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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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Hamilton: Ranking Every Song from the Soundtrack

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Imagine the experience of being one of the first individuals to see Lin-Manuel Miranda’s now-classic Hamilton: An American Musical live.

The first thing you notice is the spartan, largely empty stage. Then as Leslie Odom Jr. takes the stage as Aaron Burr followed by Miranda’s Hamilton, you realize that this production about America’s founding fathers is made up almost exclusively of People of Color. That’s a lot to take in from the start. At a certain point, however, you’re bound to realize that the play is about 40 minutes in and The. Music. Has. Not. Stopped.

In addition to its many ingenious quirks and hooks, Hamilton is truly a musical musical. Miranda’s book and lyrics about one of the country’s most colorful and impressive founders has a lot of ground to cover. And it does so at a musical sprint with almost no expository time-wasting in-between.

As such, the Hamilton soundtrack is a staggeringly impressive piece of recent culture. At 46 tracks spread out over nearly two and a half hours, this album closely replicates the experience of a show most could never get a ticket to live. A passionate, thriving Hamilton fandom rose up out of that soundtrack and it continues through to this day.

Now, with Hamilton about to be more accessible than ever by joining Disney+, we decided to rank all 46 of those tracks.

46. Hurricane

The hurricane that ravaged Alexander Hamilton’s Caribbean island home of St. Croix was a crucial part of his life and led to him securing passage to the United States. But the song “Hurricane” uses the storm late in the play as a tortured metaphor for his turbulent public life. It’s undoubtedly the least energetic and weakest full song on the Hamilton soundtrack.

45. Farmer Refuted

“Farmer Refuted” does well to capture a young Hamilton’s rhetorical brilliance early on in the play but doesn’t hold up well against other, more fully crafted tunes. Hercules Mulligan mumbling “tear this dude apart” is certainly a soundtrack highlight though.

44. The Story of Tonight (Reprise)

What would any Broadway musical soundtrack be without a reprise or two? “The Story of Tonight (Reprise)” is certainly fun. But, ultimately, tales of Hamilton’s legendary horniness would have been better suited with a full song.

43. Schuyler Defeated

Just about every line of dialogue in Hamilton is sung… including heavily expository moments like Burr defeating Hamilton’s father-in-law in a local election. The subject matter and lack of true musical gusto makes “Schuyler Defeated” one of the least essential tracks in the show.

42. We Know

It’s a testament to how strong the Hamilton soundtrack is that a song like “We Know” could appear this low on the list. This account of Jefferson and company informing Hamilton of what they know is quite good; it just pales in comparison to the song in which they uncover Hamilton’s misdeeds.

41. It’s Quiet Uptown

This is sure to be a controversial spot on the list for this much-loved ballad. “It’s Quiet Uptown” is indeed composed quite beautifully. It also features lyrics that seem to be almost impatient in nature – as though the song is trying to rush the Hamiltons through the grieving process to get back on with the show.

40. Take a Break

Part of the miracle of Hamilton is how the soundtrack is able to turn rather mundane concepts and events in Hamilton’s life into rousing, larger-than-life musical numbers. “Take a Break” is charged with dramatizing the notion that Hamilton simply works too much with a sweetly melancholic melody. It does quite a good job in this regard but naturally can’t compete with some of the more bombastic songs on the list.

39. Stay Alive

Set in the brutal dredge of the Revolutionary War, “Stay Alive” is a song about desperation. And between its urgent piano rhythm and panicky Miranda vocals, it does quite a good job of capturing the appropriate mood. It also feels like one long middle with no compelling introduction or conclusion.

38. Best of Wives and Best of Women

Talk about “the calm before the storm.” “Best of Wives and Best of Women” captures one last quiet moment between Alexander and Eliza before Aaron Burr canonizes his one-time friend to the $10 bill. It’s brief, lovely, and effective.

37. The Adams Administration

Hamilton wisely surmises that the best way to introduce audiences to new eras of its title character’s life story is through the narration of the man who killed him in Aaron Burr (Leslie Odom Jr.). Odom Jr.’s real flare for showmanship turns what could be throw-away intros into truly excellent material. It also features a hilarious nod to Sherman Edwards’ 1776 musical when Hamilton says, “Sit down, John” and then adds a colorful, “you fat motherf***er!”

36. A Winter’s Ball

Again: Burr’s monologues are always a welcome presence in these tracks. And in “A Winter’s Ball,” he does some of his best work by setting up Burr and Hamilton’s prowess… “with the ladiessssss!”

35. Meet Me Inside

Despite a brief running time, “Meet Me Inside” is able to establish George Washington’s general bona fides and Hamilton’s daddy issues in equal measure.

34. Your Obedient Servant

“Your Obedient Servant” is Hamilton’s loving ode to passive aggression. In just two minutes and thirty seconds, you’ll believe that two grown men could somehow neg themselves into a duel via letter-writing.

33. The Reynolds Pamphlet

You know that old adage of “he could read out of a phonebook and it would be interesting?” Well Hamilton basically does that with “The Reynolds Pamphlet.” The ominous music injects real import into the simple act of writing that would upend the Hamilton family’s lives.

32. That Would Be Enough

Eliza’s refrain of “look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now” recurs at the beginning of “That Would Be Enough” in a truly touching way. This song is a real tonal whiplash from the revolutionary battles and duels that precede it, but it is ultimately strong enough to bring the focus back to Alexander and Eliza and not just the hectic world they inhabit.

31. The Story of Tonight

“The Story of Tonight” is both a clever drinking song among bros and a subtle setup for the show’s larger theme of one’s story being told after they’re gone. The song is both affecting and effective, just a little too short to stand out and make big waves on our list.

30. Blow Us All Away

“Blow Us All Away” is a fun, jaunty little ditty from Anthony Ramos’ Philip Hamilton. It rather ingeniously incorporates the young Philip’s own musical motif before ending in tragedy.

29. Stay Alive (Reprise)

It’s hard for any song to emotionally contend with the death of a child in under two minutes but “Stay Alive (Reprise)” does a shockingly good job. There’s a real sense of urgency to the music before it settles in for poor Philip to say his final words.

28. Burn

Musically, “Burn” is not one of the better ballads in Hamilton. Lyrically, however, its power is hard to deny. Phillipa Soo does a remarkable job communicating Eliza’s pain at her husband’s betrayal. More impressive is how she communicates the only way to work through that pain, which is through burning all of his personal correspondences and writings to her.

Movies

Hamilton Movie: Meet the Original Cast

By David Crow

Culture

Hamilton Movie Censors F-Bombs for Disney Plus

By David Crow

27. The Election of 1800

Hamilton is the rare musical where one character can sing “can we get back to politics please?” and the audience’s response is “hell yeah!”. The show is uncommonly good at dramatizing boring political processes, and “The Election of 1800” is no exception. The song builds up to a pseudo-reprisal of “Washington on Your Side” in a shockingly effective and cathartic way.

26. History Has Its Eyes on You

“History Has Its Eyes on You” is a powerful recurring phrase through the entirety of Hamilton. Each and every time the concept comes up in a song, it truly stands out. Strangely though, the song that bears its name is only in the middle of the pack in terms of the show’s numbers. Perhaps it’s because it occurs near the middle of the first act, before we can properly appreciate its heady themes?

25. Aaron Burr, Sir

One of Hamilton’s most charming traits is how readily it acknowledges what an annoying pain in the ass its lead character can be at times. “Aaron Burr, Sir” is literally the second song of the entire musical and helps establish its playful tone as much as the bombastic opening number establishes a deadly serious one.

24. Guns and Ships

Ballads are nice. “I want” songs are nice. Recurring motifs are nice. But sometimes you need a song that just goes hard. Thanks to “America’s favorite fighting Frenchman” that’s what “Guns and Ships” delivers. Lafayette actor Daveed Diggs faces an enormous challenge in Act One by filling out the character’s growth in bits and pieces. “Guns and Ships” is the reward, where a fully unleashed (and English-fluent) Lafayette makes it very clear what hell he has in store for the British army.

23. Washington on Your Side

Thomas Jefferson is such a dynamo of a presence in Hamilton that one could be forgiven for forgetting how infrequently he turns up. Jefferson (and Daveed Diggs) is operating at an absurdly high capacity in “Washington on Your Side.” Meanwhile the music has a ball keeping up with the increasingly incensed backroom scheming of Jefferson and his “Southern motherfucking Democratic-Republicans!”

22. Right Hand Man

Thirty-two thousand troops in New York Harbor. That’s uh… that’s a lot. While the second act of Hamilton has to work a little harder to capture the drama of the inner-workings of a fledgling government, the first act is able to absolutely breeze through some truly epic and exciting songs covering the Revolutionary War. “Right Hand Man” is one such ditty that really captures the frenetic urgency of a bunch of up-jumped wannabe philosophers trying to topple the world’s most powerful empire.

21. The Schuyler Sisters

Honestly, “The Schuyler Sisters” deserve better than its placement on this list. It’s just that everything that comes after is such a banger, that it’s hard to justify moving up the dynamic introduction of Angelicaaaa, Elizzzaaaaa… and Peggy.

20. Ten Duel Commandments

Imagine how insane you would sound in circa 1998 explaining that there would one day be a musical about the founding fathers that uses the framework of Notorious B.I.G.’s “Ten Crack Commandments” to describe the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. Then imagine how insane you would sound when explaining that it was great. “Ten Duel Commandments” doesn’t cover the “big” duel of Hamilton. It’s a teaser for what’s to come. Thankfully it’s a hell of a good teaser.

19. Cabinet Battle #2

Hamilton’s two cabinet battles run the risk of being the cringiest part of the show. Every concept has its stylistic limit, and a rap battle between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson should absolutely fly past that limit. Somehow, however, the novelty works and the creativity of Miranda’s writing shines through.

18. Cabinet Battle #1

The two Cabinet Battles are pretty interchangeable on the list. #1 gets the nod because of “we know who’s really doing the planting.”

17. What Comes Next

The trilogy of King George III songs is some of the most purely joyful songwriting on the Hamilton soundtrack. We can dive into the specifics of what really works about the songs in a later entry. For now, know that “What Comes Next” falls the lowest on our list due to featuring only one round of “da-da-da’s.”

16. I Know Him

“I Know Him” also features only one burst of “da-da-da’s.” But it still gets the nod over “What Comes Next” for King George III calling John Adams “that little guy who spoke to me.”

15. Dear Theodosia

Perhaps more so than any other character in Hamilton, Aaron Burr works best on his own. The character (and the man he was based on) plays things close to the vest by design. It’s only through his musical soliloquies that we get a real sense of the guy. That’s what makes “Dear Theodosia” so powerful in particular. Burr wants the same thing for his daughter that Hamilton wants for his son: “Some day you’ll blow us all away.”

14. One Last Time

George Washington owned slaves. Yeah yeah, you can bandy around the usual “bUt He ReLeAsEd ThEm AlL lAtEr In LiFe” all you want. At the end of the day, it’s an inescapable fact for the country to confront. It’s a hard thing for Hamilton, however, a show realistic about America’s flaws but still reverential to its founding story, to deal with. Hamilton presents the George Washington of American mythos for the most part and he strikes an undeniably impressive and imposing figure. To that end, “One Last Time” is one of the most unexpectedly moving songs in the show. Washington is committing one of the most important and selfless acts in American history by stepping aside. Yet there’s a real sense of sadness as the cast chants “George Washington’s going hooo-ooo-ooome.”

13. Non-Stop

“Non-Stop” is an extremely atypical choice for an Act-ender. Hamilton could have just as easily chosen to wrap up Act One with the rebels’ victory over Great Britain. Instead it takes a moment to process that then deftly sets up the rest of its story with “Non-Stop,” which is simply a song about Hamilton’s insane work ethic. The key to the track’s success is how relentless it is, as if it were trying to keep up with and mimic the title character’s pace. Then there are all the usual exciting Act-ending reprisals and recurring motifs to boot.

12. Say No To This

Just as was the case in Hamilton’s life, Maria Reynolds has only a brief role in the show, but her influence casts quite a long shadow. “Say No To This” is a real showcase for both Miranda and Maria actress Jasmine Cephas Jones. This is a devastatingly catchy jazzy number about marital infidelity…. as all songs about marital infidelity should be.

11. Alexander Hamilton

“How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore / And a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot / In the Caribbean by providence impoverished / In squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?” our narrator Aaron Burr asks in Hamilton’s superb opening number. A play with so many moving parts, and such a high-concept needs an indelible opening track to convince audiences that the madness that is about to follow is worth waiting for. “Alexander Hamilton” is more than up to the task. This is an exhilarating starter that introduces its audience to all the important characters, themes, and sounds of the show. It also has its lead character spell out his full name in a rap, which somehow ends up being awesome and endearing rather than corny.

10. Wait for It

Just like the rest of us, Burr is the main character of his own story. And the show allows him to tell that story in songs like “Wait For It.” “Wait For It” is an exciting, downright explosive bit of songwriting. It’s every bit the “I want” song for Burr that “My Shot” is to Hamilton. And just like Burr and Hamilton are two sides of the same coin, so too are these two songs. Burr is alone once again in this powerful number. And he uses that privacy as an excuse to loudly… LOUDLY exclaim his modus operandi. He comes from a similar background as Hamilton and he wants mostly the same things as Hamilton. The difference between the two of them is that Burr is willing to wait for it all.

9. The Room Where it Happens

Bless this musical for having a song as brilliant as “The Room Where it Happens” only just being able to crack the top 10. There are hundreds of musicals in which “The Room Where it Happens” would be far and away the standout number. For Hamilton, it’s ninth. “The Room Where It Happens” is another example of the show taking a seemingly bland topic (backroom deal-making) and turning it into something transcendently entertaining for its audience and something transcendently illustrative for its characters. This is the song where the borders between Aaron Burr: Narrator and Aaron Burr: Vengeance-Seeker come down. Burr starts off as a patient observer of what kind of nefarious negotiations go into the building of a country before his frustration slowly builds into the recognition that he needs to be in the room where it happens.

8. Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story

Truly there is no more fitting ending to Hamilton than “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story.” At its core, this is a play not only about legacy but about the fungible nature of legacy. Alexander Hamilton is gone and we know his story lives on. But who will tell that story? Like any good closing number, “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story” knows the importance of bringing back many of the play’s core concepts and characters. And none of those are more important than Eliza’s assertion that she is ready “to write herself back into the narrative.” In the end, it’s not the revolutions or the pamphlets but the love. And that’s how one finds oneself in the absurd position of crying over the guy on the $10 bill.

7. What’d I Miss?

Lin-Manuel Miranda has described Thomas Jefferson as the show’s Bugs Bunny. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the ludicrously jaunty track that opens up Hamilton’s Act Two. There might not be a more joyful or outright hilarious three minutes in any of the soundtrack’s 46 songs. After several years spent living it up in France, Daveed Diggs’s TJ returns to the United States. The rest of his fellow revolutionaries have moved on to R&B and rap, but Jefferson is still stuck in full on jazz mode. “What’d I Miss” serves as the perfect introduction to a crucial character and the themes of the show’s second half.

6. The World Was Wide Enough

If “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story” is designed to make the audience cry, then “The World Was Wide Enough” exists to make them gasp. This penultimate song is a truly stunning piece of work. This is a sprawling performance that brings back “The 10 Duel Commandments” in expected yet still emotional fashion. Then at the play’s climactic moment, it cuts out the music entirely to make room for Hamilton’s internal monologue – his one last ride through all the pages he won’t write. Finally it covers the grim aftermath of Burr and Hamilton’s duel as the survivor grapples with what he has done. There is a lot packed into these five minutes of song and each moment is more compelling than the last.

5. You’ll Be Back

If absolutely nothing else in Hamilton worked – if the characterizations were off, if the costumes were too simple, if the “Founding Fathers rapping” concept couldn’t be executed – the play’s two and a half hours all still would have been worth it for this one, tremendously goofy song. King George III (portrayed by Jonathan Groff in the original Broadway production) pops up three times throughout the show to deliver pointed little reminders to the American colonists about how good they used to have it. The first time around is by far the best, in large part because it’s so charmingly unexpected and weird. By the time King George III gets to the “da-da-da” section of his breakup song with America, it’s hard to imagine anyone resisting the song… or the show’s charms.

4. My Shot

While “You’ll Be Back” may go down as the most enduring karaoke song from Hamilton, “My Shot” is almost certainly the play’s most recognizable and iconic tune. Every musical needs an “I want” song in which its lead articulates what they want out of this whole endeavor. Rarely are those “I wants” as passionate and thrilling as “My Shot.” This was reportedly the song that Miranda took the longest to write and it’s clear now to see why. Not only is “My Shot” lyrically and musically intricate, but it does the majority of play’s heavy lifting in establishing Hamilton as a character. Just about everything we need to know about Alexander Hamilton and what drives him is introduced here. And the work put into “My Shot” makes all of its recurring themes and concepts hit so much harder in the songs to come.

3. Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)

In many ways, “Yorktown” benefits from the precedent that earlier songs like “My Shot” established. This is a song that puts energetic renditions of previous lines like “I’m not throwing away my shot” and “I imagine death so much it feels like a memory” to grand use. But for as much as “Yorktown” deftly invokes Hamilton’s past, what makes this song truly special is how solely focused it is on the present. To put it quite simply: “Yorktown” goes hard. It is fast, harsh, chaotic, and thrilling. This is the song that captures the moment that American troops defeated the British empire and “the world turned upside down.” It’s to the song’s immense credit that the music and lyrics capture the enormity of the moment. Also, there’s “stealing the show” and then there’s what Hercules Mulligan (Okieriete Onaodowan) does here in “Yorktown.” We’re in the shit now, and Hercules is loving it.

2. Helpless

“Helpless” might be pound for pound the best musical moment in all of Hamilton. It’s a simple, seemingly effortless love song that, even removed from the context of the show, would sound beautiful coming out of anyone’s car radio on a lovely summer day. Within the context of the show, it’s even better. It acts as a rare moment of celebration for all the characters involved before the Revolutionary War really gets churning and before a young America needs capable young Americans to guide it. What makes “Helpless” truly great, however, is the song that follows it…

1. Satisfied

Wait, wait… why is Angelica saying “rewind?” Why do we need to rewind? We had such a lovely night! The transition between “Helpless” and “Satisfied” is Hamilton’s greatest magic trick. The former presents a night of unambiguous love and celebration. Then the latter arrives to teach us that there is no such thing as “unambiguous” in Hamilton. In a truly remarkable performance, Angelica Schuyler (Renée Elise Goldsberry) teaches us what really happened the night Hamilton met the Schuyler sisters. Angelica will never be satisfied, and it’s because she’s “a girl in a world in which (her) only job is to marry rich.” Hamilton and Eliza’s story is a love story. But it’s also a story of Angelica’s loss. “Satisfied” imbues the musical with a sense of subtle melancholy that it never quite shakes through to the very end. “Satisfied” is the emotional lynchpin of Hamilton, and as such also its very best song.

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pplydm · 5 years ago

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ePUB #32

Title: The Big Finish Author: Brooke Fossey

Commenced May 5 2020, Completed May 9 2020

My previous read employs an elderly nursing home as its setting and includes a 90 year old lead character; here I am again with conditions alike. I surmise this came across my good reads recommendations. I immediately looked for a copy as it was initially stated to be published January 2020. It wasn’t ultimately published until April 2020. From the start, a number of banters and witty one-liners made me chuckle all from a hilarious Duffy, the leading character. Overcoming alcoholism was an issue addressed in this read. I’d remark on the drastic nutty decisions tender Carl and stubborn Duffy were doing and feeling in this but reconsidered their ages. Hoped for a triumphant and blithe ending since I found myself wondering how Josie would get out of abuse and be able to fend and sustain herself. Would the budding romance of Josie and Anderson work out?

I honestly had great expectations for this for I liked its premise. Also anticipated life lessons from this. The scene where they were on Sanger meeting Bates, made me realize the meaningful friendship of both Carl and Duffy who I’d mention to always got Carl’s back. The superb part was when Duffy literally reached his life ending by a sudden attack, he confirmed that God is alive and real. Comprehended now why it’s titled “The Big Finish”.

Goodies of wisdom listed below:

“You sleep good, Mr. Sinclair,” said her disembodied voice. “Tomorrow is a new day.”

That stuff kills you, body and mind, and there are better ways to die.

“Things don’t go rotten unless they’re good first. Otherwise, how would you know the difference?”

“Whatever it is you’re mourning from back when, don’t. It brought you here, now, to do what you’re doing, and what you’re doing is honorable and right.”

But you had to look the loss in the eye, and if you were going to survive it, you had to believe that there were two different parts of every person: the stuff that ended up in the ground and the stuff that didn’t.

The following were my character analysis.

1. Anderson’s dedication for his job at the nursing home makes him a nice guy.

2. Duffy sees his past life, together with his vices on the young Josie but in an opposite gender. If I could talk to Duffy, I’d tell not to worry of his past because he need not to please others. Duffy pridefully confessed and displayed immaturity and I find that too humorous. I however approve Duffy’s manner of dealing with Josie’s major issues however not at first. It was all straightforward and encouraged being wary and courageous enough to face all of the truths in one’s life, even those which hurt.

3. I reckon Josie wanted to stay the weeknights in the Centennial because her abuser looks for her in the nighttime. Josie’s a mess and no nice people should make of fuss of her. Arduous Josie’s putting other peoples lives on the line. Really tried to understand her and the concept of helping her go free from addiction using a geriatric’s guidance. Josie Isn’t special but Duffy and Anderson is all over her and I’m not liking that; she’s a drunk! I would like to blame Josie for everything bad happening but then there’s Carl, her grandfather. I am shifting the blame to him.

Book Discussion Questions

1. Though Duffy and Carl are very different men, they’ve managed to form an inseparable bond. Do you think their friendship is merely a result of necessity and proximity, or do you think that under different circumstances, they would’ve found kinship in each other? What about the other friendships in the book?

- by what I’ve read it did seem they would’ve found kinship in each other as if like bothers by blood. The other friendships definitely developed due to necessity and proximity.

2. How is fatherhood defined throughout the story? How does the absence or presence of fathers impact different characters’ lives? Though all are flawed, which father from the book would you most likely to have, and why?

- fatherhood in the book is defined as a responsibility and a heart felt duty. When one is fatherless, it may be a disadvantage in pursuing the future knowing no one will guide with matters as to being courageous. Duffy is my preferred father from the book because of the way he handled with Josie’s addiction and that he never gave up on her.

3. Consider Centennial’s daily schedule. If you had to pick one day to live as a resident, which would you choose? If you had to room with one resident, who would it be?

- I pick the August 30 Centennial schedule. I would like to room with Alice.

4. Josie‘s journey to sobriety is unfinished at the books close. How to tumultuous do you expect her recovery to be? Do you think Anderson will play a lasting part in it? Do you want him to?

- I don’t think it will be difficult, she already made a few steps and evidently more to go but she could control her vice now. I believe Anderson will play a part in it I don’t know if it’ll be lasting though and yes I want him to be in on it.

5. God’s existence is a reoccurring question that Duffy and Josie both ask. What are the pivotal moments that lead Duffy to form his ultimate conclusion? When imagining Josie’s life beyond these pages, do you think her formative week with Duffy will lead her to have a similar or opposite belief?

- I think it was the serenity prayer before he died and him remembering the dearest people in his life while dying. I personally think Josie wouldn’t be as unconvinced us Duffy because she already had advantage with Duffy assisting her becoming sober.

6. We see how age underlines the experiences and interactions of the characters. Discuss the author’s varying portrayals of society’s treatment of the elderly. Which character do you think most accurately reflects today’s culture? Which character do you think society with aspire to be?

- In this book, the owner of the nursing home is treating her clients like a money pit. Some of the nurses on duty misinterpret the feelings of the elderly in this book, also. They probably assume the old age experience is the same for every old person they tend to. The book accurately reflects today’s culture the way they treat client, Charles. Society should aspire to be like Alice when they get old while being remorseful like Carl for his deeds in the past.

7. Do the characters meet your expectations of how they should think and act, considering their age? Has Duffy, or any of the characters change your perspective about people older or younger than you? If so, how?

- I think most of the characters met my expectations considering their age. Carl changed my perspective about older people, despite the wisdom from older people’s years, they turn too immature and choose shallow judgments.

8. When Duffy speaks about the staff’s apathy toward the antique pocket pistol in his dresser, he states, “People seem to believe its age devalued its purpose.” Discuss the gun’s role in the story as an allegory. Consider its lifespan, from the time it was forged to when it fired it’s final bullet.

- I presume Duffy was comparing the gun to him being an old person. A person who once was strong and brave, alike a gun remains that attribute though aged.

9. If Duffy had more time with Alice, do you think he would’ve had a chance with her? How do you feel about Alice holding on to her husband be on the vow “until death do us part”? In your mind, is there an age limit to romantic love?

- Definitely, Duffy would’ve had a chance. Alice, at her age, had opportunity and should have jumped on it. There is no age limit to a romantic love as long as it’s not adultery.

10. Alice tells Duffy, “Whatever it is you’re mourning from back when, don’t. It brought you here, now, to do what you’re doing, and what you’re doing is honorable and right.” Do you agree with her positive outlook when it comes to playing life’s long game? What other story lines validate her philosophy?

- I highlighted the excerpt and I truly agree. However, at one’s youth, one should totally pick the right decision to avoid terminal regrets. Storyline of Carl is another example.

11. In time, Duffy becomes certain that in order to survive the loss of a loved one, you have to believe that there are two different parts of a person: the stuff that ends up in the ground, and the stuff that doesn’t. Do you agree with Duffy? If not, how does your own belief of the afterlife shape your handling of such a loss?

- I concur with Duffy. I highlighted that excerpt too.

12. What does the title mean to you? In a perfect world,at the end of your life, what does your big finish look like?

- I didn’t occur to me at first but I guess that the title’s telling me to finish the book until its ending. It’s the most special part. In a perfect world, at the end of my life, the big finish would be to not be struggling from physical pains of aging.

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dysphoric-dumbass13 · 5 years ago

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All of the bookish asks. I hate you. And your stupid fucking face. Im so tired dude i stayed up ridiculously late to finish that

Hey I stayed up ridiculously late to finish mine too. Well not ridiculously late because me and then I couldn't fall asleep anyways but whatever. And you literally love me you jackass.

1. (what book did you last finish? when was that?) Willingly? Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli, in July. For school? Of Mice And Men. I didn’t care that much, and I forgot to finish A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but I still finished my project fine without any issue whatsoever and should get at least a B, if not an A. But whatever.

2. (what are you currently reading?) The Odyssey, for school. But also I’m like ¾ of the way through What If It’s Us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli. (what book are you planning to read next?) Well for English it will have to be A Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass by Fredrick Douglass, Night by Elie Wiesel, Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, or Lord of the Flies by William Golding. However, I really want to read The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. And I’m also trying to get a hold of the Harry Potter books because I haven’t read them since I was 7, and I was a compulsive moron so I read them out of order based on length and the title. I did that a lot.

3. (what was the last book you added to your tbr?) I don’t fully know what it means by that, but I’ll give this a try. The last thing I remember actively seeking out that I need to read again (for writing purposes, and the fact that I’m a nerdy bastard) was the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

4. (which book did you last re-read?) Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli, I loved it so much that I read it twice in one month. I also re-read Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli twice before moving to the former.

5. (which was the last book you really, really loved?) Again, Leah on the Offbeat. I loved that book so much oh my god.

6. (what was/were the last books you bought?) I actually bought 3 books in September (after I got all my books for English), which were Leah on the Offbeat, Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda, and The Song of Achilles.

7. (paperback or hardcover? why?) Paperback. The hurt less to hold while reading, and they’re cheaper so I can buy more of them. But I do love a hardcover book if the cover is really intricate and beautiful.

8. (ya, na, or adult? why?) Idk. To me it doesn’t matter all that much as long as it’s a good book. I really like anything that isn’t racist, sexist, super heteronormative, transphobic, or hating of any particular religion (except like if it’s vaguely poking fun at catholicism and christianity because we deserve it)

9. (sci-fi or fantasy? why?) Fantasy. God I just fucking LOVE fantasy. I wrote a 20,000-word oneshot that was of the fantasy genre. I just love it too much.

10. (classic or modern? why?) Idk. Doesn’t really matter, again, as long as it isn’t racist, transphobic, against a religious group, or too heteronormative.

12. (political memoirs or comedic memoirs?) Idk man. But I hate politics in every way, shape, and form, so I’m gonna go with comedic memoirs.

13. (name a book with a really bad movie/tv adaptation) Um………. idk. I’m gonna go with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire simply because of the fact that they cut so much out and, sorry not sorry, if the whole series was written by someone not transphobic, homophobic, and antisemitic it would be better. It’s great, but it could be so much better.

14. (name a book where the movie/tv adaptation was actually better than the original) Again idk. I’m gonna say The Princess Bride because that movie is so fucking good guys.

15. (what book changed your life?) I know it’s not technically a book book, but Unknown Colors by Gabriels_Wings on Wattpad. It got me into reading again and that’s only benefitted me so far (except for distracting me from homework, but who cares).

16. (if you could bring three books to a deserted island, which would they be and why?) Well, obviously, Simon vs the Homosapiens Agenda and Leah on the Offbeat (ok I’m gonna some up with abbreviations now, LotO for the latter and SvtHA for the former), and the last spot would be between The Song of Achilles and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein. Because they’re good books. And I’m gonna end up dying on said island and I need my gay fix with me.

17. (if you owned a bookshop what would you call it?) Oof, that’s hard. Probably….. Narnia. And it would be a very gay place with beanbags and a small coffee shop inside and it would be like this one place my mom went to all the time where you could buy a book and if you wanted to you could bring it back and they’d buy it back for slightly less than you bought it for. It was a great place. And my bookshop would be amazing.

18. (which character from a book is the most like you?) Toughie. I’m gonna go with… Blaise Zabini from Harry Potter or Abby Suso from SvtHA and LotO. Because Blaise is very gay and sassy (idk if he actually is in the books but hey, fanfiction) and Abby is a bi disaster and relatable af.

19. (which character from a book is the least like you?) Idk. Hannah Abbott? Because she’s a Hufflepuff? Idk man.

20. (best summer read?) LotO.

21. (best winter read?) Been a while since I actually remember reading a book in winter. I remember when I was in 5th grade I really loved reading Where The Mountain Meets The Moon by Grace Lin. That was good. But I think The Hobbit would be good too.

22. (pro or anti e-readers? why?) Pro, it makes reading at random places so much easier. Plus, I can then read gay fanfic at my christian grandparents’ houses.

23. (bookdepository or amazon?) I’ve never used Book Depository, but I looked it up (omg Kass you aren’t going to believe it, I googled something on my own!) and it seems smaller and cooler because it’s just books. So I’m gonna go with that one.

24. (do you prefer to buy books online or in a bookshop?) In a bookshop without a doubt, you can browse for hours. I love bookshops

25. (if you could be a character in a book for just one day, who would you be and why? bonus: any specific day in the story?) Simon Spier. From SvtHA. On the day of the carnival fair thing. Because zqawxsedcrfvtgbyhnujmikolplomiknujybhtvgrfcedxwszqa

26. (if you could be a character in a book for their entire life, who would you be and why?) Again Simon Spier. Because infdjfcdncewhfiubdkjcnsoawehfwedscnsaoufgrwiofbv cisahcsoainh

27. (if you could change one thing about mainstream literature, what would you change?) NO. MORE. DISCRIMINATION! And I swear to god people, quit idolizing authors who are racist or sexist or transphobic or homophobic or against certain religions or anything else because I swear they don’t deserve it! No more discrimination in the media guys.

28. (how many books have you read so far this year?) A lot. Idk the actual amount but a lot. Especially if we’re counting fanfic.

29. (how do you sort your shelves?) I don’t actually own enough books to sort lol. But I assume I would sort them alphabetically by author. And if I had a ton of books, I’d sort them further into genres.

30. (who’s your favorite author?) Becky Albertalli.

31. (who’s your favorite contemporary author?) Idk. I’m not that smart, I don’t put authors into genre categories.

32. (who’s your favorite fantasy author?) See above.

33. (who’s your favorite sci-fi author?) See above.

34. (list 5 otps) Oh god, here I go. Pansmione (Pansy Parkinson x Hermione Granger from Harry Potter), Wolfstar (Remus Lupin x Sirius Black from Harry Potter), Sabriel (Sam Winchester x Gabriel from Supernatural), Johnlock (John Watson x Sherlock from Sherlock), and Merthur (Merlin x Arthur Pendragon from Merlin).

35. (name a book you consider to be terribly underrated) What If It’s Us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli.

36. (name a book you consider to be terribly overrated) Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck.

37. (how many books are actually in your bookshelf/shelves right now?) 19, including a book I accidentally stole from my 7th grade LA teacher (sorry), and a college workbook I stole from my dad on lifesaving first aid for heart problems. + 1 movie (Love, Simon), 5 comic books, and an adult coloring book because why not. I also have 2 full boxes downstairs full of kids books (about half of which I've never read or have any interest in reading) from when I moved.

38. (what language do you most often read in?) English because I’m a dumb bitch and don’t know other languages well enough. I might be able to stumble through a kid’s book in French, and I could read a basic novel in Spanish.

39. (name one of your favorite childhood books) Goodnight Moon was one of my favorites. I also was obsessed with Where The Mountain Meets The Moon by Grace Lin, and when I was about 5 my mom would read The Hobbit to my brother and I when she got home from work if she was working a half day, or she wasn’t held up too late on a normal day. Ah, some actually decent childhood memories.

40. (name one of your favorite books from your teenage years) SvtHA.

41. (do you own a library card? How often do you use it?) Yeah, and decently often.

42. (which was the best book you had to read in school?) The Outsiders. In 7th grade.

43. (are you the kind of person who reads several books at once or the kind of person who can only read one book at a time?) Multiple at once. I kind of have to if I want to read for fun while I’m in school.

44. (do you like to listen to music when you read?) Honestly, my mind is like an iPod I can’t fully control, I was laying in my bed half asleep singing What I Got yesterday morning for no reason, so I don’t have a choice. There’s more of a choice if I’m listening to music, so yes.

45. (what is your favorite thing to eat when you read?) Nothing? I don’t really like to eat when I’m reading, unless I’m reading on my phone and then it doesn’t really matter. But when I'm reading I usually forget to eat.

46. (what is your favorite thing to drink when you read?) Tea. Without a doubt. If I’m not too lazy to make it, that is.

47. (what do you do to get out of a reading slump?) Well, I do one of two things. I either try to convince Kass (@eyeforaneye-toothforatooth) to write something for me, or I’ll write (because I know I have to read over it a bajillion times, and I write too much for anyone’s good)

48. (where is your favorite place to read?) In my mind palace. I have a little place in my mind palace that I go when I’m reading or writing, and it changes. Sometimes it’s in a cottage at night with the only light a fireplace that I’m sitting in front of, sometimes it’s leaned against a tree. Three of my favorites are leaning against a cherry blossom tree looking out at a river, on a beanbag in a cozy, quiet bookshop/library, and on a beach in Roatan, Honduras. Other than that, it’s curled up on my UFO couch in my front living room, in front of the gigantic window.

49. (when is your favorite time to read?) It actually depends on the season. In the summer, always because I don’t want to go outside because it’s too hot. In the winter it’s during the evening. Spring it’s early in the morning. Fall it’s around sunset.

50. (why do you love to read?) Because you’re taking yourself and delving into a different universe, where nothing you know exists and only what you’re reading does. It takes me away from the world and all of my struggles, and puts me somewhere where that doesn’t exist. It’s refreshing. I hate you too

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snkpolls · 7 years ago

Text

SnK Chapter 96 Poll Results

The chapter 96 poll closed with 1,469 responses. Thank you to everyone for participating. Let’s do this!

RATE THE CHAPTER (1,402 Responses)

There was an increase of strong NOPES with 6.5% rating this chapter a 1 verses .07% for chapter 95, but otherwise like last month, the majority gave the chapter a favorable rating.

With every chapter focusing on the Warriors, they steadily climb the list of some of the greatest characters I've ever had the pleasure of reading about. I love everyone in this manga, but the complexity, moral ambiguity, and tragedy of these three just continues to astound me. No matter how this manga concludes and no matter how imperfect AoT is as a whole, I applaud Isayama for writing some of the best antagonists I've ever seen.

Warriors background and sob story is always good to see. However, I do want a bit more progress in the story. I can wait a bit longer to see Paradis cast.

96 is probably the highlight of Marley focus so far, and is a well deserved title. It honestly never crossed my mind for some reason that we would see the opposite side of the attack on Paradis, and it did surprise me with how much of a rush and danger it was for RBA.

I liked the other chapters better since they weren't all about flashbacks; they had a nice mix between current and previous events

I don't really like the Marley chapters but this chapter has been amazing. Best chapter of this arc so far.

It has a huge emotional content but I feel like it had less substance than previous chapter. The insight on Annie is interesting though.

i think seeing the fall of wall maria from RBA's perspective was a very good (and heartbreaking) decision for yams to make, and a good way to segway into finally revealing what the SC are up to hopefully lol

It seems like Isayama has a thing for writing heartbreaking and sad chapters in August *sides eyeing to chapter 84* and btw, I'm still not over serumbowl. I don't even think I'llbe over that someday ;;-;;

It was really insightful to see more of RAB and actually see R&B relationship with Annie (I honestly thought Annie hated them and vice versa). We didn't see 3 monsters but 3 little kids, traumatized and forced to shed innocent blood

fuck this chapter, i dont even mind the marley chapters but this literally told us nothing interesting aside from royalty not being subjects of ymir

WHICH BEST DESCRIBES YOUR THOUGHTS ON SEEING THE FALL OF WALL MARIA FROM THE WARRIOR PERSPECTIVE (1,425 Responses)

Some mixed reaction here. A slight majority (45%) loved it while 25% didn’t care or didn’t like the timing of it. 31.5% were lukewarm about the retelling of the fall of Wall Maria from the warrior perspective.

I suppose if we were going to answer various loose plot points, we might as well get them all out in a single chapter.

I think Isayama's starting to push it with the flashbacks. I'd be okay with like. Half the next chapter or less being flashbacks to the trainee days but I want the rest to be interesting present-day Marley content

This would all have been so much more compelling if it had been incorporated into the main narrative timeline. Yams seriously needs a better editor.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE CHAPTER? (1,343 Responses)

“So much Annie” and seeing both trios in the shelter together were the top moments. Bert making eye contact with EMA and loudly contradicting Annie about her ability to charm men followed at #3 and 4. But with a lot of options came a lot of opinions.

"I'm here to save humanity." Like. Holy shit.

"Reiner is dead. If you want Marcel, I'll become Marcel" That was epic

One True God, Reigner, preaching His Holy Word to other Warriors. For He is the true savior of humanity

Reiner finally winning against Annie in a foot race

series was really just a bunch of scared kids making it up as they go

The little RBA group hug awww

The survivor from Wall Maria telling RBA his story. When I realized that I had heard it word for word out of Bertolt's mouth, it was very chilling. And Annie, seeing her break down at Reiner was one of the most heart-wrenching moments in the series

The two times we saw EMA

When it was revealed the Tybur family knew something about the Reiss family, that they have made a "vow renouncing war." OK, something is up with the Tybur Family, and I want to know more!

Seeing RBA talk about their mission when the Coordinate was maybe 20 feet away from them tops was a weird mix of frustrating and hilarious.

Ma boi Bert is smooth af.

Damn, Dina really hustled to be the first Titan through the gate.

SADDEST MOMENT FROM THE CHAPTER? (1,339 Responses)

Rather than pick a single moment, nearly 38% of us selected the whole chapter as the saddest moment. As usual, any glimpse of the 104th makes people cheer. The moment of eye contact between Bert and EMA was #2.

Annie...everything about Annie in general.

Knowing that once Reiner got back to the Marley after they failed, he did listen to Annie's words when she beat him up because he did take all the blame himself

reiner saying he wants to be a "soldier" to "save the humanity"_ the poor young man really thought he was saving the "humanity" from the monsters/devils

The panels of Bastion looking over the wall were so sad imo. Knowing RBA's story makes this iconic moment so much more tragic and powerful, but in a different way than before.

The parallel made between EMA and BRA. It's so sad to see how similar there six kids are, and how differently their lives ended up.

The saddest moment was Reiner saying he will 'become' Marcel. That was Isayama tearing my heart out of my rib cage and beating it repeatedly.

Watching three broken children commit an atrocity that they couldn't fully understand the consequences of

when it was yet another flashback

MOST INTERESTING NEW DISCOVERY FROM THE CHAPTER? (1,326 Responses)

The majority selected how Reiner became Marcel as the most interesting discovery. Bloodline talk and and the origin of Bert’s cover story were close second and third.

All of the above

Everything.

how reigner got fukin ripped, brah

reiner is hot asf

Reiner was always ripped

the explanation for why reigner went from the weakling to a buff dude (LUMBERJACKING)

Knowing for certain that RBA and EMA were (at least for a while) in the same refugee camp. My babies <3

I dont care for the plot at this point honestly im just in it for annie i discovered i love her somehow more than i originally thought

The Tybur clan detaining the information about the vow of the King. That implies they were in contact with Kruger at some point.

DO YOU THINK RBA KILLED THE MAN FROM THE REMOTE VILLAGE? (1,347 Responses)

My poll co-creator was the one who suggested this question and once asked I couldn’t unsee it. Nearly half of respondents don’t think RBA killed that man, but clearly there’s room for doubt.

I'm torn on whether RBA killed the man from the village. The idea occurred to me when reading the chapter, and I could equally see them doing it but also not doing it. isayama why!

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE BEATDOWN THAT ANNIE BROUGHT ON REINER? (1,360 Responses)

Honestly I wasn’t expecting this to be a landslide but here it is - 82% felt that Annie was ok in her beatdown of Reiner.

YEAH ANNIE, KICK HIS ASS!!!

I want more of cruel Annie

My feelings for Reiner is kinda messed up.. Annie did beat up Reuner pretty good

i was all for reiner rescuing annie and apologizing to her but seeing what she did to him this chapter. never mind. she can go f*** herself.

RATE EACH WARRIOR IN TERMS OF HOW THIS CHAPTER AFFECTED YOUR PERCEPTIONS OF THEM

As far as opinion changes go, 807 people view Annie more favorably after this chapter, 788 do so for Reiner, and 633 for Bert. On the other end of the spectrum, 140 view Annie less favorably. That number is 113 for Reiner, and 57 for Bert

I used to dislike Annie, but this chapter helped humanize her in my eyes.

I kind of despise reiner after this chapter, the only good thing about it was annie

Bless Annie, she not only saw through all the brain-washing that the Marley government had imposed on them all, but was oblivious to her own charms! But damn, the scene where Eren, Mikasa and Armin are reflected in the Colossal Titan's eyes? That had me in tears!

WHICH OF THE THREE ORIGINAL WARRIORS IS YOUR FAVORITE? (1,369 Responses)

When I asked this question, I mentioned Tumblr’s outpouring of love for Annie as my reason. Now I have data to back that up. While Reiner was the combined winner, favorite character does vary by platform. On Reddit, Reiner was the clear favorite with 55% of the vote. Tumblr selected Annie with 46%. Bert is viewed far more kindly of Tumblr than Reddit. The breakdown is below:

REDDIT’S FAVORITE WARRIOR

Reiner: 55%

Annie: 31%

Bert: 15%

TUMBLR‘S FAVORITE WARRIOR

Annie: 46%

Reiner: 32%

Bert: 23%.

Reiner best character. Reiner for Straw Hat. Reiner for king of Westeros. Reiner for everything. I uh... I like Reiner.

Bertolt is such a non-entity in the flashbacks.

I can't believe I didn't appreciate Annie as much as I do now before!!! It was great to see her again and I really look forward to seeing her more hopefully

WHICH OF THE THREE ORIGINAL WARRIORS IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE? (1,322 Responses)

No surprise here. Mah boy Bert continues to get the least love.

WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN IN CHAPTER 97? (1,353 Responses)

88% of people think the perspective will stay with the Warriors and a slight majority believe the flashback will continue. The 12% who think we’ll have a perspective switch are probably being optimistic.

IF CHAPTER 97 IS SET IN PRESENT DAY MARLEY, WHAT DO YOU MOST WANT TO SEE (1,362 Responses)

The Tyber family festival and the identity of Amputee-kun are what we want next. Many people think they will happen at the same time.

The Tybur Family Festival will reveal Amputee-Kun

All of this. A dialogue-heavy chapter that takes place during the tyber family festival. Right before the end, Pieck looks at Amputee-kun in the distance and says "Yo Zeke, Reiner, ain't that Eren Yeager ?" and Zeke goes "That's exactly right".

Amputee guy goes home. It is a dark house. In the corner is armin praying to an annie shrine. Mikasa is next to him on a chair drinking tea as if nothing weird at all is happening.

I'd like to see sort of visual representation of the Warhammer titan

Levi

Main cast

Reiner visiting Bertolt's family/parents

THE FOUNDING TITAN APPEARS TO YOU IN A DREAM AND GRANTS YOU 3 WISHES FOR THE MANGA. YOUR CHOICES? (1,401 Responses)

I hope ya’ll know I can see who voted for more than three. Shame on you! Action for Annie and Mikasa top the wish list followed by “no more time skips”. There were plenty of write in votes asking for romance and canon ships and the resurrections of Ymir, Bert and Erwin. There were some rather creative options as well.

*virtually votes for Annie getting out the damn crystal three times* WE NEED SOME ANSWERS FROM HER DAMMIT!

Armin. Man-bun. Now.

Every character getting a satisfying and conclusive ending.

Explain PATHS without magic.

Honestly I wish Zackley's "art" was never a thing

Chapter once a week

Marcel's death. Again. Again

Titan shifters not having to die after 13 years, except for gaylord, he can die for all I care.

HANJI ZOE GET A BACKSTORY

one billion dollars and a mansion to live in. PLEASE

Let's talk about East Sea Clan now

Bring Bertoto Big-Boi Bertollini back to life

better pacing

Connie with luscious curls.

MORE ZEKE!!

HOW BADLY DO YOU WANT TO RETURN TO THE ORIGINAL CAST ON PARADIS? (1,420 Responses)

The number of people willing to sell their souls to see the original cast is up 10% over last month.

I understand people are frustrated because they miss the main cast, but Warriors are my favorite characters and I've wanted to see this since forever. We'll get back to the main cast eventually, just bear with it like we went along with chapters without the Warriors.

This is honestly all I've wanted to see from the beginning of the series. No matter what happens after, I'm really glad we got to see the other side of that fateful day. Also, I love how clear the parallels between the two trios were, because that's something I've found incredibly powerful in this series, but it's never really been this clear before. I find it tragically beautiful just how similar EMA and RAB are, and yet one trio has hope of a happy ending while the other's been doomed from the start.

Just when i was finally gettibg into Marley we switch to a flashback! Lol that's how it goes. It was a good chapter, finally covering something we've been going over on a fandom level since 2013. I'm glad we finally saw it. Bring back Annie 2k17!

On one hand, the Marley files is necessary, building up to the end of the series. But holy cow I miss our main crew on Paradis! Granted, the Paradis chapters have been well done, especially on expanding the Warrior's side as fellow humans trapped in some shitty circumstances.

I just want a glimpse of how the Walldians look like. Just one panel and I can rest in peace.

I've been selling my souls for the past six months to see main casts... I'm withered now.

WHICH CHARACTERS DO YOU GENERALLY ENJOY THE MOST (1,422 Responses)

Vets are up and the104th are down, but I suspect poll exposure is the reason for the change.

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES (1,298 Responses)

Tumblr, sit down, we need to talk. I know you love your art and ships. And I do too! But can you spend three minutes taking the poll? The good folks at Reddit once again outnumber you 2-1.

Reddit: 869 (66.9%)

Tumblr: 419 (32.3%))

Discord: 84 (6.5%)

Twitter: 7 (0.5%)

IS THERE ANYTHING FROM THE NEW GUIDEBOOK YOU FOUND PARTICULARLY INTERESTING? (1,143 Responses)

yes, seeing Armin’s parents was awesome, but my poll co-creator’s obsession with Reiner Braun is #3 and that’s all I need! That, and eruri is canon.... again ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Seeing Armin’s parents: 49.2%

Isayama’s obsession with Reiner Braun: 38.5%

Poll creators obsession with Reiner Braun: 35.1%

Reiner’s unexplained weight loss: 23.8%

4 pages of insight into Levi's thoughts: 23.4%

Eruri being canon.... again: 22.2%

Annie’s hairstyle being designed after Avril Lavigne’s: 21.3%

The Colossal Titan was designed before Bertolt: 21.3%

Reiner being described as “the perfect man”: 20.6%

Annie’s name being a joke on the word “ani,” meaning “bro”: 18.3%

Marcel and Porco aren’t twins: 16.2%

The height/weight info on the warriors and cadets: 15.7%

Reiner’s genetic predisposition to be a muscular and sexy bara: 14.4%

Birthdays for characters we didn’t know before (Finally! Moblit!): 13.6%

Reiner having David Beckham’s eyes: 11.8%

Reiner having Matt Damon’s looks from Saving Private Ryan: 10.8%

It's ok, I too am obsessed with Reiner Braun (I would marry him)

Reiner is B U L K

isayama is evil

I fucking love Reiner Braun. That's all.

reiner needs to be protected

Reiner continues to be best boy

FINAL THOUGHTS?

This is a subset of the write in the comments we received. Thank you again for participating! See you next month!

EXTRA DANCC

This chapter was incredible and i cant wait until 97 comes out.

This chapter made me think a lot of Draco Malfoy. I mean the trio and him both were brainwashed and raised to think lies. They were just children caught up in situations they coulndt understand well. It made me feel very sad.

I wonder how the Tybur family knows about the First King's Will. Either he made the vow before traveling with the Eldians to Paradise, or the Tybur family infiltrated the Walls somehow.

Tyber family is being set up to be the "real" masterminds behind Marley's government.

Fuck you Isayama!! I hate you and I'll always will... except if you give Annie a happy ending I could rethink about it

It was really good but I would have liked just a little bit of present-day Marley as well

Again, the Tybur Family knows something about the Reiss family even though the rest of the world doesn't know what's going on within the Walled Society. Something is up with the Tybur Family, I tell you!!!

We need more Annie, Bertolt and Reiner. Also want so badly to see the main Paradis cast but enjoying so much this Marley arc so I'm very conflicted with myself on that and which side I'm now on (Warriors/Paradis)

It was lit

It was interesting to see these events unfold through the long-awaited perspective of Reiner, Bertholt and Annie. I liked how they showed those three kids having more humanity. Seeing Bertholt hesitate and Annie cry gave another dimension to their character.

I've said it before but the new shots of Bertholdt looming over the wall were so fucking incredible. When it gets animated, I hope this moment be silent, no bgm, nothing. It would make it more memorable.

The fact that this chapter is called "Door of Hope" may suggest that RBA's time having their worldview expanded will eventually lead to hope. Reiner may turn on Marley in the end, and Annie's character definitely isn't loyal to Marley. I don't think either would work for Paradis if they had a choice, but since Paradis *is* directly opposing Marley, I suspect we'll have a "enemy of my enemy is my friend" situation. For Annie at least. If Reiner switches, I think it'll be in some great final act. :'(

Im a wreck now!

As expected

Dank

I love how there are absolutely no black and white in this series

Reignar's motivation for joining the military was done really well, and I love how complicated of a situation he's been in...

I've been a fan of getting the Marley perspective and was really happy to see Annie again, but this chapter felt like it was more of everything we already knew. It didn't add emotional stakes, it didn't add to the plot, it contributed to the abysmal pacing. I realize that we can't fully judge the manga until it's complete but the fact is, this is a monthly manga, and Isayama should take that into consideration when pacing the story. Focusing entirely on a flashback this chapter felt like a really poor narrative decision, especially since while it gave us feelings it didn't add any the last chapter didn't also give us. I know Isayama is a master of the long game so maybe I'm wrong and this was an important chapter, but it certainly didn't feel like it. It feels like he's trying too hard to make us feel for the warriors, but the previous chapters already accomplished that.

I expect SC to come back in Chapter 99. With the festival upcoming, I expect two volumes of Warriors before returning to out niggas on Paradis. Also, it's Reigner, not Reiner.

This arc need to step up its pace. It's good that we had all this new info but the story is so slow!

I just want to see grown up Mikasa

Disappointing overall. Little useful new information. The part about stealing the backstory was interesting but not significant. No plot advancements, no new mysteries, no present day action, and we all guessed accurately how the wall fell from RBA's perspective. IMO a pointless chapter, and the Marley arc has dragged on for almost a year now (no problem with Marley focus, it's just been very slow). Could/should have been done differently (include Walldians learning about Marley along w/us readers, include Warriors other than Reiner)

Need less marley and warrior focus jesus fuck

Ballsy move by Isayama to continue with the Marley/Reiner stuff. It's not terrible but considering monthly release schedule it's getting tiresome and I think he's starting to lose some of the fanbase - and he'll continue to lose more with each Marley/Reiner chapter

I'm so done with Marley, wake me up when we get back to the main cast

Please just move the story forward, we don't need previous details spelled out, the audience is smart enough on their own, this all just feels like a gigantic stall.

Feels like Isayama is stalling for the big reveal of Paradis plot

RBA perspective is already overkilled its inviting irritation rather than sympathy

I feel like isayama doesn't care about the manga anymore and is just trying to wrap it up as quick as possible

ANNIE PLEASE COME BACK REEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Getting weary of the flashback. I don't mind seeing the Marley side of things, but pick up the pace.

very powerful chapter. That said, I hope that for the sake of the story's pacing in general, this is the last flashback we get for a while.

AoT is the best story I've ever read. But if there are more useless Marley chapters I might even stop reading monthly. That's how exasperated I am. Fuck i really do like RBA and flashback is nice but PLEASE LET ME SEE THE WALLDIANS COME ONNNNNNNNN!!!! Its been half a year already !!! I didnt see the main characters since i caught up with the manga wtf

Cool chapter in itself, not ok with the premise

I'm pretty sure Dina said fuck Bertolt because she was going after that slut sleeping with her husband

You know, after hatin' on the Marley POV for the past few chapter I actually am starting to feel that I'm succumbing to them, slowly but surely starting to enjoy them

The RBA hug was the sweetest thing.

would be interesting to see of armin -remembers- any of this

I finally fully enjoyed reading a chapter of this Marley arc, even if it's just a flashback... but i reeeeeeeeeeaaaaaalllly wish to come back to the original cast POV. I miss them, i wanna see them, i would sell my soul to see them. Also i think Isayama made a wrong choice doing this Marley arc now, after the timeskip, if he had done this before the fandom probably wouldn't react as the way they did (missing EMA and Veterans). I mean, after the longest time skip ever, after the most loved/hated arc with huge changes to some characters, Isayama just change the view to another characters not showing us anything of what happened. Also with this guidebook we could see that things have changed with the original cast, mainly the relationships that before were strong but at this moment we don't know fully (Like i seriously saw the EMA split apart reading this guidebook, a thing that i didn't wanted to happe, but at the same time i wanted because is interesting af. Or Levi miserable after Erwin death... I feel like Isayama will continue with this flashbacks to explain something like why Annie didn't killed Armin, and their thoughts on the Walldian, but i also feel like chapter 100 will split the fandom apart (again) (i mean we probably will get the main cast in this one, i hope)

I MISS MIKASA

Great develope of the warriors trio

EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

nice info & perspective in this chapter. but felt dragged..could've been expressed in less pages tbh.

The pacing of this whole arc has been poor. These backstories would have better served the story if they had peppered the narrative a little bit at a time over the course of the whole series, not as some last second infodump.

Only thing worse than present day Marley is flashback Marley

I DON'T WANT ANOTHER FLASHBACK JUST GET ME ON PARADIS AGAIN FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

You have a beautiful smile, but not as beautiful as Dina's.

I need Reiner/Happiness to be canon like RIGHT NOW

wjat the fuck is dina d o i n g how did she just KNOW who carla was aksdadkjs

I wish bertholdt was not dead And that he has more development.

I never thought we'd actually get to see this part from the warrior's perspective, but I've always hoped we'd at least see it in a spin off or something, so I am pumped we actually got to see it in detail in canon

Thank god for Isayama, he's a blessed man to give us so many chapters with Warrior focus.

Man I just wish I didn't have to wait so long for each chapter, but I understand it's necessary for quality.

I wasn't really enjoying the flashbacks but I loved this one

I wish we would have had some bits from the breaching of the wall way earlier. I also wish the plot would advance a bit faster. I feel too many panels were spent on the flashback. For me the chapter was over too soon, but felt like I'd learned nothing new of importance :(

I understand the flashbacks are necessary, but I hope the story will eventually wrap those up to keep the story moving forward. Everything has been going by so slowly lately, but even so, I love this series to much to just leave, especially since we're already nearing the end. Keep it up, Isayama!

Because I see all the recent Annie content as the most obvious foreshadowing of her return to the plot, that begs a new question. In Stohess, she tried to run away, not take Eren, and just get back to her father. She crystallized with that stuff in mind, she seemed ready to abandon her mission, so when she inevitably wakes up will she still have that same mindset? I think this whole thing could set up an interesting change for her character. Whether she joins the Walldians or not, she finally gets a chance to break away from the flow and suffer or thrive based on the outcome of (probably) the only time she's allowed to choose something in her life.

Damn this is depressing as hell

Dina will never not freak me out. Also hooOOOOOO REINER'S MESSED UP HOOOOOOOO

I really do hope Isayama goes back to the paradis crew in a flashback to 4 years ago. A couple months from where chapter 90 left off & the entire volume covers 1 year of the Paradis crew in between the 4 year time skip

I feel like Isayama doesnt care much for Mikasa anymore. She has become a flat character and deserves more focus.

I didn't need an entire chapter dedicated to RBA's persepctive of the fall of wall maria to feel any more sympathy than I already do towards them.

I'm really tired of the Marley focus in the story.

Loved seeing how Annie really felt about the mission outside of the hometown and ideologies. Also heart breaking to see Reiner trying so hard to make the mission work only to end up losing the only other two who understood him best in the end.

I was hoping we would get the Tyber family's festival, and there Amputee-kun would reveal his identity. However, after seeing this chapter, I realized how important and interesting the Fall of Wall Maria is in the warriors' point of view. I'm glad we got this chapter.

1. Reiner is much more than a warrior or a replacement for Marcel. 2. Dina keeps being awesome even after her death. 3. Bertholdt already being in love with Annie is awesome. 4. We've been able to see Jean!!! 5. I don't want to say goodbye to Colt...

Isayama, give Erwin back 😌!

#snk poll #snk chapter 96 #snk 96 #snk chapter poll #snk poll results

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btvs · 7 years ago

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all of britney spears’ songs are gay, and here’s why:

a list of all of britney spears’ singles from her albums, and why they are gay. these are just the examples because i cannot include every single song of hers on here.

1) baby one more time. this is kind of an obscure one, where you have to look a little deeper for clues. the first one is the amount of times she says “baby.” of course, baby can be a term used towards men, but one of the times she says it, she includes “pretty” beforehand. “pretty baby” is definitely a pet name i have never heard used towards a dude. another lyric from the song is “give me a sign.” this is referring to how gay people need to give each other a sign to let the other know that they are also gay. last of all, britney “still believe[s]” that the girl she is crushing on is a lesbian.

2) sometimes. this song is about britney struggling with internalized homophobia. she expresses, “sometimes i run, sometimes i hide [...] but all i really want is to hold you tight [...] baby, all i need is time.” britney describes how she needs time to think about her feelings and if she is really ready to be in a relationship with another woman.

3) (you drive me) crazy. the level of gayness in this song can be easily shown in the music video, because the hot guy and hot girl are both shown equal amounts of time. watch it and you’ll see what i mean.

4) born to make you happy. this is a very sweet, romantic song, which could only mean one thing - it’s gay.

5) from the bottom of my broken heart. the lyric, “you were my real love, i never knew love till there was you,” shows how britney was unsure of her sexuality until she found this person, and she learned what love was when she discovered that being with a girl is what made her happy.

6) oops! i did it again. this song portrays britney’s frustration when a man falls in love with her, because she knows she is not attracted to him no matter what. she did not intend for this to happen because she does not care about men.

7) lucky. although britney is lucky in this song, she could also be singing about a girl she loves named lucky. the other option is that since she is “[crying] in her lonely heart,” she is sad because she doesn’t have a girlfriend.

8) stronger. in this song, britney has ended homophobia and is stronger because of it.

9) don’t let me be the last to know. here, britney has a crush on a girl who is embarrassed to admit she is also in love with britney because of her internalized homophobia. britney is thinking, it’s okay to be gay!

10) i’m a slave 4 u. one lyric in this song is: “always saying little girl don’t step into the club, well i’m just tryin’ to find out why ‘cause dancing’s what i love.” britney is talking about a gay club and how she is unsure why people are judging her for going to one when she just wants to have fun.

11) overprotected. this song is clearly gay, summed up in this one line: “i'm so fed up with people telling me to be someone else but me.” britney is sick of society telling her that she should be straight!

12) i’m not a girl, not yet a woman. in an interview, britney said, “[...] it’s a personal song about that transitional stage in life.” by “that transitional stage” she means realizing that she is gay.

13) i love rock n roll. this is a cover of a joan jett song, and therefore, gay.

14) anticipating. the lyric “got to show me you got everything that i need” hints that what britney needs is a woman.

15) boys. although this song is titled “boys,” britney’s lyrics show that this song is about a girl. “those lips and your brown eyes, and the sexy hair.” these are features that are usually the ones that are noticeable on girls, not boys. additionally, the last line is “can’t live with em, can’t live without em.” this quote literally is a phrase men use that actually begins with “women,” aka referring to how they can’t live with or without women. britney literally took a term about women and used it in this song.

16) me against the music. this song features madonna, queen of gays. close to when the video was released, madonna and britney had their famous kiss. in the music video, britney and madonna actually almost kiss again.

17) toxic. the music video was inspired by sydney bristow from alias which is claimed by gay people. it’s a gay people tv show, and toxic is a gay people song. gays love it. straights hate it.

18) everytime. this song is very deep and depressing. conveniently, deep and depressing is gay people’s specialty! this means the song is gay.

19) outrageous. apparently, the lyric, “outrageous. let’s be it, girl” is referring to how britney and madonna should team up and be outrageous (controversial) together. if you know what i mean. ;)

20) my prerogative. britney is fighting for gay rights!

21) do somethin’. “i see you looking at me like i'm some kind of freak.” britney subtly addresses a lot of homophobia in her songs.

22) someday (i will understand). the music video is in black and white. you know what other music video was in black and white? vogue by madonna. a gay classic.

23) gimme more. in the music video, britney is shown pole dancing with some other women. looks gay to me!

24) piece of me. “you wanna piece of me?” is the question britney asks throughout the song. the message can be interpreted as a gay metaphor, and she is saying that gay people are awesome too.

25) break the ice. the music video is basically anime. gay people watch anime. also, there are no pronouns in the song hinting that it may not necessarily be about a man. this theme is actually in many of britney’s songs.

26) womanizer. “[‘womanizer is] basically saying, ‘we know what you’re up to.’ it’s about guys cheating on girls. it’s a girl anthem. that’s why i like it. so hopefully the fans will see it that way too!” queen of feminism. she really does hate men!

27) circus. britney spears invented circuses, which are gay culture.

28) if you seek amy. this song, without a doubt, is extremely gay. britney is looking for her girlfriend, amy. britney also states that all of the boys and all of the girls want to fuck her. and she is okay with both of those! this song was also released on my birthday, which adds points.

29) radar. she might as well just say “gaydar,” because that’s the only radar people talk about and clearly what the song’s message is. gay people can notice other gay people!

30) 3. the music video shows britney being somewhat sexual with a woman. although the song describes this threesome as britney and two men, that’s not what kevin federline says britney likes.

31) hold it against me. this song is literally about katy perry’s body. although it was originally meant to be performed by katy herself, the message still stands. britney sings about how she wants katy perry’s body. maybe britney was the girl katy kissed and liked!

32) till the world ends. because there are no pronouns in this song, we really will never know if it is about a man. maybe, maybe not. probably not. if they’re dancing till the world ends, only women can do that because they’re better dancers... facts only!

33) i wanna go. britney uses a very weird repeat/echo of a word in this song - uncontrollably (lably, lably, lably). only gay people can pull that off.

34) criminal. in this song, “criminal” is a gay metaphor. she is singing about being in love with a woman like it’s a bad thing because she is again addressing homophobia. she doesn’t want anyone to worry about her being gay.

35) work bitch. bitch is a gay people word that gay people say. britney says bitch 20 times in this song. that’s like, probably a record. also, the music video is kinda gay.

36) perfume. if you ignore the real message about britney being jealous/worried that there is someone else interfering with the relationship, it sounds kind of like britney is actually in love with that woman. she wants the woman to smell the perfume that britney wore especially for her.

37) make me. we all would like to forget about this song.

38) slumber party. this is possibly britney’s gayest song, after “if u seek amy.” the music video is extremely lesbian and shows britney basically making out with tinashe. britney also said, “i think a lot of girls are gonna have a lot of sleepovers to this song, it’s definitely a song you wanna take you and your girlfriends go out and just have a great time - eat a lot of pizza and talk about boys and just be really naughty.” remembering what was in the music video makes this quote sound a lot more gay.

#i spent like 2 hours on this #also disclaimer this is only half serious #if there's any spelling mistakes in here i will die #m #britney spears #ok to reblog

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owicpub · 5 years ago

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Hezekiah’s Prayer

Hezekiah’s Prayer is Part 2 of the Kings of All Creation series (Josiah’s Sanctification is the first part). This book teaches us about prayer from the life of King Hezekiah, who brought two key prayers before the Lord.

[More Details and Links]

Here is an excerpt from Hezekiah’s Prayer

Learning Objectives

Prayer is at once a simple task which a person new to Christ utters without deep understanding of what it really is or does, while at the same time is also so complicated that a lifelong study on prayer still fails to give us total understanding of what it is or how it works.

This little book is a primer to get us started with some basics on prayer. Our intention is to start with the easiest of prayers, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner! (Luke 18:13)” and conclude the book understanding what a life of prayer can mean for Christians as we walk our lives daily before God.

I have called upon You, for You will answer me, O God; Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech. (Psalm 17:6)

To Be Heard in Prayer

The first book in this series, Josiah’s Sanctificationi, taught us the importance of being sanctified and how we can achieve being like Christ in our Christian walk. Sanctification generally precedes our prayers because without sanctification in the life of a believer, God will not hear us:

If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear. (Psalm 66:18)

To understand this concept completely, we need to start with a few principles. First, a person who is not yet a Christian who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved:

And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13)

This initial prayer, said with faith and belief, ushers us into the kingdom of heaven. Without this prayer, we cannot be saved, and a sinner who has just confessed their need for Christ is hardly sanctified. Like the thief on the cross crucified with our Lord, once we see the depth of our sin and call on Jesus for salvation, such a prayer saves us:

One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise (Luke 23:39-43).”

Once we are saved, we have the command from Christ to begin walking with God. We will not discuss that matter in great detail here since that was the thesis of the first book in this series. When we accept the title of ‘Christian’ we are thus commanded to walk in a manner worthy of His name:

So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind (Ephesians 4:17).

If we are constantly living our life outside His will and teaching, we are not even doing the simple first things He calls us to do. Our calls on Him will go unanswered:

Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me, Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord. (Proverbs 1:28-29)

The important first learning objective to be heard in prayer is to be sanctified by studying the Scriptures and hiding the Word in our hearts that we may not sin against God (Psalm 119:11).

Prayer, Change, Us, and God

As we embark on our study of prayer, we need to ask to what end we are praying. Can our prayers change the path of an immutable God? Are our prayers more about bringing our will in alignment with His will? If God knows all things already, why are we praying at all? I hope to answer these questions now.

One of the attributes of God described in theology is His immutability. This word literally means unchangeable, or without variance. The doctrine means God is the same yesterday, today, and forever as extracted from Hebrews 13:8 among other verses in the Bible. The question before us now is whether our prayers can change an unchangeable God.

This difficult answer is not entirely settled in the world of Christendom, but I will do my best to answer the questions based on my understanding after weighing many arguments on the subject from many different theologians.

First, God is never informed of anything we need, even as we pray (1 John 3:20). There is no thing in this world He does not already know, yet He still commands us to come to Him in prayer (Ephesians 6:18), even when we do not know how to pray in a given situation (Romans 8:26). We can only assume He calls for us to pray as a test. Are we going to be obedient to bring even the most difficult tasks to His attention in prayer?

C.S. Lewis writes an illustrative scene about prayer and God’s sovereignty in The Magician’s Nephewii. Digger, Polly, and Fledge stop to camp on the way to the garden to pluck the fruit at Aslan’s request. As they stop, Digger and Polly announced their hunger and say they should have asked Aslan for food to take on the journey. Digger says the great lion should have known they needed food, but Fledge rebukes him saying that Aslan is probably a person who likes to be asked for things, even though he already knows what is needed.

God knows what we need but when we withhold the request, he withholds our needs as a generality. This means that somewhere in the mystery of God’s sovereignty He makes ready what we need and delivers it upon our requests. I do not think God’s mind is changed, even in the situation we will see later when Hezekiah receives a different answer from God about his illness before and after his prayers.

Taken together, we cannot change God’s mind, but somewhere in the mystery of our faith we are given our desires that are in alignment with His will. This is what our prayer is for God: He wants us to ask for what He already knows we need, as a test of our obedience. So our prayers do not change God, they test us if we respond to His commands. Or put another way, prayer is about changing us by bringing our desires into alignment with God’s will.

Prayer and Worship

Our ultimate purpose is to worship God. We worship Him when we study our Scriptures, when we attend a church service or another gathering of believers to study the Word, when we sing praises, and as it relates to this book, we worship God when we pray.

Worship is to have fellowship with God, and we have no better direct fellowship than when we talk to Him. Prayer is a two way conversation, not just us listing off a lot of requests to make our lives better and happier as if we were perched on Santa’s lap awaiting the promises of Christmas. Instead, prayer is spending time with God, communicating, conversing, and waiting. While we do not generally audibly hear Him speaking back to us, we sense His providence in our life, and we feel His love as we continue on, knowing He has heard us.

When we approach prayer as a part of our worship, we are less concerned with our own desires and more concerned in spending time with Him. Our prayers can take the form of supplication, which is what we would call ‘prayer requests’, but there is a lot more to having a divine conversation than Him giving us things. In fact, when we think of our own personal, earthly desires for our worldly pleasures, that is the type of prayer He will not answer:

You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures (James 4:3).

To contrast this, worship occurs when we draw near to Him and seek to please God in our life. The natural consequence of fellowship is exultation in the glory of God:

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you (James 4:8-10).

When we approach the throne of God with a humble heart, seeking to please Him and to talk with Him, He exalts us beyond what we could imagine. To experience such closeness, start viewing prayer as a time to spend with God in conversation rather than going to Him to get your needs met.

Be Humble in Prayer

The final learning objective is to be humble in our prayers. It is very clear from many scriptures that pride is an offense to God, for even Satan was banished from heaven for being prideful in his attempt to usurp God (Isaiah 14:12-15).

Perhaps the best scripture about our need for being humble comes from the parable Jesus tells regarding the Pharisee and a tax collector praying in the temple (Luke 18:10-14):

Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.

The ultimate point of this parable is we can have everything looking correct in our life in terms of perfect tithing, perfect church attendance, and all the other things that come with being a ‘good Christian person’ but if we do not approach God with the humility He asks us for, He looks away (Matthew 23:12).

The humility required in prayer is akin to the love required in the church service (1 Corinthians 13:3). While we may have everything the world looks at in line with the Bible, God is the one who truly knows our heart, so our chief objective is to be humble as we approach the throne of God.

Prayer and The Word

We have already mentioned that prayer to receive our own desires is not honored by God, but can we ask for absolutely anything? Jesus suggests we can:

Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive (Matthew 21:21-22).

Some have taken this verse to justify many of the faulty theologies including the health and wealth, name it and claim it gospels, but this expression is one of Jesus’s oft-used hyperbole. This particular section was dealing with unity. An examination of prayer shows us that we cannot move our local mountain with prayers, and that was not the point Jesus was making. His point was one of faith and obedience to the Word. In other words, when we pray, we must take out prayers to God based on what He has promised in His Word. Thus, we must pray the Word back to God and prepare our prayers as those which are aligned with God’s promises.

Chapter Summary

Our learning objectives for this chapter are to start with sanctification before we expect to have a deep prayer life with God. This means we are working hard to live for God before we desire to have Him give us things we ask for. Next, to understand why we pray, we need to consider that prayer is not about us getting what we want for our worldly pleasures, it is about bringing our will into alignment with God’s will. Third, we must approach prayer seeking to honor God in worship. Such prayer is not our one-sided begging of God, so consider prayer as both a conversation and a means of worship. Next, God must be approached with a humble heart. If we place our pride behind us and seek God fully, we will be heard in prayer, God will draw near to us, and we will receive His blessing. And finally, our prayers should reflect the Word God has given us in the Bible. Seeking things He has not promised is generally outside of His will.

iJosiah’s Sanctification, Thomas Murosky, 2019, Our Walk in Christ Publishing

iiThe Magician’s Nephew, C.S. Lewis, 1955, The Bodley Head

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#Prayer #Hezekiah #Bible Study #Old Testament #theology #christian liv

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thepoolscene · 5 years ago

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The Pool Scene - Alex Pagulayan, Chang Jung Lin, Fedor Gorst, Ko Ping Chung, Ruslan Chinakov, World 9-Ball - World Pool Association

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=55472

World 9-Ball Championship Comes Down To Four

Ko Ping Chung, Fedor Gorst, Chang Jung Lin and Liu Haitao stand on the brink of history in Doha.

By Ted Lerner WPA Media Officer

(Doha, Qatar)–After nearly ten hours of some of the most grueling and pressure packed pool seen in years, the 2019 World 9-ball Championship has now come down to the Final 4.

The four players left, Taiwan’s Ko Ping Chung and Chang Jung Lin, Russia’s Fedor Gorst, and China’s Liu Haitao are, to a man, already proven monsters of the game. Now each is poised on the cusp of history and will get their crack at pool immortality.

In one semi-final, the current World 10-ball Champion Ko will battle it out against Gorst. In the other semi-final, Chang will match wits with Liu. Both semis, which will be race to 11, alternate break, will begin at 11am Tuesday in Doha(GMT +3) at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation. The Final, which will be race to 13, alternate break, will begin at 3pm Doha time.

Pool fans around the world looking at that list of talent on their betting sheet might be hard pressed to pick who to put their money on to take the sport’s most coveted crown. But anyone who has been lucky enough to be on hand in Doha for the last week, or watch the action online, would probably not hesitate to favor the man fondly known as “Little Ko.”

Ko got that endearing moniker by being the sweet younger brother to the great Ko Pin Yi, himself a two time former world champion. Fans have known Little Ko to have as much prodigious talent as his older brother, but it wasn’t until he won the World 10-ball Championship in Vegas in July this year that the diminutive 24 year old clearly had stepped out of that long shadow and started to establish his own greatness.

Indeed over the last four days in Doha, the 24 year old Ping Chung has exhibited an almost surreal-like confidence to do whatever it takes to win. His shot making is from another planet, he never, ever gets flustered, and he seemingly can do what he wants, when he wants.

These other-worldly skills were on full display in his three tough matches over ten hours today. In the round of 32 match against talented compatriot Lin Wu Kun, Ko got out to an early lead and held off Lin at every turn to win 11-8. In the round of 16, Ko came up against Russian veteran Ruslan Chinakhov who was playing some of his best pool in years. But Ko was in no mood to play nice, and he dominated Chinakhov 11-4.

By the time his quarterfinals battle against Vietnam upstart Do The Kien began, Ko looked a bit worn, and he fell behind 6-2. But as he did against Hungary’s Oliver Slzolnoki the night before in the round of 64, Ko grinded his way back in the match. In this case the Taiwanese absolutely put his boot down hard, winning 9 racks in a row for an emphatic 11-6 win and a spot in the semi-finals.

Little Ko’s battle with Russia’s Gorst promises to be a fascinating match up of two of pool’s great young talents. Gorst, just 19 year’s old, is a former World Junior Champion and has also won one Euro Tour event. His game and his personal demeanor appear well beyond his years, and this is not surprising when you discover that he has traveled and played extensively, especially in the US. He even speaks excellent English.

Like Ko, Gorst has a rock-solid game and low-key demeanor that serves him well when under pressure. His three fine performances today showed he is certainly ready for the big time. Should he win here in Doha, he would become the second youngest player, after 16 year old Wu Chia Ching in 2005, to win the World 9-ball Championship.

Gorst started the day with a very impressive 11-7 win over Taiwan’s Kevin Chang. In the round of 16 he blew a 7-1 lead over Poland’s Mateusz Sniegocki, and the match headed for the cliff and a sudden death rack. Gorst held his nerve with a very fine break and run to advance to the quarterfinals.

Without so much as having a bite to eat, he met up with Ko Pin Yi for what promised to be another slug fest. The early part of the match remained tight and nervy, but the young Russian stayed loose and calm and pounced on the few mistakes by Ko for an impressive 11-6 win.

The other semi final between Liu and Chang could well be described as pool’s battle of the hard core men. Both players are known for their tough, grinding style and it will be fascinating to see who blinks first.

With his many trips to the US and other countries over the years, Chang has certainly endeared himself to worldwide fans. Over the last few years the 34 year old Chang, the 2012 World 8-ball champion, has taken his game to new heights, including a win at the International in 2018. Another world title for Chang would certainly surprise nobody.

Chang played like a champion today, at least up until the end where he literally limped over the finish line. In the round of 32 he manhandled Poland’s Mieszko Fortunski, 11-5. In the round of 16 Chang came back from an early deficit to beat Spain’s Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, 11-7. Then in the quarters he looked to be in total control over Finland upstart Casper Matikainen, with an 8-2 lead.

Matikainen, who had defeated defending champion Joshua Filler in the round of 64, and had just beaten 2016 World 9-ball Champion Albin Ouschan in the round of 16, was a total revelation this week in Doha. And just when the quiet Finn looked like he would run out of gas, he began a glorious fight back against Chang. The pair ended up tied at 10 in a battle of sheer will and stamina. Chang, though, mustered one last bit of energy and skill and held on to break and run the very last rack for a nail-biting ticket to the semis.

China’s Liu has been knocking on this door of greatness for the last several years, and his three matches today showed he is ready to finally kick it in. In the round of 64, he came from two down late against Greece’s Alexander Kazakis to win 11-9. In the final 16 he came back from 6 -2 down to defeat Japan’s Naoyuki Oi, 11-9. In the quarters the Chinese went toe to toe with a streaking Alex Pagulayan. The pair had nothing between them for the first half, until Liu decided this time was his, and he put the Filipino-Canadian away, 11-8.

Should Liu win it all on Tuesday, he would become the first Chinese player to ever win the WPA World 9-ball Championship.

The winner of the 2019 World 9-ball Championship will receive $30,000. The total prize fund is $150,00.

*The 2019 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation in Doha, Qatar from December 10-17, 2019. The event is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and is sanctioned by the World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.

Fans around the world will be able to view live scoring, results, brackets and live streaming of many of the matches via the QBSF’s free live streaming platform at esnooker.pl. Multiple tables will be available to view online at no charge to the public.

SEMI-FINALS

Tuesday, December 17 11am, GMT +3

Race to 11, Alternate Break

Jung Lin Chang (TPE) vs. Lui Haitao (CHN)

Ping Chung Ko (TPE) vs. Fedor Gorst (RUS)

FINALS

3PM Doha

Race to 13, Alternate Break

RESULTS QUARTERFINALS

Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 11 – 10 Casper Matikainen (FIN)

Lui Haitao (CHN) 11 – 8 Alex Pagulayan (CAN)

Chung Ko Ping (TPE) 11 – 6 Do The Kien (VET)

Fedor Gorst (RUS) 11- 6 Pin Yi Ko (TPE)

RESULTS FINAL 16

Casper Matikainen (FIN) 11 – 6 Albin Ouschan (AUT)

Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 11 – 7 Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP)

Lui Haitao (CHN) 11 – 9 Naoyuki Oi (JPN)

Alex Pagulayan (CAN) 11 – 9 Billy Thorpe (USA)

Chung Ko Ping (TPE) 11 – 4 Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS)

Do The Kien (VET) 11 – 8 Waleed Majid (QAT)

Pin Yi Ko (TPE) 11 – 9 Aloysius Yapp (SIN)

Fedor Gorst (RUS) 11 – 10 Mateusz Sniegocki (POL)

RESULTS FINAL 32

Casper Matikainen (FIN) 11 – 8 Yip Kin Ling (HKG)

Albin Ouschan (AUT) 11 – 8 Denis Grabe (EST)

Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 11 – 5 Mieszko Fortunski (POL)

Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) 11 – 5 Xu Xiaocong (CHN)

Liu Haitao (CHN) 11 – 9 Alexander Kazakis (GRE)

Naoyuki Oi (JPN) 11 – 6 Johann Chua (PHL)

Alex Pagulayan (CAN) 11 – 7 Chang Yu Lung (TPE)

Billy Thorpe (USA) 11 – 10 Carlo Biado (PHL)

Chung Ko Ping (TPE) 11 – 8 Lin Wu Kun (TPE)

Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) 11 – 8 Maximilian Lechner (AUT)

Do The Kien (VET) 11 – 7 Chris Melling (ENG)

Waleed Majid (QAT) 11 -10 Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) vs.

Pin Yi Ko (TPE) 11 – 9 Jeffrey Ignacio (PHL)

Aloysius Yapp (SIN) 11 – 5 Darren Appleton (ENG)

Fedor Gorst (RUS)11 – 7 Yu Hsuan Cheng (TPE)

Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) 11 – 7 Liu Ri Teng (TPE)

#Alex Pagulayan #Chang Jung Lin #Fedor Gorst #Ko Ping Chung #Ruslan Chinakov #World 9-Ball

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blessedarethebinarybreakers · 7 years ago

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LGBTA+ Figures in the Bible

This post is meant to supplement our video on the same topic, providing more information and resources than we had time to discuss in the vid.

The Bible belongs to LGBTA+ Christians too, and we can see ourselves reflected in its stories. We aren’t saying that all of the figures listed here were definitely LGBTA+ themselves (though we both believe that at least some certainly were), but that something about their stories resonates uniquely with us as LGBTA+ Christians.

We invite you to add to this post -- either more ideas or resources for figures already listed, or with more Bible characters with whom you connect!

General Books:

The Queer Bible Commentary

Outing the Bible: Queer Folks, God, Jesus, and the Christian Scriptures

The Man Jesus Loved: Homoerotic Narratives from the New Testament

Another resource is what my textbook says about sexuality in biblical society.

And a post on why I think it’s important for us to have LGBT-specific Saints and biblical figures

The rest of the resources are under the readmore; let me know if you are unable to access them.

God!!!

See our God beyond gender tag, especially this post on Hosea 11 and this post

Austen Hartke’s video: “What Are God’s Pronouns?”

Woman Wisdom

A spoken word piece, “God Is Gay”

Black Theologian James Cone argues that because God identifies intimately with the oppressed, so intimately that God is one of them, God is Black. I agree wholeheartedly, and likewise argue that God is queer.

ha-adam (Adam and Eve)

Genesis 1 and Genesis 2

a post on which I basically write an essay on the adam of Genesis 1 being “all genders” or else no genders, rather being a diversity of physical types, and the adam of Genesis 2 naming himself a man, rather than that gender being imposed on him

A summary of what I say: In Genesis 1:27, God creates the human race male and female – we can read this as each human being thus being created with an innate capacity to be male, female, and/or somewhere on the spectrum hidden in that word and, as formerly discussed. Even so, the text continues to use the neutral adam in 1:28 through the majority of chapter 2 – God does not label any individual adam as an ish or an ishah, a man or a woman. In Genesis 2, which “rewinds” and offers a more detailed account of humanity’s creation, God forms the non-gender-specific adam out of clay and spirit and then forms a “helpmate” (an interesting, also non-gender-specific word discussed more in the above hoperemains link) from that adam’s rib. Only at that point do gender specific terms enter the story – not from God, but from the adam, who identifies himself as ish, a man, and labels his helpmate ishah, a woman.

Austen Hartke’s two YouTube videos on Genesis 1 and Genesis 2

Austen also responds to the call to “be fruitful and multiply” from a trans perspective

Austen Hartke’s “Does the Image of God Have a Gender?”

A post on that non-binary “and” in Genesis 1

Hagar

Genesis 16 and 21

Austen Hartke’s “Wrestling and Renaming God,” second half

Commentary on Dolores Williams’ Sisters in the Wilderness

Jacob/Israel

Genesis 32

Austen Hartke’s “Wrestling and Renaming God,” first half

A poem I wrote based on Jacob’s wrestling and renaming from the perspective of my journey as a nonbinary Christian

Article: “Wrestling to Reconcile Body and Spirit”

Joseph

Genesis 37

A poem by J Mase iii entitled “Josephine” -- a genderqueer telling of the story

A Presi on Queer Readings of Joseph and Jael that’s pretty interesting

“Joseph and his queer, fabulous, technicolor dreamcoat”

“There’s Something about Joseph”

David and Jonathon

1 Samuel 18, 1 Samuel 20, 2 Samuel 1

Article on the love between these two

Another article, not as detailed: “The story of David and Jonathan’s love is one of the great stories of the Bible. It is a classic tale of star-crossed lovers.”

Another good article from qspirit; with images, a lot of historical info, and further links

Another article: “Why Does the Bible Focus on Their Intimate Loving Same Sex Partnership?” -- “Did God bless David and Jonathan, a same sex couple in romantic committed sexual partnership? Scripture devotes more chapters to their incredible love story than any other human love story in the Bible. What does God intend us to learn from that dramatic emphasis?”

A 2007 essay by an Anglican bishop in Liverpool, James Jones, “Making Space for Truth and Grace”:

“The second is to acknowledge the authoritative Biblical examples of love between two people of the same gender most notably in the relationship of Jesus and his beloved and David and Jonathan. ...”

“ ‘The Theology of Friendship’ Report took me in particular to the relationship between David and Jonathan. Their friendship was emotional, spiritual and even physical. Jonathan loved David “as his own soul”. David found Jonathan’s love for him, “passing the love of women”. There was between them a deep emotional bond that left David grief-stricken when Jonathan died. But not only were they emotionally bound to each other they expressed their love physically. Jonathan stripped off his clothes and dressed David in his own robe and armour. With the candour of the Eastern World that exposes the reserve of Western culture they kissed each other and wept openly with each other. The fact that they were both married did not inhibit them in emotional and physical displays of love for each other. This intimate relationship was sealed before God. It was not just a spiritual bond it became covenantal for “Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul” (1 Samuel 18:3). Here is the Bible bearing witness to love between two people of the same gender. I know that at this point some will ask, “Was the friendship sexual?”, “Were they gay?”, “Was at least one of them homosexual?”, “Were they both heterosexual?”, “Were they bisexual?” I want to resist these questions at least initially. Immediately you start using such words you conjure up stereotypes and prejudices. Further, you assume that it is a person’s sexual inclination that defines their personhood. Is it not possible to say that here are two men with the capacity to love fully, both women and men?”

A Jewish view of their relationship, in Mishnah: “Whenever love depends on some selfish end, when the end passes away, the love passes away; but if it does not depend on some selfish end, it will never pass away. Which love depended on a selfish end? This was the love of Amnon and Tamar. And which did not depend on a selfish end? This was the love of David and Jonathan (Avot 5:15)”

A poem from 1878 by John Addington Symonds called “The Meeting of David and Jonathon;” the whole poem (it’s a long one) can be found in this google book; it starts on page 151. An excerpt of the best parts is here at this post.

Daniel and Ashpenaz

Both of these figures were possibly eunuchs, who are certainly gender non-conforming as they are (see next section); furthermore, these two may have been in love.

Daniel 1:9 -- “Now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs"

Article

Article on the other eunuchs in the book of Daniel: Shadrack, Mesach and Abednego

Esther and Eunuchs

“Esther, Vashti, and Eunuchs on Purim: Queer models for such a time as this”

“Eunuch-Inclusive Esther,” an article by Peterson Tuscano

Austen Hartke’s YouTube video on eunuchs

A spoken word poem I wrote for my seminary’s more light service based around the story of Esther

Naomi and Ruth

Article: “Whither thou goest;” cool art and contemporary interpretations

See our Ruth tag, especially this post, for lots on their relationship

Article: “Ruth Loved Naomi As Adam Loved Eve”

“Naomi and Ruth in Art”

Some other Biblical women

Austen Hartke’s video on “biblical womanhood”

Deborah

Judges 4

A prophet and military leader, Deborah behaves outside the norms for her gender

She was either married to a man with an odd name -- Lappidoth, meaning “torches” -- or else she had the title for herself “woman of torches.” If the former is true, she did much independently of her husband; if the latter, then she was not tied to a husband at all

Beginning on page 182, A Queer Commentary on Google Books has a section entitled “Deborah and Jael and lesbian-identified hermeneutics”

Jael

Judges 4 and Judges 5

Jael drifts from the way women of her culture were “meant” to act. Moreover, her use of a tent peg to kill Sisera is considered phallic.

Scholarly article: “From Gender Reversal to Genderfuck: Reading Jael through a Lesbian Lens”

A Presi on Queer Readings of Joseph and Jael that’s pretty interesting

Judith

The apocryphal book of Judith is not in the Protestant Bible.

Judith also behaves outside of her gender roles, using the relative freedom of her status as a widow to take charge of the situation when her city comes under siege. She and her maid go out to the enemy camp and ply the king with wine; they then cut off his head.

Jesus

Austen Hartke’s video on the road to Emmaus, “Invisible Like Jesus”

Jesus and the Beloved Disciple

Our tag for the beloved disciple

From a 2017 essay by Anglican bishop James Jones: “The intimacy between David and Jonathan is also evident in the relationship between the Son of David and his beloved John. We find the two at one with each other during the supper when Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. The beloved disciple is found reclining next to Jesus. Translations are not adequate to the text. Two different phrases are used in verses 23 and 25. One of them says literally that John was leaning against the bosom, breast, chest of Jesus (kolpos). No English word or phrase fully captures the closeness of the liaison. What is significant is that the word used in John 13:23 is found only on one other occasion in the Gospel of John. In John 1:18 the word is used to describe the intimate relationship between “God the only Son” and the Father. “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son who is close to the Father’s heart (kolpos) who has made him known”. It is difficult for a human being to conceive of a closer relationship than that between the Persons of the Holy Trinity. That this word is used of the relationship between Jesus and John is a remarkable expression of the love between the two men. This love finds expression on several occasions. On the cross Jesus makes his beloved friend his mother’s son in an extraordinary covenant of love and on the day of the Resurrection love propels the bereaved and beloved disciple to outrun Peter and arrive first at the Tomb. Here is energising love, spiritual, emotional and physical.”

St. Aeldred of the 12th century compared the relationship between Jesus and John to “heavenly marriage”: "Jesus himself, is in everything like us. Patient and compassionate with others in every matter. He transfigured this sort of love through the expression of his own love; for he allowed only one - not all - to recline on his breast as a sign of his special love; and the closer they were, the more copiously did the secrets of their heavenly marriage impart the sweet smell of their spiritual chrism to their love." (source)

Article: “Lazarus: Jesus’ Beloved Disciple?”

Article: “John Evangelist: Beloved Disciple of Jesus”; includes great art and links

Jesus is trans

Jesus did not behave according to the gender norms of his day, speaking to women freely

Jesus is God, made human. God is a genderless being, while Jesus was gendered male upon his human birth.

See this tag

Mary

Austen Hartke’s video, “Going Home When there’s No Room at the Inn”

Mary the unwed mother and LGBT Christians: here’s a reflection by a lesbian on the virgin Mary.

“Sadly, although we are highly favored by God, receiving His gift puts us out of favor with many of His followers. I can’t fathom the societal rejection and religious condemnation Mary must have weathered as an unwed teenage mother in her day and age. Luke only writes that Mary skipped town in a hurry, but I wonder whether she wasn’t running from the pointing, the whispering, and the scowling as much as she was running to her aunt’s house.”

Mary and Martha

Luke 10

Article: “Mary and Martha formed a nontraditional family at a time when there was huge pressure for heterosexual marriage.”

The centurion and his boy

Luke 7 and Matthew 8

My post on this pair

Article: “Jesus affirmed a gay couple”

Article: “Gay centurion”

The Good Samaritan -- and the man on the side of the road

Austen Hartke’s video “What if you’re not the good samaritan?”

My sermon on LGBT+ people and the Good Samaritan story

Paul

1 Corinthians 7

A post that mentions Paul being aro and/or ace

Peter

Austen Hartke’s video with use of Peter as a model for being “called out”

The Ethiopian Eunuch

Acts 8:26-40

“Ethiopian Eunuch: Early Church”

see also the article on eunuchs linked back in the Esther section

Article

#bible #lgbt christians #gay christians #queer christians #queer theology #bible tag #resources #queerly christian posts

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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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Upcoming Must-See Movies in 2021

https://ift.tt/2LtrBLV

It’s 2021. Finally. If you’re reading this, it means you’ve hopefully gotten through the wreckage of last year unscathed and are ready for a brighter future. And if you’re also a movie lover, this certainly includes a trip (or 20) back to the cinemas. Although a month into the new year, and our hope for a better tomorrow has faded a bit–especially with new COVID variants spreading. Yet there is reason to remain warily optimistic. Yes, including about theaters

For nearly a year now cinemas have remained largely dormant, and given the already shuffling 2021 film calendar, that will continue for the foreseeable future. However, studios (with one notable exception) remain mostly committed to getting new films to the theater this year, and the current 2021 film slate gives reasons to be hopeful.

Indeed, 2021 promises many of the most anticipated films from last year, plus new surprises. From the superhero variety like Black Widow to the art house with Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, 2021 could be a much needed respite. So below is just a sampling of what to expect from the year to come…

Judas and the Black Messiah

February 12

It’s kind of hard to wrap one’s head around the annual “Oscar race” in a year when little trophies don’t seem so damn important, but Warner Bros. feels strongly enough about this movie that it’s getting it into theaters and on HBO Max right in the thick of the pandemic-delayed awards season. And judging by the marketing, it’s bringing heat with it.

Shaka King directs and co-writes the story of Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), who became the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in the late 1960s and was murdered in cold blood by police in 1969. LaKeith Stanfield plays William O’Neal, a petty criminal who agreed to help the FBI take Hampton down. This promises to be incendiary, relevant material — and it’s almost here.

Minari

February 12

Lee Isaac Chung directs Steven Yeun–now fully shaking off his years as Glenn on The Walking Dead–in this semi-autobiographical film about a South Korean family struggling to settle down in rural America in the 1980s. Premiering nearly a year ago at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won both the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award, Minari had a quick one-week virtual release in December, with a number of critics placing it on their Top 10 lists for 2020.

Its story of immigration and assimilation currently has a perfect 100 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics lauding its heart, grace, and sensitivity. A few of ours also considered it among 2020’s best.

Nomadland

February 19

Utilizing both actors and real people, director Chloé Zhao (The Rider, Marvel’s upcoming Eternals) chronicles the lives of America’s “forgotten people” as they travel the West searching for work, companionship and community. A brilliant Frances McDormand stars as Fern, a woman in her mid-60s who lost her husband, her house, and her entire previous existence when her town literally vanished following the closure of its sole factory.

Zhao’s film quietly flows from despair to optimism and back to despair again, the hardscrabble lives of its itinerant cast (many of them actual nomads) foregrounded against often stunning–if lonely–vistas of the vast, empty American countryside.

I Care a Lot

February 19

A solid cast, led by Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage, Chris Messina, and Dianne Wiest, star in this satirical crime drama from director J. Blakeson (The Disappearance of Alice Creed). Pike plays Marla, a con artist whose scam is getting herself named legal guardian of her elderly marks and then draining their assets while sticking them in nursing homes. She’s ruthless and efficient at it, until she meets a woman (Wiest) whose ties to a crime boss (Dinklage) may prove too much of a challenge for the wily Marla. It was one of our favorites out of Toronto last year.

The Father

February 26

Anthony Hopkins gives a mesmerizing, and deeply tragic, performance as Anthony, an elderly British man whose descent into dementia is reflected by the film itself, which plays with time, setting, and continuity until both Anthony and the viewer can no longer tell what is real and what is not. Olivia Colman is equally moving as his daughter, who wants to get on with her own life even as she watches her father’s disintegrate in front of her.

We saw The Father last year at the AFI Fest and it ended up being a favorite of 2020; Hopkins is unforgettable in this bracing, heartbreaking work, which is stunningly adapted by first-time director Florian Zeller from his own award-winning play.

Chaos Walking

March 5

This constantly postponed sci-fi project has become one of those “we’ll believe it when we see it” films until it actually comes out. Shot nearly three and a half years ago by director Doug Liman, Chaos Walking has undergone extensive reshoots and was at one point reportedly deemed unreleasable.

Based on the book The Knife of Letting Go, it places Tom Holland (Spider-Man: Far From Home) and Daisy Ridley (The Rise of Skywalker) on a distant planet where Ridley, the only woman, can hear the thoughts of all the men due to a mysterious force called the Noise.

Raya and the Last Dragon

March 5

Longtime Walt Disney Animation Studios head of story, Paul Briggs (Frozen), will make his directorial debut on this original Disney animated fantasy, which draws upon Eastern traditions to tell the tale of a young warrior who goes searching for the world’s last dragon in the mysterious land of Kumandra. Cassie Steele will voice Raya while Awkwafina (The Farewell) will portray Sisu the dragon.

Movies

How Raya and the Last Dragon Became the First Disney Movie Made at Home

By David Crow

Movies

Warner Bros. and HBO Max 2021 Film Slate Destroys Theatrical Window

By David Crow

Disney Animation has been nearly invincible in recent years with other hits like Moana and Zootopia, so watch for this one to be another major hit for the Mouse.

Coming 2 America

March 5

The notion of whether nostalgia-based properties are still viable has cropped up repeatedly in the last few years. However, streaming, which is where Coming 2 America finds itself headed post-COVID, makes golden oldies much safer. This sequel—based on a 32-year-old comedy that was one of Eddie Murphy’s most financially successful hits—sees Murphy back as Prince Akeem, of course, along with Arsenio Hall returning as his loyal friend Semmi.

The plot revolves around Akeem’s discovery, just as he is about to be crowned king, that he has a long-lost son living in the States (we’re not sure how that happened, but let’s just go with it). That, of course, necessitates another visit to our shores—that is, if Akeem and Semmi presumably don’t get stopped at the border. The film reunites Murphy with Dolemite is My Name director Craig Brewer, so perhaps they can make some cutting-edge social comedy out of this?

Godzilla vs. Kong

March 26

Here we are, at last at the big punch up between Godzilla and King Kong. They both wear a crown, but in the film that Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have been building toward since 2014, only one can walk away with the title of the king of all the monsters.

Admittedly, not everyone loved the last American Godzilla movie, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, but we sure did. Still, Godzilla vs. Kong should be a different animal with Adam Wingard (You’re Next, The Guest) taking over directorial duties. It also has a stacked cast with some familiar faces (Kyle Chandler, Millie Bobby Brown, and Ziyi Zhang) and plenty of new ones (Alexander Skarsgård, Eiza González, Danai Gurira, Lance Reddick, and more).

It’ll probably be better than the original, right? And hey with its HBO Max rollout, questions of a poor box office run sure are conveniently mooted!

Mortal Kombat

April 16

Not to be deterred by the relative failure of Sony’s Monster Hunter in theaters at the tail end of 2020, Warner Bros. is giving this venerable video game franchise another shot at live-action cinematic glory after two previous tries in the 1990s. Director Simon McQuoid makes his feature debut while the script comes from Dave Callaham (Wonder Woman 1984, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and the cast includes a number of actors you’ve seen in other films but can’t quite place.

The plot? Who knows! But we’re guessing it will feature gods, demons, and warriors battling for control of the 18 realms in various fighting tournaments. What else do you want?

Black Widow

May 7

Some would charitably say it arrives a decade late, but Black Widow is finally getting her own movie. This is fairly remarkable considering she became street pizza in Avengers: Endgame, but this movie fits snugly between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. It also promises to be the most pared down Marvel Studios movie since 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and that’s a good thing.

In the film, Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff is on the run after burning her bridges with the U.S. government and UN. This brings her back to the spy games she thought she’d escaped from her youth, and back in the orbit of her “sister” Yelena (Florence Pugh). Old wounds are ripped open, old Soviet foes, including David Harbour as the Red Guardian and Rachel Weisz as Nat and Yelena’s girlhood instructor, are revealed, and many a fight sequence with minimal CGI will be executed.

How’s that for a real start to Phase 4? Of course that’s still assuming this comes out before The Eternals after it was delayed, again, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Those Who Wish Me Dead

May 14

Taylor Sheridan is among the best writers in moviemaking right now. Having all but cornered the niche around modern Westerns, he’s responsible for the scripts for Hell or High Water, both Sicarios, and Wind River, the latter of which he also directed. He’s back in the director’s chair again for Those Who Wish Me Dead, which has been described as a “female-driven neo-Western” set in the Montana wilderness. It is there a teenager witnesses a murder, and he finds himself on the run from twin assassins, and in need of protection from a likely paranoid survivalist. The film stars Angelina Jolie, Jon Bernthal, Nicholas Hoult, Tyler Perry, Aidan Gillen, Jake Weber, and Finn Little.

Spiral

May 21

Chris Rock has co-written the story for a new take on the Saw franchise. Never thought we’d write those words! The fact that it also stars Rock, as well as Samuel L. Jackson, is likewise head-turning. It looks like they’re going for legitimate horror with Darren Lynn Bousman attached to direct after helming three of the Saw sequels, and its grisly pre-COVID trailer from last year.

Hopefully this will be better than most of the franchise that came before, and given the heavily David Fincher-influenced tone of the first trailer, we’re willing to cross our fingers and play this game.

Free Guy

May 21

What would you do if you discovered that you were just a background character in an open world video game—and that the game was soon about to go offline? That’s the premise of this existential sci-fi comedy from director Shawn Levy, best known for the Night at the Museum series and as an executive producer and director on Stranger Things. Ryan Reynolds stars as Guy, a bank teller who discovers that his life is not what he thought it was, and in fact isn’t even real—or is it? We’ve seen a preview of footage, so we’d suggest you think Truman Show, if Truman was trapped in Grand Theft Auto.

May 28

Just when you thought this never-say-die franchise had shown us everything it could possibly dream up, it ups the stakes one more time: the ninth entry in the Fast and Furious saga (excluding 2019’s Hobbs and Shaw) will reportedly take Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his cohorts into space as they battle Dom’s long-lost brother Jakob (John Cena, making a long-overdue debut in this series). Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Helen Mirren, and Charlize Theron all also return, as does director Justin Lin, who took a two-film break from his signature series. Expect to see the required physics-defying stunts, logic-defying action and even more talk about “family” than usual.

Cruella

May 28

Since Disney has already made an animated 101 Dalmatians in 1961 and a live-action remake in 1996, it is apparently time to tell the story again Maleficent-style. Hence we now focus on the viewpoint of iconic villainess Cruella de Vil, played this time by Emma Stone. She’s joined in the movie by Emma Thompson, Paul Walter Hauser, and Mark Strong, with direction handled by Craig Gillespie (sort of a step down from 2017’s I, Tonya, if you ask us).

The story has been updated to the 1970s, but Cruella–now a fashion designer–still covets the fur of dogs for her creations. This is a Mouse House joint, so don’t expect it to get too dark, and don’t be completely surprised if it ends up as a premium on Disney+ in lieu of its already delayed theatrical release.

Infinite

May 28

This sci-fi yarn from director Antoine Fuqua (The Equalizer) stars Mark Wahlberg as a man experiencing what he thinks are hallucinations, but which turn out to be memories from past lives. He soon learns that there is a secret society of people just like him, except that they have total recall of their past identities and have acted to change the course of history throughout the centuries.

Based on the novel The Reincarnationist Papers by D. Eric Maikranz, this was originally a post-Marvel vehicle for Chris Evans. He dropped out, and the combination of Fuqua and Wahlberg hints at something more action-oriented than the rather cerebral premise suggests. The film also stars Sophie Cookson, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Dylan O’Brien.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

June 4

James Wan is already directing a new horror film this year so he’s stepping away from the directorial duties on the third film based on the paranormal investigations of Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga). That task has fallen to Michael Chaves (The Curse of La Llorona), so expect plenty of the same Wan Universe touches: heavy atmosphere, superb use of sound, and shocking, eerie visuals.

Details are scarce, but the plot—like the other two Conjuring films—is taken from the true-life case of a man who went on trial for murder and said as his defense that he was possessed by a demon when he committed his crimes. That’s all we know for now, except that, intriguingly, Mitchell Hoog and Megan Ashley Brown have been cast as younger versions of the Warrens.

In the Heights

June 18

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first Broadway hit musical gets the big screen treatment (by way of HBO Max) from director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians). Set in Washington Heights over the course of a three-day heat wave, the plot and ensemble cast carry echoes of both Rent and Do the Right Thing. While a success on the stage—if not quite the cultural phenomenon that Miranda’s next show, Hamilton—it remains to be seen whether In the Heights can strike a chord with streaming audiences.

Luca

June 18

Continuing its current run of all-new, non-sequel original films started in 2020 with Onward and Soul, Pixar will unveil Luca this summer. Directed by Enrico Casarosa–making his feature debut after 18 years with the animation powerhouse–the film tells the story of a friendship between a human being and a sea monster (disguised as another human child) on the Italian Riviera. That’s about all we have on it for now, except that the cast includes Drake Bell and John Ratzenberger.

Pixar’s recent track record has included masterpieces like Inside Out, solid sequels like Toy Story 4, and shakier propositions like The Incredibles 2, but we don’t have any indication yet of what to expect from Luca.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

June 25

Can anyone honestly say that 2018’s Venom was a “good” movie? A batshit insane movie, yes, and perhaps even an entertaining one in its own nutty way, but good or not, it made nearly a billion bucks at the box office so here we are.

Tom Hardy will return to peel more scenery down with his teeth as both Eddie Brock and his fanged, towering alien symbiote while Woody Harrelson will fulfill his destiny and play Cletus Kasady, aka Carnage, the perfected hybrid of psychopathic serial killer and red pile of vicious alien goo. Let the carnage begin!

Top Gun: Maverick

July 2

It’s been 34 years since Tom Cruise first soared through the skies as hotshot pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, and he’ll take to the air once more in a sequel that also features Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Jon Hamm, and more. The flying and action sequences from director Joseph Kosinski (who worked with Cruise on Oblivion) will undoubtedly be first-rate, but the studio (Paramount) has to be nervous after seeing one nostalgia-based franchise after another (Blade Runner, Charlie’s Angels, Terminator, The Shining) crash and burn recently.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

July 10

With Shang-Chi, Marvel Studios hopes to do for Asian culture what the company did with the groundbreaking Black Panther nearly three years ago: create another superhero epic with a non-white lead and a mythology steeped in a non-Western culture. Simu Liu stars in the title role as the “master of kung fu,” who must do battle with the nefarious Ten Rings organization and its leader, the Mandarin (the “real” one, not the imposter from Iron Man 3, played here by the legendary Tony Leung). Director Destin Daniel Cretton (Just Mercy) will open up a whole new corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with this story and character, whose origins stretch back to 1973.

The Forever Purge

July 9

One day nearly eight years ago, you went to see a low-budget dystopian sci-fi/horror flick called The Purge, and the next thing you know, it’s 2021 and you’re getting ready to see the fifth and allegedly final entry in the series (which has also spawned a TV show). Written by creator James DeMonaco and directed by Everardo Gout, the film will once again focus on the title event, an annual 12-hour national bacchanal in which all crime, even murder, is legal. How this ends the story, and where and when it falls into the context of the rest of the films, remains a secret for now. Filming was completed back in February 2020, with the film’s release delayed from last summer by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Space Jam: A New Legacy

July 16

There are two types of folks when it comes to the original Space Jam of 1996: those who were between the ages of three and 11 when it came out, and everyone else. In one camp it is an unsightly relic of ‘90s cross-promotional cheese; in the other, it’s a sports movie classic. Luckily for kids today, NBA star LeBron James was 11 for most of ’96, and he’s bringing back the hoops and the Looney Tunes in Space Jam: A New Legacy.

The film will be among the many Warner Bros. pics premieres on HBO Max and in theaters this year, and it will see King James share above-the-title credits with Bugs Bunny. All is as it should be.

The Tomorrow War

July 23

An original IP attempting to be a summer blockbuster? As we live and breathe. The Tomorrow War marks director Chris McKay’s first foray into live-action after helming The Lego Batman Movie. The film stars Chris Pratt as a soldier from the past who’s been “drafted by scientists” to the present in order to fight off an alien invasion overwhelming our future’s military. One might ask why said scientists didn’t use their fancy-schmancy time traveling shenanigans to warn about the impending aliens, but here we are.

Jungle Cruise

July 30

Disney dips into its theme park rides again as a source for a movie, hoping that the Pirates of the Caribbean lightning will strike once more. This time it’s the famous Adventureland riverboat ride, which is free enough of a real narrative that one has to wonder why some five screenwriters (at least) worked on the movie’s script.

Jaume Collet-Serra (The Shallows) directs stars Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt down this particular river, as they battle wild animals and a competing expedition in their search for a tree with miraculous healing powers. The comic chemistry between Johnson and Blunt is key here, especially if they really can mimic Bogie and Hepburn in the similarly plotted The African Queen. If they can sell that, Disney might just have a new water-based franchise to replace their sinking Pirates ship.

The Green Knight

July 30

David Lowery, the singular director behind A Ghost Story and The Old Man & the Gun, helmed a fantasy adaptation of the Arthurian legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. And his take on the material was apparently strong enough to entice A24 to produce it. Not much else is yet known about the film other than its cast, which includes Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Ralph Ineson, and Kate Dickie–and that it’s another casualty of COVID, with its 2020 release date being delayed last year. So this is one we’re definitely going to keep an eye on.

The Suicide Squad

August 6

Arguably the most high-profile of the WB films being transitioned to HBO Max, The Suicide Squad is James Gunn’s soft-reboot of the previous one-film franchise. It’s kind of funny WB went in that direction when the first movie generated more than $740 million, but when the reviews and word of mouth were that toxic… well, you get the guy who did Guardians of the Galaxy to fix things.

Peacemaker: Suicide Squad Spinoff With John Cena Coming to HBO Max

By Mike Cecchini

Movies

The Suicide Squad Trailer Promises James Gunn’s “1970s War Movie”

By David Crow

Elements from the original movie are still here, most notably Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller, but the film promises to be weirder, meaner, and also sillier. The first points are proven by its expected R-rating, and the latter is underscored by its giant talking Great White Shark. Okay, we’ll bite.

Deep Water

August 13

Seedy erotic thrillers and neo noirs bathed in shadows and sex are largely considered a thing of the past—specifically 1980s and ‘90s Hollywood cinema. Maybe that’s why Deep Water hooked Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction, Indecent Proposal) to direct. The throwback is based on a 1957 novel by the legendary Patricia Highsmith (The Talented Mr. Ripley), and it pits a disenchanted married couple against each other, with the bored pair playing mind games that leave friends and acquaintances dead. That the couple in question is played by Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas, who’ve since become a real life item, will probably get plenty of attention close to release.

Respect

August 13

Respect is the long-awaited biopic of the legendary Aretha Franklin, with the Queen of Soul herself involved in its development for years until her death in August 2018. Authorized biopics always make one wonder how accurate the film will be, but then again, Aretha had nothing to be ashamed of. Hers was a life well-lived, her voice almost beyond human comprehension, and the only thing now is to see whether star Jennifer Hudson (Franklin’s personal choice) and director Liesl Tommy (making her feature debut) can do the Queen justice.

The King’s Man

August 20

This might be a weird thing to say: but has World War I ever seemed so stylish? It is with Matthew Vaughn at the helm.

An origin story of sorts for the organization that gave us Colin Firth and the umbrella, The King’s Man is a father and son yarn where Ralph Fiennes’ Duke of Oxford is reluctant about his son Conrad (Harris Dickinson) joining the war effort. But they’ll both be up to it as the Duke launches an intelligence gathering agency independent from any government. It also includes Gemma Arterton, Matthew Goode, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as charter members.

Oh, and did we mention they fight Rasputin?

Candyman

August 27

In some ways it’s surprising that it’s taken this long—28 years, notwithstanding a couple of sequels—to seriously revisit the original Candyman. Director Bernard Rose’s original adaptation of the Clive Baker story, “The Forbidden,” is still relevant and effective today. Back then, the film touched on urban legends, poverty, and segregation: themes that are still ripe for exploration through a genre touchstone today.

After her breathtaking feature directorial debut, Little Woods, Nia DaCosta helmed this bloody reboot while working from a screenplay co-written by Jordan Peele (Get Out). That’s a powerful combination, even before news came down DaCosta was helming Captain Marvel 2. And with an actor on-the-cusp of mega-stardom, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, picking up Tony Todd’s gnarly hook, this is one to watch out for.

The Beatles: Get Back

August 27

Peter Jackson seems to enjoy making films about what inspired him in his youth: The Lord of the Rings, King Kong, his grandfather’s World War I service informing They Shall Not Grow Old. So perhaps it was inevitable he’d make a film about the greatest youth icon of his generation, the Beatles. In truth, The Beatles: Get Back is a challenge to a previous documentary named Let It Be, and the general pop culture image it painted.

That 1970 doc by Michael Lindsay-Hogg zeroed in on the band’s final released album, Let It Be (although it was recorded before Abbey Road). Now, using previously unseen footage, Jackson seeks to challenge the narrative that the album was created entirely from a place of animosity among the bandmates, or that the Beatles had long lost their camaraderie by the end of road. Embracing the original title of the album, “Get Back,” Jackson wants to get back to where he thinks the band’s image once belonged.

Resident Evil

September 3

Let’s try that again. As one of the most popular video game franchises of all-time, the original handful of Resident Evil games appeared ready made for adaptation. Visibly inspired by cult classic zombie movies from George Romero, Resident Evil once even had Romero attached. Instead we got the deafeningly dull Paul W.S. Anderson franchise starring Milla Jovovich. And those decade-spanning monstrosities lacked something any self-respecting zombie film needs: brains.

Now Resident Evil is back in a reboot helmed by writer-director Johannes Roberts. And he’s off to a promising start by apparently focusing on the plots of the first several video games in the series. The cast includes Hannah John-Kamen as Jill Valentine, Robbie Amell as Chris Redfield, Kaya Scodelario as Claire Redfield, Avan Jogia as Leon S. Kennedy, and Tom Hopper as Albert Wesker. So far so good. Fingers crossed.

A Quiet Place Part II

September 17

The sequel to one of 2018’s biggest surprises, A Quiet Place Part II comes with major expectations. And few may hold it to a higher standard than writer-director John Krasinski. Despite (spoiler) the death of his character in the first film, Krasinski returns behind the camera for the sequel after saying he wouldn’t. The story he came up with apparently was too good to pass up.

The film again stars Emily Blunt as the often silenced mother of a vulnerable family, which includes son Marcus (Noah Jupe) and deaf daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds). However, now that they know how to kill the eagle-eared alien monsters who’ve taken over their planet, the cast has grown to include Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou. While the film has been delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak, trust us that it’ll be worth the wait. Is it finally time for… resistance?

Death on the Nile

September 17

Murder on the Orient Express (2017) became a surprise hit for director and star Kenneth Branagh. Who knew that audiences would still be interested in an 83-year-old mystery novel about an eccentric Belgian detective with one hell of a mustache? Luckily, Agatha Christie featured Poirot in some 32 other novels, of which Death on the Nile is one of the most famous, so here we are.

Branagh once again directs and stars as Poirot, this time investigating a murder aboard a steamer sailing down Egypt’s famous river. The cast includes Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Letitia Wright, Tom Bateman, Ali Fazal, Annette Bening, Rose Leslie, and Russell Brand. Expect more lavish locales, scandalous revelations, the firing of a pistol or two, and, yes, more shots of that stunning Poirot facial hair.

The Many Saints of Newark

September 24

The idea of a prequel to anything always fills us with trepidation, and re-opening a nearly perfect property like The Sopranos makes the prospect even less appetizing. But Sopranos creator David Chase has apparently wanted to explore the back history of his iconic crime family for some time, and there certainly seems to be a rich tapestry of characters and events that have only been hinted at in the series.

Directed by series veteran Alan Taylor (Thor: The Dark World), The Many Saints of Newark stars Alessandro Nivola as Dickie Moltisanti (Christopher’s father), along with Jon Bernthal, Vera Farmiga, Corey Stoll, Ray Liotta, and others. But the most fascinating casting is that of Michael Gandolfini—James’ son—as the younger version of the character with which his late dad made pop culture history. For that alone, we’ll be there on opening night… even if that just means HBO Max!

Dune

October 1

Could third time be the charm for Frank Herbert’s complex novel of the far future, long acknowledged as one of the greatest—if most difficult to read—milestones in all of science fiction? David Lynch’s 1984 version was, to be charitable, an honorable mess, while the 2000 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries was decent and faithful, but limited in scope. Now director Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049, Arrival) is pulling out all the stops—even breaking the story into two movies to give the proper space.

Movies

Dune Trailer Breakdown and Analysis

By Mike Cecchini

Movies

What Alejandro Jodorowsky Thinks of the New Dune Trailer

By Mike Cecchini and 1 other

On the surface, the plot is simple: as galactic powers vie for control of the only planet that produces a substance capable of allowing interstellar flight, a young messiah emerges to lead that planet’s people to freedom. But this tale is dense with multiple layers of politics, metaphysics, mysticism, and hard science.

Villeneuve has assembled a jaw-dropping cast, including Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem, and if he pulls this off, just hand him every sci-fi novel ever written. Particularly, if relations between the director and WB remain strained…

No Time to Die

October 8

Nothing lasts forever, and the Daniel Craig era of James Bond is coming to an end… hopefully in 2021. In fact, delays notwithstanding, it’s a bit of a surprise Craig is getting an official swan song with this movie after the star said he’d rather “slash his wrists” before doing another one. Well, we’re glad he didn’t, just as we’re hopeful for his final installment in the tuxedo.

Director Cary Joji Fukunaga is a newcomer to the franchise, but that might be a good thing after how tired Spectre felt, and Fukunaga has done sterling work in the past on True Detective and Maniac. He also looks to bring the curtain down on the whole Craig oeuvre by picking up on the last movie’s lingering threads, such as 007 driving off into the sunset with Léa Seydoux’s Madeleine Swann, while introducing new ones that include Rami Malek as Bond villain Safin and Ana de Armas as new Bond girl Paloma. Yay for the Knives Out reunion!

Halloween Kills

October 15

2018’s outstanding reboot of the long-running horror franchise—which saw David Gordon Green (Stronger) direct Jamie Lee Curtis in a reprise of her most famous role—was a tremendous hit. So in classic Halloween fashion, two more sequels were put into production (the second, Halloween Ends, will be out in 2022… hopefully).

Movies

Halloween: A Legacy Unmasked

By David Crow

Movies

How Jason Blum Changed Horror Movies

By Rosie Fletcher

Curtis is back as Laurie Strode, along with Judy Greer as her daughter, Andi Matichak as her granddaughter, and Nick Castle sharing Michael Myers duties with James Jude Courtney. Kyle Richards and Charles Cyphers, meanwhile, will reprise their roles as Lindsey Wallace and former sheriff Leigh Brackett from the original 1978 Halloween (Anthony Michael Hall will play the adult version of Tommy Doyle). The plot remains a mystery, but we’re pretty sure it will involve yet another confrontation between Laurie and a rampaging Myers.

The Last Duel

October 15

What was once among the most anticipated films of 2020, The Last Duel is the historical epic prestige project marked by reunions: Ridley Scott returns to his passion for period drama and violence; Matt Damon and Ben Affleck work together for the first time in ages as both actors and writers; and the film also unites each with themes that were just as potent in the medieval world as today: One knight (Damon) in King Charles VI’s court accuses another who’s his best friend (Adam Driver) of raping his wife (Jodie Comer). Oh, and Affleck plays the King of France.

With obviously harrowing—and uncomfortable—themes that resonate today, The Last Duel is based on an actual trial by combat from the 14th century, and is a film Affleck and Damon co-wrote with Nicole Holofcener (Can You Ever Forgive Me?). It’s strong material, and could prove to be one of the year’s most riveting or misjudged films. Until then, it has our full attention.

Last Night in Soho

October 22

Fresh off the success of 2017’s Baby Driver (his biggest commercial hit to date), iconoclastic British director Edgar Wright returns with what is described as a psychological and possibly time-bending horror thriller set in London. Whether this features Wright’s trademark self-aware humor remains to be seen, but since the film is said to be inspired by dread-inducing genre classics like Repulsion and Don’t Look Now, he might be going for a different effect this time.

The cast, of course, is outstanding: upstarts Anya Taylor-Joy (Queen’s Gambit) and Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit) will face off with Matt Smith (Doctor Who), and British legends Diana Rigg and Terence Stamp. And the truth is we’re never going to miss one of Wright’s movies. Taylor-Joy talked to us here about finding her 1960s lounge singer voice for the film.

Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins

October 22

While the idea of a Hasbro Movie Universe seems to be kind of idling at the moment, corners of that hypothetical cinematic empire remain active. One such brand is G.I. Joe, which will launch its first spin-off in this origin story of one of the team’s most popular characters. Much of his early background remains mysterious, so there’s room to create a fairly original story while incorporating lore and characters already established in the G.I. Joe mythos.

Neither of the previous G.I. Joe features (The Rise of Cobra and Retaliation) have been much good, so we can probably expect the same level of quality from this one. Director Robert Schwentke (the last two Divergent movies) doesn’t inspire much excitement either. On the other hand, Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians) will star in the title role, and having Iko Uwais (The Raid) and Samara Weaving (Ready or Not) on board isn’t too bad either.

Antlers

October 29

Dramatic director Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Hostiles) is doing a horror movie. As we live and breathe. And he’s doing it with a huge boost of confidence from Guillermo del Toro, who has opted to produce the movie. Antlers is the tale of two adult brothers, one a teacher and the other a sheriff, getting wrapped up in a supernatural quagmire that involves a young student and a “dangerous secret.” And with a cast that includes Jesse Plemons, Keri Russell, and Graham Greene, we are very intrigued… even if we must wait once again due to a coronavirus delay.

Eternals

November 5

Based on a Marvel Comics series by the legendary Jack Kirby, the now long-forthcoming Eternals centers around an ancient race of powerful beings who must protect the Earth against their destructive counterparts (and genetic cousins), the Deviants. Director Chloe Zhao (fresh off the awards season buzzy Nomadland) takes her first swing at epic studio filmmaking, working with a cast that includes Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Brian Tyree Henry, and more.

Movies

Upcoming Marvel Movies Release Dates: MCU Phase 4 Schedule, Cast, and Story Details

By Mike Cecchini and 1 other

Movies

The Incredible Hulk’s Diminished Legacy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

By Gavin Jasper

In many ways, Eternals represents another huge creative risk for Marvel Studios: It’s a big, cosmic ensemble film introducing an ensemble that the vast majority of the public has never heard of. But then, it’s sort of in the same position as Guardians of the Galaxy from way back in 2014, and we all know what happened there.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

November 11

With the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot criticized (fairly) for its lack of imagination and castigated (unfairly as hell) for its all-female ghost-hunting crew, director Jason Reitman–finally cashing in on the family name by returning to the brand his dad Ivan directed to glory in 1984–has crafted a direct sequel to the original films.

Set 30 years later, Afterlife follows a family who move to a small town only to discover that they have a long-secret connection to the OG Ghostbusters. Carrie Coon (The Leftovers), Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) and Paul Rudd (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) star alongside charter cast members Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts, and, yes, Bill Murray.

King Richard

November 19

Will Smith’s King Richard promises to be a different kind of biographical film coming down the pipe. Rather than being told from the vantage of professional tennis playing stars Venus and Serena Williams, King Richard centers on their father and coach, Richard Williams. It’s an interesting choice to focus on the male father instead of the game-changing Black daughters, but we’ll see if there’s a strong creative reason for the approach soon enough. The film is directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (Monsters and Men, Joe Bell).

Mission: Impossible 7

November 19

Once upon a time, the appeal of the Mission: Impossible movies was to see different directors offer their own take on Tom Cruise running through death-defying stunts. But then Christopher McQuarrie had to come along and make the best one in franchise history (twice). First there was Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and then Mission: Impossible – Fallout. Now McQuarrie and company have set up their own separate quartet of films with recurring original characters like new franchise MVP Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) across four films.

Movies

Audio Surfaces of Tom Cruise Raging on the Set of Mission: Impossible 7

By Kirsten Howard

Movies

Mission: Impossible 7 – What’s Next for the Franchise?

By David Crow

Thus enters M:I7, the third McQuarrie joint in the series and first half of a pair of incoming sequels filmed together. The first-half of this two-parter sees the whole crew back together, including Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, Ilsa, Benji (Simon Pegg), Luther (Ving Rhames), and CIA Director Erika Sloane (Angela Bassett). They’re also being joined by Hayley Atwell and Pom Klementieff, but really we’re all just eager to see what kind of insane stunts they can do to top the HALO jump in the last one.

Nightmare Alley

December 3

Director Guillermo del Toro is finally back with a film which was originally intended for release in 2020. But like so many others, Nightmare Alley saw its production frozen due to the coronavirus. Del Toro’s first film since winning the Best Picture Oscar for The Shape of Water, Nightmare adapts William Lindsay Gresham’s novel of the same name. With a script by Kim Morgan and del Toro, it tracks a mid-20th century carny played by Bradley Cooper who is also a silver-tongued grifter. But his con meets its match (and is then outclassed) by his chance encounter with a psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett). They’ll make a hell of a team.

West Side Story

December 10

Steven Spielberg has just two remakes on his directorial resume: Always (1989) and War of the Worlds (2005). While the former is mostly forgotten and the latter was an adaptation of a story that has been filmed many times, his upcoming reimagining of West Side Story will undoubtedly be directly compared to Robert Wise’s iconic 1961 screen version of this classic musical.

A few numbers in previous films aside, Spielberg has never directed a full-blown musical before, let alone one associated with such powerhouse songs and dance numbers. His version, with a script by Tony Kushner, is said to stay closer to the original Broadway show than the 1961 film—but with its themes of love struggling to cross divides created by hate and bigotry, don’t be surprised if it’s just as hard-hitting in 2021. Certainly would’ve devastated last year….

Spider-Man 3

December 17

Sony has finally gotten to a “Spider-Man 3” again in their oft-rebooted franchise crown jewel (technically though this film is still untitled). That proved to be a stumbling block the first time it occurred with Tobey Maguire in the red and blues, but the company seems undaunted since Tom Holland’s third outing is expected to bring Maguire back—him and just about everyone else too.

Movies

Spider-Man 3: Charlie Cox Daredevil Return Would Redeem the Marvel Netflix Universe

By Joseph Baxter

Movies

Spider-Man 3 Adds Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange

By Joseph Baxter

With a multiverse plot ripped straight from the arguably best Spidey movie ever, 2018’s Into the Spider-Verse, Holland’s third outing is bringing back Maguire, Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man, Alfred Molina as Doc Ock, Jamie Foxx as Electro (eh), and probably more. It’s a Spidey crossover extravaganza that’s only missing a Spider-Ham. But just you wait…

The Matrix 4

December 22

Rebooting or continuing The Matrix series has always been a tough proposition. While the original Matrix film is one of the landmark achievements in science fiction and early digital effects filmmaking in the 1990s, its sequels were… less celebrated. In fact, directors Lily and Lana Wachowski were publicly wary about the idea of ever going back to the series. And yet, here we are with Lana (alone) helming a project that’s been a longtime priority for Warner Bros.

Movies

The Matrix 4: Laurence Fishburne “Wasn’t Invited” to Reprise Morpheus Role

By John Saavedra

Movies

The Matrix 4 Already Happened: Revisiting The Matrix Online

By John Saavedra

The Matrix 4 also brings back Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Jada Pinkett Smith. This is curious since Reeves and Moss’ characters died at the end of the Matrix trilogy—and also because Laurence Fishburne’s Morpheus did not, yet he wasn’t asked back. We cannot say we’re thrilled about the prospect of more adventures in Zion after the disappointment of the first two sequels, but we’d be lying if we didn’t admit we’re still curious to see the story that brought Lana back to this future.

The French Dispatch

TBA

Wes Anderson has a new film coming out. Better still, it is another live-action film. While Anderson’s use of animation is singular, it’s been seven years since The Grand Budapest Hotel, which we maintain is one of the best movies of the last decade. Anderson is working with Timothée Chalamet and Cristoph Waltz for the first time with this film, as well as several familiar faces including Saoirse Ronan, Willem Dafoe, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, and, of course, Bill Murray.

The French Dispatch is set deep in the 20th century during the peak of modern journalism, it brings to life a series of fictional stories in a fictional magazine, published in a fictional French city. We suspect though, if Anderson’s last two live-action movies are any indication, it’ll have more than fiction on its mind–especially since it’s inspired by actual New Yorker stories, and the journalists who wrote them! We missed it in 2020, so here’s hoping it really does go to print in 2021!

Other interesting movies that may come out in 2021 but do not yet have release dates: Next Goal Wins, Don’t Worry Darling, Blonde, The Northman, Resident Evil, Red Notice, Army of the Dead.

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[TASK 048: IRAN]

Shout out to anon for inspiring this task! There’s a masterlist below compiled of over 140+ Iranian faceclaims categorised by gender with their occupation and ethnicity denoted if there was a reliable source. If you want want an extra challenge use random.org to pick a random number! Of course everything listed below are just suggestions and you can pick whichever character or whichever project you desire.

Any questions can be sent here and all tutorials have been linked below the cut for ease of access! REMEMBER to tag your resources with #TASKSWEEKLY and we will reblog them onto the main! This task can be tagged with whatever you want but if you want us to see it please be sure that our tag is the first five tags!

THE TASK - scroll down for FC’s!

STEP 1: Decide on a FC you wish to create resources for! You can always do more than one but who are you starting with? There are links to masterlists you can use in order to find them and if you want help, just send us a message and we can pick one for you at random!

STEP 2: Pick what you want to create! You can obviously do more than one thing, but what do you want to start off with? Screencaps, RP icons, GIF packs, masterlists, PNG’s, fancasts, alternative FC’s - LITERALLY anything you desire!

STEP 3: Look back on tasks that we have created previously for tutorials on the thing you are creating unless you have whatever it is you are doing mastered - then of course feel free to just get on and do it. :)

STEP 4: Upload and tag with #TASKSWEEKLY! If you didn’t use your own screencaps/images make sure to credit where you got them from as we will not reblog packs which do not credit caps or original gifs from the original maker.

THINGS YOU CAN MAKE FOR THIS TASK - examples are linked!

Stumped for ideas? Maybe make a masterlist or graphic of your favourite Indonesian faceclaims. A masterlist of names. Plot ideas or screencaps from a music video preformed by a Indonesian artist. Masterlist of quotes and lyrics that can be used for starters, thread titles or tags. Guides on Indonesian culture and customs.

Screencaps

RP icons [of all sizes]

Gif Pack [maybe gif icons if you wish]

PNG packs

Manips

Dash Icons

Character Aesthetics

PSD’s

XCF’s

Graphic Templates - can be chara header, promo, border or background PSD’s!

FC Masterlists - underused, with resources, without resources!

FC Help - could be related, family templates, alternatives.

Written Guides.

and whatever else you can think of / make!

MASTERLIST!

Note: If you’re using this masterlist for casting purposes please do further research before casting any of the following because some pages only listed their nationalities!

Thank you to @warflowered for some of these suggestions!

Ladies:

Soraya Ghasemi (77) Iranian - actress.

Pouri Banayi (76) Iranian - actress.

Maryam Amir Jalali (69) Iranian - actress and singer.

Susan Taslimi (67) Iranian - actress, film director, theatre director, and screenwriter.

Googoosh (66) Iranian singer and actress of Iranian Azerbaijani origin.

Shohreh Aghdashloo (65) Iranian - actress.

Golab Adineh (63) Iranian - actress.

Gohar Kheirandish (62) Iranian - actress.

Afsar Asadi (59) Iranian - actress and make-up artist.

Azita Hajia (59) Iranian - actress.

Leila Forouhar (59) Iranian - pop singer and actress.

Bita Farrahi (59) Iranian - actress.

Roya Teymourian (58) Iranian - actress.

Akram Mohammadi (58) Iranian - actress.

Zohreh Mojabi (57) Iranian - actress and playwright.

Afsaneh Bayegan (56) Iranian - actress and beauty pageant titleholder.

Fatemeh Motamed-Arya (55) Iranian - actress.

Katayoun Riahi (55) Iranian - actress.

Roya Nonahali (54) Iranian - actress.

Fatemeh Goudarzi (53) Iranian - actress.

Yasmin Le Bon (52) Iranian / English - model.

Laya Zanganeh (51) Iranian - actress.

Mandana Jones (50) Iranian / Welsh - actress.

Shiva Rose (48) Iranian / Irish, Ashkenazi Jewish, Welsh - actress, activist, and blogger.

Ateneh Faghih Nasiri (48) Iranian - actress.

Pantea Bahram (47) Iranian - actress.

Parastoo Golestani (46) Iranian - actress.

Mahtab Keramati (46) Iranian - actress.

Atoosa Rubenstein (45) Iranian - magazine editor.

Niki Karimi (45) Iranian - actress, director, and screenwriter.

Ladan Mostofi (44) Iranian - actress.

Leila Hatami (44) Iranian - actress and director.

Falamak Joneidi (44) Iranian - actress.

Leyli Rashidi (44) Iranian - actress.

Hedieh Tehrani (44) Iranian - actress.

Shaghayegh Farahani (44) Iranian - actress.

Vishka Asayesh (44) Iranian - actress, set designer and art director.

Anahita Hemmati (43) Iranian - actress.

Sahar Zakaria (43) Iranian - actress.

Merila Zarei (43) Iranian - actress.

Behnoosh Bakhtiari (42) Iranian - actress.

Behnaz Jafari (42) Iranian - actress.

Maya Sansa (41) Iranian / Italian - actress.

Mitra Hajjar (40) Iranian - actress.

Saba Kamali (40) Iranian - actress.

Zuleikha Robinson (39) Indian, English, possibly Iranian and Scottish - actress and singer.

Elham Hamidi (39) Iranian - actress.

Mahnaz Afshar (39) Iranian - actress.

Shabnam Gholikhani (39) Iranian - actress and director.

Hadis Fooladvand (39) Iranian - actress.

Ana Nemati (39) Iranian - actress and model.

Anahita Nemati (39) Iranian - actress and model.

Yekta Naser (38) Iranian - actress and model.

Hanieh Tavassoli (38) Iranian - actress.

Freema Agyeman (38) Iranian / Ghanaian - actress.

Shaghayegh Dehghan (38) Iranian - actress.

Sahar Valadbeigi (38) Iranian - actress.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam (38) Iranian - entertainer, public speaker and human rights activist.

Mozhan Marno (37) Iranian - actress.

Negar Foroozandeh (37) Iranian - actress.

Sahar Dolatshahi (37) Iranian - actress.

Sarah Shahi (37) 75% Iranian 25% Spanish - actress and former cheerleader.

Nazanin Boniadi (37) Iranian - actress.

Nadia Björlin (36) Iranian / Swedish - actress, model, and singer.

Shila Khodadad (36) Iranian - actress.

Behnoosh Tabatabaei (36) Iranian - actress.

Mehraveh Sharifinia (36) Iranian - actress.

Niusha Zeighami (36) Iranian - actress.

Nasim Pedrad (35) Iranian - actress and comedian.

Maryam Palizban (35) Iranian - actress.

Leyla Milani (35) Iranian - model, actress, TV host and entrepreneur.

Mercedes Masohn (35) Iranian - actress.

Claudia Lynx (35) Iranian - model and actress.

Shermine Shahrivar (34) Iranian - model.

Rana Azadivar (34) Iranian - actress and model.

Tannaz Tabatabaei (34) Iranian - actress.

Negar Javaherian (34) Iranian - actress and translator.

Necar Zadegan (34) stated as “American people of Iranian descent“ - model.

Taraneh Alidoosti (33) Iranian - actress.

Leila Otadi (33) Iranian - actress.

Golshifteh Farahani (33) Iranian - actress, musician and singer.

Aylar Lie (33) stated as being “of Iranian origin” - actress, model, singer and former pornographic actress.

Elnaz Shakerdoust (32) Iranian - actress, designer and model.

Sheila Vand (32) Iranian - actress and performance artist.

Mikaela Hoover (32) Iranian / English, German, possibly other - actress.

Pegah Ahangarani (32) Iranian - actress and film director.

Baran Kosari (31) Iranian - actress, model and designer.

Elnaz Golrokh (31) Iranian - make-up Artist, fashion and beauty blogger.

Aida Mohammadkhani (29) Iranian - actress.

Sadaf Taherian (28) Iranian - actress and model.

Amber Le Bon (27) Iranian (maternal grandfather), English, Irish, small amount of French - model.

Hasti Mahdavifar (25) Iranian - actress.

Medalion Rahimi (24) Iranian (also with Russian ancestry) - actress.

Tarlan Parvaneh (18) Iranian - actress.

Yara Shahidi (17) Iranian / African-American [including Ghanaian], possibly Choctaw Native American - actress and singer.

Vida Ghahremani (born in 1937) Iranian - actress.

Men:

Mohammad-Ali Keshavarz (87) Iranian - actor.

Jamshid Mashayekhi (82) Iranian - actor.

Ali Nassirian (82) Iranian - actor.

Reza Naji (74) Iranian - actor.

Behzad Farahani (72) Iranian - actor.

Dariush Arjmand (72) Iranian - actor

Homayoun Ershadi (70) Iranian - actor and screenwriter.

Shahram Shabpareh (69) Iranian - Pop singer, composer and songwriter.

Kazem HajirAzad (67) Iranian - actor.

Mahmoud Pak Niat (64) Iranian - actor.

Mohammad-Reza Sharifinia (62) Iranian - actor.

Parviz Parastui (61) Iranian - actor and singer.

Jafar Dehghan (57) Iranian - actor.

Akbar Abdi (56) Iranian - actor and comedian.

Fariborz Arabnia (53) Iranian - actor and director.

Adrian Pasdar (52) Iranian / German, with some likely Polish - actor and director.

Farhad Aslani (51) Iranian - actor.

Omid Djalili (51) Iranian - stand-up comedian, actor, television producer, voice actor and writer.

Jian Ghomeshi (50) Iranian - musician, writer, and former radio broadcaster.

Reza Attaran (49) Iranian - actor.

Hamid Farrokhnezhad (48) Iranian - actor.

Amir Aghaei (46) Iranian - actor

Peyman Moaadi (46) Iranian - actor, screenwriter and director.

Asghar Farhadi (45) Iranian - film director and screenwriter.

Amin Zendegani (44) Iranian - actor.

Ahmad Saatchian (44) Iranian - actor.

Parsa Pirouzfar (44) Iranian - actor and theater director.

Shahab Hosseini (43) Iranian - actor and director.

Ramin Djawadi (42) Iranian / German - composer.

Pejman Bazeghi (42) Iranian - actor.

Mohammad Reza Golzar (40) Iranian - actor, singer and model.

Ali Ghorban Zadeh (38) Iranian - actor.

Mahdi Pakdel (36) Iranian - actor.

Houman Seyyedi (36) Iranian - actor and filmmaker.

Dominic Rains (35) Iranian - actor.

Mostafa Zamani (34) Iranian - actor.

Sirvan Khosravi (34) Iranian - pop rock singer, musician, composer, music arranger.

Saber Abar (33) Iranian - actor and theater director.

Amirhossein Kermanshahi (33) Iranian - actor and photo model.

Dominic Adams (32) Iranian / English - actor and model.

Arash Mohajeri (31) Iranian - actor and model.

Hamid Fadaei (28) Iranian - model.

Troy Gentile (23) Iranian, Italian, possibly other - actor.

Shaheen Jafargholi (20) Iranian / Welsh - singer and actor.

Sayeed Shahidi (14) Black, Chocktaw, Iranian - actor.

Parham Rownaghi (born in 1997) Iranian - actor.

Mehdi Bajestani (born in 1974) Iranian - actor.

#Iranian fc #Iranian fcs #underused fc #fc masterlist #rph #task: 048 #task: iran

39 notes · View notes

jswdmb1 · 6 years ago

Text

One Headlight

“But me and Cinderella

We put it all together

We can drive it home

With one headlight”

- The Wallflowers

Now, I promise this isn’t another one of those Loyola posts. You all know what happened last year and they have moved on even if I have not. They have another very good team that is off to a good start in conference play, and I highly recommended attending a game at the Gentile Center for what has turned into one of the best (and most affordable) college basketball experiences in this area. Instead, this is my promised mid-season update.

In my preseason update I gave you my top four projected seeds in each region, and here I have expanded to the top eight seeds. Since no one under an eight has ever won a title, it’s reasonable to say my champion will be somewhere in this group. But, before we get to that list or the tournament itself, there is a lot of basketball to be played. Conference play is just starting and there are some really excellent teams out there. To help you out, I have highlighted ten games over the next two months that will give you some early previews of what I think is going to be quite a tournament n 2019.

January 19th - Virginia @ Duke: the two top teams in the country (sorry Michigan) meet for the first of two epic battles. One of these teams will be the overall #1 seed. I’m leaning to Virginia who plays the best defense in the country and is on a mission to avenge their first round loss in last year’s tourney to #16 seed UMBC. This game will be an instant classic.

January 26th = Kansas @ Kentucky: These are two big name programs that sit just below the top tier of teams this year due to injuries and inconsistency. They meet up in a huge non-conference game that will match the excitement of a Final Four game. The winner will propel themselves back into the conversation for making it to that level during the final weekend of the tournament in April.

February 2nd - Loyola @ Illinois State - C’mon, I have to give you one game with Loyola in it. I still believe these are the two best teams in the Missouri Valley and only one will be going to the big dance (the MVC is for sure a one bid conference this year). Loyola won the first matchup in Chicago this past weekend. A Saturday night nationally televised game will have a tournament feel for the rematch in Normal.

February 9th - Washington @ Arizona St: The PAC-12 is down but these are the best two teams in the conference so far. Washington has been steadily good, but Arizona State took down Kansas earlier this year proving they could be a deep tournament team when they want to be. This should end up a preview of the Pac-12 title game

February 14th - UNC Greensboro @ Furman: You might have trouble finding this on TV but it’s worth your effort. The Southern Conference has some really good teams and I predict their representative in the big dance takes down a giant or two in March. These are the two best teams in SoCon so far and this game should provide a lot of entertainment in a rematch on Furman’s home court (UNCG took the first one on theirs)

February 16th - Tennessee @ Kentucky: Tennessee was an incredibly good team last year that got even better this year. If Custer’s shot doesn’t bounce in they would have gone to the title game and had a real chance at Villanova. All those guys are back and are ready to make a title run. Winning at Kentucky would prove that goal is legit.

February 23rd - Kansas @ Texas Tech: I have not seen Texas Tech play but they have only one loss and appear to be the team in the Big 12 to have the best shot at ending Kansas’ fifteen-year run as conference champion. This game will be a huge test for the Red Raiders and a win shows they are for real.

February 27th - Marquette @ Villanova: I think discounting the chances of Villanova repeating as National Champion is foolish. They have had some early hiccups but I think are now gelling and picking up momentum. How they handle a great Marquette team at home will give a good sense that their upward trend is true.

March 2nd - Nevada @ Utah State: Outside of Duke, no other team has better athletes than Nevada. Jordan Caroline and Caleb Martin will be NBA starters one day and on top of that talent they have experience. They often have five fifth year seniors on the floor at once and when I saw them up close in November against Loyola it was literally men against boys. Their biggest issue now is playing down to their competition. Utah State is a good team so this will be a true test for the Wolfpack and an indicator of how deep their run will be in March.

March 9th - Michigan @ Michigan State: The ACC is strong with the two top teams in it, but the Big 10 is strongest top to bottom. These two teams may be playing for the regular season Big 10 title in this one. I foresee a strong Big 10 showing in the tournament this year and I think one, if not both, of these teams will be in the Final Four.

One team I don’t have listed is Gonzaga but check them out if you can. They beat Duke in November and weren’t even at full strength. They won’t be challenged much in the West Coast Conference but I think they end up a one or two seed in the West and they are going to be hard to knock off with their combination of talent, experience, and great coaching.

My full list of the top 32 broken down by region and seed is below. I personally think it is going to be an epic tournament because of the number of truly great teams this year that have a very good chance to win it all. No matter who makes it, Final Four weekend will be one of the best in a long time. That turns the best event in sports to a potential classic. I, for one, can’t wait.

Cheers and happy watching,

Jim

EAST:

1 Duke

2 Michigan State

3 Virginia Tech

4 Oklahoma

5 Villanova

6 Buffalo

7 Ole Miss

8 Wisconsin

MIDWEST:

1 Michigan

2 Kansas

3 Marquette

4 North Carolina

5 Auburn

6 LSU

7 Indiana

8 UCF

SOUTH:

1 Virginia

2 Texas Tech

3 Kentucky

4 Houston

5 Florida State

6 Maryland

7 St. John's

8 Mississippi State

WEST:

1 Tennessee

2 Gonzaga

3 Nevada

4 Nebraska

5 North Carolina State

6 Iowa State

7 Purdue

8 Louisville

0 notes

wildishmazz · 8 years ago

Text

nabbed from @jeremyholmes

I feel semi-literate now.

The BBC estimates that most people will only read 6 books out of the 100 listed below. Reblog this and bold the titles you’ve read.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 2 Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien 3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte 4 Harry Potter series 5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee 6 The Bible 7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte 8 Nineteen Eighty-Four – George Orwell 9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman 10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens 11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott 12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy 13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller 14 Complete Works of Shakespeare 15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier 16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien 17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks 18 Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger 19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffeneger 20 Middlemarch – George Eliot 21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell 22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald 23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens 24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy 25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams 26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh 27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky 28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck 29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll 30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame 31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy 32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens 33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis 34 Emma – Jane Austen 35 Persuasion – Jane Austen 36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis 37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini 38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres 39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden 40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne 41 Animal Farm – George Orwell 42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown 43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez 44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving 45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins 46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery 47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy 48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood 49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding 50 Atonement – Ian McEwan 51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel 52 Dune – Frank Herbert 53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons 54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen 55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth 56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon 57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens 58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley 59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon 60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez 61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck 62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov 63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt 64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold 65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas 66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac 67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy 68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding 69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie 70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville 71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens 72 Dracula – Bram Stoker 73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett 74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson 75 Ulysses – James Joyce 76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath 77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome 78 Germinal – Emile Zola 79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray 80 Possession – AS Byatt 81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens 82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchel 83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker 84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro 85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert 86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry 87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White 88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom 89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton 91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad 92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery 93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks 94 Watership Down – Richard Adams 95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole 96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute 97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas 98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare 99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl 100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

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mrlnsfrt · 7 years ago

Text

Saved by Grace

This post is, in reality, a much-anticipated continuation of our journey through Genesis. In order to get even more out of this post, you should read my post Speaking of Judgment which helps set the scene for what we will be discussing in this post.

Introduction

One of my favorite titles for sermon series is "Adventures in Missing The Point" and I almost used that title for this post. Many read Genesis 19 and focus on the destruction when the text spends a lot more time (dedicates many more words) describing salvation from judgment. The judgment does take place, but I hope that by the end of this post you too will see that the emphasis of the writer of Genesis 19 is the salvation of Lot and not the destruction of the wicked.

Lot vs. Abraham

There are many similarities between Genesis 19:1-3 and Genesis 18:1-8. I believe these are not by accident but the storyteller is intentionally comparing and contrasting Abraham and Lot. For a deeper study of Abraham in Genesis 18 check out this post.

Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. This seems to make Lot a respected city official (more on the meaning of city gate on this post).

Abraham was sitting at the tent door. (Gen 18:1)

Lot rose to meet his visitors and bowed himself.

Abraham ran to meet his visitors and bowed himself.

Lot invites the strangers to his house to rest.

Abraham invites the strangers to stay and rest.

Lot makes them a feast and bakes unleavened bread. (Genesis 19:3)

Abraham prepares cake, kills a calf, and gets butter and milk (Genesis 18:4-8)

We can see that Lot behaves similarly to Abraham. He is hospitable and goes out of his way to offer his home for the visitors. Abraham goes even further than Lot in making his guests feel welcome since the narrator spends more time (words) describing Abraham's actions towards his guests. But Lot is not far off. Lot is still willing to help, and the detail on Genesis 19:3 where lot "insisted strongly" that the two angels do not spend the night in the open square foreshadows to the danger or the wickedness of the city.

Lot then makes a feast and bakes unleavened bread and they eat (Genesis 19:3). This is a very brief description compared to Genesis 18:5-8, where the elaborate meal Abraham prepares for his guests, is described.

Enter the men of the city...

Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. Genesis 19:4 NKJV

Notice how repetitive and redundant the sentence above is. The men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter... Why would a writer who up to now seems to be judiciously conserving words dedicate so many words to describing the men that surrounded Lot's house?

This change in pace in storytelling works as a natural highlight. This repetitive description causes the story to slow down and the reader/listener to spend more time on this detail. This means that this detail is important, especially in light of what was discussed in the previous chapter (Genesis 18 blog post here). The destruction of Sodom is closely linked to the number of righteous people found within the city. According to God's conversation with Abraham in Genesis 18:23-32, God would spare everyone for the sake of 10 righteous. This repetitive and redundant description found in Genesis 19:4 is very intentional, describing to the reader that the totality of the men of the city was present. The writer goes out of his way to make sure that his reader will understand that ALL the men from the city were there surrounding Lot's house.

The Angry Mob

And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.” Genesis 19: NKJV (list of different translations available here)

The entire male population of the city is involved in this request. They are inhospitable, they want to sexually assault (rape) Lot's guests. Was the greater sin the homosexual nature of their desire, or their forcefulness (intent to rape), or their lack of hospitality or compassion? I believe debating this would be splitting hairs and ultimately unnecessary. The text is clear that these men are wicked, they are sinful in many different ways including and highlighting sexual immorality. I find it difficult to argue that God was destroying them because of their homosexuality, I also find it difficult to argue that their homosexuality had nothing to do with their destruction. The male population of this city, according to Genesis 19, was wicked and sexually immoral.

Lot to the rescue!

Lot goes out and tries to reason with the angry mob. Lot tries to intercede for his guests by going out, shutting the door behind him and begging angry mob to not behave so wickedly. In trying to protect his guests Lot even offers his virgin daughters to the angry mob.

I believe it is worth clarifying that the text here is merely describing Lot's action, and not condoning it nor suggesting it was the proper way to handle this situation. If anything I take this as a sign of how precarious Lot's situation was. He found himself in a situation where he felt he had to choose between the welfare of his virgin daughters or protecting his guests. This was a very tough choice to make, but Lot felt he needed to protect his guests at all costs, which makes sense in his cultural context.

The men become angrier at Lot, who is a resident alien and now is behaving like a judge over them. The anger of the mob turns against Lot and they are about to crush him against the door to his own house and break down the door to gain access to the strangers who came to visit Lot. Now it is the turn of the men who are staying with Lot to act, and they reach out their hands and pull Lot into the house and shut the door.

Lot's guests now use their power, revealing they are not mere men and strike the men who were at the doorway to the house with blindness. The angry mob, now blind, instead of repenting or dispersing continue to search for the door until they are tired.

A Message of Judgment

Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city—take them out of this place! Genesis 19:12 NKJV

Now Lot is made aware of the mission of the two "men" who came to spend the night.

For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” Genesis 19:13NKJV

The reason for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities in their vicinity is because the outcry against them had grown great before the face of the LORD. This story places God as judge over all the earth. This is how the Bible describes God. He is not the God of the Jews only, not the God of Abraham only, but the only true God of the whole world. God had once previously destroyed the whole world with water, except for Noah and his family (post here). God hears the cries of the people who suffered because of the wickedness of those cities and He does something about it. Those people were likely not praying to YHWH, but that does not mean that God was unaware of their cry because of their oppression.

Once Abraham and his descendants come into the picture as God's special people, God does not stop being the God of the whole world. God is the creator, the savior, and also the judge. There is only one true God.

Lot is encouraged by the angels to gather his family and anyone else he wants to save and leave the city! The interesting thing is that Lot now has to once again go outside and face the mob but this time he is looking for his sons-in-law. These are the men who were engaged to marry his daughters who were still virgins.

Lot goes outside, and I assume among the mob, he spots his sons-in-law and delivers to them the message of judgment along with the offer of salvation.

But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking. Genesis 19:14b

(check out Exodus 9:21; Jeremiah 43:1-2; Luke 17:28; 24:11; Revelation 18:4 and see what similarities you find)

Saving Lot & Co.

Genesis 19 begins in the evening with the arrival of two angels. The angry mob shows up before Lot lays down to sleep. Now, verse 15, morning is dawning! The whole night has passed.

When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” Genesis 19:15 NKJV

The angels have to hurry Lot to save himself and his family. I wonder if Lot also began to doubt God's word and His promise/prophecy of judgment. Perhaps Lot had been living in Sodom for so long that the sin of the city didn't seem that bad. Sure those men had special powers, able to blind the men outside the house, but did Lot really believe their message of judgment?

The message of salvation, the good news is usually only fully appreciated in the face of or in the context of judgment. The presence of those men was good news because they were providing Lot and those who should join him with a way out, with salvation. This was the equivalent of Noah's ark for that local community. But much like in the days of Noah, no one listened to the warning, even if the men were blind they were not willing to change. They were not searching for salvation and rejected it, in the case of Lot's sons-in-law, when it was offered to them.

I would expect Lot to hurry and get out of there as soon as possible! But to my surprise Lot continues to linger...

And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. Genesis 19:16 NKJV

Notice what happened. The angels literally had to grab Lot, his wife, and his two daughters by the hand and save them. Because of God's mercy, because of God's grace, Lot and his family were taken by the hand and placed outside the city. God had to have angels take Lot and his family by the hand in order to save them. The angels told Lot what to do, reminded him, urged him to hurry, and ultimately took him by the hand and brought him and his family outside the city! Lot did not save himself. Lot was saved by God's grace and mercy.

The angels tell Lot and his family to escape for their lives! The angels also add that they should not look back. Lot and his family were taken outside of the city by the angels and told to continue to escape to the mountains and not look behind. These are simple directions. The angels brought them outside the city and just told them to continue their journey to the mountains without looking back.

Lot's "Gratefulness"

Lot now expresses his gratefulness to the heavenly beings who just saved him and his family by saying,

“Please, no, my lords! Genesis 19:18b

How difficult can it be to save one man and his family!? Lot and his family were given simple directions "Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed." But Lot doesn't want to. He argues with the angels that the mountains might be too dangerous and he might die there.

Do we ever argue with God and his plan of salvation for us?

Do we ever tell God that following His will might kill us?

Is that not an odd conversation to have with someOne Who is doing everything to save you?

Jesus dies on the cross for us and offers us salvation. He also gives us a mission and we complain. Like spoiled children, we say to God the equivalent of "Do I have to?"

So Lot suggests that he flees to a small city instead of fleeing to the mountains as he was told.

See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.” Genesis 19:20 NKJV

God's Mercy

To my utter astonishment, God decides to not overthrow that small city for the sake of Lot. The angel tells Lot to hurry up because he cannot do anything until Lot and his family are safe. By the time Lot makes it to the small city the sun had risen.

Judgment

Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. Genesis 19:24-25 NKJV

The judgment of the LORD may have delayed waiting for Job to safely escape, but it came nonetheless.

The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 2 Peter 3:9 New Living Translation

Speaking of the judgment, when it did come, it came from God and was thorough. Notice carefully the language of Genesis 19:24-25 - "Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground." I put in bold the words that clearly point to God as the source of the fire and the thoroughness of the destruction, including inhabitants and plants.

Lot's Wife

It seems like regardless of how much God may want to save some, they just do not wish to be saved. Lot's wife who had received salvation, who had been taken by the hand by angels outside the city and told to escape and not look back. Even though the God waited until Lot had reached the city before destroying the cities of the plain. But, Lot's wife disobeyed. She was safe, she had been saved, but she longed for her old life. She missed all the things God was destroying. She had left but her heart was in Sodom. Lot's wife refused to let go of her old ways.

You cannot receive salvation from God while looking back and longing for your previous life of sin. God wants to save, He does everything to save, but He will not force His salvation on anyone. God allowed Lot's wife a way out. If she really didn't want to leave Sodom, she could look back and that way be destroyed rather than to be forced to live without the things she had come to love. She could start a new life in the small town or cease to exist along with everything sinful that God was destroying.

What else could God have done? God did everything but He refused to take away her freedom of choice. Salvation was hers, but she was allowed to reject it by turning around and embracing the same end as the cities of the plain.

Abraham

At the end of the story, the focus shifts back to Abraham. And suddenly things make more sense. God was so merciful and gracious towards Lot because of Abraham. Abraham had prayed for God to spare the righteous. We could argue how righteous is righteous enough, but judging by how far God had to go in order to save Lot and his family we can see that God did not make it difficult for him to be saved. In this I find encouragement. This means that when we pray to God on behalf of others, God hears and answers. This is a powerful argument in favor of intercessory prayers. Do not stop praying for others, your prayers have a greater impact than you realize.

Lot's Legacy

Genesis 19:30-38 records what happened to Lot. His daughters got him drunk and laid with him in order "to preserve the lineage of [their] father."

Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. Genesis 19:36 NKJV

And to think that God went through all that trouble to save this man and his family. Not only that the Moabites and Ammonites came from this incestuous relation. Lot and his nuclear family were saved from Sodom, but the values and principles of Sodom had deeply influenced Lot's family. Generations later the Moabites and Ammonites consistently opposed Israel. But ultimately, Ruth, a Moabitess, becomes one of the predecessors of King David and ultimately Jesus, our Savior. (Matthew 1)

Conclusion

Lot did not have to save himself. God sent angels to grab him and his family by the hand and remove them from the city that was about to be destroyed. God then spares a small city for the sake of Lot. God was willing to save anyone else who believed in His word concerning the coming judgment. Sadly no one else believes. God saves Lot and Lot and his daughters continue to disappoint. So much pain and suffering came from their offspring. Yet God saved Lot, even if his descendants would eventually oppose Israel. But ultimately a descendant of Lot is found int he genealogy of Jesus. God is willing and able to bring blessings even out of our great blunders in life.

Takeaway

God wants to save us more than we want to save ourselves.

Never forget that, and share that with others. No one is too far gone ot be saved by God, and God is wiling to take you by the hand and save you.

#judgment #grace #Salvation #faith #Old Testament #Narrative

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ezonrasslin · 8 years ago

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7 Chris Jericho Catchphrases Ranked Better to Best

Here's one for all you Jerichoholics!

2016 was one wild year, and nowhere showed it more than the world of pro wrestling. Despite all the turbulent change in the WWE the return of Chris Jericho at Night of Champions in 2015 pointed towards a back-pedal. Ignoring all the negativity swelling around him Jericho insisted once more that he would “save the company” going into 2016 - and that he did.

Reinventing and restoring his character to new heights, despite his power ranking having drifted he always managed to outshine his “juniors” at the discretion of the crowd. Y2J’s mic skills and general presence are so masterful he managed to turn a clipboard list into one of the most over devices on WWE television at the conclusion of 2016. Ridiculous.

In a year engulfed by meme culture, Chris Jericho paraded caricature and cliché in a way that only the GOAT ever could. He’s solidified his legacy as a staple of every era of WWE he’s performed in, his addictive words forever ingrained in wrestling lingo. Now, the new United States Champion has the WWE Universe at his feet.

To these 7 Catchphrases...

7. The Man Of 1,004 Holds

The "Man of 1,004 holds" had more than 1,004 words readily available at his disposal, so why not congregate them into a list?

This only scratches the surface of Jericho's WCW run, but it was an indicator of unique charisma and innovation unlike anything else around him. Feuding with profound technical wrestler Dean Malenko, the Cruiserweight Champion took to 1998 episode of WCW Monday Night Nitro post-match to proclaim his superiority. To out-do Malenko, hailed as the "Man of 1000 holds", he'd have to up the ante.

From the mundane and repetitive "Armbar" to the outlandish and yet-to-be-seen "Saskatchewan spinning nerve hold", the original List of Jericho promo is one of the most memorable and critically acclaimed of all time. The Lionheart exuded charm, even in early days.

6. The Gift Of Jericho

The modern manifestation of the 5 Second Pose, Jericho firmly grasps the WWE Universe in his hands when he unveils the Gift of Jericho.

Succeeding to shake off the now-stale shell of his former self, Jericho took on a whole new life post-WrestleMania 32. Originally a gift to Dean Ambrose, with this new life came a whole new catalogue of fresh catch phrases. The same premise remained - Jericho sees himself as the salvation of the WWE, a literal gift to all those he graces with his presence.

Sporting the $15,000 light up jacket or not, he's a sight to behold. Whether it's a warning to his opponent or a pander to the crowd, someone's going to get "IT". Chris Jericho, is simply a gift. Drink it in, maaaaaaaaan!

5. I Am The Best In The World At What I Do

Do you understand what I'm saying to you right now? He told us he was the best, and we trusted him. Maybe he really is the Ayatollah (of Rock 'n' Rolla).

Jericho has never been shy to declare how great he is, first proclaiming himself as the "best in the world" at what he does after winning the World Heavyweight Championship in 2008. This was an unprecedented high point in his career, as his award-winning feud with Shawn Michaels continues to be hailed as a modern classic.

Proving that he was the best encouraged his return in 2012, as he derided the WWE Champion CM Punk of being unworthy of calling himself “Best in the World.” For all his physical talent and accomplishments, his presence alone could always raise the bar.

4. Stupid Idiot

It started as a fleeting insult and would soon spread like wildfire. Yes, we are idiots.

No one was safe from the wrath of Chris Jericho throughout 2016 shortly prior to WrestleMania and forever afterwards. Whether he was slapping his opponent around in the ring and echoing "you're a stupid man", insulting Tom Phillips backstage, or calling everything in plain sight (fans included) "Stupid Idiots", it would eventually become the most over crowd chant of the year, and a welcome addition to Jericho's dialogue.

However, this one's more than two elementary insults. It's everything from the shirtless scarf-adorned arrogance, the flick of the wrist whenever someone makes the list, the best-friend banter - Chris Jericho is positively infectious.

3. Would You PLEASE, Shut, The Hell, Up!

Absolute text book Jericho, and applicable in all face/heel situations.

The Invasion angle was in full swing when Jericho went head-to-head with the Rock, and the calibre of their promos make them absolute must-sees for any wrestling fan. While the Rock is often remembered as the best smack-talker the WWE has ever seen, lest we forget the time Jericho completely obliterated the Brahma Bull with one line. It would crop up again at the most unexpected and sometimes inappropriate of times, because the crowd took it on as their own.

Jericho never stood for being put in his place. Realistically he never should have been the first WWF Undisputed Champion with the Rock and Stone Cold in contention, but he continues to prove to this day that anyone who says he didn't deserve to be, is out of their mind.

2. Raw is Jericho

It's still true today. Whenever Jericho makes a comeback, he owns the show. From the instant he first stepped foot in the WWF when the 'Countdown to Millennium' came to a close, a new era began. Jericho immediately stole the spotlight on his debut in 1999, interrupting the company's biggest star at the time, the Rock. Despite his size, he was always destined to be a larger-than-life star.

Regardless of how busy he is - touring with Fozzy, running a successful podcast, or main eventing Monday Night Raw - Jericho has without a doubt been a workhorse of the company throughout his entire career. His passion for the WWE is evident every time he steps in the ring.

His iconic arms-outstretched pose, the high ponytail or the smug goatee, whatever he may look like, his image will always come hand-in-hand with WWE's 'flagship show’.

1. - Will Never EVER Be The Same Again

In his second ever WWE appearance, Jericho interrupted The Undertaker and the Big Show to proclaim Raw would "never, EEEVER be the same again" upon his arrival.

If anyone knows how to make a lasting impact, it's Y2J. He goes beyond the dramatic returns - the cryptic vignettes featuring codes that would be revealed as "Save us Y2J" in 2007, or his momentous return at the Rumble in 2013. He brought something new every time, be in a new finisher, a fresh hair cut, a newfound nostalgia act, or even a new catchphrase.

Fast forward to today, and the theme still applies - Jericho was put on this earth to save us wrestling diehards, and there doesn't seem to be any slowing down for him, having just captured the US title for the first time. An innovator, a creator, a God amongst men, Y2J continues to change the face of pro wrestling. Again and again, and contrary to what might have been said as little as a year go, the image of Jericho has personified the turn of a new leaf, and moreover, a lasting legacy.

youtube

#Chris Jericho #WWE #wrestling #catchphrases #attitude era #new era #Ruthless Aggression #y2j #list of jericho #raw #stupid idiot #drink it in man #the gift of jericho

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peppermintwrasseler · 8 years ago

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my thougths on thelostspecial.com please, feel free to add, correct, etc. to any of my ramblings...

List of relevant pages i’ve found thus far:

1. /solveme -Dancing man cipher (Henry V, act 3 scene 1) -V=5. There are 5 acts in the play. -600 x 136

2. /Murderousmary -5-ton Asian elephant -FIVE ton. FIVE. FIVE YALL. -625 x 420

3./teatime -1200 x 737

4./coffee -WRONG WAY! -1920 x 1080

5./Mary -492 x 318

6./elephant -WHICH ONE? -623 x 358

7. /tljc -404 ERROR -578 x 432

8. /johnlock -404 ERROR -578 x 432

9. /ireneadler -??????? -425 x 321

10. /marymorstan -Mary, 2 thumbs up -that bull skull that's in 221B? The one with the headphones? Mary is standing in front of it...the horns line up with her head...didn't notice that from the episode...great foreshadowing...but why THIS screenshot for THIS puzzle? -i left this and then i came back after writing the end of this ramble...so like...mary and moriarty were workin together...the horns are pretty symbolic here if thats the heckin case. which i would love for it to be. -572 x 379

11. /marymoran -WHO? -who is mary moran? ah, yes...well...who do we know that's named mary, and is a great shot? oh yeah...mary watson aka mary morstan... -1000 x 643

12. /sherlock -hat-man and Robin: the Web detectives newspaper article screenshot -paragraph gives Johns blog: johnwatsonblog.co.uk -1280 x 720

13. /johnwatson -*see /sherlock*

14./sherlockholmes -*see sherlock*

15. /Mycroftholmes -fat mycroft from the abominable bride...which was a special, yes? -838 x 613

16. /mycroft - *see /mycroftholmes*

17./mollyhooper -814 x 476

18./molly -*see /mollyhooper*

19./lestrade -842 x 561

20./greglestrade -*see /lestrade*

21./moriarty -809 x 606

22./thefinalproblem -how many problems were there/are there in total yall? -if it was 3..."people always stop after 3"...so is he comin back orrrrrr?? -*see /moriarty*

23./hislastvow -696 x 582

24./thegreatgame -600 x 300

25. /eurus -902 x 667

26./eurosholmes -*see /euros*

27. /thereichenbachfall -john's on the phone, looking up at sherlock on the ledge... -s2e3 -1280 x 720

28. /tiehell -500 x 278

29. /Januscars -896 x 504

30. /norbury -mrs. norbury killed mary... -792 x 525

31./new -*?* bath tub? Hotel? Wat? -someone let me know if this is from an episode or nah? i dont remember, and i'm going to post this before rewatching all of the episodes... -589 x 438

32. /old -is this a shot of the mantle from before or after euros's bomb blew up the apartment? .-. does this have something/anything to do with the /new page and the /new page's picture??? -868 x 638

33./dymm -moriarty, pink cab... -i saw the pink cab in the episode, its pretty noticeable, wasn't sure if it was like, foreshadowing or a nod to the first epiosde or what...lemme kno if yall have some theories... -852 x 478

34. /cluedo -CLEVER BUT NO! -1000 x 676

35./ineedaclue -Stumped by 40? Go back to the source. The real source. -852 x 478

36./ineedahint -*see /ineedaclue*

37./ineedhelp -*see /ineedaclue*

38. /XXX -You'll be hearing from me -moriarty pool -700 x 396 -last image...is this a screenshot from one specific episode? i'll be posting this before going back to rewatch all of the episodes, so if yall know, plz let me know? -also, the mary's ring/coloring book thing that's later on this rambling...THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS HOLY WOW YALL. HOLY WOW. -so...moriarty's in the other pool picture...but he's not in this one, why? well...we never found out who the sniper was for that episode...so perhaps this is alluding to finding out who that was? also, the ring thing again y'all...connect them dots...

I'll leave this here a well: I believe this is a masterpost for all of the images/pages...i was lazy, and this post is long AF, so i didn't include pictures...but here's the link for a running post that has them all... http://infinitelyromantic.tumblr.com/post/156831246164/infinitelyromantic-infinitelyromantic?is_related_post=1

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *HERE COMES THE RAMBLING *puts on tinfoil hat**

The dancing men cipher from 1./solveme: According to wikipedia, "This is one of only two Sherlock Holmes short stories where Holmes' client dies after seeking his help. The other is "The Five Orange Pips", part of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The themes of this story are love, trust and pride." Now, i seriously encourage you to go to this link and read the synopsis... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventure_of_the_Dancing_Men

curious thing: /black is the page that has the comment box...but now when i visit that page, it says the page cannot be found, and instead shows me a search box? i wonder why?

40: i got nothin...haven't delved into it too much tho...i'll let yall know if i find something...

the picture sizes: -the picture sizes are listed, but i am not sure why...this IS a wordpress website, so perhaps its part of the formatting??? maybe it’s another code? maybe its literally nothing? but i'm not sure so...if anyone has anything on this, please let me know???

the view-source pages: -if you right-click and then hit "view-source" on any of the pages from thelostspecial.com then scroll down, you'll see this message: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You see but you do not observe. 13.9.16 /solveme/ XXX ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-this is how you’re originally supposed to find the rest of the pages, because if you go to “thelostspecial.com” it’s just the header image that’s on all of the other pages...

-the /solveme/ page is the page with the dancing man cipher...

-the dancing man cipher is also the only page with a different date, as mentioned above...but why is september 13th 2016 meaningful???

the XXX thing: is tripping me up... -in the show, everyone signs their texts with their initials...but maybe i've missed something...again, i'll be rewatchinga all of the episodes. -if y'all know something about "XXX" that i don't...plz let me know <3 -also, why 3 x's? if the signature "xxx" is not significant (idk if its a signature yet), is the number 3 significant? i mean... the message from the cipher IS from the 3rd act tho...perhaps that is significant...

the dates: -all the dates on all the pictures (except one) are 05/02/2017 -the dancing man cipher is 04/02/2017...but it's the start, the beginning...series 4 just ended...maybe they're hinting at series 5 here? Or the lost specials air date??? -also, being in america, we write our dates mm/dd/yyyy but because people in other countries write dates dd/mm/yy and we don’t know if this is fan-made or sherlock-made, we know that 05/02 and 04/02 could mean either feb. 5/feb. 4 OR april 2/may 2... HOWEVER we can *deduce* that these dates are written mm/dd/yyyy because of that date in the view-source message, which is "13.9.16". this date is written dd/mm/yyyy (because we all know there are only 12 months) so the dates 05/02/2017 and 04/02/2017 are for feb. 4th and 5th. which is this weekend?!? -also there's a theory about the scheduling for a new series called Apple Tree Yard (see reddi theoryt: https://www.reddit.com/r/Sherlock/comments/5orufn/clues_about_a_fourth_hidden_sherlock_episode/ ) and the third episode airs on bbc tomorrow (feb. 5) at 9pm supposedly...

13.9.16: -at first i thought that perhaps this date IS significant, but i can’t think of anything off the top of my head, i’ll update if i find something about the air dates of any of the series/episodes or anything pertaining to this dates in the series/episodes later on.. -my second thought was that this website was created on sep 13 2016, and so the creator just used that date since that was the day the website was created, HOWEVER, according to this source: http://whois.domaintools.com/thelostspecial.com the website was created on 1/31/2017...so that theory is a nope, but also, in the episode “the sign of three” this quote: Mycroft: What do we say about coincidence? Sherlock:The universe is rarely so lazy. sidenote: i just realized that its from the sign of THREE and that episode aired on january FIFTH 2014...it’s also the episode the watsons got married in, and it’s also where we found out there were THREE watsons...also, sherlock found FIVE women in his mindpalace while searching for the mayfly man...just another thought...maybe i’m digging too far into this number stuff??? well...i am wearing my tinfoil hat so...its whatevs i guess lol the website’s title: -the only title we can see on the tab in our web browser for thelostspecial.com is “xxx”...but according to http://whois.domaintools.com/thelostspecial.com the website title is “By the pricking of my thumbs...” -THIS SEEMS EXTRA SIGNIFICANT... -me: *does a google: “by the pricking of my thumbs”* google: *does a reply* “By the pricking of my thumbs,Something wicked this way comes.Open, locks,Whoever knocks.” -Macbeth Act 4, scene 1 -the picture of mary with her thumbs up on the /marymorstan page has the bull skull horns behind her head...and what do we say about coincidences? -also agatha christie has book entited “by the pricking of my thumbs” and if this is the significance rather than the macbeth reference directly (the book’s title is taken from macbeth), then perhaps this whole thing is that s4 was the last series? refering to the wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/By_the_Pricking_of_My_Thumbs we read that there were FOUR books, and if you read the synopsis of each book on the wiki page (they’re rly short), then there are probably some parallels between that and the sherlock series/episodes. -also this: “the novel is dedicated "to the many readers in this and other countries who write to me asking: 'What has happened to Tommy and Tuppence? What are they doing now?'". in this case, tommy and tuppence perhaps parallel sherlock and john, and seeing as how s4 scene ended in the middle of sherlock and john rushing off and in the middle of the case, it could seem applicable...so perhaps this is hinting that we won’t be getting a s5 since s4 wrapped things up, but that we will probably get to see The Lost Special as an update on john and sherlock (and rosie) and as an encore of sorts... -also there’s this ‘marple’ thing and i’m not entirely sure what it has to do with sherlock? someone explain?

seasons/moriarty train of thought/ramblings: s1e3: moriarty introduced s2e1: more moriarty s2e3: moriarty dead... s4: DID YOU MISS ME? IN THE MAIN PICTURE IT SPELLS OUT RIGHT IN FRONT OF SHERLOCK'S MOUTH IN BLACK TEXT "DID YOU MISS ME?" also, that red smiley on the chair is from the original image (i think?) let me know if that's also added... there's also a page called /dymm...

s5 or the lost special: moriarty back? -they always stop after 3...he was playing with sherlock in 3 episodes...there were only 3 episodes in each season... -perhaps season 5 or the lost special will be about moriarty?? -but what about mrs. norbury and the whole shooting mary thing... -and then there's the murderous mary the elephant (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_(elephant) ) -then there's /marymoran and /marymorstan and /mary but NOT /marywatson. why is that when there’s a /johnwatson??? -plus, there's the dancing man cipher from the sir arthur conan doyle story... and if y'all read the wiki for the dancing man cipher then there's some parallels to mary watson, who has a husband. But if mary watson = mary morstan = mary moran, then that means ties with moriarty, and moriarty died, then there's a parallel there too?? there's probably more parallels, lemme know what yall find pls...i'd love to hear more theories...

the ring and the coloringbook: -see article here: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-11-06/does-this-clue-from-the-sherlock-colouring-book-reveal-the-true-identity-of-mary-morstan -refer to "/marymorstan" SAME PICTURE AS THE ONE IN THE ARTICLE. WTF. -HI. YES. HELLO. THE WEDDING RING. AND THE LAST PICTURE IS OF THE SWIMMING POOL AND THE EPISODE /[EPISODE TITLE HERE] PAGES (THE GREAT GAME, THE REICHENBACH FALL, HIS LAST VOW, THE FINAL PROBLEM) LIKE THEY HAVE TO DO WITH THE COLORING BOOK AND THE SWIMMING POOL AND THE SWIMMING POOL SCENES AND MORIARTY AND MARY WATSON (AKA MARY MORSTAN AKA MARY MORAN???) AND HOLY SHIT ARE THEY BOTH ALIVE??? I'M SCREAMING. I'M CONFUSED AND ITS 2AM AND IM SCREAMING.

-also "You see but you do not observe." is in the coloring book but also in the view-source page comment: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You see but you do not observe. 13.9.16 /solveme/ XXX ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -also the main picture on all the pages...is from the reichenbach fall (s2e3)

OH MY GOODNESS WE NEVER SAW WHO THE GUNMAN WAS AT THE POOL. HOLY HELL. AND MARY IS ONE HELL OF A SHOT YALL...

HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK IF MARY WATSON IS NOT MARY MORSTAN IS NOT MARY MORSTAN I WILL DIE. HOLY SHIT. HOLY FUCKING SHIT. THE FUCKING RING. HOLY SHIT.

#the lost special #Sherlock #tjlc #solve me #interesting #the game's afoot #the game is afoot #sherlock season 5?#send help #tin foil hat #tin foil hatting #conspiracy #conspiracy theory #calling all cumberbitches #mine #pepperminotaur

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