#welling court mural project

[laurastudarus]

Seeing art in person can be a magical, eye-opening experience. Whether it’s an iconic work from an old master or an emotive newbie, standing in front of their actual artistic pieces hits differently than seeing a reproduction in books or online. And certainly, with institutions like the Broad in Los Angeles, MoMA in New York, and Musée d’Orsay in Paris, there are plenty of global opportunities to explore the art world. But what if your curiosity pulls you in a different direction? Sometimes it pays to look past the institutional headline creators to find a repository of new ideas in a new place. Which is why we’ve created a list of galleries and museums that will expand your view of art. From studies in a single form to unexpected locations, here’s where you need to visit next to see great works of art.

(via Unexpected Art Galleries and Museums Worth a Visit)

[canmom]

The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere, 000-012

Or, what if that mural was the heart of a web serial.

I'm reading The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere, thanks largely to the enthusiasm of @azdoine and @lukore on my dash over the last few months.

This is absolutely not gonna be a liveblog in the level of detail of the great Umineko liveblog project. Rather I'm gonna be aiming at something like the comics comints series or those occasional posts on anime. Or indeed what I wrote about Worth The Candle last year. I must create a robot whose purpose is to watch to see if I start writing detailed plot summaries and hit me with a stick labelled 'remember you have a job now'.

That outta the way, let's talk flower!

No, not that flower!

I will start with an anecdote. When I was at university, I ended up attending a talk by court alchemist senescence researcher Aubrey de Grey, who at that time did not yet have a 'sexual harassment allegations' section on his Wikipedia page. The main thing that struck me at the time was his rather spectacularly long beard. But I did listen to his talk about ending aging.

de Grey's schtick is that he, like many people in the transhumanist milieu, believes that medical technology is on the cusp of being able to prevent aging sufficiently well to prolong human lifespans more or less indefinitely. He believes that the different processes of aging can be understood in terms of various forms of accumulating cellular 'damage', and that these will begin to be addressed within present human lifespans, buying time for further advancements - so that (paraphrasing from memory) 'the first immortals have already been born'. He has some pretty graphs to demonstrate this point.

At that talk, one of the audience members asked de Grey the (in my view) very obvious question about whether access to this technology would be distributed unevenly, creating in effect an immortal ruling class. de Grey scoffed at this, saying he always gets this question, and basically he didn't think it would be a big deal. I forget his exact words, but he seemed to assume the tech would trickle down sooner or later, and this was no reason not to pursue it.

I'm sure de Grey is just as tired of being reminded of how unbalanced access to medical technology is in our current world, or the differences in average life expectancy between countries.

So, I was very strongly reminded of de Grey as The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere laid out its major thematic concerns and characters. I was also put in mind of many online arguments in the transhumanist milieu about whether it would be a good thing, in principle, to end death.

In particular, of course, comes to mind transhumanist Nick Bostrom's short story The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant, in which death is likened to a huge dragon that demands to be fed trains full of humans every day. In the story, humanity's scientists secretly build a giant gun to kill the dragon. Naturally, despite all the doubters and naysayers who foolishly feel obliged to justify the existence of the dragon, the gun works. Bostrom's imagery is incredibly heavy-handed (particularly the trains à la Auschwitz), but just in case you didn't get it, he also spells out the moral explicit at the end: basically, every day not spent putting resources to abolishing death is adding up more and more bodies to the pile of people who don't get to be immortal.

So far, Flower seems to be shaping up to be a critical intervention into that milieu, with a much more grounded view of death and a much stronger model of society - admittedly not a high bar but it's going good so far!

At the time of writing this commentary, I have read the prologue and first two six-chapter arcs, namely Mankind's Shining Future (1-6) and Pilgrimage to the Deep (7-12).

the general shape of things

We are introduced - from the perspective of sardonic, introverted Su, who is going to be the protagonist of our time loop - to a group of brilliant young medical wizards, who have just been invited to visit the headquarters of a secret society whose mission is precisely to abolish death. Su's grandfather was some kind of controversial luminary who was expelled this organisation, and he also did something to her, which is giving her some kind of ulterior motive to find her way into this society.

We know pretty much from the outset that this is a time loop scenario: Su has been explicitly given the opportunity to replay the scenario in the hopes of find an alternative outcome, by some kind of presently mysterious parties. This first part is the 'control' loop, i.e. probably more or less how things went down 'originally'.

I believe Umineko is an explicit inspiration for this story, and the influence is pretty evident. But parallels with the Locked Tomb series, especially Gideon the Ninth, are also quite noticeable. @lukore spoke of it as the STEM to Locked Tomb's humanities, and I can already kinda see it, although we haven't got into the real meat of the scenario yet. This story began serialisation four years ago, making the two works roughly contemporary. The latest chapter was published in the last couple of weeks - no idea if I've arrived just in time for the ending!

Stylistically, it's generally pretty heavy on dialogue and long asides. The characters are a bunch of mega nerds who love to have big philosophical and political discussions, but their dynamics are well enough realised and their dynamics clear enough that it can double up as naturalistic characterisation. So far, the discussions have been interesting to read.

Below I'm going to make some notes and comments on various elements of the setting and story. In a followup post (because it got too long) I'm going to talk a lot about entropy. Perhaps you will find this interesting!

the world

The first few chapters are dedicated pretty hard to exposition. We find ourselves in a distant-future setting - one in which it seems reality has totally collapsed and then been rebuilt using magic, creating a somewhat oddball universe which lacks things like the element iron, and also electromagnetism. This seems like it would have pretty severe implications for just about everything!

However, the 'ironworkers' have, after producing a series of trial and error 'lower planes' that didn't quite get it right, landed on a fairly close approximation of how things used to be on the old world. Though by 'fairly close approximation' I mean like... it's a bowl-shaped world and the sun and stars are artificial lanterns. But still, there are humans, and they seem to work more or less like we're used to humans working, apart from the whole 'magic' thing.

So, an alt-physics setting. Praise Aealacreatrananda, I love that shit.

While electromagnetism might be out, the more abstract physical principles like thermodynamics still apply, and the humans of this universe have managed to find analogues to a number of things in our world. Instead of computers, they have 'logic engines' which run on magic. Horses seem to have made it in, so we get delightful blends of historical and futuristic concepts like a self-driving computer-controlled horse-drawn carriage taxi.

The biggest difference is of course that in this setting, magic - more on that in a bit - has solved most medical problems and humans routinely live to around 500. The setting is ostensibly a semi-post-scarcity one, although a form of money exists in 'luxury debt', which can be exchanged for things like taxi rides, café food and trips on the space elevator.

Politically, we are told that the world has enjoyed a few hundred years of general peace, broken in living memory by a revolution which put an end to a regime of magical secrecy. There are lots of countries, and an alliance overseeing them.

There's a few other oddities in this world. Something called a 'prosognostic event' can happen if you see someone who has the same face as you, and whatever this is, it's bad enough news that everyone is constantly reminded to veil their faces in public and there's some kind of infant 'distinction treatment' to mitigate the risk. Given that, in the regular world, nothing particularly bad would happen if you ran into a long-lost identical twin, it suggest there is probably something a little fucky about how humans work in this world!

There's evidently a fair bit of effort put into the worldbuilding of fictional countries and historical periods. The important elements seem to be roughly along the lines of:

our world is currently in what they call the 'old kingdoms' period, which is poorly remembered;

next up comes an 'imperial' period of high transhumanist shenanigans in which society was ruled by 'gerontocrats' who got exclusive access to the longevity treatment, but this all somehow led to a huge disaster which destroyed og earth;

the survivors built the Mimikos where humanity currently lives using magic and created some kind of huge iron spike that holds the universe together; there was subsequently a 'fundamentalist' period in which a strict cutoff point was put on human lifespans and a lot of the wackier magic was banned;

now we're onto a new era of openness following a small revolution, while the major political structures remain largely intact.

Writing a far-future setting is hard, because trying to deal with the weight of history without the story getting bogged down with worldbuilding details is a fiddly line to walk. The Dying Earth series of Jack Vance might be a relevant point of comparison. Vance leaves the historical details vague - there are endless old kingdoms and strange artefacts and micro-societies for Cugel and co. to stumble on. Far more important than the specifics of history is establishing the vibe of a world that's seen an unimaginable amount of events layered on top of each other and is honestly a bit tired.

Flower makes things a bit more concrete and generally manages to make this work decently well. I do appreciate the asides where Su talks about, for example, the different architectural styles that layer up to make a place, or the way a technique has been refined. It establishes both that Su is the kind of person to notice this sort of thing, and also helps the world feel lived-in.

the names

The story doesn't do a lot with language. The story is written in English, and the narration will occasionally make reference to how things are phrased (e.g. how divination predates the suffix -mancy). We can probably make the standard assumption that this is all translated from $future_language, with the notional translator making a suitable substitution of whatever linguistic forms exist in that language.

The characters are named in a variety of languages. Our main character's full name is Utsushikome of Fusai. We're told that this is "an old name from Kutuy, and means something like 'mysterious child'" - so Kutuyan is one of the languages spoken in this world. It's blatantly got the same phonotactics as Japanese, and indeed if I search up 'Utsushikome', I find an obscure historical figure called Utsushikome-no-Mikoto, wife of the Emperor Kōgen; she has no article on English Wikipedia, but she does have a brief one on Japanese wiki. Just as Su says about Kutuyan, 'Utsushikome' is written 欝色謎 in Japanese, but it relies on archaic readings of those characters and wouldn't read that way in modern Japanese. We could perhaps assume a good old translation convention is in effect where Kutuyan is replaced with Japanese.

A lot of characters have Greek names, as do various setting elements. One exception is Kamrusepa, or Kam, who is named for an ancient goddess of medicine worshipped by the Hittites and Luwians. I know basically fuck all about Hittites and Luwians but it's a cool little nod to mythology, and it won't be the only one!

I'll run down a list of characters and my comments about them in a bit. But many are named after gods or other mythological figures.

the magic

Most of the divergences come from magic existing. Certain humans are 'arcanists', who are able to use the 'Power', which is a magic system with a highly computational flavour. Thanks to Su's expositional asides, we know that an incantation is something like a short program written in cuneiform with the ability to gather information, perform maths, and manipulate particles. An example we are given is a spell called "entropy-denying", which is the following string of cuneiform:

"…(𒌍𒌷𒀭)(𒌍𒁁𒀭)𒅥𒌈𒆜𒈣𒂠, 𒋢𒀀𒅆𒌫𒃶,𒈬𒊹."

We're told that spells always start with phrases ending in 𒀭, and end in 𒊹. Beyond that, I'm not sure how far the author has actually worked out the syntax of this magic system - probably not in too much detail! Seems like the kind of thing it's better to leave vague, but also she seems like kind of nerd who would (positive). It's conceptually a reasonable magic system for a world where more or less realistic physics applies.

The use of unusual scripts for a magic system isn't that unusual - the old European occultists who wrote the [Lesser] Key of Solomon loved to write on their magic circles in Hebrew, and in modern times we could mention Yoko Taro's signature use of the Celestial Alphabet for example - but the specific use of cuneiform here seems like it might be a little more significant, because a little later in the story the characters encounter a mural depicting The Epic of Gilgamesh, which of course was recorded on cuneiform tablets. Remains to be seen exactly what these allusions will mean!

The magic system is divided into various disciplines defined by the different ways they approach doing magic, with the disciplines breaking down broadly along the same lines as the modern scientific disciplines. For example, our protagonist is a thanatomancer ("necromancer" having become unfashionable), which is the discipline dealing with death; she's specifically an entropic thanatomancer, distinguished by their framework viewing death as the cessation of processes.

Magic relies on an energy that they refer to as 'eris' (unknown relation to the Greek goddess of strife and discord). We are told that eris must be carefully apportioned across the elements of a spell or shit blows up, that it can be stored, and it accumulates gradually enough that you don't want to be wasteful with it, but so far given little information about where it comes from.

Magic in this story generally seems to act as a kind of 'sufficiently advanced technology'. It's very rules-based, and used for a lot of mundane ends like operating computers or transport. Advancement in magic is something like a combination of basic research and software development. But the thing that makes it a magic system and not merely alt-physics is that it's at least a little bit personal: it must be invoked by an individual, and only certain people can operate the magic. We're told a little about how wizards are privileged in some societies, indoctrinated in social utility in others, and expected to be inconspicuous in the present setting. It's not clear yet if you need some kind of special innate capacity to do the magic, or if it's just a matter of skill issue.

With one exception, our main characters are a gaggle of wizards, and exceptionally skilled students at that. They're at an elite institution, carrying high expectations, even if they are themselves fairly dismissive of the pomp and ceremony. They have grandiose plans: Kamrusepa in particular is the main voice of the 'death should be abolished' current.

the cast

We're entering a cloistered environment with high political stakes hanging off of it. Even if I hadn't already heard it described as a murder mystery, it would feel like someone will probably be murdered at some point, so lets round up our future suspects.

Su (Utsushikome) is our protagonist and first-person POV. She's telling this story in the first past tense, with a style calling to mind verbal narration; she'll occasionally allude to future events so we know for sure narrator!Su knows more than present!Su. She's got a sardonic streak and she likes long depressing antijokes, especially if the punchline is suicide. She will happily tell us she's a liar - so maybe her narration isn't entirely reliable, huh.

Su is more than a little judgemental; she doesn't particularly like a lot of her classmates, or people in general, and generally the first thing she'll tell you about a character is how well she gets on with them. She introduces the theme of 'wow death sucks' in the first paragraph, but she is, at least at this point, pessimistic that anyone will manage to do anything about it for good.

Her magical specialisation is entropic thanatomancy, roughly making processes go again after they working coherently.

Her name is a reference to an obscure Japanese empress, as discussed above.

Ran is Su's bestie from the same home country. She is generally pretty on the level. She likes romance novels and she is pretty sharp at analysing them. She will cheerfully team up with Su to do a bit or bait someone else when an argument gets going.

Her magical specialisation is Divination, which is sort of a more fundamental layer of magic, about gathering information by any means. In medicine it's super advanced diagnostics.

Her name is too short to pin down to a specific allusion. Could be one of a couple of disciple of Confucius such as Ran Geng, or a Norse goddess of the sea.

Kam (Kamrusepa) is the de facto class prez and spotlight lover. She's hardcore ideological, the story's main voice of the de Grey/Bostrom death-abolishing concept so far - I think she straight up calls someone a 'deathist' at some point. She loves to tell everyone what she thinks about everything, and getting the last word.

Her magical specialisation is Chronomancy, so time magic. It's described as secretive and byzantine, but also it can do stuff like (locally?) rewind time for about five minutes. No doubt it has something to do with the time loop.

As mentioned above, she's named after a fairly obscure ancient deity of healing and magic.

Theo (Theodoros) is a fairly minor character. He's scatterbrained and easily flustered, he has a similar background to our protagonist, and he's not great with people. His name is shared with a number of ancient Greek figures, so it's hard to narrow it down to one allusion. I don't think his magic school has been mentioned.

Ptolema is a cheery outgoing one, someone who Su dismisses as an airhead. And she is at least easy to bait into saying something ill-considered. Her specialisation is applying magic to surgery. As a character, she tends to act as a bit of a foil to the others. Bit of a valley girl thing going on.

'Ptolema' is presumably a feminised version of the renowned Greek philosopher Ptolemy.

Seth is the jock to Ptolema's prep, and our goth protag Su doesn't particularly like him either. ...lol maybe that's too flippant, I may be misapplying these US high school stereotypes. To be a little more precise then, he's pretty casual in demeanour, flirty, likes to play the clown. He specialises in Assistive Biomancy, which revolves around accelerating natural healing processes.

Seth is named for either the Egyptian god (domain: deserts, violence and foreigners) or an Abrahamic figure, the third son of Adam and Eve granted by God after the whole Caim killing Abel thing.

Ophelia is someone Su describes as 'traditionally feminine' - soft-spoken, demure etc. (Gender in this world appears to be constructed along broadly similar lines to ours). Indeed we get a fairly extended description of her appearance. Her specialisation is Alienist Biomancy, which means introducing foreign elements to healing (not entirely sure how that differs from the Golemancy mentioned later).

Ophelia is of course a major character in Shakespeare's Hamlet, best known for going mad and dying in a river.

Fang is the only nonbinary member of the class, noted as the most academically successful. They're not on the expedition, but the characters discuss them a little in their absence, so maybe they'll show up later. It seems like they have a bit of a rebellious streak. Their magical specialisation is not mentioned.

Fang is a regular ol' English word, but I gave it a search all the same and found there's an ancient Chinese alchemist of that name. She is the oldest recorded woman to do an alchemy in China, said to know how to turn mercury into silver.

Lilith is the teenaged prodigy in computers logic engines, and Mehit is her mother who accompanies her on the trip. They've got a big Maria and Rosa (of Umineko) dynamic going on, with Mehit constantly scolding Lilith and trying to get her to obey social norms, though in contrast to Maria, Lilith is a lot more standoffish and condescending to the rest of the gang. Lilith specialises in 'Golemancy', which means basically medical robotics - prosthetic limbs and such. She spends most of her time fiddling with her phone logic engine, and will generally tell anyone who talks to her that they're an idiot. Sort of a zoomer stereotype.

Lilith is named for the Abrahamic figure, the disobedient first wife of Adam who was banished and, according to some Jewish traditions, subsequently became a demon who attacks women at night. There may be some connection between Lilith and the lioness-headed Mesopotamian chimeric monster Lamashtu, which I mention because Mehit is an Egyptian and Nubian lion goddess.

'Golemancy' is probably playing on the popular fantasy idea of a 'golem' as a kind of magic robot, but given the Jewish allusion in Lilith's name here, I do wonder a little bit if it's going to touch on the Jewish stories of the Golem which inspired it - a protective figure with a specific religious dimension.

There are some other characters but they're not part of the main party on their way to the function, so I won't say much about them just yet. Also it's entirely possible I went and forgot an entire classmate or something, big whoops if so.

the events

In true Umineko tradition, the beginning of the story narrates in great detail how the protagonists make their way to the place where the plot is going to happen.

To be fair, there's a lot of groundwork to be laid here, and the characters' discussions do a lot to lay out the concerns of the story and sketch out the setting, not to mention establish the major character relations. A murder mystery takes a certain amount of setup after all! There's plenty of sci-fi colour to be had in the 'aetherbridge', which is a kind of space elevator that lifts you up to a high altitude teleporter network. (It's technically not teleportation but 'transposition', since teleportation magic also exists in the story, with different restrictions! But close enough for government work.)

They go to a huge space citadel, which is kind of a transport hub; some cloak and dagger shit happens to hide the route they must take to the mysterious secret organisation. They find a strange room with a missing floor and a mural of the Epic of Gilgamesh, albeit modified to render it cyclic. What does it meeaaaan?

The idea of a secret society of rationalists is one that dates back to the dawn of ratfic, in HPMOR. It was kinda dumb then, but it works a lot better here, where we're approaching the wizard circle from outside. The phrase 'Great Work' has already been dropped. I love that kind of alchemical shit so I'm well into finding out what these wizards are plotting.

the dying

A lot of the discussions revolve around the mechanics of death. Essentially the big problem for living forever is information decay. Simple cancers can be thwarted fairly easily with the magic techniques available, but more subtle genetic slippages start to emerge after the first few hundred years; later, after roughly the 500 year mark, a form of dementia becomes inevitable. It's this dementia in particular that the characters set their sights on curing.

One thing that is interesting to me is that, contra a lot of fantasy that deals with necromancy (notably the Locked Tomb series), there appears to be no notion of a soul in this world whatsoever. The body is all that there is. Indeed, despite all the occult allusions in the character names, there is very little in the way of religion for that matter. Even the 'fundamentalism' is about an idea of human biological continuity that shouldn't be messed with too much.

Su distinguishes three schools of thought on death, namely 'traditional', 'transformative' and 'entropic'. The 'traditional' form attempts to restore limited function - classic skeleton shit. 'Transformative' sees death as a process and uses dead tissues together with living in healing. Su's 'entropic' school broadens this 'process' view to consider death as any kind of loss of order - a flame going out as much as an organism dying. At the outset of the story, Su has discovered a 'negentropic' means to restore life to an organism, which she considers promising, even if for now it only works for fifteen minutes.

This is an interesting perspective, but the devil is in the details. Because processes such as life or flames, necessarily, result in a continuous increase in the thermodynamic entropy of the universe. And yet this idea of death-as-loss-of-order does make a kind of sense, at a certain level of abstraction.

Elaborating on this got rather too long for this post, and I think it can stand alone, so I'm going to extract it to a followup post.

the comments

As is probably evident by the length of this post, I am very intrigued by The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere. The setting is compelling, and it seems like it's got the willingness to bite at the chewy questions it raises instead of acting like it has all the answers, which is I think one of the most crucial elements for this kind of scifi. I like how unabashed it is at having its characters straight-up debate shit.

Of course, this all depends where they go with it. There's so many ways it could be headed at this point. I hear where it's going is 'dark yuri' and 'Umineko-inspired murder mystery', so that should be really juicy fun, but I do end up wondering what space that will leave to address the core theme it's laid out in these first few chapters.

Overall, if this and Worth the Candle are what modern ratfic is like, the genre is honestly in pretty good shape! Of course, I am reading very selectively. But this is scratching the itch of 'the thing I want out of science fiction', so I'm excited to see where the next 133 chapters will take me.

Though all that said, I ended up writing this post all day instead of reading any other chapters or working, so I may need to rein it in a bit.

[theblackphoenixwritings]

-𝙒𝙝𝙮?- -𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙪𝙨 & 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙚

The crackling of the fire in the fireplace had been the only company Marius had longed for during that long and busy week.A curious contrast that of the noise of the fire, almost cheerful, with the silence of the snow falling outside, enveloping everything for several days now. That isolation was born out of his loyalty to his duty. He could not regret setting it aside for, he had to admit to himself, quite some time. That time had been filled by love and tenderness, by being close again to those he loved. It had been an intense and happy few weeks, Armand remaining always by his side, proud and devoted, his eyes full of love, Daniel who like Armand, never left Marius and was always there ready to offer his support and love. Thorne who despite being at least as busy as Marius, always found time to go to Marius to spend time together. And Lestat and Avicus, dear Zenobia, and Teskhamen.Marius had finally felt at peace and though he feared even to utter, within himself that word, happy.

Now the clutter in that room was a testament to his stubbornness, there were too many matters that had been left unfinished, too many things unfinished or to be corrected, and it was his specific duty to remedy and set things right. The desk was buried with pages and pages, written in elegant handwriting, open and closed books arranged one on top of the other, there were also ancient scrolls, photos and reports, documents about the activities of the immortals, law requests and drafts to be checked and finished, even complaints and stories and testimonies collected in order to give more attention to problems that might arise among the immortals. On the majestic ruby-red carpet that reached from the foot of the desk to the large bed, were scattered sketch pads, and sheets with barely drawn drafts, others finished, pencils and brushes, oil pastels and canvas boards. There was also the design of the large mural to be finished and checked, and it had to be harmonious throughout, it had to remember their history and their protagonists and pass it on.

All those studies were important and needed to be created with care and attention and then be supportive of the final project. Marius observed that confusion and sighed, resting his face in his hands. As his thoughts followed that chaos unable to make sense of how he had managed to create such a mess, gentle but firm knocks made themselves heard at his door. After a moment Thorne's gentle face peeped out, Marius smiled happily, leaning against the back of the large carved fine wooden stool, and with a wave of his hand invited his best friend in. He was always happy to see and talk with Thorne, was glad to see that he was well after recent events, glad in a way Marius could not give words to.

He knew, however, that Thorne, more than anyone else had made Marius' words his own, and between them it was often no longer necessary to use them. They understood each other with their look at each other, their friendship had become a deep and unbreakable bond. "Are you well? Do you need anything?" asked Marius as Thorne sat down in front of him. " It's strange I had come here, just to ask you these very questions. You are greatly missed." replied Thorne, settling into the red velvet armchair.

"I know I've beennot much present lately, but all this mess, it must lead me to put things in perspective and be able to support this court in every way. I have been putting this off and now I have to put it in order. You are always in my thoughts, even if I am not there with you." Marius knew that might sound like a weak excuse, but Thorne was as devoted to that family as Marius was and knew well that some things took time and detachment. " I just wish you would remember that you are no longer alone. We're here if you need a hand. And certainly we are not senators from ancient Rome, but we are here for you, and you know how precious you are to us. What I mean is that you can lean on me as well as Daniel and Armand and all the others who love you. Remember that you can share any burden or thought with us." Thorne, wanted Marius to be ready to accept that those who loved him were ready to be his support; he was no longer alone.

" Well it seems that even these gods, in whom I do not believe, somehow blessed me. Who knows maybe it was just your Thor." said Marius, with bright eyes and a gentle smile. " Why?" asked Thorne puzzled. He did not see what the gods could have to do with his words. " Because he has given me a friend who has the heart to listen to me when I speak, to see me when I am dejected, to walk by my side when I go astray, to show me the way with his presence, for the gift of his presence and his love. For I have found a friend and a brother, for I have never had one in my immortality, not so close to my heart, not so pure and strong in his friendship toward me." It was Thorne's turn to smile and have his eyes glaze over. " Whether this is because of the gods or a higher will, it matters little, but my will to stand by your side is unchanged and ever faithful."

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Two nonprofits have sued a white nationalist hate group in North Dakota, alleging that it committed racial intimidation by defacing businesses and public property around the city of Fargo with the group’s logo and other graffiti.

The lawsuit filed against Patriot Front in federal court on Friday alleges that the group, two of the group’s leaders and 10 others violated the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which the complaint says “was designed to prevent precisely the kind of conspiratorial racist activity that Defendants perpetrated in this case.”

The lawsuit, filed by the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, the Immigrant Development Center and the center’s executive director, says Patriot Front also posted “anti-immigrant propaganda” days after a man of Syrian descent fatally shot a Fargo police officer and wounded two others in July. The suit seeks a jury trial and damages of an amount to be determined at trial, as well as attorneys’ fees and other relief.

No attorney is listed on the case docket for Patriot Front or the other defendants. Attorney Jason Lee Van Dyke, who has represented members of Patriot Front in other cases, did not respond to a message left with his office. Attorney Robert Sargent, who recently represented group members at a criminal trial in Idaho, said he knew nothing of the lawsuits against Patriot Front.

Patriot Front “is probably one of the most active white nationalist hate groups in the U.S.,” said Rachel Carroll Rivas of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors such groups but did not participate in the lawsuit.

The group emphasizes “public actions” such as posting racist flyers, holding demonstrations and engaging in public displays “meant to make people fearful,” said Carroll Rivas, deputy director for research and analysis with the center’s Intelligence Project.

The lawsuit filed Friday alleges that Patriot Front members vandalized businesses and public property in the summer and fall of 2022. It specifically cites Patriot Front logos and designs spray-painted on the International Market Plaza, an indoor market area for immigrant business owners, and defaced murals, including one depicting Black women wearing hijabs.

As a result of the vandalism, the complaint says, shopkeepers have lost customers, reduced their hours and fear for their safety.

Patriot Front’s actions “were intended to cause fear and deprive others — especially immigrants of color — of their rights, and, unfortunately, Patriot Front achieved that result,” the complaint states.

Vandalism also occurred near a Liberian-owned restaurant, in a pedestrian tunnel, and at a coffee shop and arts collective owned by LGBTQ people and people of color, according to the complaint.

Recent vandalism took place after the July 14 fatal shooting in Fargo carried out by 37-year-old Mohamad Barakat, a Syrian national who came to the U.S. in 2012 on an asylum request and became a U.S. citizen in 2019. North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley said last month that Barakat’s motive remains unknown, but he appeared to be targeting police officers in what authorities have said was likely part of a larger, planned attack.

Other lawsuits in recent years have cited the Ku Klux Klan Act, including cases brought against former President Donald Trump and others in connection with the siege of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

A Black teacher and musician cited the law last month in his federal lawsuit alleging that Patriot Front members surrounded and assaulted him in a coordinated and racially motived attack last year in Boston.

The Reconstruction-era law seeks to protect the civil rights of marginalized groups of people. The statute has been cited in employment-law cases and in contract-dispute cases between corporations, and also in lawsuits alleging violence and terroristic fear since the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, said Ayesha Bell Hardaway, professor of law at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law and director of the school’s Social Justice Law Center.

“It’s important, I think, for us to be mindful of the fact that violence ... and terrorism related to white supremacy isn’t a relic of the past,” she told The Associated Press.

[cewritten23]

All about painting

- Painting is away for artists to express their ideas, emotions, opinions, beliefs and many other expressions. They do this through visual language by creating certain aesthetic qualities in a two- dimensional way.

-Paintings are made up of shapes, lines, colours, tones, textures, and other marks. This creates volume, space, movement and light within work. All these aspects are combined in order to convey whatever the artist wants to express to the viewer.

-mediums: tempura, fresco, oil, acrylic, watercolour, as well as other water based paints such as, ink, gouache, encaustic and casein.

-forms of painting: mural, canvas on easel, panel, miniature, scroll, screen, fan and other more modern forms.

cultural traditions and painting: tribes, religions, guilds, royal courts, and states had a high influence and controlled the form, imagery and subject matter of paintings. They also decided whether a painting was for ritualistic, devotional, decorative, entertaining or educational purposes.

- Due to fine art, many artists began combining other mediums and ways of working with painting. For example artists combined painting with sculpture and collage.

painting techniques:

-acrylic painting=uses synthetic resin to bind pigments and can be diluted.

-action painting= consists of randomly splashed, thrown or poured paint onto surface.

- aerial perspective= a technique the allows a distant object with in a painting become fainter and more blue.

- anamorphosis=allows an artwork to be distorted from the viewpoint of one angle and to not be distorted from another angle.

-camaieu= subjects or objects in paintings are convey and painted through shades or single tints and colours. These hues are unnatural to the objects

-casein painting=fast drying, water- soluble medium

-chiaroscuro= strong painterly contrast between light and dark that effect the entire composition.

-divisionism=this technique is used in Neo-Impressionist paintings and is defined by separation of colours, usually convey by individual dots.

-easel painting= an easel is an upright support usually made from wood that allows surfaces such as stretched canvas to rest upon.

-encaustic=also known as hot wax painting that allows coloured pigments to be added.

-foreshortening= a technique that allows an object or body be depicted in a way that creates an illusion of projection or extension in space.

-fresco painting= a technique mainly used for mural painting and is used on freshly laid lime plaster. Water is combined with the dry powder pigment to merge with the plaster.

-gouache=is a type of opaque watercolour that consists of natural pigment water, a binding agent and at times additional inert material.

-graffiti= images or text usually painted onto buildings using spray paint.

-grisaille=a painting that has been done using only shades of grey or another neutral greyish colour.

-impasto= paint applied thickly on a surface allowing palette knife and brush marks stand out.

-miniature painting=a small illustration that us created and used to decorate an ancient or medieval illuminated manuscript.

-mural= a graphic artwork that has been applied directly to a wall, and other permanent structures.

-oil=painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as a binding agent.

-panel=a panel of wood either displayed alone or with a number of others, used before canvas became a popular surface to paint on.

-panorama= these works are usually extremely large scale that depict an entire view of a specific subject i.e and entire town.

-perspective=linear or point projection are two types of graphical projection perspective.

-plain-air painting= an act of painting outdoors

-sand painting=the act of trickling small amounts of crushed, coloured sandstone, charcoal, pollen or other dry materials into paint and then applying to a smooth surface.

-scroll painting=paintings completed on scrolls. Scrolls are usually made from paper or cloth.

-sfumato= actively softening the transition between paint colours making it hard for the viewer to focus on certain details.

-sgraffito=Italian word meaning “scratched” the action consists of putting down a primary surface i.e paint and then scratching that surface.

-sotto in su=illusion ceiling paintings popular within the Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo art period

-tachism= a french style of abstract painting that was popular within the 1940s and 1950s.

-tempura painting=also known as egg tempura is a fast-drying painting medium that is made from pigments that are mixed with water-soluble binding mediums, usually egg.

-tenebrism= this technique came from Italian tenbroso that consisted of dramatic illumination creating a very high contrast of light and dark within a painting.

-tromp l’oeil=is an artistic term that describes a high level of a realistic optical illusion of three- dimensional space and objects on a two- dimensional surface.

How does this relate to my work?:

As I have chosen to utilise paint as my main medium within this project I decided to research painting and painting techniques. May sound simple and obvious, however, paint is not a medium that I usually gravitate towards. Therefore, I felt it was necessary to research the medium, during which I discovered techniques and ways of working that I was not aware off. I plan to use some of these techniques within my work. For example I will make use of the technique Sgraffito, sfumato, impasto, acrylic painting, action painting, easel painting and using canvas as a surface to paint.

[mimsnorthdalebangalore]

MIMS Northdale - Exquisite Luxury Villas in Bangalore

MIMS Northdale is a prestigious gated community situated in the heart of Hennur Road, Bangalore for those looking for Villas in Bangalore. Offering an enclave of luxury villas for sale, this meticulously crafted residential development is designed to provide an elevated living experience like no other. With its artful architecture, opulent interiors, and a host of thoughtfully curated amenities, MIMS Northdale Villas in Hennur Road sets a new standard for luxurious living in Bangalore.

The villa collection at MIMS Northdale Gated community villas for sale in Bangalore is nothing short of extraordinary. Each elegant villa spans across three floors, featuring four spacious bedrooms and open floor plans that create a seamless flow of space. Carefully designed as per Vastu principles, these beautiful 4 BHK villas offer a harmonious blend of comfort, style, and functionality.

Nestled within a well-maintained community, MIMS Northdale Villas near manyata tech park provides an array of amenities and facilities that cater to the diverse needs of its residents. As you enter the grand welcome plaza, your attention will be drawn to the captivating mural wall, which adds a touch of artistic flair and evokes a sense of pride among the residents.

The Villas near airport bangalore  - MIMS Northdale are built to withstand the test of time, boasting rare features such as a servant room, laundry room, and 10 ft ceilings that create a sense of spaciousness and grandeur. The broad balconies offer the perfect spot to unwind and enjoy the serene surroundings, while the terrace gardens with BBQ facilities provide an ideal setting for outdoor gatherings. Walk-in closets and two-car parks add convenience and luxury to everyday living.

Spread lavishly over 1.5 acres of pristine land, MIMS Northdale showcases architectural excellence in every detail. The 8-foot palatial doors make a grand statement, giving you a royal feeling as you step into your abode. With a smart interior design that boasts 10 ft ceiling heights, the villas exude an air of spaciousness and elegance.

The private gardens accompanying each villa are a testament to the attention given to creating a harmonious living environment. These artistically designed gardens enhance the overall ambiance and offer a tranquil retreat within the confines of your own home.

MIMS Northdale takes pride in its meticulous landscape design, which enhances the beauty and character of the entire development. With green foliage and a 360-degree tree-lined view, the surroundings exude serenity and tranquility. The presence of trees not only adds visual appeal but also purifies the air and creates a cooler microclimate.

Life at MIMS Northdale is enriched by an array of world-class amenities. From the rooftop swimming pool and toddlers' pool to the steam and sauna facilities, residents can indulge in ultimate relaxation and rejuvenation. The indoor badminton court, cricket pitch, and party lawn provide ample opportunities for recreational activities, while the aerobics and yoga facilities promote a healthy and active lifestyle.

In conclusion, MIMS Northdale stands as a testament to architectural brilliance, offering exquisite luxury villas that redefine high living. With its avant-garde design, stunning interiors, lush green surroundings, and a wealth of life-enriching amenities, this residential enclave provides a truly exceptional living experience. Discover a world of opulence and exclusivity at MIMS Northdale, where luxury meets tranquility in perfect harmony.

Website Information -

Site Address - Blossoms Rd, off New Airport Road, Visthar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560077

PHONE:+91 80 4123 5002 , +91 99 9888 2163

EMAIL: info@mimsbuilders.com

[kkb285-crystal]

Feasibility, Sustainability & Enduring Significance

Does my concept fall within the client’s budget and timeframe?

As it stands, the project comes under budget at $66840. However, due to unplanned costs, hold ups and variations in cost, it is likely that the project will exhaust the entire budget. The entire cost breakdown can be seen in the master document in the posts below that itemises individual costs and the cost for each sub-area is found in the respective posts:

Outdoor Gym - Initial Costs for Sporting Complex

Basketball and Volleyball Courts - Initial Costs for Sporting Complex

Mural - Mural Pricing

Garden Bed - Garden Bed in Parklands

Park Amenities - Parklands Seating

Is the project a one-off, or can it be refreshed, adapted, delivered in stages or on multiple occasions?

While the project is designed to be delivered all at once, it could be broken into stages to build up excitement building up to the Olympics.

The First Nations culture side of the activation is intended to be an ongoing project, leading the location to be a hive of First Nations culture and activity. The initial suggested events, (basket weaving, yarning circles) can be replicated, but there is an opportunity to expand on this in future to create a more well rounded exploration of First Nations culture, particularly that of the Meeanjin area.

The courts will have enduring significance as it can not only host youth sports games and training but can become a 'hangout' place for the young athletes targeted and will become a place to play recreationally.

The mural will likely need ongoing work to keep it up to date and relevant. If the wall was designed in a way to be modular, it would be possible to add on to the mural, including new stars or achievements, like a Hollywood Walk of Fame.

[thebrianoconnor]

🥶🥶🥶 • • • • • • It’s not the cold 🥶 it’s the wind 💨 Not easy but super BReezy run tonight. The bright side was running by @wellingcourtmuralproject 🙏🏽 Also, thinking about this mushroom quesadilla 🤤 was my motivation tonight! • • • • • • #OnAtuesday #TacoTuesdayIsRealLife (10/52) #Love #Light #Blessed #BetterThanYesterday (at Welling Court Mural Project) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpg8w8rMNOv/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cool-artist99]

Weekend Photos Project #1: This is a photo on a glorious afternoon after I was amazed by the view of the mountains when they're covered in snow in some parts; however, it came out nice and it looks amazing on the way how I took the photo as well.

This is what I usually do when I am not busy during the weekend, and that would be me getting a refreshing drink from the vending machine as I come back from the University or not.

Whenever I head back to my place, I always enjoy looking and admired most of the plants around the Apartment Complex, as we all know that Spring is coming very soon.

As the days comes to an end, I will always enjoy my Friday Afternoon/nights by going on small road trips as I either head back home or do some groceries.

If I have no work to do or if I am done with my chores, I would simply relax in the patio and enjoy to myself as the sun sets in the Complex.

As the sun sets, it is always the perfect time to play some basketball, despite I never play any basketball before in my entire life; however, there are some kids playing over there as well, as you see in the next photo.

Couple of kids having a friendly game of basketball near from one of the Apartment Complexes

As I explore to take a couple of photos, I spotted this beautiful mural that is located right next to the basketball courts and it looks amazing when it is perfectly painted and has a really good appearance and details as well.

But before I did my last photos by the end of the day, I was able to get a good shot of the water tower while I was at Fresno State as I prepare to leave the campus.

As the comes to a close and as the weekend comes, I will always kick back and enjoy my evening by playing some video games on the Switch and watch either Netflix or Disney+ on the iPad as well, and this is considered to be the last photo for my Weekend Photo story overall and I hope you enjoy looking at my blog and photos as well.

#fresnostate #weekendphotos #photography

[venusinorbit]

#TributeTuesday || “For Emily” sweet mural 🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭by @caryncast at @wellingcourtmuralproject in Astoria NY. Swipe for detail. . . . . . #caryncastart #caryncast #wellingcourtmuralproject #mural #murales #muralesart #muralart #streetart #urbanart #arteurbano #arteurbana #arturbain #artederua #tv_streetart #rsa_graffiti #rsa_graffiti_murals #streetarteverywhere #streetartutopia #nycstreetart #streetartnyc #igersnyc #astoria #queens #venusinorbit (at Welling Court Mural Project) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgfnVcHs0YT/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thedustyrebel]

Jeremy Novy

LA-based queer street artist Jeremy Novy working on his mural for Pride at the Welling Court Mural Project in Queens.

More photos: Jeremy Novy, Queer Street Art, NYC Pride

[jb-fotoz]

“Welling Court”

[aussiepineapple1st]

joesfina and bruno headcannons?

Bruno’s HC’s:

He is extremely clumsy.

When he sleeps he can be woken by visions.

If he is nervous or anything happens that makes his blood pressure go up it can cause a vision to happen, for example if he ends up in a fight when the adrenaline starts to wear off is when he would have a vision, or if he kisses or gets kissed by Josefina, the first few times he would have a vision.

His ruana is like a security blanket for him, if he takes it off it’s only for washing it or sleeping and when he looses it he goes into a panic while finding it.

He has been in love with Josefina since the day they met, he thinks she is very strong and admires her as a hero or roll model.

He has cold fingers, but his palm is semi warm.

In his visions if he hasn’t seen the person before their faces are blank and sometimes it’s hard to tell what gender they are.

When he has involuntary visions he can feel when one is coming from a few hours beforehand and when it happens he is completely blinded by said vision. The only way he is able to sort of see around him is if he projects it into the sand but they are still very much overlaying his sight, but he can make out where people are in the sand storm with him.

He loves sweet food, like desserts but rarely has them.

Can cook, but not as good as Julieta, although with some dishes he can rival her. He would do anything to feel like he was helping while growing up and cooking with his oldest sister was one of those ways.

He smells like Lilac and a sweet berry.

He makes statues with broken pieces of his visions, both small and life sized.

He enjoys making jewellery and chiseling away at shards of his visions he intentionally smashes to make charms for necklaces, bracelets and earrings.

He has taken painting lessons with Josefina since they were teenagers, he isn’t as skilled as her but he is very good at realism.

Josefina’s HC’s:

She has chronic pain that sadly couldn’t be fixed due to the wounds she received as a child.

She is very well known in town as one of the best painters so she does a lot of the portraits and murals that are seen around the town.

She will throw punches.

Many men have tried courting her but she hasn’t been interested in them other than one.. but that’s for another time.

Her feet are bigger than Bruno’s.

She can’t stand for very long, maybe 1 hour tops if moving and walking around.

She is empathic.

Some days she can’t move so Bruno has made it a habit to visit her every day since her parents and siblings are extremely busy farmers who check on her when they can.

She is a very good actor, so when Bruno is over at her place and someone makes an unexpected visit she can act very normal.

She also speaks English.

She smells like paint and Lilac.

[megvisually]

“My Body My Choice” mural at Welling Court Mural Project|Artists IG _lena_mac_ & calebneelonart.

[hellzabeth]

i have opinions about The Prince of Egypt musical adaption and you’re going to listen to them: An Essay

So, quick disclaimer: The Prince of Egypt is one of my favourite movies of all time. The casting, the music, the animation, I think it’s one of the top-tier movies that have ever been made. I went into seeing the London West End production of PoE with a full expectation that nothing I saw on stage would ever live up to how much I love the movie. I was fully aware there are plenty of limitations to what can be shown live on a stage with human actors and props.

That being said, I was enormously disappointed with how the whole thing was handled.

The Good

Now before I launch into a whole tirade of what I didn’t like about the production, it does behoove me to say what I think they did do well. 


The casting of the role of Moses was done fantastically, as was Miriam, Tzipporah, and Yocheved. The swings and the ensemble were really engaged and well placed, going through lots of quick changes to go from Hebrews to Egyptians to Midianites and back.


The two Egyptian queens, wifes of Seti and Ramses, are actually given names, lines, and character beyond being simply tacked onto their respective kings. We get to see how they feel about the events happening around them, and there’s even a scene where Ramses meets his wife and courts her, whereas in the movie, she stands in the background and says nothing. This is one of the areas I was hoping the musical, which would naturally have a longer run-time, would expand on, and I was pleased to see the opportunity was taken.

Light projections on enormous curtains were used to very good effect, taking us instantly inside the walls of the palace and then out to the desert. 


Over all, the work was really put in to be engaging and emotional, and the orchestra really worked to deliver the right musical beats.


One of two stand out scenes as being done very well was the opening “Deliver Us”, which included a bone-chilling moment of Egyptians separating a mother and her baby, with her screams as she’s dragged off-stage, and the blood on the guard’s sword. It really brings home the fear as Yocheved tries to lead Aaron and Miriam to the river with her, not to mention Yocheved’s actress nailed the lullaby. 


The second was at the other end of the show, “When You Believe” was beautifully performed by the whole cast, though it was somewhat stunted by what came before...

The Bad

Oh boy.

So the main problem with this show is not the music, not the staging, not even that sometimes the ensemble was a little off-beat (the lai-lai-lai section in Though Heaven’s Eyes comes to mind). Any mistakes there can all be forgiven, since sometimes things just happen in live performance, someone’s a bit off or something’s just not possible to do on the budget allotted. 


The problem is in the script.

The Prince of Egypt movie is a story that stands not only on the shoulders of its fantastic music and visuals, but also on its emotive retelling and portrayal of the characters within - mainly Moses and Ramses. And while the stage musical does spend a lot of time with the two mains, it neglects two other, incredibly important characters.

Pharaoh Seti, and God. 


In the movie, Seti strikes an intimidating figure. He is old, hardened, and wise in the ways of ruling his kingdom - and is voiced by Patrick Stewart, who brings his A-game to the role. Both Moses and Ramses admire him and look up to him immensely as young men, and the relationship he has with both of them deeply informs their characters as the story progresses. It’s from Seti that Moses learns that taking responsibility for your actions is the respectable thing to do (and later, the true horror of having your idol turn out to be not what you think), and it’s from Seti that Ramses takes a huge inferiority complex.

There are two lines that Seti gets in the movie, one spoken to Moses, and one to Ramses. These two lines define Moses and Ramses’ actions later on in the story:

To Ramses - “One weak link can break the chain of a mighty dynasty!” To Moses - “Oh my son... they were only slaves.”

Guess which two lines are absent from the musical?

One Weak Link is turned into an upbeat song, rather than shouted at a terrified and cowed young Ramses. Instead of being openly a traumatic, internalised moment of negative character development for Ramses, it’s treated as a general philosophy that Seti passes down to his son. Instead of a judgement that is hung over Ramses’ head like a sword of Damocles, lingering in his mind through the whole story and coming up in a shouted argument with Moses later, it’s said and then moved on from. 


The “they were only slaves” comment, on the other hand, is absent entirely. This changes Moses’ relationship with Seti enormously, as well as his relationship with the Hebrew people. Upon finding the mural depicting the killing of the slave children, Moses is appropriately horrified, and Seti shows up to comfort him and defend his terrible actions. Moses leaves this interaction... and then sings about how this is indeed all he ever wanted! He has no moment of horrific realisation that his father thinks of the slaves as lesser, as lives that can be thrown away. This means that the scene where he kills the guard doesn’t lead into a discussion of morality with Ramses as he runs away, but rather Moses breaking down about his heritage as though it’s a negative, instead of something he’s realised is just as valuable as his life as an Egyptian. Instead of Moses being shown as having a strong moral core that protests against the idea of any life being lesser, he bemoans his Hebrew blood loudly, and makes little mention of the man he killed. His issue that causes him to run away is being adopted, rather than his guilt that he’s a murderer, and nothing Ramses can say will change it.

Later on, we don’t see Ramses express this opinion either (in the movie - M:”Seti’s hands bore the blood of thousands of children!” R:“Hah, slaves!” M:“My people!”) so it seems the core reasoning for the necessity of the extremes God had to go to in order to convince Ramses to let the Hebrews go is completely gone.

Which leads us into God Himself, as a character. 


God is a tricky topic in general. He is hard to talk about as a concept and as a character, and even harder to depict in a way that won’t offend someone. The Prince of Egypt movie always struck me as a very good depiction of the Old Testament God - vengeful and strong-willed, commanding and yet nurturing, capable of great mercy and great cruelty in one fell swoop. God is incredibly present in the story, a character in and of Himself, speaking with Moses rather than simply commanding him. The conversation at the Burning Bush is bone-chillingly beautiful. Moses is allowed to question, he’s allowed to enquire, he’s allowed to express how he feels about God’s choice, and God is given the chance to respond (and reprimand, and comfort).

In the musical, the Burning Bush scene lasts all of two minutes, during which God (the ensemble cast, acting as one moving flame, speaking in unison) monologues to Moses, and Moses is not given room to question, talk to, or build a relationship with God. Later on, once some of the plagues have gotten underway, Moses rails against God, flinches in his resolve, and tries to back out... and God says nothing. It’s Miriam and the spirit of Yocheved that convince Moses to keep going. As a character, God is nearly absent. Even when it comes to calling upon the Plagues, or parting the Red Sea, God’s voice is absent. Moses does not pray. He does not even use the staff that God encouraged him to pick up as a symbol of his becoming a shepherd of the Hebrews out of Egypt. 


It’s these little changes, these little absences of such vital lines and presences, that ends up changing the whole vibe of the show. Seti is more like a dad than an emotionally distant authority figure, and God is more like an emotionally distant authority figure than a character at all. Ultimately, the whole feeling that one is left with at the end…

The Ugly

… is that the script doesn’t like God, or religion in general.

A bold statement to make, considering the source material is one of the central biblical stories in EVERY Abrahamic religion. Moses as a figure is considered so important and close to god, that The Prince of Egypt, even with its sensitive portrayal, cannot be aired in a number of Islamic states, because it’s considered disrespectful to depict any of the prophets, especially an important one like Moses. Moses is arguably the MOST important prophet in the Jewish canon.

However, I haven’t highlighted one of the most noticeable script changes - the elevation of Hotep, the high priest, to main antagonist.

In the original movie, Hotep is a secondary villain, a crony to the Pharaohs, bumbling and snide and two-faced. He and his fellow priest Hoy are there primarily to juxtapose how charlatans can control power through flattery and slight of hand, reassuring Ramses that Moses’ miracles are merely magic the same as what they can do. They even get a whole villain song, “Playing With The Big Boys” which is a lovely deconstruction of lyrics vs visuals, where while the priests boast that their gods and magic are much more powerful, in the background the staff, transformed into a snake by god, devours and defeats the priests’ snake handily. The takeaway from the song is that God’s power is true, and doesn’t need theatrics.

It’s a good little nugget of wordless world building. And it is completely absent from the stage musical, with only a vague reference to the chant of all the gods names.

Hoy is gone, and Hotep is the only priest. He actively speaks out against the Pharaoh, boasts about having all the power, and is played as bombastic and proud. He’s a wildly different character, even threatening Ramses at one point. In the end, it’s shown that Ramses won’t let the Hebrews go not because he has inherited his father Seti’s cruel attitude towards the lives he considers beneath him, but because he is being actively bullied by the priest, and will lose his power and credibility if he doesn’t do as he’s told. Ramses is even given a whole song about how little power he really has. The script desperately wants us to feel sorry for Ramses’ position and hate the unrepentantly, cartoonishly evil priest.

That’s another matter as well - a LOT of time is dedicated to making the Egyptians more human and sympathetic, portraying them as largely ignorant of the suffering beneath them, rather than actively participating in slavery. Characters speak out of turn without regard for formality and class, even to the royal family. They are casual, chummy even. And this would be fine - in fact, it’s good to have that sort of third dimension to characters, even ones who are doing reprehensible things, to show the total normalcy and banality of evil - if it were not for the fact they still include a completely open-and-shut case of evil right next to them.

Hotep has no redeeming features. And on the other side, God is barely present, certainly not in a relatable context. Moses has several lines about how cruel and unnecessary God’s plagues are - and you know what, in this version, they are unnecessary! Ramses is not the stone-hearted ruler that his movie counterpart is, he has no baggage over being a potential failure, because it was never really given to him in the same way! By taking away Ramses’ threatening nature, numbers like the Plagues lose half their appeal, as the back-and-forth ‘you who I called brother’ lines between Moses and Ramses are completely absent. Moses is faithless, and is less torn between the horror of what he’s doing and the necessity of it for the freedom of his people, and more left scrabbling for meaning that he doesn’t find. And the only thing hanging over Ramses is Hotep nit-picking everything he does and threatening him, which is considerably less compelling than the script seems to think it is.

This is best exemplified at the end, when all the issues come to a head. The angel of Death comes and takes the Egyptian first borns (which was actually a well done scene), and the Hebrews leave to a rousing rendition of When You Believe. But then we cut to Ramses and Hotep, with Hotep openly threatening to revolt against the Pharaoh - whom was believed, especially by the priesthood, to be a living god! Hotep is so devoid of redeeming features he cannot even be trusted to stand by his beliefs! - unless Ramses agrees to chase after the Hebrews. Reluctantly, Ramses is badgered into the attempt.

Back with the Hebrews, Moses parts the Red Sea… not with his faith, not by praying to God for another miracle, not even by using his staff as in the most famous scene of the movie… but by holding out his hand and demanding the ‘magic’ work. Setting aside the disrespect of Abrahamic religions to call one of the most famous miracles “magic” (and my oh my, if there was a fundamentalist of any religion in the audience they might have gasped to hear it), it again belittles the work of God, and puts all the onus on Moses, not as a conduit for God’s work, but as the worker himself. Then, the Egyptians arrive in pursuit, lead by Hotep, not Ramses. Moses sends the Hebrews through first, lead by Miriam, and stays behind with Tzipporah… to offer his life in penance to Ramses! The script has completely stripped both Ramses and Moses of their convictions towards their causes, and Moses cannot even stand by his decision to lead his people.

Then, in a moment of jarring melodrama, Moses has a sudden vision that Ramses, his brother, will one day be called Ramses the Great (an actual historical Pharaoh who reigned 1279-1213 BCE). There is no historical evidence that this was the Ramses that ruled over the Hebrews (there are 11 Pharaohs called Ramses through the history of Ancient Egypt), and maybe if the scene was acted a little better, it wouldn’t have been so sudden or jarring. Even more jarring, is that then Hotep arrives with the rest of the army, and Ramses refuses to lead the charge into the parted sea. Hotep does so himself, and is the one to have the final dramatic moment, being crushed under the water.

The Takeaway

After watching the show, I’m afraid I could never recommend it as either a play, an adaption, or even as a faithful retelling of a bible story. Its character drama isn’t compelling enough to be good as a standalone play, with it two main characters declawed and their core motivations reduced to a squabble between brothers rather than a grand interplay between two cultures and ideas and trauma handed down from their father. As an adaption of the movie it’s upsettingly bad, with grand numbers like the Plagues rendered piecemeal and fan favourites like Playing With The Big Boys missing entirely. As a retelling of the bible story, it’s insulting, completely cutting God out of the equation, taking no opportunity to reintroduce Aaron as an important character (which he was, in the bible, as Moses was a notoriously bad public speaker, with a stutter, and Aaron often interpreted for him) and more importantly, completely erasing God’s influence from the narrative.

I don’t know who this show was… for, in that case. If it wasn’t for drama lovers, movie fans, or people of the faith, then who the hell was it for? Why change such a critically acclaimed and well-beloved story? Why take away all these defining moments? If you wanted to tell a story about how religion is the true evil, how God can command people to do terrible things, and how those who uphold organised religion like Hotep are unrepentant, one-dimensional monsters… why would you tell that through the Prince of Egypt?

Underwhelming at best, infuriating at worst… just watch the movie. Or read Exodus. At least the Bible’s free.

[cma-japanese-art]

The Four Seasons, Kano Tan’yū, 1668, Cleveland Museum of Art: Japanese Art

Tan'yū's skills were honed early within the regimen of the Kano family's painting studio. His grandfather, Eitoku (1543–1590) was the Momoyama period's most sought-after painter, a champion of colorful, large-scale painting compositions who worked for several of the country's most powerful leaders. When the young Tan'yū was summoned to Edo in 1617 by the shogun to become a member of the new capital's official painting studio, few opportunities to work on similarly ambitious projects existed. Yet by the end of his career, Tan'yū had supervised the execution and installation of linked mural painting compositions in several of Japan's most prestigious residences and castles. As an official court painter to the first shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu (reigned 1603–5), and then his successors, Tan'yū appears to have successfully juggled his official duties with private activities as a teacher, as the era's leading connoisseur of classic Chinese and Japanese painting, and as a practicing artist. His surviving compositions as well as thousands of sketches far surpass the oeuvre of any of his contemporaries. While studio assistants surely contributed to his oeuvre, just as later imitators consciously confused his accomplishments, a clearer image of the painter has emerged in recent years that better conforms with his contemporary acclaim as recorded in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century documents. Tan'yū can now be seen as an artist adept in virtually all traditional ink painting subject matter, which he often presented in novel interpretations. Equally important are his rare screen (byōbu) compositions executed in a pure yamato-e manner with vivid mineral pigments on a gold-foil background. This pair of byōbu presents Tan'yū's more orthodox approach to academic ink painting methods embracing Chinese themes that had been interpreted by numerous Japanese ink painters over the centuries. Thus a typical view of residences and human activities set along the shores of an impressive river (or lake) is enlivened by the Japanese proclivity for including seasonal references. Proceeding from right to left, the viewer passes sequentially from spring to the snow-laden branches of winter. Tan'yū lends considerable atmospherics to the panorama in his use of misty cloud banks, frequently set off by sharp, darkened ink lines or whole areas of ink washes of variegated tonalities. The spring and summer views are particularly notable in this regard, as is the presence of the artist's signature on both byōbu, attesting to their completion in Tan'yū's sixty-seventh year (1668)—50 years after he left Kyoto for the capital, and 30 years following his adoption of the artist name "Tan'yū" (in 1635). From 1622, when he began work on the mural paintings for Edo castle (the shogun's formal residence), through the completion of the painting cycle in 1636 for the Tokugawa family mausoleum in Nikkō to the north of Edo, Tan'yū's skills as head of an accomplished painting studio as well as a master painter found their most impressive expression in large-scale compositions. In 1638 he received the honorary Buddhist title Hōgen (Eye of the Law). It is intriguing therefore that relatively few independent byøbu paintings from the master's hand survive, particularly documented early works. Size: Image: 174 x 381 cm (68 1/2 x 150 in.) Medium: Six-panel folding screen, ink and slight color on paper

https://clevelandart.org/art/1992.394.2