#inspector maverick

[hozaloza]

Who was the person that said Maverick looked like Inspector Gadget🤠...

WHOEVER YOU WERE, CREDITS TO YOU FOR INSPIRING ME TO MAKE THIS DUMB IMAGE

INSPECTOR MAVERICK

i didn't know who to make Brain,,,,,so I put Logan because I naturally assumed the dog was like surprisingly smart 🤠.....

Is that right??? I wouldn't know I don't think I've actually watched an episode from this show--

if I had, it was probably forgotten--

[spanishyumejoshi]

For my new professor layton romantic f/os hehe

[echoric]

Summary:

The day had been hell. Maverick had been called in to the base because an inspection of his jet had found a ‘modification’ that wasn’t allowed. In the end, it had all turned out to just be an inexperienced inspector who hadn’t known the difference between his old F-14 and the new F-16 he had been assigned to. Regardless of how easy it was to prove the inspector wrong, Maverick had still had to get up and get to base on a day he was supposed to have off to relax with Ice. It had been frustrating, and Maverick was about one red light away from throwing traffic laws to the wind. aka Maverick gets in a crash on his way to what is supposed to be a relaxing night for him and Ice Whumptober Day 28!

I still don't know how tumblr works but this was inspired by a post here that I can't find now so I wanted to share just in case the OP happens to see it <3

[usafphantom2]

WHAT? No Ice Cream cone?

Before the U2 and the SR 71, the United States used the RB 47E and H. These brave men need to be appreciated for what they did. They risked their life over and over again.

Following its first flight on July 3, 1953, the RB-47E performed some of the most sensitive reconnaissance missions of the Cold War. During its service, at least two of these planes were lost flying missions over the Soviet Union. One incident involving an RB-47E occurred during a photographic mission over the Soviet Union. The plane was intercepted and fired upon by Soviet MiGs and sustained wing damage.

General Curtis LeMay, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, responded to the men telling him that the Soviets had attacked their airplane. ‘What do you do you expect them to do? Give you an ice cream cone🍦”

Fortunately, it could outrun them at altitude and return to base.

My father, Butch Sheffield, graduated from Cadets in 1955. He was selected to go to B-47 navigation bombardier school at Mather Air Force Base , CA. After graduating, he was assigned to Little Rock Air Force Base. Soon after, in January 1957, his squadron went to England to practice bomb runs. The next paragraph is from my father, Col. Richard “Butch” Sheffield's unpublish Book.

“My targets were in Russia and mostly air bases near large cities. I had to know the target so well that I could bomb it in my sleep. Every six months or so, we would change targets. I believe this was because more bombers and missiles were coming into the fleet, and the targets were reassigned to add them.

“We were briefed that if we had to bail out in Russia, we should dig a hole three feet deep, get in it, and wait till the war was over, then go to a safe area where we would be picked up U. S. Forces. This was hard for us to stomach, but we kept our mouths shut. My B-47 Aircraft Commander, Merle JeuDevine, was a real maverick. Our crew was selected by the SAC Inspector General (IG) to brief him on our war plan, and he asked us about how we would evade the enemy on the ground in Russia. He asked what we would do as soon as we arrived in Russia.

Merle told him that the first thing he would do was throw the cal. Thirty-eight handguns we carried as far as he could. The IG looked shocked. He said why? Merle said they would be looking for us with automatic weapons; we don’t stand a chance with that handgun. To my surprise, the General agreed.

Arming Mark 6-mode-6

The bomb we carried in the early part of the B-47 Program was the Mark-6, Mod. -6. It was a six hundred-kiloton weapon. It was like the weapons used on Japan in as much as it needed to be armed in flight by putting the critical mass, U-238 plutonium, into the bomb.

My job was to arm it while we refueled in-flight at fifteen thousand feet in the aircraft's bomb bay. This was hard to do because the aircraft was bouncing around as we refueled behind the KC-97. The critical mass was very heavy, and the threads on the mass were very fine. We were told to do it while wearing our parachute and to wear heavy gloves, neither of which we could do and accomplish the mission. When we landed, the IG would look into the bomb bay before we could taxi back to the park. It had to be done and had to be done right, or we flunked, so we did it.

--Special film of my target

In the late 1950’s, I was told to go to the Wing Plans Division. They took me into a vault, and I was told that I could not tell anyone what I was about to see, even my own crew.

They then showed me a radar film of my target in Leningrad, Russia. It looked like the same type of radar I had in my B-47. I believe it was from an RB-47.”

I asked my friend, Robert Hopkins. He said, “Your Dad was watching films of a bomb run over the USSR. They were movies of the radar track collected in 1956 when SAC flew 156 overflights of the USSR as part of operations HOME RUN crews use the movies taken by RB-47Es for target study.

Written by Linda Sheffield

@Habubrats71 via X

[johndpg]

SPANKING ON TV #6

The General (1998) d. John Boorman

This is a biopic of maverick Dublin crime lord Martin Cahill, who pulled off two daring robberies but came into conflict with members of his own gang and attracted attention from the police and the IRA. Ultimately though it was his dealings with the UVF that led to his downfall. It’s based on a book by journalist Paul Williams. In this scene, Cahill has been sent to a reform school as a boy after being caught stealing. The school is run by the Christian Brothers who oversee a brutal regime of beatings, humiliation and abuse.

A nine-year investigation into Ireland’s Roman Catholic-run institutions in the 2000s found that priests and nuns had terrorised thousands of boys and girls in workhouse-style schools for decades, and that government inspectors failed to discover what was happening. More than 30,000 children deemed to be petty thieves, truants or from dysfunctional families were sent to Ireland’s austere network of industrial schools, reformatories and orphanages from the 1930s until the last church-run facilities shut in the 1990s.

In this early scene Cahill and the other boys in his dormitory (twelve are shown on-screen) have been told to bend over the end of their beds and lift their nightshirts to present their bare backsides for belting. It seems they have to stay in this humiliating position until every boy has been lashed. They aren’t being punished for any particular wrong-doing and it’s clear that this is a regular nightly occurrence. Nightshirts were positively Victorian by 1962, so the inference is that such attire made abuse easier and, indeed, we see this in a later scene. The priest has obviously taken a liking to Cahill and chooses not to belt him; instead, he returns to molest him when the other boys are sleeping but Cahill is able to fight him off.

The film features a number of well-known actors including Brendan Gleeson, Adrian Dunbar, Maria Doyle Kennedy and Jon Voight. Cahill as a boy is played by Eamonn Owens, who was around 14 at the time. Donncha Crowley plays the priest.

It looks like five of the boy actors are belted bare for real; a sixth is heard being lashed off-screen. I thought maybe a plastic strap and sound effects had been used but two of the boys' buttocks are clearly indented when the belt hits them, one in close-up, and all the boys' jumps and yelps as they are lashed seem very convincing. John Boorman is renowned for getting his actors to perform their own stunts, so I suppose this is just more of the same. Goodness knows what casting director Jina Jay told their parents, but I hope the lads were well paid for their efforts. Realising it's being played for real certainly adds an extra frisson to the scene. It’s Kes (1969) all over again, isn’t it.

Although shot in colour, the theatrical release of the film was presented in black-and-white for artistic reasons. A colour print was subsequently made available for television broadcast and home video. There was some Oscar buzz when the film was released but this ultimately didn’t materialise.

Here’s a link to a clip featuring the dormitory scene at 4:40 but you'll have to watch it on YouTube.

And here’s another link to a colour print of the whole film. Unfortunately it’s a Russian dub, so good luck with the YouTube subs.

[most-hated-blorbo-bracket]

any chance of an updated list?

Of course!!

Also, this is the NEW and FUCKING IMPROVED LIST, I alphabetized it so it’s even better than before >:3

Currently, we have 340 unique characters (if I counted right) and 487 total submissions. The top three most submitted fandoms are Homestuck, Danganronpa, and One Piece, excluding submissions that were spelt wrong or spelt differently. The top three submitted characters are Haiji Towa, Vriska Serket, and Stella Goeta (stella has so many submissions it’s funny)!

Finally, this is the raw, unedited list of characters submitted so far. Just because they are here doesn’t mean they’ll be in the tournament; it just means they’ve been submitted, regardless of media or what character they are!

as always, list under the cut!

This first list is for characters with two or more submissions. Characters who have three or more submissions will get first dibs in the tournament!

Akechi Goro

Akio Ohtori / Himemiya

Anakin Skywalker

Ansem the Wise

April O’Neil (2012)

Ardyn Izunia

Ayin

Azula

Bill Cipher

Boston

Bramblestar

Buzz McCallister

Caillou

Chibiusa

Childe

Cici

Cullen Rutherford

Darkstalker

Dazai Osamu

Dio

Dio (Zero Escape)

Donald Trump

Donquixote Doflamingo

Dr. John ‘Jack’ Seward

Drannus

Eichi Tenshouin

Elias Bouchard/Jonah Magnus

Eridan Ampora

Evan Hansen

Every Genshin Impact Character Ever

Glenn Quagmire

George Wickham

Greg Heffley

Haiji Towa

Happosai

Her Imperious Condescension

Higashikata Josuke

Huey Emmerich

Ibara Saegusa

Izzy Hands

JD

Jace Herondale / Wayland / Lightwood / Morgenstern

Jin Guangyao

John Gaius

Julia Mazzone

Junko Enoshima

Jurgen Leitner

Katsuki Bakugo

Kokichi Ouma

Kristoph Gavin

Kromer

Kusaka Masato

Kylo Ren

Kyubey

Lance Dubois

Le’garde

Live Action Buggy

Makima

Mal

Marvin Falsettos

Meenah Peixes

Merlin

Micah Bell

Michael

Minoru Mineta

Mr. Bungee

Pierce Hawthorne

Pierre

Princess Daisy

Ranpo Edogawa (Beast)

Regal Farseer

Ronaldo

Rose Quartz

Santa Claus

Sasuke Uchiha

Scrappy Doo

Sentinel Prime

Shiver

Shou Tucker

Simon

Simon Laurent

Sosuke Aizen

Spamton

Stella Goetia

Teddy / Kuma

The Maverick

The Metatron 

The Once-Ler

Thistleclaw 

Tony Stark

Tsumugi Aoba

Ty Betteridge

Val Velocity

Viren

Vriska Serkat

William Afton

c!Dream

Ōchi Fukuchi

The next list is for characters only submitted once. If you want these characters to have a higher chance of being added to the tournament, feel free to submit more propaganda for them!

Absalom

Abyss Sibling

Adam

Agamemnon 

Airy

Akane

Akito Shinonome

Akito Sohma

Alastor

Alexander Hamilton

Ali Lectric

All For One

Aloise Trancy

Anatole Kuragin

Angel Dust

Anne Hathaway

Any Character From Welcome to Nightvale

Anyone From The Locked Tomb

Aranea Serkat

Ashfur

Astarion

Asuka

Bella Swan

Ben Jackson Walker

Betsy Wolfe

Billy

Billy Hargrove

Black Pete

Blackbeard

Blitzo Buckzo

Booker

Box

Bro-Strider

Buck Cluck

Buzz (cheerios)

Byakuya Togami

Caesar Clown

Caliborn / Lord English

Captain Kuro

Cersei Iannister

Chloe Bourgeois

Chris McClain

Chrollo Lucifer

Cicero

Clara Oswald

Coco

Cozy Glow

Cynte

Damian Wayne

Dan Moroboshi

Dean Venture

Dean Winchester

Detective Saracusa

Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd

Disembodied Voice

Don Flamenco

Dr. Henry Miller

Drew

Duke

Edelgard

Elias Ainsworth

Elias Ainsworth

Elon Musk

Equius Zahhak

Erebus

Eric Cartman

Erlina and Brugaves

Eugene Coli

Every Single Country In 1993

Everyone In Romeo And Juliet

Father / Dwarf In The Glass

Feferi Peixes

Five

Five Pebbles

Floch

Foreman Oyun

France (Hetalia)

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu

Gamzee Makara

Georg Weissmann

God

Goeffry St. John

Gordon Blackwall

Graham Spector

Gra’ha Tia

Haiji Senri

Heath cliff

Henry Miller (OC)

Henry the Eighth

Himiko Toga

Hisoka

Hiyoko Saionji

Holly Blue Agate

House

Huey Laforet

Ianthe Tridentarius

Il Dottore

Inspector Tobias Greyson

Itsuki Shu

Izumi Sena

JJ

Jacopo Bearzatti

James T. Kirk

Jayne Cobb

Jiren

Joe Destefano

Johnny

Jonah Magnus

Jonathan Groff 

Judith Ford / Natalie Cook

Judo

Julia

Julie-Sue

Ken

Kevin

Kusunoki Muu

Kyouichi Saionji

Ladd Russo

Lady Catherine de Bourgh 

Lebreau Fermet Viralesque

Light Yagami

Liontari

Lotor

Louie

Louis

Luke

Mahiru Koizumi

Makoto Itou

Marie

Marlon

Mary Keay

Master Crown

Matou Shinji

Matpat

Me

Medusa Gorgon

Meredith Rodney McKay

Michael Scott

Miguel O’Hara

Millions Knives

Moash

Moeka Kiryuu

Monokubs (Except Monodam)

Mori Ougai

Morris

Mr. Collins

Ms. Valentine

Muu Kusunoki

Muzan Kibutsuji

Mystery Hunter (Jeremiah Hartley)

Nagito Komaeda

Nanami Kiryuu

Narumi

Natsumi Sakasaki

Nefera DeNile

Nickel

Nikola Tesla

Noor Pradesh

Ocelot

Octavian 

Ogai Mori

Orochi

Otto Apocalypse

Paul Von Oberstein

Pencil

Petyr Baelish / Littlefinger

Prince Louis

Queen Scarlet

Quiche

Quill Kipps

Rafal (FEE)

Rafal (SGE)

Rafe Cameron

Randy

Raven Queen

Rebecca Costwolds

Redd White

Riley Finn

Roger

Rohan Kishibe

Roland

Roshi

Rumpelstiltskin

Ruruka Ando

Sakazuki Akainu

Sandy

Sanji

Sebastian Mechaelis

Sheldon Cooper

Shen Jiu

Shiki Tohno/Nanaya

Shinonomes (both)

Shredder

Sigma Klim

Silver Spoon

Skizzleman

Slayer

Solf J. Kimblee

So Sejima

Splinter

Stark Sands

Steven Universe

Stormcaller

Subara Akehoshi

Tatsumi Kazehaya

Teruhashi Makoto

Teruteru

The Eleventh Doctor

The Entirety Of Homestuck

The Groke

The Little Palace Mistress

The Mage

The New Ninja

The Old Palace Master

The Operator

The Pale King

Tim Drake

Tom Wambsgans

Tomaru Sawagoe

Touichiro Suzuki

Trishna

Tumblr Staff

Valens Van Varro

Verstael Besithia

Victor Frankenstein

Vivienne Medranno’s Impsona

Voice In The Calm Ad On Spotify

Volgin

Wanderer/Scaramouche

Wen Chao

Whiteout, Clearsight, and Benjamin

Will Shuester

Willy Stampler

Woodes Rogers

Xisuma

Yoshiharu Hisomu

Yu Ziyuan

Yumichika Ayasegawa

Yuri Briar

Zeke Jaeger

Zenos Galvus

Zhou Zishu

[ghostfriendly5]

Rewatching Ryoko's Case File from 2008, despite quickly remembering why I dropped it fifteen years ago. Crafting such a direly bland OP sequence from bishojo body shots was quite a feat for one thing. The titular cases are pedestrian stuff, not very successful in their efforts to be either interestingly fantastical or believably grounded. True-to-life political corruption and giant monsters in the sewers are not complementary. The show stands or falls on Ryoko, the titular maverick police inspector. Unerringly competent, self-assured, successful and independent - an ideal female action hero, in the worst sense.

Her entitlement and self-centredness are absolute; her character as deep as a puddle with a mile of leg. The difficulty of sympathising with characters who never fail, never sacrifice, never conceive of self-doubt or uncertainty, and never suffer, is Good Writing 101. If Ryoko were one of many male anime heroes who get away with ignoring this rule...I wouldn't be rewatching her series. So I suppose a female James Bond was actually somewhat worth the candle. While Ryoko's one-sided flirtation with her immensely boring everyman of an assistant is unhealthy and everymale-reader-indulgent, it doesn't detract from her competence as a heroine, or the judgement of the show as an overall 6/10.

Although I wonder if my own accustomed style of piling trauma, sexual assault and misery on female characters to elicit sympathy and justify the heroine's eventual success (often rewarded with, among other things, great sex), is altogether right. Certainly, it can be taken too far; certainly, it shouldn't be the respectable heroine's only path. Even Rose of Versailles, where Lady Oscar's numerous failures and ignomanies are almost completely eclipsed by her glorious spirit, isn't perfect. Ikeda certainly didn't fire through the same bullseye with Oniisama e, although I'm currently finding that show a very good one.

My nostalgia (mental masturbation?) somewhat concerns me as well. There are dozens of 'essential' games and shows I never touched in my teens and twenties; games pouring out now that thousands of others derive great pleasure from, while I will never have the time. I don't expect to ever be called a serious gamer, anime fan writer or reader, although I do nothing else worth speaking of, but while I still live I am what I am.

[aro-simp]

Hi! Y'all can call my Sean (he/it + cyber/glitch/[redacted])! This is a sideblog, I follow and like from @couple-of-assbutts

I'm the median host of The Auditorium Hivemind (Audio Hive/Tah)!

I'm plural, which may be talked about here occasionally, as fictive parts also partake in selfshipping. Plurality is a complex topic, don't berate us on how we talk about our own system!

We don't do shipcourse, and have no DNI!

I tag nsfw as nsft! Other than that I don't really have a tag system, tho I may tag some specific f/o's or sources.

All our posts are okay to be reblogged no need to ask permission :)

I don't have a consistent stand on sharing, so if in doubt about a specific F/O just shoot me an ask!

F/O list is beneath the Read More!

In brackets are shipnames I'll hopefully use for tagging purposes

Fictoromantic F/Os:

Inspector Lestrade - Sherlock Holmes [Clueless Love]

Bassa Selim - Die Entführung aus dem Serail (2022 Bielefeld production) [Felix Amor]

Tim Bradford - The Rookie [Tough Luck]

Queerplatonic F/Os (this list is not, and probably will never be, complete):

Jesse Pinkman - Breaking Bad [JesSean]

Krazy-8/Domingo - Breaking Bad

Maddie Nolen - Arcane

Helmut Zemo - Captain America: Civil War

Bucky - MCU

Levi - AoT

Captain Curly - Mouthwashing

Jimmy - Mouthwashing (fictive)

Pete "Maverick" Mitchell - Top Gun [PsyMav] (soulbonded)

Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw - Top Gun: Maverick [RoosPsy] (introject)

Nick "Goose" Bradshaw - Top Gun [GoosePsy]

Jack Traven - Speed

Gregory House - House MD

Robert Chase - House MD

Lawrence Kutner - House MD

Ninth Doctor - Doctor Who

The Author - Doctor Who OC [Quill-N-Drill]

Simm!Master - Doctor Who [Your Lord And Master]

Captain Jack Harkness - Doctor Who

Rebecca Crane - Assassin's Creed

Desmond Miles - Assassin's Creed

Wyll - Baldur's Gate 3

Karlach - Baldur's Gate 3

Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow - Batman Begins

Bane - The Dark Knight Rises

Almond Cookie + Tea Knight Cookie - Cookie Run

Eddie Brock - Venom

Hobie Brown - Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse

Gollum - Lord of The Rings

Shane - Stardew Valley

Javier Esposito + Kevin Ryan - Castle

Jerry Tyson - Castle

Ilya Sokurov - The Rookie

Jared Stone - Castle

Ivan - Die Fledermaus (2022 Bielefeld production)

Figaro - Barber of Sevilla (2023 Bielefeld production)

Agent Stone - Sonic

Adam - Hazbin Hotel

Sir Pentious - Hazbin Hotel

Reginald Thorpe - Moriarty

Rodney Lambert - Moriarty

Farengar Secret-Fire - Skyrim

Rune - Skyrim

Dr John Watson - Sherlock Holmes

Dorian Gray - The Picture of Dorian Gray

Henry Clerval - Frankenstein

Robert Walton - Frankenstein

Matthew Asquith - Sherlock Holmes: Der Erpresser von Edinburgh

Cicero - Skyrim

Crowley - Good Omens

Aragorn - Lord of The Rings

Gavin Reed - Detroit: Become Human

Jacob Frye - Assassin's Creed [Jaccup]

John Standish - Assassin's Creed [IT Noob]

James Bond - personal AU

William Cooper - R.E.D.

Sexual F/Os (almost all my selfship have a sexual component, these however are exclusively sexual F/Os):

Cahir - The Witcher (Netflix)

Ancano - Skyrim

Julius Caesar - Asterix

Platonic and Familial F/Os (very very shortened version):

Viggo Grimborn - Dragons: Race To The Edge

Toothless - How To Train Your Dragon (Movies)

Oscar - maritimverse

Polly Danbridge-Burton - maritimverse

Ernest Fillmore - maritimverse

Natasha "Phoenix" Trace - Top Gun: Maverick

Robert "Bob" Floyd - Top Gun: Maverick

Dark Choco Cookie - Cookie Run

Red Velvet Cookie - Cookie Run

Simon "Ghost" Riley - Call of Duty

Ethan Hunt - Mission Impossible

Some random links:

TES OCs, Top Gun S/I

"He's just like me fr" - fictionselves (fictotypes and median fictives. We also have other fictives in the main sys but this is abizt meeeeee) - incomplete

Shaun Hastings (Assassin's Creed)

Hiccup/Hicks (How To Train Your Dragon)

Boromir (Lord of the Rings)

James Moriarty (maritimverse)

Sherlock Holmes (ACD Canon)

Connor/RK800 (Detroit: Become Human)

Basil Hallward (The Picture of Dorian Gray)

Powder (Arcane)

Elijah Miles (Assassin's Creed)

Carter (James Bond: Casino Royale)

Aziraphale (Good Omens)

[hazel-of-sodor]

Because both the United States and the Soviet Union have rights for sentient vehicles, what happens to their sentient military equipment when they become 'outdated'?

I thought about this while coming up with headcanons for the F-14 Tomcat in a TTTE world.

In real life, after their retirement in 2006, the ones that didn't become museum pieces were quickly scrapped. With the laws the US has in your universe, it's likely their fate would be quite different there.

One of the silly headcanons I managed to come up with was the F-14 we see in the second Top Gun is technically the 3rd returning actor as she was Maverick's jet in the first film. She got a full restoration and everything

So it depends on the Jet. Alot of equipment was transfered to their country's allies for service there. It was high risk to die in combat, but your remain active. American Jets are often offered non-combat roles within their armed forces, runway inspectors, drill sargents (for both vehicles and humans), auditors, accountants, strategists, seach and rescue operations, ect. Otherwise they can find emplyment in the civilian sector, at mussums, as teachers, accountants, investors, managers, ect.

[allthingsfangirl101]

Top Gun - Baby Mav Chapter 2: Introductions and Bets

Masterlist

That didn't go well.

Maverick sighed as he read Ice's text. He quickly sent one back.

The kid's not ready for this mission.

Ice didn't hesitate to text back.

No one is.That's why you're here.

You could have warned me.

Would you have come?

Maverick thought about his response. He struggled to think of one but came up with nothing. He tossed his phone onto his bed and lay down. His mind instantly went Rooster and Goose. It then drifted toward the last time he taught at TOPGUN and the F-18-20 flight that killed four pilots, leaving one alive.

Barely.

Nothing he did caused the accident. But nothing he did saved the pilot. They did that all on their own.

It's been over five years since he talked to Rooster. He talks to the pilot from the F-18-20 flight every day. It was easier to talk to that pilot.

Forcing himself to stop thinking about the past, he got up and went to his desk. He looked through the file the admirals gave him. As he read through the semantics and what the other admirals had started to plan, he formed a better one.

It wasn't going to be easy, but it was going to work.

* * * * *

"Attention on deck!"

Chairs scraped as the twelve trainees stood up. The two admirals walked into the room and stood in front of them. Bates and Hondo shared an uncomfortable glance.

"Morning," Bates said. "Welcome to your special training detachment. Be seated."

The trainees listened and took their seats. "I'm Admiral Bates, NAWDC commander. You're all TOPGUN graduates. The elite. The best of the best. That was yesterday. The enemy's new fifth-generation fighter has leveled the playing field. Details are few, but you can be sure we no longer possess the technical advantage. Success, now more than ever, comes down to the man or woman in the box. Half of you will make the cut. One of you will be named mission leader. The other half will remain in reserve. Your inspector is a TOPGUN graduate with real-world experience in every mission aspect you will be expected to master."

Maverick shook off his nerves as he walked into the hangar. He approached from behind so the trainees didn't see him until he walked past them.

"His exploits are legendary," Bates continued. "And he's considered to be one of the finest pilots this program has ever produced. What he has to teach you may very well mean the difference between life and death. I give you Captain Pete Mitchell. Call sign: Maverick."

Maverick walked up to the podium and faced the trainees. He forced himself not to look at Rooster.

"Good morning," he greeted. He looked at two of the trainees he met at the bar the other night and smirked. He couldn't fight it anymore and looked at Rooster. He was glaring right through him. Maverick cleared his throat when Rooster looked away.

He lifted the training manual in his hand and said, "The F-18 NATOPS. It contains everything they want you to know about your aircraft. I'm assuming you know the book inside and out."

"Damn right."

"Damn straight."

"You got it."

He smirked at the confusion on the trainees' faces and the regret on the admirals' faces as he dropped the manual into the trash.

"So does your enemy," he said simply.

"And we're off," Hondo mumbled.

"But what the enemy doesn't know," Maverick continued, "is your limits. I intend to find them, test them, push beyond. Today we'll start with what you only think you know. You show me what you're made of."

* * * * *

Maverick walked behind the trainees as they went to their planes. He couldn't take his eyes off of Rooster. Before he could stop himself, he called out to him.

"Rooster." He didn't answer.

"Bradley." He still didn't answer.

"Lieutenant Bradshaw!"

Rooster finally stopped walking and turned around. "Yes, sir."

"Let's not do it like this," Maverick sighed.

"You gonna wash me out?" Rooster challenged.

"That'll be up to you, not me."

Rooster didn't say anything. Both of them could feel the eyes of the other trainees on them but neither one of them cared.

He took a slow breath before asking a question that felt like a punch in Maverick's gut.

"Am I dismissed?"

"Bradley. . ." Maverick started but stopped himself. "Yes, Lieutenant Bradshaw. You're dismissed."

The two walked away from each other and went to their planes. One by one, they took off after Maverick's lead.

"Good morning, aviators," he said once they reached the right elevation. "This is your captain speaking. Welcome to basic fighter maneuvers. As briefed, today's exercise is dogfighting. Guns only, no missiles. We do not go below the hard deck of 5,000 feet. Working as a team, you have to shoot me down, or else."

"Or else what, sir?" Payback asked.

"Or else I shoot back. If I shoot either one of you down, you both lose."

Hangman, Phoenix, Bob, and the other trainees were back at base, listening to this. Phoenix and Bob laughed while Hangman got annoyed.

"This guy needs an ego check," he mumbled.

"We'll see to that," someone Hangman didn't know laughed.

"What say we put some skin in the game?" Payback challenged.

"What did you have in mind?" Maverick asked, knowing exactly where this was going.

"Whoever gets shot down first has to do 200 push-ups."

"Guys," Maverick sighed, pretending to sound bothered, "that's a lot of push-ups."

"They don't call it an exercise for nothing, sir," Fanboy laughed.

This was going to be too easy, Maverick thought.

"You got yourself a deal, gentlemen," Maverick said, closing his visor. "Fight's on. Let's turn and burn."

And just like that, Maverick disappeared.

"Fanboy, you see him?" Rooster asked.

"Nothing on radar up ahead," he replied. "He must be somewhere behind us."

Maverick surprised them by flying upright between their planes. He smirked when they let out surprised yells.

"Damn it!"

"What the hell?"

After a few more maneuvers, Maverick sighed. "Easy, Maverick. Let's try not to get fired on the first day.

"Tally, tally, tally! Maverick's coming in! Break left!"

"Breaking left."

"Payback, where's your wingman?" Maverick teased.

"Rooster, where are you?"

"I got your back. I'm coming. Hang in there. Hang in there."

"Hurry up, man! Hurry up!"

"Payback, break right."

"Breaking right."

While they were trying to set up, Maverick was already in place. "Rooster just saved your life, fellas. But it's gonna cost him."

"Not this time, old man."

"Don't let him get to you, Maverick," he told himself.

"Rooster, you're too low! Pull up! You're hitting the hard deck!"

"Altitude. Altidute." The automatic voice in Rooster's plane warned him.

"Oh, shit," he mumbled.

As Rooster pulled up, Maverick was there.

"That's a kill."

When they got back to base, Rooster did the 200 push-ups while Fanboy and Payback walked inside. They watched from the window, guilt eating at them.

"That should be us down there," Fanboy sighed.

"But it's not," Phoneix said. She laughed before adding, "And now you know a little something about Rooster."

Some of the other guys joked and took a picture with Rooster. But of course, Maverick shot them down. He shot down all of them.

"Say, Phoneix," Hangman sighed. "How's about we tell everybody "Bob" stands for something? Other than Robert, I mean."

"Don't take the bait, Bob," Phoenix sighed. "Want to know why we call him Hangman?"

"I got it," Hangman chuckled. "Baby on Board."

Maverick flew right through them before Phonix explained Hangman's name, cutting them all off.

"Greetings, aviators. Fight's on."

"All right, Phoenix, let's take this guy out!"

"Watch your back, Phoenix," Rooster mumbled as he listened from the base.

"Break right!" Hangman yelled.

"Breaking right."

Hangman didn't break right.

"Where's he going?!" Bob yelled.

"That's why we call him Hangman," Phoenix sighed. "He'll always hang you out to dry."

"Leaving your wingman," Maverick sighed. "There's a strategy I haven't seen in a while."

"He called you a man, Phoenix. You gonna take that?" Hangman laughed.

"So long as he doesn't call you a man," she instantly replied. "Talk to me, Bob. Where's Maverick?"

"His nose is already coming around!" Bob gasped.

"Get him off me, Hangman!" Phoenix yelled.

"For all you folks at home, this is how you bury a fossil," Hangman gloated.

"All right, Hangman," Maverick sighed, having heard enough. "Time to teach you a lesson. But first, you're out, Phoenix."

"Son of a bitch!"

He left her and instantly went after Hangman. He was mildly impressed by Hangman's talents but he knew Hangman's ego would get in the way long before he had the chance to use his talents.

It didn't matter how good Hangman was. Maverick was better.

He pulled back, instantly flying straight into the sun.

"Shit," Hangman swore. "Phoenix, I can't see him. How close am I?"

"I'm dead, dickhead."

"See you in the afterlife, Bagman," Bob added.

"Where is he? Where is he?"

Alarm.

"That's a kill."

Training went on like that. For several days. Maverick flew with each of the twelve trainees and shot every one of them down. A couple of days later, Maverick was flying against Hangman and Rooster.

"So, Rooster," Hangman asked once they reached elevation, "mind if I ask you a personal question?"

"Would it matter if I did?" Rooster sighed.

"What's the story with you and Maverick? It seems like he's got you rattled."

"That's none of your business," Rooster said instantly. "Besides, it doesn't really have anything to do with him." He cleared his throat and asked, "Now where the hell is he?"

Maverick appeared below them. "Been here the whole time."

Maverick flew around, hovering over them upside down.

"Holy shit," Hangman mumbled.

"You see me now?" Maverick asked, hovering over Rooster. "Come on, let's get it over with."

"Fight's on!" Rooster yelled.

"What is it with these two?" Hangman sighed as Maverick and Rooster circled each other while flying straight down.

"All right, you put us here. How you gonna get yourself out?" Maverick asked.

"You can bail out anytime," Rooster snapped.

"How low you want to go, Rooster?"

"I can go as low as you, sir! And that's saying something compared to you know who."

"Can't even say their call sign, can you?" Maverick challenged. His heart sank when he thought about what she would do if she knew what was going on. "What's past is past," Maverick sighed. "For all of us."

"You'd like to believe that, wouldn't you?"

"Hard deck is 5,000 feet, fellas," Hangman said. "You are running out of room."

"Altitude," Rooster's automatic voice warned him.

"Your strategy is about to run us into the ground," Maverick said. "What's your move?"

"Altitude. Altitude. Altitude. Altitude. Altitude." The voice continued to repeat before changing to "Pull up!"

The two had no choice but to pull up. Once they saved themselves, Rooster tried to get behind Maverick.

"You got it," Rooster talked to himself. "Don't think, just do."

"Come on, Rooster, you got him!" Hangman said. "Drop down and take the shot!"

"It's too low," Rooster stuttered.

When Rooster still hadn't taken the shot, Maverick knew what he had to do. "Too late," he said. "You had your chance." He pulled up, instantly getting into position. "That's a kill. Knock it off."

"Damn it!" Rooster yelled.

"Same old Rooster," Hangman chuckled. Maverick flew up next to Rooster and sighed when he saw how defeated the boy looked.

"Go see Hondo about your push-ups."

* * * * *

When Rooster got back, Hondo monitored his push-ups. Lost in angry thought, Rooster did more than 200 push-ups. When Hondo tried to get him to stop and he refused, he walked away. Finally giving up, Rooster sat down. He pulled his knees up to his chest and sighed.

"Break the hard deck, insubordination. Are you trying to get kicked out?" Phoenix asked as she walked over to him.

"Don't worry about it."

"Look," she sighed as she squatted in front of him, "I'm going on this mission. But if you get kicked out, you leave us flying with Hangman. Talk to me. What the hell was that?"

"It's complicated," Rooster snapped at her. "And it has nothing to do with you or Bob or Hangman. Just me, Maverick, and. . ."

He couldn't say the last person's name.

Phoenix had heard rumors but it wasn't until now that it was clear. "Did Maverick pull your application to the Naval Academy?"

"No," he sighed. "Someone else did. But it set me back four years."

"Then why are you taking it out on him?"

Rooster looked up at her, unable to tell her the truth. "He knew," he admitted. "He knew who did it and why."

"Let me guess, you don't know who did it and why."

"Oh, I know who," Rooster scoffed. "What I don't know is why they did it to me."

* * * * *

While Rooster was getting interviewed by Phoenix, Maverick was getting his ass chewed out by the admirals.

"The hard deck is 5,000 feet above ground level," Simpson scoffed. "A parameter is set not just for the safety of our pilots, but for the safety of their aircraft. 5,000 feet is not just a rule. It is a law, as immutable as gravity."

"The hard deck will be much lower for the mission, sir," Maverick said.

"And it will not change without my approval!" Simpson yelled. "Especially not in the middle of an exercise. And that Cobra maneuver of yours? That could've got all three of you killed. I never want to see that shit again."

"What exactly do you suppose you were teaching, Captain?" Bates asked.

"That as good as they are, sir, they still have something to learn," Maverick answered instantly.

"You are talking about the best fighter pilots on the planet, Captain," Simpson snapped again.

"And they've been told that their entire career, while they've been dropping bombs from high altitude with little to no dogfighting. The parameters of this mission call for something they have never encountered."

"Okay," Simpson cut him off, "you have less than three weeks to teach them how to fight as a team and how to strike the target."

"And how to come home," Maverick added. The two admirals were silent. Simpson sat back in his chair, studying Maverick.

"Every mission has its risk. These pilots accept that."

"I don't, sir."

Simpson couldn't take Maverick's attitude anymore. "Every morning, from this day forward, you will brief us on your instructional plans in writing. And nothing will change without my express approval."

"Including the hard deck, sir?"

"Especially the hard deck, Captain."

Maverick instantly stepped forward and placed a folder on Simpson's desk.

"What's this?"

"It's a request to lower the hard deck, sir, to practice a low-level bombing run per the mission parameters."

[enrichmentformaverick]

Fish Inspector Maverick is on the job 🐟🐠🐡

[nameofallteams]

299 Hackathon Team Names For Codefest Contests

Choosing a creative and unique team name can set the tone for a successful hackathon or coding competition. Whether you're looking for something funny, clever, tech-inspired, or just plain cool, a strong team name can boost your team’s energy and make you stand out. Here's a comprehensive list of 299 hackathon team names that will inspire your coding journey and bring a little fun to the world of code. Tech & Coding-Themed Team Names These names pay homage to the world of programming, with a nod to various coding languages, frameworks, and tech culture: - Null Pointers - The Bug Slayers - Code Monkeys - Debug Thugs - Stack Overflows - Code Warriors - Ctrl+Alt+Defeat - Syntax Terminators - The Hack Street Boys - The Programmed Ninjas - Git Pushers - Byte Me - Code Crackers - Binary Bosses - Full Stack Force - 404: Team Not Found - Algorithmic Avengers - Ctrl+Alt+Elite - Runtime Terror - The Codebreakers Funny Hackathon Team Names A little humor never hurts, and these funny team names will show your competitors you mean business but are still ready to have fun: - Compiling Errors - Segmentation Fault - Java the Hutt - The Semicolon Squad - Mission Unpossible - The Loops of Fury - Noobz R Us - Pirates of Silicon Valley - #IncludeUs - Hack of All Trades - Hack to the Future - The Internet Explorers - Debugger Ducks - Return of the Bug - Bros Who Code - Coding Ninjas - Error 404: Name Not Found - Keyboard Ninjas - The Rebooters - Too Lazy to Fail AI & Machine Learning Team Names If your hackathon team is all about AI, data science, or machine learning, these names will help showcase your tech-savviness: - Neural Net Ninjas - The Tensor Kings - Machine Learning Maestros - AI Aces - Algorithm Architects - Bot Squad - Deep Learning Dynamos - The Neural Networkers - The Data Wizards - Intelligent Agents - Quantum Quants - Data Miners - Code AI-lerts - Model Builders - Artificial Intelligentsia - Predictive Pioneers - Cognitive Coders - Matrix Manipulators - Hidden Layers - Data Decoders Cybersecurity-Themed Team Names For teams focused on security challenges, these cybersecurity-related team names are perfect for showing off your hacking prowess: - The Firewalls - Hacktivists - White Hat Warriors - Secure Coders - Encryption Experts - The Ethical Hackers - Cyber Sleuths - Malware Exterminators - Security Buffs - Phishing Phighters - Trojan Warlocks - The Encrypted Ones - 2-Factor Freaks - Cyber Defenders - The Hash Slingers - Data Guardians - Zero-Day Warriors - Penetration Pals - Bug Busters - Cyber Ninjas Web Development Team Names For web developers, these team names give a nod to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other front-end/back-end web technologies: - HTML Heroes - CSS Messiahs - JavaScript Junkies - Full Stack Fanatics - The DOM-inators - The Bootstrap Bros - AJAX Avengers - The Responsive Rangers - Web Wizards - React Native Nerds - CSS Assassins - The Code Inspectors - Front-End Force - RESTful Rebels - The Static Shockers - HTML Hackers - The Webcrawlers - The Devtools Division - The Angular Attackers - The Web Geeks App Development Team Names If your hackathon project focuses on mobile or app development, these app-themed names are a great fit: - App-tivists - The Swift Squad - Android Annihilators - iOS Innovators - Appetite for Code - The Mobile Marvels - Swift Slayers - App Architects - Java Junkies - The App Legends - App Attackers - Mobile Mavericks - CodeCraft Mobile - Code Surgeons - Swift Coders United - The Droid Squad - Mobile Ninjas - Push Notification Ninjas - Mobile Machine - App-o-Holics Cloud Computing Team Names For cloud-based hackathon projects, these team names reflect the high-flying world of cloud computing: - Cloud Commandos - The Cloud Gurus - Azure Avengers - Serverless Savants - The Cloud Native Coders - Lambda Legends - AWSome Team - Cloud Kings - Kubernetes Killers - Cloud Control - The Skycoders - SaaS-nators - The Cloud Conquerors - Fog of War - Multi-Cloud Magicians - The Elastic Engineers - API Avengers - The Cloud Nine Coders - Hybrid Heroes - Server Sorcerers Hardware & Robotics Team Names If you're building something physical or diving into robotics, these team names will represent your hands-on spirit: - RoboCoders - The Circuit Breakers - Hardware Heroes - Byte Bots - The Gearheads - Code Mechanics - Automation Nation - IoT Innovators - The Robotic Rulers - The Motherboard Mafia - The Pi-thons (for Raspberry Pi fans) - Servo Kings - RoboWarriors - Giga-Bots - Robotica Legion - RoboCrafters - The Hardware Hustlers - Code-Bots - Wires and Bytes - Circuit Crushers Team Names for Data Science Enthusiasts Data is king in today’s tech world. If your hackathon project is focused on data science, analytics, or big data, these names will resonate: - Data Crunchers - The Big Data Ballers - Data Wizards - Insight Igniters - The Number Crunchers - Data Whisperers - Data Wranglers - The Data Syndicate - Big Data Brainiacs - The Data Scientists - Analytics Avengers - Data Crushers - The Predictive Pirates - Data Knights - The Data Streamers - Data-Driven Divas - Cloud Data Creators - The Insight Masters - The Trend Trackers - The Data Geniuses AI-Powered Team Names For teams diving deep into artificial intelligence, these AI-themed names will make your team sound cutting-edge: - AI Revolutionaries - Machine Learning Masters - The AI Innovators - The Intelligent Agents - The Neural Network Ninjas - Cognitive Coders - DeepMind Devs - The Algorithm Analysts - AI All-Stars - Neural Ninjas - Cognitive Craftsmen - Brain-Byte Bots - The Learning Machines - Reinforcement Raiders - AI Enforcers - The Code Intelligentsia - Artificial Intelligence Alliance - Smart Coders - Deep Learning Hackers - The Singularities Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Team Names If your hackathon project revolves around blockchain technology or cryptocurrency, these names will let everyone know your focus: - Blockchain Bandits - Crypto Crusaders - The Ledger Legends - Decentralized Dynamos - Blockchain Brains - The Mining Minions - Crypto Kings - Smart Contract Coders - The Hash Shredders - The Decentralizers - Block by Block - Token Traders - Satoshi’s Army - The Coin Cowboys - Blockchain Innovators - Crypto Wizards - The Ledger Lords - Crypto Knights - The Chain Reactions - Decentralization Nation Futuristic & Cool Team Names For teams that want to project a futuristic, tech-savvy image, these cool and edgy team names are perfect: - The Quantum Coders - Cyber Knights - Future Forward - The Innovators - Technotron - CodeBots United - The Code Lords - The Next Gen Coders - The Future Thinkers - Cyberspace Kings - The Singularity Seekers - Innovation Igniters - The Virtual Vanguard - Tech Titans - The Cybernauts - Matrix Manipulators - Codebreak Revolution - The Next Big Thing - The Inno-Masters - The Futurists Short & Catchy Team Names Short and snappy names can be memorable and impactful. Here are more concise hackathon team names that pack a punch: - Byte - Hex - Sync - Bug - Algo - Bits - Ping - Bash - Null - Flux - Node - Cache - Chip - CodeX - Loop - Botz - OptiCode - HackX - Cipher - DevOps Geeky & Nerdy Hackathon Team Names For the teams that embrace their inner geeks and nerds, these names will proudly show your love for all things tech: - Nerd Herd - Geek Squad - The Binary Beasts - The Nerdy Bunch - Techie Titans - Code Geeks - Digital Dorks - Nerd Ninjas - Geek Gods - Geek Mode - The IT Crowd - Nerd Alert - Geek Freaks - The Byte-Sized Geeks - Coder Clan - Pixel Geeks - The Nerd Brigade - Geek Avengers - Tech Nerds - Debugging Nerds Space & Sci-Fi-Inspired Team Names For the team with a love for outer space, science fiction, or cosmic mysteries, these team names are out of this world: - Space Invaders - Starship Hackers - The Code Awakens - The Codalorian - Cosmic Coders - Galaxy Brains - The Warp Drivers - Code Nebula - Hyper Hackers - Astro Coders - Rocket Propelled Coders - Space Hackers - Intergalactic Innovators - The Code Side of the Moon - Star Commanders - Beyond the Code - The Black Hole Bytes - Planet Hack - The Code Trek Conclusion There you have it—299 creative, funny, and inspiring hackathon team names that will bring your coding team together, boost your confidence, and make you stand out at your next Codefest or hackathon. Whether you want something witty, techy, or futuristic, this list offers a wide variety of options to help your team express its identity and creativity. So, pick the name that resonates with your group’s energy, and get ready to code your way to victory! Read the full article

[mtr-amg]

Leo Suter (Vikings: Valhalla) and Sofia Barclay (Ted Lasso) are leading the adaptation, playing DI Thomas Lynley and DS Barbara Havers, an aristocratic police detective and maverick sergeant from a working class background.

[tilbageidanmark]

Movies I watched this week (#175):

3 more by Claude Chabrol:

🍿 Cop au Vin, another of his policier mysteries, taking place in a nice provincial town in the mid-80's. Business conspiracy, disappearing mistresses, spying on the neighbors, Stéphane Audran as a controlling Norman Bates mother, murders and a maverick police inspector who has no problems waterboarding suspects to coerce confessions from them. I loved the quiet, solid pace of this thriller. 7/10.

🍿 In This man must die, a writer whose son was killed in a hit-and-run accident, vows to find the driver and kill him. Revenge and retribution mixes when the man finds the killer's sister-in-law, who was a passenger in the car, and falls in love with her. Based on a novel by C. Day Lewis, Daniel Day Lewis's father.

🍿 Alice or the Last Escapade, a stupid mid-70's "fantasy", based on a vague interpretation of 'Alice in Wonderland'. It stars modeling Sylvia Kristel, between the filming of 'Emmanuelle 2' and 'Emmanuelle 3', but unfortunately she cannot act and is unable to carry the movie on her pretty shoulders. She gets in a car and drives aimlessly, until she suddenly gets stuck in a mysterious old mansion in the country, out of which she cannot escape, like a stranger in a strange land. It's completely unmotivated, unexplained, unoriginal and uninteresting. 2/10.

🍿

As I was searching for films inspired by Jorge Luis Borges, I discovered that he actually wrote a few himself. His Invasión (1969) is considered one of the greatest Argentinian movies of all time (No. 2 on a specialized 2022 list). It's a metaphorical, maybe metaphysical mystery involving doomed groups of resistance fighters against an all-powerful impending invasion. It's visually arresting, made to look like a dark black and white combination between 'Alphaville' and 'Z'. But it's stylishly opaque and complicated, and I had a hard time understanding who was fighting whom or for what.

🍿

Julie Harris X 2:

🍿 First watch: Elia Kazan's famed East of Eden, whose plot apparently was only a small portion of Steinbeck's epic novel (which I hadn't read). A melodrama about unloving parents, disillusionment and the perception of "sin", it is played in 1917, but with very 1955 mores and sensibilities. It sends a mixed up and confused messages about everything it touches on; Anti German sentiments? Cain & Abel sibling rivalry? It's choppy and all over the place. If only James Dean didn't die young...

🍿 I'm sure that in 1967 they advertised Reflections in a Golden Eye: "Huston. Taylor. Brando. McCullers." (Or at least they thought about it).

I love these mid-century, theatrical Southern Gothic Tennessee Williams types dramas. It's always about repressed everything, heat, both mental and physical, seething marriages which are about to fall apart, voyeurism, and neighing horses. This one has them all. It's like a ''Six characters in search of who will kill whom at the end". It was Robert Forster first major role. 7/10.

🍿

7 by Brazilian Jorge Furtado, 3 with Lázaro Ramos:

🍿 Isle of Flowers (1989) was voted various places as the "Best Brazilian short film of all times". It tracks the life of a tomato, Kurt Vonnegut style. Must be watched cold, without any reading about it beforehand. 9/10.

🍿 Basic sanitation, the movie, a 2007 odd comedy, which also takes place around his hometown of Porto Alegre [where severe floods just killed hundreds this week]. The citizens of this little village suffer from terrible stink due to a leaky septic tank, and they try to get the authorities to fix the sewer system. There's no budget for that, but they can get a $10,000 grant to make a movie about it instead. It ends with an hysterically funny, laughing-out-loud climax. 7/10.

🍿 My uncle killed a guy (2004) is a sweet comedy, a "different" Young love/detective story. The hero is a 'clicked-on' 15-year-old teen, who's trying to prove the innocence of his uncle, while winning the love of his classmate at the same time. It's cute and sunny, with a 'flat' TV-style, using some of the same actors from 'Sanitation'. 7/10.

🍿 The man who copied (2003) is another sweet crime comedy about a poor young man who falls for a girl he spies on with binoculars at night. It's all very innocent, until he starts counterfeiting money, robbing a bank, and eventually blowing up people , and causing others to jump to their death.

🍿 The Sandwich (2000), a short meta-film about a couple that breaks up. Their last time together, they go back and forth into the past and future, the camera pulls back, and you can see the stage where they playact. Then it pulls even further...

🍿 "Soldiers and shit are the same to me!..."

In The Day Dorival Faced the Guards, a jailed guy is desperate for a shower after 10 days in a dingy cell. A man against the system.

🍿 In the science-fiction fantasy Barbosa (1988), a man time-travels to an historic football game 38 years earlier, when Brazil lost the World Cup to Uruguay, as he tries unsuccessfully to change that outcome.

🍿

RIP, Roger Corman X 2:

🍿 Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957), produced and directed by Roger Corman. Giant mutated crabs stalking and eating the brains of their human victims so they can talk and communicate telepathically. The epitome of low-budget, Nuclear-scare exploitation, drive-in B-movie chum of the 1950's. 3/10.

🍿 Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel is a fair, serviceable 2011 documentary about the Schlockmeister. It's probably better than many of the 493 movies he produced, and the 56 he directed. Still, I'm going to watch his 'Wild Angels', 'Little shop of horror', 'The intruder', 'The trip', 'A bucket of blood', 'Dementia 13'...

🍿

As I'm waiting for La Bête, the new Léa Seydoux vehicle, I thought I'll try my first film by its French director Bertrand Bonello, The Pornographer (2001). In it, middle-age, jaded Jean-Pierre Léaud is a former director of porn who has to go back into the business, while dealing with a strained relationship with his grown-up son. But I couldn't finish it, it was so boring, in spite of the fact that it included a real, explicit fuck scene. Wow, Jackie Treehorn's ludicrous 'Smut Business' from the 'Golden age of porn'! They tried to make 'Art' then, with classical music, and motivated story lines. Ha!

🍿

9 Shorts:

🍿 I had seen 5 or 6 features by David Lynch before, and none of them did very much to me. His David Lynch Cooks Quinoa (2007) is possibly the one I enjoyed the most. For 20 minutes he just cooks the grains in water with some broccoli, and like all the idiots on YouTube, he just describes what he does; "Now I'm putting some water in the pan...". The Banality is the Meaning?…

🍿  24-year-old Tim Burton made Vincent in 1982. It's about a 7 year old boy who daydreams he's Vincent Price, and it is narrated by Vincent Price himself. Projections much?

🍿 Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (1906), my second silent 1-reeler by Edwin S. Porter (after last week's 'The Great Train Robbery'). A surrealistic live-action trick film, adapted from a Winsor McCay comic strip of the same name. A man eats and drinks so much that he starts having disturbing hallucinations, similar to the special effects of one Georges Méliès. I did not know that 'Welsh Rarebit' is basically just 'Cheese sauce on toasted bread'.

🍿 A living soul, an unsettling 2014 Swedish science-fiction story about a human brain that is being kept alive in a lab.

🍿 Teens in paradise, my first by Los-Angeles based Victoria Vincent, a totally wild animator, about two young tennis stars, one good and one evil. Warped psychedelics and crazy neon world, it's like anything I've even seen.

Also, A dog that smokes weed, which is exactly what it is about, and where all the credits list only the two creators, in all the positions of the crew. [*Female Director*].

🍿 Lost sheep (2023), a paper stop-motion short about a 3-legged sheep and its kind shepherd. A non-religious Christian parable.(Screenshot Above).

🍿 Wes Anderson’s latest 3 minute commercial for the Montblanc pen, called “100 Years of Meisterstück”, starring himself, bearded Rupert Friend and Jason Schwartzman. Very much on brand. He’s actually a complete Sell-out.

🍿  My first Star Wars movie, The Simpsons’s new May the 12th be with you. Reminds me why I don’t want to participate in the Disney corporate franchise orgies: so many “Easter eggs” and “Inside jokes”, ha ha ha. 2/10.

🍿 The chair (2022), a psychological horror story about a young guy who finds a discarded chair on a curbside. The chair has "powers" that effects his perception, and he doesn't know what to believe any more. 1/10.

🍿  

(My complete movie list is here)

[mavdrones]

Beyond Photography: 5 Unexpected Ways Drones Are Used Today

Drones have evolved far beyond their initial use as tools for capturing breathtaking aerial footage. Here are five unexpected and innovative ways these versatile flying machines are making an impact around the world:

Wildlife Guardians: Conservation efforts have been greatly enhanced by the use of drones. Conservationists now employ drones to monitor endangered species in their natural habitats. Equipped with advanced cameras and sensors, these drones can track animal populations, identify migration patterns, and even spot illegal activities such as poaching in protected areas. By providing real-time data, drones empower conservationists to take timely action to protect vulnerable wildlife populations.

Delivering the Essentials: In remote or disaster-affected regions where traditional transportation infrastructure may be lacking or compromised, drones are stepping in to deliver essential supplies. Medical drones, in particular, are proving to be lifesaving as they can swiftly transport critical medicine, vaccines, and blood samples to areas where access is difficult or impossible for conventional vehicles. This capability is especially crucial in emergency situations where time is of the essence.

Farming From Above: Drones are revolutionizing agriculture through the practice of precision farming. Farmers are utilizing drones equipped with various sensors and imaging technology to survey vast agricultural fields from above. By analyzing data collected by drones, farmers can identify areas with nutrient deficiencies, pest infestations, or irrigation issues. This enables them to make informed decisions, such as targeted application of fertilizers or pesticides, leading to increased crop yields and reduced environmental impact.

Building Inspectors in the Sky: Drones have become indispensable tools for building inspections, particularly in industries such as construction and infrastructure maintenance. With their ability to navigate tight spaces and reach inaccessible areas such as rooftops and high-rise structures, drones provide a safer and more cost-effective alternative to traditional inspection methods. By conducting aerial surveys and capturing high-resolution imagery, drones enable inspectors to detect potential structural issues or maintenance needs quickly and efficiently.

Whale Watching on a Whole New Level: Researchers are harnessing the power of drones to study marine life, particularly whales, in ways that were previously unimaginable. Drones equipped with specialized cameras and sensors can approach whales without disturbing their natural behavior, allowing scientists to gather valuable data on their health, behavior, and migration patterns. This non-invasive approach to research not only provides insights into the lives of these majestic creatures but also contributes to conservation efforts aimed at protecting marine ecosystems.

In each of these unexpected applications, drones are demonstrating their versatility and potential to address a wide range of challenges across different fields, from wildlife conservation to healthcare delivery and beyond. As technology continues to advance, the possibilities for drone use are likely to expand even further, opening up new opportunities for innovation and positive impact on a global scale.

[neo-cato-the-elder]

Written in 1974 in Australia...

A prescient poem written 50 years ago by Viv Forbes. Posted by PATRICK WOOD APR 3

The Numbered Men

One day while I was driving down the highway in the sun

I sat behind a milk truck just returning from his run.

His sign said "Licensed Vendor" and it made me feel secure

That only numbered milkmen could come knocking on my door.

*********

Then I saw a licensed builder with his number on the door

And a plumber with a permit which was issued by the law.

Then a hawker and publican each with his licence plate

And a licensed money lender with his number on the gate.

*********

I pulled into a café, which was licensed to sell beer

And struck up conversation with a licensed auctioneer.

He'd just been selling forfeit goods to pay the fines imposed

On a maverick hardware dealer whose late trading he'd exposed.

*********

A warm glow spread inside me as I drank a licensed beer

And I pictured the inspectors who called in every year

To check upon the numbered men and safeguard fools like me

Who'd waste their money buying things from men who paid no fee.

*********

I thought of all the union men whose cards protect their job

And dairy men whose quota scheme defends them from the mob.

The teachers who are registered, the chemists with their guilds

And lawyers with their closed cartel which keeps their coffers filled.

*********

As I sat among the numbered men it suddenly occurred

That I was just a cleanskin in a tamed and numbered herd.

Somehow I'd missed the muster when the planner combed the land

And now I was a maverick, a man without a brand.

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The numbered men live sheltered lives, their keeper is the State,

Their job depends less on their skills than on their licence plate.

Their future is determined and their charges are prescribed,

And the standards of their conduct are in rules and acts described.

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But thank the Lord for mavericks, who don't fit in the mould,

They help distract the licence-men from getting far too bold.

Without the help of mavericks, the planners would persist

Till we all need applications for a licence to exist.

Viv Forbes

Washpool, Queensland, Australia