#Screen Capture 2016

[mametchiii]

Love, painted in your kiss

K. Soonyoung X Reader [ 1.4k ]

CW: making out, slightly suggestive tbh....lol

3:06 a.m:

Insomnia consumes both you and Soonyoung tonight, and the weather is no help either. The icy winter air creeps into your room, and unfortunately for you, the heating unit sounds like it’s on its last legs. 

Your last hope lies under the thick down duvet, and next to you in the form of Kwon Soonyoung; you lay caged between his limbs – only your heads peeking out from under the blanket. 

Soonyoung, on your right, stares up at the ceiling in deep thought, all the while you’re busy on your phone; But who are you kidding, right? No one’s awake at this ungodly hour on a weekday night. So you end up scrolling through your gallery, starting from the very beginning: 8 May 2016.

A freshly post-pubescent Soonyoung graces your screen: a photo of him looking into a full body mirror, his fingers fiddling with his freshly pierced lobes; His face is an amalgam of awe and shock.

You let out a breathy laugh at the memory: Soonyoung had begged you to follow him to the parlour, insistent that he get his ears pierced before his group’s next album release. When he had finally settled into the chair, his eyes were glued shut and his cheeks puffed up with anxiety as the piercer prepared the station. His fingers intertwined with yours, locked your hands so tightly that the tip of your index nearly turned purple.

You swipe to the next picture, and it’s Soonyoung again, only this time smiling at the camera – flashing a toothy grin, sporting his new sparkly studs. You let out a slight giggle at his childlike charm in the photo, catching Soonyoung’s attention.

His head whips over to look at you, intrigued by your sudden spike in energy. He wiggles even closer, fitting his head in the crook of your neck to look at your phone – which you held right above your face.

You tilt the screen to him, allowing a clearer view of the picture as you turn to look at him with a grin on your face.

“Remember? When you got your second lobes done.” 

He smiles a little at that, and his eyes have a bit more of a glimmer in them.

“Look at your cheeks! You were such a baby.”

His grip around you tightened, pulling you closer to him. His arms crept down to cradle your hips, and his legs remained wrapped entirely around yours.

“I’m still cute…” Soonyoung whines, puffing his cheeks out a little bit as he flashes a pout with feigned hurt.

You furrow your eyebrows in fake disgust before returning your focus back to your phone. You roll over onto Soonyoung, pushing him to lay flat on his back as you rest your cheek on his chest. His hand remains on your hip, his thumb rubbing soothing circles into your side in a way that sends goosebumps shooting up your body.

As you continue filtering through old memories and other unrelated photos, you find yourselves all the way back on the 27th of June, 2018.

It was a photo of the scenery: A lush green field, with part of its vibrancy muted by the overhead leaves that blocked out the sunlight. It was on a small cliff overlooking a river, the sky almost blending into it because of how clear it was. There was nobody, nothing to disrupt the serenity of the picture – it was your first date with Soonyoung.

Even though he doesn’t say anything in particular, you feel him grow soft at the photo. The both of you know the place all too well – away from the prying eyes of the media, the location of your first date, and the location you return to every year for your anniversary.

You swipe to the left, revealing a photo – still at the same location – but this time capturing both of your legs over a red and white gingham mat. Neither of you say anything, but you keep staring at the photo as if to relive the memory in your head. 

Impressive, isn’t it? How impossibly riveting a photo of two pairs of legs could be – something so insignificant to outsiders of your world. Not to mention how impressive it is that just one day could change Soonyoung’s entire life for the better, and in ways he never expected.

There was nothing more he enjoyed than having all eyes on him when performing – appeasing the masses, validation from his fans – that is except you, of course. Everyone knows that Soonyoung only searches for your eyes in the crowd, listens out for your cheers – it was your validation that he craved the most. 

You were the one to encourage him to not give up when things got tough for the company – defamation scandals, lawsuits, and troubles with company executives. Only you are the one closest to fully comprehending exactly how much his livelihood and career means to him, and if you were one day to ask him to drop everything he had and disappear with you – who was he to deny? 

Soonyoung had little care for repercussions, frequenting the CEOs office for unintentional slip-ups, spoilers, the whole nine yards. So what was another scandal or two, right? As long as he has you by his side – your relationship risking being exposed every other week – then Soonyoung was willing to risk it all for you.

“I remember that day,” Soonyoung mumbles into the crown of your freshly shampooed head.

“I sure hope you do…” you narrow your eyes at him, eliciting a chuckle.

Soonyoung sighs.

A comfortable silence settles in the room for a few seconds before he continues talking.

“What I mean, is that I never would’ve thought I would get to live a life like this.” His hands still resting on your side, slides up ever so slightly under the hem of your shirt, seeking out warmth.

“You’ve really changed everything for me Y/N, I hope you know that.” You put your phone down next to Soonyoung, focus now entirely on him alone. “And in the best way possible too.”

“Like, you’ve shaped me into a better person, and we’ve seriously went through everything together since we were students. You always tell me that I don’t have to struggle alone, and you make sure that I really don’t.” 

You look up at Soonyoung, and he looks back down at you, making eye contact. 

His gaze is soft and sincere, yet filled with an unchaste – almost lecherous – desire for you. The latter though, not much of a cause for concern – Soonyoung’s never been one to hide, and was very loud in loving you. He had no shame in having his feelings on full display for you to see.

“You’ve helped me learn to love so many things and so many more people.”

Soonyoung’s free hand creeps up along your arm, landing at your nape as his hand cups the entire back of your neck. You notice his eyes flicker down to your lips for such an infinitesimal second that with one blink, you would’ve easily missed.

“And I’m so glad it’s you.”

He presses your head closer to his, closing the gap as his warm lips encapsulate yours. His kiss is tender, but hungry.

He starts off slow – both of you moving to a slow, steady rhythm – and your hand snakes up to caress his jaw with a featherlight touch, the other on his chest as you slowly begin to prop yourself up. Your movements grow more desperate as you finally manage to gain leverage and angle yourselves well. Soonyoung’s hand rests at the small of your back as both of your legs move to straddle his thigh.

Soonyoung moves to sit up, resting his back against the headboard. His hand tangles itself in your hair, the other moving to snake around your waist to pull you in closer. You feel yourself getting warmer, and you’re sure he feels it too as he slips his tongue into your mouth with a familiar desire that never fails to send your hormones through the roof.

He sucks on your lower lip before slowly pulling away.

His eyes roam your figure – his hands following closely behind, before his eyeline finally lands on your face. He studies your every curves and the familiar contours of your face, that he's more than proud to call his.

His hand moves to cradle your cheek instead – his gaze different this time, though. A striking bipolar switch, his eyes were now filled with the familiar essence of infatuation that you saw on your first date with him.

He sighs, thumbing over your supple cheeks.

“And ever since that day in June, I’ve never learned to loved summer so, so much more.”

a/n: slightly iffy about this piece....

[sleekervae]

New York Romantic .1

Masterlist

pairing: Tom Blyth x ballerina!oc

summary: a young actor moves across the hall from an aspiring ballerina. (college au kinda)

word count: 1562

a/n: i've had this idea knocking around in my brain for a few days and finally got to penning it down -- enjoy!

August 2016

The sun stretched its golden rays across the morning sky in New York City, the last embrace of summer's fading heat lingered in the air. The city bustled under a whispering breeze that carried the promise of change, as tree leaves, once adorned in vibrant green, began their slow transformation into a canvas of crimson and gold. Amidst the streets, a serene anticipation filled the air, capturing the essence of a city transitioning as the summer activities came to a close and the kids were dreading the return to school.

The wheels on Tom's luggage clacked against the cracks and bumps in the concrete sidewalk, bleary and tired eyes scanning between his phone and the address placards on the various condos. He knew he should've taken a cab, but the bus was so much cheaper and Google indicated it was only a five minute walk to his new living quarters anyway.

He finally stopped in front of a brick building, the address placard worn and rusted from the elements but the numbers matched up with that on his itinerary. The other cue that gave it away was the variety of art pieces in windows and hung over bannisters and fire escapes. Tom lugged his bag up the three stone steps and ducked inside.

The lobby was pale, dingy and in dire need of a fresh coat of paint; not to mention the air held hints of mothballs and burnt microwaved popcorn. An older woman was sat behind a desk, reclined in her chair while glazed eyes were focused on her computer screen. Tom approached slowly, hoping his smile could cover the exhaustion hiding in his face.

"Hello,"

The woman's eyes were the last to focus when she turned her head, blinking over her glasses and a warm smile graced her face, "Oh, hello! You must be... erm..." she suddenly grabbed a clipboard and scanned the tiny text, "... Jacob Nielson?" she spoke in the classic Brooklyn accent with exaggerated vowels and nasally undertones.

"No," he shook his head politely, "My name's Tom. Blyth," he replied.

She scanned her list with her pen, gasping aloud when she found his name, "I see, now! Very nice to meet you, my name's Doris -- I'm the super here. You're my renter from London, right?"

"Yeah. Well -- Yorkshire specifically,"

"I didn't do so well in geography, honey. Have mercy," Doris replied as she stood up, heading for the wall of cubbies behind her, "So tell me, which insane asylum are you checking into?"

" -- Excuse me?"

"What school are you attending?" she asked again, her fingers flourishing across the cubbies.

Tom nodded, "I'm starting at Julliard next week. I'm an actor," he replied.

Doris scoffed, "Yeah? You and everybody's dog, honey," she pulled a key from a specific slot and returned to the desk, "But you got a nice face, maybe you'll luck out,"

Tom wasn't sure whether or not he should've taken that as a compliment, so he simply smiled back and accepted the key, "Um, thank you,"

"You're on floor three, room 14. Your roommate should already be moved in, he can give you a tour of the place," she explained, "If you need anything, leaky faucets fixed and whatnot just come down and see me,"

"Thank you, Doris," he took his bag and started for the elevator on the right of the room, but Doris called out to him again.

"Hold on, handsome! Elevator's broke! Hasn't worked since Giuliani was mayor," she pointed to the left, "Stairs are over there,"

Tom huffed under his breath; he was tired and the last thing he wanted was to lug his suitcase up three flights of stairs. Nevertheless, he gave Doris one more polite grin as he started for the staircase.

The sun cast stark patterns across the stairs, the skewed silhouettes of the window panes interrupted by Tom's own shadow as he made his trek up. He hadn't at first registered the thundering of footsteps above him until a group of kids rushed passed him.

"C'mon! We're gonna miss the bus!" The stairwell was relatively narrow, arms and bodies knocking into Tom until he nearly slipped and his grip loosened on his suitcase. The suitcase went tumbling down the stairs, smacking hard against the opposing wall and the latches burst open. His belongings spilled everywhere.

Tom grumbled to himself, trekking down the stairs again to clean up the mess. One of the kids however hung back, trailing behind her group but she'd witnessed Tom's misfortune. She double backed up the stairs, staring in astonishment at the clothes and knick knacks, then at him.

"Jesus, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

Tom was crouched over the ground when he looked up, coming face-to-face with the concerned expression of a young brunette. She was lean and petite, dressed down in denim shorts and black tank top. Her converse had two different coloured laces, one red and one yellow. He found that peculiar.

"I'm alright," Tom assured her, "If this is the worst thing that happens to me today, then it's not such a bad day, right?" he tried to laugh it off.

The girl simpered, "Sure," nevertheless she crouched down to help him. One of her friends called out from below.

"Noelle! C'mon! We're gonna miss the bus!" she shouted.

The girl -- Noelle -- shouted back, "Go ahead, Bianca! I'll catch up with you guys!"

"But the movie starts in an hour! It's take forty five minutes from here, man!"

"It's twenty minutes of previews, anyways!" she turned back to Tom, her cheeks tinting bashfully, "Sorry about that,"

"Don't worry. You should go with your friends, I'll be fine," he replied.

Noelle scoffed, "Can I trust you with a secret?"

"Sure,"

"I hate horror movies,"

Tom smiled, "And lemme' guess: they're going to see a horror movie?"

"Don't Breathe. Some kids break into a blind guy's house and he ends up killing them all and quite frankly -- I can go my whole life without more nightmares," she replied, a coy smile playing at her lips.

"Don't half blame you. I'm not the biggest fan, myself," he said, "Do you live here?"

"Yep. That nutcase shouting at me was my roommate," she replied, "Sorry, I didn't get your name,"

"Tom,"

"Very nice to meet you. I wish it was under better circumstances," she chuckled back.

"Don't worry about it -- Noelle," he grinned.

She helped him clean up and pack his things, leading him back upstairs to his room. He assured her he could manage but Noelle insisted, saying it was the least she could do for his trouble.

"Room 14?" she cocked a brow when he told her, the corners of her lips pulling back to bare her clenched teeth.

"Yeah. What's wrong?" Tom asked apprehensively, "I don't have a serial killer for a roommate, right?"

Noelle shook her head, "No, no, you get Sunny. And he's just like his name -- absolute sunshine human being,"

"... I sense there's a 'but' coming," he trailed.

"He's a scholarship violinist, he's brilliant. And he's so brilliant because he practices at all hours of the night," she explained, "... All hours. You might wanna invest in some noise cancelling ear plugs,"

Tom nodded, relieved that at least his new roomie didn't sound like a dickhead, "Thanks for the advice,"

They stopped in front of the door, a worn brass 14 glinting subtly in the light. Tom fished out the key from his pocket, "I guess this is me,"

"Oh, damn," Noelle huffed, glancing at the door across from them, "You get the insane neighbours,"

His eyes flitted between her and the door, "... Whatcha' mean by that?"

Noelle pulled a key from her pocket, "Well, they're dancers for one. So they're always playing music, talking shit, burning their instant noodles because they're half-daft," with that she shoved the key into the lock and twisted, and sure enough the door opened.

Tom glanced at her, sheer amusement crossing over his face. He simpered under his breath, "You're my half-daft dancer neighbour who burns her instant noodles?"

"Unfortunately for you," she confirmed, half smirking.

"And how does one burn their instant noodles?" he asked.

"Don't worry about it," she closed and locked the door again, "But I'll let you get settled in. If you need anything at all, you can just pop over,"

"Thank you, Noelle," he smiled, "And thanks again for --" he stopped suddenly when he heard a faint violin melody from the other side of his door. It was a beautiful melody nonetheless, and it had him intrigued, "I suppose that's my roommate?"

Noelle nodded back, "Yep. I promise you, he's a sweetheart," she started walking backwards towards the stairwell, "I'm sorry again about earlier,"

"Don't give it a second thought. Have fun at your movie," he replied.

She giggled sardonically, "Oh trust me, I'll have a blast. I'll see you around, Tom,"

Tom gave her a small wave, watching her until she disappeared around the corner, could hear her shoes squeaking as she trotted down the stairs. He couldn't deny he found her quite a looker, a small part of him giddy with excitement at the prospect of getting to know his new neighbour. The violin melody continued to play on the other side of the door, and taking a deep breath for confidence, he pushed the key into the lock and opened the door...

[thespacewirednews]

Jupiter Ascending 🛰️⁣

Our Juno spacecraft captured a departing view of the planet’s swirling southern hemisphere in the final moments of a close flyby of Jupiter on Sept. 6, 2018. This color-enhanced image was captured as the spacecraft performed its 15th close flyby of Jupiter about 55,600 miles (89,500 kilometers) above the planet’s cloud tops. As of October 2024, Juno has performed 66 flybys!⁣ ⁣ Since 2016, Juno has been penetrating Jupiter’s deep, colorful zones and belts in a quest to answer fundamental questions about the gas giant’s origin and evolution. Now in its extended mission, Juno will continue to explore the solar system’s largest planet through September 2025, or until the spacecraft’s end of life. This mission extension expands to the full Jovian system – Jupiter and its rings and moons – with an additional pass planned for two of Jupiter’s most intriguing moons: Europa and Io.⁣ ⁣ Image description: Jupiter’s hemisphere takes up the right half of the screen. As a color-enhanced image, its colors appear more saturated and richer, allowing the details of Jupiter’s swirls to be more defined. Jupiter’s stripes radiate from the center of the planet out, first in a deep teal, transitioning to a stripe of a lighter green, followed by beige, terracotta, and beige once again.⁣ ⁣ Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt⁣

[albarrancabrera]

Albarran Cabrera   —–   Instagram

Art | Basel sneak preview 3/4

We are proud to present for the first time an initial set of new work at Art | Basel 2024 You can see it at Elvira Gonzalez gallery BOOTH F13 | Hall 2.0 JUNE 11 - 16, 2024

As most part of our photographs, these pieces are also inspired by Nihonga, a type of Japanese painting that draws on different styles. Many of them use traditional techniques and materials such as mineral pigments, washi paper, and silk painting.

This new work in particular is an exploration of the intersection between the gestural Western abstraction and the profound symbolism found in the Japanese folding screens ( 屏風 - byōbu) through the medium of photography. Using classical photographic effects such as inversion, sabatier effect, polarization or masking, this body of work seeks to distil the essence of the fleeting beauty of nature, presenting abstract images that evoke a sense of wonder and contemplation and invite viewers on a journey of exploration and discovery.

As part of “The indestructible” series: “Using an image captured with a camera and the possibilities of the photographic medium, we can create photographs that are not a faithful display of reality but an exploration of the limits of reality. The photographic medium, for us, becomes an extension of the human visual capacity. Our goal is to create photographic objects that create in viewers their very own experience of their encounter with the boundary between the real and the unreal.”

The Indestructible #70015, 2016 74 x 50 cm | 29 x 19 5⁄8 in Pigments on gold leaf on paper

The Indestructible #70015 (detail)

The Indestructible #70015 (detail)

The Indestructible #70015 (detail)

[talxns]

Characterization Disparities in the Adam West Batman-Verse: 1960s vs Now

I’d like to talk about something I found interesting and revealing about how differently certain characters from the Batman franchise are portrayed in this cinematic universe, particularly how the characters of Catwoman and Batman (and his relationship with Robin) are shown behaving and how their modern interpretations differ from their original.

The comparisons I’d like to draw are from the original TV series Batman (colloquially known as Batman 66), made in the years 1966-1968 and the modern animated films based off the same versions of these characters, Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016) and Batman vs. Two-Face (2017).

Despite being set in the same universe and depicting the same characters (who also retain their original voice actors), the way the characters are written reflect an extremely modern interpretation, making the two animated films feel out-of-character particularly for the characters of Batman and Catwoman.

Catwoman has a varied history of characterization in the comics, going from complete villain to reluctant hero and eventual ally of Batman. However, Catwoman’s characterization in Batman (1966) is that of her original imaginings, a remorseless villain. This Catwoman will murder to get whatever she wants and has never gone out of her way to help Batman. She very frequently expresses to Batman her desire to kill Robin to get him out of the picture. In all of her appearances in the show, she attempts to kill both of them.

In both modern animated films– Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016) and Batman vs. Two-Face (2017) –Catwoman is characterized as a reluctant hero/ally. She almost immediately chooses to fight for Batman and Robin’s side against the other villains in both films. The animated modern version's reluctance to make Catwoman a complete villain is a reflection of her modern (softer, yet more complex) characterization, but goes against her character in this universe. West-Verse Catwoman would not go out of her way to help the heroes, especially not Robin, whom she despises.

What I feel is most egregious in terms of inaccurate portrayal, however, is a particular moment between Batman and Robin. Prior to Frank Miller’s reconstruction of Bruce Wayne/Batman’s character as we know it in the 80s, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson did not have a fraught relationship. They had their little spats, the occasional bonking Robin on the head to knock him out for his own good moments, teenage Dick being insecure about his position in Bruce’s life, etc., but the relationship between Bruce and Dick was not at the level of devastating angst that it was until the 80s and seems to be continuing further and further as time goes on, leading to the modern portrayals of Bruce and Dick’s early relationship being cold, neglectful, harsh, domineering, etc. (Thanks Frank Miller I Hate It).

Being made prior to Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, Batman (1966) relies on the portrayal of Bruce and Dick from the inception of their relationship in 1940 until the creation of the TV show in 1966. Because of this, there are not really any dark or cold tones reflected in their relationship on screen.

In fact, Adam West-Verse Bruce Wayne is one of the sweetest Bruces to exist. He is exceptionally kind and attentive to Dick, incredibly patient, and would never lay a violent hand on him. I repeat. He Would Never Lay A Violent Hand On Him. I can say this with confidence. I have proof.

There are two instances in the TV Show Batman where a fight is instigated between the two heroes: Season 2 Episode 23 and Season 2 Episode 40. Both times, Robin is injected with a mind-altering drug and attempts to fight Batman at the behest of the women who have drugged him. Both times, Batman refuses.

In the first instance, Robin attempts to sword fight Batman. Batman refuses the fight and surrenders to capture. In the second instance, Robin attacks him with his fists. Batman raises a hand as if to counterattack, but cannot bring himself to deliver the blow. He lowers his hand and lets Robin continue beating him until he is called off.

In both instances we see something very important. This Batman won’t hit Robin. He would rather be beaten or captured than even attempting to fight his old chum, even when Robin is in a mind-controlled state and beating him mercilessly. That is the dynamic these two have in this universe.

Alright, so now that we have that acknowledged, what happens in Batman vs. Two-Face? Robin gets infected with a mind-altering substance and begins attacking Batman. So what does Batman do?

He fights back. This is waaaaay out of character for this Batman. But it is because we live in a time where Batman physically harming Robin is considered the norm, and so it infects even this originally companionable, secure dynamic.

I think another reason they did this was because modern audiences think that the Robin of the past is gay (derogatory) and they really wanted to see Batman do a violence on him for it.

It is interesting to see how a return to this universe carries with it modern interpretations of the characters, perhaps without even meaning to. It is frustrating to see dynamics that have come to the forefront of these characters' stories that you don’t like (for me I don’t like the new dynamic modern stories given to Bruce and Dick’s earlier years) and yet they are treated as the accepted and anticipated versions now.

[kinopioa]

It's funny how these are technically 3 different chars

But due to sheer publicity of the latter 2 and bias, no one cares!

Let's elaborate

Rise of Lyric

RoL Shadow is a dick. However his main reason for fighting Sonic is entirely due to him fucking up in releasing Lyric. Unfortunately this is poorly explained, and most only saw the boss fight, so many assume he was just a bully for no reason

Post Final boss however

The teamwork dissing is important, I'll explain

In John Melchior's draft, the game was apparently meant to be more serious, but late dev Sonic Boom's brand was suddenly meant to be a comedy, so another writer took over to insert comedic elements along with prioritizing the *teamwork* gimmick. Whether Shadow was initially planned or not is debateable, but his dissing on it seems to have been the aftermath of this gameplay focus. It's also important to note that Shadow's origin is straight up not mentioned, and he's treated as a familiar

Shattered Crystal was made likely after this shift, hence

Shattered Crystal

So taking place in its own continuity, Shattered Crystal features Lyric wanting to use Amy's archeological knowledge to access ancient tech. Shadow is captured off screen and used as a pawn

When freed, he's confused and aggravated, especially upon finding that he was mind controlled. He however has no true hostility to Sonic unlike RoL, though mad dashes off to find the snake. Lyric in the end after the boss fight is taken out by him, then we get Stixk's crack teamwork speech

Again, Shadow specifies he's a loner, and weirdly states he's superior, but just leaves harmlessly

Meh attitude, though better than RoL in execution. This was written by Warren Graff, Ken Pontac, Tin Guerrero, interesting as it means they were aware of the brand distinction given differences to mainline

Meanwhile the TV Show

TV

Everyone knows of his infamous S1 finale apparence with him coming in on Eggman's villain council, calling them shit and leaving, then aggressively targeting Sonic and beating him up, says the fucking "shame to hedgehogkind" after breaking an IKEA cabinet entirely cuz...

He's evil

Why??? I really don't know

Season 2 is even dumber, you straight up have him want to nuke the entire universe. Again, villainous for no fucking reason

Even for Boom standards this is beyond stupid. He's an anti hero in SC, and nowhere purposefully destructive in RoL

People learned later about mandates from Sega, though it's important to note 2 things

-Shadow being an edgelord is entirely the writer's idea

-Sega barely wanted to use him in general for Boom TV

I can't stress this, for as much as fans pushed the "Sega wants bootleg Vegeta" narrative, nowhere do either writers say they were forced to. It was just them taking cynical piss at the "no jokes" mandate that clearly wasn't hard pressed given what happened, and did the surface level comparison that was common in the early 2000s. For as limiting as he was, they clearly did whatever the fuck they wanted given how much this contrasts with both Boom games

Ffs, they could've just had him petty at Sonic for taking the last burger at meh burger as a concept, there's a better way to have him be a dick

I'm honestly curious if his backstory would've ever been revealed in a later Boom game (hence the show being explicitly barred from making their own), but as we know, Boom was discontinued around 2016 game wise, and the show ended 2017

[fmajorenthusiast]

What are the Rocky Horror characters opinions on the 2016 remake, and the 2015 live show (or just the live shows in general)?

OMGOMG RJQFQK4DQRO OMG I LOVE THIS SM!!! TYSM!!!

(Full disclosure I am writing this as a fan of most the 2015 show and not a fan of most of the 2016 show! No offense if you like them!!!)

Frank on 2016: Frank is a bit pissed! He feels like Laverne Cox isn't delivering him right and she's being very forced! He feels like she doesn't have the command that he does and he thinks that she isn't quite getting his voice right! The voice makes him scream "ARE YOU MOCKING ME???" at the screen all while objectively taking notes on EVERY costume that she wears so he can make his own copy because he will take the inspo! Also, it's all too forced in his eyes! He wants to give most of that cast a smack! In every version, he primarily cares about himself and finds it funny when the others are miscast, but then they have to play against him, he suddenly hates how they don't support him and he wants to scream! He just wants to grab her and teach her how to play him right or just jump through that screen and play the role himself!!

Frank on 2015: And now he's pissed for another reason! First of all, he's SO jealous of everybody else's performers. He wants to scream that if David Bedella took the makeup off, he'd just be a dude!!! That's how he views it!!! He's screaming and crying at the TV to "TAKE! HIS! OWN! ADVIIIIIICE!" and he's just pouting throughout the whole show. He does love the blocking and choreo a LOT though!!! He loves the fact that they made his entrance a surprise and he loves how they entered him as a whole! He loves the little vamp that plays before and he's SOOO proud that they all cheer the minute he comes out!!!

Frank on the live shows in general: First and foremost, he's happy that he's the final bow! He'd be FURIOUS if he wasn't!!! He knows he's worth it!!! Secondly, he's pleased with a lot of it!!! He struggles to be satisfied with any of his own performances because he's just naturally critical like that!! Still, he admires the way that the live musical runs and with a lot of actors, he'll find a whole lot to appreciate!!! His favorite thing is the glam of a live show!!! He loves how vibrant everything is!!!!

Brad on 2016: oh he is in LOVE with Ryan Mccartan!!! His vocals give him LIFE and he thinks that he looks very good!!! He feels upset watching him Victoria Justice, though!! He feels like she doesn't quite capture the essence of his Janet so he's struggling more to appreciate Ryan Mccartan!!! With a lot of the miscast and misunderstanding of the story in general, he's feeling very confused! He's more so like, "what? That's not quite right!" He isn't really able to be mad because he's mainly confused! It's kind of beyond his ability to think about, just a little bit!

Brad on 2015: First, Brad would see a clip or two of Ben forster as Jesus in JCS and be THRILLED about how sexy he's about to be! The man was purely gorgeous in that role!!! Then he sees Ben Forster looking so completely and totally normal in his role and he's more than a little bit bummed about it! He feels a lot more natural with Haley Flaherty as Janet and when he sees the phantoms stick their head out during "Over at the Frankenstein Place" he'd be like, "what? Those guys were REAL?" He'd also be so thrilled to have all of the extra solos!!! He'd love it and he'd still love Ben Forster's portryal! He feels like he did act him very well and his voice is phenomenal!!! He knows in the back of his head that he can't be all that gorgeous for the show to function, but still. That part did upset him just a might bit!

Brad on the live shows in general: Brad loves them a lot! He feels like they get him right much more than they get him wrong! He loves most of the actors that he's seen play him! The one thing that confuses him are the chronic attempts to change his song! He likes "Once in a While" and he can't understand why so many productions do weird things to it! (I read a post somewhere where this happened) He was even watching a production one time in which they gave one of his verses to Riff Raff! He was so confused!!! He called in Riff to watch and the two of them just stare for a moment before promptly laughing their asses off! He loves the live shows in general a whole lot though!

Janet on 2016: She just wouldn't sense anything genuine from Victoria Justice! She'd try soooo hard to be nice! She really would!!! But she'd only have a few nice things to say!!! Most of them would honestly fall into categories like "Oh wow, she's so pretty and she's got such a nice voice, doesn't she Brad???" She's trying so hard to be grateful because Victoria Justice does have a lovely voice, but she also recognizes that it isn't anything like hers!!! She's all for variety, but she finds this bit quite difficult to swallow! She'd be whispering "Brad! That's not my song! That's not what it sounds like!!!" Throughout the entirety of "Toucha Toucha Touch Me" She really wishes that she had a better actor! She also finds that the production quality as a whole is a little bit off! She'd apologize to everybody when a scene gets screwed up!

Janet on 2015: Oh she'd just ADORE Haley Flaherty!!!! She'd be amazed by how strong her voice is! She could only DREAM of belting like that!!! And to do it all in a voice that fully sounds like hers!!! She'd love the way that she gets to toss the bouquet to the audience!!! She'd love that pink dress so much and she'd want it so bad!!!! She'd also just love all of the choreo/blocking during Toucha Toucha!!! She'd develop a massive crush on Dominic Anderson as Rocky, Richard Meek as Eddie, and David Bedella as Frank!!! She'd love David Bedella's performance and think that he's so sexy!!!She'd think that the show was a great time all in all!

Janet on the live shows in general: Janet overall loves it!!! She's amazed by how well people play her and she's always thrilled to see the show shine so much!!! She loves all the lights and she loves the way that it's staged!!! To her, it's a special joy to see lots of different versions!! She loves how unique everything always is!!!

Riff Raff on 2016: Upon seeing his first entrance, Riff said, "that is a wig that you could've put on much better." He's so irritated at the whole situation because he loves Reeve Carney's voice so much and he wishes that it could be just right! He loves him generally as an actor too! He feels like the whole group is slightly off, though. He feels like this is the bargain bin version of the show, and he just wants to see these people let loose a bit more!!! He's the type to pinpoint exactly why something went wrong and try to fix it, and that's what he does! Still though, he feels very honored to have been played by Reeve Carney and he loves his voice!

Riff Raff on 2015: He was so happy that he nearly cried!!! He probably did cry!!! He was amazed at Kristian Lavercombe's vocals and acting and he was so in awe of how it all turned out!! He was so thrilled to be cheered for upon his first entrance!!! He thought that only Frank could get that honor!!! He loved the octave jump to an F5 during the floor show that he got!!! He was in AWE of it!!! He did however, also openly laugh at Ben Forster's performance as Brad and Haley Flaherty's as Janet's! Aside from himself, they were his two favorites! And of course he's very pleased with the way that Jayde Westaby honors his sister so well!!! He honestly LOVES that Kristian Lavercombe plays him with hair. He's more than happy to let the universe forget that he's balding when he's only coming up on 30! Also, he actively ignores the fact that one of the narrators is gonna be him when he's older! Not that Richard Obrien has a bad face, but seeing your face 40 years in the future is not something you want to see in general!

Riff Raff on the live shows in general: In order to quickly judge one of his actors, he'll skip to the end and watch the "THEY NEVER LIKED MEEEE" line! If the actor phones it in, he'll know all he needs to know immediately, but overall, the actors don't screw it up! He really didn't ever expect to be a star!!! One thing that struck him as a massive surprise was not only the vocal quality of so many of his performers, (aside from Kristian Lavercombe, Stuart Matthew Price is the big one of course!) But that so often he was HOT! Hell, he was hotter than Frank and Rocky sometimes!!! The live shows really helped him realize that almost everybody in this show is hot to some distinct demographic and that he's one of those people!!! He loves the live shows and how present he is in them, and he's felt better about his appearance ever since!

Magenta on 2016: She thinks Christina Milian is overall a great choice, but she REALLY wishes that they wouldn't have done her hair like that!!! She'd tell them to either throw a ginger wig on the girl or leave it natural!!! She'd be happy either way but she'd feel a bit icky with that choice!!! (She's also upset that a lot of live shows make that choice, too) Basically, she's proud of her Transylvanian name and thinks that this is pretty much like to deciding that an Earthling named Violet must dye their hair Violet!!! Either way, she gets REALLY hung up on that! Either way, she thinks that the 2016 version is hilarious for what it did to some of them and she'd laugh her ass off the whole time and enjoy it a lot!

Magenta on 2015: She'd overall love the live show!!!! She'd go FERAL for those heart sunglasses near the end and IMMEDIATELY go hunting for a pair of her own, which she would wear LOTS of places!!!! That'd be the highlight for her!!! She'd also love the way that Jayde Westaby did her speaking voice! She'd love the singing a whole lot, but she'd not be so sure how she feels about the high notes!!! She's got a lower voice than that, but still, she'd LOVE the singing regardless!

Magenta on the live shows in general: Again, she'd be a bit confused by why so many people insist that she dyes her hair the color of her name! She'd think it looks cool but she'd be a bit weirded out! It's a little bit on the nose, she thinks!! Overall, she'd LOVE her casting, though!!! She'd see so many great performances and she'd feel so sexy in a unique way every single time!!! She'd think that she makes a great blonde in the European production and laugh with Riff about it! Stating that there's an alternate universe in which they actually look like they're twins!!! She'd love it a lot!!!

Columbia on 2016: Columbia loves Annaleigh Ashford in so many things, but she felt like the directors made her behave too dry and depressed here!!! She wishes that she could have been performed with the livliness that she knows she has in her!! She felt that her personality just... wasn't her personality! Like there was some other girl pretending to be her! She loved the character, but she didn't see it as herself! She loved the hairstyle and if she ever gets sick of the one she has now, she'll probably switch to Annaleigh Ashford's!!! She liked a lot of the remake's bright colors and she found that she could enjoy a lot of the other performances, even if she wasn't thrilled with her own!!!

Columbia on 2015: She's overall satisfied with Sophie Linder Lee's performance!! She loved how she did the voice so right and she loved the change in lyric to "tapping down the street!" She also felt really happy to have the "makes you cry!s" in Eddie's Teddy! Eddie's her love! They should be hers! She also LOVES the opt up!!! Riff Raff and Magenta both turned to her and were like "You're going to sing that high note forever now aren't you?" And she absolutely will!!!

Columbia on the live shows in general: She likes them! She always teaches herself the new tap routines every single time!!!! She loves something new to click those feet to and she'll memorize them ALL!!! (And she drives everybody else up the wall with the endless click clack clickity clickity clack!!!) She loves them so much and she loves all the liveliness that these shows have!!! She also loves seeing herself as having all these different styles!!! She loves how unique Columbias can be!!!

Rocky on 2016: He LOVES it!!!! He's thinks that Staz Nair is SO COOL as him!!! And he is!! Even though he's terrified and stumbling around, Rocky feels so cool about it! Especially when he's so sexy in the floor show!!! Staz Nair does a great job and Rocky thinks that he might as well be Superman!!! He also loves how bright everything is!!! Rocky is really melting into the show for most of it!!! He loves the costumes and he's dancing along to the show so happily!!!!

Rocky on 2015: He's a lil confused sometimes!!! The live show clarified some things that he hadn't heard said out loud before! For example, he loved when he told Janet "this room is a womb to me!" because it is and he loves it!!! He liked the whole show a lot, but at the end of the day, there's one big moment that sticks right in his head, and that's when Riff almost mentions that he was the one to create him!!!! He later runs up to him and quietly asks, "are you my daddy?!?!" And because Riff admittedly finds it cute, wants to fuck with Frank, and it's sort of true in a way, so Riff looks Rocky in the eyes, says, "Yes, Rocky. I am your daddy, but you mustn't ever let the master know that you know, otherwise it'll go so poorly for us both!" And Rocky just smiles, whispers, "Yay! I'll never say a word about it I love you daddy I'm sorry that I called you ugly!!!" And run away so sweetly!!! Rocky thinks that the 2015 version is really cool and fun!!!

Rocky on the live shows in general: Rocky just loves them all!!! He doesn't have it in him to not like a version of the show!!! He's so amazed by all of them and he's always so excited to see what cool new physical moves the actors who play him are going to do next he gets so excited every time he sees one of his actors do a trick and he gets so excited!!!! He's always thrilled for a new version of the show and he loves them all in equal measure!!!

Eddie on 2016: Eddie is pretty convinced that the 2016 remake is a fever dream! He has no idea what he's just watched, but it feels strange to him! Eddie loves Adam Lambert as a whole, but he doesn't like his portrayal too much (though he ADORES the vocals and that epic motorcycle jump through the window. His jaw was on the floor and both Columbia and Doctor Scott had to turn to him and beg him not to try that ever. Thankfully, they succeeded!) He wishes that Adam Lambert hadn't tried so hard. Like Columbia, he feels like this is a very interesting character, but it isn't him! Overall, his reaction the the remake is confusion, but he's like "whatever!" The vocals were good and the show was an experience!

Eddie on 2015: Eddie's pretty on board with this! He loves the way that the show seems to have style all the way through! It means SO much to him that the show never misses a chance to have blocking or choreo! It doesn't waste a moment or leave something to park and bark! Every moment is eye candy and he loves it!!! He loves Richard Meek a whole lot and he feels like he and Sophie Linder Lee are really accurate together!!! He also laughed his ASS off when he saw Richard Meek come back out as Doctor Scott! He had no idea that that would be happening!!!! He enjoyed the whole thing very thoroughly!!

Eddie on the live shows in general: Eddie loves the part that he has to play in the live show!!! Every time a new Eddie comes out, he's thrilled to see what new rockstar is up to the task!!! He loves concerts and live music, so that can make these live shows extra special to him!!!! He's up for it in a big way!!!

Doctor Scott on 2016: While he isn't thrilled with how everybody was played, he actually likes Ben Vereen a lot in the role!!! He felt like, while he was different, he was unique and a lot of fun! He felt that he captured the essance of who he was supposed to be in the story!!! He loves the spirit that he brings to the role!!! He thinks that Adam Lambert captures Eddie's essence WAY better than Eddie thinks he does, too!!! Overall, he thinks that the show could've done a bit more work to be upbeat and he wishes that the show had done everybody justice, but he's grateful for his own portrayal!!!

Doctor Scott on 2015: He thinks that the live show really showcases a whole lot of what he went through and he loved the costumes and set!!! He thought it was all very exciting!!! He really loves Richard Meek's portrayal but he simply cannot unsee him as Eddie! When he's able to forget that, he thinks that it's perfect!!! He thinks it's amusing for everybody else that they're played by the same actor, so he's happy to take one for the team!!! Especially if he gets to be played by Richard Meek!!!! The "I'm out of my head" in Eddie's voice was the biggest jumpscare of his life and nearly gave him a heart attack, though!!! Overall though, he likes it a whole lot!!!

Doctor Scott on the live shows in general: He can't unsee himself as Eddie! Ever! He's totally in favor of it, understands why they do it, but it definitely makes him feel weird!!!! He's always loved live shows, though!!! So he feels so honored to be in one!!! He really does!!! He thinks that most of the live shows are true to his experiences and that they're very well made!!

The Criminologist on 2015: He feels like he's watching a version of his discovery that isn't wrong, but it also isn't right! It's like, yes, that's what happened, that's objectively what happened... but also that's not what happened at all!!! He struggles to explain what he means because he wasn't there himself, and that makes him wonder if he's so sure about what happened!!! Either way, he's a bit confused by it! To him, it feels just so slightly to the left and he can't quite explain why!!! He thinks its a fun thought experiment though! It puts him to the test to be able to explain why!!! And he likes that a lot!!! Also, he's got his own actor!!! He made it into the story of this special case and he feels so honored!!!

The Criminologist on 2016: He feels like it's such a wonderful version of the story that he loves to tell so badly!!! He feels a bit upset that he didn't make it into this version, in favor of the special guests, but he understands why and thinks that they have just as much of a right to tell this story as he does!!! He feels honored that they're saying his words, too!!! He loves how accurate everyone feels!!!

The Criminologist on live shows in general: in his heart, he ALWAYS knew that this case would make the BEST STORY IN THE WORLD!!! Every time he sees a live show, he's so thrilled that he was right!!! Its such a wonderful time and he loves to see that everyone else seems to think so!!! He thinks that most productions honor the characters so well and he feels so alive seeing them and seeing himself in that story!!! He thinks that it's a great thing and that people almost always do a great job!!!!

[sunjaesol]

soljae | one shot, different timeline | prompt: memory

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪

SUMMER OF 2016, SUNJAE (26 YEARS OLD)

Loud chatter filled the kimbap shop on the corner of Seooreung-ro 8-gil and Yeongmal-ro 8-gil. A family-owned joint loved by the locals in the neighbourhood and left alone by tourists due to its innocuous front. But inside, customers gladly stuffed themselves around tables like sardines.

Not only because of the incredible and cheap kimbap, but because for years, the restaurant has televised the summer and winter Olympics. It was basically tradition for all the neighbours to congregate and watch together. Including Ryu Sunjae.

Though he didn't live in this neighbourhood anymore, he grew up here. The uncles and aunties loved to see him come around, using the Olympics as a way to reunite with the man that used to be the pride of their community. Not many around here went from professional swimmer to popular drama actor.

The man beside him yelled at the TV in frustration as the Korean gymnast fell off the beam. "Ya, how difficult is it to balance?! My child can do that!"

Sunjae withheld a smirk, taking a sip from his beer instead. Typical commentary.

"Sunjae-ssi!" An older woman, one of his previous neighbours, pushed herself between some people to reach him. She gaped at him. "Ah, you grew again, didn't you? How is that possible?"

Kindly smiling, he shook his head. "I didn't, Ms. Oh. We just haven't seen each other in a while."

Ms. Oh slurped on her pink lemonade. Her hands were pruning from the cold glass. "Maybe. You should come around more often."

"Ah, you know I'm busy filming dramas, Ms. Oh," he trailed.

Unperturbed by his comment, she droned on. "Are you dating anyone yet? I can introduce you to my niece. She's also into the arts—a dance major at university. I'm not really sure what she'll do with it, but I'm sure you two will get along."

Ms. Oh babbled on about her niece, but Sunjae sort of tuned her out. This song and dance became more common with each passing year. Moms and aunts and grandmothers throwing their unwilling and unsuspecting female family members at him as though that still subscribed to the modern ways of dating.

Then again, Sunjae couldn't really judge. He didn't dating. He wasn't even trying.

It wasn't that he didn't find women attractive, but he just never felt... it. He didn't entirely know what 'it' was, but he knew that feeling had to capture him first before he made any move.

Maybe that made him just as old-fashioned as Ms. Oh. Taesung and Inhyuk would say so. They dated casually as a sport.

The intense slurping of Ms. Oh brought him out of his train of thought. His eyes fell on the drink. Pink lemonade. It was kind of funny seeing an old lady drink such a childish soda. When was the last time he had that?

Olympics 2008, right?

Sunjae paused on the thought and frowned. Olympics 2008... Olympics 2008... he swore he watched the gymnasts here with Inhyuk. Right?

His gaze didn't move from the drink. Pink lemonade. Pink lemonade. Sweet. Sweet and sticky and two in each hand. Though smaller hands than his own. Softer, too. Pink lemonade. Pink lemonade. Pink headband. Pink sneakers. Pink smile.

A deep wrinkle broke the plane of his forehead. Why was he remembering something that didn't happen?

Looking away from the drink, he suddenly found himself outside in the park, surrounded by sportsfans screaming at the giant cinema-screen set up before them.

"Sunjae-ah!"

He whirled around at the faraway voice. High-pitched and sweet. Blood pounded in his ears. Sweat formed on his temple.

What was going on? Where was he?

"Sunjae-ah!"

His heart wasn't supposed to be beating this fast, right? Clutching his chest, he sought for the voice, eyes frantically slipping from stranger to stranger.

"Ya, are you blind or something?!" The voice appeared right at his side.

But just as he caught a glimpse of a pink headband, long dark hair, and two pink lemonades in plastic cups, Sunjae was hurled back to the present.

It was akin whiplash; the way Sunjae staggered back and slammed into a man's back. He was heaving, his breaths irregular and his arms shaking. A panic attack? He hasn't had one of thoses in forever.

"Sunjae-ssi?" Ms. Oh appeared in front of his troubled eyes. She looked concerned. "You need air. Let's go outside."

"Who– wha–?" he tried. "Who was—?"

Ms. Oh ignored his stammering and ushered him outside with the grip of a lady who has seen it all. Humid air hit his cheeks, only adding to his unease. Sunjae slumped against the front of the shop.

"Stay here for a bit. Calm down," she ordered. With a disapproving tut, she pushed her lemonade into his hand. "And drink this. You're probably dehydrated."

Without another word, Ms. Oh returned inside.

Sunjae stared at the cup in his hand. He couldn't think. Or no: he couldn't comprehend. Logically, he knew that had to be some crazy hallucination. His imagination running away with his sanity and dropping it in some random park.

But he knew, intrinsically, that it wasn't a hallucination. It was a memory. His memory.

Only... not from here. A different 2008, but the same Sunjae.

And with a girl. A girl he couldn't remember.

[pomegranate]

THANK YOU to both @amrv-5 and @hawkesque for tagging me to ask for my list of

9 of my favourite films that I watched for the first time this year!

I’ve seen 49 new (to me) movies this year - and I will be watching at least one more new one before tomorrow at midnight to cap it off at 50 - and there were a lot of really great ones overall, but these ones get the honour of being named my favourites.

(after making this list I realized 4 of them take place during periods of sweltering heat lmao. INTERESTING)

- Past Lives (2023, dir. Celine Song): I talked about this one a bit in that end of the year ask meme but I really didn’t know what to expect going into this one and came out deeply affected in a way I’ve not been able to put into words. I can’t believe this is Celine Song’s directorial and screenwriting debut?!?! It feels so well-crafted and extremely deserving of the praise it’s received. I think this description from a Looper listicle sums it up beautifully: "a master class in the art of subtlety while evoking complex human emotions. The minimalist love story is like no other in how it expertly captures the slow-burn nature of fate. It's a bittersweet experience that'll leave you aching for all of life's "what-ifs.""

- Asteroid City (2023, dir. Wes Anderson): I really enjoy some Wes Anderson films but a few of his more recent ones missed the mark for me, so I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this one. Happily, I had an absolutely fantastic time watching this with friends - it’s funny and inventive in a way that really tickled me, and the heartbreaking romance woven into the “background” of the story (quotation marks bc it’s not really the background) really stuck with me.

- High and Low (1963, dir. Akira Kurosawa): I’ll admit I wanted to see this after Ayo Edebiri included it in her Criterion Closet video bc I have a massive crush on her and I admire her taste, and BOY it did not disappoint! It’s just under 2 and a half hours long but I was so wrapped up in the tension and drama that the time absolutely flew by. My first Kurosawa film but definitely not my last!

- Nine To Five (1980, dir. Colin Higgins): I did not expect to have so much fun watching this but I should’ve known a movie starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton would have me clapping my hands and stomping my feet with delight. Dabney Coleman is also SO great as their disgusting boss and a special shout out to him for how funny he was in each of their little fantasy sequences. God, if only real life was as satisfying as the ending of this film.

- Roman Holiday (1953, dir. William Wyler): I’ve had this on DVD for years but only got around to watching it this past August and OH what a beautiful movie! It’s wild to me that this was Audrey Hepburn’s first film; she’s totally captivating and I can’t take my eyes off her the entire time. Definitely one I’ll be returning to again and again.

- Moonlight (2016, dir. Barry Jenkins): I’m embarrassed it took me this long to watch this film but unsurprisingly, it’s as magnificent as everyone has always said. Chiron’s story is told so beautifully and the way it all comes together in the end is simply perfect. Every performance felt vivid and authentic and each actor who played Chiron made him feel like a real person I was watching grow up on my screen. Quite possibly one of the best movies of all time.

- Dog Day Afternoon (1975, dir. Sidney Lumet): I challenged myself to only include one Al Pacino movie on this list and since this is the one that kicked off my Pacino era (despite me having watched Cruising earlier this year), it’s gotta be here. Watching it a second time also highlighted how well made it is as a film - Al is magnetic in his performance as a desperate man pushed to the brink to take care of the person he loves. The rest of the cast is fantastic as well, especially the tellers, led by Penelope Allen. And now that I’ve seen the 2nd Godfather installment, my love for John Cazale has blossomed fully. I love the deeply disturbed Sal sooooo much. GOD I haven’t even touched on Lumet’s insanely masterful direction and the fact that this movie swings from unbearable tension to being hysterically funny within moments is BEYOND incredible. MOVIE OF ALL TIME!!!!!!!!

- Rear Window (1954, dir. Alfred Hitchcock): Another one that I’m embarrassed I hadn’t seen until this year, despite recognizing many references to it through pop culture (most notably the Simpsons ep where Bart thinks Flanders has murdered his wife). It lives up to the hype, with a murder mystery so well-crafted that even if you KNOW where the story is going, you’re still not entirely sure what’s going to happen next. I’m also so fascinated by Hitchcock’s use of cameras (both Jeff’s and the actual camera filming the movie) to show us the range of humanity on display within a fairly confined area and how Jeff’s voyeurism is contrasted with our voyeurism as the audience. I need to watch this again bc I know I wasn’t fully appreciating that storytelling device the first time.

- Do The Right Thing (1989, dir. Spike Lee): I said this in my other post from the end of the year meme, but I had absolutely no idea what to expect going into this movie and it floored me. I was immediately drawn into the vibrant community where I’d be spending the next couple of hours, with Lee’s distinctive directing style making me feel like I was right there in Brooklyn with the characters as the heat and tension simultaneously reached a boiling point. The explosion that we see kick off with about half an hour left to go in the runtime is inevitable but still felt like a punch in the stomach. God. I think my heart rate is climbing just thinking about it. One of the most powerful cinematic experiences I’ve had in a long time.

Honourable mentions that didn’t make this list include Bottoms (2023), Charade (1963), Some Like It Hot (1959), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Hundreds Of Beavers (2022), Scream (1996), …And Justice For All (1979), The Godfather Part II (1974), Fancy Dance (2023), and The Holdovers (2023).

As for tagging other people, I’m going to leave it blank for now bc I’ve been sitting in a chilly vehicle writing this but I may come back later, not sure! I don’t want to pressure anyone who doesn’t feel like doing it but PLEASE do it if you want to & tag me in your lists bc I would love to read them!!!

[treethymes]

With the exceptions of North Korea and Cuba, the communist world has merged onto the capitalist highway in a couple different ways during the twenty-first century. As you’ve read, free-trade imperialism and its cheap agricultural imports pushed farmers into the cities and into factory work, lowering the global price of manufacturing labor and glutting the world market with stuff. Forward-thinking states such as China and Vietnam invested in high-value-added production capacity and managed labor organizing, luring links from the global electronics supply chain and jump-starting capital investment. Combined with capital’s hesitancy to invest in North Atlantic production facilities, as well as a disinclination toward state-led investment in the region, Asian top-down planning erased much of the West’s technological edge. If two workers can do a single job, and one worker costs less, both in wages and state support, why pick the expensive one? Foxconn’s 2017 plan to build a U.S. taxpayer–subsidized $10 billion flat-panel display factory in Wisconsin was trumpeted by the president, but it was a fiasco that produced zero screens. The future cost of labor looks to be capped somewhere below the wage levels many people have enjoyed, and not just in the West.

The left-wing economist Joan Robinson used to tell a joke about poverty and investment, something to the effect of: The only thing worse than being exploited by capitalists is not being exploited by capitalists. It’s a cruel truism about the unipolar world, but shouldn’t second place count for something? When the Soviet project came to an end, in the early 1990s, the country had completed world history’s biggest, fastest modernization project, and that didn’t just disappear. Recall that Cisco was hyped to announce its buyout of the Evil Empire’s supercomputer team. Why wasn’t capitalist Russia able to, well, capitalize? You’re already familiar with one of the reasons: The United States absorbed a lot of human capital originally financed by the Soviet people. American immigration policy was based on draining technical talent in particular from the Second World. Sergey Brin is the best-known person in the Moscow-to-Palo-Alto pipeline, but he’s not the only one.

Look at the economic composition of China and Russia in the wake of Soviet dissolution: Both were headed toward capitalist social relations, but they took two different routes. The Russian transition happened rapidly. The state sold off public assets right away, and the natural monopolies such as telecommunications and energy were divided among a small number of skilled and connected businessmen, a category of guys lacking in a country that frowned on such characters but that grew in Gorbachev’s liberalizing perestroika era. Within five years, the country sold off an incredible 35 percent of its national wealth. Russia’s richest ended the century with a full counterrevolutionary reversal of their fortunes, propelling their income share above what it was before the Bolsheviks took over. To accomplish this, the country’s new capitalists fleeced the most vulnerable half of their society. “Over the 1989–2016 period, the top 1 percent captured more than two-thirds of the total growth in Russia,” found an international group of scholars, “while the bottom 50 percent actually saw a decline in its income.” Increases in energy prices encouraged the growth of an extractionist petro-centered economy. Blood-covered, teary, and writhing, infant Russian capital crowded into the gas and oil sectors. The small circle of oligarchs privatized unemployed KGB-trained killers to run “security,” and gangsters dominated politics at the local and national levels. They installed a not particularly well-known functionary—a former head of the new intelligence service FSB who also worked on the privatization of government assets—as president in a surprise move on the first day of the year 2000. He became the gangster in chief.

Vladimir Putin’s first term coincided with the energy boom, and billionaires gobbled up a ludicrous share of growth. If any individual oligarch got too big for his britches, Putin was not beyond imposing serious consequences. He reinserted the state into the natural monopolies, this time in collaboration with loyal capitalists, and his stranglehold on power remains tight for now, despite the outstandingly uneven distribution of growth. Between 1980 and 2015, the Russian top 1 percent grew its income an impressive 6.2 percent per year, but the top .001 percent has maintained a growth rate of 17 percent over the same period. To invest these profits, the Russian billionaires parked their money in real estate, bidding up housing prices, and stashed a large amount of their wealth offshore. Reinvestment in Russian production was not a priority—why go through the hassle when there were easier ways to keep getting richer?

While Russia grew billionaires instead of output, China saw a path to have both. As in the case of Terry Gou, the Chinese Communist Party tempered its transition by incorporating steadily increasing amounts of foreign direct investment through Hong Kong and Taiwan, picking partners and expanding outward from the special economic zones. State support for education and infrastructure combined with low wages to make the mainland too attractive to resist. (Russia’s population is stagnant, while China’s has grown quickly.) China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, in 2001, gave investors more confidence. Meanwhile, strong capital controls kept the country out of the offshore trap, and state development priorities took precedence over extraction and get-rich-quick schemes. Chinese private wealth was rechanneled into domestic financial assets—equity and bonds or other loan instruments—at a much higher rate than it was in Russia. The result has been a sustained high level of annual output growth compared to the rest of the world, the type that involves putting up an iPhone City in a matter of months. As it has everywhere else, that growth has been skewed: only an average of 4.5 percent for the bottom half of earners in the 1978–2015 period compared to more than 10 percent for the top .001 percent. But this ratio of just over 2–1 is incomparable to Russia’s 17–.5 ration during the same period.

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, certain trends have been more or less unavoidable. The rich have gotten richer relative to the poor and working class—in Russia, in China, in the United States, and pretty much anywhere else you want to look. Capital has piled into property markets, driving up the cost of housing everywhere people want to live, especially in higher-wage cities and especially in the world’s financial centers. Capitalist and communist countries alike have disgorged public assets into private pockets. But by maintaining a level of control over the process and slowing its tendencies, the People’s Republic of China has built a massive and expanding postindustrial manufacturing base.

It’s important to understand both of these patterns as part of the same global system rather than as two opposed regimes. One might imagine, based on what I’ve written so far, that the Chinese model is useful, albeit perhaps threatening, in the long term for American tech companies while the Russian model is irrelevant. Some commentators have phrased this as the dilemma of middle-wage countries on the global market: Wages in China are going to be higher than wages in Russia because wages in Russia used to be higher than wages in China. But Russia’s counterrevolutionary hyper-bifurcation has been useful for Silicon Valley as well; they are two sides of the same coin. Think about it this way: If you’re a Russian billionaire in the first decades of the twenty-first century looking to invest a bunch of money you pulled out of the ground, where’s the best place you could put it? The answer is Palo Alto.

Malcolm Harris, Palo Alto

[slimereader]

As some of you may recall, I started this blog in December 2016 when I first started playing Torneko no Daibouken: Fushigi no Dungeon. I played it for about a month, fully expanding the shop but stopping short of retrieving the Box of Happiness. Even though I didn't finish the game, its gameplay, art, music, and writing all had a big impact on me! Now it's April 2025. I started a new playthrough on my Trimui Brick, and it was just as fun as I remembered. Yesterday, I finished the game and rolled credits for the first time! Spoilers: the Box of Happiness was a beautiful music box. Everyone was so happy... I cried during the credits sequence. I love this game!!

I know rolling the credits is only the beginning for these kinds of games. I definitely plan to pick away at the deeper dungeon and bonus dungeon whenever I feel the urge to play some mystery dungeon. Seeing as it took me 8 years just to finish the main game, I'm not getting my hopes up!

Screenshots under the cut.

Go on, Torneko! You've earned it! Upon loading up the game after the credits, I realized that I didn't get to keep my gear from this run in the vault, which peeved me slightly because I found some good stuff!!

Hi Score! Aw the screenshot didn't turn out so great, the screen capture mechanic on the brick is kind of fiddly. I think this was my 19th run on this save? I was just doing a practice run, but we ended up going all the way! I also found out you can't use Outside Scrolls while holding the Box of Happiness. But in the end it wasn't a problem.

His cute victory pose!! I ended up entering the bonus dungeon by accident because I wanted to open the music box again. How did players in 1993 figure that out?

[jgroffdaily]

Jonathan Groff’s Star Turn in ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ Lands Him His First Tony

The gregarious performer who loves and is loved by Broadway picked up a trophy for best leading actor in a musical.

Jonathan Groff, a gregarious performer who loves and is loved by Broadway, finally won his first Tony Award on Sunday night, picking up a trophy for best leading actor in a musical for his star turn in a transformational revival of “Merrily We Roll Along.”

The award bestows industry recognition on a musical theater star who has also found success onscreen: He voices the characters Kristoff and Sven in Disney’s “Frozen” films, had a recurring role on the television series “Glee” and played King George in “Hamilton,” a performance that reached a wide audience through the live-capture film (as well as the popular cast album).

The Tony recognizes Groff’s empathetic portrayal of Franklin Shepard, a Juilliard-trained composer who jettisons his youthful idealism, his stage career and his co-writer to become a successful film producer. Groff uses his considerable charm to give the character, who can seem like a sellout, more depth, and in the process has helped make the musical, which was a notorious flop in 1981, into a huge hit this time around. (Another key factor: One of Groff’s co-stars is Daniel Radcliffe, of “Harry Potter” fame.)

Groff’s performance, which is the scaffolding on which the production is constructed, was widely praised by critics. Jesse Green, writing in The New York Times, described Groff as “thrillingly fierce,” and said “Groff, always a compelling actor, here steps up to an unmissable one.” And Charles McNulty, writing in The Los Angeles Times, said, “The key to making this work — which is to say making us care — is the performance of Groff, who humanizes Frank’s choices without sentimentalizing his arc.”

Groff, 39, arrived on Broadway as a swing in a short-lived 2005 flop, “In My Life.” He has been nominated for a Tony Award each time he has returned to Broadway since — in 2007 for his starring role as a rebellious adolescent in the original production of “Spring Awakening,” in 2016 for his peacockish performance in “Hamilton” and this year for “Merrily.”

The stretches between Broadway roles have been filled with screen work — he starred in the streaming series “Looking” and “Mindhunter,” as well as the “Frozen” films. He has also periodically worked Off Broadway, including as the first star of a 2019 “Little Shop of Horrors” revival that is still running, with a variety of well-known performers in leading roles, at the Westside Theater.

The “Merrily” revival, directed by Maria Friedman, began its New York life (there were earlier chapters, with different performers, in Britain and Boston) with a 2022 Off Broadway production at New York Theater Workshop. The Broadway run opened last October; the final performance is scheduled to be July 7.

[albarrancabrera]

Albarran Cabrera   —–   Instagram

Art | Basel sneak preview 3/4

We are proud to present for the first time an initial set of new work at Art | Basel 2024 You can see it at Elvira Gonzalez gallery BOOTH F13 | Hall 2.0 JUNE 11 - 16, 2024

As most part of our photographs, these pieces are also inspired by Nihonga, a type of Japanese painting that draws on different styles. Many of them use traditional techniques and materials such as mineral pigments, washi paper, and silk painting.

This new work in particular is an exploration of the intersection between the gestural Western abstraction and the profound symbolism found in the Japanese folding screens ( 屏風 - byōbu) through the medium of photography. Using classical photographic effects such as inversion, sabatier effect, polarization or masking, this body of work seeks to distil the essence of the fleeting beauty of nature, presenting abstract images that evoke a sense of wonder and contemplation and invite viewers on a journey of exploration and discovery.

As part of “The indestructible” series: “Using an image captured with a camera and the possibilities of the photographic medium, we can create photographs that are not a faithful display of reality but an exploration of the limits of reality. The photographic medium, for us, becomes an extension of the human visual capacity. Our goal is to create photographic objects that create in viewers their very own experience of their encounter with the boundary between the real and the unreal.”

The Indestructible #70014, 2016 50 x 74 cm | 19 5⁄8 x 29 in Pigments on gold leaf on paper

The Indestructible #70014 (detail)

The Indestructible #70014 (detail)

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

AERONET: Ensuring quality satellite data for mineral exploration

In October of 1957, the USSR launched the world's first artificial satellite into orbit around Earth. Today, we're combining Earth observation with image processing in the search for mineral resources.

Satellites now play a significant role in mineral exploration by providing remote sensing data that helps geologists identify areas with potential mineral deposits.

Remote sensing from satellites

Remote sensing, collecting and studying information from a distance, began seriously with the beach-ball-sized Soviet satellite Sputnik 1.

Satellites equipped with multispectral and hyperspectral sensors capture data across various wavelengths of light. Different minerals reflect and absorb light differently, creating unique spectral signatures. This helps geologists map rock types and geological structures, like faults, folds and fractures. This information helps to identify areas which may be worth closer investigation for prospective minerals.

But satellite data is also affected by atmospheric interference from clouds, dust and aerosols. That's where measurements of atmospheric characteristics become crucially important to process satellite data into useful, reliable and standardized information.

AERONET: A network of atmospheric aerosol measurements

AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork) is a global network of ground-based instruments that provides high-quality, long-term observations of aerosol optical properties. It plays a critical role in correcting satellite data, especially for atmospheric and surface reflectance studies.

AERONET operates more than 500 ground-based remote sensing sites around the globe. The robotic network was established more than three decades ago by NASA and the PHOTONS (PHOtométrie pour le Traitement Opérationnel de Normalisation Satellitaire).

In 2024, CSIRO installed new atmospheric monitoring instruments at the Australian Resources Research Center in Perth. This includes an automatic weather station, air quality sensor, hemispherical sky cameras and a sun photometer.

This data is now feeding into the international AERONET network of ground-based instruments measuring atmospheric aerosols, ensuring celestial data streams provide accurate observations from our Southern skies.

CSIRO scientists are also using the rooftop installation in Perth to test remote sensing instrumentation prior to installation in other remote locations in Australia.

Seeing through the clouds

Dr. Ian Lau is an Earth observation specialist and has worked with AERONET since 2016. His work focuses on extracting mineralogical and environmental information from data.

Dr. Lau said accurate remote sensing data relied on identifying and removing data contaminated by clouds. "Clouds can block direct sunlight, artificially skewing some measurements from optical satellites. Cloud cover can also change quickly, causing rapid changes in the measured data.

"With a set of algorithms applied to raw data, a cloud-screening procedure detects and either flags or removes data points that are likely affected."

Remote sensing for Australian conditions

Australia is a major source of specific atmospheric aerosols, including dust and smoke. Our deserts are the largest dust source in the Southern Hemisphere. Bushfires and burning are commonplace.

Sitting within the AERONET network is AeroSpan. Operated by CSIRO, Aerospan's network of automated instruments located to characterize the primary sources of Australian continental aerosols like dust and smoke.

Why satellite calibration/validation is valuable

"Quality control of sensors and ground-based data validation helps us develop realistic products for mineral exploration," says Dr. Lau. "With satellite calibration data from Southern Hemisphere Earth observation in high demand, good quality data helps researchers better understand our regional conditions."

Calibration is the process of setting up instruments to provide consistent and accurate measurements. Calibration ensures that the reading from the instrument is consistent with other instruments.

"Calibration links data to known, accurate ground and atmospheric data collected at specific sites," said Dr. Lau. "With this data verified, we can be confident that the data from satellite remote sensing is also accurate and reliable."

Dr. Lau is part of the team developing a proposed autonomous calibration site for next-generation satellite-based instruments capturing highly detailed spectral information.

"Because different minerals reflect light across various wavelengths, we rely on accurate atmospheric correction for optical satellite data," he said. "Many smaller satellites launch, often without the resources for rigorous calibration and validation in orbit. These satellites rely on Radiometric Calibration Network (RadCalNet) sites."

A RadCalNet provides a dataset of traceable and standardized products that researchers and commercial satellite providers use to calibrate and validate the accuracy of optical satellite sensors.

Adding to the network of global calibration sites

Earth observation satellites such as EnMap and PRISMA use sensors operating in the visible to shortwave infrared wavelength range, utilizing sunlight reflected off Earth's surface.

CSIRO is working on commissioning a new RadCalNet site 200 km north of Perth in WA's Nambung National Park, home of the Pinnacles Desert.

"It makes for an excellent calibration site because it provides a highly reflective and stable surface," said Dr. Lau.

The consistency provided by validated data means it has had accurate atmospheric correction applied and has been precisely wavelength calibrated to detect the presence of certain minerals. This gives a more precise analysis of the spectral signatures of rocks and soils.

"If you're identifying prospective regions for more detailed investigation, it's important to have very good quality data and ensure that the products are correct," he said. "You don't want to be predicting there are mineral deposits or vectors towards the mineral deposit when you've got some false positives."

Expanding wavelengths for the future

Instruments such as the ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) satellite typically operate with nine spectral bands, but researchers and scientists are demanding more wavelengths. More wavelengths mean more data.

Hyperspectral satellite imagery, which operates twelve bands across the electromagnetic spectrum, will allow for improved retrieval of atmospheric constituents like methane and carbon dioxide.

"The ASTER satellite had a limited number of specific spectral bands, similar to having only a few TV channels," Dr. Lau said.

In contrast, hyperspectral satellites offer many more "channels," allowing for better differentiation of minerals, improved signal-to-noise ratio, and enhanced coverage.

[thislovintime]

The Monkees on the set of Head, 1968.

“The first day of shooting was scheduled for February 11, 1968 — but there was another snag before Rafelson could begin filming. ‘Mike was the shop steward of The Monkees during that whole period,’ explains Dolenz. ‘He introduced us to an agent called Jerry Perenchio, now one of the most successful men in the business. He said, ‘You guys are really getting ripped off.’ So he encouraged us to strike. Peter, unfortunately, didn’t agree. He was the scab, so to speak. That took the wind out of the sails of our opportunity.’ Tork: ‘I felt it was another power play by Mike. It was strange, because I was raised a labor progressive. If ever there was a guy who understood the dynamics of labor organizing, it was me. What Mike meant was, “Let me be the be boss.” The other three did stay out for the first say of shooting, and, basically Bert allowed a little trade-off and gave them a face-saving concession. But I got paid nothing for Head. I was given a piece of the action and it died.’” - Mojo, June 2002

“It’s not an abstract movie. It’s surreal, but it’s not abstract. It took me a while to recognize the difference. Certain scenes never fail to break me up with laughter to this day. But I wish we had been able to better capture on film what the writers had originally envisioned. The one thing we did not want was a 90-minute episode of the show. And I think we accomplished that.” - Peter Tork, leoweekly, June 8, 2016

Q: “The parts you played in the movie seemed to be based more on yourselves than the parts in the series?” Peter Tork: “Yeah, the movie was about who...who we were... [Peter pauses for a long time before continuing the sentence] ...I think as Bob Rafelson saw us, who the individuals were. The ways it was. I was spaced out with my newage philosophy, Davy is a little rough neck and Mike is a conniver, Micky, I don't know, but Micky's character hadn't formed at that point, he didn't know anything about him. But yeah, it was about who we were and not who the characters on the screen or TV-show were. The movie was about the Monkees-phenomenon and people and Hollywood and some of my complaints, the black box, we complained about what later became the black box a lot.” Q: “How much influence did the four of you have on the script?” PT: “On the movie? Oh, I think we had a lot. The producers and director were very pleased with us, we had a conference before we began work at the movie. The 7 of us [i.e. Peter Tork, Michael Nesmith, Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Bob Rafelson, Bert Schneider and Jack Nicholson] went to Ojai in California, a peaceful part of the world, and we sat in a motel and we talked about what we wanted and that what we all wanted was not to have another TV-episode. That was very important to all of us. And I don't think they hardened by that, because I think they wanted to make a good movie, I wish they could have made a movie that had had a commercial success, too, but they chose not to. I think that that was their choice, too, which I'm very disappointed about.” - interview by Lise Lygn Falkenberg, 1994

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Ellen Ioanes at Vox:

Come Tuesday night, millions of Americans will be glued to their TV screens or refreshing their browser windows to see the latest election returns, all in anticipation of a final race call. (Though we might not know the next president until days later.)

Counting ballots can take a while, but news organizations don’t necessarily need to wait for every cast ballot to be counted before announcing a winner. They’re often able to declare who won without the full returns, thanks to the work of teams colloquially known as “decision desks” — groups of political scientists, statisticians, pollsters, and reporters who use mountains of data, statistical models, and on-the-ground reporting to understand which candidate is up where, and how likely a candidate is to win a given precinct, county, or state. Given the doubt that former President Donald Trump has sown over the past eight years, both about the election process and the media, it’s worth understanding in detail how the processes of projecting and calling election results work, and why consumers of news should trust those results. “Remember that we don’t elect anybody,” Anthony Salvanto, who as CBS News’s executive director of elections and surveys, oversees the network’s decision desk, told Vox. “The voters do that. Elections officials are reporting the vote, and what you’re getting from us and the networks is our analysis of what they’ve reported, as well as our first-hand reports from talking to voters.”

How exactly do news organizations figure out who’s winning?

To figure out who won an election, news organizations like Fox News, CNN, the Associated Press (AP), and others use a combination of data from election officials, statistical modeling, and polling and surveys of voters. Raw vote counts come in at the precinct, county, and state levels, and these help decision desks both ensure voting is in line with their expectations and to make decisions on tight contests. Those expectations are shaped by statistical models based on history and other voter information, like geographical location, gender, age, and more.

This year, there are two main systems that news media will rely on for their projections. The AP and Fox News use a system called AP VoteCast, which debuted in 2018 and has been used in every national election since. In a shift from past practice, VoteCast doesn’t rely on exit polling, and instead uses large-scale online surveys of registered voters who are chosen randomly from a probability-based sample, in an attempt to get the most accurate information from the most representative sample.

A different method is used by the National Election Pool (NEP), which provides data to ABC News, CBS News, CNN, and NBC News. The NEP relies on Edison Research to conduct three types of surveys: Election Day exit polls, in-person early voting exit polls, and polls of likely voters to capture data from those likely to vote by mail, Rob Farbman, executive vice president at Edison Research, told Vox. (AP and Fox News used to be part of this group, but left after the 2016 election.) (Decision Desk HQ, a private company that contracts with news organizations including the Economist and The Hill — and Vox.com in 2020 — doesn’t use voter surveys, and instead it relies on a proprietary statistical methodology to project winners.) Each outlet and agency creates their own criteria for interpreting these results.

News organizations have their own decision desk teams that determine when a state or a district can be called to determine that the leading candidate is 100% assured of winning.

In 2020, the Presidential election winner was called on Saturday after the election at just before 10:30AM CST.

How long do we have to wait for a winner to be officially declared this time? Who knows, but hopefully within a couple of days.