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letterboxd · 5 years ago

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Quarantine Rentals.

Ten indie films you can rent right now, as recommended by Letterboxd members.

Sure, Scoob!. Yes, Extraction. The Wrong Missy, okay. On the other hand, there are plenty of interesting indie films available for VOD and virtual screenings right now that haven’t necessarily had the benefit of studio backing, big stars, film festivals, red carpets or other ‘normal-circumstances’ coverage to build word-of-mouth.

So, because these are abnormal circumstances, we sent our West Coast editor Dominic Corry on a hunt through your recent reviews to find ten under-seen but enthusiastically received indies that you can rent today.

Thanks to our partnership with JustWatch, you can find availability details on each film’s Letterboxd page—and Dominic has also helpfully provided further links to make it that much easier to support these indie films.

Powerbomb Directed by R. Zachary Shildwachter and B.J. Colangelo

Starring Matt Capiccioni (better known Matt Cross, or M-Dogg 20, or Son of Havoc) as an up-and-coming wrestling star, and Wes Allen as the obsessive fan who kidnaps him, Powerbomb is “The King of Comedy set in the indie wrestling scene, which is a cool fucking concept if nothing else,” according to Dustin Baker. “Luckily, there’s some witty writing and good performances to back up that concept to create something that’s surprisingly a lot of fun.”

Don’t worry if you know nothing about wrestling, writes Justin Nordell: “As someone who has zero reference point for wrestling, this film not only made it accessible but enthralling!”

A guide to where you can watch Powerbomb can be found on the film’s website.

Arkansas Directed by Clark Duke

Quietly ubiquitous comedic actor Clark Duke (Kick-Ass, Hot Tub Time Machine) directed and co-wrote this neo-noir in which he stars alongside such high-profile talent as Vince Vaughn, John Malkovich and Liam Hemsworth. Everyone agrees that the film wears its influences on its sleeve. Chainsaw Massacre “loved nearly every minute of this deliberately paced descendant of Tarantino and the Coen brothers. [But] comparing it to those […] filmmakers does it a disservice though, because, while you can feel their influence, first-time director Clark Duke does have his own distinct style”.

While noting that it marks another interesting performance in Vaughn’s recent emergence as a worthy cinematic lowlife, Tummis would also “like to point out that Liam Hemsworth was great in this”.

Arkansas is available via various digital outlets, as indicated on its official website.

What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael Directed by Rob Garver

Before the Letterboxd era, film criticism was a much more exclusive realm, and no one critic loomed larger in that realm than The New Yorker’s Pauline Kael—so iconic that true cineastes of her time referred to her simply by her first name. So it behooves you, good Letterboxd member, to familiarize yourself with this master of the form via this new documentary.

In a review that feels like it could apply to any number of Letterboxd members, kmarus says “From what I’ve encountered of her criticism, Kael and I disagree on a lot of things, but one thing that is readily apparent to anyone who reads her writing is that she genuinely cares about movies”.

Letterboxd’s London correspondent (and professional critic) Ella Kemp felt personally validated watching the film. “It’s magic, she’s magic, this is why we needed her and why we always need movies, and why I want to keep talking about them. It’s nice if you read me, if you like me or if you agree with me—but even if you don’t, I know I’ll be sticking around for a while anyway. I’m nowhere near done yet.”

You can rent the film here.

Slay The Dragon Directed by Barak Goodman and Chris Durrance

The insidious and nebulous practice of gerrymandering is the focus of this acclaimed documentary. As member Andrew Chrzanowski ominously intones, the film is “never more timely than right here and right now” and “demands you to watch, so you may witness in a comprehensive and detailed way the metastasis of the most malignant cancer on our democracy: gerrymandered districts and redrawn borders by Republicans, especially after the 2010 elections”.

Guyatthemovies says the film “does a phenomenal job of taking a topic that may seem confusing for most who are not familiar and breaking it down to simplistic terms, explaining the impact of gerrymandering [through] well-known examples” and that “this is a must-watch for anyone concerned about the state of politics today”.

You can support your favorite theater by renting the film here.

Judy & Punch Directed by Mirrah Foulkes

Mia Wasikovska and Damon Herriman, two of the more interesting Australian actors working in film today, and each possessed of a fantastically cinematic face, star in this one-of-a-kind film as a couple operating a marionette show in a town about to bubble over with tension. Like the classic puppet characters that title the film, they come to blows.

The film is the feature-directing debut of Aussie actor and filmmaker Mirrah Foulkes, and Letterboxd member CJ Johnson says she “announces herself as a feature auteur of serious talent and limitless potential with […] a film whose great artfulness is only outdone by its sheer, breath-taking originality”.

Jess V.K. warns us to “go into this film with no expectations, because whatever you were expecting is not what you will see”.

Rent the film here.

On A Magical Night Directed by Christophe Honoré

This French comedy (of sorts) presents a fresh perspective on a very French activity: infidelity. It begins with a woman, Maria (Chiara Mastroianni, daughter of Italian-French acting royalty Marcello Mastroanni and Catherine Deneuve) deciding to leave her husband, and taking up residence across the street where she can observe him.

As Allison M. explains, “like a modernized version of A Christmas Carol, spirits living and dead come to haunt Maria to help her make a decision about whether or not she should return to her husband. It is complete with a phantom baby, reference to a past threesome, and kissing cousins”.

The film caused Gmacauley to ruminate: “Have you ever thought to yourself that when you get old you’d like to travel to the past and sleep with your significant other while they’re young again? Well now I have.”

Watch it here; and also seek out Nicolas Bedos’ marital fantasy romp, La Belle Époque.

The Assistant Directed by Kitty Green

This austere take on the #MeToo era stars Ozark breakout Julia Garner as a bottom-rung assistant to a never-seen, New York-based film producer clearly modeled on Harvey Weinstein. Through one long workday, we are witness to the manipulative practices that enable such a figure, without ever landing on a single incident that she can cite as tangible proof of his behavior, which helps detail the impossibility of her—and countless others’—situation.

While the film’s understated style has thrown some viewers off, that’s entirely the point according to Ryne Walley, who says it “aims true with unwavering confidence. The calculated pace and concise nature of The Assistant hides very little, echoing the countless cases of abuse and depravity that’ve been disclosed… an agonizingly taut feat of filmmaking… Your heart sinks with each passing hour”.

“So quietly powerful, this is a female film through and through. Gut wrenching in the simplest way,” writes Letterboxd member Katie.

Ella Kemp interviewed Green about The Assistant for Letterboxd. The film’s official website lists various VOD options.

Capital in the Twenty-First Century Directed by Justin Pemberton

French economist Thomas Piketty’s 2013 book about income equality forms the basis of this documentary, which takes on a new pertinence in the coronavirus era.

“It’s a sobering trip,” says Joey Jepson. “As if Covid-19 wasn’t enough to send you into a deep depression, Capital in the Twenty-First Century presents a thesis that seems to indicate that if we don’t course correct, we will see a further divide and evaporation of the middle-class.”

Michael agrees: “Very clearly and lucidly explains why we’re fucked if we don’t start regulating capital.” Eep.

Rent the film here.

Spaceship Earth Directed by Matt Wolf

The 1991 biosphere experiment—in which a group of people sealed themselves off from the world (hey!) to investigate human self-sustainability—is the subject of this documentary, which, like Capital in the Twenty-First Century, also hits a little different in the current moment.

Kellyabailey is on board: “I’m fuckin inspired, man. I wanna see what I’m capable of and finally start that commune I’ve been dreaming up.”

Smooz was impressed with how the film didn’t make fun of its subjects: “It’s rare for a documentarian […] dealing with kooks to produce a movie with any sort of empathy. This movie takes the kooks involved in one of the kookiest, most ridiculed projects in recent decades and honestly shows their successes, visionary moments, shortcomings, and failures while resisting the urge to dunk on them and give them swirlies.”

Letterboxd editor-in-chief Gemma Gracewood spoke to Wolf about his film—and what movies he’d choose to take with into a biosphere—in this interview. Rent the movie here.

Aren’t You Happy Directed by Susanne Heinrich

Those in the mood for something different might do well to check out this aesthetically bold German film—think Wes Anderson meets The Love Witch meets the movie Robert De Niro takes Cybill Shepherd to see on their ‘date’ in Taxi Driver—following a young woman named Mädchen (Marie Rathscheck) through various strange encounters.

Arvid Schmiedehausen says it “might be the most artistic film I have ever watched. It is highly ambitious in its attempts to deconstruct society and western values through fourteen episodes, with each being a persiflage on one unique aspect of it”. [We had to look up “persiflage” too.]

Ian A. Chapman writes that “not in anyway adhering to convention, Aren’t You Happy melancholically meanders through rendezvous allowing time for delicious dialogue. Visually pleasing, the colour choices neatly frame the scenes and set the tones allowing for a shorthand into the vibe”.

Rent the movie here.

Related content

Our list of art house films screening online now.

#indie film #independent film #indie films to rent #vod #streaming #virtual screening #virtual release #quarantine films #letterboxd #letterboxd recommendations #spaceship earth #the assistant #kitty green #vince vaughn

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robronfic · 5 years ago

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Could you make a post of all the Big Bang fics so far please?

round one / 2017:

sure as the world keeps the moon in the sky by @aarobron

“thank you,” aaron whispers, and his words sound as thick as the air he’s pushing them into. “i had a great night, honestly. just… thank you.” then he’s leaning up on his tiptoes; stretching, body lean and long and sharp, and robert risks settling a hand onto his waist. it shocks aaron for moment, but then he just grins: some great, dazzling, blinding smile that robert has to close his eyes against, and before he knows it, there are lips on his cheek. they settle, for one moment, two, three, and he’s holding his breath, fingers tightening around the curve of aaron’s hip. or, an au where aaron and robert are neighbours - neighbours in love. 30k.

rumours by @beautifulhigh

robert is a vivinus, or a “div” if you’re feeling particularly cruel. people who are functionally immortal: they can die through severe accidents or illnesses, or something immediate. people with the ability to heal, to understand a person better than they know themselves, and who are rumoured to love so deeply that they will literally love you forever.

robert hasn’t told anyone who he is, only telling aaron after the car crash and their engagement, giving him the choice about whether he wants to live his life with a man who won’t ever grow old, who isn’t anything close to normal and secure. not all the rumours are good ones though, and for every high there’s a low. 105k.

maneuver one into place by @robertjacobsugdens

robert helped lawrence build a legitimate business empire from the ashes of his criminal enterprises. that is, until robert made one tiny, irrelevant mistake and the Whites kicked him to the curb. planning his revenge, robert went in the only place where he could assemble a team to get back what was rightfully his. he wasn’t expecting old feelings and wounds to resurface quite so strongly. especially not when it came to his master thief, aaron dingle. 57k.

love never fails by @nooneelsecomesclose17

it’s 1914, the war looming. aaron is the new chauffeur at home farm, and robert is newly returned from london after years away. aaron wants a new start, with liv, while robert wants to reconnect with his family. bad memories haunt them both making their relationship a challenge. with the war comes tragedy and then aaron goes missing. 70k.

we’ll meet again by @littlelooneyluna

in the year of 1939, war strikes and leaves best friends turned almost lovers aaron dingle and robert sugden in a state of shock, despite their resistance against the ever present reality of war it soon becomes apparent that there is no escape and it doesn't take long for their world to be ripped away from them as they continuously fight to keep close despite the lengths taken to keep them apart for good. 81k.

fool’s gold by @strongboyfriends

he knew, in the back of his mind, that it was their connection that was sending sparks rushing through him, numbing every sense until all he knew was aaron, but the realist in him – the one that grew up never believing that fate could bring two strangers together and bond them. Tte one that believed it could never happen to someone you knew, that it was meant for those with more poetic souls that lived life as if love was all there was – believed he would have felt this way about aaron regardless.

or, aaron and robert don’t exactly have the meet-cute worth writing home about, but fate has other ideas in mind. 38k.

the country squire by @misswhimsy

after katie’s death, robert handed himself into the police and has spent the last two years in prison for manslaughter. aaron has moved on with his life, dealing with the death of his father and reconnecting with his little sister, attending counselling to help him cope with the things he’s not willing or able to share with his family. luckily it has provided him with an interesting new way to manage his feelings and he has discovered a talent and passion for writing that he never expected. now, robert is out of prison, alone and unsure of his future; will he ever be able to find the happiness that aaron has already found? 22k.

separation never suited us by @wellyfullofale

robert’s been away from emmerdale for almost a year, but vic has persuaded him to return for his 40th birthday party. he hasn’t seen or spoken to his husband since he left the village after convincing himself that aaron had moved on following an argument that they were both too stubborn to move past. he returns with hope that aaron might still love him the same way that he still loves aaron, but when he finds his husband is seeing someone new, is all hope now lost after a year apart? or will they find that, actually, a kind of love like theirs isn’t ever over? 33k.

find someone (like you) by @kayceecruz

robert sugden walks into emmerdale after nine years bringing with him little of the boy who left. aaron dingle's life has been stuck in the same place for years. they meet and everything changes... 25k.

a tail of two worlds by @geena-rae

aaron’s an immortal being, trapped in the sea for thousands of years now by himself. he’s been lonely for so long, his only solace watching the humans who walk along on the land. then he meets a sea witch who makes him an offer, she’ll turn him human for one month and if he finds love in that month she’ll keep him human, if not, aaron has to give her his immortality. 20k.

front page news by @realityisonlythebeginning

robert sugden is a small time reporter aching for a proper job in the world of crime reporting. he thinks he's found it when a young man named aaron dingle is wrongfully jailed for something he didn't do. what he finds however is so much more. 22k.

the insubstantial shadow by @sapphicsugden

“the terms.” robert stares ahead, at the darkness currently shrouding hell from his view.

“i keep walking,” robert starts, unable to focus on anything but the thud of his heart in his chest. it’s like you’re talking about a contract, he thinks. this is just a deal that you need to fucking win. except the stakes - and the payoff - were so much more than robert could handle. “i keep walking until i get to the lake where there’ll be a boat waiting to take me back."

hades nods, leaning casually against a pillar. “i don’t look back,” robert continues, words sticking in his throat. “he’ll be behind me, following me out of hell, but the instant i look back, he’ll vanish and he’ll-“ ae trails off, unable to make himself say it.

“he’ll be mine,” hades supplies. “his life for your inability to put his needs above your own.” 15k.

midnight in paris by @capseycartwright

the end of a relationship is supposed to be the hardest part, but the last night aaron sees robert, it’s the first promise of a happy ending he gets from the other man. a year, to sort their problems, and they’ll meet back in paris, and give their love the chance it deserves, after the whirlwind of a year they'd spent together, in paris, falling more in love than either of them had been before.

what could possibly go wrong in a year? 34k.

forged in fire by @escapingreality51

on his way to work one morning, a runner catches robert's eye. he starts seeing the man around everywhere, growing more intrigued with each sighting and almost interaction. when he finally meets him properly in the elevator of his building, a spark ignites and the two embark on an intense relationship, but when robert is reminded of a past trauma he gets scared. will Robert be able to let go of his past or will he be consumed by it? 31k.

asking the moon to stay by @josephtate

all his life prince robert had known that one day he would have to follow in his father's footsteps and become king of emmerdale. what he never expected was that he would have a secret love affair with the court's mechanic aaron dingle. 32k.

all in by @godamnarmsrace

when robert and aaron meet there's an instant attraction, no doubt about it, but nothing can happen, it just wouldn't be appropriate. robert feels for the lad, who's been on the streets and struggling to take care of his young sister, so he does the decent thing and opens his home to him – gives him a break. feelings grow, aaron wants robert, in more ways than one, in every way really, but robert is fighting it, he fears becoming one of the monsters he hunts. it’s only when things get dangerous, pursuing gordon has some scary consequences, he begins to realise that you really only get one life; aaron and liv are his. 31k.

---

round two / 2018:

cause we’re lovers, and that is a fact by @prettyboysugden

the 1980's- a time of music, love and pride. robert and aaron have to hide their relationship, but will something tear them apart? 17k.

and might had fallen to sands and fire by @matan4il

aaron is a hebrew gladiator whose daily routine of training and fighting is changed by the arrival of a unit of roman soldiers. 44k.

the fundamental things apply by @nooneelsecomesclose17

after losing jackson over a year ago, liv is worried about her brother and wants him to find a new boyfriend. that’s how aaron ends up on local radio on christmas eve. robert’s a successful reporter with his local paper, and he’s getting married. he’s on his way to meet his fiance’s family for christmas when he hears a voice on the radio.

can his destiny really be someone he’s never met? can he be the one to catch aaron’s attention and get him to meet in london on valentine’s day? 26k.

among the many by @littlelooneyluna

1984 au: robert finds aaron in a dystopian world where love is forbidden. 63k.

from the moment we touched by @snarfettelove

needing to let off some steam after a stressful day at work, robert (a ruthless businessman) picks up a prostitute on his way back to his penthouse apartment. but one night with aaron isn’t enough and robert’s got a hell of a week coming up; he offers aaron the opportunity of a lifetime - stay (and get paid) for the whole week. aaron can’t resist, and robert’s pretty fit after all, so he agrees to the deal. they just aren’t supposed to let feelings get in the way of their ‘arrangement’. 42k.

is it too late? by @robron-til-the-end

aaron never found robert at the scrapyard, the day after seb was born. he never talked robert into staying. robert left the village that day, and ten years later is the first time he's returned to emmerdale, and the first time he's bumped into aaron since it all went wrong so spectacularly.can he and aaron make it work the second time around? or has too much time passed to ever make it work? 18k.

we’ll always have the moon. by @notforonesecond

while working through his deployment for the british army, aaron dingle unsuspectingly meets the love of his life at a bar one night in the form of robert sugden.

navigating through war, love, heartbreak, and tears they build their relationship, communicating through handwritten letters. but after they've built a life and a family together, is aaron willing to sacrifice it all for his country? 87k.

ticket to anywhere by @strongboyfriends

sixteen years old is dull in ways that movies and television never want to admit, and every minute felt like a countdown until he could escape. but life didn’t work like that. at least, not for robert. aaron couldn’t possibly be the one to change that. could he? 43k.

cartography through silence by @sapphicsugden

“it’s called aphasia,” the doctor tells them, clinical and detached.

aaron wants to punch her in the mouth. robert’s keeping a death grip on aaron’s hand, nails digging into the skin of aaron’s palm. it’s grounding, a familiar pain that aaron will carry for eternity if it helps robert. “what does that mean?” 11k.

so at ease in the midnight sky by @aarobron

aaron finds the dingle's travelling circus at 16, just after he runs away from gordon, and spends his days helping out with odd jobs. what he doesn't expect to find is a best friend in the shape of vic's older brother, robert. they grow closer, as a double act on the trapeze and as friends, but he keeps his feelings quiet until gordon shows up and flips everything they know upside down. 58k.

and that’s just the way it is by reformedcharacter

after meeting on the phones at work, robert and aaron quickly grow closer. being two hundred miles away from each other won’t stop them from falling in love. now, all there is left to do is meet. 28k.

… or does he? by @eloquentmydear

when lawrence tries to seduce robert in the hotel, robert’s phone doesn’t start ringing. he battles with himself over a long-denied desire for lawrence, the pain of losing the last man he loved, and his broken self-esteem. 15k.

two night stand by @robertisbisexual

aaron’s been single for months and, after a bad night out, is convinced by his friends that a no strings one night stand is exactly what he needs. only casual sex is a lot harder than aaron remembers - especially when your date is a prick - and when forces conspire against him aaron finds himself trapped with robert a second night. 26k.

escaping the past by @kripkegirl

robert returns to the village, looking to rebuild bridges and to finally put his past behind him. 26k.

white blank page by @rustandruin

aaron’s a semi-closeted music journalist for a regional newspaper. robert is the newly hired out-and-proud sex and relationship columnist he hates. but when they’re forced to work together, aaron realises that irritation quickly turns into attraction. can he overcome his past and find the strength to choose his future? 125k.

exile by @escapingreality51

aaron is a member of cain’s crew on the akadia transport ship when cain agrees to transport a different type of cargo than usual - a prisoner. robert sugden, the most notorious scientist-turned-murderer in the solar system arrives on the ship in manacles, and aaron dingle has to spend eight and a half months guarding robert sugden in a cell while they transport him from earth to his trial on mars. somewhere along the way aaron starts to discover that the man in manacles may not be as evil as he has been made out to be. 25k.

sweet dreams (are made of this) by @kayceecruz

after a tragic accident, robert’s left in a coma. while his loved ones fight to keep him alive, robert sinks into a world of dreams. when he wakes up, he is confused about what life is real and all he wants is to have his husband by his side. 24k.

#robron #big bang #fic rec #asks #anon

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tabloidtoc · 4 years ago

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Globe, June 8

Cover: O.J. Simpson Murder Trial Juror Tracy Kennedy Was Bribed

Page 2: Up Front & Personal (to the best of my knowledge none of these photos are from Instagram) Jude Law goes grocery shopping in London, Shia LaBeouf and his dog, Helena Bonham Carter sports an ugly-looking scratch on her face while walking in London

Page 3: Joshua Jackson has flabby man boobs, Golnesa “GG” Gharachedaghi cleans up after her dog in L.A., Linda Perry has her hands full

Page 4: Fed up with being humiliated Caitlyn Jenner has issued a blistering ultimatum to young galpal and fellow sex-swapper Sophia Hutchins: stop bringing your lovers to my home or we’re done, singer Noah Cyrus the little sister of Miley Cyrus says during her childhood she was targeted by trolls who ragged on her looks and made her so sad

Page 5: Ryan Seacrest’s shocking appearance on American Idol has friends fearing the workaholic media mogul is pushing himself into an early grave

Page 6: Meghan Markle is trashing her popular sister-in-law Duchess Kate Middleton with a series of humiliating public insults and behind-the-scenes barbs branding the future queen an uptight backbiting insincere cold fish who refuses to share the limelight

Page 7: Renegade royals Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have gotten another soft deal -- they get 11 years to repay the $2.9 million British taxpayers used to fix up their Frogmore Cottage home in England

Page 8: Valerie Bertinelli was just 19 when she had a hot-and-heavy fling with filmmaker Steven Spielberg who was nearly twice her age

Page 9: Angelina Jolie is cheering the current media mauling of Ellen DeGeneres because it feeds her craving for revenge against the backstabbing talk queen -- Angie has long held a grudge against Ellen for the way she took Jennifer Aniston’s side when Angie first hooked up with Brad Pitt in 2005, Married at First Sight stars Jamie Otis and Doug Hehner changed their minds about their newborn son’s name right after the little guy’s arrival -- the couple welcomed a baby boy May 13 and decided to call him Hendrix instead of their original choice of Hayes

Page 10: Pregnant Katy Perry strips down to her birthday suit and shows off her growing baby bump in her newest music video for Daisies, Lester Holt was horrified to realize he was broadcasting barefoot while working at home even though he was wearing a suit and tie with pants, George Stephanopoulos is plotting to take over Jeopardy! from ailing host Alex Trebek

Page 11: Ian Anderson the 72-year-old singer of Jethro Tull’s epic hit Aqualung says his days are numbered because of a deadly pulmonary condition and thinks on-stage smoke machines are to blame

Page 12: Celebrity Buzz -- Brooke Shields dons a face mask while out in New York City (picture), Robert Pattinson proved he should stay out of the kitchen as his new wacky biz plan for selling fast-food pasta literally went up in smoke, Denise Richards who is married to Aaron Phypers who runs an alternative healing center in Malibu uses a $59 Lovetuner whistle to keep love pitch perfect and she finds it calming and grounding -- she also scatters $110 grounding bags filled with pink crystals believing they help repel EMF frequencies from cellphones and computers, Rosie O’Donnell who is quarantining at a $6 million weekend estate in New Jersey’s she’s been trying to unload admits she’s bingeing on sweet treats at an alarming rate, Reese Witherspoon asked co-star and pal Laura Dern to reenact ‘80s soap Dynasty with her as a birthday present

Page 13: Newlywed Chandler Powell shops for flowers (picture), Jamie Lee Curtis goes barefoot for a stroll outside her L.A. home (picture), Jussie Smollett out and about in L.A. (picture), it’s no horror being likened to now-svelte stunner Adele according to her look-alike Sarah Paulson but she wishes she was as talented as Adele

Page 14: Bored Hollywood celebs have been offering their own road-rageous accounts of star sightings -- Jane Lynch almost ran over Diane Keaton and Kevin McHale says Roseanne Barr almost ran him over when he was a child and Loni Love claims she watched Samuel L. Jackson get hit by a car, Joshua Jackson’s wife Jodie Turner-Smith had postpartum acne after their baby daughter was born in April so she put breast milk on them and her skin looked much better, Fashion Verdict -- Emily Blunt 9/10, Suki Waterhouse 2/10, Lourdes Leon 3/10, Kristin Scott Thomas 1/10, Claire Danes 8/10

Page 16: True Crime

Page 19: 10 Things You Don’t Know About Savannah Guthrie, Kurt Cobain’s daughter Frances Bean Cobain and widow Courtney Love have apparently lost their ferocious battle over Kurt’s famed guitar, Judi Dench has hit the highest levels of her profession including winning an Oscar but she has one huge regret: not doing enough love scenes

Page 20: Alicia Keys’ father abandoned her and her mother when she was just 2 and she’s shared a heartbreaking divorce paper she sent him at 14, Cynthia Bailey of RHOA has likened lockdown love to sex in the slammer

Page 22: Johnny Depp scored a big win in his court fight with ex-wife Amber Heard when a judge allowed evidence the actress forged their dogs’ medical documents and guzzled wine and also admitted former lovers’ testimony that Johnny was never violent, Joan Collins became notorious for her nude scenes in the 1978 film The Stud but she insists the action was tame compared to Hollywood’s current offerings

Page 23: Funny Photo Quiz -- Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves in the new Bill and Ted movie

Page 24: Cover Story -- Juror took bribe during the O.J. Simpson murder trial -- Juror No. 602 Tracy Kennedy was booted from the panel after just nine weeks for taking money to write a book about the trial of the century in 1995 but in a chilling twist Kennedy and his wife Judith were found shot dead lying next to each other with two handguns nearby in 2008

Page 26: Health Report -- your nonstick pans could be harming you, zap your migraines with yoga

Page 29: Racing legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. is speeding toward a NASCAR comeback but insiders fear his history of head injuries may mean he’s risking his life and endangering his fellow drivers, Kendall Jenner has revealed a lifetime of massive panic attacks

Page 30: For fear of his father’s contracting coronavirus Jack Osbourne is monitoring dad Ozzy Osbourne’s diet, Daniel Craig’s final outing as James Bond is the franchise’s most expensive -- No Time to Die cost a whopping $242 million to shoot

Page 32: Rival talent show judges Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Lopez’s racy battle of the boobs has triggered a backlash from fans and plopped them in hot water with government bigwigs -- the divas strutted their stuff to grab watchers and ratings with Christina on The Voice and J.Lo on American Idol so much in the 2015-16 seasons that shocked viewers wrote complaints to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which can boot a show off the air for obscene content, Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez’s arrogant airs and ravenous publicity grabbing has led them to lose friends fast -- they give off the impression that nobody is really in their league and it’s backfired in a big way and left them feeling socially isolated

Page 38: Real Life

Page 44: Straight Talk -- Kylie Jenner is no nip/tuck novice

Page 45: Ben Stiller said his ailing father Jerry Stiller was dealing with a lot of issues but he died peacefully and with a sense of humor, Fred Willard went to his grave haunted and humiliated by an X-rated sex bust in 2012 when cops claimed they caught him with his pants down at the sleazy Tiki Theater in Hollywood but he was so deeply in love with his wife Mary that he was devastated she had to suffer through that embarrassment

Page 47: Hollywood Flashback -- Porky’s, Bizarre But True

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tomorrowedblog · 4 years ago

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Friday Releases for April 30

Friday is the busiest day of the week for new releases, so we've decided to collect them all in one place. Friday Releases for April 30 include Limbo, Yasuke, New Pokémon Snap, and more.

Limbo

Limbo, the new movie from Ben Sharrock, is out today.

Limbo is a wry and poignant observation of the refugee experience, set on a fictional remote Scottish island where a group of new arrivals await the results of their asylum claims. It centers on Omar (Amir El-Masry), a young Syrian musician who is burdened by his grandfather’s oud, which he has carried all the way from his homeland.

Without Remorse

Without Remorse, the new movie from Stefano Sollima, is out today.

In a war-torn region of Syria, an elite team of Navy SEALs led by Sr. Chief John Kelly (Michael B. Jordan) rescues a CIA operative taken hostage by ex-Russian military forces. Three months later, in apparent retaliation for his role in the mission, Kelly’s pregnant wife Pam (Lauren London) is murdered in the U.S. by a squad of masked Russian assassins. Despite being shot multiple times himself, Kelly manages to kill all but one of the attackers before being rushed to the hospital.

Meanwhile in Washington D.C., Kelly’s friend and former SEAL team member Lt. Commander Karen Greer (Jodie Turner-Smith) meets with CIA agent Robert Ritter (Jamie Bell) and Secretary of Defense Thomas Clay (Guy Pearce) to discuss their response options. Leaked news of Russia’s unprecedented attack on American soil has caused the already-strained relations between the two nations to sour further. If something isn’t done soon the result could be a full-scale war.

Healed from his injuries, a rogue Kelly tracks down the corrupt Russian diplomat who issued the passports to his wife’s murderers, and forces him at gunpoint to give up the name of the surviving assassin. Sent to prison for the crime, Kelly bargains his way out by revealing the escaped operative is one Victor Rykov (Brett Gelman), an ex-Special Forces officer currently hiding in Murmansk, Russia.

With Secretary Clay’s reluctant approval, Kelly joins Greer and Ritter on a top-secret mission to capture Rykov and bring him back to the U.S. to face justice. But en route to Murmansk, their plane is shot down by the Russian Air Force and plummets into the Bering Sea. Using their SEAL skills to survive the crash, they eventually make their way to Rykov’s location, only to discover that the murder of Kelly’s family was part of a vast international conspiracy orchestrated by powerful political figures. Torn between personal honor and loyalty to his country, and with the fate of nations hanging in the balance, Kelly has no choice but to expose the truth, no matter the cost.

About Endlessness

About Endlessness, the new movie from Roy Andersson, is out today.

ABOUT ENDLESSNESS is a reflection on human life in all its beauty and cruelty, its splendor and banality. We wander, dreamlike, gently guided by our Scheherazade-esque narrator. Inconsequential moments take on the same significance as historical events: a couple floats over a war-torn Cologne; on the way to a birthday party, a father stops to tie his daughter’s shoelaces in the pouring rain; teenage girls dance outside a cafe; a defeated army marches to a prisoner-of-war camp. Simultaneously an ode and a lament, ABOUT ENDLESSNESS presents a kaleidoscope of all that is eternally human, an infinite story of the vulnerability of existence.

The Outside Story

The Outside Story, the new movie from Casimir Nozkowski, is out today.

While on a tight deadline, an introverted editor (Brian Tyree Henry) is locked out of his apartment. In order to find his way back inside, he’s forced to interact with… his neighbors.

Four Good Days

Four Good Days, the new movie from Rodrigo García, is out today.

A long-estranged mother and daughter navigate the most difficult four days of their lives together in a heartbreaking and hopeful story based on real-life events.

The Mitchells vs. The Machines

The Mitchells vs. The Machines, the new movie from Michael Rianda and Jeff Rowe, is out today.

The Mitchells vs. The Machines is an original animated comedy about an everyday family’s struggle to relate while technology rises up around the world! When Katie Mitchell (voiced by Abbi Jacobson), a creative outsider, is accepted into the film school of her dreams, her plans to meet “her people” at college are upended when her nature-loving dad Rick (voiced by Danny McBride) determines the whole family should drive Katie to school together and bond as a family one last time.

The Virtuoso

The Virtuoso, the new movie from Nick Stagliano, is out today.

Danger, deception, and murder descend upon a sleepy country town when a professional assassin (Anson Mount) accepts a new assignment from his enigmatic mentor and boss (Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins). Given only where and when along with a cryptic clue, the methodical hit man must identify his mysterious mark from among several possible targets, including a local sheriff (David Morse). Meanwhile, a chance encounter with an alluring woman (Abbie Cornish) at the town’s rustic diner threatens to derail his mission in this noir-style cloak-and-dagger thriller.

The Disciple

The Disciple, the new movie from Chaitanya Tamhane, is out today.

A musician’s unadulterated devotion, a mirage-like quest for divinity, and the courage to fight your own mediocrity. The Disciple is the tale of an Indian classical vocalist, Sharad Nerulkar, searching for the traditional absolute in a contemporary city that never stops hustling.

Berlin Alexanderplatz

Berlin Alexanderplatz, the new movie from Burhan Qurbani, is out today.

An African immigrant struggles to make a new life for himself in the big city in writer-director Burhan Qurbani’s audacious, neon-lit reinterpretation of Alfred Döblin’s 1929 novel. After surviving his perilous journey, Francis vows to be a good man, but he soon realizes how difficult it is to be righteous while undocumented in Germany– without papers, without a nationality, and without a work permit. When he receives an enticing offer for easy money from the psychopathic gangster Reinhold, Francis initially resists temptation, but eventually he is sucked into Berlin’s underworld and his life spirals out of control.

Eat Wheaties!

Eat Wheaties!, the new movie from Scott Abramovitch, is out today.

Sid Straw (Tony Hale) leads a dull life until he accidentally stalks famous college friend, Elizabeth Banks, on social media. With each failed attempt to prove he knows her, he rediscovers more of himself and the true meaning of friendship.

The Innocent

The Innocent, the new TV series from Oriol Paulo, is out today.

An accidental killing leads a man down a dark hole of intrigue and murder. Just as he finds love and freedom, one phone call brings back the nightmare.

The Mosquito Coast

The Mosquito Coast, the new TV series from Neil Cross and Tom Bissell, is out today.

A brilliant rebel (Justin Theroux) and his wife (Melissa George) take their family on the run to protect them, but end up exposing them to more danger than ever. At every turn of their adventure, they encounter increasing threats and intensifying moral choices from which there’s no turning back.

Yasuke

Yasuke, the new TV series from LeSean Thomas, is out today.

In a war-torn feudal Japan filled with mechs and magic, the greatest ronin never known, Yasuke, struggles to maintain a peaceful existence after a past life of violence. But when a local village becomes the center of social upheaval between warring daimyo, Yasuke must take up his sword and transport a mysterious child who is the target of dark forces and bloodthirsty warlords.

Returnal

Returnal, the new game from Housemarque and Sony Interactive Entertainment, is out today.

After crash-landing on this shape-shifting world, Selene must search through the barren landscape of an ancient civilization for her escape. Isolated and alone, she finds herself fighting tooth and nail for survival. Again and again, she’s defeated – forced to restart her journey every time she dies.

New Pokémon Snap

New Pokémon Snap, the new game from Nintendo, is out today.

Welcome to the Lental region, whose islands hold everything from dense jungles to vast deserts! New Pokémon Snap is an all-new game inspired by the 1999 Nintendo 64 game Pokémon Snap. This Nintendo Switch adventure will take you from island to island on an ecological survey, photographing Pokémon and building your own Pokémon Photodex!

Parallel World

Parallel World, the new album from Cadence Weapon, is out today.

#Games #Movies #TV #Music #News

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starlight-thoughts-ao3 · 3 years ago

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This Is Not A Fairy Tale

Summary: Things will settle down and get better, and we will learn to grow.

TW: Nothing, so far as I’m aware. Let me know if you disagree.

Notes: This is older, just cross-posting from AO3.

There were fingers in his hair. When, exactly, they got there, Adam didn’t know, but there were fingers in his hair and they could only belong to one person, given where he was.

Where he was was the only connection to the magic he once knew, that once possessed and controlled him. But here, in this world of beauty and chaos and hidden affection, the magic was less sinister, less malicious. Instead it loved and welcomed him, as its owner did. The magic here felt like home, as did the fingers in his hair.

“I know you’re awake, asshole,” Ronan whispered down at Adam, who merely smiled, eyes still closed. Gentle chuckle came from the boy above him. These were the moments Adam loved more than anything. They were calm and unhurried, just him and Ronan, Ronan who had become everything to him in a very short amount of time.

Once upon a time, there was a boy who was given the world through a combination of magic and endless money, and he was loved. He smiled easily and loved as fiercely as he himself was loved. He dreamed himself a little brother, a boy as sweet as sin, but Matthew was as close to an angel as Ronan was sure he was ever going to meet. Ronan has everything he could ever think of wanting. Once upon a time, there was a boy who was given the world, and through a combination of magic and endless money, it was taken from him.

Once upon a time, there was a boy who had no idea what kindness was, He had nothing, and so the world took his blood as payment for existing. The world showed him no kindness, but he was determined to not let it break him. So he worked and he worked and he worked until he didn’t know if the exhaustion in his bones was due to his father or himself. Life was easier that way. Once upon a time, there was a boy the world gave nothing to, so he took from it without asking if he could.

Once upon a time, magic met mayhem, and two boys met a king.

Once upon a time, two boys died on a ley line, only, one of them survived. Fate’s a funny thing, and they became friends later in life. Noah did not regret dying for Gansey, not that anyone ever asked. He knew his place in their make-shift court He was a knight, and like any good knight he gave his life to protect his king, He’d do it again, if asked Once upon a time, a would-be king died.

Once upon a time, two boys died on a ley line, only, one of them survived. He did not believe in miracles, despite the fact that everyone said he was alive because if one, despite the magical people he ruled over with a gentle hand. His loyal subjects could dream their own reality and see into the future, as though both were commonplace skills. But he did not see them as miraculous. They just…were. And he loved them for it. Once upon a time, a true king lived.

Once upon a time, a king met the woman who would kill him, and he promptly fell in love with her.

Once upon a time, a regular girl was born from the very essence of the universe, only, she decided ordinary simply wasn’t for her. She’d tell you that it was Fate’s design, but she grew up with psychics; she knew better. A mundane girl destined to become a queen decided to be a warrior instead, and Fate twisted itself around her. Once upon a time, a girl was given a destiny and she laughed as she did the exact opposite.

Once upon a time, a little boy went through hell because of someone else. Years later, he dove head first into it, So far from home, he found a boy who sung with the same magic that had been the reason for his torture, and he smiled. This boy was not what he was expecting, but then neither was he. For the life of him, Henry couldn’t figure out what made Gansey so goddamn important, but that didn’t matter. He inspired loyalty and love, and in Henry’s mind, that was more than enough to do what was needed. Once upon a time, a boy went through hell to teach a king how to be brave.

Once upon a time, a court assembled to save the world, and no one else knew about it.

Her fingers drummed a haphazard rhythm on the steering wheel. She was miles away from tarot cards and experimental teas, but she had never felt more at home.

She could see Gansey and Henry through the window of the small gas station store, and she smiled. Something about the underpaid cashier must have sparked their interest. Or maybe it was the other way around. It wasn’t every day that a teenaged boy with the fashion sense of a 30-year-old conservative walked in with someone like, well, someone like Henry, who looked like he wanted to have sex with everyone in a five mile radius at once.

“And that is an idea for another time,” she whispered to herself as she decided to hurry the boys along; she was getting bored. As she walked into the store she noticed all three sets of eyes find their way to her.

“Jane, nice of you to join us.”

“Bluebird, control him, he’s being all diplomaty again,” Henry said. Blue just laughed and kissed Gansey’s cheek.

“Diplomaty is his personality, and this was your idea,” she said wrapping her arms around Henry. The poor cashier looked confused at her nonchalant behavior, and her boys’ equally nonchalant reaction, or rather, their non-reaction. As though her showering them both with affection was commonplace Blue smiled gently at her and shrugged. They did not owe her any explanations, and she did not plan on offering any.

“I thought you were going to wait in the Pig?” Gansey asked. She smirked in his direction.

“I was, until 20 minutes passed and I still had no yogurt.” Her voice was dripping with her Henrietta accent, sweet as sugar.

Gansey pushed the glasses Henry convinced him to wear that morning up his nose as he checked the fancy watch on his wrist that Blue thought was unnecessary and saw that she was right; it had been 20 minutes.

“Like I said, diplomaty,” Henry said with an accompanying eye roll.

“I’m sorry, Jane, I didn’t realize.”

Blue, ignoring him, decided to turn her attention to the still nameless cashier.

“I’m sorry for this one. He can talk for hours about things you never even knew existed, and he rarely knows he’s doing it,” she said with a smile. The girl behind the counter shrugged in that way that communicated the idea of what can you do .

“Love the shorts,” she said, pointing down at Blue’s hand-embroidered jean shorts. They were tame by Blue’s standards, which meant they weren’t something you’d find in any store.

“Thank you. I’ll get them out of your hair now. Have they paid yet? Also. What’s your name?” The girl nodded in response to her first question.

“Yeah, I’m Katie.”

“I’m Blue, and this is Gansey, and that one is Henry,” she told her, pointing to each in turn, “We’ll be leaving now, but it was nice to meet you, Katie.” Katie waved as the three walked out of her store.

“And you call me diplomaty,” Gansey muttered.

“You are,” Blue and Henry said in unison.

It was terrifying, seeing Ronan and Blue equally mad at someone, and that’s exactly what was happening right now. Gansey was grateful that Adam was at work because he has the feeling that had he been here, the two of them would have turned into avenging angels on his behalf, even as he protested. Because Robert Parrish was across the street from them at this very moment, and the words coming out of Ronan’s mouth were a mix of Latin and English, and while Gansey did not think they sounded like poetry, he had to admit that they were inspired.

Normally Gansey would be trying to get the two of them to behave, but he honestly can’t bring himself to do so. Gansey was literally on his third life, and in none of them has he ever hated a person as much as he hates Adam’s father. He was not a violent person, in action or thought, so he allowed his friends to vent theirs.

But he was still glad Adam was not here to see this. Venting would have turned to action, and that never ended well. So instead he turned his attention to his friends.

Ronan had an arm resting around Blue’s shoulders, wearing bright pink badly crocheted fingerless gloves she had given him. They did not suit anything else he wore, but apparently that meant nothing to him. They made him look softer than Gansey had seen him in a long time. Ronon had laughed when she defiantly presented them them to him last christmas--a holiday Blue herself didn’t care for but Ronan considered sacred-- and them promised he would wear them to the surprise of everyone else present. Ronan Lynch did not make promises lightly, nor did he break them.

The sight of them, righteous fury and unbreakable friendship, made Gansey smile despite the man across the street, despite the knowledge of what that man had done.

It was Blue who noticed his smile, and she went to poke him.

“Hey, why are you all happy? Don’t you have eyes?” This made him laugh.

“Yeah, Dick, what’s got you cackling like a damn hyena? That asshole needs to see he can’t come near Adam again,” Ronan added. He wasn’t sure if he could explain it to them, this unashamed joy at seeing them. Ronan had almost died, Blue had killed him, but here they were, alive and reckless. Changed, but still the same.

“Nothing, just you two. I’m glad you exist,” he said. He was always the most willing to be vulnerable out of their little group, but this was a bit more than usual, even for him. Blue laughed, high pitched and pure. It was Ronan who surprised him, saying,

“Love you, too, Dick.” Now Gansey’s smile was brighter than every star in the sky. All of them had survived so much worse than Robert Parrish

There were fingers in his hair. When, exactly, they got there, Adam didn’t know, but there were fingers in his hair and they could only belong to one person, given where he was.

It was then that Ronan began to sing softly. Adam didn’t recognize the song, but he assumed that it was a lullaby that Aurora sang to the Lynch boys as children. He’d ask about it later, maybe. Or maybe he’d leave it up to Ronan if he wanted to share.

He wasn’t sure how long they sat there, Adam’s head lying in Ronan’s lap, but at some point, Henry’s voice made Adam open his eyes.

“Isn’t this sweet?” Blue and Gansey were at his side, as they always were anymore.

“Fuck off, Cheng,” Ronan said, his voice lacking the venom that used to lace it. He didn’t even bother to look up from Adam. Blue and Gansey may be literal soulmates, but Adam thought Fate had nothing on Ronan Lynch’s love. He was damn lucky to have him.

“Leave them be, Henry. You’re no better,” Blue said, plopping down on the other couch.

“True, Bluebird, but I’m me, so I can get away with it,” he said, mirroring Adam’s position with Blue. Gansey shook his head at them, and sat down on the floor at Henry’s feet.

So many thing g had changed. Ronan and Blue had fresh tattoos on their wrists, Remembered in sharp letters, surrounded by flowers, a tribute to the friend they had lost. Gansey was still so unsure of this new life, of how it happened. Adam still hesitated to touch Ronan sometimes, still afraid of his own hands. Blue felt Persephone’s loss deeply and had not had the time to heal yet. Things were still shaky with new relationships, and how this would work now, but things would settle and people would heal and grow. Noah would not be forgotten. They would be okay.

Once upon a time, a king held court for the first time, and the world would never be the same.

#trc #the raven cycle #ronan lynch #adam parrish #blue sargent #gansey #henry cheng #pynch #implied sarchengasey #fanfic #old fic #ao3

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womenofcolor15 · 4 years ago

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EXCLUSIVE DEETS: 'Million Dollar Beach House' Stars Try To Stop Petition That Asks Netflix To CANCEL What Fans Call 'A Racist Show'

Fans are calling on Netflix to CANCEL one of its newest reality series, “Million Dollar Beach House.” The reason? Racist vibes. We’ve got exclusive details about two of the show’s stars reaching out in an effort to have the petition taken down. Get it all inside…

Did Netflix read the room before releasing their new show “Million Dollar Beach House?” It’s a pertinent question to ask being that the streaming service is being called out for allowing racism following the new series' debut.

A little backstory…

”Million Dollar Beach House” is a reality show about a group of young and hungry real estate brokers and agents - part of the Nest Seekers International - selling multi-million dollar homes in The Hamptons. It’s seemingly the successor to Netflix’s “Selling Sunset” reality show where agents at The Oppenheim Group sell the luxe life to affluent buyers in LA.

However, “Million Dollar Beach House” has stirred up some controversy after the release of its first six episodes. There’s only one black cast member on the show and fans are feeling racist vibes. Oh no! Not on Netflix!

The show was the 2nd most-watched series on Netflix last weekend and viewers have had plenty to say about it on social media.

Netflix's new reality offering, Million Dollar Beach House, is a master class in how mediocre racist white dudes fail up

— Emma Gray (@emmaladyrose) August 26, 2020

”Netflix's new reality offering, Million Dollar Beach House, is a master class in how mediocre racist white dudes fail up,” Huffington Post writer Emma Gray tweeted.

Several other viewers felt the same:

Am I the only one getting racist vibes from Million Dollar Beach House on @Netflix? Just a couple episodes in & all the annoying white people are ganging up on the only black male. pic.twitter.com/HZ6DvDb39h

— S K Y L A R (@Sky_Dubz) August 26, 2020

Why did I decide to watch Million Dollar Beach House?? In light of our present day landscape, @netflix should know better than to have shows filled with racist behavior + micro aggressions. Peggy is a straight up racist & Michael is her accomplice, creating fake problems w/ Noel.

— Cheryl Nembhard (@CherylNembhard) August 29, 2020

If you’ve ever had trouble understanding microagressions watch episode 1 of Netflix Million Dollar Beach House

— Gabrielle Howell (@howell_snab) August 26, 2020

I literally turned it off after the first 8 minutes. This shit did it for me...didn’t need to watch anymore #MillionDollarBeachHouse pic.twitter.com/PEHlmtYskl

— Ser Duncan these wenches (@el_chrispo) August 27, 2020

There's a black guy on this show called Million Dollar Beach house and there's a black guy on there and all his colleagues are white and they hate him.

— #EndGBV (@ClixWell) August 26, 2020

Many viewers feel the show feel like Noel – the only black cast member – was given the stereotypical “villain edit.”

Another fun thing is that the only meaningful storyline seems to be the one Black man fighting with the one white woman??? #MillionDollarBeachHouse

— Emma Gray (@emmaladyrose) August 26, 2020

It seems the main drama on the show involves Noel and his co-star Peggy, the only female broker. While Noel and Peggy bicker back and forth, co-stars Michael, J.B., and Jimmy instigate causing the drama to explode.

@netflix cancel million dollar beach house and give noel and joel their own spin-off

— katie jo (@katiejoyofosho) August 26, 2020

Not only that, Noel’s co-stars often seem irritated that he’s so confident and ambitious. Hmph. The microagressions most black folks are used to being on the receiving end of.

Also, considering the climate of society right now with everything going on revolving around racial and social injustice, the show just seems tone deaf. Watching a white woman humiliate a black man on national television isn’t exactly entertaining. And let us not even get into the fact the show totally omits black women agents or any other agents of color (similar to "Selling Sunset," aside from one agent who is Israeli and one who is half African-American and half caucasian). That's another topic for another day.

Well, an Instagram user started a petition to get Netflix to cancel – what they deem – the "racist" show. Here’s what the petition is demanding and why:

Dear NETFLIX,

The blatant racism, disrespect and white supremacy vibes of Netflix's Million Dollar Beach House are reflective of the racism Blacks have endured for centuries. The cast's treatment of the show's only Black character - Noel Roberts - defies your commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and your support of Black storytelling. It is pointless to allow the characters, specifically Peggy Zabakolas and Mike Fulfree, be so insensitive and cruel.

The evil of racism is on full display in the first season of Million Dollar Beach House. The show demonstrates that racism is still alive all over America. This show glorifies racism and minimizes its impact on marginalized groups. Our country is at a very critical juncture and it is very likely that the show will continue to encourage others to promote racism, hate, discrimination and violence against Blacks. We must face the fact that we still have much to do in the area of race relations. Do your part by cancelling Million Dollar Beach House.

You can sign the petition here.

”Million Dollar Beach House” stars Noel and Michael caught wind of the petition and hopped in an IG user's DMs (@mixthatcreolewiththatnegro) to ask them to take the petition down.

”Hi. Thanks for your support,” Noel wrote. “But I’m going to need you to cancel that petition.”

The user asked, “Why?”

Then, Noel asked for his phone number for a conversation.

Also…

Michael hopped in the user's DMs as well - first attempting to video chat.

At the time, the IG user couldn't chat and asked what questions he had. Michael responded, "No questions. Just want to connect with you on a human level. We don't want to be that show that doesn't converse with the viewers and their concerns. Seems like you're getting a lot of traction on your post jeeze."

As you can see, the cast members are trying hard to keep the racism narrative from spreading. But, it seems to be too late. People have already formed their opinions about the show and they're running with it. Following the death of George Floyd and the raging protests that have continued since his death, Netflix stood in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. They even launched a "Black Lives Matter" category on the streaming service.

Many would argue that in order for black lives to matter to Netflix they would have to be more conscious about what shows they're streaming because, apparently, "Million Dollar Beach House" isn't it. No word from the streaming giant about the show....yet.

Sigh, now we want to remove this show from "My List" before we even got to watch....

Photo: Chloe Gifkins/Netflix

[Read More ...] source http://theybf.com/2020/09/02/exclusive-deets-million-dollar-beach-house-stars-try-to-stop-petition-that-asks-netflix-t

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newyorktheater · 5 years ago

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The thrilling final minutes of “Tina” are all that a rock concert should be, and the main reason to see this jukebox biomusical about one of the world’s most electric performers, portrayed by Adrienne Warren in a star-making role. It may not be reason enough, though, especially for those of us who recall the 1993 movie, “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” which covers the same remarkable life of the outsized talent born Annie Mae Bullock to a sharecropping family in Nutbush, Tennessee.

Some of the most memorable moments of that life are presented on stage at Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne as they were in the movie, based on her first autobiography, “I, Tina” — her irrepressible singing in church as a child; her sudden discovery as a teenager in a club in St. Louis by r&b and rock pioneer Ike Turner; his horrific abuse of her; the moment she breaks away by rushing to a hotel, bloodied and broke, promising the hotel clerk she would pay him back if he would only give her a room; her triumphant return as a solo artist. I wore out my DVD replaying some of those moments in the movie, particularly the scene where she shocks the unaware crowd (including her sister) in that club in St. Louis with her down and dirty, dynamic singing. Yet, most of those moments barely register in “Tina.” The non-musical book scenes feel rushed and nearly perfunctory, but even the important musical moments feel unfocused, as if we only have time to get the outline. After all, there are two dozen hits to get through.

Book writer Katori Hall demonstrated her ability to create moments that linger in her 2011 Broadway debut play “The Mountaintop,” about Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night alive, and in her Off-Broadway “Our Lady of Kibeho,” which links a religious miracle to the Rwandan genocide. But Hall faced a similar challenge to another accomplished playwright and first-time Broadway musical librettist, Dominique Morisseau, the book writer for “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations,” playing across the street from “Tina.” Like Morisseau, Hall makes an effort to place Tina Turner’s story into the context of the times, with glimpses into the era’s sexism and the racism of the music industry.

In both cases, the playwrights can go only so far, given what has long struck me as the limitations of the subgenre. Though increasingly popular among producers, jukebox biomusicals rarely seem able to do full justice either to their subject or to the art of theater. With mandates to be efficient delivery systems for as many hits as possible, the shows present these songs largely in two ways. They are songs that the characters are performing for an audience or in rehearsal or at an audition, which puts an undue emphasis on the ins and outs and ups and downs of the music industry; the thus-obligatory scenes of Tina discussing her career with record executives and studio staff tend toward the deadly. Worse are the songs that are shoehorned into the plot, because the lyrics almost fit – except that they often don’t: At the top of Act II, after she’s split from Ike, she is forced to work as a maid. That’s when she sings “Private Dancer,” which is about a prostitute, “a dancer for money/I’ll do what you want me to do.” The feelings might be similar, but that’s not enough. At least not for me; that’s apparently not the lesson learned by “Tina” director Phyllida Lloyd, who helmed the first and longest-running jukebox musical, “Mamma Mia!”

The saving grace of a show like “Tina” is their function as showcases and training grounds for some terrific performers. The two dozen cast members of “Tina” are all pros, with outstanding performances by Daniel J. Watts, nine-time Broadway veteran, in the nearly thankless role as the exciting, oleaginous Ike, and Skye Dakota Turner as the young ebullient Anna Mae. But of course “Tina” belongs to the show’s Tina, a performance of extraordinary stamina. At the end, dressed in trademark tight red leather mini-dress, highest of heels and tallest of wigs, ascending a staircase of flashing lights backed by a raucous band each in his own Hollywood Square, Adrienne Warner delivers Tina Turner’s greatest hits – Nutbush City Limits, Proud Mary ( “Rollin’, rollin’ rollin’ on the river…”) – and we all rise as one, ecstatic, and swoon.. I’m not sure what it says – but it says something – that this greatest moment in the musical’s nearly three hours occurs after the curtain call.

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Click on any photographs by Manuel Harlen to see them enlarged.

Tina the Tina Turner Musical Lunt-Fontanne Theater Directed by Phyllida Lloyd and written by Katori Hall with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins, choreography by Anthony van Laast, set and costume designs by Mark Thompson, musical supervision, additional music and arrangements by Nicholas Skilbeck, lighting by Bruno Poet, sound by Nevin Steinberg, projection design by Jeff Sugg, orchestrations by Ethan Popp. Casting by Telsey + Company. Cast: Adrienne Warren as Tina Turner, Daniel J. Watts as Ike Turner, Dawnn Lewis, Nkeki Obi-Melekwe, Myra Lucretia Taylor and Steven Booth, Nick Rashad Burroughs, Gerald Caesar, Holli’ Conway, Kayla Davion, Leandra Ellis-Gaston, Charlie Franklin, Judith Franklin, Matthew Griffin, Sheldon Henry, David Jennings, Ross Lekites, Robert Lenzi, Gloria Manning, Rob Marnell, Mehret Marsh, Jhardon DiShon Milton, Destinee Rea, Mars Rucker, Jessica Rush, Justin Schuman, Alyssa Shorte, Carla Stewart, Jayden Theophile, Skye Dakota Turner, Antonio Watson and Katie Webber Ticket prices at box office: $79 – $169. Lottery: $45 Running time: 2 hours and 45 minutes, including one intermission.

Tina The Tina Turner Musical Review. Not What’s Love Got To Do With It, But A Star is Born The thrilling final minutes of “Tina” are all that a rock concert should be, and the main reason to see this jukebox biomusical about one of the world’s most electric performers, portrayed by Adrienne Warren in a star-making role.

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vinayv224 · 5 years ago

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Here’s what we know.

Jeffrey Epstein’s indictment on sex trafficking charges is notable for many reasons: the scope of his alleged crimes, his wealth and influence, and the controversial non-prosecution agreement the Justice Department struck with him a decade earlier.

But it’s also gotten a good deal of attention because of Epstein’s past ties to two particularly prominent people: former President Bill Clinton and current President Donald Trump.

In the years before Epstein’s 2007 guilty plea to solicitation of prostitution with a minor, he was known for “collecting” friendships with many noteworthy or influential people — including Clinton and Trump, who were social acquaintances. Clinton took international trips on Epstein’s plane in the early years of his post-presidency, including a trip to several African countries with Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker.

Trump, meanwhile, reportedly attended Epstein-hosted events in New York and Florida, as Epstein patronized the Mar-a-Lago Club. In 2002, Trump even gave a remarkable on-the-record comment about Epstein to a New York magazine journalist, calling him “terrific” and adding that he “likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”

So, at the very least, Trump and Clinton were friendly with someone who turned out to be a very bad guy.

Yet the nature of some of the allegations against Epstein has led to speculation that there could be even more to the story. In particular, one Epstein accuser has claimed in court filings that in addition to sexually exploiting her himself, Epstein trafficked her to other wealthy and powerful men, with the apparent goal of obtaining blackmail material on those men. (Prosecutors have not at this point made this allegation themselves.)

Clinton has not been accused of any specific sexual misconduct connected to Epstein. As for Trump: During the 2016 campaign, Trump was sued by an anonymous woman who claimed he raped her at an Epstein party when she was 13 years old. However, several journalists who dug into this allegation back then came away voicing caution or downright skepticism, and the accuser withdrew her lawsuit shortly before the election.

So there hasn’t yet been corroboration of Epstein-related wrongdoing on Trump’s part by media outlets, or any accusation against Clinton at all. But the question of whether other influential figures will be implicated in Epstein’s crimes remains an open one. Julie Brown, a Miami Herald investigative reporter who has covered Epstein’s case intensively, said on MSNBC that “there are probably quite a few important people, powerful people, who are sweating it out right now.”

Epstein’s connections to Trump

By Trump’s own description, his social relationship with Epstein started several decades ago, in the late 1980s. Describing Epstein to Landon Thomas Jr. of New York magazine for a 2002 profile, Trump made a comment that, in retrospect, was frighteningly on-the-nose:

“I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy,” Trump booms from a speakerphone. “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”

That is: Trump praised Epstein, dated their social relationship as beginning around 1987, said they shared a taste for “beautiful” women, and specifically noted that Epstein liked women “on the younger side.”

Since Epstein’s legal troubles became known, Trump’s attorneys have tried to downplay his association with Epstein. (“He had no relationship with Mr. Epstein and had no knowledge whatsoever of his conduct,” Trump lawyer Alan Garten told Politico in 2017.)

But even beyond Trump’s own words further up, there’s a good deal of evidence that the two were friendly social acquaintances at least through the early 2000s:

Media reports from the late 1990s and early 2000s frequently mention Trump attending Epstein-hosted social events, and Epstein attending events at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.

NBC News recently aired a video from 1992 of Trump and Epstein together at a Mar-a-Lago party, discussing women and laughing together.

The New York Times reported that, according to businessman George Houraney, Trump asked him to organize a “calendar girl” party at Mar-a-Lago — and said he and Epstein would be the only men in attendance.

Trump called Epstein twice in November 2004, according to message pads seized from Epstein’s Florida mansion by the government.

Several phone numbers for Trump, including an emergency contact and a number for Trump’s security, were among many notable people’s numbers listed in Epstein’s “black book” (which was later obtained by the government).

Epstein’s brother Mark testified that Epstein once took Trump on one of his planes to go from Florida to New York, saying he thought it happened in the late 1990s. Trump is not known to have taken any other flights on Epstein planes.

At some point around the time of Epstein’s legal problems, the friendship appears to have ended. Trump has spread the story that he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago for making sexual advances to a masseuse. However, the New York Times reported that by some accounts the two men only fell out “after a failed business arrangement between them.”

“I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him,” President Trump said last week. “I had a falling out with him a long time ago, I don’t think I’ve spoken to him for 15 years, I wasn’t a fan.”

Trump’s name has also come up in legal wrangling around Epstein — albeit for very different reasons.

The 2009 subpoena: In 2009, Brad Edwards, an attorney who has represented various Epstein victims, had Trump served with a subpoena for testimony in a case against Epstein.

But Edwards is not alleging any wrongdoing from Trump; rather, the opposite. He said in a recent interview that he had served subpoenas on many connected people in 2009, and that Trump was “the only person who picked up the phone and said, ‘Let’s just talk. I’ll give you as much time as you want.’”

Edwards added that Trump “was very helpful, in the information that he gave,” calling it “good information that checked out and that helped us.” And, he said, Trump “gave no indication whatsoever that he was involved in anything untoward whatsoever.”

Virginia Roberts’s lawsuit: In 1999, 16-year-old Virginia Roberts worked as a spa attendant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. It was there, she says, that Epstein’s girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell recruited her to give massages to Epstein at his house. But Roberts (who now goes by Virginia Giuffre) hasn’t accused Trump of any wrongdoing, and her previous status as a Mar-a-Lago employee is the only connection to Trump.

The Katie Johnson lawsuit: This is the only accusation against Trump for Epstein-related wrongdoing. An anonymous woman sued Trump in 2016, claiming that in 1994, he violently raped her at an orgy hosted by Epstein. She said she was 13 years old at the time, and accused Epstein of raping her as well. She first filed suit in California under the name “Katie Johnson,” and when it was thrown out there for technical reasons, she filed it in New York under “Jane Doe.”

But many journalists were wary about this claim. There was no corroborating evidence offered (except for affidavits from two anonymous people claiming to have been told of or witnessed it), and the suit appeared “to have been orchestrated by an eccentric anti-Trump campaigner with a record of making outlandish claims about celebrities,” the Guardian’s Jon Swaine wrote. Jezebel’s Anna Merlan tried for some time to get to the bottom of what was going on and concluded in June 2016, “The facts speak less to a scandal and more, perhaps, to an attempt at a smear.”

Trump himself said, “The allegations are not only categorically false, but disgusting at the highest level and clearly framed to solicit media attention or, perhaps, are simply politically motivated.”

All that was before the Access Hollywood tape and before many women had spoken out publicly to accuse Trump of sexual assault. But even after that, the anonymity of “Katie Johnson” and the sketchiness of her associates kept mainstream US journalists wary about this accusation. She ended up withdrawing her lawsuit days before the 2016 election; her attorney Lisa Bloom said it was because she was getting death threats.

Epstein’s connections to Clinton

Soon after Bill Clinton concluded his presidency in 2001, he entered a new stage of his career, in which he’d travel the world, launch philanthropic initiatives, hang out with rich people and celebrities, and make money.

“What attracted Clinton to Epstein was quite simple: He had a plane,” Landon Thomas Jr. wrote in that 2002 New York magazine profile. Clinton’s aide Doug Band made the introduction, and that September, Epstein and Clinton were off on a tour of five African countries, alongside actors Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker. Per Clinton’s team, the trip was about “democratization, empowering the poor, citizen service, and combating HIV/AIDS.” (It was that trip that first elevated Epstein to some media notoriety, as journalists began to dig into Clinton’s new friend.)

That wasn’t the only trip. According to Clinton spokesperson Angel Ureña, in a statement last week, there was one more to Africa, one to Europe, and one to Asia — but, he says, Clinton and Epstein haven’t spoken in “well over a decade.”

Virginia Giuffre has said in an affidavit that Clinton was also present on Little St. James Island, Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands. But so far, there has been no corroboration for this claim, and Ureña says Clinton has never been there.

Clinton has been accused of sexual misconduct in the past, including by Juanita Broaddrick, who says he raped her in 1978 (Clinton has denied this). But there have been no accusations of sexual misconduct against Clinton related to Epstein. Even Giuffre, who said she recalled Clinton visiting Epstein’s island, said she had not had sexual relations with Clinton or seen him have sexual relations with anyone.

Are prosecutors going beyond Epstein?

The undercurrent of all this is the widespread speculation, and the occasional specific claim, that in addition to sexually abusing these girls, Epstein also trafficked them to the wealthy and powerful friends he was frequently hanging out with at the time.

Giuffre said in her 2015 affidavit that this is exactly what happened to her. “Epstein also trafficked me for sexual purposes to many other powerful men, including politicians and powerful business executives,” she said. “Epstein required me to describe the sexual events that I had with these men presumably so he could potentially blackmail them.”

She named two names: Prince Andrew of the British royal family (there is a photograph of her with him) and law professor Alan Dershowitz. Buckingham Palace has denied her accusation about the prince, and Dershowitz has called her a liar who “is going to end up in prison.” (Dershowitz has also been Epstein’s defense attorney.)

“Epstein specifically told me that the reason for him doing this was so that they would ‘owe him,’ they would ‘be in his pocket,’ and he would ‘have something on them,’” Giuffre said in the affidavit.

However, we should stress again that Giuffre has made no accusation about either Clinton or Trump having any involvement.

Prosecutors have not made any such accusation either, focusing instead on Epstein’s own sexual conduct. The investigation is likely still in flux — more victims may come forward, and evidence has been seized from Epstein’s Manhattan mansion. For now, though, this case is one against Epstein himself.

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biofunmy · 5 years ago

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The Resurrection of Dolce & Gabbana

So much for moral posturing and cultural sensitivity.

Dolce & Gabbana, the Italian brand that was, for a brief moment at the end of last year, a poster child for cultural ignorance and the comeuppance that can ensue; that was held up as an example of how a fashion brand can so profoundly mess up that repercussions are felt throughout the world; and that was variously seen as having a reputation “in rags” (Forbes) and being in the midst of a “downfall” (Hypebeast), is quietly, but publicly, on its way back. If not necessarily in China, the front line of its transgressions, then in the rest of the world. And not just because of its men’s wear show in Milan on Saturday.

Though conspicuously absent from red carpets at the Golden Globes and Oscars earlier this year, in April things began to change. That month, Emilia Clarke wore a Dolce & Gabbana red corset and tulle dress to the Time 100 gala. A few weeks later, Glenda Jackson wore a Dolce white trouser suit to the Met Gala.

Then, this month, Kacey Musgraves wore Dolce rose-print trousers and a matching bustier to perform at the Governors Ball, Will Smith wore Dolce to an “Aladdin” premiere, and Melania Trump (a longtime Dolce fan) wore custom Dolce to meet the queen during President Trump’s state visit to Britain.

And, on Sunday evening, four Tony Award attendees, including James Corden, the host; Gideon Glick, a nominee; Michael Shannon, a presenter; and Kate Arrington, Mr. Shannon’s date, all wore Dolce.

Outrage, apparently, lasts only so long when looking good and consumer desire are involved.

Especially since celebrities are not the only ones who seem to have moved on (though with the celebrity embrace comes implicit permission for others). According to Lyst, the global fashion search platform, Dolce & Gabbana moved back into the top 20 most-searched brands in the first quarter of 2019, after disappearing in late 2018, and ranks 15th overall, thanks to our yen for floral dresses, T-shirts, printed swimwear and men’s sneakers.

Even Kim Kardashian West, who in January deleted an Instagram post of herself in Dolce after fan backlash, put a new photo on her feed, to great enthusiasm. In this one she is wearing a white Dolce bodysuit and crystal bikini.

For those who don’t remember, here’s a brief recap of why this matters.

The Crisis and Its Repercussions

In November last year, Dolce & Gabbana was planning a mega-show in Shanghai, following in the footsteps of Valentino and Chanel in bringing a live catwalk directly to one of its biggest consumer groups.

It had more than 300 models and celebrities set to walk for 1,500 invitees at a reported cost of about $25 million. To generate excitement in the run-up to the show, the company released a series of videos on Instagram and YouTube featuring a young Chinese woman trying to eat a cannoli with chopsticks.

Asian viewers took offense at what they considered racial stereotyping. Then Stefano Gabbana, who, with Domenico Dolce, founded and designs the label, took offense in return.

There was name calling and insult trading on social media and claims (not believed) of hacking. Influencers and celebrities started canceling their participation; the international community moved to distance itself; and the whole shebang was finally called off amid news of Chinese consumers posting videos of themselves burning their Dolces.

Retailers like Lane Crawford dropped the brand; Yoox Net-a-Porter and other e-tailers removed its products from their websites. The designers officially apologized a few days later, but they were isolated and unsupported by an alienated Italian fashion establishment, and it was unclear if they could recover.

Not anymore. Now the episode is starting to look like another fashion fall-and-redemption narrative. Or more precisely, fall-and-return. Because the redemption part of this story is not exactly clear. And that has implications when it comes to call-out culture, and the ability (or willingness) of consumers and influencers to hold brands to account over time.

Blowing Up and Blowing Over

Katy Lubin, the vice president for communications for Lyst, said in an email: “While it seems like fashion customers are certainly becoming more woke and more vocal on their social channels, the data suggests they’re not necessarily following through when it comes to their purchasing decisions.”

Indeed, while Lane Crawford still does not officially stock Dolce & Gabbana, Andrew Keith, the chief executive, said: “We have had our personal shopping and styling teams working directly with customers on personal preorder appointments. So far there is limited interest.” The store is monitoring the reactions, and though “the initial impact and scale of response is still fresh in the collective memory,” Mr. Keith said, he added that he believed “Chinese customers will inevitably come back to the brand.”

Robert Burke, the founder of the Robert Burke Associates consultancy, said: “The fashion world as a whole has a short memory span. It lasts about the amount of time from one show to the next.” (That’s around five months, which is in fact about how much time has passed between the Dolce China crash and today.)

Then he pointed out that fashion loves a comeback story and noted that John Galliano, who was ignominiously fired from Christian Dior after reports of a drug-and-alcohol-fueled anti-Semitic rant in a Paris bar, is currently the much celebrated creative director of Maison Margiela.

“After what he did, people said Galliano will never dress anyone ever again,” Mr. Burke said, pointing out the mistaken assumption.

This is especially true if the crisis itself takes place in a geography once removed (even if it happens to a global brand), but it is also true that Mr. Galliano wore his hair shirt of penitence and rehab numerous times in the public sphere.

And brands that experienced their own accusations of ignorance and racism after Dolce, like Gucci and Prada, not only apologized immediately, but also followed up by creating diversity and inclusion councils and touting them loudly to the world. Gucci has since gone even further, with scholarships, education and other initiatives.

Dolce, on the other hand, issued one consumer-facing “sorry.” Mr. Gabbana suspended his Instagram account, and the company sent its management on what one stakeholder called a “re-assurement” tour for key local partners, landlords and media. Mostly, however, they stayed quiet, and now the whole thing seems to have slipped into the fog of history.

Return vs. Redemption

Which suggests that, for those who were looking to this as a seminal moment in the life of a brand, or a time when consumers rose up and drove change in corporate behavior, this is actually a teachable moment of a different kind. That there’s momentum to crying “bad!” and less incentive to take responsibility for checking in on what happens next. That the takeaway may be that while all the upset and outcry on social media is scary, for a moment at least, distraction comes just as fast — in fashion as in politics. That issues, as Mr. Burke said, “can blow up and blow over just as quickly.”

Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue and artistic director of Condé Nast, who was instrumental in the rehabilitation of Mr. Galliano and also that of Georgina Chapman, the ex-wife of Harvey Weinstein, whose Marchesa brand was one of the casualties of his alleged sexual assaults, emailed: “Fashion, like every aspect of our lives today, requires honest and ongoing conversation and reflection. I am sure Domenico and Stefano regret what happened last year and I would hope that they have grown and learned from it.”

Yet when Ms. Chapman and Marchesa began to re-emerge, it did not happen with impunity. It spurred discussion and musing over second chances and who was culpable for what and who was responsible for what in return in the wider sphere. Ditto Mr. Galliano.

It may be that Dolce & Gabbana has finally learned its lessons. It may be that all of the celebrities and armchair shoppers who are glorying in the designers’ florals and laces have privately interrogated their own superegos and decided wearing the label was the right thing to do. And the jury is still out in China.

But shouldn’t the rest of us at least have the conversation, now as then, before we put on the clothes?

Sahred From Source link Fashion and Style

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liveartandperformancegroup-blog · 7 years ago

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Announcing the programme of the day! Squash & Stretch Festival 2018.

Main Performers

Tero Nahua (Finland)

Plastique Fantastique (London)

Tero Nauha

Artists, Doctor of Arts (Theatre and dance), Postdoctoral researcher

Tero Nauha is an artist and a postodoctoral fellow at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies. He is a participant of a Finnish Academy funded postdoctoral research project ‘How To Do Things With Performance’, also. He defended his doctoral research at the Theatre Academy of the University of the Arts in Helsinki in January 2016. In 2015, he published his first fiction novel Heresy & Provocation for a Swedish publishing house Förlaget.

His performance art projects have been presented at the Frankfurter Kunstverein, Theatrediscounter in Berlin, CSW Kronika in Bytom, Performance Matters in London, and at the New Performance Festival in Turku, among other venues.

Lives and works in Helsinki, Finland

https://teronauha.com

Plastique Fantastique

Plastique Fantastique, a collaboration between David Burrows, Simon O’ Sullivan, Alex Marzeta and Vanessa Page (sometimes with others, including Harriet Skully, Ana Benlloch, Stuart Tait, Mark Jackson, Tom Clark, Simon Davenport, Joe Murray, Lawrence Leaman, Samudraka and Aryapala), is a mythopoetic fiction-an investigation of aesthetics, the sacred, popular culture and politics-produces through comics, performances, text, installations and shrines and assemblages.

http://www.plastiquefantastique.org

Performers

Fred Astaire- Puttin’ On The Ritz dance/ Veronica Cordova de la Rosa

I dance to Fred Astaire-Puttin’ On The Ritz song. I dress up as customer service assistant and stretch and squash for five minutes while dancing. Others can join me!

Veronica Cordova de la Rosa is a fictional character. Unconventional ways to take on life.

https://veronicacordovadelarosa.wordpress.com

LINE UP (and join in)/Peta Lloyd

Instructions for the next 5 minutes:

On 5 6 7 Walk up

1 and 2 and 3 and 4

Right together Right together Step turn together clap

Left together Left together Step turn together clap

Grapevine left Grapevine turn

Cha cha and out cha cha and back

Shimmy 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

http://www.petalloyd.co.uk

Temporary State of Excessive Craving for the Fullness of a Phallic Presence/Sam Hall

The Blobby Boys carry out an intervention involving coke, burgers, wearable screens and copious amounts of expanding foam.

Sam creates work through the re-appropriation of mundane activities such as taking the bus or going to McDonald’s, finding novel ways to celebrate personal and cultural identity in web centric, consumer driven environments and exploring ideas of fetish, childhood and consumerism.

www.instagram.com/sam_hall6

Tights/Katy Watson

Katy walks down the main staircase of the Headington Hill Hall wearing a black dress and carrying a handbag with cosmetics and tights in it. When she reaches the bottom, she sits on a chair and applies a pair of tights to her head followed by dry shampoo, makeup and more tights. She sings odd lines from “Over the Rainbow’ and other songs occasionally.

Katy Watson’s performance style in this piece is influenced by her interest and practice of the Japanese dance form Butoh, and a desire to communicate directly with her audience about things that affect her and other women.

A noise of requiem/Dario Utreras, Zarah Haji Fath Ali Tehrani, Beth Shearsby

Prometheus/Marcin Gawin

Prometheus is an intimate, participatory performance. It creates a sacred, collective experience of a construction of a human being. The piece is a procedure of reversed autopsy performed in a manner of guided meditation and a private mass, but above all, Prometheus enables audience to look at the common denominator of the human species by herding with anatomically accurate replicas of human’s most inner components.

Marcin Gawin is a fine artist born in Poland, and working in performance, video and image making. Drawing on lowbrow and camp aesthetic, his work focuses on establishing artificial environments and hierarchy with the means of a role imposition, absurd and (direct) confrontation.

Touch Screen/Hugh Pryor

Hugh’s fractal video projection creates organically generated fractal patterns as seen in nature with ferns and cauliflower. This is interactive as shadows and images of the viewer feeds into the self-repeating images. Hugh is going to take this process one step further by residing inside the fabric screen during the performance and will make himself, as well as the audience, part of the fractal generation process.

Hugh Pryor is an Oxford based artist who specializes in experimental photography and sculptural installations. Hugh’s overaching interest in motion has evolved as a deep exploration of the potential for photography to capture movement. Using his own highly individual thecniques. Hugh has been working with dancers and performers and is incorporating performance art as an integral part of his practice.

http://www.hughpryor.co.uk

Ectoplasmic Masks/Luke Jordan

In the form and subversion of a Victorian seance my improvised vocal / body sound is channeled thorough a 'spirit trumpet' and light. Variations of frequency cause undulations of vibrations of the trumpet against on a metal plate, and patterns of flashing / flickering light : whilst my features are transformed by a mask of yeast / fungus.

Demonstration 7: how to bag one’s air/Robert Luzar

Demonstrations are works that partially show or demonstrate actions which ‘may’ or ‘may not’ be done by anyone, artist or audience. Appearing on the Web as ‘how to’ videos. Demonstrations show audiences step-by-step actions that open possibilities; but these are ‘on-going’ works that appear in multiple performances, where audiences are shown how such works take place.

Robert Luzar is an artist, writer and educator living in Bristol, UK. His works engage 'events' that reflect spaces, traces, and actions of ongoing work. He holds a PhD through practice from Central Saint Martins; and has exhibited internationally in venues such as the Palazzo Loredan Venice (IT), Torrance Art Museum (USA), DRAWinternational (FR), Katzmann Contemporary (CA), KCCC (LTU), Künstlerhaus Dortmund (DE), Nunnery Gallery (UK), and Talbot Rice Gallery (UK).

www.robertluzar.com

Snack daddy in the castle of card /Robert Ridley-Shackleton

i work hard at the card so u can get down x

Robert Ridley-Shackleton I am the cardboard prince and ive come to play with u, put down your books and let me feed ya.

http://hissingframes.blogspot.co.uk

Sonic Extractions/Victoria Karlsson

Sonic Extractions aims to focus the participants and audience towards the sounds of our inner worlds, the sounds of our thoughts, desires and emotions. It proposes that the artist can ‘extract’ inner sounds from the minds of the participants and play them for all to hear. It confronts both our desire to believe in a ‘pure’ connection of minds, as well as the feeling of intrusion and loss of control we would experience should someone truly be able to ‘penetrate’ our mind.

Victoria Karlsson is a sound artist, currently undertaking a research degree in sound art at UAL, London, focusing on sound in thoughts. She is interested in investigating our emotional connection to sounds, what they mean to us and how they affect us, using performance, scores and photography.

www.victoriakarlsson.co.uk

DUO/Anette Friedrich Johannessen and Jan Egil Finne

In our performance, we will extend our awareness of each other, our materials and the surroundings, to uncover the dynamics and energy of working as a duo. During this time, all actions will consist of complementary improvisations, where we as individuals and as a team, will evaluate repetition, systems and order.

DUO is a live performance project by Anette Friedrich Johannessen and Jan Egil Finne that investigates the structures and revitalize the dynamics between humans, space and objects. To work on site, gives us the freedom to perform intuitively, open-minded and free of boundaries.

https://janegilfinne.wixsite.com/artwork

http://anettefriedrichj.tumblr.com

Untitled, Cone Dance, 2018/Jessie Palmer

A reflection on our apparent funnelled vision. Cones held to the face, we move without seeing each other.

Jessie Palmer My practice frequently explores the function of colour and the question of what it is to perform, both in art and in life more generally. These themes often enter a dialogue with absurdity or absurdism, generating bizarre spectacles.

Rise and Fall/Hannah Oram and Rosie Mullan

Location: Top Roof in front of the main garden

(Dur. 10 minutes)

Throw it down waiting for the catch

Bricks rise above our heads

Rosie Mullan and Hannah Oram We are a performance art duo living and working in London. We have performed together in London, Oxford and Beijing.

http://rosiemullan.com/Mantle-Clicks

http://hannahoram.com

Weigh In /Al/ice/ex Donaghy

Loose fitting jumper, slack on bones worn away by restricted diet and over exercise. Screaming sisters and cool covered nurses cannot get inside, the body just shakes and shakes all night long, pumped up and starved. Covering the bites of disgust and harm, waking up and returning to where everyone is carrying on.

Al/ice/ex Donaghy I am an interdisciplinary artist working mainly in performance with influences from Butoh dance, experimental writing/music and photography.

adonaghy.com

Human Clay Head (2017-18)/Robin Woodward

A person, a happening, loss of Identity, a becoming.

Using a full block of Terracotta Clay the artist places on his face he removes the ability to see, hear and breath. In actual fact, this performance is a physical representation of a distinct kind of ‘feedback loop’, a downward spiral, one that suggests a curious relationship to Wheatly’s film High Rise. By removing sensory functions, the artist becomes other and no longer has the ability to control what he does and when he wants to do it. In relation to Peggy Phelan’s theories the performance occurs over a time which will not be repeated, but on repetition it becomes “different”. The artist’s actions are unscripted and random.

“In working with clay, I form faces which may or may not represent and inner self. In my performance I do not die, but much like Laing, I become more animal. I lose the restrains that society holds on me. A more devious, sexual, frightening character takes my place-I become, I transgress into madness.”

https://www.robinwoodward.com

Mishearings/Serena Braida and Iris Colomb

Mishearings is a poetic performance piece which explores miscommunication through text and voice. The text is based on a simple process involving correspondence and homophonic translation. The result is a peculiar sequence of text which are linked through sound rather than sense. The performance involves fluctuating levels of intensity built on a variety of ways of reading intermittently and simultaneously. This piece started as a commission for the 2017 European Poetry Night, curated by SJ Fowler as part of the Enemies Project, and recently evolved into the creation of an artist book in collaboration with designer Hortense Bedouelle.

Iris Colomb is a poet, artist, translator and curator based in London. She is the art Editor of Haverthorn magazine and a member of the interdisciplinary collective 'No Such Thing'. Her current projects involve artist books, performance scores, and collaboration.

http://iriscolomb.com/

Serena Braida is a poet, writer, multidisciplinary performer and voice practitioner working both in Italian and English. Her current work focuses on cross-genre writing, text and performance. She co-curates the Locomotrix literary series at Housmans Radical Bookshop.

serenabraida.com

Im Abendrot (At Sunset)/Austin Sherlaw-Johnson

Austin Sherlaw-Johnson is a composer and performance artist who works in a variety of media. Recent work includes: Explicit Sounds (six actions for one performer), Making a Box as Quickly as Possible (video), Anti-Conceptualism, (installation), John Cage and Teeny Duchamp Play Chess in front of a Live Audience (theatre piece for two performers) and You’re Beautiful (three three minute pop songs for two performers).

www.austinsherlawjohnson.com

Welcome!/Tess Tallula

Performance and art object advocating and perpetuating love, warmth, openness and acceptance.

Tess Tallula is an interdisciplinary artist who composes immersive experiences in physical and digital worlds. Her work is celebratory and often has layers of meaning. She lives and loves in Oxford, commissions and collaborations welcomed.

egg-Hamlet 2/NuNu Theatre

egg-Hamlet is a bigger project to fight Hamlet as an emblem of Britishness in theatre and in the English language. egg-Hamlet is like the foreign artist's away match with the almighty British Shakespeare. egg-Hamlet is a confrontation that can work only through engaging with the notions of failure, de-construction, futility, non-performability, opening of the Shakespearean text to 'infestation' from other forms and removing it from the high stage of British theatre and English language standard. egg-Hamlet 2 is an installation with eggs, video and two monologues.

Nu Nu is a theatre company that supports actors and performers who work with English as a second language. Nu Nu supports marginalized artists and artists at a crossroads of their careers. Nu Nu's ethos is interdisciplinary, having collaborated with composers, performance artists, visual artists, sculptors, animators, illustrators for all our projects.

http://nunuplatform.com/sample-page/

Two for joy/Jezella Piggott and Naomi Morris

This is your body, your greatest gift, pregnant with wisdom you do not hear, grief you thought was forgotten, and joy you have never known.

Jezella Pigotts practice draws on cult female anthropology. Her work often combines drawing, print making and performance.

https://jezellapigott.co.uk

Revealed/Concealed/Exposed/Enclosed/Naomi Morris

This is a ongoing solo performance project stemming from work initially exploring finding physical form from nothing and finding the light from darkness.

http://naomiemorris.wixsite.com/portfolio/projects

Smile/Clare Carswell

Come and meet the artist’s ageing smile, get up close and let her show you her teeth!

An interactive performance that invites audience to meet the middle-aged smile of the artist. It will reveal gum recession and the dental hygiene routine required to keep it in check, a usually unseen aspect of inhabiting and maintaining a middle-aged body.

Clare Carswell MA(RCA) works with performance and drawing to make works for the gallery and public space. She curates the work of others at AYYO Contemporary Art, a gallery and project space near to Oxford. She runs Art Pitch, a residential programme for UK and international artists and writes and lectures on contemporary art.

www.clarecarswellperformance.com

#performance studies #performing arts #liveart #artfestival #performanceart #performanceartfestival #Oxford #oxfordbrookes #london

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gabbykaufman · 7 years ago

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That was fast: The Trump White House’s series of staff departures

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during the ceremony to present the Medal of Honor to former Army Specialist James McCloughan of South Haven, Michigan, during an East Room ceremony at the White House July 31, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Despite President Trump’s recent insistence that there is no “chaos” in his White House, his administration has been rocked by a seemingly never-ending series of high-level staff departures.

Indeed, Anthony Scaramucci’s Monday resignation was the culmination of a turbulent 10 days — bookended with his hiring and dismissal — that saw the departures of the White House press secretary and chief of staff.

Below, in chronological order, are the most notable firings, resignations, and reassignments since Trump took office — including the attorney general, a former loyalist whom Trump has publicly taunted and criticized.

January 30: Acting Attorney General Sally Yates is fired Yates was fired by Trump after she ordered lawyers at the Department of Justice not to defend his executive order barring Syrian refugees and citizens from Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen for 90 days. That executive order, the first iteration of the “Muslim ban” Trump promised on the campaign trail, was stymied in federal court. Trump later signed a revised version, and his administration is taking the issue to the Supreme Court.

February 13: National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigns Flynn, one of Trump’s staunchest supporters, was forced to resign less than a month into his tenure as national security adviser, after it was revealed he discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador and then misled Vice President Pence about those discussions.

March 10: U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara is fired Bharara was one of 46 U.S. attorneys appointed by former President Obama the Department of Justice ordered to resign after Trump took office. When Bharara refused to resign, he was fired. During the transition, Bharara said both Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked that he continue in his role as U.S. attorney. It’s not uncommon for presidents to appoint their own U.S. attorneys, especially when their predecessors are of a different party.

March 30: White House deputy chief of staff Katie Walsh is reassigned Walsh departed the White House in March to join America First Policies, an outside organization tasked with promoting the Republican agenda.

April 9: Deputy National Security Adviser KT McFarland is reassigned After Flynn’s departure from the National Security Council, his replacement, H.R. McMaster, shuffled the remaining staff. McFarland departed her post after scoring the U.S. ambassadorship to Singapore.

May 5: White House chief usher Angella Reid is fired Reid, the first woman and second African American to hold the chief usher position, was dismissed as part of what the White House said was normal staff turnover for a new administration. However, chief ushers are considered part of the White House’s permanent staff, and usually enjoy a long tenure. Timothy Harleth, a Trump International Hotel employee, was later tapped to replace Reid.

May 9: FBI Director James Comey is fired Comey’s abrupt dismissal rocked the White House for weeks, and questions about the termination have continued to dog the administration.

The White House’s original stated reason for firing Comey was his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, but Trump later admitted that the decision was influenced by the escalating investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia. Comey later testified he felt pressured by the president to ease up on the matter. Special counsel Robert Mueller now leads the investigation. (Trump has reportedly mulled firing Mueller as well.)

May 18: White House communications director Mike Dubke resigns Dubke did not have a public role and his departure was largely drama free. Reports indicated that Dubke recognized a need for change in the relationship between the West Wing’s communications strategy in the wake of mounting Russia investigations, the fallout from Comey’s firing, and the absence of major legislative victories. Dubke’s job would remain open for over two months, until Trump appointed Scaramucci.

July 6: Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub resigns Shaub, the department director since 2013, was publicly critical of the Trump White House even before his resignation, and has been even more vocal since leaving his post. Shaub said Trump’s actions, such as using his namesake hotels to host fundraisers and campaign events, “create the appearance of profiting from the presidency” and risk America’s reputation being one of a “kleptocracy.”

July 18: Attorney General Jeff Sessions is under fire The president does not hesitate to dole out criticism, but his rebuke of Sessions, one of his staunchest supporters and the first sitting senator to endorse his candidacy, was particularly stunning. Trump said he would not have appointed Sessions had he known he would recuse himself from the Russia investigation, a move he called “very unfair.” In the following days, he did not let up, branding Sessions “beleaguered” and attacking him for not investigating Clinton or firing then-acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe. Trump has remained coy on Sessions’ job security.

July 21: White House press secretary Sean Spicer resigns Spicer’s resignation marked the beginning of a turbulent 10 days in the West Wing. Spicer, who tussled with reporters during combative and widely televized press briefings, resigned the same day Scaramucci was appointed communications director. Though his stated reason for leaving was to give Scaramucci a “clean slate,” it was reported that Spicer strongly opposed bringing the New York financier into the White House communications shop. Spicer’s deputy, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, moved up to fill his role.

July 25: White House press aide Michael Short resigns Short was the second casualty of Scaramucci’s short reign. After Scaramucci told a reporter he planned to fire Short as part of his plan to combat leaks, Short resigned, denying he was the source of any leaks.

July 27: White House chief of staff Reince Priebus resigns Priebus offered his resignation after Scaramucci accused the former Republican National Committee chairman of being the source of White House leaks and suggested that he would be forced to resign. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly moved to take Priebus’ role.

July 31: White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci resigns Scaramucci resigned Monday, apparently forced out by Kelly after Scaramucci gave a profanity-laced interview trashing Priebus and White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.

#_uuid:4ef2fb8f-f786-3535-8f5d-d68813f8dfb4 #_revsp:Yahoo! News #_lmsid:a077000000CFoGyAAL #_author:Gabby Kaufman

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scouringsaucepans-blog · 8 years ago

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Would You Just... Help Your Mum with the Shopping?

I’m at my mum’s house trying to clean her kitchen. “Trying” being the operative word.

My mum is a hoarder. Not in the sense of stacking newspapers dating back to the seventies against the walls, or hiding mason jars filled with urine under the beds, but she does have trouble throwing things away. She wants to keep everything, finds meaning, memory, in everything.

“What about this?” I say, holding up a small and badly-painted plastic dog figurine, the kind you might get free with an RSPCA membership, perhaps.

“Oh, no,” my mum says. “He’s special.”

“These?” I point to the mountain of half-empty Tic Tac boxes I’ve found.

Long sigh. “Well, I suppose. Although if they’re different flavours…”

I usually leave my mum to her Ways. I’m not home often, and the odd evenings I do pop by we find enough about politics and religion and my future to argue about without bringing her house into it. But this is different. My girlfriend and I, after a long period pretending things were working when they evidently were not, have broken up, and lacking anywhere more sensible to go it now appears I will be staying back with my mum for a while.

There’s not much it would be fair to say about the break up. My life is material for my writing; Charlie’s is not. I hope she’s going to be happier eventually without me, that we’ll still be friends, all those cliches you cling to in a sea of terror and uncertainty.

Anyway, after two days on my friend’s sofa drinking whisky and watching, inexplicably, Mythbusters and Singin’ in the Rain, I decide I am not going to fall apart, so I cook my friend and his girlfriend a risotto, then go home to my mum’s.

This is not my house, I tell myself later, standing in the kitchen. This is my mum’s house. She has a right to keep it however she wants. If she finds calm in clutter then that’s fine.

Except, are these birch leaves here? Brought back from a walk last autumn, maybe, and now crumbling to dust beneath, what? a pile of ancient Spanish phrase books, some dog-grooming leaflets for the now dead dog, a one-legged, mud-encrusted action figure from my youth, rediscovered I presume while gardening, and a veritable smorgasbord, a cornucopia, of phone and camera chargers, some of these surely from phones and cameras that haven’t been turned on since before Live and Kicking went off the telly.

Perhaps I will do a little light clearing, actually. But I’ll be understanding. I won’t interfere; I will help.

“This?” I say ten minutes later, waving a car-parking voucher from a folk festival held in 2013 at my mum’s face in an accusatory manner. “Surely you don’t still need this?”

“That will go upstairs,” she says, “with the others.”

“Yes but are you going to put it upstairs, or are you going to drop it in the other room and then I’ll find it under a load of old crosswords in six months time?”

“Oh, Robert…”

As far as I can make sense of my mother’s system, she seems to have three baskets in this kitchen for odds and ends, either sort of inchoate, nebulous planets towards which odds and ends are being pulled from the asteroid fields of odds and ends littering the rest of the room, or else the odds and ends are the inhabitants of the basket-planets, now migrating across the room’s galaxy to find new homes among the stars (or kitchen appliances) – it’s hard to tell. There is also an odds and ends drawer, that will no longer open all the way, that probably contains clues to the birth of the universe, but I just cannot even think about that drawer right now.

I condense the baskets into one, fit all the odds and ends from the rest of the room into it. I pull out the microwave and the toaster and the bread bin, brush away all the crumbs and leaf residue and sticker-ties from loaves of bread that have accumulated behind. I wipe the counter tops, clear and wipe the table. I scrub the fronts of the cupboards and around the sink and behind the collection of Interesting Shells and Rocks (?). The grill, thankfully, is already relatively clean, but I do under the hobs and the oven front and around the dials. I sort out the Things Under the Table. I sweep the floor.

That’s okay, I think. Everything is okay. I cook tea for us, serve tea, respond to my mother’s conversational prompts – Yes, it’s tough, it hurts, but I think everything is going to be okay –, smile, take the plates out, wash up. Then I go to my room and close the door and spend the rest of the night worrying that everything is really not going to be okay.

* * *

The office chair is a problem. It’s my day off and Charlie is back home with her family and we’ve arranged that now is a sensible time for me to pick up my belongings from her flat. No longer our flat. It’s these little thoughts that are the most serrated. Other examples: We’ll never now finish watching season two of Mr Robot together. How will Charlie complete the Day of the Tentacle remaster without my Playstation? And what should I do about my office chair, the one Charlie paid for the day we went to Ikea, when I zoomed about on the trolley like a child instead of thinking about the future, before Charlie got angry and I got to pretend it wasn’t my fault? I want to offer to pay for the chair, but there’s something about this that feels horrendously pragmatic, cold, like we’re negotiating a business deal. But to just take the chair would be wrong.

I text Charlie, offering to pay.

“The chair was a present,” she replies. “I don’t want anything for it.”

I feel sick.

I put the chair in the car, along with my clothes, my PC, my books. The guitars I can barely play. The DVD collection I haven’t added to since 2010. All the stupid videogames with the stupid war-men on their covers.

I sit with the cat for a long time. She attacks my hand, bounds away. She doesn’t seem to comprehend the gravity of the situation. I say goodbye to her, close the door, leave.

Back at my mum’s there is no space on my floor left on which to stand. I look at all my junk splayed about the room. A sorry account for a life. Yet all I have left to hold onto. That night I fall asleep under floral-patterned spare covers, feeling that I am slipping through the gaps between the cardboard boxes and bin bags into a weightless void beyond. I feel like I am disappearing.

* * *

The next morning, however, I have not slipped, have not disappeared. I am still here.

My mother makes coffee, talks about the Archers – which programme apparently makes her more angry than some real-world wars, yet cannot ever be missed – then asks me if I will go to Sainsbury’s with her.

I have lived back home before, as an adult, and I was bad at it. I acted like an entitled adolescent. I would get in at 3am, drunk, maybe stoned, fix myself maybe one last gin and tonic from my mum’s spirit shelf (telling myself vaguely I’d buy replacement bottles some time, never doing it), then lock myself in my room and watch films or play games, feeling unhappy, until it was time to go back to the job I hated. I treated my mum horribly, as if it was her fault I was so miserable. I sat in silent disdain through her meandering stories at the dinner table, mocked her offers to get me out of the house on a walk to the countryside – “Thanks all the same but actually I don’t fancy spending my one day away from the purgatory of that job walking around a large body of water discussing farm-based radio soap operas with my mother,” – and, most of all, I despised being asked if I would go to Sainsbury’s with her.

I would slouch along the aisles, scowling, saying I didn’t care what we bought, I didn’t know when I’d be around for tea, I’d just eat out or something, whatever. I’d be as uncooperative as possible, hoping negative reinforcement would condition my mum into never asking me along again. I would basically be a terrible prick.

Remembering those days now I think about how much I don’t want to be that person. How terrified I am of still being that person.

“Of course I’ll come to Sainsbury’s,” I say. “Shall we go now?”

In the car down, as my mother talks about Karen, who I don’t know, who was the teaching assistant before Geraldine, or was it Katie? No, it was Geraldine, because it was Geraldine who, her husband Keith, it was very sad actually, Keith had lost his brother Gavin, and Keith hadn’t really recovered, although… no, well of course that was the year before, or… God, it wasn’t Gavin was it? It was Richard – as my mother talks, I look at her, think how lonely she must be in the house by herself sometimes, about how she texts me whenever she’s in town asking if I want to meet for a coffee and I reply, three days later, “Sorry wasn’t around”, and she texts back that she loves me, and I don’t reply.

“So yes,” I say. “Geraldine’s husband…?”

We walk around Sainsbury’s, chat. I pick up a few Belgian beers, don’t say anything about my mother’s silence, accept that she worries about my drinking, accept that she is making an effort not to comment.

Back home I bring the shopping in from the car, put it away, offer to cook.

Then I sort out my room. I empty the cupboards and drawers, the boxes and bags, of my own odds and ends, mementos left over from shared houses, old jobs, university, school. I put a few letters, notebooks, old drawings to one side, throw the rest away. I bag up for charity all the clothes I don’t want. I strip everything down, dust. Then I put out my books, and the names – Foster Wallace, Delillo, Vonnegut, Hemingway, Kerouac, Fitzgerald, Plath, Woolf – look down on me approvingly.

I don’t know. It’s all a bit fucked. But maybe it will be okay. Maybe a step backwards isn’t always a step back. When you’ve lost your footing, for example. When you’ve walked head-down into a bog. Sometimes the best way forwards is actually backwards, just a little.

***

I go downstairs. The light is fading. Mum is standing in the half-light staring out of the window, one hand lightly touching the locket she wears about her neck.

“I could get rid of a few bits myself, I suppose,” she says. “Take a few bits to the charity shop. I won’t be around forever, after all, and I hate the thought of you and Liz having to deal with everything when I’m gone. That wouldn’t be fair on you.”

I put my arms around her. She is very small next to me.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been a very good son,” I say.

“Nonsense,” she says.

We stay like that a while.

#writing #writers #writer #blogging #diary #sheffield #blogger #writers on tumblr #my writing #writing community #prose #spilled ink #spilled thoughts #spilled words

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biofunmy · 5 years ago

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The Resurrection of Dolce & Gabbana

So much for moral posturing and cultural sensitivity.

And, on Sunday evening, four Tony Award attendees, including James Corden, the host; Gideon Glick, a nominee; Michael Shannon, a presenter; and Kate Arrington, Mr. Shannon’s date, all wore Dolce.

Outrage, apparently, lasts only so long when looking good and consumer desire are involved.

For those who don’t remember, here’s a brief recap of why this matters.

The Crisis and Its Repercussions

Asian viewers took offense at what they considered racial stereotyping. Then Stefano Gabbana, who, with Domenico Dolce, founded and designs the label, took offense in return.

Blowing Up and Blowing Over

“After what he did, people said Galliano will never dress anyone ever again,” Mr. Burke said, pointing out the mistaken assumption.

Return vs. Redemption

But shouldn’t the rest of us at least have the conversation, now as then, before we put on the clothes?

Sahred From Source link Fashion and Style

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#IFTTT #WordPress

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