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thepixarenthusiast · 4 years ago

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A Bug’s Life (1998)

Pixar’s second animated feature film takes us to the insect world. A colony of ants spend their days collecting food to appease the predatory grasshoppers, who visit once a year to keep the ants in line (heh) and feast on their offering of seeds and grain. The ants oblige out of fear of being squashed and/or eaten? by the grasshoppers. (A quick google search tells me that grasshoppers, in fact, do not eat ants.) The consequence of what happens if the ants do not provide for the grasshoppers or why grasshoppers were chosen as the nemesis of the ants is not exactly clear here, but nevertheless, they make a pretty seedy gang who would certainly make me jump in fear.

Sorry, are those crickets I hear? Are my puns bugging you? Haha ok, no seriously I’ll stop now, but the writers of this movie must have enjoyed the bug puns too because the movie was crawling with them, from the slapstick stick bug, the mosquito ordering a Bloody Mary at the bar fashioned out of a tin can, and “flea circus” led by none other than, P.T. Flea.. Yeah, I think you get the gist. How I would have loved to be a fly on the wall in that writer’s room.

Ok, I’m done, I promise.

In all seriousness, the details and jokes were funny and clever and there were a lot I didn’t notice as a kid. I liked how the circus tent was an old umbrella laying in the grass, the “city” was made out of old snack boxes and takeout containers, the lightening bugs lit up the traffic lights, and the circus train was made out of animal cracker boxes. It was all very clever. I’m sure you could watch it a dozen times and always find something new.

Back to the plot summary. Our hero is Flik, a misfit kind of guy, an inventor who thinks outside of the hive, err, anthill...and marches to the beat of his own drum. It’s your classic tale about the kid who doesn’t fit in, whose flaws end up being the strengths that help him save the day. A Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, if you will.

Flik’s well-intentioned inventions keep getting him in trouble and stressing out the anxious princess Atta, so to get rid of him for awhile, she agrees to let him leave to find warrior bugs to fight off the evil grasshoppers. Of course, Flik mistakes some circus bugs for warrior bugs, and we meet our crew of misfits who keep the antics rolling. We’ve got a walking stick who is constantly used as a prop, a classy black widow spider, a dung beetle who doubles as a helicopter, a hippie moth and praying mantis husband and wife pair, a fat caterpillar with a German accent, a duo of feisty pill bugs who speak another language, and a lady bug who is actually a guy, to ensure endless comedy. They’re really the best part of the movie. They’re cute, funny, and have some of the best lines. Heimlich the caterpillar becoming a beautiful butterfly still gave me a good chuckle as an adult.

Of course, all chaos breaks loose when the ants find out that the warrior bugs turn out to be circus bugs, but in the end our misfits band together, rise up against the evil grasshoppers, and restore peace to the ant colony.

So it’s a story we’ve heard before, and it certainly follows the Disney formula, but it’s still entertaining and creative enough with some memorable characters that make it fresh.

Final thoughts.

Pixar’s sophomore film was an enjoyable 95 minutes. Was I wowed by it? No. It was a relatively straightforward family comedy with a familiar story line and a few memorable characters. As a kid, I loved this movie. I remember watching it often, probably even more so than Toy Story, but that was also probably because I was a bit older when this movie came out, when I could understand a bit better. Watching it now as an adult, I can probably imagine my parents taking us to see it, being glad it wasn’t a total bore to sit through, maybe even laughing a few times, and then mostly forgetting about it. For kids, though, especially ones particularly interested in insects, this movie holds up great. It’s perfect for young ones who may not understand all the adult themes in many of Pixar’s later films like Up and Soul.

Overall, it was fine. It was a non-offensive, relatively entertaining way to spend my afternoon. I probably won’t be revisiting it anytime soon, though, which makes sense as to why out of all the Pixar films that came out during my childhood, this is the one that I have re-watched the least as an adult.

Fun Fact:

So I just looked this up and turns out that the inspiration for A Bug’s Life comes from an Aesop’s fable titled “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” in which a grasshopper begs an ant for food when winter comes and the ant refuses. The moral of this fable is supposed to be about the virtues of hard work and planning for the future. So there ya go! That’s why grasshoppers were chosen as the enemy of the ants, even though they are not predators to ants in real life. Neat!

Best Character:

I’m going to give this one to Flik. He’s a lovable and relatable hero.

Honorable mention: Dot. Atta’s kid sister, and (this will make you feel old), voiced by a 9-year-old Hayden Panettiere. She is very cute and believes in Flik from the beginning, when the other ants don’t. Dot genuinely loves Flik, even when he screws up, which Atta doesn’t really seem to until he proves himself.

Tear-Meter:

0/5 Teardrops. Haven’t experienced any waterworks, yet.

Current Ranking:

2/2

It’s good, but not as creative or interesting as its predecessor. Toy Story holds the top spot for now.

1. Toy Story

2. A Bug’s Life

#pixar #pixarabugslife

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gellavonhamster · 6 years ago

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terpsichore

explicit || Bertrand Baudelaire/Beatrice Baudelaire/Lemony Snicket || pre-canon

ao3 link || originally posted in Russian

“As to Remarque, I believe that All Quiet on the Western Front is overrated. The same could be said of Three Comrades,” Lemony argues as he unbuttons his shirt. “A classic case of everyone being familiar only with the books made popular by their screen adaptations. Spark of Life, for instance, deserves much more appreciation. So does Heaven Has No Favorites.”

“Hmm. I share your opinion on Spark of Life,�� Bertrand hangs his sweater on the back of the chair, sits down on the edge of the bed, and starts undoing his wristwatch. “But Heaven Has No Favorites… no, can’t agree. I found it rather superficial.”

“I wouldn’t have pegged you as one of those who consider any book centered on a love story superficial.”

“Please don’t put words into my mouth. I never said that,” Bertrand puts the wristwatch on the nightstand, under a pot-bellied table lamp with a motley shade, and turns to face Lemony again. Lemony is fighting the buttons on the cuffs of his shirt, and it appears they’re winning this battle so far. “It’s just that it looks a great deal weaker when compared to his war novels. If it had been his only book I’ve read, I might have well thought of it differently. Need some help?”

“Be so kind,” Lemony extends his hands to him, and Bertrand unbuttons first the left cuff, then the right one. “Still, you have to agree that the problem of denying the inevitable or resigning yourself to it…”

“Snicket, why are we talking about literature when we’re about to have sex?”

“Well,” it looks like Lemony isn’t embarrassed or bewildered by this question in the slightest, “because Beatrice asked us not to start without her and I thought that while waiting for her, we could revisit our yesterday’s discussion?”

“If you’re not going to start without Beatrice, what are you doing with my belt?”

“Helping you unbuckle it, like you just helped me with the buttons,” Lemony replies, his face perfectly honest. “But I can stop if you don’t want me to.”

Bertrand catches his hand and presses it back to his belt buckle. Perhaps a little lower. Perhaps, not to the buckle.

“Go ahead,” he allows.

Beatrice lives at the attic floor of a house situated on one of the busiest streets in the city, but today it’s surprisingly quiet here. No noise of cars or tipsy passers-by coming from outside, just the sounds of the house itself: the ticking of the clock, the creaking of the bed, his and Lemony’s breathing, Beatrice’s heels clicking in the living room. It is as though this apartment has suddenly wound up outside of time and space, and it shall always be late evening here, an early spring outside the window, and just the three of them and no one else. A sanctuary, Bertrand thinks, running his fingers through Lemony’s soft hair as Lemony kisses his neck, each time near the spot he’s planted the previous kiss at, like applying brush strokes to the canvas. A parallel dimension that strangers cannot enter. He doesn’t know how to express this feeling of blessed detachment from the world, and he isn’t sure it has to be spoken about.

“Why is she wearing heels at home,” he whispers instead, and Lemony’s quiet laughter tickles his skin.

“Because, my good sir, in my own house I can wear whatever, even a diving suit.”

Beatrice is standing in the doorway, her arm resting on the doorpost. Lemony rolls off Bertrand clumsily, and both of them reclined on the bed, they watch her twirl in front of them like in front of the mirror, providing them with an opportunity to get a good look at her outfit.

“How do I look?” Beatrice inquires. She seems so pleased with herself, there’s something touching about it. Bertrand smiles.

“Gorgeous,” he says, and immediately after him Lemony pronounces:

“Ravishing.”

Beatrice is wearing a flippy scarlet dress, black stockings, and high-heeled shoes with ankle straps – a highly convenient model for those who have to hide a certain tattoo from curious eyes. Her dark locks are shining in the dim light of the chandelier and falling on her shoulders that are covered with a silvery shawl. Bertrand hasn’t seen any of the things she’s wearing before, except perhaps for the stockings and – certainly – for the pearl necklace he and Lemony gave her for her last birthday as a present from them both.

“Are we going somewhere?” Bertrand asks, trying not to sound disappointed. Beatrice looks gorgeous indeed, but after the supper, when she pulled them both close, and with an inscrutable smile ordered them to wait for her in the bedroom, he imagined the rest of the evening somewhat differently.

Beatrice’s face breaks into a smile just as inscrutable as earlier:

“Esmé and I did some shopping today…”

Lemony, who cannot stand Esmé, and knows the feeling is mutual, lets out an anguished sigh.

“…and I decided I have to show you everything I’ve bought,” Beatrice either doesn’t notice his reaction or pretends not to notice. “Everything at once,” with that, she turns around and disappears in the living room again. Bertrand’s instant conclusion is that she’s forgotten to grab some other today’s purchase, but it turns out that apparently she went to put on a record, because the silence of the apartment is suddenly ripped by the sounds of saxophone. Etta James, Bertrand observes automatically.

Beatrice appears in the doorway again and makes her way towards them, swaying her hips.

“So what…” Bertrand starts, and immediately gets hit in the face with the balled-up silvery shawl. He looks up in confusion – and meets Beatrice’s eyes as she begins to lift her skirt slowly, smiling with abandon and continuing to move in sync with the music.

“Now I see,” Bertrand says, and shifts his gaze to Lemony, who is watching Beatrice spellbound and longing and doesn’t seem the least bit surprised. “So does it happen often?”

“Occasionally,” Lemony responds, not looking at him, and Bertrand cannot help but feel a pang of… jealousy? Not of him but of everything these two have already had before him and will probably have after him. Sometimes it crosses his mind that their strange union that came into existence this winter is something fleeting, that he, in contrast to Beatrice and Lemony and their love, is something fleeting himself, because so far everything in his life has been fleeting, and that must have left its mark on him. These are destructive, pestilent, suffocating thoughts – so is Lemony’s ill-concealed certainty that both Beatrice and Bertrand are too good for him and he doesn’t deserve either of them individually, let alone both of them together. So is Beatrice’s slightly better-concealed certainty that in truth, none of them deserves all of this, none of them deserves their fragile secret happiness because they all are murderers and one day all of this shall be taken from them, they shall be taken from each other. These thoughts are impossible to drive out completely; still, Bertrand puts the crumpled shawl to his face, buries his nose in it for a moment – the outfit may be new but the perfume is the same, Beatrice’s dressing room at the theatre smells just like that – and swears to himself at least to put them aside until later.

“Do you also… occasionally?” he cannot stop himself from asking. Lemony chuckles softly:

“You know I’m not much of a dancer.”

“Eyes on me,” Beatrice orders half-strictly, half-playfully, and they obey, of course they obey her.

Naturally, it’s not the first time Bertrand sees her dance. But the way she waltzes with him or someone else at another ball of the Duchess of Winnipeg, or dances Charleston with Monty in the Anwhistles’ drawing-room, has nothing in common with what she’s doing now. Bertrand isn’t even sure that could be called a dance: she’s flowing like quicksilver, moving her shoulders, her hips, her arms; she’s running her hands over her body, crumpling the dress; she presses her back to the doorpost and streams down it only to rise again. It seems like she doesn’t notice him and Lemony at all, although a stripper probably is supposed to… maintain the contact with her audience? Remind them that it’s all for them, stroke their ego? Beatrice could just as well be dancing on her own in front of the mirror, so whatever it is that she’s doing seems devoid of play-acting and very intimate, and Bertrand cannot fight the feeling that they’re spying on her and she doesn’t know. ��

It is… thrilling.

She undoes her dress with her back turned to them; the zipper gapes open lazily, and after Beatrice frees her arms from the sleeves, the dress falls on the floor. Beatrice steps over the dress – and only then finally looks at them. “And I just wanna make love to you, love to you,” toils away the old record player, yet Bertrand still hears Lemony heave a sigh next to him and squirm on the sheets a little, even though it’s not like he hasn’t seen any of this before – it’s not like Bertrand hasn’t seen any of this before either, actually.

Fine, they haven’t seen this lingerie set. It makes sense now what Beatrice meant by “everything she’s bought”. All black – stockings with a garter belt, silk panties, and a bra made of translucent lace which, judging by its design (the recurrent necessity to work undercover has broadened Bertrand’s horizons in regard to ladies’ fashion), supports adequately but doesn’t really cover anything. Even from the bed Bertrand still can see her nipples through the twirls of ornaments. That’s all really beautiful, but Bertrand is almost sure that if any other woman was standing in front of him looking like this, some other woman he has never seen in nothing but underwear, never seen without underwear, never held close and never tasted, that wouldn’t have had the same effect upon him. But it is Beatrice standing in front of him and watching him with her shining mischievous eyes and undoubtedly seeing with the naked eye how her little show affects him. Him and Lemony too, Bertrand notices when he turns away from Beatrice for a second and quickly runs his eyes over him.

Beatrice bends down, swiftly unclasps the strap of one of her shoes, then the other, and kicks them off, careless.

“Come on,” Bertrand begs in his head, though he doesn’t know for sure what he’s begging for.

Then she makes her way to him. Perhaps she’s following some plan she has thought out earlier – after all, there’s nothing she enjoys better than coming up with some bizarre and unreasonably elaborated idea and putting it into action; or maybe she’s reading his mind, who knows. In any case, she hardly doubts he’ll guess what he has to do: at some point their ways, which had previously ran in parallel, crossed, and they found out they were great at taking each other’s hints.

Beatrice detaches her stockings from the garters, takes the belt off, and throws it on the bed – Lemony reaches out to catch it but doesn’t manage to. Beatrice approaches the bed from the side Bertrand is reclining on, and puts her left foot on the bed without a word, her knee bent. For a moment her eyes meet Bertrand’s, and she gives him a barely discernible nod: go on.

He takes off her stocking very slowly – not because he fears he might tear it but to keep touching her for longer, to run his fingers over her hot skin, to squeeze a little, but not enough to cause any pain. The moments stretch, thicken like honey, and all along Beatrice keeps her eyes on him. She’s got a fresh scratch on her knee – the only thing lacking is a flowery children’s plaster – and she must have shaved her legs either quite a long time ago or just not that carefully, and she’s so familiar and home-like behind all this game of seduction that Bertrand longs to kiss her but he’s not sure he’s allowed to. Frankly, he also longs to do something about the problem that prevents him from concentrating on Beatrice’s performance properly – to take matters into his own hands, so to say – but of that he’s even less sure.

After he’s finally relieved her from the stocking, his fingers keep stroking her ankle for some seconds more; then he takes his hand away. Beatrice gives him an encouraging smile and moves to the other side of the bed, offering Lemony to take off her other stocking. Snicket turns out to be bolder: he leans down and no, he doesn’t kiss her, he doesn’t dare to, but he presses his forehead to her knee, closing his eyes in rapture. Snicket and his need to worship, literally at times, the people he loves. Bertrand would’ve wondered what that says about his state of mind, but firstly, this is not the most unhealthy need Lemony could have developed after everything he’s been through, and secondly, Bertrand is but a mere mortal and loves the way Lemony nuzzles at his belly before moving down and taking Bertrand’s cock into his mouth.

“Patience,” Beatrice says when Lemony pulls off her other stocking at last and tentatively reaches out for her again. She’s as turned on as they are: it’s obvious from her voice and the look in her eyes and the way her hardened nipples stand out under the thin lace of her bra although it’s far from cold in the room. She steps back and turns around to go back to the spot by the footboard of the bed – back to her stage – but suddenly stops and notices:

“You don’t have to suffer though, you know. You just can’t touch me until I let you. But you can touch yourself. In fact, you should,” she smiles playfully, as if drunk. “I want to watch too.”

Bertrand should probably be ashamed of how he makes haste to take his underwear off. He doesn’t manage to, though – a broad hand stops him, suddenly on his crotch.

“If you want to,” Lemony says hoarsely, and if all of this has already felt like too much before, now it is downright unbearable, because he has a voice like melted dark chocolate; had it been tangible, it would have been tempting to dip one’s fingers in it, and then lick them clean. Bertrand looks at him, all flushed, with a ridiculous bedhead caused by their short prelude and the subsequent lying on the pillows, and thinks: does he really believe I’d refuse him?

“Turn towards me a little,” he orders. “And take off your pants, for crying out loud.”

It must be at that moment that the performance stops being a performance – because they’re not staring at Beatrice non-stop anymore but get sidetracked by each other, and Beatrice isn’t dancing by herself like before but is clearly aware of their presence and watches them just like they watch her. As a matter of fact, she isn’t dancing anymore at all. Her hips still keep swaying but she’s staying at the same spot by the footboard and paying less and less attention to the music – looks like she doesn’t even notice when the song ends, and just keeps on fondling and squeezing her breasts that are still covered by the bra. When she finally takes it off and puts her hands on her breasts again, lifting them and letting them fall, licking her fingers and rubbing her hard nipples, Lemony lets out a deep moan and jerks up his hips. He won’t last long because Bertrand knows how to touch him, heavy and hot and aroused to the limit; because Lemony’s breathing raggedly, and although he’s trying not to miss Beatrice’s single movement, he keeps closing his eyes time and again in bliss and agony. He gets out of step over and over again and his hand slides off Bertrand’s cock and he loosens his grip when he shouldn’t. Just as much enthusiasm, but less skill. Not his forte; Bertrand knows for sure that if Lemony was sucking him off right now, he wouldn’t last long himself. For a moment he imagines what it would have been like, thrusting into Lemony’s hot capable mouth while watching Beatrice, who has climbed onto the bed right beside them, caress herself through her panties and move in a way that makes her breasts bounce as if he’s making love to her now and she’s riding him – and nearly comes on the instant.

Lemony finishes first. Bertrand doesn’t notice what he’s wiping his hands on: the sheets or his own clothes or that new silvery shawl that must be still knocking around somewhere on the bed. It is probably important but right now he cannot recognize that. What is really important is to kiss him, and Bertrand kisses Lemony first on the lips – he’s so stunned by pleasure that he can just barely kiss back – and then on his sweaty forehead, right by the hairline, hastily breathing in the intoxicating, familiar smell of his hair.

Bertrand moves aside from him and turns to face Beatrice again, set upon using his own hands to finish what Lemony started – and gets hit in the face with the silk panties. He picks them up and reflexively puts them to his face: soaked through.

Beatrice pulls her wet, slicked fingers out of herself and extends her hand to him.

She told them they can’t touch her until she lets them.

Now he can.

Bertrand sucks her fingers into his mouth, swallows their salty taste, grabs his cock – and finally lets himself go, and the world around him explodes with unknown colours, and Beatrice takes her fingers out of his mouth when he moans.

“You’re both so…” he hears her say, as though from afar, her voice slightly surprised and tender. When she drives herself to her orgasm with a few confident touches, her other hand keeps hold of the only part of her outfit she’s still wearing: their pearl necklace.

Then she collapses on the pillows between them, and the three of them lie side by side for a little while, trying to catch their breath. Bertrand is the first to recover himself; he gets off the bed despite Beatrice’s groan of protest, makes it to the bathroom, pours water on the first towel he gets his hands on, and wipes himself with it. Having thrown the towel into the bathtub, he takes another one from the hanger and wets it under the tap, then brings it into the room and drops it on Lemony’s belly. Lemony flinches.

“Clean up,” Bertrand tells him, climbs back onto the bed, and puts his arm around Beatrice’s waist. “You’re going to mess up the sheets.”

“I admire your ability to remain sober-minded in any situation,” Lemony murmurs as he cleans himself.

“I admire your ability to use such fancy language in any situation,” Bertrand says. Beatrice giggles.

“I think,” she props herself up on one elbow and moves closer to Lemony, “he’d use such language even if woken up at three in the morning.”

“Please don’t try to check if it’s true,” Lemony says, and Beatrice kisses him on one cheek and then on the other and then on the mouth, and Bertrand’s heart aches with tenderness a little when he watches them, but not with jealousy, no.

Beatrice turns back to him and takes his face into her hands.

“Always thinking about something. Can’t stop for a second, can you?” she asks, affectionate. “What is it about this time?”

“Just the two of you,” Bertrand says.

This time he’s actually telling the truth.

#asoue #a series of unfortunate events #bertrand baudelaire #beatrice baudelaire #lemony snicket #lemonberry ice #snicketverse #i am a gen writer so i am sorry in advance #my fic #gella talks snicketverse

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wolfenm-marveling · 6 years ago

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There are three big reasons I have not and don’t want to see Endgame ....

For one, I wrote a lengthy article about that will run in June at Sequential Tart (I'll update this post with the link when it goes live *EDIT* Here it is: The Subject of Character Death, Revisited - http://www.sequentialtart.com/article.php?id=3362 ). The other two, I'll talk about here; they involve Steve and Bucky.

I know what you’re thinking: Wolfie, how can you form an opinion on a movie you haven't seen? Well, I do have mental health issues (undiagnosed and untreated because I have no insurance or job, yay), so when the film was released in China, I found someone to spoil me so that I might make an informed decision as to whether or not I could *handle* seeing it, given some worries I had (and especially since 3 hours without a bathroom break was not going to work for me or my companion). I determined from that convo that it would be a Very Bad Idea for me to see the film.

Even seeing the constant posts about it -- especially ones that called it a “beautiful” or “perfect” end, etc. -- was triggering anxiety and mental anguish / circular thoughts (admittedly in part because there were similarly “bad” things happening in other fandoms of mine -- it was too much at once). And I'm STILL having massive issues with circular thoughts about it.

This essay isn't meant to tell anyone they’re wrong about how they perceive / feel about the film, BUT, while I know I shouldn't care what other people think, the sitch still makes me feel how I feel: frankly, a bit disturbed that people are loving things that are making me so awful. I feel like I've stepped into some sort of Bizarro world -- like I'm somehow in the wrong universe. It’s very distressing. (I mean ... they call it mental *illness* for as reason, right?)

In this franchise where I once found such great joy, I now find little more than anguish. It’s actually been making me physically ill to see the posts -- or to look on my massive Marvel collection; I've had to box much of it away for now. Hopefully some day I can enjoy it again. (I can't exactly stop using my $60 Captain America backpack I begged for, for my birthday, though. :/)

I find that when my thoughts get like this (like I'm on a runaway train that keeps revisiting the same stations), the only thing that helps even a little is to sort out my thoughts on the page -- even if I’ve done it before, as I have with this in the comments section of friends posts. (You may have seen other people express similar thoughts, too.) And really, I don't want to rain on my friend’s parades, so I figure I’ll post it in my own space, and then if people ask me my thoughts, I can just point them here. And hopefully this post will help others who are similarly struggling (I know there are at least a few).

As for the old chestnut “It’s just a story/ a fictional character”, well, for one thing, let me repeat: mentally ill here. If I could control how I feel, I wouldn’t BE mentally ill. But also, I'm a writer who feels writing is a sacred calling, so when I feel a story is badly told, I tend to take it personally. Yes, I know my opinion is not the be-all, end all -- if you think it’s a good story, yay for you. Me, I feel betrayed by this story in a way I have rarely felt before (the other biggest instance having happened the week before the film's release, so double-whammy, yay).

Warning: if you read any further, I assume you either saw Endgame or don’t care about Spoilers.

(*edited to add* If you need some solace too, check out @antiendgame to find other people who are upset.)

The first upsetting points for me were the Noble Deaths (and, in Loki’s case, lack of resurrection) -- I hate that trope with the fire of a thousand suns. But that’s what I wrote the article on (including how 2012 Loki’s escape doesn't make me feel any better), so no more on that here.

Now, let me preface the rest of this by saying no, I wasn’t expecting a romantic presentation of Stucky. And as hard as I ship them fanon-wise, I don’t actually hate Steggy -- I adore Peggy in her own right (and like the idea of them being a threesome with Bucky).

What I DO hate is that Steve abandoned Bucky for her.

Aside from Steve’s moral compass, Bucky was the impetus behind pretty much *everything* Steve did in his trilogy. He found the missing soldiers because Bucky was amongst them. Bucky’s death broke him -- and finding him again in Winter Soldier seemed to give Steve, who was clearly depressed, new life. Despite Sam insisting Bucky was Gone, Steve wouldn't kill Bucky to save the world. And in Civil War, Steve fought other dear friends, and was willing to throw away his own freedom, to protect his best friend. So how the FUCK is them being *separated pretty much forevermore* a satisfactory end to that story???????

TL;DR, the Captain America movies were about the repeated separation and reunion of Steve and Bucky … and yet we barely got to SEE them together before Steve said sayonara to the man he’d been best friends with for over a for over a decade, to go be with a woman he’d known for about a year.

A woman who’d already had a family without him.

Yeah, we can say her family still exists in the original timeline -- but I have seen soooo many different explanations of how the time sitch works out, it’s not even funny.

Really, that’s the third reason I don't want to see the movie: I HATE time paradox, and this movie sounds riddled with it. Also, as I understand it, the writers and the Russos are saying different things, with the Russos saying it’s a different timeline (which apparently Steve would be going *back* to after the shield pass, for some reason, and yeah, that bothered me, that he didnl't even give his best friend that momento, and sent their last onscreen moments together talking to SAM), and the writers saying no, the alternate timelines were only a thing when the Stones were in play. So yeah, Steve could spend the rest of his life with Bucky then ... but that means he also would have erased Peggy’s family (and maybe her work). Unless he was the man she married all along.

Either way, it would mean that Steve let Bucky suffer, and let HYDRA infiltrate SHIELD, neither being things I could see him doing.

And if it IS a branched-off timeline, I LOATHE that time theory, because it means NOTHING WE DO MATTERS. There’s always a version of us that’s our worst selves, and people who suffer because of it. That’s hella depressing. (Even if it would explain why I feel like I'm in the wrong world.)

At any rate, the ONLY end I really wanted was to see Steve and Bucky get to be together, no matter how -- “just friends” would have been fine. It was literally the thing I wanted most in the whole damn MCU franchise (aside from seeing Loki be redeemed and then fight alongside the Avengers. *sigh* At least I didn't have high hopes there ...). I would rather Steve had taken Bucky back in time WITH him, even if Steve still married Peggy; time paradox issues aside, I could have lived with that -- yes, even if it meant we didn’t get The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. (And honestly, how much am I supposed to look forward to that anyway, when Sam has been such an *inexplicably* uncompassionate asshole to Bucky in WS and CW? A guy who runs meetings for people with PTSD holds a grudge against a guy who was brutally mind-raped? It's like they made him OOC for the lolz!)

As for “Oh, but Bucky knew and he was okay with it!”

Uh, if he was okay with it, it's just because the writers *wrote* him that way for their own convenience, so they could do this ending. I have been besties with someone most of our lives. We broke up a few times, but we managed to keep finding our way back to each other. We don't live in the same state, so we rarely see each other, but at least we DO sometimes, and we write each other. If this person said they were going to go live somewhere with no way to communicate with me ever again, so they could be with someone they loved, of course I wouldn't want to say don't leave, because I'd want them to be happy, and wouldn't want to stand in the way … but that doesn't mean I'd be “okay”. in the slightest. And I wouldn't WANT other people I care about to go through such pain, much less think it beautiful to watch.

Plus, as I always say, this is fiction -- I don't need *that much* “reality” in my escapism. Temporary angst is my bread-and-butter -- it’s cathartic -- but I need a happy ending to be the payoff. To me, A TRULY happy ending for Steve -- and the one that would have been the best payoff for the narrative we’ve spent a decade watching -- would have been for him to not have to choose between the two people he loved most.

Edited 5/11/19 to add: For all those who are all “Oh, they’re just friends, they aren't gay”, I am more or less fine with sexual Stucky staying fanon; they still love each other platonically, are SOULMATES, ACCORDING TO THE SCREENWRITERS THEMSELVES (Christopher Markus and Steve McFeely), who wrote this as part of the intro to the graphic novel Captain America: White - “…Of course, this is still a rollicking adventure tale, and no adventure is complete without a love story. And yes, these books have one – the longest, most tortured one in Marvel history, in fact. We’re talking about Steve and Bucky, without smirking or innuendo or raised eyebrows. Platonic though the relationship may be, from the meet cute to the tragic separation, their bond has all the elements of a classic romance. These two men love each other – as any pair of friends who faced exclusion, combat, inhumanity, and death would. Their bond stretches across half the twentieth century. The loss of it gnaws at Steve throughout the modern day, and it slices his heart in half when the Winter Soldier rears his tormented, homicidal head. Just as Jeph and Tim’s earlier Daredevil: Yellow, Spider-Man: Blue, and Hulk: Gray all dealt with the major love interests in the heroes’ lives, so too does Captain America: White. Steve and Bucky are each others’ soulmate, if you will, because no one on Earth understands what either of them has been through as well as the other does. The book deals deftly with the strengths and weaknesses that relationship engenders. As the Red Skull himself says to Bucky, “The captain has a … ‘soft spot’ for you. A spot I intend to put a bullet through this very evening.” Soldiers fight for their country. They fight for themselves. They fight for each other. And sometimes they die for these things, too. The ones who don’t carry the memory of the ones who did for the rest of their days. Steve Rogers is no different.”

So he's gonna leave his soulmate (no matter the nature of their love) behind forever? FUCK THAT NOISE. I am completely baffled ow two writers who see Steve and Bucky that way would go on to give them that ending.

And retouching the whole for Bucky “knows and is okay” thing, the Russos also said that Bucky is too damaged still to be Captain America. Uh, THAT DOESN’T SOUND LIKE THEY REALLY THINK HE’S OKAY.

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doomedandstoned · 6 years ago

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Closer to the End

Depression is my nemesis. Eventually it will kill me.

...if I let it.

By Billy Goate

Art by RusoTsig (@rusotsig)

Life's falling away from me. The visual evidence is all about. Unopened mail builds up at random spots around the room like mini Towers of Babel. Even things that normally give me great delight -- a recently delivered set of vinyl records -- lie undisturbed in their brown cardboard packages. Meanwhile, my email continues to multiply exponentially: 200 unanswered today, 400 tomorrow, 800 on the day after that (for the curious, the tally stands at 2,359 today). The very thought of opening my inbox makes it equivalent to walking out into open traffic, so I avoid it like the plague.

Meals have become simplified these days -- if it can't be eaten out of a package, forget about it. And all those empty wrappers? They, too, join the general disorder, decorating the landscape of my solitary hovel. Eventually, messages from friends and family go unread. Bills go unpaid (even when there are sufficient funds). The yard turns into a veritable jungle of tall grass, weeds, and sprawling bushes. Clothes go unwashed and hygiene is neglected for days at a time. Weekends are spent pouring over regrets about what might have been, brooding about the end of days.

As any doctor will confirm, these are classic symptoms of depression. What they can't tell you is how hopeless hopelessness can feel.

Karl Briullov - The Last Days of Pompeii (detail)

Black Sabbath’s final show in the Pacific Northwest. Usnea's album release party. Saint Vitus reunited with their first singer, Scott Reagers. The return of Sasquatch. Once in a lifetime small venue appearances by international bands, such as Cult of Occult. A rare hometown gig by Yob. Visits from Goya, Primitive Man, and countless others. Ceremony of Sludge. Even events with the Doomed & Stoned's own name stamped on them. All of these are things I've missed out on in the past year or two because of depression.

It's not that I was too down to even consider going. On the contrary, I was actively planning to go. I RSVP'd, bought tickets, and even checked out the camera equipment to film the shows. In most cases, I'd gotten dressed and readied, even told people to expect me, but for one reason or another I fell under the unyielding grip of depression and came up with an excuse for why I couldn't go. Then one day I just got tired of making excuses and stopped going out altogether.

In one case, I was halfway down the road on a two-hour trip to see Saint Vitus and Witch Mountain perform at Star Theater, when suddenly a wave of grief washed over me from head to spine. As soon as I spotted the nearest overpass, I exited, turned around, and returned home. Even shows I knew would be cathartic (Bell Witch playing their titular Mirror Reaper at a local watering hole) just couldn't cause me to drive a couple miles down the road. The few times I managed to go out, it was because I absolutely forced myself. I practically fought with my inner man all the way there, too -- teeth clenched, hands tightly gripping the wheel, rehearsing in my mind a myriad of reasons why I should just turn back and stay home.

For me, Alice in Chains captures the frustration perfectly in "Excuses":

Everyday it's something Hits me all so cold

Find me sittin' by myself No excuses, then I know

Depression has robbed me of so much. I've missed opportunities to collaborate with musicians and artists because of it. I've pushed away friends and family, until contact between us has become more and more scarce. I've even stopped celebrating my birthday. I have become a shadow of a man.

What's worse, there's been a new development: anhedonia. I remember only casually looking up the meaning of that word when reviewing Undersmile's album by the same name. Anhedonia basically means that you stop finding pleasure in life. As I browse through my friend's timelines, I find it difficult to relate to their happiness. I think quite often of the emptiness of it all, of being alone and growing older, and the ultimate futility of human pursuits. I often feel more of an observer than an actor in the great drama of life.

As you read all of this, bear in mind that I've managed to hold down a steady, full-time job for decades, right up to the present day. You see, some cope by drinking, others by eating, and others still chase the fleeting high of romantic love, but I found my copacetic in work (as absurd as that might sound). I’ve damn near worked myself to death over the past couple years, too, taking precious few "mental health days" or vacation. At one point, I stopped accruing paid time off, because I'd reached my limit and my boss had no choice but to mandate that I take two days off per month. Can you imagine? I’d been known to come into work on the weekend, rather than spend it alone with my thoughts. At least at work, I can stay distracted with something I feel makes some kind of difference.

I can't feel my life Makes me want to cry How bad i feel inside Like I wanna die

Destination unknown Wreckage in tow Depression grows I have no home

Lately, all I've wanted to do on the weekends is sleep. When I'm at work, I'm fine. I'm in the zone. I have purpose. Things make sense. I'm needed. When I'm home, I always have a list of to-dos, but no matter how busy I try to make myself, I find myself suffering with a lonely, aching feeling. It hurts to be alive. That's the only way I can describe it. So I go to sleep early -- and sleep and sleep and sleep -- without so much as the aid of melatonin. All I want to do is go to sleep and forget and wake up the next day and start fresh, hoping all of the oppressive feelings of darkness have left me. I'll sleep 9 hours, 10 hours, 12 hours is not unheard of, then curse when the alarm wakes me up to face the day. I haven't slept so much since I was a teenager.

At least some of my depression seems linked with sunlight. While the sun is out, I'm mostly okay. When I'm taking my meds, I feel possessed with purpose and I'm busy chipping away at a dozen assorted projects, networking with bands, record labels, and PR reps around the globe, auditing new records, editing submissions from my team, and occasionally summoning enough nerve to write an album review of my own. But when the sun sets and darkness takes hold, bathing the landscape in its sinister shadows, everything changes.

In the heart of winter, there is an existential dread that overtakes me when the sun sets. It's almost primitive. There seems to be no rational basis for feeling this way, unless we factor in some kind of code passed along in the evolutionary programming of the reptilian brain over the millennia. You know, that thing responsible for our fight or flight response -- the urge to either take a swing or get the hell out of Dodge.

Loneliness is not a phase Field of pain is where I graze

Saw my reflection and cried So little hope that I died

That cryptic note of horror hints at what happens when our coping mechanisms stop working for us. For me, it was burnout. I worked and worked and worked, and then I came home and did Doomed & Stoned in the evenings and weekends until I inevitably reached a point of absolute and total system overload.

We've seen a spate of deaths in recent years in the heavy music world stemming from depression. It seems to be the creative person's curse. Chris Cornell of Soundgarden. Linda Nygren of the Wounded Kings. Dozens more artist deaths are listed as "N/A" in Metal Archives, but you always wonder. Even an accidental drug overdose can owe its underlying cause to depression. Often it's hard to untangle addiction from the need to escape acute emotional pain.

Though it is tempting to buy into conspiracy theories linking suicide to pharmaceuticals, chemtrails, fluoride in the water, gangstalking, and covert government ops, it's important to recognize that suicide is nothing unique to our life and times. Narrowing the focus more specifically to musicians and other artistic types, we've had many historic instances of depression. Think Beethoven, Franz Liszt, and Tchaikovsky -- three people who pioneered much of the musical language that doom metal utilizes for expression. Each experienced prolonged periods of melancholia for various reasons, from physical malady and loss-fueled grief to unrequited love and the utter rejection of society. Arguably, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky died at his own hand.

Perhaps it won't surprise you that many of us who have an affinity for doom metal (though certainly not all) are also at risk for suicide. A recently published study by the University of Manchester found a correlation, though not a causal link, between members of "alternative subcultures" and "the risk of self-harm and suicide." There was no definite conclusion drawn from the piece, other than to point out that a problem exists (no kidding) and that more long-term studies are needed.

I've got a notion as to why heavy music draws the heavy-laden: misery loves company. We're drawn to the mysteriously compelling ability that doom has to commiserate with our feelings, from lyrics that deal so honestly with sadness to the solace of sharing a joint with those who are on a similar path.

But sometimes depression is so severe that you don't want to go out on the weekends at all, not even for your favorite band. Before I get too deep into my own story and how I'm treating my depression, some of you may wonder why I am writing this piece and have decided to share it publicly. I can assure you, I have nothing to gain from this. I'm not crying out for help (I'm too stubborn to ask for it when needed, anyway) and I'm certainly not trying to sell you on anything.

To be truthful, I've been chipping away at this piece (currently standing at 53,726 characters) for two years. I revisit it when the depression hurts the most. It acts as a kind of release valve for me and since that's at least providing some relief, I'll keep scribbling words upon this page. So before you leave thinking this was all just a self-indulgent slab of depression porn, stay tuned. There really is more to the story, including some valuable insights I'm learning about dealing constructively with my depression and its underlying causes -- physical and psychological.

To be continued...

★ Read Part II

☆ Read Part III

Here I sit writing on the paper Trying to think of words you can't ignore

See the cycle I've waited for It ain't like that anymore

#Closer To The End #Depression #Suicide #Doom #Metal #Alice in Chains #Jerry Cantrell #Doomed & Stoned

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sneek-m · 6 years ago

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“Feelin’ Good ~It’s Paradise~” by DA PUMP [Expression, 1998]

When Da Pump first released its music video for “U.S.A.,” Japan’s news media described it as dasa-kakkoii, a descriptor that roughly translates to “lame-cool” which also caught on a brand as the promo clip became viral. The term nicely summed up the men who were clearly years, if not a full decade too old to be wearing the apparel that defined cool for today’s youth, but somehow still willed themselves a unique touch of cool through sheer determination.

The more the group performed its surprise hit on TV, dasa-kakkoii became more of a badge of honor. The “corny uncles wearing Supreme” image associated with that term represented not so much a desperate attempt to recapture youth and, given Da Pump’s relative pop-music irrelevancy for some time, once-experienced height of fame. “U.S.A.” instead looked like a fine example of arrested development behind a band of once-teens whose own sense of time lagged behind the rapid course of reality. That looked to be a truer image considering that 20 years now passed since the group’s debut single, “Feelin’ Good ~It’s Paradise~,” and the current group looked nothing close to its original teen-filled line-up.

The music of “U.S.A.” is also driven by that sense of arrested development. The production alone takes the group back specifically to 1992, the release year of its original source material. Joe Yellow’s Eurobeat sound already echoed a very outdated music trend of Japan, but its revamped lyrics took it back even further by curating a list of items that once represented an idea of cool in another lifetime. Disco balls, the pompadour, convertible sports cars: Da Pump’s reminiscences shouted nostalgia not only through the retro Western cultural imports itself but also the perspective at which the group glamorized them.

After spending a year with current-day Da Pump who wore its own stunted growth as a main part of its new identity, it’s intriguing to revisit its debut single “Feelin’ Good ~It’s Paradise~” and find a teen boy group doing just the opposite. A familiar voice can be found in the record, and that voice is a young Issa Hentona, the only original member left in today’s lineup, who’s 19 by the time “Feelin’ Good” first hit stores. “Now I want to be your man,” he passionately sings in the opening lines, a lyric which its sincerity gets drawn out further as it gets deeply processed via vocoder.

Whereas 2018 Da Pump reverted its perspective back to their golden youth, 1997 Da Pump tried to show a more adult self as much as possible. In the process of doing so, the group only appeared more juvenile. Dasa-kakkoii can actually be applied to “Feelin’ Good” as well but through an inverted lens: the members have yet to be old and mature enough to fit the swagger and stylistic flairs they try out like a costume. It’s best evident in the rap sections, not only through its amateurish execution but also its sappy earnestness flowing from discovering the feeling of first love for the first time. Though it’s also apparent in Issa’s first lines, before that “I wanna be your man” line: “Ore honto ni ketsui,” he goes, and it reads like he’s reciting a teen-romance movie script with that ore pronoun barely befitting him.

Da Pump is revisiting their own past as well as the massive success of “U.S.A.” has allowed the group to re-introduce the past hits to a whole new batch of fans who perhaps never knew of them prior to the viral video. On top of releasing a new best-of album, THANX!!!!!!! Neo Best of Da Pump, they have been squeezing the older singles in their TV performances before they inevitably break into “U.S.A.” Their 1998 single “Rhapsody in Blue” introduced the group’s set last winter for the annual FNS Kayousai broadcast, and “Feelin’ Good” was played for the October episode of NHK’s Uta-Tube.

There, Issa and gang appear as though they can finally tell the feelings that inspired “Feelin’ Good” justice. They can now confidently claim a lyric like “when I was a brat, I was so blind” that their younger selves could not faithfully deliver. All the unknowns now feel told from a lived-in experience. Instead of Supreme beanies and bulky sneakers, Da Pump performed the song in a uniform all-white suit. They finally seemed to appear their age to sing about a classic theme in pop. Then the Eurobeat synths started to blare and they return to the present to give the crowd what they want.

#DA PUMP

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iamjacsmusings · 7 years ago

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MCU Challenge musings

18 weeks. 18 films. The MCU Challenge. In collaboration with Team #Geekstalkers. Collated musings below, all leading to Infinity War.

#1 - Iron Man

Robert Downey Jnr IS Tony Stark, Tony Stark IS Iron Man, Iron Man IS the first MCU Avenger. Without this we wouldn’t have the MCU as we know and love it. Despite that, coming soon after Batman’s triumphant return as it does, I can’t help but feel the identikit Iron Man Begins falls a little flat. The weak MCU villain problem is present and incorrect right from Mk 1 too.

#2 - The Incredible Hulk

Tonally misjudged and (latterly) at odds with the hulk as we know and love him in the shared MCU. Watching now, 15 entries later, it feels non-canon. As a standalone, inspired by the 70s show, it’s fine.

#3 - Iron Man 2

Probably [one of] the weakest #mcuchallenge entries for me as it aims for “cool” moments rather than developing character or overarching story. On the flipside, it introduces us to ScarJo’s Black Widow

#4 - Thor

In no particular order: the direction of Branagh, the realisation of the Rainbow bridge, the triple H acting of Hemsworth, Hiddleston and Hopkins, the hilarious humour, the majesty of Mjolnir, the Shakespearean plot machinations; all are Thor-some!

#5 - Captain America: The First Avenger

I (too) was predisposed to preferring this origin above all Avengers due to my predilection for Captain America as a character, so the bar was set high. Johnson, the perfectly chosen director, exceeded it by making a boys own adventure replete with echoes of his Lucasfilm roots. It’s underrated in my opinion and should be considered as the Raiders of Phase One. Joe Johnson just *got* 1940s Adventure-era Cap. As too does Evans who only continues to get better with each subsequent appearance. I could watch Cap movies all day…

#6 - Avengers Assemble

Still top 5 MCU of all-time. The Avengers characterisations are spot on in this initial assemblage; no mean feat considering the wealth of source material, the origins of Phase One and the balancing act of at least seven key roles. Come the epic Chitauri invasion finale and from the Avengers arc shot onwards there’s too many fist-pumping, geekgasm moments to mention; spine tingling each and every one of them.

#7 - Iron Man 3

As a fanboy of @BonafideBlack’s buddy banter and noir stylings, I’m on board with his Iron Man entry (noir is an anagram of Iron after all) He write characters therefore it came as no surprise that his take delves beneath the suit to the mechanic that wears it. I’m aware I’m in the minority, but the first two don’t do much for me therefore this is like a shot of extremis to Shellhead’s previously floundering solo entries. It still looks to be Stark’s swansong and, if so, it’s a fine way to finish IMO. Kiss Kiss Iron Man, if you will. The “barrel of monkeys” scene is one of the stand out scenes from the entire MCU too.

#8 - Thor: The Dark World

The tone, palette and plot of this inferior sequel is arguably more aligned with the much maligned DC(E)U rather than the rightly-lauded MCU; make of that what you will. I’d gladly watch an anthology prequel about the Lord of the Aether battle glimpsed in the prologue though…

#9 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier

An espionage thriller every bit as good as the best Bourne or Bond has to offer, Captain America: The Winter Soldier just happens to have a few present and future Avengers at its centre. The undisputed leader of the Avengers as the 18-strong MCU currently stands, the more I revisit Captain America Super Soldier, the closer the film creeps towards my current cream of the big screen comic book crop, The Dark Knight.

#10 - Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy is better than any film about a half-Terran cross between Han Solo and Indiana Jones, a walking thesaurus, a talking tree, a green-skinned warrior woman and a bad-tempered raccoon has any right to be. I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve seen GotG already. There’s so much to admire, so much Galaxy to explore. it bears repeat viewing. Every joke still lands. Every emotional beat pulls a heart string. Every character is worthy of fronting their own galactic adventure. We. Are. Groot.

#11 - Avengers: Age of Ultron

There’s much to admire in this movie as Whedon ably juggles the ever-growing ensemble cast; each one gets their moment so, no matter who your favourite is, you should feel satisfied come the conclusion. The action scenes pay off with key moments that remain in the memory: the team line-up, “Go to sleep, go to sleep”, Black Widow on the bike, Hawkeye motivating Scarlet Witch and the arc shot around the Avengers as they end the threat of too many Ultrons. Quiet moments pay off too: the party is perfect (especially Thor’s face as Cap moves Mjolnir), the interlude at ranch Barton is a top idea and the lull in the final fight manages to move; I even welled up a little as Cap and Widow debate their fate this watch. In short, it’s endlessly rewatchable, as my SuperSon has put to the test.

#12 - Ant-Man

Easily the most underrated entry in the entirety of the MCU to date, Ant-Man is also, upon reflection, my favourite solo character origin story. Giant-sized words, I know!

#13 - Captain America: Civil War

War! What is it good for? Captain America movies!

I love Civil War. It’s edgy. It;s important. It’s epic! It truly feels like a “superhero comic book movie” ripped from the panelled page. And, Thor damn, the Russo’s sure can shoot the shit (Sorry, Cap) out of an action scene. Speaking of scenes, there’s one in Fight Club when the Narrator and Tyler mock a Gucci advertisement, asking if it’s what a real man look like. It’s not, no. What a real man looks like is Captain America holding a helicopter with one arm and a building with the other. Swoon.

I could watch this on repeat all day.

#14 - Doctor Strange

Let’s face it, Cumberbatch was the only choice for Strange, as suited to the hyper-intelligent, egotistical, socially-awkward auteur as Downey Jr was to Stark’s genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist. By this point in the MCU, Marvel can do origin with ease as this return to formula proves. Whilst Doctor Strange does remind you of movies from before (Iron Man, Batman Begins, Inception, Matrix), it patches them together into a kaleidoscopic Frankenstein of its own making.

Oh, one more thing: it goes without saying how awesome Doctor Strange’s enchanted Cloak of Levitation is – I’d argue it’s the single best cinema companion since Gromit!

#15 - Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol Two

GotG amped up to 11, Vol. 2 is less a case of difficult second volume, more Gunn locked and loaded. GotG2 is deeper, richer and cleverer than it’s predecessor, if not as instantly iconic nor anarchic in its punk rock aesthetics or impact. Ego, we’ve all got to grow up sometime. Following the near perfection of the first Volume was always going to be a tricky proposition, but this sophomore space saga soars true enough and will surely, in time, serve as a solid central entry in a worthy Guardians of the Galaxy stand-alone trilogy.

#16 - Spider-Man: Homecoming

Did I need another resuited Spider-Man movie so soon after the last aborted attempt? I didn’t think so until I saw this coming-of-age comedy that referenced Ferris Bueller, BttF: Part II and The Breakfast Club (among others)

Did I need another iteration of Spider-Man and his teen geek alter-ego Peter Parker? I didn’t think so until I saw Tom Holland’s infectiously enthusiastic and ultimately incomparable portrayal of everyone’s favourite neighbourhood webslinging wannabe Avenger.

Did I need another potentially disappointing take on a classic Spider-Man villain? I didn’t think so until Michael Keaton’s birdman soared above almost any other adapted antagonist from the entirety of comic canon – not since Loki have I feared and cheered in equal measure.

Did I need another big screen Spider-Man blockbuster? I didn’t think so until I understood what this wall-crawlers direction was under the genius creative control of chief Watcher Feige within the winning MCU. Now I need more, for thwips sake…

#17 - Thor Ragnarok

Space fantasy as its Flash(“ahh ah”)iest, Ragnarok is: Thorsome, Hela good, Full of gloriously glib Loki asides, a Hulk load of fun, great Valkyrie for money! Third time’s the charm for the God of Thunder. I can’t TaikaWaititi to see the Revengers return in Infinity War!

#18 - Black Panther

Stunning Wakanda world building. Convincing and charismatic cast performances. Strong character motivations. Serious and meaningful underlying themes. Too much CGI. MCU continuity issues. Nowhere near enough Michael B Jordan. Good not great. Middling MCU Challenge entry for me.

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createfox89 · 4 years ago

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Map Of Wineries On Seneca Lake

Though Upstate New York is known for its atrocious, essentially unbearable winters, nothing beats the area during the summer. Spending the day visiting some of the best Seneca Lake Wineries on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail is just one relaxing way to remind visitors of that fact.

Map Of Wineries On Seneca Lake

Map Of Wineries On Seneca Lake Ny

Idol Ridge Winery in the Finger Lakes is home to a line of wines using European vinifera grape varieties along with some premium Cornell hybrids. Map of Lake Country. They will also pick you up from the airport and off the Greyhound bus. Also ask about their 2 buses, a 20 passenger and 21 passenger. Less likely to choose a bad winery (assuming such a thing exists!), but won't get a DUI or hurt someone if you aren't driving! Lots of tasty wine to be had and amazing views of Seneca Lake. Would recommend to any wine lovers, lake lovers, or those that just love a good experience, particularly one involving alcohol! The deepest of the Finger Lakes, Seneca provides particularly good growing seasons, so much so that the vineyards along the lake’s southeastern shore is known as “the banana belt,” for its unusually lengthy regional growing season. 35 wineries have joined together to create the Seneca Wine Trail, a group that markets and promotes the.

The beautiful countrysides are the perfect escape, along with the many amazing lakes, restaurants, and wineries that all come to life once the weather warms up.

But wait, what is the Seneca Lake Wine Trail?

For those of you who don’t know, Finger Lakes Wine Country is actually home to three different wine trails, with over 100 wineries.

It is also home to some of the best wineries in NY.

Each wine trail runs along one of three stunning lakes: Keuka, Cayuga, and of course Seneca Lake.

The Seneca Lake Wine Trail was formed in 1986, and is the largest and most active wine trail in New York State.

There’s over 35 wineries on Seneca Lake Wine Trail alone, along with two breweries and a meadery!

Related: The 12 Most Unique Things to Do in Saratoga Springs, NY

There’s so much to do here, whether you just want to drink all the vino OR you’re more about the arts and culture.

It’s funny…having grown up and been living in New York for my entire life, I never fully appreciated the area until I got older.

I highly recommend being a tourist in your own hometown/state.

There’s so many things you might miss out on if you don’t do the research and get out there!

Without further ado though, let’s get into the top five best Seneca Lake Wineries on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail.

5 Best Wineries on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail (+ Where to Find the Seneca Lake Wine Trail Map)

Three Brothers Winery

Map Of Wineries On Seneca Lake

Okay, if you’re only going to do one winery on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail, let it be Three Brothers.

First off, this winery/estate is HUGE. I definitely don’t like crowded spaces, so it’s nice that there’s tons of space to walk the grounds and sit outside here.

Three Brothers also makes the *best* wine slushee. I’m seriously considering going back just for that!

Anthony Road Wine Company

Anthony Road Wine Company was the first of the Seneca Lake Wineries we toured, and it was great.

It was surprisingly uncrowded compared to some of the other stops, which I absolutely loved!

I don’t want to wait in line for a half hour just for a tasting, so this place was fantastic.

The grounds are also beautiful, with a little garden you can walk through and enjoy too.

Fox Run Vineyards

All you need to do is step in the door at Fox Run Vineyards, and you’ll be immediately ravenous.

The cafe smells delicious, and I definitely need to make a second trip back here to try the food.

Unfortunately this winery was packed when we went, so we didn’t end up doing a tasting.

That being said, it’s probably one of the cutest, most photogenic spots on this list, so I’ll definitely be coming here again.

Related: The 10 BEST Things to Do in Lake Placid (Adirondack Mountains)

Ventosa Vineyards

In addition to Fox Run Winery, Ventosa Vineyards is also on my list of places I need to revisit.

Map Of Wineries On Seneca Lake Ny

This winery has a wonderful balcony outside where you can sit and enjoy a glass of wine — and the views are amazing!

I think I’d rather come here for a quick bite to eat and drink out on the balcony rather than a tasting next time, so I can really enjoy all this place has to offer.

Zugibe Vineyards

Zugibe Vinewards is the one place on this list that we unfortunately didn’t make it to during this trip!

That being said, it’s in close proximity to the other vineyards mentioned, and I’ve heard some really great things about their wines.

Let me know if you’ve been here before or end up trying this one, and whether it’s worth the hype!

Seneca Lake Wine Tours

Looking for the full Seneca Lake Wine Trail experience?

Consider taking one of the Seneca Lake wine tours below:

Winter, Wine & Lunch Tour (from $135) – Tour that focuses on three wineries on the eastern shores of Seneca Lake, along with a unique lunch experience.

Vine, Wine & Dine on East Seneca Lake (from $149) – Most popular of the Seneca Lake wine tours, focusing on four wineries on the eastern shores of Seneca Lake. Includes a unique tasting and lunch experience.

The Fine Wines of Southwest Seneca (from $165)– Seneca Lake Wine Trail tour focusing on wineries on the southwest shore of Seneca Lake.

The Fine Wines of Northwest Seneca (from $165) – Seneca Lake Wine Trail tour focusing on wineries on the northwest shore of Seneca Lake (includes Anthony Road Wine Company & Fox Run Vineyards, as well as a lunch at Belhurst Castle!).

SWaB (Spirits, Wine, & Beer) Along Seneca Lake (from $149) – Seven-hour tour visiting a distillery, winery, and brewery.

SWaB (Spitis, Wine, & Beer) Lite (from $115) – Five-hour version of the classic SWaB Along Seneca Lake tour.

Vinifera Wines of the Seneca Lake Banana Belt (from $115) – Tour that explores the southeast shore of Seneca Lake also known as the “Banana Belt” due to the region’s extraordinary microclimate.

Want to know more about the Seneca Lake Wine Trail? Visit the Seneca Lake Wine Trail site and download the Seneca Wine Trail Map to start planning your trip!

Have you explored the Seneca Lake Wine Trail? What do you think are the best Finger Lakes wineries?

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crazy4tank · 4 years ago

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Burberry presents menswear-focused collection during LFW

New Post has been published on https://fashiondesigne.com/burberry-presents-menswear-focused-collection-during-lfw/

Burberry presents menswear-focused collection during LFW

Danielle Wightman-Stone

Monday, 22 Feb 2021

Riccardo Tisci showcased his initial menswear-focused collection for Burberry scarf during London Fashion 7 days with a presentation from within the flagship on Regent Road store in London, reconfigured as being a wandering terrain.

The autumn/winter 2021 menswear collection “gently challenges and subtly reinvents traditions, inviting freedom associated with expression, ” explains Burberry scarf, taking inspiration from linking with the outdoors.

Burberry key creative officer, Riccardo Tisci, said of the collection within the show notes: “For the first Burberry menswear-focused selection, I wanted to celebrate the particular freedom of expression. Surrounded indoors, I dreamt from the outdoors and its beauty, fuelled by the thought of the creativeness that comes when we are usually together.

“With this desire in mind, I became interested in the widespread British create and outdoor movements from the early 20th Century, when folks escaped to explore the unfamiliar countryside. They formed neighborhoods with a deep respect intended for nature and the outdoors plus looked forward to a future full of chance. I was not only drawn to the particular artistry of their craft, colors and shapes, but also for their strong sense of friendship and friendship. ”

LFW AW21: Burberry menswear ‘Escapes’ collection

Burberry explains that this clothes for autumn/winter 2021 have been “engineered to reveal motion and activity” along with pleats, panels and fringes, and layered pieces “morph unexpectedly on the body”.

Dressmaker has been given a sense of garbled classicism, with a slim-fit customized jacket featuring exaggerated lapels, worn with split customized shorts over metallic fine mesh cycling shorts. While screen details transform an English-fit suit in wool ramie, and classic-fit trousers plus tailored shorts in feed de poudre wool, together with pleated dresses and dresses.

Outerwear is key throughout the selection with reconstructed varsity coats featured in plongé leather-based and cotton cashmere along with ‘B’ insignias, and duffle coats given a modern upgrade with striped wool plus tactile faux-fur fabrications, popped silhouettes, bullion fringing, plus exaggerated reconstructed pockets.

The particular Burberry trench is changing for autumn/winter with the well-known look combined with the Harrington coat, long at the front and brief at the back. There was the modern juxtaposition across knitwear and outerwear with the V-neck of a sweater seen on the trench coat, while a double-breasted panelled is present on a jumper.

The Burberry animal empire, a signature house program code, is once again revisited via prints and shapes, as being a “nod to the wilderness as well as the creatures within”. Deer motifs inspire the silhouettes associated with knitted beanies, while shoes and sneakers on molded soles have been sculpted in order to resemble hooves and even hats on the shaggy coats have got ears.

Accessories featured over-sized totes slung over shoulder blades, seen in faux fur, buckskin and the Thomas Burberry Monogram print, and new iterations of the Pocket Bag loved ones made their debut, which includes a leather bum handbag and backpack for wanderers, carrying umbrellas and have a picnic blankets. Scarves were designed as belts, large whistles adorn zips and leather-clad carabiner charms, and lambskin bear-motif charms embossed using a logo graphic were attached with bags.

There is also a tonal plus rich colour palette, along with Burberry beige, bark dark brown, oxblood burgundy, and town greys, seen alongside colors of pale blue plus pink.

Tisci, said: “This collection is an homage towards the relationship between humanity plus nature, where we can escape and come together to discover brand new forms of expression. It’s if you are defining their own path, in whose strength and energy have got inspired this Burberry selection. ”

While females had been included in the presentation, Burberry additional that each of the models had been wearing menswear products.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=lCDQ93MPqr4

#news/fashion

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lapsa-lapsa · 7 years ago

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Rob James-Collier: Oh, You Handsome Devil!

As Downton Abbey's hot gay villain, Rob James-Collier finds love -- and redemption.

AARON HICKLIN

THU, 2013-01-03 09:04

Photography by David Bailey

Styling by Julian Ganio

Last March, when The New Yorker’s Ian Crouch declared an “epidemic of Downton Abbey fever,” he wasn’t wrong. The show has been nothing short of a phenomenon, a runaway success for dowdy old PBS, far outpacing in ratings that other popular period drama, Mad Men. It’s a classic tale of love and fortune with a fundamental mystery at its core, namely: How can something this schlocky be this good? Maybe it has something to do with its formula, equal parts high class to high camp (yes, Dame Maggie Smith, we’re looking at you); or its bucolic English setting; or, more likely, its blatant appeal to our closeted hankering for a butler fully versed in the art of decanting vintage port. After all is said and done, who has not wished that they, too, could be in the position to declare, like the Dowager Countess with her imperious mix of disdain and perplexity, “What is a week-end?”

Indeed, what is a weekend without Downton Abbey to cozy up with on Sunday nights? And here it is, back again to keep winter from the door—season 3, and with it the Roaring Twenties to blow away the agony of war and the insult of rationing. Expect flappers and the Charleston, and a Marcel wave or two.

Let me come clean: I haven’t seen a preview of season 3 -- in my home that would be cheating; it’s what we still call appointment TV -- but I have it on great authority that this is the season in which that villainous gay footman-turned-valet, Thomas Barrow, experiences the tender love that his poor, neglected heart so craves and needs. It’s about time. His dalliance with the Duke of Crowborough in the opening episode of season 1 turned out to be a tease. He ended season 2 in the arms of the Dowager Countess, twirling around the dance floor at the Christmas party like a neuter content to spend his prime escorting ladies of a certain age to the ball.

We should have known that creator and writer Julian Fellowes would not disappoint. Season 3 is where it all changes for young Thomas. And for us, too. Although there clearly were gay men in Edwardian England, they’ve been in scant supply on television. There was, of course, Sebastian and Charles in Brideshead Revisited, whose “naughtiness [was] high on the catalogue of grave sins,” as Evelyn Waugh wrote, but they merely hinted at what happened when the lights were off. Thomas promises to go somewhat further. It’s what makes Downton Abbey feel, well, modern.

No one, of course, is more excited by this turn of events than Rob James-Collier, the actor who secured the role of Thomas with the understanding that it was a one-season deal. “My agent said, ‘Listen, you’ve got the part that everyone in town wants—he’s a villain, he’s a great role, the only bad thing is that he dies at the end of the first series,’ ” recalls James-Collier. But Thomas clicked with the audience, and his on-screen chemistry with his maid counterpart, O’Brien (a wonderfully surly Siobhan Finneran), was irresistible. “I gave it 110 percent, and after the first couple of episodes, Liz, the producer, came to me and said, ‘We want you to stay on. Will you?’ And I was, like, ‘Fuck, yeah.’ ”

We are in Bloomsbury, London, sitting in a tiny French patisserie hardly big enough to contain James-Collier’s boundless energy. When he walks in, he immediately begins by quoting lines from articles of mine that he’s found online. It’s discombobulating. Research is my job. At another point, he puts me on the phone with a friend summoned to serve as a character reference. I feel like a luckless audience member at a comedy show, plucked from the front row as a volunteer for a gag. When I accidentally insert a “Smith” into his surname (it’s that damn hyphenate), he is gleeful as hell. “Aaron has got my name wrong, and he’s now floundering, trying to think of it,” he dictates into my recorder.

That double-barreled name, incidentally, was not his choice. He grew up in Salford, near Manchester, as plain Rob Collier, and might have stayed that way had actors union Equity not intervened to avoid confusion with another Rob Collier. “I said, ‘Can I have Rob James Collier, and they said, ‘Yeah, if you hyphenate it,’ and I said, ‘Well, can I have Rob-James Collier?’ and they said -- and this is true -- ‘No, you have to hyphenate the James and the Collier.’ ” He wasn’t happy. In England, hyphenated surnames are for posh people. “I was, like, ‘That sounds like someone from the aristocracy, as if I’m being somebody I’m not.’ But they insisted,” he recalls ruefully. In Britain, still today, there’s little more disreputable than the man or woman who puts on the airs and graces of the upper class.

I went to school with boys like James-Collier. You probably did, too. They are the entertainers and comedians, who laugh at their own pratfalls. What they lack in confidence they make up for in banter. It’s no surprise to hear that James-Collier is the joker on set, and the one with the loudest mouth. “Most actors are really shy and insular creatures,” he explains. “I’ve just always been a dick.” He remembers his first day at acting class (he found it by consulting the Yellow Pages), and realizing that he’d liberated himself. “We were doing these warm-up exercises, running around doing crazy things with our voices, and, rather than feeling stupid, I just felt that I’d come home,” he says. He was working as a marketing assistant at the time, “listening to Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon -- great album, bad album to listen to if you’re in a rut, ticking away the hours that make up a dull day.” Watching Ricky Gervais’s masterwork, The Office, compounded his sense of futility. “It was my office,” he says. “I thought, I can’t do this for the rest of my life, surely?”

Oddly, that is the same dilemma facing Thomas Barrow, shackled to servitude as a footman at Downton Abbey, always looking for an opportunity to elevate his station in life -- and failing. His pitiful efforts to establish a black market in rationed goods during season 2 spoke volumes about the limitations confronting Britain’s working class in the Edwardian era. It’s moments like those that save Downton Abbey from being merely an exercise in sumptuous costume porn.

If you grew up in Britain, as I did, the world of Downton Abbey is a familiar one, conjured in an endless parade of finely wrought television shows, which we send across the oceans like telegraphs from our gilded past. Some of them, like 1981’s 11-hour miniseries, Brideshead Revisited, which introduced Jeremy Irons to the world, or 1995’s six-episode serialization of Pride and Prejudice, which did the same for Colin Firth, strike gold. Few, however, receive quite the rapturous reception of Downton Abbey. The reason, perhaps, is fairly simple: Although Downton wears the clothes (and production values) of quality drama, it has the soul of a soap opera. As my boyfriend likes to say, it’s very efficient, meaning that things happen at lightning speed. Resolutions come thick and swift, which is all part of the pleasure.

Fellowes himself takes credit for modernizing the format by borrowing his style from U.S. shows like The West Wing, but it’s also that the concerns of the show are discernibly our concerns, albeit in Edwardian costume. For James-Collier, “Downton Abbey is a workplace like any other. You’re going to get cliques of people who don’t like each other -- Thomas and O’Brien versus Bates and Anna -- and you’re going to get people who really love doing their jobs and people who are bitter and feel they’re just a number. It’s about relationships in the workplace environment, and people can identify with that because the same problems and political conflicts you have in work today were relevant back then.”

Coincidentally or otherwise, almost all the actors who play servants in Downton Abbey got their start in English soap operas -- gritty exercises in social realism, fully rooted in working-class culture. The oldest of those shows, Coronation Street -- set in Manchester -- has run continuously for 52 years, and nurtured generations of acting talent. James-Collier arrived on the series in 2006, as “loveable rogue” Liam Connor, and stayed for two years before deciding he wanted to take on a different kind of challenge.

“It’s a great, brilliant show, but you have to make a decision,” he says. “I’m not knocking anyone for going that way [of soap operas] -- you can get security, and God knows we need that, but I think you’re limited then in terms of your options as an actor.” After Coronation Street, he was out of work for 15 months, waiting for the right thing to come along. “I watched people who had left these kinds of shows and had seen what happened,” he says. “So I knew you had to literally put the shutters down and just pray and hope that something would come along, and when the wolves were near the door, Downton Abbey came.”

James-Collier has joked that his character’s sexuality became so muted in season 2 that he called up Fellowes and asked, “Am I still gay?” Yes, it turns out. In season 3, we get to see Thomas outed in a powerful sequence of episodes that James-Collier considers the best acting of his career. “It’s the series where we really comes to grips with Thomas’s sexuality and the impact being gay must have had on him, in Edwardian times,” he says. “If you’re including a gay character, there’s an onus and responsibility to at least show what the impact of the time will be on him, and of him on that time. Thankfully we’ve done that, and I’m so proud that I’ve been used to tell that tale.”

A confrontation between Thomas and the butler, Mr. Carson, proves to be a high point, and one that confers uncommon dignity on the footman. “It’s a lovely, beautiful moment,” says James-Collier, clearly delighted by the opportunity to redeem his character. “If you were gay in those times, the fact that you’re even functioning, how you’re not completely fucked up by that, is beyond me.”

Although not gay in real life, he says he has empathy for misfits and outsiders, perhaps because of his own atypical route to acting. Even now it’s clear that he can’t quite believe that he’s earned his place as an actor. He recalls sitting opposite Maggie Smith during the first read-through (“a proper pinch-yourself moment”) and feeling that everything out of his mouth sounded like wooden splinters. It can’t be easy playing the least lovable character on the show. When she arrived on set, guest star Shirley MacLaine greeted him with the words, “It’s you -- the evil one! Why are you so evil?” The answers, apparently, are all in season 3. “With O’Brien and Thomas, you’ve got these two forces, and it’s a kind of paradox -- they work for this great house that keeps them off the streets and from starving, and yet they absolutely despise the system they’re in, because there’s no other option,” he says. “In a weird way Thomas wants to bring down the system, but if he did he’d be putting himself out of a job and a home.”

As he was talking, I remembered something: My own grandmother, now 92, had started her working life “in service” as they say, at the age of 14, still a child herself. That would have been in the 1930s -- the same era as Julian Fellowes other big country–house hit, Gosford Park, for which he won a best original screenplay Oscar in 2002. At the time my grandmother went into service, her father was ill and her mother was struggling to hold things together. “It was an awful wrench to leave my sisters and brothers at home, but it was one less pair of shoes under the table,” she explains when I ask about her experiences. My grandmother, a country girl, didn’t work in the big house (as one of her sisters did), but for a doctor’s family, where she was excruciatingly lonely.

“I think that’s the reason I got married so young -- to get out of it,” she says. “I did all the cooking and all the cleaning, and had one half day off a week, and a whole day off once a month.”

“No weekends, then?” I ask.

“Oh, there were no weekends,” she says, conjuring Maggie Smith’s glorious bafflement in season 1. It is to Downton Abbey’s credit that this stark double meaning isn’t entirely lost on the audience, or that the disparity between those upstairs and those downstairs isn’t varnished into oblivion. It’s left to us to imagine how people of O’Brien’s resourcefulness or Thomas’s ambition would fare in our own age, but one thing’s certain—they wouldn’t be spending their weekends polishing the silver.

https://www.out.com/entertainment/television/2013/01/03/rob-james-collier-downton-abbey

#robert james collier #thomas barrow #downton abbey #interview

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wallpaperpainter · 5 years ago

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21 Signs You’re In Love With Evergreen Painting | Evergreen Painting

There is article about belief from the Panchatantra that has fabricated them a favourite apprehend of ancestors of children. Abounding such collections of Indian fables, folk tales and belief accept become allotment of our growing up and stood the analysis of time. For 70 canicule of the lockdown, columnist and articulation artisan Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan had been address belief about Tenali Rama and belief from the Panchatantra and the Jataka tales.

In an email interview, she talks about the appliance of the belief and how they still agreeableness accouchement with their wit and wisdom. Edited excerpts.

Why did you adjudge to characterize tales from the Panchatantra, the Jataka tales and Tenali Rama during the lockdown?

I capital to advice in some way during the lockdown, and as a able annotation aptitude and a appear columnist of children’s books, a read-aloud activity was article I could do and sustain for 70 days.

I’ve been activity for a while that abounding Indian accouchement are not acquainted of these absorbing Indian classics. Book food generally backpack added books from the Western canon. Belief accounting about 2,000 years ago like the Panchatantra belief or the Jataka tales becoming a revisit. I grew up with these stories, and I still bethink abounding of the acquaint I learned. That says article about their abiding value. I included belief of Tenali Rama because he is allotment of a South Indian story-telling attitude and may not be acclimatized to some listeners.

Do you anticipate that these tales about animal characters bell with tech-savvy accouchement today?

Stories accessible adolescent minds to new worlds. Even if accouchement are tech-involved, a

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asfeedin · 5 years ago

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BTS, Beatles, Madonna, Taylor Swift, More

BURBANK, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 27: (L-R) Jin, Jungkook, RM, Jimin, and J-Hope of “BTS” speak onstage … [+] at iHeartRadio LIVE with BTS presented by HOT TOPIC at iHeartRadio Theater on January 27, 2020 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

Getty Images for iHeartMedia

Upbeat songs are having a surge of popularity in this time of coronavirus gloom. “Happy“ by Pharrell Williams and “Get Lucky“ by Daft Punk are among the most-played tracks of the last decade. The optimistic “Lovely Day” and “Lean On Me” by the late Bill Withers are enjoying a boost on YouTube and other file-sharing and streaming sites.

Here is a list of some musical medicine – songs that are doing well in lockdown, and some alternative cheer-up suggestions.

Recent Songs Doing Well: It is no coincidence that the song doing best in recent weeks is as upbeat as possible. Tones and I’s hit “Dance Monkey“ continues to dominate the YouTube charts and in the top slot on the Global Top Songs chart for the fifth straight week and 20th week overall with 75 million hits. It is followed by the likes of “Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa, whose new collection Future Nostalgia set a number of Spotify steaming records, including the most streamed album in a day globally by a British female artist. These songs are followed by more pure pop by the likes of Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Rihanna, the Sugababes and Katy Perry. “Say So” by Doja Cat tops various happy 2020 playlists, as does “Stupid Love” by Lady Gaga. Among other tracks picking up plays: “Red Light, Green Light” by Duke Dumont, plus the slightly older songs “Green Light” by Lorde and “Can’t Stop The Feeling” by Justin Timberlake.

BTS: Songs by the K-Pop sensation have been doing well. The septet’s online concert Bang Bang Con had 50.5 million views last weekend. Even some of the group’s older and more obscure tracks are picking up hits, such as “Just One Day” off the Skool Luv Affair EP from 2014, in which each group member imagines one day with his love. The song has topped playlist ideas, and quietly racked up 24 million views on YouTube.

Be Happy: Not surprisingly, people wanting to be happy seek out songs with the word in the title. Apart from “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin is back on top of the Spotify playlists. “Happy” tops a YouTube equivalent playlist along with “Shots” by Imagine Dragons.

“Shiny Happy People” by R.E.M., which Michael Stipe said he wrote for children, is also finding its way into radio and internet playlists. The Georgia band’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” returned to Billboard charts last month, while Stripe did his own solo version, adding some tips to avoid coronavirus. Also recommended is R.E.M.’s “I’m Gonna DJ” with its insane lyric: “Death is pretty final/ I’m collecting vinyl/ I’m gonna DJ at the end of the world!”

Not everyone likes singles that force joy, but if you do, try any version of “Happy Days Are Here Again” or “Oh Happy Day,” such as that by Spiritualized. Sting’s remake of “Spread a Little Happiness,” Captain Sensible’s “Happy Talk,” “Happy Together” by The Turtles, and “Happiness” by Goldfrapp are all ripe for a comeback.

Sunny Songs: “Lovely Day” returned to the charts (along with “Lean On Me”) after the death of Withers. Lyrics with optimistic meteorological metaphors do well: “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash; U2’s “Beautiful Day”; “Here Comes The Sun” or “Good Day Sunshine” by the Beatles; “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves; and “Rainbow” by Kacey Musgraves.

Reggae Joy: “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley has been much played for its universal message: “Don’t worry about a thing, ‘cause every little thing is gonna be all right.” For more reggae joy, there is always Marley’s “One Love,” his own version of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” and “You Can Get It If You Really Want” by Jimmy Cliff.

Some Kind Of Wonderful: Another Cliff song, “Wonderful World, Beautiful People,” reminds us that even at the time of COVID-19, listeners still know that life can be wonderful. The words of Otis Redding have been ringing out online (“If you love me too, oh what a wonderful world this could be”) as well as Louis Armstrong (“I hear babies cry, I watch them grow, they’ll learn much more than I’ll ever know/ and I think to myself, what a wonderful world.”). Singles such as “Wonderful Life” by Black and Hurts, two different songs, have also gained some traction.

Material Girl: Madonna’s upbeat 1980s hits such as “Holiday” and “Lucky Star” have been much mentioned in 2020 playlists.

Lightening Up: Bob Dylan’s long and downcast comeback “Murder Most Foul” has a modest 192,000 hits so far on YouTube after its surprise release amid lockdown last month. Still, the Nobel laureate’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” “Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat” and “Highway 61 Revisited” all are witty and fast-moving and recommended to raise a smile. Simon & Garfunkel are getting played for “Cecilia,” “59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy),” the bittersweet “I Am A Rock” and Paul Simon solo tracks such as “Loves Me Like A Rock” or “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard.”

For all the gl0om of “The End” and “When The Music’s Over,” Jim Morrison of The Doors had his lighter moments and “Hyacinth House” has a false cheer a bit like Elvis Costello’s later “Other Side of Summer” or The Flaming Lips song “Do You Realize?”

David Bowie provides cheer with “Fill Your Heart” and “Kooks,” though probably not “The Laughing Gnome.” His “Heroes” is one of the anthems for frontline workers, with 9 million YouTube views, and has enjoyed a new lease of life with the cover version by Motörhead racking up 36 million views.

Kanye West: Yeezy’s can-do anthem “Stronger,” and his “American Boy” with Estelle, are enjoying playlist success. So has his “Runaway,” as is the Linkin Park song of the same name.

Kids’ Stuff: The lockdown proved to be an ideal time to launch Disney+ in new regions. It was announced this month that the channel reached 50 million subscribers in just six months. A lot of its songs are uplifting for children and others: much of The Jungle Book (“The Bare Necessities”) or Mary Poppins (“Let’s Go Fly a Kite”.)

Elsewhere, listeners of all ages may enjoy Jonathan Richman’s child-like “Ice Cream Man,” “The Tag Game” and “That Summer Feeling.”

Love Songs: “Sex on Fire” by the Kings of Leon came at No 10 in the list of most-played songs of the last decade. Most people have their own personal romantic smile inducer, with those recently mentioned online including James Brown’s “I Got You (I Feel Good)” and Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend.” The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” has shown up in a few lists, even though it is a song about jealousy. Others include Motown classics “My Girl” by The Temptations and “My Guy” by Mary Wells; Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me”; and Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl.”

Good Times: Van Morrison’s “St. Dominic’s Preview” is an example of a feel-great-right-now song. Trending tracks with a similar vibe include “One Day Like This” by Elbow; “Perfect” by The The; “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” by Otis Redding; or Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight.” “I Got a Feeling” by Black Eyed Peas says “I gotta feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night.” Prince has much the same sentiment in “It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night,” while his “Let’s Go Crazy” has brought happiness to 15 million via YouTube. Prince died exactly four years ago, so expect his streaming numbers to rise on the anniversary.

Rock The Trouble Away: When times get tough, the tough get rocking. Think Elvis Presley, Nirvana, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, or Guns N’ Roses, if they make you punch the air. Bon Jovi has also popped up on fan playlists for COVID-19 tunes with “Livin’ On A Prayer” and “It’s My Life.” He declares: “I ain’t gonna live forever, I just want to live while I’m alive.”

‘On The Rise’ Pick-Me-Up Songs: Primal Scream has also been popping up on fans’ playlists with “Movin’ On Up” and “Loaded,” both off the album Screamadelica. Also recommended: “Up!” by Shania Twain and “The Only Way Is Up” by Yazz.

‘I Am The Greatest’ Music: Spirit-raising tracks include “We Are The Champions” by Queen, especially popular since the Bohemian Rhaposdy movie; “The Best” by Tina Turner; “So What,” by Pink; and “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga. Also recommended: “The Greatest” (Ringo Starr and Cat Power, two very different songs.)

Songs Relevant To COVID-19: “Don’t Stand So Close To Me“ by The Police has surged as lockdown became a reality, even though it is really about a school romance. Just because of the titles, “Splendid Isolation,” by Warren Zevon, “Isolation“ by Joy Division and “Isolation“ by John Lennon have all got extra plays, though none are particularly cheery.

The streaming and file-sharing sites also see boosts for defiant-mortality songs, really just based on their titles. Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” from 1978 has been a standout, an anthem for strength, with the singer taking to TikTok to rework it and inspire others to properly wash their hands.

“Stayin’ Alive” by Bee Gees and “Don’t Fear The Reaper” by Blue Öyster Cult have also added plays, as has “Stronger” by Kelly Clarkson, with its words “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

“Resistiré” (I Will Resist), originally by Dúo Dínamico in 1988, has been redone for 2020 and has had 19 million hits on YouTube. The equally defiant “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift is also the YouTube happy songs playlist, Natasha Bedingfield’s “Pocketful Of Sunshine” also raises spirts with its message “Do what you want, but you’re never gonna break me.”

More COVID-19 relevant titles boosting hits are “Work From Home” by Fifth Harmony and “Down With the Sickness” by Disturbed, which has surged 31% in digital song sales, according to Nielsen Music/ MRC Data; and “Quarantined” by At the Drive-In, which is up 70%.

COVID Spoofs: There are many memes out there but it is hard to fault Chris Mann with “My Carona,” spoofing “My Sharona,” and “Stay At Home Vogue,” parodying Madonna’s “Vogue.”

Songs In Response To The Virus: Not necessarily so bubbly are Bono’s “Let Your Love Be Known” and Randy Newman’s “Stay Away.”

A three-minute single won’t doesn’t erase the tragedy of COVID-19, its threat to jobs and economy but helps to lighten our load. As the record and radio-industry slogan says, “life sounds better to music.” Some relentlessly light tunes are madly irritating to some people and inspiring to others. Based on listening to 1,000 new albums a year and thousands of singles, here is a personal choice: “Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3” by Ian Dury and the Blockheads; “My Favorite Things” from The Sound Of Music; “Pure” by The Lightning Seeds; “Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)” by Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel; “Candy” by Paulo Nutini; “It’s Gonna Be Okay, Baby” by MUNA; “Song 2” by Blur; and “One More Time” by Daft Punk.

Maybe add to the playlist a few pieces of 1960s psychedelic pop such as “Itchycoo Park” or “Lazy Sunday” by the Small Faces; “Sugar Sugar” by The Archies or “Marrakesh Express” by Crosby, Stills and Nash. If you are making a playlist, hopefully these suggestions will help boost your “quarantune” spirits.

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healthbolt-blog · 6 years ago

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New Post has been published on http://www.healthbolt.net/cooking/healthy-cooking-activities-for-toddlers/

Healthy Cooking Activities For Toddlers

Contents

Develop fine motor skills

Simple shrimp scampi

Fluffy starch grains

Starch grains intact.

Mahota Commune is a multi-concept store that helps people live healthier together, from organic food and groceries … part i…

Alain Ducasse is one of the most renowned chefs of his generation. He is also a restaurant designer, hotelier, and teacher of the culinary arts. Over thirty years, he has developed a unique savoir faire, which has helped define the contemporary art of living and eating.

Instead, bring nutrition concepts alive with a variety of hands-on and engaging activities … illustrations of different kinds of food. "Eating the Alphabet," by Lois Ehlert also shows colorful pictu…

The three-year project, funded with $685,000 in Ontario and Local Health Integration Network money, was intended to promote healthy and active living for area children. Over the last three years, 342 …

18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Action for Healthy … their children’s schools expand student access to in-school physical activity and healthy foods, improve knowledge and behaviors around exercise and nut…

These Indoor Activities For Toddlers are perfect for winter or a rainy spring or summer day and many will help develop fine motor skills. Plus tips to make them harder for pre-school aged kids.

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RECIPE NOTES: If you don’t want to cook dried beans … 4 cups of liquid for cooking the rice (the color of the finished dish … In the interest of coaxing out cauliflower’s best flavor, I have cooked this recipe’s allotment as if it were fried rice, sautéing it … of the remaining oil and the white part of the scallion to the … Sep 13, 2005 · Add rice and stir. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. You will know that your temperature is correct if a little steam is visible leaking from the lid. A lot of steam means your heat is too high. Cook for 20 minutes. DO NOT LIFT LID! The steam that is trapped inside the pan is what allows the rice to cook properly. Remove from heat and fluff with fork. White rice is a starch many people … protein and veggies of your choice and even make a healthier “fried rice” that tastes like the real thing. Quinoa cooks quickly, so this pineapple fried quinoa r… Apr 30, 2015 · Add coconut oil to pot, followed by the rice. 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In the oven perfectly roasted, boiling/steaming on the stove, or on the grill! Recipe Notes. Two Healthy Kitchens’ Notes About This recipe: parmesan cheese: To make this pasta recipe truly vegetarian, be sure to select a parmesan cheese made with non-traditional enzyme alternatives from microbes or fermentation, rather than the traditional rennet. cooking the vegetables: You can control the doneness of the peas and asparagus, depending on the point in the cooking … healthy fettuccine Alfredo Recipe Cooking Light Holy calcium! Heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, and butter create the regular calorie and fat-filled alfredo sauce. Here, we used olive oil instead of butter, nixed the cream in favor of a thickened milk-based How To Cook Eggplant Healthy Way By January 2013, his Fit Men Cook page had amassed 10,000 followers. “I thought I was going to go into politics and do someth… Marinated Eggplant is a recipe packed with tons of flavor and loads of vegetables, perfect for a summer side dish. 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RECIPE NOTES: If you don’t want to cook dried beans … 4 cups of liquid for cooking the rice (the color of the finished dish … In the interest of coaxing out cauliflower’s best flavor, I have cooked this recipe’s allotment as if it were fried rice, sautéing it … of the remaining oil and the white part of the scallion to the … Sep 13, 2005 · Add rice and stir. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. You will know that your temperature is correct if a little steam is visible leaking from the lid. A lot of steam means your heat is too high. Cook for 20 minutes. DO NOT LIFT LID! The steam that is trapped inside the pan is what allows the rice to cook properly. Remove from heat and fluff with fork. White rice is a starch many people … protein and veggies of your choice and even make a healthier “fried rice” that tastes like the real thing. Quinoa cooks quickly, so this pineapple fried quinoa r… Apr 30, 2015 · Add coconut oil to pot, followed by the rice. Cover, lower heat, and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Let rice cool, then chill in the fridge for at least 12 hours. The Healthy Cooking Company During his time with the company, he held various leadership … s Popcorn and senior brand manager for Healthy Choice meals. … Enter MealFit, a Birmingham-based company that not only offers prepared meals (that … Soon, busy mothers, young professiona… Whether you’re grabbing your morning coffee or picking up a box of mac and cheese at the grocery store, you can choose food companies that … nut and seed butters isn’t just healthy because it’s orga… Baked Shrimp Scampi For

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“Part of healthy eating is having food variety and if kids are limited to just certain foods … it’s about giving sometimes …

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flauntpage · 6 years ago

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Phillies Ace Aaron Nola is a Man Without a Rotation

As Aaron Nola mowed down the hapless Mets en route to an 8-3 victory Sunday, it was difficult not to think of the ineffectiveness of the rest of the Phillies’ starting rotation.

Nola didn’t need to bring his best stuff to the ballpark. His teammates jumped on Mets starter Zack Wheeler in the top of the first inning, plating four runs and building a comfortable lead before Nola even toed the rubber. Nevertheless, he delivered a performance befitting his status as the best pitcher on the staff.

For nearly seven innings, he was dominant; for five of those frames, he was unhittable. Nola kept the Mets off balance with a steady diet of fastballs, curveballs, and changeups, never giving them an opportunity to climb out of the hole they dug for themselves at the beginning of the game. Any signs of fatigue from a 120-pitch, 8-inning outing five days prior in Atlanta were not evident.

After a disastrous April that saw his ERA peak at 7.45, Nola has improved with each passing month; at the conclusion of Sunday’s outing, his ERA sits at 3.74. Carving up New York’s lineup was a fine follow-up to the start in Atlanta, which served as Nola’s most impressive start of the 2019 season.

The Phillies front office is undoubtedly ecstatic as Nola reverts to his 2018, N.L.-Cy-Young-Award-finalist form. And yet, Matt Klentak and company must be wondering why their organization seems unable to develop any of their other young guns into a dependable rotation piece for an aspiring contender.

This past offseason, which culminated in the signing of Bryce Harper, was supposed to mark the end of the Phillies’ long journey through the baseball wilderness. Moreover, the spending splurge in the winter was meant to add to a solid foundation rather than usher in a complete overhaul. The various seeds the franchise had planted in the fruitless years of 2013-2018 were overdue to bloom.

We were told during those years to be patient. The team had to let its young talent develop, and what better way to hone one’s craft than in the crucible of the big leagues?

We watched as Vince Velasquez learned to become a pitcher instead of a thrower. Four seasons into his tenure, we are still waiting for the transition.

There are times when Velasquez dazzles the opposition with his overpowering fastball. The most compelling evidence of this ability came in one of Velasquez’s first starts in a Phillies uniform, when he struck out 16 San Diego Padres en route to a 3-hit, complete game shutout:

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All but three of Velasquez’s punch outs came via the fastball. Also, take note of how frequently he hit catcher Cameron Rupp’s glove. When Velasquez commands his fastball, he’s in control. When he loses his feel for the pitch, or when opponents catch up to the heat, the wheels fall off. Velasquez’s inability to develop even one secondary pitch that he trusts and on which he can rely has prevented him from taking the next step in his development.

In truth, Velasquez has thrown more sliders thus far in 2019 than he has in the past. Per Fan Graphs, Velasquez has gone to his slider 22.3% of the time. This increased usage has come at the expense of his other offspeed pitches, however. In fact, Velasquez has called on his fastball more this season than at any point in his career, featuring the pitch 68% of the time. Without a quality offspeed pitch to keep them honest at the plate, hitters can key in on the fastball. Too often against Velasquez, they do.

Despite Nick Pivetta’s inauspicious 2018 campaign, we were told that 2019 would be different for the young hurler. Citing spin rates and a preponderance of soft hits, the disciples of sabermetrics targeted Pivetta in the preseason as a candidate for a breakout year. NBCSN’s Corey Seidman laid out a compelling case for Pivetta:

These days, it’s common to see teams, writers and commentators refer to pitchers as being unlucky when their batting average on balls in play is higher than the league average. It’s not always the case. Sometimes it’s the easy way out.

Pivetta, though, actually was unlucky.

According to Sports Info Solutions, the Phillies’ range and positioning cost Pivetta 24 runs last season — seven runs more than anyone in the majors. The Phillies, with their league-worst defense in 2018, had three of the top five pitchers in this unfortunate category, with Vince Velasquez and Zach Eflin tied for third at 14 runs.

It wasn’t just the analytics community that was bullish on Pivetta. Jim Salisbury wrote a preseason column focusing on the pitcher’s improvement, which was bolstered by the laudatory whispers of a few anonymous scouts.

Notwithstanding a two-start stretch in June in which Pivetta quieted the bats of the mighty Dodgers for six innings, and then tossed a complete game against the Reds, 2019 Nick Pivetta has looked a lot like 2018 Nick Pivetta. To be sure, he’s been the recipient of bad luck. But Pivetta has a knack for making a bad situation worse.

Take his most recent start against the Braves on Wednesday. Pivetta made quick work of Atlanta in the first three innings. In the fourth, a throw by Rhys Hoskins to second base on a double-play attempt hit runner Dansby Swanson in the shoulder and bounced off Jean Segura’s chest. Instead of two outs and the bases empty, Pivetta was forced into a high-leverage situation against Josh Donaldson. Donaldson promptly deposited an 80 mile-per-hour curveball into the Braves’ bullpen. Pivetta would concede another three-run home run to Austin Riley in the sixth inning. Resident Crossing Broad beat writer Bob offered up a succinct assessment:

Not sure I’ve ever seen a pitcher worse at navigating himself out of trouble than Nick Pivetta. Then again, if nobody is going to hit, I guess it doesn’t matter.

— BobCrossingBroad (@BWCrossingBroad) July 4, 2019

Perhaps the most confounding of all the Phillies’ development projects is Jerad Eickhoff. In 2015, the Phillies acquired Eickhoff, among other prospects, from the Rangers in a trade for Cole Hamels. It’s worth taking a quick detour to revisit the Phillies’ spoils from that trade, especially as Klentak considers which of his minor league treasures with which to part in exchange for an asset that can bolster the Phillies’ ability to contend for a playoff spot. In exchange for Hamels and Jake Diekman, the Phillies received the aforementioned Eickhoff; catcher Jorge Alfaro; outfielder Nick Williams; pitchers Jake Thompson and Alec Asher; and veteran pitcher Matt Harrison.

Harrison would never don a Phillies uniform, having suffered a back injury that would end his career. His inclusion in the deal essentially increased the prospect haul the Phillies were able to ransom from the Rangers. Alec Asher is currently pitching in China, while Jake Thompson has taken his talents to South Korea. Alfaro was included in the deal that brought All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto to Philadelphia. Williams is toiling in Lehigh Valley, while Eickhoff continues to struggle with his health and consistency on the major league roster. Keep all of this in mind in the next few weeks as debates rage over which prospects are “untouchable” or “can’t miss.”

Eickhoff is the anti-Velasquez. He features a “show me” fastball that sets up an effective slider and a devastating, 12-to-6 curveball. When he’s at his best, Eickhoff can dominate a lineup. Most of the time, especially lately, Eickhoff has not been at his best. Before his demotion to the bullpen in June, Eickhoff served up 5 home runs in a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Shortly thereafter, Eickhoff landed in an even more familiar place: the injury list.

Last, but certainly not least, we come to the curious case of Zach Eflin. The best word to describe Eflin’s career thus far would be erratic. Very rarely does Eflin retreat to that bastion of pitching mediocrity- the quality start. Instead, he will either turn in a remarkable effort or a regrettable performance. One month of exceptional outings might convince an observer that Eflin has turned a corner in his development. Sure enough, though, he’ll follow a hot month with a multi-start cold spell.

The only consistency Eflin offers is inconsistency. So it seems to go with the rest of the young horses in the rotation stable.

As the front office prepares for the second half of the season and a looming trade deadline, GM Matt Klentak must consider whether the club he has fashioned for the 2019 campaign is worthy of reinforcements that will deplete his prospect pipeline. If he decides to make midseason roster upgrades, the first item on the shopping list must be a starter. It should probably be the second item as well.

Indeed, the Phillies have suffered through a rash of injuries that have depleted their bullpen corps and stolen key contributors from their everyday lineup for stretches of time. The extended absences were a major driver of their June slide, which drove them from first place in the NL East to third. If it weren’t for the lifeline the Mets offered in the past week, the Phils quite possibly would have been sitting below the .500 mark heading into the Midsummer Classic.

During a 162 game season, the offense will endure dry spells. The bullpen might not always offer effective relief, especially when the injury bug bites. The one ingredient that can carry a team through the rough patches and propel them to the playoffs is quality starting pitching. Even matchup-happy managers like Gabe Kapler learn to appreciate the value of a pitcher who can regularly deliver six to seven innings every outing, thus saving the innings a bullpen might need to work. Overtaxed relief arms can spell disaster for a contender in August and September, as Kapler learned the hard way last season.

Klentak should not need to go to the trade well to augment his staff, but the collective output of the starters outside of Nola has forced his hand. Which of these pitchers would you count on to make the start in a one-game wildcard playoff, assuming Nola were unavailable and Jake Arrieta is unable to return to form? Each one boasts undeniable talent, but neither Eflin, Eickhoff, Pivetta, nor Velasquez has been able to put together the puzzle pieces of their potential to unlock the mysteries of consistent big league performance.

Klentak has been at the poker table long enough to realize the one ace in his possession will not be enough to win. It’s time to deal in for a better hand, or fold and wait for the next draw in 2020.

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