#is he in italy for business or family?? IS JOANNA THERE WITH HIM?!

[whiteshipnightjar]

Andy Samberg with a restaurant chef in Italy. I repeat, Andy is in Italy.

[0nlyn3l]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐱 𝐏𝐨𝐜!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐨

𝟏𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟕𝟓𝟐

𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧 📍

Ever since the day of the gala, two months prior to now, Carlisle and y/n had become inseparable; seeing as he was in no rush to return to Italy and found solace in the girl’s presence.

Y/n was sat in her chamber with her companions, Lady grace Jones, Lady Joanna Wilson, Lady Friend and Lady Diana Lovelace.

“Ah, you heathen, done pull my hair that hard !” Shouted Diana to her friend; making the pain seem much worse than it actually was.

“Sorry Di but it’s not my fault that you’re such a baby” Grace replied; smirk on her face and placing the last pin in Diana’s hair before placing herself next to y/n.

“You’re awfully quiet” she said to her friend and receiving no reply.

“Earth to y/n !” Joanna retrieved the hairbrush from the table, throwing it straight to y/n’s arm.

“Ouch Jojo, that hurt, and I’m perfectly conscious” y/n replied, finally brought back to reality.

“Lies ! She’s too busy thinking of Sir Blonde hair to care about us”

In all honesty, it was true.

Her mind was too occupied with the blonde doctor whose cold touch gave her goosebumps.

Ever since the dance, he was all she could think about, and his constant visits didn’t help to defeat her ‘delusions’.

It’s not like they could be together.

He wasn’t that much older than her and was already familiar with her family.

He was a doctor and had a house in Italy, which was already a form of security.

“Oh my, I think that’s his steed out there” Grace gasped, pointing out the window as all the rest of the group crowded the window and spotted the recognisable white horse by the far golden gate.

Y/n was first to make her way straight for the door; her friends following behind and all running outside to greet the handsome doctor.

“Lady y/l/n, please do not run so carelessly, your mother will have my head” The maid Sarah said, additionally chasing the girls outside.

Carlisle couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight in front of him as one of the girls tripped over on her dress; getting straight back up and continuing to run.

His eyes landed on y/n, his agony coming to an end from the continuous torture of her face on his mind whenever he closed his eyes.

She looked ethereal this day.

Her natural hair was neatly tied into a bun behind her hat with a few loose pieces framing her face.

She wore a gorgeous pink dress that her brother bought her.

He remembers being there with him at the dress shop as he kept getting stares from the young women with their mothers.

“Ladies, how do you fare ?” Carlisle asked humbly as he got down from his horse.

“Hello Dr. Cullen, we were just talking about y- ow!” Diana started, being hit on the arm harshly before she could finish her sentence.

“Dr. Cullen, please come in before you catch your death. We all know how unpredictable winter weather is” Sarah said before making her way in as the rest followed her.

~

It was now lunchtime and y/n’s friends apart from Diana had already made their ways home.

“That’s why you cannot go outside in the snow with damp hair” Charles stated, trying to ignore his little sister’s annoying friend’s idiotic remarks.

“Yes but when you take it into deep consideration, there’s a bigger chance of my brain freezing than me actually catching a cold” Diana stated, genuinely believing herself.

“Mother, this is stupidity, she clearly has no brain to be frozen if her beliefs were correct”

Carlisle and y/n stifled a laugh avoiding eye contact, knowing if they looked at each other, they’d burst out laughing.

“Charlie, apologise to our guest at this moment. I do not know where this disrespect came from” Loretta said, scolding her son.

Charles let out a large humph, crossing his arms like a toddler and slouching in his chair.

“Son, don’t be so childish” Mathew said to Charles as he walked in; placing a kiss on his wife’s cheek.

“Mother !” Charles whined causing Loretta to ‘carelessly’ look away and I gnore her son’s whines.

Y/n had finally lost it; bursting into full laughter with Diana.

Diana nearly fell off of her chair making y/n snort loudly which only erupted more laughter from the two girls.

“Don’t worry Carlisle, the more time you spend around us, the more you’ll get used to our bickering and loudness” Mathew stated; hand firmly on Carlisles shoulder.

Carlisle smiled widely as he watched y/n laugh.

It was like God had taken extra time to make her; she was literally shining.

“I do quite enjoy it sir. My father was never a man of laughter in the house” Carlisle sadly told the man of the house.

Carlisles father was an Anglican pastor who devotedly dedicated his life towards vampire hunting, teaching his son to follow his footsteps.

It was never something Carlisle was interested in growing up.

Why make others suffer ?

He only wanted to spend time with his father.

“Carlisle, it’s quite late, and we are comfortable with you, would you like to stay the night” Loretta asked as she squashed her cigarette on the ashtray in front of her.

Carlisle looked around.

Firstly, his eyes landed on Charles.

Charles looked happy, still upset from earlier but he looked excited for the ‘sleepover’.

Next, his eyes landed on Mathew.

Mathew had more of a proud look on his face, almost as if he was trying to insist that Carlisle spends the night there.

Following on, it was Diana.

Diana didn’t really care.

However she did smirk; her rosy cheeks rising as she briefly locked eyes with y/n.

Y/n.

His y/n.

As soon as they held eye contact, he couldn’t pull away.

Her face showed no emotion but her eyes…

Her eyes spoke different words.

Somewhere in there he saw a glimpse of hope and desire which was the final push for him to agree.

“Alright ma’am, I’ve decided to spend the night. Wouldn’t want any risk of my brain freezing” Carlisle cheekily answered as he looked at young Diana.

“It’s settled then. Di, should you like to spend the night as well, you could sleep with Y/n”

Diana’s smile left her face as she realised she had a family and had to go home.

“My apologies aunt Etta but my mother is expecting me at home tonight as my sister’s wedding is next week”

“I bid you all farewell y/n, aunt Etta, Uncle Matt, Dr. Cullen” Diana said with a bow of the head, getting up from her chair and being escorted to her carriage by Sarah.

“I can’t believe Catherine is already to be wed, I remember her as an infant” Mathew told those around the table as he grabbed Loretta’s hand in his.

Genevieve, Diana and Catherine’s mother had been friends with Loretta ever since adolescence and when they fell pregnant with their last borns at the same time, they made it their sole duty to get the two babies to grow up together.

“Talking about marriage, we finally found you a good suitor darling. His names is George and he’s an architect” Loretta told her daughter.

Y/n tried not to shed a tear, so she looked down on her lap, smoothing down her dress and twiddling with her fingers to keep herself busy.

Loretta had her ‘social presentation’ slightly later than other girls; being her father’s favourite, he managed to pull a few strings.

But now too many years had passed and her mother was desperate to find her daughter a suitor as quick as possible.

Loretta wasn’t even that old.

She was now nineteen; 3 years older than when her social season had started.

Carlisle clenched his jaw at the sight of y/n’s somber and tried his hardest not to comfort her in front of everyone.

So he just sat there, listening to Loretta carry on about y/n’s potential suitor.

~

The morning had arrived and everybody except y/n was outside on the garden playing the dreadful game of pall mall under the cloudy sky.

Y/n was in her room struggling to tighten the lace at the back of her dress which only frustrated her even more each time.

She let out a loud groan before stomping to the chamber door and nearly bumping into the familiar tall chest.

“Carlisle, you’re an angel, please nah you assist me in fixing my dress” she pleaded, grabbing his wrist and dragging him to her chamber in front of her mirror.

“Goodness me y/n, I come to wake you up and you try to kidnap me in return” he chuckled as his hands made their way to the lace.

As his hands gently looped through the first of the last 5 holes, y/n felt her breath hitch as his cold one was felt on her neck.

2nd loop.

Carlisle stared longingly at her soft, tanned skin, desperate for one kiss.

If Carlisle was human, he would be red and sweaty at that moment.

3rd loop.

Y/n looked his the mirror towards Carlisles face, already finding him looking at her but none of them broke eye contact.

4th loop.

His hands were agonisingly close to her lower back.

He provoked her, grazing his hands on her as they moved down each time .

5th loop.

Carlisle had finished, but instead of removing his hands, walking away and going back outside as he should’ve, he put his hand to rest on y/n’s waist.

And none of them dared to move.

They stayed like that, gazing upon each other through the mirror and enjoying the comfortable silence that lingered in the air.

Y/n then turned around to face Carlisle, unaware of their close proximity.

“Quite the charmer Carlisle”

Y/n shifted her eyes to his lips as he licked them nervously.

Carlisle slowly moved in as they both closed their eyes and their lips met.

Y/n’s hands found Carlisles face as his wrapped around her waist hungrily.

The girl travelled her kisses down Carlisles neck as her hands found his buttons.

Carlisle was giving in.

But he couldn’t.

“Y/n wait” Carlisle whined. He really wanted to continue.

Y/n pulled back; confusion writes all over her face.

She was a sight for sore eyes.

Her lips were puffy and red and her eyes hung low.

“What’s the matter Carlisle, do you not want me ?” She asked, embarrassed of the she seduced him.

How could she be so stupid.

She embarrassed herself. But little did she know, Carlisle had the same intentions as she did.

“No love, it is not that. Of course I want you. But it’s just that. I-i might just… hurt you” Carlisle struggled to get out as he rested a soft pack on her pouty lips.

She opened her mouth about to speak as he interrupted her.

“I think it’s best we go down now before they suspect anything”

She nearly forgot she had a family.

She was too focused on the handsome doctor in front of her to pay attention.

~

“And score !” Loretta yelled victoriously as she jumped in the air.

“It is now getting late Mr. Y/l/n. I thank you for your hospitality but I must make my way to the lodge now” Carlisle told y/n’s father; shaking his hand thoroughly as Vincent, the young stable boy brought Carlisle’s steed out.

“Many thanks to your whole family” he ended as Charles walked Carlisle to the horse.

“You look riled up brother” Charles brought his friend’s odd stiff demeanour to Carlisles attention.

“Just a mental phantom Charlie, nothing serious”

Carlisle wanted to avoid anyone finding out about what happened with y/n earlier.

Especially her older brother who just happened to be Carlisles best friend.

“A curly haired mental phantom who happens to be little sister perhaps. Farewell Brother” Charlie chuckled; hand patting Carlisles chest encouragingly as he then walked off.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (August 8)

On August 8, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of St. Dominic Guzman, who helped the cause of orthodoxy in the medieval Church by founding the Order of Preachers, also known as Dominicans.

“This great saint reminds us that in the heart of the Church, a missionary fire must always burn,” Pope Benedict XVI said in a February 2010 General Audience talk on the life of St. Dominic.

In his life, the Pope said, “the search for God's glory and the salvation of souls went hand in hand.”

Born on 8 August 1170 in Caleruega, Spain, Dominic was the son of Felix Guzman and Joanna of Aza, members of the nobility.

His mother would eventually be beatified by the Church, as would his brother Manes who became a Dominican.

The family's oldest son Antonio also became a priest.

Dominic received his early education from his uncle, who was a priest, before entering the University of Palencia where he studied for ten years.

In one notable incident from this period, he sold his entire collection of rare books to provide for the relief of the poor in the city.

After his ordination to the priesthood, Dominic was asked by Bishop Diego of Osma to participate in local church reforms.

He spent nine years in Osma, pursuing a life of intense prayer, before being called to accompany the bishop on a piece of business for King Alfonso IX of Castile in 1203.

While traveling in France with the bishop, Dominic observed the bad effects of the Albigensian heresy, which had taken hold in southern France during the preceding century.

The sect revived an earlier heresy, Manicheanism, which condemned the material world as an evil realm not created by God.

Dreading the spread of heresy, Dominic began to think about founding a religious order to promote the truth.

In 1204, he and Bishop Diego were sent by Pope Innocent III to assist in the effort against the Albigensians, which eventually involved both military force and theological persuasion.

In France, Dominic engaged in doctrinal debates and set up a convent whose rule would eventually become a template for the life of female Dominicans.

He continued his preaching mission from 1208 to 1215, during the intensification of the military effort against the Albigensians.

In 1214, Dominic's extreme physical asceticism caused him to fall into a coma, during which the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to him and instructed him to promote the prayer of the Rosary.

Its focus on the incarnation and life of Christ directly countered the Albigensian attitude towards matter as evil.

During that same year, Dominic returned to Tolouse and obtained the bishop's approval of his plan for an order dedicated to preaching.

He and a group of followers gained local recognition as a religious congregation, and Dominic accompanied Tolouse's bishop to Rome for an ecumenical council in 1215.

The council stressed the Church's need for better preaching but also set up a barrier to the institution of new religious orders.

Dominic, however, obtained papal approval for his plan in 1216 and was named as the Pope's chief theologian.

The Order of Preachers expanded in Europe with papal help in 1218.

The founder spent the last several years of his life building up the order and continuing his preaching missions, during which he is said to have converted some 100,000 people.

After several weeks of illness, Dominic died in Italy on 6 August 1221.

He was canonized by Pope Gregory IX on 13 July 1234.

He is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientists.

He and his order are traditionally credited with spreading and popularizing the rosary.

The country Dominican Republic and its capital Santo Domingo are named after Saint Dominic.

[tabloidtoc]

OK, May 4

Cover: Pierce Brosnan love after tragedy 

Page 1: Big Pic -- Sarah Silverman out on the fire escape of her Manhattan apartment to bang pots and pans and cheer to show appreciation for our health care workers, grocery store workers and delivery people 

Page 2: Contents

Page 3: Contents 

Page 4: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle take the reins -- inside the couple’s new life in the States and their plans to become the King and Queen of L.A. 

Page 6: After a fall from grace Amanda Bynes is slowly but steadily picking up the pieces and she’s ready to share her story in a no-holds-barred TV interview 

Page 7: Cooped up with her family in their rural Montana ranch is a lot more work than Kelly Clarkson anticipated and she’s not as cut out for the country as she thought, now that Bindi Irwin’s a married woman she’s determined to find mom Terri Irwin the perfect man, although former besties Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez have drifted apart over the years Selena praised Demi for her emotional performance at the Grammy’s but Demi wasn’t pleased because she thought Selena’s comments were patronizing and didn’t appreciate Selena stealing her spotlight -- a common theme throughout their messy friendship 

Page 8: Though Caitlyn Jenner and son Brandon Jenner are now closer than ever Brandon revealed he didn’t see his father more than half a dozen times between the ages of 8 and 25, rumors are heating up that One Direction -- who went on hiatus in 2016 to pursue solo careers -- are planning a comeback, due to the health crisis Princess Beatrice and fiance Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi have been forced to cancel their nuptials for the third time and she feels she would have been happily married by now if it hadn’t been for her father Prince Andrew’s scandal 

Page 12: Who Wore It Better? Madeline Brewer vs. Katherine McNamara, Lake Bell vs. Zara Larsson 

Page 13: Cobie Smulders vs. Zanna Roberts Rassi 

Page 14: News in Photos -- Brooke Burke stepped out with her dog, Justin Theroux had a sit-down dinner with his dog Kuma 

Page 15: Amy Schumer showed off son Gene on WWHL, Jillian Michaels and her kids Phoenix and Lukensia and girlfriend Deshanna Minuto, Chris Martin 

Page 16: Kaley Cuoco and a new piglet, Nina Dobrev, Mindy Kaling 

Page 18: Gwen Stefani and Blake Sheldon, Jennifer Garner and daughter Violet, Sam Smith 

Page 19: Cara Delevingne, Joel Kinnaman and girlfriend Kelly Gale walk his dog, Jonathan Scott and girlfriend Zooey Deschanel 

Page 20: Dua Lipa, Kelly Bensimon and her dog Fluffy, Jenna Dewan and Steve Kazee and kids and one of their two dogs

Page 21: Jessica Simpson in bunny ears with husband Eric Johnson and kids Maxwell and Birdie and Ace, Elizabeth Olsen and fiance Robbie Arnett take a walk in the Hollywood Hills 

Page 22: Kristin Chenoweth and Josh Bryant, Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla, Sean Penn 

Page 23: Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott are on the move yet again 

Page 24: Inside My Home -- Danica Patrick and Aaron Rodgers’ beachside estate 

Page 26: Pink’s life flashed before her eyes in March when she tested positive for Covid-19 but now that she’s healthy again she’s telling friends that the roller-coaster health crisis actually brought her and husband Carey Hart closer together 

Page 27: While Sofia Richie has insisted the 15-year age difference between herself and Scott Disick doesn’t bother her it’s finally catching up with to them now that Scott has baby fever and Sofia’s adamant she’s too young to be a mom, Shawn Mendes is currently bunking with girlfriend Camila Cabello and her family amid the health crisis but they’ll be looking for their own place once everything returns to normal, Anna Faris and Michael Barrett still intend to get married by the summer -- they’ll have a small ceremony in May or June with a witness present and everyone else can watch it on live feed

Page 28: Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez were set to exchange vows in Italy this summer but she revealed they’re rescheduling the big day due to the global health crisis, George and Amal Clooney are stepping on each other’s toes while quarantined in their California crib, Love Bites: Chris Soules and Victoria Fuller dating, Will Forte and Olivia Modling engaged, Ciara and Russell Wilson will be having a boy 

Page 29: Kate Beckinsale is spending her days with baby-faced musician Goody Grace and it doesn’t faze either of them that Goody is only a year older than her daughter Lily, living in isolation is helping Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake heal their once rocky marriage 

Page 30: Cover Story -- Pierce Brosnan and Keely Shaye Smith’s amazing love story -- from overcoming unthinkable loss to planning a romantic vow renewal inside the 26-year romance of Pierce and Keely 

Page 34: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt making peace - more than three years after calling it quits Brad and Angie are finally quashing their beef face-to-face 

Page 36: Men of Country -- inside their private world -- Keith Urban, Blake Shelton 

Page 37: Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks 

Page 38: Quarantine with the Kids -- celeb moms show how it’s done from crowd-pleasing dinners to kid-friendly activities -- Hilaria Baldwin, Busy Philipps, Reese Witherspoon 

Page 39: Chrissy Teigen, Joanna Gaines, Kim Kardashian, Gwyneth Paltrow 

Page 40: Danica McKellar loves being a mom 

Page 42: How Padma Lakshmi managed to stay in such great shape after more than a decade on Top Chef 

Page 46: Style Week -- Hailey Bieber joined Dr. Barbara Sturm the aesthetics doctor and inventor of the vampire facial for an online Skin School hosted by YouTube

Page 49: Spotlight Ingedient: Celery -- Jenna Dewan 

Page 54: Entertainment 

Page 55: Books 

Page 58: Tom Hardy’s total transformation into Al Capone for the upcoming biopic Capone

Page 60: Sound Bites -- Chris Harrison on the contestants competing on the Bachelor spinoff Listen to Your Heart, Gal Gadot on what she misses about her home country, Joaquin Phoenix on preparing for a new movie role, Kanye West on his clothing line, Olivia Munn when asked if she has a dream wedding in mind, Kate Bosworth on falling in love with her husband director Michael Polish on the set of Big Sur 

Page 61: Hollywood Heat Meter -- Paris Jackson is set to play Jesus in the upcoming thriller Habit, Alex Trebek will release his own memoir in July, after fans called out Michael Buble for elbowing his wife Luisana defended him, Princess Anne seemingly shaded Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Hannah Brown says she’s still single 

Page 62: Horoscope -- Taurus Penelope Cruz 

Page 64: By the Numbers -- Eva Mendes 

[james-stark-the-writer-wips]

Of Witches And Demons - An Excerpt

Chapter 2: The Immortals. 

WC: 4000 words. Wanted to get this out asap tbh so it’s not the most polished thing but I hope you’ll forgive that and enjoy this!! If you wanna read a slightly more polished version, it’ll be up on wattpad soon so, 

LINK

(“Let’s go away a little. Different town, different people. Doesn’t matter where. Just know we’re not in Tenebris anymore although we will get back there soon. Does matter who. So pay attention.” Krilla said. Almadea nodded.)

“So,” Alice said, lighting the candle in her hand. “Who are we this time around?”

The forest was calm, quiet, isolated. They liked coming here a night. Listening to the crickets hiding in the grass, the hooting owls, seeing the moonlight giving everything a soft glow. It was magical. Even after so long, the magic hadn’t faded. The man beside Alice sighed as he looked away from the moon and towards her.

“Who do you want to be?” He took the candle from her. “Billionaires? Eccentrics? Business owners?”

“I can’t decide, Xan.” Alice said.

A soft breeze began to blow, carrying cool water along with it. The candle flame flickered as the wind blew past it. Xander put a hand around the flame to keep it from going out.

“So, you’re here. Took you long enough.” Xander said.

A branch crunched under the foot of the man walking towards Xander.

“I’m sorry I don’t finish as fast as you do, Xander.” The man said.

“You took an unusually long time.” Xander replied.

“I take a perfectly okay time, Xan. You’d think you’d know after two centuries together.” The man stopped in place. The wind began to die down.

“I should, I suppose.” Xan nodded. “Anyway, get over here, Cy.”

“So why the meeting outside?” Cyrus asked.

“I wanted to talk about our plans on Thursday.”

“Couldn’t we have had this conversation in the house?” He protested.

“I wanted the fresh air. Now get over here and stop whining.” Xander said. Cyrus let out a frustrated groan and walked over to the two of them.

“So, have you decided who we’re going to be?” Cyrus asked Alice.

“Well, I’m not sure yet. But definitely something new, someone we haven’t been yet.” She said.

“New, huh?” Cyrus chuckled softly.

“Let’s start at the basics. What have we been?” Xander said.

“Doctors, magicians, circus folk, philanthropists, bakers, politicians...” Cyrus began.

“So, what do you think, Alice?” Xander asked.

“How about ourselves?” Alice said.

“Don’t be naive, Alice. You know we can’t do that.” Cyrus said.

“I’m not saying tell everyone who we are.”

“Then what are you proposing, Alice? You know I hate vague people.” Cyrus leaned against a tree.

“Let’s be a family again instead of distant siblings. I’m tired of playing siblings.”

“Then, what? You wanna be my mother?” Cyrus scoffed.

“It’s not the 1800s, Cy.” Alice replied, picking up the candle and putting it to her nose. “You’d be my father. Besides, you are older than me.”

“You want me and Xander to be your fathers?” Cyrus said.

“Yes. And what’s the problem? You two used to date each other, right?” Alice vaguely pointed at both of them.

“There’s no problem, I’m just confirming.”

Xander interrupted before Cyrus could get another word in. “That’s fine and all, Alice, but what do we do? You know, for a living?”

“We’re rich, that’s for sure. I have had enough of being poor. We’re immortal, for fuck sake. There’s no fun being poor. Certainly not in this world.” She grumbled.

“Okay. Then you better come up with a good reason for us being rich.”

Alice pondered over it for a minute. What should they be? People would ask, that’s for sure. After so many years, Alice had learned that people couldn’t help but stick their noses in other people’s businesses. 

Alice snapped her fingers. “Ooh, how about you be oil princes?” She said. “We haven’t done that yet.”

“Both of us?” Cyrus asked.

“No. Don’t be silly. There’s no way anyone would believe that. It’d be more plausible if you started the business together after you met and fell in love or you started the business then fell in love but that feels old.”

“Then, what, pray tell, should we be? It’s your turn, Alice. Otherwise we skip your turn and we do my thing.” Xander said.

“No! We did your thing the last time we moved. I’ll think of something. Just give me a second.”

Cyrus sighed. “Okay, then. Take the night to sleep on it. We have a long trip ahead of us soon, anyway.”

“At least we’re sure of the location, yes?” Alice asked.

Xander nodded. “Yes. That hasn’t changed.”

“Where was it again?” Cyrus asked.

“You know where it is.” Xander said.

“I wasn’t listening when you said it.”

“You’ve got to start paying more attention, Cyrus. You’re wasting that photographic memory of yours.”

“Please, let’s not do this right now, Xan. Just tell me where we’re going. And let’s let Alice decide till tomorrow, yes?”

“Sure, whatever.” Xander let out a soft sigh. “We’re going to Tenebris.” He turned to Alice. Let’s go.” He put a hand on Alice’s back and turned to Cyrus. “You coming?”

“Go on ahead. I’ll catch up. I’m going to enjoy some of that fresh air you dragged me out here for.” Cyrus said. 

Xander handed him the candle and began to walk away. 

“Where the fuck is Tenebris?” Cyrus called out.

“You’ll find out soon enough.” Xander kept walking.

“Don’t be vague, Xan.” Cyrus shouted but Xander and Alice had already walked away. 

A slight smile crept onto Cyrus’s face without permission as looked up at the moon, its glimmering light illuminating the entire forest in a silver blanket. Anyone who says the night is evil has never looked at the moon. He thought.

He put his hands in his pockets. The air seemed to grow colder every passing second. He could smell the fresh, wet grass from last night’s shower. It clung to the air like glue, filling it with a soft hint of earthiness everywhere.

He began to walk back towards the mansion they currently resided in. They owned the forest (at least parts of it) and the mansion. They’d bought it to make sure the number of tresspassers and onlookers would go down and it had helped a lot, actually.

But people were getting suspicious. It was time to pack up and move, as they did every twenty or so years, whenever they thought someone was onto them. They’d lived in France, Italy, Russia, Switzerland, India, Japan, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and every big city and country in the world. Now they’d had enough of the city life — one of the primary reasons they’d moved to this town from NY, in fact —  and wanted to move somewhere more quiet and peaceful. 

While cites sure had their advantages —  a prominent one being everyone was too busy to give a shit about new people in town — it got lonely over time. And even in big cities, there was no escaping nosy neighbours.

Though it had been only nine years in this town, they’d decided to move somewhere they could live in peace. A place where they wouldn’t have to worry about getting shot or killed and being found out. This town had its charm but even it’s residents were wondering why the people in the mansion didn’t seem to age a day in the last few years. They’d started believing the ‘good genes, I guess’ excuse even less every time it was told to them.

Cyrus had personally seen what happened when humans found out about one of them being an Immortal.

When Cyrus had been granted the opportunity to be an Immortal, there were eight of them. Now, only Cyrus and Xander remained of the original eight. The others had either died, left to live in isolation or moved away to try their best to stay out of regular human business, trying to live normal lives unhindered.

Alice had only recently – 167 years ago, to be precise – joined them but she was a fine addition. She was the first woman to be turned in almost five centuries.

Cyrus took in a deep breath, letting all of nature’s beautiful smell consume his body as if tasting wine. He took his hands out of his pockets and blew on them to warm them up a bit. It was freezing out here.

Time to head back, he thought as he turned around and began to walk uphill back to the mansion.

With over twenty rooms in the mansion, the place was fit for kings (and had actually once belonged to a prince, of sorts). Everything about this place screamed ‘We have too much money’. Which wasn’t a bad thing, really. They had actually helped build an orphanage in the city, which had finished construction three weeks ago.

The mansion sat alone on a cliff, with no houses for miles and no one to disturb them. From the balcony, you could see the entire town in all its glory.

In one corner, smoke arose from the town’s bakery as Keith, the owner of said bakery, baked the last bread of the day, shutting down for the night. 

In another corner, if you lived in a mile radius, you could her Mrs. Radley screaming at her husband for being home late again. As the clock struck ten, the town began to close up, with only the twenty four hour pharmacy and the famous Powers’ Coffee Shop staying on.

Even in this small town, you could see a few people sitting in the coffee shop, writing away on their laptops all night long. It was the students from the nearby college that came out to Powers’ for their famous coffee.

Justin Powers and a single employee kept the shop open all day with them looking after it during the day while Justin’s son Max looked after it at night. 

And their coffees were delicious. And, thankfully close by to Joanna’s Pie Shop, the best pies you’ll ever taste.

And in two days time, they would all be a faint memory, never to be seen again, if possible.

Cyrus made his way into the mansion. All the lights had been turned off, no surprise there, and Alice had gone to bed.

Xander, on the other hand, sat by the fireplace, a glass of expensive whiskey in hand and a novel in the other.

“I’m gonna go sleep, Xan. I’ll see you in the morning.” Cyrus said.

“Mmhmm.” Xander said, flipping a page in his book.

Cyrus walked up the stairs and found his way to his bedroom, the smallest of all the rooms in the mansion, and crawled into bed, pulling the covers onto him.

He reached under his bed and grabbed the long stick he kept there. He quickly extended it to the opposite wall and flicked off the light switch. He put the stick back in its place and opened the curtains behind his bed. As he closed his eyes, he found sleep quickly.

-

As the sun rose above the horizon, Alice woke up, yawning, gently outstretching her arms. She had given much thought to what they should be… and nothing seemed as exciting as good old star crossed lovers. Ala gay Romeo and Juliet. Except without the dying part.

She pushed the bed covers aside, heading straight for the bathroom. She couldn’t wait to tell Xan and Cy what she’d chosen. As she took a quick shower, she began to iron out the details of how it would work and what their story would be. Sure, star crossed lovers was old and cliche, but it was perfect. To be honest, she was always trash for Shakespeare and star crossed lovers. This was a perfect pit. Besides, they’d been siblings for far too long.

About twenty minutes later, the clock rang nine and Alice stepped out of the shower, quickly drying herself off and slipping on a nice pair of jeans and a plain red t-shirt.

She rushed down the stairs, jumping two steps at a time, making her way to the dining table where a sleepy Cyrus sat, slowly sipping on his coffee. Besides him sat Xander eating his regular bowl of cornflakes.

“Guys!” Alice said, rushing to take a seat besides Cyrus.

“Please, just…softer.” Cyrus said, halfway through a sip.

“Just listen. I’ve decided.”

“About?” Xan asked

“Our cover.”

“Alice. Softer.” Cy scolded.

“Shut up, dick.” Alice snarked. She turned her attention to Xan. “So, our cover. I know what we wanna be.”

“Alice, you know what we say about cussing at the table.”

“You’re not my dad!” Alice said.

Xander had a rule about being civilized at the table. It was a surprise he’d managed to uphold it all these years, especially with Alice and Cyrus in the house — half their vocabulary was curse words.

“Well I’m gonna be soon, apparently so you better start listening, right?” Xander retorted.

“Ugh, I hate you.” Alice groaned.

“Perfect. Means I’m being a good parent.”

“So much wrong with that statement but we don’t have the time to explain all that. Anyway can you just listen to me?”

“Alright alright. Go on, I’m listening.” He shoved a spoonful of cornflakes into his mouth.

“Right. Our story. You two are, drum roll please,” She paused until Xan put down his spoon and reluctantly did a little series of taps on the table, “star crossed lovers.”

“Good god.” Cyrus sighed. “Why did we let her choose again?”

“I can hear you, you know.” Alice said.

“Her birthday comes up soon. It’s her gift.” Xan reminded, not noticing it was a rhetorical question.

“So,” Alice continued, unfazed. “I’ve been thinking all night and Xan was the rich guy…”

“Obviously.” Xan said, taking a bite of his food. Alice rolled her eyes.

“Would you just let me tell it?”

“Okay!” Xan backed off. “Sorry.”

“Right, so, Xan was the rich guy. You met at a mutual friend’s party, had drinks together and hooked up. Cyrus was still in the closet at the time and his dad was super homophobic. But, you kept seeing Xan because you felt a connection. When you meet him the second time, three days have passed. Xan sees you and says, “I’ve been waiting for you.” And you ask, “For three days?” and he nods and you kiss him in public for the first time. You stay over for the night but the next day your dad finds out. He’s threatened to cut you off if he sees you with Xan again.” She paused for a breath.

“But, you like him so much, you risked being broke. Your family isn’t super rich, but you do pretty well. You went off to live with Xan and your dad said he cut you off. But, your dad suddenly falls ill only you don’t learn that until a week later when your mom calls you to his funeral. He couldn’t bear to see you go and he died of a heart attack. When his will is read after the funeral, you realize he never took you out of it. In fact, he left you most of his possessions. You give a lot of it to your mom and you and Xan continue living together. After two years, you have an amazing fall wedding. Then the year after that, you adopted me from an orphanage at age six or something. At this point, Xan is 28 and Cy, you’re 26. And since then, it’s been like eight or nine years and now I’m starting high school.”

Xan almost spit out his milk. “Wait, hold up. You’re going to high school?”

“Yeah, I mean, I didn’t really get to go back when I turned and I haven’t really been to one since. It’ll be a good learning experience. Plus what am I gonna be? Homeschooled? I need to start hanging out with people my own age!”

“Good luck finding a hundred and seventy year old people. Do you need me to buy you a graveyard, hon?” Cyrus teased. Alice ignored him.

“It’s going to be awful. You haven’t been to school for what, a hundred and sixty eight years at this point?” Xander said.

“Sixty seven.” Alice corrected. “Sixty eight next month.”

“Yeah, a lot has changed since then.”

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll pick things up quick.” Alice reassured him. “Plus there will be cute boys and girls there.” She added softly.

“You can’t be serious.” Cyrus put his cup down, fully awake now, and turned to Xander for an answer.

“Oh, come on, Xan.” Alice begged.

“Eh, let her do it. She’ll be fine. You know how she can be if she doesn’t get what she wants.” Xan resigned, after some thought. He continued eating.

“Yay!” Alice squealed, jumping out of her seat. “You lose, I win!” She stuck her tongue out, making a face at Cy. He ignored her.

Alice blew a raspberry. She turned to Xan. “So, when do we leave?”

“Tomorrow afternoon, earlier if we can manage it.” He chewed on his food before continuing. “Start packing, say your goodbyes.”

“Great. I’m gonna go do that then.” Cy stood up and left the room.

“I’m gonna go to Joanna’s then. Grab some breakfast and say goodbye.”

“Bring something back for me and Cy, yeah?” Xan said.

“Sure.” Alice grabbed her coat, her purse, the car keys and rushed out the door.

-

Joanna’s Pie Shop was a quaint little shop, tucked between a McDonald’s and a Starbucks. But it got by surprisingly well, all because of how goddamn delicious Joanna’s pies were.

Alice had eaten a lot of things in her relatively small existence but having had a taste of Joanna’s pies was her most proud moment. 

“Joanna!” She called out as she pushed open the door and walked in.

“Coming, darling!” Joanna’s voice came from inside the kitchen. “Just getting some pies ready. Be out in a minute. Take a seat.”

Alice took a seat on the black bar stools by the counter and sat patiently as she waited for Joanna to come out.

Joanna arrived from the kitchen with thick gloves and trays with steaming hot pies, her apron covered in flour.

“Hot from the oven!” She announced, placing the tray on the counter and slipping off the thick gloves. “Want a slice?”

“Yeah.” Alice said. “A full Chocolate Coconut Creme for me, two slice of green apple for Cy and a slice of Pumpkin pie for Xander.”

“Coming right up.” Joana said. “Feel free to help yourself to some coffee if you want.” She grabbed a mug from behind her and handed it to Alice.

“Thanks, Jo. You’re the best.”

Joana smiled before disappearing back into the kitchen.

As Alice sipped on her coffee, Joana walked out of the kitchen with the pies. “Here ya go, hon.” She quickly stuffed them into a large box and handed it to Alice.

“Thanks. How much is it?” Alice asked.

“Oh, don’t worry, it’s on the house. I’m in a good mood today. Plus you’ve already done so much for us.”

“Oh, come on, Jo. This’ll be the last time you get to charge me.”

Joana gave her a puzzled look, “What do you mean, hon?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about…” Alice said. 

“You’re not dying or nothing, right, hon?”

“No, no. Nothing like that.” Alice reassured her.

Joana let out a deep sigh of relief “Well, good. Then what is it?”

“We’re moving. Me, Xan and Cy.”

“Moving?” Joana gasped. “Where?” 

“It’s far. That’s all I can tell you about it. It’s family business.”

“But you’ll come back eventually, right?” Joana asked.

“No, I’m afraid not. We’ll be staying there permanently.” Alice said softly.

“Permanently?” Joana couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Alice nodded. “So, this is… technically, goodbye.”

Joana choked up. “When uh— When are you leaving?”

“Tomorrow. Afternoon. Maybe earlier.”

“Oh. Alright then.” Joana cleaned her hand on her apron and wiped off a tear.

“I’m sorry, it’s just the decision was so sudden. We made plans last night.”

“No, it’s fine. Just, before you leave, promise me you’ll stop by one last time? For old times sake?”

“I’ll try, Jo.”

“No, promise me, Alice. Just stop by before you leave. It shouldn’t take very long.”

“I’m sorry, it’s out of my hands. But I’ll try my best.”

“Very well then. I hope you come.” Joana started to go back in the kitchen.

Alice held up the box. “Joana? How much?”

“Like I said, Alice. They’re on the house. Enjoy them. I’m not gonna charge you and that’s final.”

Alice smiled. “I’m gonna miss you, Jo.”

“I’m gonna miss you too, hon.” Joana disappeared back into the kitchen.

Alice sighed and walked out of the shop.

-

The next day came quickly and everyone rushed frantically to stuff their things into a million bags. It’s insane how much junk you collect over the years. A lot of it would go into the storage facility they’d kept over the years but beyond that, everything else they were attached to came with them.

This time, the furniture, most of the paintings, the utensils, some small things and other stuff they didn’t want all stayed. They’d decided to donate the mansion to the city and open it to the public for free use by anyone. Xander had even talked to some of the townspeople to turn it into a lodging for the homeless free of cost of something similar. But now they had to leave so who knew what would happen to the house?

The truck came, the important stuff was loaded in and Cyrus and Alice sat in the car, waiting for Xander to lock everything up and bring out his bags. Finally, he did come out and got in the car.

“Ready?” He asked, putting on his seatbelt.

“Yeah.” Cyrus said. 

“Hey, Xan, you mind if we stop by Joana’s? She asked me to stop by if we could.”

“What’s the time right now?”

“It’s uh, 1:36 pm.” Cyrus said.

“Sure. We’ve got some time to kill. I guess that’d be alright. Plus I have to go give the house keys away too.”

“Great. Just drop me off at hers then and come pick me up after you’re done.”

“Alright, give me a second to go tell the driver the plans have changed.” Xander said, getting out of the car. He returned quickly.

“He’s gonna go ahead and he’ll be waiting on the outskirts of town for us to lead the way.”

“Cool.” Cyrus said. “Turn the AC on and let’s go already.” He put in headphones and lied down on the backseat, using his forearm as a pillow. “And wake me up when we get there.”

Xander sighed. “Fine.”

The car whirred to life.

-

Joana stood idly in the shop, expectantly staring at the door, waiting for Alice and the other two to arrive.

As she saw their car turning the bend, she rushed out from behind the counter and ran outside.

“You came!” She said as Alice opened the car door.

“Yeah.” Alice said.

“No, no don’t get out.” Joana said. “Or I’m going to start crying and I don’t want to ruin my makeup. “Just wait here, I’ll be back in a second.”

“O-okay.” Alice said.

“What’s wrong?” Xander asked.

“She told me to wait here.”

“Fine.” Xander said.

Joana reemerged from the shop carrying a large box of pies. She quickly handed it to Alice.

“What’s this?” Alice asked, opening the box. 

“It’s my coveted smores pie. With extra marshmallows. Made them specially for you this morning.”

“Thank you, Joana.”

“I’m gonna miss you, hun.” 

“I’m gonna miss you too.” Alice said.

“Now go, before the waterworks start.” Joana said.

Alice nodded, closing the car door. As the car drove away, Joana waved a last goodbye.

-

Almost thirty six straight hours of driving later, Xander called out for Cyrus who had woken up and gone to sleep multiple times at this point.

“Cy, we’re almost there.” Xander said.

“We’re here?” Cyrus sat up, rubbing his eyes.

“Just about. We’ll be there in five.”

“Great.” Cyrus said.

The car slowly cruised along the road, the truck following behind as they passed into Tenebris’s borders. 

“Welcome to Tenebris, babe.” Xander said to Cyrus. 

“I am not calling you babe.” Cyrus said.

“You better start.” Xander said. “Our daughter wants us to, don’t you, hun?”

“Mmhmm.” Alice said.

“Fuck you both.” Cyrus said.

“Yeah, love you too, babe.”

Cyrus let out a frustrated groan. God, he wished this wouldn’t last long. It already felt weird. But, here they were: in Tenebris, a town smackdab in the middle of fucking nowhere. And for a while, this would be their home.

*

[weekendwarriorblog]

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND May 17, 2019  - JOHN WICK CHAPTER 3, A DOG’S JOURNEY, THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR

Well, the summer is grinding along at a rather slow pace. Granted, it’s only the third or fourth official weekend, depending on when you started counting, and if you live in New York City, it doesn’t really feel like summer at all, but as has been the case since starting my beat at The Beat, I hope people will be reading this for the limited releases and repertory stuff, which I try to make fairly comprehensive and complete.

Normally, I wouldn’t be too impressed with Lionsgate’s decision to release Keanu Reeves’ JOHN WICK CHAPTER 3 - PARABELLUM in the summer, but surprise, surprise, I actually liked this one. A LOT! I already reviewed the movie for The Beat, a review which you can read here, but I do think that most of the people who liked the first movie will like this one, too, as it adds the likes of Halle Berry, Asia Kate Dillon  (Orange is the New Black) and Mark Dacascos to flesh out the mythology while sending John Wick on the run as he’s excommunicated from the assassin’s guild.

I don’t have as much an opinion about the doggie sequel A DOG’S JOURNEY (Universal). I mean, I like dogs just fine, but I never got around to seeing A Dog’s Purpose, and I’m not sure I can follow this movie’s high-concept premise without having seen it. Apparently, a dog dies and then keeps coming back as another dog in order to protect Dennis Quaid’s daughter… no, I don’t get how that works either, but I’ll probably never see this.

The other movie I’ve seen which opens Friday is Ry Russo-Young’s THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR (Warner Bros./MGM), based on the novel by Nicola Yoon, starring Yara Shahidi (black-ish,grown-ish) and Charles Melton from Riverdale. If you know me at all, then you can probably guess that I’ve never seen those shows, but I have seen Russo-Young’s other films, and she’s a director that’s definitely grown on me as she’s taken on YA adaptations. I’m not going to write a full review of this one (due to time constraints and illness) but I was generally mixed on it. I thought the two young actors were fantastic, and this was a perfectly nice romantic film that generally used its New York locations well, but there were definitely parts where I was just bored and not that into the story. It’s a shame, because I usually buy into the whole fate and destiny thing, especially when it come to romance, but this one just gets silly at times.

You can find out what I think of the above film’s box office prospects over at The Beat.

LIMITED RELEASES

This is a very busy week for limited releases with a lot of things coming out of the woodwork at the last minute… and honestly, most of what I’ve seen is just okay, at best.

Jack O’Connell plays Cameron Todd Willingham in Ed Zwick’s TRIAL BY FIRE (Roadside Attractions), based on the true story of the Texas man accused of murdering his three young daughters via arson in 1991. He spent 12 years on Death Row before his case found its way to writer Elizabeth Gilbert, played by Laura Dern, who tries to negate the evidence against Willingham. I wanted to like this movie more than I did, because it is an interesting story with a decent script written by Oscar winner Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious), based on an article by New Yorker writer David Grann (apparently all of his articles become movies, so he has a good agent, huh?). The movie is generally okay, mainly due to the fantastic rounded performance by O’Connell but it’s also quite long-winded and didn’t need to be over two hours to get its point across.

Joanna Hogg’s autobiographical British indie THE SOUVENIR (A24) stars Honor Swinton Byrne (yes, that’s Tilda’s daughter) as film school student Julie who encounters and gets involved with a gregarious and opinionated older man named named Anthony (Tom Burke) who turns out to be a heroin junkie who effectively sabotages the film she’s trying to get made. While I can generally understand what Hogg was trying to do with this movie, I found it very long and drawn-out, and I was even more shocked to learn that this was meant to be the first of a two-part movie, but no, I won’t bother with Part 2 even if it does star Robert Pattinson, probably as another dick who tries to derail Julie’s career, cause that’s what men do.

The Lunchbox director Ritesh Batra returns to India for the romantic drama PHOTOGRAPH (Amazon) about Rafi (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), a man from a poor village who takes a picture of student named Miloni (Sanya Malhotra) and sends it to his grandma, saying it’s his new girlfriend, so she’ll get off his back about marrying. Rafi sends his grandma a picture of Miloni, but then has to convince Miloni to play along and meet his grandmother when she comes to Mumbai. As the two spend more time getting to know each other, a romance begins. It’s a nice movie, maybe not quite as great as The Lunchbox, but a nice date night movie for sure.

Opening at the Metrograph, which is in the midst of a Ryusuke Hamaguchi retrospective, is the Japanese filmmaker’s most recent film ASAKO I AND II (Grasshopper Films), based on the novel by Tomoka Shibasaki. It begins with a romance between a shy girl from (Asako, played by Erika Karata) who falls for a young man named Baku (Masahiro Higashide), who suddenly vanishes on her. She ends up moving to Tokyo and meeting another man named Ryohei, who is Baku’s spitting image – maybe because he’s also played by Higashide. A relationship develops between them until Asako learns what happened to Baku. This is definitely a strange but mostly satisfying romance story that would be a great date night double feature of Photograph.

From Sweden comes Pella Kagerman and Hugo Lilja’s sci-fi thriller ANIARA (Magnet Releasing), which takes place on the title spaceship which is taking the three-week journey to Mars full of thousands of passengers when it’s knocked off course. The problem is that it might take years to get back on course, which immediately throws everyone on board into a panic. At the center of it is Emelie Jonsson’s woman who runs a “Mima chamber” where people can go to relax, a chamber that gets increasingly more busy until it breaks down and then things just get completely crazy.  If you wondered what Passengersmight have been like if Gaspar Noe directed it then Aniarais the movie for you, but I did like Jonsson’s character arc as she ends up starting a relationship with a woman officer on the ship and where that story goes.

Karen Gillan stars in Collin Schiffli’s ALL CREATURES HERE BELOW (Samuel Goldwyn), which is written by and co-stars David Dastmalchian from Ant-Manand other films. It deals with a couple living in poverty, forcing him to break the law, as they set off to find refuge in Kansas City. I haven’t seen it but it sounds interesting with that casting.

Shirley Jackson’s 1962 mystery novel WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE (Brainstorm Media)is adapted by filmmaker Stacie Passon with an all-star cast including Taissa Farmiga, Alexandra Daddario, Sebastian Stan and Crispin Glover. Farmiga plays Merricat who lives with her sister Constance (Daddario) and uncle (Glover), the only survivors of a poisonic that killed the rest of their family five years earlier. When their cousin Charles (Stan) arrives, asking about the family’s finances, it begins a battle for control as tragedy looms.

Now playingat the Film Forum is The Third Wife (Film Movement), Ash Mayfair’s Vietnamese drama set in the 19th Century about a 14-year-old named May, who becomes the third wife of a much older man. With a mostly female cast and crew, the film has drawn comparisons to Zhang Yimou’s Raise the Red Lantern and some of the flashbacks in The Joy Luck Club (which I recently rewatched and cried my eyes out, but don’t tell anyone).

Then opening Friday at the Film Forum is Andrey Paunov’s documentary Walking on Water (Kino Lorber), about artist Christo and his late wife Jeanne-Claude, who had built some of the most amazing large-scale installations including the famous “The Gates” in Central Park and their most recent project “The Floating Piers” over Lake Iseo in Italy. The movie will open in L.A. and San Fran next Friday, May 24.

Johnny Depp stars in Wayne Roberts’ The Professor (Saban Films), a movie that seems to be getting dumped into theaters after a DirecTV release. Depp plays Richard, a college lecturer who discovers he has six months to live so he turns into a party animal, much to the shock of his wife (Rosemarie DeWitt) and chancellor (Ron Livingston). Also costarring Zoey Deutch, it opens in select cities.

Kevin and Michael Goetz’s A Violent Separation (Screen Media) stars Brenton Thwaites as Norman Young, deputy of a midwstern town who is forced to arrest his older brother Ray (Ben Robson) for murder. Things get more difficult when Norman gets involved with the victim’s younger sister (Alycia Debnam-Carey). It opens at New York’s Cinema Village and a few other theaters as well as On Demand.

Now playing at the Roxy Cinema in New York is Matt Hinton’s doc Parallel Love: The Story of a Band Called Luxury (Abramorama) about the small-town band Luxury, whose career almost ended in a wreck, but who continue to make records even as three members become priests.

Another music-related doc out this week is the Cordero Brothers thriller Room 37 - The Mysterious Death of Johnny Thunders (Cleopatra Entertainment), which as you might guess from the title is about famed rocker Johnny Thunders (Leo Ramsay) and how his trip to New Orleans to get his life together turned deadly.

This week’s Bollywood offering is Aki Ali’s De De Pyaar De, starring Ajay Devgn, Tabu and Rakul Preet Singh in a London-based love triangle.

Opening in New York this Friday, then in L.A. May 24 and VOD June 21 is Eddie Alcazar’s Perfect  (Breaker Films), exec. produced by Steven Soderbergh, which stars Garrett Wareing as a troubled young man sent to a clinic by his mother (Abbie Cornish) to help with his dark visions.

Next up is Rachel Carey’s Ask for Jane  (Level Film) starring Cait Cortelyou in a timely movie set in Chicago 1969 where abortion is punishable by prison and two women try to find a doctor to help a pregnant student at the University of Chicago has tried to kill herself. The two women end up forming the Jane Collective, an organization that helps women get safe abortions.

Asa Butterfield, Finn Cole, Hermione Corfield, Michael Sheen, Margot Robbie, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg star in Crispian Mills’ horror-comedy Slaughterhouse Rulez set in a British boarding school where monsters have been unleashed from a sinkhole. The movie was a hit in England but is barely getting a release in the States even with that amazing cast.

STREAMING AND CABLE

Not much of note on Netflix except Kate Melville’s rom-com Good Sam, a movie about a reporter who is trying to find a stranger who is leaving bags of money all around New York City.

I probably haven’t been paying enough attention to the streaming service MUBU, but in honor of the Cannes Film Festival that started this week, the service is doing a “Cannes Takeover” which includes Gus Van Sant’s Paranoid Park, Crisi Piu’s The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, Alejandro Innaritu’s Amores Perrosand other films that broke out of the French film festival.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

Sci-fi author Samuel R. Delaney will be at the Metrograph for Delaneymania, a collection of films selected by him including This Island Earth (1955), Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal  (1957), Jean Cocteau’s Orpheus  (1950), as well as Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil: Director’s Cut  (1958). The series will also include Fred Barney Taylor’s doc about Delany called The Polymath and more. Playtime: Family Matinees is also getting involved into Delanwymania with screenings of The Boy with the Green Hair (1948) on Saturday and Sunday morning. Also this weekend is the firstMetrograph Book Fair of the year with lots of rare and vintage books and magazines on sale.This week’s Late Nites at Metrographincludes screenings of Michael Mann’s Thief  (1981) and more screenings of Gasar Noé’sClimax, which seems to be Metrograph’s new go-to movie. (Sorry, Carol!)

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Weds and Thursday seems double features of Elaine May’s Mikey & Nicky  (1976), starring Peter Falk and John Cassavetes, and Between the Lines (1977), while Friday and Saturday’s double feature is Martha Coolidge’s 1983 film Valley Girl (with Coolidge and special guests on Saturday!) and Sofia Coppola’s 1999 debut The Virgin Suicides.  The Sunday/Monday double feature is two from Dorothy Arzner, Merrily We Go To Hell (1932) and First Comes Courage(1943).Friday’s midnight is Tarantino and Rodriguez’s 2007 anthology Grindhouse, while Saturday at midnight, you have another chance to watch The Love Witch from 2016.  The weekend’s KIDDEE MATINEE is Agnieszka Holland’s 1993 film The Secret Garden  (which is being remade next year). On Monday afternoon, there’s a screening of Josie and the Pussycats… no, I’m not sure why either.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Sadly, the Trilogies series ends Thursday, but the Film Forum will screen a 4k restoration of Alain Resnais’ Last Year at Marienbad (1961), and this weekend’s Film Forum Jr.offering is Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands  (1990), starring Johnny Depp. Dan Streible is back with his eclectic of shorts called More Orphans of New York.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

On Friday, you can catch a “New York Sleaze Triple Feature” (yes, in L.A.) with Fulci’s The New York Ripper (1982),Nightmares in a Damaged Brain  (1981) and Abel Ferrar’s The Driller Killer  (1979). The Cassavetes & Scorsese: Love is Strangeseries continues on Saturday with Goodfellas and Husbands, plus the 1965 film The 10th Victim is showing as part of the Art Directors Guild Film Society Series on Sunday. Also on Sunday, Spanish filmmaker Ivan Zulueta (who died ten years ago) gets a tribute with a screening of 1979’s Arrebato.

AERO  (LA):

This week, the Aero begins the Passion of Pier Paolo Pasolini series (probably in conjunction with Abel Ferrara’s film, which finally gets a theatrical release) with a series of double features: Solo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) and Pigsty (1969) on Thursday, The Decameron  (1970) and Oedipus Rex (1967) on Friday, The Canterbury Tales (1971) and Teorema (1968) on Saturday, and Arabian Nights (1974)and Medea (1969) on Sunday. On Monday, they’ll screen a rare 35mm print of Pasonlini’s The Gospel According to St. Matthew(1964). Since I really enjoyed Ferrara’s new film starring Willem Dafoe, I’m bummed I missed the Metrograph’s retrospective of Pasolini last year, but this is a good chance to see this prolific Italian filmmaker’s often-controversial work.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

Another great series begins at the Quad this weekend with Fighting Mad: German Genre Films from the Margins, based around Dominik Graf’s two-part documentary A Journey Through German Film. Graf programmed the series with Olaf Müller, who presents a few of the screenings. It’s a pretty rich series with no films that I personally have had a chance to see – I have a couple screeners to watch – but there are sure to be a few gems in there if you have time to see some of the 17 movies.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Waverly Midnights: ParentalGuidance  will screen Roman Polanski’s horror classicRosemary’s Baby (1968) and James Cameron’s Aliens (again). Weekend Classics: Love Mom and Dad screens Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1962 film Mamma Roma, while Late Night Favorites: Spring shows the Coens’ Fargo, David Fincher’s Fight Club and Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

Black 90s: A Turning Point in American Cinema continues this weekend with Waiting to Exhale, The Five Heartbeats, Fear of a Black Hat, House Party, a 20thAnniversary screening of The Best Man and a lot more. It’s a really good series with a lot of movies worth checking out.

MOMA (NYC):

Abel Ferrara: Unrated continues with 1986’s Crime Story on Wednesday, 1993’s Dangerous Game on Thursday, Welcome to New York  (2014) on Sunday and Piazza Vittorio (2017) and 4:44 Last Day on Earth  (2011) on Sunday. The series will continue through May 31. MOMA is also doing a Jean-Claude Carriereseries, honoring the amazing prolific work of the French screenwriter, including Louis Malle’s Milou en Mai  (1964), Milos Forman’s Taking Off (1971) and many more, which will be screened between now and June 16.

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

A new addition! The theater in the Roxy Hotel in Tribeca is showing Joanna Hogg’s earlier film Archipelego (2010), as well as Sally Potter’s 1992 film Orlando in 35mm!

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

On Saturday, MOMI is doing a Filmmaker Memorial for John Singleton, put together by The Black Filmmaker Foundation and the Black Film Critics Circle with BFCC President Michael Sargent and other critics discussing Singleton’s work. Otherwise, MOMI is finishing up Panorama Europe.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

This week’s midnight movie on Friday is the Japanese horror filmHouse (Hausu) from 1977.

That’s it for this week. Next week, we get Guy Ritchie’s Aladdin, starring Will Smith; Olivia Wilde’s hilarious Book Smart and the James Gunn-produced Brightburn. Oh, yeah, and it’s Memorial Day weekend!

[newssplashy]

Opinion: Are genetic testing sites the new social networks?

Three years ago Dyan deNapoli, a 57-year-old author and TED speaker who specializes in penguins, was given a 23andMe genetic testing kit for her birthday.

About two months later she received a pie chart breaking down where her ancestors lived (99.4 percent of them were from Europe).

What she was most giddy about, however, was a 41-page list of all the people who had done the test and were genetically related to her: 1,200 in all. (Customers can choose whether their information is shared with others.)

“I had the names of everyone from my immediate family members to my first cousins, second cousins, third. Once I got past fourth cousins, it went to my fifth cousins, and beyond,” said deNapoli, who lives in Georgetown, Massachusetts. “It started me down this genealogical rabbit hole.”

Using the website’s internal messaging system supplemented with Facebook, she connected with three second cousins, who were in neighboring towns. She met each one for breakfast in a local diner, where they spent hours drinking coffee and poring over family trees and photos, marveling at various resemblances.

“Jorge is an older cousin, a very young 90,” deNapoli said. “Everybody agreed he looks just like my dad.”

Last June she visited a third cousin and other relatives in a mountainous village in the Campania region of Italy, her paternal grandmother’s place of origin, walking the narrow streets, eating four-course meals and learning stories of her ancestors, including a long-ago Hatfield-McCoy-level feud. “That’s why I really didn’t know this side of my family,” deNapoli said in wonderment.

‘Are You Sure You Are My Sister?’

At-home genetic testing services have gained significant traction in the past few years. 23andMe, which costs $99, has more than 5 million customers, according to the company; AncestryDNA (currently $69), more than 10 million.

The companies use their large databases to match willing participants with others who share their DNA. In many cases, long-lost relatives are reuniting, becoming best friends, travel partners, genealogical resources or confidantes.

The result is a more layered version of what happened when Facebook first emerged and out-of-touch friends and family members found one another. Children of long-ago casual sperm donors are finding their fathers. Adoptees are bonding to biological family members they’ve been searching for their entire lives.

Sherri Tredway, 55, is a marketing and development director for a social service agency based in Washington, Indiana. She was adopted as a baby, and in January she drove 2 1/2 hours to Bowling Green, Kentucky, to meet her biological half sister, Patty Roberts-Freeman, 60, with whom she connected through AncestryDNA.

Roberts-Freeman needed an outfit for a wedding, so they arranged to meet at a shopping mall to find one together. They started in the food court, where they bought sodas and talked for more than an hour about their mother, their current lives, their upbringings.

They then went to a Belk department store, where they tried on outfits. “I was looking at some dressy dresses and showed her a few, and she said, ‘No, no dresses for me!'” Tredway recalled. “I remember saying, ‘OK, are you sure you are my sister?’ which we both laughed about. She found a silky floral shell and a beautiful sweater in rose, pink and cream to wear with some slacks. It was very classy.'”

The half sisters have since seen each other several times, meeting in restaurants between their homes. They also see other relatives including two more half siblings, Sissy Bonham, 51, and Michael Clavette, 54, as well as their biological mother’s sister, Nancy Kalman Bell.

“Not a day goes by when I don’t talk to Aunt Nan,” Tredway said. “I call her to talk, when I’m upset, anything. She’s my family now.”

Josh Broadwater, 44, a deputy police sheriff in California, was abandoned when he was 1 day old in a gas station bathroom in California. When he was in his 30s, he implored the agency that placed him with adoptive parents to give him whatever information they had about his biological ones but ran into constant dead ends.

In July 2015 he sent a kit to AncestryDNA and found a cousin who shared DNA with him. That led to him discovering his biological father: a man who had had a one-night stand in the front seat of a ’69 pickup truck and never knew he existed. They connected over the phone, and soon Broadwater was driving 500 miles to go elk hunting on his father’s farm in Kingston, Utah.

“He kind of sat there quiet for 10 to 15 seconds,” said Broadwater about their first conversation. “And then in his cute little country voice he said, ‘Well, if Gloria is your mom, and this thing says I’m your dad, there is a damn good chance I am your dad.’ He is just the coolest person.”

The two got along so well that they now talk on the phone once a week about the weather, what is going on with the children, about the hunting season. “I never thought finding my biological dad, he would be the one calling me,” Broadwater said.

He also talks to a half brother who is eight months older than him. “I just got a text message from him that I’m going to be an uncle in October,” Broadwater said. “I don’t know how much I will be involved. This whole new family is new to me.”

The Genetic Global Village

Others who have their DNA tested are forming relationships not with specific people, but with their family’s places of origin.

One example is Leah Madison, 32, an education outreach coordinator for the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada. She was planning trips to Peru and Korea when she learned a year and a half ago from 23andMe that her family came from Greece, Italy and the Iberian Peninsula.

Over the winter she and her father went to the Iberian Peninsula for two weeks. She felt an ineluctable connection to the people as she ate their bread masterpieces, toured buildings by Antoni Gaudí and danced to flamenco music.

“I had a piece of paper that tells me I’m from Spain,” Madison said. “But then I went there and I noticed all these people have curly hair, and maybe that is where mine comes from?” Now she feels compelled to visit the other places as well.

But other testers have found their results more alienating.

In February 2016, Christine Carter, a marketing strategist, was on a business trip to London when she decided to open her 23andMe dossier. She was in her hotel room, rushing to dinner. “I thought it would be a quick reveal,” she said. “I was going to learn that I was Native American and black, and maybe learn a little bit more about the stories I heard as a child.”

Carter was shocked when the results showed she was 31.5 percent white or European. She struggled through dinner, keeping this revelation mostly to herself, until she got back to her home in Baltimore and contended with her feelings.

She wrote a Huffington Post blog post, “I Celebrated Black History Month ... By Finding Out I Was White” that went viral. It attracted thousands of comments, from white supremacists who berated her, to people who had a similar experience and shared her sentiments.

“It took me less than 30 minutes to write the post, it was like journaling, something to get it off my chest,” said Carter, 32. “So to have that reaction was insane.”

Perhaps the most frustrating reality is when users don’t have any known connections at all. This can happen to people in certain ethnic groups, including Latinos and Asians, that thus far have fewer people using the services and a smaller database.

“Diversity in genetic research is a global problem,” said Joanna Mountain, the senior director of research at 23andMe, adding that the company is offering free testing in some countries to begin to rectify that. “The results for Hispanics and Asians aren’t there yet, but they are coming,” said Jenn Utley, a family historian at Ancestry (the parent company of AncestryDNA). “The database keeps growing.”

Finding Your Tribe

Even for those privy to rich data, using a genetic-testing service as a social network poses challenges. DeNapoli has written to 25 people related to her and has heard back from only nine. “I guess a lot of people aren’t doing the tests to connect with family,” she said.

Tredway said she had a difficult experience after reaching out to her biological mother, getting an out-of-the-blue phone call from North Carolina while she was getting a haircut: “She said, ‘There is no way you could be my daughter,’ even though I knew I was.”

And then there is David Hughes, 38, the owner of an executive search firm, Sandbox Partners, who was ecstatic when he got his results back from 23andMe. “My breakdown is basically 60 percent Balkan, which is Mediterranean or Greek, 25 percent Native American Indian, 11 percent Middle Eastern and 4 percent Eastern African,” he said. “I’m like the heritage of warriors or something.”

But as much as Hughes wants to explore the different regions he comes from and meet the family members whom he got that DNA from, he hasn’t matched with anyone through the genetic testing service.

“My biological dad is 50 percent Native American Indian, so I eventually hope to find which tribe I am from,” he said. “But I have nothing yet.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

ALYSON KRUEGER © 2018 The New York Times

source https://www.newssplashy.com/2018/06/opinion-are-genetic-testing-sites-new_16.html

[mattkennard]

Inside Bedford: a fragile success story of multiculturalism, home of Yarl's Wood

Published: Open Democracy (5 April 2017)

A couple of miles north of the outskirts of Bedford lies the most controversial of Britain’s many immigration removal centres, Yarl’s Wood. At the back of a business park stranded in the middle of the Bedfordshire countryside, it is one of Europe’s largest immigration facilities, holding 410 people, mostly women and families, awaiting deportation from the UK. Getting in as a journalist is next to impossible, but during visiting hours I go through the metal detector tests with a pen and pad to meet Mabel Gawanas who has been detained in Yarl’s Wood for nearly three years, the longest serving detainee. An orphan, she fled Namibia after a childhood of awful abuse and violence. But Yarl’s Wood is not a happy place. “I long for peace,” she tells me. The mother of two continues: “I want to be a mother, I want to be normal, to live a normal life like everyone else. I want to be a human rights lawyer to help other people in my position. I want to study more.”

Yarl’s Wood has attracted streams of protesters to the Twinwoods Business Park over the years. A recent protest drew up to 2,000 campaigners. Mabel says her only interaction with the city nearby, however, is when she is taken to Bedford hospital for a medical emergency. “But in Bedford hospital they don’t treat detainees properly, they want to get them out quickly. I was taken there in handcuffs."

  Bedford, which is home to 170,000 people, is a strange location for Yarl’s Wood to be placed because it is actually one of the most diverse cities in England: the different colours and cultures you see walking around it remind of London.

Bedford borough is one of the most diverse authorities in the east of England, with up to 100 different ethnic groups living within its boundaries. The most recent census found that 28.5% of the population was Black and Minority Ethnic (BME), with significantly higher proportion of Other White and Asian people than the rest of England. At the Bedford Swan hotel which sits on the river cutting the city in half, Joanna Kazmierczak works as a waitress in the morning buffet. Originally from the Polish seaport of Szczecin, she has lived in the UK since 2012, first in Peterborough and then Bedford for work. “It’s a very quiet city but it’s not too bad,” she tells me. “The people are friendly and nice. If someone likes a quiet place then it’s a good place to live.”

Race relations in diverse Bedford might not be as good as pitched, she says. “Myself, I didn’t get any racism, nothing, but I heard too many stories in Bedford about attacks on Polish people or Asian people.” But do the immigrant communities get on well together? Do the immigrants get on well together? "No. There is, like, Polish together, Asian together, they don’t want to be all immigrants together, this thing doesn’t happen ever.”

Bedford itself, despite its diversity and progressive history on immigration, voted Leave in the EU referendum by a margin of 51.8% to 48.1%. But the Brexit vote doesn’t scare her. “Actually, I don’t think it will be too much change for people who are already here. People who are here 5 years already, working, studying, they don’t need to be scared about anything, maybe it will change who come here now. There is a big Polish community here.” At the market in downtown Bedford, Ali Asadi, a 21-year-old refugee from Afghanistan, sits selling carpets and household essentials. “I like Bedford a lot, it’s nice and clean with good people and it’s a quiet place as well,” he tells me. “Lots of nice people here, I’m quite happy living here. These are good people here, they gave us respect, and they respect other cultures as well.” He says he didn’t vote in the EU referendum because he wasn’t registered, but if he was he would have voted remain. For him Bedford is the ideal place to live. “I feel like I will stay here forever now, it feels like home now,” he tells me. “I am used to Bedford now, I have been to other places but I prefer Bedford to the rest. I went to London as well but I like Bedford more.” Asadi came from Afghanistan in 2009 at the height of the occupation by US and UK troops. His parents were already in Bedford but he managed to join them.

“There is a big Afghani community here, there are quite a lot of people here in Bedford from Afghanistan.” Why? I ask. Bedford seems like an odd place to coalesce around. “I don’t know, maybe because we like to stay together and live together, and have a good community. There’s people in London as well but not as much as Bedford, we have a lot of people in Bedford." 

Bedford’s most famous immigrant community is from Italy. The city is dotted with Italian restaurants with locals still speaking Italian at the tables. There are Italian delis, social clubs and flags fluttering. The city even has its own Italian Consulate. About 14,000 Italian descendant people live in the city, mainly because after the Second World War the local Marston Valley Brick Company needed workers as it produced for the post-war reconstruction. The company recruited in the work-starved villages of southern Italy between 1951 and the early 1960s. More than 7,500 men were brought over to Bedford.

A significant amount of men were also recruited by the Brick Company from the Punjab region of India. Descendants of that wave of immigration now constitute about 8% of the population. Since the early 2000s there has been a high number of immigrants from eastern Europe. I find Wajeeha Rana, 34, is reading a book in Urdu in Bedford Central Library. “It’s a novel from a very famous author, her name is Umera Ahmed, it’s a book from here, they have a good world literature selection,” she tells me. Rana moved to Bedford in September after visiting the city for a number of years because her husband is from Bedford. Previously in Malaysia, she was born in Pakistan. “Bedford is a well integrated community,” she says. “There is a big a Pakistani community here. They give a lot of opportunity to everybody, they do a lot of programs for different groups.”

She says she doesn’t encounter racism. “There are actually a lot of halal food places you can go and eat. It’s a good place to be, in fact, I’ve heard a lot of people are moving from London to Bedford, it’s much more affordable. They say it’s because obviously London has become really expensive, and Bedford is more commutable. So they are moving over here and there’s a multicultural community here as well." 

She continued: “We recently met someone (from Pakistan) who had moved from Ilford to Bedford because their husband got a job over here and they are doing very well over here actually. It’s a good option for a lot of people. And even a lot of white people too, their community moved over here from London just for that reason. And we spoke to a few estate agents as well, and they are saying that a lot of people are coming over here, moving over here.”

Peter Redman is selling vacuum cleaner bags at Bedford market. He voted out in the EU referendum. “Why not have a change?” he asks. “We’re called Great Britain why can’t we be great again instead of Europe basically telling us what to do, set our own laws, tell them to stuff it really.” “I didn’t like the Brexit campaign, I didn’t the mudslinging, or the shitslinging. No just Farage, it’s Conservative, Labour, Lid Dems, they are all a bunch of wankers, they are all a bunch of wankers.” But he states his vote had nothing to do with immigration. “Nothing at all. It was done on Dispatches, they did something about Europeans coming over here doing lettuce picking, and they had a British bloke doing, and the farmer said the European done, the English one picks about 10 lettuces an hour and the European a 100 so who do you employ? The English bloke kept on stopping to have a fag because he was knackered.”

Redman was born in a little Bedfordshire village called Turvey and now lives in another village called Harrold just outside Bedford. He comes into Bedford three days a week for work on the stall. I say that Bedford seems to be successfully integrated. “It’s working but you still get the odd arsehole,” he says; “There’s good and bad in everybody.”

Redman was a firefighter in Bedfordshire for 33 years before getting injured and taking retirement early. “I don’t make any money out of it. This has been on Bedford market for over 42 years and I had the chance because I have the money in my bank from my lump sum, the bloke got to 74 years old and he thought he had enough of it, so I bought it off him.” What does he think of Yarl’s Wood? “Technically, one, it shouldn’t have been built in the first place, two, it should have been built differently, so they couldn’t set fire to it, so it didn’t risk not only security lives, but firefighter lives, plus as well as police officers’ lives.” But, he adds, “If the people up there don’t like it, go back to your own country. You’re getting fed, watered, bedded, for nothing, and I’m paying for it, it’s coming out of my council tax. But if can prove that you’ve got the right to stay here and you’ve got no criminal record or any other crap luggage in your other country where you come from, then stay. But if you’re naughty boy or naughty girl, piss off back. Is that fair enough?” Bedford has quietly become one of the most positive stories of integration and immigration in England, but it is riven with contradictions. From the Brexit vote to Yarl's Wood looming presence on its outskirts, Bedford is a warning that multicultural England is still precarious.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (August 8)

On August 8, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of St. Dominic de Guzman, who helped the cause of orthodoxy in the medieval Church by founding the Order of Preachers, also known as Dominicans.

“This great saint reminds us that in the heart of the Church, a missionary fire must always burn,” Pope Benedict XVI said in a February 2010 General Audience talk on the life of St. Dominic.

"In his life," the Pope said, “the search for God's glory and the salvation of souls went hand in hand.”

Born on 8 August 1170 in Caleruega, Spain, Dominic was the son of Felix Guzman and Joanna of Aza, members of the nobility.

He was named after Saint Dominic of Silos.

His mother would eventually be beatified by the Church, as would his brother Manes who became a Dominican. The family's oldest son Antonio also became a priest.

Dominic received his early education from his uncle, who was a priest, before entering the University of Palencia where he studied for ten years.

In one notable incident from this period, he sold his entire collection of rare books to provide for the relief of the poor in the city.

After his ordination to the priesthood, Dominic was asked by Bishop Diego of Osma to participate in local church reforms.

He spent nine years in Osma, pursuing a life of intense prayer, before being called to accompany the bishop on a piece of business for King Alfonso IX of Castile in 1203.

While traveling in France with the bishop, Dominic observed the bad effects of the Albigensian heresy, which had taken hold in southern France during the preceding century.

The sect revived an earlier heresy, Manicheanism, which condemned the material world as an evil realm not created by God.

Dreading the spread of heresy, Dominic began to think about founding a religious order to promote the truth.

In 1204, he and Bishop Diego were sent by Pope Innocent III to assist in the effort against the Albigensians, which eventually involved both military force and theological persuasion.

In France, Dominic engaged in doctrinal debates and set up a convent whose rule would eventually become a template for the life of female Dominicans.

He continued his preaching mission from 1208 to 1215, during the intensification of the military effort against the Albigensians.

In 1214, Dominic's extreme physical asceticism caused him to fall into a coma, during which the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to him and instructed him to promote the prayer of the Rosary.

Its focus on the incarnation and life of Christ directly countered the Albigensian attitude towards matter as evil.

During that same year, Dominic returned to Tolouse and obtained the bishop's approval of his plan for an order dedicated to preaching.

He and a group of followers gained local recognition as a religious congregation, and Dominic accompanied Tolouse's bishop to Rome for an ecumenical council in 1215.

The council stressed the Church's need for better preaching but also set up a barrier to the institution of new religious orders.

Dominic, however, obtained papal approval for his plan in 1216 and was named as the Pope's chief theologian.

The Order of Preachers expanded in Europe with papal help in 1218.

The founder spent the last several years of his life building up the order and continuing his preaching missions, during which he is said to have converted some 100,000 people.

After several weeks of illness, St. Dominic died in Italy on 6 August 1221.

He was canonized by Pope Gregory IX on 13 July 1234.

He is the patron saint of astronomers, natural scientists, falsely accused people, the Dominican Republic, and other locales throughout the world.

[newssplashy]

Three years ago Dyan deNapoli, a 57-year-old author and TED speaker who specializes in penguins, was given a 23andMe genetic testing kit for her birthday.

About two months later she received a pie chart breaking down where her ancestors lived (99.4 percent of them were from Europe).

What she was most giddy about, however, was a 41-page list of all the people who had done the test and were genetically related to her: 1,200 in all. (Customers can choose whether their information is shared with others.)

“I had the names of everyone from my immediate family members to my first cousins, second cousins, third. Once I got past fourth cousins, it went to my fifth cousins, and beyond,” said deNapoli, who lives in Georgetown, Massachusetts. “It started me down this genealogical rabbit hole.”

Using the website’s internal messaging system supplemented with Facebook, she connected with three second cousins, who were in neighboring towns. She met each one for breakfast in a local diner, where they spent hours drinking coffee and poring over family trees and photos, marveling at various resemblances.

“Jorge is an older cousin, a very young 90,” deNapoli said. “Everybody agreed he looks just like my dad.”

Last June she visited a third cousin and other relatives in a mountainous village in the Campania region of Italy, her paternal grandmother’s place of origin, walking the narrow streets, eating four-course meals and learning stories of her ancestors, including a long-ago Hatfield-McCoy-level feud. “That’s why I really didn’t know this side of my family,” deNapoli said in wonderment.

‘Are You Sure You Are My Sister?’

At-home genetic testing services have gained significant traction in the past few years. 23andMe, which costs $99, has more than 5 million customers, according to the company; AncestryDNA (currently $69), more than 10 million.

The companies use their large databases to match willing participants with others who share their DNA. In many cases, long-lost relatives are reuniting, becoming best friends, travel partners, genealogical resources or confidantes.

The result is a more layered version of what happened when Facebook first emerged and out-of-touch friends and family members found one another. Children of long-ago casual sperm donors are finding their fathers. Adoptees are bonding to biological family members they’ve been searching for their entire lives.

Sherri Tredway, 55, is a marketing and development director for a social service agency based in Washington, Indiana. She was adopted as a baby, and in January she drove 2 1/2 hours to Bowling Green, Kentucky, to meet her biological half sister, Patty Roberts-Freeman, 60, with whom she connected through AncestryDNA.

Roberts-Freeman needed an outfit for a wedding, so they arranged to meet at a shopping mall to find one together. They started in the food court, where they bought sodas and talked for more than an hour about their mother, their current lives, their upbringings.

They then went to a Belk department store, where they tried on outfits. “I was looking at some dressy dresses and showed her a few, and she said, ‘No, no dresses for me!'” Tredway recalled. “I remember saying, ‘OK, are you sure you are my sister?’ which we both laughed about. She found a silky floral shell and a beautiful sweater in rose, pink and cream to wear with some slacks. It was very classy.'”

The half sisters have since seen each other several times, meeting in restaurants between their homes. They also see other relatives including two more half siblings, Sissy Bonham, 51, and Michael Clavette, 54, as well as their biological mother’s sister, Nancy Kalman Bell.

“Not a day goes by when I don’t talk to Aunt Nan,” Tredway said. “I call her to talk, when I’m upset, anything. She’s my family now.”

Josh Broadwater, 44, a deputy police sheriff in California, was abandoned when he was 1 day old in a gas station bathroom in California. When he was in his 30s, he implored the agency that placed him with adoptive parents to give him whatever information they had about his biological ones but ran into constant dead ends.

In July 2015 he sent a kit to AncestryDNA and found a cousin who shared DNA with him. That led to him discovering his biological father: a man who had had a one-night stand in the front seat of a ’69 pickup truck and never knew he existed. They connected over the phone, and soon Broadwater was driving 500 miles to go elk hunting on his father’s farm in Kingston, Utah.

“He kind of sat there quiet for 10 to 15 seconds,” said Broadwater about their first conversation. “And then in his cute little country voice he said, ‘Well, if Gloria is your mom, and this thing says I’m your dad, there is a damn good chance I am your dad.’ He is just the coolest person.”

The two got along so well that they now talk on the phone once a week about the weather, what is going on with the children, about the hunting season. “I never thought finding my biological dad, he would be the one calling me,” Broadwater said.

He also talks to a half brother who is eight months older than him. “I just got a text message from him that I’m going to be an uncle in October,” Broadwater said. “I don’t know how much I will be involved. This whole new family is new to me.”

The Genetic Global Village

Others who have their DNA tested are forming relationships not with specific people, but with their family’s places of origin.

One example is Leah Madison, 32, an education outreach coordinator for the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada. She was planning trips to Peru and Korea when she learned a year and a half ago from 23andMe that her family came from Greece, Italy and the Iberian Peninsula.

Over the winter she and her father went to the Iberian Peninsula for two weeks. She felt an ineluctable connection to the people as she ate their bread masterpieces, toured buildings by Antoni Gaudí and danced to flamenco music.

“I had a piece of paper that tells me I’m from Spain,” Madison said. “But then I went there and I noticed all these people have curly hair, and maybe that is where mine comes from?” Now she feels compelled to visit the other places as well.

But other testers have found their results more alienating.

In February 2016, Christine Carter, a marketing strategist, was on a business trip to London when she decided to open her 23andMe dossier. She was in her hotel room, rushing to dinner. “I thought it would be a quick reveal,” she said. “I was going to learn that I was Native American and black, and maybe learn a little bit more about the stories I heard as a child.”

Carter was shocked when the results showed she was 31.5 percent white or European. She struggled through dinner, keeping this revelation mostly to herself, until she got back to her home in Baltimore and contended with her feelings.

She wrote a Huffington Post blog post, “I Celebrated Black History Month ... By Finding Out I Was White” that went viral. It attracted thousands of comments, from white supremacists who berated her, to people who had a similar experience and shared her sentiments.

“It took me less than 30 minutes to write the post, it was like journaling, something to get it off my chest,” said Carter, 32. “So to have that reaction was insane.”

Perhaps the most frustrating reality is when users don’t have any known connections at all. This can happen to people in certain ethnic groups, including Latinos and Asians, that thus far have fewer people using the services and a smaller database.

“Diversity in genetic research is a global problem,” said Joanna Mountain, the senior director of research at 23andMe, adding that the company is offering free testing in some countries to begin to rectify that. “The results for Hispanics and Asians aren’t there yet, but they are coming,” said Jenn Utley, a family historian at Ancestry (the parent company of AncestryDNA). “The database keeps growing.”

Finding Your Tribe

Even for those privy to rich data, using a genetic-testing service as a social network poses challenges. DeNapoli has written to 25 people related to her and has heard back from only nine. “I guess a lot of people aren’t doing the tests to connect with family,” she said.

Tredway said she had a difficult experience after reaching out to her biological mother, getting an out-of-the-blue phone call from North Carolina while she was getting a haircut: “She said, ‘There is no way you could be my daughter,’ even though I knew I was.”

And then there is David Hughes, 38, the owner of an executive search firm, Sandbox Partners, who was ecstatic when he got his results back from 23andMe. “My breakdown is basically 60 percent Balkan, which is Mediterranean or Greek, 25 percent Native American Indian, 11 percent Middle Eastern and 4 percent Eastern African,” he said. “I’m like the heritage of warriors or something.”

But as much as Hughes wants to explore the different regions he comes from and meet the family members whom he got that DNA from, he hasn’t matched with anyone through the genetic testing service.

“My biological dad is 50 percent Native American Indian, so I eventually hope to find which tribe I am from,” he said. “But I have nothing yet.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

ALYSON KRUEGER © 2018 The New York Times

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Opinion: Are genetic testing sites the new social networks?

Three years ago Dyan deNapoli, a 57-year-old author and TED speaker who specializes in penguins, was given a 23andMe genetic testing kit for her birthday.

About two months later she received a pie chart breaking down where her ancestors lived (99.4 percent of them were from Europe).

What she was most giddy about, however, was a 41-page list of all the people who had done the test and were genetically related to her: 1,200 in all. (Customers can choose whether their information is shared with others.)

“I had the names of everyone from my immediate family members to my first cousins, second cousins, third. Once I got past fourth cousins, it went to my fifth cousins, and beyond,” said deNapoli, who lives in Georgetown, Massachusetts. “It started me down this genealogical rabbit hole.”

Using the website’s internal messaging system supplemented with Facebook, she connected with three second cousins, who were in neighboring towns. She met each one for breakfast in a local diner, where they spent hours drinking coffee and poring over family trees and photos, marveling at various resemblances.

“Jorge is an older cousin, a very young 90,” deNapoli said. “Everybody agreed he looks just like my dad.”

Last June she visited a third cousin and other relatives in a mountainous village in the Campania region of Italy, her paternal grandmother’s place of origin, walking the narrow streets, eating four-course meals and learning stories of her ancestors, including a long-ago Hatfield-McCoy-level feud. “That’s why I really didn’t know this side of my family,” deNapoli said in wonderment.

‘Are You Sure You Are My Sister?’

At-home genetic testing services have gained significant traction in the past few years. 23andMe, which costs $99, has more than 5 million customers, according to the company; AncestryDNA (currently $69), more than 10 million.

The companies use their large databases to match willing participants with others who share their DNA. In many cases, long-lost relatives are reuniting, becoming best friends, travel partners, genealogical resources or confidantes.

The result is a more layered version of what happened when Facebook first emerged and out-of-touch friends and family members found one another. Children of long-ago casual sperm donors are finding their fathers. Adoptees are bonding to biological family members they’ve been searching for their entire lives.

Sherri Tredway, 55, is a marketing and development director for a social service agency based in Washington, Indiana. She was adopted as a baby, and in January she drove 2 1/2 hours to Bowling Green, Kentucky, to meet her biological half sister, Patty Roberts-Freeman, 60, with whom she connected through AncestryDNA.

Roberts-Freeman needed an outfit for a wedding, so they arranged to meet at a shopping mall to find one together. They started in the food court, where they bought sodas and talked for more than an hour about their mother, their current lives, their upbringings.

They then went to a Belk department store, where they tried on outfits. “I was looking at some dressy dresses and showed her a few, and she said, ‘No, no dresses for me!'” Tredway recalled. “I remember saying, ‘OK, are you sure you are my sister?’ which we both laughed about. She found a silky floral shell and a beautiful sweater in rose, pink and cream to wear with some slacks. It was very classy.'”

The half sisters have since seen each other several times, meeting in restaurants between their homes. They also see other relatives including two more half siblings, Sissy Bonham, 51, and Michael Clavette, 54, as well as their biological mother’s sister, Nancy Kalman Bell.

“Not a day goes by when I don’t talk to Aunt Nan,” Tredway said. “I call her to talk, when I’m upset, anything. She’s my family now.”

Josh Broadwater, 44, a deputy police sheriff in California, was abandoned when he was 1 day old in a gas station bathroom in California. When he was in his 30s, he implored the agency that placed him with adoptive parents to give him whatever information they had about his biological ones but ran into constant dead ends.

In July 2015 he sent a kit to AncestryDNA and found a cousin who shared DNA with him. That led to him discovering his biological father: a man who had had a one-night stand in the front seat of a ’69 pickup truck and never knew he existed. They connected over the phone, and soon Broadwater was driving 500 miles to go elk hunting on his father’s farm in Kingston, Utah.

“He kind of sat there quiet for 10 to 15 seconds,” said Broadwater about their first conversation. “And then in his cute little country voice he said, ‘Well, if Gloria is your mom, and this thing says I’m your dad, there is a damn good chance I am your dad.’ He is just the coolest person.”

The two got along so well that they now talk on the phone once a week about the weather, what is going on with the children, about the hunting season. “I never thought finding my biological dad, he would be the one calling me,” Broadwater said.

He also talks to a half brother who is eight months older than him. “I just got a text message from him that I’m going to be an uncle in October,” Broadwater said. “I don’t know how much I will be involved. This whole new family is new to me.”

The Genetic Global Village

Others who have their DNA tested are forming relationships not with specific people, but with their family’s places of origin.

One example is Leah Madison, 32, an education outreach coordinator for the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada. She was planning trips to Peru and Korea when she learned a year and a half ago from 23andMe that her family came from Greece, Italy and the Iberian Peninsula.

Over the winter she and her father went to the Iberian Peninsula for two weeks. She felt an ineluctable connection to the people as she ate their bread masterpieces, toured buildings by Antoni Gaudí and danced to flamenco music.

“I had a piece of paper that tells me I’m from Spain,” Madison said. “But then I went there and I noticed all these people have curly hair, and maybe that is where mine comes from?” Now she feels compelled to visit the other places as well.

But other testers have found their results more alienating.

In February 2016, Christine Carter, a marketing strategist, was on a business trip to London when she decided to open her 23andMe dossier. She was in her hotel room, rushing to dinner. “I thought it would be a quick reveal,” she said. “I was going to learn that I was Native American and black, and maybe learn a little bit more about the stories I heard as a child.”

Carter was shocked when the results showed she was 31.5 percent white or European. She struggled through dinner, keeping this revelation mostly to herself, until she got back to her home in Baltimore and contended with her feelings.

She wrote a Huffington Post blog post, “I Celebrated Black History Month ... By Finding Out I Was White” that went viral. It attracted thousands of comments, from white supremacists who berated her, to people who had a similar experience and shared her sentiments.

“It took me less than 30 minutes to write the post, it was like journaling, something to get it off my chest,” said Carter, 32. “So to have that reaction was insane.”

Perhaps the most frustrating reality is when users don’t have any known connections at all. This can happen to people in certain ethnic groups, including Latinos and Asians, that thus far have fewer people using the services and a smaller database.

“Diversity in genetic research is a global problem,” said Joanna Mountain, the senior director of research at 23andMe, adding that the company is offering free testing in some countries to begin to rectify that. “The results for Hispanics and Asians aren’t there yet, but they are coming,” said Jenn Utley, a family historian at Ancestry (the parent company of AncestryDNA). “The database keeps growing.”

Finding Your Tribe

Even for those privy to rich data, using a genetic-testing service as a social network poses challenges. DeNapoli has written to 25 people related to her and has heard back from only nine. “I guess a lot of people aren’t doing the tests to connect with family,” she said.

Tredway said she had a difficult experience after reaching out to her biological mother, getting an out-of-the-blue phone call from North Carolina while she was getting a haircut: “She said, ‘There is no way you could be my daughter,’ even though I knew I was.”

And then there is David Hughes, 38, the owner of an executive search firm, Sandbox Partners, who was ecstatic when he got his results back from 23andMe. “My breakdown is basically 60 percent Balkan, which is Mediterranean or Greek, 25 percent Native American Indian, 11 percent Middle Eastern and 4 percent Eastern African,” he said. “I’m like the heritage of warriors or something.”

But as much as Hughes wants to explore the different regions he comes from and meet the family members whom he got that DNA from, he hasn’t matched with anyone through the genetic testing service.

“My biological dad is 50 percent Native American Indian, so I eventually hope to find which tribe I am from,” he said. “But I have nothing yet.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

ALYSON KRUEGER © 2018 The New York Times

source https://www.newssplashy.com/2018/06/opinion-are-genetic-testing-sites-new.html