#love the way Alex's look transforms when he sees Henry

[spookycreepycookie]

👀❤️‍🔥

[kiwiana-writes]

VoiceTeam Podfics by Kiwiana: Round One

I'm deep in the weeds of @voiceteam this month, and i was going to wait until round one closed for submissions to post a roundup, but I reached my point cap, so: below are the podfics I recorded and posted this week!

An Amateur's Guide to Piping That Cream and Beating That Meat, written by @firenati0n. Standard podfic is 38 min 29 sec, OR you can listen to me recording a second version of this podfic while trying to make tres leches for the first time in my life, which is 45 min 24 sec and involves way more asides and random commentary.

Alex is an anonymous thirst-trapping chef on TikTok. Henry is an amateur cook who needs a recipe for Friendsgiving. Alex knows Henry's watching. Henry doesn't know it's Alex. Shenanigans ensue.

...But My Boyfriend Is, written by @clottedcreamfudge, 16 min 40 sec

"This," Henry says later, tie still undone but otherwise perfectly presentable as he scoops Alex's t-shirt up off the floor, "is ridiculous. Where did Nora even find it?" "The Internet is a beautiful and mysterious place," Alex says solemnly, taking the shirt from Henry's hands and smiling fondly at it. It delightedly proclaims, 'I'm Not Gay But My Boyfriend Is,' the word 'boyfriend' written in bold, rainbow capitals; it's an absolute masterpiece, and Alex is looking forward to seeing himself on Buzzfeed in a week's time, when he's inevitably papped wearing it.

I Hear It (When I Look At You), written by @affectionatelyrs, 37 min 45 sec

The last thing Henry expects while ordering tea is to come face to face with the man whose dirty voicemail has fueled his fantasies for weeks

kiss me like you love me, written by @getmehighonmagic, 14 min 47 sec

Kinktober 2023 +1. Kissing

You're So Attractive; How Did That Happen, written by @sparklepocalypse, 15 min 28 sec

Henry is a big man. He’s tall — taller than either of his siblings and most of his cousins. His shoulders are broad. Years on horseback have helped him develop decent muscle mass. So when Alex storms into his life like a beautiful, infuriating tornado, Henry fully expects to continue feeling big. But Alex has ways of making Henry feel small, cherished, even precious. (Or, three things about Alex that make Henry feel wonderfully small, and one thing that doesn't.)

Can’t wait to see what round two has in store! In the meantime, though, I have a mountain of reading and writing to catch up on… 😅😅😅

Permission statements are your best friend as an author, if you want people to podfic or otherwise transform your fics! If you've never created a permissions statement and you love a good template, there's a good one from @fanworkspermissionstatement here that can help: https://www.tumblr.com/fanworkspermissionstatement/721421909534851073/reblogging-for-an-update-now-with-new-faq-and

[onpurposeilovehimonpurpose]

Moody Monday - Giving Orders

RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE (2023) dir. Matthew Lopez

"I give the orders in this palace!"

As I was going through scenes to make gifs of this week, I really started leaning toward an unofficial theme of Henry being strong. This is one of those moments in the film that is a reminder of who His Royal Highness Henry George Edward James Hanover-Stuart Fox actually is. I have a couple of favorite lines in this movie, but this is in my top 5. The transformation we see Henry go through in this scene, and the culmination of him shouting this, perfectly brings together every emotion scorching him after Bea tells him what happened.

For the first time within the royal confines, we see Henry stand up for himself, but not in the way I think he ever expected to do. He even looks slightly shocked and horrified with himself after he says it because he has never allowed himself to use his power as "His Royal Highness" for anything close to it eliciting a behavior he displays. He is so demanding at that moment, for people to listen to him, to listen to his wants and needs, and that he insists upon being the one who makes the decisions in his life. This cannot last, there is too many factors working against him, but the spark is lit, and no matter what, it isn't going to be smothered.

The way Nick delivers this line is incredibly powerful (the whole scene with the way he uses his emotions and the varying expressions on his face). Nick (and the story) built Henry up into this incredibly strong man as the movie went on, and we see that strength exploding from him. (Yes, I do believe that there is a massive level of strength Henry shows often, just because he isn't wild and crazy about it all the time, and sometimes is wrong when displaying it, doesn't make it less.) It's what gives us hope when we see the scenes over the course of the next week. This moment right here, Henry was pushed to his limits, and the way I get breathless each time I watch this, the way I get goosebumps whenever I detect that authority in his voice, it's all because Henry is finally saying that at that moment he's had enough. It makes me so damn proud of him.

Alex would have been so proud of him, too.

The strength he has to compose himself as he still tries to find a way to contact Alex...

And after clearly realizing the old asshole is not worth his time, switching his attention to look to Shaan, he changes his wording, not wanting to give more of himself away than he already has with his reaction. So he takes hold of the strength within him and pleads with Shaan to get a message to the White House.

Shaan looks so incredibly heartbroken here. We don't have nearly enough Shaan (I know, I know, adjustments had to be made). Still, what Akshay Khanna gives to this moment (and others in the tiny amount of time he has been Henry's Equerry on screen) speaks volumes for his acting abilities and for Shaan's relationship with Henry. He is so obviously hurt and shaken and wants to help Henry. The love and support are there, knowing that even before Henry asks it of him, he has already tried to contact the White House, it says so much. And when he says, "My contacts with the White House", I can't help but imagine the turmoil he felt wondering if he should use the emergency line for Zahra, and how it must've hurt him to make the decision not to. But he is there to support Henry as much as he can, in an impossibly difficult situation, one that he obviously had a hand in, knowing what Henry and Alex were up to, and may face ramifications for it himself if things were to go that far. But he tried, and knowing that Henry looked to him to help, that has to feel equally good as bad, given that he can't do anything at all.

And his reaction when Shaan explains that he cannot help, Henry is devastated, but there's something else there in his eyes, too.

Henry clearly accepts what Shaan is telling him, but he doesn't react in an outburst. He doesn't plead anymore, he understands what he must do. He is going to have to deal with 'the next worst thing' that's ever happened to him on his own (mostly) and he is going to endure it until he no longer has to. Until all of that strength we know he possesses is unleashed once again.

[henry-fox-biggest-stan]

Chapter 7

“He looks so different,” (Page 180)

Is this talking about Alex’s perspective of Henry, or Henry as a person?

Both, but mainly Alex’s perspective (keyword, looks).

The way Alex sees Henry now is wildly different to how he saw him before, before referring to before Rio, back when he wasn’t even a teenager. Returning to Casey’s use of the word looks, instead of just saying “he is so different” (which would also be correct, since a thirteen year old is different from a twenty-three year old), Casey used “he looks so different”. If we see this through the change of Alex’s perspective of him, it means than Alex has changed how he sees him. Henry looks different now, he sees him in a different light. He knows more about him, so now he looks different to how he did when he didn’t know anything. He is also falling in love with Henry as we speak, so he sees him in a different light to when he did when he wasn’t in love with him.

Twelve year old Alex saw Henry as this idealized version, Prince Charming if you must. Maybe they could be great friends. Maybe his hair was as soft as it looked. Why would he be mean? He was a prince. Princes were nice. And he was a cute prince with soft-looking hair. And everyone loved him too. And his father was James Bond. There aren’t really many cons here.

After Rio, Alex saw the “truth” of Henry. He was rude, and mean, and believed he was better than everyone else. He was just a posh guy who never had to lift a finger in his life. His hair probably wasn’t even that soft.

Now, Alex sees the truth, the real one. Henry is funny, and nice, and has a big heart. And he went through a lot of shit, and deserves the world and more. He watches the same movies as him, and has good music taste, and wants to be a writer, and can be a really reserved person, but if you knew how to crack his walls open you will really be rewarded. He was also really pretty. Alex knew how his body felt like. Alex knew how his lips felt like. He discovered his hair do was as soft as it looked.

Now, looking at thirteen year old Henry in the picture, the same picture he knew from memory at the age of twelve, the same picture than made him introduce himself to him when he was 17, the same picture he had in front of him now, than June kept for years, he realized just how different Henry truly is. He probably hasn’t seen that picture in years. He probably remembers what he thought about him back then. And he probably remembers the thoughts than came after. And how both of the versions he believed to be true were wrong. How Henry isn’t black and white. How he isn’t exactly Prince Charming, how he has flaws and isn’t completely perfect, but also, how he is good, and amazing, and someone Alex loves really likes. All of his opinions of him over the years overlap right there, on the face of a thirteen year old Henry, who is a completely different person than he is now, a happier person, who hasn’t gone through so much tragedy, and the eyes of a twenty two year old Alex, staring at a picture he started at for the first time years ago, when he was a different person, who saw this different version of Henry with different eyes. How different is, not only Henry, but also Alex.

This also goes hand in hand with these next sentences; His fingertips brush the page in the same place they did when he was young, over the sun-gold hair, except now he knows its exact texture. It’s the first time he’s seen it since he learned where this version of Henry went.

[whoevenknows-things]

WIP Wednesday

I need to hold myself accountable if I'm ever going to finish writing this F1/FirstPrince fic. So here is a genuine copy and paste from the chapter I'm currently working on and hoping to have out this weekend. And yes, I really do leave notes like that to myself...

"There was a flurry of engineers around Alex and his car as he climbed out and headed straight to Nora and the wall of tv screens showing all of his data. Henry could see Alex was still very much in the zone and didn’t dare interrupt him and his process. It was still his best qualifying if the first 3 races of the year, but it was still below where Alex was hoping to be. Instead Henry turned back to watch the final session of qualifying. He was, after all, a board member for the whole Aston Martin team and they were still strong contenders with Seb out on track. It wouldn’t look good for Henry to be spending too much time with one driver over the other. As drivers set down their opening laps Seb’s name went purple on the screen as he shot up into provisional pole position. But as more and more cars set their laps the name in top spot was constantly switching between Seb, George Russell and Carlos Sainz as the last McLaren on track. Every lap was an improvement for every driver as the clock ran down on the session. In the end both George and Carlos bested Seb. But starting third on the grid was nothing to be sniffed at.

Filler paragraphs with Alex, Nora and Henry

Pre-race day shiz

The opening lap was eventful. By turn three of the first lap Charles LeClerc had been tapped from behind by Max Verstappen and spun off and out of the race. The safety car drove out and led the drivers over the next two laps as Charles’ car was rescued by a crane. 4 laps later and the safety car was out again when Albon spun out at a corner and had too much damage to make his own way back to the pit lane. Seb had fallen back a place to Ollie a Bearman and was now in 4th and off the podium. But Alex? Alex had actually made up a few places and was now in 9th and just inside the point scoring positions. There were still 51 laps to go so nothing was certain, but it was a sign that Alex was feeling good in the car at least. One lap later the stewards upgraded the safety car to a red flag which meant every car had to head back to their garages and clear the track while crew recovered Albon’s car. With other drivers’ pit stops Alex was in 8th as Nora called him back into the garage for the red flag. It wasn’t expected to be a long one so Alex stayed sitting in his car as he waited in his garage. Nora rushed over and ducked her head into the cockpit to talk to Alex, presumably updating their race strategy to react to the opening few laps and the chaos it had created. Henry loved races like this. Races like this with red flags and safety cars meant strategies had to change as some drivers got lucky or unlucky under these conditions. Races like this could produce unexpected results. As a long time fan Henry had always loved races like this. But as someone who was somewhat invested in Alex’s performance he knew a race like this could be a real opportunity for him. His crew used the red flag to change his tyres to the hardest compound meaning he wouldn’t need to make a pit stop and loose that time later in the race. Now it was just about how well Alex could drive and less about the strategy from the team."

I get too excited writing about the racing and now I need to go back and add the romance stuff. But here's what there is so far

[onthewaytosomewhere]

Some Sunday Sentences

So I was working on some Holiday stuff today and figured might as well post some sentences I wrote today

as part of my Holiday Bits and Bobs I'm doing this month

As Henry transitioned from one song to the next Alex made his way into the room and the chair that he usually sank into to fully soak in the experience of Henry’s playing. Not only did whatever he played sound amazing, the visual, watching Henry completely lose himself in whatever piece he played never failed to mesmerize Alex. The strong fingers, that he knew could play him just as well, gliding across the ivory keys in a way Alex had rarely seen before but now got to see on a regular basis always drew him in. The often times near rapturous look on Henry’s face that just made him want to take him to bed and find other ways to put that look on his face. The way his eyes closed when he really got into it, the small smile that graced his lips, and the times when he would lock eyes with Alex as he played something that had significant meaning to one, or both, of them made it worth the hassle that getting this piano here and making sure it was perfectly tuned for Henry had been.  Alex had worked with Bea and Catherine to arrange it and still remembered the joy that filled Henry’s face when he laid eyes on it, after getting back from a trip to one of the newly opened shelters. That night had been pretty magical as well, but right now he was once again reaping the benefits of having the piano here, and he was going to make the most of it.

Alex watched as Henry slid over on the bench, just enough for Alex to join him, that silent signal that Henry wanted Alex even closer to him, wanting to savor that feeling of closeness while surrounding them with the sounds he coaxed from the piano. Alex slowly made his way over and joined Henry on the bench soaking in the sounds as Henry transitioned from ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman’ to ‘Feliz Navidad’ and felt his lips tug into a smile as he lay his head on Henry’s shoulder. As Alex lets the music soak into his soul and fill all of him with a peace he hasn’t felt in a while, Henry plays through some of Alex’s favorites, and some Alex doesn’t recognize. Henry starts up ‘Merry Christmas Baby’ and Alex raises he head to place a kiss on his cheek and as he sits and revels in the sounds around him and feel of Henry next to him, he thinks maybe it will be a delivery night so he can make the most of this time here with the man he will love for the rest of time.

and I suppose I'll post the ao3 link to it all while I'm at it 😊

[renee-writer]

My Soul Calls to You Chapter 23

AO3

“Malcolm Brian Henry Fraser!” the Laird and new father announces to those gathered. The lad was taken his first meal at his mama’s breast and his dad’s was eager to announce his name and gender to his family and tenants. Another cheer arises and more toasts are said to the latest Fraser.

After accepting many congratulations and carefully toasts, as he doesn’t wish to get drunk knowing Claire will need him, he pardons himself and heads upstairs. His arms ache to hold his new wee lad. Alex and Fergus stand at their Mama’s bedside, greeting their new brother.

“Da look!” an excited Fergus announces, “He is smiling in his sleep as we do.”

Jamie smiles at his son, ruffling his dark curls before saying, “Aye he does. Now be still and let your mama sleep. She has earned it. You two may stay in the room and sleep by the fire with your wee sister.” Both lads nod kiss their Mama’s cheek. She also smiles in her sleep. Jamie gathers up his two youngest, his chest swelling with pride. Julia Ellen and Malcolm Brian lay sleeping against him. His family is all together, his children all with him.

The years roll by, an unstoppable wave. His lads are growing into young men with Alex 12 and Fergus, 11. Julia and Malcolm are 6 and 5 respectively. The lands grow like the children, keeping their da and grandsire both busy. Jamie takes Alex, Fergus and, Wee Jamie with him as he goes about his duties as Laird. This upsets Claire a little, to see her boy being gone.

“They must learn, my love, as they are growing up.”

The many holdings of the Fraser’s are divided up by production. The lands of clan Mackenzie hold the sheep and mini cattle and where the dairy cows graze, as it is closest to the Fraser lands. The tenants that live on the border between, help with the livestock. The Chattan lands are all about the horses. Clydesdales and Friesian are bread and trained across the land. With their three children and tenants, Mary and Robert, work with the horses and oversee the studs that produce them. Studs are traded with other clans, keeping new blood in the mix. Beauly and Lallybroch are farms growing grains, beans, vegetables, and other items needs to keep the tenants feed across the vast clan lands. Whisky is also produced and is doing well.

One evening, Jamie arrives home to see his wife looking peaked. She sits on the porch awaiting him. Hurrying over, he takes a seat by her. “Sassenach, you look particularly tired, tell me your heart.”

She smiles as she leans wearily against him. “Well, my love, what are your thoughts on having another baby? Would you like to be a father again?”

Jamie’s jaw drops before he smiles. “Another wee bairn.” He hugs her and kisses her face, “Aye, but this is the last one.” Claire laughs, knowing it might not be the last.

The months went by in the way they do when waiting a new arrival, both slow and fast. Claire’s children tended to her, making sure she has all she needs. There is some advantages to having older babies while carrying another. This is especially true when Jamie takes Alex and Fergus with him to visit the Chattan lands. They go to check on the horses and to choose some to send to the English Army. He is also checking on their tenants there.

Claire smiles at the thought of her husband’s big heart, overflowing with love for all in his care, his tenants, his family, their children and, especially for her. He had been gone near on a month now and she is anxious for his and their sons return. They are due back any day.

Her pains begin as babies no nothing for their siblings and father’s schedule. With Brian at Beauly Castle, a message is sent to him to get back. He sents one to Jamie to pick him up on the way home as the baby is coming.

Two days later, her labor continues. She has hope that Jamie won’t miss the birth. He almost makes it.

Seconds after Ellen Elizabeth Janet Fraser enters the world, her father enters the bedchamber. “I have your new daughter.” Claire holds her. Her face and hair are wet with the sweat of her exertion. Jamie knows her to be the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. He kisses her and the head of his new daughter before the tears come. He weeps as he holds them both.

If Claire hadn’t returned to him with Alex, he wouldn’t be holding this latest child in his arms.

Brian stands at the door taken in the sight. He smiles as he knows this will the last granddaughter he would see.

[lgbtqiahistoricalromance]

Finishing Out Summer 2020 TBR List! - Updated 7/31

Starting back in March, I was adding novel after novel for purposes of reading during social distancing and Summer 2020. I’m hoping you all found some great reads, even if you haven’t been able to read them all. *Here is another batch to round out Summer 2020, and I’m thrilled by the selection that includes sapphic, trans MCs, and more eras and locations than any list to date.

Leather and Lace by Rebel Carter (Good Sky series #5) - May 20th - sapphic

Mary Sophia James came to Gold Sky, Montana to find a husband at the insistence of her overbearing mother. Striking out in spectacular fashion after setting her eye on Julian Baptiste, her options are dwindling, and time is running out. She needs to find a man to marry before her condition becomes…obvious. Her mother’s prejudices and sharp tongue aren’t helping matters and Mary, to her shame, hasn’t behaved much better. But all her plans are derailed when she spots the most beautiful person she’s ever seen across the town square. Alex Pierce is strong, intriguing, looks stunning in a pair of trousers…and a woman.

Gold Sky is accepting of all types of love, and that between women is no different. Still, Alex didn’t expect to be so floored by the sight of the firey haired, yet fragile looking young woman. Mary needs to be married and Alex has a solution. Because in Gold Sky, Montana there are many ways to be married…and not all of them include a man.

Leather and Lace is a 35k word novella set at the same time as the events of book 2, Hearth and Home. It includes a passionate and romantic f/f love in a town where diversity, and love, reign supreme.

Note : Leather and Lace has a bit of mail-order, arranged married, kind of secret baby with some foreced proximity sprinkled on top!

The Sugared Game by KJ Charles (The Will Darling Adventures #2) - August 26th

It’s been two months since Will Darling saw Kim Secretan, and he doesn’t expect to see him again. What do a rough and ready soldier-turned-bookseller and a disgraced, shady aristocrat have to do with each other anyway? But when Will encounters a face from the past in a disreputable nightclub, Kim turns up, as shifty, unreliable, and irresistible as ever. And before Will knows it, he’s been dragged back into Kim’s shadowy world of secrets, criminal conspiracies, and underhand dealings. This time, though, things are underhanded even by Kim standards. This time, the danger is too close to home. And if Will and Kim can’t find common ground against unseen enemies, they risk losing everything.

The Revolutionary and the Rogue by Blake Ferre - August 24th

Perrin deVesey knows pain. As a member of Crimson Rose, a secret club for men who love men, he’s taken the vow “to stand and shield.” Standing together during these perilous times is the only thing keeping their necks from the guillotine. Now their leader is using the club to rescue wrongly accused traitors. After losing a past lover to an unjust execution, the decision to support this treasonous cause is easy…until a devastatingly handsome Committee Officer complicates Perrin’s whole world. Officer Henri Chevalier hates aristocrats. But the man he finds while investigating Crimson Rose is more than just wealthy and fancily clothed. He’s a rogue that could take him to the heart of the uprising and stop it before it starts. His plan to get close to Perrin and steal his secrets backfires, though, when Henri finds himself falling for the damned aristo and his dangerous smile. His heart is even more conflicted as he learns the truth behind their cause…and the truth his own people have been hiding. Together they must make the choice—to stand and shield at any cost—and their love might be the deadliest weapon in all of France.

Healing Lance by MD Grimm (A Warrior’s Redemption #1)- July 28th

A baby’s laughter. A mind uncaged. Lance is known as Scourge, the warrior in the black armor, the dog of the warlord Ulfr Blackwolf. He was just a boy when Ulfr found him and molded him into the perfect weapon. He slaughters and pillages on command, merciless and numb, devoid of emotions. Then a baby girl laughs at him during a raid. And everything changes. When Gust, a talented healer, is out deer hunting and stumbles across a magnificent horse bearing a mortally wounded rider, he has no idea that his life is about to change forever. Gust applies all his skills to his patient, determined to save the rider’s life, and is rewarded when the man opens his eyes. As friendship, and more, bloom between warrior and healer, so does the danger over the horizon. Ulfr has not forgotten, and Lance must take his first steps on the long road to redemption.     

The rest of the series is either out this Summer or finishes in Sept!

Unhallowed: A Novel of Widdershins (Rath & Rune Book #1) by Jordan L Hawk - July 17th

Monsters. Murder. Librarians. Librarian Sebastian Rath is the only one who believes his friend Kelly O’Neil disappeared due to foul play. But without any clues or outside assistance, there’s nothing he can do to prove it. When bookbinder Vesper Rune is hired to fill the vacancy left by O’Neil, he receives an ominous letter warning him to leave. After he saves Sebastian from a pair of threatening men, the two decide to join forces and get to the truth about what happened to O’Neil. But Vesper is hiding secrets of his own, ones he doesn’t dare let anyone learn. Secrets that grow ever more dangerous as his desire for Sebastian deepens. Because Kelly O’Neil was murdered. And if Sebastian and Ves don’t act quickly enough, they’ll be the next to die.

My Heart’s in the Highlands by Amy Hoff - July 17th - sapphic - time travel

The year is 1888. Brilliant and beautiful, Lady Jane Crichton has fought the constraints of her Victorian Edinburgh upbringing to become one of the first women to attend university for medicine. Denied a degree because of her gender, she decides to marry a closeted gay man, providing him with political and social cover and herself with the time and money to pursue her scientific interests—one of which is a time machine. Jane’s machine works…but not exactly as she expected, and soon she has crash-landed in the 13th-century Scottish Highlands. There she is rescued by a wild, red-haired warrior woman, Ainslie nic Dòmhnaill, next in line to the chiefship of the great Clan Donald, the rulers of the Sea Kingdom of the Isles. Despite the constant threat of attacks from enemy clans, harsh winters and a touch of homesickness, Jane finds herself bewitched by this land, this time and this magnificent woman. The rough and warlike Ainslie also feels the magic and revels in a passion and love neither she nor Jane had ever imagined. But Jane is hiding a dangerous secret—one that threatens to tragically transform their Highland fairy tale.

Kinship and Kindness by Kara Jorgensen (A Paranormal Society Romance #1) - releases July 29th -trans MC

Bennett Reynard needs one thing: to speak to the Rougarou about starting a union for shifters in New York City before the delegation arrives. When his dirigible finally lands in Louisiana, he finds the Rougarou is gone and in his stead is his handsome son, Theo, who seems to care for everyone but himself. Hoping he can still petition the Rougarou, Bennett stays only to find he is growing dangerously close to Theo Bisclavret. Theo Bisclavret thought he had finally come to terms with never being able to take his father’s place as the Rougarou, but with his father stuck in England and a delegation of werewolves arriving in town, Theo’s quiet life is thrown into chaos as he and his sister take over his duties. Assuming his father’s place has salted old wounds, but when a stranger arrives offering to help, Theo knows he can’t say no, even if Mr. Reynard makes him long for things he had sworn off years ago. As rivals arrive to challenge Theo for power and destroy the life Bennett has built, they know they must face their greatest fears or risk losing all they have fought for. With secrets threatening to topple their worlds, can Theo and Bennett let down their walls before it’s too late?

More under the cut...!!!!

My Highland Laird: Sci-Regency Book #5 by JL Langley - releases August 10th

Bannon Thompson, talented artist and youngest son of the Duke of Eversleigh, is hastily shipped off after his latest indiscretion. After crashing on rural Skye, leaving him and his valet the sole survivors of a diplomatic mission, Bannon must navigate the complexities of a primitive clan society and take up a role he never wanted: helping a sexy Highlander ensure the safety of both their planets.

Laird Ciaran MacKay wants nothing more than to keep his clan safe from the off-world intruders who killed his father. Suspecting complicity among his own people, he has no choice but to trust outsiders from a spaceship crash—and he can’t seem to fight his attraction to the stubborn redhead. Drawn to the handsome laird, Bannon risks a bold affair. But there is more at stake than reputations as they find two lost Regelens and uncover the Intergalactic Navy’s plot.

Artful Deception by Jackson Marsh (The Clearwater Myseries Book #5)

“Deception. The lie that tells the truth."

A damaged painting tempts Lord Clearwater to a final battle with his arch-enemy, and it's not a summons he can ignore.

Archer must free his homicidal brother from incarceration and reinstate him to the title. He will be left humiliated and penniless, but free to live his life with Silas with no threat of exposure. The alternative is death.

Drawing inspiration from a work of art, Clearwater manipulates a series of illusions to stay one step ahead of the endgame. While James, Tom and Silas race to solve clues and reach Archer before the fatal deadline, the assassin, Dorjan, remains hot on his heels ready to kill.

The sixth book in The Clearwater Mysteries series brings back popular characters from previous adventures in a fast-paced, twisting mystery that can have only one of two possible endings.

Or perhaps one of three. After all, deception is the lie that tells the truth.

Ten or Fifteen Miles by BL Maxwell - May 27th

Tim Latham had only been riding for the Pony Express for a week before he has to show the new guy the trail. Being raised on a farm in the Sacramento area, the Pony Express gave him an opportunity to see more of the country beyond his family’s little plot of land. He loves everything about the job: the adventure, the scenery, and the speed. Racing the wind on the back of a horse was as close to perfect as he could imagine.

Jeremiah Rollins grew up in San Francisco under the shadow of his father's successful shipping business. But Jeremiah craves the adventure he reads about in the dime novels he can’t get enough of. On a whim, and despite his father’s disapproval, he signs up for the Pony Express and leaves his old life behind for the steep, rocky trails that cross the Sierra Nevada. Both men are excited to begin their journey on their first ride together to Nevada Territory. They set out, making their way from station to station, racing as fast as their horses can carry them, and their friendship grows every mile. They both wanted adventure, but they may end up getting more than they dreamed of. Every ten or fifteen miles brings new experiences, and new feelings that grow with each mile they pass. 

People Like Us by Ruby Moone (Winsford Green #2) - July 21st

Arthur Fitch clawed his way out of the violence and poverty of the slums of London to become a valet to the aristocracy. His ambition to secure a higher position led him to a disastrous appointment with a cold, brutal man, and when things come to a head, Arthur is forced to flee into a snowstorm to find safety. Joseph Wilkinson is the Winsford Green blacksmith. He has a good life, good friends, owns a thriving business, but at the end of the day when he goes home, loneliness consumes him. When he stumbles upon a small man determinedly trudging through the snowstorm, he invites him into his home to shelter. Arthur Fitch is older, smart-mouthed, and as prickly as hell. But, as Joe peels back the layers, he discovers a warm, funny, vulnerable man whose tastes in the bedchamber leave Joe gasping and desperate for more. Trouble is, having found the real Arthur Fitch, how can he convince him that life in a small town can be infinitely better than working for an Earl? That love really is possible for people like them? Particularly when Arthur’s past catches up with him in horrifying fashion.

Seaworthy bu KL Noone (Character Bleed Book #1) - August 1st - bisexual MC - contemporary, but with a lot of historical touches

An epic motion picture! A gay Napoleonic War love story! Ballrooms and battles at sea! Romantic happy endings on the silver screen! And a film that’ll change everything for its stars ... Jason Mirelli can’t play adrenaline-fueled action heroes forever. He’s getting older, plus the action star parts have grown a little thinner since he came out as bisexual. This role could finally let him be seen as a serious dramatic actor, and he needs it to go well -- for his career, and because he’s fallen in love with the story and the chance to tell it. The first problem? He’ll be playing a ship’s captain ... and he hasn’t exactly mentioned his fear of water. The second problem? His co-star: award-winning, overly talkative, annoyingly adorable -- and openly gay – box office idol Colby Kent. Colby’s always loved the novel this film’s based on, and he leapt at the chance to adapt it, now that he has the money and reputation to make it happen. But scars and secrets from his past make filming a love story difficult ... until Jason takes his hand and wakes up all his buried desires. Jason could be everything Colby’s ever wanted: generous and kind, a fantastic partner on set, not to mention those heroic muscles. But Colby just can’t take that chance ... or can he? As their characters fall in love and fight a war, Colby and Jason find themselves falling, too ... and facing the return of their own past demons. But together they just might win ... and write their own love story.

The Engineer (Magic & Steam Book #1) by CS Poe - May 28th

1881—Special Agent Gillian Hamilton is a magic caster with the Federal Bureau of Magic and Steam. He’s sent to Shallow Grave, Arizona, to arrest a madman engineer known as Tinkerer, who’s responsible for blowing up half of Baltimore. Gillian has handled some of the worst criminals in the Bureau’s history, so this assignment shouldn’t be a problem. But even he’s taken aback by a run-in with the country’s most infamous outlaw, Gunner the Deadly. Gunner is also stalking Shallow Grave in search of Tinkerer, who will stop at nothing to take control of the town’s silver mines. Neither Gillian nor Gunner are willing to let Tinkerer hurt more innocent people, so they agree to a very temporary partnership. If facing illegal magic, Gatling gun contraptions, and a wild engineer in America’s frontier wasn’t enough trouble for a city boy, Gillian must also come to terms with the reality that he’s rather fond of his partner. But even if they live through this adventure, Gillian fears there’s no chance for love between a special agent and outlaw. Based on the short story, “Gunner the Deadly.” Entirely revised, newly expanded, and Book One in the exciting new steampunk series, Magic & Steam.

Pirate’s Promise (Pirate’s of Port Royal Book #1) by Jules Radcliffe - May 12th - the rest of the series is also out this Summer!

Press-ganged as a boy, Job Wright must learn how to live as a free man.

For years Job has been a captive, treated as a servant—and sometimes more—by a crooked merchant crew. Until the day his ship is attacked by pirates. English pirates, no less, and Brethren of the Coast, a brotherhood of free men who owe allegiance to no one but themselves. Job thinks he's been rescued at last, but he's badly mistaken. As an Englishman aboard a Spanish ship, the Brethren believe he's a traitor and an enemy. But just when pirate justice is about to be delivered, Garrett Dubh intervenes. He both saves Job's life and recruits him to the pirate ship Audacious.

Surrounded by a fearsome crew, Job finds protection under Garrett's wing. He's ready to do anything for the handsome pirate—things he'd never willingly do for another man. But Garrett ignores Job's shy overtures. He believes Job is too traumatised by his past. Too young to know what he wants. And nothing Job says will change his mind.

To show Garrett he can take care of himself, Job leaves the safety of the Audacious. He joins the most ruthless Brethren crew in the Caribbean, led by the enigmatic and cruel Rusé.

But in the French pirate haven of Tortuga, thoughtless actions can have fatal consequences, something Job is about to discover. And this time, Garrett isn't there to save him.

Chasing a Legacy by D. A Ravenscroft - May 2020

Against the tense political backdrop of the Second French Empire, siblings Camille and Marianne find themselves wrestling with personal demons both past and present. As Camille strives to keep family secrets buried and unveil a plot against them, Marianne becomes involved with the handsome Baron Auclair and his mysterious younger sister. Little do the siblings know that soon their very different lives will come crashing together…

-

The sequel to a sequel! In this follow up to the unofficial Les Mis sequel ‘Chasing a Ghost’, we follow Enjolras and Grantaire’s children, Camille and Marianne, through dangers untold and family strife. Set in 1866, towards the end of the Second Empire, this story has murder, mystery, romance, drama, comedy, and a pet lion. And yes, it’s very, very queer.

https://www.lulu.com/en/gb/shop/d-a-ravenscroft/chasing-a-legacy/paperback/product-y58wrq.html

Two Rogues Make a Right by Cat Sebastian (Seducing the Sedgwicks Book #3) - June 23rd

Will Sedgwick can’t believe that after months of searching for his oldest friend, Martin Easterbrook is found hiding in an attic like a gothic nightmare. Intent on nursing Martin back to health, Will kindly kidnaps him and takes him to the countryside to recover, well away from the world. Martin doesn’t much care where he is or even how he got there. He’s much more concerned that the man he’s loved his entire life is currently waiting on him hand and foot, feeding him soup and making him tea. Martin knows he’s a lost cause, one he doesn’t want Will to waste his life on. As a lifetime of love transforms into a tender passion both men always desired but neither expected, can they envision a life free from the restrictions of the past, a life with each other?

Best Laid Plaids by Ella Stainton (Kilty Pleasures #1)- August 31st

In 1920s Scotland, even ghosts wear plaid.

Welcome to a sexy, spooky new paranormal historical series from debut author Ella Stainton.

Scotland, 1928

Dr. Ainsley Graham is cultivating a reputation as an eccentric.

Two years ago, he catastrophically ended his academic career by publicly claiming to talk to ghosts. When Joachim Cockburn, a WWI veteran studying the power of delusional thinking, arrives at his door, Ainsley quickly catalogues him as yet another tiresome Englishman determined to mock his life’s work.

But Joachim is tenacious and openhearted, and Ainsley’s intrigued despite himself. He agrees to motor his handsome new friend around to Scotland’s most unmistakable hauntings. If he can convince Joachim, Ainsley might be able to win back his good name and then some. He knows he’s not crazy—he just needs someone else to know it, too.

Joachim is one thesis away from realizing his dream of becoming a psychology professor, and he’s not going to let anyone stop him, not even an enchanting ginger with a penchant for tartan and lewd jokes. But as the two travel across Scotland’s lovely—and definitely, definitely haunted—landscape, Joachim’s resolve starts to melt. And he’s beginning to think that an empty teaching post without the charming Dr. Graham would make a very poor consolation prize indeed…

The Gentleman’s Thief by Isobel Starling (Resurrectionist Book #2)

Tuesday 28th December 1897. Mr. Benedict Hannan, the owner of Hannan’s Auction House in Fitzrovia, London, receives an unexpected visitor at his Bloomsbury home. The man on his stoop sends Benedict’s heart into a flutter, and on inviting the mysterious stranger into his house, he is inviting mystery, adventure, and volcanic desire.

Sebastian Cavell—master thief, gives the impression he has sought out Benedict for the sake of business, but the kind of business Sebastian has in mind has nothing to do with making money!

Cavell has been tasked with finding the whereabouts of a missing German aristocrat. With Benedict’s society connections, Sebastian gains access to his Gentleman’s Club and to men whose behavior is not so gentlemanly!

Benedict is pulled into the circle of a dangerous secret society and he not only learns the truth about the mysterious Sebastian Cavell, but learns the truth about himself and all he truly desires.

The Curse of the Mummy’s Heart by Julia Talbot - June 30th

Something is rising in the desert sand, and between two adventurous men.

Famous 1920s Hollywood actor Douglas Fitzhugh and his brother Donnie are headed for Egypt on a classic monster movie quest. Their mysterious benefactor, a man they call Grant, has sent them to find a stranded archaeologist, and all they have to go on is a handwritten journal. That's just the kind of adventure Douglas loves, and he never passes up the chance to get away from his studio-driven life.

Charles Angeloff is also on his way to Egypt with a special object his father has asked him to return to the tomb he ripped it from. Charles is just out of university, and when he meets Douglas, he falls hard for Douglas' charm and his worldly ways.

As they travel, more men of adventure join them: a cowboy, a rich seminary student, and a librarian. When they're all together, it's like magic happens, and the men all realize they're on a mission to stop the horror that stirs beneath the desert sands, even as that creature sets its sights on Charles. Will Douglas and Charles lose each other just when they've found what they both think is the man they want to be with forever?

Starcrossed: A Paranormal Historical Romance (Magic in Manhattan #2) by Allie Therin - May 18th

When everything they’ve built is threatened, only their bond remains… 1925 New York Psychometric Rory Brodigan’s life hasn’t been the same since the day he met Arthur Kenzie. Arthur’s continued quest to contain supernatural relics that pose a threat to the world has captured Rory’s imagination—and his heart. But Arthur’s upper-class upbringing still leaves Rory worried that he’ll never measure up, especially when Arthur’s aristocratic ex arrives in New York. For Arthur, there’s only Rory. But keeping the man he’s fallen for safe is another matter altogether. When a group of ruthless paranormals throw the city into chaos, the two men’s strained relationship leaves Rory vulnerable to a monster from Arthur’s past. With dark forces determined to tear them apart, Rory and Arthur will have to draw on every last bit of magic up their sleeves. And in the end, it’s the connection they’ve formed without magic that will be tested like never before.

Another Chance For Love by Ellie Thomas - July 4th

Former British Army Lieutenant Adam Merryweather survived the Western Front of WWI and has slowly recovered from his injuries. But can he heal from a broken heart? Torn between family duty and personal happiness, he sacrificed his love for Alf and has never ceased to regret it in the two years since the war ended. Adam is slowly putting his empty life back together, working for the family firm in the city centre of Bristol and trying to stop his mother’s meddling to find him the perfect socially acceptable bride. When he happens to meet Alf out of the blue, Adam is determined to try again. But convincing Alf to give him another chance may be too much to hope for. Can a chance meeting bring them back together? Or has Adam lost another chance for love forever?    

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite - July 28th - sapphic

When Agatha Griffin finds a colony of bees in her warehouse, it’s the not-so-perfect ending to a not-so-perfect week. Busy trying to keep her printing business afloat amidst rising taxes and the suppression of radical printers like her son, the last thing the widow wants is to be the victim of a thousand bees. But when a beautiful beekeeper arrives to take care of the pests, Agatha may be in danger of being stung by something far more dangerous…

Penelope Flood exists between two worlds in her small seaside town, the society of rich landowners and the tradesfolk.  Soon, tensions boil over when the formerly exiled Queen arrives on England’s shores—and when Penelope’s long-absent husband returns to Melliton, she once again finds herself torn, between her burgeoning love for Agatha and her loyalty to the man who once gave her refuge.

As Penelope finally discovers her true place, Agatha must learn to accept the changing world in front of her. But will these longing hearts settle for a safe but stale existence or will they learn to fight for the future they most desire?

--

*If more come to my attention after this is posted, they will be added!!!

[itsthegameilike]

Best of 2019 Reads

I didn’t get to read quite as much this year as I usually do, but I wanted to collect my favorites, anyway, because books always deserve more love. The most love. Without further ado...

Call Down the Hawk--Maggie Steifvater (lgbt) While this book works best if you’ve read The Raven Cycle, I do feel as though it stands alone and separate from the series. It’s magical and intense and profound and it was one of the few books this year that I absolutely devoured. The new characters are fabulous, especially Jordan, and Declan absolutely shines. If you read The Raven Cycle and weren’t sure about this one, it’s worth reading just for Declan. The stakes are high, the dreams are marvelous, and the ending leaves you ready for more.

On Earth, We’re Briefly Gorgeous--Ocean Vuong (lgbt)  I first discovered Ocean in one of my poetry writing classes in college and I never looked back. The way Ocean sees the world is spectacular. The lowest lows are part of his life experience and he transforms them into sublime beauty. His first novel is no different. While largely plotless, more vignettes than anything else, it transformed how I thought of the world for weeks. And there are more than a few passages I’ll never forget. 

The Starless Sea--Erin Morgenstern (lgbt) Like everyone, I could go on and on about The Night Circus, her first novel, and like, I expect, everyone else, I can say with confidence that this book didn’t disappoint. There’s underground libraries, time travel, whimsical romance, an ocean of honey, and secret societies. If I could dream up the perfect novel, more than half of the tropes included in this novel would be in it. It does what the best fantasy does; actually transports you from your living room to a different world, just for a little while.

Small Gods--Terry Pratchett  The first of my recs that wasn’t released this year. I read lots of Terry Pratchett this year but this was by far my favorite. There’s nothing quite like a god who’s been transformed into a turtle and only remembers he’s a god because of the belief of one simple-minded but kind person. Organized religion is examined with care and as with all Pratchett novels, hilariously. The novel finished and I felt like I’d learned more about life than I’d learned in six months of actually living.

A Winter’s Promise--Christelle Dabos This novel is complex and the worldbuilding is extensive and complicated, but the rewards of paying attention and being committed are high. The characters are spectacular, though it takes some time to reveal their many motivations, and the world is even more so. The side characters also shine as every single written character has a decided motive. I devoured this one as well and the second in the series is even better. I would argue if you don’t like the first one, you should still try the second, that’s how good it is. All of the work of the first novel pays off in the second.

On A Sunbeam--Tillie Walden (lgbt) A lengthy graphic novel set in space with some excellent queer representation. It’s been awhile since I enjoyed this one, but I read it in one sitting. The drawings were beautiful and the colors were perfect for the tone of the story and writing. The love story between the two main girls is sweet and soft and heartwrenching and it was perfect to be wrapped up in their world for a little while. This book is like briefly being trapped in a snowglobe.

Spinning Silver--Naomi Novik I enjoyed Uprooted more than I enjoyed this particular fairytale retelling, but it was still worth a read. The main character is resourceful and interesting, the way she goes about navigating world and finding love not quite the path you would’ve expected in the beginning. The world is lush and well developed and the court of the fey is one of my favorite locations in a fantasy novel in awhile. What really sells this book is the ending. The middle can be slow, but it was worth it for the way all the threads come together.

Nevernight--Jay Kristoff I could talk about this novel for-fucking-ever. There are footnotes that can be extremely informative and are often laugh out loud funny. The violence and the language and the jokes can often be crude, but there is so much joy written into them that it hardly matters. The twists and turns of the plot are amazing and there was even one or two I didn’t predict. Mia is such a badass and her quest for revenge is the kind of quest I love to see female characters involved. She gets a storyline few women get, especially in fantasy. Godsgrave, the second novel, is also incredible and puts Mia in an awesome queer relationship. The last novel, Darkdawn, came out this year and was actually a bit of a disappointment, but the series overall is still one of my favorite.

Devotions--Mary Oliver Everyone knows Mary Oliver and I’m not going to pretend this recommendation is revelatory in any way, but this collection got me through some of my hardest days. It’s best read a poem at a day with a good five minute think afterward. You’ll start seeing the world in a different and more hopeful way. Nature has lots to teach you, kids, and so does Mary Oliver.

The Trials of Apollo--Rick Riordan (lgbt) This is a whole series and the fourth one came out this year and if you haven’t read any Rick Riordan this probably isn’t the place to start. But if you’ve read some of him and haven’t yet checked out this series it’s a must. It’s more adult than any of his other ones and the stakes feel so high, that when I started reading the fourth one this year, I could barely do it, I was so nervous. They’re hilarious, as can be expected by Riordan, but they’re also profound. There are a couple of emotional moments that I still get lost in while lying in bed at night and Apollo’s character arc is one of the most rewarding in recent memory.

Red, White, and Royal Blue--Casey McQuiston (lgbt) A favorite of the year on tumblr, I think, and definitely worth all of the hype. I read this in one sitting. It was quick and easy and joyful, definitely an alternate universe that I would prefer we were currently living in. Alex and Henry are both delightful and their romance is poignant, something that gave me comfort as a queer woman. If you need a little light in your life, start here.

Little Fish--Casey Plett (lgbt) One of the hardest books I read this year. It’s an intense look into the life of a trans woman and her friends, most of whom are also trans. And when I say intense, I mean intense. It often hurts. But I loved it for the way the author portrayed her main character. There was so much love and sympathy there. Nothing was held back. It was very clear that this book was the heart of this author. It meant everything to them.

Snow & Rose--Emily Winfield Martin A children’s fairytale that world builds so good that none of the rest of the book even matters. The rest is also good, but I could’ve gotten lost into the world forever. As with all fables, it ends with lessons learned and they’re important and earned lessons. It’s been awhile since I’ve read it, but I remember it being spectacular and well worth my time.

Peter Darling--Austin Chant (lgbt) Not the most well-written on this list, but it is a hopeful read. And the most adorable. This book is entirely for the queer representation, but it is very good representation. It also is a retelling of Peter Pan, which is good fun. It’s short and quick and I finished with a huge smile on my face.

[girlobsessed21]

The 100 season 6 predictions #2

As promised, here’s another prediction post. I checked my previous one and most of it occurred or might still play out in some way. This time I’m not so confident but I try. My mom vetoed only two of the theories I discussed with her and she’s brutally honest, so that’s something, at least.

That said, I’ll start with the basics. 

The Episode guide

6x09 - What you take with you

UNLIKELY COMPANIONS - Bellamy must venture out into enemy territory with an unlikely companion. Meanwhile, Octavia is forced to confront her past.

This is also the title of the biography of Therese Greenwood about wildfires that destroy an entire community in Canada causing its inhabitants to flee to safety.

A snippet from Rich Malloy’s article ‘What’s In There? Only What You Take With You’ about Yoda’s teachings to Luke Skywalker in the cave. “As we move through life, facing challenges, enjoying moments, getting excited, or being calm, how we are in that moment depends on what we take with us. Did you get blindsided by a difficult conversation? You faced it with only what you took with you. Did you prepare for the meeting? You faced it with only what you took with you. Each day we have new caves to enter with unknown challenges to face, and we do so with only what we take with us.”

6x10 - Matryoshka

REUNITED – Russel seeks justice. Meanwhile, Gabriel must make a difficult choice. Lastly, the Blake siblings reunite

The following was taken from Kerry Kubilius’s article: The Origin of the Matryoshka, Russian Nesting Dolls

A matryoshka (plural: matryoshki) is a Russian nesting doll, and they are often simply called nesting dolls. It's pronounced mah-tree-YOSH-kah. These dolls open to reveal increasingly smaller versions of the same doll, one within another. The dolls can be pulled apart in the middle to reveal the next smallest doll, with the smallest doll being made of a solid piece of wood.

6x11 - Ashes to Ashes

Ashes to Ashes is a British crime drama series, serving as the sequel to Life On Mars. The series tells the story of Alex Drake (played by Keeley Hawes), a police officer in service with the London Metropolitan Police, who is shot in 2008 by a man called Arthur Layton and inexplicably regains consciousness in 1981.

"Ashes to Ashes" is a song written and recorded by David Bowie. Described as "containing more messages per second" than any single released in 1980, the song also included the plaintive reflection:

I've never done good things

I've never done bad things

I never did anything out of the blue

Instead of a hippie astronaut who casually slips the bonds of a crass and material world to journey beyond the stars, the song describes Major Tom as a "junkie, strung out in heaven's high, hitting an all-time low". 

'Ashes to ashes' derives from the English Burial Service. The text of that service is adapted from the Biblical text, Genesis 3:19 (King James Version):

“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

6x12 - Adjustment Protocol

Adjustment - a small alteration or movement made to achieve a desired fit, appearance, or result

Protocol - the official procedure or system of rules governing affairs of state or diplomatic occasions

6x13 - The Blood of Sanctum

Fire. Blood. Romance. Death. A glorious return. A shocking end that will change everything forever.

Blood Sanctum is a combat anomaly that can be found in null security space with Blood Raiders presence.

Blood globally represents life itself, as the element of divine life that functions within the human body. ... Blood and WINE are interchangeable symbols; in Chinese symbolism, blood and WATER are associated as complementaries, as THE YIN AND THE YANG. The term cold blood refers to unfeeling.

I’ll get into more details below but what I take from all of this is that the primes cannot continue to cheat death and that time dilation will play a big part in the series. Either in the current season or the next. 

Aboard the Eligius ship

Indra is back! Yes! I’ve called out to this awesome warrior in almost every analysis and finally, someone heard me. Kane will most certainly be less than pleased with his new body, but while he has it, he might as well put it to good use.

We’ve seen Abby’s downward spiral season after season, episode after episode, yet Kane’s transformation might be an all-time low. It’s known of drug addicts to purposefully re-invent themselves after hitting rock bottom. Abby Griffin stopped the pills and then focused all her energy on saving the man she loves, whose death was ultimately a subject of her addiction. 

He will certainly try and find a way to punish her for the selfishness and simultaneously rescue her from the compulsive behavior - he does still love her. How? By finding a way to undo what she did. They do not know how the mind-wipes work exactly. Kane would want to give Gavin his body back. So, if there’s a way, he’d want Abby to find it.

I don’t know if I’ll get used to Kane II. When I see Kane, I see Henry Ian Cusick. That body looked pretty dead to me but there might be a minuscule chance to save him. 

Kane’s new peaceful outlook will not involve killing the primes, but saving their hosts and protecting Sanctum. This is probably what he will conspire with Indra and Raven. Yeah, I doubt that plan will play out as they hope. Simone is still on that ship and will make life hard for them. 

Leaning on the Matryoshka themed episode, with the last of the dolls being a simple piece of wood. They’ve lived so many lives and come to see themselves as superior, that they’ve become cold and hollow through the centuries. Willing to do whatever it takes to maintain their immortality and power. Another fact, the dolls are all replicas, meaning Josephine must have matured into who she is by some sort of example from her parents. 

Daytrip 2.0 featuring Bellamy and Josephine

Bellamy is in for a bumpy ride in the woods. The sociopath will break him down and torture him to break free. My guess, she’ll use the betrayal tactic. Telling him that Clarke never really loved him, that she has always used him. That he wasn’t even in her mind when she took a peek. Only Lexa, Finn and Madi. She’ll try to make him believe that he’s not important to Clarke and that he should let her go.

We’ve seen some guy kill himself for Josie and Gabriel can’t shake her either, she’s clearly a master seductress. As a last resort, she might use these tactics to try and win Bellamy over. Make him fall for her using the body of the woman he loves? I’m not saying he’ll give into it, but hell it might be hard to resist. This will all be while watching her deteriorate.  

Reverting to the ‘what you take with you’ theme, how will he act in lieu of this information? Clarke apologized but does she really care? In season two she told him he should risk his life and go into Mount Weather, then left him in the end. In season three she chose to stay in Polis when he begged her to come home. In season five she left him to die in a fighting pit. They’ll have to sleep somewhere in the woods, perhaps Clarke finds another way to reach out to him.

When they reach their destination, Gabriel’s tough decision will obviously be Clarke or Josephine and when he saves Clarke, does he destroy Josephine? I doubt it. It won’t be the last we see of her. Octavia will beg him to save Clarke for her brother’s sake. This will somehow lead to peace between the siblings. She has A LOT to make up for, but it’s a start.

The Anomaly

A temporal anomaly is a disruption in the spacetime continuum which can be related to time travel. Temporal anomalies can take many forms and have many different effects, including temporal reversion, the creation of alternate timelines, and fracturing a vessel into different time periods.

The Octavia that returned looks like a younger version of herself. She may have lost her memories and be attacked by them once she takes a nap in the same way Clarke took a trip down memory lane. That is surely a night of terrors, reliving the Bloodreina phase. How will Bellamy react to this? 

Gabriel might see this as an opportunity to save both Clarke and the original Josephine. If it reversed Octavia’s age, won’t it do the same for them? They’re both in there, perhaps they can come out as younger versions of themselves? It fits into the Matryoshka theme.

The anomaly also picks up the soundwaves, implicating that they might have a way to contact the Eligius ship to collect them.

The synopsis of the finale states there will be a glorious return. I believe this is Diyoza coming back from the future, with Hope. Both her child and the abstract noun. If we’re going full-on time travel in season 7, she might contain the secret of how to stop the first Apocolypse. This is crazy, I know, if it’s where they’re headed, it will only happen in the series finale.

Sanctum’s blood

Russel will find Madi guilty for her attack. Maybe Jordan will explain that it’s not her actions, but the dark commander in her head which will lead to a painful exploration of the flame and perhaps even the destruction thereof. Although it seems like the writers are hesitant to let go.

Like I said in my previous analysis, Jade will turn on them and team up with Echo and Ryker to take them down from the inside. Unfortunately, there’s no way to communicate with the ship. Russel already said they’ll save Jordan’s life. If Ryker and Jordan can convince Priya, she might switch sides as well. 

Murphy is a bit of a conundrum. I still think those chips exist for a reason, yet Emori, the hero of the previous episode, convinced him that dying is an option. That she’ll love him forever even if the end is near. 

Anyway, Bellamy will most likely follow Kane’s plan with a bit more force aka guns and manpower. They’ll enter Sanctum to take out the primes but will ultimately walk into a war and have to fight it. 

Who’s on my deathdar?

Madi - Russel wants revenge. If he tries to take out the flame without the necessary knowledge, it might result in Madi’s death

Murphy and Emori - Their story is trudging dangerously close to happily ever after and that’s never a good sign on this show. Emori has also shown some great strength and character development. This might be the end for one or both of them if they don’t co-operate with Russel.

Gaia - She’s been outcasted to the dangerous woods, not sure how this will end when another eclipse appears.

Russel, Simone, and the other prime chips - Bellamy and his army might have to face countless tribulations to succeed but I believe they will eventually take them out.

Kane - If Abby doesn’t find a way to save his original body, I think he’s a goner.

The romance section

Right now there’s not much romance except for Memori, and that one scares me because it’s bittersweet. Remember the Marper moment in 5x08 where Monty asked Harper if she’ll still love him even if he’s just a farmer? This is following right in their footsteps.

Is Becho dead or alive? I’ve been called misogynistic and typical based on my Becho views but I’m not blind. I do not watch this show with shipper goggles. For a long time, I even thought Becho to be endgame. What in this season so far has broadcasted their relationship except for a sweet moment after Bellamy apologized for calling her an emotionless spy. 

What I think we might get a hint of is Jade and Echo based on what Tasya Teles said. Apparently, her favorite dynamic is between Echo and a new character. On another occasion, she said that Echo is bisexual. What would be better than this lesbian, mixed race pairing? They’re two badass female spies who will diminish the false gods from within. Who knows, we might see a spark.

Early on I saw a subtle hint of Raven and Ryker, but that’s on hold for now. It might turn in the future now that we’ve learned Ryker is on Gabriel’s side.

Xatavia or Gatavia - There was a momentary connection. I wrote about it last week, then some people told me they saw it too. I like it. I ship it. Okay, Octavia still has a long way to go within herself before she can pursue relationships with others but she’s making progress and I’m loving her this season. 

Jordan and Delilah/Priya - Perhaps Abby (and Gabriel) can find a way to bring the hosts back. If they can’t, Priya defended him, it might turn into something.

Mackson’s still going strong, I don’t see anything breaking them up.

Kabby is dead, by all means.

Bellarke - I wish I could be as positive about them as I was in my previous posts. What I see on screen, what I’ve watched for six seasons straight is the two of them within every romantic trope in the book. Now, once again, Bellamy is risking everything, leaving everyone behind to save her. People call him out on only caring about her. Bellamy is the one thing in Clarke’s mind she cannot face. He’s also her biggest regret. 

I never thought they’ll go the romantic route with Bellarke this season, Becho is still a couple, yet I banked on a confession of some sorts. I’ve read articles and seen tweets about misinterpretations on-screen which means they’ll remain platonic soulmates, for now. On the other hand, it’s bs. While discussing this with my mom, who does not ship, at all, she asked, “I’m waiting for the Bellarke theory...”

And all I had was Bellamy might head into the anomaly in the end and see this cute kid who makes his debut in the finale. He has the freckles and the hair, maybe it’s Bellarke’s child. But it could just be a young Bellamy. Or not related to him at all. What do you think? If it is, they won’t say it is but he’ll have a role to play in season seven.

Argue with me, I know I’m often wrong. Tell me about your theories, I’d love to hear them. Okay, until next week, bye.

[brokehorrorfan]

Blu-ray Review: The Mummy

Beyond being groundbreaking and highly influential, the classic Universal monster movies inadvertently created the first shared cinematic universe. Long before the Avengers were assembled or Batman squared off against Superman, the likes of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and the Wolf Man shared the silver screen. It's only logical for Universal to revisit these iconic characters now that cinematic universes are in vogue.

The Mummy launches the Dark Universe, as it has been dubbed - and it quickly dashes any excitement in the prospect of seeing the classic monsters on the big screen again. Inexplicably, it largely abandons the horror roots in favor of an action movie that happens to involve monsters. It's the first in a proposed series of massive-budgeted, PG-13-rated, summer tentpoles with A-list casts. While none of these are bad qualities in themselves, The Mummy proves that they do not make a good reimagining of a horror classic.

Army Sergeant Nick Morton (Tom Cruise, Mission: Impossible) and his right-hand man, Corporal Chris Vail (Jake Johnson, Jurassic World), refer to themselves "liberators of precious antiquities," which is a fancy way of saying thieving treasure hunters. When an Egyptian tomb is curiously uncovered in England, they're the first to explore it, along with archaeologist Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis, Annabelle). The sarcophagus within, submerged in mercury, houses the mummy of Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella, Kingsman: The Secret Service).

As Dr. Henry Jekyll (Russell Crowe, Gladiator) explains in a hacky prologue voiceover, the ancient princess was the heir to the throne of Egypt until the pharaoh had a son. Embracing evil for revenge, she was reborn a monster before being mummified alive for her sins. When Nick unwittingly unleashes her in the modern world, Ahmanet picks right back up where she left off: attempting to bring a demon into the world through a mortal man. Naturally, Nick, Chris, and Jenny get caught up in the madness.

While there's no conceivable need to turn The Mummy into an action movie, I'd be forgiving it were a good one. There are a couple of solid action sequences, but even a thrilling plane crash shot in actual Zero G cannot pull the film above mediocrity. A cool underwater sequence in which Cruise's character is attacked by ravenous, zombie-like creatures set out to the Mummy's bidding is too little, too late. Watching Cruise and Crowe share the screen and duke it out is fun, but Crowe is forced to spout cheesy dialogue between blows.

Despite minimizing the horror elements, The Mummy draws unexpected comparisons to two beloved '80s genre films. Most apparent is American Werewolf in London: a deceased friend intermittently appears to the main character, more decomposed each time, to dump exposition and make the occasional funny quip. Even more unexpected, The Mummy's modus operandi is seemingly lifted from Lifeforce: she literally sucks the life out of hapless victims in order to become whole again. I hesitate to classify either as a mere homage, as they're more like lifted plot points.

This is only director Alex Kurtzman's second film, following People Like Us, but he's written such blockbusters as Star Trek and Transformers. Despite his relative inexperience behind the camera, he teams with cinematographer Ben Seresin (World War Z, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) to create a fine looking picture. The sun-soaked ancient Egypt flashbacks are particularly gorgeous, as if Terrence Malick made Lawrence of Arabia. The special effects are largely computer generated, but the fine artists of Industrial Light & Magic (Star Wars, Jurassic Park) pull off impressive work per usual.

The script - written by David Koepp (Mission: Impossible, Jurassic Park), Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, Edge of Tomorrow), and Dylan Kussman (better known as an actor from Dead Poets Society); with Kurtzman and two other screenwriters receiving story credits - is sloppy, to say the least. No doubt the result of too many cooks, the main struggle lies in the film's uneven tone. No one seems to know whether they're making a serious, big, action spectacle (like your average Tom Cruise movie), incorporating its horror roots (a la World War Z), or infusing comedy (akin to the 1999 Brendan Fraser version of The Mummy). Spreading itself too thin between the three, none of the aspects play successfully.

Cruise's character feels like it was written for Chris Pratt. He desperately tries to be the likable, unexpected hero, but he can't shed the typical Cruise action star persona. He's perfectly good at that, but the incongruous goofy bits don't play to his strengths. Crowe chews the scenery as both Dr. Jekyll and his evil alter ego, Mr. Hyde. His character(s) is obviously intended to serve as the bridge between the monsters, similar to Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury in the Marvel cinematic universe.

Boutella isn't given enough to do, but she does well with the material and looks cool in the process. The welcomed gender swap is inconsequential. Wallis is introduced as a strong female character but is ultimately reduced to the token love interest. Johnson is great as the comedic relief - further proving Cruise had no business cracking jokes - though he's forced to play it more broad than usual. Courtney B. Vance (The People v. O.J. Simpson) is wasted as a military superior. Javier Botet (The Conjuring 2) provides creepy motion capture for a ghoulish character.

Special features on big studio movies are almost always fluff pieces full of precisely-edited sound bites, but The Mummy's home video release includes a 21-minute conversation between Kurtzman and Cruise. It's quite interesting to hear them discuss the film from the ground up so candidly. The same can be said about the audio commentary from Kurtzman, Boutella, Wallis, and Johnson. They excitedly discuss their experiences, including Kurtzman pointing out practical vs. digital effects - many of which are surprising. He also reveals that numerous scenes were written at the last minute, improvised on set, reshot, or completely reworked in editing.

The numerous shorter featurettes are more in line with what you'd expect: "Rooted in Reality" finds the cast and crew discussing how they approached a realistic, modern take on a traditional monster; "Life in Zero-G" takes viewers through the fascinating process behind the place crash scene - which consisted of 64 cycles, each with around 22 seconds in Zero G; "Meet Ahmanet" centers on Boutella; "Cruise in Action" explores Cruise and his stunt work; "Nick Morton: In Search of a Soul" is another Cruise-centric piece about his character; "Becoming Jekyll and Hyde" highlights Crowe; and "Choreographed Chaos" details a large action set piece. Special features are rounded out by four deleted scenes and an animated graphic novel, which is essentially a four-minute animated version of the prologue.

There's a line in The Mummy in which Crowe's character refers to Cruise's as "ultimately devoid of soul," which doubles as an apt metaphor for the film. The titular character lacks the sympathy that made the old Universal monsters so effective. There are few things I would enjoy more than seeing the classic monsters back on the big screen, but The Mummy's approach is clearly not the right one. Critics and audiences both seem to agree, so hopefully it's not too late to retool the Dark Universe into something that lives up to even a fraction of its enormous potential.

The Mummy will be released on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on September 12 via Universal.

[glenngaylord]

MY MOMENTS OUT OF TIME IN FILM 2018

Instead of a Top 10 List, every year I like to honor a long-discontinued but influential annual column from Film Comment magazine. I couldn’t wait for my father to come home from work with the “Moments Out Of Time” issue.  The writers would cite their favorite scenes, images, or lines of dialogue, even from films they may not have liked, because let’s face it, even bad films may have a great moment or two.  This was a great year in film, although I admit some of my favorite moments were films or series made for television.  Whether it’s Alex Borstein wielding her trusty plunger around the Catskills in THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL or Amy Adams waking up from a drunken stupor in the unforgettable SHARP OBJECTS, these shows had more indelible scenes than all of the Marvel and DC superhero movies combined.  

Still, I found myself lucky enough to see the staggeringly beautiful ROMA twice in a theater, because seeing it on Netflix doesn’t do it justice.  If that’s your only option, however, see it and see it with its glorious empathy oozing out of every frame.  EIGHTH GRADE took me by surprise with its unassuming, off-the-cuff filmmaking style.  Beneath that I found an aching, contemporary story of a young girl dying to connect with somebody, anybody…her cracked phone an apt metaphor for a world in which our societal sickness lies buried in an addiction to our screens.  PADDINGTON 2, even more so than its wonderful predecessor, gave us the immigrant experience from an accident-prone, marmalade-loving cuddly bear who just wants to unite everyone.  BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, despite its Powerpoint presentation of a story, oozed with so much emotion, the joy of creating, the beauty of people seeing you, and the sheer nostalgia of it all, I found myself crying throughout.  A STAR IS BORN, while imperfect,  had moments of such gorgeousness, especially the undeniable chemistry of its leads, it’s my prediction to win the Best Picture Oscar.  VICE, another Oscar front runner, had fantastic performances and was nonstop fun, but, for me, didn’t quite lick the enigma of Dick Cheney and demonstrated some juvenile instincts of its writer/director.  

I saw a ton of films, but even I can’t see them all.  I missed SHOPLIFTERS, BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE, BEAUTIFUL BOY, and BURNING, among many others…but will catch up with them soon.  So having said that, here, in no particular order, are my Moments Out Of Time In Film for 2018:

Gabe invites Kayla over for a “first friend hangout” dinner of chicken nuggets and beautifully lived-in, awkward, nerdy charm, telling this lovely, insecure young girl, “You are awesome” - melting all of our hearts with that sweet, simple declaration. It’s one of the most beautiful scenes I’ve ever seen and a moment our Kayla richly deserved.- EIGHTH GRADE

A young, pregnant Mexican housekeeper tracks down the father of her child, finding him at some type of military training camp.  When she delivers the news to him, he screams at her to stay away from him and runs off to join his buddies.  We never see her reaction, instead experiencing the moment from a somewhat removed distance.  A lesser filmmaker would have cut to her startled, hurt face, but Alfonso Cuarón knew that we’d feel her isolation and devastation more strongly if we didn’t focus on her.  Only a master filmmaker would make such an indelible decision, along with a thousand other great ones. - ROMA

A Peruvian bear takes his Aunt on a fantastical, eye-exploding, stunning tour of London via a pop-up book come to life.  One of the most astounding animated sequences of all time. - PADDINGTON 2

A band looks out at the masses of people clapping along in sync to one of their songs, and in that moment, the connection feels palpable.  Everyone there, everyone who watched knew this was the moment when legends became immortal. - BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

Nicole Kidman completely transforms herself yet again as a hardened cop with a life full of traumas etched onto her tortured face.  Just watching her lurch towards a crime scene, ambling like Jack Skellington convinced me that to watch Kidman at her peak is to witness greatness. - DESTROYER

A woman in labor and with a horrifying nail injury to her foot, crawls into a bathtub to give birth to a child.  Unable to make a sound lest she capture the attention of a murderous alien slithering through her house, she agonizingly holds it all in until a competing noise allows her to let out a pained, visceral scream. - A QUIET PLACE

A young cater-waiter gets invited onstage to sing her song with a headlining rock star.  Surprised by her power, surprised by the surge and size of the crowd, her guileless reaction and blazing talent cut through, quickly proving the movie’s title. - A STAR IS BORN

Regina Hall sits on a rooftop with two of her female employees from a HOOTERS-like establishment.  They’re all in a transition period in their lives, unsure what the future brings.  They’ve all gone through an intense day and let it all out with extended screams, an unforgettable, undeniable female rage. This small, simple, subtle film is also one of the year’s best.  - SUPPORT THE GIRLS

More groundbreaking than I had ever thought, Fred Rogers soaks his feet in a little tub and invites his black, gay co-star to do the same, breaking taboos on a children’s show way ahead of its time. - WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?

Charlize Theron shows us the real pain of motherhood, never once feeling like a glammed-up version of the harsh realities, and yet saves its most shocking sucker punch for its final moments, delivering a reveal as unexpected as the one I didn’t see coming in SHARP OBJECTS. - TULLY

Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), referring to Emma Stone’s Abigail, tells Lady Sarah( Rachel Weisz), “I like it when she puts her tongue inside me”…which is followed by Stone giving Weisz the year’s best side-eye. - THE FAVOURITE

In a film filled with shocking moments - the odd clucking sounds, the decapitated bird head, the unexpected death of a major character, the eerie, incongruous reflection of a teen’s face in a school window, the most jolting moment comes when Toni Collette stands over her offspring’s bed and says, “I never wanted to be your mother”.  Stunned, she seemingly scoops those words back down her throat in an attempt to make them go away.  For this moment alone, and she gives a tour de force performance here, Collette enters the pantheon of actors who made themselves immortal. - HEREDITARY

Modern day cowboys sit around a perfectly shot nighttime campfire as our hero questions his place as a man in this world.  Masculinity has rarely been shot through with such tenderness as in every moment of this quiet stunner. - THE RIDER

“Gucci!” - EIGHTH GRADE

A young daughter ever so patiently and lovingly tells her PTSD-afflicted father that their views on how to live their lives may not converge, reminding us that histrionics don’t necessarily make for great conflict.  You can find it even when people act like adults and show decency towards each other. - LEAVE NO TRACE

My heart broke when a young Lebanese boy tried every way possible to keep his sister from being sold off as a child bride.  The kinetic filmmaking of this sequence mined every second for peak emotions. - CAPERNAUM

A blisteringly romantic tale of star-crossed lovers in Post War Poland wins the swoon award every time Joanna Kulig (a dead ringer for Jennifer Lawrence) sings the refrain, “Oy yoy yoy” - COLD WAR

Jack Black, playing a hard-partying character whose accident leads to the lifelong paralysis of his new friend (Joaquin Phoenix), meets up with him many years later.  In a short but painful scene, we see the wreckage of a life and the profound sorrow written across Black’s face.  I never thought I’d type the words, “Jack Black’s acting made me sob”, but there you have it.  If Beatrice Straight can win an Oscar for a single scene, then Jack Black can too.  Of course, I’m not even getting into how great Jonah Hill was in this film, but I’d be here all day. - DON’T WORRY, HE WON’T GET FAR ON FOOT

The matriarch of a family takes their housekeeper to a baby store to buy a crib when the chaos of the Corpus Christi Massacre erupts in the streets below, turning a simple shot into something epic, grand and inconceivable. - ROMA

Let’s face it.  It had some of the best and bitchiest one liners of the year:  “I pity your wife if you think six minutes is forever” , “Roger, there's only room in this band for one hysterical queen”, "Tell him thanks for the birthday cake. And tell him you're an epic shag”, and the beautiful, un-ironic exchange, “FREDDIE: Let’s go and punch a hole in the roof of Wembley Stadium.  BRIAN: Actually, Wembley Stadium doesn’t have a roof.  FREDDIE: Then we’ll punch a hole in the sky,” - BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

Kristen Stewart recounts how Joan Jett gave her some advice on how to capture her essence when she played her in THE RUNAWAYS.  Jett told her to “pussy that wood” in reference to how to attack her guitar.  Advice only a take-no-prisoners, blazingly alive woman could give to another in this energizing look at a true legend. - BAD REPUTATION

All of the tired superhero tropes we’ve become used to in live action appear fresh and thrilling when animated.  Who knew I’d thrill to a whole slew of Peter Parkers swinging through New York on their webs?  Who knew Lily Tomlin would appear in this and absolutely kill as Aunt May?  Who knew Kathryn Hahn would even appear in a Marvel movie and skillfully weaponize a nerdy persona? - SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE

Sure, we all loved that moment when Lady Gaga sang “Shallow”, but let’s not forget another star was born when Henry Cavill got up off that tiled bathroom floor, doffed his suit jacket and reloaded his fists to jump back into one of the best fight sequences in film history. - MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT

Connecting the dots of the past with our present day mess of a country, Spike Lee ends his film on an unsubtle yet vital montage of pure rage. - BLACKKKLANSMAN

In a wonderful reversal to the original, the murderous Michael Myers looks out a backyard window to see Laurie Strode (a fierce Jamie Lee Curtis) standing amongst the hanging sheets. Who’s the monster now?!! - HALLOWEEN

A montage detailing the many prison escapes of our protagonist, an aging, lifelong bank robber (Robert Redford still displaying his undeniable charisma at 82), provides a wonderfully conflicted view of a man who must commit crimes in order to feel alive. - THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN

A bitter, outrageously dead-inside mother jogs on a treadmill, moving cynically forward in life despite having a missing child she barely noticed anyhow and a crumbling Russian society around her. - LOVELESS

“Did you just look at me?  Did you?  Look at me. LOOK AT ME!  HOW DARE YOU!  CLOSE YOUR EYES!” - THE FAVOURITE

Despite endlessly terrible scenes of tourists dancing and eating gelato, Clint Eastwood finds a magic power in having the real life heroes on that train play themselves as they thwart a terrorist attack. Although a failed experiment of a film, those 10 minutes felt real and raw and undeniable because of its stunt casting and astute directorial choices. - THE 15:17 TO PARIS

Smack dab in the middle of the movie, it ends.  Roll credits.  Oh wait.  Things didn’t go so swimmingly?  Let’s continue.  A hugely entertaining fake-out gives self-reflexive cinema a good name. - VICE

After a traumatic incident at a beach (a stunningly shot, hugely suspenseful scene with incredible sound design), a housekeeper looks out the window of a car with a sense of peace as the reflections from the window gorgeously whisk past her lovely face. - ROMA

In the male dominated world of gun-toting action films, it was refreshing to see a group of women, led by a soulful performance by Natalie Portman, lock and load and enter the Shimmer. - ANNIHILATION

A Russian Engineer named Andreyev (Paddy Considine) panics when ordered by Stalin to record a symphony which already occurred.  He quickly assembles a ragtag group of people to recreate the concert, telling this terrified assembly living under a murderous regime, “Don’t worry, nobody is going to get killed. I promise you. This is just a musical emergency.” Not a great film, but Armando Iannucci and company know their way around a scabrous line or two. - THE DEATH OF STALIN

Most people will cite the great single take outside a limo as its driven from a poor side of town to a wealthy side.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fantastic piece of cinema, but my mind gravitated towards another moment.  A grieving widow lets her dog run loose in another widow’s apartment.  The puppy stops at a closet door and reacts to what’s behind it.  We know what it is, and she knows what it is even before we’re given visual confirmation.  A fantastic storytelling moment. - WIDOWS

Evan Peters, sitting in a car at a gas station, is joined by the actual person he’s portraying, melding narrative with documentary in such an original way. - AMERICAN ANIMALS

Although chock full of special effects in a genre I tend to find forgettable, Michael B. Jordan commanded attention in a simple, quiet scene inside a museum, finding danger and intelligence in every line. He was the REAL special effect of this film. - BLACK PANTHER

Scotty Bowers may be a creepy hoarder, but when you’re 95 and have no f*cks left to give, you’re gonna spill some tea about Hollywood Stars and we will soak it all up in this one-of-a-kind documentary - SCOTTY AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD

The slowest moving conveyor belt of all time provides one of the most well-timed, hilarious payoffs of the year.  We need an award for Best Supporting Prop! - GAME NIGHT

Leslie Mann tries to quietly sneak out of her daughter’s Prom night hotel room but electrocutes herself behind the TV console in a delicious bit of physical comedy. - BLOCKERS

A mother desperate to track down her troubled young son gives drugs to an addict in return for more information, showing just how far she’s willing to go. - BEN IS BACK

A closeted up-and-coming movie star confesses to his “golly gee” midwestern wife that he’s not happy and can’t pretend anymore. We get a naked glimpse behind both of their veneers. It’s a stunning, hugely empathetic moment for characters we’ve respectively and heretofore dismissed as a sociopath and a rube. - THE HAPPYS

Alex Borstein’s lesbian character Susie Myerson from THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL has met her feature film match with Melissa McCarthy’s equally nihilistic performance as Lee Israel.  To see her jousting with Richard E. Grant in any random moment in this wonderful film is to experience acting heaven. I loved how their final moments together could have easily turned to mush, but by staying true to their salty characters, they ended things in a deliciously dark manner. - CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

A comedy duo enacts a favorite routine onstage at the risk of one of their’s health.  It’s scary, but the love and respect they have for each other shines through. - STAN & OLLIE

I’m sorry to say it gave me the “Made For TV” vibes, but it still found power when Nicole Kidman’s character busts her son out of an Ex-Gay Center, calling out its owner for his utter lack of qualifications. There’s nothing quite like a stifled, repressed woman finding her voice. - BOY ERASED

“I’m just like you” - says a privileged suburban teen as he bounds out of his McMansion and into a fancy SUV.  While I generally enjoyed the film, this tone deaf opening line had me futilely looking around for my big house and fancy car.  Sometimes a moment out of time is a wrongheaded one. - LOVE, SIMON

In a documentary full of insane twists and turns, the big moment for me came when we were treated to a clip from DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN. Madonna breezes past our smiling, tight jean-sporting identical triplets, the new “It Boys of New York”, the flush of newly-found fame written all over their faces long before their tragic fall. - THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS

Say what you will about the endless 80s references, I want to live inside the swirling sequence which serves as an homage to THE SHINING. - READY PLAYER ONE

A Japanese woman dons a strange blonde wig and practices English and high fives with another ESL student, over-exaggerating her rounded open mouth as she speaks. - OH LUCY!

Constance Yu playing mah jongg slyly shows her deep wells of strength and strategic genius, nicely setting up a character who will surprise and charm us in equal measures. - CRAZY RICH ASIANS

Yes, it’s a pretty terrible movie, but there’s no denying the thrill of a certain pop legend’s long-awaited entrance by helicopter.  It caused my friend Dennis to say out loud, “F*ck yeah, it’s Cher!” - MAMMA MIA!: HERE WE GO AGAIN

In an otherwise forgettable film, Jodie Foster’s memorable gait as the “Hotel” Nurse made me happily forget Kevin Spacey’s from THE USUAL SUSPECTS, and for that, I thank her! - HOTEL ARTEMIS

A young boy named Stevie tries to impress a bunch of older skateboarders with a stunt which sends him through a hole in a roof and crashing to the ground with a sickening thud. - MID90S

Renee: I thought you might want a sneak peek of what’s to come.
      Ethan: I don’t know if you know what sneak peek means. You’re completely naked. - I FEEL PRETTY

Despite the gimmick of the movie seen entirely through laptop and smartphone footage, there’s electricity in the moment John Cho’s father character discovers his missing daughter has had a secret life. - SEARCHING

A dancer tries out a solo for a very strange company, unaware that each leap, spin or kick sends a trapped woman a floor below her into bone-crunching contortions.  It’s a scene you can almost feel. There’s something rotten in East Berlin! - SUSPIRIA

Sure, Emma Stone worked out a great side-eye in THE FAVOURITE, but has there ever been an actor who seems born to them more than Emily Blunt?  Still, my biggest emotional connection to this film came when Ben Wishaw sang “A Conversation”.  A beautiful, sweet lament. - MARY POPPINS RETURNS

The site of Michelle Pfeiffer dressed as an elderly woman, cane in hand, hobbling through the streets of New York in a desperate attempt to cash her late mother’s government checks, the score a cacophony of horns and percussion, gave me DRESSED TO KILL shivers. - WHERE IS KYRA?

Think of it as SHARP OBJECT’s UK Cousin, as we watch Moll (a searing Jessie Buckley) tap into female rage in all its messy, bloody glory in this feature length primal scream. - BEAST

Packed with punch and urgency, the opening sequence made you believe you were actually experiencing a WWII aerial combat.  Oh, and then it became a fun zombie gore-fest. - OVERLORD

A group of kids escape a gay conversion camp and pile into the back of a pickup truck.  Did they make the right decision?  Where do they go from here?  A wordless homage to the final scene in THE GRADUATE packed a punch. - THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST

Blake Lively wearing clothes.  That is all. - A SIMPLE FAVOR

A meeting with the family of a man who got their daughter pregnant goes terribly wrong, resulting in a slew of insults and threats.  It’s a fully alive, oddly comical yet tragic sequence in a film which otherwise left me cold.  - IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

Typically known for her impeccable image (before the reality show circus, of course), this pop icon lets down her guard and hilariously tears into Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul.  Had she been allowed to be more herself, her life might not have been as tragic. - WHITNEY

Glenn Close delivers the year’s best slow boil as the wife of a Nobel Prize winner who has secretly been his unheralded ghost writer all these years.  Until things grow shouty and overwritten in the third act, Close holds a master class in barely suppressed rage. - THE WIFE

Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, intense tennis rivals, meet up at the airport after their fateful match, the looks between them offering up a touching blend of competitiveness and respect and which will lead to their unexpected, lifelong friendship. - BORG VS. McENROE

In a moment of much-needed image rehabilitation, Anne Hathaway, as the GOOP-like actress perfectly named Daphne Kluger, wins her way back into our hearts just by the way she reacts to a priceless necklace being wrapped around her neck.  Every shiver and glance in the mirror makes you love her in all her campy glory. - OCEAN’S 8

A woman gets pushed off a cliff and finds herself impaled on a tree branch, yet not only does it not stop her, she’s just getting started in this literal bloodbath of a feminist fantasy. - REVENGE

A man meets tragedy and finds himself in a wheelchair only to gain powers he never had before after undergoing an experimental procedure.  In a fight scene involving an antagonist and a kitchen knife, Logan Marshall-Green surprises himself with each display of brute force coming out of him, making for one of the most brutal yet winningly entertaining melees I’ve seen on screen all year…and don’t forget that kitchen knife.  It’s just the right button on this bit of ultraviolet slapstick. - UPGRADE

A young husband meets with a conflicted priest, and in a searing monologue, tells the man of the cloth that the world is such a hellscape, he’d rather his pregnant wife abort their baby than bring it up in such a terrible environment.  It’s the first jolt of many in this nihilistic yet strangely hopeful film. - FIRST REFORMED

Presidential candidate Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman) confronts some press members who have staked out his home with the hope of catching him with a woman other than his wife.  He indignantly rails against them, claiming he had a right to privacy.  Oh, how times have changed. - THE FRONT RUNNER

Katja (Diane Kruger), a woman at the end of her rope, who has lost her family and confidence in the justice system, takes matters into her own hands in the literally explosive, inevitable, and crushing final scene. - IN THE FADE

Who knew that Hal Ashby had such a sincerely lovely relationship with his mentor, Norman Jewison?  It’s nice to know that sometimes successful people in the film business actually help out their younger charges. - HAL

I’m not sure I ever really wanted to know what it really felt like to sit in a fiery tin can on the way to the moon and back, but now I do.  It’s very well done, but I think I may need to puke.  - FIRST MAN

A young man with AIDS (Cory Michael Smith) sits with his mother (Virginia Madsen) in a car, unable to truly be honest with her.  The pain of it all comes across so clearly on their faces.  - 1985

An oversized candy cane weaponized to fight zombies at Christmas time in Scotland.  Oh, and it’s also a musical.  Just go! - ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE

I saw it twice to make sure I truly hated it, and yep, I still did…but the opening sequence in the school, the terrorist attack on the beach, and Natalie Portman banging on the table to protest a diner manager’s request for a picture will stick with me.  Hopefully I will forget the other 100 minutes of this painfully unfocused, unfocused, pretentious mess. - VOX LUX

[efx-preservation]

An Excerpt from David Cassidy's Autobiography

"During the last month in Toronto, in August 1996, I began receiving phone calls from my attorney, John Frankenheimer at Loeb & Loeb in Los Angeles, who said the MGM Grand in Las Vegas was interested in me taking over the lead in EFX, a $60-million production that was failing miserably. Michael Crawford had injured himself and had had to pull out. I told him I would consider it, but I would need to make some creative changes to the show.

We were in negotiations for about a month. Richard Sturm, the head of entertainment for the MGM Grand, and Alex Yemenidijian, the chief operating officer, flew the corporate jet to Toronto to see my final performance in Blood Brothers. They took me out to dinner afterwards and said, ‘We want to do this deal with you. We’d like you to move to Las Vegas with your family.’

I said, ‘OK, when?’

‘Tomorrow.’

‘Tomorrow?!’ I started laughing, it was so crazy. ‘I’m on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee tomorrow.’

‘OK, we’ll keep the jet here an extra day. We’ll come pick you up the day after tomorrow. Bring everything you’ve got.’

One day. Pack your bags, move to Vegas. What a concept.

Sue, Beau and I arrived in Vegas and it was 100 degrees at six in the evening. This was in early September. My wife looked at me and said, ‘Are you sure about this?’

And I answered, ‘Yeah, I think I can make this work.’

We flew there with the chief executive officer, Terry Lanni, a very bright, fantastic guy. He was in the thoroughbred business as well. We had a long talk about living in Las Vegas, working in Las Vegas and the changes that I wanted to make to create a show that would work with me as the star. He seemed very supportive. He was straightforward, sincere, extremely well-polished, arguably one of the best minds in the gaming and hotel business. He proved his value in the ensuing decade.

I will never forget the opportunity that Terry Lanni, Alex Yemenidijian and Richard Sturm gave me to perform, create and execute the transformation of EFX – in three and a half weeks! I called Shaun and Don Reo, my good friend who is an Emmy Award-winning television writer and producer, and we put together a creative team and worked around the clock.

The rehearsal process was a nightmare because of the number of individuals who had to be there while we were still making changes. There were at least 75 people backstage because of all of the special effects. All of the music or any other creative aspect of the show had to be entered into computers that ran the special effects, so it was a complicated and time-consuming process.

We created a whole new story and it was an overnight sensation. EFX became the most successful show in Las Vegas for the 27 months I was there. Within six months, the show went from one to two performances a night, and they were selling out.

It was a dangerous show to perform. Once I fell through one of the trapdoors in the floor, which had not been secured, and nearly plummeted five stories down. Fortunately, someone was there to pull me off one of the traps. I was injured a few times.

After two years of starring in the show, ten shows a week, 50 weeks a year, I began having foot problems. The stage was made of steel in order to support sets weighing nine tons. That caused nerve damage in my left foot. Towards the end of the run, after about 1,500 performances, I injured my foot so badly that the doctor began giving me cortisone shots between my toes, which was excruciating. And I was told that I needed surgery to remove the nerves in my foot. As time went on, I was getting more and more shots.

When I recorded my album Old Trick, New Dog I was working ten shows a week. We recorded a lot of it, and then started overlaying. I was also starting a record company, Slamajama Records, and creating and producing a television series for Fox, Ask Harriet. I’d actually written and originally copyrighted the show for myself. Had I played the role, like I wanted to and should have, I think it would’ve been a successful series. It’s a tough thing to pull off, having people believe you’re both a woman and a cigar-smoking, Scotch-drinking sports writer, but I think I could have done it because of my physical appearance.

I was 48 and working seven days a week. And there’s a big difference between what you can do when you’re 21 and what you can do when you’re 48. I was close to a nervous breakdown and my wife and I were as close to splitting up as we have ever been.

The photographs on the cover and inner sleeve of Old Trick, New Dog were taken by Henry Diltz, with Gary Burton as art director, the same team who had done many of my earlier album covers. I can’t remember the last time I cried before that day, but I was weeping intensely for an hour prior to taking the cover photograph. We went out into a canyon outside of Vegas and I stopped by the side of the road and Henry took that shot. The photo is completely untouched. I wanted it to be like that.

I think Old Trick, New Dog is a good record. This album is not overproduced like the previous album. When your life is in chaos, you try to find a way to simplify.

No Bridge You Didn’t Cross is a really good song. That song came through my friend, publisher Linda Blum-Huntington. She put me together with a couple of different writers. I was trying to get away from writing almost exclusively with Sue, which is what I did for the previous two albums.

Tony Romeo sent me a demo of You Are the One. He passed away prior to making this album, had a heart attack and died instantly. I took the song and reworked it, added a bridge and made a completely different record out of it. His heir discovered that I had taken the song and worked on it and said, ‘I can’t allow you to use this song.’

And I said, ‘Well, then you’re going to have to sue me because Tony was my friend for many years. And it was the only song that he and I ever collaborated on together. I know if Tony were alive this conversation would never take place.’ And nothing more was ever said.

I went back and looked at some of the songs that had been very influential in my career. I redid a few Partridge Family songs, I Can Feel Your Heartbeat – I love that song – I Woke Up in Love This Morning, and I Think I Love You. Old trick, new dog. I also re-recorded Ricky’s Tune, taking a different approach to the tune.

Whatever Happened to Peace, Love and Happiness is a track that really reflected where I came from. I’m proud to wear it like a badge of my political and social attitudes.

During this period, I was totally overwhelmed. My personal life and my relationship with my wife were also suffering. I worked all day. I worked all night. For two and a half years, I didn’t get home until one or two in the morning. Sue had to get up with Beau and take him to school. Neither Sue nor Beau enjoyed Las Vegas at all. In fact, they often complained to me about how much they disliked it. This was, of course, very difficult for me because I was making a fortune and I was in what was arguably the most fertile, creative time of my life.

I went to see a shrink and lost it in his office. He sent me to a doctor who gave me a prescription for an anti-depressant, anti-stress pill. Within a matter of two weeks, it was like a different world for me. I was able to get a grip on all of it and put things into perspective.

I had a conversation with the MGM about leaving the show to have the operation on my foot and try to heal. I would need to be out for at least three months. They didn’t want to put an understudy in for that long, so I completed the term of my contract. By the last week of performances, however, I couldn’t walk. I was on crutches. My brother Patrick was kind enough to perform in my place.

The day after my contract at the MGM ended, I went in for foot surgery. While in my hospital bed, I called my friend Don Reo once again and said, ‘I’ve got this great idea. I want to do a show about the old Vegas, about what made Las Vegas, Las Vegas.’ The first time I went to Las Vegas was with my dad and Shirley in 1961. They took me to see Frank and it was pretty fantastic. I loved it."

- Could It Be Forever?: My Story

[newyorktheater]

Before he started collaborating with Richard Rodgers on some of the most beloved musicals in Broadway history, Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960) had helped create some three dozen Broadway productions over a quarter of a century, most often writing both the lyrics and the libretto. Of course, he began with an in:  His uncle Arthur Hammerstein produced the musical, “Furs and Frills,” for which the young Hammerstein, at age 22 in 1917, wrote his first Broadway lyrics — for a song composed by Silvio Hein entitled “Make Yourselves at Home.” Arthur wasn’t his only relative in the business.  His father William Hammerstein was a theater manager; his grandfather, Oscar Hammerstein I, an impresario who helped create the theater district we know today.  But if family connections helped to make Oscar Hammerstein II feel at home on Broadway from the get-go, he soon transformed the place.

“Hammerstein, first with Kern then with Rodgers, revolutionized musical theater,” his protege Stephen Sondheim wrote in the introduction to the reissue of Hammerstein’s collection of his favorite lyrics. He accomplished  this, Sondheim says, “by combining the traditions of musical comedy with operetta while nudging story, character and lyrics towards the kind of naturalism that had overtaken the nonmusical stage since World War I.”

Still, there is some satisfactions in sifting through his individual songs — he reportedly wrote more the lyrics for more than a thousand of them —  and realizing how many vocal artists and musicians of many stripes and many generations have interpreted them — and so so still, 60 years after his death.

The New Moon, 1928

With composer Sigmund Romberg. Hammerstein worked on four Romberg shows.

From this one comes  “Lover, Come Back To Me,” sung by Barbra Streisand, accompanied, conveniently, by a scroll of Hammerstein’s lyrics.

Show Boat, 1927

Music by Jerome Kern, with whom Hammerstein collaborated on some half dozen musicals.

Paul Robeson sings “Ol Man River” in the 1936 movie of the musical. Hammerstein’s original lyrics were problematic in the way he referred to African-Americans. In the movie version, it’s been changed to “darkies,” which to modern ears isn’t much better than the original epithet.

I’ll quote here just the first few verses:

Dere’s an old man called the Mississippi, Dat’s the old man dat I’d like to be, What does he care if the world’s got troubles, What does he care if da land ain’t free?

Old Man River, Dat Old Man River, He mus’ know somepin’, But don’t say nothin’ He just keeps rollin’ He keeps on rollin’ along.

He don’t plant taters, He don’t plant cotton, And dem dat plant ’em, Is soon forgotten, But old man river, He jus’ keeps rollin’ along.

You an’ me, We sweat an’ strain, Body all achin’, An’ wracked with pain, Tote dat barge, Lift dat bale, Get a little drunk, And ya lands in jail.

I gets weary, An’ sick of tryin’, I’m tired of livin’, And scared of dyin’, But old man river, He jus’ keeps rollin’ along.

After 1938, Robeson changed the lyrics to the son in his concerts, not just omitting the denigrating references but cleaning up the dialect and changing the character of the singer from resigned to empowered. Instead of ” Git a little drunk, / An’ you land in jail…”, Robeson sang ” You show a little grit / And you lands in jail..” He changed “I gits weary / An’ sick of tryin’; / I’m tired of livin’ / An scared of dyin’,” to “But I keeps laughin’/ Instead of cryin’ / I must keep fightin’; / Until I’m dyin'”

Billie Holiday sings Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man in 1937, with Teddy Wilson on the piano.

Fish got to swim and birds got to fly I’ve got to love one man till I die Can’t help lovin’ that man of mine

Tell me he’s lazy tell me he’s slow Tell me I’m crazy maybe I know Can’t help lovin’ that man of mine

When he goes away That’s a rainy day And when he comes back that day is fine The sun will shine

He can come home as late as can be Home without him ain’t no home to me Can’t help lovin’t dat man of mine

Sweet Adeline, 1929

Music by Jerome Kern

Helen Morgan sang “Why Was I Born” in the original production Here’s Irene Dunne singing it five years later

Why was I born? Why am I livin’? What do I get? What am I givin’? Why do I want a thing I daren’t hope for? What can I hope for? I wish I knew. Why do I try to draw you near me? Why do I cry? You never hear me I’m a poor fool, but what can I do? Why was I born to love you?

Music in the Air, 1933

Music by Jerome Kern

Ten years later, Frank Sinatra sang “The Song Is You” which has been covered by singers as diverse as Mario Lanza and Mary Wilson

I hear music when I look at you, A beautiful theme of every Dream I ever knew. Down deep in my heart I hear it play. I feel it start, then melt away. I hear music when I touch your hand, A beautiful melody from some enchanted land. Down deep in my heart, I hear it say, Is this the day? I alone have heard this lovely strain, I alone have heard this glad refrain: Must it be forever inside of me, Why can’t I let it go, Why can’t I let you know, Why can’t I let you know the song My heart would sing? That beautiful rhapsody Of love and youth and spring, The music is sweet, The words are true The song is you.

Very Warm for May, 1939

Music by Jerome Kern

Ella Fitzgerald sings “All The Things You Are” (accompanied by lyrics!)

Carmen Jones, 1943

Music by Georges Bizet. Hammerstein basically supplied a new setting and new lyrics to the opera Carmen

Dorothy Dandridge sings ‘Dat’s Love’ (set to the song “Habanera) in

Oklahoma, 1943

Hammerstein’s first collaboration with Richard Rodgers, and the musical still most credited with creating the modern Broadway musical.

Barbara Cook sings Many a New Day

Kristin Chenoweth sings “I Can’t Say No”

Bette Midler sings Oklahoma!

State Fair, 1945 film

This is the only Rodgers and Hammerstein musical written directly for film. It was brought to a Broadway stage in 1996.

Jeanne Crain sings “It Might As Well Be Spring” from the movie.(Actually her singing voice was dubbed by Louanne Hogan.) Song begins at around 2:00

I prefer Rosemary Clooney with Harry James on horn

I’m as restless as a willow in a windstorm I’m as jumpy as a puppet on a string I’d say that I had Spring fever But I know it isn’t Spring

I am starry-eyed and vaguely discontented Like a nightingale without a song to sing Oh, why should I have Spring fever When it isn’t even Spring?

I keep wishing I were somewhere else Walking down a strange new street Hearing words that I have never heard From a girl I’ve yet to meet

I’m as busy as a spider spinning daydreams I’m as giddy as a baby on a swing I haven’t seen a crocus or a rosebud or a robin on the wing But I feel so gay in a melancholy way That it might as well be Spring

It might as well be Spring

Carousel, 1945

Joshua Henry and Jessie Mueller perform ‘If I Loved You’

Allegro, 1947

Part of a London production of the musical in 2016 at Southwark Playhouse, Katie Bernstein sings “The Gentleman is a Dope.”

The gentleman is a dope, a man of many faults A clumsy Joe who wouldn’t know a Rumba from a Waltz The gentleman is a dope and not my cup of tea Why do I get in a dither? He doesn’t belong to me

The gentleman isn’t bright, he doesn’t know the score A cake will come, he’ll take a crumb and never ask for more The gentleman’s eyes are blue but little do they see Why am I beating my brains out? He doesn’t belong to me

He’s somebody else’s problem, she’s welcome to the guy She’ll never understand him half as well as I

The gentleman is a dope, he isn’t very smart He’s just a lug you’d like to hug and hold against you heart The gentleman is a dope doesn’t know how happy he could Look at me crying my eyes out, as if he belonged to me He’ll never belong to me

He’s somebody else’s problem, she’s welcome, welcome to the guy She’ll never understand him half as well, well as I

The gentleman is a dope, he isn’t very smart He’s just a lug you’d like to hug and hold against you heart The gentleman is a dope doesn’t know how happy he could Look at me crying my eyes out, as if he belonged to me He’ll never belong to me

South Pacific, 1949

Mitzi Gaynor (actually) sings “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair”

Bing Crosby sings Younger than Springtime

You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught

In what amounts to a Public Service Announcement on Brotherhood Week, Oscar Hammerstein introduces the song, while Richard Rodgers plays the piano and while William Tabbert, who originated the role of the character Lt. Joseph Cable, sings

Here’s Mandy Patinkin’s interpretation

And Billy Porter

You’ve got to be taught To hate and fear, You’ve got to be taught From year to year, It’s got to be drummed In your dear little ear You’ve got to be carefully taught. You’ve got to be taught to be afraid Of people whose eyes are oddly made, And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade, You’ve got to be carefully taught. You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late, Before you are six or seven or eight, To hate all the people your relatives hate, You’ve got to be carefully taught

Alex Newell sings “Wonderful Guy”

The King and I, 1951

Kelli O’Hara sings “I Whistle A Happy Tune”

Whenever I feel afraid I hold my head erect And whistle a happy tune So no one will suspect I’m afraid. While shivering in my shoes I strike a careless pose And whistle a happy tune And no one ever knows I’m afraid. The result of this deception Is very strange to tell For when I fool the people I fear I fool myself as well! And ev’ry single time The happiness in the tune Convinces me that I’m not afraid. Make believe you’re brave And the trick will take you far. You may be as brave As you make believe you are You may be as brave As you make believe you are LOUIS While shivering in my shoes I strike a careless pose And whistle a happy tune And no one ever knows, I’m afraid.

Jelani Alladin and Matt Doyle sing “We Kiss In A Shadow” in 2019 (a gorgeous version that’s part of the unfortunately named R&H Goes Pop series)

Pipe Dream, 1955

Perry Como sings “All At Once You Start to Love Her”

You start to light her cigarette And all at once you love her You’ve scarcely talked You’ve scarcely met But all at once you love her

You like her eyes, you tell her so She thinks you’re wise and clever You kiss goodnight and then you know You’ll kiss goodnight forever You wonder where your heart can go Then all at once you know (All at once you know)

You like her eyes (‘like her eyes) You tell her so (‘tell her so) She thinks you’re wise and clever (You’re wise an’ clever) You kiss goodnight and then you know You’ll kiss goodnight forever You wonder where your heart can go Then all at once you know

Flower Drum Song, 1958

Miyoshi Umeki sings the first song “A Hundred Million Miracles” in this long segment on the Ed Sullivan Show

This is followed by “You Are Beautiful”, “I Enjoy Being A Girl”, “Love Look Away”, and “Sunday”. sung by members of the cast Pat Suzuki, Ed Kenney, Juanita Hall, Arabella Hong, Larry Blyden, Patrick Adiarte.

The Sound of Music, 1959

My Favorite Things

Julie Andrews sings it in the movie

But it’s been embraced by singers the world over, especially jazz singers.

Sarah Vaughn

Bobby McFerrin

Tony Bennett

Raindrops on roses And whiskers on kittens Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens Brown paper packages tied up with strings These are a few of my favorite things

Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels Doorbells and sleigh bells And schnitzel with noodles Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes Silver-white winters that melt into springs These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites When the bee stings When I’m feeling sad I simply remember my favorite things And then I don’t feel so bad

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens Brown paper packages tied up with strings These are a few of my favorite things

Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes Silver white winters that melt into springs These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites When the bee stings When I’m feeling sad I simply remember my favorite things And then I don’t feel so bad

The Sweetest Sight

In 1939, Oscar Hammerstein spotted an old couple on the beach, and was moved to write lyrics set to a melody Jerome Kern had written several years before. Here in 1981, Isaac Stern plays the violin violin and then Mary Martin sings “The Sweetest Sight I Have Seen” Starts at around 3:00

I have seen a line of snow-white birds Drawn across an evening sky. I have seen divine, unspoken words Shining in a lover’s eye. I hae seen moonlight on a mountaintop, Silver and cool and still. I have heard church ells fairly echoing Over a distant hill. Close enough to beauty I have been. And, in all the whole wide land, Here’s the sweetest sight that I have seen — One old couple walking hand in hand.

O is for Oscar Hammerstein II. The Lyricist Who Revolutionized Broadway, even before Richard Rodgers. Before he started collaborating with Richard Rodgers on some of the most beloved musicals in Broadway history, Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960) had helped create some three dozen Broadway productions over a quarter of a century, most often writing both the lyrics…

[andrewuttaro]

New Look Sabres: GM 16 - TBL - Sweden Pt. 1

3-2 Loss to the Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning have dominated the Atlantic division in the Eichel Era so far but particularly Buffalo. Since our sweet boy Captain Jack entered the league in 2015-2016 Buffalo has gone 4-10-2 against the Bolts. When Joe Yerdon pointed this out it wasn’t anything about Eichel, it was the recognition of an opportunity this two-game series against the Bolts in Sweden presented: a big stage against a tough opponent to prove this Sabres team is not the same one of old. I’m bias in the matter, I happen to think we are looking at a transformed hockey team in Buffalo, but one or two wins on this international stage might go a long way to prove the point. That point was not proven against hot teams in Washington or New York, but you can’t change the past. To think of this Lightning club as the proverbial goliath of the Cap Era that it probably is maybe the first instinct, but it wasn’t necessarily the current form of the team coming into these games. They were a shade under .500 at 6-5-2 coming into these two games so there is palpable opportunity here to get a few points against a squad that you got to believe will take over the division as the season goes on. Opportunity one missed. But first, let’s talk about what might just be the greatest game against the Lightning the Sabres have ever put together. There are not a lot to choose from with these two sides normally being good at different times and dog walking the other depending on who it is. Let’s go back to February 2008: just far back enough for the Buffaslug but recent enough to be on MSG network. The Sabres are down 2-0 with about 18 minutes left in the third period. Derek Roy scores the Sabres first goal before Tampa seemingly puts the game out of reach at 3-1 with a little over six minutes left. Toni Lydman gets Buffalo to within one before Tomas Vanek, the new sacred cow of the organization after a disastrous off season, sinks the equalizer and sends it to overtime where he taps in his second of the night to win it 4-3. Those of you who submitted your thoughts on the best games between these two teams agreed Vanek was on fire in this game. Alright, back to the present: the Sabres stayed with the Lightning this afternoon but ultimately fall 3-2 in regulation.

Nikita Kucherov and Alex Killorn scored goals in the first period to give Tampa the early 2-0 lead in Stockholm but the story of the first period and probably this whole game was the hit on Vladimir Sobotka. Sobotka had just taken a shot by the blue line and was staring naturally downrange. Nikita Kucherov slows up a little before going table-top-mode into the unsuspecting number 17. Vladdy did what anyone would do in the situation: rollover top to avoid blowing out a knee. He ended up landing headfirst on the ice before getting a little check from Kucherov as a parting gift. There was no call and Sobotka did not return to the ice for the rest of the game. Early reporting tells us he may have tweaked a hip. Even good ole boy Pierre McGuire on the NBCSN broadcast was like “Yeah, that’s no good.” These two games count in the standings, so the league sent over a staff of NHL trained officials and they all very much looked it in this game. Ralph Krueger gave them what for too. He cussed out all three assembled on-ice refs as Sobotka was helped off the ice. The thing that was audible on the broadcast was “Figure it out, you all got eight eyes!” We could talk about how bad officiating was in this game, and it was bad, but that isn’t just us. Officiating has been bad across this league this season and for at least a couple years now. Part of me wants to blame it on the thousand interpretations and minutia of how rules are actually enforced but that would blame it on something other than the ones who deserve it: a league that just doesn’t want to make a tough decision if it doesn’t make them money. If your commissioner is going to extoll the “success” of the new offsides rules staring directly at four blown calls each week then you just got to come to terms with it being junk league. I’ve come to terms with it: it’s a junk league.

I listened to most of this game on the WGR 550 radio side. It was not ideal. Don’t get me wrong, I love Rick Jeanneret and how can you not love 716 Sports Bar, but Rob Ray and RJ sounded like they were calling a backroom poker match in Vegas. You couldn’t hear any game action… which I suppose makes sense since the game was in Sweden and unless a goal is scored all you hear is the dull roar of people talking in a restaurant in the background. If you were there I’m sure it was a fun time, but I think we can utilize RJ’s talent a little bit better than stumbling through a game watching on a bar screen like any filthy peon like myself. The man is a legend, if you’re not going to fly him there give him some respect and have him call the game without the distracting background bar noise. But yes, goals on the radio are actually great, even broadcast live from 716. Rasmus Ristolainen took a shot from the blueline and it ended up in the net. On the radio it sounded like Risto got credit at first, but Sam Reinhart tipped it in to cut the Lightning lead in half. The Sabres had not scored in almost six periods, three buildings and two continents so that was refreshing to hear just to hear. The shooting percentage drop-off team wide has come home to roost. If you’ve been watching this trend unfold you’ve probably been biting your lip like me. I like to think of myself as the go-to Buffalo Sabres optimist, I even said this team is a transformed team earlier in this same postgame reaction but shooting percentage consistency is something good teams figure out. You’re not going to convert every opportunity but as the great one Michael Scott once said: you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Throughout this game Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel were the offense of this team. Of course our favorite checking line the Roaring Twenties got their chances too but for the most part any recovery of the cratering shooting percentage was going to come from one of those guys. Equal time: Olofsson and Montour looked hot tonight as well.

Entering the third period down 2-1 it was clear we had something of a low-grade goalie duel on our hands. Andrei Vasilevskiy needs no introduction, he’s the last defense of a club that has the firepower to sleepwalk its way to a President’s Trophy; but Linus Ullmark, NATIVE OF LUGNVIK, SWEDEN HIMSELF, was up to the task. He blocked bangers from every star on this Bolts roster and this game was close because these two came to duel! When Yanni Gourde tapped in a rebound 7:45 in the third to put the Bolts up 3-1, Ullmark only let it in because his team was playing U10 lacrosse defense. Before the Pat Maroon assist materialized Henri Jokiharju was the only guy on the puck carrier doing what can best be described as a reverse hip check. It was weird and it was awful timing considering we were starting to see those Third Period Sabres we’ve caught from time to time. Turns out those comeback kids were waiting in the wings; about four minutes later Sam Reinhart struck again. This time hip-checking Henri got an assist and this time it felt deserved after a sequence of events that saw Victor Olofsson laying in the opposition net mere seconds before the shot that would once again bring his team within one. Reinhart’s quick release shot went through the woods, a five hole and in! And so we got a reminder of what this club looks like when they push hard. They weathered a Lightning powerplay that came shortly thereafter, and our very own penalty-drawing machine Jeff Skinner even drew a powerplay to contribute to the cause. Ultimately it came up short and the max number of points the better blue team can take home from Sweden is now two.

The four-game losing streak stings a bit, I’m not going to lie, but at least we’ve gotten the insider reports of Botterill looking to make a trade. Good job, Jason! You’ll get the full A when you actually make a move. Three months of sitting on your hands is what made last season blow up in spectacular fashion, don’t make the same mistake again. Also: the team being in Sweden gives us some prime content from a club loaded in Swedes. Apparently Linus Ullmark knows of a great candy shop in Stockholm. Casey Mittelstadt misses his roommate Rasmus Dahlin a little bit according to an interview. Dahlin, the source of 70% of his Instagram content, is busy with family and… a Swedish girlfriend!? Fun times in Scandinavia, eh? Like, comment and share this blog for more of such fun. Rather, follow me on twitter @UttaroSports. I retweet the bajebus out of that stuff. Let’s hope this fun European trip can produce some points tomorrow! That would make the plane ride home that much better, eh?

Thanks for Reading.

P.S. Pierre McGuire is not a fun guy for color commentary in case you needed a reminder.

[networkingdefinition]

Thanksgiving Quotes

Official Website: Thanksgiving Quotes

• A basic law: the more you practice the art of thankfulness, the more you have to be thankful for. – Norman Vincent Peale • A lot of Thanksgiving days have been ruined by not carving the turkey in the kitchen. – Kin Hubbard • A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue but the parent of all the other virtues. – Marcus Tullius Cicero • All across America, we gather this week with the people we love to give thanks to God for the blessings in our lives. – George W. Bush • All that I see teaches me to thank the Creator for all I cannot see. – Henrietta Mears • Always expect the unexpected. Right around Thanksgiving, when the new Alex Cross will be out. It’s called Four Blind Mice and it’s a pretty amazing story about several murders inside the military. – James Patterson • An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day. – Irv Kupcinet • And though I ebb in worth, I’ll flow in thanks. – John Taylor Ann Voskamp • Anything I cannot thank God for for the sake of Christ, I may not thank God for at all; to do so would be sin. … We cannot rightly acknowledge the gifts of God unless we acknowledge the Mediator for whose sake alone they are given to us. – Dietrich Bonhoeffer • As governor, when I visited our troops in Kuwait and Iraq, I served them Thanksgiving dinner. It was a small gesture compared to their sacrifice. – Jennifer Granholm • As much as I love crisp, clean whites, there’s always a time for rich but balanced Chardonnays with oak, especially at Thanksgiving. – Gary Vaynerchuk • As soon as someone tells me: ‘You’re rather sexy,’ I wish I could disappear. If somebody says: ‘You were voted the world’s sexiest man,’ I have no idea what that means. How do I respond? ‘Thank you’ is the best you can do. George Clooney is the world’s sexiest man, anyway. – Daniel Craig • At Thanksgiving, my mom always makes too much food, especially one item, like 700 or 800 pounds of sweet potatoes. She’s got to push it during the meal. “Did you get some sweet potatoes? There’s sweet potatoes. They’re hot. There’s more in the oven, some more in the garage. The rest are at the Johnson’s.”- Louie Anderson

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'Thanksgiving', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '68', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_thanksgiving').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_thanksgiving img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); ); • Be present in all things and thankful for all things. – Maya Angelou • Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. – Oprah Winfrey Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough. • Before you go out into the world, wash your face in the clear crystal of praise. Bury each yesterday in the fine linen and spices of thankfulness. – Charles Spurgeon • Christmas is more stressful with present buying and making sure everyone gets included, but Thanksgiving is really not that. I don’t ever really get stressed out about the food. – Sandra Lee • Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude. – Ralph Waldo Emerson • Dear Lord; we beg but one boon more: Peace in the hearts of all men living, peace in the whole world this Thanksgiving. – Joseph Auslander • Drink and be thankful to the host! What seems insignificant when you have it, is important when you need it. – Franz Grillparzer • Envy and greed starve on a steady diet of thanksgiving. – Billy Graham • Eucharisteo—thanksgiving—always precedes the miracle. – Ann Voskamp • Even though we’re a week and a half away from Thanksgiving, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.- Richard Roeper • Every day is a day to be thankful. Life’s abundance has no limit, and gratitude is what keeps that abundance flowing. In every circumstance there is something for which to be thankful. Even when there seems to be nothing else, there is hope.- Ralph Marston • Expressing gratitude for the miracles in your world is one of the best ways to make each moment of your life a special one. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones! – Wayne Dyer • For flowers that bloom about our feet; For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet; For song of bird, and hum of bee; For all things fair we hear or see, Father in heaven, we thank Thee! – Ralph Waldo Emerson • For three things I thank God every day of my life: thanks that he has vouchsafed me knowledge of his works; deep thanks that he has set in my darkness the lamp of faith; deep, deepest thanks that I have another life to look forward to–a life joyous with light and flowers and heavenly song.- Helen Keller • For what I have received may the Lord make me truly thankful. And more truly for what I have not received.- Storm Jameson • Forever on Thanksgiving Day the heart will find the pathway home. – Wilbur D. Nesbit • From too much love of living, From hope and fear set free, We thank with brief thanksgiving Whatever gods may be That no life lives for ever; That dead men rise up never; That even the weariest river Winds somewhere safe to sea. – Algernon Charles Swinburne • Giving thanks to God for both His temporal and spiritual blessings in our lives is not just a nice thing to do – it is the moral will of God. Failure to give Him the thanks due Him is sin. – Jerry Bridges • Gluttony and surfeiting are no proper occasions for thanksgiving. – Charles Lamb • God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say ‘thank you?’ – William Arthur Ward • God gives us our relatives – thank God we can choose our friends. – Addison Mizner • God has two dwellings; one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart. – Izaak Walton • God is glorified, not by our groans, but by our thanksgivings. – Edwin Percy Whipple • God is pleased with no music below so much as with the thanksgiving songs of relieved widows and supported orphans; of rejoicing, comforted, and thankful persons. – Jeremy Taylor • God smiles when we praise and thank Him continually. Few things feel better than receiving heartfelt praise and appreciation from someone else. God loves it, too. An amazing thing happens when we offer praise and thanksgiving to God. When we give God enjoyment, our own hearts are filled with joy. – William Law • Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” – William Arthur Ward • Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse. – Henry Van Dyke • He that enjoys naught without thanksgiving is as though he robbed God. – Saint John Chrysostom • He who thanks but with the lips. Thanks but in part; the full, the true Thanksgiving. Comes from the heart. – John G. Shedd • How wonderful it would be if we could help our children and grandchildren to learn thanksgiving at an early age. Thanksgiving opens the doors. It changes a child’s personality. A child is resentful, negative, or thankful. Thankful children want to give, they radiate happiness, they draw people. – John Templeton • I absolutely adore Thanksgiving. It’s the only holiday I insist on making myself. – Ina Garten • I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual. It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite – only a sense of existence. Well, anything for variety. – Henry David Thoreau • I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new. – Ralph Waldo Emerson • I can only say thank you and thanks also to all of the great songwriters who wrote those wonderful songs that became number ones. – George Strait • I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land. – Jon Stewart • I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens . . . to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.- Abraham Lincoln • I don’t think any other holiday embraces the food of the Midwest quite like Thanksgiving. There’s roasted meat and mashed potatoes. But being here is also about heritage. Cleveland is really a giant melting pot – not only is my family a melting pot, but so is the city. – Michael Symon • I have learned that in every circumstance that comes my way, I can choose to respond in one of two ways: I can whine or I can worship! And I can’t worship without giving thanks. It just isn’t possible. When we choose the pathway of worship and giving thanks, especially in the midst of difficult circumstances, there is a fragrance, a radiance, that issues forth out of our lives to bless the Lord and others. – Nancy Leigh DeMoss • I have nothing against turkey. We eat turkey for Thanksgiving in my house. – Marc Forgione • I have often met with happiness after some imprudent step which ought to have brought ruin upon me, and although passing a vote of censure upon myself I would thank God for his mercy. – Giacomo Casanova • I haven’t had that many weird encounters with fans, thank God. – Vin Diesel • I like to stuff myself at Thanksgiving, not turkeys. – Kevin Nealon • I love chicken. I would eat chicken fingers on Thanksgiving if it were socially acceptable.- Todd Barry • I love Halloween, trick or treating and decorating the house. And I love Thanksgiving, because of the football and the fall weather. And of course, I love Christmas – that’s my favorite of all! – Joe Nichols • I love Thanksgiving because it’s a holiday that is centered around food and family, two things that are of utmost importance to me. – Marcus Samuelsson • I love Thanksgiving turkey… It’s the only time in Los Angeles that you see natural breasts. – Arnold Schwarzenegger • I see the glass half full and thank God for what I have. – Ana Monnar • I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes. – e. e. cummings • I thought that all of the sacrifices and blessings of the whole history of mankind have devolved upon me. Thank you, God. – Ben Stein • I want to thank you for taking time out of your day to come and witness my hanging.- George W. Bush • I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. – Gilbert K. Chesterton • If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get. – Frank A. Clark • If I were ever to go mad it would be on Thanksgiving Day, that day of guilt and grace when the family hangs upon you like an ax over a sacrificial victim, like the oven’s heat on that poor bird.- Francine du Plessix Gray If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough. – Meister Eckhart • If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share. – W. Clement Stone • If you think about a Thanksgiving dinner, it’s really like making a large chicken. – Ina Garten • If you think Independence Day is America’s defining holiday, think again. Thanksgiving deserves that title, hands-down. – Tony Snow • I’m thankful for every moment.- Al Green In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.- Albert Schweitzer • In the end, though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it’s wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices. – Elizabeth Gilbert • It has been an unchallengeable American doctrine that cranberry sauce, a pink goo with overtones of sugared tomatoes, is a delectable necessity of the Thanksgiving board and that turkey is uneatable without it. – Alistair Cooke • It is impossible to be negative while we are giving thanks. – Donald Curtis • It is now common knowledge that the average American gains 7 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. – Marilu Henner • It is therefore recommended… to set apart Thursday the eighteenth day of December next, for solemn thanksgiving and praise, that with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor.- Samuel Adams • It must be an odd feeling to be thankful to nobody in particular. Christians in public institutions often see this odd thing happening on Thanksgiving Day. Everyone in the institution seems to be thankful ‘in general.’ It’s very strange. It’s a little like being married in general. – Cornelius Plantinga • It would seem that the ingratitude, whereby a subsequent sin causes the return of sins previously forgiven, is a special sin. For, the giving of thanks belongs to counter passion, which is a necessary condition of justice. But justice is a special virtue. Therefore this ingratitude is a special sin. Thanksgiving is a special virtue. But ingratitude is opposed to thanksgiving. Therefore ingratitude is a special sin. – Thomas Aquinas • It’s a thanksgiving to God. It’s something I have wanted to do for a long time, but the record company wasn’t ready for it. So I did it myself. – Aaron Neville • Its better to pace yourself throughout a big day like Thanksgiving by having something healthful for breakfast and something light for lunch. – Marilu Henner • It’s like being at the kids’ table at Thanksgiving – you can put your elbows on it, you don’t have to talk politics… no matter how old I get, there’s always a part of me that’s sitting there. – John Hughes • It’s so warm now, and Thanksgiving came so early – is it just me, or does it not really feel like Ramadan? – David Letterman • Life without thankfulness is devoid of love and passion. Hope without thankfulness is lacking in fine perception. Faith without thankfulness lacks strength and fortitude. Every virtue divorced from thankfulness is maimed and limps along the spiritual road. – John Henry Jowett • Lord, ’tis Thy plenty-dropping hand. That soils my land, And giv’st me for my bushel sowne. Twice ten for one. All this, and better, Thou dost send. Me, to this end, That I should render, for my part, A thankful heart. – – Robert Herrick • Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it. – Ralph Marston • May your heart be an altar, from which the bright flame of unending thanksgiving ascends to heaven. – Mary Euphrasia Pelletier • May your stuffing be tasty May your turkey plump, May your potatoes and gravy Have nary a lump. May your yams be delicious And your pies take the prize, And may your Thanksgiving dinner Stay off your thighs! – Grandpa Jones My cooking is so bad my kids thought Thanksgiving was to commemorate Pearl Harbor. – Phyllis Diller • My favorite meal is turkey and mashed potatoes. I love Thanksgiving, it’s just my favorite. I can have Thanksgiving all year round. – Cindy Margolis • My restaurants are never opened on Thanksgiving; I want my staff to spend time with their family if they can. My feeling is, if I can’t figure out how to make money the rest of the year so that my workers can enjoy the holidays, then I don’t deserve to be an owner. – Michael Symon • My whole problem is that all of my favorite things at Thanksgiving are the starches, and everyone is trying to go low-carb this year, even a green vegetable has carbs in it. – Ted Allen No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks. – James Allen • No matter what our circumstance, we can find a reason to be thankful. – David Jeremiah • No people on earth have more cause to be thankful than ours, and this is said reverently, in no spirit of boastfulness in our own strength, but with the gratitude to the Giver of good who has blessed us. – Theodore Roosevelt • Not to sound too much like Christopher Guest in ‘Waiting for Guffman,’ but on Thanksgiving you’re putting on a show! – Ted Allen • Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.- W. T. Purkiser • Now thank we all our God, With hearts and hands and voices; Who wondrous things hath done, In whom this world rejoices. Who, from our mother’s arms, Hath led us on our way, With countless gifts of love, And still is ours today. – Martin Rinkart • Numberless marks does man bear in his soul, that he is fallen and estranged from God; but nothing gives a greater proof thereof, than that backwardness, which every one finds within himself, to the duty of praise and thanksgiving. – George Whitefield • O Lord that lends me life, Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness! – William Shakespeare • On Thanksgiving Day we acknowledge our dependence. – William Jennings Bryan • On Thanksgiving I will stop to give thanks that my family is safe and healthy, especially because I realize that, following the tragedies of this year, it is all too real a possibility that they might not have been. – Bobby Jindal • One of my most memorable Thanksgiving memories was probably the first year that me and my two brothers decided to start our annual eating contest. We ate throughout the whole day. We started that morning and weighed ourselves, and at the very end of the night, we weighed ourselves out. And all three of us equally gained five pounds. – Charles Kelley • Our Creator shall continue to dwell above the sky, and that is where those on earth will end their thanksgiving. – Seneca the Younger • Our family holidays always include our animals. On Thanksgiving, we love to walk around our farm and visit with our rescued pigs, goats, horses, emus and many other rescued animals. We give them all special vegetables that day, and the whole family enjoys a vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner. We know that the animals are giving thanks that day, and we are also giving thanks for the joy they bring to our lives. – Noah Wyle • Our knowledge of God is perfected by gratiitude: we are thankful and rejoice in the experience of the truth that He is love. – Thomas Merton • Our rural ancestors, with little blest, Patient of labor when the end was rest, Indulged the day that housed their annual grain, With feasts, and off’rings, and a thankful strain. – Alexander Pope • Over the Thanksgiving holiday I took time to reflect on what is most important to me and realized I need to find a way to put the fun back into racing. – Kurt Busch • Pride slays thanksgiving, but a humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves. – Henry Ward Beecher • Remembering with thanks is what causes us to trust – to really believe. • Sharing in God’s blessings is at the heart of Thanksgiving and at the core of the American spirit. – William J. Clinton • So once in every year we throng Upon a day apart, to praise the Lord with feast and song in thankfulness of heart. – Arthur Guiterman • Some hae meat and canna eat, And some wad eat that want it, But we hae meat and we can eat, And sae the Lord be thankit. – Robert Burns • Some people are absolutely funny and you want to wish them Happy Thanksgiving in funniest way possible. Here is the list of Funny Thanksgiving sayings. Just chose the quote you want to wish that person. Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie. – Jim Davis • Thank you for life, and all the little ups and downs that make it worth living. – Travis Barker • ‘Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. – Alice Walker ‘Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding. – Alice Walker • Thank you, God, for this good life and forgive us if we do not love it enough. – Garrison Keillor • Thankfulness is not something God gives us. It is not a spiritual gift and it is not a spiritual fruit. We can receive God’s peace, joy and love, but thankfulness is something that we give to Godand to others. It is a choice that we make. Let us thank Him today with songs of celebration, hearts of strong devotion and acts of admiration. -Roy Lessin • Thanks are the highest form of thought. – Gilbert K. Chesterton • Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence. – Erma Bombeck • Thanksgiving is a typically American holiday…The lavish meal is a symbol of the fact that abundant consumption is the result and reward of production. – Ayn Rand • Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often. – Johnny Carson • Thanksgiving is the holiday that encompasses all others. All of them, from Martin Luther King Day to Arbor Day to Christmas to Valentine’s Day, are in one way or another about being thankful. – Jonathan Safran Foer • Thanksgiving is worry’s kryptonite. – Matt Chandler • Thanksgiving, man. Not a good day to be my pants. – Kevin James • Thanksgiving, when the Indians said, “Well, this has been fun, but we know you have a long voyage back to England”. – Jay Leno • Thanksgiving. It proved you had survived another year with its wars, inflation, unemployment, smog, presidents. It was a grand neurotic gathering of clans: loud drunks, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, screaming children, would-be suicides. And don’t forget indigestion. I wasn’t different from anyone else: There sat the 18-pound bird on my sink, dead, plucked, totally disemboweled. Iris would roast it for me. – Charles Bukowski • Thanksgiving. It’s like we didn’t even try to come up with a tradition. The tradition is, we overeat. ‘Hey, how about at Thanksgiving we just eat a lot?’ ‘But we do that every day!’ ‘Oh. What if we eat a lot with people that annoy the hell out of us?’ – Jim Gaffigan • The act is unjustifiable that either begs for a blessing, or, having succeeded gives no thanksgiving. – Merle Shain • The Christian who walks with the Lord and keeps constant communion with Him will see many reason for rejoicing and thanksgiving all day long. – Warren W. Wiersbe • The funny thing about Thanksgiving ,or any big meal, is that you spend 12 hours shopping for it then go home and cook,chop,braise and blanch. Then it’s gone in 20 minutes and everybody lies around sortof in a sugar coma and then it takes 4 hours to clean it up. – Ted Allen • The joy I get from winning a major championship doesn’t even compare to the feeling I get when a kid writes a letter saying: ‘Thank you so much. You have changed my life.’ – Tiger Woods • The observance of Thanksgiving Day-as a function-has become general of late years. The Thankfulness is not so general. This is natural. Two-thirds of the nation have always had hard luck and a hard time during the year, and this has a calming effect upon their enthusiasm. – Mark Twain • The private and personal blessings we enjoy- the blessings of immunity, safeguard, liberty and integrity- deserve the thanksgiving of a whole life. – Jeremy Taylor • The simple act of saying ‘thank you’ is a demonstration of gratitude in response to an experience that was meaningful to a customer or citizen. – Simon Mainwaring • The Spirit of prayer makes us so intimate with God that we scarcely pass through an experience before we speak to Him about it, either in supplication, in sighing, in pouring out our woes before Him, in fervent requests, or in thanksgiving and adoration.- Ole Hallesby • The thankful heart sees the best part of every situation. It sees problems and weaknesses as opportunities, struggles as refining tools, and sinners as saints in progress. – Francis Frangipane • The thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings. – Henry Ward Beecher • The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest. – William Blake • The Thanksgiving tradition is, we gorge. Hey, what about at Thanksgiving we simply consume a considerable measure? However we do that consistently! Goodness. Imagine a scenario where we consume a ton with individuals who pester the heck out of us.- Jim Gaffigan • The turkeys that most Americans eat for Thanksgiving are turkeys – losers that are mass produced and bland.- Marian Burros • The unthankful heart… discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings! Henry Ward Beecher • The very fact that a man is thankful implies someone to be thankful to. – John Baillie • There are a lot of New York City Thanksgiving traditions. For example, a lot of New Yorkers don’t buy the frozen Thanksgiving turkey. They prefer to buy the bird live and then push it in front of a subway train. – David Letterman • There is no better opportunity to receive more than to be thankful for what you already have. Thanksgiving opens the windows of opportunity for ideas to flow your way. – Jim Rohn • There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American.- O. Henry • There is one day that is ours. There is one day when all we Americans who are not self-made go back to the old home to eat saleratus biscuits and marvel how much nearer to the porch the old pump looks than it used to. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American. – O. Henry • Therefore, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. – Paul the Apostle Thinking, Dinner, Chickens • Those who survived the San Francisco earthquake said, ‘Thank God, I’m still alive.’ But, of course, those who died, their lives will never be the same again. – Barbara Boxer • Thou that hast given so much to me give me one thing more, a grateful heart: not thankful when it pleaseth me, as if Thy blessings had spare days, but such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise. – George Herbert To give thanks in solitude is enough. Thanksgiving has wings and goes where it must go. Your prayer knows much more about it than you do.- Victor Hugo • We can always find something to be thankful for, and there may be reasons why we ought to be thankful for even those dispensations which appear dark and frowning. – Albert C. Barnes • We celebrate Thanksgiving along with the rest of America, maybe in different ways and for different reasons. Despite everything that’s happened to us since we fed the Pilgrims, we still have our language, our culture, our distinct social system. Even in a nuclear age, we still have a tribal people. – Wilma Mankiller • We give thanks often with a tearful, doubtful voice, for our spiritual mercies positive, but what an almost infinite field there is for mercies negative! We cannot even imagine all that God has allowed us not to do, not to be. – Frances Ridley Havergal • We have so much, yet many Americans feel dissatisfied. Somehow the full table, symbol of abundance to the pilgrims, is not enough. We yearn for something far beyond the material satisfaction. Find your place in history this Thanksgiving by stretching beyond your table. Celebrate your survival by offering peace and sharing with your neighbors. Make the shift from in illogical feeling of lack to the recognition of abundance. Invite the Spirit to your feast, and prepare to feed the world. – Jennifer James • We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives. – John F. Kennedy • We ought to make the moments notes Of happy glad Thanksgiving; The hours and days, a silent praise Of music we are living. – Ella Wheeler Wilcox • We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction. – Henry Allen Ironside • Well, there’s not a day goes by when I don’t get up and say thank you to somebody. – Rod Stewart • We’re having something a little different this year for Thanksgiving. Instead of a turkey, we’re having a swan. You get more stuffing – George Carlin • What does it mean when people applaud? Should I give ’em money? Say thank you? Lift my dress? The lack of applause – that I can respond to. – Barbra Streisand • What we’re really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving? – Erma Bombeck • When I was a kid in Indiana, we thought it would be fun to get a turkey a year ahead of time and feed it and so on for the following Thanksgiving. But by the time Thanksgiving came around, we sort of thought of the turkey as a pet, so we ate the dog. Only kidding. It was the cat! – David Letterman • When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself. – Tecumseh • WHEREAS it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint Committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANKSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.” – George Washington • With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, England mourns for her dead across the sea. – Laurence Binyon • You know that just before that first Thanksgiving dinner there was one wise, old Native American woman saying, Don’t feed them. If you feed them, they’ll never leave. – Dylan Brody • You may have heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There’s another day you might want to know about: Giving Tuesday. The idea is pretty straightforward. On the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, shoppers take a break from their gift-buying and donate what they can to charity. – Bill Gates • Your friend is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving. – Khalil Gibran