#jen-iii's art

[anthurak]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32187325

The fic that goes along with this piece if anyone’s interested XD

(Thanks again! XD)

Another commission for @anthurak! thank you for commissioning me

[silverofthunder]

Papa III this time! (ref pic)

finally figured out how to make a smoother lineart... i think this is my best work so far. the background is just a texture added because i got lazy... 🙈

[klaineccfanficlibrary]

Hey! Do you know of an fics that are similar to Lord of the Manor by Divine Lady91? Please and thank you!! =D

Hello, I am assuming that you want the historical/lord/rich storyline? Here is the fic you mentioned, as others might want to see it. I've never read it myself, so have added it to my list!! Also below are the options for similar. ~Jen

Lord of the Manor by divinelady91

Blaine is the mysterious lord of an estate in the English countryside, rumored to have been inherited under mysterious circumstances. Announcing his intention to marry, he comes to the Hummel household, it is assumed, to claim the eldest Hummel child - Rachel - as his spouse. Once upon a time, her younger brother, Kurt, had been in love with Blaine, and he thought Blaine had feelings for him as well. Sure that those feelings have been thoroughly forgotten, and with his own intention to marry another man yet to be made known, Kurt helps to prepare his sister for the loveless match that awaits her. But what happens when Blaine arrives and tells them that they have all been mistaken?

~~~~~

A Match Well Madeby MeriKG

AU. This is the dramatic tale of two pair of star-crossed lovers. Lord Kurt Hummel III, heir to the great Barony of Lima, is the single most eligible bachelor in her Majesty’s kingdom. Lady Rachel is an aspiring daughter of the Baron of a successful territory. Lord Kurt has no interest in marrying an appropriate Lady, but his father has finally put his foot down. When Lady Rachel, along with her half brother the minor lordling Blaine, arrives at Blackbird Castle in an attempt to ensnare the reluctant young Lord, sparks fly…in all the wrong directions.

~~~~~

23 by felix-felicis33

Blaine doesn’t think he’ll ever fall in love, or get the chance to, but that all changes when he meets a man with blue eyes and a beautiful smile at a coffee shop. The world seems a brighter place when Kurt enters his life. The only problem is, he doesn’t belong here with Kurt. He belongs ninety-one years in the past, back in the year 1923.

~~~~~

This Earthly Paradise by GlassParade

In Victorian England, Kurt Hummel is a struggling artist and contemporary of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, an organization of painters, poets, and critics who strive to turn the art establishment of England on its very head. His mentor, one Dante Gabriel Rossetti, has grown tired of Kurt’s reluctance to grow as an artist, and so enter Blaine Anderson, an artists’ model of Bohemian disposition and eye-catching good looks. Can he, using rather unorthodox methods, succeed where Rossetti has not?

~~~~~

Haute Couture by LPBekka

In the year 1889 a young fashion designer by the name of Blaine Anderson is about to meet the love of his life, the most beautiful woman in Paris only to discover that she is not all she seems. Klaine, Warning: Lemon, Cross Dressing, AU

~~~~~

Whether Near to Me or Far by drunkonwriting

In 1937, Kurt Hummel, son of a rich family, and Blaine Anderson, part of the Hummel staff, have little in common beyond a shared education at Yale and a childhood friendship. The summer after their college graduation, Kurt and Blaine find themselves growing more and more attracted to each other. However, before they have a chance to be together, one night’s events and a chain of misunderstandings change their entire history and pulls them apart. As they struggle to find each other again, they’re hindered by war and the shadow of the events that ruined their lives. Klaine, Atonement!AU.

~~~~~

Westerville Abbey Verse by @hkvoyage

Blaine is the second son of the earl of Westerville, and is considered the spare heir. After his 18th birthday, he attends the London Season to fulfill his duty of finding a wife. He soon realizes he is more attracted to the new footman. Kurt, who has just arrived at Westerville Abbey to work alongside his father, becomes equally as smitten with the earl’s youngest son. Will Blaine and Kurt be able to overcome their class differences in 1910s England? Will their forbidden love survive WW1? A Downton Abbey inspired historical Klaine AU.

~~~~~~

Gilded Cage by @canarian

In the winter of 1895, Blaine Anderson, the son of a wealthy doctor, and Kurt Hummel, the son of a middle class mechanic, cross paths at a luxury hotel in the quiet seaside town of St. Augustine, Florida. With everyone and everything working to keep them apart, can they find a way to be together?

[frozen-snowflakesandsunflowers]

New interview with Jennifer Lee | Latest Updates: Interview

We have a new interview with Jennifer Lee from Fandogo, briefly discussing Frozen 3 and 4. This was a day ago but I only just found out through Reddit, by @/Atlast_2091. The interview does give us a few new things to note that we didn't know before.

The first part of the interview talks about Moana 3, the middle part had Jen Lee discussing Frozen 3 and 4. The last part is regarding Zootopia 2 and Disney Princess.

Frozen III and IV info

Here's the takeaways from Jennifer Lee's words for Frozen 3 and 4; She reminds us from D23 that the official release date for Frozen 3 is November 27th 2027 and that Frozen 3 and 4 are being worked on simultaneously, in the same room, most likely for a back to back release date with a gap of a year given it's a part 1 and 2 movie.

Not so surprisingly, the first concept art revealed during D23 is far from being final, but it would still provide inspiration. Frozen 3 has a long development process so it's given that the concept art isn't certain on what's to be in the movie. But I think they might still go for the heavier Norse mythology theme with vikings included. I mean I don't know that for sure but with the fans reaction to this it's a heavy possibility. That also means the outfits you see Elsa and Anna were are not final either. Just a general idea.

Lee answers one of the questions that was written on the board of questions to be answered during D23, confirming that Oaken's iconic Yoo-Hoo/ Hoo-Hoo phrase to greet people is actually, “Hoo-hoo.”

Speaking of the board of questions, that was only page ONE of the many questions that'll be answered in Frozen 3 and/ or 4.

The questions and the concept art are clues that are hinting towards the plot of Frozen 3.

The music for the movie is still being scripted/ written. Jennifer Lele also recalls Let It Go's creation and implementation into the first movie in the interview. Personally, I hope we get a reprise of the song re-sung in the Frozen 3 or 4 because it was a huge part of Elsa's growth and part of the franchise.

Conclusion

Okay, so I know most of it is nothing totally new and unexpected but some of it is. The board of questions is just page one, ONE, of questions or he answered in Frozen 3 (and 4). So those who might have been disappointed that their long held question wasn't among those, fear not because yours could still be in all those other pages.

Frozen 3 has 3 more years of development so it so a lot could be expanded from what we know and changed too. The concept art is only a glimpse of what's to come along with the questions. All that together in just a fraction of what's to come. So whatever we're thinking now, chances are it'll exceed our expectations (for some - I say this because some want to remain cautious with their hopes that's understandable). But it's good to see the team taking their time with the movie and with Frozen 4. Hopefully it'll live up to expectations.

[andmaybegayer]

Last Monday of the Week 2024-09-02

Do you rember. Wen day is dark, sember.

Listening: @cyelatm released a new album Habit Prism that I've been listening to in bits and pieces. Even, rhythmic folk, good music to have on when you have people around.

In that vein, Bandcamp Friday this coming Friday! Make your lists!

Watching: Watched The Raid which I've had kicking around for a bit. Do you want to watch guys punch each other all over for like 15 minutes at a time for an hour? No? Get better taste in movies and then watch guys punch each other all over for like 15 minutes at a time for an hour.

The Raid is so obviously made for like two dollars, there's one building, every single gun and piece of armour is airsoft gear, the camera is visibly some mid-tier hardware that suffers from severe rolling shutter, and it kicks so much ass.

There's some really interesting things happening with camera movement in this movie. Really really complicated multi-axis camera moves, the same shot will take like six different dutch angles in a single move, or will lock on to different objects and follow them, it's great for martial arts but it's also used to pretty good effect in some interstitial scenes.

The culminating fight with Mad Dog is so wild, literally just three guys in an empty concrete cube fighting for a solid ten or twelve minutes and it works! Does not seem possible. They actively remove almost every prop from the room so it's just guys hitting each other but they keep doing incredible stunts.

It's funny looking at the gifsets on here because they're unreadable, everything happens so fast and requires so much context that is only delivered in the full flow of the movie. My favourite part is when he said "It's Raiding Time" and raided all over those guys.

Reading: Finally sat down and got through the Phalanx's Twilight, Legion's Triumph series on acoup.

Sections IVa-c mostly slid off my brain because it's a bunch of wars I don't know enough about to contextualize but it's mostly justification for what's explained in parts I-III which were great, and it's an interesting look at how the political and military structures of Rome interwove to improve the effectiveness of the Legion.

Also reading Skin Horse, which I started ages ago but never got very far, I think because I started a job around that time and lost track of it. Sticking webcomic tabs on my little ARM tablet is really convenient, I've jammed Out Of Placers and Laika's Comet in there as well, it's been a while since I did a big archive dive on a comic.

Skin Horse is very much of its time, not really in sensibility but just in content. The nerds are characterized by liking Harry Potter.

Making: Resolved the power delivery issues that were causing me to have mysterious failures with the LED driver. That was annoying. Anyway remember to split your power supply when you could potentially pull like 10A@5V to drive LED's.

Playing: Tactical Breach Wizards campaign is ongoing, as you get deeper into the campaign your team expands which dramatically complicates operations, your possible actions explode, and I'm not even halfway through.

Dall was my newest operator at time of writing and she's probably the hardest to use, she can deal a lot of damage but relies more so than anyone else on good positioning, it's really easy to end up way out of place and waste her moves, and she's too heavy to shunt around with Jen's storm attacks the way you can with the others.

Speaking of those, I really like how the short turns and deterministic actions mean you can get really into the weeds. The first time I used a gale grenade to shunt Zan over one extra block to line him up I assumed this would be a sometimes food but you really find yourself doing stuff like that all the time.

I'm heading back and picking through some of the challenge missions concurrently with playing partially to stretch out overall gameplay and partially because I think having fewer abilities unlocked will make those more interesting.

Tools and Equipment: You know, I think we know each other pretty well, I can put this here. The Doxy USB-C Wand is a safe and legal thrill.

[mindshelter]

HI doing my kyle readthrough (up to oyl) rn and i must know what are some of your fav issues/arcs 🙏 and if there's anything u think i should just skip. if ur feeling hateful enough

HI i appreciate this ask a lot i don't know if i count as any paragon of kyle expertise but... well. that's never stopped me.

if you're up to oyl you're pretty far along, and i assume you'd seen a handful of reading guides that nudge you towards all of gl (1990) #48-181 and its surrounding crossovers, including zero hour (1994) and final night/parallax: emerald night (1996). i derive most of my takes on his character from this era.

green lantern rebirth and gl publications thereon are often (in)famously authored by mr. geoff johns, so i cannot in good conscience integrate most of that body of work into my belief system. that being said! it does include the buildup to ion (2006) #1-12, which, while not perfect, has phenomenal art and is also pretty key to kyle's whole ethos. the buildup to ion is the following:

green lantern: rebirth (2004)

green lantern corps: recharge (2005)

rann/thanagar war: infinite crisis special (2006)

ion (2006)

if you're not allergic to ensemble comics, he is also a frequent cast member in jla (1997) for the first 70 or so issues; it's a good place to look to see him foster relationships with other members of the dc universe (like wally, whose friendship with kyle is basically nonexistent nowadays but i have not forgotten) and gradually gain confidence as gl. some highlights include:

jla (1997) #1-7 — he's such a rookie here. he's clearly very new to the game and nervous about it, so it's a good look into how he started off and what he grew from.

jla/titans (1998) #1-3

jla (1997) #16-17

jla (1997) #32-46 — tie-ins to no-man's land, hal's return as the spectre in #35, and the world war iii/tower of babel storylines.

green lantern: circle of fire (2000) — starts about here, in terms of publication timeline, but portrays a version of kyle that is still relatively new to the jla. the kylealex worms are here.

jla (1997) 47-68, #70, #72-75

jla (1997) #76 — kyle's final issue in the JLA's main rotation, as a tie-in for the later events in gl (1990). john steps in for him.

as for standalones, personal recommendations, or just random appearances i happen to remember:

green lantern/flash: faster friends (1996) #1-2 — (to an empty auditorium) WALLY AND KYLE WOO! WOO!

total justice (1996) #1-3 — more budding hero kyle. wally is a hater. tim is also there.

dc universe holiday bash (1996) #1 — kyle goes to synagogue and beats white supremacists :)

dc universe holiday bash I (1997) #1 — connor and kyle go holiday shopping. very cute also.

adventures in the dc universe (1997) #11 — kyle and wonder woman hang out! he also gets bullied by children and falls into a sewer.

superman (1986) #159, #165, #170

batman chronicles (1995) #15 — be fucking nice bruce

green lantern 3D (1998) — standalone. jen and kyle being cute.

green lantern secret files and origins (1998) #1-3

green lantern 80-page giant (1998)

flash 80-page giant (1998) — kyle appears for two pages but it's of wally asking him about alex because he's worried about his own relationship. kyle gets very sad and visibly withdrawn to the point that wally apologizes. VERY FUNNY.

(final note: THANKS! i am so flattered. was it because of the kyle slayner shooba wooba cherry pie brownie cake post. i rambled on for way longer than i thought i would. i hope this is helpful, and happy reading!)

[knickynoo]

Back to the Future: The Animated Series, s02ep03 “A Friend In Deed” Review and Commentary

Previous episodes linked here.

In this episode: Lots of funny moments, another woman from the past falls in love with Marty, and I go on ramblings about Tiffany Tannen and my dislike of Cartoon Marty.

Season 2 of the animated series is really making use of green screens, huh? In episode one, Doc was stranded on an island, then he was in outer space in episode two, and now he's at the "Hill Valley Beach and Synchronized Swimming Center." He's wearing a funky outfit and using a metal detector to search for money in the sand.

Is this the first time we're seeing Doc in shorts?? I can't recall, but it might be.

He tells us that he's found 85¢ so far and that it's only cost him $200 in equipment to do so. Oh, Doc. You are one of a kind.

He leads us into a story of another situation that involved buried valuables. And instead of the story beginning like it typically does with, "It all started when my sons..." or "It all started when Marty...", this story begins with Biff. And that lets us know right off the bat that it's all downhill from here, lol.

Cue the cartoon!

We begin at the Tannen residence (always a treat to hear Tom Wilson's voice), where Biff has decided that what his family needs is a swimming pool. Yes, his family. And who do we meet? His son!

I've always been intrigued by what adult Biff's family situation was like. I know that an early draft of the film had George buying the peanut brittle from Biff's young daughter and that the BTTF card game and the Citizen Brown comics mention Biff's teenage daughter Tiffany Tannen. (She was also supposed to have a role in the video game, but her character was cut and "combined" with the alternate version of Jennifer.) This is the concept art for her.

There's also speculation that Tiff might be included in the "Continuum Conundrum" series from the IDW comics. In the story, which takes place in the months following Marty's return home after part III, there's mention of Jennifer's friend group, which includes someone named "Tiffany." Some fans headcanon that this is a referring to Tiff Tannen. I don't really have an opinion on the theory one way or another, but it would be SUPER interesting if one of Jennifer Parker's best friends in the Lone Pine Timeline is Biff's daughter.

I would LOVE to see fanfics that include her or even focus on her. There's so much potential! You could have her resemble what she was supposed to be in the game—all rough around the edges and 100% a Tannen—or completely rework her to be a genuinely nice person. Maybe she actively rejects the Tannen reputation. Maybe she's a sweet person, but people are wary of her and judge her based on her appearance or her name. Maybe she is friends with Jen and thinks Marty is a neat guy. So much someone can do.

I digress.

In typical Biff fashion, he's going to make his young son dig the hole for a pool while he sits around in a lounge chair. Father of the year. Also, we haven't seen a whole lot of Biff so far in this series, so I haven't had anything to say about him, but it's clear he's not the meek version of Biff we have at the end of the first film. Cartoon Biff acts very much like he was never taken down a notch or had anything happen to humble him. So...I wonder what the story is there.

(Side note to also mention that we haven't seen—or even heard of—George and Lorraine. Marty's just always at Doc's house, with no information on parents or siblings. I wouldn't be surprised if a young kid watching this in 1992 without having seen the movies simply thought that Marty was part of Doc's family.)

While digging, Little Biff (referred to as Junior) unearths a piece of paper. We don't know what it is, but Biff gets a smile on his face as he reads it, so it can't be good. We cut immediately to the Parker family ranch!

Jen's family owns a ranch! I love it!

Marty is there having lunch with Jen and her grandparents, but it is NOT going well. Because Cartoon Marty is nearly unrecognizable from his Movie Counterpart, he's being an immature, disrespectful doofus around Jen's relatives. He places a whoopee cushion on Jennifer's grandmother's seat, then puts a fake ice cube with a spider "frozen" in it into her drink. And he just sits there hysterically laughing even though nobody else thinks it's funny. Jennifer's grandfather in particular becomes angered by Marty's incessant pranking.

Grandpa Parker, considering pummeling Marty.

And I know I've mentioned many times about how much I dislike the choices made with Marty's character, but. Seriously, what happened here? WHO made these choices and why didn't Bob Gale stop them? This might as well have been a completely different character, that's how unlike Marty he is. He's self-centered a lot of the time. He's dishonest (there was a whole episode where he just piles on lie after lie). He's cocky and inconsiderate and ridiculously immature. He is NOT my Marty McFly.

See the boy on the left? Love the boy on the left. Fantastic little dude. Five out of five stars. See the boy on the right? Don't like him all that much. Many things wrong. Sad.

It bums me out that they took such a great, loveable guy and ripped all his great traits to shreds, leaving us with whatever it is Cartoon Marty's got going on. I don't even know. Guy's got issues.

Time to reel my focus back in. Just as Grandpa Parker seems poised to give Marty a serious talking to, Biff shows up wit the police. Marty asks Jennifer why her grandparents would invite Biff because, "He's a jerk with a bad sense of humor."

"Look who's talking," Jen's grandfather replies.

Go. Grandpa. Parker.

When Grandpa Parker orders Biff off his land, Biff informs him that it's HIS land. The piece of paper he found in his yard was a deed to the Parker property dated 1875 and signed by one of Jen's relatives, as well as Biff's great-great-granduncle.

Biff tells the Parkers that he's going to turn the ranch into a toxic waste dump and miniature golf course, which is both horrible and very funny. Quite in-character for Biff Tannen. As he prepares to order the house to be demolished, Jennifer calls to Marty for help, but he's taken off on his hoverboard. Assuming that he's doing it to run away from the trouble, Jennifer proclaims, "There's nothing worse than a chicken." The actual, literal chicken standing beside her gets very insulted and walks away, lol.

We then go to the Brown home, where Verne is impatiently waiting to eat. Jules is making him pancakes on a ridiculous specialized griddle he invented because Jules is extra like that.

Marty bursts into the kitchen, yelling that he needs to borrow the DeLorean to help Jen's family. Jules informs him that the car isn't there—Doc and Clara have taken it to go see Hamlet, performed by the original cast���but that he can use the train. Marty and the boys take off for 1875.

Once there, Marty immediately sets his sights on warning Jennifer's relatives about the ranch. However, he's interrupted before he can do so, on account of another woman spies Marty and immediately has a crush on him (naturally). I should have been keeping count of how many episodes include someone laying eyes on Marty and falling in love with him.

But wait. Wait. You NEED to know how the scene starts off. The woman walks straight up to Marty and goes, "Howdy, handsome!" followed immediately by this:

Verne: "Handsome? Get real."

Jules: "Get glasses!"

Had to stop it right there because I was laughing. Jules and Verne think Marty is ugly CONFIRMED.

Anyway, the woman ends up being Hepzibah Tannen, sister of Thaddeus Tannen (whose name was on the deed). And Hepzibah is head-over-heels for Marty. At one point, Marty ends up at her house, and Thaddeus is not thrilled to meet him. Before he can toss him out, Hepzibah picks Marty up, holds him close, and shouts at her brother, "Give me that! It's mine!"

Ridiculous.

Since his sister is so in love, Thaddeus agrees to let Marty join his gang. Thaddeus teaches Marty how to box and how to steal things from people (Marty immediately returns the items when Thaddeus isn't looking. +1 point for Cartoon Marty). Marty also continues his practical jokes by giving Thaddeus gum that turns your mouth black. Thaddeus isn't happy. This is necessary info to understand part of the next scene.

Back on the Parker ranch, where Jules and Verne have become farmhands, they come across these posters.

Several things to note here. 1. "DEAD OR UNALIVE" 2. Marty's gum gave Thaddeus a nickname. 3. Marty is only "sort of wanted" 4. Thaddeus evidently decked Marty for playing a prank on him.

Later on at the Tannen home, Thaddus suggests Marty and Hepzibah get married. This is followed by some very funny dialogue.

I'm definitely finding the humor to be better in the second season. I've laughed out loud several times since I started it.

The next day, Thaddeus and one of his other gang members go off to get Marty and Hepzibah a wedding present. Marty manages to sneak away from his "engagement picnic" to intercept Thaddeus, who is in the process of stealing the ranch from Mr. Parker. He has Mrs. Parker tied to the railroad tracks, and the only way he'll let her loose is if the deed to the ranch is signed over. This is his wedding present to his sister and Marty.

Which. Doesn't really make sense? I mean, it makes sense here, but then what motivated him to steal it originally, before Marty time traveled? Maybe Hepzibah had fallen for a different guy? Or Thaddeus simply wanted the ranch just because? Idk.

When Thaddeus goes to sign the deed, Marty lends him a pen (which is another prank, hehe. The pen has ink that eventually fades away.) Thaddeus then refuses to untie Mrs. Parker, so Marty refuses to go back home with him. Thaddeus leaves, Marty, Jules, and Verne save Mrs. Parker, and all is well. Marty assures the Parkers that their ranch is safe, and he hops on the time-train with the boys.

Marty returns to the present-day ranch, stops the bulldozer, and shows everyone the deed, which now has no signatures. Biff gets a citation for disturbing the peace, and Marty is back in Jennifer's good graces. The end!

Back at the beach, Real Doc digs up an antique fountain pen, accidentally squirts himself in the eye with the ink, and then leads us into the experiment portion of the show, where we're taught how to make invisible ink. We then return to Doc, who finds something else with his metal detector: the keys to the DeLorean that he'd lost the week prior. Yep. Doc had been searching the sand all that time for his car keys. Goofy guy.

Fun episode. I always enjoy when they're Marty, Jules, and Verne-centered, and this was a funny one as well. It was neat having an episode with so much Tom Wilson! (he voiced Biff and Thaddeus)

Wow, this post was a long one. I did go on a few side-tangents, haha. To those who read this whole thing: thanks for sticking with me. I'm so glad there are people who enjoy reading these silly episode commentary posts!

Join me next time to see Marty accidentally join the army in 1944.

[vaniloqu3nce]

I love the Wednesday (on tumblr) fandom so much, everyone is so sweet. All of the artists I’ve asked to use their art for the fanfic has said yes without hesitation and has been so sweet. You should all very much follow @jen-iii @rustyarcade and @observer-of-the-world

Their art has inspired me to write over 20k words and they deserve so much recognition. Give them love and comments it really gives inspiration to artists. Very cool fanart to check out on these pages. They’re hand feeding me content.

[mccoppinscrapyard]

Books Read/Listened To in 2023

* = owned

The Hellion’s Waltz by Olivia Waite (audiobook) : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In My Own Moccasins by Helen Knott- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Girls that Never Die by Safia Elhillo- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Who Put This Song On? by Morgan Parker (audiobook) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Almost American Girl by Robin Ha- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez (audiobook)- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

And Yet by Kate Baer - ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo (audiobook) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ana María and the Fox by Liana de la Rosa * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Black Roses by Harold Green III- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Patience and Esther by S.W. Searle- ⭐️⭐️⭐️

She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

In the Neighborhood of True by Susan Kaplan Carlton (audiobook) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wicked Beauty by Katee Robert (audiobook) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️

That Could Be Enough by Alyssa Cole * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Maus by Art Spiegelman * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? by Crystal Smith Paul * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Belle of the Ball by Mari Costa * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jewdrowski (audiobook) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sasha Masha by Agnes Borinsky * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Cheer Up! Love & Pompoms by Crystal Frazier * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler (audiobook) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Love Charade by Allie McDermid * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Yazidi! by Aurelien DuCoudray and Mini Ludvin - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang (audiobook) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Private Charter by N. R. Walker (audiobook) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Island Wisdom by Annie Daly & Kainoa Daines - ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies: A Lyric Essay by Julian Aguon (audiobook) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality by Julia Shaw - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fire from the Sky by Moa Backe Astot (eARC) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler (audiobook) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fall Into You by Georgina Kiersten - ⭐️⭐️⭐️

An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana Herrera * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Sing Anyway by Anita Kelly - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

The Times I Knew I Was Gay by Eleanor Crewes * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (audiobook) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jazz Owls by Margarita Engle * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

She Was Made for Me by Jen Morris - ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

You, Again by Kate Goldbeck * - DID NOT FINISH

The Tiny Journalist by Naomi Shihab Nye - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper - ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Gender is Really Strange by Teddy G. Goetz (eARC) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Well Matched by Jen DeLuca (audiobook) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Love Flushed by Evie Mitchell - ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Skip! by Sarah Burgess (eARC)- ⭐️⭐️.5

The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Home is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo (audiobook) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid (audiobook) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Minor Detail by Adania Shibli (audiobook) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw * - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Her Night With the Duke by Diana Quincy (audiobook) - currently reading

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata- currently reading

You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky - currently reading

[penguins-united]

Books read in 2022!!

rereads are italicized, favorites are bolded

1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling

2. Boxers by Gene Luen Yang

3. Saints by Gene Luen Yang

4. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

5. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

6. Immortal Poems of the English Language by Oscar Williams

7. Soldier’s Home by Ernest Hemingway

8. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

9. Harry Potter and the order of the phoenix by JK Rowling

10. The Dead by James Joyce

11. Soldiers Three by Richard Kipling

12. The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben

13. Richard iii by William Shakespeare

14. Balcony of Fog by Rich Shapiro

15. All Systems Red by Martha Wells

16. Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

17. I have no mouth and I must scream by Harlan Ellison

18. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

19. The moment before the gun went off by Nadine Gordimer

20. The importance of being earnest by Oscar Wilde

21. A farewell to arms by Ernest Hemingway

22. Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

23. Rules for a knight by Ethan Hawke

24. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling

25. The Secret History by Donna Tartt

26. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

27. Gerard Manley Hopkins: The Major Poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins

28. Highly Irregular by Arika Okrent

29. The Green Mile by Stephen King

30. The Swan Riders by Erin Bow

31. The King’s English by Henry Watson Fowler

32. The Truelove by Patrick O’Brian

33. The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett

34. The Wine-Dark Sea by Patrick O’Brian

35. The Commodore by Patrick O’Brian

36. An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott

37. Long Day’s Journey Into Night by Eugene O’Neill

38. The Disaster Area by JG Ballard

39. The Tacit Dimension by Michael Polanyi

40. Wicked Saints by Emily A Duncan

41. The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh

42. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

43. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

44. The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

45. Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

46. The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

47. A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner

48. Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner

49. Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

50. Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

51. Confessions of St. Augustine by St. Augustine of Hippo

52. Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett

53. The Yellow Admiral by Patrick O’Brian

54. Bad Pharma by Ben Goldacre

55. The Russian Assassin by Jack Arbor

56. The ones who walk away from Omelas by Ursula K LeGuin

57. Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling

58. The Iliad by Homer

59. The Treadstone Transgression by Joshua Hood

60. The Hundred Days by Patrick O’Brian

61. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead by Tom Stoppard

62. The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus

63. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

64. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the Pearl, and Sir Orfeo (unknown)

65. Persuasion by Jane Austen

66. The Outsiders by SE Hinton

67. Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville

68. The Odyssey by Homer

69. Dead Cert by Dick Francis

70. The Oresteia by Aeschylus

71. The Network Effect by Martha Wells

72. All Art is Propaganda: Critical Essays by George Orwell

73. This is how you lose the time war by Amal El-Mohtar

74. The Epic of Gilgamesh (unknown author)

75. The Republic by Plato

76. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

77. On the Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche

78. Ere the Cock Crows by Jens Bjornboe

79. Mid-Bloom by Katie Budris

80. Blue at the Mizzen by Patrick O’Brian

81. 21 by Patrick O’Brian

82. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

83. Battle Cry by Leon Uris

84. Devils by Fyodor Dostoevsky

85. The Uncanny by Sigmund Freud

86. The Door in the Wall by HG Wells

87. Oh Whistle and I’ll Come to You My Lad by MR James

88. The Birds and Don’t Look Now by Daphne Du Maurier

89. The Weird and the Eerie by Mark Fisher

90. Blackout by Simon Scarrow

91. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

92. No Exit and Three Other Plays by Jean-Paul Sartre

93. The Open Society and its Enemies volume one by Karl Popper

94. Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

95. The Ethics of Ambiguity by Simone de Beauvoir

96. The Cue for Treason by Geoffrey Trease

97. The things they carried by Tim O’Brien

98. A very very very dark matter by Martin McDonagh

99. The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich A Hayek

100. The Lonesome West by Martin McDonagh

101. A Skull in Connemara by Martin McDonagh

102. The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh

103. Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche

104. The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene

105. The Shepherd by Frederick Forsyth

106. Things have gotten worse since we last spoke and other misfortunes by Eric LaRocca

107. Each thing I show you is a piece of my death by Gemma Files

108. Different Seasons by Stephen King

109. Dracula by Bram Stoker

110. Inker and Crown by Megan O’Russell

111. Out of the Silent Planet by CS Lewis

112. Killers by Patrick Hodges

113. The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett

114. The Rise and Reign of Mammals by Stephen Brusatte

115. Any Means Necessary by Jack Mars

116. The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche

117. In A Glass Darkly by J Sheridan le Fanu

118. Collected Poems by Edward Thomas

119. The Longer Poems by TS Eliot

120. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

121. The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene

122. The Antichrist by Friedrich Nietzsche

123. Choice of George Herbert’s verse by George Herbert

[daggerzine]

MY FAVORITE RECORDS OF 2022 (all lists are in no particular order)

MY 20 FAVORITE RECORDS OF 2022

The Jeanines- Don’t Wait for a Sign (Slumberland)

Arts & Leisure- This Vast Illusion (self released)

Mick Trouble- It’s Mick Trouble’s Second LP! (Emotional Response)

Model Shop- Love Interest (Meritorio)

The Photocopies- Greatest Hits Volume 2 and Hopelessly Devoted (both self released)

Hammered Hulls- Careening (Dischord)  

Michael Head & the Red Elastic band- Dear Scott (Modern Sky UK)

The Reds Pinks and Purples- Summer at Land’s End

(Slumberland)  

Winged Wheel- No Island (12XU)

The Boys with the Perpetual Nervousness- The Third Wave of…  (Bobo Integral)  

Sick Thoughts- Heaven is No Fun (Total Punk)

Horsegirl- Versions of Modern Performance  (Matador)  

First Aid Kit- Palomino  (Columbia)

Dot Dash- Madman in the Rain (The Beautiful Music)

Superchunk- Wild Loneliness (Merge)

Ribbon Stage- Hit With The Most (Perennial/ K)

Artsick- Fingers Crossed (Slumberland)

Belle & Sebastian- A Bit of Previous (Matador)

Non Bruises- S/T (self released)

The Sadies- Colder Streams (Yep Roc)

HERE’S 20 MORE!

Panda Bear & Sonic Boom- Reset (Domino)

Papercuts- Past Life Regression (Slumberland)

Weak Signal- War and War (Colonel Records)

Librarians with Hickeys- Handclaps and Tambourines (Big Stir)

The Well Wishers- Blue Sky Sun (self released)

Armstrong- Happy Graffiti (The Beautiful Music)

The Reds Pinks and Purples- They Only Wanted Your Soul (Slumberland)  

Savak- Human Error/ Human Delight (Ernest Jenning)

Freezing Hands- It Was a Good Run (Dateland)

April March- In Cinerama (Omnivore)

Kids on a Crime Spree – Fall In Love Not In Line (Slumberland) 

Young Guv- III & IV  (Run for Cover Records)

U.S. Highball- A Parkhead Cross of the Mind (Lame-O)

Flowertown- Half Yesterday (Mt St Mtn)

Ex-Void- Bigger Than Before (Don Giovanni)

Tony Molina- In the Fade (Summer Shade)

Field School- When Summer Comes (Bobo Integral)

My Raining Stars- 89 Memories (Shelflife)

Kevin Robertson- Teaspoon of Time (Futureman)

Hater- Sincere (Fire)

…..AAAAAAAAND 10 MORE!

Almost Charlie- A Whisper in a World Too Loud (Words on Music)  

The Orchids- Dreaming Kind (Skep Wax) 

 Aarktica- We Will Find the Light (Darla)  

Extra Arms- What Is Even Happening Right Now? (Forge Again Records)

The Silent Boys- Sand To Pearls, Coal To Diamonds (Too Good to Be True Records)

The Smashing Times- Bloom (Meritorio)

The Bye Bye Blackbirds- August Lightning Complex (Double Potion Records)

The Beths- Expert in a Dying Field (Carpark)

Ghost Power- S/T (Duophonic)

Peter Astor- Time on Earth (Tapete)

I ALSO LIKED ALBUMS BY……Dazy, Eyelids, Desario, Hoodoo Gurus, Salt Lake Alley, Helen Love, Kramies, The Monochrome Set,  Anton Barbeau, Cozy Slippers, The Chesterfields, Rob Moss and Skintight Skin, Lewsberg, Richard X. Heyman, The Claudettes, Surf Piranhas, Kiwi Jr, Sault, Nervous Twitch, New Buck Biloxi, Heather Trost, Fine, Alien Nose Job, Kevin Morby, Ward White, Spiritualized , Click Beetles, Whimsical, Man’s Body, Wet Leg, The Minders,  Water Damage, Star Party, The Paranoid Style, Alvvays, Chronophage, Rolling Blackouts CF, The Happy Somethings, The Umbrella Puzzles, Zac Denton, Northern Portrait, Volebeats, Your Academy, Aluminum Group, Guy Capecelatro, Jon Spencer & the Hitmakers, The Trypes, Jeremy, etc. etc.

MY 10 FAVORITE REISSUES/COLLECTIONS of 2022  

Tall Dwarfs- Unravelled - 1981-2002 (Merge)

Broadcast- BBC Maida Vale Sessions (Warp)

Heavenly- Heavenly Vs Satan (Skep Wax)

Biff  Bang Pow! -Better Life: Complete Creations 1984-1991 (Cherry Red)

Go Sailor- S/T (Slumberland)

The Lucksmiths- Why That Doesn’t Surprise me and  Naturaliste (both Lost and Lonesome)

The Krayolas- Happy Go Lucky (Box Records)

The Flashing Lights- Where the Change Is (Murder)

The Muffs- Really Really Happy (Omnivore)

My Teenage Stride- Singles and B-sides (digital)

MY 15 FAVORITE EP’s OF 2022

The Chills- Scatterbrain Storm Outtakes (Fire)

Elk City- Above the Door (Magic City)

The 1981 - Polaroids EP (Dandy Boy)

The Persian Leaps- Machines for Living (Land Ski Records)

The Photocopies- Departure P (self released)

R.E. Seraphin- Swingshift EP (Dandy Boy/Mt St Mtn)

My Favorite- Tender is the Nightshift part 1 (HHBTM)

The Black Watch- The Neverland of Spoken Things (digital)

The Radio Field- Time Simple EP (Subjangle)

The Wends- It’s Here Where You Fall (Subjangle)  

Michael Beach- 2022 EP (Goner)

The Laughing Chimes- Zoo Ave (Slumberland)

My Raining Stars- The Life We planned (digital)

The Age of Colored Lizards (Perfect Smile (Sotron)  

Field School- Swainson’s Thrush (Small Craft Advisory)

The Lunar Towers- Hurry Up and Wait (Colorama Records)

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Okay, I’ve seen this post come around a few times and have some stuff to add to it. First of all, I agree with everything in it. Well almost everything, I do think Hank Jr. is a bit of a dick. But to each their own, reasonable people can disagree on that. Hank Williams Jr. makes country music that I mostly don’t love, but it’s definitely country music and lots of people like it.

I have liked his son, the grandson of the original Hank Williams, who performs as Hank III. I used to absolutely love this song until I realized how easily it can be taken an anthem for terrible people (and I still kind of love it, just with the heavy caveat that I would like to distance myself from every single other person who’s ever enjoyed it):

(Actually I just listened to it for the first time in a while and fuck, I forgot how much of it is white nationalist dog whistle. God damn it. I would like to hugely distance myself from everything to do with it, actually. But I used to enjoy it so much.)

Anyway. What I want to say is, there is still good country music out there. And not just the occasional song or artist that you can uncover if you look hard enough. The tradition that can be traced back to Hank Williams (Sr.), into the Highwaymen (a supergroup consisting of Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson, they put out two albums as a group and they’re both excellent)-era people, did continue. It never ended. It just stopped being on the radio.

Exactly how and why and, importantly, when this happened is complicated. Country music is like all other art, in that in all its eras, lots of people have talked about how it’s not what it used to be. I recently heard an interview from 2003 in which Andy Zaltzman and Stewart Lee said it’s tough to do good satire anymore because reality is more ridiculous than anything they can make up. 2003.

Country music is like that too. Waylon Jennings released a song in 1975 called Are You Sure Hank Done it this Way, about how then-current country music had got too commercial and away from its roots that were created by Hank Williams (Sr.) in the 40s and 50s. Kenny Rogers released The Gambler in 1978, and years later, said he regretted putting out something that started a trend of more pop-oriented country, once he saw where his trend had led.

Having said that, I think even with some historical perspective, it’s fair to say that in the 00s, country radio took a hard turn for the pop-influenced, the commercial, and the ‘Murica Fuck Yeah bullshit. To the point where I would argue that it turned into something that’s more pop than country, and doesn’t count as country music at all anymore. Why do I get to say Kenny Rogers was pop-influenced country but Luke Bryan was just pop music incorrectly marketed as country? For many reasons that I used to spent ages discussing in the comments sections of country music blogs, when I was really into those. No need to get into all that here, but the point is that I think there’s some justification for saying that what got big on country music radio around the 00s crossed over to the point where it’s fair to call it just pop music, rather than bad country music.

I often try to avoid mentioning the name of the sport I coach on here (not because I want it to be a secret, just because I don’t want that word appearing all over my blog so I’ll start appearing in searches for it), but at this point it’s relevant to say I coach wrestling. I see the Luke Bryans of the world as similar to the WWE. The WWE isn’t a bad version of the sport of wrestling. It’s a completely different thing, that co-opted our name even though the sport’s been here for thousands of years so they should really get their own fucking name. I hate that when I say I do wrestling, people think I mean jumping off ropes and throwing chairs at people. For the same reason, I hate that when I say I like country music, people think I mean that ‘Murica Fuck Yeah Luke Bryan bullshit. Because that’s not just a bad version of it, that isn’t it. It’s something else that gets inaccurately called country.

But country music does still exist, and it’s not even that hard to find. People never stopped making country music. There’s lots of recent actual country out there - good country music and bad country music. Country music that appeals to my subjective tastes (John Moreland) and country music that doesn’t (Hank Williams Jr.). The genre of the Highwaymen and the late great John Prine didn’t stop just because around 9/11, they stopped putting it on the radio and replaced it with some other mislabeled bullshit.

Here’s just a tiny taste of some good stuff from the twenty-first century:

If you want something that explicitly isn’t all ‘Murica Fuck Yeah, here’s a song by my favourite currently touring country singer (that would be Jason Isbell, my favourite all-time country singer is Kris Kristofferson and everyone should look both of them up) that he wrote in 2017 to show support for the anti-Trump protesters:

Jason Isbell also announced in 2020 that if Joe Biden won his home state of Georgia in the presidential election, he’d make an album that consisted entirely of covers of songs by artists from Georgia. Biden did win that state, and Isbell did release the album, and it was awesome. All proceeds from that album’s release went to various charities. If that doesn’t make you feel slightly better about humanity, what will?

Everyone may *think* they hate country music, but when Jolene, Before He Cheats, Take Me Home Country Roads, or Life is a Highway comes on, everyone is suddenly a liar.

[docrotten]

THE BLOB (1988) – Episode 270 – Decades of Horror 1980s

“All I saw was an old man with a funky hand, … that’s all I saw.” Well, there’s a lot more to see than a funky hand! Join your faithful Grue Crew – Crystal Cleveland, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr, along with special guests Jeff Farley and Ralph Miller – as they get down and dirty and gloppy with The Blob (1988) and its special effects. [NOTE: Technical issues forced Jeff Farley to drop out early in the recording. Bill and Jeff rescheduled a later discussion with Jeff, which was spliced near the end of the original recording.]

Decades of Horror 1980s Episode 270 – The Blob (1988)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! Click the alert to get notified of new content! https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

Gruesome Magazine is partnering with the WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL (https://wickedhorrortv.com/) which now includes video episodes of Decades of Horror 1980s and is available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, and its online website across all OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.

Synopsis: A deadly entity from space crash-lands near a small town and begins consuming everyone in its path. Panic ensues as shady government scientists try to contain the horrific creature.

Directed by: Chuck Russell

Writing Credits:Chuck Russell & Frank Darabont (screenplay)

1958 Version: Theodore Simonson and Kay Linaker (as Kate Phillips) (screenplay); Irvine H. Millgate (story)

Produced by: Jack H. Harris & Elliott Kastner

Cinematography by: Mark Irwin

Make up effects designed and created by: Tony Gardner

Creature effects designed and created by:Lyle Conway

Selected crew members:

Jeffrey S. Farley (creature effects crew)

Ralph Miller III (blob mechanic: blob effects crew)

Special visual effects by: Dream Quest Images

Visual effects supervisor: Hoyt Yeatman

Selected Cast:

Kevin Dillon as Brian Flagg

Shawnee Smith as Meg Penny

Donovan Leitch Jr. as Paul Taylor (as Donovan Leitch)

Jeffrey DeMunn as Sheriff Herb Geller

Candy Clark as Fran Hewitt

Joe Seneca as Dr. Meddows

Del Close as Reverend Meeker

Paul McCrane as Deputy Bill Briggs

Sharon Spelman as Mrs. Penny

Beau Billingslea as Moss Woodley

Art LaFleur as Pharmacist / Mr. Penny

Ricky Paull Goldin as Scott Jeske

Robert Axelrod as Jennings

Bill Moseley as Soldier #2 (in sewer)

Frank Collison as Hobbe

Michael Kenworthy as Kevin Penny

Jack Rader as Col. Hargis

Billy Beck as Can Man

Jack Nance as Doctor

Erika Eleniak as Vicki De Soto

Jacquelyn Masche as White Suit #2

Julie McCullough as Susie

Daryl Sandy Marsh as Lance (as Daryl Marsh)

Richard Anthony Crenna as Soldier Outside Town Hall (as Richard Crenna Jr.)

Pons Maar as Theatre Manager

Portia Griffin as Gospel Singer

First, there was the original The Blob (1958), covered by Decades of Horror: The Classic Era #123. After that, there was the sequel, Beware! The Blob (1972), braved by the Grue Crew in Decades of Horror 1970s #63. Then came The Blob (1988), an updated retelling of the original as imagined by Frank Darabont and Chuck Russell and discussed by a previous 80s Grue Crew in Decades of Horror 1980s #126. 

Finally, the current 80s Grue Crew, having some contacts in the effects community, decided to do a deeper dive into The Blob (1988) with a focus on the film’s effects work and enlisted the aid of effects artists Jeffrey S. Farley and Ralph Miller III who worked on Lyle Conway’s blob crew. Ralph shares several mechanical devices used for blob manipulation and stories of the hard work put into the film. Jeff focuses on his work on The Blob, occasionally wandering to other aspects of his career, including Abruptio, his current release.

At the time of this writing, The Blob (1988) is available to stream from Peacock, Paramount+, PlutoTV, and multiple PPV sources. It is also available on physical media as a Limited Edition Steelbook 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray and as a Collector’s Edition [4K UHD] from Scream Factory. 

Every two weeks, Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1980s podcast will cover another horror film from the 1980s. The next episode’s film, chosen by Bill, will be Cannibal Ferox (1981), directed by Umberto Lenzi with special effects by Gino De Rossi. Yup. It must be time for a film initially banned in 31 countries.

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans – so leave them a message or comment on the Gruesome Magazine Youtube channel, on the Gruesome Magazine website, or email the Decades of Horror 1980s podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com.

Check out this episode!

[ulkaralakbarova]

When CIA Analyst Jack Ryan interferes with an IRA assassination, a renegade faction targets Jack and his family as revenge. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Jack Ryan: Harrison Ford Dr. Caroline “Cathy” Ryan: Anne Archer Sally Ryan: Thora Birch Sean Miller: Sean Bean Kevin O’Donnell: Patrick Bergin Annette: Polly Walker Lord William Holmes: James Fox Lt. Cmdr. Robby Jackson: Samuel L. Jackson Adm. James Greer: James Earl Jones Paddy O’Neil: Richard Harris Marty Cantor: J.E. Freeman Dennis Cooley: Alex Norton Watkins: Hugh Fraser Inspector Highland: David Threlfall Owens: Alun Armstrong Sissy: Berlinda Tolbert Lord Justice: Gerald Sim First Aide: Pip Torrens Ashley: Thomas Russell Charlie Dugan: Andrew Connolly Ned Clark: Keith Campbell Jimmy Reardon: Jonathan Ryan Court Guard: P.H. Moriarty Interviewer: Bob Gunton CIA Technician: Ted Raimi Secretary: Brenda James Paddy Boy: Karl Hayden Lady Holmes: Claire Oberman Young Holmes: Oliver Stone The Electrician: Tom Watt Constable: Tim Dutton Constable: Martin Cochrane Rose: Ellen Geer Winter: John Lafayette Ferro: Shaun Duke Spiva: Fritz Sperberg CIA Analyst: Allison Barron Dr Shapiro: Philip Levien FBI Agent Shaw: Jesse D. Goins Avery: Michael Ryan Way FBI Director’s Bodyguard (uncredited): Peter Weireter Film Crew: Director of Photography: Donald McAlpine Original Music Composer: James Horner Screenplay: W. Peter Iliff Producer: Mace Neufeld Producer: Robert Rehme Director: Phillip Noyce Screenplay: Donald Stewart Editor: William Hoy Editor: Neil Travis Casting: Cathy Sandrich Gelfond Makeup Artist: Michael Key Casting: Amanda Mackey Executive Producer: Charles H. Maguire Makeup Department Head: Peter Robb-King Art Direction: Joseph P. Lucky Hairstylist: Anne Morgan Costume Design: Norma Moriceau Makeup Artist: Pat Gerhardt Set Decoration: John M. Dwyer Makeup Artist: John R. Bayless Production Design: Joseph C. Nemec III Stunts: Dick Ziker Stunts: Terry Leonard Visual Effects Supervisor: Robert Grasmere Visual Effects Supervisor: John C. Walsh Stunt Coordinator: Andy Bradford Stunt Coordinator: Steve Boyum Stunts: Michael T. Brady Stunts: Janet Brady Stunts: William H. Burton Jr. Stunts: Bobby Bass Stunts: Keith Campbell Stunts: David Burton Stunts: Clarke Coleman Stunts: Gerry Crampton Stunts: Cynthia Cypert Stunts: Laura Dash Stunts: Gabe Cronnelly Stunts: Steve M. Davison Stunts: Jeff Imada Stunts: Jeffrey J. Dashnaw Stunts: Annie Ellis Stunts: Richard M. Ellis Stunts: Tony Epper Stunts: Elaine Ford Stunts: Kenny Endoso Stunts: James M. Halty Stunt Coordinator: Martin Grace Stunts: Steve Hart Stunts: Scott Hubbell Stunts: Craig Hosking Stunts: Henry Kingi Stunts: Joel Kramer Stunts: Paul Jennings Stunts: Gene LeBell Stunts: Gary McLarty Stunts: Mark McBride Stunts: Bennie Moore Stunts: Valentino Musetti Stunts: John C. Meier Stunts: Alan Oliney Stunts: Chuck Picerni Jr. Stunt Double: Bobby Porter Stunts: Steve Picerni Stunts: Tony van Silva Stunts: Chad Randall Stunts: Rod Woodruff Stunt Double: Vic Armstrong Second Unit Director: David R. Ellis Stunts: Gregory J. Barnett Stunts: Tim A. Davison Novel: Tom Clancy Movie Reviews: John Chard: Good guys are real good, and the bad guys are real bad. Patriot Games is a more than serviceable thriller, perhaps a bit out of date when viewing it now, but still a very effective good against evil piece. The source material is so dense and intricate it was always going to be hard to condense that into a 2 hour movie, but I feel the makers manage to keep it fleshy whilst making the respective characters interesting and watchable. The acting on show is more than adequate, Harrison Ford is great in the role of Jack Ryan, he manages to portray him as a sensitive family man who can step up to the plate when things get ugly, and Anne Archer is solid enough as the wife and mother caught up in the web of nastiness unfolding. The baddies are led by the brooding Sean Bean who is a little under written, whilst Richard Harris is sadly underused. However, the action set pieces make their mark and thankfully we get a riveting...

[cyarskaren52]

Arts & Culture

Word of the Year 2023

'Authentic,' plus 'rizz,' 'deepfake,' 'coronation,' and other words that defined the year

27 Nov 2023

Authentic

Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year for 2023 is authentic—the term for something we’re thinking about, writing about, aspiring to, and judging more than ever.

A high-volume lookup most years, authentic saw a substantial increase in 2023, driven by stories and conversations about AI, celebrity culture, identity, and social media.

Authentic has a number of meanings including “not false or imitation,” a synonym of  real and actual; and also “true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character.” Although clearly a desirable quality,  authentic is hard to define and subject to debate—two reasons it sends many people to the dictionary.

Authentic is often connected to identity, whether national or personal: words frequently modified by authentic include cuisine and dish, but also self and voice. Celebrities like singers Lainey Wilson, Sam Smith, and especially Taylor Swift all made headlines in 2023 with statements about seeking their “authentic voice” and “authentic self.” Headlines like Three Ways To Tap Into Taylor Swift’s Authenticity And Build An Eras-Like Workplace associate this quality with pop-culture superpower.

And with the rise of artificial intelligence—and its impact on deepfake videos, actors’ contracts, academic honesty, and a vast number of other topics—the line between “real” and “fake” has become increasingly blurred. 

Authentic is what brands, social media influencers, and celebrities aspire to be. Elon Musk made headlines when he said that people should be more “authentic” on social media. Apps and platforms like BeReal make recording “authentic” experiences their main purpose. No matter how much artifice and calculation goes into the production of these videos, as Rebecca Jennings of Vox puts it, “wherever people are supposedly being ‘authentic’ on the internet, the money will follow.” Ironically, with “authentic content creators” now recognized as the gold standard for building trust, “authenticity” has become a performance. 

Other words also stood out in the dictionary’s 2023 data, including: 

Photo: Agent 00 Gaming CC-BY-3.0

Rizz

Rizz, an example of internet-driven slang, shot to the top of lookups when it was added to the dictionary in September. 

As a noun, rizz means “romantic appeal or charm” (as in “a bro who has rizz”); as a verb (typically used with up, as in “rizz up that cutie”) it means “to charm or seduce.” It’s frequently considered a play on charisma, but YouTuber Kai Cenat (shown above), widely credited with coining the word, says nah, that’s not what it’s from. No other lexical inspiration has been identified though.

Deepfake

The quest for authenticity partly results from technologies like the deepfake: “an image or recording that has been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said.”

In late April and early May, we saw a surge of interest in deepfake when lawyers for Elon Musk argued that he shouldn’t have to give legal testimony about public statements he made, since, as a famous person, some of his statements might be deepfakes. (This argument was rejected by the judge.)

Another spike for deepfake followed in May, when a fan-made ad for Tesla featured a likeness of Ryan Reynolds, and again in June, when online ads for Ron DeSantis used apparently fake images of Donald Trump.

Photo: Katie Chan CC-BY-SA-4.0

Coronation

The ceremony to crown a new British monarch—Charles III—caused this term to spike in May.

Coronation refers to the literal act of placing a crown on a monarch’s head, a synonym of crowning. It is also more figuratively used to refer to the assumption of a prominent position or office, as in “the coronation of the league’s MVP.”

Coronation comes from French, as do so many of the words associated with nobility and royalty, including noble, royal, monarch, and ceremony. These French words are used because the British aristocracy was originally the Norman (i.e., French) aristocracy following William the Conqueror’s victory in 1066. The word has been used in English since the 1300s.

Dystopian

A number of events this year drove interest in dystopian. A video produced by the Republican National Committee in early April, and built entirely with AI-generated imagery, portrayed what was widely described as the “dystopian future” the RNC asserts will result from the reelection of Joe Biden. And the 54th Earth Day celebration on April 22nd, which followed weeks of record-high temperatures, came with warnings from activists that action must be taken to avoid a “dystopian future.” That future was evoked in June when smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed the eastern U.S. creating a “dystopian landscape.” And the year was full of dystopian warnings that AI could eventually replace or subjugate humankind.

Dystopian gets applied not only to frightening real-world issues, but also to entertaining fictional ones. Video games, books and movies depict a dark potential future that typifies the imagined world or society that  dystopianso often calls to mind.

Photo: Red Carpet Report on Mingle Media TV CC-BY-SA-2.0

EGOT

One of the rarest distinctions an entertainer can achieve is winning four particular awards: the Emmy, the Grammy, the Oscar, and the Tony. This accomplishment is referred to by a word made up of the first letters of each award, the EGOT. EGOT was first used in 1984 and was added to our dictionary in 2019.

Lookups for EGOT spiked in February when Viola Davis won a Grammy for her reading of the audiobook version of her memoir, adding to the Emmy, Oscar, and Tony awards she had already received.

EGOT is pronounced as a word as /EE-gaht/ rather than by spelling out its letters. We heard Viola Davis pronounce it when she used EGOT as a verb in her acceptance speech at the Grammys, exclaiming “I just EGOT!” 

We don’t currently enter EGOT as a verb in the dictionary, but perhaps this usage will catch on.

X

Elon Musk’s rebranding of Twitter as Xsent many people to the dictionary to learn more about this unusually flexible letter. It doesn’t just represent a letter and its sound, but also has various meanings and functions: for example, it stands for “an unknown quantity,” it’s a symbol for the act of multiplication, and it is used as a substitute for “by” in measurements, as in “The room was 10’x15’.”

Other letters carry meaning by themselves, (think of F for “failure” or to a T meaning “perfection”), but X has a mystique all its own. Linguist Marcel Danesi was quoted as commenting that X “reverberates with all kinds of meanings that are intuitive, unconscious, and archetypal.”

Lookups for X spiked 885% on July 23, the date of the rebranding announcement, although the value of the platform has declined significantly since then.

Implode

When a submersible attempting to visit the wreck of the Titanic disappeared in June, the search made international headlines. Titan, the world eventually learned, had imploded.

While explode is a common word, implode is encountered less frequently; people turned to the dictionary to understand it. Something that implodes bursts inward or undergoes violent compression—in this case, from the immense water pressure two miles below the ocean’s surface. The noun implosion also saw a dramatic increase in lookups. 

Submersible itself was also a top lookup. A submersible is a small underwater craft used for deep-sea research.

Doppelgänger

Doppelgänger saw multiple lookup spikes from independent events. Media coverage of two crimes—one in Germany and one in New York, each involving the murder or attempted murder of someone’s lookalike—focused on the word. So did a story about two minor league baseball players who, despite sharing professions, names, and similar physical features (height, coloring, glasses), were shown via a DNA test to be unrelated. And September saw the release of Naomi Klein’s book, Doppelgänger: A Trip Into the Mirror World.

Doppelgänger can refer to a living person that closely resembles another living person—that is, a double; or it can refer to the opposite side of one’s personality. In German folklore a Doppelgänger is a ghostly counterpart of a living person. The word is formed from two words that together mean “double goer.”

Covenant

Several very different stories contributed to an increase in lookups for covenant, defined as “a formal, solemn, and binding agreement” or “a written agreement or promise.”

A tragic shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville on March 27th coincided with the first spike in lookups for covenant. The word remained higher during the April release of Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant, a film depicting the rescue of an Afghan interpreter who had saved the life of a U.S. soldier in combat. In May, a much-anticipated new novel by Abraham Verghese, The Covenant of Water, became an instant bestseller featured in Oprah’s Book Club. Finally, reports in early November revealed that the new Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, uses an app called Covenant Eyes to monitor the websites he visits, by sharing them automatically with an accountability partner, in this case Johnson’s teenage son.

Covenant has a religious resonance because of its use in the Bible. It appears over 200 times in the King James Version of the Bible, mostly in the Old Testament, referring to promises of different kinds, sometimes between people, and sometimes between individuals and God. In the Book of Exodus, covenant refers to the Ten Commandments. 

Indict

Indict was often in the news this year. Former President Donald Trump was indicted in four separate cases now moving through the legal system, and indict spiked by 9440% on March 30, when a New York City grand jury charged the former president in the hush-money case.

Indict is defined as “to charge with a crime by the finding or presentment of a jury (such as a grand jury) in due form of law.” Like most words in our legal vocabulary, indict comes from French (others include judge, jury, arraign, appeal, and acquit). 

The silent c in indict is the result of scholars in the Renaissance “correcting” the spelling of the French borrowing by adding the c from its Latin ancestor. Before their tampering, the word was spelled indite.

Elemental

In June, the title of the new Pixar film Elemental made lookups spike. Appropriately enough, this title employs the original and oldest meaning of element: “any of the four substances air, water, fire, and earth formerly believed to compose the physical universe.” 

With characters that embody fire, water, earth, and air as anthropomorphizedqualities, the film’s plot becomes an allegory about identity and prejudice.

Kibbutz

When Hamas launched attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7th, civilians living in kibbutzim were among the targets. A term unfamiliar to many outside Israel, kibbutz refers to a communal farm or settlement in Israel. 

Other terms relating to Hamas’s attack and Israel’s military response that saw an increase in lookups were blood libeland intifada.

Deadname

Deadname saw a large increase in lookups in March with  “Parental Rights” bills being considered in several states. Such bills require schools to use what many transgender supporters call a “deadname”—the name someone was given at birth and no longer uses upon transitioning. While deadname does not appear in legislation, the word was used in media coverage of the issue.

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