#illu's may challenge

[lingshanhermit]

Ling Shan Hermit: Who Can Judge the Authenticity of Spiritual Practice

Would you venture to judge who has made greater scientific achievements between Albert Einstein and Edward Witten? Would you comment on the differences between the theory of relativity and string theory? Any sensible person would not. Because they know they don't understand. Because these are highly specialized questions. Yet, there are many people who have never practiced spirituality who feel qualified to judge who is a true practitioner. Their judgments are based on whether the other person lives a frugal life, whether there are patches on their clothes, and whether they touch money, etc. - in general, whether they conform to their perception of good and bad practitioners - this is truly absurd.

If we were to rank the most difficult things in the universe to understand, Buddhism would firmly hold the first place. You should know that even if you have practiced for fifty years, it doesn't mean you can definitely know the spiritual state of others. Trust me, judging whether someone is a true practitioner is a thousand billion times more difficult than judging whether someone is a true scientist - because spiritual practice is a storm that happens within the heart. All you can see are external behaviors, completely unaware of the battles that take place within the heart. And judging whether a person is truly practicing is entirely based on what happens within the heart.

I've encountered individuals who possess a multitude of Rolex Earl watches, like Richard Miller, yet he is a genuine spiritual practitioner. He understands how to cultivate his heart and how to battle the "self". I've also met those who have spent many years in seclusion at Tibetan Buddhist academies, enduring the harsh cold, all for the future prospect of returning to their hometown to establish a temple for monetary gain. There are those who exude an aura of sages, those who are clad in suits and leather shoes, those who generously donate, those who are scrupulous about every single penny, those who adhere to a vegetarian diet at every meal, and those who indulge in meat at every turn. So, who among them is the true practitioner? The answer might completely surpass the comprehension of the average person. If you find it challenging to understand Einstein, then understanding Buddhism would be an even greater feat. In comparison to the teachings of Buddhism, Einstein's theories are merely at an infantile stage. I've always been intrigued as to why some individuals believe they have a deeper understanding of Buddhism than those who have dedicated their entire lives to profound practice? These practitioners have invested nearly all their time, money, energy, and even their most treasured "self", while you may have only skimmed through a few books. Do you genuinely believe you comprehend Buddhism better than they do? The true practice is not as ordinary people envision it, and true practitioners may not necessarily bear the responsibility to meet the public's perception (in fact, they can't meet it, as no one can create a dish that the entire world would find delectable.). Whether a person is a true practitioner is likely only known to themselves - if they are honest with themselves and have considerable meditative skills to observe what's happening within them as if watching a fire - but if a person truly possesses such abilities, they are already a true practitioner. More often, practitioners themselves are confused. They neither know what practice means nor understand their true state. They can't see what's happening in their hearts, can't see how their "practice" is all transformed by the "self". They have never met a true practitioner and don't understand what true practice is. They are surrounded by people who only chant mantras and perform rituals without cultivating the heart. They do the same things as these people every day, so they believe they are practicing - they live in the illusion that they are practitioners. Therefore, apart from the kind of person mentioned earlier, perhaps only a fully enlightened Buddha knows the true state of a person's practice.

A true practitioner might be able to restrain their greed, anger, and ignorance one moment, observing their own thoughts and impulses, but the next moment they might let their guard down and get angered by something: you realize you've been angered, which makes you regretful, you repent, and then a few hours later you repeat the same mistake. This cycle happens periodically, repeating endlessly, and it's something that happens every day to every true practitioner. We don't become saints in a day. As someone battling the "self", you will make mistakes, constantly make mistakes, correct them and make them again. You will be knocked back to your original form, back to the starting point. You will take ten steps forward and eleven steps back, then take ten steps forward again and retreat eight steps; you will fall, then get up and move forward, or fall into decline.

The "self" habits that govern us are powerful. When you are truly practicing, it will do everything it can to ensure you make mistakes, causing us to advance and retreat, to be a devil one moment and an angel the next. Therefore, as long as a person is still striving to battle the "self", still reflecting, still trying to change habits, still listening to the words of their master, as long as they truly know their faults, can genuinely admit their mistakes, can frequently examine themselves, can know what they are doing, can know what is happening to their body and mind, even if they often make mistakes, even if they are relatively slow, they will still be regarded as true practitioners. Similarly, if a person firmly believes deep down that they have no issues, never observes their own body and mind, never scrutinizes their own values, and is ignorant of what's happening within them, then even if they appear to follow their master's teachings well, even if they seem to be very compliant and sensible in all aspects, even if they have done many retreats and recited billions of mantras, even if the public certifies them as true practitioners, they are merely deceiving themselves and others.

A true practitioner will constantly observe themselves, observe what's happening within them, observe their own greed, anger, and ignorance, observe their own dualistic attachments, observe the tricks of the "self", and carefully prevent themselves from falling into the pit dug by the "self". They are truly cultivating themselves, because they have seriously studied the Dharma, studied the principles of practice, so they truly know the benefits of doing so for themselves. On the other hand, a false practitioner's so-called "practice" is usually just a performance. They do not believe in what they are practicing and have no interest in delving deeper. They pretend to be a practitioner because they know that appearing this way has "benefits" for themselves.

Written by Ling Shan Hermit on September 30, 2022, first published on July 9, 2023.

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灵山居士：谁能判断修行真伪

你会去评判阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦（Albert Einstein）和爱德华·威滕（Edward Witten）两个人谁的科学成就更大吗？你会去评论相对论和弦理论之间的差异吗？正常的稍有理智的人都不会。因为他们知道自己不懂。因为这是非常专业的问题。但是却有很多从未修行过的人觉得自己有资格评判谁是真正的修行人，他们评判的依据是对方是否生活清苦，衣服上是否有补丁，以及是否触碰金钱等等——总的来说，就是是否符合他们对修行人好坏的认知——这实在是很荒谬。

如果我们把全宇宙最难懂的事物作一个排名，佛教稳定居第一。你要知道，即便你修行了五十年也不表示你一定能知道其他人的修行境界。相信我，评价一个人是不是真正的修行人比评价某人是不是真正的科学家要难上一千亿倍——因为修行是发生在内心的风暴，你能看到的只是外在的行为，对那些发生在内心的战斗完全不得而知。而判断一个人是否在真正修行完全是以内心发生的事情为依据的。

我见过有一大堆劳力士伯爵理查德米勒的人，但他是真正的修行人，他知道怎么去修自己的心怎么去迎战“自我”；我还见过在藏地佛学院闭关很多年的人，他在那里忍受寒冷只是为了将来能回家乡开个寺庙挣钱。有人仙风道骨，有人西装革履，有人慷慨布施，有人锱铢必较，有人每餐必素，有人顿顿有肉，到底哪一种才是真正的修行人呢？答案可能会完全超乎普通人的认知。如果你看不懂爱因斯坦，你就更不可能看懂佛教。相比佛法，爱因斯坦的理论只是婴儿级别。我一直很好奇为什么会有人觉得自己比那些深入修行了一辈子的人更懂佛法？人家付出了几乎所有的时间金钱精力乃至最珍爱的“自我”而你只是读了几本书。你就觉得自己的理解比他更深刻？真正的修行完全不是普通人所臆想的那样，真正的修行人也未必有满足大众观感的义务（事实上也无法满足，没有人能做出一道全世界都觉得好吃的菜。）。一个人是不是真正的修行者恐怕只有他自己才知道——如果他对自己诚实而又有相当的禅定��夫对自身发生的事洞若观火的话——但是假如一个人真的具有这样的能力，他就已经是个真正的修行人了。更多的情况是修行者自己也稀里糊涂，他既不知道什么叫修行也不知道自己的真实状态，更看不到自己内心发生的事，看不到自己的“修行”全都被“自我”转化，他没见过真正的修行人也不懂得真正的修行，他周围全都是只念咒修法不修心的人，他每天做着和这些人一样的事，所以他认为自己是在修行——他活在自己是一个修行人的幻觉里。所以，除了前面所说的那种人之外恐怕就只有遍知佛才知道一个人的真实修行状况。

一个真正的修行人，可能上一刻还能约束自己的贪嗔痴，还在观察自己的起心动念，下一刻却放松警惕被某件事激怒：你发现自己被激怒了，这让你很懊恼，你去忏悔，然后几个小时之后你又重蹈覆辙，这样的事情隔一段时间就会发生一次，周而复始，始而复周，似乎永无休止，这是每天都发生在每个真正修行人身上的事。我们不是一天就能变成圣贤，作为一个和“自我”作战的人，你会犯错，会不断犯错，会改正错误再犯错，你会被打回原形，回到起点，你会走十步退十一步，然后再走十步，再退八步；你会跌倒，然后再爬起来往前走，或者就此堕落。

统御我们的“自我”习气很强大，当你真正在修行的时候，他会使出全力以确保你出错，这让我们一会儿进一会儿退，一会儿是魔鬼，一会儿是天使。所以，只要一个人还在努力与“自我”作战，还在反省，还在努力改习气，还在听上师的话，只要他真的知道自己的过失，能真正认错，能时常审视自己，能知道自己在做什么，能知道自己身心发生了什么，即便是经常犯错，即便是比较笨，他也还是会被视为真正的修行人。同样的，如果一个人内心深处坚定的认为自己毫无问题，从不观察自己的身心从不审视自己的价值观，对自己内在发生的事一无所知，那么即便他表面上对上师教言执行的很好，即便他各方面看起来都很合规矩很懂事，即便他做过很多闭关念了上亿的咒，即便大众都认证他是真修行，他也只是个自欺欺人之辈而已。

一个真正的修行人，会时时刻刻观察自己，观察自己身上发生的事，观察自己的贪嗔痴，观察自己的二取执，观察“自我”的伎俩，小心翼翼地让自己不要掉进“自我”挖的坑，他是真正的在修自己，因为他认真研究过佛法，研究过修行的原理，所以他真正知道这样做对自己的好处。而一个假的修行人他的所谓“修行”通常只是在演戏，他并不相信自己所修的内容，也没有深入探究的兴趣，他之所以去装成一个修行人是因为他知道装成这样对自己有“好处”。

灵山居士写于2022年9月30日，首发于2023年7月9日

[heyseihai]

Edit with bad resolution and arial font because I'm still installing programs in my new pc, ugh... (seiten scene was my attempt to create some kind of "fissure atmosphere" between them from the moment Seihai decides to save Leif) art by @nleelyx!

But hey hear me out! I realize I quite like Koori, the BoS version of her anyway. Unlike her oh-so-perfect canon version whose only fault is... wait, there's none, BoS Koori is a lying, arrogant, spoiled two-faced tyrant. but guess what, she's able to feel empathy from time to time! (only towards the top five most important races, except the elves maybe lmao)

As you see, this scene happens after Erika and the others return from the human world (things happened quite differently, but the end is the same: Nevra forces her to leave Leiftan behind), and Koori sees Erika kinda walking away from the gang, and as a good meddler that would have certainly made even Karenn proud, she goes after her and sees Erika uselessly trying to calm down, being consumed by her daemon powers, as I said here, first illu is a ref to midsommar and the iconic Perrito scene in puss in boots 2.

The idea was to establish a parallel between: how Erika despite all her huge power was unable to fight Eel and help Leiftan who had done so much for her in the past; and how Seihai dared to challenge her own husband and his law, leaving duty and the north behind, risking her life despite not being the best of fighters just to save someone important to her.

Seihai has long lost her sense of purpose at this point, but hearing from Leiftan running after Erika shakes her somehow. Unlike Erika and Koori, Seihai has nothing more to lose by saving him. Maybe one of the scenes I'm more thrilled to work with.

But as much as Koori helping Erika could be seen as an act of friendship, it could also be seen as a cruel one. Let's remember that Koori's main weapons are illusions, and she's close to the Light Guard in BoS, who knows, she may be mind-controlling Erika by HH orders, right? After all there's nothing worse than a hysterical woman.

And even worse, a hysterical faelien woman with potential to snap and overpower the Guard and someday free herself from their chains.

I shall remember y'all that in BoS, power is not a bad thing. Therefore, before you start saying Erika went full Daenerys burn them all Targaryen and is becoming some sort of mad queen, daemon power means free will in BoS, not "villain side" like Bee writes the canon version. Erika will steadily release herself from the Guard's mental grasp, and Koori is a crucial weapon to prevent this from happening. She helps the Guard with Erika, the Guard helps her with her throne someday in the future. No no we don't talk about sorority here.

[grigori77]

Movies of 2023 - My Summer Rundown (Part 2)

10.  HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE – it’s always nice when a sharp little indie banger sneaks in under the radar to place impressively high on one of my lists for the year, and this impressive critically acclaimed underdog thriller is definitely shaping up as one of this year’s most memorable examples.  Treading very different ground from the likes of To Catch a Killer, this is a very low-fi, gritty down-and-dirty procedural slice-of-life thriller about a motley collection of eco-terrorists banding together to sabotage an oil pipeline in West Texas, focusing almost entirely on this core group of disillusioned youths played by eight uniformly EXCEPTIONAL actors each handing in genuine (ahem) dynamite performances.  Ariele Barer (Marvel’s Runaways), The Revenant’s Forrest Goodluck, American Honey’s Sasha Lane and Marcus Scribner (probably best known as the voice of She-Ra & the Princesses of Power’s Bow) are the undeniable stand-outs here, but all of these kids are ON FIRE throughout, showing they’ve got truly BRIGHT futures ahead of them indeed, while Irene Bedard (Smoke Signals) also impresses in a supporting turn as Joanna, an FBI agent who may be onto their plans … the film bounces about between the varying points of view of the characters, gradually unveiling their motivations to commit a morally complex terrorist act through a series of scattered flashbacks punctuating the planning, execution and aftermath of the bombing itself, with writer-director Daniel Goldhaber (Cam, here co-adapting Andreas Maim’s incendiary non-fiction novel with Ariele Barer herself and Cam’s co-writer Jordan Sjol) weaving a suitably taut and atmospheric slowburn path throughout the flawlessly executed narrative, the film brilliantly building its wire-taut tension to a rewardingly cathartic climax which is as provocative as the film’s challenging subject matter.  This is a film that asks some VERY BIG QUESTIONS and delivers some suitably complicated and rightfully TROUBLING answers, a razor sharp piece of indie cinema which definitely deserves the critical acclaim and guaranteed future cult hit status it’s already earning …

9.  THE FLASH – oh boy … yeah, this one is gonna be a COMPLICATED talk, I just know it.  This was one TROUBLED project from day one, from the major shake-ups surrounding the Joss Whedon-compromised Justice League film and the subsequent mess THAT unleashed, through the whole conflicting debate over Zack Snyder’s original vision for the DCEU, and then the eventual collapse of the Cinematic Universe itself, this film, originally entitled Flashpoint (which personally I like A WHOLE LOT more, actually, since it really does pay DIRECT reference to the actually storyline they went with) went through a whole collection of incarnations and reiterations and, for a while, it was starting to look like we might NEVER see it hit our cinema screens at all … and that’s without even mentioning star Ezra Miller’s ongoing legal troubles and essential CANCELLING after their continued outrageous, unacceptable off-set behaviour, which looked set to torpedo the film all on its own. 

Honestly, I have to admit I was MYSELF a little wary going in, not because of these particular problems but more just the prospect of what I would actually do if, in spite of all this, I actually still LIKED IT … unfortunately for me, that was VERY MUCH the case, which is why we’re here in the first place.  But I must forge on, and so I’m gonna just take this film on ITS OWN face value and ignore the external problems … at least until THE END of the review … because The Flash is, actually, pretty fucking GREAT.  Barry Allen (Miller) is finally coming into his own as a fully-fledged member of the Justic League, even if this does frequently mean he’s kind of cleaning up the extreme messes that are left behind when Batman/Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) gets involved in a particularly BIG potential world-shattering event, as brilliantly illustrated in the film’s suitably SPECTACULAR opening set-piece, which does a BEAUTIFUL job of not only letting us know EXACTLY what this incarnation of the Flash is actually capable of, but also revealing Barry’s own distinctly unique, offbeat and, frankly, really rather ADORABLE personal style of superheroism.  Then the plot itself kicks off when Barry’s father Henry (Ron Livingstone), serving life in prison for the wrongly-convicted murder of Barry’s mother Nora (Pan’s Labyrinth’s wonderful Maribel Verdu), sees his latest (and, it looks like, FINAL) appeal fall flat due to a crucial new piece of evidence turning out to be useless, and Barry decides he's had enough of ignoring a particularly potent aspect of his superpowers – the ability to run SO FAST that he can actually GO BACK IN TIME!!!  So he races back to the day of his mother’s death and tweaks circumstances so that she survives, only for Barry to then get punted off track before he can return to the present by an unknown entity within “the Speedforce” which then lands him in 2013, just days before Earth’s invasion by the hostile Kryptonian forces of General Zod (Michael Shannon), as seen in Man of Steel.  Still with us so far? Yeah, well it gets EVEN MORE complicated, cuz it turns out that, while his mum is now STILL ALIVE, Barry hasn’t got his powers in this universe, which means that he has to reform the Justice League himself in THIS timeline in order to defeat Zod.�� Except that there are FAR MORE consequences to messing with time than Barry ever took into account set to make things all but insurmountably complicated for him to succeed …

beyond this we’re getting into DANGEROUS spoiler territory, beyond the fact that these new developments give rise to whole fresh and very complicated ideas of alternative universes somewhat akin to what the MCU’s already started experimenting with (which is also, actually, something that the DC comics universe does ALL THE BLOODY TIME), which gives rise to whole new incarnations of beloved characters from the established DCEU, some of which HAVE already been revealed in the trailers and beyond, but others not so much, so … yeah, anyway, it’s a glorious MESS of a narrative, but somehow this film does a REALLY IMPRESSIVE job of navigating this jumble in an impressively coherent and breezy way that ultimately makes this a whole lot of fun to watch, actually.  Of course, the lion’s share of the praise for this HAS TO go to screenwriter Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey & the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) for wrangling the UNHOLY MESS of development done for the previous incarnations into an actual WORKING script, which was then brought to life with suitably brave and adventurous SKILL by director Andy Muschietti (Mama and It Chapter One and Two), but the uniformly EXCEPTIONAL cast shoulder a good deal of that responsibility too – Miller may be problematic in real life, but there can be no denying that he is FUCKING BRILLIANT in the role here, crafting a hyperactive, ultra-awkward social misfit of a superhero that us various underdog kids just can’t help rooting for, while it is a MASSIVE pleasure to get to see MY PERSONAL FAVOURITE Batman return to the role as this AU’s altered version of Bruce Wayne, the legendary Michael Keaton himself finally getting to prove why he really is THE VERY BEST VERSION of the character out there (and I will accept NO ARGUMENT AT ALL about that, I swear you can all FIGHT ME on this particular hill upon which I am determined to DIE if I must), and Livingstone and Verdu bring an IMMENSE amount of pathos to their characters throughout which makes it ABUNDANTLY CLEAR why Barry tries SO HARD to save them both, and it’s also great fun getting to see Michael Shannon back as the Big Bad here again, I always really liked this spectacular scenery-chewing version of Zod. 

For me, though, the biggest win here has to be The Young & the Restless’ Sasha Calle, making her big screen debut as the most impressive and DCEU-consistent incarnation of Kara Zor-El, aka SUPERGIRL, that we could ever have hoped for.  She’s a truly AWESOME creation, EASILY as badass as Henry Cavill’s Supes but also a good deal more complex as a character too.  Ultimately it’s a shame that circumstances mean that we likely won’t get to see more of her in future projects, much like Keaton’s returning Batman, as they’re definitely the unexpected heart and soul of the film, easily delivering in the most impressively iconic set-pieces and memorable character beats.  Indeed, this is SO BLOODY BRILLIANT all round as a film – from its spectacular action sequences, through its frequent gleefully anarchic screwball humour, to a variety of impressively jaw-dropping game-changer twists in the narrative – that the fact that the DCEU itself is essentially over and all of this means PRECISELY ZERO in the face of where it’s all going in James Gunn’s incoming Cinematic Universe reboot makes this feel all the more ultimately pointless, which lends any viewing a bittersweet aftertaste no matter HOW enjoyable it all is.  I mean granted, it’s NOT perfect (there is, famously, some pretty clunky CGI that ALMOST takes you out of the experience, especially in the late sequence when we see the timelines start to collide), but then very few of the DCEU movies HAVE BEEN anyway, and this one still essentially works just fine for what it is.  So it may not have any actual VALUE for the series moving forward, but it’s still a really great movie that MORE THAN deserves to be seen for its own merits, and I highly recommend you give it a chance anyway.  At least Gunn and co have seen the sense to keep Muschietti onboard for their reboot (namely helming the new DCU’s Batman reboot The Brave & the Bold), and if they’ve any more sense they’ll bring Christina Hodson back for more too …

8.  THEY CLONED TYRONE – while cinemas may finally be properly getting back into the full swing of things now, with many of the big budget offerings that were long delayed by COVID finally emerging to fill up the year’s international moviegoing calendar, streaming services don’t seem to be letting that slow their own steam (granted, it’ll be interesting to see how things look in a year’s time, when the fallout from the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes really starts to hit, but I’m not about to get into THAT debate here), and Netflix is no exception, still leading the pack with their Original filmmaking offerings.  BY FAR the most interesting, original and downright FIENDISHLY INGENIOUS offering they’ve landed so far this year HAS TO BE this thoroughly unique sci-fi satire from up-and-coming screenwriter Juel Taylor (Creed II, Space Jam: A New Legacy), who makes his feature directing debut here in truly BLINDING fashion.  The concept itself is an absolute belter, although while the title may sound DECIDEDLY spoiler-heavy already, it’s actually just the very tip of the iceberg, and giving much of anything about the plot away would reveal some pretty key twists to anybody who didn’t already see the trailer.  So if you DON’T wanna get spoiled, just rest assured this is a PHENOMENAL FILM and it really MUST BE SEEN, and just check it out good and cold … still here?  Okay then … John Boyega continues to stretch his legs away from Star Wars as Fontaine, a mid-level drug dealer in a suburban ghetto simply known as The Glen who’s gunned down in a turf dispute, only to wake up unharmed the next day with no recollection of said events.  As he investigates this uncanny twist, he ropes in the dubious help of two acquaintances – pimp Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx) and hooker Yo-Yo (If Beale Street Could Talk and The Marvels’ Teyonah Parris) – only to discover a dark and twisted labyrinthine conspiracy that stretches far beyond the urban confines of their beleaguered neighbourhood.

The results are one of the slickest and most brain-bakingly twisted chunks of speculative science fiction I’ve come across in a good long while, constantly throwing the viewer narrative curve balls while posing a dizzying series of moral and socially critical thematic quandaries, all the while presenting a brilliantly off-beat reimagining of classic “blaxploitation” tropes (indeed this is among the very best examples of this quirky little sub-genre I’ve EVER come across).  It’s also got a LETHALLY devious sense of humour to it, beautifully subverting expectations to bring a delightfully skewed inner-city slice-of-life POV to proceedings which it then mines for the purest nuggets of comedy gold it can find.  That being said, there are times it also gets pretty dark too – while it’s never particularly violent or harrowing (despite some of the obvious elements of its subject matter), the way the conspiracy itself unfolds as its monstrous nature is revealed gets truly existentially terrifying at times, and in the current political climate feels a little TOO possible … and then there’s the cast, who tie everything together PERFECTLY, the three leads in particular taking what could have been a joke set-up trio of the genre’s classic trope archetypes and invest them with genuine heart, soul and complex nuance – Boyega is endearingly vulnerable and effortlessly likeable as our sort-of hero, while Foxx brings both requisite quirky charisma and surprising deeply-hidden sympathy to what’s usually one of the most classically despicable character tropes out there, but the real STAR here is Parris, who effortlessly steals the film out from under her peers as a smart, plucky and brilliantly resourceful amateur sleuth who’s frequently miles ahead of everybody else as the mystery unfolds around them; meanwhile Kieffer Sutherland brings delightfully sleazy “cracker” energy as Nixon, the brutally amoral bureaucrat nominally in charge of this nefarious far-reaching plot.  Taylor handles proceedings with admirable skill and an impressively artful visual flair while crafting one of the years most intriguing and thought-provoking films so far, and immediately marks himself as a clear rising star with a hell of a lot of one-to-watch potential for the future.  I look forward to whatever it is he does next …

7.  BLUE BEETLE – as for moving the big screen DCU moving forward, here’s a project that, apparently, is actually making the leap from old to new very much in one piece.  Despite being long developed as a flagship film for the original DCEU, Gunn has folded this cinematic origin story for the second generation of one of the DC Universe’s lesser known (but still suitably iconic) superheroes into his new vision.  Which basically means that THIS, right here, is our first real taste of what’s to come in the NEW vision … and, if I’m honest, if this IS a good indicator, then I’m actually all for it.  Marking the big break of up-and-coming Puerto Rican filmmaker Angel Manuel Soto (who made a small but potent impact with his feature debut Charm City Kings), this is also EXTREMELY notable for being the first major studio movie about a Latino superhero, namely Jaime Reyes (Cobra Kai’s Xolo Mariduena), an impoverished young pre-law graduate from the fictional metropolis of Palmera City’s Edge Keys who finds himself essentially FORCED into taking up the long-vacated mantle of the new Blue Beetle after accidentally symbiotically bonding with a mysterious alien superweapon system simply known as the Scarab.  Unfortunately, this device is being zealously sought by psychopathic weapons corporation CEO Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon), who wants to use its unique programming as the basis for her world-changing OMAC weapon system, and she’ll do ANYTHING to get hold of it … that’s really all you need to know about the story, the film proving to be a welcomely lean and impressively streamlined classic archetypal hero’s journey original story which also EFFORTLESSLY sets up all we need to know moving forward into what are, I’m sure, gonna be some EVEN MORE impressive adventures once the DCU proper gets off the ground, and the end result makes for one of the year’s most genuinely ENJOYABLE superhero movies.  Mariduena makes for an endearing young hero here, investing Jaime with wide-eyed innocence and precociously earnest charm that belie some pure steel when he has to learn to man up and get in the fight for real, and the rest of the Reyes clan are similarly well established here too, particularly wildly popular stand-up comedian George Lopez (who here shows he has ONE HELL of a high pitched scream) as conspiracy nut Uncle Rudy and Hocus Pocus 2’sBelissa Escobedo as Jaime’s sweet, acerbic and FANTASTICALLY sassy little sister Milagro, while almost IMPOSSIBLY beautiful Brazilian actress Bruna Marquezine thoroughly impresses as Victoria’s granddaughter Jenny, the tough and resourceful daughter of original Blue Beetle Ted Kord.  And then there’s the villains, and OH MY GODS does this film pay off BIG TIME by genuinely OUTPERFORMING when it comes to the all-important job of giving the hero suitably heavyweight antagonists by providing us with a pair of genuine STARS here – Sarandon is frequently downright CHILLING as a stony PSYCHOPATH who doesn’t care about ANYTHING but making her own twisted, perverse technological dream a reality, while Apocalypto’s very memorable Big Bad Raoul Max Trujillo handles the muscular side of things with consummate professionalism and brooding feral intensity as her pet special forces killer Ignacio Carapax, the recipient of the OMAC prototype and therefore, essentially, Jaime’s first nemesis. 

There’s some INCREDIBLE action on offer here, the visual effects delivering magnificently to bring the Scarab AND OMAC’s versatile capabilities out in fine style, but for the most part this is a film which rides high on a glorious mixture of good old fashioned light-hearted humour and a massive dollop of emotional heft and pure HEART, delivering some genuinely POWERFUL heartbreaking character beats once things get REAL before finally paying off in a wonderfully cathartic old fashioned Hollywood happy ending.  In many ways this film feels almost like a THROWBACK to simpler times, but it also paves the way impressively well for the future of the franchise if Gunn and co are INDEED intent on following this formula moving forward.  Certainly this is a prime example of how to do a bright and cheerful primary coloured superhero movie WELL, and I look forward to plenty more of the Blue Beetle when they finally get their shit together again …

6.  EXTRACTION 2 – back in 2020, when the Pandemic was really ramping up and not only the Summer but the whole year’s cinematic calendar looked like it was going in the toilet, the streaming services stepped up and took up the slack in fine style, and none carried more of the weight than Netflix with their Original Films.  One of the year’s most impressive offerings was the fascinating team-up of MCU filmmaking heavyweights the Russo Brothers, who produced and co-wrote the first Extraction, an unadulterated two-hour adrenaline shot of an action movie that blew all our socks off and announced to the world that debuting stuntman-turned-director Sam Hargrave was going to be a proper future star in his own right in the most demanding of cinematic genres.  Needless to say Netflix was IMMEDIATELY clamouring for more, just like the rest of us, so Hargrave and co returning with this equally blistering non-stop thrill-ride of a follow-up was a genuine no-brainer.  Thor himself Chris Hemsworth returns as former Australian special forces soldier-turned mercenary hostage extraction expert Tyler Rake, battling to recover from his near-death experience at the end of the first film in order to rescue Ketevan Radiani (Abigail’s Tinatin Dalakishvili), the sister of his ex-wife Mia (Olga Kurylenko), and her children from the brutal Georgian prison they’re trapped in alongside Ketevan’s monstrous husband, Davit (Tornike Bziava), who’s facing a ten year stretch for his crimes as a bigshot in the Georgian mafia.  Except that during the breakout Tyler’s forced to kill Davit, which sets the whole mafia, led by his furious brother Zurab (Tornike Gogrichiani), hot on their heels … like its predecessor, this is a film that, after taking a little time to set things up, hits the ground running with one INSANE action sequence on top of another and keeps going like that for pretty much the entirety of its remaining runtime, Hargrave and his RIDICULOUSLY hard-working and committed stunt teams delivering some of the year’s most spectacular set-pieces as they constantly up the ante on EVERYTHING they did in the first film. 

Once again the absolute highlight is a genuinely INSANE unbroken single-shot sequence that takes at least twenty minutes all told to tell its mesmerising story, and this set piece alone really is the equal to anything we got in the John Wock movies.  Hemsworth once again proves that he really IS the God of Thunder even when he ISN’T playing Thor, kicking arse and taking names like few other action heroes are capable of doing, but this time it's an absolute JOY to actually get to see returning co-stars Golshifteh Farahani (Body of Lies, Paterson, Invasion) and, in particular, Adam Bessa (The Blessed, Mosul, Harka) both get a MUCH bigger slice of the action themselves as brother and sister Nik and Yaz Khan, Tyler’s trusted mercenary partners, both proving as viciously lethal in action as our main protagonist; Gogrichiani, meanwhile, makes for an agreeably FERAL villain as a grieving butcher determined to get blood for blood no matter the cost, while Dalakshvili tugs hard on our heartstrings as a desperate mother willing to go to extraordinary lengths to keep her children safe.  Altogether this is another undeniable POWERHOUSE action thriller, relentlessly effective and blissfully engaging from start to finish, and in many ways it’s EASILY an improvement on the first film.  Needless to say a third film is ALREADY in development, and after this I’m SUPREMELY confident it should be just as much worth the wait …

5.  GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, VOL. 3 – time for the obligatory MCU entry, then … but for once, this doesn’t feel like I’m trying to dress up a pig, either – YET AGAIN writer-director James Gunn has proven that he is, quite simply, THE BEST, most consistently ON-FUCKING-FIRE filmmaker working in the franchise, which perhaps makes the fact that he’s now OFFICIALLY jumping ship to permanently defect to DC particularly bittersweet, I guess.  This is WITHOUT A DOUBT the very best MCU movie since Captain America: Civil War, and it couldn’t have come along at a better time since the series has been in SUCH a tough spot of late … anyway, the worst, least reliable, most unrepentantly despicable bunch of space-faring, for-hire A-HOLES in the entire galaxy are back, now set up full time in their base of operations in Knowhere and looking to get back to business now the Universe has finally gotten over all that unpleasant post-Thanos Snap fallout.  But the crew themselves are still suffering some lingering after-effects from that shake-up, particularly Peter Quill/Star Lord (Chris Pratt), who’s a pretty much permanently drunk, despondent, emotionally broken MESS since the Gamora (Zoe Saldana) who came back after Endgame ain’t HIS Gamora, which leaves Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Nebula (Karen Gillen) propping things up in his essential absence as the current nominal leaders of the crew.  This shaky status quo is then torn asunder when an explosively violent encounter with the Sovereign’s new superpowered agent of vengeance Adam Warlock (The Maze Runner’s Will Poulter) leaves Knowhere in chaos and Rocket badly injured and in need of urgent emergency care due to a previously undiscovered proprietary kill-switch built into his cybernetic implants making it impossible for them to heal him without killing him, leading them to enter into an uneasy alliance with Gamora in order to steal an override code from Rocket’s creator, the High Evolutionary (Peacemaker’s Chukwudi Iwuji), a megalomaniacal evil genius obsessed with manufacturing a perfect race in order to populate his envisioned utopian civilisation.  Not only is this one of the very best films in the entire MCU canon to date, but it’s EASILY the best in Gunn’s trilogy, essentially a pitch perfect shake-up reinvention of the classic overblown science fiction space opera archetype which also pays immense respect to the fascinating core group of characters it’s helped to introduce cinemagoing audiences to. 

It’s also a film expressly about ROCKET himself, even though he doesn’t actually have all that much screentime here, spending much of the film fighting for his life in the sick bay, but we’re treated to extensive flashbacks to his origin story as he was created, refined and essentially brought up by the High Evolutionary, and found his first makeshift found family among his fellow pieced-together cyber-augmented animals, sweet and gentle otter Lyla (Linda Cardellini), wheeled goofball walrus Teefs (Click & Collect’s Asim Chaudry) and spider-limbed bundle of hyperactivity rabbit Floor (The Suicide Squad’s Mikaela Hoover), who are the cutest bunch of anthropomorphic critters you could possibly imagine and, as a result, responsible for some of the biggest feels (and BY FAR the most thoroughly devastating emotion sledgehammer moments) in the entire movie.  Needless to say Cooper is on top form throughout, as are the rest of the eclectic, irreverent and absolutely TOP DRAWER cast – while you may still be making unfair jokes about him being “the Worst Chris”, I think this is the best performance Pratt has EVER put in, he’s an absolute REVELATION in this one, plumbing previously unfathomed depths of raw intensity and naked vulnerability as Quill is forced to get over his shit in order to save his best friend, Saldana gets to bring a much darker and more edgy, unhinged take to Gamora to the one we’re previously used to, Gillen finally completes Nebula’s redemption arc to bring her fully into the realm of true HERO, and Dave Bautista and Pom Klementieff, as Drax and Mantis, continue to be THE ABSOLUTE FUNNIEST, most full-on unapologetically HILARIOUS agents of chaos in this entire trilogy, all while getting to further expand and develop their own characters too … and, of course, Vin Diesel once again brings a hell of a lot of range to just three words as walking talking tree Groot; meanwhile it’s also nice to see other returning faces get plenty to do again, such as Sean Gunn’s endearingly prickly former Ravager Kraglin, Elizabeth Debicki’s bitchy Sovereign despot Aisha, the GOTG Holiday Special’s fan favourite Cosmo the Space Dog (again adorably voiced by Bodies Bodies Bodies and Fairyland’s Maria Bakalova), and even Sylvester Stallone, returning from GOTG 2 as mighty Ravager hero Stakar Ogord.  Then of course, there are the series newcomers, who bring their own brands of intriguing new charm to proceedings, particularly Poulter, who does a fantastic job of taking a truly badass, virtually unstoppable supreme being like Adam Warlock and then essentially makes him a thoroughly clueless, emotionally immature man-baby who largely doesn’t have a clue what’s going on half the time, Gunn-regular Nathan Fillion, stealing every one of his scenes in another brilliantly arch comedic cameo, and, of course, Iwuji, who brings us what HAS TO BE the trilogy’s VERY BEST villain, investing the High Evolutionary with a supremely entitled sense of moral superiority and truly monstrous ego while simultaneously managing to make him a genuinely credible intellectual THREAT to our heroes.  Needless to say, this amazing cast are just part of the precisely concocted recipe that’s brought this franchise highlight to such exquisite life, Gunn and co creating a pitch perfect sci-fi adventure chock full of action, suspense, thrills, wonderfully weird new extra-terrestrial locales, yet another gold calibre eclectic soundtrack, a TRULY MASSIVE amount of winning humour and a genuinely humongous dollop of pure, unadulterated FEELS.  Congratulations James Gunn, you made me cry again.  TWICE, damn you.  And I love you for it …

4.  NIMONA – we almost didn’t get this year’s most important animated feature.  When Disney acquired Twentieth Century Fox and everything went tits up for its various affiliates, animation house Blue Sky Studios bit the dust just as this long-awaited adaptation of influential She-Ra & the Princesses of Power showrunner ND Stevenson’s beloved fantastical graphic novel from Spies In Disguise directors Nick Bruno and Troy Quaine was nearing completion, and it looked like it might never see the light of day … at least until Annapurna Pictures and Netflix swooped in to the rescue, snapping it up, funding its completion and getting it out on streaming to the delight of all of us who’d thought it was essentially LOST.  The end result is just about THE VERY BEST movie I’ve ever seen about the struggles being non-binary and not conforming to any set gender identity in modern society, viewed through the fantasy prism of a shapeshifting “teenage girl” who effortlessly steals her own film.  Chloe Grace Moretz is perfectly cast as the voice of the titular misfit anarchist troublemaker supernatural being, who finds an opportunity for some fresh chaos by joining forces with Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed), a newly-knighted commoner who becomes public enemy number one after being viciously framed for the murder of the queen of a futuristic medieval society built around chivalry and the righteous smiting of monsters.  Ballister’s determined to prove his innocence, while Nimona just wants to create havoc, while they’re both being hunted by his former fellow knights, led by his ex-boyfriend Ambrosius Goldenloin (Eugene Lee Yang of The Try Guys), a direct descendent of the Kingdom’s legendary original monster slaying heroine Gloreth.  It’s a gloriously original piece of work, the animation presented in a truly GORGEOUS brightly coloured 2-dimensional 3D graphic style that at once riffs on the ingenious visual inventiveness of the Spider-Verse movies while also creating something COMPLETELY NEW but also simultaneously lovably reminiscent of the classic Blue Sky cartoony look, while the frequently chaotic action is just as infectiously anarchic as the lead character herself.  It’s also fiendishly brilliant in its subversive message and twisty logic, making the viewer question what being a monster REALLY means, and if what we see someone as REALLY IS their true identity.  Needless to say, Moretz THOROUGHLY runs away with the whole film, while the character of Nimona herself is a truly ENCHANTING and thoroughly inspiring creation that’s destined to become an iconic hero for non-binary and trans kids around the world, but Ahmed and Yang are also both clearly having a great time here too, as is Frances Conroy as the Director of the Kingdom’s knights, clearly having a blast bringing icy menace to her deliciously duplicitous villainous turn.  It’s an incredibly FUN movie, shot through with a rich and rewardingly infectious sense of humour, taking classic fantasy tropes and turning them on their head in new and wonderfully inventive ways, but it knows JUST when to get serious too, and there are some truly powerful moments when it takes hold of your heart and just DESTROYS YOU emotionally, especially in the incredibly evocative climax. 

Ultimately this ISN’T an overly faithful adaptation of Stevenson’s original graphic novel – he was in a darker place when he wrote and drew it, going through his own complicated struggle with his gender identity before finally making his personal transition last year – but it certainly is rewardingly true to the book’s spirit and deep-down message of inclusion, positivity and being true to your core identity, which makes it one of the most important animated films to be made in a very long time indeed.  I’m so happy this film’s receiving the TRULY MASSIVE amount of attention and LOVE it’s being garnering since its release, and I thank Netflix and everybody else who made the effort to get this movie out after all when Disney seemed so reluctant to take a chance on it after all.  This deserves to be seen, it NEEDS to be seen, and I urge you to check it out.

3.  SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE – the most exciting animated feature of the last DECADE getting a sequel was pretty much a no-brainer, but it didn’t make the wait any easier, and after COVID put a dent in so many of the big releases coming forward this was definitely one of the most painful delays for me.  Finally getting to see it was, therefore, ONE HELL of a cathartic release of tension, so much that even later discovering that not everything was exactly GOOD in the production studios at the time (namely the animators being crunched LIKE CRAZY by the ever-shifting nature of the vision they were being asked to realise, leading to a toxic working environment for many, which is NEVER cool) still didn’t dent my truly AWED appreciation for the finished film.  Seriously, this is THE BEST animated feature we’ve seen this year, ARE LIKELY TO SEE this year, and ALREADY a strong candidate for the best animated feature of this decade (although that’s likely to change if the incoming sequel turns out to be as good, if not BETTER, which it probability WILL).  Honestly, I could end the review right here just with that recommendation, it’s GENUINELY THAT GOOD, people.  But I still got a job to do here, so … once again, Miles Morales (Dope’s Shameik Moore), the new Spider-Man in his world, is at the centre of a whirlwind of narrative chaos as a new arch-nemesis he never knew he had emerges to hold him to account for what he did when he destroyed the Kingpin’s interdimensionally destructive supercollider in the first film – the Spot (Jason Schwartzman), a former scientist at Alchemax who got turned into a walking mass of unstable wormholes when he got hit with the full brunt of all that quantum energy.  As he embarks on his quest to take his misguided revenge on Miles, his interdimensional spree of carnage leads our Spider-Man to become connected with a Multiverse-spanning cadre of Spider-People, led by the spectacularly stern Spider-Man of Earth 2099, Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac), who police the various Earths in order to combat and remove “anomalies” that arise to threaten them … and the Spot is a BIG ONE of those.  Oh, and Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), the Spider-Woman Miles most definitely fell for in the first film, has started working with them too after her own father, police Captain George Stacy (Shea Wigham), who’s had it in for their Spider-Woman after she was mistakenly framed for the death of their Earth’s Peter Parker, discovered her secret identity and made her run from her own dimension as a result …

Yeah, it sounds pretty complicated, but this whole twisted labyrinth is, nonetheless, unveiled in the exact same super-slick, viewer-friendly way the first film pulled off its own exposition, which just makes more room for all the FUN as we get to follow our old favourites and a whole host of fascinating NEW incarnations of our favourite arachnid-themed superhero on their various insane adventures.  This is JUST AS SPECTACULAR in terms of action, character work, pure invention and sheer, unrivalled SPECTACLE as its predecessor, in many places upping the wow factor SIGNIFICANTLY (particularly during a particularly colourful visit to the distinctly Indian-flavoured alternative version of New York called Mumbattan, which is the stomping ground of one of the film’s most memorable new Spider-folk, the irrepressibly chipper Pavitr Prabhakar, voiced by Deadpool’s thoroughly brilliant Karan Soni).  Indeed, the most fun we have throughout this movie is definitely getting to hang out not only with our old friends but all these newcomers too, with Pavitr being joined by the fascinating likes of the very coolest Spider-Woman after Gwen, Jess Drew (Awkward Black Girl’s Issa Rae), digital avatar Margo Kess/Spider-Byte (The Hunger Games’ Amandla Stenberg), overly-angsty living Todd McFarlane comic panel Ben Reily/Scarlet Spider (the incomparable Andy Samberg) and even Mayday Parker, the impossibly adorable new baby daughter of Jake Johnson’s welcome returning big fan-favourite OG Peter Parker (and, of course, Miles’ original mentor from the first movie), who’s ALREADY got her spider-powers, while Miguel is a FANTASTIC character, brooding like a champ and sometimes proving to be as much of an EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE villain in the story as the Spot, especially once his beef with Miles is revealed … but at the end of the day, ALL of these new arrivals thoroughly PALE in comparison to one of this film’s BEST secret weapons, Hobie Brown/Spider Punk (Daniel Kaluuya getting to use his normal accent for once), a misfit non-conformist anarchist JOY with one hell of a problem with authority (Miguel’s IN PARTICULAR) who effortlessly steals our hearts just as much as EVERY SINGLE SCENE he’s in.  That being said, it really is SO GREAT having our old crew back – Miles and Gwen are SO SWEET, their chemistry is just OFF THE BLOODY CHARTS without them even trying, and I adore every single scene of them together, never mind their own individual storylines (it’s PARTICULARLY great getting to see Gwen herself get a SIGNIFICANTLY enlarged narrative presence this time round, becoming JUST as important in this story as Miles himself), while any time we get to spend with Johnson’s Peter is pure gold, and we get to spend even more time with Miles’ wonderful, loving, hard-working parents Jeff and Rio Morales (Brian Tyree Henry and Lauren Velez), which is ALWAYS a plus.  Needless to say, this is a whole LOAD of fun, shot through with the same classic winning humour, wild invention, visionary experimentation, thematic resonance and pure geeky in-joke easter egg-packing FAN SERVICE that made the first film such a winner, but it also comes through BIG TIME with more of those wicked FEELS, this time ramping things up FAR MORE with the serious emotional HEFT as we’re presented with some truly DEVASTATING character arcs whose after effects are gonna be felt for A VERY LONG TIME after.  The fact that this is just the first half of a two-part SAGA, with Beyond the Spider-Verse currently in the works, means that we can look forward to PLENTY MORE, although here’s hoping that this time they give their animators a little more BREATHING ROOM to get it done right WITHOUT having to break their backs in the process, yeah?  Then again, with the writers AND actors on strike right now, the likelihood of THAT is pretty strong …

2.  OPPENHEIMER – really, is there ANY SURPRISE over this placing so high?  You know what a MASSIVE Christopher Nolan fan I am, and him making a proper EPIC historical biopic examining the career and achievements of the father of nuclear power was GUARANTEED to not only grab my attention but also thoroughly please the serious high-brow cinema appreciator buried inside me under all that action junkie, superhero fanboy and sci-fi-nut stuff … but yeah, this was ALWAYS gonna be a fucking amazing film, wasn’t it?  Nolan’s most regular acting collaborator (outside of Michael Caine, anyway), Cillian Murphy, stars as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who spearheaded the Manhattan Project which led to the creation of the very first viable nuclear weapons which were then used by the American military to destroy the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and end the Second World War.  On the surface he seems like a driven, visionary man with a real fascination for the science he’s pioneering, but also a cool pragmatism which makes him the ideal man to usher in this astounding technological achievement, but as the film unfolds in Nolan’s typical non-linear narrative fashion we discover a far more complex man than we first supposed, Murphy unveiling Oppenheimer’s deep-seeded fears about the frighteningly real dangers his Project could give birth to.  After all, he may have been the father of the Modern World, but this particular creation also gave rise to a century of technological horrors and a whole new, long lasting Cold War.   

Anyway, this is UNDENIABLY the greatest performance of Murphy’s career, if he doesn’t at least get an Oscar nod for this there’s no justice in the world, while, in typical Nolan fashion, the rest of his rich ensemble cast is a genuine embarrassment of riches, from Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer’s long-suffering wife Kitty and Florence Pugh as his ill-fated Communist mistress Jean Tatlock to Matt Damon as his nominal “boss”, Gen. Leslie Groves, Kenneth Brannagh as his mentor and idol Niels Bohr, the mighty Tom Conti as the even MORE awesome Albert Einstein and even Robert Downey Jr. in a particularly KEY role as Oppenheimer’s one-time colleague and later rival, Atomic Energy commissioner Lewis Strauss, who dominates the parallel narrative throughline presented over the course of the film as his own efforts to discredit and destroy the great man ultimately end up coming back to bite his own political ambitions.  To a man, they’re all as MAGNIFICENT as the rest of the film, which is a fascinating journey into the dark heart of one of the greatest but also most historically and socially destructive scientific achievements in the history of the world, the man who ushered it in, and the hell he then went through afterwards when he then tried to make sure we didn’t make it SO MUCH WORSE once we had the power to destroy ourselves.  It’s a film that raises extremely tough questions, and what answers we ARE able to come to are every bit as terrifying as any of the consequences that are either seen or suggested here.  Nolan is, as always, A MASTER in the director’s chair as much as in the screenwriter’s corner, bringing his usual visionary flair and artistic brilliance to craft yet more of his trademark IMAX-rocking BEAUTY and opulence, while his sneaky, snaky narrative shenanigans once again frame things in ingenious, challenging and sometimes emotionally DEVASTATING ways before we’re brought to the bittersweet denouement.  Tenet composer Ludwig Goransson’s expansive, evocative score is, ultimately, just the icing on the cake, making an already amazing film even more noteworthy.  If this film isn’t the toast of the Awards Season then they really ain’t paying attention …

1.  MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING, PART ONE – really, there should be NO SURPRISE that this has topped off my list for the summer.  I may have grown up with James Bond, and I LOVE the Jason Bourne movies too, but Tom Cruise’s cinematic adaptation of the classic TV spy show has been MY ABSOLUTELY FAVOURITE espionage-based film franchise ever since JJ Abrams established the tried-and-tested formula for the series with 2006’s seminal classic third entry.  That being said, the franchise didn’t find its strongest voice until Cruise brought his Jack Reacher writer-director Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, The Way of the Gun) on board for the dynamite fifth instalment, Rogue Nation, which was so fucking brilliant and well received by both critics AND audiences that Paramount saw fit to retain his services on the EVEN BETTER follow-up, Fallout, which came DAMN CLOSE to equalling the heights of Sam Mendes’ Bond masterpiece Skyfall … so of course it was a NO-BRAINER for him to return once again for this two-part intended send-off for Cruise’s seemingly immortal superspy, Ethan Hunt, as he not only faces his deadliest foes to date, but also some very dark ghosts from his own past.  As with its predecessor, this is another spy flick where knowing as little as possible going in works best for your enjoyment, suffice to say that this time Ethan and his loyal friends, master hacker Luther Stickel (the legendary Ving Rhames), tech wizard Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and former MI6 spook Ilsa Faust (Dune’s Rebecca Ferguson), really have their work cut out for them when they’re forced to go rogue yet again in order to track down and deactivate a supermassive AI program known as the Entity which has become fully self-aware, broken free of its constraints and is now wreaking havoc throughout the internet and beyond. 

Unfortunately this seemingly unstoppable digital force has enlisted the aid of a particularly dangerous “avatar” to represent its concerns in the real world, a mysterious terrorist known as Gabriel (Ozark’s Esai Morales) from Ethan’s pre-IMF days who seems to be following a dark agenda of his own.  The ensuing race against time takes in a grand tour of impressively picturesque locales, a collection of winningly well-written characters and a series of knuckle-whitening, visually arresting action sequences that have long since proven to be McQuarrie’s bread-and-butter just as much as his ingeniously twisty labyrinthine plots and sparky, sharp-witted quickfire dialogue, again showing that he really is THE VERY BEST filmmaker that Cruise and Paramount could EVER have found for this franchise.  Needless to say, Cruise is as spectacular as ever in what really has become the very best role he’s EVER HAD, by this point basically just INHABITING Ethan’s easy charm, admirably solid, unswerving moral principles and truly INCREDIBLE physical prowess, delivering equally well in the truly insane stunt-work which WE KNOW FULL WELL IS ALL HIM as he does in the acting stakes; meanwhile Rhames, Pegg and Ferguson once again shine bright in their now comfortably well-established roles while still managing to bring fresh depths and interesting new arcs to their well-worn characters, we get a lot more of The Crown-star Vanessa Kirby’s intriguing notorious second-generation arms dealer Alanna Mitsopoulis/the White Widow, and it’s an IMMENSE pleasure to finally welcome back the first film’s prickly yet verbose antagonist Eugene Kitteridge (Henry Czerny), Ethan and Luther’s former boss in the IMF, in a far much expansive role this time round.  Meanwhile the franchise newcomers all impress as well, Morales easily proving to be the series’ VERY BEST VILLAIN to date as he menaces, seduces and murders his way through the story, brutally tearing our heroes’ lives apart as he pursues his mysterious master’s nefarious ends, while we get a brand new series heroine in the form of Grace (the MCU’s own Peggy Carter, Hayley Atwell), a sly and duplicitous professional thief who essentially stumbles into the thick of the action before becoming Ethan’s EXTREMELY unwilling accomplice; meanwhile there’s strong support from Shea Wigham and Greg Tarzan Davis (who previously worked with Cruise on Top Gun: Maverick) as Briggs and Degas, a pair of US Intelligence agents sent to chase down the rogue IMF crew, and Cary Elwes as Denlinger, a particularly duplicitous US Director of National Intelligence.  And then there’s Paris … ah Paris, my sweet, psychotic demon child.  Guardians of the Galaxy’s Pom Klementieff actually gets to be FRENCH again as Gabriel’s unpredictably lethal pet killer, and she’s an absolute JOY throughout, so delightfully unhinged that she makes every second of her screentime an undeniable pleasure, and as a result she’s BY FAR my favourite character in this.  Altogether, this is about as perfect as spy cinema gets, McQuarrie and his cast and crew working tirelessly to deliver not only the very best film in the series to date, but also the best film I’ve seen this summer, very nearly my action cinema highlight of the whole year (so far, anyway), and one of the VERY BEST spy movies I have EVER SEEN.  Given the state of the Strikes it’s not clear if we’re REALLY gonna get to see Dead Reckoning Part Two when it’s been set to release next summer, but whenever it DOES finally arrives, I KNOW it’ll be worth the wait … it just has to be bloody INCREDIBLE to be better than THIS ONE …

... By the way, I am SUPREMELY pissed off with tumblr about their suddenly blocking big blocks of text for making me chop up my reviews just to allow this shit to post in the first place. Shame on them ...

[evreadseverything]

Book Review of Magnificent Homespun Brown: A Celebration

Genre: Poetry, Family, African-American Life

Audience: 1st-5th Grade

Medium: Physical Book

Summary: Magnificent Homespun Brown is an ode to the color brown told through descriptive prose through the eyes of a young girl.

Justification: I chose this book as I was drawn to it due to the warm colors on the cover. I was also reminded of when I used to play in fallen leaves as a child. Lastly, the title seemed like it would be an interesting read as brown isn't talked about as much in regard to being a loved color.

Evaluation of Illustrations: Kaylani Juanita did a wonderful job illustrating all the different shades of brown that are featured in the book. Juanita had a way of ensuring that the browns were always warm-toned and vivid. The illustrations of each character in the book reminded me of drawings that I used to see growing up in children's shows and books. There was also attention to detail in how each character had a hairstyle that was drawn a bit differently. This allowed for each character to be their own person.

Evaluation of Verse: Samara Cole Doyon has a talent for writing poetry that allows the reader to clearly visualize what is being read. A noteworthy part of the book is when Doyon is describing the area that the young narrator and her dad are in as they take a hike. I could clearly picture the shadows that the trees created and how every now and then the sun would make its way through. Doyon's verses flowed smoothly which allows for this to be a good book to read aloud to children.

Evaluation of Representation: Magnificent Homespun Brown is a great book for representation. Unfortunately, the color brown is often seen as a "boring" color and some may think it has a negative connotation. This book easily disproves any negativity on the color brown and instead challenges readers to see the beauty of it in their daily life. Those that have a brown skin tone will feel confident in themselves as this book continuously conveys the wonders of brown. As the title suggests, it is truly a "celebration"!

APA Citation: Doyon, S. C. (2020). Magnificent Homespun Brown: A celebration (K. Juanita, Illus.). Tilbury House Publishers.

[hesfrombarcelona]

Sam's Super Seats, by Keah Brown

Genre:

Sam' Super Seats is a contemporary realistic picture book (Disability or Differences category).

Target Age Group:

This book is best suited for elementary grade children, generally ages 5-10.

Summary:

Sam has a lot in common with her best girlfriends; the same grade at school, a love of shopping, cool dance moves! Sam also has cerebral palsy, and she knows all the best seats for a quick rest when her body needs it.

Justification:

Kirkus Reviews calls Sam's Super Seats, "a warmhearted, necessary affirmation of disability and self-love through a multifaceted, endearingly imaginative narrator." (2022). School Library Journal says the book is, "Recommended for all those teaching acceptance and tolerance in all aspects of life." (McMahon, 2022). I was personally intrigued by this book because my own daughter has cerebral palsy, and I have noticed a lack of books that directly acknowledge and address disability.

Evaluation:

For this book I will be evaluating illustrations, characters, and content.

Illustrations:

Sharee Miller's beautiful pencil and watercolor illustrations fill Sam's Super Seats with cheer and whimsy. The pictures are visually interesting, with lots of color and details that add to the realism of the story. The characters' faces are expressive in a way that may help younger children to relate to their points of view. In the story Sam describes how she anthropomorphizes the various seats she uses, assigning personalities to them. The drawings of the furniture reflect this, with friendly looking curvy lines and inviting backgrounds that reinforce the story's message that self-care and rest are things to be enjoyed rather than avoided.

Characters:

This is a joyful story, and the characters' attitudes reflect that. Sam, the main character, shares details of her life, including accomplishments and challenges in a matter-of-fact and upbeat manner. While Sam specifically talks about her disability, it does not define her, she details her likes and dislikes, and discusses things that she feels she is good at. Sam's friends are described mostly in terms of their similarities with each other and herself, which is typical of children this age.

Content:

One of the best things about Sam's Super Seats is the story's normalization of disability. Having Sam narrate is respectful of the right of people to define their own identities and share their own stories. The book deals with Sam's limitations honestly, rather than presenting a common and well-intentioned but false claim that disability makes no difference in a person's life. While Sam acknowledges her unique challenges, she does so in an accepting and optimistic tone.

This book does a great job of explaining the special needs accompanying a disability in a way that is accessible to young readers. The emphasis on Sam's similarities with her friends and on her positive self-image represent Sam as an individual but also a typical kid. Stories like this can help children to empathize with those with physical differences, and may offer a chance for caregivers to answer questions and start discussions about the topic. Sam's Super Seats also provides a positive representation for children with disabilities who may not often see this aspect of themselves reflected in picture books.

References:

Brown, K. (2022). Sam's Super Seats. (S. Miller, Illus.). Kokila.

Kirkus Reviews. (2022, May 10). Sam's Super Seats: A spirited celebration of self-confidence and self-care. [Review of the book Sam's Super Seats, by K. Brown].

McMahon, B. (2022, July 29). [Review of the book Sam's Super Seats, by K. Brown]. School Library Journal. https://www.slj.com/review/sams-super-seats

[childrenslitbookreviews]

The Family Book

Title 14: The Family Book

Genre: Children’s Picture Book, Banned Book

Target Age Group: 2-4 years

Summary:

The Family book says how some families are alike - they love hugs and celebrating each other. It also says how some families are alike - some have one parent and others have two mothers. But all families are valid in this book.

Justification: 

I was looking for a banned children’s book and this surprised me because I have it on my bookmobile and hadn’t even considered that someone could take umbrage with it. I decided to check it out for myself to perform and impromptu book challenge review. 

Evaluation:

First, this book seems like it was banned because of one page that says that some families have two moms or two dads. This innocuous statement may be something that a person may find objectionable, but nothing so crazy as to merit banning from public libraries or school libraries. There is nothing false or untrue about the statement, nor is there any illustration one could reasonably deem inappropriate.

Second, the illustrations are very cute and simple. With bold outlines, the drawings look like they could have been drawn in Microsoft Paint. I believe that the strong contrast between primary colors that are used has been found to be helpful for young readers to distinguish between characters. Similar to Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie series, there are no backgrounds, shadows, or textures drawn. This is also helpful for young readers to focus on the characters and distinguish them from the single color background colors on each page.

Third, the message behind the book is very inclusive and wholesome. All families are valid. What defines a family in the book, what all families have in common, according to the book, is that they love hugs, mourn lost loved ones, celebrate special days together, and they can help each other be strong. I love the message that everything else besides love is extraneous to being a family - color, proximity, looks, diet, noise, cleanliness, and more.

References:

Parr, T. (2003). The Family Book. (T. Parr, Illus.). Hachette Book Group. 

[nin-deer]

Day 10 - Gift

Fandom:

Trash of the Count's Family (TCF)

A/N:

god i love it when transmigrators do modern stuff in their new world; it's just such a good trope ^^

-----

Choi Han blinked at the bowl in front of him. Was this…?

Cale cleared his throat, looking away from the swordmaster. It was Choi Han’s birthday, so it only made sense he had seaweed soup for breakfast. It was the only logical conclusion.

“How…” Choi Han continued to stare at the soup. “Did Beacrox make this?”

“No,” Cale scoffed. “I did. It was so damn hard to get that seaweed, so you better enjoy that.”

“But what about yours?”

Now it was Cale’s turn to be surprised. “Mine? What are you talking about?”

“It’s your birthday too, right?” Choi Han pushed the bowl towards him. “Here, you should have some-”

“No, no, that’s yours.” Cale waved his hand in Choi Han’s direction. “This is my gift to you. I already had enough trying to get the taste right.”

“But-!”

“Just eat it, Choi Han. Do I need to order you to?”

“… No.” Choi Han sniffled as he began to eat.

He didn’t think he’d ever be able to taste Korean food. Being stuck in that damn forest for so long, he’s almost forgotten what it tasted like.

This was the best birthday gift he could have ever gotten.

[illusionsofdreaming]

18. Poison

Notes: Ashamed I’ve missed the deadline by several minutes but I’ll make sure to catch up >:C

Ft: Cale

An obnoxious strand of hair kept falling around your eyes as you ducked your head to work, it just wasn't long enough to curl behind your ear and though you don't seem bothered by it, as you brushed it back for the nth time, Cale's had enough. 

A black hair tie was thrust before you with no explanation offered. You seemed to understand his intention regardless, as you gave him a grateful smile and took the accessory, your fingers brushing against his as you returned to your work. 

He took his hand back, frowning at his tingling fingertips in puzzlement. 

[canmom]

Toku Tuesday 40: Seinen Manga

みんなさん、今晩は！

Good evening everyone! We’re going to continue another week of ‘actual tokusatsu’: tonight on Toku Tuesday, our theme is, movies based on seinen manga...

In the notional demographic system of manga, 青年 seinen means ‘adult men’, in contrast to the other major demographic categories of 少年 shōnen (teenage boys), 女性 josei (adult women), and 少女 shōjo (teenage girls). In practice these categories, defined at the magazine level, are very porous; a series can move between different magazines of different demographics, and they often serve more as genre classifications than ‘only x demographic will be interested in y kind of story’.

We can maybe see all four demographics as successors to the legacy of the gekiga movement of more adult-oriented comics; once, gekiga was conceived of as a different type of thing entirely than manga, but now it’s all conceived of as different types of manga and the oldschool Tezuka-style comics have almost completely vanished. I’m not exactly sure how or when that shift happened...

So, what exactly does seinen manga mean? I am nowhere near widely read enough to give a full overview, but the manga that I’ve read that falls into this category tends to include heavy psychological dramas, historical fiction, horror, nihilism, and of course (probably goes without saying) usually quite a bit of sex and gore. Many of Tumblr’s favourite mangaka, like Junji Ito and Kentaro Miura, fall into this demographic, but so too do works like Houseki no Kuni.

I think there may also be a visual component, in that the works I think of often show an emphasis on high detail, anatomical realism and very refined linework, although inevitably that depends a lot on the artist, and to a fair extent is shared with manga at large. Even within those trends, there is of course considerable diversity. Here, take a look at a few examples, all classified under seinen...

Homunculus, illus. Hideo Yamamoto.

Made in Abyss, illus. Akihito Tsukishi:

Vagabond (coloured version), illus. Takehiko Inoue

Uzumaki, illus. Junji Ito:

Berserk, illus. Kentaro Miura:

Houseki no Kuni, illus. Haruko Ichikawa:

Ghost in the Shell/Koukaku Kidoutai, illus. Masamune Shirow:

Gantz, illus. Oku Hiruya

Insofar as a lot of such manga depends on the specific qualities of illustration and comics, adapting them to film - whether animation or live action - can be a tricky challenge for a director. But there have been plenty of attempts! So tonight what I have for you are adaptations of two manga series I enjoyed. Which is mostly an excuse to talk about some manga I find interesting! To not keep you in suspense, that’s Gantz and Homunculus change of plans, Ichi the Killer.

Lets start with Gantz. This was perhaps the first really edgy manga I read, back at the age of... I want to say 17? It was a big shock at the time, but also was still pretty early in its run. I came back to it much later to read with adult eyes.

Gantz starts on a relatively small scale: a group of people who recently died wake up in a room, where a large shiny black orb containing a bald man on life support mocks them and equips them with strange weapons and suits before dispatching them to assassinate an ‘onion alien’. The series is deeply fascinated with gore, from the gradual ‘printing’ of people in space by the Gantz orb to the delayed, splattery dismemberment of the sci-fi guns. The protagonists soon discover the many dangers of their missions: they’ll get their heads blown off if they stray too far from the mission area, their superstrength suits can be overloaded, and their enemies become increasingly overwhelming. In between battles, Kei returns to his civilian life at school, unable to speak about what’s happening in the strange pocket dimension where the battles take place, but soon the violence spills out to threaten him at home as well.

But what of the actual thematic arc of the series, beyond the moment to moment action? This centres at first on the dynamic between Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato, reunited when they are killed by a train attempting to rescue someone who fell onto the tracks. Kei was once a very prosocial upstanding young man, but by the outset of the series becomes increasingly embittered; Masaru on the other hand looked up to Kei’s example when they were younger and tries desperately to save the people teleported by the orb. Spoilers, Masaru dies, and Kei - who survives enough missions to become confident navigating the battles - starts to attempt to live up to what Masaru saw in him and earn enough points to bring him back, along with everyone else who died, all contrasted against the nihilistic views of other successful survivors and the slaughter of the various groups pulled into the sphere.

It’s also a story of... a lot of love triangles! Kei falls into relationships with various girls, from a popular idol who’s part of the Gantz team, to a shy schoolgirl. Sounds like wish fulfilment? No doubt, but as the series goes on, it turns into a story of an alien invasion by enormous giants who start to gather the humans as pets. It turns out the Gantz system was somehow a means to train humans to resist the aliens, put in place by a third alien power. The series splits into a number of different narrative strands, following humans trapped in the alien spaceship - Kei’s girlfriend Tae in particular - and the resistance on the ground.

Eventually, the humans win and start committing war crimes against the giants, and the third party reveals themselves to tell everyone that they are omnipotent, everyone’s suffering is pointless, and there is no god, and to demonstrate this point, they summon back various deceased characters and then kill them off again. But also reincarnation is in fact real! The series ends with Kei, finally reunited with Tae, going back into space to fight a duel with one of the surviving alien giants to protect the Earth from a last-ditch attack by the aliens.

A word must surely be said of Gantz’s attitude to girls. It’s undoubtedly horny as all hell; the camera loves to linger on nude shots and nearly every issue of the manga will have a cheesecake version of the suit at the start or end. It’s not unable to afford girls subjectivity or give them a place in the battles, even if the centre of the narrative is always Kei. The relationship between Tae and the alien giant woman who initially takes her as a pet but later starts talking to her is interesting, with definite shades of Fantastic Planet. But ultimately, all the girls desires are rather limited by the heterosexual imagination - a very frustrating limitation.

It’s quite a thing. It is a very chaotic story, with a keen sense for impactful and disturbing visuals. Although I know Hiruya intended from the start to slaughter most of the cast, I feel like the overall arc of the story can’t have been planned; rather what unites it is perhaps an overall attitude. The ideas it’s dealing with - hope, despair, nihilism and meaning - are perhaps familiar, and Kei is very much an anime protagonist boy not too far afield from his shōnen counterparts, but the underlying brutality helps give them a bit of weight.

As a highly popular manga, Gantz has seen a few adaptations, although none attempt to cover the whole work. None other than Ichirō Itano, inventor of the Itano Circus shot in which dozens of missiles scatter across the screen (c.f. Animation Night 64) took it on in 2004, carrying on the ethos of his bloody 80s OVAs like Battle Royal High School. Maybe at some point we’ll take a look at that on Animation Night?

Five years later, a second attempt would begin: Shinsuke Sato’s live action film adaptation, consisting of three films (one made for TV), the first released in 2009 and seemingly fairly closely following the early parts of the manga, the second diverging with a plot in which there are two Masarus, one good and one evil. This project seems to have been reasonably successful, praised for the special effects, and would set Sato on a path to adapt more manga to film, including one of Bleach. Whether it can capture the sense of desperation that the manga expresses remains to be seen, but I’ll definitely be curious.

My plan for the second film was to take last year’s adaptation of Hideo Yamamoto’s manga Homunculus by Ju-On creator Takashi Shimizu. Unfortunately I hear it sucks, both as an adaptation and a film in its own right, stripping the manga of the complexity that is so vital, particularly in e.g. the rape scene where an exceptionally careful touch would be needed. I haven’t found even one good review of it, from fans or critics of the manga alike; fans are in particular unhappy that it substantially changed the second half of the story and removed a lot of character complexity.

So let’s abandon that plan and go for another gorefest, based on a different Hideo Yamamoto work: Ichi the Killer.

Now, to be clear, I have not read Ichi the Killer, and I can’t comment on whether Miike’s adaptation is close or not. Regardless of its origin, the film garned immense controversy for being really hyper-gory (trust Miike!), portraying a spiral of yakuza violence surrounding an extremely unsympathetic main character. Critics say things like

"It's a paradox, but Ichi the Killer, a film that sets new boundaries in the portrayal of violence and bloodshed, takes a strongly critical stance towards the portrayal and the consumption of the violent image. However, it does so without ever taking a moral stance towards either the portrayal or the consumption, thus circumventing any accusations of hypocrisy on the part of the director. Miike does not moralise or chastise, but provokes the audience into questioning their own attitudes towards viewing images of violence. He steers them into a direction but leaves it up to them to draw their own conclusion".[5]

I suppose we’ll see for ourselves what that means. Miike is someone we have seen on many a previous Toku Tuesday, albeit more in the softer end with films like The Happiness of the Katakuris and Zebraman. So this is perhaps an opportunity to dive into the other side of Miike, the one who is known for his splattery films and pushing boundaries to breaking point. (Some of which we saw in his take on Jojo).

Ichi the Killer follows an unstable, sadistic man who loves to get off on watching other people commit sexual violence. He is manipulated by a man named Jijii who, acting behind the scenes, wants to kill off various factions of yakuza. Under Jijii’s hand, Ichi is given a number of false memories, convincing him in particular that he raped someone in high school, which shapes him into a horny murderer that Jijii can turn on whoever he wants removed. The plan, inevitably, goes to shit and the escalating violence soon reaches back towards Jijii himself. The whole affair sounds reminiscent of something like the Vengeance Trilogy (TT#29), and it has similar moments of ‘ooohhhhhh gross’ like skewers in ears.

From reading this film’s synopsis, it seems very few people walk away from this bloodbath intact, but sex workers seem to have both a fairly major role (almost all the women mentioned in the synopsis are sex workers) and don’t tend to live very long in this film. I feel like there is probably a lot to critically analyse here, especially placed alongside the other works of Hideo Yamamoto, but I should hold off until I have seen the film and also read the original manga.

So to summarise, tonight the plan is to watch Gantz (2011), and Ichi the Killer (2001)! In whichever order they first get onto my hard drive.

Unfortunately due to a paucity of seeds, I am still waiting for the films to download. Expect Toku Tuesday to begin in maybe an hour and a half, around 9pm UK time, and I’ll be sure to announce it here when we’re ready.

[lorienn-art]

FR MerMay 2022, jour 31 : Potion : Peut-être devrais-je ajouter ceci..? Ça y est ! Le MerMay c’est fini pour 2022 ! Quand je compare à 2020, j’ai eu l’impression que ce fut plus fastidieux : il faut dire que faire une illustration à l’aquarelle par jour pendant un mois, ce n’est pas de tout repos… Mais même si ce fut épuisant et que j’y ai sacrifié pas mal d’heures de sommeil, je suis heureuse d’avoir participé cette année ! Je pense que se frotter à ce genre de challenge (en tant qu’artiste) au moins une fois est une pratique enrichissante et saine, qui nous pousse à renoncer à une certaine forme de perfectionnisme (la perfection étant par définition inatteignable, il est bon de savoir s’en détacher) et donc aussi à la procrastination (puisqu’il faut faire un dessin par jour) ; on pratique tous les jours pendant un mois entier, on expérimente, parfois on se loupe sur un jour, mais ce n’est pas grave, il y a toujours le jour d’après pour faire mieux ou du moins pour s’amuser. Merci infiniment de m’avoir suivie durant ce long mois de mai ! Je vais prendre un peu de temps avant de poster de nouveau (j’ai bien une illu en préparation mais vous savez au combien je suis longue à peindre sur du format A4 mdrr) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

EN MerMay 2022, day 31: Potion:Maybe should I add this..? Here we are! MerMay 2022 is over! When I look back to 2020, I feel that this year was quite tiresome: I mean, making one watercolour illustration per day for a whole month isn’t the most restful activity… Even if it was exhausting and even if I sacrificed my sleep schedule many times for the challenge, I did enjoy doing it this year! I think that facing this kind of challenge (as an artist) at least once is a rewarding and healthy experience, as it makes you give up on perfectionism (perfection being by definition unreachable, it is good to forget about it sometimes) and therefore on procrastination too (as you have to make one drawing per day); you practice everyday for a whole month, you experiment, sometimes you mess up one day but it doesn’t matter, there’s still the next day to do better or to at least have fun. Thank you so much for sticking with me for this very long May! I’ll take some time before posting again (I have indeed a WIP but you know how much time I can take when I paint on a A4 sheet lmao)

[girlactionfigure]

Only when he got older he realized just how fortunate he and his family were to be alive.

“The extermination of most of his relatives and millions of other Jews by the Nazis; the intrusive, unemployed immigrants who survived and crowded his parents’ small apartment; his sickly childhood; his mother’s dark moods; his own ever-present depression” - all of this, he survived, according to Patricia Cohen of The New York Times.

He was born in Brooklyn to Polish-Jewish immigrant parents on June 10, 1928.

One of his earliest photographs (attached to this story) shows him as an infant - “a plump, round-faced, slanting-eyed, droopy-lidded, arching-browed creature” held by his mother, with his older siblings, according to writer Margalit Fox.

Growing up, Murray as he was then known “har­bored ongo­ing fear of the per­ils that might lurk out­side of his home and neigh­bor­hood” and remembered how he cel­e­brat­ed his bar mitz­vah, according to writer Stephen Whit­field. 

That's when his father discovered that much of his extended family had died in concentration camps. The young boy thought he had "done something very bad, that I had made him suffer more than he had to."

“The death of members of his extended family during the Holocaust . . . exposed him at a young age to the concept of mortality,” according to NPR.

“As he got old­er, he was con­stant­ly aware of his mar­gin­al­i­ty and dif­fer­ence,” wrote Whit­field.

He seemed to be always sick, but when he was well, he could be naughty. He remembered his mother often called him “vilde chaya”, which in Yiddish meant "wild animal".

“His view of the outside world was often limited. . . and the little that he could see from his window,” according to PBS. “It was during this time that he began to draw and to allow his imagination to run free.”

He made a name for himself as an illustrator. When he received an opportunity to write his first book, he used the title "Where the Wild Horses Are" - unfortunately, he realized he couldn't draw horses, so he told his editor. His editor would respond, "Well, what can you draw?"

He would answer "Things."

He would become “the most important children’s book artist of the 20th century, who wrenched the picture book out of the safe, sanitized world of the nursery and plunged it into the dark, terrifying and hauntingly beautiful recesses of the human psyche,” according to the New York Times.

He remembers receiving a letter from one fan:

In an interview with NPR, he is quoted as saying, “A little boy sent me a charming card with a little drawing on it. I loved it. I answer all my children's letters – sometimes very hastily – but this one I lingered over . . . I wrote, 'Dear Jim: I loved your card.' Then I got a letter back from his mother and she said: 'Jim loved your card so much he ate it.' That to me was one of the highest compliments I've ever received . . . He saw it, he loved it, he ate it.”

~~~~~

“Maurice Sendak has been one of the most consistently inventive and challenging voices in children’s literature,” according to PBS. “His books and productions are among the best-loved imaginative works of their time. Like the Grimm brothers before him, Sendak has created a body of work both entertaining and educational, which will continue to be popular for generations.”

“Roundly praised, intermittently censored and occasionally eaten, Mr. Sendak’s books were essential ingredients of childhood for the generation born after 1960 or thereabouts, and in turn for their children,” wrote Fox. “He was known in particular for more than a dozen picture books he wrote and illustrated himself, most famously ‘Where the Wild Things Are,’ which was simultaneously genre-breaking and career-making when it was published by Harper & Row in 1963.”

He brought “to life a world of fantasy and imagination,” according to PBS. “His unique vision is loved around the globe by both young and old.”

When he died in 2012, the Washington Post wrote:

“They say that a creative adult is simply a child who has survived. Sendak survived a great deal, losing relatives in the Holocaust and struggling through a childhood that he remembered as “a very passionate, upsetting, silly, comic business.”

“And his books captured this — never talking down, yet always reassuring.

“The best writers are the ones who trust their audiences. Sendak did. And we trusted him right back.

“Sendak did not lie to children. He did not attempt to say that the world was more or less difficult than it was.”

~~~~~

In 2008 in the New York Times, Sendak revealed that he was gay and had lived with his partner, psychoanalyst Eugene Glynn (February 25, 1926 – May 15, 2007), for 50 years before Glynn's death in May 2007.

In that article, Sendak said he never told his parents: "All I wanted was to be straight so my parents could be happy," he recalled. "They never, never, never knew."

In a 2011 interview with NPR host Terry Gross, Mr. Sendak said "finding out that I was gay when I was older was a shock and a disappointment. I did not want to be gay. It meant a whole different thing to me — which is really hard to recover now because that's many years ago. I always objected to it because there is a part of me that is solid Brooklyn and solid conventional and I know that. I can't escape that. It's my genetic makeup. It's who I am."

Elisabeth Hoffman of the Baltimore Sun wrote, “Why do we pass laws that isolate, demean and shame people for something so utterly personal? It's no surprise that gay teens are bullied. No surprise that Maurice Sendak had to hide part of his identity from his parents — and from his readers.”

“In that often emotional NPR interview, Sendak also said: "I have nothing now but praise for my life. I'm not unhappy. I cry a lot because I miss people. They die and I can't stop them. They leave me and I love them more. What I dread is the isolation. There are so many beautiful things in the world which I will have to leave when I die. But I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready."

~~~~~

“His work . . . did not seek to for­get the emo­tion­al threats that scarred his life,” wrote Whit­field. “Sendak’s rec­ol­lec­tions of dread and dan­ger instead became the source of a painstak­ing cre­ativ­i­ty that [Golan Y.] Moskowitz [author of “Wild Vision­ary: Mau­rice Sendak in Queer Jew­ish Context”] read­i­ly calls illus­tra­tions of ​“genius.” Sendak believed that his fan­tasies must instill truths, rather than con­firm the con­ven­tions of inno­cence, and this think­ing rev­o­lu­tion­ized the way that young peo­ple were under­stood and addressed.”

In that last interview with NPR, “the beloved children’s writer and illustrator was 83 years old and in declining health. He was feeling the loss of people close to him who had died in recent years. Inevitably, the discussion turned to issues of mortality … By the time it was over there were teary-eyed people in cars all across North America. One listener, Brent Eades, left a message on the NPR Web site: “I happened to be listening to this extraordinary interview while on the early-morning commute from my small Ontario town to Ottawa. I was entirely absorbed in it; and the final couple of minutes left me with tears streaming down my face, which I’m sure nonplussed my fellow commuters.”

~~~~~

In “Where the Wild Things Are”, Sendak wrote:

“ . . . the wild things cried, “Oh please don’t go we’ll eat you up-we love you so!”

And Max said, “No!”

The wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth

and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws

but Max stepped into his private boat and waved good-bye

and sailed back over a year

and in and out of weeks

and through a day

and into the night of his very own room

where he found his supper waiting for him.”

~ jsr

The Jon S. Randal Peace Page

[jams-sims]

#Hisoilluweek! @illumiszoldycks

Aug 16: Marriage. I really struggled with whether to make this serious or funny. So I decided on a nice medium. Somewhat canon in topic and then a lot of not canon in all of it. I may actually write more than one who knows. A little rough but i'll make a updated one on A03.

Tittle: Will You Marry Me

When Hisoka asked him to marry him, Illumi believed it to be a joke. Another thing to add to the laundry list of Hisoka eccentric topic. Used only to try and wedge himself into Illumi life more than he already had. Illumi mental fortitude was basically a fortified door that now had a hole in it where he could amusingly watch Hisoka try and fit his hand through.

He looked over the rim of his glass at Hisoka. It was as dull and passive as it ever had been. His evening had been going great, before Hisoka had open his mouth. To think he was going to let the subject slid by not dignifying Hisoka with an answer. Until he spoke again and this time it made him sit his glass down in barely disguised frustration.

"I haven't heard a no yet, are you considering it Illu-chan~"

"The lack of answer should already be a good enough no for you Hisoka."

Illumi hadn't been considering it, until Hisoka made that assumption. His family had long ago abandoned the idea of him bearing a heir to the family. When he was the eldest child, before Killua. It was something his mother talk about often. How he would be a father one day, get married to a beautiful women to bore powerful children just like his father. The small dates, if you could even call them dates, his mother would set up between nen family's. The awkward tension as the girls had been informed to just endure it for the family. Not like he had made it any easier, he would just stare at them for the first few "dates". Things became much more complicated as he got older and the women became bolder.

"Hisoka." Illumi started slowly as he lean back in his chair arms folded over his chest.

" I barely know your real name and you are disgustingly obsessed with fighting my father. What benefits do I gain from uniting with you?" Now he was considering it-

"It'll be fun, besides your father isn't the only one I wish to fight~." Hisoka lips curled into a twisted long smile. Shame on Illumi into thinking Hisoka would take his own proposal seriously.

Before illumi can cut in rendering the conversation done and over with. Hisoka added, "Besides you know half of my real name, Morrow does mean something right?"

Illumi desperately wanted to roll his eyes because even that sounded like bullshit.

"What do you expect to gain? Money from my family-"

"You know I don't want money Illu~chan" Hisoka made a show of his eyes wandering his body before locking those amber eyes on his face once more. He would be lying if he said a slight shudder hadn't gone down his spine. But that what he was good at.

"Besides its not like your family would care."

That has struck a chord inside of Illumi, Hisoka was right to an extent. Since Killuas birth, his mother attention had focused in on Killua. The "dates" had become less and less. He was expected to get married it was just no longer a priority.

His head tilted to the side as he looked across the table at Hisoka. Hisoka body was leaning forward. His head resting on his hand, his eyes were hoodie. The dark lighting of the bar made him look even more like a predator. That lazy smile that bordered between lustful and manic.

Illumi got up from his seat, Hisoka only leaning back to look up from his position still seated at the table.

"Try harder." Illumi simply said, as his gracefully left his drink on the table. Along with the bill for Hisoka to pay, he couldn't help but hear the small sound of a chuckle as he left.

Attempt #2??

Illumi had assumed after that conversation months ago. Hisoka would have dropped it. But Illumi should have known better than to challenge a bull wearing armor. Illumi had set out to ignore him, Hisoka would get bored and let it go. Illumi entertain Hisoka job offers if only to fill the time between family jobs. Those quickly ran it course and Illumi had stopped responding.

Illumi shouldn't have entertain Hisoka, it was a dangerous game and he was paying for it now. Hisoka had employed a tactic which Illumi had long forgotten with his youth to grab his attention. Killing his targets, It was like a game of hide and seek but with a lot more blood. Hisoka was petty, he would even goes as far as crushing the target head. Making it even more difficult to get paid. Illumi had assumed at first that he was going to have to track Hisoka down. But as he enter his apartment. A cool breeze wash cross his skin, along with the strong smell of blood.

"Oh illu~chan your home, welcome bac-" needles speed like lighting speed into his arm. Illumi didn't grace him with a reply, his annoyance had been building for sometime. And it quickly became a brawl, when his apartment was satisfactorily destroyed. Hisoka had sat upon his chest pinning him. That did nothing to settle the rage inside of him.

"Come now Illumi~ calm down you'll get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that." Illumi his his face was pensively dull and he wouldn't let the anger broach the surface.

"Get off me Hisoka."

"Calm down first~"

"I will not."

"Then I guess we'll be here a while huh?" As Illumi wen't silent refusing to engage in conversation with Hisoka. It was now he realized he was laying in a bed of broken glass. Nice sharp pieces were digging into his shoulders. He was going to break both of Hisoka arms.

Attempt#???

Illumi prides himself on his restraint, he was his mothers pride and joy. Hollow from the inside out but no, Illumi was assuming she must have missed some. Because being frustratedly fucked into the mattress wasn't something he normally did. Than again, dealing with Hisoka anything can happen. He just had a special way to get under his skin and into his bed. Illumi eyes wander to the other end of the bed. Hisoka looked way too satisfied for his own good.

"Will you marry me yet?"

"I refuse."

It was satisfying to watch all the hot air rush out of Hisoka with a pout. He had his pride to think about and it still wasn’t good enough.

When its good enough

It happens when he drenched in blood, when his bones are rottenly weak, and he can feel himself slipping into that deep dark void. Where his hair became that sea of black, as if it were life forum of its own. While it twisted and churned like black crows stuck in tar. He would not say it out loud, but he was grateful for Hisoka help. Although he would have been fine without it. But he knew it wouldn’t have been great for him to return home in such a state. The adrenaline rushed through his veins and he could piratically feel the bloodlust rushing off his counterpart. He could feel Hisoka eyes burning holes into the back of his head. When he turned toe face the annoying man, he realized he had not notice when Hisoka had gotten so close. His hands were entangled in his hair, those sharp fingers brough the inky black strains up to his lips. 

And for once Illumi had not said anything, with Hisoka face covered in blood and his hair hung lossy around his neck. All Illumi could do was tilt his head, of course Hisoka smile grew more and with a flourish with his free hand. He pushed his hair back into its natural state of being slicked back and spiked. They did not have a conversation that day, Hisoka simply left after Illumi confirmed his mission was complete.    It hadn’t mattered to Illumi at the time, he was not returning home to his apartment but back to the family home. Yet there was something that left him uneasy when the jester did not speak. It could mean several things and none of them were good nor good for his blood pressure. When he returned home, graciously greeted by the butlers and was directed to the nearest bath and dinner. He returned to his room he had spent the past 20 something years living in. It was depressingly bland, but he only needed the bare minimum. He found it odd his window had been open. The faint scent of blood lingered in the room and Illumi reflexively smelled his hands. It wasn’t coming from him, but then maybe something had died in the forest close to the manor. He walked over to the window when he noticed something sitting on his pillow. A golden wedding band it wasn’t expensive looking at all, no diamonds laid embedded in the gold. The more Illumi looked it over the less sure he became that the gold was real at all. It looked like someone had polished it recently, or taken great care of it, at the very least it had a touched up before giving it to him. Illumi sat upon his bed, twisting the ring around in his hand. He grabbed his phone and without much fanfare. He unblocked, hisoka number and simply texted.

“Fine.”

[sciencesdudiable]

Je publie un peu en différé les illus du challenge sur cette page par rapport à instagram. Pour le voir à l’heure rendez-vous sur instagram

2) La récolte

Il arrivait parfois que des grands changements climatiques ou que des animaux viennent manger toutes les récoltes. Quand un paysan se retrouvait sans sous, il ne pouvait pas ou difficilement payer ses impôts, ce qui était très sévèrement puni alors que l’État n’aidait aucunement les paysans en difficultés. Leur colère aurait dû être portée par cette non aide de l'État lors de ces tragédies. Quand on pense aux rois à la renaissance (période la plus noire concernant la chasse aux sorcières) qui vivaient dans l’opulence et les pauvres paysans qui subissaient des grandes famines. 

Imaginez-vous en tyran ? Vous souhaitez garder votre contrôle sans avoir à aider la population, que faites-vous ? Vous utilisez la religion pour faire passer votre légitimité au pleins pouvoir en créant une sorte d’admiration de la population envers vous et vous trouvez des boucs émissaires à ces tragédies pour détourner le peuple de votre devoir initial.  

Les sorcières étaient donc souvent utilisées pour détourner les gens des vrais problèmes. C’était des coupables faciles et plus accessibles sur une population majoritairement analphabète. 

 3) La balance

J’avais volontairement choisi le mot balance plutôt que dénonciation pour laisser vos esprits imaginer de quoi il pouvait s’agir sans trop en dire. C’est l'instrument qui indique le poids des aliments pour créer l’harmonie dans un plat dans une cuisine mais aussi utilisé pour peser les âmes au moment du jugement dernier dans les religions qui croient au paradis et à l’enfer. En justice, elle représente cette recherche d’équilibre dans la société.

Dans l’histoire des sorcières, il faut s’imaginer un de ces pauvres paysans dont nous parlions hier et avant-hier, qui a perdu son enfant et ou ses récoltes. Complètement déboussolé, il cherche un coupable et comme il ne peut pas remettre en question les lois divines et donc l’état, il se cherche un coupable mystique. Et c’est là qu’il va trouver une sorcière autour de lui. 

Mais parfois il s’agissait juste d’un mari qui en avait marre de sa femme et qui accusait cette dernière de sorcellerie pour s’en débarrasser. Ou d’un homme qui s’était fait refuser sa demande en mariage. Imaginez à quel point ça pouvait entraîner une soumission des femmes à cette époque-là envers les hommes, si vous saviez que vous pouviez derrière être accusée de sorcellerie (potentiellement tué pour ça).  L’indépendance étant un des critères entraînant le plus de suspicions. 

Parfois le seul tort que vous aviez, c’était de vieillir. Les vieilles femmes étant la cible privilégiée de ces accusations. Quand aux hommes, il suffisait d’être homosexuel. 

[queenfredegund]

MEROVINGIAN REGINAE | Bathildis Regina († 680)

Chief wife of Chlodovech II Rex, to whom she bore at least three sons, Chlothacar III Rex, Childerich II Rex and Theodorich III Rex. According to Fredegar, she was an anglo-saxon or a saxon slave, bought and trained by the Maior Palatii Erchinoald, who then offered her to Chlodovech II Rex. 

“Quam de partibus transmarinis divina providentia advocans, et vili pretio venundata, huc advenit ipsa pretiosa et optima Dei margarita. Recepta est a principe Francorum viroque inlustri Erchinoaldo quondam, in cuius ministerio ipsa adolescens honestissime conversata est [...]. Et cum esset ex genere Saxonum, forma corporis grata ac subtilissima et aspectu decora [...]. Et cum talis esset, fuit omnino grata principi et invenit gratiam in oculis eius. Qui eam instituit, ut sibi in cubiculo pocula porrigeret et ut pincerna honestissima sepius presens adstaret in ministerio eius.

Divine providence called her from lands across the sea and this precious and best pearl of God arrived here, having been sold at a low price. She was acquired by the late Erchinoald, the leader of the Franks and a man of illustrious standing [...]. And although she was from the race of the Saxons, the form of her body was pleasing, very slender, and beautiful to see. [...] And, since she was thus, she was exceedingly pleasing to the prince and she found favour in his eyes. He engaged her to serve him the goblets in his chamber, and as a most honourable cupbearer she stood quite often present in his service.”

Vita Bath., A, c. 2.

Very little is known on the next fifteen years of her life. As Chlodovech II’s wife, she may have lived between the cities of Sexonas (Soissons), Parisius (Paris) or Clippiacum (Clichy). And as his ancient slave, she maintained good relationships with Erchinoald, who favoured her in return. It is unknown if she was the only sexual partner of Chlodovech, but she seems to have been the only one to gave birth to sons able to succeed him.

Igitur Chlodoueus filius Dagoberti, de genere alienigenarum reginam accipiens nomine Baldethilde prudentem atque eligantem, genuitque ex ea filios tres Chlothario, Childerico et Theuderico.

Then Clovis, son of Dagobert, took for queen a woman of foreign birth, named Balthild, wise and distinguished woman, of which he had three sons, Clotaire, Childéric and Thierry.”

Chron, Cont, 1.

After the suddent death of Chlodovech II in 657, she became Regent of Neustria for her son Chlothacar III Rex only, who was still a minor by then, without crowning any of her other sons. According to Fredegar, she was supported in her choice by Erchinoald, who wanted to avoid a dismembering of the regnum, and thus, the appointment of an other Maior Palatii to challenge him. 

“In extremis uero uitae annis amens effectus uitam caruit regnauitque annis XVIII. Franci quoque Chlotharium filium eius maiorem in regno statuunt cum prefata regina matre.

In the last years of his life, however, he lost his mind and passed away after he had reigned eighteen years. The Franks then place on the throne his eldest son, Clotaire, next to his mother, the queen mentioned above.”

Chron, Cont, 1.

She also formed around her a circle of importants and powerful councellors, like Bishop Chrodobert of Parisius, Bishop Audoenus of Rotomagus, or Bishop Eligius of Noviomagus. Yet, a year later, she had to face the death of her old protector, who was replaced by the decision of the nobiles by a certain Ebroinus. As a ruler, she was known for her religious foundations and her abolition of the slave trading of Christian people in the whole Gauls.

“Et illus commemorandum est, quia ad mercedis eius cumulum pertinet, quod pativos homines christianos ire prohibuit, datasque praeceptiones per singulas regiones, ut nullus in regno Francorum captivum hominem christianum penitus transmitteret. Sed magis et ipsa, dato prestio, captivos plurimos redimere precepit et liberos relaxavit et alios ex ipsis in monasteria intromisit et precipue de gente sua viros et puellas quam plures denutritas suas. Quantas enim adtrahere potuit, eas per sancta coenibia commendavit et, ut pro ea exorarent, eis precepit. Etiam ad Romam usque ad beati Petri et Pauli basilicas vel ad Romensis pauperes plura ac larga sepius direxit munera.

And this must be called to mind, because it pertains to the increase of her reward, that she forbade Christian men to become captives, and she issued precepts  throughout each region [ordering] that absolutely no one ought to transfer a captive Christian in the kingdom of the Neustrians. And in addition she paid the price and ordered many captives to be bought back and she released them as free. Others of them, especially from her own race, men and also many girls, she sent into the monasteries as her own charges. However many she was able to attract, these she entrusted to the holy monasteries, and she ordered them to pray for her. She even often sent many generous gifts to Rome, to the basilicas of blessed Peter and Paul and to the Roman poor.”

Vita Bath., A, c. 9.

She also intervened in Austrasia, where a coup d’etat had occured a year before in the following of the death of her brother-in-law, Sigebert III Rex: although it remains difficult to understand what truly happened by then, it may have been due to a violent competition between two alleged regents, Himnechildis Regina, mother of Dagobert II, and the Maior Palatii Grimoald, tutor of Childebert III, a competition which led to the victory of the last over the first.

However, fearing the threat of the new masters of the austrasian kingdom, Bathildis and Ebroinus sent troops to Mettis (Metz), leading to the death of Grimoald and the overthrowing of the young Childebert III. After that, she installed her second son Childerich II Rex as rex over Austrasia, in 662, under the regency of his aunt, Himnechildis Regina.

“[...] et regno quidem Francorum in pace consistenti. Tunc etenim nuper et Austrasii pacifico ordine, ordinante domna Blathilde, per consilium quidem seniorum receperunt Childericum, filium eius, in regem Austri [...].

And, indeed, the kingdom of the Franks was maintained in peace. Then indeed, a little while ago, the Austrasians peacefully received her son Childeric as king in Austrasia by the arrangement of Lady Balthild and, indeed, through the advice of the great magnates.”

 Vita Bath., A, c. 5.

C. 664, as her son Chlothacar became a major, she officially retired herself of her rank of regent and also of the public life in the monastery of Cala (Chelles). Even if some scholars claims till this day that she was forced to do it by the villainous Ebroinus, probably because of a factions clash, it is rather the application of a social norm for royal widows as the sources speak of a sort of aristocratic procession, already observed for Fredegund Regina in 584. 

“Erat enim eius sancta devotio, ut in monasterio, quem prediximus, religiosarum foeminarum, hoc est in Kala, quam ipsa edificavit, conversare deberet. Nam et Franci pro eius amore hoc maxime dilatabant nec fieri permittebant [...]. Deductaque ab aliquibus senioribus, venit ad praefatum monasterium suum Kala, ibique ab ipsis sanctis puellis, ut decebat, honorifice et satis amabiliter in sancta congregatione recepta est.

It was, however, her holy vow that she ought to dwell  in the monastery of religious women which we mentioned above, that is, at Chelles, which she herself built. But the Neustrians, for love of her, delayed in this especially [...]. And, having been escorted by certain noblemen, she came to her above-mentioned monastery at Chelles, and there, as is fitting, she was honourably and very lovingly received into the holy congregation by the holy maidens.”

  Vita Bath., A, c. 10. 

After that moment, Bathildis apparently did not intervene in politics anymore, even during the turmoil of events which led the end of her regency: the death of Chlothacar c. 666, the aristocratic conspiracy against Ebroinus in 673, or the assassination of Childerich in 675. She died as a saint in 680, shortly after her goddaughter, who had followed her in her retirement, during the reign of her third son, Theodorich III Rex, and was buried in the church Holy-Cross of Cala.

“Et erat aliqua quidem tunc infantula, sua filiola, quam voluit, ut secum iret, quae et ipsa subito e corpore exiit et eam ad tumulum pracessit. Tunc consignans se confidenter, et pios oculos ac santcis manibus ad caelum erectis, sancta illa anima a corporis vinculo in pace soluta est [...].

There was at that time a certain child, her goddaughter, whom she wished to go with her, and she [the child] suddenly went out from her body and preceded her to the grave. Then, making the sign of the cross in faith, and with her faithful eyes and holy hands raised toward heaven, her holy soul was loosed from the chain of her body in peace. [...].”

 Vita Bath., A, c. 14.

Some of her possessions have been kept in the actual Chelles Abbey, such as an ornate chemise and a lock of hair which, if it is really one of her own hair, shows to us that she was actually a strawberry blonde and, above all, a dyed strawberry blonde as it has been demonstrated that they are traces of dye coloration on it.

[hesfrombarcelona]

Willodeen by Katherine Applegate

Genre:

This is a middle grade fantasy fable (Bluebonnet winner category).

Target Age Group:

Willodeen is written for middle grade readers, generally ages 8-12.

Summary:

Animal-loving Willodeen lives with her adoptive mothers, Mae and Birdie, in the town of Perchance. Something has upset the balance of nature lately; wildfires, (like the one that killed her family), are becoming common and creatures that were once plentiful are now scarce. With the help of her new friend Connor, Willodeen is determined to figure out the cause and hopefully help fix it.

Justification:

Willodeen received starred reviews in Booklist and Publishers Weekly, and was awarded the Bluebonnet Award by the Texas Library Association.

Evaluation:

For this book I will be evaluating characters, style and language, and theme.

Characters

The main characters in Willodeen have depth, meaning they have multifaceted personalities and their actions and motivations generally make sense. They are flawed but basically good. Most characters, including those who remain in the background, show believable growth over the course of the story. Willodeen herself becomes more assertive and willing to speak up to adults around her, Connor's father becomes more tolerant and willing to listen to Conner and Willodeen, even the nameless townspeople come to understand the effect of their actions on their environment, and work to protect it. Willodeen and Connor are 11, close to the age of the typical reader, and their challenges are relatable for this age group, including frustration about getting grownups to listen, awkward feelings about making friends, and reluctance to do schoolwork. These everyday concerns against the backdrop of the larger events in the story could help young readers to picture themselves in the same circumstances.

Style and Language

Willodeen uses varied and expressive language, especially when describing the natural world, which is at the heart of the story. Figurative language is used to great effect, helping the reader to really imagine the world of the story. For instance, the animals known as screechers are not just said to be smelly, but as stinking like, "a hundred rotten eggs", "dead fish and a splash of skunk." The story is told in the first person, from Willodeen's perspective. The vocabulary and level of perceptiveness make sense for someone of her age.

Theme

The themes of Willodeen are that everything in nature is interrelated, and that it is important to respect and care for the environment. The themes are shown through the events of the story; one of the species of animals prized by the town is disappearing, and Willodeen discovers how the actions of the town's residents are causing it. As she observes the world around her and solves the mystery of what is happening, the readers are invited to reach the same conclusions as the main characters.

I listened to Willodeen as an audiobook through my library. The reader, Ariadne Meyers, expresses emotion clearly throughout the story. She also lends different voices to the main characters, and makes it easy to tell who is "speaking" at any point. Both of these qualities help the listener to follow the storyline, and also make for an enjoyable experience. When perusing a print copy of the book, I did notice that I had missed out on some lovely illustrations by Charles Santoso, a factor that readers may wish to consider when picking a reading format. However, I also believe there is some merit in allowing the reader to develop their own vision of what the fantastical animals of the story look like.

References

Applegate, K. (2021). Willodeen. (C. Santoso, Illus.). Feiwel and Friends.

[shrivedog]

Pre's Triangle Our long journey to find a home has brought us to Eugene, Oregon. As though by fate, we landed smack in the middle of "Tracktown USA". As a distance runner who began his involvement in Cross Country, Track & Field, and Road Racing in the mid-1970's, I was familiar with the Bill Hayward, Bill Dellinger, and Bill Bowerman legacies. I also was a fan of the late Steve Prefontaine, sometimes referred to even now as "Eugene's favorite son". While closing the deal on our new home we found ourselves at a hotel directly across from the Willamette River, and just down the mountain from where Steve Prefontaine was killed in a car crash on May 30, 1975. At the time of his death, "Pre", as he was called by all who knew him; and heard shouted by the fans who used to chant his name during his many racing victories at Hayward Field; held every American Record from 2,000 through 10,000 meters. His former Junior National 5,000 meter record of 13:39.6 is still one of the fastest junior marks ever run. Pre was an Olympic finalist at the mere age of 23. He threw every gear he had into a race that he nearly won. Unfortunately, anything less than winning was unacceptable for the young upstart that was Steve Prefontaine. He faded to fourth on the home straight just yards from the finish losing the gold medal to Lasse Viren of Finland by just 1.7 seconds. Viren won both the 5,000 and 10,000 meter golds at both the 1972 Games in Munich and again in Montreal four years later. The Finn also finished fifth in the 1976 Olympic Marathon. The 1972 5,000 meters (same as 5 kilometers = 3.107 miles = 12 1/2 laps on a 400 meter track) was the race in which Prefontaine warded off several challenges before fading in those last steps over what was still a 4:04 final mile. Some have since said that Pre gave up, staggering the final yards and appearing to let up off the pace. I don't agree with that assessment. I believe that Pre made that race happen. Advised by his coach, Bill Bowermann, to not run from the front, as was Pre's want, because of the caliber of competition he was up against, Pre took a pedestrian pace from the first two thirds of the distance to an insanely world-class run. He went for the win and simply ran out of gas. Had Pre run safely for a medal, or waited just a while longer than he did, he likely would have walked away with at least the bronze. Leading into the final curve Pre held off one last charge by Viren before the Finn began to pull away on the home straight. Then Pre was passed for the silver by Mohammed Ghamoudi of Tunisia, and the bronze by a late surging Dave Bedford of Great Britain. Pre's finishing time of 13:27.6 was still less than five seconds off his own American record. The experience affected Pre greatly. He had a hard time coping with the loss, but eventually shook it off. On May 29, 1975 Pre participated in a meet at Hayward Field held to raise funds for the restoration of the ailing stadium. He even had a hand in organizing the meet. That was something Pre did regularly during his tenure at the University of Oregon, and the short time following his graduation. He decisively won the 5,000 in 13:23.5, defeating 72 Olympic Marathon champion Frank Shorter. That night Pre gave Shorter a ride to his place of lodging before returning to meet his girlfriend, Mary Marcyx, back at a post-meet party put on for participants and organizers of the Hayward restoration meet. He never made it to his destination. His death is still shrouded in mystery. The medical examiner's report concluded that Pre's blood alcohol was 0.14, above Oregon's legal limit of 0.10. Both Shorter, and Kenny Moore; another Olympic athlete; visited the scene the next day. Both contend there was no way that Pre was drunk. Both also contended that he knew the roads too well to have done anything reckless. One local witness claims that he heard the crash and, when coming to the scene to help Pre, saw another vehicle speed off. Others questioned local officials

motives, including the coroner's report, when a cherry picker was brought out to take photos of the scene. That just wasn't done, especially in the mid 1970's. Were officials trying to use Pre's fame to make an example of him? It is unlikely anyone will ever know what really happened at the site that is now called Pre's Rock, on Skyline Drive just yards from the corner of Skyline and Birch Lane in the wee hours of May 30, 1975. However, 46 years after his death, people still flock to the roadside monument and leave tributes; t-shirts, race bibs, medals, flowers, carvings, decorative stones, and other memorabilia. A local woman removes these gifts each month, discarding those that succumb to the elements, and donating others to museums. Still, more appear. From Skyline Drive, within sight of Pre's Rock, one can look down from the ridge and see the Willamette River, the large arched Interstate-5 Bridge, the Knickerbocker Bicycle Bridge, and Pre's Trail. The new torch on the very recently rebuilt Hayward Field is visible from Birch Lane as one loops just below Pre's Rock and heads North toward the center of town. Pre's trail was the result of his efforts to give the community a pedestrian trail that was much like those he saw while competing in Scandinavian countries. It is a series of woodchip trails that run over a two mile stretch of Alton Baker Park from below "The Pipe", about a half mile south of the I-5 bridge, to Day Island, past Autzen Stadium, to the north. If one were to cover every stretch of the woodchip paths, they would accumulate about 5 miles worth of exercise. It was a monumental effort to install and is well maintained. It is but one of the things that Pre gave back to the community. He did a lot for kids, the University, and to help athletes not be taken advantage of by the governing bodies of sport; giving the athletes more control over their own careers. Pre fought the corruption that was part of the old Amateur Athletic Union, reforming that body to become the Track Athletics Congress. Athletes were then able to establish trust funds to give them control over how prize money they won in competition was spent to help them compete, and still maintain their amateur status. Eventually, the TAC was dissolved and USA Track & Field was formed. Today, the sport still thrives. Even with the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic, events are in revival, and a new Hayward Field awaits another U.S. Olympic Trials, and, perhaps, a future Olympic Games. I have an area that I have dubbed "Pre's Triangle". I drew a line from Hayward Field to Pre's Rock, then out to the middle of Pre's Trail, and back to Hayward Field. It is an uncanny representation of the heart of Pre's legacy. I have now raced at Alton Baker Park within sight of Pre's Trail, as well as run quite a few training miles on the trail itself. Pre's spirit is still alive and well in Eugene.

Illus. - Yellow dot = Hayward Field location (Agate Street) ; Red dot = Pre's Trail (also marked in its entirety from a workout I did, located in Alton Baker Park); Purple dot = Pre's Rock (Skyline Drive near Birch Lane, not far from Hendricks Park).