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enthusiasticsobrietyabuse · 4 years ago

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Bob Meehan - The Advocate, Newark, O., Sunday April 21, 1985

"Your unborn child has as much chance of getting a drug problem as getting chicken pox. Walk into junior high school today and half the kids there are getting loaded. I am not accepting that behavior!"

Edging forward on the couch, Bob Meehan underscores the message by grasping your arm and boring in with his eyes. He delivers his words with the same passion he says he once has for shooting heroin. He demands your attention.

"These kids were primed by Cheech and Chong. By age 10 they were primed to smoke a joint as you were to drive a car."

He finishes in crescendo, with a clenched-fist flourish: "They (pause) caaAAN't (pause) wait!"

Drug addict, thief, ex-convict, conman extraordinaire, drug-abuse counselor and now author, Meehan, 42, says he is all of these. He fancies himself as equal parts Elmer Gantry, Mother Theresa and P.T. Barnum.

He has been praised as a hip and gifted teacher whose lesson rings true to drug-plagued kids because he has "been where they are."

But Meehan has also been criticized as an egomaniac out for money, power and glory; a slick operator perpetrating the ultimate con job on desperate and vulnerable families by replacing drug dependency with a dependency on him and his group.

Meehan, who "shot dope for 10 years and banged on the penitentiary door until they let me in," lacks academic credentials. He proudly proclaims his diploma from the school of hard knocks.

Meehan is the founder of Freeway, a self-help drug abuse program that holds meetings in community centers throughout San Diego County, and of SLIC Ranch, his "Sober Live-In Center" in the remote foothills near Lake Wohlford.

Even his toughest critics concede that he is highly successful at getting kids off drugs. They say it is his powerful personality and absolute influence that they fear.

"There is no way a person coming down off of this is not going to lean on someone," said Meehan in the living room of SLIC Ranch. "You've removed their best friend - the chemical. It has worked for them every time.

A con is one who can manipulate, who is charismatic as hell - I don't take credit for that, you're born with it. I'm also bald and ugly," said the wispy-haired Meehan, who chain-smoked and drank coffee from a 16-ounce tumbler throughout the rapid-speak interview.

"But the real con is how I get them off of me and the group and into themselves, into whatever God is to them," said Meehan, who based the Freeway and SLIC Ranch programs on the "12 Steps" of Alcoholics Anonymous that seek to restore self-esteem and sobriety through a relationship with a "higher power."

A half dozen years ago in Houston, Meehan created a successful drug rehabilitation program through moxie, fast talk and innate ability to get through to kids on their own level.

Carol Burnett's daughter, Carrie, was Meehan's prize pupil and the famous comedian toured the talk-show circuit with the wiry and naturally wired Meehan, singing his praises.

Tim Conway, Burnett's old TV sidekick, has had two of his five sons treated for drug problems by Meehan. Conway and Meehan appeared together on a TV show to plug Freeway and the ranch.

Sister Mary Vincent, a San Diego marriage and family counselor, knew Bob Meehan when she was also working with troubled youths in Houston. She referred drug abusers to Meehan's group in Texas and continued to do so after she coincidentally moved to San Diego.

"I referred people to Bob because I saw the effectiveness of his program in Houston," said the Roman Catholic nun known as "Sister Vince." "But a little over a year ago, I began hearing stories from parents going through nightmares and afraid to speak out because of the power Bob and Freeway held over their children.

There is a cultish situation. Bob is a slippery eel and he has many people conned," she said. "To me, it's truly frightening."

Meehan was "removed" in January 1980 from his $50,000 per year consulting job in Houston after newsman Dan Rather pointed out a conflict of interest (Meehan's salary was paid by the hospital to which he was recommending patients from his Palmer Drug Abuse Program) on CBS's 60 Minutes program.

There also was complaints from his flock of former substance abusers that Meehan's idea of a cure was to shift their dependence from drugs to him and his self-help program.

Meehan's group in Texas was described by some former members as cult-like in its demand for total allegiance and its distain for more than cursory contact with the outside world. "We're led to believe that we can't make it without the program," one of Meehan's former followers told 60 Minutes.

Meehan folded the operation in his native Texas and settled in San Diego about four years ago. He quickly established a drug-abuse program at the now-defunct Centre City Hospital and the self-help network Freeway, which is thriving.

For more than two years, he has operated SLIC Ranch in a sprawling 4,000-square-foot hilltop ranch on 10 acres.

Meehan insists that the Freeway program and SLIC Ranch are entirely separate entities. "If I'm at one Freeway meeting a month anymore, that's a big deal," he said. "Freeway does its thing and we do ours."

Freeway is a group of more than 500 recovering teenage drug abusers, including most of the 150-plus graduates of SLIC Ranch. They meet several times a week to talk about their drug problems under the guidance of young counselors - former abusers themselves.

Freeway is one of several self-help groups parents may turn to for help when a child is abusing drugs. When the problem is deemed particularly severe, Freeway refers the child to SLIC Ranch for an intensive 30-day program.

While the child is undergoing treatment at the ranch, the parents are indoctrinated into the Freeway program through a series of meetings for newcomers (Freeway is non-profit, but donations are strongly encouraged). While at SLIC Ranch, the child spends evenings traveling to Freeway meetings and inevitably becomes deeply involved with the group, along with his parents.

At the end of the 30 days, the child usually will leave SLIC Ranch and take up residence at the home of a "Freeway family," one whose child is sober, thanks to the group, and whose parents are true believers in Meehan and his method.

Even if the newly sober child returns home after a few weeks with the Freeway family, according to Meehan, he generally will not return to school for a time and will disassociate himself from classmates and old friends in favor of his new Freeway friend.

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blackfreethinkers · 5 years ago

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Two kindergartners in Utah told a Latino boy that President Trump would send him back to Mexico, and teenagers in Maine sneered "Ban Muslims" at a classmate wearing a hijab. In Tennessee, a group of middle-schoolers linked arms, imitating the president's proposed border wall as they refused to let nonwhite students pass. In Ohio, another group of middle-schoolers surrounded a mixed-race sixth-grader and, as she confided to her mother, told the girl: "This is Trump country."

Since Trump's rise to the nation’s highest office, his inflammatory language — often condemned as racist and xenophobic — has seeped into schools across America. Many bullies now target other children differently than they used to, with kids as young as 6 mimicking the president’s insults and the cruel way he delivers them.

Trump’s words, those chanted by his followers at campaign rallies and even his last name have been wielded by students and school staff members to harass children more than 300 times since the start of 2016, a Washington Post review of 28,000 news stories found. At least three-quarters of the attacks were directed at kids who are Hispanic, black or Muslim, according to the analysis. Students have also been victimized because they support the president — more than 45 times during the same period.

Although many hateful episodes garnered coverage just after the election, The Post found that Trump-connected persecution of children has never stopped. Even without the huge total from November 2016, an average of nearly two incidents per school week have been publicly reported over the past four years. Still, because so much of the bullying never appears in the news, The Post’s figure represents a small fraction of the actual total. It also doesn’t include the thousands of slurs, swastikas and racial epithets that aren’t directly linked to Trump but that the president’s detractors argue his behavior has exacerbated.

“It’s gotten way worse since Trump got elected,” said Ashanty Bonilla, 17, a Mexican American high school junior in Idaho who faced so much ridicule from classmates last year that she transferred. “They hear it. They think it’s okay. The president says it. . . . Why can’t they?”

Asked about Trump’s effect on student behavior, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham noted that first lady Melania Trump — whose “Be Best” campaign denounces online harassment — had encouraged kids worldwide to treat one another with respect.

First lady Melania Trump speaks at the White House in May 2018 about her “Be Best” campaign, which denounces online harassment. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

“She knows that bullying is a universal problem for children that will be difficult to stop in its entirety,” Grisham wrote in an email, “but Mrs. Trump will continue her work on behalf of the next generation despite the media’s appetite to blame her for actions and situations outside of her control.”

Most schools don’t track the Trump bullying phenomenon, and researchers didn’t ask about it in a federal survey of 6,100 students in 2017, the most recent year with available data. One in five of those children, ages 12 to 18, reported being bullied at school, a rate unchanged since the previous count in 2015.

However, a 2016 online survey of over 10,000 kindergarten through 12th-grade educators by the Southern Poverty Law Center found that more than 2,500 “described specific incidents of bigotry and harassment that can be directly traced to election rhetoric,” although the overwhelming majority never made the news. In 476 cases, offenders used the phrase “build the wall.” In 672, they mentioned deportation.

Withrow University High School

Someone sprayed hateful graffiti across campus, declaring "F- - - N-words and Faggots" and "Trump." The graffiti also threatened gay and black students and featured multiple swastikas -- the latter often painted alongside the president's last name.

Lewiston High School

After Ashanty Bonilla, 17, tweeted criticism of Trump supporters who visit Mexico, a classmate posted her message on Snapchat alongside a racist response and a Confederate flag. The next day, classmates heckled the teen with racist jeers, tied a rope to the back of her car and wrote "Republican Trump 2020" on the back window.

Amon Carter-Riverside High School

Georgia Clark, an English teacher in Fort Worth, tweeted at President Trump asking him to remove undocumented immigrants from her high school. She mistakenly believed her messages were private.

For Cielo Castor, who is Mexican American, the experience at Kamiakin High in Kennewick, Wash., was searing. The day after the election, a friend told Cielo, then a sophomore, that he was glad Trump won because Mexicans were stealing American jobs. A year later, when the president was mentioned during her American literature course, she said she didn't support him and a classmate who did refused to sit next to her. “‘I don’t want to be around her,’ ” Cielo recalled him announcing as he opted for the floor instead. Then, on “America night” at a football game in October 2018 during Cielo’s senior year, schoolmates in the student section unfurled a “Make America Great Again” flag. Led by the boy who wouldn’t sit beside Cielo, the teenagers began to chant: “Build — the — wall!” Horrified, she confronted the instigator. “You can’t be doing that,” Cielo told him. He ignored her, she recalled, and the teenagers around him booed her. A cheerleading coach was the lone adult who tried to make them stop. “I felt like I was personally attacked. And it wasn’t like they were attacking my character. They were attacking my ethnicity, and it’s not like I can do anything about that.”

— Cielo Castor

After a photo of the teenagers with the flag appeared on social media, news about what had happened infuriated many of the school’s Latinos, who made up about a quarter of the 1,700-member student body. Cielo, then 17, hoped school officials would address the tension. When they didn’t, she attended that Wednesday’s school board meeting. “I don’t feel cared for,” she told the members, crying. A day later, the superintendent consoled her and the principal asked how he could help, recalled Cielo, now a college freshman. Afterward, school staff members addressed every class, but Hispanic students were still so angry that they organized a walkout. Some students heckled the protesters, waving MAGA caps at them. At the end of the day, Cielo left the school with a white friend who’d attended the protest; they passed an underclassman she didn’t know. “Look,” the boy said, “it’s one of those f---ing Mexicans.” She heard that school administrators — who declined to be interviewed for this article — suspended the teenager who had led the chant, but she doubts he has changed. Reached on Instagram, the teenager refused to talk about what happened, writing in a message that he didn’t want to discuss the incident “because it is in the past and everyone has moved on from it.” At the end, he added a sign-off: “Trump 2020.”

President Trump’s rhetoric has been condemned as racist and xenophobic since his candidacy began in 2015. Here is what he’s said. (The Washington Post)

Just as the president has repeatedly targeted Latinos, so, too, have school bullies. Of the incidents The Post tallied, half targeted Hispanics.

In one of the most extreme cases of abuse, a 13-year-old in New Jersey told a Mexican American schoolmate, who was 12, that “all Mexicans should go back behind the wall.” A day later, on June 19, 2019, the 13-year-old assaulted the boy and his mother, Beronica Ruiz, punching him and beating her unconscious, said the family’s attorney, Daniel Santiago. He wonders to what extent Trump’s repeated vilification of certain minorities played a role.

More than 300 Trump-inspired harassment incidents reported by news outlets from 2016-2019

Anti-Hispanic: 45%

Anti-black: 23%

Anti-Semitic: 7%

Anti-Muslim: 8%

Anti-LGBT: 4%

Anti-Trump: 14%

Note: Some incidents targeted multiple groups and, in other cases, the ethnicity/gender/religion of the intended target was unclear. Figures may not precisely add up because of rounding.

“When the president goes on TV and is saying things like Mexicans are rapists, Mexicans are criminals — these children don’t have the cognitive ability to say, ‘He’s just playing the role of a politician,’ ” Santiago argued. “The language that he’s using matters.” Ruiz’s son, who is now seeing a therapist, continues to endure nightmares from an experience that may take years to overcome. But experts say that discriminatory language can, on its own, harm children, especially those of color who may already feel marginalized. “It causes grave damage, as much physical as psychological,” said Elsa Barajas, who has counseled more than 1,000 children in her job at the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health. As a result, she has seen Hispanic students suffer from sleeplessness, lose interest in school, and experience inexplicable stomach pain and headaches.

For Ashanty Bonilla, the damage began with the response to a single tweet she shared 10 months ago. “Unpopular opinion,” Ashanty, then 16 and a sophomore at Lewiston High School in rural Idaho, wrote on April 9. “People who support Trump and go to Mexico for vacation really piss me off. Sorry not sorry.” Some of Ashanty Bonilla’s classmates at Lewiston High in rural Idaho harassed her last April after she tweeted a comment critical of Trump supporters. (Rajah Bose/For The Washington Post) A schoolmate, who is white, took a screen shot of her tweet and posted it to Snapchat, along with a Confederate flag. “Unpopular opinion but: people that are from Mexico and come in to America illegally or at all really piss me off,” he added in a message that spread rapidly among students. The next morning, as Ashanty arrived at school, half a dozen boys, including the one who had written the message, stood nearby. “You’re illegal. Go back to Mexico,” she heard one of them say. “F--- Mexicans.” Ashanty, shaken but silent, walked past as a friend yelled at the boys to shut up. In a 33,000-person town that is 94 percent white, Ashanty, whose father is half-black and whose mother is Mexican American, had always worked to fit in. She attended every football game and won a school spirit award as a freshman. She straightened her hair and dyed it blond, hoping to look more like her friends. “It’s gotten way worse since Trump got elected. They hear it. They think it’s okay. The president says it. . . . Why can’t they?”

— Ashanty Bonilla

She had known those boys who’d heckled her since they were little. For her 15th birthday the year before, some had danced at her quinceañera. A friend drove her off campus for lunch, but when they pulled back into the parking lot, Ashanty spotted people standing around her car. A rope had been tied from the back of the Honda Pilot to a pickup truck. “Republican Trump 2020,” someone had written in the dust on her back window. Hands trembling, Ashanty tried to untie the rope but couldn’t. She heard the laughing, sensed the cellphone cameras pointed at her. She began to weep. Lewiston’s principal, Kevin Driskill, said he and his staff met with the boys they knew were involved, making clear that “we have zero tolerance for any kind of actions like that.” The incidents, he suspected, stemmed mostly from ignorance. “Our lack of diversity probably comes with a lack of understanding,” Driskill said, but he added that he’s encouraged by the school district’s recent creation of a community group — following racist incidents on other campuses — meant to address those issues. That effort came too late for Ashanty. Some friends supported her, but others told her the boys were just joking. Don’t ruin their lives. She seldom attended classes the last month of school. That summer, she started having migraines and panic attacks. In August, amid her spiraling despair, Ashanty swallowed 27 pills from a bottle of antidepressants. A helicopter rushed her to a hospital in Spokane, Wash., 100 miles away. After that, she began seeing a therapist and, along with the friend who defended her, transferred to another school. Sometimes, she imagines how different life might be had she never written that tweet, but Ashanty tries not to blame herself and has learned to take more pride in her heritage. She just wishes the president understood the harm his words inflict. Even Trump’s last name has become something of a slur to many children of color, whether they’ve heard it shouted at them in hallways or, in her case, seen it written on the back window of a car. “It means,” she said, “you don’t belong.”

Georgia Clark taught English at Amon Carter-Riverside High School in Fort Worth, where a student accused her of racism. (Allison V. Smith/For The Washington Post) Three weeks into the 2018-19 school year, Miracle Slover's English teacher, she alleges, ordered black and Hispanic students to sit in the back of the classroom at their Fort Worth high school. At the time, Miracle was a junior. Georgia Clark, her teacher at Amon Carter-Riverside, often brought up Trump, Miracle said. He was a good person, she told the class, because he wanted to build a wall. “Every day was something new with immigration,” said Miracle, now 18, who has a black mother and a mixed-race father. “That Trump needs to take [immigrants] away. They do drugs, they bring drugs over here. They cause violence.” Some students tried to film Clark, and others complained to administrators, but none of it made a difference, Miracle said. Clark, an employee of the Fort Worth system since 1998, kept talking. Clark, who denies the teenager’s allegations, is one of more than 30 educators across the country accused of using the president’s name or rhetoric to harass students since he announced his candidacy, the Post analysis found. In Clark’s class, Miracle stayed quiet until late spring 2019. That day, she walked in wearing her hair “puffy,” split into two high buns. Clark, she said, told her it looked “nappy, like Marge off ‘The Simpsons.’ ” Unable to smother an angry reply, Miracle landed in the principal’s office. An administrator asked her to write a witness statement, and in it, she finally let go, scrawling her frustration across seven pages. “I just got tired of it,” she said. “I wrote a ton.” Still, Miracle said, school officials took no action until six weeks later, when Clark, 69, tweeted at Trump — in what she thought were private messages — requesting help deporting undocumented immigrants in Fort Worth schools. The posts went viral, drawing national condemnation. Clark was fired. “Every day was something new with immigration. That Trump needs to take [immigrants] away. They do drugs, they bring drugs over here. They cause violence.”

— Miracle Slover, referring to Georgia Clark, her former English teacher

Not always, though, are offenders removed from the classroom. The day after the 2016 election, Donnie Jones Jr.’s daughter was walking down a hallway at her Florida high school when, she says, a teacher warned her and two friends — all sophomores, all black — that Trump would “send you back to Africa.” The district suspended the teacher for three days and transferred him to another school. Just a few days later in California, a physical education teacher told a student that he would be deported under Trump. Two years ago in Maine, a substitute teacher referenced the president’s wall and promised a Lebanese American student, “You’re getting kicked out of my country.” More than a year later in Texas, a school employee flashed a coin bearing the word “ICE” at a Hispanic student. “Trump,” he said, “is working on a law where he can deport you.” Sometimes, Jones said, he doesn’t recognize America. “People now will say stuff that a couple of years ago they would not dare say,” Jones argued. He fears what his two youngest children, ages 11 and 9, might hear in their school hallways, especially if Trump is reelected. Now a senior, Miracle doesn’t regret what she wrote about Clark. Although the furor that followed forced Miracle to switch schools and quit her beloved dance team, she would do it again, she said. Clark’s punishment, her public disgrace, was worth it. About a week before Miracle’s 18th birthday, her mother checked Facebook to find a flurry of notifications. Friends were messaging to say that Clark had appealed her firing, and that the Texas education commissioner had intervened. Reluctant to spoil the birthday, Jowona Powell waited several days to tell her daughter, who doesn’t use social media. Citing a minor misstep in the school board’s firing process, the commissioner had ordered Carter-Riverside to pay Clark one year’s salary — or give the former teacher her job back.

A snapshot of the harassment in 2019

In the three months after the president tweeted on July 14, 2019, that four minority congresswomen should "go back” to the countries they came from, more than a dozen incidents of Trump-related school bullying — including several that used his exact language — were reported in the press.

Mahtomedi High School & Como Park Senior High School

During a soccer game, students taunted a majority Asian-American team (which also included at least one Hispanic player) by telling them to go back to their countries and calling them "Asian food names."

Baldwin High School & Piper High School

During a volleyball game, students told black players on the court to go back to where they came from and made monkey noises at them.

Barack and Michelle Obama Ninth Grade Center

After a 14-year-old failed to address a staffer with "Yes, sir," the man showed the student a coin with "ICE" written on it and said, "Even though you are a citizen, Trump is working on a law where he can deport you, too, because of your mom’s status." The man later lost his job.

Everett Alvarez High School

Frontier High School

Students waving "Make America Great Again" flags disrupted a meeting of the school's Gay Straight Alliance, breaking up the gathering by shouting slurs before following the group's members to the parking lot.

Edward Little High School

Students yelled "Build the wall!" and "Ban Muslims!" as a 16-year-old Muslim girl walked through the hallways.

A 16-year-old student was arrested after posting on social media -- shortly after the deadly mass shootings in Dayton and El Paso — a photo of a pickup displaying a Trump flag, a Confederate flag and several guns. He captioned the post, "west harrison ain't ready for round 2."

Fans told one Hispanic player on the opposing team to “go back to your country” and called others “f---ing beaner” and "wetback" during a soccer game.

During a game in which a student was accused of using a racial slur againt a black player, fans also waved a Trump sign and chanted "America" when their team scored.

Cheerleaders from a largely white school held up a sign that read "Make America Great Again" and "Trump the Leopards" before a football game against a much more diverse school.

Before a football game, players ran through a banner reading "Make America Great Again Trump Those Patriots," triggering a backlash.

At least two minority students were bullied — in separate incidents — because the district allowed students to display a Trump banner at a high school football game, according to parents and school board members.

After students painted the school rock with rainbows to celebrate National Coming Out Day, someone painted over it with "Trump 2020," "MAGA 2020," "NRA" and an expletive. Later, two students — one black, one white — got into a fight about the issue.

During a volleyball game, students told black players on the court to go back to where they came from and made monkey noises at them.

In an apparent prank against a schoolmate, students created a fake Twitter account — which praised Adolf Hitler and Trump in its bio — and tweeted out racist remarks against a black high school coach. Jordyn Covington stood when she heard the jeers. “Monkeys!” “You don’t belong here.” “Go back to where you came from!” From atop the bleachers that day in October, Jordyn, 15, could see her Piper High School volleyball teammates on the court in tears. The sobbing varsity players were all black, all from Kansas City, Kan., like her. Who was yelling? Jordyn wondered. She peered at the students in the opposing section. Most of them were white. “It was just sad,” said Jordyn, who plays for Piper’s junior varsity team. “And why? Why did it have to happen to us? We weren’t doing anything. We were simply playing volleyball.” Go back? To where? Jordyn, her friends and Piper’s nine black players were all born in the United States. “Just like everyone else,” Jordyn said. “Just like white people.” “It was just sad. And why? Why did it have to happen to us? We weren’t doing anything. We were simply playing volleyball.” The game, played at an overwhelmingly white rural high school, came three months after Trump tweeted that four minority congresswomen should “go back” to the “totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” It was Jordyn’s first experience with racism, she said. But it was not the first time that fans at a school sports game had used the president to target students of color.

The Post found that players, parents or fans have used his name or words in at least 48 publicly reported cases, hurling hateful slogans at students competing in elementary, middle and high school games in 26 states. The venom has been shouted on football gridirons and soccer fields, on basketball and volleyball courts. Nearly 90 percent of incidents identified by The Post targeted players and fans of color, or teams fielded by schools with large minority populations. More than half focused on Hispanics.

In one of the earliest examples, students at a Wisconsin high school soccer game in April 2016 chanted “Trump, build a wall!” at black and Hispanic players. A few months later, students at a high school basketball game in Missouri turned their backs and hoisted a Trump/Pence campaign sign as the majority-black opposing team walked onto the court. In 2017, two high school girls in Alabama showed up at a football game pep rally with a sign reading “Put the Panic back in Hispanic” and a “Trump Make America Great Again” banner. In late 2017, two radio hosts announcing a high school basketball game in Iowa were caught on a hot mic describing Hispanic players as “español people.” “As Trump would say,” one broadcaster suggested, “go back where they came from.” Both announcers were fired. After the volleyball incident in Kansas, though, the fallout was more muted. The opposing school district, Baldwin City, commissioned an investigation and subsequently asserted that there was “no evidence” of racist jeers. Administrators from Piper’s school system dismissed that claim and countered with a statement supporting their students. An hour after the game, Jordyn fought to keep her eyes dry as she boarded the team bus home. When white players insisted that everything would be okay, she slipped in ear buds and selected “my mood playlist,” a collection of somber nighttime songs. She wiped her cheeks. Jordyn had long ago concluded that Trump didn’t want her — or “anyone who is just not white” — in the United States. But hearing other students shout it was different. Days later, her English teacher assigned an essay asking about “what’s right and what’s wrong.” At first, Jordyn thought she might write about the challenges transgender people face. Then she had another idea. “The students were making fun of us because we were different, like our hair and skin tone,” Jordyn wrote. “How are you gonna be mad at me and my friends for being black. . . . I love myself and so should all of you.” She read it aloud to the class. She finished, then looked up. Everyone began to applaud.

It's not just young Trump supporters who torment classmates because of who they are or what they believe. As one boy in North Carolina has come to understand, kids who oppose the president — kids like him — can be just as vicious. By Gavin Trump’s estimation, nearly everyone at his middle school in Chapel Hill comes from a Democratic family. So when the kids insist on calling him by his last name — even after he demands that they stop — the 13-year-old knows they want to provoke him, by trying to link the boy to the president they despise. In fifth grade, classmates would ask if he was related to the president, knowing he wasn’t. They would insinuate that Gavin agreed with the president on immigration and other polarizing issues. “They saw my last name as Trump, and we all hate Trump, so it was like, ‘We all hate you,’ ” he said. “I was like, ‘Why are you teasing me? I have no relationship to Trump at all. We just ended up with the same last name.’ ” Beyond kids like Gavin, the Post analysis also identified dozens of children across the country who were bullied, or even assaulted, because of their allegiance to the president. School staff members in at least 18 states, from Washington to West Virginia, have picked on students for wearing Trump gear or voicing support for him. Among teenagers, the confrontations have at times turned physical. A high school student in Northern California said that after she celebrated the 2016 election results on social media, a classmate accused her of hating Mexicans and attacked her, leaving the girl with a bloodied nose. Last February, a teenager at an Oklahoma high school was caught on video ripping a Trump sign out of a student’s hands and knocking a red MAGA cap off his head. And in the nation’s capital — where only 4 percent of voters cast ballots for Trump in 2016 — an outspoken conservative teenager said she had to leave her prestigious public school because she felt threatened. In a YouTube video, Jayne Zirkle, a high school senior, said that the trouble started when classmates at the School Without Walls discovered an online photo of her campaigning for Trump. She said students circulated the photo, harassed her online and called her a white supremacist. A D.C. school system official said they investigated the allegations and allowed Jayne to study from home to ensure she felt safe. “A lot of people who I thought were my best friends just all of a sudden totally turned their backs on me,” Jayne said. “People wouldn’t even look at me or talk to me.” For Gavin, the teasing began in fourth grade, soon after Trump announced his candidacy. After more than a year of schoolyard taunts, Gavin decided to go by his mother’s last name, Mather, when he started middle school. The teenager has been proactive, requesting that teachers call him by the new name, but it gets trickier, and more stressful, when substitutes fill in. He didn’t legally change his last name, so “Trump” still appears on the roster. The teasing has subsided, but the switch wasn’t easy. Gavin likes his real last name and feared that changing it would hurt his father’s feelings. His dad understood, but for Gavin, the guilt remains. “This is my name,” he said. “And I am abandoning my name.”

Maritza Avalos knows what's coming. It's 2020. The next presidential election is nine months away. She remembers what happened during the last one, when she was just 11. “Pack your bags,” kids told her. “You get a free trip to Mexico.” She’s now a freshman at Kamiakin High, the same Washington state school where her older sister, Cielo, confronted the teenagers who chanted “Build the wall” at a football game in late 2018. Maritza, 14, assumes the taunts that accompanied Trump’s last campaign will intensify with this one, too. “I try not to think about it,” she said, but for educators nationwide, the ongoing threat of politically charged harassment has been impossible to ignore. In response, schools have canceled mock elections, banned political gear, trained teachers, increased security, formed student-led mediation groups and created committees to develop anti-discrimination policies.

In California, the staff at Riverside Polytechnic High School has been preparing for this year’s presidential election since the day after the last one. On Nov. 9, 2016, counselors held a workshop in the library for students to share their feelings. Trump supporters feared they would be singled out for their beliefs, while girls who had heard the president brag about sexually assaulting women worried that boys would be emboldened to do the same to them. “We treated it almost like a crisis,” said Yuri Nava, a counselor who has since helped expand a student club devoted to improving the school’s culture and climate. Riverside, which is 60 percent Hispanic, also offers three courses — African American, Chicano and ethnic studies — meant to help students better understand one another, Nava said. And instead of punishing students when they use race or politics to bully, counselors first try to bring them together with their victims to talk through what happened. Often, they leave as friends.

In Gambrills, Md., Arundel High School has taken a similar approach. Even before a student was caught scribbling the n-word in his notebook in early 2017, Gina Davenport, the principal, worried about the effect of the election’s rhetoric. At the school, where about half of the 2,200 students are minorities, she heard their concerns every day. But the racist slur, discovered the same month as Trump’s inauguration, led to a concrete response. A “Global Community Citizenship” class, now mandatory for all freshmen in the district, pushes students to explore their differences. A recent lesson delved into Trump’s use of Twitter. “The focus wasn’t Donald Trump, the focus was listening: How do we convey our ideas in order for someone to listen?” Davenport said. “We teach that we can disagree with each other without walking away being enemies — which we don’t see play out in the press, or in today’s political debates.”

Since the class debuted in fall 2017, disciplinary referrals for disruption and disrespect have decreased by 25 percent each school year, Davenport said. Membership in the school’s speech and debate team has doubled. The course has eased Davenport’s anxiety heading into the next election. She doesn’t expect an uptick in racist bullying. “Civil conversation,” she said. “The kids know what that means now.” Many schools haven’t made such progress, and on those campuses, students are bracing for more abuse. Maritza’s sister, Cielo, told her to stand up for herself if classmates use Trump’s words to harass her, but Maritza is quieter than her sibling. The freshman doesn’t like confrontation. She knows, though, that eventually someone will say something — about the wall, maybe, or about how kids who look like her don’t belong in this country — and when that day comes, the girl hopes that she’ll be strong.

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mr-kamiyama · 5 years ago

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Just FYI, pre-algebra is an American level, probably to pad it out. Japanese and Mexican, and anywhere else high schools get up through calculus for all students.

The '90s inner-city high school I went to taught Continental Drift from falling-apart textbooks, which had been disproven in the '60s and superceded by plate tetonics, which I'd learned about in Japan, but my classmates sure didn't.

The G.E.D., something you can take in the U.S. to get your high school diploma if you had to drop out as a teen to raise a kid/sibling or had to pay rent, would be passable, sans language barrier, by a Japanese seventh grader for maths, and fifth grader for all else. The science and history parts are actually just more reading comprehension, but instead you read about the water cycle and white nationalist revisionist history, respectively.

People are, since 2008, graduating high school, recieving their diploma, not having passed even that made up pre-algebra, let alone anything higher.

They also are taught to write fifth-grade level essays because of national standardised testing that if all students don't pass, basically the school closes down. I've hung out with college English professors, and they are so depressed about this.

A high school diploma in Japan, Mexico, any other nation with mandatory schooling, to attain that level, an American must get a Bachelor's in General Education. Possibly with extra maths(?)

Americans also start second language education too late. It's best to begin before, not after, age 12. It is also ridiculous to make an ESL student or someone who already speaks multiple languages take Acceptable Western European Language 101 (even the Spanish is taught Spain Spanish, despite the whole of Latin America. Because the Colonial way is the Right Way (tm) ) to tick off some box.

The reason college has become so necessary is not because one needs more education, but because K-12 has been slowly chipped away at. I have an educated guess that the people at the top started this when they were no longer able to keep good schools away from POC.

Honestly, I do think it's preposterous that we've raised the drinking age, we're raising the smoking age, we're considering adding more years of school, all while some are discussing lowering the voting age. I don't think ages have anything to do with anything. 18 is a bit arbitrary as opposed to 20 (Japan's), but all the same, I think we need to fix the existing K-12 system so that people don't have to waste 13 years before actually learning more than addition and phonics.

There's no point in "you're old enough to pick our next leader and choose to go die and kill to fatten someone's pocket, but you're too immature to know if a beer or cigar is a decision you can make."

(I mean, this is a country that considers driving--very dangerous-- a rite of passage at 16!! I watched that kill someone I loosely knew through someone injured and traumatised in the backseat of that car. Japan actually staggers that alone to 21, as well as offering wonderful national public transit alternative)

I'm not really fond of staggering age of whatever. As mentioned, Japan staggers, too.

But I don't think raising any ages is a solution. I think it's a feel-good law for parents. I mean, yeah, it's disconcerting seeing your kid suddenly legally able to do all these potentially dangerous things.

But that's why you should *raíse* them. I mean, who never snuck out to a party/a cigarette or a drink/etc behind a parent's back? (I'm sure those who didn't actually exist, and aren't lying to argue in bad faith, but they're rare and probably had some kind of extenuating circumstances that stayed them) Probably because whatever was banned at home. Like how laws even ban 16 year olds from working much now, even if they really need to, like I did.

Laws don't actually...stop everyone. That's why things like crime exist. Laws don't eradicate the behaviour.

And even if they did, on what planet does "you're old enough to go kill people for the Bushes to get more oil, but you're not old enough to have a cold one" even make *sense*!?

Shoot, if you have to stagger anything, stagger the military and driving ages last. Those are the most likely to quickly kill multiple people.

But really, we just need better education (including *encouragement* of critical thinking), better parenting (and I'm actually thinking about this from the kid's POV, remembering my own high school days).

All raising age does is make more "forbidden fruit" and keep youth from maturing longer, which the latter may sound nice to anxious parents, but isn't healthy.

Although, I do agree with doing something about tuition cost. In England, Oxford and your local four-year coat the same. In the 70s, a young man (man because wage gap. Assumed cis or fully cis-passing) could put himself through college with a job. Textbooks cost little more than a hardcover novel. The current structure seeks to keep the real education to the wealthy (and mostly white, who gets the good jobs? sans international students, who get extra punishment fees) Maybe a recreation of the whole thing I said in my hypothesis?

At any rate, I just don't see how raising ages on this or that solves anything. I think talking to your kids, raising them to be adults, and improving existing structure is what we really need to do. And stop being gatekeepy.

Sorry if this is a bit loopy. I got home from work at one A.M., it's now five-thirty, still wired, and my phone keeps pressing its own buttons. This is gonna be my final vent tonight.

#drinking age #smoking age #tuition #college #legal age

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calvinphilip22-blog · 6 years ago

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Dreamers Share Their Stories On Miami Musician’s Grammy-nominated Album

Struck by the plight of the "Dreamers" — young people brought illegally to the United States who are now in immigration limbo — John Daversa decided to speak out about it. He did so as best he knew how: through music. The trumpet player’s resulting 2018 album, "American Dreamers: Voices of Hope, Music of Freedom," features 53 Dreamers representing 17 states and an equal number of birth countries performing with Daversa’s big band.

"I’m a musician. That has not changed," says Daversa, who is chairman of studio music and jazz at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. "I see the world around me, and I’m just trying to express what I feel about it.

It’s something that’s been brewing in me for a while, you know: What is the purpose? What is the meaning that I can bring to this life through music? They’re called Dreamers because of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, which was introduced in 2001 but never passed by Congress. In 2012, then-President Barack Obama announced the start of DACA, or the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects about 800,000 undocumented young people from deportation. President Donald Trump ordered an end to DACA in 2017, but the matter is currently working its way through the courts.

Meanwhile, the Dreamers wait and worry. "I just want to introduce these human beings to everyone," says Daversa, whose grandparents immigrated to the U.S. Sicily. "These are people that are living shoulder to shoulder with us. They were brought here as children through no fault of their own. On the album, the Dreamer musicians tell their stories between songs. Response to the album has been more positive than Daversa anticipated. "I was expecting it to be more divisive," he says. But while recruiting and recording Dreamer artists across the country, Daversa found that folks were "very empathetic, very sympathetic" to the Dreamers’ precarious position. "So many people didn’t know about this issue, didn’t know it was an issue," he says.

Miami-based trumpeter Jean Caze, who was born in Haiti, is a member of Daversa’s big band. "This country is made up of a diverse fabric of different cultures," Caze says. "This diversity makes for a richer environment to live in. "Those are tricky to reimagine because they mean so much, and they mean a different thing to everyone," Daversa says. This is not the first time Daversa has successfully reworked songs everybody knows. "Kaleidoscope Eyes," his 2016 album of Beatles tunes, also received Grammy nominations. Daversa is coy about what’s next for him. He says he can’t talk about the project yet, but it "also is discussing some possibilities for social change.

Agent-artist manager and notable Tulsan Halsey has known Ripley for nearly four decades. "He was a kid when I met him you know, 18 years old or something like that," Halsey said. "When people talk about the Tulsa Sound, Steve Ripley was an important part of that, not only as a member of it and a producer of it, but as an archivist," Halsey said. One of Ripley’s most recent projects was the Leon Russell archive at the OKPOP Museum, which is set to break ground in the spring. "He was very critical in.. Leon Russell before he passed about acquiring the Leon Russell archives," OKPOP Museum’s Jeff Moore said. "And so we're working with the estate and the family and there's gonna be some exciting things coming from that. Ripley’s death, some could say, is the end of an era. "Unfortunately, you know, there's a generation of creatives now that are getting to that age," Moore said. He leaves behind a legacy so broad, Oklahomans and those who visit Tulsa will never forget.

Yob is a force to be reckoned with. They are hands down the best live band out there right now when it comes to raw performance, and this show was a pinnacle of the overwhelming amounts of times I have seen them. The energy they convey, the positivity they exude, and their ability to relate to their crowd is only matched by their always seemingly perfect performance. It was truly an honor to share the stage with them night after night, and this was one of those shows that I will never forget. Primitive Man are currently the most brutal band out there and have a tour schedule that has always been mind-blowing. I am lucky enough to call them my friends and have watched this band grow into a monster from day one. As much as I love small punk venues, it's always eye-opening to watch bands on incredible sound systems and stages.

Three of the teens accused of killing musician Kyle Yorlets in Nashville, Tenn., were evicted from a court hearing for laughing and talking, USA Today reports. The incident occurred during a juvenile court hearing in the case Thursday. According to USA Today, the teens continued laughing, talking and turning around in their seats even after their lawyers and court staffers told them to be quiet. The judge finally ordered them removed from the courtroom because of their behavior. "They’ve been sitting there like they’ve been sitting on the playground," Juvenile Court Magistrate Mike O’Neil said. Five juvenile ages 12 to 16 are accused of fatally shooting Yorlets, a Carlisle-area native, during a robbery outside his Nashville home. They are charged with criminal homicide. Yorlets, 24, was a member of the band Carverton. His slaying prompted a wave of mourning both in Nashville and central Pennsylvania.

There are only a select few individuals on Rowan University’s campus whose presence and recognizable aspects rival the Prof owl, Rowan’s mascot. Among those people is Steve Solkela, a senior vocal performance major. "This was definitely the grand finale of my time as a Rowan music major," Solkela said. However, it was no ordinary recital. Performing with Aaron Fagerstrom, a senior double major in piano performance and music industry, Solkela sang in several languages. This is a requirement of most opera recitals. His first set of songs were sung in Italian, indicated by the change of the little flag resting on the piano. After a few solo songs, Solkela then joined forces with freshman Laura Nolan in a duet to tell a story of young love. Nolan and Solkela first preformed their duet in a class called opera scenes, and then publicly at a concert last semester.

For Nolan, it was her first introduction into opera singing. "He was pretty encouraging for me to just go for it, even if I don’t know what I was doing," Nolan said. The tone (and flag) quickly changed thereafter to a set of German songs, more robust and angry sounding and marked by sharper gestures. Next came a set of songs sung in French, which touted an almost Shakespeare-esque monologue, complete with Solkela’s touch of hysterical laughing. The next set of songs were sung in his native tongue, Finnish. ], I would tap my head and mimic the wind pushing me. I didn’t really plan that, I just saw that the audience was intent and listening, and sometimes laughing at stuff.

That’s what you feel naturally when you are connecting with the audience," Solkela said. The performance rounded out with a 14-person ensemble piece called "Ballad for Americans," a piece using many Rowan students to display the hopeful message of America. "It was so hard to get us all together," Solkela said.

"Like all music performances, they’re scared at the beginning. So that’s why we had dress rehearsals, so they got more confident as time went on. At the end, Solkela credits his teachers, friends, classmates, supporters and family that have supported him through the years. This summer, Solkela’s band plans to tour Finland, Florida, Detroit, Chicago, Minnesota and Wisconsin. As he continues his endeavors in comedic novelty, a term he uses to describe his act as a comedian, musician and stuntman (listed on his business card). "I’ve never felt so loved and appreciated. I feel like I am such a welcomed puzzle piece to this university, and I’m going to miss the hell out of it," Solkela said.

Baroness frontman John Baizley recently had an iterview with Radioactive Mike, and talked about 2012 bus accident. Since then, everybody was curious about if any of his musician friends called him or not, and also why they didn’t packed up after that horrible crash. "I prefer not to speak for the other band members that were in our bus during that crash because everybody had a very uniquely different experience. "I particularly was struck, if you will, by that accident. I’ve got scars that won’t heal. I’ve got a seam running up to the entire length of my left arm, a ton of hardware - a bunch of things missing, a bunch of things replaced. It was really not a pleasant story from my standpoint. Also, Radioactive Mike asked if Metallica’s James Hetfield called him or not. "I did, and many since then.

Three of the five juveniles accused of killing Nashville musician Kyle Yorlets were removed from the courtroom during their hearing because the judge said he didn’t feel they were taking the severity of the case seriously. The three suspects - ages 13, 14 and 15 - appeared in juvenile court Thursday. According to the Metro Nashville Police Department, the suspects are 14-year-old Roniyah McKnight, 15-year-old Diamond Lewis and 16-year-old Decorrius Wright.

A 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy are also charged. The judge said he excused the three teens because he didn’t feel they were taking the severity of the case seriously and were treating it like it was a playground.

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mckenzie02england-blog · 6 years ago

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Loan Kid By Paul Yee-- Reviews, Conversation, Bookclubs, Lists.

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weekendwarriorblog · 4 years ago

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The Rest of the Weekend Warrior’s 2020 Top 25… and His Terrible 12 Movies!

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll notice that my Top 10 has already appeared over at Below the Line, and you can either go there and read those first or start with the movies that fell just outside my top 10, including a few movies you might not have heard about.

Back at the very beginning of 2020, I made a private resolution that I would watch more screeners. This is because I had become quite legendary for publicists sending me screeners and me just not getting the time to watch them with all the running around I was doing to screenings. I will never make a resolution like that ever again. (In fact, if my 2021 resolution was to have more sex, I only really need to do it once.)

This year, I wrote (no joke) slightly under 300 reviews, which may be more than I wrote in the three years prior. Part of this was having extra time from not travelling around the city trying to get to screenings, but also, once I decided to transition my weekly box office column into a review column, I decided that I was gonna watch and review as many movies as I possibly could this year. I’m sure there are others who do this all the time, but man, I don’t know how you do it. There were days where I got so burnt out at staring at my laptop for 15 hours every day that I just had to stop.

Still, when you’re watching 300 movies in a single year, any movie that can get into my annual Top 25 (or even get an Honorable Mention) should feel somewhat honored.

Anyway, onto the second 15 movies in my Top 25 (click on the title for a link to each of my reviews!):

11. Herself (Amazon Prime Video) – One of my more recent viewings is this film directed by Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia!) and starring British actress Clare Dunne (who also co-wrote the script) as a mother of two young girls who got out of an abusive marriage with a man who still shares custody with her daughters. She wants to give her girls a place to live so she decides to build her own house on a plot of land given to her as a gift. It’s such a simple premise but Lloyd and Dunne have made a wonderful not-too-heavy drama that still slams you with its raw emotions.

12. Jungleland (IFC Films) – I really enjoyed Max Winkler’s earlier movie Ceremony, but this underground boxing drama about two brothers (Jack O’Connell, Charlie Hunnam) was also a solid crime-drama that follows them on a road trip to deliver a mob boss’ mistress (Jessica Barden) back to him on their way to a big match. Winker really outdid himself in terms of the storytelling and somehow managed to avoid most of the normal boxing movie cliches while allowing this to stand up to some of the greats.

13. Palm Springs (NEON/Hulu) – One of the first of this year’s Sundance movies that really connected with me, Max Barbakow’s sci-fi comedy starred Andy Samberg as a guy stuck at a horrible wedding who ends up in a Groundhog’s Day situation with the wonderful Christin Milioti was so much fun. Adding to the madness was JK Simmons as a guy who seems to be out to get Samberg’s character for reasons we don’t learn until much later. Such a brilliant and hilarious movie with so much great re-watch value.

14. Soul (Disney•Pixar) – The latest from the animation studio that seemingly can’t do wrong – but that depends on who you ask – follows jazz pianist Joe (voiced by Jamie Foxx) who dies and ends up “The Great Beyond” desperate to get back to earth having just gotten his big break. Helping him (sort of) is a soul voiced by Tina Fey, and things don’t go quite as Joe helped. Co-written and co-directed by Kemp Powers, the film goes in a different direction from Docter’s last animated film, Inside Out, but still retaining some of the same metaphysical fabric that made that Oscar-winning animated film connect with adults just as much as with kids.

15. Mangrove (Amazon Prime Video) – The debate on whether Steve McQueen’s latest “Small Axe Anthology” should be deemed a TV series or five separate movies continues to rage as Amazon decides to save the movie for the Emmies. At two hours long, Mangrove is the closest of the series to being a great stand-alone film, and frankly, I thought it was better than McQueen’s Oscar-winning film, 12 Years a Slave. This told the true story of restaurant owner, Frank Crichlow (Shaun Parkes), and how he’s persecuted by the racist local police in the late ‘60s, but when he teams with a local Black Panther activist (Black Panther’s Letitia Wright), a protest march turns into a tense court trial for a number of people involved in it.

16. I Will Make You Mine (Gravitas Ventures) – Actor Lynn Chen’s directorial debut was actually the third movie in a trilogy of indie films centered around musician/songwriter Goh Nakamura, who appeared in all three films. I watched this the first time thought it was just okay. When I realized it was part of a series of films, and I went back and watched the other two movies, I was completely blown away by what Chen did within this finale. With movies, you generally only have a limited time to explore its characters, but like Richard Linklater’s “Before” movies, this movie helped to really create depth in the characters by revisiting them. I was kind of shocked that I hadn’t seen the other movies – few critics have – and though only 18 other critics reviewed this one, the film is still 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, which should tell you how good it is.

17. Sylvie’s Love (Amazon Prime Video) – Tessa Thompson and Nnamdi Asomugha starred in Eugene Ashe’s 50s-60s-set romantic drama about an early television producer and a jazz musician, following their relationship after a summer fling that ends with him leaving for Paris. Separated for years, she remarries and raise the child from her former lover, but then they reconnect and… well, you’ll have to watch it for yourself. It’s on Prime Video right now, so if you’re a subscriber, you have no reason not to. (And Erik Davis of Fandango had a great idea… watch this as a double feature with McQueen’s Lovers Rock from “Small Axe Anthology”!)

18. The Traitor (Sony Pictures Classics) – Last year’s Italian section for the Oscar International Film was a fantastic The Godfather-like crime-thriller, this one starring Pierfrancesco Favino as Tomassso Buscetta, a Palermo-based Casa Nostra family member responsible for the heroin trade in the ‘80s who flees to Brazil. It’s an amazing story showing that filmmaker Marco Bellochio did his research to create a movie that didn’t really get the critical love or attention it deserved.

19. Weathering With You (GKids) – And here is Japan’s selection for the Oscar International Film, a rare Anime film, this one by Your Name director Makoto Shinkai, this one more about a fantasy-romance about a young man who meets a young woman who can control the rain, which they turn into a lucrative business. I didn’t love it quite as much as Your Name, which was a truly inventive turn on the “body-switching” movie, but this also had some of the same characterizations that make Shinkai’s work so terrific, so it was impossible not to enjoy how it translated into his latest feature.

20. Lingua Franca (ARRAY Releasing/Netflix) – Trans filmmaker Isabel Sandoval’s film was released in the same weekend as another movie with a trans lead, Flavio Alves’ The Garden Left Behind. While they were both good, Sandoval wrote, directed and starred in her movie which was about her character Olivia having a romance with a guy surrounded by transphobic bros. Olivia is also trying to get her green card, and the immigrant aspect of the film really added a lot to what seemed like a deeply personal film.

21. The Outpost (Screen Media Films) – I’ve been a fan of Rod Lurie’s work for almost as long as I’ve been writing reviews. In fact, one of my very FIRST movie reviews was for his movie The Last Castle in 2001. I’ve also been fortunate to call him friend. I’ve watched Rod transition into quite a skilled television director, but I been waiting over ten years for him to make a movie as good as his amazing political thriller, Nothing but the Truth. Working from Jake Tapper’s non-fiction novel, Lurie created a full-on and unapologetic war movie as good as Peter Berg’s Lone Survivor, Blackhawk Down or any other modern war film… but also a film as personal as any others released this year.

22. The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix) – Aaron Sorkin’s second film as a director stepped things up, WAY up, as he decided to take on one of the more noted events that signified the famed “Summer of Love” of 1969, as a number of peaceful protesters were tried by the federal government for “inciting a riot.” The amazing cast included Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Yahya Abdul-Mateen 2, Michal Keaton, Mark Rylance, Frank Langella, Jeremy Strong and many more. It was an abundance of acting riches and when you have such a fine wordsmith in screenwriter/playwright Sorkin, it’s hard to go wrong. The thing is that by the time I saw this, I had already seen Steve McQueen’s Mangrove, which in my opinion is a far superior version of a similar story from the same time period.

23. Words on Bathroom Walls (LD Entertainment/Roadside Attractions) – A movie I didn’t expect much from but totally fell in love with was this romantic drama starring Charlie Plummer as Adam Petrozelli, a young man sent to a Catholic School where he hopes to keep his schizophrenia a secret from his new classmates. The film co-starred Taylor Russell from Waves as Adam’s friend and love interest, who also gets worried about Adam’s erratic behavior whenever he goes off his meds. Adam’s condition was shown by the personalities he interacts with, played by Anna Sophia Robb, Devon Bostick and Lobo Sebastian, but the movie also stars the great Molly Parker as Adam’s mother and Walton Goggins as her live-in boyfriend. All of this adds up to a great coming-of-age film from Thor Freudenthal that also became one of the first couple movies since March to test out theatrical waters months after the pandemic shutdown.

24. Sputnik (IFC Midnight) – An amazing Russian sci-fi thriller from Egor Abramenko (remember that name!) that’s likely to be compared to Alien but adds so much more depth by taking place in communist Russia during the ‘80s. It stars Pyotr Fyodorov as a cosmonaut who brought something back with him from space and Oksana Akinshina as the psychologist who has to figure what is happening. It starts quite, reminding you of the original Russian film Solaris, but by the end, it gets pretty insane. More than anything, it finds a way of doing something original within an overused sci-fi trope.

25. Parallel (Vertical Entertainment) - Similarly, I had pretty low expectations for Isaac Ezban’s sci-fi/horror film about a group of Silicon Valley friends who discover a mirror that allows them to travel to and from alternate versions of their own dimension, which they use for criminal activities. Soon, some of them have gotten out of control with the power and money that this access gives them, but like Palm Springs, it’s a great take on another overused sci-fi trope that’s done so beautifully. (Warning: There have been a LOT of movies with this title in the last five years. Make sure you choose the right one!)

Honorary Mentions: The Prom (Netflix), Kindred (IFC Midnight), On the Rocks (A24/Apple TV+), Yellow Rose(Sony), Misbehaviour (Shout! Factory), Premature (IFC Films), Spontaneous (Paramount), The Climb (Sony Pictures Classics)

Oh, and as a reminder, here’s my top 10, this time with links to my reviews where applicable:

10. One Night in Miami.. (Amazon Prime Video) 9. Pieces of a Woman (Netflix) 8. Sound of Metal (Amazon Prime Video) 7. Mulan (Disney+) 6. Synchronic (Well GO USA) (Tied with Disney+’s Hamilton) 5. Nomadland (Searchlight Studios) 4. News of the World (Universal) 3. Minari (A24) 2. Corpus Christi 1. Promising Young Woman (Focus Features)

And some MORE DOCS I liked that didn’t make my Top 12 over at Below the Line:

13. Robin’s Wish (Vertical) 14. PJ Harvey: A Dog Called Money 15. 76 Days (MTV Documentaries) 16. Rebuilding Paradise (NatGeo) 17. The Fight (Magnolia) 18. Collective (Magnolia) 19. Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story (Shout! Studios) 20. We Are Freestyle Love Supreme (Hulu) 21. My Name is Pedro (Sweet 180) 22. Crock of Gold: A Night with Shane MacGowan (Magnolia) 23. You Cannot Kill David Arquette (Super) 24. Feels Good Man 25. Suzi Q (Utopia Distribution)

The Terrible 12 of 2020!:

And it’s the moment you’ve been waiting for -- and the reason I guess most people are reading this -- so I apologize for making all five of you read through all the great movies and docs of 2020 before getting to the juicy stuff. Let’s get to it!

12. Superintelligence (HBO Max) – There was a time when I loved Melissa McCarthy – years before Bridesmaids – but her success after that film and her decision to keep making movies with husband/director Ben Falcone has only led to a few halfway decent comedies. (I didn’t think The Boss was that bad, but that’s cause it co-starred Kristen Bell.) So imagine if you’re one of the first big studio comedies to be dumped to Warner Media’s new streaming service, HBO Max, and that was almost SIX MONTHS BEFORE COVID HIT! How bad could a movie be to have that little support and confidence from the studio? Well, I found out that very thing, as I sat through this horrible movie that had McCarthy play another one of her usual “everywomen,” this one who encounters an Artificial Intelligence, voiced by James Corben, who has achieved sentience. Trying to learn what it is to be human, the AI starts giving McCarthy’s character everything she wants, including a relationship an old workmate, played by Bobby Canavale. The movie wasn’t very funny but it also branched into a rom-com plot that just didn’t suit either McCarthy or Canavale, so yes, quite an epic fail.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: “'Superintelligence' is not a term I'd use for whoever greenlit this piece of crap.”

11. Hubie Halloween (Netflix) – I don’t think that Hubie Halloween was anywhere near Adam Sandler’s worst movies ever, and probably not even his worst for Netflix – although there have been some VERY bad ones. The problem is that any opportunity Sandler was given in this movie to show he can deliver something other than “more of the same” had him instead resorting to the physical humor that appealed to his fanbase. And yet, it wasn’t even the worst movie to come out that week it debuted on the streamer. (See below.)

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: “A perfectly fine Netflix movie, not something I’d ever want to have to sit in a movie theater watching with others.”

10. Max Cloud – This sci-fi-action-comedy didn’t have a terrible premise – I mean, I enjoyed it in all three Jumanji movies -- but it was marred by being such a monumentally badly made movie that stars one of the one actors in the business, namely Scott Adkins. Set in 1990, Adkins plays the title character in a video game, in which a teen girl finds herself transported as a character. If you wondered what a Jumanji movie would look like in the hands of a completely incompetent cast and crew, well, here you go.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: “Pretty awful, a bad faux video game movie that should have had its plug pulled.”

9. The Stand-In (Saban Films) – Not to be outdone by her frequent co-star Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore threw out all of the love she’s garnered from previous movies and her new talk show by playing dual roles of a raunchy comedy star best known for her pratfalls (so kind of a cross between Sandler and Melissa McCarthy?). Barrymore also played her nearly identical stand-in who didn’t get as much acclaim but gets to stand in for her famous lookalike when the latter goes on a bender and ends up hiding in her mansion for five years. Not sure why Barrymore thought this would be a good way to put her back on the movie screen, but yikes… one of her character’s big gimmicks is falling face first into a pile of horse shit – not funny and just plain gross.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: “Guarantees Barrymore a double-dose Razzie nomination.”

8. The War with Grandpa (101 Studios) – For whatever reason, I decided not to review this Weinstein Co. cast-off family comedy starring Robert De Niro and Uma Thurman. Maybe that’s because I hated the movie so much I could barely get through it, and with a Friday review embargo, I just decided not to waste any more time thinking about it. So why didn’t it end up lower, you ask? I have no effin’ idea.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: N/A

7. Pearl – There have been some bad young adult romances over the past few years, and while I don’t think Bobby Roth’s is actually based on any existing book, it might as well have been, because it was very, very bad. It stars Larsen Thompson as a 15-year-old piano prodigy who is sent to live with her unemployed film director uncle, played by Anthony LaPaglia, who was so super-creepy in that role. I don’t remember much else, since I deliberately scrubbed my memory of this movie’s existence. Little did I realize that I’d be watching an even WORSE version of this movie a few months later.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: “LaPaglia is way too good an actor, who deserves better than this.”

6. Black Water: Abyss – Another movie I watched late in the week and just didn’t have time or bother to review. Honestly, I remember very little about this. I think it involves crocodiles? Who knows, who cares? Not me or anyone else I expect. Everything about this movie was pretty bad.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: N/A

5. The Turning (Universal) – Probably the biggest studio movie to wind up on this list, and possibly the only reason I didn’t review this was because I interviewed the director, Floria Sigismondi (The Runaways), who is generally a pretty awesome artist. But I love the original source material on which this is based and seeing how much better Netflix’s The Horror of Bly Manor was a few months later just made me a little sore that a movie starring the great Mackenzie Davis with Finn Wolfhard and Brooklyn Prince could end up with one of the lamest endings of a horror movie in recent memory.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: N/A

4. Butt Boy (Epic Pictures) – Tyler Cornack’s comedy-slash-thriller was my worst movie of the year for many, many months until the three movies below it reared their ugly heads. Still, this one is pretty ugly as it stars Conack himself as Chip Gutchel, a man who becomes obsessed after a proctology exam so that things just keep vanishing up his own asshole. Yeah, I think my RT quote is fairly apt.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: “I wouldn't recommend this to my worst enemy.”

3. Buddy Games (Saban Films/Paramount) – The fact that Josh Duhamel’s directorial debut came out the same week as Superintelligence yet ended up lower on this list is fairly telling. It involves Duhamel and a group of his friends taking part in ridiculous competitions for money, and shows what happens when these friends reunite five years later to throw another Buddy Game. It was just very low-brow and disgusting and a not particularly funny take on the Jackass movies. There was scene that almost made me stop watching.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: “To call Buddy Games moronic, idiotic or even asinine, would be an insult to morons, idiots or asses, who are also likely the movie's target audience.“

2. Sno Babies (Better Noise Films) – This poorly-conceived “Afterschool Special” that follows a high school senior named Kristen (Katie Kelly) and her ever-growing drug addiction was almost like a young adult version of Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream if just about everything about the movie was bad from the writing to the acting to just really horrible images that no one would want to watch or be put through. If the film just followed Kelly’s character, maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad, but it’s a narrative that follows a bunch of characters including a couple wanting to have a baby… and when Kristen becomes pregnant due to her being on drugs, well, you can probably guess where it’s going. The only movie this year that had me literally yelling at my laptop like a lunatic.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: “The people who made this movie should never be allowed to make another movie again.”

1. Dead Reckoning (Shout! Studios) – Scott Adkins makes his second appearance in the Terrible 12 with a movie in which he plays an Albanian terrorist. In fact, when I first heard about this movie and the fact it was directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak, the cinematographer/director behind Romeo is Bleeding and lots of trashy action flickers from the Aughts, it made me expect something in that vein. Instead, this is another young adult drama set in Nantucket with K.J. Apa from Riverdale playing Adkins’ brother who falls for a local teen lush, played by India Eisley, who proceeds to chug alcohol in every scene. Oh, her parents were killed in a terrorist act… coincidence? I think not. Eventually, we learn that Adkins’ character is planning a terrorist act by blowing up a boat on the 4th of July, and that’s maybe an hour or more into the movie. And yeah, there’s a number of action scenes awkwardly shoehorned into the story as well… Adkins’ fight with a nurse trying to help him was particularly hilarious. But the fact that the movie is being sold as “a thriller inspired by the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013” just makes the whole thing even more awkward and insulting. This one ends up in the “What on earth were they thinking, whoever financed this movie?” box.

Rotten Tomatoes Quote: “The only way to have any fun watching this disaster is to play a drinking game where you take a drink every time Eisley's character takes a drink.”

That’s it for this year…. Happy New Year and on to 2021!

#TheWeekendWarrior #EDsTerrible10 #EDsTop25 #Movies #Reviews

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enthusiasticsobrietyabuse · 4 years ago

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Cult or Cure? Bob Meehan featured in The Press Democrat, May 2nd, 1985

“Your unborn child has as much chance of getting a drug problem as getting chicken pox. Walk into junior high school today and half the kids there are getting loaded. I AM NOT ACCEPTING THAT BEHAVIOR!”

Edging forward on the couch, Meehan underscores the message by grasping your arm and boring in with his eyes. He delivers his words with the same passion he says he once had for shooting heroin. He demands your attention.

“These kids were primed by Cheech and Chong. By age 10 they were primed to smoke a joint as you were to drive a car.”

He finishes in crescendo, with a clenched-fist flourish:

“They (pause) caaAAN’t (pause) WAIT!”

Drug addict, thief, ex-convict, con man extraordinaire, drug-abuse counselor and now author, Bob Meehan, 42, says he is all of these. He fancies himself as equal parts Elmer Gantry, Mother Theresa and P.T. Barnum.

He has been praised as a hip and gifted teacher whose lesson rings true to drug-plagued kids because he has “been where they are.”

Meehan, who “shot dope for 10 years and banged on the penitentiary door until they let me in,” lacks academic credentials. He proudly proclaims his diploma from the school of hard knocks.

Meehan is the founder of Freeway, a self-help drug abuse program that holds meetings in community centers throughout San Diego County, and of SLIC Ranch, his “Sober Live-In Center” in the remote foothills near Lake Wohlford.

Even his toughest critics concede that he is highly successful at getting kids off drugs. They say it is his powerful personality and absolute influence that they fear.

“There is no way a person coming down off of this is not going to lean on someone,” said Meehan in the living room of SLIC Ranch. “You’ve removed their best friend - the chemical. It has worked for them every time.

A con is one who can manipulate, who is charismatic as hell - I don’t take credit for that, you’re born with it. I’m also bald and ugly,” said the wispy-haired Meehan, who chain-smoked and drank coffee from a 16-ounce tumbler throughout the rapid-speak interview.

“But the real con is how I get them off of me and the group and into themselves, into whatever God is to them,” said Meehan, who based the Freeway and SLIC Ranch programs on the “12 Steps” of Alcoholics Anonymous that seek to restore self-esteem and sobriety through a relationship with a “higher power.”

A half dozen years ago in Houston, Meehan created a successful drug rehabilitation program through moxie, fast talk and innate ability to get through to kids on their own level.

Carol Burnett’s daughter, Carrie, was Meehan’s prize pupil and the famous comedian toured the talk-show circuit with the wiry and naturally wired Meehan, singing his praises.

Tim Conway, Burnett’s old TV sidekick, has had two of his five sons treated for drug problems by Meehan. Conway and Meehan appeared together on a TV show to plug Freeway and the ranch.

Sister Mary Vincent, a San Diego marriage and family counselor, knew Bob Meehan when she was also working with troubled youths in Houston. She referred drug abusers to Meehan’s group in Texas and continued to do so after she coincidentally moved to San Diego.

“I referred people to Bob because I saw the effectiveness of his program in Houston,” said the Roman Catholic nun known as “Sister Vince.” “But a little over a year ago, I began hearing stories from parents going through nightmares and afraid to speak out because of the power Bob and Freeway held over their children.

There is a cultish situation. Bob is a slippery eel and he has many people conned,” she said. “To me, it’s truly frightening.”

Meehan was “removed” in January 1980 from his $50,000 per year consulting job in Houston after newsman Dan Rather pointed out a conflict of interest (Meehan’s salary was paid by the hospital to which he was recommending patients from his Palmer Drug Abuse Program) on CBS’s 60 Minutes program.

There also was complaints from his flock of former substance abusers that Meehan’s idea of a cure was to shift their dependence from drugs to him and his self-help program.

Meehan’s group in Texas was described by some former members as cult-like in its demand for total allegiance and its distain for more than cursory contact with the outside world. “We’re led to believe that we can’t make it without the program,” one of Meehan’s former followers told 60 Minutes.

For more than two years, he has operated SLIC Ranch in a sprawling 4,000-square-foot hilltop ranch on 10 acres.

Meehan insists that the Freeway program and SLIC Ranch are entirely separate entities. “If I’m at one Freeway meeting a month anymore, that’s a big deal,” he said. “Freeway does its thing and we do ours.”

At the end of the 30 days, the child usually will leave SLIC Ranch and take up residence at the home of a “Freeway family,” one whose child is sober, thanks to the group, and whose parents are true believers in Meehan and his method.

#bob meehan #clint stonebraker #the insight program #the crossroads program #slic #the pathway program #the cornerstone program #enthusiastic sobriety #enthusiastic sobriety abuse #cult #cult survivor #cults #i got out

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fungusfairgrounds · 7 years ago

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Filling [this] out for Moffy ! deleted some questions i didn’t care about....

1. Does your character have siblings or family members in their age group? Which one are they closest with?

They’re not in his age group that doesn’t really make sense ?? Moth has two moms and a dad and a little sister. His parents are roughly 20-ish years older than him and his sister is 13 years younger. They’re all close but he might have spent a lot of time with one of his moms ? When something is wrong I feel like he might go to a friend first then his family after. Also his family isn’t super developed yet so its hard to say lmaO.

2. What is/was your character’s relationship with their mother like? What is/was your character’s relationship with their father like?

He gets along well with his moms and his dad !! They’re a very happy family, I don’t think there’s much conflict between them. They obviously butt heads every now and then (they really wanted him to come home for a while after he got in an accident but he refused) but they get along.

3. Has your character ever witnessed something that fundamentally changed them? If so, does anyone else know?

Not so much witnessed but he experienced something that changed him. His family, they’re probably the only ones he currently wants to share that information with.

4. On an average day, what can be found in your character’s pockets?

5. Does your character have recurring themes in their dreams?

Wallet, keys, phone, sometimes a piece of candy or a stick of gum, and paper scraps with a small pencil.

When something/someone is on his mind, yes. Like, if he misses someone they show up in his dreams a lot. Usually though, not really.

6. Does your character have recurring themes in their nightmares?

He might have altered “flashback” dreams to his accident or relating to his phobia. He might also have nightmares about being forgotten.

7. Has your character ever fired a gun? If so, what was their first target?

Not a real gun just the splat stuff. Probably just a target in the testing range.

8. Is your character’s current socioeconomic status different than it was when they were growing up?

Yes. His family probably didn’t have to worry about things too much but currently Moth is really poor and is very careful with spending money. He’s doing a tiny bit better than when he was in college but not much. He can at least eat his three meals a day now.

9. Does your character feel more comfortable with more clothing, or with less clothing?

He’s fine with both !! Very comfortable in either. However, if he’s around someone he doesn’t trust he’d rather wear more clothing. He has a lot of scars on his back and he wouldn’t want people he’s not comfortable being around to see them and ask about them.

10. In what situation was your character the most afraid they’ve ever been?

In his accident where he almost died. Since it happened while there was fog, he associates fog with it so he’s pretty afraid in foggy weather as well.

11. In what situation was your character the most calm they’ve ever been?

[Voiding lol idc]

12. Is your character bothered by the sight of blood? If so, in what way?

I don’t think so.

13. Does your character remember names or faces easier?

Faces ! He’s a very visual person.

14. Is your character preoccupied with money or material possession? Why or why not?

Not really but also maybe cause he’s so damn poor ? There’s stuff he’d like, and he would like to have more money, but its mostly to support those around him. He probably was team love for that splatfest, but sees nothing wrong with wanting money too lmao.

15. Which does your character idealize most: happiness or success?

Happiness. He’s currently not very successful, but he is very happy. He would like to be successful as well someday, but not having that currently doesn’t drag him down.

16. What was your character’s favorite toy as a child?

Probably some plush toy ! Maybe a sheepy.

17. Is your character more likely to admire wisdom, or ambition in others?

Ambition 100%

18. What is your character’s biggest relationship flaw? Has this flaw destroyed relationships for them before?

Moff is probably very needy for validation and in return he would drop everything he’d doing to do something for his date- which probably would be kind of annoying if he’s hanging out with you but then drops you in a heartbeat to reply to his bf for a few minutes.

I don’t think its ruined his past relationships because he’s giving them so much attention...they just didn't work out.

19. In what ways does your character compare themselves to others? Do they do this for the sake of self-validation, or self-criticism?

He might compare out of self-criticism ? Especially former classmates that he felt he was just as good as at the time who got jobs but he did not so it makes him kinda feel he’s falling behind in things...he’s still doing his best though. I don’t think he thinks about that too often,

20. If something tragic or negative happens to your character, do they believe they may have caused or deserved it, or are they quick to blame others?

He’d blame himself, not others. He’s not one to throw others under the bus.

21. What does your character like in other people?

I think he likes people that don’t care what others think ? Just people who are fun and adventurous and can always make sure you have a good time, no matter if its going to a theme park or just going to the convenience store at 2 am because you’re craving junk food. He likes fun, kind people.

22. What does your character dislike in other people?

He doesn’t like it when people won’t listen or continue to do things when he lets them know he does not appreciate it.

23. How quick is your character to trust someone else?

He’s probably quick to open up and trust others if they’re good people, but not 100%.

24. How does your character behave around children?

25. How does your character normally deal with confrontation?

He tries to be a good example and not curse or anything around them minus his little sister...since she’s family so “she doesn’t count” lmaO.

Moth is a very honest person so usually he can avoid confrontations since there’s not much built up anger from avoiding certain things, but when arguments do happen he doesn’t handle them too well. He usually just takes time to himself for the rest of the day but later calls whoever he argued with and apologizes- even if it wasn’t his fault. He doesn’t like strife.

Never ever ever ever !! Moth is not violent at all. Even if he’s angry, he would never go out of his way to physically harm someone.

26. How quick or slow is your character to resort to physical violence in a confrontation?

27. What did your character dream of being or doing as a child? Did that dream come true?

Moff probably has always wanted to be a fashion designer. He’s still working on it !

28. What does your character find repulsive or disgusting?

Onions ?? he can’t bring himself to swallow them they’re nasty, the texture probably makes him gag. I already said what he doesn’t like personality wise somewhere else here.

29. Describe a scenario in which your character feels most comfortable.

30. Describe a scenario in which your character feels most uncomfortable.

He finds comfort in those around him, not particularly the situation.

Anything dealing with fog.

I think I’ve answered this before, but he is open for criticism but it can be hard to deal with sometimes too for him. He would love to get better and when he asks for it he’s very willing to improve. When he made something he’s proud of and doesn’t ask for crit right away but gets it then he might feel a little upset since he was just trying to show something he really liked. He’ll eventually go back and look at it though and try to improve on the next thing.

31. In the face of criticism, is your character defensive, self-deprecating, or willing to improve?

32. Is your character more likely to keep trying a solution/method that didn’t work the first time, or immediately move on to a different solution/method?

He would try it again if it doesn’t work out the first time, but if it keeps failing its obvious to him his method isn’t working so he would try to approach it at another angle.

33. How does your character behave around people they like?

He’s very sweet and kind and bubbly !

34. How does your character behave around people they dislike?

He’s a little cold and makes it very obvious to the person that he doesn’t like that he does not like them at all. I can only think of one person he’d be like that too lmaO....

35. Is your character more likely to remove a problem/threat, or remove themselves from a problem/threat?

He would remove himself from the situation rather than get rid of the problem itself, I feel.

36. How does your character treat people in service jobs?

Very well. He’s a kind boy and appreciates their service.

37. Does your character feel that they deserve to have what they want, whether it be material or abstract, or do they feel they must earn it first?

Moff probably feels like he has to earn it ? He works very hard, and feels its a lot more rewarding to get something after hard work than just being given something. Nonetheless he still likes getting gifts of stuff he likes, though...

38. Has your character ever had a parental figure who was not related to them?

39. Has your character ever had a dependent figure who was not related to them?

[Void]

40. How easy or difficult is it for your character to say “I love you?” Can they say it without meaning it?

Its very easy he loves to let people he loves know he loves them !!!!! He won’t say it if he doesn’t mean it.

#squidos #moff

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frankkjonestx · 4 years ago

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What parents need to know about kids in the summer of COVID-19

As states reopen, the coming months bring the prospect of gatherings at pools, playgrounds and even amusement parks. But in this summer of COVID-19, many parents are left wondering what their kids can safely do.

There isn’t a satisfactory answer, because there’s still so much unknown about the coronavirus in regards to children. While studies from China to Italy to the United States have reported fewer confirmed cases of COVID-19 in children than adults and fewer seriously ill children than adults, recent reports of a dangerous inflammatory condition (SN: 5/12/20) illustrate that harms may still emerge.

And concerns about COVID-19 extend beyond kids to their family members and other contacts. If children easily spread the coronavirus between each other and bring it home, they could put relatives at risk and perhaps ignite local outbreaks. At this point, it’s “still unclear whether they contribute significantly to transmission,” says Aubree Gordon, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “But they well may.”

Scientists don’t have a full understanding of COVID-19 and children in part because they don’t have a lot of data from places well suited to provide it, such as schools and day care centers. With the pandemic keeping most kids from engaging with their communities as they usually would, we’re left with an incomplete picture of how readily children spread the virus.

But there are studies and reports that have provided clues. This research provides a preliminary snapshot of what the illness means for kids and what we know so far about their role in spreading the infection.

Children are getting sick less often than adults

Much remains unknown about why COVID-19 can be devastating to some healthy adults and children. But at this stage, studies report relatively few cases of severe illness in kids. “Children overall are doing much better and are less sick than adults,” says Samuel Dominguez, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora.

A study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that of close to 150,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of April 2, just over 2,500, or 1.7 percent, occurred in those under the age of 18; that group of children accounts for 22 percent of the U.S. population. The researchers had hospitalization information for 745 of the children’s cases: 147 had been admitted to hospitals, with 15 in intensive care. Three children died, the researchers reported in the April 10 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. CDC data as of May 23 continues to show a much higher hospitalization rate for COVID-19 in adults than in children.

Age brackets

In the United States, adults continue to be hospitalized due to COVID-19 at a much higher rate than children, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

U.S. COVID-19 hospitalizations by age group

E. Otwell

Source: CDC

But word of a dangerous, excessive immune response in some children that may be linked to a SARS-CoV-2 infection renewed fears. Eight children with persistent fever and gastrointestinal symptoms required intensive care in London in mid-April. The children, one of whom died, had tested positive for antibodies to the coronavirus, the study authors reported online May 7 in the Lancet. A positive antibody test is evidence of a prior infection (SN: 4/28/20). Days later, also in the Lancet, doctors from the hard-hit Bergamo province in Italy reported similar symptoms in 10 children, eight of whom had evidence of antibodies to the coronavirus.

As of June 1, New York state’s Department of Health is investigating 189 cases of the inflammatory syndrome. Washington, D.C., and a growing number of states, including Wisconsin, Louisiana and Florida, also have reported cases. The CDC has released a health alert and case definition for the syndrome, which they’ve named multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C.

The syndrome shares some symptoms with Kawasaki disease, which mainly strikes children younger than 5 and is marked by high fevers, inflammation and sometimes poor heart function. But multisystem inflammatory syndrome is also hitting older children and teens and frequently includes gastrointestinal symptoms not commonly seen with Kawasaki disease.

Researchers theorize that the syndrome is an immune response linked to an infection with SARS-CoV-2, showing up around four weeks later, says Jeffrey Burns, a pediatric critical care specialist at Boston Children’s Hospital. Children becoming critically ill from the syndrome at this point “remains very infrequent,” he says.

It’s not clear why children don’t tend to get as ill with COVID-19 as adults. “I don’t know if that is really a biological or immunological phenomenon or if it’s an exposure phenomenon,” says Dominguez, tied to how quickly schools were closed and children were isolated due to social distancing. “Did we just spare them because they weren’t exposed?”

It’s not clear how much kids contribute to spread

In January, a 9-year-old on a ski holiday in the French Alps with his family was exposed to a traveler with COVID-19. His experience may provide the best-case scenario of what can happen when a child is infected.

After contracting the coronavirus, the child experienced mild symptoms. And despite attending three different schools while ill, he did not transmit the virus to any of the 55 school contacts tested, researchers reported April 11 in Clinical Infectious Diseases. Nor did his two siblings become infected. Yet influenza was spreading between children at the schools and among the siblings at the very same time.

One of the rationales behind the quick closure of schools in the face of COVID-19 was drawn from past experience with children and influenza. Children — particularly young children — are considered the main drivers of flu transmission within communities, and shutting schools has curtailed the spread of the flu during past epidemics and pandemics.

But the role that children play in spreading SARS-CoV-2 is less apparent. The vacationing schoolboy and his classmates may have just been lucky, but there’s other early evidence that children may not be as important to the spread of the coronavirus as they are to influenza.

A peek into schools in Australia early in the pandemic suggests that the virus may not spread wildly among students. In New South Wales, the Australian state that includes Sydney, 18 people from 15 schools — nine students and nine staff — were confirmed with COVID-19 from March 5 through April 3. Even though 735 students and 128 staff were in close contact with the initial 18, only two students appeared to have contracted the coronavirus at school from those first cases.

See all our coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

Ireland reported its first case of COVID-19 — a student who had been to Northern Italy — at the beginning of March; schools closed at the end of the day on March 12. In that time, three students (one without symptoms) and three adult staff with COVID-19 were in contact with 924 children and 101 adults at schools. None of the contacts become infected, researchers report May 28 in Eurosurveillance.

Sweden has kept many schools open during the pandemic, but the country’s Public Health Agency hasn’t released data on how students and teachers have fared. Meanwhile, in Israel, some recently reopened schools have shut again after cases of COVID-19 were reported among some staff and students.

Within the home, studies have suggested adults rather than children are more often the first to get sick in a family. But kids may not be any less susceptible to infection, according to a study in Shenzhen, China of 391 COVID-19 cases and 1,286 close contacts. Children under the age of 10 were as likely to be infected as adults, the researchers reported April 27 in the Lancet Infectious Diseases.

One sticking point in understanding the role children play in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 is that researchers don’t know the extent to which kids can be infected and asymptomatic but still pass the virus along. Studies of adults have found that they can spread the virus if they never have symptoms (SN: 3/13/2020) and before symptoms appear (SN: 4/15/20).

Without widespread testing, it’s hard to pin down the number of children with asymptomatic cases of COVID-19. A few studies have provided estimates. For example, out of 728 confirmed cases in children in China, 94 did not have symptoms, a total of 12.9 percent, according to a study in the June Pediatrics. A smaller study found a higher percentage: Among 36 children up to the age of 16 who were confirmed with the infection as of March 1 in Zhejiang, China, 10 were asymptomatic, or 28 percent, researchers reported in the June 1 Lancet Infectious Diseases. It’s also not clear yet whether asymptomatic kids readily infect others.

It remains possible that children haven’t distinguished themselves as major transmitters of SARS-CoV-2 up to now because they haven’t been interacting as they usually would at schools, day cares and playgrounds. “Certainly children are major spreaders of other kinds of viruses,” says infectious disease pediatrician and vaccine researcher Kathryn Edwards of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville. “So that’s what’s so curious.”

Playgrounds like this one in Virginia closed in an attempt to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As states begin to reopen playgrounds, pools and other recreational areas, it remains to be seen whether gatherings of kids will lead to an uptick of cases.E. Otwell

What happens over the summer may fill in some blanks

Countries around the world have begun to reopen some of their schools, with modifications such as smaller class sizes, socially distant seating and frequent handwashing breaks. The experiences of school systems abroad may provide more data as U.S. officials consider plans to reopen schools here.

Those plans will proceed without a vaccine. Promising candidates will need to be studied in children to make sure they are safe and effective for younger ages. Current vaccine trials are being conducted in adults (SN: 5/20/20), although the University of Oxford has announced plans to begin testing their COVID-19 vaccine in children.

That leaves officials as well as parents waiting for more research, testing and contact tracing (SN: 4/29/20) to reveal more about the virus’ spread and its impact on children. Until then, it will remain challenging to decide what’s safe for kids during the summer of COVID-19.

.image-mobile { display: none; } @media (max-width: 400px) { .image-mobile { display: block; } .image-desktop { display: none; } } from Tips By Frank https://www.sciencenews.org/article/coronavirus-covid-19-kids-parents-summer

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familyxbonds-blog · 7 years ago

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Odds for Will, evens for Dan!

random questions for character building (and fun)

{ ivy } : this is going to be fun !!

1. go to karaoke song?

Ooooh, Will ADORES karaoke, this is the best question!! I think his fav song for karaoke is one of the classics, like I will survive or Everybody because he’s a nerd who loves boy bands (he’ll probably end up try to do all the voice at once, too, because William Garrick Keller isn’t a quitter).

2. a song that describes them?

I think for Dan I’m gonna go with Show You by Shawn Mendes because a) he loves Shawn Mendes, and b) since he’s the youger brother, he always get this sense of helplessness that he’s unable to do much for his family? So this is probably like his power song to feel better. I think he’s adorable tbh.

3. are they good at sports?

Will, like every other generation three Keller, is a baseball junkie. He played it for most of his high school and college years, in a small league with some of his friends; he could’ve gone pro (or at least Wesley says he could) but he decided it just wasn’t for him. Nevertheless, he’s actually a great batter, and a fantastic pitcher.

4. do they have a favorite movie?

Dan’s favorite ever is Atlantis, The Lost Empire. He used to watch it all the time as a kid because Milo reminds him of Seth. He feels some sort of comfort by watching it. It’s also an amazing movie that he feels is underappreciated. (Part of it might also do with the fact that he wants to have scientific adventures like those one day, my cute nerd.)

5. three things in their fridge?

Ugh, Will and Wes are the worst at stocking up their fridge. They both forget to eat sometimes and when there’s nothing they’ll just be too tired to go outside and never go get anything. They’re both a disaster so they’ll probably only have like some really old ham for sandwiches they never made, expired milk, and one really old Powerade.

6. three recently watched on netflix?

Dan spends so little time on Netflix, so all the times he gets to actually watch it is when Seth is home for the holidays or weekends. They watch anything Star Trek (and I mean everything; they’re starting Discovery right now), Young Justice now that it’s on Netflix, and Trollhunters.

7. celebrity crush?

William is in love with Gina Rodríguez, I’m sorry, that’s just how things are.

8. are they close to their family?

Dan loves every single Keller. I probably say this all the time, but after the third generation was born, they kinda stuck to each other like leeches. They all come from a really broken family, where trust was shattered and a lot of drama went down. While most of the young ones never got to live the situation in Keller Manor when things were ugly, they still know most of the stories from the older generations. They know the things that were done, and they’re aware of the kind of people they come from. Because of this, everyone is so closely knit together, especially in recent years when a certain family was found to exist (you know, Grayson’s family). Dan lost his dad, almost lost his brother, and knows all the stories. He loves everyone in his family and would probably go through pretty extreme extents to protect them.

9. best thing in their life?

BY THIS POINT, THIS IS REPETITIVE, BUT KELLERS LOVE KELLERS. William will (hah) forever be thankful for having been born last to a family of such loving people. I think, form everyone, he’s the most thankful for Wesley, since they get so well along. That’s not to say that he doesn’t love Graham and Gabriel (because he does) but he feels a lot closer to Wes than he ever will to the other two. The age gap is pretty big for him, but he still is very happy to have his family so close to him.

(He was very excited when he found out he had more nephews and nieces!! He was less excited when he met Lucas and Lucas would not stop annoying him about his age!!!)

10. greatest regret?

He was 13 at the time, but he will always regret not being there when Seth tried to take his own life. He’s thankful for Uncle Sebastian coming in to save the day, but Seth is Dan’s very best friend, and he will forever regret not being there while Seth was hurting so much. Seth has been there for him through it all, even in his darkest days, and thanks to him coming out and being himself was never hard, and he’s just so guilty that he couldn’t give that to his brother.

11. biggest lie?

“Yes, Graham, we just had dinner.” Honestly, Will needs to start taking care of his diet a little bit more because one day he will faint on the job and Graham will be there to stare down at him. He’ll feel like he’s five years old again after getting his white shirt all dirty aND THAT’S WHEN HE’LL START EATING WELL, OKAY?

12. biggest flaw?

I don’t particularly think being too-trusting is a flaw, but I’ve been told that it is, and I have seen first-hand the kind of trouble that it can get you into. Daniel trusts everyone too much, kinda like his Uncle Robin. Seth’s the one who has gone through a lot of bad stuff, and he tried his best to keep Dan away from that, so the boy is actually pretty naive and soft-hearted.

13. best accomplishment?

I think for Will his biggest accomplishment is actually passing his probation period before he became a cop, and then making it to detective as fast as he did was actually a feat on itself, too. Some people side-eye him and say it was because he had an older brother already in the force, but Will did actually work for it--he was just transferred to Robbery from Vice because he wanted to have his brother’s back.

14. greatest fear(s)?

Disappointing his mother or brother. Dan loves his immediate family very much, and the thought of making them unhappy or upset with him is actually pretty awful for him.

15. what is their vice? (wrath, greed, pride, lust, gluttony, sloth, envy)

For Will, this one is really easy, since I have this thing written down for him since he started appearing in my head. Wrath. He has anger management issues. He’s trying to fix them, and tries to never let it get in his way during work, but it’s something very real for him and for his brothers. He’s not violent, mostly, but Will can shout, okay? And like, he’ll have his normal spurts when people call him cute, but it’s nothing compared to when he is really, really angry.

16. what would their hogwarts house be?

Dan is a Ravenclaw!! He’s a very curious and inquisitive young man!

17. did they graduate high school? if so did they attend college?

Yes, and no. William got his high school diploma and immediately went for police academy. He was a little scared at first because Wesley and Graham have an undergrad, but Gabriel didn’t get one and he’s doing just fine. Granted, Gabriel is a model, but he was still very supportive when Will said he didn’t want to go to college.

18. when was their first real relationship? how’d it go?

Dan hasn’t had his first real relationship. He’s very shy and tends to not speak up very much, so while he’s had had crushes everywhere, he still hasn’t told anyone about his feelings, which results in him never getting a relationship.

19. have they ever broken someones heart? has someone broken theirs?

William has gone through a couple of relationships, but he’s never been in too deep to hurt someone or to have someone hurt him. It makes him kinda sad that he has never gotten that kind of love tbh.

20. have they ever been married? are they married?

DANIEL IS A CHILD, OKAY?

21. do they have children? have they before?

Will hasn’t had any kids, but Duke is his light and entire life. He tries to talk to him at least once a week on the phone or through a videocall--he’s a helicopter uncle like that tbh. Since he’s too close to the fourth generation Keller’s age he gets along really well with Seth and Lucas just disrrespects him all the time because of it. Dan and Eliza are teenagers, so he struggles to understand them (even though he was one til like seven years ago), but he also loves them very much.

(And yes, he loves Lucas, but Lucas is an asshole.)

22. do they want children?

Dan definitely wants children once he’s done with med-school!!

23. opinion on pets? cats or dogs?

Will has wanted to get a kitty adopted since Wes and he moved in together, but Wes says that the poor kitty will always be alone because of their work schedule, so Wes won’t let him.

(He’s gonna get one.)

24. opinion on horror films?

Dan doesn’t hate them, but he doesn’t like them either unless they have a really very interesting plot. His brother is very criticizing of movie plots, and it’s a habit that he passed down to Daniel, so now he’s always scrutinizing the movies he watches.

25. do they have allergies?

Nope! Which is good because Will is an idiot and could get himself killed.

26. do they have a certain aesthetic or style?

If you mean like clothes he wears a lot of flannels in several different styles. He’s a flannel bab. If you’re talking like what you could find in his aesthetic board, he’ll probably have a lot of books, journal spreads (a habit he picked up before Seth), and the likes.

27. do they have tattoos or piercings?

Will doesn’t! He’ll never admit it but he’s scared of needles and sharp objects.

28. do they have any distinctive features or marks?

Dan kept the freckles! Seth and he were both very freckle-y when they were born (and so was Selena when she was younger) but he was the only one of the two who kept them.

29. do they enjoy coffee or tea? hot or iced?

Will cannot escape the clichés. He loves both, tbh, and as an Englishman and a police officer, that’s kind of stressful for him. He loves them iced, however.

30. are they religious or spiritual?

I think Dan is way too much into science to pay much attention to religion or spirituality. He is very curious by nature, so he likes to investigate things that are around him--like he’ll listen to his classmates or friends and look up the things that they talk about, and some of those things happen to be religion. He’s not sure what he believes in, since it’s never been a huge part of his life, but he’s interested in learning!

31. are they a morning person or night person?

Will is definitely a morning person! He doesn’t like staying up too late and he’s way too chipper in the mornings when Wesley just wants to die. It’s great. Mornings are fantastic in their apartments.

32. if they could have any superpower what would it be?

The ability to heal! Dan wants to be a doctor someday, he still doesn’t know where he is really headed to, but he knows that the health sector is very interesting.

33. who is their ride or die friend?

I mean, Wesley and he are literally partners in the force, so I think that might just be it. But if anyone’s interested in giving William a ride or die friend, I’m game!

#antiquefox #dlc;thoughts #wgk;thoughts #;headcanons #OH THIS WAS SO FUN !!#i got to know so much about them with these !!#i took so long but only because i'm trying to finish will's stats too !!

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x-enter · 5 years ago

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Everything Coming to and Leaving Netflix March 2020

It’s that time of the month when Netflix reveals all the new titles that are being added to the streaming service. This month we can look forward to watching great content like Space Jam and Castlevania’s third season. We’ll also see the new interactive show Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal.

Available March 1

Go! Go! Cory Carson: Season 2 -- NETFLIX FAMILY

Driveway dance parties, birthday treasure hunts — and going to the doctor to fix a flat tire. Whatever life brings, Cory's gassed up and ready to go!

Always a Bridesmaid

Beyond the Mat

Cop Out

Corpse Bride

Donnie Brasco

Freedom Writers

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

GoodFellas

Haywire

He's Just Not That Into You

Hook

Hugo

Kung Fu Panda 2

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Life as We Know It

Looney Tunes: Back in Action

Outbreak

Resident Evil: Apocalypse

Resident Evil: Extinction

Richie Rich

Semi-Pro

Sleepover

Space Jam

The Gift

The Interview

The Shawshank Redemption

The Story of God with Morgan Freeman: S3

There Will Be Blood

Tootsie

Valentine's Day

Velvet Colección: Grand Finale

ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band from Texas

Available March 3

Taylor Tomlinson: Quarter-Life Crisis -- NETFLIX COMEDY SPECIAL

Now halfway through her twenties, Taylor Tomlinson is ready to leave her mistakes behind her. Following her Netflix debut on The Comedy Lineup Part 1 (2018), Taylor divulges the lessons she's learned in her first hour-long comedy special, Taylor Tomlinson: Quarter-Life Crisis. Premiering globally on March 3, Taylor talks about working on yourself, realistic relationship goals, and why your twenties are not actually “the best years of your life.”

Available March 4

Lil Peep: Everybody's Everything

Available March 5

Castlevania: Season 3 -- NETFLIX ANIME

Belmont and Sypha settle into a village with sinister secrets, Alucard mentors a pair of admirers, and Isaac embarks on a quest to locate Hector.

Mighty Little Bheem: Festival of Colors -- NETFLIX FAMILY

From surprising stage performances to spraying colors with friends, join baby Bheem for all his Holi hijinks during the special spring festival.

Available March 6

Guilty -- NETFLIX FILM

When a college heartthrob is accused of rape by a less popular student, his girlfriend navigates various versions of the story in search of the truth.

I am Jonas -- NETFLIX FILM

A turbulent past haunts Jonas, who recalls his teenage love affair with the impulsive, twisted and yet irresistible Nathan.

Paradise PD: Part 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

As the diabolical Kingpin tightens his grip on Paradise, the squad contends with bitter feuds, dirty schemes, kinky fetishes and a nuclear threat.

The Protector: Season 3 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

As chaos descends on Istanbul, Hakan faces a formidable Immortal who seeks to possess the key to destroying the city.

Spenser Confidential -- NETFLIX FILM

Just out of prison and investigating a twisted murder, Spenser is sucked back into Boston’s underbelly. Based on the popular books; Mark Wahlberg stars.

Twin Murders: The Silence of the White City -- NETFLIX FILM

A detective inspector is pushed to the edge while he hunts the ritualistic murderer that has been terrorizing a city in Spain's Basque Country for two decades.

Ugly Delicious: Season 2 -- NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY

Ugly Delicious returns for a second season from James Beard Award-Winning Chef David Chang and Academy Award-Winner Morgan Neville. The second season of the hit series continues to challenge both our taste buds and our minds as Chef Chang travels the world with writers and chefs, activists and artists, who use food as a vehicle to break down cultural barriers, tackle misconceptions and uncover shared experiences. And this season ventures into more of the unknown, including the world of parenting as Chang gears up to become a first time father. Special guests include Nick Kroll, Aziz Ansari, Padma Lakshmi, food writers Helen Rosner and Chris Ying, Danny McBride, Bill Simmons, and Dave Choe among others.

Available March 8

Sitara: Let Girls Dream -- NETFLIX FILM

Sitara: Let Girls Dream is an animated short film that follows the story of Pari, a 14-year-old girl with dreams of becoming a pilot, while growing up in a society that doesn’t allow her to dream.

Available March 10

Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal -- NETFLIX FAMILY

You drive the action in this interactive adventure, helping Carmen save Ivy and Zack when V.I.L.E. captures them during a heist in Shanghai.

Marc Maron: End Times Fun -- NETFLIX COMEDY SPECIAL

Available March 11

The Circle Brazil -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Be yourself -- or someone else? The players must choose while chasing a cash prize when this lighthearted, strategic competition show comes to Brazil.

Dirty Money: Season 2 -- NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY

The critically-acclaimed investigative series Dirty Money, from Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions, returns for a second season. Dirty Money provides an up-close and personal view into untold stories of scandal, financial malfeasance and corruption in the world of business. This season offers a look inside Jared Kushner’s real estate empire, the Wells Fargo banking scandal and Malaysia’s 1MDB corruption case.

Last Ferry

On My Block: Season 3 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

They thought life was about to return to what passes for normal in Freeridge, but the stakes just got even higher. On My Block, co-created by Lauren Iungerich (Awkward) and Eddie Gonzalez & Jeremy Haft (All Eyez On Me), is a coming of age comedy about four bright and street-savvy friends navigating their way through the triumph, pain and the newness of high-school set in the rough inner city.

Summer Night

Available March 12

Hospital Playlist -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Five doctors, whose friendship goes back to their days in med school, band together at one hospital as colleagues in the VIP wing.

Available March 13

100 Humans -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

One hundred diverse volunteers participate in experiments that tackle questions about age, gender, happiness and other aspects of being human.

BEASTARS -- NETFLIX ANIME

In a world where beasts of all kinds coexist, a gentle wolf awakens to his own predatory urges as his school deals with a murder within its midst.

Bloodride -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

A Norwegian anthology series that blends horror with dark Scandinavian humor, setting each distinct story in its own realistic yet weird universe.

Elite: Season 3 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

When another classmate is killed, a new investigation ensues. The students look toward their future, while the consequences of the past haunt them.

Go Karts -- NETFLIX FILM

After moving to a new town with his mom, a teen discovers the high-speed sport of go-kart racing, learning from a former driver with a secret past.

Kingdom: Season 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

The zombie period drama set in Korea's Joseon era returns for Season 2.

Lost Girls -- NETFLIX FILM

A mother's quest to find her missing daughter uncovers a wave of unsolved murders in this drama based on a true story. Amy Ryan and Gabriel Byrne star.

The Valhalla Murders -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

An ambitious Icelandic detective teams up with a cop from Norway to investigate a series of murders that may be connected to a heinous trauma.

Women of the Night -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Haunted by a shadowy past, the wife of a rising star in Amsterdam's mayoral office finds herself drawn into the city’s underworld of sex and drugs.

Available March 15

Aftermath

Available March 16

The Boss Baby: Back in Business: Season 3 -- NETFLIX FAMILY

After losing his job at Baby Corp, Boss Baby goes freelance and turns his playgroup into a makeshift field team. Cue the critical mission!

Search Party

Silver Linings Playbook

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

The Young Messiah

Available March 17

Bert Kreischer: Hey Big Boy -- NETFLIX COMEDY SPECIAL

Comedian Bert Kreischer is back, and shirtless once again, in his second Netflix Original comedy special, Bert Kreischer: Hey Big Boy. Bert candidly shares hilarious stories about his daughter’s period party, a pushy arms dealer, and an inside joke with a Starbucks barista.

All American: Season 2

Black Lightning: Season 3

Shaun the Sheep: Adventures from Mossy Bottom -- NETFLIX FAMILY

Clever sheep Shaun, loyal dog Bitzer and the rest of the Mossy Bottom gang cook up oodles of fun and adventure on the farm.

Available March 18

Lu Over the Wall

Available March 19

Altered Carbon: Resleeved -- NETFLIX ANIME

Dai Sato, the creative mind behind “Cowboy Bebop,” further explores and expands upon the “Altered Carbon” universe in this anime adaptation.

Feel Good -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Mae Martin stars as herself, a Canadian comedian living in London while navigating a new relationship and dealing with sobriety.

Available March 20

A Life of Speed: The Juan Manuel Fangio Story -- NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY

Juan Manuel Fangio was the Formula One king, winning five world championships in the early 1950s — before protective gear or safety features were used.

Archibald's Next Big Thing: Season 2 -- NETFLIX FAMILY

From outdoor adventures to shopping extravaganzas, Archibald can't wait to experience everything this great, big world has to offer.

Buddi -- NETFLIX FAMILY

Following the day-to-day adventures of five best "Buddis," this colorful and entertaining series is targeted at children under 4.

Dino Girl Gauko: Season 2 -- NETFLIX FAMILY

Naoko and her friends have more strange adventures with aliens, robots and dinosaur girl Gauko. Their ordinary town has its share of oddities!

Greenhouse Academy: Season 4 -- NETFLIX FAMILY

The teen drama based on the award-winning Israeli series "Ha-Hamama" returns for Season 4.

The Letter for the King -- NETFLIX FAMILY

A young boy holds the fate of the kingdom in his hands when he embarks on a quest to deliver a secret message in this sweeping fantasy series.

Maska -- NETFLIX FILM

A young man sets out to become a movie star, until a summer romance shows him the fine line between dreams and delusions. Starring Manisha Koirala.

The Platform -- NETFLIX FILM

In a prison where inmates on high floors eat better than those below, who get the scant scraps, one man tries to effect change so everyone gets enough.

Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

This limited series is inspired by the incredible true story of Madam C.J. Walker, who was the first African American female self-made millionaire.

Ultras -- NETFLIX FILM

A story of intergenerational friendship and coming of age, set in the world of ultras culture during the last five weeks of a soccer championship.

Tiger King -- NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY

A rivalry between big cat eccentrics takes a dark turn when Joe Exotic, a controversial animal park boss, is caught in a murder-for-hire plot in this limited docuseries where the only thing more dangerous than a big cat is its owner.

Available March 23

Sol Levante -- NETFLIX ANIME

An experimental project between Netflix and Production I.G, one of the leading anime production companies in Japan, to produce the world's first 4K HDR native hand-drawn anime short.

Available March 25

Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution -- NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY

In the early 1970s, teenagers with disabilities faced a future shaped by isolation, discrimination and institutionalization. Camp Jened, a ramshackle camp “for the handicapped” in the Catskills, exploded those confines. Jened was their freewheeling Utopia, a place with summertime sports, smoking and makeout sessions awaiting everyone, and campers felt fulfilled as human beings. Their bonds endured as they migrated West to Berkeley, California — a promised land for a growing and diverse disability community — where friends from Camp Jened realized that disruption and unity might secure life-changing accessibility for millions.

Co-directed by Emmy®-winning filmmaker Nicole Newnham and film mixer and former camper Jim LeBrecht, this joyous and exuberant documentary arrives the same year as the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, at a time when the country’s largest minority group still battles daily for the freedom to exist. CRIP CAMP: A DISABILITY REVOLUTION is executive produced by President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama; Tonia Davis and Priya Swaminathan; Oscar® nominee Howard Gertler (How to Survive a Plague) and Raymond Lifchez, Jonathan Logan and Patty Quillin; LeBrecht, Newnham and Sara Bolder produce.

Curtiz -- NETFLIX FILM

Driven and arrogant, film director Michael Curtiz deals with studio politics and family drama during the troubled production of "Casablanca" in 1942.

The Occupant (Hogar) -- NETFLIX FILM

An unemployed executive is forced to sell his apartment. When he discovers that he still has the keys, he becomes obsessed with the family that lives there and will do anything to go back to the life he had before.

Signs -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

When a young woman's murder shows similarities to a decade-old cold case, a new police commander must break the silence permeating an Owl Mountain town.

YooHoo to the Rescue: Season 3 -- NETFLIX FAMILY

It’s time to take flight again! Join YooHoo and his adorable crew as they travel the world to help animal friends, one marvelous mission at a time.

Available March 26

7SEEDS: Part 2 -- NETFLIX ANIME

The world they knew is long gone. Their new environment is dangerous, but not as deadly as their fellow humans. Based on the award-winning manga by Yumi Tamura, "7SEEDS" returns for Part 2.

Blood Father

Unorthodox -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

A young woman flees to Berlin from an arranged marriage in Brooklyn. Then her past catches up to her.

Available March 27

Car Masters: Rust to Riches: Season 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Classic cars get massive makeovers courtesy of Gotham Garage, a skilled California crew dedicated to upgrading and trading sweet vintage vehicles.

The Decline -- NETFLIX FILM

As a way to prepare for disasters, family man Antoine attends a training program on survivalism given by Alain, at his self-sufficient retreat. Planning for a natural, economical or social breakdown, the group goes through drills meant to prepare them for apocalypses of all types. But the catastrophe waiting for them is nothing like what they anticipated.

Dragons: Rescue Riders: Hunt for the Golden Dragon -- NETFLIX FAMILY

It's the treasure hunt of a lifetime for the Rescue Riders, who must race to find a precious golden dragon egg and keep it safe from evil pirates.

Il processo -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

The murder of a teen girl impacts a public prosecutor linked to the victim, a lawyer seeking a career-making case and a suspect who says she's innocent.

Killing Them Softly

Ozark: Season 3 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

The Emmy-winning series about a suburban family laundering millions in the Missouri Ozarks returns for Season 3.

There's Something in the Water

True: Wuzzle Wegg Day -- NETFLIX FAMILY

When searching for the perfect Wuzzle Wegg, Bartleby thinks he sees a monster. Will the Rainbow King have to cancel Wuzzle Wegg Day — or will True come to the rescue?

Uncorked -- NETFLIX FILM

A young man faces his father's disapproval when he pursues his dream of becoming a master sommelier instead of joining the family's barbecue business.

Sadly, every month content also leaves the service. This is the last call for several titles including Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Lord of the Rings, and Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Leaving March 3

Marvel Studios' Black Panther

The Men Who Stare at Goats

Leaving March 4

F the Prom

Leaving March 7

Blue Jasmine

The Jane Austen Book Club

The Waterboy

Leaving March 9

Eat Pray Love

Leaving March 14

Men in Black

Men in Black II

Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection : Classic: Collection 3

Leaving March 15

Coraline

Leaving March 17

Being Mary Jane: The Series: Season 1-4

Leaving March 19

The L Word: Season 1-6

Zodiac

Leaving March 24

Disney's A Wrinkle in Time

Leaving March 30

Batman Begins

Charlie's Angels

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

Death at a Funeral

Drugs, Inc.: Season 5

Hairspray

Kill Bill: Vol. 1

Kill Bill: Vol. 2

New York Minute

P.S. I Love You

Paranormal Activity

Small Soldiers

The Dark Knight

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Wild Wild West

source https://geektyrant.com/news/everything-coming-to-and-leaving-netflix-march-2020

#Entertainments

0 notes

nanyoky · 7 years ago

Note

(oc questions - all - for the Mercys?)

You got it toots!

1. What’s their full name? Why was that chosen? Does it mean anything?

Maxine Elizabeth and Leopold. Old family names.

2. Do they have any titles? How did they get them?

For the residents of the house, The Mercys is very much a title that’s used more often than either of their given names. Even in school their classmates probably referred to them together a lot of the time.

3. Did they have a good childhood? What are fond memories they have of it? What’s a bad memory?

Not many good childhood memories outside of each other and Charlie. Both have mixed and complicated feelings about parents. ((spoilers!!! no one cares nell this isn’t a real movie)) Leo doesn’t remember much of his biological dad except things were Not Good. Max remembers her mother, but mostly remembers her being sick and being scared at hospitals and such. Their best memories are the two of them with Charlie. They could sometimes be alone with her for days at a time and it was the most peaceful time they ever had.

4. What is their relationship with their parents? What’s a good and bad memory with them? Did they know both parents?

Not Good ™. On all counts. The exact details of the family backgrounds would ultimately depend partially on casting, but the ones I’ve toyed with most have been: Dirk is the old fashioned sort to expect his wife to care for children and for him to pat them on the head occasionally and pay for their upkeep. That never worked out so well, since Max’s mother got sick when Max was very young, then after she was gone, he was alone, then Marlene and Max did NOT get along from day one. So his and Max’s relationship was always distant and begrudging and strained. Then Marlene I’ve sort of pictured as an immigrant from somewhere- coming to the US with her first husband, then leaving him and marrying Dirk. She saw this as a lateral move at the time, but had a rude awakening upon finding that everyone in her new country sees her as an “exotic” trophy wife (she bleaches her hair but still has a strong “foreign sounding” accent). With her first husband, she was distant due to a toxic relationship and Leo didn’t receive a lot of attention. Then Marlene starting taking barbiturates and nothing ever improved. Sometimes, she would occasionally try to strike up a closer relationship with Leo, but her efforts never lasted long so he learned not to get his hopes up.

5. Do they have any siblings? What’s their names? What is their relationship with them? Has their relationship changed since they were kids to adults?

Their relationship with Charlie is an odd mix of siblings and parents/child. The age gap wasn’t enough for them truly to act as parents, but the older they got, the more they felt responsible for her. Charlie always idolized and trusted them unlike anyone else and they had an enormous sense of responsibility to live up to this. So, naturally, they have always viewed her death as their own failure more than Dirk or Marlene’s.

6. What were they like at school? Did they enjoy it? Did they finish? What level of higher education did they reach? What subjects did they enjoy? Which did they hate?

Both of them were not exactly anti-social during school, but had only small circles of friends that shifted and changed gradually as they aged. They had kind of a reputation for being “stuck up” because everyone knew they had money, but they didn’t know much else about them. Were actually pretty normal, if a little reserved from a lot of social neglect early in life. They dropped out after Charlie died and Dirk and Marlene left and never finished high school. Both were average students. Max was that kid who had a different book with them every day. Leo didn’t pay enough attention to be a good student, but he was always a good writer and pretty logical, so he got by.

7. Did they have lots of friends as a child? Did they keep any of their childhood friends into adulthood?

They always had a few friends, but none were lasting. After Charlie’s death, they deliberately cut ties with everyone they knew and moved around for a few years before returning to Duluth. None of their school friends would likely recognize them now.

8. Did they have pets as a child? Do they have pets as an adult? Do they like animals?

The Mercys have always had a cat or two. They’ve had Katherine for a couple of years now. It’s good for them to have something outside themselves to care about and look after.

9. Do animals like them? Do they get on well with animals?

Both of the Mercys are pretty good with animals as they are usually pretty calm and affectionate with them.

10. Do they like children? Do children like them? Do they have or want any children? What would they be like as a parent? Or as a godparent/babysitter/ect?

They are both very good with children, though they have actively avoided them since Charlie’s death. Their thoughts on the possibility of parenthood are…. complicated. When they were younger, the idea was terrifying- because of what it would mean for them. Teen pregnancy freaks a lot of people out, but they were next level paranoid. Then, after Charlie, they couldn’t bear to think about it for a long time. Gradually though, they both started to consider the idea. Part of them wants to, in a way, recreate the “family” they had with Charlie, but the idea would mean considering a child to be her replacement. Which they fully realize is fucked up. So… they sort of want a kid, but don’t want to open that emotional can of worms without some delayed grieving they really don’t have the energy for.

11. Do they have any special diet requirements? Are they a vegetarian? Vegan? Have any allergies?

They have both cut out red meat since their teens.

12. What is their favourite food?

Max loves wild rice soup and it’s the only thing she knows how to make from scratch. Leo loves going to late night diners for waffles.

13. What is their least favourite food?

The smell of ham makes Leo gag and Max hates potato salad

14. Do they have any specific memories of food/a restaurant/meal?

They remember everything they ate the day Charlie disappeared. Max had the last of the cheerios for breakfast, so Leo had to make oatmeal. They had school lunch of chicken and gravy. Then they got takeout for dinner on the way home- eggrolls and lo mein from Taste of Saigon in Canal Park. They got an odd number of eggrolls and rock paper scissor-ed for the last one. Max won, but they ended up splitting it.

15. Are they good at cooking? Do they enjoy it? What do others think of their cooking?

Nope. Thus plot and Autumn. They tried to cook between the hired chefs, but meals were absolutely heinous in those times because Anabelle used their bad cooking as just another excuse to criticize them. Mina tried as well but didn’t have any better results.

16. Do they collect anything? What do they do with it? Where do they keep it?

Since they were became homeless as teens, Leo’s become sort of a packrat. He’s that guy that saves everything “just in case” he might need it or make it into something useful later. Max has to regularly go through all their stuff and throw out the real garbage he saves.

Max has an extensive collection of boots- since shoes are the one article of clothing they really can’t share. She also has like- twenty different silk and satin fancy slips and negligees but if you tell anyone you’re dead.

17. Do they like to take photos? What do they like to take photos of? Selfies? What do they do with their photos?

No on all counts. Aside from drivers licences (expired now), no pictures probably exist of them past age 14.

18. What’s their favourite genre of: books, music, tv shows, films, video games and anything else

Max is an epic adventure reader. LOTR, Dumas, you name it. Leo likes more modern lit. Realistic fantasy/scifi- David Mitchell and the like. Max loves classic films- cinema icons from 60s or earlier (their cat Katherine is for Katherine Hepburn). Leo is a total weirdo who is obsessed with live action/animation mashups. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is his alltime fave. They don’t watch a ton of tv, but when they do, it’s something weird like Pushing Daisies or something tame like National Geographic.

19. What’s their least favourite genres?

They really can’t handle any of Charlie’s favorite movies anymore.

20. Do they like musicals? Music in general? What do they do when they’re favourite song comes?

Not much for musicals. They listen to music in the yardhouse or while they’re working out in the stables or garage. Both very much into the classics as far as rock and some old country (cash and williams and the like) but Leo also likes indie alternative rock.

21. Do they have a temper? Are they patient? What are they like when they do lose their temper?

Max has a quicker temper- or rather, gets angry more easily. Any little comment from Anabelle sets her seething and in a bad mood for hours. It takes a lot more to set Leo off, but he goes from 0 to FIGHT ME in no time at all. ((See: Mr. Thackary mentioning his mom))

22. What are their favourite insults to use? What do they insult people for? Or do they prefer to bitch behind someone’s back?

Definitely “if i insult you to your face, it means we’re friends, but i can’t say it if I mean it because then it’s awkward” people. Will call each other and Autumn names all the time. Pretty generic and mild for the most part. “Dumbass” and “Bastard” and the like. Mina is a weird one because they know that’s not how she operates so they don’t want to upset her, but also she can tell they joke around with Autumn that way, so she feels a little left out. They try more gentle ribbing just to make her feel better.

23. Do they have a good memory? Short term or long term? Are they good with names? Or faces?

Max has a terrible memory and Leo has a good one. Drives Max crazy if they ever have an argument about something that happened more than a few days ago.

24. What is their sleeping pattern like? Do they snore? What do they like to sleep on? A soft or hard mattress?

Both of them are huge babies about having a soft mattress and lots of pillows. Even in their own bed, they both have trouble sleeping sometimes. Sadly enough, it’s the good dreams that keep them awake- dreams they have Charlie back and everything is fine again.

Leo sleeps on his back and if he’s alone- STARFISH. But when Max is there more floppy easy cuddles. Max, on the other hand, is nothing but knees and elbows in her sleep and it is a Problem.

25. What do they find funny? Do they have a good sense of humour? Are they funny themselves?

Both the Mercys have a pretty dark sense of humor at times. Leo can be markedly darker, but also sillier in his humor, whereas max is more dry.

26. How do they act when they’re happy? Do they sing? Dance? Hum? Or do they hide their emotions?

Both usually get more comfortable and friendly with others when they’re in a good mood. If it’s just the two of them, they’re just stupid affectionate and playful. Lots of snuggles and movies and snacks and giggling like kids.

27. What makes them sad? Do they cry regularly? Do they cry openly or hide it? What are they like they are sad?

They are sad most of the time. Max only cries when she wakes up from a dream about Charlie- Leo hasn’t cried since Charlie’s death. Max would probably fight anyone who saw her cry.

28. What is their biggest fear? What in general scares them? How do they act when they’re scared?

Losing one another is definitely their biggest fear now. Max tends to sort of freeze up when afraid, while Leo usually takes action in the moment, then freezes up when he pauses to think to hard about his fears.

29. What do they do when they find out someone else’s fear? Do they tease them? Or get very over protective?

It depends on who that person is. But they have very strong protective tendencies, so they would have to REALLY hate someone to mock or use someone else’s fear.

30. Do they exercise? Regularly? Or only when forced? What do they act like pre-work out and post-work out?

They stay pretty active for work, but they would never “work out” for the sake of it. They’re both pretty strong, but don’t do much in the way of cardio.

31. Do they drink? What are they like drunk? What are they like hungover? How do they act when other people are drunk or hungover? Kind or teasing?

Ahhh yup. The drunk scene with Autumn is a regular occurrence if they can’t sleep or want to celebrate something. Max is more cheerful when drunk and definitely very snuggly. Huge affectionate drunk. Fun Fact: Leo getting overheated and taking off his jeans in that scene is 100% based on one of my roommates at university. When she drank, she would always complain about how hot it was and strip down to her underwear. Sometimes her head would get stuck in her shirt. So that’s drunk Leo. Max being an affectionate drunk and Leo taking his clothes off drunk means there is a lot of giggly clumsy drunk sex in the yardhouse and it is very stupidcute. They’re both pretty standard hung over- grumpy and slow. When Autumn or Mina drink without them, they go full on mom friend.

32. What do they dress like? What sorta shops do they buy clothes from? Do they wear the fashion that they like? What do they wear to sleep? Do they wear makeup? What’s their hair like?

The Mercys share the same wardrobe (aside from undies and shoes). They have picked up a collection of layers from thriftshops and such throughout the years. Max’s checkplaid coat is a prized possession. It’s the warmest thing they’ve got. When they left the house the first time, max bleached her hair a goldy-honey blond and kept dying it. But since Mina hired them, it’s been growing out ever since. She wears hats most of the time anyway, so the dark roots are barely visible, even tho it’s gotten past her earlobes. Leo has been thinking about cutting his hair again, but Max is trying to talk him out of it because she not so secretly likes it long. No makeup in years. Max misses it sometimes.

33. What underwear do they wear? Boxers or briefs? Lacey? Comfy granny panties?

From Autumn’s trips to the yardhouse we know this: Leo is a boxers and undershirts kinda guy, and Max is all about the lace and silk and satin. That makes it sound like this story is much sexier than it is.

34. What is their body type? How tall are they? Do they like their body?

Fairly fit from all the physical work, but in an average sort of way. They are about the same height-pretty average. They both have moments of vanity in between not really thinking about their own body much at all.

35. What’s their guilty pleasure? What is their totally unguilty pleasure?

Max and her silky intimates. Leo sometimes watches the same movie over and over again just because he doesn’t want to get up to change it. THeir relationship with one another is… complicated. They both feel guilty and decidedly unguilty about it.

36. What are they good at? What hobbies do they like? Can they sing?

They both have gotten pretty good at auto repair throughout the years. Max is stupid good at climbing. Trees, rocks, buildings. She sits out on the roof of the yardhouse when she’s annoyed with Leo and it is very frustrating. She’s also an amazing speed reader with high retention. If they ever need to look up how to do something, Max will read an article or book- paraphrasing outloud to instruct Leo as he tries it. Secret time: way back when he was very little, Marlene made Leo take dance and piano lessons. He hated it and found ways to skip out on the lessons pretty early on, but he still retained quite a bit. Now he just likes dicking around with weird little diy projects- fixing things and improving things around the yardhouse- making new candles out of the drippings and blunt ends of old ones.

37. Do they like to read? Are they a fast or slow reader? Do they like poetry? Fictional or non fiction?

Max reads constantly- and fast. She’ll read anything, but has a soft spot for epic adventures. Tolkein, Dumas, that kind of thing. Leo likes to read, but he’s slower and prefers quick, fun genre pieces.

38. What do they admire in others? What talents do they wish they had?

I think they admire people who have found their place and are comfortable in their lives. They realize what a rare thing that is and are struggling so much to find some sort of homeostasis, they really appreciate those who are self aware and self assured at the same time.

39. Do they like letters? Or prefer emails/messaging?

Definitely phonecall or text people. If communication other than face-to-face is necessary at all.

40. Do they like energy drinks? Coffee? Sugary food? Or can they naturally stay awake and alert?

Coffee drinkers. But there’s a case of redbull in the yardhouse basement for emergency situations.

41. What’s their sexuality? What do they find attractive? Physically and mentally? What do they like/need in a relationship?

Max is definitely bisexual because she and Autumn will not stop with the ust no matter what I do. These bisexuals. I can’t take them anywhere. I assume Leo is straight, but he doesn’t interact with any men other than the accountant, so this could very well be a case of my characters keeping secrets from me.

Well, the two of them are in the rare situation of finding their soulmate at a very early age, so really, the venn diagram of “qualities I find attractive” and “qualities of my partner” for both of them is pretty much a circle.

I think they get a lot of what they need from one another, but they could stand to work on their relationship and their lives outside of one another. Even when it’s fairly stable, codependency is pretty damn unhealthy.

42. What are their goals? What would they sacrifice anything for? What is their secret ambition?

Goals are really just to keep one another safe and hopefully work back towards something resembling the people that Charlie loved so much.

43. Are they religious? What do they think of religion? What do they think of religious people? What do they think of non religious people?

I always thought Marlene came from a very traditional Catholic family. She only seemed to go to church when things were going well and she was feeling stable tho, so Leo has mostly good memories attached to religion. After Charlie disappeared, he leaned hard into Saint Philomena icons and such because it felt better to pray than do nothing.

Dirk, and Max’s mom, were never religious so she doesn’t have many feelings on the subject either way. She might have some bitter thoughts towards it from time to time, but won’t badmouth anything she knows is comforting to Leo.

44. What is their favourite season? Type of weather? Are they good in the cold or the heat? What weather do they complain in the most?

Definitely winter people. *Stefano from SNL voice* Hot food. Stiff drinks. SNUGGLES.

45. How do other people see them? Is it similar to how they see themselves?

That’s a hard one. Obviously people find them a bit off putting and weird most of the time. But Mina and Autumn at least also trust them and believe them to be capable, and in that, sort of develop fondness for their weirdness. I think for both of them, their sense of self is wrapped up in their sense of one another, so they aren’t very objective about themselves as individuals. That is a very wishywashy answer but here we are.

46. Do they make a good first impression? Does their first impression reflect them accurately? How do they introduce themselves?

They have never been very good with the first impressions, but they are pretty accurate to their typical behavior. Whether others warm up to them after getting used to it or not is up to that other person.

47. How do they act in a formal occasion? What do they think of black tie wear? Do they enjoy fancy parties and love to chit chat or loathe the whole event?

In my constantly running mental “Charlie lives!au,” the mercys are expected to attend all kinds of high end social gatherings. They hate them on principal more than actual dislike of being at them. But they find ways to make them fun for themselves. Embarrassing Dirk and Marlene in any way they can mostly. subtly needling people they don’t like. Etc.

Leo doesn’t like dressing up, and Marlene is always trying to tell Max how to dress so it’s a point of tension. Max will always do the exact opposite with her clothes that Marlene wants, so if she gets the “show some leg and pop some cleave- we need these people in a good mood” order, she shows up in high necks and full skirts; if it’s “keep it classy, we need to be a wholesome all american family here,” she’s nothing but slink, open backs and thigh slits.

Once Charlie gets older and starts to attend these gatherings as well, they are on constant alert, making sure she doesn’t interact too much with the wrong people.

48. Do they enjoy any parties? If so what kind? Do they organise the party or just turn up? How do they act? What if they didn’t want to go but were dragged along by a friend?

Well, as the story stands they don’t attend any parties. The closest they get is drinking with Autumn in the one scene in the screenplay. They like that just fine.

49. What is their most valued object? Are they sentimental? Is there something they have to take everywhere with them?

Leo still has a picture of Charlie and a Saint Philomena charm in his truck that he’d freak if he lost. Max has a beaded bracelet from her mother that only Leo has ever seen. She never wears it, but keeps it in a go bag just in case they have to make a quick run for it.

50. If they could only take one bag of stuff somewhere with them: what would they pack? What do they consider their essentials?

They definitely have a go bag. Big wad of cash, basic survival materials in case they have to keep off the grid. fake ids. They’ve got it covered.

#essayofthoughts #winter gothic #mercys #max #leo #charlie #ft. dirk and marlene #omg i love my children so much #my sad damaged babs #LET ME WRITE MORE FOR YOU EVEN THO YOUR OFFICIAL STORY IS BASICALLY COMPLETE #long post

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theflynnstitute · 7 years ago

Text

An Open Letter: Marriage Equality and MSHS

Dear Kerry and all Staff at Manjimup SHS,

I hope this letter finds you well. For those who may not recognise my name, I am an alumnus of MSHS, past Dux of School ‘09, Head Boy 2009, student representative on the School Board 2008-2009, and all round advocate for the quality public schooling that MSHS provides its students. I certainly would not be where I am today without the investment that MSHS and its superb teaching and support staff placed in me during my time there. And where is that? I’m currently completing my Doctor of Medicine and Masters of Public Health at the Melbourne Medical School and University of Melbourne’s School of Population and Global Health, with a view to practicing medicine in rural and remote Australia. However, I am not writing to you to tell of the 8-year adventure that has been my life following graduation from your fine institution. Rather, I am writing to express my concern over the current debate that is occurring on the issue of same-sex marriage, and the effect that this debate may be having on current MSHS students. I appreciate that this is a contentious issue for many people, and I respect that there will be a range of opinions within the MSHS community on this topic. While I will be sharing some personal anecdotes to illustrate how I have reached my own stance on this issue, my primary objective is the well-being and support of all students at Manji High. I moved to Manjimup just before the end of my 5th year in primary school. I distinctly remember my first recess break at Manji Primary, sitting with a group of new classmates as a nervous city-slicker kid, who had moved to the country to start a new chapter. Not even 2 hours into my first day at school, and I was called a ‘poofter’ by a boisterous young classmate, much to the enjoyment of the rest of the boys in the group. I didn’t even know what a poofter was, and so laughed along with the joke that was my presumed sexuality. I soon learnt that poofter was not something I wanted to be called… and so began a decade long journey of suppression and denial, the ramifications of which I still deal with today. I do not wish to portray Manjimup or MSHS as a particularly homophobic place, or community. Overall, I think that my experience growing up in Manji was a good one, and certainly has contributed in a positive way, to shaping me into the man I am today. However, like many towns across rural and regional Australia, homophobia in Manjimup was present, and was something that I had to deal with growing up in that place. More pertinent to the objectives of this letter however, are my experiences as a young, closeted, queer student at MSHS. Academically, the level of support I received at MSHS was outstanding and served as a superb foundation for both my undergraduate and postgraduate studies. However, lying behind the narrative of good academic achievement I experienced at MSHS lies a more insidious story of homophobic abuse that I experienced at the hands of my peers. “Faggot”, “poofter”, “pansy”, “homo”, “gay-boy”, “pillow-biter” were all terms that were occasionally used to refer to me in the school-yard. I was told to perform lewd homosexual acts by some of my male classmates, and on several occasions I was intimidated physically, even with teachers present in the room. Needless to say, there were numerous occasions where I did not feel safe at MSHS. While I have little doubt that these experiences contributed to the anxiety that I deal with today, I consider myself lucky to say that I survived high school relatively psychologically unscathed. The friendships that I formed at MSHS served as my haven, and it was these individuals who accepted me for the person who I was without question or suspicion, and supported me and shared in my high school journey. Of course, there were social support resources available at the school during my time there, and perhaps people will criticize me for not accessing these resources. The reality is, I did not feel safe, nor justified in accessing support from the school counsellor or chaplain. I existed in an environment that told me that what I was, was abnormal, and the treatment I was experiencing was simply a natural consequence of the ‘affliction’ I was suffering from, and something that I had to endure in silence. In some ways, I feel my devotion to my academic studies was a compensatory mechanism for the supposed homosexual flaw in my underlying character. Over the course of my university studies, I have become increasingly concerned with social justice, and in particular how it relates to health. My decision to undertake a masters of public health is emblematic of this. Public health is a discipline of health science that is concerned with the prevention of disease, disability and suffering through interventions that occur at a population level. Many who work in the public health arena speak of taking an “upstream” approach, where one assesses the broader social, political, and economic determinants that have contributed to whatever health issue Is being examined. Mental Health and suicide is an important health issue for all of Australian society, but is also one that disproportionately affects the LGBTIQA+ community. LGBTI Australians aged 16 years and over are 5-11 times more likely to attempt suicide; 16-18 times more likely to experience suicidal ideation; 2-6 times more likely to self-harm; and twice as likely to be diagnosed with a mental health condition, when compared to the general Australian population[1]. And what is fueling these disastrous outcomes? Homophobia. Be it personal, interpersonal, institutional, or cultural, homophobia creates environments where queer individuals (and even people who are simply perceived to be queer) are attacked physically and verbally, are made to question and defend their own validity, and are expected to see themselves as second class, and less deserving of the rights and privileges that are attached to being heterosexual. While personal and interpersonal homophobia is damaging and should be called out and dealt with, particularly in our schools, these acts are often the product of underlying institutional and cultural homophobia. And as a student of public health, I know that fighting this more insidious form of prejudice is where the real money is, if we have any hope of progressing Australia towards the more inclusive, “fair go” society that it professes itself to be. Policy and law, must play an important role in shaping cultural and institutional perceptions of what is acceptable and unacceptable in our secular society. In doing so, they in-turn function to mold individual perceptions, particularly for our young people. This is why the marriage equality debate is so important to me, and why I will be voting YES for marriage equality. As a young person growing up in a rural community, the concept of even being in a same-sex relationship was not something I was privy to. It wasn’t until I reached undergraduate studies at UWA that I began to explore concepts outside heteronormativity, and even then, it was a number of years until I decided to come out to my friends and family. Having marriage equality will allow young, closeted and openly-queer teenagers to see that there are options for them to have their love and relationships celebrated in the same way that their straight friends and family members do. It will help to fuel a culture of acceptance, that embraces diversity and values the collective strength of a diverse nation. While I do think that marriage equality is an inevitable legislative end, it in no way justifies the means by which our current Federal Government is using to achieve it. Using a $122 million, non-binding, non-representative postal survey to inform government policy is unprecedented, and is an example of the institutional homophobia I mentioned earlier. Homophobia that expects myself and other queer individuals to sit by while the rest of the country ”respectfully debates” the validity of our relationships, and whether we should be granted the same rights under Australian law. Because make no mistake, the campaign for same-sex marriage is not just about the label of “Marriage”. Our illustrious former PM Mr. Abbott would have us believe that same-sex couples already have the same rights under civil union legislation, however it only takes a quick google search to find the flaws in that argument. Same-sex couples experience a deficiency in rights in all manner of ways from carer-rights, Medicare and the pharmaceutical benefits scheme, to tax concessions, employee rights and superannuation [2]. The fight for same-sex marriage is a fight for these rights. The debate that has been occurring on this issue has been undeniably toxic. The ‘Honorable’ Mr. Turnbull continues to harp on about the ability of the Australian public to have a respectful debate, yet seems blind to reality of what is actually occurring. While I acknowledge that majority of Australians are capable of having a perfectly civil discussion around this issue, thanks to social media and the current speed of the media cycle, much of the content we are seeing relating to this debate is extreme, vitriolic, and often uninformed. And while I do not purport to say that the NO campaign hold exclusive claim over the extreme views seen in this debate, I do believe that it is these extreme views that sell newspapers and website clicks, and ultimately hinder our ability to have civil discussion. It is these extreme, and widely publicised views that have real ramifications for the queer community. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the past 12 months has been the most concentrated period of homophobia that I have experienced in my (relatively short) life. Not direct homophobia, although I have been accused of spreading hate speech simply for expressing my support of same-sex marriage, but more indirect homophobia. Having to see nasty and vitriolic comments on social media, listening to hateful and ill-informed rhetoric on national news bulletins, watching TV ads that tell me I am advocating for pedophilia and radical gender theory in classrooms. This all has power. Words have power, and we (the queers) of all people know the power of words. I have seen many colleagues withdraw from social media over the course of this campaign to protect themselves from the hateful vitriol. I myself have decided to remain engaged, but have also felt the need to seek professional support during this period. And if I am finding it tough to deal with the day to day commentary that is happening in this debate, imagine what our queer youth are going through. I believe that school should be a safe haven. Not necessarily apolitical, as I believe that our youth are our dreamers and visionaries, capable of imagining a future that is better than the present, and politics is an important part of this. However, growing up these days is difficult enough without the added pressure of dealing with this ongoing debate. And it’s not just queer youth we should be concerned about. Many straight-identifying young people also support same-sex marriage, have friends that identify as queer and are having an equally distressing time having to deal with the ongoing commentary that is occurring in homes, playgrounds and other spaces around the country. I really do urge the MSHS community to draw together during this time to support all its students. While I cannot attest to the current socio-political atmosphere of MSHS or the broader Manjimup community, I do strongly urge all individuals to call out homophobia, or any other type of prejudice or discrimination as completely unacceptable. Acknowledge the divisiveness of this debate and the effects it may be having on individuals, especially our queer youth. Give people the space to express their feelings openly, and if there must be debate within the school environment, ensure that it is respectful and factually informed. Student support systems must be proactive in addressing this issue and ensuring that MSHS strives towards being an environment that is respectful and inclusive of all individuals, regardless of sexuality, race, gender, social status, physical or intellectual ability. I would love to hear what initiatives MSHS has put in place to support LGBTIQA+ students, and to hear how the school community is going in general. I am also more than happy to be contacted by any staff or students who are seeking support around this issue, or would simply like to discuss the topic or share their insight. I hope this letter has been relevant and informative to the MSHS experience, and I hope that it contributes in a constructive way to the progression of a discussion around how MSHS can best support all its students and strive towards a culture of respect, diversity and inclusion.

Sincerely yours,

Sebastian Kirby MSHS Fan-boy

[1]

The Statistics at a Glance: The Mental Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex People in Australia Accessible at [http://lgbtihealth.org.au/statistics/]

[2] Same-Sex: Same Entitlements Report, Australian Human Rights Commission available at [https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/same-sex-same-entitlements-executive-summary]

#voteyes #marriage equality #ssm #lgbt #gay #gayaustralia

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arniadiankusuma-blog · 8 years ago

Text

In case you're 23 or still going to

(Repost dari CAMPUSPEDIA) I woke up on the morning of my twenty-third birthday to a dead-end job, a failing relationship, an empty wallet and a complete lack of direction. And I’m sure I’m not alone in that fate. The years following college aren’t kind to us. We are thrust into the real world with a large amount of student debt, jobs that barely pay enough to make rent, relationships that are rapidly changing and a profound feeling of being lost on how to handle it all. Nobody likes you when you’re twenty-three, including your own life. And yet, we pull through. Most of us make it to our twenty-fourth year. Most of us make it out of the woods. Most of us are lucky enough to say that by the end of our twenty-third year we’re no longer feeling completely and utterly lost. But in case you’re not there yet, here are a few things you may need to be reminded of right now. 1. You’re not going to be lonely for the rest of your life. Twenty-three is a lonely and uncomfortable age. College is probably) over. Your professional life is hopefully) just beginning. And your social life is doing an awkward, uncomfortable shuffle in response to all the changes. You’re far away from the people who know you well and not yet emotionally close with the people who physically surround you. Give it time. Give your relationships the chance to evolve. Give yourself the chance to adjust to no longer living with a group of your closest friends (yes, you will adjust). Loneliness doesn’t last forever, even when it feels like it will. 2. You don’t need to be working your dream job right now. It’s okay to take a shitty office job because you need to pay the bills. It’s okay to spend your spare time volunteering to get the experience you need. There are a thousand different routes you can take to get to where you want to go. Don’t beat yourself up in the process – just keep moving, steadily and slowly, toward wherever you would rather be. 3. Everyone feels lost at some point. No, seriously. Every single person you meet, interact with or think about in the course of a day has almost definitely had a period of their lives where they had NO clue what they were doing. So this is yours. You’re just getting it out of the way early. 4. You still have so much time to fail. You have time to fail at love. At your career. At your creative aspirations. At your personal goals. You are still young enough to fall and pick yourself back up, so many more times. So don’t be afraid to take those big, scary risks now – while you still have the time and the strength and the determination to start over. 5. Someone is going to love you again. You’re going to feel that insane over-the-moon feeling again. You’re going to want to tell someone ‘I love you’ again. You’re going to have something real with another human being again, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now. The ability to love other people doesn’t leave you, even if it’s a muscle you haven’t flexed in a long while. 6. You are going to love you again. Your self-perception is going to adjust to encompass the new, adult you: the one that you are still growing into. Don’t beat yourself up about who you are or are not yet at twenty-three – you have so much time left to grow into the person you’ll become, and to be damn proud of whoever that will be. 7. You are allowed to set and keep boundaries. Being a young adult means saying ‘Yes’ to a lot of things – long work hours, demands from our partners – because you aren’t yet sure what you’re allowed to say no to. But here’s the deal – you are allowed to set whatever personal or professional boundaries you need to set in order to stay healthy and stable. You don’t have to earn the right to take care of yourself. You deserve it, as a basic product of your existence. 8. You are never entirely without support. You may not be lucky enough to have parents who are able to give you financial support or even friends who are immediately available to give you emotional support, but rest assured, if things ever went really wrong, you’d have people there to help you out in ways you may not expect. If at least a few names come to mind, you’re doing better than a lot of people. 9. Being disappointed in yourself just means that you know you can do better. If you were never falling short of your own goals, you’d be living your life all wrong. Disappointment – in moderation – means that you believe in bigger things for yourself. And holding that belief in life will take you further than you could possibly imagine. 10. It’s not your job to live someone else’s dream. You don’t have to move to Asia to teach English if it’s not going to make you happy. You don’t have to move to a big city and get a mind-numbing office job because it’s going to impress your parents. The choices you make now set the tone for the choices you’re going to make the rest of your life. So you’re allowed to make the choices you want to make – and only worry about impressing your future self. 11. ‘No’ is a very important word. You’re allowed to use it. Say no to jobs that don’t entice you. Say no to people who bring out the worst in you. Say no to all the opportunities that prevent you from pursuing the bigger, braver, bolder life course that you’d rather be on. Say no confidently, strategically and as regularly as you need to. It is your right and in some cases, your greatest asset. 12. Nobody can read your mind – you’re going to have to ask for what you want. Nobody is going to come hand you your dream job or your perfect relationship or your ideal lifestyle because you’ve been obeying the rules so diligently. You have to ask – directly and sometimes incessantly – for those things. It’s unfortunate that the adult world works this way, but it does. The sooner you get comfortable asking for things, the sooner you start getting big results. Results other people don’t get because they’re too afraid to ask for them. 13. You don’t have to be embarrassed. Not by the job you’re working or the person you’re dating or where you are in life, in relation to the people you graduated college with. Embarrassment is a choice. And the prouder you choose to be of yourself – no matter where you are in life – the further you’re going to go. Confidence is a major predictor of success. 14. Your body is not seventeen anymore. You can’t exist on a steady diet of beer, burritos and power-naps forever. Your body is starting to change and you have to change to accommodate it if you don’t want to feel just a little bit worn-out for the rest of eternity. Treating your body properly is going to have more of a positive impact on your life in the coming years than you could possibly imagine right now. 15. You’re probably hotter than you think you are. Something I hear over and over again from middle-aged people is that they can’t believe they ever thought they were unattractive in their early twenties. We are our own harshest critics at this point in our lives and it’s more likely than not that your most unattractive quality is the lack of confidence you have in your own appearance. Start believing in yourself a little more right now, so you have to kick yourself a little less aggressively later. 16. You aren’t done changing yet, and you probably won’t be for a while. There are those rare, beautiful moments in our early twenties where it feels like we’ve got it all figured out and we’re entirely out of the woods. But those moments never last for too long. Life is constantly changing – but that’s far from being a bad thing. Your brain is still developing. You are still developing. And the worst thing you can be right now is stagnant. 17. You have to give yourself a break. At 23, it’s easy to get so caught up in the working and progressing and forming relationships and finding ourselves that we forget to ever take a moment to just breath. To relax. And to take a brief break from frantically dashing toward the future. You still deserve to live and enjoy your life. Your future will come soon enough. 18. Losing friends is a natural consequence of this stage of your life. Losing touch with your old college roommates or your hometown friends or the loved ones who settled down earlier or later than you did is a natural consequence of growing older. It isn’t solely up to you to keep every friendship you’ve ever had alive – some things fade out naturally, because they should. Because some of the friendships you shared were meant to last a season, not a lifetime, and that’s okay. 19. There will be people you have to leave behind as you grow, and that doesn’t make you a bad person. Everyone grows up and grows into themselves at different paces. And the older you get, the more you will notice that some people almost deliberately choose to stay stuck or hold themselves back. And it is not your job to rescue these people from themselves. You can love them, you can support them and you can encourage them but at the end of the day you just can’t hold yourself back on their behalf. They have responsibility over their lives and you have responsibility over yours. You are not selfish or horrible to keep moving forward without them. 20. Comparisons are completely senseless, unless you use them as a motivator. Comparisons are a great thing if you’re using them to motivate yourself to rise up to someone else’s level of greatness. If, however, you’re only using them to beat yourself down, they are the single greatest waste of your time and energy. You are not your friend or your college classmate or your co-worker who just got a raise. You are you. And if you want to rise above the rest, you have to use the skills that are unique to you, rather than pining after what comes naturally to everyone else. By Heidi Priebe Artwork by Helke Rah @Campuspedia - Indonesia Student Platform

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