actresses carried on, forced to look farther down the thoroughfare than merely the steps they could see. To be a black woman in Hollywood is to have to be steadfast in the pursuit of one’s craft, in the search for basic opportunities. They have had to toil through the intricacies of a doubly marginalized existence — being black and being a woman — and have rarely been allowed to fully extol the complexities of their truth for the screen.

THIS HAS BEEN the historical situation for women of color in Hollywood, all of whom are cupped in the palms of mighty forebears. There was Hattie McDaniel, the first African-American to win an Academy Award, for her role as “Mammy” in “Gone With the Wind” (1939). Then there was the singer and actress Lena Horne of “Stormy Weather” and “Cabin in the Sky,” both from 1943 and early exceptions in mainstream Hollywood as popular films with black casts. Or Diahann Carroll, the star of the sitcom “Julia” (1968-71), the first black woman to lead a network series. And of course, there’s Dorothy Dandridge, the first black woman nominated for a best actress Oscar for her role in 1954’s “Carmen Jones,” a woman presciently portrayed by Berry in a 1999 biopic, and Cicely Tyson, who at 95 has played strong leading roles throughout her nearly seven-decade career. Like their predecessors, these women were journeymen out of necessity, often lone souls in their creative environments.

Behind-the-scenes, the black female icons talked about the sisterhood that they formed being black actresses in Hollywood. While their stories are different, each story shares the same underlying theme of triumph and beating the odds.

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The journey of black actresses in Hollywood can be hard and steep, though a number of women have fought the odds to the top over long and distinguished careers. Here, Angela Bassett (@im.angelabassett), @HalleBerry, @TarajiPHenson, @ViolaDavis, Lynn Whitfield (@mslynnwhitfield) and Mary J. Blige (@therealmaryjblige) discuss their role models — women who were pioneers out of necessity, often lone souls in their creative environments, and who inspired others to follow in their footsteps. Click the link in our bio for more. Video by Scott J. Ross (@scottrossfilm). #TCultureIssue

A post shared by T: The NYTimes Style Magazine (@tmagazine) on Apr 14, 2020 at 9:21am PDT

”You’re a little black girl with dark skin and a wide nose. You’re not cute. You’re nothing, you know? You’re invisible. That’s when you understand the importance of a role model,” “How To Get Away With Murder” star Viola Davis said.

You better say that Viola!

You can watch the full video - filled with #BlackGirlMagic - here.

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For @tmagazine #Grateful!

A post shared by taraji p henson (@tarajiphenson) on Apr 13, 2020 at 12:59pm PDT

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It felt like I was in a dream on this day!! Some of my favorite actresses all in one room. What an incredible moment for me!! Love to you all @tarajiphenson @im.angelabassett @halleberry @mslynnwhitfield @ikimberlyelise @violadavis Thank you @tmagazine for #TCultureIssue. Thank you to everyone who was involved in putting this together: Photographed by @mickalenethomas and @RacquelChevremont Styled by Shiona Turini (@shionat) Video by @scottrossfilm Hair: @tymwallacehair / MU: @dandremichael

A post shared by Mary J Blige (@therealmaryjblige) on Apr 13, 2020 at 2:44pm PDT

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To sit alongside such influential black female icons, many of whom I’ve known for a very long time, was such an immense honor for me. I am truly blessed and grateful for each and every one of them. Thank you to @tmagazine for making it happen! #TCultureIssue⁣ ⁣ Photos by: @mickalenethomas & @RacquelChevremont⁣ Styled by: @shionat

A post shared by Halle Berry (@halleberry) on Apr 13, 2020 at 4:16pm PDT

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It was a joy and honor to share in this moment in time with these amazing women. Everyday I feel so #blessed and so #grateful, I give #allglorytoGod - Feb. 26,2020 Photo for @tmagazine, @nytimes Pick it up on Sunday 4/19 or check it out online now with behind the scenes video at tmagazine.com Link in bio. @im.angelabassett, @halleberry, @tarajiphenson, @ikimberlyelise, @mslynnwhitfield @therealmaryjblige, #ourstory, #fortheculture, #queens, #blackactress #legends #sisterhood #love #represent, #rise, #repeat #Godisgreat my hair: @ninajhair & @kimberlyelisenaturals my makeup: @kymmyizabeauty Photography @mickalenethomas, @racquelchevremont. styled @shionat.

A post shared by Kimberly Elise (@ikimberlyelise) on Apr 13, 2020 at 7:49am PDT

Loves it.

You can get your hands on the ladies' issue of "T" magazine when it hits newsstands Sunday, April 19th.

Photo: Taraji's IG

[Read More ...] source http://theybf.com/2020/04/18/%E2%80%98t%E2%80%99-magazine-gathered-7-bomb-black-actresses-and-naturally-fabulousness-ensued

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flauntpage · 6 years ago

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Wake Up Call – Observations from Nets 111, Sixers 102

That was one of the worst Philadelphia playoff performances I’ve ever witnessed, and I watched Andy Reid’s Eagles back in the day. I watched Peter Nowak’s Union and countless Phillies and Flyers duds.

You’re not gonna win many games when you shoot 40.7% from the floor, 12% from three (3-25), and 69% from the foul line (29-42). And I think the further disappointment is that they did fine in most auxiliary areas. They pulled down 16 offensive rebounds and only turned the ball over 13 times. They shot 16 more free throws than the Nets and only two fewer field goals. They got Jarrett Allen in foul trouble and forced Brooklyn to play Ed Davis for 25 minutes and Jared Dudley for 28 minutes, well above their season averages.

They opened with some solid pick and roll defense, as D’Angelo Russell put up a number of low-percentage mid-range looks en route to 0-5 start. Then Brooklyn went on a big run to end the 1st quarter and they Sixers just couldn’t pull it together from there. They got cooked by the Nets’ guards in space and the offense looked completely discombobulated. JJ Redick fouled out. Tobias Harris only took seven shots. I’m honestly stunned that this game was as close at it was, because it felt like the Sixers were just getting run off the court at times.

Some thoughts:

Joel Embiid

Right away he earned two fouls on Allen and four on the Nets within four minutes of play. It’s clear he can get to the line against this team and stress their front court situation, so it’s just a bummer that he is not 100% healthy right now. He competed defensively and did an admirable job protecting the rim, finishing with 22 and 15 on the offensive end but logging a -17 in 24 minutes of play. He went 0-5 from the three point line and stopped shooting from the arc at the 10:00 minute mark in the second quarter.

Brooklyn gave him the elbow on Sunday, and he was able to knock down one shot by walking right into the space. The second time, he did this:

Joel is good enough to draw fouls against Allen or Davis almost at will in this series. The Sixers can feast at the line.

At the risk of stating the obvious, this series is so much different if Embiid is at 100% health. Brooklyn just does not have the horses to guard him and his defensive mobility allows him to contest shots that other Philly bigs simply cannot.

Ben Simmons

Really disappointing performance and really disappointing post game comments about the fan booing.

If Ben’s not gonna shoot, he’s not gonna shoot, and whatever, we’ve been down that road a million times before. It affects the way teams defend the Sixers and it affects spacing on the offensive end. It stresses Embiid and other bigs and keeps them on the perimeter when teams wall off Ben and prevent him from getting to the rim, clogging up the paint at the same time.

But the biggest downer from him on Saturday was the lack of aggression and the predictability of every single possession, when he’s pushing the pace into a team that has numbers back and a proper seal at the paint. Brooklyn put on a masterclass in transition defense, allowing just 4 fast break points last night against a Sixers season average of 15 per game (17 at home).

This is playoff basketball. Ben just isn’t gonna get the easy buckets he gets against Charlotte, New York, and Chicago. When teams stuff the lane appropriately and/or sag, you get rough possessions like this, where Ben is trying to feed a cutting JJ Redick instead:

One of the reasons Treveon Graham is able to make that play is because he’s sagging at the elbow, disrespecting Ben’s shooting ability. The sag puts him in the backdoor passing lane, where he can get his left hand up and deflect. And Dinwiddie’s willingness to go over that screen and push JJ off the three-point line showed really high-level effort and execution.

Defensively? Ben was pretty good. D’Angelo Russell only shot 2-9 in his matchups against Simmons. LeVert was 2-4 when he had Ben on him. They really need Simmons’ athleticism on the defensive end, because Brooklyn just has so many weapons to throw at you on the perimeter.

I just felt like there were a few times where Ben was a bit sleepy on the defensive glass, not totally alert. Stuff like this:

I’m not sure who is responsible for LeVert there, that confusion at the top with who’s guarding him and who’s guarding Dudley. Could be a blown JJ assignment. But even when Ben sees that, he drops down and puts little pressure on Davis, basically just standing there and allowing him to tip that ball out for the offensive rebound. Davis is surrounded by a 7’2″ guy, a 6’9″ guy, and a 6’10” guy and no one puts a body on him.

Tobias Harris

Totally invisible, just 2-7 from the floor and zero trips to the foul line.

Brett Brown on Harris’ performance:

I mean I’m always putting it on me to help him. You know, ‘how do you help your players?’ I’ll stick with that. You know, I got to find ways to help him. He cares, at times, too much. You know. You learn quickly in the NBA playoffs that the first kind of open look you got, is going probably going to be your best look. The game will tell you to shoot, and at times, I feel like he’s trying to maybe press a little too much or go someplace else, when you know, he can shoot more than seven times. Is that what it ended up? You know, I will own that. I got to find ways to help Tobias.

There was a sequence where he got himself 1v1 with 6’5″ Graham in the second half, an easy mismatch for a 6’9″ guy like Tobias. I thought he might be able to back him down to the paint or elbow and shoot over him, as we’ve seen Tobias do in the past, but he instead swung the ball to a wide-open T.J. McConnell:

Those sequences are killers, because LeVert is sagging at least 10 feet off of McConnell and stuffing the paint. Even if Harris is able to back down his guy on that play, he’s just walking right into the second defender. T.J. is not the world’s worst three-pointer shooter if he has acres of space to do it, and on this play they gave it to him. Just a really brutal offensive possession right there.

Jimmy Butler

A man’s performance, unfortunately wasted.

He had a good post game quote, basically explaining what we’re all thinking:

On if they need to step up their physicality…

No. No, I just think we’ve got to guard better. I think, you know, you’ve got to man up and guard one-on-one. I think that’s what it’s going to come down to in this series. The one after that, the one after that, and the one after that. You know, whoever it may be, myself included, you’ve got to man up and you’ve got to stand in front of your man and try to get a stop.

“You’ve got to man up and you’ve got to stand in front of your man and try to get a stop.”

Yep.

JJ Redick

A total liability on defense, he also finished 2-7 from the floor. They’ve got to get him some early looks in game two and get him going, because the Sixers offense is just so much more rhythmic when Redick gets off to good starts. Like we talked about against Milwaukee, if Brooklyn is going to sag off Embiid or Simmons and invite the shot, bring the ball back, run JJ to the other side of the floor, and DHO into space. It only takes him one look to get going.

Rotation and minutes

Boban was serviceable on the offensive end, going 5-7 from the floor in 15 minutes while hitting 3 of 4 free throws. The problem is that he’s just a rough defensive matchup for a smaller team that can drag him out to the perimeter and simply blow right by him, as Dinwiddie did for the easy dunk on that one possession.

There was also a lot of Jonathon Simmons talk during the game, and the thing I don’t understand is why Simmons is being featured in the playoff rotation when he only played 64 minutes in April and 80 minutes in March. I know he’s just a placeholder wing until James Ennis comes back, but the (post-Ennis injury) distribution of minutes for Simmons and Zhaire Smith down the stretch doesn’t make sense to me.

Mike Scott put up a 1-8 afternoon in 32 minutes off the bench while McConnell at least put forth some effort, despite his limitations and liabilities. Jonah Bolden played 5:07 with his knee issue, which is another concern, because his mobility makes him the best Embiid backup option against a guard-heavy Nets team.

Brooklyn’s bench outscored the Sixers’ bench 59 to 26.

Other notes:

The refs were whatever. Couple of bad calls against both teams.

Again, turnovers were fine. They came in below their season average. Joel had 3 and Ben had 3. JJ’s 3 were the biggest disappointment.

Dinwiddie is the bigger issue than D’Angelo Russell, like we talked about while previewing this series. His ability to come off the bench and get better matchups (and avoid Ben Simmons) gives him easier paths to scoring.

There’s no way Ed Davis should be a +28 with a 12/16 double-double. You got Allen in foul trouble then allowed Davis to play the game of his life.

Dudley made a couple of savvy veteran plays out there. Feels like he’s been in the league for 20 years.

Brooklyn only missed two free throws, shooting 24-26 for a 92.3% mark. The Sixers lost by 9 and missed 13 free throws.

Russell does turn the ball over. Brooklyn can be invited to the rim and then baited to throw low-percentage kick-out passes. Harris committed a few of those yesterday.

Brett is going to have to micro-manage Ben Simmons in the offensive half, because Ben was trying to play regular season basketball in the postseason yesterday. Slow it down, run your sets, identify pick and roll mismatches. There was a sequence where Brett called for a Butler/Boban pick and roll two times in a row yesterday, and the first PNR resulted in Jimmy getting his first bucket while the second got Allen his third foul. You have to slow it down a bit and manage the game, especially if Brooklyn is snuffing you out in transition. It’s one thing to talk about the defensive issues, which we’ve known about all year long, but the Sixers offense was outrageously out of sync yesterday.

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