#women on the verge of a nervous breakdown icons

[editfandom]

women on the verge of a nervous breakdown icons.

[jeannemoreau]

JULIETA SERRANO in — Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (1988) dir. Pedro Almodóvar

[uwuwriting]

Maybe pregnant hcs for Todoroki, Iida, Shinsou and Amajiki???💓💓💓💓💓

-Ohoho!!!! This right here just melts my hurt. Even thinking about it makes me weak.Plus a little heads up, everyone is having daughters cause I’m weak to the knees with the thought of these four and their babygirls so be prepared. Hope I don’t disappoint.💖💖💖

*All characters are aged up so around the ages of 20-25 and up*

Todoroki Shouto

-You and Shouto have been together since your second year in UA.

-You got married when you both got well acquainted with the hero life and now live a happy , yet busy, life in an apartment near his mom’s house. 

-We know that this boy would want his family to be close to him and the fact that you get along with everyone fills his heart with so much love. 

-You two never really talked about children.

-Maybe a few suggestions of having a child in the future but nothing serious.

-Que the morning sickness. 

-Shouto was really worried about you, I mean look at you.

-You’re emptying your guts in the toilet every single morning. 

-You can’t eat most foods that you used to like and have a weird craving for tuna yogurt?!

-He doesn’t want to leave the house, he even convinced you to take some days off and try to relax.

-Give your body rest.

-He promised to get some days off himself to take care of you.

-You had your suspicions, tbh.

-You just didn’t tell him.

-Whether that was to not get his hopes up or to post pone the heartbreak you didn’t really know.

-So what if you were mildly panicking over the fact that the 5 pregnancy tests you just took were all positive. 

-It was the first day of your mini ‘vacation’ and thankfully Shouto had been called in today.

-Because you’re panicking and legit losing your shit over this, you call....Rei.

-Okay maybe it wasn’t the best course of action considering you were on the verge of cardiac arrest, but what can you do.

-You asked her if she was home and if you could stop by.

-Of course she said yes, delighted to see you and mentioned that Fuyumi was also going to stop by in around an hour.

-You made your way to her house, arriving just as Fuyumi was pulling into the drive way.

-After greeting each other and going inside, you took your seats in the living room and waited for Rei to make some tea.

-Fuyumi was going on and on about what the kids at the kindergarten were doing and how cute some of them were being. 

-Neither of the Todoroki women had missed your puffy eyes or how your smile would constantly waver, but they decided to let you tell them on your own accord. 

-Once Rei joined you in the living room, they both turned to you.

- “So how have you been Y/n, dear?” Rei said watching you really closely. 

-You looked down, feeling hot tears starting to form in your eyes and your throat tightening painfully. 

-Fuyumi moved closer to you while Rei draped an arm around your shoulders which were shacking at the moment. 

- “I-I’m p-pregnant.” it was barely a whisper, but they heard it alright.

-Mom mode activated 2x.

-They reassured you that everything was going to be fine and how lucky you are.

-They repeatedly said how excited Shouto will be and what of a push over of a dad he would become.

-After 4 long hours of baby talk, you returned home, collapsing on the sofa before passing out for a good 3 hour nap.

-When you woke up, Shouto was home and sitting next to you weaving his fingers absentmindedly through your hair. 

- “Hey there sleepyhead.”

-How could his voice be so soft!?!?

-You buried your face into the blanket, which really confused him, I mean...what did he do?

- “We have a problem...” pause....awkward silence.... “I’m pregnant.”

-*Windows noises*

-After the mild stroke, he lifted you up so you were looking at him and just stared at you. 

-Those seconds that he just looked at you felt like eternity.  

-The torture ended however, when he lowered his head to your stomach and lifting your shirt, placed a small kiss right under your belly button.

- “Hey there, snowflake. Nice to meet you.”

-And with that, 9 exhausting months started full of mood swings, weird cravings, back rubs and a never ending list of baby names.

-You two learned you were having twins on your fifth appointment, but you decided to keep the gender a surprise. 

-On a cold January night your two girls were brought into the world and it was one of the few times you had seen Endeavour and Natsuo in the same room bawling their eyes out. 

-Your white haired baby was named Rei *after her grandmother* while your mixed red and h/c babygirl Ren. 

-When Shouto held them for the first time, you thought he was going to have a mental breakdown.

-He’s a total push over and your girls are daddy’s girls to the core.

-He’s the best dad they could ask for.

Iida Tenya

-You and Tenya have been married for 6 years now and have been trying endlessly for a baby.

-You both agreed that you were ready for the responsibility and that having a little Tenya running around the house sounded like a great idea.

-Saying that you were exhausted form the attempts was an understatement.

-Tenya had incredible stamina and even more libido, so you can safely assume that during the week long process of baby making you couldn’t walk straight.

-However, your little shenanigans stopped when your doctor delivered you the news.

-You had been hit by a blood related quirk while dealing with a villain and had to get a check up afterwards.

-You were given a scolding the moment you saw your doctor because why aren’t you in desk duty you RASCAL!?

-You were confused beyond belief and it was written all over your face.

- “You don’t know do you?” 

-Le sigh.

- “Mrs. Iida I’m happy to announce you that you’re expecting, so that means you are to be put in desk duty for the next 4 months or else I’m making sure you don’t leave the house for a good 9 months.”

-You. Were. Ecstatic. 

-You ran to Tenya’s agency, bringing down the damned door to his office giving the man a heart attack.

- “Y/n what’s-”

- “I’M PREGNANT!” 

-Que ecstatic air chopping. 

-Tenya went into full dad mode during those 9 months. 

-Buttt he’s also kinda nervous.

-Nervous like Tamaki in a crowd level nervous.

-You get the image.

-You have anything you want whenever you want it.

-The nursery is done the moment you find out you are having a gilr.

-Unlike Todoroki he isn’t patient enough to keep the gender a secret.

-When the day arrives, you’re just chilling outside with him when you nonchalantly blurt out ‘my waters broke’.

-....oh...oH.....OHSHIIIIIIIT.

- “WHY ARE YOU SO CALM?! GET UP! ARE YOU IN PAIN? CAN YOU WALK!?”

-This goes on until you are screaming and crushing his hand in the delivery room.

-Your little girl is born and she’s a carbon copy of Tenya.

-Same colored hair and eyes.

-The face structure looks like you.

-She has your nose and mouth, along with your eyebrows but apart from that she’s a mini genderbend Tenya.

-Because she was born early in the morning you decided to change her name and so little Asami Tenya was officially a part of this world.

-Tenya cried.

-You cried.

-Asami cried.

-You were one happy crying family.

Shinsou Hitoshi

-You and Hitoshi have been together for two years now, but you haven’t put a ring on it.

-Sure you live together and act like a married couple already but you’re not Mrs.Shinsou.....yet.

-You have been feeling strange for days now and your period was late which never happens.

-You are panicking but unlike Shouto you two aren’t married.

-He can leave with almost no complications.

-You were his girlfriend not his wife.

-The pregnancy tests you had taken were mocking you from the bathroom sink and your poor hormone ridden mind couldn’t handle the stress.

-You cried a river until you heard keys jiggling and HItoshi’s iconic ‘Kitten, I’m home!’

-You couldn’t face him like this.

-In a haste you shoved the tests into the laundry basket along with their packages and covered them with some sheets. 

-Fixing your hair and washing your face, you straightened and walked out the door.

-After greeting Hitoshi with a kiss you calmly told him to go get ready while you made him something to eat.

-Your mind was running laps thinking how you could tell him or how you could solve your little problem as quietly as possible.

-That is until he walked in holding what seemed to be a box.

-A pregnancy test box.

-HOW CAN YOU BE BLIND?

- “Y/n, what’s this?”pause “Are you..?”

-Anddd more crying.

-You sobbed about how sorry you were and how you couldn’t explain how it happened.

-Both of you were so careful, how did this happen???

-After a good 15 minutes of you bawling your eyes out on the kitchen floor while Hitoshi was trying to calm you down, you finally stopped at the sound of his chuckle. 

- “Well, damn kitten, your surprise definitely beat mine.”

-Then he pulled a small velvet box from his pocket and watched you closely.

-Now you are Mrs.Shinsou.

-These 9 months weren’t as bad as you would expect.

-Hitoshi was really good at giving you everything you wanted and during the whole pregnancy you didn’t lift a finger.

-One October night your waters broke and you found yourself in a long procedure of bringing your child into the world. 

-Hitoshi was a wreck and had called Aizawa for emotional support who called Hizashi who called Midnight.

-Once you were finished, Hitoshi rushed into your room and found you utterly exhausted.

-He was the first to hold your baby and you have never seen him cry this much in your life. 

- “Hello my little Kei.”

-Kei Shinsou was a happy little girl with an amazing father by her side.

Amajiki Tamaki

-Ah love.

-Something Tamaki found during high school and held onto it ever since. 

-Now a well known pro hero, Suneater was more than happy with his life with you.

-He always wanted a little something more but never expressed it. 

-He loved the idea of having a mini you running around the living room or waking him up in the morning with little squeals and kisses.

-He loved you to the moon and back, more than life itself but having a kid with you sparked a whole new sensation in him.

-So he tried to be sly about it.

-Forgetting the condoms or to pull out.

-You not being able to find your pills.

-A whole lot of fun. 

-You were newly weds and your libidos were high af and with the prospect of children on the table Tamaki became 10x more driven and horny.

-So you weren’t all that surprised when your doctor gave you the news. 

-You had gone for a plain old check up when he came into the room with a bright smile on his face and congratulations falling like a waterfall from his mouth. 

-Once back home you put your plan in motion. 

-You had a feeling Tamaki was trying to knock you up for some time now.

-He couldn’t forget to pull out every time like come on.

-But you were fine with it since you too wanted a kid with him.

-You just would’ve liked a little heads up first.

-You made your little bun and put it in the oven.

-And waited.

-And waited.

-And waited.

-Until finally Tamaki walked through the door,  a smile gracing his features as he made his way to you.

- “Hey bunny.”

-Giving him a quick peck you told him to check the oven real quick to make sure the food was all good.

-He obliged, walking to the kitchen and seeing the sole bun sitting in the oven.

-He was beyond confused on why you would only make one bun in the oven and not more, I mean you are two peop- ohhhh.

-OH.

-He did it. 

-He let the news settle in before going back to you.

- “Are you sure?” nod “100% sure?” another nod.

-At that he fell to his knees in front of you, attacking your stomach with kisses and I love yous.

-To whom they were directed you couldn’t actually tell but you were happy either way.

-Calls the baby butterfly.

-Makes the whole nursery along with Mirio who is ecstatic.

-Butterfly themed baby room.

-Expect many back and belly rubs along with Tamaki coming home early because Fatgum cannot allow him to stay at work when he’s preparing for a baby.

-When your waters break you are buying some onesies with small octopuses on them.

-You have never been taken to the hospital so fast in your whole hero career. 

-After many painful and stressful hours, your baby girl is born and she’s stunning.

-She has Tama’s ears and hair but your eyes and nose. 

-She’s a perfect mix. 

-The Big 3 cry as a team.

-When she’s given to him, Tamaki just cry laughs at how gorgeous she’s.

-Many thank yous are exchanged.

- Cho Amajiki.

-Tamaki cannot stop repeating the name even after they have taken her away.

-He curls on the chair next to you, holding your hand the whole night, falling into a deep sleep, imaging his new life with his little butterfly. 

[tcm]

Pedro Almodóvar: The Classic Movie Fan By Raquel Stecher

Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar is one of the most celebrated filmmakers working today. His bold films feature quirky characters, vibrant colors, especially shades of red, and offer viewers frank explorations on sexuality, identity, family and relationships. Almodóvar is involved in every aspect of the filmmaking process including writing, directing and casting, and he has input in other aspects including set design, costumes and cinematography. His films are uniquely his vision.

Almodóvar has a lifelong love of film and it shows in his work. In his early days he was influenced by the work of the great Spanish directors Luis Buñuel and Luis García Berlanga. He also drew inspiration from directors like Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Elia Kazan, Fritz Lang, Ingmar Bergman, Michael Antonini, Francois Truffaut and many others. Almodóvar was mostly self-taught and learned filmmaking from watching the masters. The characters in Almodóvar’s films are extensions of himself; they too are moviegoers who love and appreciate the art form. You can see this in subtle clues in his films, like posters on a wall, DVDs stacked on a table or what the characters are watching on television. Then there are the more obvious examples including classic film clips and homages to iconic movie scenes. And for classic movie fans, watching Almodóvar’s films can be like a fun treasure hunt seeking out all the references to familiar favorites.

In Almodóvar’s early works, a well-placed poster can illuminate an aspect of the character’s personality. For example, in KIKA (’93), a deranged psychologist has classic horror movie posters in her apartment including from THE SADIST (’63) and CIRCUS OF HORRORS (’60). Almodóvar was particularly inspired by classic movies with strong female leads. In his early film PEPI, LUCI, BOM AND OTHER GIRLS LIKE MOM (’80), Almodóvar took inspiration from George Cukor’s THE WOMEN (’39) to tell the story of a trio of women living during the cultural revolution of Madrid called La Movida Madrileña. 

ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER‘s (’99) title comes from Bette Davis’ comeback classic ALL ABOUT EVE (’50). In the very first scene, a mother and son sit down to watch the film on television. It’s announced in Spanish as “Eve Unveiled,” something the characters discuss because the title should have been “Todo Sobre Eva”. Later, in the film, we see a Davis poster pinned to a dressing room wall and the film ends with a note celebrating actresses and mothers and noting Davis, Gena Rowlands and Romy Schneider. Classic actresses come to the forefront in BROKEN EMBRACES (2009) where Penelope Cruz is the mistress of a wealthy magnate who dreams of becoming a star. When she gets the plum role of lead actress in a feature film, she’s made over several times to look like Goldie Hawn, Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn.

One of Almodóvar’s most celebrated works, WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN (’88), starts with a scene from JOHNNY GUITAR (’54). Two actors are dubbing Joan Crawford and Sterling Hayden in Spanish. We learn that the actors, much like Hayden and Crawford in the film, have a tempestuous relationship. Almodóvar’s film got the attention of American audiences and earned a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. And perhaps more importantly for Almodóvar, it got him a meeting with his hero Billy Wilder who greatly admired the up-and-coming filmmaker’s work. In this film, Almodóvar also pays tribute to one of his favorite directors: Alfred Hitchcock. In one scene, Carmen Maura sits on a park bench and watches a young woman dancing alone in her apartment, a clear reference to Miss Torso from REAR WINDOW (’54). In KIKA, a voyeur with a long-focus lens witnesses a crime being perpetrated against a woman, much like Jimmy Stewart in Hitchcock’s film.

As Almodóvar’s films became more and more autobiographical, he began to add more clues to his lifelong love of cinema. Characters are often seen watching some of Almodóvar’s favorite films on television. In VOLVER (2006), a dead mother returns to her community and watches BELLISSIMA (’51) while caring for a dying woman. In TIE ME UP! TIE ME DOWN! (’89), Antonio Banderas kidnaps Victoria Abril, ties her up and leaves her to watch NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (’68). Movie watching becomes an important plot device in later films. In BAD EDUCATION (2004), Gael Garcia Bernal and Lluis Homar have just committed a crime and attend a film noir festival to decompress and create an alibi for their whereabouts. As they leave the cinema, Homar says, “it’s as if the films were talking about us” and the camera pauses on three posters: DOUBLE INDEMNITY (’44), LA BETE HUMAINE (’38) and THERESE RAQUIN (’53).

In his most autobiographical film to date, PAIN AND GLORY (2019), Almodóvar shares his journey in becoming a filmmaker, his early love of classic film and his struggles with the creative process. The young Salvador, played by Asier Flores, collects classic film star cards in a beautiful scrapbook. His collection includes Betty Hutton, Piper Laurie, Loretta Young, Donna Reed, Kirk Douglas, Tyrone Power and Robert Taylor. In the present, filmmaker Salvador, played by Antonio Banderas, is working on a screenplay called La Addiccion. His actor Alberto plays out the scenes, where he projects SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS (’61) and NIAGARA (’53) on a screen and shares a soliloquy about watching water-themed movies as a child. And at the cinema where the filmmaker’s latest film is being screened, the audience can spot a poster of THE EXECUTIONER (’63), which is one of Almodovar’s favorite films.

There is something gratifying about watching a movie made by someone who truly loves and appreciates classic film. Pedro Almodóvar’s work is incredibly contemporary but extends an invitation to those of us who love the old in order to embrace the new.

[bianconeri]

top 5 criminal minds episodes, top 5 one direction songs jddkddh, top 5 favorite movies you’ve seen recentlyish

OMG sfjdghjsdfkg amazing...

top 5 criminal minds eps: after mentally scanning through 300+ episodes I've decided- s4e3 minimal loss (I've seen this one too many times so that might b why jdsfg), s1e22/s2e1 the fisher king part 1 and 2 putting them together cuz ICONIC, s11e11 entropy lorddd aubrey plaza and mgg together>>>, s5e7 the performer ok very biased cuz it has vampires and a character named tara but hey!!!, s5e23/s6e1 with the prince of darkness unsub...actually saw one of those eps when I was younger before I was a CM stan and it scared me soooo much lord

top 5 one direction songs: OKAAYYYY!!! night changes licherally still makes me insane to this day, I WANT omg best song on the up all night album, through the dark oh I was absolutely obsessed with this mumford & sons ripoff, 18 me crying to this song regularly for absolutely no reason (also WE TOOK A CHONCE), and strong ok idk if this is underrated but I have the impression it is but anyways ZAYN SINGING THE BRIDGE AT LIVE SHOWS >>>> evidence from the san siro here

top 5 movies I've seen recentlyish: I'm thinking of ending things, night tide, spiderman NWH lmaooo, raw, and women on the verge of a nervous breakdown

[lifejustgotawkward]

365 Day Movie Challenge (2019) - #144: Matador (1986) - dir. Pedro Almodóvar

(Warning: some spoilers ahead.)

How do I begin to describe Matador? It’s a psychological profile of how violence influences sexual impulses, a thriller in which cops are stymied by a series of confounding murders and - not unlike the later Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! - a warped comedy as only Pedro Almodóvar could conceive it, darkly satirizing societal assumptions about the perceived normal functions of heterosexuality.

Working overtime from the start to prove why Matador earned an NC-17 rating, the film opens with an credit sequence in which bullfighting instructor Diego Montes (Nacho Martínez, looking and sounding like a Spanish Jeremy Irons), masturbates while watching a slasher horror film on TV. In his mind, the desire he experiences when engaged in sexual activity and the way he feels when a bull is gored in the ring are inextricably linked. (This is attributed to an injury that ended his career as a matador.) One of Diego’s students, Ángel (Antonio Banderas), wants badly to live up to the ideal of manhood that he sees in his mentor, so when Diego asks Ángel (an admitted virgin) if he is gay during a post-class conversation one afternoon, Ángel freaks out and decides he has to do something to prove his straight masculinity. Later that night, he attempts to rape Diego’s girlfriend, Eva (Eva Cobo), but he cannot; she accidentally cuts her cheek while trying to escape and Ángel faints at the sight of her blood.

In an attempt to redeem himself, Ángel turns himself into the local police station, where a detective (Eusebio Poncela) doesn’t know what to make of the young man’s confession. Even after Eva refuses to press charges, despite her mother Pilar’s (Chus Lampreave) wishes, Ángel claims to be the perpetrator in more crimes: the murders of two women who had been his classmates at the bullfighting academy. This leads to the introduction of another major character: María Cardenal (Assumpta Serna), who inserts herself into the case as Ángel’s lawyer. She plays an integral part in the investigation, as we know from her first appearance in the film when Ángel has a vision of her fatally stabbing a man in flagrante. The movie totally glosses over Ángel’s clairvoyant abilities, but apparently he has had the condition he has had since he was a child... just an oddball detail we have to accept. Almodóvar is clearly more interested in exploring the electricity between Diego and María, who share dangerous passions.

Matador is as off-the-walls weird as I expected, so although the film is not as satisfying overall as Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, Pedro Almodóvar delivered by giving his cast so much compelling material. The heat between Nacho Martínez and Assumpta Serna blazes, while young Antonio Banderas, Eva Cobo, Chus Lampreave, Julieta Serrano (as Banderas’ super-religious mother) and Carmen Maura (a sympathetic police psychiatrist) also excel. There are also cameos by other Almodóvar favorites Verónica Forqué (the star of Kika), trans icon Bibiana Fernández (Law of Desire, High Heels, Kika) and Eva Siva (”Luci” in Pepi, Luci, Bom), plus Almodóvar himself as an agitated fashion designer. I would not suggest Matador as any viewer’s first foray into the director’s filmography, but if you understand his unique sensibilities and wouldn’t mind immersing yourself in the colorful cinematography of Ángel Luis Fernández and lush score by Bernardo Bonezzi, this film comes highly recommended.

[mamusiq]

Miguel Bose, Marisa Paredes, Victoria Abril and Feodor Atkine during the filming of 'High Heels' by Pedro Almodovar. 

Listen to music from the director’s 20 films to be shown during a retrospective tribute at New York’s MOMA.

New York’s Museum of Modern Art will show all of Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s films as part of a month-long tribute starting Nov. 29, which coincides with the premiere in U.S. theaters of his 20th film, Julieta.

When Almódovar first opened international eyes to Madrid’s post-Franco cultural explosion, la movida, with his early films, he also showcased some of the music he performed in clubs with the artist known as Fabio McNamara. Some of the songs that could be considered the duo’s "classics" include “Suck it to Me” and “Voy a Ser Mama” (“I'm Going to Be a Mom”), which -- shocking for the era in Spain -- they performed in drag. The singer Alaska, an underground icon whose career has since lasted as long as Almodóvar’s, had a starring role in the director’s gritty first feature Pepi, Luci, Bom y Otras Chicas del Montón.

But over the years, Almodóvar became best known for his strong female roles, and his soundtracks full of the muscular-voiced female artists he featured. Over the years, by sharing some of his own favorite artists through his movies, Almodóvar has introduced his beloved Latin icons to new listeners, and boosted the careers of contemporary artists.

Here are some of Almodóvar’s greatest hits:

Luz Casal, “Piensa en Mi” from Tacones Lejanos (High Heels)

Spanish singer Luz Casal interpreted two emotional ballads in 1991’s Tacones Lejanos (High Heels).

Meanwhile, the Latin standard “Piensa en Mi,” by Mexican composer Agustín Lara, was made popular by the heart-ripping version sung by Chavela Vargas.

"Un Año de Amor” is lip-synched in the movie by Miguel Bosé, one of Spain’s biggest pop stars, whose character uses the song in his drag act.

Casal’s own gorgeous recordings of the two songs were big hits for the singer. They were both included on her quadruple-platinum 1991 album, A contraluz.

Dúo Dinámico, “Resistiré” from ¡Átame! (Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!)

In this great scene from 1990’s ¡Átame!, Antonio Banderas and co-stars Victoria Abril and Loles León are in a car singing along to “Resistiré,” a kitschy radio hit for Spain’s Dúo Dinámico. Watch Banderas tentatively preview the sing-talk vocal style he’d hone for the movie musical Evita later in the decade.

La Lupe, “Puro Teatro” from Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown)

Almodóvar’s 1988 dramedy Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown was the director’s international breakthrough. With it, he also introduced his love of romantic ballads to the world.

The Oscar-nominated movie includes “Soy infeliz,” performed by Mexican ranchera queen Lola Beltrán. Women also features La Lupe’s signature, “Puro Teatro,” re-focusing attention on the Cuban singer years before the more recent revival of her New York label, Fania Records.

Estrella Morente, “Volver” from Volver

Penelope Cruz sings the tango’s classic ode to nostalgia, “Volver,” in the 2006 Almodóvar movie of the same name. That bewitching voice actually belongs to singer Estrella Morente. Flamenco royalty in Spain, Morente saw her star rise further internationally after the release of the film, and the inclusion of the song on her album Mujeres the same year.

Caetano Veloso, “Cucurrucucu Paloma” from Hable Con Ella (Talk to Her)

Brazilian music fans got a thrill when tropicalismo legend Caetano Veloso appeared in a party scene in the 2002 movie Talk to Her, performing the often-covered Mexican standard “Cucurrucucu Paloma.”

Concha Buika,“Se Me Hizó Facil,” from La Piel Que Habito (The Skin I Live In)

With her soul-baring singing and iconoclastic style, Buika was a natural match for Almodóvar. He cast her as a singer in the 2011 movie La Piel Que Habito. She performs two songs on the soundtrack: "Se Me Hizó Facil” and “Por el Amor de Amar.”

Chavela Vargas, “Si No te Vas” from Julieta

“With the emphasis that Chavela put at the end of a song she created, a new genre that should be named for her,” Almodóvar said of his friend, the great bolero singer Chavela Vargas, who died in 2012. Almodóvar called her a “volcano.” A recording of Vargas singing the bolero “Si No Te Vas” brings the heat to the new film Julieta.

https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/latin/8485234/i2018-latin-grammys-person-of-the-year-mana

[quinnmorgendorffer]

the original ten ideas I had for my work’s movie club, women’s history month themed, trying to be as global as possible: 

all about eve - 1950, considered one of the best movies of all time, how great is it to see two truly awful women on screen? one of the most iconic lines in cinema, even a young marilyn monroe....what’s not to love?

cleo from 5 to 7 - french film! new wave! woman director! considered by BBC’s poll of film critics/experts as the 2nd best movie ever directed by a woman!!!

clueless - 20 on the BBC list! based on a book by a woman! written and directed and starring women!!!

hidden figures - black women in nasa! we’re women in a more STEM field too like!!!!

little women - classic female-driven story!!!

persepolis - truly one of the my fave films i’ve ever seen!! so good! great book, too! iranian woman, written first in french, it’s just so fucking good and look at how international!!

women on the verge of a nervous breakdown - spanish film!!! turned into a musical! comedic take on film noir!!! 

stepford wives (original, not that garbage remake) - we even have an office in connecticut not too far from the town this fictional town is based on!!! iconic movie!!! controversial movie!!!! would’ve made a great discussion!!! FOR FREE ON YOUTUBE (not legally i’m sure but y’know...)

whale rider - the lead was formerly the youngest actress nominated for a lead actress oscar!!! new zealand film!!!

wild - woman strikes out on her own in the most amazing way! 

movies now....

little women

erin brockovich - i mean, an excuse to hate pg&e is ok with me

elina holmes - not my choice in the least but w/e it’s available on everyone’s netflix

the breadwinner - not a true story or really foreign at all but it’s about a girl in the middle east at least?

feminists: what were they thinking - a documentary that at least sounds somewhat interesting and again is on netflix

mary kom - one of like two female-based, not-american movies on netflix in cyprus at least......

[theknowco-blog]

#iconic #beauty Rossy de Palma in "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" (1988) #PedoAlmodovar #RossydePalma #height

[filmnoirfoundation]

Joan Crawford borrowed BFF Barbara Stanwyck’s hair and made a western with Nicholas Ray and Sterling Hayden, Not surpsingly, it came out very noir...

JOHNNY GUITAR (1954): Two noir icons, Joan Crawford and Sterling Hayden, play ex-lovers Vienna and Johnny brought together by chance in the gambling join owned by Vienna. The local townsfolk, led by Emma Small (played with hysterical glee by Mercedes McCambridge), are trying to force Vienna out of business and out of town. Violence ensues. Dir. Nicholas Ray

Pedro Almodóvar does a wonderful tribute to JOHNNY GUITAR in his film WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN.

Joan Crawford and Nicholas Ray on and off the set of JOHNNY GUITAR.

[yahoonewsphotos]

'From riches to rags': American photography in the Depression

The exuberance, affluence, and luxury of the Jazz Age came to a screeching halt when the American stock market crashed on Oct. 29, 1929. The decade-long Great Depression followed, marked by massive unemployment and precipitous declines in personal income, tax revenue, business profits and trade. Adding to the calamity, the Great Plains experienced a major drought and dust storms in the mid-1930s, causing tens of thousands of families to abandon their farms and become migrants. Drawing entirely from the Cleveland Museum’s superb holdings of early 20th-century photography, “From Riches to Rags” examines the choices photographers made during that time of extreme social upheaval and economic distress.

Documentary photography, which records what is before the camera, was uniquely suited to offer direct visual testimony of people’s distress and hardships. Recognizing that power, in 1935 the federal government began hiring socially concerned photographers such as Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange and Arthur Rothstein to depict the suffering of rural and urban populations. Their photographs, disseminated in magazines, books and government publications, proved effective at drumming up support for government aid programs.

One of the most iconic images of the Depression is Walker Evans’s 1935 portrait of 27-year-old Allie Mae Burroughs, an Alabama sharecropper’s wife and mother of four. Despite their poverty, the Burroughs family did not qualify for government assistance. Ironically, Evans had been photographing in the area for the government, but shot the Burroughs family to illustrate an article by James Agee for Fortune, a deluxe business magazine. The project grew too large for Fortune, so in 1941 Agee and Evans turned it into a book, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. Both Burroughs’s portrait and the book are included in the exhibition.

Paradoxically, the decade of deprivation saw an explosion in the use of photography in advertising with the advent of the American picture magazine, specifically Life in 1936. Even in the Depression’s worst year, 75 percent of the American workforce was employed and buying necessities, if not luxuries. Eye-catching advertising photographs helped companies compete for the diminished pool of consumer dollars. There is no hint of privation in the ads. Elegantly gowned women primp in Edward Steichen’s “Fashion Ad for Coty Lipstick,” 1934–35. The delectable still lifes of food and kitchenware by Paul Outerbridge depict abundance. These lifestyles were out of reach for many Americans, but thumbing through a magazine and fantasizing cost nothing.

There were individuals whose lifestyles were hardly affected by the Depression. Alfred Stieglitz, scion of a wealthy family, was able to dedicate his life to art without the need to earn a living. He was one of the key figures in the campaign to recognize photography as a full-fledged art form, equal to painting and sculpture in its capacity for creativity, personal expression and formal exploration. In 1934 a photography exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art included 10 of Stieglitz’s photographs. Purchased by the museum the following year, they became the first photographs to enter the collection.

Among them is a close-up of the hand of painter Georgia O’Keeffe, Stieglitz’s wife, as she lovingly caresses the spare tire of a Ford V-8 convertible coupe. The image was made on the occasion of her reunion with her husband — and her much-beloved car — after an extended convalescence following a nervous breakdown. O’Keeffe had paid for the car herself. Not just a glossy object of consumer desire, it symbolized independence and freedom.

Stieglitz’s photograph is emblematic of modernism, a photographic movement characterized by sharp focus and an emphasis on the abstract values of compositional structure. While documentary photographers tackled contemporary social issues, the modernists tended toward timeless subjects such as portraiture, landscape, nature and even abstraction. Ansel Adams found breathtakingly magical scenes in the wilderness. Edward Weston’s pictures of the dunes near Oceano, Calif., verge on pure patterns of dark and light. These artists chose not to depict the suffering and chaos that surrounded them. Instead, they created idyllic, ordered worlds, or at least more perfect versions of external reality.

Some photographers in the 1930s felt an obligation to document contemporary society, while others were moved to produce art for art’s sake, or art that offered spiritual elevation or aesthetic pleasure. These approaches were not necessarily mutually exclusive. Sometimes temperament dictated the artist’s choice, sometimes the ability to make a living. Like our own complex and unsettled era, the 1930s seemed to call for and appreciate multiple styles of and approaches to photography. (Barbara Tannenbaum, curator of photography)

From Riches to Rags is currently on exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art through Dec. 31, 2017.

Photography from top: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Wishing Well Fund, 1975.36. © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Cleveland Museum of Art, The A. W. Ellenberger Sr. Endowment Fund, 1985.47. © The Imogen Cunningham Trust; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Wishing Well Fund, 1973.120. © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mark Bassett, 1999.138.

See more photos of ‘From riches to rags’ and our other slideshows on Yahoo News.

[bodaciousmanchild]

Pedro Almodovar speaks at American Cinematheque double feature of his films All About May Mother and Women on The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown #americancinematheque #icon #spain #spanish #auteur #director #film #cinema #filmmaking #filmisnotdead #instagram #igers #insta #instamood #instagood #instagreat #gay #lgbt #igers (at Aero Theatre) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7LD6i7hxXt/?igshid=7tphlbcmd87w

[lastbluetardis]

And Baby Makes Three (3/6)

*Peeks out from under the cone of silence science* I finished my paper, y’all! So as a treat to myself for finishing this a whole 26 hours before it’s due, I decided to post the next installment to this a day early! 

And many thanks to @chocolatequeennk for helping me smooth out this chapter and giving me so many wonderful suggestions and ideas!

Ten x Rose, Soulmates AU, pregnancy/baby!fic

Teen

With the decision to try for a baby made, James and Rose eagerly look forward to this newest chapter of their lives.

AO3 | TSP | FF | Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4 | Ch5 | Ch6 | Epilogue

Violet. Daisy. Lily. Ivy.

Rose glanced at her arm, as she waited for her lunch to heat up in the microwave.

“I think you’ve got a theme going,” she teased. “And those names are lovely, but I don’t want to be That Family where all the girls have flower names.”

Hmm, I see your point. It’d be cute though… I could call you both my little Bouquet. And we could keep adding to it?

Rose snorted and shook her head at her daft soulmate. “How about we focus on this one first, then we can talk about more, yeah?”

Just putting it on your radar.

“Consider it pinged,” she replied. “Why is it so difficult to pick a name?”

She sighed and rested her hand on her swollen belly. At seven months, their little girl didn’t have a name yet, and she was worried they’d still be debating names in the delivery room.

Because she’s going to be our perfect little girl, and she’ll need the most perfect name. We’ll get there, love. And in a pinch, we could just name her The Baby.

“No, ta,” Rose wrote, rolling her eyes.

Okay, gotta run. See you after lab. Love you.

“Love you.”

Rose sighed as she pocketed her pen and retrieved her bowl of soup from the microwave. She had no idea how James was managing to stay so calm; she felt on the verge of a breakdown every time she made a list in her head of everything they still needed for their baby, and the list seemed to grow longer and more daunting with every passing day.

The nursery was hardly stocked, nor was is painted, and Rose feared that if it didn’t get painted within the next couple of weeks, the paint fumes would still be lingering in the air when they brought their little girl home and it would irritate her lungs and she’d get sick and they’d have to take her into the hospital, but how could they check her in when she didn’t even have a name?

“Rose? Rose, are you all right?”

She jumped when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder, and only then was she aware of the tight pressure in her chest and the dark spots in her vision.

“Fine,” she lied, concentrating more than she should have to in order to take deep, steady breaths. “Just getting jittery thinking of all the baby stuff James and I still need.”

“Aww, I remember going through that,” her supervisor said sympathetically. “But you haven’t even had your baby shower yet. Trust me, baby showers are a godsend; your nursery will be overflowing with supplies by the end of it.”

Rose smiled weakly, and used that knowledge to comfort herself. She just had to trust in herself and James that they would manage to have everything together for when their daughter arrived in December.

oOoOo

“What’s this?” Jackie asked, scrolling through the email James just sent her.

“The guest list,” James said, confused. “Did it not go through properly?”

“It did, but there are men on this list,” Jackie said. “A baby shower is a girls’ day.”

“No, a baby shower is a party to celebrate the baby,” James said impatiently. “It’s a day to be with friends and family so Rose and I can celebrate the impending arrival of our daughter. I don’t think the baby particularly cares if there are men at the shower.”

“But it’s tradition to—”

“Yeah, maybe back in your day,” James snorted, and Rose frowned at him and mouthed ‘rude’.

“Oi! What’s that supposed to mean?” Jackie shrieked.

Rose sighed and took James’s phone from him, and said, “Mum, James and I want a small get-together with our closest friends and family. Men and women both.���

“Men don’t find baby showers very interesting,” Jackie warned. “There’s lots of cooing at baby clothes and birthing stories and—”

“If anyone starts sharing birthing stories, I’ll kick them out of the house myself,” Rose snapped. “I’m nervous enough to push a human being out of my body, I don’t want to hear everyone else’s woes about it.”

“You’ll do brilliantly, love,” James murmured, resting his hand on her thigh.

“You asked for a guest list, and that’s who we want at the shower,” Rose said, her tone leaving no room for arguing. “It’s our shower, and we will invite whoever we want. Respect our decision, or consider yourself uninvited.”

Rose angrily pressed her finger to the red phone icon and set his mobile on the coffee table.

“Blimey, and you call me rude,” James teased, wrapping his arm around Rose.

“She makes me so frustrated sometimes,” Rose growled. “It’s like she always knows better than me!”

“She’s just trying to help,” James soothed.

“She can help by sodding off and letting me actually have control over my life and my family,” she muttered, leaning into James’s chest.

The following morning, Rose awoke to a text from her mother.

I was out of line yesterday. Let me take you to lunch as an apology?

Rose sighed and rubbed her temples. She was still irritated with her mum, but she knew she should let Jackie apologize.

“All right, love?” James mumbled, rolling close to her and draping a leg across hers.

“Mum wants to take me to lunch,” Rose said. “Apologize for yesterday.”

“That’s nice of her,” he said, nuzzling sleepily into her neck.

Rose frowned at the top of his head.

“Did you put her up to this?”

“Hmm? What? Why d’you say that?”

“Because you’re always giving my mum a tongue-lashing whenever she upsets me,” Rose said.

“True,” James allowed. “But no. Not this time. Was about to, when I woke up, but she beat me to it. Let her apologize, love. It’s nice of her to realize she upset you and want to make it up to you.”

Rose grumbled, and grabbed her phone and reluctantly agreed to meet her mum at her favorite Chinese place in town.

oOoOo

James was helping Jackie and her mate Bev hang the personalized banner they’d bought, and beamed when the words Welcome Baby Girl Tyler-McCrimmon hung proudly over the mantel. But the sound of a hitched breath and then a sob made a cold weight settle in his stomach.

He jumped down off of his chair when he saw his wife run out of the room, and he jogged after her.

“Hey, hey, hey, what’s the matter?” he asked, following her into what would be their baby’s nursery. “Is everything all right? Are you feeling all right?”

“Baby Girl Tyler-McCrimmon!” she managed to hiccup.

“Yeah?” he said, furrowing his brow in confusion.

“Baby Girl!” she sobbed. “I don’t want to call her Baby Girl! I want her to have a name!”

James gawped at Rose, speechless. He stepped up to his wife and carefully pulled her into his arms.

“Rose, love, relax,” he whispered, rubbing his hand across her back.

“How can I relax when we’re so unprepared?” Rose shouted, pushing away from James. She spun around the room, gesturing to the most empty-space. “We have nothing! No crib, no changing table, no rocking chair! Hardly any clothes or nappies! No car seat! We can’t bring her home without a car seat! We haven’t painted the room yet! We… we… we…”

Rose gasped in shuddering breaths as her face crumpled once more, and James helplessly wrapped her in another embrace as he tried to figure out what he could do or say to make her feel better.

“How are we doing in here?”

Jackie walked into the room, and Rose sobbed even harder when she saw her mum.

“Oh, hush now, sweetheart,” Jackie said gently, tugging Rose in for a hug. “You’re okay. Everything’s gonna be okay.”

“It’s not!” she moaned miserably. “What was I thinking, thinking I was ready for a baby? I can’t do this! I shouldn’t’ve done this!”

James’s heart fell into his stomach, and he felt a surge of anger at Rose for even suggesting that their daughter was a mistake.

“Don’t you say that, Rose Tyler-McCrimmon,” Jackie said firmly, grabbing Rose by the shoulders to look at her. “You and James are going to be the best parents there are. Don’t focus on the things you don’t have for her yet. Those are material things you and himself can buy online later tonight once you see what your friends have brought you. But none of that stuff matters. What matters is you and James love this baby more than anything. You love her so much that you’re crying over not having the walls painted for her when—as it was rudely pointed out to me—she’s not going to care about colors.”

James smirked at his mother-in-law overtop of Rose’s head, and he felt a rush of gratitude for Jackie in this moment for helping them put it into perspective.

“You have a safe and loving home for your baby, and that’s really the most important part,” Jackie said, reaching out to wipe away Rose’s tears. “You hear me?”

Rose nodded and sniffled, and she leaned back into her mum’s arms. Jackie pressed a kiss to Rose’s forehead and said, “Take a minute, get yourself together. I think I heard the doorbell. Either it’s an early arrival or the catering.”

As she left, James carefully stepped up to his wife and rubbed her back.

“All right, love?”

“Yeah,” she murmured, wiping at her eyes. “Sorry ‘bout that.”

“Your hormones are a bit out of whack,” James said, tugging a tissue out of his pocket for her. “Just… Please don’t ever say anything that implies you regret our baby ever again.”

Rose’s eyes watered again and she dropped her hand to cup her belly.

“I’m sorry,” she whimpered, her face crumpling again. “I didn’t mean that! I don’t regret her… not at all! I just got so scared! What kind of mum am I gonna be if I—?”

“The best mum,” James interrupted firmly, covering Rose’s hand with his. “Listen carefully because this is going to be the only time I say this… But your mother was right.”

He pulled an exaggerated grimace, and was pleased when it got the reaction he’d hoped for: Rose burst into a fit of giggles.

“The important thing is that we love our baby unconditionally and eternally, for the rest of our lives,” he said. “Everything else is just details. And no matter what, we’re in this together.”

Rose smiled up at him, and she lifted her arms to wrap around his neck. He held her tight for just a moment before he pressed a kiss to her hair.

“Go rinse your face with cool water, and touch up your makeup if you want,” he suggested, ushering her across the hall to their bedroom. “I’ll start welcoming the guests.”

The doorbell rang just as he exited the nursery, and he jogged to the front door to open it.

“Hi, Dad,” he said, relieved to see his father after the morning he’d just had.

“Hey, mate. Good to see you!” Robert walked into the house carrying a large, wrapped box, which James took from him to set in the living room next to the growing pile of gifts.

“Still haven’t decided on a name, yet, eh?” Robert asked, nodding to the banner above the mantel.

James grimaced. “Ugh. Don’t say that too loudly.”

“Why, what’s wrong?” Robert asked.

“Rose got a little overwhelmed when she realized how much stuff we don’t have yet for the baby, including a name,” James said.

“It’ll come to you,” Robert assured.

“Been trying for nearly five months now, and we still haven’t narrowed it down,” James said, frustrated. “It’s just… nothing seems good enough, y’know?”

“James, I promise you, you’ll love whatever name you give her, because it belongs to your little girl. It becomes part of her, and you can’t help but love it,” Robert said, rubbing a hand soothingly down James’s arm.

James smiled at his dad, mollified, and then he made a round through the room to welcome everyone to their new home and thank them for coming to celebrate with them.

Being around friends and family seemed to help Rose’s mood improve, and as the party wore on and they played a bunch of ridiculously clich�� games and ate the food her mum had ordered, James was glad to see Rose’s smile become more and more genuine.

Part way through the shower, he spotted Rose talking softly with his dad in kitchen, and they both had their hands on her belly. Seeing his wife and his dad together brought such warmth to his heart, but he sighed and closed his eyes, sparing a quiet moment for his mum as he wished yet again that she could be there celebrating with them.

“All right?” Rose had asked, seeing him standing at the doorway quietly.

“’Course,” he said, walking up to the kitchen island to get another plateful of nibbles. “Just wish Mum were here, is all.”

“She’d be so proud of you, you know,” Robert said. “The both of you.”

“I know,” James murmured. “Anyways… ready to open gifts?”

He filled up a plate with food enough for the both of them before he ushered her back into the living room. Jackie and Robert traded duties of handing them gifts, and they were both delighted and thankful that so many of their friends and family were helping them get ready for their little girl.

“How are you feeling?” James asked as they lounged on the sofa that night. He had his laptop open and they were ticking items off the baby registry as they organized the pile of gifts their friends and family had bought for their daughter.

“Loads better than this morning,” she said sheepishly, feeling slightly embarrassed over her complete breakdown.

“Good,” he said, pressing a kiss to her temple. “See, look at everything we have now. Not too bad, if I say so myself. We can go out this weekend, if you want? Get some more stuff? Ooh, or we could look at paint? Figure out how we want to decorate the nursery? Then once that’s done, we can get furniture that’ll match?”

“Painting sounds nice,” Rose said, stifling a yawn against his shoulder. “I’ve sketched a few ideas for her room. I’ll show you this week, then we can decide on a palette?”

“Perfect.”

That was how the next weekend found them wearing old clothes and slowly transforming the walls of the nursery from off-white to soft lavender. Rose showed off her artistic prowess by painting a flowing, flowering tree across the wall overlooking the crib, and James watched in awe as she used shades of gray for the bark and the branches, and hues of white and silver for the flower buds.

“Our daughter is the luckiest girl in the universe to have a mummy like you to make her such a beautiful room,” James murmured when Rose set down her paintbrushes.

She beamed at him, and then turned back around to admire her handiwork. James rested his chin on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her waist to hug her tightly, feeling so proud of his wife and so eager for their daughter to arrive.

Now that the walls were done, it was a simple matter of finding furniture. They decided on white for the crib, changing table, and rocking chair—a splash of light against the dark hardwood floors—and the cushions decorating the furniture were light purple, a perfect complement to the walls they’d painted.

“All that’s missing is a baby to put in this room,” James joked as he sat on the floor while Rose sat in the rocking chair, each of them working on their second slice of pizza.

“Nine more weeks,” she said wistfully, rubbing at her belly as their daughter kicked and squirmed. “I can’t wait.”

oOoOo

Bridget.

“Elena.”

Charlotte.

“Nicole.”

Amelia.

“Ava.”

We’re never going to decide, are we?

James sighed and scrubbed his hands across his face. With seven weeks to go until their daughter’s due date, the only thing they had yet to prepare for her was her name.

“We will, love,” he promised, hoping he was right. His dad’s words—that they would love whatever name they decided on—were still fresh in his mind, and he was holding on to that hope.

Doesn’t feel like it. Is it my suggestions? Are my name choices all atrocious and you’re just too bloody nice to me to say anything?

“No, love, that’s not it at all!” James said. “I’m just… this feels like such an important decision, y’know? I want to make sure we’ve covered all of our bases. And anyways, I’ve been keeping track of the names I particularly liked. Got a journal of potentials in my bedside table.”

You do?

“Yup. Every time you’ve suggested a name I liked, I wrote it down, along with the names I liked. Maybe we can go through that tonight? See if we can’t begin to narrow it down?”

Yeah, I’d like that. Thanks, James.

“Of course. I promise, we won’t be carrying an unnamed baby home from the hospital. She’ll have a name, and we’ll love it so much because it’s our daughter’s, and we love her so much already.”

Yeah, you’re right. That’s a good way to think about it.

“I can’t take credit for that one,” he admitted. “Dad told me that before your baby shower.”

Ahh, I should’ve known that’s something he would say. He’s so good at that. At giving advice and keeping us calm, y’know.

“Yeah, he is,” James said, and the anxiety that had been gradually building for the last month or so swelled through him again. He was going to be a father to a little human he made with Rose, and it was his job to keep her safe, and happy, and loved, but oh, there were so many ways he could muck it all up. “Do you think…”

Think what, love?

“Do you think I’ll be any good at that?” he asked. “At giving our daughter advice and making her feel better after she has a chat with me?”

Of course! And I’m not just saying that to make you feel better. You are so much like your dad in that regard. Every word that comes out of your mouth brings me so much comfort, because it’s spoken by someone who loves me so much. And yeah, sometimes I know you’re full of shit, but that’s okay because you’re trying and I love you for it. So yeah. You have nothing to worry about, love. You are going to be the best dad ever.

James exhaled raggedly in relief, trying his hardest to believe his wife, and hoping that she was right.

“Thanks, Rose. Love you. I’m heading home in a minute. Need me to pick anything up while I’m out?”

Pizza?

James chuckled. Rose had been craving pizza for the last month or so, to the point where he was on first-name basis with most of the pizzeria staff in town. They were all excited for the arrival of his daughter too, once they realized he was buying pizza on a regular basis for his pregnant wife.

“As my lovely wife wishes,” he said. “See you soon.”

Thirty minutes later, he was settled on the couch beside Rose, each of them with a plate of pizza. James opened up the journal and together they started reading through the names he’d scrawled through the pages over the months.

By the time the first yawn overtook Rose, they’d narrowed it down to about a dozen names.

“We’ve made quite a bit of progress tonight,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her hair as he closed the book and set it on the coffee table beside the pizza box. “Let’s sleep on it and come back to it tomorrow?”

Rose nodded, and grunted as she lifted herself to her feet.

“Blimey, I’m not sure how I can get much bigger than this,” she grumbled, pressing her hands to her lower back where an ever-present ache had taken up residence.

“Your body will accommodate it.” James shrugged. “You’re still the most beautiful woman in the solar system.”

“Just the solar system, eh?” Rose teased with a tongue-touched smile.

“Yeah, sorry, got a girl the next galaxy over who’s got you beat by a hair,” he murmured, walking up to her and resting his hands on her hips.

“Shame,” she whispered, looping her arms around his neck. “Who is this girl who’s stolen my husband’s attentions?”

“No one you know. Descended from tree-folk. Bark for skin. Vines for hair and fingers. Very sexy.”

To his surprise, Rose averted her gaze and bit her lip.

“I know we’ve not… But you don’t… Are you… Because I’m not interested in sex?”

James gaped down at his wife, his teasing suddenly forgotten at the very real vulnerability he heard in her voice.

“What? No! God, no! Rose, look at me.” He placed his fingers under her chin and tilted her head up until he could look into her eyes. “You are the sexiest woman in the universe.”

“Not just the solar system?” she laughed weakly.

“Nope, the entire universe,” he said firmly. “Not much into tree-folk, honestly. Too many splinters. You, on the other hand. You’re so soft and warm and are my favorite human being ever. I don’t mind that we haven’t made love recently. It’s okay. I can’t imagine how uncomfortable you must be, caring for our daughter and keeping her so safe and healthy. I can’t possibly thank you enough.”

Rose gave him a small smile and leaned into his chest for a hug. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, hoping to squeeze away any insecurities.

“Sorry,” she chuckled. “Being daft.”

“Just a bit,” he said, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head. “But it’s all right. You are the love of my life. Never doubt that.”

“I don’t,” she assured. “As I said… just being a bit daft. C’mon. Let’s go to bed.”

The next morning, Rose awoke before James, as was becoming the norm. She was up every few hours, either because she needed to pee, or because their daughter was dancing around inside of her. This time, it was both.

She grunted as she pushed herself up and out of bed, trying to be as quiet as possible to keep from waking James. When she came back into their room, relieved and refreshed, she was happy to see him still asleep.

She crawled back into bed and lay down beside her husband. He stirred and rolled onto his back, and his eyes cracked open slightly. He smiled at her, and mumbled something that she thought was an “I love you”, before he rolled away from her and hugged their duvet to his chest. He twisted his hips so one of his legs was draped across her shins, and Rose envied him the flexibility, and the ability to find comfort even in the most contorted position.

She was too alert and their baby was too active for her to go back to sleep, but she’d found a comfortable enough position that she didn’t want to start her day yet. So she grabbed her phone and started mindlessly flicking through her apps as she rubbed her stomach every time the baby kicked or elbowed her. She checked the weather and the news, and then opened her email to take a look at the journal articles her supervisor had sent her to peruse at her leisure.

She skimmed through the articles on new and upcoming photography techniques, and she was about to close out of her phone in favor of a cuddle with her husband when the author’s name caught her eye. C.S. Ainsley.

Ainsley.

Rose rolled the name around in her head and found that she really liked it. Now, to see if James would be in agreement…

She reached across James for the journal of baby names he’d set on his bedside table last night to add ‘Ainsley’ to the finalized list of potential names.

“Oops, sorry love,” she whispered when he woke up again from her moving around. “Go back to sleep.”

“M’kay,” he murmured, rolling over to face her again. He nuzzled up against her and tossed his leg across hers as he let his eyes flutter shut.

She could tell he wasn’t completely asleep though, but he was completely relaxed. She mindlessly petted his hair as she opened up the journal to the page they’d ended at last night and scribbled down the name.

“What’ve you got there?” he mumbled, rubbing his fists across his eyes as he arched his back in a lying-down stretch. He opened his eyes and saw the book in her hands. “Narrow it down further for us?”

“Added a new name,” she admitted, and James sat up and stuffed a pillow behind his back to mirror her position.

“And what name is that?” he asked, scanning down the list of names they’d come up with as final contenders.

“I-I saw it in an article I was reading this morning,” she said, chewing her lip as she watched his face.

“Ainsley,” he murmured, and Rose felt hopeful at the tenderness in his voice as he seemed to cradle the name on his tongue. “Ainsley. Aaaainsley. Ainsley Tyler-McCrimmon.”

“D’you like it?” she asked excitedly.

“Yeah, I do,” he said, resting his head on her shoulder. “I really do. Ainsley.”

He rubbed his hand across her belly, tickling his fingers around her belly button before moving down to cradle the skin over her uterus in his palm.

“Our little Ainsley,” he murmured. “What do you think? Is this the one? The name we’ve been looking for all these months?”

“Yeah,” she whispered, and she twined her fingers through his hair to coax his head back for a kiss. “Yeah, I think it is.”

[miggy-figgy]

Rossy De Palma Rossy de Palma, born in Palma de Mallorca, was originally a singer and dancer before being discovered by filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar in 1986. He cast her in roles based on her unique appearance which are best described as a Picasso come-to-life. In 1988, Rossy de Palma broke the rules of beauty when she starred in Pedro Almodóvar’s Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and became a model and muse for designers like Jean-Paul Gaultier and Thierry Mugler. Her status as an iconic fashion face was further cemented with her role in Robert Altman’s 1994 satirical fashion film Prêt-à-Porter. Today, she is a theater actress, charity spokesperson for the Ghanian Charity, OrphanAid Africa, and the face of luxury fashion ad campaigns. Some of the roles you’ve played in Almodóvar films include talk show host, drug dealer, a daughter trapped in a small town living with a hysterical mother, a snobby woman from Madrid, and now, in Julieta you play a malicious housekeeper who doesn’t know much of the world outside her own. You’ve been one of the most consistent Chica Almodóvar in the director’s filmography. Why do you think he always comes back to you? Well, not always. Out of 20 movies, I’ve only been in seven. It’s a pleasure to work with him. I mold myself well, and he knows that with me, he can do whatever he wants. I’m devoted to him and that has its advantages because he knows that I’m effective. I’ll give him whatever he wants. Do you remember the first time you met Pedro Almodóvar? Of course. Legend has it that we met in a bar. But, we met during the years of the Movida Madrileña. I had just arrived to the capital from Mallorca with my music group, Peor Imposible and he used to come to our shows. By that time he was already an underground legend. He had just wrapped What Have I Done to Deserve This? and was beginning to work on Matador. He was casting for that film, but I couldn’t make it because I had a concert in Alicante that same day. He was starting to nag me and I decided to play hard to get. I was going to seduce him from afar. He used to come to a bar I was working at, the King Creole and offered me a small role in Law of Desire. He asked me “Would you like to?” and I responded “Yes, yes; I couldn’t make it to the Matador casting” and he replied, “Ok, well, let’s go.”He was very happy with me. He wanted to portray who I was in Law of Desire. I did my own hair and makeup; I didn’t allow wardrobe to touch my look. I wanted to immortalize who I was aesthetically at that time. I played a TV journalist; but since I was dressed as myself, I didn’t feel like an actress. But, then, when he wrote me the part of Antonio Banderas’ snobby girlfriend in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown it was much more fun because that was the first time I worked as an actual actress. Did you work in any other movies between Law of Desire and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown? No. In the beginning of my career I only worked with Pedro because I was also focused on my music project. Later on, I started working in more films, but in Italy. I haven’t really worked much in Spain until recently. In Spain I only worked with Pedro. Did you want to be an actress when you were a young girl? I’ve been an actress from an early age because I acted differently around each person. I noticed that you had to become a different person. I was conscious that you needed to have a different psychology for each person in order to unite each of your complexities. I was also aware of the simulacra of things. I’ve always felt more of an artist than an actress. I like to keep various creative channels open. I would say that poetry was my first love. The Dadaist poets opened up this whole new dimension of thinking that made me aware that there was another world out there waiting for me. I recently worked in a performance called Residencia de Amor that deals with that: how art helps you survive and how therapeutic it is. Think of it as being the ugly ducking and suddenly you leave, and in this new world you are a Disney character. Tapping into that place of my consciousness without knowing that there was another world waiting for me really cheered me up. Then, also, you need to have music, art and all sorts of things that lift you in order to live another kind of reality because real life is tough. Have you always been connected to your voice within? Yes. I’ve always been connected to that spirit that we all have inside. In fact, I’m very rational; but everything I do creatively I do it from my unconsciousness. I like to surprise myself and see things as if they were the first time I saw them. When I have to interpret a character, I don’t like to prepare and study for it. I like to come from stillness. I welcome and work with accidents and errors. It enriches your life. You can’t think that you can control everything. You can’t control anything. No, you can’t. I don’t believe in that vanity that some artists who think they are creators. No. I believe that everything comes from a collective unconsciousness and when we allow ourselves to be receptive we become vehicles for it but we are not the protagonists. We can’t think, “Oh, I’m going to sit down and write a song.” No. That song came to you from the thousands of influences you have. You are a vehicle for art. I don’t believe in painters who are so self-deprecating. I prefer the humility behind being receptors and we are vehicles for creativity. We’re all artists. Julieta is a great film. His female characters continue to be his strongest suit. Yes. Isn’t this music very 90s? (Forever Young plays in the background) My partner says that time does not exist. My daughter tells me, “Mom, you’re so lucky to have lived in the 80s!” Yes, she’s right. No one can take those memories from me; but especially to have survived that decade, because so many didn’t make it. If it wasn’t drugs, it was AIDS and also the road. In those days the roads in Spain were awful; many fellow musicians like Tino Casal died in tragic car accidents. OD’s, AIDS and the road. Madre mía. All pathways. (Both laugh) And how did you make it? I was very mature in the 80s. I was in my 20s. My adolescence was in my 30s. I was serious in my 20s. All of my friends were getting high and I was everyone’s mother. I protected my friends. I was “homeless” but I had a daily planner. Pedro was always mesmerized by this; “look at her, she’s so organized!” Maybe it’s because you’re a Virgo. Yes, I am. Perhaps it’s that. But I had also moved from Mallorca to Madrid. I left behind my teenage brother and he needed me. My mother was hustling through the market in order to save enough money to send me 3000 pesetas [about $20] in a money order each month. It was so little and it was all she could. With that in mind, I knew I wasn’t there to waste time. I had to pave my road and if not, I went back home. I couldn’t distract myself. I was very clear with my intention. I also didn’t like drugs. Only weed. I don’t like drugs that affect my mindset and take me to other realities because the reality that we live in is already rough enough and psychedelic itself to take me somewhere else. I mean, back in the day we tried everything but weed, the relaxing kind. Sativa’s great but I’m more of an Indica girl. I didn’t get hooked to anything because I wanted to work and build. Let’s be realistic there is no money when you are starting out in music; so even when I worked at bars, I was a bad cocktail waitress because I wanted my patrons to stop drinking. They drank, and drank, and drank. I would tell them, “listen buddy, you just had one…” and the bar owners would come and tell me “This is not Alcoholic Anonymous, you’re here to sell drinks. Be cool. Don’t be such a…”  Don’t be so conscious… “Don’t be such a good girl…” I love playing evil characters but in life I’m such a good person. I’m a softy and I’m very sentimental. You know what I mean? That’s my personality. In theatre I like to play the bad girl because I compensate for being so good in real life. How do you channel it? Your character in Julieta is so malicious. You can’t judge a character because if not, you wouldn’t be able to interpret them. In an interview with Almodóvar, they ask him how can he create such evil characters and he says that he humanizes them. He starts living with the characters; what they eat? What kind of music they like? Yes. Yes. You have to humanize. I already told you that I like playing with the subconscious. I am so at ease to work with Pedro. First of all, he re-enacts exactly what he wants. You have to be careful not to copy him nor imitate him too much because if not, then you look like you’re imitating Pedro. You have to take it to your turf. But, he will do what he wants you to do. Down to a T. He’s very precise. He knows what he wants. And then you’re at ease because he’s moving you around and if you slip he will say, “No, no I don’t want you standing there.” He’s also obsessed with the tone of voice. “This word is too low. Higher…; This one went too high, I want it lower…,”  “This one went too low, I want it higher.” Or “You’re dropping your voice.” Obsessed. He has an ear that works for him and it’s impressive what he can do with it. I let go. I surrender to him. Anyone would. You’d be surprised… Some can’t do it because they don’t have the consciousness to process that Almodóvar is directing them. The important thing is to flow. Absolutely flow. You have to be at ease. Almodóvar is directing you. He will be precise. Really, you just got to play… We played a lot with this character because the newcomers, Adriana Ugarte (who plays the younger version of Julieta) and Daniel Grao (who plays Xoan, Julieta’s partner) had never worked with him. Before each take, he’d tell me, “Now, don’t tell them anything but when I scream ACTION! You come in expelling and shouting random things like “You don’t have a bathing suit? Well, I have a pair of old bragas that you could use.” They didn’t know what to do. Dumbfounded, they’d ask, “Is this going in?” They didn’t know what was going on! We had so much fun. Even though there was a seriousness in the character, when we were filming we had a lot of fun.”

What’s the thing you like the most about New York? It’s that thing I was telling you. That the distance between you and yourself is the shortest one. It’s great to know yourself here. No one looks at you. Everybody minds his or her business. There is a connection between you and your inner self that’s very important to know in order to evolve as a person. To get to know yourself and who you are. I almost moved here before I had my kids, moved to Paris and destiny took me somewhere else. But I almost did it with my friend Dorothy who lives here. We almost bought a townhouse. Back then they were so cheap.

Back to Julieta, it is a movie that touches your core. It leaves an emotional well. It’s hard to swallow. Three or four days after seeing it you’re getting flashbacks. It’s the kind of movie that leaves a scar. Sort of an echo… don’t you think? A few days go by and boom, another flash. I left in a state of shock. I had to drive after seeing it and I was so worried to be on the road; because the film left me a bit loopy. I was distraught.

It makes you think. The silence. The secrets. All that is dragged down due to miscommunication. But, it’s a movie that you have to let it breathe. Like in the beginning when you see that red creature and you don’t know what it is just to find out that it’s her breathing through the red nightgown. Everything goes in… smoothly. There’s no need to time stamp “three years earlier” or “two days later”. Everything flows. Time just comes in by itself.

Through her hairstyles. Well, that towel seen is marvelous. Reading that scene in the script was already a gem. I’d think, “what a beautiful transition”. You were excited by reading it. And the ending, which I can’t talk about you’re like “oh my God” A bit shaken. The way he moves the camera. You need to let it breathe…

Everyone somehow, someway sympathizes with Julieta. We’ve all gone through those moments of silence, assuming situations and changing your life in order to carry on. Or people who never speak again. It’s what Pedro would tell us in order to understand where he was coming from. Try to investigate what makes two people stop loving themselves. They stop communicating. They can’t look at themselves in the same way. They begin to have secrets. A black hole comes between them.

They say that it’s because you didn’t give the other what he or she wanted. Who knows? Each relationship is unique. I think the root (of couples separating) is misunderstandings. It’s a chain of consequences of misunderstandings and people take it personally when some things shouldn’t be a certain way. And then each one starts to victimize themselves and they start a competition of who suffers the most. Right?

And they don’t sit down to think. “Wait a minute. My partner is suffering too.” Yep. And then you can’t get close. I am dealing with things in personal life where I cannot tolerate to have my arm twisted any longer. It’s now not a question of “I don’t want to be dominated because I was once a super softy that always ended up forgiving everyone and now I am at a moment in my life where I can’t have relationships that fail me. Know what I’m saying? Even if they are family and people who I’ve loved for years I cannot give them that power any longer. It’s like “enough is enough”. Not even God can fail me now. Anything that drives you forward, yes. Everything that, as the French would say”, baton dans la rue, clipping your wings… I don’t want that.

Even if I adore you; I can’t give you that power. Sometimes if you don’t get to that point it’s like you can’t ever go back but it’s not about that. You need to seal things. Let the other know that you need your space. It’s more of a male to female dominance, patriarchal thing. I’m in another moment of my life. I finally learned to love myself. Just recently, really. To really love myself.

Me too. And now I can’t lose any of this gained momentum. I don’t want anything that fails nor hurts me. And if you have to re-enforce yourself, you do. You put on an emotional corset, tighten that shell and “nobody gonna come in there. No more, darling.” No more. That’s it. It’s a way of loving yourself without stopping to love other people; of course.

Of course. You have to learn to love yourself. Of course. I think you really have to learn to love yourself before you can really experiment love from others and let yourself be loved. If you don’t love yourself the right way, no one will. I’m sorry. It’s the truth.

And especially in an industry like this one. I’ve always been an outsider in every industry. I’m free and willing; I’m everywhere but I’m not anchored anywhere. I like that thing of not belonging. I’m not compromised to any political party. I’m an individualist and an anarchist. I cut it. I eat it. I don’t know… a little bit of freedom… Just having to answer to one person; yourself.

I’m going through a very similar process. You see yourself through what I’ve been going through. How old are you?

Thirty-three. You’re so young, that’s good! Well, look… it’s better to go through it now than when you’re my age. I’ve taken longer. But the important thing is to make it. I may be 52 but I feel like a young girl.

You need to keep your spirit young. Absolutely! Curiosity is fresh and although we’ve all suffered and everything; my innocence is still very fresh.

It’s in your eyes… …of a child. Yes, yes. I can’t stop being a little girl. When we’re children, that’s when we’re more authentic, when we really get to be our genuine selves. You can’t ever lose that. Ok?

It’s so challenging to live in a world that doesn’t want us to be our true selves. They want us like cattle; all the same. That’s why you always have to rebel.

How did you start? I mean, let’s start with my nose… Would you like some? How about a nose and a half! Although, it did help me hide that part of me that was more complex, no one could really see me and they just focused on my aesthetic.

I meant to ask you about that. Talking about my nose is cliché, but we can talk about it if you like. Beauty is so relative. What is really beautiful is nature; flowers… How can there be evil in the world when we have flowers? A thing as beautiful as flowers.  ‡ Published in the February 2017 issue of Iris Covet Book.  Photography by Sophy Holland | Styling by René Garza | Art Direction by Louis Liu 

[theinsatiables]

“In his long career, Pedro Almodóvar has been an enfant terrible, a national icon, a provocateur, a stylist, and a starmaker; at 67, he is still somehow all of the above. His newest movie, Julieta, about a woman’s life before and after a tragedy, is as lush as a Renaissance painting, as emotionally taut as a divorce. In its cold-eyed sobriety and sharp-edged realism, the film feels like something new from Almodóvar; in its studied languor, something familiar. Like his 1988 breakthrough, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Julieta features the bewitching Rossy de Palma, and like High Heels (1991), it stars two gorgeously shot women of different ages (Adriana Ugarte and Emma Suárez) contemplating desire and betrayal. Julieta is, in other words, like Almodóvar’s 19 other movies, except in the ways it’s different. This is the pleasure of Almodóvar’s world—its capacity to comfort and surprise, often in the same shot. Over nearly four decades, the director has skewed from deliriously silly (1982’s Labyrinth of Passion, about a nymphomaniac pop starlet’s affair with a gay prince) to darkly, creepily romantic (1990’s Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, in which Antonio Banderas kidnaps a porn star) to sublimely breathtaking (1999’s All About My Mother, which won Almodóvar an Academy Award). He also has yet to make an uninteresting film. Here’s to 20 more.”

-Zach Baron

[pdt-b]

Hello again Ms Bear. Glad you got my message. I read guilty feminist book but the podcast is better. Some of her personal stories will break your heart. She was briefly Jehovah’s Witness but got out. I also mentioned Sara Bareilles, Hadestown, and Pedro Almodovar if you care to comment lol. I’m sure you have things to say about broadway. Hope you’re well.

Good evening Dear Anon;

(at least, I presume that it could be evening if you were on either side of the Atlantic... and earlier evening if you’re touching the Pacific ocean). 

I will do a search for the podcast. :)

Mmm. Sara Bareilles - I am always glad to learn that my favourites have made it into the mainstream -- especially over the holiday season that just passed. :) Between the holiday music duet that she had with Seth McFarlane, and various other songs off her albums, I’m glad that she’s garnered both good radio play exposure and I can hear less male pop vocals... ;-)

Commenting on Broadway - the past two weeks just saw the production run end for Waitress (I shall miss the smell of pie) and I’m already looking forward to the spring. Maybe this year is the year where I will get to line up my ducks and see some work in NYC while it’s still playing there. Among the productions: the ever present Company with Patti LuPone and Katrina Lenk - the wonderful London transfer with Lenk being Bobbie :)

As well, Jagged Little Pill because why wouldn’t I try to support another Canadian music icon... ;-) Possibly Six and depending on timing - maybe Caroline, Or Change as well as the Off-Broadway revival of Assassins.

Hadestown - I haven’t played a full version of cast recording so a song intermittently isn’t enough for me to fall in/out of like for a musical. Although, I’ve found that I can listen to an occasional song from an ALW musical, but not to a full opening-to-ending listen. Aka, songs yes, whole cast recordings no.

Pedro Almodóvar - I know of him but not because of his films, I mean, because of that one film: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. I really do like the cast recording - if for nothing else, every time Model Behavior with Laura Benanti singing the role of Candela demands that I not turn away from the song until it’s finished.

Trusting this answers (in part) your questions,

-pdt