#Alison Halstead

[moviemosaics]

Dune: Part Two

directed by Denis Villeneuve, 2024

[ruleof3bobby]

DUNE: PART TWO (2024) Grade: B

It's visually stunning, but I just dont care for the characters too much emotionally. Great acting. Literally I great production in every aspect.

[badmovieihave]

Bad movie I have Dune: Part Two 2024

[milliondollarbaby87]

Dune: Part Two (2024) Review

Paul Atreides must unite with Chani and the Fremen whilst also seeking revenge against those who destroyed his family. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Continue reading Dune: Part Two (2024) Review

[saulgurdman]

[trippercrazy]

Neil Halstead & Simon Scott from Slowdive

[sashiepoo]

souvlaki and non-verbal communication

words are a very powerful thing, and carry a lot of meanings, but i believe that they are also a reductive means of communication. a lot of works have considered the ideas of a pure distilled communication, from one brain to another, unified in thought. works such as evangelion, rahxephon explore this idea on a deeper internal consciousness level, while some other works like star trek or sense8 look at a unifying collective will and drive, or the breaking down of personal boundaries through the shared collective experience of life. these shows express this concept as true understanding, but they often take it to the level of a fusing of consciousness, which i think eliminates personal expression and identity. i think it is fundamentally interesting, but as a common theme of this blog, it is not practical for people to fuse their consciousness or somehow become completely unified in thought, and as a lot of these works look into, maybe it isn't even ideal for two to become one. our individuality and uniqueness and our ability to come together and coalesce as one is what enhances the human condition, rather than to eliminate ourselves in purpose of a more effective collective.

as such, i want to talk about slowdive, and specifically souvlaki, and how they have embraced this concept of non-verbal communication that feels like a true heart to heart, like a story said without words. I'll roughly go through a few of the album's tracks, highlighting how this idea displays itself through not just the lyrics but the songs as a whole, and how this central idea reflects what the point of souvlaki is.

souvlaki is an album that is centered around the breakup of the band's leading members, neil halstead and rachel goswell, and a lot of the songs discuss the various stages of their relationship, various experiences of not just love, but hate, and the collective whole experience of the two. it often talks about moments shared, and times passed, and uses the ambient elements of a genre like shoegaze to envelop the listener into the experience. the words are only used to express the sentiment and concept of the situation and all of these aspects aggregate and work off each other to bring the viewer into the world of souvlaki. it feels like you are watching a jumbled biography of their relationship play out in your eyes. i remember the first time i watched a slowdive music video i was in awe at how the music video felt like it was exactly what my mind had painted, and i just witnessed as it played out in front of me. the music and the lyrics painted a scenery for me that seemed to be a unified expression and this is in no short part the talent of rachel, neil and other members of slowdive in being able to create a shared vision of an experience. focusing on sonicality and instrumentation in a genre like shoegaze is a bit like beating a dead horse, but i would be remiss to not mention how incredibly well composed every song is, and how it plays right into the lyrics and drastically enhances the experience of souvlaki as a narrative.

looking at individual songs, first up on the podium is alison. alison has been one of my favorite songs of all time and is very comfortably my favorite off of souvlaki. alison plays out as a conversation between two people, where a man is begging for the aforementioned alison to understand that their relationship is a self-dooming prophecy. they are sinking together and he is trying to pull her out, but under the influence of their miasmatic relationship, she laughs it off, and he just gives it all up. there are several interpretations that could work for this song, such as the male being in a trance, or alison being dead, but they all come together to paint the same idea through the song, of a desperate individual trying so hard to break out of this poisonous chamber, but ultimately just being dragged back in. the imagery of a silent alison that is talking, the hallucination brought upon by the pills, and the desperation of the male character solely narrating his desire to break free, only for nobody to really be hearing him cuts deep through the listener. i think this song serves as an example of the disconnect brought about by something like non-verbal communication, as well as how your words and actions can often conflict. despite begging to leave and escape, the male character just sits there side by side with alison, engaging in the same worldview, and while his words reflect one thing, to someone who is not listening, his actions seem like they are indicating that everything is going just fine, as the song concludes on the note of alison simply laughing off his concerns about their sinking ship of a relationship

souvlaki space station is a lot more directly enchanted into the concept of words being paltry. the very first words, "closed doors bring open minds and i don't want to see you" could very well be interpreted as keeping your mouth closed to open a deeper connection. the continuing lines play off of this, with the line "see you smile inside and i don't want to know you" talking about how the visual and non-verbal communication matters more than talking about oneself. the bouncing notes in the music almost replicate the sound of a wavelength, rippling and connecting, as nothing is said but the pendulum of connection fiercely connects the two. the subsequent verse "doors close and feelings flow [...] through my mind i feel his" are another very direct way of showing how non-verbal communication enables people to understand each other more directly.

the last song i'd like to mentions is melon yellow, but i don't have too much to add. i mean it speaks for itself -

Follow the sun, I watched you follow the sun Sitting here I watched you dance Looking for the sun I watched you dance So long, so long It's just a way to love you So long, so long It's just a way to love you I saw you looking at the sun I saw you looking at the sun

love isn't just words or romantic/sexual actions. an expression is worth a million words, and the silence between the irrelevant words is where two people truly connect, and that is what souvlaki embraces beautifully in the story it shares.

[m12writer]

Anatomy (Description & Cast)

Callie Avery is the child of Elizabeth Halstead and Benny Severide. Her mother give her up at birth and her father has no idea that she exist. Eventually when she was five years old, she ended up in foster care in Rosewood. While her home life was terrible, she has amazing best friends.

Callie Avery

Mark Emery

Alison DiLaurentis

Spencer Hastings

Aria Montgomery

Emily Fields

Hanna Marin

Erza Fitz

Caleb Rivers

Toby Cavanaugh

Will Halstead

Jay Halstead

Kelly Severide

[aftertheapplause]

More Life @ Royal Court Theatre (Upstairs)│★★★★

REVIEW

A HAUNTING STUDY ON THE FUTURE THAT LEAVES THE AUDIENCE ON THE EDGE OF THEIR SEATS TAKES THE STAGE AT THE ROYAL COURT...

More Life is billed as a Dystopian, Gothic Horror Play focusing on the advancements of technology and people's addiction with needing extended lives, to be eternal essentially. It sounds like a fascinating concept and in such a small theatre it may sound a challenge to take such a subject and captivate the audience but Kadinsky theatre company and this small group of actors certainly grasp the audiences imaginations, enhancing all the beauty of Lauren Mooney and James Yeatman's ever twisting, complicated script and putting on a superb production!

Upon making your way into Jerwood Upstairs you are greeted with Shanko Chaudhuri's intimate and brilliant set. The are microphones darted around the place, holes in the walls, various lighting rigs dotted around the place. Paired with Zac Gvirtzman's distorted, twisted music you are certainly greeted with a Gothic atmosphere.

The actors make their way onto stage and we are immediately plunged into darkness. Lighting is something ,i always say, is important for a play to succeed, with the right lighting you can convey the feeling of the play even without any sort of direction. Ryan Joseph Stafford designs absolutely sensational lighting, some of the best I have seen. it works so so well and it really helps the story flow and works well with the twist that they have taken in presenting the ensemble cast.

I have to say the writing is fantastic, there are never any plot holes left unfilled and all the characters are accomplished and fully understood throughout the course of the play. The themes it tackles are hard hitting and make you reflect on the future and what could happen, whether Mooney and Yeatman's idea of 'More Life' could actually become a reality..

The whole cast are super, they multirole, they make shapes with their bodies, they create an eerie gothic soundscape to begin the play. You can see the bond they have and together they bring their individual characters to life. Marc Elliot is our futuristic frankenstein attempting to resurrect the mind of Bridget (Alison Halstead), these attempts are realised beautifully by our ensemble via use of microphones and physical theatre.

MY VERDICT:

This new play is super, it's a message of hope and of warning to the future and whilst it is warm and wildly interesting it haunts you as an audience member. Mooney and Yeatman's plot is brought to life in spectacular fashion with direction by Yeatman himself but mainly by this sensational cast!

My standout performers are Alison Halstead, Tim McMullan and Danusia Samal

More Life runs at the Jerwood Upstairs at the Royal Court Theatre in London until the 8th of March. I definitely recommend this play to everyone because it truly is super!

[thebowerypresents]

Slowdive Kick Off Two-Night Run at Webster Hall

Slowdive – Webster Hall – September 28, 2023

Shoegaze (noun): a style of alternative-rock music characterized by dense, shimmering textures of distorted guitars, thundering drums and dreamy, reverb-heavy vocals. Slowdive are the epitome of shoegaze and pushed the genre to its heights in the early ’90s. Releasing a trio of albums into the middle of that decade, the British band took a 10-year break before hitting the festival circuit in 2014 and returning to the revelry of their fan base. More than two decades since first three LPs, they released an eponymous album in 2017 and recently put out their fifth long-player, Everything Is Alive, earlier this month. To celebrate the release, the group headlined Webster Hall on Wednesday night for the first of two sold-out shows. Setting the stage with blips and chimes on “Shanty,” Slowdive assumed their spots with vocalist Rachel Goswell behind mic stands wrapped with white feathered boas. The performance was ensconced in delicious reverb, providing a serious sound bath for the senses. Bravo to the lighting engineer who was a composer of light and shade throughout the set with strobe lights at the ready for “Catch the Breeze.”

The tracks from 1994’s Souvlaki dominated the back half of the set with fan-favorite “Alison” sung by lead guitarist Neil Halstead, and bassist Nick Chaplin throbbing the strings on “When the Sun Hits.” Although the band took a brief exit, chants of “One more song” willed them back to encore with a three more. Chaplin took a place behind the keyboard for “The Slab,” while Goswell and Halstead muffled indecipherable lyrics. In the clearest moment of the night, Halstead serenaded an entranced crowd on “Dagger” minus their signature reverb or distortion, instead with the lightest beat from drummer Simon Scott. To cap off the show, an uproar swelled for the final song, “40 Days.” —Sharlene Chiu | @Shar0ck

(Slowdive play Webster Hall again tonight.)

Photos courtesy of Michelle Paradis | @michelleparadis_

[rosncrntz]

royal shakespeare company → plays [3/?]

venice preserved (2019)

dear revenge, whene’er thou call’st i’m ready.

[redhairedwolfwitch]

Taken Hostage - Hailey Upton x Halstead!Sister!Reader - One Chicago - Fire/PD/Med

Request:  Hi! I was wondering if you could do a Hailey Upton x Halstead sister where they are either a doctor (maybe a paramedic) and Hailey and Jay bring in a culprit who needs to get their arm checked out. But the culprit ends up taking the reader hostage?

Warning: mentions of hostage taking, threats, threat of death of hostage, injuries (culprit), mentions of a past character (Leslie Shay)

You worked on a different shift to the people Jay and Hailey were familiar with at Firehouse 51. You worked with Alison Rafferty after Chout was transferred onto the other shift of the three for some reason.

Main had given Ambulance 61 the call for police assistance. You didn’t know Jay had put the call in for an ambo to be rolled after a suspect turned culprit had damaged their arm enough to needing a hospital.

Neither your brother or your girlfriend expected you and Rafferty to show up as the culprit was handed over. The damage had been enough that the culprit wasn’t in handcuffs.

Hailey and Jay regretted that as soon as you were grabbed.

Rafferty was stuck at the side door whilst Hailey and Jay had their guns pointed at the culprit.

You were still as you felt the scalpel against your neck.

Your eyes flickered between Jay and Hailey as you heard them yelling. The ambulance was small, neither of them could get closer without risking you.

You didn’t know Rafferty had a needle of sedative in her hand as you spotted her in your peripheral vision.

The culprit’s breath stank of metal, the sickening warmth making you nauseous before you saw Rafferty move.

You managed to shove the arm holding the scalpel away as the effects of the sedative took its hold on the culprit. Launching yourself out of the ambulance, Hailey let out an ooof as you landed in her arms, clinging to her for dear life as Jay and Rafferty assessed the situation.

After the culprit was secured to a gurney, Jay let out a breath, immediately checking on you as your head peaked out from Hailey’s shoulder.

“Are you okay? Are you alright?” Jay’s questions were silenced as you went from Hailey’s arms to his, you could feel him press his lips to the crown of your head as he hugged you.

Rafferty cleared her throat.

“As much as I would love to continue this, we should get this criminal to med before the sedative wears off. Also their arm looks broken, so there’s that-” Rafferty was cut off as you hugged her. Her body tensed before she eventually hugged you back.

It seemed her time with Leslie Shay at Firehouse 51 had changed her perspectives.

“Patrol en route to follow?” You asked as you headed over to the passenger seat, holding the door as you waited for a response.

“Of course. We’ll tail you as well, radio if there’s any trouble.” Hailey affirmed, her professionalism and desire to protect you battling as she watched the ambulance drive whilst she and Jay followed in their car.

Will was the one waiting when the patient was brought in.

“Watch it with this one, already took a paramedic hostage.” A patrolman explained, leaving Will to do a double-take at you and Rafferty as you walked the gurney into a treatment room.

“Which- Jay, what the hell happened?” Will exclaimed as he realised how shaken you looked.

“Culprit took Y/n hostage in the back of the ambo, had a damn scalpel to her neck. Rafferty managed to sneak in to the side and dose ‘em with a sedative, giving Y/n time to get out.” Jay explained, instantly following Will over to where you and Rafferty were. Hailey had already beaten them there.

“Are you okay? Did they catch your neck-” Will was cut off as you whacked his hand away.

“You are the third person to ask that and check my neck. I shoved their arm away before I launched myself out of the ambo. No mark. I’m fine, just shaken.” You explained, fiddling with the zipper of your ambo jacket before catching Hailey’s eye.

Your head tilt at her raised eyebrow answered her question.

You wanted to see her after your shift.

You and Rafferty had left to go back on call by the time that Will, Jay and Hailey were talking.

“I don’t know how she does it. Being a paramedic. Are paramedics supposed to be taken hostage, is that part of the job description?” Will grumbled to Jay who sighed.

“Apparently in Chicago it is. This isn’t the first time a paramedic has been taken hostage, remember?” Jay replied, frowning as he noticed how Hailey had folded her arms, staring at the ED exit you’d left through.

“Hailey, you okay?”

“I will be later... when I know she’s okay.” Hailey admitted, gaining a hand on the shoulder from Jay as he nodded.

[hankhatesuall]

Alison - Slowdive

[let-them-eat-social-distortion]

Alisonnnn i'll drink your wineeeee. ✨ Designed by me ✨

[toneburst]

Slowdive - Alison (1993) [4K 60fps]

https://youtu.be/HcAskqCDFew

Unnoficial Slowdive fan neural networks upscale tribute

#slowdive #dreampop #shoegaze #1990s

[preciosu]

Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell in 2018