#tsus larry

[ut-poppy-askblog]

Poppy goes against Harry and Larry (or maybe it's the other way around...?) In Emily's UT OC Tournament! Do vote for Poppy, if you want!

[exar547]

ok you know how i said i'd be talking about nothing but hazbin hotel for a week? well i LIED this game's too good not to draw now have a Koffin

+ unshaded Harry and Larry version under the cut

[thatsafuckeduptale]

harry and larry doing a mario & luigi bro move

they are going to beat you to death be so so silly

[just-an-enby-lemon]

Dick Grayson and Damian Pokémon team pls!

Okay Damian first because I sorta cheated with him. The thing is Damian already has four cannon pets so I actually just choose two of his team based on personality and vibes.

1. His starter would have to be a gift from his grandfather during his treinament and therefor it was a Riolu. The Pearl pokedex describes it as small but extremely powerfull and I think that this was the comparisiom that Ra made when presenting him to Damian that while they were both small they shouldn't be underestimated. Since Riolu evolves from friendship Damian soon had a Lucario. Lucario it's able to feel aureas and acording to the Shield dex it only trusts a trainer with justice in it's hearth. So yeah a great Damian Pokemon. Since Damian's nicknames for his pets progress from a more serious to a more casual naming system, Lucario is Tsu based on the writer from the art of war.

2. His second Pokemon actually got a sillier name. It's Sharpie his shinny Aegislash. Because Damian got to have the sword Pokemon and Aegislash is the only non legendary one. He got it as a Honedge. When he got to Gotham it already was a Doublade. When he had more trust on his sibblings he told Dick his Doublade wanted to evolve but they didn't had the means and Dick and Damian had a trip around Gotham (later Steph joined in) until they foind a dusk stone to evolve his partner.

3. Titus the Houdoom was Ace's puppie and Bruce gifted it to him. Damian was very proud to have the son of his father pokemon on his side.

4. Goliath the Noivern. His feroicius bat like dragon type is bigger than most Noivern and it's feral. It hates everything and everyone except Damian and it's an menance except worh Damian it loves Damian and specially his trainers belly rubs. It's very protective of it's trainer.

5. Bat-Miltank thr Miltank. Damian rescued it from a farm that was abusing the poor Pokemon. It's a bit shy towards most people but loves Damian. It uses a bunch of Bat theme costumes.

6. Alfred the Sylveon. I don't care. Sylveon is a cat. And that's not because I'm a cat person and love Sylveon is just a fact. Firslty I though about giving little Dami an eeve to represent the endless possibilites he has a the youngest Robin but i couldn't avoid giving him Eeves friendship based evolution. Now depending on the continuity Damian still has an Evee (that Dick gave him) but during his time on the Team Titans it evolces to a Sylveon.

▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️

And now let's go to Dick.

Dynamo the Corvinight. Rockidee was his first catch during one of his various travels with the circus. It was there for him when he lost his parents and they have a huge bound. The moment he became Robin on his first patrol night Rockidde evolved into Corvisquire and nust the same it became a Corviknight as Dick became Nightwing.

The other Pokemon he got during his time on the circus was Larry the Dreepy. It took a long time but during his time leading the Titans (still as Robin) Dreepy evolved into Drakloak and finally when he was helping Damian train and bond with his mons and family it evolved into a Dragapult. Now I choose Dreepy because it's pokedex entry says that while a weak Pokemon it can get stronger if it has a friend to help him along the way and Dick looked a lot like someone who would occupy it's papper. The fsct that Drakloak has an entry about how it helps other pokemon get strong and it's very encounranging of the profress of the dreepys it lives with also matched both Dick's leading spirit in the titans and how he was with Damian and in a minor level Tim and even Jason. It also flyes really really fast.

Wayne the Sweallow his first catch as Bruce's ward. Later with Court of Owls debacle he discovered that the court planted the Pokemon (when it was still a Tallow) as the first step into Dick's indoutrination as a Talon but fortunally failed the rest. Wayne got it's name because it's really serious.

Turbo the Vaporeon. Eeve was sorta of a gift from Bruce as he took young Dick to a Pokemon rescue center and after Dick had bonded with the small pokemon Bruce decided to let Dick keep it. It was always close to Ace. Dick evolved it when Wally took him to an stone vestival. He let Turbo choose if he wantsd to evolve and the stone it wanted and it pick the Water stone. I got Vaporeom from Dick because I like the idea of the Batkids having Eeves that evolced diferently , besides that there was the color match and the fact that Vaporeon is really good at disguise a think that a kid who goes around in shinny costumes has to also be really good at.

Yiipee the Togekiss. Dick got it as an egg he rescued during one his first solo missions. It soon hatched into a Togepi that was really shy and only showed itsef for Dick, Barbara, Cass, Kory and young Jason. It was really upset when Jason died. Togepi evolved during a battle against Joker as he was treatning Tim and both Togepi and Dick couldn't lose another brother. During their adventure to find a dusk stone Damian fpund a shinny stone he shyly gave as gift to Togetic (and Dick) the Pokemon accepted it happly and evolved. Togekiss was choose because I just think it vibes with Dick really well.

Finally Dick's last team mate is Haley the shinny Dusk Lycarock. He was based on Dicks actual cannon dog. I choose dusk Lycanrock because Dick fights mostly at night so midday wound't make sense (though is a good catch for Duke since it highlights the fact he is Gotham's day protector) and midnight just doesn't vibe with Dick so he got the special third form.

[auxiliarydetective]

Evie's OC Birthday Calendar

Have you ever wondered when my OCs' birthdays are? No? Well, you're getting a birthday calendar anyways. Under the cut, you'll find calendar pages, the template for which was made by this lovely person - for free! Thank you so much ^^

If, for some reason, you can't read what's written on the images, either because they won't load or because you can't read my sorry attempt at writing in cursive for the first time since fifth grade, don't worry – I've put a list of all the birthdays underneath the images for you!

List, in case the images don't load:

Also bonus reasons for the birthdays if there are any :)

January:

05. - Philomel (rough estimate of what "just after The Beginning" means) 10. - Kan-chan (goroawase for ma-ma-i-do: 0-0-1-10) 21. - Bára (Squirrel Appreciation Day, assigned by Larry Daley) 29. - Diana ("The Raven" is published on January 29th 1845)

February:

02. - Dotty (I honestly can't remember) 08. - Jelena (Release date of the Musik des Teufels audio drama) 15. - Honey (National Gumdrop Day + I needed a February birthday) 26. - Denri (Wii VC release of LOZ: OOT in the US)

March:

09. - Sonoko (goroawase for san-o-ko: 3-0-9) 10. - Lindewen (goroawase for surin-da: 3-10) 26. - K'Rala (Live Long and Prosper Day) 29. - Helena (Mermaid Day) 30. - Lily (World Bipolar Day)

April:

06. - Holly (goroawase for ho-ri: 4-6) 10. - Jamie (I honestly can't remember. But the Titanic sets sail April 10th!) 26. - Anita (World Burlesque Day)

May:

02. - Penny | Agent 0 (goroawase, probably, but I can't remember for what) 04. - Lani (Star Wars Day, May the Fourth be with you) 31. - Claire (Pretty sure it's a reference to Sappho but I don't remember how)

June:

01. - Vicky (Marilyn Monroe's birthday) 05. - Cora (National Tailors Day) 08. - Reina (Name Your Poison Day) 25. - Inari (Pudding's birthday - they're twins, so...)

July:

01. - Lux (07/01; Amber Lead Syndrome is introduced in ep. 701 of the anime) 09. - Eva (Argentina Independence Day) 16. - Varsha (World Snake Day; assigned by Tom Sawyer)

August:

01. - Kit (movie & 80s version) (Spider-Man Day) 08. - Fernip (I can't remember) 15. - Noura (Flooding/Fidelity of The Nile) 30. - Raevyn (picked it in 2019; wanted her to be a summer girl and a virgo)

September:

02. - Circe (goroawase for kyu-ki-tsu-ki = vampire: 9-2) 04. - Kaede (goroawase for mu-sa-sa-bi: 6-3-3-1; 6+3, 3+1 -> 9-4) 12. - Sonata (Hans Zimmer's birthday) 14. - Chalice (release of the animated Disney's Alice in Wonderland in the US) 25. - Aurelia (Maybe I wanted her to be a libra? Maybe it's a festival of Hera?)

October:

01. - Kassandra ("On the twelfth hour of the first day of October 1989...") 13. - Evelynn (picked it in 2020, yes it's a reference to Friday 13th) 25. - Byeong-ho (Nevada Day; because of his gambling addiction) 31. Charlie (Halloween for demon boi; read the fic for the canonical reason ��� )

November:

04. - Soles (Colombian All Saints' Day) 17. - Sherry (first release day of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga) 22. - Eve (release date of her first appearance in the series if she were canon)

December:

05. - Celine (probably Who Killed Markiplier-related) 11. - Luna (I picked it about eight years ago as a reference to Zoro's birthday) 21. - Iris (World Poetry Day but make it sagittarius)

[stepsandstaircases]

the value of space

[6i]

Hi, I love your music taste and blog so much. Can you hook me up with some underrated rappers?

i got you:

• Roc Marciano

• Aceyalone

• Tragedy Khadafi

• Eyedea & Abilities

• Slug

• Canibus

• Murs

• Kno

• Pharoahe Monch

• CunninLynguists

• Hus KingPin

• Crimeapple

• Rigz

• Murs

• Le$

• Rome Streetz

• Tsu Surf

• Stove God Cooks

• Flee Lord

• Daniel Son

• Ka

• Run The Jewels

• Tha God Fahim

• Skyzoo

• Blu

• Apollo Brown

• Your Old Droog

• billy woods,

• Boldy James

• Planet Asia

• Quelle Chris

• 38 Spesh,

• Joell Ortiz

• KXNG Crooked

• Struggle Mike

• Westside Gunn

• Royce da 5’9”

• Crooked I

• RJ Payne

• B Don

• Black Geez

• Estee Nac

• Big Kahuna OG

• Grip

• Dead Monarchs

• Chris Crack

• Eto

• Ransom

• Che Noir

• Rapsody

• Larry June

• Trust Army

• Elcamino

• Fred the Godson

• Knxwledge

• Big Ghost Ltd

• CHEWSTICK‬

• Pink Siifu

• BLESS E$CRO

• Thurz

• Fly Anakin

• Black Soprano Family

• Rasheed Chappell

• Rick Hyde

• Bogie Bam

• Casket D

• MIKE

• R.A The Rugged Man

• Apathy

• Vinnie Paz

• Evidence

• Jamo Gang

• Meyhem Lauren

• Jorun Bombay

• Phill Most Chill

• Third Root

• Armand Hammer

• Cambatta

• Eastern Sunz

• ShrapKnel

• Preservation

• Sankofa

• Odd Squad Family

• R.A.P. Ferreira

• ANKHLEJOHN

• Iron Wigs

• D Strong

• Giallo Point

• Bronx Slang

• MC Eiht

• Leaf Dog

• Enemy Radio

• Bishop Nehru

• The Musalini

• Killah Priest

• Sy Ari Da Kid

• Charlie Smarts

• Sons Of Yusuf

• Shabaam Sahdeeq

• J57

• Bowery Bruisers

• MH The Verb

• Jay Electronica

• Pruven

• Ray Swoope

• Cas Metah

• Blast Mega

• C. Ray

• Supreme Cerebral

• D.Mar

• Moemaw Naedon

• 4-IZE

• Wisecrvcker

• Kyo Itachi

• Eleven

• Jason D

• D-Cypha

• Recognize Ali

• Stu Bangas

• Chokeules

• CJ Fly

• D Smoke

• Quelle Chris

• Chris Keys

• The Four Owls

• Jahi & Configa

• The Leonard Simpson Duo

• Rejjie Snow

• Diamond Lung

• Dizzy Dustin

• Kool Taj The Gr8

• Irie-1

• Whichcraft

• Kool Keith

• Bolt Seminar

• ULTRA BEAST

• Azariah

• Peter Rosenberg

• The Good People

• Ilajide

• DA Donnieboy

• Devine Carama

• Mimz & Dunn

• DøøF & Graymatter

• Sharkula & Mukqs

• Vic Spencer

• Kota The Friend

• I Self Devine

• MF Grimm

• Sankofa

• Bang Belushi

• G4 Jag

• Mephux

• Mike Fish

• TEK

• Termanology

• Juga-Naut

• Giallo Point

• Jaximus

• Hologram

• Zilla Rocca

• Da$H

• LOOK DAMIEN!

• M.A.V.

• Swab

• Creatures Of Habit

• Uncommon Nasa

• Abstract Mindstate

• Agallah

• Da Flyy Hooligan

• Teslas Ghost

• Tanya Morgan

• TekForce

• Amadeus

• Savage Messiah

• IDE

• THE GRIM SL3EPER

• Vagabond From Beyond

• Ramson Badbonez

• Taiyamo Denku

• BoFaatBeatz

• Roc$tedy

• Slaine

• Chris Crack

• Myka 9

• Profound

• Pseudo Intellectuals

• Substance810

• O Finess

• Paul Willis

• Nyck Caution

• Illa Styles

• Meph Luciano

• Observe Since 98

• MAVI

• Knowledge the Pirate

[neutrallyobsessed]

Fuck it. Ace Attorney Ship Flags

I made flags for my fav aa ships cause I like vexillology and got inspired... had to get those designs out of my mind lol.

I repeat, this are for the ships that I LIKE. If your ship isn't here but you know a thing or two about flag desinging then go ahead and make your own and if you dont...... xd Let's go!

NaruMayo/Manix/Phoenix x Maya/Naruhodo x Mayoi:

International:

Portugal style, blue and a sunflower for Phoenix, purple and a magatama for Maya. Fairly simple with symbolism that can be understood anywhere in the world

Japanese:

Bhutan style, with a dragon representing Ryuuichi, includes references to Harumi with a pearl that I had to turn into a flower bulb cause I'm a dumbdumb who forgot that this one has japanese symbolism (Haru means spring); and Minuki, who's represented with the 7 of hearts according to the AA4 trailer (in the japanese numeric wordplay, the Na in Naruhodo stands for Nana, seven in japanese)

Western:

This one’s my favourite: a Phoenix (taken from the Zheng Fa flag) of green spiritual flames and a (very very simplified) Mayan outter pattern because I’m very funny...

Yeah, I made 3 flags for this one. I didn’t know which symbolism to use and I did one for each lol

MitsuMiku/KayWorth/Edgeworth x Kay/Mitsurugi x Mikumo:

Burgundy and a sword for Edgeworth, pink and the key for Kay. The white waves are for his frills and her swirly pattern. It sometimes looks like its moving on its own, completely unintentional, but that represent how dynamic and fwish fwoosh fwuasshh their dynamic is~more rapid, intense and exciting than other ships imo

Bonus:

The MitsuMiku emblem I have for pfp, Masonic style with a big letter on the center,since they share initials it was just a matter of giving it its respective colors. The sword going through the key ((( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°))) and the japanese numeric wordplay for the ship 3239, where the ‘Mitsu’ in Mitsurugi can mean ‘third’ but we can take the ‘mi’ to mean three and the ‘tsu’ to mean two, thus 32; there’s a ‘mi (3)’ in Mikumo and the ‘ku’ means nine, thus 39! Also a heart to be more romantic~~ (and the M already had the bottom part of the heart, it was basically done)

KamiChihi/Miego/Diego x Mia/Kaminogi x Chihiro:

It had Godot’s mask somewhat US style and the brown square for Mia (or coffee). The mug handle looks like a cat’s tail while the outer steam swirls are the ears, and the middle swirl is a soul flame symbol. It also has Mia’s beauty mark..... or a.... Godot...... xd

YahaAya/Larriris/Larry x Iris/Yahari x Ayame:

Magenta for Iris and orange for Larry, the white is for the pureness of their love~ The internet said that the Ayame Iris flower petals sorta looked like that and I did my best, the thing on the top can be a paintbrush or his goatee lol

NokoMako/Magshoe/Gumshoe x Maggey/Itonokogiri x Mako:

A police badge (or something that looks like that) with 3 bars with each characters representing colors, and 6 thinner gold bars to fill some space. I thought of making the background orange for Maggey’s maid outfit, but I think the white background looks better.... cause they pure <3

YumiMika/Sebastine/Sebastian x Justine/Yumihiko x Mikagami:

Blue for Sebastian, black for Justine and red is a color they both share. It includes her gavel and his question mark ahoge but upside down, for more confusion lol................ yeah I ship this what about it?

KyouMinu/Klacy/Klavier x Trucy/Kyoya x Minuki:

The outside is for Trucy and the center is for Klavier, obviously. As performers they are, it’s stylized as the reflectors on a stage

And those are the ones I did in one afternoon. I haven’t finished DD by then so I didn’t do anything concerning ships with AA6 characters like Nahyuta. I also recently started TGAA so the next batch of flags might include ships from those games too~~ cya

[bboyplankton]

Hip-Hop/Rap Albums 2021

1.Tyler, the Creator – Call Me If You Get Lost

2.Benny the Butcher & Harry Fraud – The Plugs I Met 2

3.Curren$y – Collection Agency

4.Casey Veggies – Cg5

5.Denzel Curry & Kenny Beatz – Unlocked 1.5

6.Young Dolph & Key Glock – Dum and Dummer 2

7.Conway the Machine – La Maquina

8.Gotham, Talib Kweli, & Diamond D – Gotham

9.Cordae – Just Until…

10.Moneybagg Yo – A Gangsta’s Pain

11.J. Cole – The Off-Season

12.DMX – Exodus

13.Smoke DZA – The Hustler’s Catalog 2

14.Big K.R.I.T. – A Style Not Quite Free

15.Wale – Folarin II

16.Lloyd Banks – The Course of the Inevitable

17.Vince Staples – Vince Staples

18.Duke Deuce – Duke Nukem

19.Larry June – Orange Print

20.Russ – Chomp 2

21.Migos – Culture III (Deluxe)

22.Fred the Godson – Ascension

23.Jim Jones & Harry Fraud – The Fraud Department

24.Czarface & MF Doom – Super What?

25.Dave East & Harry Fraud – Hoffa

26.Dave East & Millyz – Pablo & Blanco – EP

27.The Alchemist – This Thing of Ours

28.Dark Lo & Harry Fraud – Borrowed Times

29.Key Glock – Yellow Tape 2

30.Nas – King’s Disease II

31.Drake – Certified Lover Boy

32.D Smoke – War & Wonders

33.Joell Ortiz – Autograph

34.Westside Gunn – Hitler Wears Hermes 8 : B Sides

35.Snoop Dogg – Snoop Dogg Presents Algorithm

36.Dave – We’re Alone in This Together

37.Benny the Butcher & 38 Spesh – Trust the Sopranos

38.Lil Nas X – Montero

39.Benny the Butcher – Pyrex Picasso

40.French Montana – They Got Amnesia

41.Animé – Twopointfive

42.Big Sean & Hit-Boy – What You Expect – EP

43.Maxo Kream – Weight of the World

44.Guapdad 4000 & !llmind – 1176 (Deluxe)

45.Brockhampton – Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine Plus Pack

46.Gucci Mane – Ice Daddy

47.Payroll Giovanni – Giovanni’s Way

48.Duckwrth – SG8*

49.Various Artists – Judas & The Black Messiah: The Inspired Album

50.Peter Rosenberg – Real Late

51.Armani White – Things We Lost in the Fire – EP

52.Skepta – All In – EP

53.Boldy James & The Alchemist – Bo Jackson

54.Styles P – Ghosting

55.Pop Smoke – Faith (Deluxe)

56.Isiah Rashad – The House Is Burning (Homies Begged)

57.Megan Thee Stallion – Something for Thee Hotties

58.Payroll Giovanni & Cardo – Another Day Another Dollar

59.Yelawolf – Mud Mouth

60.K Camp – Float

61.Young Thug – Punk

62.Reason, Wale, & Benny the Butcher – No More, No Less: Demo 1 – Single

63.Mickey Factz, Blu, & Nottz – The Narrative – EP

64.Curren$y – Still Stoned on Ocean

65.Belly – See You Next…

66.Gucci Mane – Ice Daddy

67.Terrace Martin – Drones

68.Young M.A. – Off the Yak

69.Homeboy Sandman – Anjelitu – EP

70.Tsu Surf – Until Further Notice

71.Blu – The Color Blu(e)

72.Dom Kennedy – From The Westside With Love Three

73.Larry June & Cardo – Into The Late Night

74.Kevin Gates – Only the Generals II

75.Drake – Scary Hours 2

76.Common – A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 2

77.Armand Hammer & The Alchemist – Haram

78.Logic – Bobby Tarantino III

79.21 Savage – Spiral: From the Book of Saw Soundtrack – EP

80.Young Dolph & Paper Route Empire – Paper Route Illuminati

81.Don Toliver – Life of a Don

82.Baby Keem – The Melodic Blue

83.DJ Khaled – Khaled Khaled

84.Westside Gunn – Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Sincerely Adolf

85.IDK – USEE4YOURSELF (Deluxe)

86.Mozzy – Untreated Trauma

87.Lil Baby & Lil Durk – The Voice of the Heroes

88.Pop Smoke – Faith (Deluxe)

89.GoldLink – Haram!

90.Paul Wall – Hall of Fame Hustler

91.Twista – Shooter Ready

92.The Alchemist – This Thing of Ours 2 – EP

93.Meek Mill – Expensive Pain

94.Various Artists – Chillhop Essentials Winter 2021

95.Various Artists – Chillhop Essentials Fall 2021

96.Various Artists – Chillhop Essentials Spring 2021

97.Various Artists – Chillhop Essentials Summer 2021

98.Dark Lo & Havoc – Extreme Measures

99.Lil Wayne & Rich the Kid – Trust Fund Babies

100.  Sy Ari Da Kid – Sy Ari Not Sorry

101.  True Story Gee & RARE Sound – Bucket Hat Shordie

102.  Bia – For Certain (Deluxe)

103.  Young Thug & Gunna – Slime Language 2

104.  TyFontaine – Ascension (Deluxe)

105.  G Herbo – 25

106.  Various Artists – The Harder They Fall (The Motion Picture Soundtrack)

107.  Fetty Wap – The Butterfly Effect

[mukuharakazui]

Gumshoe is treated like that cuz of bearphobia

OK BUT LITERALLY. this happens to every single series with a fat man who has a prominent role in the series, and it's unsurprisingly worse with characters who are men of colour and/or gay/bi/trans men. from the second-hand smoke i got from volt//ton, this is what happened with hunk. in total drama (yes, there is a fanbase for that which my cousin regularly posts memes to fwik), it happened with owen. gumshoe isn't even that visibly fat, but he's very obviously not a super skinny guy. (in fact, i mistook the one piece of skinny gumshoe art i saw for larry butz art.)

i've thought a lot about how if phoenix and gumshoe had stayed exactly the same throughout the series but had their sprites (i.e. appearances) swapped, everyone would likely immediately look over narum/tsu and look to, well, my url.

i can't name a SINGLE popular m/m ship online besides jonmartin from tma that includes a fat man, and very few that include canonically dark-skinned men (as opposed to fans who racebend simply for progressive points). even as a skinny guy, i feel the alienation of seeing projections of mlm in fiction because they affect me, too. all that shit from klance to ineffable husbands feels like people trying to create a false image of the gay experience which imitates the idealised, INTEGRATED (read: white, upper-middle class, skinny, able-bodied, culturally christian, stable) gaze.

the reason pairings like that repel me and why i'm drawn to characters like gumshoe when it comes to making m/m content is because it feels more Genuine. like yeah they're all fake characters but it feels like a more real portrayal of m/m relationships than Boring Pale Twink and Possibly Somewhat Interesting Pale Twink. the same sort of shot happens with characters who are (or are portrayed by fans as) wlw, too, it's just that m/m content is more popular because there's a whole seperate problem at hand with a general lack of interest or in w/w due to what i attribute to a belief that characters who are girls/women are always boring and one-dimensional which is hopefully obviously rooted in misogyny.

i am SO SORRY for writing an essay i just finished a 9-page latin assignment and have nothing better to do than sit on my ass and get bitter about how people (not only including but especially white umc people who are lgbt themselves) hate to see lgbt people for who we really are as people and who we really are as a community.

[natehoodreviews]

20(-ish) Best Films of 2019

2019 was the year that I, at long last, came to terms with the fact that I will never become a professional film critic. The industry that once thrived in every magazine, newspaper, and radio station in America has been so downsized, gutted, and depreciated by the internet and social media that the few remaining full-time positions for film critics are simply unattainable for anyone who hasn’t already been a full-time critic for at least a decade. And many of those still have to work other full-time jobs as teachers or reporters to make ends meet. I know the measure of my talents—I’m a good, diligent writer; this past year alone I’ve written almost 150 reviews. Yet there are many, many more who work harder, have more connections, and are simply better writers than me who are in the same situation, trapped in the same soul-sucking gig economy, alternating between for-exposure pieces and one-off reviews for a few bucks a pop. And that’s if they’re lucky. Yes, 2019 was when I realized that if these people couldn’t make it, then I couldn't either.

And that’s okay.

2019 was also the year where I shrugged off many of my pretensions about what I find good, bad, and great in movies. I came to terms with the fact that I’ll never truly develop the cosmopolitan tastes of so many of my colleagues. I’ll always love foreign films, but my preferences will always lean Western. Therefore I’d be lying if I crammed my list full of the esoteric, hermetic art films from abroad that left so many of my colleagues spellbound but myself bored. I’m thinking of Céline Sciamma’ Portrait of a Lady on Fire, a film as meticulously constructed and beautiful as a house of cards that I nevertheless found fatally dull. I’m thinking of Bertrand Bonello’s Zombi Child, a film that attempted grand statements on racial diaspora and cultural appropriation that I found as terminally messy as the rest of his films. I’m thinking of other “important” films that I liked but nothing more, like Jia Zhangke’s Ash Is Purest White, Mati Diop’s Atlantics, and Claire Denis’ High Life.

So what, then, am I looking for in movies? More and more, I’ve realized that what I seek most from them isn’t entertainment or diversion, but a sense of the ecstatic, that moment in a movie theater where everything falls away and you’re left floating ten feet above your chair, choked with emotion or wonder or fear that what you’re seeing will leave you different than you were when you bought your ticket. These are the times when I feel most alive and grateful that the cinema exists as an art.

So here are the twenty(ish) films from 2019 that most inspired that wonder, the films that kept me wanting to write criticism even after I realized that it will never earn me my daily bread.

20) I Lost My Body (dir. Jérémy Clapin)

It took me some time to figure out what I Lost My Body was about, but about halfway through it clicked for me: grief. The sentient hand at the center of its narrative that navigates its way through the alleyways and rooftops of Paris is simply all the main character's emotional baggage, guilt, and depression made manifest. It's simple, but extremely powerful, particularly for an American like myself used to movies that would bend over backwards to explain how the hand is sentient and why. This movie builds wonderfully towards its devastating third act that somehow manages to be life-affirming and optimistic without feeling schmaltzy. My favorite kind of happy ending!  

19) At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal (dir. Erin Lee Carr)

“Yet At the Heart of Gold isn’t a documentary on [sexual abuser Larry Nassar] himself. Instead, it’s an examination of the system that enabled, empowered, and protected his predations for over twenty years, willfully turning a blind eye to his actions—and all for the sake of a few trophies and medals.”

My review: (x)

18) It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Show (dir. Nien Tsu Hsieh)

“...it’s impossible to watch It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Show without a smile on one’s face. There’s too much excitement, too much relentless forward momentum, too much breathless creativity on display to actively resent it, particularly in the last fifteen minutes which play as a knowing parody of overwrought soap opera climaxes complete with a love confession, a shoot-out, and a near death experience. Regardless of whether one chooses to excuse its naivety or not, it’s a spectacle to behold and a necessary corrective to Westerners who might still disdain the Asian boob tube.”

My review: (x)

17) Booksmart (dir. Olivia Wilde)

Scene for scene, punching for punchline, Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart was the funniest film of 2019. It somehow managed the difficult balancing act of extreme raunchiness, genuine emotional catharsis, and feminist empowerment. In another, better universe, Seth Rogan would’ve watched this one carefully taking notes, learning that while crassness can be fun it’s even better if it has a point. Also, Billie Lourd gives one of the best supporting performances of the year, making a great movie even better with a liberal sprinkling of Manic Pixie Dream Trust Fund Baby craziness. 

16) Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (dir. André Øvredal)

I must confess that I went into Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark equal parts curious and wary, worried that it would do to Alvin Schwartz’s books what the Goosebumps movies did for the R.L. Stine franchise. Namely, treat them like silly kids fluff. But to my surprise, not only did it end up being one of the most startlingly effective horror films of the year (the Pale Lady sequence might have been the best horror moment of 2019), but it was a confrontationally political look at small-town racial prejudice and the dehumanization of the poor by the rich. Basically, imagine if Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘r Treat had been directed by Jordan Peele. It’s not just a great horror movie for kids, it’s a great horror movie period. 

15) The Last Black Man in San Francisco (dir. Joe Talbot)

“But while very political, The Last Black Man in San Francisco is far from being an angry piece of agitprop. It’s about a house only so far as said house is the center of a web connecting countless human lives, some good, some bad, most somewhere in the middle, eking out what meager lives they can in the shadow of circumstance and poverty. Talbot frequently diverts from the main action of the film for minor vignettes involving friends and strangers at Jimmie and Mont’s periphery such as a raging neighborhood street preacher, Jimmie’s auntie living out in the hills with her skateboarding spouse, and even a polite elderly nudist. (According to my friend Odie Henderson, a fellow film critic and part-time San Franciscan, this isn’t a surrealistic sight in the city—a lot of old people really do just walk around in their birthday suits!) Here is a film about a city and the people who inhabit it, and though it sometimes suffers from sluggish pacing and the odd moment of pretentiousness, it’s a testament to the humanity that unites us all, even as it tears some of us apart. As Jimmie says in one scene to a couple of white women complaining about city: “You can’t hate this city unless you love it.”

My review: (x)

14) All I Can Say (dir. Danny Clinch, Taryn Gould, Colleen Hennessy, Shannon Hoon)

Of all the documentaries I watched in 2019, a not insignificant number of them were about subjects who spent their lives recording the world around them. The most popular was probably Matt Wolf’s Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project which examined the life of a woman who spent 30+ years recording television programs 24 hours a day and hoarding the VHS tapes. But the best was All I Can Say, a devastating film I caught this year at Tribeca made of footage shot by Shannon Hoon, the doomed lead singer of 90s alternative band Blind Melon. Hoon spent his final years carrying a camera with him everywhere, capturing the arc of his band going from underground nobodies to pop stardom in real-time, all the while charting his descent into the drug addiction that would kill him. Part rock hagiography, part found footage confessional, it’s a heart-breaking cinematic prayer.

My review: (x)

13) Pain and Glory (dir. Pedro Almodóvar)

“Almodóvar seems quite explicit: if art is life then creating it gives life meaning. Combined with the kaleidoscopic colors and images of his earlier work—those beautiful cave tiles and apartment kitchens!—this thesis on creation is Almodóvar's best and most essential film in years.”

My review: (x)

12) Shazam! (Dir. David F. Sandberg)

“Whereas [James] Gunn’s raspberry-blowing masked a deep discomfort of actual emotions—there’s scarcely an emotional beat in his movies that aren’t immediately undercut by an eye-roll or zinger—Sandberg reveals himself a dyed in the wool sentimentalist for all things four-colored and spandexed. If his characters giggle at the genre’s absurdities, it’s because they’re natural, human responses for such outlandish nonsense. But by the end they, and the film, come full circle, embracing the ridiculousness of costumed do-gooders for all their cheesy, over-the-top glory. Not only is Shazam! the best DC Extended Universe film—sorry Wonder Woman but that third act needed work— it’s also the best DC Comics movie since Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008).”

My review: (x)

11) Marriage Story (dir. Noah Baumbach)

“Baumbach has made a career doing films about selfish, dysfunctional families, but Marriage Story is easily the most accomplished—its script could be taught in screenwriting workshops, its mise-en-scene in directing classes, and its philosophy towards forgiveness in the face of brokenness and woundedness in the pulpit.”

My review: (x)

10) Last Call (dir. Gavin Michael Booth)

“On paper, Gavin Michael Booth’s Last Call seems geared towards the sensationalist side of the gimmick spectrum: it consists of two simultaneous 76-minute single take shots in real-time in different parts of Windsor, ON. The film’s own marketing does it no favors—neither their festival press release nor their website give any actual plot details, focusing almost entirely on how it was made. One could be forgiven for assuming this comes from a distributor nervous about an underwhelming product. But no, in truth this obfuscation seems a more deliberate tactic to keep potential audiences unawares for what’s coming, for not only is Last Call one of the most powerful films of 2019 so far, it’s one that lives and dies by the gradual unfolding of its narrative being uncluttered of expectations of where it’s going. It’s not that it has plot twists or surprises, it’s that it’s about witnessing our own innate humanity in real-time.”

My review: (x)

My interview with director Gavin Michael Booth: (x)

9) Midsommar (dir. Ari Aster)

“Much like Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria (2018), Midsommar is a loose remake of a 70s horror classic that reimagines their original stories as violent tales of the reclamation of feminine power. (It borrows so many themes and plot points from Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man [1973] that screenwriter Anthony Shaffer could probably sue for a writing credit.) At 147 minutes, it’s an over-indulgent piece of maximalist whimsy that lulls the viewer into the same semi-hypnotized state as late career Tarkovsky. Many have pointed to the Scandinavian psychological crack-ups of Ingmar Bergman as the film’s reference point, but a better comparison would be Lars Von Trier. Like that Danish loony, Aster demonstrates the same flair for shocking ultra-violence and the same obsession with mankind’s capacity for cruelty, both towards ourselves and each other. But whereas a deep-seated misogyny and misanthropy spurs Von Trier, thankfully what seems to propel Aster is a mournful preoccupation with grief and trauma.”

My review: (x)

8) American Factory/Fyre Fraud (dir. Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar/Jenner Furst, Julia Willoughby Nason)

This is the tale of two films which look at two sides of the same coin and received very different public receptions. The first, American Factory, received decent buzz as a Netflix original and got shortlisted for the 2020 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. The second, Fire Fraud, enthralled social media for a few days in January then dropped off the radar almost entirely (despite being the best of not one but two Fyre Festival documentaries released the same week by two different streaming powerhouses). Though seemingly very different on the surface, both films examine the repercussions of unfettered global capitalism, particularly how wealthy elites wreck impoverished communities the globe over only to face relatively insignificant punishment...if any at all. These are two enraging documentaries that will leave you incredulously shaking your head...and quite possibly wanting to brush up on your Marx.

My American Factory review: (x)

7) Jojo Rabbit (dir. Taika Waititi)

So, a funny thing about Jojo Rabbit: when I first saw it I thought it was a good film, but not necessarily a great one. I thought it was lively and charming and had a handful of genuinely moving moments, particularly the, um, *butterfly* scene. But then an odd thing happened. I started seeing critics pan it. Ordinarily this wouldn’t have bothered me as everybody has the right to like or dislike any given film. But it was the arguments themselves that threw me for a loop. Apparently this explicitly anti-fascist film was pro-Nazi. Apparently this film that didn’t shy away from the horrors of the Holocaust and German war crimes—again, the *butterfly* scene—made light of their atrocities. Apparently this film which saw its protagonist both literally and metaphorically reject Nazism and all its Nazi characters (including Sam “Good Nazi” Rockwell) brutally killed didn’t condemn fascism enough. I’ve been a film critic for about a decade now, five years as an amateur, five years as a published professional, and in all that time I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a film receive so many bad faith arguments by so many critics who should’ve known better. Nowhere was this better demonstrated than in one conspiciously non-Jewish reviewer’s opinion that, while Waititi might actually be Jewish, he clearly didn’t understand what it meant to be Jewish. Motherfucker, what?! Part of me wonders if this blowback isn’t due to the Left’s current exhaustion with Trumpian bothsidesism. Perhaps in this cultural environment where literal Nazis are coming back en masse many were repelled by the idea of a film that suggested that someone associated with the movement—even a child like Roman Griffin Davis’s Jojo who was born after Hitler’s inauguration and ruthlessly indoctrinated since birth—could be redeemed. Maybe. But it still boggles my mind. So here we are, me putting a film I thought was good, not great, in my top ten of 2019. It’s the first time I’ve ever put a film on one of these lists purely out of spite. 

6) The Peanut Butter Falcon (dir. Tyler Nilson, Michael Schwartz)

This movie devastated me in the best way possible. I cried three times during it. And I don't mean quiet sniffling; I mean open weeping. The first time was when Zack Gottsagen told Shia LaBeouf “I wanna give you all my birthday wishes.” The second time was a few minutes later when I thought of the line again. And the third time was near the end when that damned line popped into my head once more. There's an emotional honesty in this loose retelling of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn that most films can only dream of. This is more than just a watershed movie for performers with Down syndrome: it's a gorgeous, empathetic plea for kindness.

My review: (x)

5) Uncut Gems (dir. The Safdie Brothers)

Uncut Gems was one of the single most unpleasant experiences I’ve had in a movie theater. I loved every moment. It honestly felt like the Safdie’s ground up and snorted the very concept of anxiety and filmed the ensuing panic attack. This movie is pure momentum, breathless, unstoppable, uncontainable. There’s an almost religious intensity to this film that honestly reminds me a little of A Hidden Life, but whereas that film saw a man sacrifice everything for a higher ideal, Sandler—who is AMAZING—sacrifices everything for his basest appetites. I think the Passover scene is central to the film because it clues us into how essentially we’re watching Sandler reenact the Exodus in reverse: we’re watching someone abandon family, community, and God so they can sell themselves into bondage.  

4) Ad Astra/Motherless Brooklyn/The Irishman (dir. James Gray/Edward Norton/Martin Scorsese)

Three of the best films of 2019 saw three wildly different filmmakers make three wildly different films that all meditated on a single theme: sons seeking fathers. Whether it saw astronauts scouring the heavens, private detectives navigating hidden alleyways, or a hitman sifting through his own personal loyalties, these films all saw their heroes (if you could even call some of them that) trying to find meaning and purpose in literal or metaphorical orphanhood. All three films evoked different genres while ultimately deconstructing the things that originally made them so wildly popular: Ad Astra took the joy out of space exploration and replaced it with psychological numbness; Motherless Brooklyn neutered the traditional noir detective by proving just how little one man can conceivably change a corrupt world; The Irishman was a eulogy for the very gangster genre Scorsese helped define and perfect. And perhaps just as crucially, all three were extravagant, indulgent passion projects that went on longer than they probably needed. Did we really need moon pirates? Complete jazz performances in a nightclub? Detailed instructions on making the perfect chili dog, a camouflaged vodka watermelon, the perfect public hit? No, but without them these films would be so much the lesser.

My review of The Irishman: (x)

3) Knives Out (dir. Rian Johnson)

Of the three class warfare thrillers set inside opulent mansions released in 2019, the best was Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, a deliriously entertaining whodunnit that had neither the underlying misanthropy of Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite nor the shoddy CGI gore of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s Ready or Not. There are many amazing things to recommend Knives Out: one of the tightest screenplays of not just 2019 but the entire decade; an ensemble cast of Hollywood A-listers (Evans! Collette! Curtis!) and seasoned character actors (Walsh! Oz! Callan!) all clearly having the times of the lives; Daniel Craig’s revelatory turn as Detective Benoit Blanc, a deep-fried Southern private detective part Colonel Sanders and part Foghorn Leghorn. But it’s the featuring of a hero who comes out on top for simply being a good human being that transforms a great piece of entertainment into an essential statement for our times.

My review: (x)

2) A Great Lamp (dir. Saad Qureshi)

“In early 2017, director Saad Qureshi called his friend Donald Monroe and confessed he was feeling suicidal. “Donald,” he pleaded, “if we don’t make a film right now, I’m going to kill myself.” Donald, a cinematographer, agreed on the spot. Two years later we have that film, a black-and-white, 76 minute whatchamacallit made with less than ten thousand bucks entitled A Great Lamp. Channeling the 16mm movies of the early American indie movement of the late 80s and early 90s, Qureshi’s film is a meditative, melancholy spasm of despair which somehow twists back around into a triumphant declaration of hope and survival.”

My interview with the filmmakers: (x)

1) A Hidden Life (dir. Terrence Malick)

“A Hidden Life is a supreme artwork, but viewers might find Malick’s methods frustrating if not enraging. Despite this being his tightest narrative focus in years, the film is still captured with Malick’s trademark God’s-eye camera which swoops and pans, dips and travels over the wilderness surrounding his characters. There are lovingly indulgent shots of babbling brooks, foggy mountains, and towering forests. Likewise, there are several sequences that seem to exist purely to populate the edges of the film with local color, such as a lonely Franziska and her daughters watching a church procession file past their fields or several scenes of Jägerstätter’s wandering the prison yard during exercise hours in enforced silence. Do these add to the story? Do we need a scene of Franziska scolding her daughters for knocking over a pail of water in their living room? Of Jägerstätter carefully setting aright a knocked over umbrella in a shop or dropping an extra crust of bread during mealtime into the plate of one of his fellow prisoners? Narratively speaking, no. But they orient the audience within a larger cosmic awareness where all things are part of a greater whole. This is not the manicured reality of a Hollywood film where characters and sets cease to exist when they’re offscreen. This film is three hours of an entire universe vivisected into celluloid where the insignificant games played by children in a wheat field are given equal weight as a man suffering in prison. This is a world seen omnipresently, considered omnipotently, loved omnisciently.”

My review: (x)

[thatsafuckeduptale]

harry and larry as the autism creatures?

gay people be like

[coghive]

Tennessee State University Marching Band Submits Grammy Bid With Project Featuring Jekalyn Carr, Kierra Sheard, Sir The Baptist & More Gospel Artists

With one push of a button it’s official, Tennessee State University’s Aristocrat of Bands submitted an application to the Grammy nomination committee for their album The Urban Hymnal in the Best Gospel Roots Album category. A win would make the TSU marching band the first collegiate band in history to receive the music industry’s highest honor for an entire album! Band members were on hand for the big submission as fellow band member Logyn Rylander, a senior commercial music major from Philadelphia, PA, did the honors of hitting the send button to submit the application. The Urban Hymnal is set for release later this month (Sept 13). “This is huge and very exciting for our students, band members and for Tennessee State University,” said Dr. Reginald McDonald, director of bands for TSU. “None of this would be possible without the leadership of University President Glenda Glover. We especially thank her for being a visionary and allowing our band program to grown within her vision for the TSU.” Award winning poet, recording artist J. Ivy and two-time Grammy award-nominated songwriter and artist Sir the Baptist were present as a show of support and contributors on the album. The groundbreaking album has 10 tracks filled with organic sounds that were created on the TSU campus and features trailblazers within the gospel music industry. Music moguls and acclaimed artist such as Jekalyn Carr, Fred Hammond, Kierra Sheard, John P. Kee, Louis York, Dubba-AA, Sir the Baptist, Prof. Jenkins, Take 6, Mali Music, and more are on the album. Executive producers Larry Jenkins, assistant band director and music heavy weights two-time Grammy award-nominated songwriter and artist Sir the Baptist, and platinum recording artist, TSU alum Dubba-AA were also hand for the submission. Grammy award-winning songwriter and artist Dallas Austin is also an executive producer on the project. https://youtu.be/zCJNsvWYtRU Read the full article

[geirutoneido]

@ruenouveau IM EXCITED

[autocorreckt]

Nov.21 Updated kin list:

Hange (AOT)

Allison (Breakfast Club)

Dewey (Malcolm in the Middle)

Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter)

Peridot & Lapis (Steven Universe)

Tsu/Froppy (MHA)

Larry from the Three Stooges.

Nezuko (Demon Slayer)

Gir & Zim (Invader Zim)

Snoopy

Lewis (Drew Carey Show) or just Ryan Stiles

Carrie

Gorgonzola & Ceviche (Chowder)

Edward Scissor Hands

Hobbes the tiger

Saitama (One Punch Man)

[your-dietician]

IndyCar driver Josef Newgarden to speak to Nashville Sports Council

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/nascar/indycar-driver-josef-newgarden-to-speak-to-nashville-sports-council/

IndyCar driver Josef Newgarden to speak to Nashville Sports Council

Nashville IndyCar driver Josef Newgarden, coming off his first win of the season and headed into the inaugural Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, will be the featured guest speaker July 13 at the Nashville Sports Council’s monthly luncheon.

Tickets for the 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. event at Nissan Stadium are available at bit.ly/3ywDjbd. Doors open at 11 a.m.

Newgarden picked up his 19th career win July 4 at the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. It snapped a nine-race losing streak for Newgarden and Team Penske, the winningest team in IndyCar series history.

Because the next race — Honda Indy Toronto — on the schedule was canceled for the second straight year due to COVID-19, the Aug. 8 Music City Grand Prix on the streets of downtown is next on the calendar.

“We’ve got some confidence with this win so I feel like we can make it all happen,” Newgarden told Autoweek. “I always believe, I’ve told these guys, I believe we can win any race we go into. Nashville would be a dream to have a great result.”

Chase McCabe of The Game 102.5-FM will moderate the discussion.

“The timing couldn’t be better for Josef to speak in his hometown coming off such a dominant win at Mid-Ohio,” McCabe said. “You can tell the team has confidence right now. I can already tell you that they’ll use that momentum from the win on top of the fact that Josef is looking for a win at his home track.” 

Music City Grand Prix:IndyCar Music City Grand Prix pole trophy will honor late driver Bryan Clauson

Nashville sports:Nashville is only U.S. city on SportsPro’s ‘Seven sports event destinations to watch’

Newgarden was tabbed by Music City Grand Prix officials as brand ambassador and spokesperson for the race.

“Anytime you have an inaugural event and you have someone of Josef’s stature and prominence in the sport from here, I certainly think that adds a great piece to the event,” Nashville Sports Council president and CEO Scott Ramsey said. “I think for all the fans that are going to attend the event, especially those from Middle Tennessee, it would be great to see the hometown guy come out in front.”

Those who have signed up to volunteer for the Music City Grand Prix will receive free admission to the luncheon.

Music City Grand Prix single-day tickets on sale

Speaking of the Music City Grand Prix, single-day tickets for the three-day event (Aug. 6-8) went on sale to the general public Tuesday. 

Tickets are available by visiting musiccitygp.com/tickets, ticketmaster.com or by calling the Tennessee Titans ticket office at 615-565-4650. Prices are $35 Aug. 6, $65 Aug. 7 and $85 Aug. 8.

With a majority of the reserved grandstands sold out (including grandstands 1, 2, 3, 4, 9 and 10), a limited amount of single-day reserved grandstand and general admission tickets will be available in grandstands 7 and 8 and the recently-added grandstand 11.

Sterling Marlin writing book

Two-time Daytona 500 champion Sterling Marlin is writing an autobiography.

It will go back to his time growing up on a farm in Columbia, being a star quarterback on the Spring Hill football team and how he got into racing at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.

Marlin, who celebrated his 64th birthday June 30, said he should be finished with the book in a few months.

In 1995 retired Tennessean columnist Larry Woody wrote “Pure Sterling: The Sterling Marlin Story,” which focused on Marlin’s racing career.

Marlin retired from the NASCAR Cup Series in 2009 and returned to Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway where he raced in the Pro Late Model series through 2019.

Belmont’s Egekeze signs another pro deal

Former Belmont basketball star Amanze Egekeze signed a pro contract recently with Donar Groningen in Holland.

The 6-foot-8 forward from Lake in the Hills, Illinois, averaged 10.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game for Gries Oberhoffen in France this past season.

Egekeze was a 2018 All-Ohio Valley Conference selection at Belmont. He helped lead the Bruins to a total of 89 victories and three conference championships.

Former Tennessean sports editor Larry Taft, five others going into sports writers hall of fame

Six individuals will be inducted into the Tennessee Sports Writers Association on Thursday. 

Three are from the 2021 class — Maurice Patton, Larry Taft and George Starr — and three are from the 2020 class — Tommy Bryan, Teresa Walker and Mark Wiedmer.

The 2020 induction was canceled due to COVID-19.

Patton worked at the Review Appeal in Franklin, The Tennessean and the Columbia Daily Herald before launching his own web site.

Taft worked at the Knoxville News-Sentinel and the Democrat-Union in Lawrenceburg before joining The Tennessean. He became the sports editor at The Tennessean in 2007. He also served as director of media relations for the TSSAA.

Bryan started as a sports writer for the Lebanon Democrat in 1977 and from1981-2003 was owner and publisher of the Wilson World.

Walker began her career in 1987 and has been the Associated Press sports editor based in Nashville since 1992.

Ex-TSU star Devin Wilson named arena league player of the week

Former Pope John Paul II and Tennessee State receiver Devin Wilson was named the National Arena League offensive player of the week Tuesday.

Wilson, who plays for the Jacksonville Sharks, had nine catches for 138 yards and four touchdowns in a 52-41 loss to the Orlando Predators.

Wilson is Jacksonville’s leading receiver on the season with 27 catches for 254 yards and five touchdowns.

DuPont names 2021 hall of fame class

Former DuPont track and field star John Flatt and his daughter Traci, a three-sport star, are in the 2021 DuPont All-Sports Hall of Fame class along with former basketball star James Ray Pugh and former football star Pete Bush, who went on to coach at the school.

John Flatt, who died in 1997, set the Midstate record in the pole vault with a mark of 11-foot-5½-inches. He broke the record the following spring at 12-1.

Traci Flatt was a volleyball, basketball and softball standout (1983-85).

Pugh was a starter on the 1953 state championship basketball team. He had 23 points and 13 rebounds in the title game and went on to star at Belmont.

Bush was one of the top tight ends in Nashville (1957-59). After an outstanding career at Austin Peay Bush began his coaching career at Goodlettsville before returning to DuPont in 1974 where he remained until the school closed in 1986.

Margie Stoll inducted into Senior Olympics Hall of Fame

Margie Stoll of Nashville was inducted into the Tennessee State Senior Olympics Hall of Fame on June 29.

Stoll has spent the last 20 years competing in the annual event. This year she set an 80-85 age group record for the Tennessee Senior Olympics in each of the six events she entered. 

Stoll also is in the USATF Masters Hall of Fame.

Others in the 2021 Tennessee Senior Olympics Hall of Fame class: Joe Sykes (Clarksville), Wayne Matthews (Crossville) and Joyce Manis (Kingsport).

Nashville’s parks and recreation receive low ranking

July is National Parks and Recreation Month and Nashville did not fare well in Wallethub’s “2021’s Best & Worst Cities for Recreation.”

The Music City was 81st out of the 100 cities in the ranking, which was based on 48 metrics connected to the benefits of recreational activities.

Living costs, the quality of parks, the accessibility of entertainment and recreational facilities and the weather were taken into account.

Memphis was 90th. 

The top five cities: Orlando, Florida; Las Vegas; San Diego; Cincinnati; Tampa, Florida.

The bottom five: Fort Wayne, Indiana; Chula Vista, California; Garland, Texas; Durham, North Carolina; Oakland, California.

Crigger promoted to fulltime role at Austin Peay

Austin Peay graduate Casey Crigger was recently named assistant director of athletics communications.

The Johnson City native started out as manager on the baseball team and spent the last four years as a member of the athletics communications staff as a student and graduate student.

He will remain the department’s primary athletics communications contact for women’s soccer and women’s basketball and will move into a secondary role for the Austin Peay football program.

Harold Eller Pro-Am registration deadline approaching

The deadline to register for the Tennessee Golf Association Harold Eller Pro-Am Tournament is July 21 at 5 p.m..

The tournament is July 26-27 at Old Hickory Country Club. Register at bit.ly/3wqKHn3.

Pro Tracy Wilkins along with armatures Gary Slayden, Kenny Wilson and Eric Emery tied pro Chase Harris and armatures Buzz Fly, Scotty Hudson and Matt Cooper for the 2020 championship at  26-under.

Registration opens July 14 for Bass Pro Shops U.S. Qualifier

Registration for the biggest amateur fishing tournament ever on Old Hickory Lake opens July 14 for 24 hours only.

Registration for the Sept. 11 Bass Pro Shops U.S. Open Qualifier will be available at basspro.com/usopen.

The tournament with a guaranteed purse of $4.3 million is one of eight national qualifying events.

The top 40 finishers at the Old Hickory qualifier will be eligible to fish the National Championship in November at Big Cedar Lodge on Table Rock Lake in Missouri.

If you have an item for Midstate Chatter contact Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.

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