#... and pretty. And talented. And pretty. And brave. And exuberant. And pretty.

[miraculousmarifan]

Felinette Month 2020 - Day 18: Heist

I swear there is actually something to do with a heist for the @felinettenovember​ prompt, even if this is mostly just fluff where Felix is still really under the influence of anesthetics after wisdom teeth surgery. It’s so much easier to not be out of character for him if he’s got no impulse control ;)

Around 1200 words of fluff and sort of identity reveal, even if neither are going to realize it’s actually true when he comes down off the drugs.

Chat!Felix definitely is chaotic enough to pull a heist...

"Marinette! Where are you? I want Marinette! Help!" Felix panicked, trying to get up too fast and falling back on top of her. She was starting to think it was going to be a long day.

“I’m right here. Don’t worry!” Marinette replied quickly, grabbing his wrists gently to stop his flailing arms and then cupping his hands in hers.

“Hi pretty lady! I’m so glad you’re here. You’re the best.” his words slurred together a bit, clearly struggling to enunciate with the cotton still in his mouth. Marinette couldn’t help but smile whenever he came back to wanting her around. It was nice to know he really wanted to spend time with her. She had reached the point of simply making a contented sound in response to his semi-regular compliments, especially since he often didn’t comprehend when she replied and started going down another rabbit hole.

“You’re so smart too! You have these ideas! So many ideas… All the ideas! And then you just do them! It’s so amazing! You’re just the most amazing! Even more than Ladybug,” as he spoke, he shifted so he was cuddling up to her side and staring up at her with wide, reverent eyes. She didn’t mind his head resting against her shoulder like that, even if she questioned how comfortable that could be for his mouth. At this distance, she noticed how chapped his lips were and wished she could reach some lip balm to help him. It would be unfortunate if they cracked open and bled. He had enough to worry about with making sure the stitches in his mouth healed up well.

“Thank you Felix. Do you mind if I get up quick to grab you some lip balm?” He groaned in response and rolled away from her with a pout. She smiled again, getting up and grabbing the container she eyed from her seat. He was such a child like this. She also grabbed two glasses of water and set them on her coffee table before hurrying back to sit by him.

She had quickly figured out that if she was out of his sight for more than a minute or so, he would call out for her. Going to the bathroom resulted in his panicked pleas. The one time she told him where she was going, he followed and sat outside the door, pawing at it pathetically while whining that he wanted to be near her. He was completely fine to go to the bathroom though, which was almost baffling. It was honestly a little exhausting compared to how aloof he normally acted with her. Almost like how a cat will just so happen to constantly be in the same room as you and then is really needy when you get back after being gone longer than usual. 

When Felix had requested that she and her family take care of him on the day that he got his wisdom teeth out (something about his bodyguard having other obligations and his father being on an international business trip), she had assumed it was because he didn’t want to pay someone to and figured she wouldn’t video him when he was still under the influence of anesthetics. He wasn’t wrong about that part either. This experience had shown her that it was also because he really enjoyed her company though.

“We should steal the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen!” Felix declared excitedly.

“Okay Felix. We can wait until after the anesthetic is worn off all the way, right?” she requested in the most soothing tone she could manage while stifling a laugh. His mind sometimes switched gears so quickly.

“No! We’ve got to plan it now! We’re going to do it right now! It can’t be hard!” Felix howled with hands waving in protest. Marinette couldn’t believe how cute he was being, even if this was completely crazy. Maybe she should video tape him like this, since he won’t believe it later. “It’ll be just like that one ridiculous American movie! The one with the lady and the two guys!”

She hummed back at him, raising her eyebrows slightly in amusement. “Do you watch a lot of American movies?”

“No. I saw that though. I don’t know how though. I’m supposed to know how, aren’t I?” his voice went up in pitch, clearly getting nervous about his memory.

“It’s okay if you don’t remember that. It doesn’t really matter…” Marinette put her hand up to run through his hair. He wrapped himself around her again and stared up at her with an intense interest.

“Has anyone told you that you look a lot like Ladybug? And you’re just as smart. And kind. And talented. And really fun. And you’ve got a lovely voice. It’s so nice and soothing…” his voice betrayed that he was trying to really think this through, even if he was seemingly a little off track. Marinette fought to keep the blush down and nervously chuckled. Apparently while under the influence, he was more likely to figure out her identity. That was important to know so she could try to avoid that later. 

“Oh! That’s so nice to say Felix! I’m pretty sure I’m not brave enough to be her though…” She hoped this loose reasoning would make him stop his train of thought.

“I’m gonna tell you a secret, Princess--” he poked her nose gently, “-- I am actually Chat Noir. And it would be great if you were Ladybug. You’d make the best Ladybug…” he trailed off for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts. Marinette tried not to let her shock show on her face. She didn’t know how to process that this distant boy was Chat. It has to be something he just thinks from the anesthetics. It can’t be real.

Chat told me that he wasn’t going to be available this week because of a medical thing he was dealing with… He warned me in case there was an akuma and so I wouldn’t expect him for patrols but assured me it wasn’t super serious as long as he took care of it then… If Felix was actually Chat, the timing would make sense…

“If you were Ladybug, it would make the heist so much easier too! We could just go in all stealthy or claim that we had gotten wind of some criminal planning to steal the Declaration and offer to guard it, then sneak out with it when nobody was watching! Who would guess it was Paris’ heroes?” he babbled and Marinette breathed a little bit easier. He didn’t actually figure out my identity, he was just thinking about his silly heist idea. He probably isn’t Chat Noir and just thinks he is from the drugs.

“That would make a heist easier…” she acknowledged. He brightened at her, smiling wider than reasonably expected with a mouth full of cotton wads. 

“Sweet! Even if you aren’t Ladybug, we can do this!” Felix was still leaning over her when he sat up most of the way, resulting in his face right in front of hers. His eyes sparkled and she found his exuberance infectious. She chuckled a little, looking away for a moment. He quickly reached out and touched her cheek lightly.

“I’d ask to kiss you too if I could feel my mouth.”

Marinette had been having a day full of surprises and it seemed that Felix wasn’t about to stop any time soon.

[fizzingwizard]

WOW this show is not pulling its punches! :O holy granola

I honestly don’t know what to think... at this rate original Adventure would be over already x’D

anyway ep 2 thoughts under the cut!

We left off with the end of the world! Already! We pick up with the somewhat low key first meeting of Taichi and Yamato. I’ll admit, I was expecting a bit more drama between them, but Yamato seems reserved, but mostly chill. He doesn’t let Taichi’s over-eagerness push his buttons. I suppose it helps Takeru’s not involved.

I like how he’s got his arms spread as if he’s gonna stop Garurumon somehow. Even with a giant dino backing you up, you just look silly!

First of all, Garurumon can JUMP. If I don’t see him jump over a building in the human world, I will be Disappoint.

So Greymon and Garurumon know each other. This is completely glossed over, btw! Looking forward to finding out what it means. They also sound not only like they know each other, but like something happened where they possibly could have died, and they didn’t know till now that they both survived. WHAT HAPPENED I HAVE TO KNOW.

Gawd, Taichi, RUDE much?? lol

Taichi takes out his digivice to reveal his POCKET KOUSHIROU. POCKET KOUSHIROU, EVERYONE. I CANNOT COPE

Taichi immediately introduces everyone and tries to make friends. That goes over as well as might be expected.

Yamato: “Ugh not this FRIENDS stuff again, this always leads to me crying and looking uncool, I hate looking uncool!”

I think the primary reason Yamato goes along with Taichi in the end is because Koushirou is freaking useful. He’s got all the info on the missiles which are apparently about to be launched from an American submarine. And apparently Koushirou speaks English fluently too. Behold:

It’s not that I’m surprised, it’s just WHEN DID HE HAVE TIME between becoming a computer genius and making friends with all these experts AT TEN YEARS OLD? How has this kid not been snapped up by some college?? I guess that sort of thing isn’t super common in Japan but STILL.

Yamato may be impressed, but he’s still Yamato:

Koushirou: “Uh... well, technically... yes, but... it’s just a matter of perspective, you see... classified, unclassified... i-it’s all semantics, really...”

The reason Taichi and Koushirou are besties (well, will be) and not Yamato and Koushirou is clear. Taichi doesn’t even care. Classified? Potential hacking going on? Who cares?? It’s cool!

So cool that he calls Koushirou “awesome” two MORE times in the space of like a minute.

HE LOOKS SO PROUD OF HIS POCKET KOUSHIROU

... idk man I can’t get over it what the heck is this. Taichi sitting on Greymon holding teeny hologram Kosuhirou in his hand like he’s his magic familiar. Omg.

Yamato: “Get a room you two”

Taichi: “A room? For what? Karaoke?”

Yamato: “sure thats totally what i meant”

Koushirou: *garbled sputtering*

The purpose of this line is to establish that shy though he may be, Koushirou is a level higher than Yamato in terms of *desire* to make friends and be social. Yamato’s like “Izumi” and Koushirou’s like “Uh Izumi is my dad...”

Taichi comes on as strong as you’d expect, but like I said earlier, Yamato doesn’t rise to the bait the way I thought he would. I kind of expect Taichi’s exuberance will wear him down in the future, though. In this ep, having Koushirou’s brains and Taichi’s extra fire power around is useful enough that Yamato tolerates it, albeit reluctantly.

They go off to fight the baddie of the day.

Holy guacamole, Greymon can jump too. Though he lacks Garurumon’s grace and ummm ability to land.

EPISODE TWO, HE’S AT IT AGAIN. PLEASE LET THIS BE A REGULAR THING.

There’s not nearly enough Koushirou in this ep for me, but what we do get is pretty good stuff. Besides, we can tell from the various graphs and squiggles on his computer screen that he’s doing Important Work.

Taichi and Yamato start to fight. Yamato clearly knows what he’s doing. Taichi is impressed, but not intimidated. A bit annoyed that Yamato’s not more communicative though. All things considered, they’re getting on ASTONISHINGLY well.

I mean, they’re already fusing together. xD

THE BIG BAD GOES AHEAD AND EVOLVES...

... into a hay stack. Digimon, man.

Side note: The music in this show is pretty cool so far. I love the creepy vibe with the viruses. Can’t be as complimentary to the art as I was before, but I am still digging the facial expressions and body language. Even when the art’s rushed, they get a lot more in than the old show did.

Yamato gets electrocuted! :o oh noez!

Greymon: “Don’t worry I gotcha!”

Greymon: “OOF I don’t gotcha...”

THEY BOUNCE LIKE SKIPPING STONES.

So, if this were an ep of Adventure, I’d expect them to evolve to the next level at this point. Except this is episode two. Getting to the next level should be hard... right?

More on that later.

Taichi gets a moment where we can see why he makes a good leader, when push comes to shove. He already figured out that Yamato Knows Stuff, even though Yamato won’t talk to him. Rather than feel intimidated (or jealous), he wants to pool their talents. Koushirou’s the research guy, but Yamato knows the turf. Taichi’s able to understand how valuable that is, so he won’t stop asking questions no matter how much he’s rebuffed. And Yamato’s not stupid. He may not want to talk to Taichi, but he wants to lose even less.

But while on the one hand we get a glimpse of Taichi’s ability to bring out his teammate’s strengths and utilize them in a strategy, we also get a peek at Yamato’s comparative caution and reluctance to take on danger if it’s not necessary. Yamato’s reason for not immediately telling Taichi “the way” is he’s concerned about the effect it’ll have on their partners. Something Taichi is not always great at taking into consideration when he’s hyped up. Koushirou’s not great at it either, for that matter. Which is why Yamato is so important: he’s brave and willing, but he doesn’t get so set on an idea without figuring out how it will affect those around him. It’s not that Taichi is insensitive, he’s just quite goal-oriented, and this is something he very much learns from Yamato as well as the others in the original Adventure.

THE TEAM IS ALL COMING TOGETHER MAN. I’M CRY.

More in part 2!!

[your-dietician]

'You have to just love it'

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/sports/you-have-to-just-love-it/

'You have to just love it'

Jazz Chisholm knows that baseball is difficult, that there remains a significant gulf he must cross to match his significant talent and overwhelming charisma to his production.

Right now, this is who Jazz is: A rookie infielder for the Miami Marlins whose stat line says his production is just above league average, but his swag suggests he’s anything but.

This is who Jazz could be: A dynamic, powerful, five-tool force, whose desire to disrupt the game could vault him atop the short list of burgeoning baseball stars with ever-elusive crossover appeal.

This is how he plans to get there: By sacrificing nothing – certainly not the vicious bat speed from his swing that ensures the home runs he does hit go very, very far. And certainly not the exuberance that vaulted him from the Bahamas to the big leagues, endearing him to fans and perhaps enabling him to join some of his athletic heroes – Kobe, LeBron, KD – as a wonder known only by one name.

And what’s the tune Jazz lives by?

“To this day,” he says, “I just always try to tell kids to be themselves. Don’t let nobody change you. You go out there and play the way you want to go play.

“That’s why I always do the crazy hair colors, I do my dances and I just have fun out there because I just want everybody to know, it’s OK to have fun on the baseball field.

“You know?”

If you don’t, you probably will soon.

Jazz Chisholm looks on before a game against the Braves.

Mark Brown, Getty Images

‘Why not bring it into the game?’

Perhaps you found out on Opening Day, when Chisholm fulfilled a promise made to Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara. Chisholm, whose hair changes color with the ease of South Florida weather patterns, was planning a platinum blonde look.

Yet as spring training wound down and Chisholm – who debuted on Sept. 1 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 – had a shot to make his first Opening Day roster, Alcantara had a suggestion.

Make the team, he said, and you dye your hair blue.

“I said, ‘I got you,’” Chisholm recalls. “It was history from there.”

Chisholm came through, breaking camp with the squad and showing up for the opener with a tone resembling a Louie-Bloo Raspberry Otter Pop.

Perhaps you noticed a couple weeks later, when Chisholm hit his second home run of the season, a towering shot off Atlanta’s Charlie Morton, and then, befitting his significant basketball skills, debuted a euro step as he crossed home plate.

Contrived?

Nope. Just a part of his personality, reflexive as a fist bump or handshake.

“I will walk around the clubhouse euro-stepping on people,” he says. “I’ll be in front of someone and last second, I’ll give ‘em a euro, you know, like, ‘Get out of the way.’ It’s something I do all day, every day.

“So why not bring it into the game? Why not misdirect it going into home, and then step on it?”

Chisholm has nine homers and 10 steals in 51 games.

Jasen Vinlove, USA TODAY Sports

It’s not like Chisholm is pimping home runs that scraped the top of the wall.

He is the only player this season to go deep on pitches of at least 100 mph, doing it first off the great Jacob deGrom on April 18 and then the Phillies’ Jose Alvarado a month later. He is, in fact, the only player with two such homers since pitch-tracking began in 2008.

Listed at 5-11 and 184 pounds, Chisholm – full name Jasrado Hermis Arrington Chisholm – seemingly manifested his skills by watching his grandmother play softball.

Yeah, Grandma could turn on one.

“The small person with the pop? Yeah, I think I got that from her, too,” he says.

Patricia Coakley, now 77, played on the Bahamian national softball team, and played the sport long enough for Jazz to see her compete both in slow- and fastpitch formats. He saw himself in her, from the aforementioned quick bat to the tenacious baserunning approach to her play at shortstop.

And so when Chisholm was barely old enough to hold a bat, he called dibs on the position, fully intending to never leave.

“I just loved seeing her play shortstop. I fell in love with watching her, too,” he says. “It was always like that from when I was probably 4 and 5 – just run straight to shortstop.

“Grandma’s a shortstop, I’m a shortstop.”

 Clearly, he picked an excellent role model, though there weren’t many others locally. Just eight players from the Bahamas preceded Chisholm to the majors, with infielder Andre Rodgers – who played from 1967 to ’77 – the only one to hold down anything resembling a full-time role. Antoan Richardson was the most recent, serving largely as a pinch runner from 2011 to 2014, and he’s now a coach for the San Francisco Giants.

Young Jazz focused on his grandmother’s exploits and fixated on televised games featuring Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds and Derek Jeter.

And was convinced he’d play on their level.

“I always told myself that I was going to be a big leaguer, from a very young age,” he says. “It was not really tough believing I was going to be a big leaguer.”

Chisholm played plenty of ball stateside as a child, often in Miami, and attended a prep school in Kansas for a spell, eventually signing with Arizona as an international free agent. While he’s sanguine about his own rise, he’s humbled when he ponders his impact back home.

“Every time I go to the Bahamas I see a little kid telling me, ‘Hey, you made me start playing baseball,’” he says. “It makes me smile nonstop when I hear that.”

They have a dynamic hero to follow, even if he’s an unfinished product. Chisholm is on pace to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases this season; he clubbed his ninth home run of the season Thursday night in a loss to the Washington Nationals, pushing his batting average to .258 and his OPS to .766.

With just 276 plate appearances behind him, Chisholm has room to grow. That makes him a good match for Miami, which acquired him from Arizona for pitcher Zac Gallen in 2019. “I love the people out here,” he says. “This is just the life that I feel like I was here to live. My kind of place.”

Chisholm celebrates a home run against the Mets.

Andy Marlin, USA TODAY Sports

Fresh fish

The Marlins are 31-43 and lagging in the NL East, a pitching-centric club with a lineup that looks emaciated even within this season’s historically grim league environment.

Yet for a franchise dogged for decades by ham-handed ownership, they have a decidedly fresh feel.

They have a quietly beautiful ballpark still not yet a decade old, yet new owner Bruce Sherman bears none of the blame for bamboozling the city into a hideously bad stadium deal. In Jeter they have a CEO with star power but also patience, and the forward-thinking mentality to hire the first woman as a major league GM, the highly-regarded Kim Ng.

Alcantara and rookie lefty Trevor Rogers are worthy aces, with the injured Sixto Sanchez also capable of holding that role. At Class AA Jacksonville, pitching prospects Max Meyer and Edward Cabrera join outfielder J.J. Bleday, all consensus top 100 prospects nearing the big leagues.  

In Miami, Chisholm defers to veterans such as Jesus Aguilar and Miguel Rojas, who when healthy nudges Chisholm to second base. From a baseball standpoint, Chisholm says he goes to great lengths not to “get cocky with the veterans.”

Yet they share a desire to keep things loose, from the clubhouse to the kicks; Rojas has long used social media to amplify his shoe game, while Chisholm has donned footwear celebrating concepts as disparate as Miami Vice and Oreo cookies.

Earlier this week, he debuted a gold chain that commemorated a remarkable leaping catch against the Tampa Bay Rays.

“The Miami Marlins’ whole roster right now – you look at what they’re wearing on their feet, even down to the coaches sometimes, it’s just straight heat, I’m not going to lie,” says Chisholm. “Everybody is just into that stuff – having the swag, having fun on the field.”

 It all may seem a bit excessive for a second-division club, yet the Marlins also made the playoffs in 2020 and swept the Chicago Cubs out of them. Manager Don Mattingly says the veteran tone set by the likes of Aguilar and Rojas “helps your club create an atmosphere that guys like playing in.” He is confident Chisholm will develop greater consistency both in routine and performance, calling his development arc “pretty normal” for a first-year player.

As for Chisholm, he’s prepared for the roller-coaster the game provides. His homer Thursday broke a 15-day streak without a dinger, a period filled with too many weak ground balls. It is a hallmark of the game he chose that he might go days without making an impact, when instead of euro stepping over the plate he’s making an abrupt right turn back to the dugout.

He cannot control his fate in a manner that LeBron can or Kobe could, and if he’s given just one pitch to turn and burn on, he may very well miss it.

Chisholm knows this well and chooses not to dwell on it. Like the island kid who just knew he’d be a big leaguer some day, Chisholm may be right when he believes this game will reward his undying love for it.

“It’s not frustrating,” he says of failure, “because you know how hard the game is. It’s just like, ‘Man, I’m just praying I get another one. Give me another one.’ It’s not really like, ‘Man, I missed my only chance.’ No, because you still got two more strikes to play with. And you might get the worst swing of your life off, but it can be a hit.

“This game can really mess with your mind – because you could be hitting the ball as hard as you want every day and not get a hit. And then you can go break four bats in one day and have four hits. That’s why you have to just love it. Because even though it takes away, it gives back.

“And it gives back big.”

Source link

[toyahinterviews]

TOYAH ON BBC RADIO LONDON WITH JUMOKE FASHOLA 3.10.2020

JUMOKE: A new drive-in music experience is coming to London on the 7th of October where you'll be able to watch live recordings from all the greats from Madonna to David Bowie from the comfort of your car or chair. Joining us now is 80's star and this year's host Toyah Willcox. Toyah - good morning! So lovely to have you on the programme! TOYAH: Thank you Jumoke. I have not been up this early in a while. I'm a concert singer like you. Mornings are very very strange places (laughs) JUMOKE: I did think that, you know! I said "Toyah! This time of the morning?!" I was like "she must be enthusiastic about this!" TOYAH: Of course I am! Absolutely. But I'm used to going to bed six in the morning. I'm usually driving back from Glasgow or I'm driving back from Penzance. Always on the road so this is fabulous! And I live in a market town and I'm looking out onto the street and it's completely quiet. It's rather beautiful JUMOKE: How lovely! Thank goodness you know how to drive because this is all about a drive-in 

TOYAH: It is for me really important because from about the beginning of April live performers – and I'm very much ... 99% … my living is as a live performer and a live musician – all our incomes stopped. And when you think about the technicians who put up all the stages, who do all the sound, they carry all the equipment  … These technicians have not had any financial support for six months now. So the whole reason that Deezer is doing this 80's drive-in is to raise funds for live musicians, mainly the technical team. The drive-in is going to be beautiful. Everything is going to be priced at 80's prices. The ticket is only £15, but you'll get a burger and a drink for 70p. And we want everyone to dress up, come with an 80's spirit. I call it a big warm 80's hug. This is the decade of showing off, exuberance, of big brash music and there will be wonderful concerts on the screen by David Bowie, Stevie Nicks, Madonna and Prince. I mean could that be any better? And I believe I'm singing too JUMOKE: Oh are you?! What a wonderful treat! It must be lovely actually to be able to go out and do that after all this time? TOYAH: It's phenomenal to be able to sing live. I don't know about you Jumoke … In my house I have a green screen studio that connects me to the world … I have recording facilities so I've been recording in New York, I've been in LA – from my home. So I've had six months of super creativity and super worry about everyone's health but it's all been from the one address. So to actually get out there and see and hear a live audience is such a privilege 

JUMOKE:

And you as an artist – it must've been an extraordinary time the early 80's into the 90's. What was it like for you a performer but also being surrounded by these legends?

TOYAH:

It was magical because back then everything was on a such a quick ascension to do with technology. I had my first hit in '81 although I was really super successful as an album artist from '78. So '81 MTV launches in August and that changed the world because not only were we singers – we had to make videos so we became very visual artists.

And what I remember about the 80's apart from playing in the stadiums and festivals to 200 000 people was that we had to create these really powerful looks that people would remember and for me it was big hair, very dramatic clothes. I always came on as a warrior woman looking far larger than life. And I remember the 80's as being very warm and very inclusive of the audience but of course when we got the 90's everyone remembered the 80's because of Margaret Thatcher and I think now we can forget the associated politics of the time and just hear the music. I have so many young fans under the age of 25 who contact me all the time saying “we've just discovered you! Oh wow!” And it's all new to this generation which is so rewarding

JUMOKE: It's interesting when you talk about the fashion as well because now everybody seems to have a stylist and a stylist and a half and three stylists, whatever - but you must've just been going "I just want to be me and this is what I'm going to do" and that must've been so exciting? TOYAH: It was very important to me as one of the rare females in the industry back then and you didn't have female executives in the industry in the UK back then – you did in the USA and it's a really important factor that women were involved in the industry so here I was, barely five foot tall, I didn't look like a supermodel – I had to make my mark. So I did by working with really wonderful arts students – a phenomenal woman called Melissa Caplan handmade all my clothes as she did for Bananarama and Spandau Ballet as well and Steve Strange of Visage. She hand painted everything so we were very very striking (below). All of our hair was never natural colour, mine was always orange so I had a lot of say in it – it meant a lot to me that I lifted that glass ceiling for women who didn't look like supermodels and said it doesn't matter what shape or size you are … If you've got an idea, that's what counts, it's your voice that counts and that was really really effective. I got about 10 000 letters a week off young girls saying "thank you, I never had confidence in myself and you've given me confidence." So that was really important to me then and it's really important to me today   

JUMOKE: Thank goodness you did do that because even today we are still battling those kind of stereotypes - which surprising given the amount of technology we've got and the opening of the doors and the glass ceiling and all of that kind of stuff that has been shattered but for some reason the music industry in particular seems to be hung up on this idea of what beauty (is) and what is accessible in terms of music and pop? TOYAH: Well, that's a really interesting question because who is driving that? Because when you look at the really big women, the über triple A-list women  - I think to some extent it's their choice and then when you look at the kind of natural level of social media … that's where the problem is because young girls think that is a normality and it isn't a normality. I think a normality comes from the beauty within and when you've got a young girl who has a phenomenal voice, phenomenal talent – that's all that counts. That's all that matters – is that that talent gets to the stage, that that talent gets nurtured, that a career gets nurtured and both you and I know this. We need those people that nurture and move us forward and  support us so we can be artists. So I would say there's a huge division between the A-listers and the young generation coming up because I think it's unrealistic to put the body beautiful before the talent. I just don't think it's right. And you've got such talent in this country and around the world so the more the industry and the executives in the industry can help the talent the better is what I say. If you were to ask me why am I still here is because I've always driven my talent and I've slightly laughed at my physicality. And the way I say that – I'm very quirky, I'm very off-the-wall, this drive-in on Wednesday I'm going to be in full costume. It's a costume (below) you either find amusing or incredibly beautiful

JUMOKE: Oh my gosh! I love the idea of this but also what I love about this idea of looking back to the 80's in this way is that it will remind people about the individualism that really structured and was part of music industry - which we hope can regain some footing TOYAH: You just hit the nail on the head. It's individuality. And that for me – I'm 62 … I remember the 60's very very well. The 70's incredibly well  … it was the incredible individuality of the artists. It seemed to come before the music to a certain extent. I think individuality opens many doors for younger generations – to just step through that door and be brave enough and put their hand up and say “I have a voice”. I think individuality is pretty glorious thing and it's not always to do with body shape or   really selling your agenda. I think it's selling your ideas so I totally totally get that. Individuality. JUMOKE: Alright - so it's this coming Wednesday, the 7th of October, it's part of National Album Day - TOYAH: And I'm a National Album Day ambassador - JUMOKE: Oh, fantastic! TOYAH: And we're celebrating on the 10th of October artists' albums rather than single songs. Complete works. So with the drive-in London – it's all to help the technicians within the music industry who are unable to earn a living JUMOKE: It's been a joy Toyah, thank you so much for joining us this morning. The legend that is Toyah Willcox! I was really inspired by that conversation. Thank you Toyah, for sharing your memories of the 80's   

[jay-michaels-public-relations]

Article contributed to Five Star Arts Journal by Jay Michaels

Comic Books – like their characters – have a secret identity. The mild-mannered paper and ink funnies are also the next level of Greek tragedy or Shakespearean epic.

Comic Artists – like their characters – also have a secret identity thrust upon them. Hard-working children of immigrants throughout the sixties grabbing a job in a time when such things were scarce drew fun and fantastical stories about improbable human beings … and outer planet dwellers. These progression-of-image books have – thanks to Godlike advances in cinema and the paranoia of psychiatrists throughout the fifties and sixties have become the new da Vincis and Picassos.

Sadly, like their characters, these artists were always lauded for their work. their stories are the fodder of -well- comic books.

Ditko tells the story of Steve Ditko, a comic book illustrator virtually forgotten by the masses, but celebrated by comic book fans everywhere. Chronicling his rise in the comic book industry, Ditko was instrumental in Marvel’s success by co-creating two of comics most iconic characters, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange and several of DC’s silver age icons, Hawk and Dove, Shade the Changing Man, and the Creeper. Ditko also worked for virtually every other publisher of note including Warren, Charlton, Pacific, and Eclipse, co-creating other iconic characters like Mr. A, the Question and Blue Beetle. he also created some of the 1950s most startling imagery in sci-fi and fantasy comics. ironically, Spiderman was meant to be one of those fantasy one-shot characters for a comic book called Amazing Fantasy. Stan Lee, planning to cancel the poor-selling monster book, let Ditko draw one of those far-out characters for the last issue. The rest, as they say …

The Daydream Theatre and TheatreLab NYC present DITKO, a play written & directed by Lenny Schwartz on October 1 & 2 at 7:30pm Tickets: $15 in advance at Ovationtix.com and $20 at the door the location of TheatreLab is 357 WEST 36th STREET 3RD FLOOR – NEW YORK

Some actors have the honor of playing Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, and Lear … others have a more lofty experience. Derek Laurendeau plays Steve Ditko; Dave Almeida dons a cigar for his role as Jack Kirby; Anne Bowman plays a mystic master – no, not Doctor Strange … Ayn Rand. And Geoff White takes the elevator to the floor ABOVE Mount Olympus as Stan Lee. The avengers assembled also include Samantha Acampora, Christopher Ferreira as Jerry Robinson/Dick Giordano (talk about Marvel AND DC), Mindy Britto, Emily Lamarre, and Timothy DeLisle.

At the New York Comic Con in 2010, Stan Lee entered the stage and someone from the back of the house screamed “YOU’RE A GOD, STAN”  We asked the cast … well is he? Well, are you? And what’s it like playing Gods.

Derek Laurendeau: 

To me comic books aren’t becoming a religion, they are one. As with most religions you have practices, prayers, meditations, and most of all stories that give the moral standards and practices of them. Comic books in their own way share many of these. Many people routinely make pilgrimages to the conventions or their comic book shops to share in the collective story telling of hundreds of artists and writers. The whole community (artists, editors, writers, fans, etc.) shapes these stories. The stories give us the hope and ability to cope with the world around us. The comics are also a mythology on their own. Superheroes are god like and while the stories can be bombastic, heroic adventures at the end of it all the heroes themselves are just as human as we are and through that relatability you can gain strength to overcome any difficulties. Also like most religions there are divisions that you see when stories adapt and change. Most recently the Miles Morales Spiderman comes to mind as an example of the rift that can divide comic fans.

“I feel like we’re not playing gods. Ditko, Lee, Kirby, and Robinson were humans just like us.”

They had their flaws and faults just like anyone would have. The fans may see them as these deities, but at the end of the day they were just men and women creating from their imaginations. They created these characters not knowing what would happen. The act of creation is what they knew best and by putting the work in and giving their art every bit of energy they had they made magic happen on the pages. I feel like my responsibility to the role is to show the humanness of these great people. Yes they created heroes that will not be forgotten any time soon. But Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and Jerry Robinson all started at the same place behind a table with nothing but an idea, paper, and something to write and draw with. The truth is anyone can do what they did as long as you have passion and are committed one hundred percent to making your destiny happen. However I do feel an extra responsibility to Ditko since very little is known of him and for a lot of people seeing the show it was the first time they had ever heard of him. So i feel a duty to do my best to represent Steve as the sure minded, smart, and talented artist he was.

Geoff White, like the characters he plays (Stan Lee) was a bit more irreverent. 

Growing up in the 60’s, I was the usual comic book kid… I occasionally grabbed a Superman or Spiderman. I’ve always had a healthy respect for the art form, but as I began college and studying theatre, my focus changed and comics faded in my life Except for my many friends who  are avid collectors. But, as an Actor, I do feel the responsibility of being true to any character I portray, but obviously playing Stan in the city, next to the Comicon is a little daunting.  Fortunately, Lenny is a true Fan and an insightful Director and I truly feel the audiences will enjoy the ride as much as we do.

Dave Almeida plays another king. Jack “King” Kirby. The man attributed to some of the greatest comic book characters of all time – who never got the respect he deserved … until after his passing. 

We the public may consider these creative writers and artists “gods”, but I would guess that they just considered themselves just “working Joes”, and getting paid for their services, just like screenwriters, journalists and commercial artists did at the time. These wonderful people gave us role models without even realizing it; role models who change the minds and hearts of a post war generation and their children.

Christopher Ferreira playing two comic book legends shared his thoughts as well.

When I was in grade school at that time, comics were the safe place where social outcast bookworms could find comfort in fantastic stories about heroes and a fantasy world.  It was ours.  Now comics are everyone’s.  Now I’m the expert who pretty girls turn to to learn about this world of mythical legend.  Now I feel like the prophets of old, leading new followers to the wonderful teachings of pulp fiction legends. I absolutely feel a strong responsibility to accurately portray such legends as Jerry Robinson and Dick Giordano.  I met Jerry twice in the later years of his life at the San Diego Comic Con and I was so blown away by his intelligence, exuberant personality and humbleness.  He did so much important work to get creators the credit and recognition they deserved.  I can only imagine how he encouraged and helped Steve Ditko in his early days of coming into the comic book industry.  Jerry was such a force in the comic book industry.  So my goal in bringing him to life again onstage in this version is to show how human of a man he was.  Comic book creators are people who care about the human race, I feel.  They write stories that show the best humanity can be.  Creating heroes that they wish we all could be.    

Anne Bowman practiced philosophizing by saying this.

What comes to mind is how comic book characters are like religious icons, known all over the world. Before I did this show I didn’t realize how often I see Spider-Man in my daily life, in many places other than TV.  For example, I went to the beach with family a few weekends ago, and my friend’s five-year-old was wearing a Spider-Man t-shirt. I told him I was in a play about the man who drew Spider-Man, and his eyes got wide. I knew Spider-Man when I was his age, too. That’s pretty incredible. 

    Emily Lamarre and Mindy Britto looked up in the sky and had this to say:

Emily Lamarre: I’ve been thinking about this all day and haven’t really found an answer for this question. I’ve been an outsider to the comic book world and through Ditko I learned that Ditko was the real creator of Spider-Man. I think with why comic books are becoming a religion as people look up to these characters because they are strong, and brave. They even may pass down the stories of these characters to their children in hopes to take the lessons and ideals that they had and use them in real life. With the creators like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Jerry Robinson, and Bill Finger, they created these characters and the world they live in for people to read and look up to.

Mindy Britto: To be honest, comic books are a bit of a new phenomenon for me. I feel that comic books offer an escape into another reality. Comics are always indicative of pop culture, reflecting both modern society and a new market of readers. Writers come up with religious back stories to keep the character current and provide relatability and depth. It makes sense that comic books are becoming a religion due to the complexity of the world that we live in and the desire to explore and uncover.

  =================

JAY MICHAELS, an indie film and live event producer and promotional executive, is considered an authority on comic books and horror movies. He is the host of “Terror Talk” on the burgeoning streaming station, Terror TV. Michaels, a notable presence in the world of independent theater and film as a producer and an actor, has been charting horror and science-fiction on film and television and appraising comic books and other ephemera since 1973. He is also a judge for the Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival.

  Adventure takes four colors, two staples, and one dream Article contributed to Five Star Arts Journal by Jay Michaels Comic Books - like their characters - have a secret identity.

[lcncasters-blog]

hey everyone!!! i’m d, i’m 23, and i use they/them pronouns. super hyped about being here so i’ma just get right into it

so kai is my fave character and kinda notoriously The Worst while also being The Best, so i’m warning y’all before we even go in that he’s actually so sloppy and wild pls proceed w/ caution. i’ve been playing him for over 4 years. that being said, he does have a fuck ton of information, so while the bullet points are going to be as condensed as i can possibly make them, you should really check out the appearance section (or you can just look at my sidebar which is wonderful artwork of kai one of my close friends did for me --- give them love on their art blog nialls ok SO talented) of his STATS FRAMEWORK and then if you really hate yourself i have a DEVELOPMENT TAG too with a bunch of headcanons (feel free to RB the rebloggable ones from me btw)

LOUIS TOMLINSON? no ⏤ KAI LANCASTER, the DEMIBOY is TWENTY-THREE and was born with a GOLD soul, and now has a GREY soul. i would describe HIM/THEM as EXUBERANT + BRAVE, yet CARELESS + IMPATIENT. KAI spends HIS/THEIR time PLAYING AT SMALL VENUES WITH HIS ALT ROCK BAND AND WORKING AS A NANNY and has lived in seattle for TWO YEARS.

TW FOR TERMINAL ILLNESS/CANCER, SUBSTANCE ABUSE MENTIONS, ABLEISM, & MENTIONS OF SELF-HARM/SUICIDE.

kai was born a gold soul into a pretty posh, old-money typea family in manchester, uk. like i’m talking on his mothers side they’re all doctors, lawyers, scholars, etc, etc, and on his dad’s side entrepeneurs. his parents themselves built a fairly large business from the ground up together that now goes by the name of lancaster industries. their current biggest venture and pretty much what they’ve built the whole of their fortune on is a chain of luxury hotels that you can find basically in every major city in the world.

he had 3 younger sisters who he essentially raised considering his parents were too busy to be around during their childhood. only two of them are still living, his youngest sister having passed a couple years ago at the age of 7 from leukemia.

his mother is literally the devil? kai always hated school/struggled in it for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which were his not diagnosed adhd and his dyslexia, which he never got the help he probably needed for. he’s always kinda just thought he was extremely stupid, and that idea was reinforced by the way his mother always used to tell him the very same thing. “think harder, kai. use your brain.” is a phrase that’s essentially been reinforced so many times in his head, he p much hears her voice ringing in his ears every time he gets so much as vaguely confused now.

that being said, despite how he struggled in school, he was always a very vibrant, kind, charismatic, and magnetic young person. he tends to draw people into him with his silly nature and upbeat attitude, and he’s kind of the Eternal Optimist, so he was fairly popular when he was attending. to say he has eccentricities would be putting it lightly, and he’s loud, never seeming to run out of things to say or fail to command the interest of the room.

anyway things with his mum only got worse in his relationship with her when he barely managed to complete his a levels by the skin of his teeth (and with an absurd amount of tutoring), and then refused to go to the university of her choosing. she p much wanted him to “get his shit together” so he could take over the family business someday, but i am not kidding when i say kai would wilt away and probably legit just die if he had to work in a place like that forever – and that’s assuming he even got through business school in the first place.

his father was always a push-over and sort of was absent/bent to her will when he was around, so he didn’t bother to defend kai when his mother decided 2 cut him off from everything and essentially ex-communicate him once she realised he was refusing 2 be manipulated and forced into shit anymore.

that was at age 18, and by that point he had plans to move out and travel to london with his best mate anyway, so he was basically like “peace out” and got the hell out of dodge. he still harbours a lot of guilt for abandoning his younger sisters, particularly so considering his youngest one fell ill so soon after his departure.

he lives, breathes, and sleeps piano. music as a whole is something he’s passionate about, having taken the time to develop his somewhat unorthodox voice, but the way his fingers fly over the ivories is a living art form more than it is anything. it’s how he communicates, how he speaks his deepest truth and just like? put those feelings out there into the world that he otherwise wouldn’t be able to articulate in the common vernacular.

so what he wants to do with his life is to just? talk to people? through his music? to play for them and the be in front of a crowd every night and to feel the energy of them, to command them with his presence and to exist with them in that way. he almost gets high off of it? he’s been playing small shows since age nineteen with his band, but since he moved to america he obvi hasn’t had them and has been on his own.

SORRY I’M REALLY TRYING TO CONDENSE THIS so ok basically he was in love w this girl from the time they were 14. they lost their virginity 2 each other, they were on & off all through HS, & then through to age 20 after he moved away and all that. she was v v ill and struggled with mental illness and kai tried his best 2 take care of her, but he was always in over his head despite his dedication to like making her feel OKAY. she needed help that he could not give 2 her, and they ended up breaking up & him letting her go at the end. she died soon after that, and it remains unclear 2 him whether or not it was a suicide. it was officially ruled as an “accident”, but he knows different and yeah i mean. essentially like.... the most “smudges” on his soul kinda came from his sitch w her bc he was always coming and leaving and dropping her and returning when she needed him and like. he TRIED but he just COULDN’T? anyways

after that he got involved with this boy who was a substance abuser, addicted to H to b exact, and for a while he thought that he was getting better and they were building off of each other, building a healthy life together. the fact he called kai his “new addiction” was probably never a good thing, but kai didn’t recognize that at the time. they got engaged eventually, and kai was 100% convinced that he was the actual love of his life after caro. of course, in the end, it wasn’t built to last, and when it went bad, it went really bad. kai eventually felt like there was a chasm several miles deep between them, and he had no hope of getting to the other side again. he broke it off, broke the guy’s heart, and made his soul even darker.

THIS NEXT ONE IS KINDA AN OPTION CONNECTION OKAY SO IF ANY1 IS INTERESTED PLS PLS LMK!!!

kai has been posting vids on YT of him covering songs on his YouTube for like actual years, and when he was around 20 he met this person via the comments section on one of them. they seemed to be quite the fan of his interpretation of some of the songs he chose to play. they ended up talking more and more as time went on, exchanging contact information, and grew very very very close.

that was the start of the LDR that is what brought him to america/to seattle in the first place. they were together for about eight months and had seen each other in person three times for a total of about 3 weeks before he made the decision to get started on his visa and move to the states. the moment he was able to, he crossed the pond and moved in w them!!

strain on their relationship was created when at first kai was unable to find work and contribute to the bills and the household funds. they lived in a tiny flat, and going from barely seeing each other to having each other all at once and all the time was a lot. on top of that, kai was homesick and restless and felt trapped because that’s what kai does and it’s not okay and it’s totally wrong and he cheated on them soooo there’s another tick against his soul ig. within six months of his arrival, they broke up, and kai moved out.

he couch surfed w some friends he’d met 4 a while, and eventually found a decent paying job as a nanny for a well off family.

he plays live shows at small venues in bars/clubs and still seeks to make a living as a musician but it’s hard out there and plus his soul aint exactly the prettiest to look at any more. i mean he doesn’t have a DARK DARK grey soul, it’s more a lighter grey, not quite silver, but definitely not storm clouds.

he’s still working on getting his full citizenship though he’s v v v close 2 it & has been lowkey getting help from his cousin w paying for the process so!!

THAT’S BASICALLY IT

last but not least IM REALLY FUCKING SORRY  ICOULDN’T MAKE THIS SHORTER I JUST HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHTS AND fEELIGNSA

SEND ME AN IM OR LIKE IF YOU WANT TO PLOT!