#B-kilroy

[meowneos]

hello friends! here are some photos from my trip to the air show in my hometown!

these are photos from a B-29 :D

a couple more photos of WW2 era planes, sadly cannot remember what kind they are but one is japanese!

[spirit-of-boris]

I keep thinking of a Protomen Saturday morning cartoon, so I might as well write down some (silly) ideas before I forget them:

Whether the Protomen are humans or robots (or both) is never fully addressed.

Everyone has a bunch of pseudonyms to use when needed. At some point someone gets interrogated while under the influence of truth serum, and they rattle off a bunch of different names because they genuinely believe each successive identity to be the right one.

On the topic of names, Commander B. Hawkins' parents actually named him Commander B. Hawkins. The B might be just an initial or it might stand for something really stupid, I'm not sure.

There's a recurring subplot about a police officer looking for a member of the band named Jesse Christine.

Shortly after Kilroy gets reprogrammed, the rest of the band argues about which of them taught the robot to swear. Turns out Kilroy's been teaching himself. He's very good at it.

At some point, Kilroy gets arrested along with Bakker and Shock, and, him being the chattiest of the three, the (human) officer gets convinced he's actually the only one of them who's human. It gets horrifying when said officer tries to take off Kilroy's mask, only to be faced with either really unsettling robotic innards, or robotic innards painted to look very organic courtesy of the Gambler.

Sometimes Kilroy wears very fake-looking rubber masks of various people. Nobody likes that.

The makeup actually works as anti-surveillance makeup, by doing *something* to the cameras. So do the sunglasses.

The NES Zapper doubles as a taser. They can still use it to play Duck Hunt.

Episodes about needing parts to repair synthetizers are often way more dramatic than episodes about escaping Wily's minions.

There's at least one episode about dinosaurs (there's actually a bunch, because dinosaurs)

[chaoticfvckingdisaster]

I need mateus ward. "b but he has a partner!!" Ok and. It's syd fucking kilroy. I'll take him too.

[ulkaralakbarova]

The eccentric new manager of a UHF television channel tries to save the station from financial ruin with an odd array of programming. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: George Newman: ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic R.J. Fletcher: Kevin McCarthy Stanley Spadowski: Michael Richards Bob: David Bowe Harvey Bilchik: Stanley Brock Philo: Anthony Geary Raul Hernandez: Trinidad Silva Kuni: Gedde Watanabe Noodles MacIntosh: Billy Barty Richard Fletcher: John Paragon Pamela Finklestein: Fran Drescher Esther Bilchik: Sue Ane Langdon Head Thug: David Proval Killer Thug: Grant James Teri: Victoria Jackson Joe Earley: Emo Philips Gandhi: Jay Levey Cameraman: Lou B. Washington Bum: Vance Colvig FCC Man: Nik Hagler Bartender: Robert K. Weiss Spatula Husband: Eldon G. Hallum Spatula Wife: Sherry Engstrom Spatula Neighbor: Sara Allen Sy Greenblum: Bob Hungerford Crazy Ernie: John Cadenhead Blind Man: Francis M. Carlson Earl Ramsey: Ivan Green Joel Miller: Adam Maras Billy: Travis Knight Little Weasel: Joseph Witt Teri’s Father: Tony Frank Teri’s Mother: Billie Lee Thrash Fletcher Cronie #1: Barry Friedman Fletcher Cronie #2: Kevin Roden Phyllis Weaver: Lisa R. Stefanic Big Edna: Nancy Johnson Betty: Debbie Mathieu Little Old Lady: Wilma Jeanne Cummins Animal Deliveyman: Cliff Stephens Band: Guitar: Jim West Band: Bass Guitar: Steve Jay Band: Drums: Jon Schwartz Band: Keyboards: Kim Bullard Whipped Cream Eater: Barry Hansen Thug #3: Bob Maras Thug #4: George Fisher Guide #1: Tony Salome Guide #2: Joe Restivo Yodeler: Charles Marsh Mud Wrestler: Belinda Bauer Satan: Patrick Thomas O’Brien Conan the Librarian: Roger Callard Timid Man: Robert Frank Boy with Books: Jeff Maynard Promo Announcer (voice): M.G. Kelly Promo Announcer (voice): Jay Gardner Promo Announcer (voice): John Harlan Promo Announcer (voice): Jim Rose Film Crew: Production Manager: Gray Frederickson Original Music Composer: John Du Prez Editor: Dennis M. O’Connor Producer: Gene Kirkwood Producer: John W. Hyde Writer: Jay Levey Director of Photography: David Lewis Production Design: Ward Preston Set Decoration: Robert L. Zilliox Costume Design: Tom McKinley Makeup Effects: Allan A. Apone Special Effects Makeup Artist: Douglas J. White Sound Recordist: Ara Ashjian Sound Editor: Christopher Assells Sound Editor: Charles R. Beith Jr. Sound Recordist: Gregory Cheever Sound Editor: Clayton Collins Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Andy D’Addario Sound Editor: Dino DiMuro Sound Editor: G. Michael Graham Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Jeffrey J. Haboush Sound Mixer: Bo Harwood Sound Editor: Dan Hegeman Sound Editor: A. David Marshall Sound Editor: Diane Marshall Supervising Sound Editor: Dave McMoyler Sound Recordist: Art Schiro Sound Editor: Scott A. Tinsley Visual Effects Producer: John Coats Visual Effects Supervisor: William Mesa Visual Effects Art Director: Richard Kilroy Visual Effects Art Director: Ron Yates Post Production Supervisor: Susan Zwerman Production Supervisor: Bill Carroll Stunt Coordinator: George Fisher Stunts: Bob Maras Stunts: Brent Stice Stunts: T. Alan Kelly Stunts: J. Granville Moulder Stunts: Michael Steven Howl Stunts: Richard Drown Executive In Charge Of Production: Kate Morris Associate Producer: Becki Cross Trujillo Associate Producer: Joe M. Aguilar First Assistant Director: John R. Woodward Second Assistant Director: Benita Allen Casting Assistant: Gregory Raich Casting Assistant: Sandi Black Local Casting: Barbara Brinkley Henry Local Casting: Laurey Lummus Key Hair Stylist: Lynne K. Eagan Makeup & Hair: Roseanne McIlvane Wardrobe Supervisor: Ainslee Colt de Wolf Wardrobe Assistant: Phil O’Nan Boom Operator: Joel Racheff First Assistant Camera: Ed Giovanni Second Assistant Camera: Tiffanie Winton Second Assistant Camera: Brett Reynolds Second Assistant Camera: Cindi Pusheck Production Coordinator: Bonnie Macker Script Supervisor: Carol Stewart Second Second Assistant Director: Lorene M. Duran Third Assistant Director: Pam Whorton Additional Editing: Steve Polivka Assistant Editor: Lewis Schoenbrun Supervising ADR Editor: Karla Caldwell Music Supervisor:...

[threenorth]

She's a hit of dompime, a rush of blood through my vains.

If this is Class b, keeping me kicking and operating.

I bet she's class, alphabet.

She's my a to z, Alpha to Zulu.

She's pretty inside and out.

She's a rainbow, and the sun and the rain.

Everywhere I see her beauty even in corporate folders where people are like "Lauren was here 2022" like a kilroy for those who know what to look for.

She's a kick in my soul.

[grad602and604-jacquelinekan]

References

Cole, M. (2022, February 5). What Is the Lascaux Cave? Learn About the Site of Amazing Paleolithic Paintings. My Modern Met. Retrieved October 17, 2022, from https://mymodernmet.com/what-are-the-lascaux-cave-paintings/

Graffiti Tags – Explore the Modern Art Form of Graffiti Tagging. (2022, July 29). artincontext.org. Retrieved October 18, 2022, from https://artincontext.org/graffiti-tags/

Huacuz, F. (2020, February 24). The pioneers of graffiti you need to know. All City Canvas. Retrieved October 18, 2022, from https://www.allcitycanvas.com/en/the-pioneers-of-graffiti-that-you-need-to-know/

Phelan, B. P. (2015, October 26). Keith Haring: How Graffiti Entered the Mainstream. PBS. Retrieved October 18, 2022, from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/stories/articles/2015/10/26/keith-haring-how-graffiti-entered-mainstream

The Story Behind Kilroy, the Morale-Boosting Meme From WWII. (2019, March 11). ThoughtCo. Retrieved October 17, 2022, from https://www.thoughtco.com/killroy-was-here-4152093UNESCO World Heritage Centre. (n.d.). Cueva de las Manos, Río Pinturas. Retrieved October 17, 2022, from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/936

[daggerzine]

Video premiere of Monnone Alone’s “Stay Foggy!”

I said it was coming and I’m a man of my word, right? But fIrst....a few words from the man himself!

The Stay Foggy video was filmed on location in bayside-Melbourne with a cloud-ride through the city's inner north. It was conceptualised and constructed by Lehmann B. Smith, the same guy who made the Monnone Alone 'Cut Knuckle' video.

With a spicy eye and a wry smile, Lehmann B. Smith has made low-budget high-concept music videos for Michael Beach, The Finks, Pascal Babare, Monnone Alone and his own solo music. As well as releasing a dozen albums under his own name, Lehmann has also been a key member of Totally Mild and Kes Band, as well as clarinet player in Grand Salvo’s orchestra. Earlier this year he released an album of beguiling folk duets with Lucy Roleff entitled 'Dark Green' on Brooklyn label Youngbloods. Lehmann's solo music is available on his Bandcamp and through various labels like Bedroom Suck, Sensory Projects and Special Award.

TOUR DATES!

BEECHWORTH-THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27 – TANSWELL’S WITH LILY MORRIS      FREE ENTRY

CANBERRA-FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28 – SMITH'S ALTERNATIVEWITH KILROY + LILY MORRIS         BOOK VIA VENUE WEBSITE

WOMBARRA-SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29 – WOMBARRA BOWLOWITH TABLE BAND + SOVER       BOOK VIA HUMANITIX

SYDNEY-SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30 – PETERSHAM BOWLING CLUB(AFTERNOON SHOW – DOORS 3:30PM)WITH VICTORIA + TABLE BAND       BOOK VIA MOSHTIX

MELBOURNE- MONDAY, OCTOBER 31 (CUP EVE) – MERRI CREEK TAVERNWITH FRED ASTEREO       FREE ENTRY

[so-shiny-so-chrome]

Witness: B_Kilroy

 ThCreator name (AO3): B_Kilroy

Creator name (Tumblr): brian-kilroy

Link to creator works: https://archiveofourown.org/users/B_Kilroy/pseuds/B_Kilroy/works?fandom_id=51060

Q: Why the Mad Max Fandom?

A: I was just instantly drawn to it after seeing Mad Max: Fury Road for the first time.  The movie was incredible, from the imagery to the people, from the story we see to the story we have to piece together ourselves.  I was no stranger to fanfiction since I had written and read it in the past, so when I thought "I need to get more of this," I knew where to go.  Being more internet savvy than I was several years ago meant that I was able to find more places and people who engaged in the fandom, which in turn allowed me to become more engaged, and do more for this fandom than the ones I had been a part of before.

Q: What do you think are some defining aspects of your work? Do you have a style? Recurrent themes?Which of your works was the most fun to create? The most difficult? Which is your most popular? Most successful? Your favourite overall?

A: I think even though I didn't write much for it, "Through The Looking Glass" was the most fun to create, because the goal was to take the entirety of Mad Max and reframe it with Furiosa and Max being able to contact each other through their dreams.  It's fun to take that and view events through a different lens, or use one character to advise the other and shove the story in different directions.  After a while, these changes would have stacked up, but it would have amounted to a serious overhaul of character and plot through four movies.  

The most difficult fic was "Ear to the Ground," namely because it was a gift so I couldn't bounce the idea back off of its source to talk about it.  At a certain point I pretty much stalled, and that combined with the time constraints of the exchange were some serious stressors.  I've stalled many times in many fics, but this was the most difficult one to conquer.   

 My most popular, successful, and favorite fic to work on is by and large "Runaway."  I can't truly speak for why, but I believe its relative longevity and the AU concept of Fury Road essentially never happening was what earned some attention.

Q: How do you like your wasteland? Gritty? Hopeful? Campy? Soft? Why?

A: I like a good mix of gritty and hopeful, though it does depend on what sort of fic I'm writing.  I think we've all seen enough to know that you can't have good without the bad, but we also know that sometimes it's very possible to basically go about your business as long as you're smart about it.  Sometimes, the characters don't have that option.  I enjoy having a diverse world so characters can have a multitude of experiences.

Q: Walk us through your creative process from idea to finished product. What's your prefered environment for creating? How do you get through rough patches?

A: My creative process really varies.  Often, I just start writing.  Only after I have some stuff written down do the gears really start turning about the future.  As I work, sometimes I'll put down specific lines I want to use, or scenes I want to see, or a general rough outline.  The best thing I've done in this regard is have an outline set for "Runaway" and use the first posting of "Royce" as a first draft.  The best way to create is to have something set out in front of you, so you know where Point B is, and it's just a matter of getting there. 

 When I wrote in college, it was pretty much wherever I could snag a seat.  A handful of my old fics started in the very back of a State Government lecture hall.  As time went on, I wrote in the student center or in a dorm lobby or just somewhere I could sit down that felt vaguely productive.  At home, it's in my dark room with some music on. 

 Rough patches often signal a break in writing.  I'll typically go to another fic to work on, but recently having trouble means walking away completely.  For me, the only way to get through rough patches means sitting down and writing.  It can be a word, a sentence, or a paragraph, and any amount is fine.  All that matters is that I get the gears going, because there's no progress if I don't think about it.

Q: What (if any) music do you listen to for help getting those creative juices flowing?

A: I'll listen to a general playlist I've wrangled together if I'm writing for Maxiosa, and that can sort of get me in the mood - namely, some DJ Shadow or some Radiohead, though a lot of artists are one-offs.  For other fics, or moments where I need a specific tone, I can turn to more energetic music and scratch that itch.

Q: What is your biggest challenge as a creator?

A: Inspiration and drive is my biggest challenge.  Nowadays, I don't really have inspiration unless it just somehow *comes* to me - which will often be around 1 AM which leaves a lot to be desired.  A lot of writing also came out of emotional distress, which thankfully I don't really experience anymore, but that means finding some other sort of fuel to write from.

Q: How have you grown as a creator through your participation in the Mad Max Fandom? How has your work changed? Have you learned anything about yourself?

A: I've definitely grown in terms of how I write.  I sort of cringe at how I first wrote a lot of my stuff, which resulted in some works being removed or re-worked.  My writing has done a lot better in terms of - well, I don't cringe at it as much.  I'm more confident in what I write and how.  It's a more mature style that I can reflect on as an era of writing separate from what I wrote when I was younger.  In short, it's better.  

Have I learned anything about myself?  Can't quite say.

Q: Which character do you relate to the most, and how does that affect your approach to that character? Is someone else your favourite to portray? How has your understanding of these characters grown through portraying them?

A: I'd say I relate to Max the most.  I understand being alone and avoiding people.  That's oversimplifying it, but I sympathize with him the most.  This allows me to write him if not accurately, then it helps me write him well.  Writing characters in general, while I'm not writing canon material, allows me to think of them as more than what they've done on the screen.  It allows me to think of them as complex characters.  I fill out the blanks left on the screen and it helps make them whole.

Q: Do you ever self-insert, even accidentally?

A: Definitely.  "Royce" is by-and-large a self-insert, and I think it pretty much says so on the can.  It became a great way to explore what I would do in such a world, but I feel like doing self-inserts in the right way can be an excellent method to explore parts of the story that we don't usually see.  

Q: How does your work for the fandom change how you look at the source material?

A: It allows me to form a more complete image of the before, during, and after.  It may not be canonical, but I can appreciate the movie as more than just a slice of the world.  I think about everything happening behind the scenes - what's happening at the Citadel, in the War Party, in the wreckage following the battle of the Fury Road.  Instead of asking questions about what happened and what will happen, I form answers.

Q: Do you prefer to create in one defined chronology or do your works stand alone? Why or why not?

A: I enjoy the concept of trying to fit all my fics into one world, because 1) it breeds continuity, 2) it breeds opportunities for the future, and 3) it's just fun.  Not only do you have the source material, but using what you create helps you get more familiar and comfortable with the characters.  Writing for standalone fics means you have to resort to a different mindset for these characters, though some may enjoy that, so more power to them.

Q: To break or not to break canon? Why?

A: Both is fun.  I have canon-compliant and canon-divergent fics and they both have their benefits and drawbacks in terms of familiarity and "give" in terms of what you want to do.  

Q: If you work with OCs walk us through your process for creating them. Who are some of your favourites?

A: If they are proper OCs with no real inspiration, I start with basically envisioning them in my mind.  What are their names and what do they look like?  What is their purpose?  What is their past, and do you want that to factor into what they do in the present and future?  It doesn't have to be a whole lot if they're minor characters, but the more you do means you have more to play with.  You can add complexity to a character or just use them as a means to an end.  

My favorite OC has to be Royce just because of how I know Royce ends up, and how he's used as a storytelling tool.

Q: Who are some works by other creators inside and outside of the fandom that have influenced your work?

A: Owlship has had a direct influence on my work - I've snagged quite a few prompts from her and I've been inspired at least directly by "the centre cannot hold;".  While I can't say I really look up to anyone else as an influence, I definitely give props to Weirdness_Unlimited for taking off running with "To Love Reptiles" and their OC work, and giving me inspiration to keep going with mine.  I quite literally went through every single fic that looked good to me when I first found MMFR so I can't really point anything out that has influenced me except for the creativity of the community as a whole.

Q: Tell us about a current WIP or planned project.

A: Runaway is the big WIP I'm staring down right now.  I've been bogged down in terms of having a hard time writing thought and reflection instead of action.  I've probably said it a hundred times, but I do have an outline set up for the fic which would go pretty far if written for completely.  Anyone reading it can expect something interesting in the next few chapters.   I do have another WIP or two in my pocket that I'll abstain from talking about, but they'll be little one shots.  One's a bit of pre-canon, another's post-canon which is the one I'm favoring.  There's still gears turning, no matter how small, and I hope to get stuff going again soon.

@b-kilroy thank you for your time. 

[buggy0827]

I got to see them for the first time yesterday!!!!

So I've been a Protomen fan for almost a decade and here are my memorable moments I experienced from my first show!!

During the opening act commander was standing off stage in and I saw him, he looked directly at me, smiled with a shit eating grin and nodded, then left.

During the show Panther responded to me joking about them not remembering the lyrics because it's been two years.

During Due vendetta, KILROY got on the barricade and almost punched me.

At the end of the show as they were all leaving the stage, Murphy came over and talked about the paper copy of the setlist. He said that if he gives it out to someone they had to promise to put it online. He then looked dead into my eyes, pointed and said "You." And gave me the setlist. I cried.

After the show I talked to The Reanimator and gave him one of the Kandi stars I made for everyone. He asked if it was a ring and put it on his finger, then asked if he could take the rest to give to the others because most of them were not coming out in the crowd. I said absolutely.

I got a photo with The Gambler and talked to her about the impact they have all made on me and my life and gave her a star.

I had made a large Kandi cuff bracelet of Mega Man and Proto Man about a year ago and wanted to give it to Panther. I told my brother and he went to the stage where he was getting his guitars and called him over. I gave him the bracelet and he says "You are such a Doll! This is absolutely beautiful, I love it so much thank you! You're amazing." And I cried.

That concluded the show here's some photos:

[theatremamadionysus]

Really not a fan of that "bad taste in music gays" post going around, tbh. "Oh, you actually like /insert band/?" is the most obnoxious thing, y'all. Like, let ppl like what they like, obvi, but if you limit yourself to so-called 'good' music you are keeping yourself from a whole lot of music that will make you feel things on a much deeper level

[imaginetheprotomen]

Imagine each member of the Protomen having their own Disney Channel bumper

[veterinarymedicine]

veterinary medicine textbooks!

hi everyone! this is my first post on this blog! i thought i could share some of my resources because it takes me so long to find textbooks and i hope other people find them useful too!

i have the following vet med textbooks in this google drive link

An Atlas of Interpretative Radiographic Anatomy of the Dog and Cat  (Coulson, A. & Lewis, N.)

Color Atlas of Veterinary Histology (3rd Edition) (Bacha, W.J. and Bacha, L.M.)

Dyce, Sack and Wensing’s Textbook of Veterinary Anatomy (5th Edition) (Singh, B)

Essentials of Domestic Animal Embryology (Hyttel, P., Sinowatz, F., and Vejlsted, M.) 

Guide to the Dissection of the Dog (8th Edition) (Evans, H.E. & De Lahunta, A.)

Veterinary Embryology (McGeady, T.A., Quinn, P.J., FitzPatrick, E.S., Ryan, M.T., Kilroy, D., Lonergan, P.)

Wheater’s Functional Histology (6th Edition) (Young, B., O’Dowd, G., Woodford, P., Wheater, P.R.)

Textbook of Veterinary Diagnostic Radiology (7th Edition) (Thrall, D.E.)  

Behavior Problems of the Dog and Cat (3rd edition) (Gary Landsberg Wayne Hunthausen Lowell Ackerman)

Domestic Animal Behavior for Veterinarians and Animal Scientists (6th Edition) (Houpt, K.A.)

UFAW The Sciences of Animal Welfare (David Mellor, Emily Patterson-Kane, Kevin J. Stafford)

The Welfare of Animals - The Silent Majority (Phillips, Clive)

Veterinary Microbiology (3rd edition) (Wiley-Blackwell)

Textbook of Veterinary Physiological Chemistry (updated 2nd edition) (L. Engelking)

Nutritional Ecology of the Ruminant (2nd edition) (Peter J. Van Soest)

Animal Nutrition (7th edition) (McDonald, Edwards, Greenhalgh, Morgan, Sinclair, Wilkinson)

Principles of Epidemiology in Public Health Practice (3rd edition)

some other non-vet med related textbooks that i also happen to have in this google drive link

Chemistry The Central Science (13th edition) (Theodore L. Brown)

One Health, The Theory and Practice of Integrated Health Approaches

Molecular Biology of the Cell (6th edition) (Alberts, Johnson, Lewis, Morgan, Raff, Roberts, Walter)

University Physics with Modern Physics (13th Edition)

Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry (6th edition) (Nelson, Cox)

Genetics A Conceptual Approach (6th edition) (Benjamin A. Pierce

[dweemeister]

New Orleans (1947)

The city of New Orleans is synonymous with a rich cultural tapestry shaped over centuries. Located on the banks of the Mississippi River, its economic and political influence waned with the spread of railroads and highways. Today, its influences are indigenous American, African, French, Spanish, Creole, Honduran, Vietnamese, and much more. But the city remains an inimitable cultural force. One of the city’s most significant contributions to the world is jazz – a musical genre that, even in the mid-twentieth century, attracted racially-coded disdain.

I must admit that I am instantly suspicious of any film that takes a city’s name as its title. Being not in a sniping mood as I write this sentence, I will not single any certain film out – for now. But to reduce a film title to a city’s name is to heighten expectations that the filmmaker will capture the so-called “soul” of a city (a nearly impossible task). Or perhaps they shall depict a man-made or natural disaster that takes place in that city (how often does a city’s name become shorthand for a mass shooting?). Enter Arthur Lubin’s New Orleans: a quasi-musical that does not have the courage to let the musical numbers guide it. The film stars Louis Armstrong (essentially playing himself) and Billie Holiday (not playing herself in her only credited role in a feature film), in addition to other jazz stalwarts at the time: Woody Herman, drummer Zutty Singleton, clarinetist Barney Bigard, trombonist Kid Ory, guitarist Bud Scott. New Orleans makes the mistake of not having Armstrong and Holiday be the main stars. Instead, the film has a half-baked, predictable romance. For a film title with such enormous implications, New Orleans’ concentration makes no sweeping statements about the eponymous city. Instead, it turns its gaze to jazz’s reputation among high-society white Americans.

It is 1917. The Storyville district of New Orleans is a den of prostitution, drinking, gambling, and – worst of all – jazz. Storyville’s residents are mostly black, but some of its welcome patrons are white. Nick Duquesne (Mexican actor Arturo de Córdova) runs a gambling joint frequented by Mrs. Rutledge Smith (Irene Rich) and classical music conductor/pianist Henry Ferber (Richard Hagerman). Irene avoids the jazz there (one of the regulars is Louis Armstrong and the aforementioned players), but her daughter, Miralee (Dorothy Patrick) – an operatic soprano who has arrived in New Orleans to make her professional classical music debut – is entranced by this radical music. Miralee is also entranced with Nick, against her mother’s wishes. Miralee is staying with her relative when she meets their maid, Endie (Billie Holiday), who surreptitiously plays the piano and sings jazz music when she gets the chance. As you might imagine, Endie’s employers disapprove. The film comes to a head as the U.S. military forcibly shuts down Storyville (evicting hundreds of black residents overnight), Nick leaves New Orleans, and Miralee must contend with her emotions just before she makes her classical music professional debut.

Billie Holiday’s fans might be troubled by the fact she is a maid here, given that she intentionally avoided physically demanding occupations in real life. Her reaction to this casting is unclear, as different reputable sources offer contradictory claims: that she abhorred being cast as a maid (Meg Greene’s Billie Holiday: A Biography), or that she relished the opportunity to be in a motion picture regardless of the role (an interview with music journalist Leonard Feather). So as tough as it may be to see her in a subservient role, Holiday appears to be enjoying herself – especially during the musical numbers she is a part of. She is clearly, other than Louis Armstrong, the most musically accomplished member of the cast. But when her character disappears from the film in the final third, New Orleans heaves due to the hackneyed romance between Nick and Miralee. To toss the one actor making this film worth watching for no sensible reason is a disastrous choice by screenwriters Elliot Paul (1941’s A Woman’s Face, 1945’s Rhapsody in Blue) and Dick Irving Hyland (1947’s Kilroy Was Here).

Even in a film independently released through United Artists (the one major Hollywood studio of Old Hollywood with the least executive interference), she and Armstrong cannot be the central stars. Considering Holiday’s musical talents, one wonders why she never starred in another film. Despite some digging, I could not find the answer. But if any black woman musician could have films centered around her, it would be Holiday. Her contemporaries, Lena Horne and Ethel Waters, could never overcome the terrible beliefs that audiences would not pay to see a film with a black actress in the lead role. But did Holiday – noting how Louis Armstrong also appeared in films – want to make more films? That may be an answer for someone else to uncover.

More than any film of its time that I can recall, New Orleans is overflowing with a disobedient musical energy. When considering musical genres innovated by African-Americans, there is an underground aspect to their initial spread that, at first, appears exclusive. Jazz, R&B, and hip hop have all gone through these motions: a tumultuous, secretive birth; a rebellious adolescence where critics decry the moral fabric of such music; and finally mainstreaming. Jazz in New Orleans lies somewhere within that adolescence. Its troubled reputation is the result of a mixture of musical and racial tensions. New Orleans’ affluent white community, on its surface, disdains jazz and prefers the import that is Western classical music – opinions they express vocally (as an amateur classically-trained musician who learned more about jazz later in life, I can’t stand the gatekeeping behavior exemplified in this film). So any time that jazz music is played in an unorthodox setting – the parlor of the Smith household, an orchestra hall – it feels defiant, dangerous.* These musical-racial dynamics persist in America to this day. To even see a film acknowledge that conflict, however ineloquently, is credit to the screenwriters and director Arthur Lubin understanding aspects about musical popular culture of this time.

But what is New Orleans and New Orleans without music? First sung by Holliday and reprised (one might even say appropriated in the negative sense) multiple times is, “(Do You Know What It Means to Miss) New Orleans”, with music by Louis Alter and lyrics by Edgar De Lange. Louis Armstrong is on his signature trumpet, a phalanx of great jazz instrumentalists play on the flanks, and Billie Holiday’s voice captures the timbre necessary in any song about longing.

Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans And miss it each night and day? I know I’m not wrong, the feeling’s getting stronger The longer I stay away.

It is a song representative of this film’s failed ambitions as an embodiment of New Orleans’ spirit. But it is also a brilliant showcase for some of the great jazz figures working at this time – including instrumental performances by Woody Herman and his orchestra and a virtuosic performance of “Honky Tonk Train Blues” by pianist Meade “Lux” Lewis. Nevertheless, New Orleans’ most soulful performances always revolve around Armstrong and Holiday singing Alter and De Lange’s original compositions. Other soundtrack highlights include “The Blues are Brewin’” and “Farewell to Storyville”. The former exemplifies Holiday’s timeless appeal, her singing voice’s unornamented pathos that elevates the simplest of lyrics. The latter is the most context-dependent song in the soundtrack and occurs as the U.S. military orders the closure of the speakeasies and gambling joints of Storyville – a swinging elegy without defeatism. New Orleans is at its most enjoyable during these musical numbers, and the film just feels lost whenever Armstrong and Holiday are not present or when any of the supposed leads open their mouths to speak.

That Lubin and the film’s producers do not trust the soundtrack to carry New Orleans indicates an ironic misgiving towards jazz music itself. United Artists’ refusal to reward Armstrong and Holiday star billing over de Córdova and Patrick is probably rooted to then-contemporary reality that movie theaters in the American South refused to show films with black leads. In addition, jazz music – like in this film – was not yet completely in the mainstream. If it appeared in a Hollywood film (and elements of jazz often appeared in mid-century American musicals), it almost always would be presented and popularized by a white performer. This development is not exclusive to jazz, let alone artistic medium. The filmmakers, in New Orleans’ final third, muddle their message through such appropriation. “Cultural appropriation” at its most basic definition is a neutral concept, but the developments in the film’s closing scenes – intentional or otherwise – extend this appropriation by presenting a white person’s presentation of jazz as more acceptable to a general audience than a black person’s.

For New Orleans, it remains obscure in terms of Hollywood musicals, African-American cinema, and within the esteemed United Artists filmography. In the present day, it serves best as an exhibition for some of the most acclaimed jazz musicians and performers working in the 1940s. To those fans of the numerous black jazz performers appearing in the film, New Orleans is a bittersweet reminder of what may have been.

My rating: 6.5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. Half-points are always rounded down. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog (as of July 1, 2020, tumblr is not permitting certain posts with links to appear on tag pages, so I cannot provide the URL).

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

* In one scene in an orchestral concert hall, jazz is played as an encore to a classical music concert. It says volumes that the audience is beside themselves and that all of the members of the orchestra (and Richard Hagerman, playing their conductor) are transfixed.

[jejeujeux]

Kilroy - Christine LB & Pierre B

[princess-of-france]

I love reading the snippets of dialogue you post from your own writing! I’ve written a few short plays and want to read more about writing for the stage so I can improve. Do you have any suggestions/advice? I love your blog!

Oh my gosh! Thank you so much for this message. It means a lot to me. ♥

In terms of writing for the stage...

I think I should begin by saying that I don’t know how to write plays professionally. Playwriting is a passion, a hobby, and a skill-sharpener for me, but it’s not my bread and butter. I’m privileged enough to be able to write for fun. So if you’re interested in getting a literary agent and doing The Thing for real, I recommend emailing some living playwrights, submitting to one-act festivals and writing competitions, and reading books like David Edgar’s brilliant and essential How Plays Work. 

Additionally, I can offer you a few pointers that have helped me craft my [unpublished, un-represented] scripts, if that would be useful:

Read plays. I realize this is self-explanatory to the point of patronization, but there’s a reason "Read to write” is an age-old maxim. I think I’ve learned more about dramatic storytelling from reading plays across geography, genre, length, perspective, poetic form, cast size, and political viewpoint than I could in six years of uninterrupted writing. Read classic plays, lauded new works, the Kilroys, international plays translated into English, unpublished plays you find on the Internet... Read every script and pay attention to what resonates with you. Which characters intrigue you? What plot points surprise and move you? How does the playwright wield language: poetically? colloquially? parenthetically? chorally? Keep a journal as you read. If you come across a play that touches you, read other plays by the playwright. Do they stand up? Do they sound familiar? What Big Ideas is the playwright interested in? Are you interested in them too? (To get your hands on scripts, check out your local library. They typically stock hundreds of dramatic texts.)

See plays. This is also a no-brainer. See plays. See all the plays. Don’t read the program/playbill until AFTER the performance. If it’s a new/unfamiliar play, don’t read the script until AFTER the performance. Just go and sit in the audience and let the production wash over you. What’s the story? Who are the characters? What are the stakes? What immerses you? What falls flat for you? Does the production lift the text? Does the text serve a live performance? What would you change, if you could? Go home, write down everything you can remember, and THEN read the original play. Compare, contrast, consider. How did the director, actors, and designers interpret the playwright’s text? How did they tell the story you read on the page? Accurately? Faithfully? Ingeniously? Ignorantly? (To see theater on a budget, volunteer to usher. Just about every theater in America gives free tickets to ushers.) 

Experiment. This one basically accounts for my entire blog. Once you have an idea---a kernel of a plot point, a vivid character dynamic, a glimpse of a setting---start experimenting with it. In 10-20 minute increments, just blast off a bunch of different potential mini-scenes, using your kernel as inspiration. If all of the conversations between Edmund and Cordelia that you can read on my blog were in L.E.A.R., the play would be 17 hours long. Most of the excerpts I post are just experiments, but sharing them keeps me committed to exploring that relationship. It keeps me from getting complacent about how well I know each character. (They’re still such mysteries to me!) Sharing my experiments also lets me get a sense of how other people experience of that relationship. There’s stuff I’ve added into the play because it has clearly resonated with my friends/followers in their comments and tags. Which leads me to my final point.

Share. In your own time, at your own pace, through whatever channel is most comfortable to you, to whomever you trust to read your work. But get your work seen by people who are not you. It will keep you diligent in your writing schedule and it’s the only thing that will take your storytelling to the next level. A beta-reader can be a supportive friend, a teacher you trust, a group of generous story-lovers on Tumblr. Of course, when we’re talking about playwriting, the most useful beta-reader is a theater artist. Because I’m a professional director, I am able to read my own playwriting through the lens of an artist who might want to stage what’s on the page. But not all playwrights are directors/actors. If you’re not a theater-maker, then I recommend finding a director, actor, or designer you trust and asking them to read your work. This can be a really committed Theater major from your local college or (even better) a Drama teacher/prof. It doesn’t have to be someone anyone’s ever heard of. Just get your work into the hands of someone who is familiar with the process of bringing plays to life. Their input might surprise you, but it’s only because they’re reading your play with a totally different lens than your own. And that’s when the magic can really start. 

Playwriting is such a strange art. It’s not like any other form of writing. As a playwright, you are never writing for yourself; you are writing for other artists. You are never crafting something finished; you are crafting a WIP that other artists will take, intuit, and transform. That’s why I love it. 

I wish you all the best with your own writing, and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you ever have any questions! Thanks again for this lovely message.

xx Claire

Tagging @harry-leroy b/c possible interest?

[james-ruby]

kilroy-harryjr replied to your post: ianlahey replied to your post: ...

IS THERE A WAYNE B

NO BUT THERE’S A WAYNE D