#michael probst

[world-exploration]

bexx1things - Regional Train passes a railroad crossing between flooded fields - Nidderau-Eichen, Germany - by Michael Probst

TAG themes on ‘Archive’: https://scooby-doo-exploration.tumblr.com/archive

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Frankfurt, Germany

A gosling and its mother

Photograph: Michael Probst/AP

[teleclub]

Deer gather in a glade in a forest of the Taunus region near Frankfurt, Germany, on March 25, 2025. © Michael Probst / AP

[guy60660]

Michael Probst | AP | The Guardian

[janidash]

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[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Frankfurt, Germany: Sunflowers are pictured behind rain drops on a car window :: Photo: Michael Probst/AP (July 2023)

[Robert Scott Horton]

* * * *

Blue poured into summer blue, / A hawk broke from his cloudless tower, / The roof of the silo blazed, and I knew / That part of my life was over.

— Stanley Kunitz, “End of Summer”

[alive on all channels]

[thoughtlessarse]

Honeybees return to their hive in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany. Plants can “hear” bees buzzing and serve up more nectar when they are nearby, scientists have found. Amazingly, they can tell the difference between a bee’s buzz and that of a non-pollinating insect such as a wasp - Photograph: Michael Probst/AP

Er … wasps pollinate as many plants as bees and at a comparable level.

Click source for more Week in Wildlife photos

[jmunneytumbler]

'Warfare' Leading to 'The Amateur'

A Warfarer and an Amateur (CREDIT: A24; 20th Century Studios/Screenshot) Warfare Starring: Joseph Quinn, Charles Melton, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Kit Connor, Finn Bennett, Taylor John Smith, Michael Gandolfini, Adain Bradley, Noah Centineo, Evan Holtzman, Henry Zaga, Alex Brockdorff, Nathan Altai, Donya Hussen, Aaron Deakins Directors: Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland Running…

[heartsoulrocknroll]

Penner is immediately feeling everyone out after the merge. He knows who Lisa is, but promises not to blow her cover. He works on Skupin too. Penner: "I gotta help him feel as comfortable as he can about slitting the throats of the people he spent 17 days with."

Nearly everyone is immediately gunning for Penner after the merge. Tandang has the numbers and wants him out, and Jeff Kent goes back to his original mindset of, "A returning player can't win, and Penner is dangerous." Not good.

Kent: "I'll join any gang as long as I can get Penner out before I get out." Lmao, forget winning, but he'll be damned if he goes out before Penner. The man is obsessed. Me too, Kent. Me too.

Probst, at the immunity challenge: "Penner is out and in trouble at Tribal Concil." Penner: "Well, thank you." Lol, he's always got something to say, and I love that for him.

Penner does manage to get RC on his side to vote for Pete, as she has been on the outs with her Tandang alliance. He thinks he might have Skupin and thinks his original Kalabaw alliance is still intact. Penner: "If the people that I believe are going to vote with me are really not going to vote with me, if all of this has been smoke, then I'm a terrible judge of character and then I don't really deserve to stay in the game."

Kent to Carter: "I said (to Skupin) if I do this with you, you have to promise me that Penner will not stay here longer than us." Looooool, he can't stop.

Jeff Kent and Carter ultimately decide to go with the Tandang majority plan to split the votes between Penner and RC to flush out the idol and/or get rid of one of the two of them. Oof. Penner gets five votes, but thankfully, he is a good enough judge of character to play the idol, and RC gets voted out!

Riveting episode, great Tribal Council!!! This season rocks.

[saywhat-politics]

Secretary of State Marco Rubio advised Germany to “reverse course” following the domestic intelligence agency’s decision, which grants German authorities increased oversight and surveillance over the party.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned a decision Friday by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency to classify the political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) as a right-wing extremist organization, calling the move “tyranny in disguise.”

“What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD—which took second in the recent election—but rather the establishment’s deadly open border immigration policies that the AfD opposes,” Rubio wrote in a post on X in the hours following the decision.

A man stands in front of the logo at the AfD party headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Feb. 23, 2025, after the German national election. | Michael Probst/AP

By Katherine Long

05/02/2025 02:40 PM EDT

Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned a decision Friday by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency to classify the political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) as a right-wing extremist organization, calling the move “tyranny in disguise.”

“What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD—which took second in the recent election—but rather the establishment’s deadly open border immigration policies that the AfD opposes,” Rubio wrote in a post on X in the hours following the decision.

“Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition,” he wrote. “That’s not democracy—it’s tyranny in disguise.”

The decision by Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, gives authorities increased oversight and surveillance over AfD. While some branches of the party at the state level have received the label — such as in Saxony and Thuringia — this is the first time in modern German history that a party with nationwide representation on the federal level has been classified as extremist.

The party won a record 152 parliament seats after receiving nearly 21 percent of the vote in the February federal elections.

After conducting a three-year-long investigation into the party, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution released a 1,000 page report, citing violations of core constitutional principles including human dignity and the rule of law.

“This is democracy. This decision is the result of a thorough & independent investigation to protect our Constitution & the rule of law,” the official X account for the German Foreign Office wrote in a reply to Rubio’s post. “It is independent courts that will have the final say. We have learnt from our history that rightwing extremism needs to be stopped.”

[im-a-dream-wizard]

My Personal Guide to Works pertaining to German, Bavarian, and Alpine Folk Magick

This is not an exhaustive list, just a list of sources that inform my practice. Readers will benefit from being able to read German (and sometimes Bavarian/Boarisch German).

Not all works are specific/exclusive to these folk practices and may include other traditions in addition.

I will be updating this list as I recall or find works to add to it. It is not alphabetized or organized in any specific way. If you’d like to recommend a title for this list, let me know!

Additionally, I cannot speak or vouch for any of the views or opinions of the authors. Some of these sources are certainly outdated and could potentially contain content that is offensive or bigoted, which is not something I endorse. Finally, there are some sources that are of debatable historical accuracy, so take them with a grain of salt.

Books

Pow-Wows or Long Lost Friend, John George Hohman

The Secret History of Christmas Baking by Linda Raedisch

The Old Magic of Christmas by Linda Raedisch

Night of the Witches by Linda Raedisch (a great resource for Walpurgisnacht)

Mountain Magic: Celtic Shamanism in the Austrian Alps by Christian Brunner

Alpine Magic by Christian Brunner

Pagan Christmas by Christian Rätsch and Claudia Müller-Ebeling

Göttin Holle by Gunivortus Goos (also available in English)

Hausgeister! by Janin Pisarek, Florian Schäfer, and Hannah Gritsch

Queens of the Wild by Ronald Hutton

Witchcraft and the Shamanic Journey Kenneth Johnson

Niederbayerische Sagen by Michael Waltinger

Witchcraft Medicine by Wolf-Dieter Storl, Christian Rätsch, Claudia Müller-Ebeling (available in both English and German)

Der Heilige Hain by Christian Rätsch

Von Sonnwend bis Rauhnacht by Valentin Kirschgruber

Witches and Pagans: Women in European Folk Religion, 700-1100 by Max Dashu

Spirit Beings in European Folklore 2 by Benjamin Adamah (I encourage you to read their sources as well, it’s important to find primary sources)

Deutsche Mythologie by Jacob Grimm (English as “Teutonic Mythology”) Please take Jacob Grimm with a grain of salt.

Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens (There’s a lot of caveats to this, as it is highly outdated, but it is still a handy resource for reference. HOWEVER, good luck finding it. You might find some volumes available online but there are very few complete reprints of this encyclopedia, at least that are affordable.)

Tiefe Wälder, dunkle Legenden by Josef Probst

Malleus Maleficarum by Heinrich Kramer (This is basically a 15th century manual to “witch hunting” and contains bigotry and a lot of factual inaccuracies. However, it has some content that can provide some insight into folk magic and superstition of the time. It is very violent and explains the torture process of those accused of witchcraft, so be warned)

Volksmedizinische Botanik der Germanen by Max Höfler

Trutmezzer by Frater Acher (Three Hands Press)

The Black Raven: A Study in the Folk Necromancy of Early Modern Germany by Alexander Cummins and Brian Johnson

Speculum Terræ: A Magical Earth-Mirror from the 17th Century by Frater Acher

Journals and Scholarly Articles

Holda: Between Folklore and Linguistics by Thomas Leek

Perchten and Krampusse: Living Mask Traditions in Austria and Bavaria by Molly Carter

Divination: Mother Holle as Goddess of Seerdom by Ullrich R. Kleinhempel

Percht und Krampus Felix and Ulrich Müller

The Distribution of The Legends of Frau Holle, Frau Percht, and Related Figures by Erika Timm

Perchta the Belly-Slitter and Her Kin: A View of Some Traditional Threatening Figures, Threats and Punishments by John B. Smith

Holle's Cry: Unearthing a Birth Goddess in a German Jewish Naming Ceremony by Jill Hammer

Content Creators

Ella Harrison

The Witches’ Cookery

De Spökenkyker: A great resource for Silesian-German folk practice!

[sitting-on-me-bum]

A gosling snuggles up under its mother’s plumage in a meadow in Frankfurt, Germany

Photograph: Michael Probst/AP

[brian-in-finance]

Hmmm . . . . interesting. 🧐

First the movie's director says this:

The Amateur stars and director break down that twist ending — and plans for a sequel.

https://ew.com/the-amateur-rami-malek-laurence-fishburne-explain-ending-future-sequel-plans-11711665?taid=67f96833376780000163cfc9&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+New+Content+%28Feed%29&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

Then Cait says this:

https://www.joe.ie/movies-tv/the-amateur-prequel-spin-off-inquiline-catriona-balfe-interview-best-new-action-movies-840411

Thanks for the message, Anon. 😃 (This is a long one, folks.)

The Amateur stars and director break down that twist ending — and plans for a sequel

"There is room for many of these people to come back and for us to see what lies ahead for Charlie Heller," Rami Malek tells EW.

Rami Malek in 'The Amateur'. / Credit: John Wilson/20th Century Studios

Key Points:

The Amateur stars Rami Malek and Laurence Fishburne, along with director James Hawes, break down the movie's twist ending.

The trio reveals that the final scene between Heller and Henderson was not in the original script and was shot later to set up future movies.

The actors and filmmaker confirm they all want to return for sequels.

This article contains spoilers for The Amateur.

The Amateur stars Rami Malek and Laurence Fishburne, along with director James Hawes, are ready to get back in the field and turn their espionage thriller into a franchise. But if Malek's CIA decoder Charlie Heller returns for a sequel, it's going to need a new title.

While the introverted, risk-averse, desk jockey starts off as a true amateur when it comes to spycraft, by the end of the film, he proves he's got what it takes to be a professional secret agent.

Based on the novel by Robert Littell, the movie follows Heller as he embarks on a quest for revenge against the terrorists who killed his wife (played by Rachel Brosnahan). After he discovers the CIA covered up more than 1,000 casualties in illegal operations, Heller uses that information to blackmail Deputy Director Moore (Holt McCallany) into approving his mission. Still, the data analyst knows he needs combat training, so he also demands lessons from Col. Henderson (Fishburne) — known by "Hendo" to his friends (which does not include Heller).

Rami Malek in 'The Amateur'. / John Wilson/20th Century Studios

Against all odds, and to everyone's shock, Heller actually succeeds in getting his revenge. He kills three out of the four terrorists responsible for his wife's murder — accidentally causing Gretchen (Barbara Probst) to get hit by a car, intentionally dropping Blazhic (Marc Rissman) 16 stories by cracking a glass-bottomed pool, and blowing up Ellish (Joseph Millson) with a homemade IED. But when it came to the fourth and final terrorist, their leader, Schiller (Michael Stuhlbarg), Heller threw everyone for a twist.

At first, it seems like he's going to shoot Schiller point-blank, but he ultimately decides he doesn't need to kill him to get his revenge. Instead, Heller outsmarts him by secretly luring Schiller's ship into Finnish waters after tipping off the Finnish Navy and Interpol, who promptly commandeer the vessel and arrest him. This way, Heller kills two birds with one stone, getting his revenge on Schiller while also exposing his illegal dealings with Deputy Director Moore. By the end of the movie, CIA Director O'Brien (Julianne Nicholson) announces in a press conference that Moore has been arrested and that Charlie "is safe and will continue to serve with the agency."

It's the kind of ending that perfectly sets up sequels — and Malek says that's "of course" their ultimate goal. "We would love for people to appreciate this film on its own as a standalone feature — if it resonated with people, that would be enough for me," he tells Entertainment Weekly. "But to take Charlie’s story into further iterations would be an absolute joy."

Laurence Fishburne and Rami Malek in 'The Amateur'. / 20th Century Studios

Malek "would love to continue" working with Hawes "and this extraordinary cast we assembled, so many of which I have been dying to work with," in the future. "There is room for many of these people to come back and for us to see what lies ahead for Charlie Heller," Malek adds. "He is a battered, broken soul with so much vulnerability but an immense amount of strength that we could find avenues to venture into again."

Hawes says that any decisions about future movies lie with 20th Century Studios but adds that he's extremely interested in making sequels. "The best thing for me to come out of this was the fact that, at the end of it, people were going, 'I have to see what happens to Charlie and Hendo next,'" the director says. "And that was almost by accident — that last scene where they re-meet again was additional photography.

That final scene sees Henderson reunite with Heller after nearly dying towards the end of the film. Henderson pops up in the backseat of his former pupil's car to say he's proud of his success. He also seems to tease more adventures together, leaving him with, "See you around, Charlie."

That [scene] was not in the original script, but we felt that there was something so satisfying in that kind of tutor-mentor relationship that we could take that further," Hawes reveals. "And we wanted the rounding off, we wanted the bookends, we wanted the satisfaction of learning that Hendo was still definitely alive, not just a question mark at the end of the movie. The studio will think about it, obviously, and it depends how people respond to it, but it just felt like that connection had much more traveling to do."

Fishburne tells EW that "it was lovely" to have that final moment. "As we were shooting the movie, they realized that there was something really, really special about Rami and I being on screen together and that people would want more of it," he says. "[Henderson's original ending] was left up in the air, and I think that was deliberate. It was not clear one way or the other how it was going to play out."

If a sequel is greenlit, Hawes already has ideas for what it could entail. "The eventual development has got to be, and this is epic and classic, and it's in mythology, and it's in Star Wars, it's the gradual development of the teacher and the pupil, and the point at which the two reverse," the director says. "Some element of that is already happening. But first of all, you'd want to see them as sidekicks — the least likely sidekicks ever. And it would be the strangest kind of buddy spy movie."

Fishburne is absolutely down to return to the character to make that happen. "Of course," he says. "I mean, if the fates allow that to happen, that would be wonderful, wouldn't it? We certainly have the desire [to work together again]."

The Amateur is playing now in theatres.

Entertainment Weekly

• • •

Caitríona Balfe opens up about possible prequel to her new spy film and Irish action heroes

Four-minute 📹 available @ Joe

‘We should have an Irish action hero, shouldn’t we?’

Irish actress Caitríona Balfe (Belfast, Outlander) is among the stars of the new action spy revenge thriller The Amateur, which is in cinemas today (Friday, 11 April).

The movie sees Oscar-winner Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) play Charlie Heller, a brilliant but deeply introverted techwiz and decoder for the CIA whose life is turned upside down when his wife (Rachel Brosnahan, James Gunn’s Superman) is killed in a London terrorist attack.

When his superiors (led by Holt McCallany, Mindhunter) refuse to take action against the people behind the murder, Charlie uses his access to CIA intelligence to blackmail his bosses into giving him training, cash and a new identity. This is so that he himself can trek across the globe to find and kill those responsible.

Balfe, meanwhile, plays the enigmatic Inquiline – a long-distance acquaintance of Charlie from Russia, who winds up helping him on this quest.

We here at JOE enjoyed The Amateur – writing that it mined plenty of thrills from its tantalising premise, which is basically: “What if Q from the James Bond films went into the field on a vengeance mission?”

Another great aspect of the film is Inquiline, a character that Balfe describes to JOE as both a “hero” and a “champion”.

Without spoiling, over the course of the story, the character reveals herself as being not what people expect of her at first. This is as the audience comes to learn her fascinating backstory about how she came to be involved in hacking and spycraft.

As such, when we spoke to the Irish actress, we had to ask if there could ever be a prequel film or series about Inquiline if The Amateur is a success.

To this, Caitríona Balfe replied:

“I mean, who knows right? You’ve said it now so maybe, we’ll just have to have words in somebody’s ears. But yeah, it would be cool to see her whole backstory.

“It’s somebody who when you meet her, you realise that there’s been a whole life there and it sounds very interesting. So, you never know.”

Also, given Balfe has played a Russian action hero in The Amateur and a British action hero in the hit series Outlander, JOE had to ask if we will ever see her play an Irish action hero someday.

“Oh, I mean, we should have an Irish action hero, shouldn’t we? That would be fun,” she responded. “Yeah, I don’t know, we need to create one, don’t we?”

The actress, who has also been doing more producing and directing in recent years, then added, laughing: “Maybe that’s what I need to do.”

The Amateur is in cinemas now.

Remember… if a sequel is greenlit, (James) Hawes (the film’s director) already has ideas for what it could entail.

[cetaceous]

Hundreds of Storks rest on their Nests built on Electrical Pylons near the City of Coimbra, Portugal image credit: Michael Probst/AP via: The Guardian

[nullnvoid911]

French urban climber Alain Robert, well known as "Spiderman", is escorted by police officers after climbing the 'Skyper' highrise in Frankfurt, Germany.

Michael Probst, September 28, 2019

[umseb]

sebastian vettel during a visit to heppenheim - october 22, 2011 📷 michael probst / apimages.com