#which andrew scott stan is responsible for this

[ilikethisacompletelynormalamount]

Andrew Scott signing for fans, and attending the photo call and press conference for Blue Moon at the Berlinale 2025.

[beca-mitchell]

There was speculation a couple of years back that Stan was responsible for getting Brittany booted from the movie The Last Full Measure (the movie was due to shoot around 2015/2016 and Brittany was prepping to go film until she was suddenly dropped). Originally Scott Eastwood was cast as the male lead but somewhere along the lines the movie got recast or the director left or something and Sebastian Stan was brought in instead.

Brittany was cast to play the female lead (which I think was Stans characters wife or something) and there was an announcement through Deadline or Variety or something of the sort. But months later she was dropped from the project with no explanation.

About 4 years ago she appeared on Andrew Jenks podcast and admitted that she got dropped from a movie because the male lead didn’t like her. I don’t think she specifically mentioned the name of the movie but based on the timeline people were able to deduce what movie she was talking about.

oh shit, i honestly had no idea. that is wild. i never got the impression that sebastian stan was like that though, which is what makes this additionally more crazy. interesting! thank you for sharing :)

[writemarcus]

Heartbeat Opera Announces 2021-2022 Season

Highlights include MESSY MESSIAH, FIDELIO, and more.

by Chloe Rabinowitz

Aug. 10, 2021  

HEARTBEAT OPERA will return to the in-person stage for its eighth season this year. Heartbeat's 2021-22 season kicks off in September with a free outdoor screening of BREATHING FREE, their visual album that connects Beethoven's Fidelio with the work of Black composers and lyricists such as Harry T. Burleigh, Langston Hughes, and Anthony Davis to manifest a dream of justice, equity, and breathing free. BREATHING FREE builds on Heartbeat's 2018 work with incarcerated singers and prison choirs, and continues its exploration of race and the American prison system. Then in December, Heartbeat's beloved annual drag extravaganza, MESSY MESSIAH, returns after six years of Halloween shenanigans for a new Christmas special. Looking ahead to winter 2022, Heartbeat plans to go on its first-ever tour, remounting its production of FIDELIO, which Joshua Barone of The New York Times called "urgent, powerful, and poignant," for seven performances across four cities, kicking off at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Heartbeat will later present its pilot production of NO EVIL projects, QUANDO, ossia Project "0," which is co-produced with Long Beach Opera and refashions music from Verdi's operas La Traviata and Don Carlo and Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice into a 25-minute short film. Heartbeat also continues to work on its first-ever commission, THE EXTINCTIONIST, an opera by Heartbeat Co-Music Director Daniel Schlosberg, librettist Amanda Quaid, and Heartbeat Co-Founder & Resident Director Louisa Proske. The Extinctionist wrestles with climate catastrophe and with one woman's unorthodox choice, with the goal of presenting its world premiere in winter 2023.

At the helm are Artistic Director Ethan Heard, Associate Artistic Director Derrell Acon, Co-Music Directors Jacob Ashworth and Daniel Schlosberg, and Managing Director Annie Middleton. Heartbeat Opera was founded in 2014 and has since grown from an indie "start up" into an internationally recognized player, consistently hailed as a leader in envisioning the future of opera.

The 2021-22 Season

BREATHING FREE, a visual album

September 18 at Pier 63, Hudson River Park Trust At dusk A free outdoor screening with live performances (Additional future screenings TBA)

Focusing on Black empowerment in the arts

Featuring excerpts from Beethoven's Fidelio, Negro Spirituals, and songs by

Harry T. Burleigh,

Florence Price

,

Langston Hughes

,

Anthony Davis

,

Thulani Davis

Director:

Ethan Heard

Filmmaker: Anaiis Cisco

Creative Producer: Ras Dia

Co-Music Directors: Jacob Ashworth & Daniel Schlosberg

Movement Director: Emma Jaster

Watch Breathing Free Trailer

2021 Drama League Award Nominee for Outstanding Digital Concert Production

In 2018, Heartbeat collaborated with 100 incarcerated singers in six prison choirs to create a contemporary American Fidelio told through the lens of Black Lives Matter. In 2020-the year of George Floyd's murder, a pandemic which ravages our prison population, and the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth-they curated a song cycle, brought to life in vivid music videos, mingling excerpts from Fidelio with Negro Spirituals and songs by Black composers and lyricists, which together manifest a dream of justice, equity... and breathing free.

Jamilyn Manning-White in DRAGUS MAXIMUS, photo by Andrew Boyle

MESSY MESSIAH

December 16 at 8pm and December 17 at 7 and 9:30pm at Roulette in Brooklyn

Directed by

Ethan Heard

Music Directed by Jacob Ashworth

Arranged by Daniel Schlosberg

Watch WNET's ALL ARTS feature on Heartbeat's drag extravaganzas

Heartbeat's beloved annual drag opera extravaganza returns in all its glory this December. Over the past seven years, Heartbeat has presented six fabulous extravaganzas at venues across Brooklyn: Hot Mama: Singing Gays Saving Gaia; Dragus Maximus: a homersexual opera odyssey; All the World's a Drag! Shakespeare in love...with opera; Queens of the Night: Mozart in Space; Miss Handel; and Purcell's The Fairy Queen. These interdisciplinary celebrations playfully mix opera classics with pop culture and drag to create an otherworldly experience that encourages audience members to embrace opera in new ways.

This year, the show moves to December-just in time for Christmas. Featuring familiar tunes by Handel, Tchaikovsky, Berlin, and many more, this naughty pageant celebrates the holidays with wit and warmth. Expect tradition...with a peppermint twist.

Kelly Griffin in FIDELIO, photo by Russ Rowland

FIDELIO

Heartbeat's first tour

February 10, 12 & 14, 2022 at Met Live Arts, New York City February 19 at The Mondavi Center, UC Davis, California February 22 at The Scottsdale Performing Arts Center, Arizona February 26 & 27 at The Broad Stage, Santa Monica, California

Music by Ludwig van Beethoven Original libretto by Joseph Sonnleithner & Georg Friedrich Sonnleithner Adapted & Directed by Ethan Heard Arranged & Music Directed by Daniel Schlosberg New English Dialogue Co-Written by Marcus Scott & Ethan Heard Featuring Derrell Acon (Roc), Curtis Bannister (Stan), Kelly Griffin (Leah), Victoria Lawal (Marcy), Tim Mix (Pizarro) and more than 100 incarcerated singers in six prison choirs

Heartbeat was planning to take its Fidelio on tour in 2020, the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth. Then the pandemic hit, affecting incarcerated people especially and forcing them to postpone the tour. Then George Floyd was murdered, sparking a much-needed racial reckoning. Now, with humility and a renewed sense of purpose, Heartbeat has the opportunity to bring the tour back and even expand it. The story of their Fidelio is more urgent and timely than ever:

A Black activist is wrongfully incarcerated. His wife, Leah, disguises herself to infiltrate the system and free him. But when injustice reigns, one woman's grit may not be enough to save her love. Featuring the voices of imprisoned people, this daring adaptation pits corruption against courage, hate against hope.

Heartbeat is thrilled to continue its work on this Fidelio, updating the libretto for our current moment, deepening the company's commitment to anti-racism in all that they do, collaborating more with their prison choir partners, sharing the production, and sparking important conversations. This tour is Heartbeat's largest and most ambitious venture yet. They have the opportunity to reach thousands of new audience members, including hundreds of young people, in four cities across the country.

QUANDO, ossia Project "0"

In-person screenings w/live performances in NY and Long Beach, April 2022 A co-production with Long Beach Opera The pilot production of NO EVIL Projects

Creative Produced by Derrell Acon Music Directed and Arranged by Daniel Schlosberg In-person screenings with live performances in New York and Long Beach in April 2022 (dates TBC)

Some of the most beautiful and famous music from the operatic canon becomes the landscape for this fierce social satire of sex, activism, and the performance of everyday life. Music from Verdi's operas La Traviata and Don Carlo and Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice are repurposed and refashioned into a 25-minute short film that follows a starry-eyed young couple as their night on the town unravels into a surrealist swirl of decadence, intrigue, and ultimately, vengeful justice.

The short film, a co-production with Long Beach Opera and produced by Heartbeat's newly-appointed Associate Artistic Director Derrell Acon, will be screened as is, and then followed by a second presentation that features live composer-performers actively disrupting and reconstituting the music from the score for a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience. No two performances will be the same, as the ending will change with each iteration of the live performances, and audiences will be challenged to re-examine their perceptions of art and its role in societal transformation.NO EVIL is an initiative meant to create a self-replenishing fund of seed money for new projects in the opera field by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color) creators. Acon is in conversation with OPERA America, the Sphinx Foundation, and other industry colleagues about the full structure of NO EVIL Projects, which has an anticipated launch of 2022.Says Acon: "As Arts Equity Specialist for the OPERA America New Works Forum, I had the opportunity to facilitate all-BIPOC adjudication panels for granting, and was deeply impressed by the nuance of perspective and intentionality centered in those discussions. I am convinced that the financial barriers experienced by marginalized creators in the field require even more attention and action-and, frankly, MONEY!"

THE EXTINCTIONIST

A new one act opera

Music by Daniel Schlosberg

Libretto by

Amanda Quaid

, based on her play

Directed, Conceived, and Developed by

Louisa Proske

Music Directed by Jacob Ashworth

World Premiere Production Coming in Winter 2023

During the 2020-21 season, Heartbeat Opera commissioned its first-ever opera, The Extinctionist, a one-act work that grapples with the catastrophic effects of climate change and one woman's unorthodox choice to sterilize herself to save the planet and become the very first "Extinctionist." The dark comedy turns one woman's body into the battlefield of our political anguish, conflicting desires, and individual responsibility.

This past May, The Exctintionist was featured in The New York Times, which chronicled Heartbeat's longtime commitment to reimagining classic works and its new expansion into commissioning. A semi-staged production of the opera was presented in May 2021 at PS21 in Chatham, New York, and the world premiere is slated for Winter 2023.

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: Ant-Man And The Wasp

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Where Today We Are Continuing Our Look At The Marvel Cinematic Universe...

Where Today We Answer The One Question Everyone Had On Their Minds When Watching Avengers: Infinity War...Where Was Ant-Man?... By Watching Ant-Man And The Wasp...

In The Aftermath Of Civil War, Scott Grapples With The Consequences Of His Choices As Both A Superhero And A Father As He Struggles To Rebalance His Home Life With His Responsibilities As Ant-Man When He's Confronted By Hope Van Dyne (Who Has Taken On Her Mother's Identity As The Wasp) And Hank Pym Who Come To Him With A New Mission...

Will They Succeed?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Ant-Man And The Wasp...

Starting In 1987, We See Janet Van Dyne (Played By A Digitally Aged Michelle Pfeiffer) And Hank Pym (Played By A Digitally Aged Michael Douglas) Tell Their Daughter They're Going To A Conference When Really They're Going Another Mission...

And Unfortunately, It's The Mission That Cost Janet Her Life When She Shrank Between The Molecules Of A Soviet Missile So She Could Disable It Shrinking Smaller And Smaller Until She Entered The Quantum Realm...

With The Hardest Thing He Did Being To Tell Hope That Janet Was Dead, We Cut To Now Where Hank Recalls How Scott Went Subatomic And Came Back Which Give Him The Idea To Dust Off Some Old Plans Of A Quantum Tunnel Which Will Shrink Them Small Enough To Enter The Quantum Realm To Get Janet Back...

Meanwhile At Scott's House, We Him Spending Time With His Daughter, Cassie In A Homemade Playhouse That He Made And Is Running With The Help Of Luis, As Scott's Been Under House Arrest After Helping Captain America In Civil War Which Was A Violation Of The Sokovia Accords...

But After Taking A Plea Deal, Scott Was Allowed To Return To The US And Was Sentenced To 2 Years Under House Arrest And A 20 Year Prison Sentence Waiting For Him If He Leaves His House Or Defies The Accords Again

And As Pym And Hope Had Provided Lang With The Technology He Used Against Iron Man, They Have Also Been Ruled In Breach Of The Accords And They Have A Warrant Out For Their Arrest Which Forced Them To Go On The Run And Sever All Contact With Scott...

Spending The Next Two Years Trying To Find Ways To Keep Himself Busy Including Learning Close-Up Magic And Setting Up A Security Company With Luis And His Partners, He Unfortunately Has A Dream Where He Relives Of Janet's Memories Of When Hope Was A Child 3 Days Until His Release From House Arrest...

Contacting Pym On A Burner Phone He Put Away, Scott Briefly Tells Him What Happened Before Realizing He Sounds Like An Idiot, He Apologizes For The Trouble He Caused Before Smashing The Phone...

Later That Night, Scott Hears A Buzzing Noise Before He's Knocked Out By A Small Tranq Dart...

Waking Up The Next Morning, Scott Finds He's Been Kidnapped By Hope, Who Left A Decoy In His Place To Not Arouse Suspicion From The FBI. Angry At Scott For Helping Cap And Forcing Her And Hank Into Hiding, Hope Tells Scott That His Dream Coincided With Hank Briefly Opening A Quantum Tunnel...

Seeing Scott's Message As A Sign That Janet Is Alive, Hank And Hope Work In Their New Lab To Create A Stable Tunnel So Hope Can Take A Vehicle Into The Quantum Realm To Retrieve Janet...

Reuniting With Pym Who's Bitter For Scott's Actions But Puts His Anger Aside As He's Their Only Hope Of Locating Janet Inside The Quantum Realm...

Hope Arranges To Get A Part From A Black Market Dealer Named Sonny Burch (Played By The Unicorn) But Realizing The Potential Profit From Pym And Hope's Research, Burch Double Crosses Her Which Leads Her To Suit Up...

(Start At 0:06)

But Despite Getting The Component, Hope Soon Faces A New Opponent In The Form Of The Ghost, Scott Goes In To Help Hope With The Ghost But Unfortunately The Ghost Escapes With The Part And Pym's Mobile Lab...

Hiding Out At Scott And Luis' Security Firm, They Tell Hank That They've Heard Tales Of This Ghost Of Theirs While Also Wondering If He Had A Tracker On The Lab Which He Did But It Was Deactivated At The Time The Lab Was Stolen And That Not Only Did The Person Who Stole It Knew What They Were Doing But They Were Phasing...

With The Lab Emitting Radiation, Hope Suggests Modifying A Quantum Spectrometer To Track It But To Do That It Means Going Into The Matrix...

I'm Just Kidding...Or Am I?

Meeting Hank's Former Partner, Bill Foster (Played By Morpheus) At The College Where He Works, He Helps Them Locate The Lab Just As The FBI Shows Up On The Campus...

Wondering If Foster's Idea Of Tracking The Suit Through The Regulators Could Work Hank Says It Could But They'd Need An Old Suit As The New Ones Don't Have Diffractors Which They Need To Track It...

Luckily, Scott Saved His Old Suit After Using It To Fight With Cap But The Bad News Is It's Inside Of A Trophy That's At Cassie's School For Show And Tell...

(Start At 1:01, End At 4:02)

Getting The Diffractor Out Of The Old Ant-Man Suit They Use It To Track Down The Lab To A House In The Middle Of The Woods Where They're Immediately Captured By The Ghost...

Wow, You Guys Think You Can Go 5 Minutes Without Being Captured By The Bad Guy...

Capturing Hank Too, Ghost Reveals Herself As Ava Starr...

Any Relation To Ringo?

Surprisingly No, But She Is Related To Another Former Partner Of Hank's Named Elihas Starr Who Hank Not Only Fired But Discredited And In An Attempt To Get His Good Name Back He Continued His Research Only For It To End In The Death Of Him And His Wife During A Quantum Experiment That Caused Ava's Affliction...

Though She Was Found By Bill Foster, Who Has Tried His Best To Keep Her Safe Since The Accident, He Couldn't Protect Her From S.H.I.E.L.D. Who Built Her Containment Suit And Used Her As A Stealth Operative In Exchange For A Cure..,

But Discovering That They Were Full Of Bullshit, Ava Left With Foster Who Created A Containment Chamber To Slow Her Decay But It's Too Progressive For Him To Stop...

Despite Ava Wanting To Kill Hank For What He Did, She Instead Watched Him Where She Discovered That Hank Was Building The Quantum Tunnel Also About Lang And His Vision Of Janet..

Revealing That They Want To Use The Quantum Tunnel So They Can Extract The Quantum Energy From Janet So They Can Repair Ava's Molecular Structure But Knowing That It Would Kill Janet, Hank Says No...

But Threatening To Turn Scott Over To The FBI, If He Doesn't Help, This Leads Hank To Fake A Heart Attack So Bill Can Open An Altoid Box With Ants That Will Grow Large When Opened So They Can Escape...

Getting The Lab Back Before They Leave, Hank Grows It Back To Large Size So They Can Get To Work Where Hank Reveals That Elihas Starr Was A Traitor Who Stole His Plans For The Quantum Tunnel As They Work...

But As They Do That Burch Captures Luis And His Partners So He Can Question Them About Scott As Ava, Desperate To Be Cured Decides To Kidnap Cassie But Before She Does Bill Tells Her That If She Does She's On Her Own Which Leads Her To Go After Other Options...

Injecting Truth Serum Into Luis, We Get Another One Of Luis' Stories As He Tells Burch Where Scott Is...

(Start At 1:14, End At 3:21)

Knowing That If Ghost Gets The Technology, He'll Be Ruined, Burch Decides To Call The FBI Believing It'll Be Easier To Steal It From Them As He Has A Contact There..

And While That's Understandable I Still Kinda Have To Say Where's The Logic In That?

Despite Having One Contact It's The FBI, There Are Agents That Are Likely To Recognize You And Are Likely To Get You...

Opening A Stable Tunnel, Pym And Hope Are Able To Contact Janet Who Gives Them A Precise Location But Warns Them That They Have 2 Hours To Do So Due To The Quantum Realm's Unstable Nature...

With Scott Back To Normal, He Gets A Call From Luis Who Tells Him Everything That Happened With Burch, Telling Hank And Hope Everything They're Rightfully Pissed And Sever Ties With Scott Once Again As He Takes The Suit To Rush Home Before Woo Can See Him Breaking House Arrest...

That Which He Doesn't But That's Just The Good News...

The Bad News However Is That Hank And Hope Are Arrested And The Ghost Kills Burch's Man On The Inside And Takes Back The Lab...

Convinced By Cassie To Rescue Hank And Hope From The FBI Despite The Risks, He Decides To Help Them Escape The FBI And Use A New Tracker To Track Down The Lab, While Scott And Hope Distract Ghost While Hank Deals With Bill Before Quantum Realm To Retrieve Janet...

Shrinking The Lab, Ghost Is Rightfully Pissed As Luis And Hope Drive Away With It Only To Be Confronted By Burch And His Men Which Leads To A Car Chase And Our Stan Lee Cameo...

Stan Lee Cameo!

With The Lab Going Back And Forth Like A Football On A Football Field Between Ghost, Burch And Team Ant-Man, It's Team Ant-Man That Gets The Lab Back However At The Last Second, Ghost Steals It And Enlarges It In The Middle Of Pier 39 In San Francisco...

But As All That Was Going On, Hank Finds Janet In The Quantum Realm, But With The Lab In Ava's Hands She Attempts Sabatoge Their Return So She Can Start Stealing Janet's Energy But Luckily Scott And Hope Stop Her And Hank And Janet Return From The Quantum Realm...

Using Some Of Her Quantum Energy, Janet Stabalizes The Ghost So Her And Bill Can Go On The Run While Burch And His Guys Are Arrested And Scott Manages To Get Home In Time For The FBI To End His House Arrest Despite Being Suspicious Of Him...

While Scott Reunites With Cassie And Gets His Buisness Up And Running, Hank, Hope And Janet Restore The Family Home On A Beach So They Can Live Happily Ever After For A While...

Or Until The Mid Credits Scene, Where Scott Ventures Into The Quantum Realm To Collect Particles In An Attempt To Heal Ava While Being Monitored By Hank, Janet And Hope, But Despite Being Successful He's Unable To Return As The Pyms Have Been Snapped Out Of Existence By Thanos...

There's Also A After Credit Scene But It's Not Important To Go Over So I'm Skipping It...

And That's Ant-Man And The Wasp And I Will Say It's Better Than The Original Ant-Man...

The Story Was Interesting, The Characters Were Better Written Than They Were In The First Movie, The Villain Was So-So But She Was Interesting I Will Say That Either Way I Say See It...

Now, Before I Sign Off I'd Like To Say A Few Words And Tell You About The Future Of Duke Reviews After We Finish The MCU...

First, I'd Like To Apologize For The Lack Of Clips In This Review But That's Because I Could Barely Find Any Good Ones On YouTube And Unfortunately It's Going To Be The Same Story With Next Week's Review Of Captain Marvel, I'll Post What I Can But For The Next 2 Weeks Be Patient With Me...

And Second As I Said I Want To Go Over The Future Of Duke Reviews After I'm Done With The MCU, Good News Is We Are Not Going Into The DCEU Or Any Other Superhero Properties For A While (And I Do Mean A While) As We're Going To Be Covering The Movies Of A Company That's Been With Us For Generations...

In Fact We're Going To Be Covering It For So Long That I'll Have To Pause In October, November And December So I Can Continue Our Traditions Of Duke's Monsterween And Duke's Yultide Reviews But Know That In January Of Next Year We'll Probably Be Back Working On That...

Now As To Which Studio I'm Not Going To Reveal Which Until My Spider-Man Far From Home Review Which Will Be In 3 Weeks But Next Week As I Said We'll Be Looking At Captain Marvel, So Until Then, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

[raeofalbion]

BBC Sherlock for 001? :)

Meme - Thank you!

Favourite Character:

We stan one (1) consulting criminal.

Least Favourite Character:

Magnussen (though I really enjoyed hating him) right up until S4, then John dropped right down there. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

5 Favourite ships:

I’m just gonna pick what I’m currently in the mood for, okay? Full ship list here.- Sheriarty / Jimlock- Seblock- Molly and Jim (but like platonically hanging out in their pjs and having fun)- Mycroft and Sherlock (and general sibling bs)- Jimcroft

Character I find most attractive:

-looks at Andrew Scott and weeps- Probably actually Irene, though. Like, please step on me? But also everything about her’s pretty fantastic.

Character I would marry:

So, funny story, I accidentally blurted out that I would marry Mycroft while discussing which characters in the series would be the best dates at a restaurant a while back. (Not because he’d be a very good date, either…chances are, he’s not.)

Character I would be best friends with:

Hmm…probably Sally or Greg. They’re both pretty awesome; seem friend-shaped.

A random thought:

If the creators could stop dragging Jim’s corpse around for a season, that’d be great.

An unpopular opinion:

I don’t think the show necessarily needs a fifth season. S4, for all it’s good and bad points, ended in a good place. S5 would be great, in theory. But I’m really good with what we have now.

My canon OTP:

Warstan, but I rate them much lower on my OTP scale, just cuz I really wanted more out of their relationship? But oh well.

My non-canon OTP:

Sheriarty. Surprised?

Most bad-ass character:

Mary.

Most epic villain:

Hmm. Okay, now this depends on what “villain” means in this context. If we’re talking about villains in the context of “antagonist”, then I’ll pick Jim every time. But, if it means an actual “villain”, then I’ve got to go with Magnussen. If Eurus had had like…a season’s extra build up, I would have said her.

Pairing I’m not a fan of:

Ship-that-shall-not-be-named. I’m willing to explain why, if someone wants to send an ask specifically about that, but part of it has to do with… -points at the next one down-

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another):

John. I’m all for negative character arcs–I actually think they should do them more often in media, tbh. BUT. You can’t have a negative character arc and still treat the character like they’re above condemnation. There’s gotta be consequences to that arc, or it’s just lazy writing. But there never were any. It all just…kinda got forgotten about? And I...it’s really soured my interest in him as a character.

Favourite friendship:

Kinda non-canon, because we don’t know what their relationship was like, but Molly and Jim. Idk, I like the thought of them hanging out, binging tv and ice cream, and maybe complaining about Sherlock; finding each other relaxing or something even after the whole “we have to break up because you’re a criminal mastermind” thing.

Character I most identify with:

…I’m…fuckin’…legally obligated to say Sherlock. Not only did I call myself out on it halfway through the first episode, but when I eventually started watching it with mum, she also called me out on it. Without me having mentioned that I noticed some of the things we’ve said are exactly the same. SO. Sherlock. ಠ_ಠ

(To be fair, I feel the resemblance is closer to teenage-me, but still.)

Character I wish I could be: 

Toby. Whether it’s Molly’s cat Toby or cute dog Toby. I would like to be pampered and spoiled and free from the bonds of moral and physical responsibility, please.

[collective-architecture]

To celebrate our 10th Year as Collective Architecture, we’re delighted to be taking part in Glasgow Door’s Open Days Festival this year, a fantastic programme of events which runs from the 11th to 17th September. We’re opening our studio situated at the top floor of the Mercat Building from 4pm on Sunday 17th. We’ve also put together a suggested itinerary for the Sunday of events in the surrounding area.

There are a variety of fascinating walks taking place in the East End. At 11am Dr Ronnie Scott is leading a tour of Glasgow’s City Centre Lanes, leaving from the Mercat Cross. the tour promises to discover some often overlooked aspects of the city centre.. Also at 11am, Glasgow Through The Ages III - The Enlightenment City, takes in the architecture of the Scottish Enlightenment.   . You can also get a tour of the River Clyde bridges at 10am and 1pm  or join the Bridgeton Heritage Trail at 2pm. 

As you’re heading along the Trongate don’t miss an opportunity to pop into the Britannia Panopticon Music Hall, open 11am - 5pm both Saturday and Sunday, as well as during the week. It’s the worlds oldest surviving music hall and where Stan Laurel made his debut in 1906!  Then head down to Glasgow Green where you can see inside the West Boathouse and book a taster rowing session. 

If you’re in need of some lunchtime refreshment, Drygate brewery are hosting tours all day Sunday 17th, and serve a fantastic menu in addition to an extensive range of beers. Alternatively head along to 202 Gallowgate where the lovely Soul Food Sisters will show you how to make a variety of delicious dishes inspired by cuisines from around the world . On the way don’t miss the new Billy Connelly mural ‘Big Yin’ by Rachel McLean and Jim Lambie’s Gallowgate Park Album Pathway.

At 2pm Calton Heritage Trail led by Peter Mortimer takes in the architecture of Glasgow Cross, the Barras and the history of the weaving industry. Starting outside the Mercat building, it finishes just in time to come along to our Open Studios event where you can admire panoramic views of the south of the city and hear a short series of talks on themes of Heritage, Housing and Culture.

At 4:30pm we have a series of 10 minute talks from clients and collaborators, including Conservation Architect Fiona Sinclair and photographer Andrew Lee who will be discussing heritage. Followed by Peter Martin, Development Director of Sanctuary Scotland (responsible for the redevelopment of Victoria Hospital) and Helen Moore from Reidvale Housing Association Board. Patricia Fleming (Patricia Fleming Projects) and Lizzie Smith from Collective Architecture round off the event, talking about arts and culture projects, including the Trails and Tales arts trail for East Dumbartonshire council. The event is free, but ticketed as space is limited.

Other events we recommend:

Northlight heritage are hosting a series of events exploring the Future of Pollok Stables this month, including an event on Sunday 17th September 11-4pm which explores the challenges currently facing the buildings, from flooding to dry rot, and what they need to preserve them for future generations. These hands-on sessions are drop in - no need to book.

The fabulous Glasgow Women’s library are leading a tour ‘Women of the East End’ on Saturday 16th September. 

Our friends at the Anderston Kelvingrove Church are open Saturday and Sunday, if you’ve ever wondered what’s inside the green pyramid go along and hear about it’s history and plans for the future of the building.   Its just a short walk from Finneston and an opportunity to see our latest housing development under construction, due for completion 2018. 

[dweemeister]

Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

Here is a confession: my only prior viewing history about college comedies includes a grand total of three films that I have seen in their entirety. Those films are Legally Blonde (2001), Monsters University (2013), and 22 Jump Street (2014). The “Slobs v. Snobs” comedic subgenre is also a weakness of mine, as their plots test my patience for both slobs and snobs. Combine these two, and you have a movie beyond my experience, but one that I found entertaining and wittier than expected – despite deep concerns by the rampant comedic misogyny that became more explicit in the 1980s that also appears. Jeff Kanew directed Revenge of the Nerds: the third and final episode of this prequel trilogy as it chronicles the final stages of the Clone Wars, Anakin Skywalker’s transformation into Darth Vader, the devastation of the Jedi Order, and the dissolution of the Galactic Republic for the Galactic Empire.

Apologies. That’s the wrong movie. Gosh, I can’t wait for Star Wars fans to hound me this December.

Armed with thick-rimmed glasses and pocket protectors, best friends and nerds Lewis Skolnick (Robert Carradine) and Gilbert Lowe (Anthony Edwards) are entering Adams College as computer science majors. Soon after they have moved into their dorm room, the boys – along with the other nerds inhabiting that building – are forced out by the college football team and must stay in the gymnasium. Tensions between the nerds and the football team increase to the point where Stan Gable (Ted McGinley) – the school’s starting quarterback and head of the Alpha Beta fraternity (which many of the football players are members of) – denies the nerds’ application to create a fraternity and their requests for remedial justice against Alpha Beta harassment. The nerds will then seek sanction from black fraternity Lambda Lambda Lambda (the frat president is played by Bernie Casey) – imagine if a blaxploitation movie dropped into a raunchy, largely white college comedy for several scenes – and will eventually receive their fraternity commission. The Tri-Lambs and Alpha Beta essentially go to war for the rest of the film. Nerdy sorority Omega Mu allies with the Tri-Lambs; sorority Pi Delta Pi assists the Alpha Betas.

Other Tri-Lamb members include Poindexter (Timothy Busfield), Wormser (Andrew Cassese), Booger (Curtis Armstrong), Lamar (Larry B. Scott), and Takashi (Brian Tochi). Notable Alpha Betas include Burke (Matt Salinger) and Ogre (Donald Gibb); notable Pi Delta Pis include Betty Childs (Julie Montgomery) and Judy (Michelle Meyrink). John Goodman is the football coach and James Cromwell is Lewis’ father, who drives his son and Gilbert to Adams.

If the nerds and jocks in this film weren’t as exaggerated as they are, this might be the subject of a documentary given the United States’ reflexive, masturbatory obsession for American football where the football players can do whatever, whenever they want. There is nothing groundbreaking about the depiction of the nerds and the jocks in Revenge of the Nerds, but what is remarkable about how Steve Zacharias and Jeff Buhai’s screenplay develops the nerds is that it betrays its only message: accepting others for who they are, that difference in interests and appearance is to be celebrated, and that tolerance and compassion for others is to be valued over a person’s external superficialities. The film’s sympathetic approach to the nerds in the film’s opening half is commendable; the abuse they suffer allows us to laugh – in joy, sometimes in confusion – when they are being themselves. But for near-identical reasons I find The Breakfast Club (1985) to be hypocritical, Revenge of the Nerds breaks its central idea and makes a mockery of it several times. Most everything that is shown about the Alpha Beta and Pi Delta Pi members is irredeemable – hazing based on humiliation, superiority complexes, excessive alcohol and drug consumption, and an obsession with physical and sexual prowess as a means to organize the fraternity/sorority hierarchy. The basis of the nerds’ revenge is not staying true to who they are, although they use their brainpower to figure out how their scheme will work. By the film’s conclusion, the nerds’ personalities become identical to the jocks’ – actively seeking out to humiliate their opponents, treating women as sexual playthings, and valuing their hedonism over everything else. I imagine Lewis’ father to be heartbroken if he heard about this; but given the rules set forth in Revenge of the Nerds, maybe not.

This is a comedy – a college comedy, some might emphasize – meant to entertain and skewer the jocks and their girlfriends for their behavior. But comedy is often double-edged, as it is here, and I could not bring myself to laugh as the nerds began to emulate. Maybe I do not know enough about comedies, but I tend to think the best comedies that attempt a message (that excludes pure farce, like 1980′s Airplane!) should hold steady to what they are trying to espouse as there is a moral responsibility that exists in that space. Message comedies often subscribe to a rule usually associated with journalism: to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. As the nerds become relentless in their revenge, the film resorts to racial stereotypes and misogyny as supporting plot devices. For all the hilarious pratfalls of the combat between the Tri-Lambs and Alpha Beta and the end-of-film festival’s events, these depictions overshadow Revenge of the Nerds’ intents.

According to British film critic Robert Ager, a DVD commentary interview including actor Curtis Armstrong had him claim that, in this film, “nerd” can stand in for any group of people being oppressed. What Armstrong and Ager fail to note, however, is that this statement is less applicable for Revenge of the Nerds’ black and Asian characters and rooted in decades of Hollywood history.

Larry B. Scott’s Lamar is obviously gay, presenting himself as an aberration to the rigidly heterosexual jocks. But Lamar is employed as comic relief in times when the Tri-Lambs wherever the film needs him to be. The queer black male is a stock character from blaxploitation – a subgenre of exploitation film which catered to African-American audiences and emerged in the early 1970s; blaxploitation films have been acclaimed by some as portraying more empowered black characters, but have also been criticized for reinforcing damaging stereotypes. Lamar’s queerness, if we are to look at him with a blaxploitation lens, is decontextualized by Revenge of the Nerds, as the stock queer black male – as seen in Shaft (1972) and Blacula (1972) – is usually employed to challenge black masculine norms (it can be comical or otherwise), that there is more than one way to be “authentically” masculine as a black man. Lamar is indeed a nerd, but what he could represent – as a black queer man – is erased, though I will admit that the performance he gives near the film’s end is one of the most positive depictions of a gay rapper I have seen. Additionally, the depiction of the Lambda Lambda Lambda administration – recall that it is a black fraternity – is of stoic men whose appearances are bookended by the expected funk music and cultural insensitivities by the largely white kids trying to form a Tri-Lamb chapter at Adams.

The filmmakers never even try with Japanese student Takashi (Brian Tochi), rendering him overly polite to those insulting and assaulting him, mixing up or simply dropping L’s and R’s in his speech, and being completely dense to everything surrounding him. We have been here too many fucking times before. If the filmmakers’ intentions were to expose the follies of these stereotypes by replicating them and showcasing their absurdities, the final product has too many mixed messages for me to take such a claim seriously. From Revenge of the Nerds’  nerd-jock dichotomy with nothing in between, the nerds’ adoption of the jocks’ behavior, and their portrayal of black and Asian characters, this almost drowns out the numerous clever verbal and sight gags there are.

And this is not even beginning to touch upon how this film treats its women characters. From the panty raid scene to the nerds’ installation of a camera to watch females undress in the supposed privacy of their bathrooms (a young elementary school-age kid is depicted watching these scenes and enjoying them) and bedrooms to a rape-by-deception/false identity (because as long as the fornicating is mind-blowing, the sex is totally okay, and the girl will fall for your dick, right?), there is nothing salvageable about how Revenge of the Nerds treats its women. Rape is a punchline and that – call me a prude all you want – is indefensible (Revenge of the Nerds would not be the first or last film to do this).

Made with money 20th Century Fox earned with Return of the Jedi (1983), Revenge of the Nerds spawned three sequels – the later two being television movies – despite the fact Fox executives were expecting a modest box office intake (and thus left the production alone without much administrative interference). The film was shot on the campus of the University of Arizona, located in Tucson. The young cast – though some were certainly no longer the usual age for an undergraduate student – had a brilliant time shooting the movie, despite their initial reservations about playing such obvious nerds or loathsome jocks and cheerleaders. A Greek life-like atmosphere surrounded the set, and the stars found themselves partying with the university’s students when shooting was completed for the day.

Without the film’s surprisingly thoughtful portrayal of the nerds in the opening third of the film, the score that appears below might otherwise have been much lower. Without some pretty shocking or dirty lines from Lewis, Gilbert, and especially Goober, I might have liked this film a lot less than I do now (yes, this review has been scathing, but there are elements I appreciated). Yet all of that racially insensitive writing and misogyny is something that this film could all too easily could have gone without.

My rating: 5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found here.

[amateurfan227]

Shitlist Reviews - Alien 3 - 1992 - Part 1 of 2

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m Amateur Fan 2.27 and welcome to the Shitlist, where bad movies burn, the last time on the Shitlist, I looked over the sequel to the hit movie Alien from 1986, Aliens... this time I’m looking into the 3rd instalment in the franchise, another reason I decided to dive into it is because of the story behind it, mainly because it’s the beginning of the downfall of the franchise.

This movie in particular is stated to be the perfect end of the franchise as it breaks Ripley’s character from survivor into a hero, mainly because of her relation towards the extra-terrestrial threat that she rightly fears, It’s also how the main factor on her relation towards Wayland-Yutani’s downfall as well as she fears that the Aliens are more unpredictable than ever, especially in an environment where no-one is on her side.

As usual, it’s time to dive into the production history first which is pretty important as well as a fun fact for you Seven fans out there, this is David Fincher’s debut as a director. With the success of Aliens, 20th Century Fox approached Brandywine Productions with further sequels but the company wasn’t invested in the idea of it with Producer David Giler explaining that his partners Walter Hill and Gordon Carroll wanted to take it into new directions to explore more of the mythos.

The trio discussed ideas to explore Weyland-Yutani Corporations fascination with the Xenomorphs as well as using them for biological weapons, as well as taking the idea of Aliens towards a different protagonists story-arc, this story eventually settled with a two-way story-arc featuring the underhanded Weyland-Yutani Corporation facing a militarily aggressive culture of humans who have a different ideology causing them to separate Earth’s society.

Michael Biehn’s Corporal Hicks would star as the main lead leaving Sigourney Weaver’s character to star as a cameo only to return in the fourth instalment of the series, the 20th Century Fox was quite sceptical about the idea but they agreed to finance the development of the story as long as they managed to get Ridley Scott to direct the film.

They also asked that the two movies were shot back to back to lessen the production costs, similar to Richard Donner as he directed both Superman and Superman 2 at the same time during production; Scott was interested on returning to the franchise he refused due to the director’s schedule.

In 1987 Giler and Hill approached Cyberpunk author William Gibson (Neuromancer) to create a script for the movie and he gladly accepted due to into his writing was influenced by Scott’s first movie. Feared of an impending strike from the Writers Guild of America, Gibson was told to deliver a script by December of that year, as well as heavily drawn by Giler and Hill’s treatment the script was of course completed

The following year, Finnish director Renny Harlin (Nightmare on Elm Street 4, previous reviewed) was told by Fox for ideas in the film which had ideas from the first 2 movies such as visiting the Alien homeworld or the Aliens invading Earth. Shortly after a failed screenplay Gibson declined to work with them due to the Producers engagement with the films ideas.

Following his departure, Harlin suggest Eric Red who worked on The Hitcher (1986) and Near Dark (1987), Red worked less than 2 months to finish the draft on February of 1989 leading him to state that it was ‘the one script I completely disown because it was not ‘my script’. It was the rushed product of too many story conferences and interference.’

His approach had a new set of characters and subplots with a new breed of Alien; the story was set around a marine team that would take the survivors who fell to the Aliens to a small USA city in a bio-dome in space. This was rejected by Brandywine which left future sequels to be given up. Writer David Twohy (Riddick series) had the idea on setting the story on a prison planet which held illegal experiments on the aliens for Biological Warfare.

This led Harlin to walk out on the project leading Fox president Joe Roth to bring Ripley back due to Sigourney Weaver’s popularity at the time; Hill and Giler did a first draft attempting to enhance the story on the Fasano script, feeling creatively drained hiring Larry Ferguson as a script doctor. Ferguson wasn’t well received in production especially by Weaver who felt that Ferguson destroyed Ripley’s character.

In short time before filming, Hill and Giler took fill control of the screenplay themselves mixing scripts and Twohy’s idea of the Prison Planet to be the basis of the film, Weaver had a clause written in her contract stating that the final draft should be written by Hill and Giler  to also write Ripley effectively. Fox also interviewed music video director David Fincher to replace the current director which he gladly accepted.

Filming began in January 14, 1991 at Pinewood studios without a finished script as well as $7 million dollars spent on production; majority of the movie was directed at Pinewood while some of the scenes were shot at Northumberland’s Blyth Power Station in the UK, the reason with this if for exterior shots on the planet.

Stan Winston, who was responsible for the creature effects of both Alien and Aliens was not available for the effects but recommended former workers from his studio at Amalgamated Dynamics (Mortal Kombat, Starship Troopers). Before Principal Photography had begun, the practical effects team made numerous models of the Alien as well as corpses of the Sulaco victims.

Small shots were created with the use of CGI such as the cracking alien head one the sprinklers cause thermal shock as well as the shadows cast by the rod puppet alien. Fincher wanted something different when it came to the Alien such as a beast rather than a humanoid which lead to thinner legs and removing the pipes around the spine.

The movie was released in the U.S. of May 22, 1992, debuting at number 2 in the box office just beaten by Lethal Weapon 3 with a mass gross of $23.1 million which rose to a total of$159 million of that year, leading it to be a flop in North America with a total of $55.4 million of its $50 million budget on a week’s basis.

Critical reception was given mixed reviews from critics who were disappointed and compared it negatively to the preceding films of the franchise; Rotten Tomatoes gave it a fully bad rating at 44% which is even worse than the fourth adaptation in the series with Resurrection standing at 54%.

You know it’s gotta be a bad one with this instalment is when the worst of the franchise has beaten it on a critical scale. Well that’s what I’m here for folks, so let’s attempt to dive back into the nightmares and see if there’s something good out of a bad situation.

This... regrettably is Alien 3...

 We start our movie back on the Sulaco as we see the residents from the last movie (Ripley, Newt, Hicks and Bishop are returning to safety from the Xenomorph threat to a more safer home only to be unaware that a Facehugger xenomorph has invaded the ship causing one of the residents to be infected, leading the ships computer to launch an escape pod containing the four of them into space.

The pod crash lands on Fiorina ‘Fury’161, a foundry facility as well as a penal colony, otherwise known as a Prison Planet, inhabited by male inmates who suffer from a genetic mutation which presents brutal antisocial behaviour including rape and murder. Fortunately Ellen is saved however for her colleagues are unfortunately unable to live another moment aside from Bishop who is deactivated due to the damage.

Ripley is taken into the infirmary unit by the Prisoners for examination and recovery as we see another living Facehugger reaches towards a dog during the recovery of the escape pod; there are quite a lot of prisoners in this movie so I’m going to look on IMDB to state the names and actors, I’m only going to place some but not all of them.

The Prison Warden, Harold Andrews (played by Brian Glover) informs the prisoners Dillon (played by Charles S. Dutton), Jonathan Clemens (played by Charles Dance), Assistant Warden Aaron (played by Ralph Brown), Morse (played by Danny Webb), David (played by the late Pete Postlethwaite), Junior (played by Holt McCallany) and Gregor (played by Peter Guinness) about the situation as well as stating that a rescue will be there within a week to remove her from the premises.

Wouldn’t it be a lot more easier to attempt to research the part of the ship that she was ejected from to find out more about her or the crew that followed her to begin with rather than just letting her recover in the Infirmary?

Another question would be reactivating Bishop in the first place to discover what caused the escape pod to land or to gain more information about where they came from or the company that he was made by?

Clemens states that she is unconscious due to the crash but will remain in the Infirmary wing until the rescue team arrives, Clemens returns to see if Ripley is still ok only for her to wake up and request were she is, Clemens also informs her that he is the medical officer at the facility due to it being a working prison.

He also informs Ripley what happened with the escape pod as well as the people who were travelling with her are unfortunately dead from the crash; aside from Ripley’s eagerness to leave, Clemens informs her of the facility that it used to be home of 5000 but reduced to 25 staff members due to accidents in work which is revealed to be a blast furnace as well as a mining facility that collects lead sheets for toxic waste.

They bring the wreckage in leading Ripley to request to see the bodies which is held over to the Morgue of the facility after she notices a burnt hole in Newt’s Cryo-tube. In the meantime another inmate, Murphy sees that his dog, Spike (same dog from earlier on) has strange marks over his head mostly from the Facehugger.

Clemens performs the Autopsy which Ripley cries at which is pretty convincing as Newt was like a daughter to her in the sequel, in belief that the Facehugger may have impregnated her with an Alien embryo. I have to admit it is a good suspenseful scene which relates to her beliefs only to be dismissed due to the fact that Newt was killed via drowning and embryo free.

Clemens and Ripley are interrupted however as Andrews arrives and attempts to sort the situation out along with his assistant Aaron, especially due to the fact that Clemens performed an autopsy without his consent, Clemens thinks of an idea with the help from Ripley to get the bodies cremated in case of an unlicensed virus which Andrews approves.

During the cremation, Spike (the dog) falls extremely ill leading to a new breed of Alien to burst out of its chest only to grow instantly into full size, killing the dog, and by god that look of the new Xenomorph looks completely horrendous; couldn’t they at least try to make it convincing? Ripley however has shaved her hair to mingle with the prisoners only for them to disown her due to the fact that she’s the only woman in the prison.

Clemens informs her about the facts that Dillon will remain leader of the group due to the fact that he is more of a spiritual leader rather than Andrews when it comes to Rescuing Ripley but she discovers that Clemens has a crush on her despite him being a convict. The Alien to make its way through the air shafts and brutally kills Murphy.

Clemens though is denied answers from Ripley’s true search over the bodies leading Clemens to be called away due to the current death of Murphy which brings the attention of Andrews; though Clemens finds something interesting as a vent is clearly burnt off near the scene of the death. Ripley on the other hand manages find the wreckage only to be questioned by Clemens about what happened about the burn.

Ripley informs him that she will tell him the truth as long as he finds something in use to look through a flight recorder which he recommends Bishop, who was tossed in the trash; Clemens then leaves to join the Warden in a discussion that Weyland-Yutani is looking for her and ordered the prison warden to keep her looked after.

Ripley on the other hand finds the wreckage where the prisoners are keeping Bishop only for several Prisoners to intervene by attempting to rape her, though this is stopped when Dillon stops them by hitting all of them with a crowbar; though the Alien on the other hand manages to kill 2 more of the prisoners but turns one of them (Golic) into a complete nervous wreck.

Ripley manages to activate Bishop back in the Infirmary where he (once again played by Lance Henriksen) informs her that Xenomorph Facehuggers were found on the ship before they left the planet, ok I have to admit, despite the look of the new dog-alien, the makeup effects they had for Bishop are surprisingly effective, creepy but effective.

Bishop requests her to take him offline which she complies with, only for them to be interrupted when Golic is found and brought into the Infirmary about what he saw that attacked him, which causes the warden to arrive again to question Ripley over her motives as well as the knowledge of the creature.

This review will continue in the near future as time restraints have caused some slight problems with the current schedule especially at the moment at hand, though aside from a separate review entirely underway this will conclude for next year unfortunately which will be interesting at that.

I hope you guys will understand, as always I’m Amateur Fan 2.27 and I’ll see you guys at the next review, Have a nice summer.

[mrdaps]

Today Marvel Studios released character posters for its upcoming film Ant-Man and the Wasp. The posters showcase six of the main characters that will be seen when the movie comes to theaters on July 6th. Take a look and then let us know in the comments what you think of them!

Ant-Man and the Wasp Description

From the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes “Ant Man and The Wasp,” a new chapter featuring heroes with the astonishing ability to shrink. In the aftermath of “Captain America: Civil War,” Scott Lang grapples with the consequences of his choices as both a Super Hero and a father. As he struggles to rebalance his home life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he’s confronted by Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym with an urgent new mission. Scott must once again put on the suit and learn to fight alongside The Wasp as the team works together to uncover secrets from the past. 

“Ant-Man and The Wasp” is directed by Peyton Reed and stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Peña, Walton Goggins, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Tip “T.I.” Harris, David Dastmalchian, Hannah John-Kamen, Abby Ryder-Fortson, Randall Park, with Michelle Pfeiffer, with Laurence Fishburne, and Michael Douglas.

Kevin Feige and Stephen Broussard are producing, with Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Charles Newirth and Stan Lee serving as executive producers. Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers, Paul Rudd & Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari wrote the screenplay.

Which character poster is your favorite?

Marvel Studios Share Ant-Man and the Wasp Character Photos Today Marvel Studios released character posters for its upcoming film Ant-Man and the Wasp. The posters showcase six of the main characters that will be seen when the movie comes to theaters on July 6th.

[recentnews18-blog]

New Post has been published on https://shovelnews.com/most-googled-2018-australia-were-a-stupid-country-junkee/

Most Googled 2018: Australia, We're A Stupid Country - Junkee

If, like us, you’re nearly exhausted by all the end of year lists and reviews from every single god damn app and internet site, fear not, as this latest one from Google is a little bit different.

Unlike Instagram’s for example, which focused on all the love spread across the world via the photo-based social media service, Google’s most searched trends for 2018 are not inspiring or heartwarming at all. They are in fact a snapshot of one of our nation’s foremost exports: stupidity.

2018 was a dumb as hell year in many ways and Australians are certainly not immune from the odd bout of idiocy (shout out to our politicians!) so whilst it shouldn’t be surprising that Aussies en masse googled “How to win Powerball” this year, it’s still mildly concerning.

As are “What is ball tampering” and “How to cook corn” to be honest, but nothing comes close to how gloriously embarrassing it is how many of you all Googled “What is ligma”.

LIGMA stands for Loose Internal Gene Mi-Asintits, FYI.

The aforementioned searches all rank in the top ten of their respective groupings, but in an overall sense, the biggest trends for Aussies in 2018 were a mix of sporting events, celebrity deaths and, of course, Meghan Markle.

Meghan is also responsible for the number one news-related search trend “Royal Wedding” with “Thai cave rescue” in second and the ultimately super spicy Wentworth by-election coming in third. Cop a look at those full lists below:

Overall

World Cup

Commonwealth Games

Meghan Markle

Avicii

Coinspot

Anthony Bourdain

US Open Tennis

Mac Miller

Bitcoin price

Black Panther

News events

Royal Wedding

Thai cave rescue

Wentworth by-election

My health record

Beaumont children

Hawaii volcano

California fires

Listeria

US midterm elections

Blood moon

As for individual celebs, oh look it’s Meghan Markle taking out top spot again alongside pop star Demi Lovato and dearly departed Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, no doubt due to the popularity of 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.

Specifically in regards to local “celebs” Barnaby Joyce’s year of stepping on rake after rake after rake was enough to catapult him to the number one most searched Aussie, with the triumvirate of evil completed with Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton in 2nd and 3rd.

Global figures

Meghan Markle

Demi Lovato

Freddie Mercury

Khloe Kardashian

Logan Paul

Tristan Thompson

Hailey Baldwin

Sylvester Stallone

Khabib

Travis Scott

Aussies

Barnaby Joyce

Scott Morrison

Peter Dutton

Billy Slater

Craig McLachlan

Vikki Campion

David Warner

Chopper Read

Nick Cummins

Andrew Gaff

Loss

Avicii

Anthony Bourdain

Mac Miller

xxxtentacion

Stan Lee

Kate Spade

Aretha Franklin

Burt Reynolds

Jessica Falkholt

Eurydice Dixon

Here’s the absolute best bit though mates, the thoroughly face-palm inducing “How to”s and “what is”s of Aussie Googlers. Unsurprisingly “How to opt out of my health record” was numero uno, after the disastrous rollout of the government’s online health data hub causing widespread privacy concerns.

Despite now generally being considered worthless and a huge mistake, Aussies galore were still keen to wrap their heads around the concept of bitcoin, with related searches featuring in a couple of the most popular queries. If you’re still curious on “How to buy bitcoin” here’s the proper answer: don’t.

Also, huge LOL to “why is my internet so slow” ranking near the top. Australia, Australia, this is you!

How to…?

How to opt out of my health record

How to watch World Cup in Australia

How to win Powerball

How to delete Instagram

Google Arts and Culture face match how to

How to buy bitcoin

How to lose weight fast

How to screenshot on iPhone X

How to delete Facebook

How to lose belly fat

What is…?

What is bitcoin

What is listeria

What is ligma

What is hazing

What is a mud room

What is the capital of California

What is open on Good Friday

What is Diwali

What is blockchain

What is ball tampering

Why is…?

Why is State of Origin on Sunday

Why is it called Good Friday

Why is Russia OAR

Why is Australia Day Jan 26

Why is Tim Cahill not playing tonight

Why is ANZAC Day important

Why is Australia Day celebrated

Why is my internet so slow

Why is Nick Cummins called the honey badger

Why is my poop green

Recipes

Keto recipes

Beef stroganoff recipes

Chicken curry recipes

Frittata recipes

Gnocchi recipes

Risotto recipes

Chicken soup recipes

Fried rice recipes

Omelette recipes

Beef stew recipes

“How to cook…?”

How to cook corned beef

How to cook eggplant

How to cook tofu

How to cook silverside

How to cook beetroot

How to cook rice in the microwave

How to cook corn

How to cook couscous

How to cook crayfish

How to cook barramundi

Well, there you go. Aussies had a very silly year. Thanks for being there for us Google!

Source: https://junkee.com/google-trends-2018/186754

[junker-town]

Here's everything athletes and teams are doing to help victims of Hurricane Harvey in Houston

Athletes are rising to the occasion in the wake of Hurricane Harvey’s devastation of Houston. The city’s emergency response has been overloaded and it’s difficult to get calls through, families remained trapped in their houses, and for others lucky enough to escape, they don’t know what their neighborhoods will look like when they’re able to return.

There are a great many charities you can support to help efforts in Houston. We’ve compiled a list of the major national and local organizations leading efforts. In addition, here are what athletes are doing in the area to assist.

Charities

J.J. Watt

It's extremely difficult to have to watch the events of Hurricane Harvey unfold on TV and not be able to get back to Houston to help with the recovery efforts. I've set up a fundraiser so that we can raise as much money as possible to help our communities and the families of our great city rebuild. Any donation that you can spare, no matter how large or small, no matter what city or state you live in, is greatly appreciated. We will come out of this stronger than ever. http://ift.tt/2wBnPGV #TexasForever

A post shared by JJ Watt (@justinjames99) on Aug 27, 2017 at 2:19pm PDT

The Texans defensive end began a page on YouCaring to raise money for the victims. He initially set a $500,000 goal, which was quickly eclipsed. At this time it has raised over $32 million, including a $100,000 donation from Watt himself, and a $50,000 from Chris Paul.

Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Struck also donated $1 million to Watt’s efforts to help Houston.

Broncos players and the Broncos organization

Houston native Emmanuel Sanders spearheaded a $87,500 donation from Broncos players, an amount that was matched by the team.

“We could not be more proud of Emmanuel Sanders and his teammates for stepping up and taking the initiative to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey,” Broncos President and CEO Joe Ellis said.

Texans owner Bob McNair and the NFL

The owner of the Houston Texans has pledged $1 million to assist relief efforts with a donation to the United Way of Greater Houston Flood Relief Fund. The NFL announced it would match McNair’s donation to assist.

Rams owner Stan Kroenke

Stan Kroenke and his family donated $1 million to the Red Cross for relief efforts.

"Our family’s thoughts are with all those affected by Hurricane Harvey,” Ann Walton Kroenke, Stan’s wife, said.

Mike Trout

The Angels All-Star is donating $27,000, based on his jersey number to relief efforts.

#HurricaneHarvey: https://t.co/gAUToFeaKU | @RedCross http://pic.twitter.com/tfurT627Zs

— Mike Trout (@MikeTrout) August 29, 2017

Houston Astros

The Astros have donated $4 million to efforts in the area. Owner Jim Crane released the following statement.

"We are committed to doing our part to provide aid and assistance to the thousands of Houston-area residents that are desperately in need right now," Crane stated. "We encourage others in our region and beyond to help out in any way that they can."

They have also partnered with MLB to donate all parking, concessions, and ticket revenue from this weekend’s three-game series against the Rangers to relief efforts.

Ezekiel Elliott

The Cowboys running back is challenging people to donate. He kicked things off with a $21,000 dollar donation, in recognition of his jersey number.

Hey Cowboys nation. No matter what team you’re rooting for, we’re all rooting for those affected by Hurricane Harvey. That’s why I’m donating $21,000 to The Salvation Army to support victims of this disaster. And I challenge my friends and all of Cowboys nation to join me in this fight. It doesn’t matter how much you can give, whether it’s $21, or $210, or $21,000 – 100% of all donations will go directly to food, shelter, and other relief efforts. And I’d like to personally challenge @_4dak , @dezbryant and @realdeal2_83 to join the fight by making a significant contribution at helpsalvationarmy.org. #harvey2017 #cowboys #cowboysnation #hurricaneharvey #harveyrelief #doingthemostgood #salvationarmy

A post shared by Ezekiel Elliott (@ezekielelliott) on Aug 28, 2017 at 4:10pm PDT

Money went to The Salvation Army, and he’s asking fans to take part by donating in variants of his number as well.

Houston Rockets

Rockets owner Leslie Alexander initially pledged $4 million to relief, matching the Astros’ donation — but upped that on Tuesday to $10 million. The team’s initial statement said:

"Out hearts are heavy seeing the devastation that so many of our friends, family and neighbors are experiencing," the Rockets said in a statement. "Leslie Alexander has contributed $4 million to Mayor Sylvester Turner's Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund in an effort to help Clutch City come back stronger than ever. Please stay safe, Houston."

Matt Carpenter

The Cardinals’ Matt Carpenter is pledging $10,000 for every home run he hits for the rest of the season, and will send it towards relief efforts in Houston.

From now till the rest of the season we will donate 10,000 dollars for every Homerun I hit to help aid the relief efforts in Houston

— Matt Carpenter (@MattCarp13) August 28, 2017

Scott Kazmir

Scott Kazmir, who currently plays for the Dodgers but was raised in Houston, is contributing to multiple organizations. Kazmir is donating $10k each to the Houston SPCA, the Coalition for Homeless, and the Houston Food Bank.

In addition, he is sending $100k to the Bayou City Fellowship.

The Rock

Dwayne Johnson took up Kevin Hart’s “Hurrican Harvey Challenge” by donating $25,000, with additional donations to come from Johnson’s different companies. He also sent a message to people displaced by the storm.

Stay strong Houston and hold onto faith. Me and my family know what you're going thru. We survived the eye of Andrew and became stronger - so will you. All my love and strength. * Link in my bio in you can donate a buck or two to our Houston families in need.

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Aug 28, 2017 at 4:27pm PDT

Leonard Fournette

The new Jacksonville Jaguars running back was 10 years old when Hurricane Katrina ripped through his home town of New Orleans. So he knows exactly what kind of devastation that can cause and donated $50,000 to the relief efforts.

Donating 50,000 to the people in Houston, y'all are in my prayers, we went through Katrina we know the feeling God bless.....

— 7⃣ Leonard Fournette (@_fournette) August 30, 2017

The NHL

The National Hockey League and their players’ association are donating $200,000 to the American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity. The NHL’s closest team, the Dallas Stars, play 240 miles away from Houston. The money donated will support relief efforts in Houston.

NHL and NHLPA donate $200,000 to Harvey flooding relief. Funds will be directed to @RedCross & @Habitat_org. https://t.co/7N87vyHaPI http://pic.twitter.com/Vzpjn3TDxN

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) August 30, 2017

Jay Bruce

Cleveland Indian Jay Bruce, a Beaumont native, and his wife Hannah are matching donations up to $100,000 towards Harvey relief through September 10th to help Southeast Texas communities.

So far, fans have contributed $18,000 to Cleveland Indians Charities which is all going towards hurricane-related aid in Texas through the same date in Texas. A quick look at Bruce’s social media reveals how important these efforts are for him.

An awesome, off-field in-game update: In the last 24 hours, we've raised $18K! Keep it going -- Jay is matching up to $100K! https://t.co/oNxkYmGjN5

— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) August 30, 2017

Zach Bogosian

The Buffalo Sabres defenseman is using his own charity, The Bogo Bunch Foundation, to raise money for the Houston Food Bank.

Sabres' Zach Bogosian and @TheBogoBunch create Go Fund Me page to raise money for Houston Food Bank. #HarveyRelief https://t.co/yFNDm4eTly

— John Vogl (@BuffNewsVogl) August 31, 2017

Direct assistance.

Clint Capela

The Rockets forward was trying to use his social media following to directly link trapped people in need of aid with first responders. Many in Houston reported difficulty getting calls through jammed 911 lines, so Capela asked for people trapped in the area to tweet at him, which he would then amplify.

Tweet me and I'll share as many emergency situations as I can. Stay safe Houston.

— Clint Capela (@CapelaClint) August 27, 2017

Capela has been tirelessly re-tweeting messages, pulling calls of distress from Facebook and trying to link people up with responders. In addition, he’s received numerous volunteers with boats who are willing to help rescue stranded families, and he is amplifying their messages too.

Thanks for your help! Rescue trucks have reached my family. http://pic.twitter.com/nVJTsxZ90U

— cindy romano (@sin_sindy) August 28, 2017

Gerald Green

Green put out the call on Monday that he needed assistance. The NBA player and Houston native was driving around the area in his truck, and asked for anyone with a boat to contact him so they could assist families stranded.

Get at me ASAP!

A post shared by Gerald Green (@g.green14) on Aug 28, 2017 at 9:42am PDT

Since this post there have not been any updates as to whether Green was successful.

The Tampa Bay Rays

The Astros and Rangers will play their three-game series this week in St. Petersburg at Tropicana Field instead of in Houston. The Rays decided to do more than just allow the two Texas teams to use their facilities:

All ticket, concessions and parking revenues from this three-game series are being donated to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) August 29, 2017

Kelvin Sampson and Todd Whitting

University of Houston men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson challenged the basketball community to pitch in and donate shirts and shoes to those in need. This week starts school for many affected communities and his call for donations aims to provide clothing for those who lost everything in the floods.

Offers and shipments are already rolling in, and baseball coach Todd Whitting put out the same challenge to the collegiate baseball community as well.

A request to our baseball community around the country. #HoustonStrong http://pic.twitter.com/Td4Veamyhr

— Todd Whitting (@toddwhitting) August 29, 2017

Whitting’s thread has already elicited many replies from teams getting involved.

Max Scherzer

Scherzer and his wife Erica are helping in a way that doesn’t seem like an obvious need at first. Some animals that have been rescued from the Houston area are being relocated to Washington D.C. and the Humane Rescue Alliance needs to make room for the incoming rescues.

To achieve their goal of making space, they are asking people to come adopt the current animals living at the shelters. In order to make this as easy as possible for anyone who is thinking about adopting, the Scherzers are covering all adoption fees until the end of the weekend.

With 100 animals currently up for adoption, the total amount covered could easily reach $2-3,000.

If you are able to help please consider donating to one of these charities who are assisting in the cleanup of Houston.

[writemarcus]

Heartbeat Opera Announces The 2021-2022 Season

August 10, 2021 

Maria A. Rodriguez

On Heartbeat Opera Announces The 2021-2022 Season

HEARTBEAT OPERA will return to the stage for its eighth season this year. Heartbeat’s 2021-22 season kicks off in September with a free outdoor screening of BREATHING FREE, their visual album that connects Beethoven’s Fidelio with the work of black composers and lyricists such as Harry T. Burleigh, Langston Hughes and Anthony Davis to manifest a dream of justice, fairness and free breathing. BREATHING FREE builds on Heartbeat’s work in 2018 with incarcerated singers and prison choirs, and continues its exploration of race and the American prison system. Then in December, MESSY MESSIAH, Heartbeat’s beloved annual drag extravaganza, returns after six years of Halloween shenanigans for a new Christmas special. Looking ahead to winter 2022, Heartbeat plans to make its very first tour, reviving its production of FIDELIO, which the New York Times’ Joshua Barone called “urgent, powerful and poignant”, for seven performances in four cities, kick off at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Heartbeat will later present its pilot production of projects NO EVIL, QUANDO, ossia Project “0”, which is co-produced with Long Beach Opera and reshapes the music of Verdi’s operas La Traviata and Don Carlo and Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice in 25 short minutes. footage. Heartbeat also continues to work on its very first commission, THE EXTINCTIONIST, an opera by Heartbeat musical co-director Daniel Schlosberg, librettist Amanda Quaid and Heartbeat co-founder and resident director Louisa Proske. The Extinctionist is fighting climate catastrophe and one woman’s unorthodox choice, with the aim of presenting its world premiere in the winter of 2023.

At the helm are Artistic Director Ethan Heard, Associate Artistic Director Derrell Acon, Musical Co-Directors Jacob Ashworth and Daniel Schlosberg, and General Manager Annie Middleton. Heartbeat Opera was founded in 2014 and has since grown from an independent “start-up” to an internationally renowned player, always hailed as a leader in visioning the future of opera.

The 2021-22 season

BREATHING FREE, a visual album

September 18 at Pier 63, Hudson River Park Trust At dusk A free outdoor screening with live performances (Next additional screenings to be determined)

Focus on empowering black people in the arts With excerpts from Beethoven’s Fidelio, Negro Spirituals and songs by Harry T. Burleigh, Florence Price, Langston Hughes, Anthony Davis, Thulani Davis

Director: Ethan Heard Director: Anaiis Cisco Creative producer: Ras Dia Musical co-directors: Jacob Ashworth & Daniel Schlosberg Director of the movement: Emma Jaster

Watch the trailer without breathing

Nominated for the 2021 Drama League Award for Outstanding Digital Concert Production

In 2018, Heartbeat collaborated with 100 singers incarcerated in six prison choirs to create a contemporary American Fidelio told through the lens of Black Lives Matter. In 2020 – the year of George Floyd’s murder, a pandemic ravaging our prison population, and the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth – they organized a cycle of songs, animated by live music videos, mingling excerpts from Fidelio with Negro Spirituals and songs from Black Composers and Lyricists, which together manifest a dream of justice, fairness … and free breathing.

Jamilyn Manning-White in DRAGUS MAXIMUS, photo by Andrew Boyle

MESSIAH DISORDER

December 16 at 8 p.m. and December 17 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. roulette in Brooklyn

Directed by Ethan Heard Music conducted by Jacob Ashworth Arranged by Daniel Schlosberg

Watch WNET’s ALL ARTS feature on Heartbeat’s Drag Extravagances

Heartbeat’s beloved annual drag opera extravaganza returns in all its glory this December. Over the past seven years, Heartbeat has presented six fabulous extravagances in Brooklyn venues: Hot Mama: Singing Gays Saving Gaia; Dragus Maximus: a homosexual opera odyssey; Everyone is a drag! Shakespeare in love … with opera; Queens of the Night: Mozart in Space; Miss Handel; and Purcell’s Fairy Queen. These interdisciplinary celebrations playfully blend opera classics with pop culture and drag to create an otherworldly experience that encourages audience members to embrace opera in a new way.

This year the show moves to December, just in time for Christmas. With familiar tunes from Handel, Tchaikovsky, Berlin and many more, this naughty show celebrates the holidays with wit and warmth. Expect tradition … with a touch of peppermint.

Kelly Griffin in FIDELIO, photo by Russ Rowland

FIDELIO

Heartbeat’s First Tour

February 10, 12 and 14, 2022 at the Met Live Arts, New York City February 19 at the Mondavi Center, UC Davis, California February 22 at the Scottsdale Performing Arts Center, Arizona February 26 and 27 at the Broad Stage, Santa Monica, California

Music by Ludwig van Beethoven Original libretto by Joseph Sonnleithner & Georg Friedrich Sonnleithner Adapted and directed by Ethan Heard Arrangements and music conducted by Daniel Schlosberg New dialogue in English co-written by Marcus Scott and Ethan Heard With Derrell Acon (Roc), Curtis Bannister (Stan), Kelly Griffin (Leah), Victoria Lawal (Marcy), Tim Mix (Pizarro) and more than 100 singers imprisoned in six prison choirs

Heartbeat planned to run its Fidelio in 2020, on the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. Then the pandemic struck, particularly affecting the incarcerated and forcing them to postpone the tour. Then George Floyd was assassinated, triggering a much needed racial calculation. Now, with humility and a renewed sense of purpose, Heartbeat has the opportunity to bring the tour back and even expand it. The story of their Fidelio is more urgent and current than ever:

A black activist is wrongly imprisoned. His wife, Leah, disguises herself to infiltrate the system and free it. But when injustice reigns, a woman’s courage may not be enough to save her love. Featuring the voices of imprisoned people, this daring adaptation pits corruption against courage, hatred against hope.

Heartbeat is excited to continue their work on this Fidelio, updating the booklet for our current moment, deepening the company’s commitment to anti-racism in everything it does, collaborating more with its prison choir partners, sharing the production and sparking important conversations. This tour is Heartbeat’s biggest and most ambitious endeavor to date. They have the opportunity to reach thousands of new audience members, including hundreds of young people, in four cities across the country.

QUANDO, ossia Project “0”

In-person screenings with live performances in New York and Long Beach, April 2022 A co-production with Long Beach Opera The pilot production of NO EVIL Projects

Creative produced by Derrell Acon Music conducted and arranged by Daniel Schlosberg In-person screenings with live performances in New York and Long Beach in April 2022 (date to be confirmed)

Some of the most beautiful and famous music in the opera canon becomes the landscape for this fierce social satire of sex, activism, and everyday performance. Music from Gluck’s Verdi La Traviata and Don Carlo and Orfeo ed Euridice operas is repurposed and transformed into a 25-minute short film that follows a young couple with starry eyes as their night on the town unfolds in a surreal whirlwind of decadence , intrigue and ultimately, a vengeful justice.

The short, a co-production with Long Beach Opera and produced by Heartbeat’s new Associate Artistic Director, Derrell Acon, will be screened as is, followed by a second screening featuring live songwriters disrupting and actively re-enacting the music. of the score for a unique theatrical experience. No two performances will be the same, as the ending will change with each iteration of the live performances, and audiences will be challenged to reexamine their perception of art and its role in transforming society.

NO EVIL is an initiative to create a self-replenishing seed fund for new opera projects by the creators of BIPOC (black, indigenous and other people of color). Acon is in conversation with OPERA America, the Sphinx Foundation, and other industry colleagues about the full structure of NO EVIL Projects, which is slated to launch in 2022.

Acon states, “As the Equity in the Arts Specialist for the OPERA America New Works Forum, I have had the opportunity to facilitate the adjudication committees of all BIPOCs for the award, and have was deeply impressed by the nuance of perspective and intentionality centered in these discussions. I am convinced that the financial barriers faced by marginalized creators in the field require even more attention and action – and, frankly, MONEY! “

THE EXTINCTIONIST

A new opera in one act

Music by Daniel Schlosberg Libretto by Amanda Quaid, after her play Directed, designed and developed by Louisa Proske Music conducted by Jacob Ashworth

World premiere production coming in winter 2023

In the 2020-21 season, Heartbeat Opera commissioned its very first opera, The Extinctionist, a one-act work that deals with the catastrophic effects of climate change and a woman’s unorthodox choice to sterilize to save the planet. and become the very first “Fire extinguisher.” Dark comedy turns a woman’s body into a battleground of our political anxieties, our conflicting desires, and our individual responsibility.

Last May, The Exctintionist was featured in The New York Times, which chronicled Heartbeat’s long-standing commitment to reinventing classic works and its further expansion in commissioning. A semi-staged production of the opera premiered in May 2021 at PS21 in Chatham, New York, and the world premiere is slated for winter 2023.

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New Post has been published on https://shovelnews.com/hey-stupid-yeah-you-across-the-dutch-kiwi-scribe-lays-in-boot/

Hey stupid! Yeah, you across the dutch – Kiwi scribe lays in boot

Rattue goes on to list the latest salary cap scandal in the NRL – the 90th by his count, with no sign of abating.

Fair call? Chris Rattue sledged Michael Cheika, the cricket team and Nick Kyrgios among others.

Photo: Rugby.com.au, AAP, EPA

He looks at our erstwhile passions of summer: “The nation which produced legendary and respected tennis icons such as Rod Laver, Yvonne Goolagong and Margaret Court now comes up with knuckleheads like Nick Kyrgios and Bernard ‘the Tanker’ Tomic.”

Enough, already?

No, Chris had barely cleared his throat.

“As for cricket, there has never been a sadder more pathetic episode in sport than the sandpaper scandal in South Africa, the nadir for a team which had spun out of control on anger and arrogance.”

Perhaps, he might be kinder to the Wallabies?

Fault: Bernard Tomic is an enigma.

Photo: AP

“As for rugby . . . sophisticated, clever, that’s how the best of Australian rugby used to be. There were elegant leaders like John Eales and Rod Macqueen, and never-to-be-forgotten players such as David ‘Campo’ Campese, Mark Ella, Stephen Larkham and many more . . . What have we got now? Whinging Michael Cheika and a team which doesn’t know what it is about.”

He finishes: “Hey, if the once great Australian sports nation is determined to be a sporting laughing stock, it’s a free world.”

Too harsh? Too unbalanced? Too brutal?

Nuh.

Too shay.

But hey, at least we’re light years ahead of those Kiwis in politics, and are not infected by the same stupidity there.

Oh, wait!

Hopping to it

Good around the house: John Hopoate.

Photo: Fox Sports

As you will see in the quotes section, we have it on the sincere authority of Will Hopoate that his father John has another side: “If people saw him at home, they’d see mum is the real boss, she’s got him under the whip, vacuuming and doing the dishes.”

As one who’s had my fair share of goes at Hopoate Snr over the years, I am glad to hear it. In similar spirit, as one who has criticised Josh Dugan many times, and those who only go to children’s hospitals as the cameras roll, a reader sent me a story this week that showed another side.

It concerned his eleven year-old grandson Gabe Smith, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour and admitted to the Randwick Children’s Hospital, where Dugan came across him . . . and held on, going to see him many times thereafter, through all his many treatments and even into palliative care at Manly’s Bear Cottage, where he would stay for four hours at a time.

For yes, young Gabe tragically didn’t make it, and died in July. Dugan and his girlfriend attended the funeral at the Avoca Beach Surf Club and stayed for the wake.

So, there you go. Just as I struggle to put the public Hopoate I know of with the private figure described by his son, I can’t quite fathom that the Dugan described above is the troubled, swaggering bruiser we know – but accept that it is.

Still, if it turns out that Greg Norman has a humble side, that Shane Warne actually delights in Dosteovsky, and Nick Kyrgios is releasing a motivational lecture , I’ll give up!

Fat chance

Très drôle, as we say in the classics. The 53-year-old pro golfer from Michigan, Scott Parel, see, was asked at the end of the second round of the PGA senior tournament what he thought of his chances of winning.

“I think I have two chances – slim and none. And I think I just saw Slim heading out of town.”

It might be straining the metaphor a little, but Slim came back and tucked into the buffet something fierce, because he soon became Huge, and Parel shot 63 on the final round to win the whole thing.

Lunch date

As mentioned, this year’s Cauliflower Club lunch is at the Hyatt Regency on Sussex St on October 12, with special guests Wally Lewis, Michael O’Connor and Ricky Stuart on deck, and you can book at www.cauliflowerclub.org.au.

This week though, our Chair, John Fordham, secured a very interesting auction prize: a big lunch with all of Bob Dwyer, Alan Jones and Rod Macqueen.

Father’s Day

Reluctantly, I must accept that there is some chance that, for Father’s Day, some of you won’t be buying or getting my own latest book, Monash’s Masterpiece, the 93 Minutes That Changed the World. In that case (sniff), allow me to recommend Greg Growden’s The Wallabies At War, which looks at the stunning service of many Wallabies from the Boer War onwards, or Michael Visontay’s Beyond the Stereotype: A Celebration Of Jews In Australian Sport.

Both are, as you’d expect from two long-time Herald scribes, exceptionally well-written and chokka with good yarns.

In Growden’s book, my favourite is about the great Stan Bisset – a man I was proud to call a friend – who was decorated for his bravery on the Kokoda Track where, during the Battle of Isurava, his brother Butch was riddled with machine gun bullets. Stan carried Butch to a clearing, where he held his hand through the night, singing him songs from the old days, till he died just before dawn. Vale, great men.

Steve who?

Take a hike: All Blacks coach Steve Hansen.

Photo: AAP

Meantime?

Meantime, reader Michael Milgate reports that when about to head off on a hike along New Zealand’s spectacular Milford Track with his daughter last year, they were encouraged to have dinner the night before with other hikers. As dinner is being served, his daughter finds herself in the company of a group of charming strangers, one of whom is notably robust, resplendent in a black tracksuit, introduced as “Steve” but addressed by his companions as “Coach”.

“And what do you coach?”

“Rugby,” he replies.

“Oh, and is it a local team?”

“Have you heard of the All Blacks?”

Oh . . . pass the bread?

Short and sweet

The way forward for the Wallabies? Fitzphile Robert King has the answer! “In the same way T20 has rocked the cricket world,” he writes, “let’s push for a shorter version of the Bledisloe Cup. We will play the first 35 mins only, two-man lineouts and no scrums. I understand Lord Bledisloe died in 1958 so he can’t object.” That works!

What They Said

Lovely writing from Matthew Johns on the early days of Johnathan Thurston: “He first came to the Bulldogs in the mid-2000s and he looked like a rabbit trying to find a hole in a barbwire fence. He was a ducker and a darter . . .”

When ESPN commentator Brad Gilbert asked Nick Kygrios after the first round if all his carry-on was to get himself going, Kyrgios replied: “Not really. It keeps me relaxed.”

Tennis umpire Mo Lahyani to Nick Kyrgios during a break in the second round of the US Open, asks him to carry on with more purpose:

“I want to help you. I want to help you. I’ve seen your matches: you’re great for tennis. Nick, I know this is not you.” Kyrgios won nineteen of the next 25 games to win the match. There was hell to pay.

Helpng hand: Mo Lahyani and Nick Krygios. Illustration: John Shakespeare

Will Hopoate on his dad: “For most of my life I’ve seen the John Hopoate off the field, and that’s the man I respect and love as a father. The bloke you see on the field and off the field are two different blokes. If people saw him at home, they’d see mum is the real boss, she’s got him under the whip, vacuuming and doing the dishes.”

Venus Williams laughs at the prospect of playing her sister, Serena, in the American Open: “The last time we played, in Australia, it was two against one. At least this time it’s fair.” On that occasion, at the 2017 Australian Open, Serena was pregnant.

Barry Hall: “I got no income, and there’s no real light at the end of the tunnel of when that will change or when that will be. So it’s a big cock-up.”

Collingwood President Eddie McGuire on another Pies player testing positive: “The last person to find out anything to do with drugs is the club itself. It’s an AFL issue. They have control of everything that goes, as far as the testing is concerned. In fact, as the president of the club I’m not even allowed to ask about these situations.”

Carlton coach Brendon Bolton on the upside of having won two games for twenty losses this season: “In some time we’ll look back and say this time paid us back.” Sure you will, Coach.

Wayne Bennett following the Roosters game: “I could make a headline easily, but I won’t tonight. I’ll leave you with this guys, you’re all journalists here, you see what I see, why don’t you write the stories?”

Eels coach Brad Arthur on the wooden spoon, after his side lost 44-6 to the Cowboys last Friday: “At the end of the day, I’m in charge. Someone has got to claim responsibility, that’s me. I feel a sense that I’ve let people down. It’s just embarrassing. I have to face up to it, I can’t run and hide from it.” Coach? Look to the blokes laughing and joking within seconds of being on the wrong end of a 40-point drubbing – and wipe them. Start with Jarryd Hayne, who was doing precisely that.

Gus Gould: “Sunday afternoon at Jubilee Oval. One of the great pleasures of life.” Andrew Johns: “Gus, you’ve gotta get out more.”

Team of the Week

Fond farewell: Thurston waves goodbye to the Cowboys home crowd last week.

Photo: AAP

Johnathan Thurston Plays the final match of his extraordinary 17-year career tonight, against the Gold Coast Titans.

Richmond and Hawthorn How very odd. Between them they have won 24 Premiership flags and yet next Thursday, for the first time, they contest a finals match.

Argentina Pumas Snapped an 11-match losing streak in the Rugby Championship by beating South Africa.

Sunshine Coast Lightning Gone back to back to claim their second Super Netball title. So I suppose it does strike twice!

The second annual Chappell Foundation Golf Day To raise money for the homeless, it will be held on Tuesday September 11 at the spectacular NSW Golf Club, La Perouse.

Italy Has just banned all advertising for gambling, most particularly including sponsorships of sporting teams. Watch this space!

Caloundra Won their first rugby grand final since their foundation in 1982, beating Noosa.

Twitter: @Peter_Fitz

Peter FitzSimons is a Herald journalist, columnist and author, based in Sydney. He is also a former Wallabies player.

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Our new podcast series from the team behind Phoebe’s Fall

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Source: https://www.smh.com.au/sport/hey-stupid-yeah-you-across-the-dutch-20180831-p500zm.html

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Here's everything athletes and teams are doing to help victims of Hurricane Harvey in Houston

Athletes are rising to the occasion in the wake of Hurricane Harvey’s devastation of Houston. The city’s emergency response has been overloaded and it’s difficult to get calls through, families remained trapped in their houses, and for others lucky enough to escape, they don’t know what their neighborhoods will look like when they’re able to return.

There are a great many charities you can support to help efforts in Houston. We’ve compiled a list of the major national and local organizations leading efforts. In addition, here are what athletes are doing in the area to assist.

Charities

J.J. Watt

It's extremely difficult to have to watch the events of Hurricane Harvey unfold on TV and not be able to get back to Houston to help with the recovery efforts. I've set up a fundraiser so that we can raise as much money as possible to help our communities and the families of our great city rebuild. Any donation that you can spare, no matter how large or small, no matter what city or state you live in, is greatly appreciated. We will come out of this stronger than ever. http://ift.tt/2wBnPGV #TexasForever

A post shared by JJ Watt (@justinjames99) on Aug 27, 2017 at 2:19pm PDT

The Texans defensive end began a page on YouCaring to raise money for the victims. He initially set a $500,000 goal, which was quickly eclipsed. At this time it has raised over $27 million, including a $100,000 donation from Watt himself, and a $50,000 from Chris Paul.

Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Struck also donated $1 million to Watt’s efforts to help Houston.

Texans owner Bob McNair and the NFL.

The owner of the Houston Texans has pledged $1 million to assist relief efforts with a donation to the United Way of Greater Houston Flood Relief Fund. The NFL announced it would match McNair’s donation to assist.

Rams owner Stan Kroenke

Kroenke also donated $1 million, to the Red Cross:

The #Rams announce that the Kroenke family will donate $1 million to Red Cross relief efforts in Houston.

— Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) September 6, 2017

Mike Trout

The Angels All-Star is donating $27,000, based on his jersey number to relief efforts.

#HurricaneHarvey: https://t.co/gAUToFeaKU | @RedCross http://pic.twitter.com/tfurT627Zs

— Mike Trout (@MikeTrout) August 29, 2017

Houston Astros

The Astros have donated $4 million to efforts in the area. Owner Jim Crane released the following statement.

"We are committed to doing our part to provide aid and assistance to the thousands of Houston-area residents that are desperately in need right now," Crane stated. "We encourage others in our region and beyond to help out in any way that they can."

They have also partnered with MLB to donate all parking, concessions, and ticket revenue from this weekend’s three-game series against the Rangers to relief efforts.

Ezekiel Elliott

The Cowboys running back is challenging people to donate. He kicked things off with a $21,000 dollar donation, in recognition of his jersey number.

Hey Cowboys nation. No matter what team you’re rooting for, we’re all rooting for those affected by Hurricane Harvey. That’s why I’m donating $21,000 to The Salvation Army to support victims of this disaster. And I challenge my friends and all of Cowboys nation to join me in this fight. It doesn’t matter how much you can give, whether it’s $21, or $210, or $21,000 – 100% of all donations will go directly to food, shelter, and other relief efforts. And I’d like to personally challenge @_4dak , @dezbryant and @realdeal2_83 to join the fight by making a significant contribution at helpsalvationarmy.org. #harvey2017 #cowboys #cowboysnation #hurricaneharvey #harveyrelief #doingthemostgood #salvationarmy

A post shared by Ezekiel Elliott (@ezekielelliott) on Aug 28, 2017 at 4:10pm PDT

Money went to The Salvation Army, and he’s asking fans to take part by donating in variants of his number as well.

Houston Rockets

Rockets owner Leslie Alexander initially pledged $4 million to relief, matching the Astros’ donation — but upped that on Tuesday to $10 million. The team’s initial statement said:

"Out hearts are heavy seeing the devastation that so many of our friends, family and neighbors are experiencing," the Rockets said in a statement. "Leslie Alexander has contributed $4 million to Mayor Sylvester Turner's Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund in an effort to help Clutch City come back stronger than ever. Please stay safe, Houston."

Matt Carpenter

The Cardinals’ Matt Carpenter is pledging $10,000 for every home run he hits for the rest of the season, and will send it towards relief efforts in Houston.

From now till the rest of the season we will donate 10,000 dollars for every Homerun I hit to help aid the relief efforts in Houston

— Matt Carpenter (@MattCarp13) August 28, 2017

Scott Kazmir

Scott Kazmir, who currently plays for the Dodgers but was raised in Houston, is contributing to multiple organizations. Kazmir is donating $10k each to the Houston SPCA, the Coalition for Homeless, and the Houston Food Bank.

In addition, he is sending $100k to the Bayou City Fellowship.

The Rock

Dwayne Johnson took up Kevin Hart’s “Hurrican Harvey Challenge” by donating $25,000, with additional donations to come from Johnson’s different companies. He also sent a message to people displaced by the storm.

Stay strong Houston and hold onto faith. Me and my family know what you're going thru. We survived the eye of Andrew and became stronger - so will you. All my love and strength. * Link in my bio in you can donate a buck or two to our Houston families in need.

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Aug 28, 2017 at 4:27pm PDT

Leonard Fournette

The new Jacksonville Jaguars running back was 10 years old when Hurricane Katrina ripped through his home town of New Orleans. So he knows exactly what kind of devastation that can cause and donated $50,000 to the relief efforts.

Donating 50,000 to the people in Houston, y'all are in my prayers, we went through Katrina we know the feeling God bless.....

— 7⃣ Leonard Fournette (@_fournette) August 30, 2017

The NHL

The National Hockey League and their players’ association are donating $200,000 to the American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity. The NHL’s closest team, the Dallas Stars, play 240 miles away from Houston. The money donated will support relief efforts in Houston.

NHL and NHLPA donate $200,000 to Harvey flooding relief. Funds will be directed to @RedCross & @Habitat_org. https://t.co/7N87vyHaPI http://pic.twitter.com/Vzpjn3TDxN

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) August 30, 2017

Jay Bruce

Cleveland Indian Jay Bruce, a Beaumont native, and his wife Hannah are matching donations up to $100,000 towards Harvey relief through September 10th to help Southeast Texas communities.

So far, fans have contributed $18,000 to Cleveland Indians Charities which is all going towards hurricane-related aid in Texas through the same date in Texas. A quick look at Bruce’s social media reveals how important these efforts are for him.

An awesome, off-field in-game update: In the last 24 hours, we've raised $18K! Keep it going -- Jay is matching up to $100K! https://t.co/oNxkYmGjN5

— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) August 30, 2017

Zach Bogosian

The Buffalo Sabres defenseman is using his own charity, The Bogo Bunch Foundation, to raise money for the Houston Food Bank.

Sabres' Zach Bogosian and @TheBogoBunch create Go Fund Me page to raise money for Houston Food Bank. #HarveyRelief https://t.co/yFNDm4eTly

— John Vogl (@BuffNewsVogl) August 31, 2017

Direct assistance.

Clint Capela

The Rockets forward was trying to use his social media following to directly link trapped people in need of aid with first responders. Many in Houston reported difficulty getting calls through jammed 911 lines, so Capela asked for people trapped in the area to tweet at him, which he would then amplify.

Tweet me and I'll share as many emergency situations as I can. Stay safe Houston.

— Clint Capela (@CapelaClint) August 27, 2017

Capela has been tirelessly re-tweeting messages, pulling calls of distress from Facebook and trying to link people up with responders. In addition, he’s received numerous volunteers with boats who are willing to help rescue stranded families, and he is amplifying their messages too.

Thanks for your help! Rescue trucks have reached my family. http://pic.twitter.com/nVJTsxZ90U

— cindy romano (@sin_sindy) August 28, 2017

Gerald Green

Green put out the call on Monday that he needed assistance. The NBA player and Houston native was driving around the area in his truck, and asked for anyone with a boat to contact him so they could assist families stranded.

Get at me ASAP!

A post shared by Gerald Green (@g.green14) on Aug 28, 2017 at 9:42am PDT

Since this post there have not been any updates as to whether Green was successful.

The Tampa Bay Rays

The Astros and Rangers will play their three-game series this week in St. Petersburg at Tropicana Field instead of in Houston. The Rays decided to do more than just allow the two Texas teams to use their facilities:

All ticket, concessions and parking revenues from this three-game series are being donated to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) August 29, 2017

Kelvin Sampson and Todd Whitting

University of Houston men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson challenged the basketball community to pitch in and donate shirts and shoes to those in need. This week starts school for many affected communities and his call for donations aims to provide clothing for those who lost everything in the floods.

Offers and shipments are already rolling in, and baseball coach Todd Whitting put out the same challenge to the collegiate baseball community as well.

A request to our baseball community around the country. #HoustonStrong http://pic.twitter.com/Td4Veamyhr

— Todd Whitting (@toddwhitting) August 29, 2017

Whitting’s thread has already elicited many replies from teams getting involved.

Max Scherzer

Scherzer and his wife Erica are helping in a way that doesn’t seem like an obvious need at first. Some animals that have been rescued from the Houston area are being relocated to Washington D.C. and the Humane Rescue Alliance needs to make room for the incoming rescues.

To achieve their goal of making space, they are asking people to come adopt the current animals living at the shelters. In order to make this as easy as possible for anyone who is thinking about adopting, the Scherzers are covering all adoption fees until the end of the weekend.

With 100 animals currently up for adoption, the total amount covered could easily reach $2-3,000.

If you are able to help please consider donating to one of these charities who are assisting in the cleanup of Houston.