#also I was born in 2002 so by the time I started forming memories my parents sitcom of choice was how I met your mother

[infestedguest]

If the writers of Friends (1994) weren’t cowards Chandler Bing would’ve been bisexual and there would’ve been at least one gag where Joey thought it was specifically because he was the genetic offspring of a straight woman and a gay man, and that’s how all bisexual people are created.

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Happy birthday to both Daniel Kitson and Peter Kay, which is a bit of trivia I quite like, so much so that it mildly annoys me that it is not remotely interesting to anyone. It just… it feels like a comic book. Like a comic book origin story where one character and the villain who defines that character’s path for twenty years are born on the same day (the same date, that is… not the same year, if it had been the exact same day that would really feel like some Twilight Zone shit).

I mean, I realize it’s going a bit far to say “defined that character’s path for twenty years”. But look, I know a hell of a lot about Daniel Kitson’s career path. I have listened to a genuinely illegal number of hours of it. Does anyone reading this blog think I talk about Daniel Kitson too much on here? Because you have no idea. No idea how much stuff I avoid saying about Daniel Kitson on this blog because I am trying to respect his wishes to not have much of his work available for public discussion. I have spent so much time listening to stuff he’s said on stage over the last twenty years, and only a small amount of it is stuff I’m allowed to talk about on here.

Therefore, I think I can claim to have at least some idea of what I’m talking about if I theorize about his career, and I think there is merit to my theory that he would be a different comedian if Peter Kay had been less of a dick in 2002. Well, maybe something else would have happened to send him the same way, so he’d have ended up in the same place. But something had to happen. Because I’m pretty sure the bad experience with Phoenix Nights was what started his aversion, not only to television, but to any form of publicity whatsoever. In 2003-2004, when he was first creating his whole “I’m going to maintain a career as a public entertainer while never letting anyone find out I exist” thing, he repeatedly said he was doing this because he wanted to stop having people in his audience shout at him about Spencer. He didn’t hate everyone, at least not at first. He just hated Pheonix Nights fans so much that he was willing to get rid of everyone if that’s what it took to be sure he was rid of the Phoenix Nights fans.

If it hadn’t been Peter Kay, then someone else would probably have sent Kitson in the direction. But it was Peter Kay, and them sharing a birthday as well as being intwined in the origin story feels narratively satisfying to me. So happy birthday to Daniel Kitson and Peter Kay.

Incidentally, today is also the birthday of the guy who’s been my best friend for nearly 20 years. July 2nd feels like a day that’s clearly designated “this day is a birthday” to me, because it’s one of the three dates that, for more than half my life, I’ve had to remember so that when that day comes I’m ready with a birthday gift and a birthday celebration. My mom’s birthday’s in March, my dad’s in June, my best friend is July 2nd, then I’m done for the year. The fact that it’s the same day as a birthday I already know is my defense for why I’ve memorized Daniel Kitson’s birthday, even though that’s a silly defense, because I also know the birthdays of my other favourite comedians, even if they don’t share it with anyone I know. The reality is that I just have a quite good memory for facts, and also an autistic-grade interest in collecting information about my favourite stuff. It’s fine. Happy birthday to everyone today.

[greensparty]

Talking with Kay Hanley

Earlier this Fall saw the 20th anniversary vinyl release of Kay Hanley’s solo album Cherry Marmalade. By 2002, Haley was already very well respected as the singer for Boston alt-rockers Letters To Cleo and she also was the voice of Josie in the movie Josie and the Pussycats. She recently did a mini-tour including some shows at City Winery in Boston. In addition to her solo work and LTC, Hanley has done a great deal of music soundtracks, collaborations, and she is the executive director of Songwriters of North America. This month LTC are doing a mini-tour leading up to the band’s annual pre-Thanksgiving shows at The Paradise on Nov. 18 and 19. 

Kay Hanley in 2022

I have seen LTC many times over the years since 1996 and I’ve met Ms. Hanley on numerous occasions. In 2008, when LTC first reunited after their initial 2000 break up, I attended their Bowery Ballroom show in NYC and filmed an interview with Ms. Hanley and LTC guitarist Greg McKenna for my documentary Life on the V: The Story of V66. LTC was formed after V66 ended, but they shared some memories of the short-lived Boston music video TV channel. But I digress. In 2016, the band reunited for a new EP Back to Nebraska, and they launched their annual Boston shows. I’ve caught more than a few of their annual shows including their excellent 2019 show. Having interviewed Mr. McKenna about LTC in 2016 and 2019, it was a pleasure to catch up with Ms. Hanley before the LTC tour via Zoom.

Me: I’ve seen Letters to Cleo many times including a 1996 show at Avalon, where you brought out Greg Hawkes of The Cars as your special guest for the encore. Skip ahead over a decade later, I interviewed Greg Hawkes for my V66 documentary and I told him I had recently interviewed you and Greg McKenna and he said he had a great time working with you on the cover of The Cars’ “Dangerous Type”. Skip ahead further to 2019, shortly after Ric Ocasek died, LTC played The Paradise and you brought out Greg Hawkes for several Cars covers. I named that my #1 Concert of 2019.

KH: Oh my God!

Me: It was such a special moment in Boston rock history. So this leads to my first question: any chance there might be a former Cars member joining for the upcoming LTC shows?

KH: [laughs] I don’t think so, we haven’t talked about that. But any time Greg Hawkes wants to jump onstage with us, he is welcome to. We just love that guy. He is a brother at this point. We couldn’t believe he said yes when we asked him to record “Dangerous Type” with us. We were like “he said what?”. It was wild. 

LTC and Greg Hawkes on keyboard at The Paradise on 11/22/2019.

Me: In 2002, it was a few years after LTC had broken up initially and it was after the Josie and the Pussycats soundtrack, you released your first official solo album Cherry Marmalade. Tell me about your memories of making and releasing that album originally.

KH: I started writing it when I was pregnant with my daughter Zoe Mabel. My husband at the time Michael Eisenstein, who was in Letters to Cleo with me and my main collaborator, he went out on the road on tour after the baby was born. He was working with Nina Gordon when she was making her first solo album out in Maui. So I found myself at home when I was pregnant, so obviously I wasn’t going out partying. I just kinda picked up a guitar and started writing. I had written songs throughout Cleo obviously, but I had never sat down to write songs intentionally in that way. It was just a different thing, so when I brought a couple songs I had been writing to Mike Deneen [late producer and founder of Q Division Studios] probably like right after Zoe was born, when she was a baby baby. He was like “Oh man, we gotta make a record!” and I was like “really?” and he was like “yup” and the next thing you know we holed up at Q Division. We set up a pack-and-play in the ISO booth and started recording Cherry Marmalade. It was just exhilarating. Cleo was very different, it was very collaborative with all five of us weighing in, in this case it was just me and Deneen. To a certain extent, Michael did too because he was dialing up all of those amazing guitar sounds. So it was just really exhilarating to be able to take the reins of my own creative life and making decisions for myself and dictating the creative direction. Songwriting-wise it was incredibly personal in a way that none of the Cleo stuff had been. So that was scary and gratifying as well.

me with Kay Hanley, Michael Eisenstein and baby Zoe in 1999

Me: Tell me about the new 20th anniversary re-release of the album.

KH: I realized, which is kind of not like me, I’m not really a thinker-aheader [laughs], at some point last year I realized that Cherry Marmalade was going to be turning 20. I was like “whoa, maybe I should put it out on vinyl” and do a little something. This is the great thing about having the same manager for thirty-plus years, I was able to call Michael Creamer and the machinery just started cranking away. As you probably know, the lines for making vinyl - the queue is like a year out. So lucky for me, I got on queue a year before I needed the vinyl delivered. I was able to get it remastered by Andy Vandette. He suggested in order to get the sound to be as warm as possible to consider doing a double album. I was like “I guess so”. So then I threw a bunch of songs from my second EP Babydoll on there. 

Me:  You look at the time the album was released in 2002 and that was such a unique time in music history. It was after Napster had ceased operation and it was before iTunes, YouTube and social media platforms began. Can you contrast doing promotion for the album in 2002 and promoting the re-release in 2022?

KH: Boy, what a good question! I mean so many things were different, first of all when I went to promote and tour with Cherry Marmalade, by then I was pregnant with Henry. So I was touring with a person in my belly. So there are pictures of me touring six-months-pregnant with Henry and a Gretsch Black Beauty strapped to my belly, playing electric guitar and rocking out. But I tell you, I’ve never been more focused or effective on tour. That’s for sure! 

I also put the record out on Rounder Records. So it was my first solo record with a label and they had in-house promotion. But I wasn’t really caring as much about if people would like it or want to hear it. I just wanted to get it out there and tour a little bit. It was well-received but it wasn’t a blockbuster by any stretch. But the people who loved it, really loved it! So for me, just the fact that the album came out and I was able to tour on it and have the tour pay for itself was just frosting. 

This time around I didn’t have a label, I didn’t have a publicist. So it was kinda cool that I could do on Instagram and Twitter and social media platforms that I’ve been an active user of for many years. I don’t want to say I have a fanbase, but I have an engagement base. I mean a lot of people don’t even follow me for music, they follow me for baseball [laughs] or my Red Sox tweets. But to have that as one of the weapons in the arsenal to just get the word out. But again, this record was never about mass acceptance for me, it’s a very personal work and both ways of doing it felt right to me. I have a hard time greasing the wheels with Cleo, but I felt more motivated to do this solo tour, maybe because I financed it myself [laughs]. Now that I think about it, I did have a motivation for promoting the fuck out of the tour!

the 20th anniversary vinyl release of Cherry Marmalade

Me: In 2006, I saw you perform solo at Mercury Lounge in NYC, around where I was living around that time. You were kind enough to sign my Babydoll EP afterwards. I’ve loved all of the Cleo shows, but seeing you solo just you and a guitar was actually one of my favorite performances of yours. Can you tell me about including Babydoll EP on the new re-release.

KH: I’m so glad you came to see that show during that period of time. That’s super cool! So, Babydoll was super fun because we had moved to L.A. and the phone was not ringing. We had bought a house in Studio City and we had set up this little tiny studio. This was when home studio technology like Pro Tools were just gaining in popularity and so Michael had set up Pro Tools on the desktop in our home office and just started learning how to use it. I was doing a lot of songwriting at the time, I was really making my pitch to be a pop songwriter at that time. I never really succeeded at that field, but it all worked out, I have an incredible job now. But we just decided to start dicking around and writing a new solo project for me on that very primitive Pro Tools rig. We had so much fun. Nina Gordon came over and sang on a song. Michelle Lewis who is now my main writing partner and work wife, but at the time we had just met, she sang on some stuff. It felt really new and I loved it. And again, I didn’t give a shit. I wasn’t swinging for the fences. That’s really my favorite state to be is when I don’t need to be doing something. That’s usually when I’m the most fearless creatively when it’s my idea and I’m like ‘whatever happens happens’. 

Me: Over the years you’ve done a ton of soundtrack work (Doc McStuffins, Sonic to name a few) and you’ve collaborated with other artists too. I did actually include you and The Isolation Jams’ cover of “Ah! Leah!” on my Best Songs of 2020 list. My wife’s name is Leah and I’ve always loved that song.

KH: Oh cool! That was my husband Clayton James’s idea to do that song. During the pandemic, we set up what is basically the best recording room in the world, which is our closet. I think people during the pandemic kinda realized, why didn’t I think to set up a recording booth in my closet? It’s like the best dead space you can find for recording vocals.  

Me: So since those solo albums, you’ve done so much cool stuff like that song. Do you have any plans for a new solo album in the near future?

KH: I’ve written half of a solo record. It’s just when will be a good time to do it. I have a pretty demanding day job, which is writing music for animation. Michelle and I and our partner pitched a show to Disney Jr. a couple years ago and it got greenlit in the Spring. So not only am I writing music for that, but I’m also executive producer, which is more responsibility than I’ve ever had in a job in my life. So that’s really taken up all of the airspace that my brain has. But I do have stuff written and I am looking forward to getting into the studio again at some point. It’s just a matter of carving out the time. 

LTC at the Sinclair on Nov. 23, 2016

Me: Letters to Cleo reunited in 2016 for what has now become an annual tradition with the shows each November at The Paradise. What was it like returning to live concerts after the lockdowns meant no concerts in 2020 for LTC?

KH: Last year when we got back onstage, it was surprisingly emotional. I was not expecting to feel that emotional getting back onstage. People were still in masks and it turned out last October and November of 2021, there was like this small eight week period where people went back on tour, but then things shut back down in December because we had the Omicron surge. So it turned out we were in that tiny window where people were back on the road last year. I had such an immense amount of gratitude for the clubs that we played, that they had made it out of the pandemic and had somehow managed to stay in business. I owe my life to these kinds of places, these rock clubs that I’ve been playing since I was a teenager. I owe my entire life and career to these places and they survived somehow through an unimaginable situation and challenges to their businesses.

Me: I was a big fan of the Back to Nebraska and OK Christmas EPs and when I spoke to Greg McKenna in 2019, he said the plan was to record a new album in 2020. Then, of course, 2020 happened. But are there any plans at this point and time for the band to record new material?

KH: You know, not only were we planning to record an album in 2020, we were talking to Adam Schlesinger about recording the album and being our producer. At the time when you talked to Greg, we had gotten into a rhythm of Michael and I getting together once a week for 90 minutes and writing as much as we could. As soon as we had finished something we’d make a 90 minute demo. So Greg, Michael and I were very much in this rhythm of writing once a week and we had recorded about six or seven demos for thing we had planned on recording with Schlesinger probably in the Spring of 2020. Then when Adam died [Schlesinger died on April 1, 2020] we all lost interest in recording. We have talked about it and we added one of the new songs to last year’s tour and we’re probably going to add another one to this tour. So we have what could be close to an album written. But Michael just got married and he’s just finishing his master’s degree - he’s just been like crazy busy, I’ve been at work at this job, and Greg’s in Florida. It has to be very intentional and it’s hard to carve out the time right now. But we want to!

For info on Kay Hanley: https://www.kayhanley.com/

For info on Letters to Cleo: https://www.letterstocleo.net/

[aeonmagnus]

Happy 20th Anniversary Robots In Disguise!

This year, and today in particular, marks the 20-year anniversary of Transformers Robots in Disguise airing in the United States.  This was the official English language dub of the Japanese show Transformers Car Robots, which aired in Japan the year before.   This show and it’s accompanying toy line were a big shift in the Transformers brand and affected how things moved forward in the new millennium.  It was also a big influence on me and this website in it’s early years, so both the brand and TFW2005 may not be what it is today without it.

We hope you will read on after the break to check out our celebration of Robots in Disguise on it’s 20th!

Intro

The following is not a comprehensive article on the show proper, but rather a trip down memory lane from my personal perspective.  It was a period of change in my life, in the fandom, in the brand, and in the world – all happening at once.  Robots in Disguise was smack dab in the middle of it all and I think that’s why it still resonates with me all these years later.  For a deeper dive into the world of Robots In Disguise you can check RIDForever.info, a site I maintain just about RID and Car Robots. The 2021 updates are here, and the 2017 round of updates are here.  I’d also suggest checking the TFWe issue all about RID over on the 2005 Boards.  Now, onto today’s festivities…

The Show

RID, and yes I say RID as if it is the only RID.  If you must reference that other RID show and it’s off-shoots, refer to it as RID 201x, thanks. 😊 RID aired during the Fox Kids programming block on a Saturday morning, with additional episodes set to air each weekday during the afternoon hours.  Instead of stretching the show out over the course of 30+ weeks with only a new ep each weekend, they were going to blaze through it non-stop.  By the end of the first week, we would have been 7 eps in.  That however hit a big roadblock due to 9/11 just three days later.  While some local markets did air the episodes, many larger city networks, and especially east coast markets, stuck with news coverage.   Many of us did not catch the early episodes on TV the first go around.  In addition, several of the episodes got pulled from TV due to depictions of buildings being destroyed and other similar visuals which understandably could upset children that just experienced 9/11.  So right off the bat, the new millennium and new era of Transformers were dealing with a new reality.

The show, for those that don’t know – was a weird one-off in Transformers history.  We had G1 and then the G2 remixes for a bit.  Beast Wars came on the scene and ran all the way through 2000 with it’s successor – Beast Machines.   During the Beast Wars era – Japan did a couple of their own Beast Wars shows, non-CGI extensions of what we saw in the US.   Their market wasn’t quite ready for full CGI so they stuck with traditional anime.  When Hasbro decided to continue Beast Wars into Beast Machines, Takara went a completely different way – a traditional animated show which brought back Autobots and “Decepticons”, mixing them in with the beasts.  They focused the toys on a couple new and complex molds, then filled the rest of the line with repaints of previous toys.  Old 2nd tier Beast Wars toys, G2 Laser Prime, and even some Generation 1 molds in the form of the Combaticons got new life as new characters in this show, capped with the biggest TF of them all at the time – a repainted G1 Fortress Maximus, now Brave Maximus.  It was the prototype for what the Transformers brand did for years to come – repainting old toys into new characters.  Universe, Classics, Botcon, and even some Generations runs used this method to give us some great toys in the 00s.

While there is a very complicated and long explanation for how every single Japanese show is one continuity, to someone casually starting with Car Robots it was a refresh, a new story, a new arrival on Earth.  The Autobots vs the Predacons, and eventually the Combatrons/Decepticons. It was a hard cut from the last 5 years or so of CGI Beasts.  Hand drawn traditional animation featuring vehicle Transformers.  It wasn’t G1, but many of the folks who grew up with G1 were just getting out of college around this time.  They were rediscovering their childhood love of Transformers through Beast Wars, flea market finds, raids on their parents’ attics and basements, and for the internet savvy – imports of Japanese reissues from Takara.  It was a perfect storm of nostalgia; a return to Autobots and Decepticons was welcomed by kids and adults alike.

RID and TFW2005

In the years leading up to Car Robots, I was just getting into the internet, coding, design, some digital music, and all the possibility that came with it.  Beast Wars, especially when it hit Season 2/3 and the inclusion of G1 lore, really got me focusing on Transformers again as a hobby.  I eventually combined the two newfound hobbies into one and Transformer World 2005 was born.  At no point did I ever think it would last 20+ years and take over my life in the way it did.  I started the full version of TFW2005 around April 2000, with some starts and stops before that.  That was right around when Car Robots started airing in Japan.  Through the magic of 56k internet, I was able to connect with folks in Japan and get them to send me VHS tapes of Car Robots.  Really nice, high-quality tapes too, I still have them hehe.  To the younglings reading – try to picture this: no youtube, no video sharing. The concept of streaming anything did not exist yet. Napster and the eventual peer to peer stuff hadn’t fully kicked off.  Plus, we were all viewing the internet on giant computers in our rooms at the speed of 1x on your phone.  Less than 1 bar 3G mobile speeds today.

Yes, someone recorded episodes from TV to video tape over there, did that a couple weeks at a time, then physically mailed them across the world to me, who then got them on the internet.  Can you imagine waiting weeks to watch an episode of TV the size of a twitter profile avatar?  Crazy.  Uploading a full episode to the internet was a big pain in the ass, not easily done.  I decided to get a converter that allowed me to plug my VCR into the computer and encode the tape into digital format.  From there, it was reduced using Microsoft’s WMV technology so that the episodes were about 5 MB each.  30 minute episodes at 5MB each. Dimensions – 176 x 144 pixels.  4k video today – 3840 x 2160 pixels.  You can imagine that video looked like crap.  But we didn’t care – we were blown away.  Old school animation, vehicles, some cool Japanese anime vibes, it was what we as G1 fans kinda had in the back of our heads on what Transformers should be in a new era, and we were seeing it.  Most of us had no clue what they were saying or what was going on.  Also didn’t care.  I still to this day think CR/RID is better like that.

So one of the first things TFW2005 did on the internet was provide these super small windows into Car Robots and what was going on in Japan. It helped get US fans hyped up for what Transformers could be. It got us wanting the toys, and importers bringing the Takara toy line over were moving serious product.  It helped swing Hasbro, who was planning to return to Autobots and Decepticons again down the road, to move that schedule up.  Instead of running Beast Machines until 2002 and then starting what we now know as the Unicron Trilogy, it was cut short.  Robots in Disguise as a toy line and show came over in 2001, ran fast and hard for a year with non stop releases, got extended because it did so well, and then faded into the Universe line of repaints.  The new millennium of Transformers was here and Robot In Disguise kicked it off with a bang.

Wrap Up

As we all continue with collecting Transformers now, regardless if you tagged into the fandom during G1, Beasties, the Unicron Trilogy, the Movies, or just yesterday – let’s take the time to give Car Robots and RID some props!  It set the tone for what the new millennium of the brand would be.  It gave us some toys ahead of their time.  It solidified the repaint as an accepted thing in the hobby. And it gave us one crazy 39 episode run of TV that’s still a fun ride 20 years later.

For those that would like to learn more about RID and Car Robots – I still maintain a Robots in Disguise website that archives everything I have or came across.  There is a lot there if you want to go on a tour of all the awesome Car Robots and Robots In Disguise era stuff.  Check it out at RIDFOREVER.INFO! FIYAH!

Let us know what you think and remember from the good old days of RID on the 2005 Boards here!

Epilogue

If someone over there at Hasbro is reading – can someone please figure out who owns the rights to the show in the US market and then get it out on DVD in full, finally?  Work all that funky licensing stuff out (if there is any) and get it done.  The US has never had access to it via an official release.  Maybe get it up on YouTube like G1?  Something.  Announcing plans for that before the end of 2021 would be a nice 20th anniversary tribute.

[josiebelladonna]

this is so long and complex but i’m going to try my best, though: it’s for @postitforward . there are some upsetting topics here so you’ve been warned.

as a child, i lived in a trailer park in the high desert, which didn’t really affect me as much as my older brother, but it definitely did something for me as my parents were less than enthusiastic about my creative endeavors. if i wanted to draw, i was bought paper, but i kept receiving these messages of “this is not okay, you have to get out of this place and work hard” all because we were poor: no doubt my brother played a bit of a role in this.

lived in the nevada desert as a kid even though i was born on the california coast, and we moved six times before i turned four.

i almost lost my mom when i was a toddler: she had a recurring growth in her breast that was malignant but behaved in benign fashion so they were able to remove it with surgery. it came back three times before it went into remission prior to my starting kindergarten.

my mom told me not to wear anything that bears my stomach or my chest because it’s not ladylike—that’s the tamest thing, though. my grandmother openly scolded me for putting my hand down my shorts at 3 years old. my daycare person meanwhile was physically abusive, though: she hit me a few times while i was in the bathtub because i was being “unruly.”

i was 8 years old when 9/11 happened and i didn’t fully understand the gist of it until about a year after.

i almost lost my dad when i was 9 years old: we were rock hounding out in the desert and he must have kicked up something, because a few days later, he had a raging fever and chills. this was in 2002, after the anthrax scare, so they naturally thought it was that: it was a form of pneumonia that mimicked the symptoms of it, but it filled his lungs with fluid to where one collapsed. he survived and a silver lining is that it got him to stop smoking, but he was in the hospital for two weeks.

because of the steep medical bills, we struggled for money, even to pay rent. and then my mom lost her job in the fall.

we were evicted the following march and we went to stay with my maternal grandparents on the other side of town—my mom’s stepdad threatened to call the cops on us, but my grandma stopped him. we were there two weeks until he kicked us out—it was the middle of the school year, too. i had to leave my class and my friends behind as we moved to my other grandparents’ house down in the california desert—it was my earliest memory of crying myself to sleep.

i was bullied to an inhumane extent in fifth grade—my worst bully called me every name you can think of and he even threatened to rape me at one point.

that was also the same year one of my uncles body shamed me. told me i’m of solid build and i’m practically doomed to a life of gaining weight. and when you’re a kid, you’re impressionable.

i experienced a lot of body shaming that year, actually.

i would hear things like… no one will love me if i’m fat or if i gain a lot of weight, and because of my body mass index, i’m destined to health issues (i once heard i wasn’t going to live to 25).

so, figure i developed anorexia. it was accentuated by my paternal grandfather’s passing from brain cancer, and moreover, i couldn’t talk to anyone about it because it was middle school: everyone was hormonal and confused. but i grew more and more isolated. it was the first time i cut myself, too, small paper cuts on my fingers. that’s my first memory of suicidal thoughts.

my saving grace? books, art, and music—namely grunge and heavy metal. the things i was drawn to when we lived in the trailer park. i learned to sing again after i quit choir before we moved to california: my voice changed so i needed some tuning. i also learned to project and control from my tenure in drama club: my voice is a deep, drawling contralto initially influenced by chris cornell, billie joe armstrong, shirley manson, trent reznor, and eddie vedder, and then singers like chuck billy, steve souza, james hetfield, and joey belladonna (i really got into “boy stuff”, dare i say). i played field hockey and baseball but i had to quit after a bit because it was hard on my poorly nourished body: instead, i started bike riding and hiking more. i watched baseball, ice hockey, figure skating, formula one, and cycling, things that spoke to my personality and got my blood flowing, even when i wasn’t on the field as much.

yeah, i struggled with my weight all through high school: at 14, i had something close to abs; at 15, i had a belly; at 16, i was trim and then i had a belly again; at 17, i was somewhere in between for a bit until the couple of months before my graduation. i mention that time period because my parents split. in horrific fashion no less. they had a shouting match right in front of me. my dad confessed that he had had a drug problem for years: for all i know, he did it while we were in the trailer, two feet away from my brother and me. my mom struggled with it, too, such that she took the money and ran out with it.

my dad and i came back to an empty house, and with no money. my relatives, including my own brother and his wife at the time, were more than reluctant to help the two of us, and me in particular. i understand “welcome to the real world, kiddo”, but when your kid sister is living on the street and with a history of a serious and known-to-be-deadly eating disorder and very minimal work experience given i was more focused on school and enriching myself, it’s hard to see you in a good light.

before i went off to school, like the week before, there was a massive wildfire right by where my dad and i were staying. even though the fire was put out after three days, i thought for sure i was going to die. i went off to school in oregon on the train by myself after my parents promised to be with me then. 2011 was without question the worst year of my life.

the next year was slightly better as i returned to art while in engineering school, and i soon realized that art was my calling. but i couldn’t go to art school: the closest art school to me was six hours away in portland. and to add insult to injury, everyone in my family thought i was nuts for wanting to change majors like that. in the fall of my sophomore year, i could feel the depression creeping in and my anorexia was coming back: a highlight was a trip to the oregon coast over thanksgiving. the town i went to was an art hotspot (everything from painters to toy makers to writers to theater people to glass artists). i fell in love with that whole region the second i stepped into a glass gallery: i took stained glass in my senior year of high school so it gave me a healthy dose of nostalgia.

after the whole 2012 nonsense, and i was unable to speak to anyone about my feelings, i decided that was it for me. for six months, i flirted with a noose and the harsh cold—didn’t help that my weight was dropping like a rock, either.

the thing that almost did it for me was when i lied to my mom about signing up for classes for the spring term and she got angry with me once she found out about it—but that was the only way i could convince her that i wasn’t happy. but i still couldn’t tell her about it because she already spread the word that i was a flake and a dropout. i figured that was it for me for real at that point. i was a failure and a loser.

i had the noose around my neck but it was my own tears that got me out of it. my stepdad came in to see how i was doing and we started talking about it, and then he led me out of there and i saw my mom looking up art schools in oregon. i switched to the art program down at the local community college for my two-year: i still want my master’s degree.

later that year, i developed horrible… ahem. FUCKING HORRIBLE. anxiety. to the point i couldn’t sleep and i was hallucinating. i forget how i came down from it, but it got so bad i had to take six months off from school. but it helped: i decided to do something about my poor stomach especially. lucky for me, i had money to buy more food and i started gaining weight, healthy weight. i worked for a month at a coffee shop and that alone helped me gain twenty pounds from the free cappuccinos and lattes—i was riding my bike to work but my body still wanted it.

but then i started getting the fat shaming. and then the month ran out. and i kept hearing messages about how… my art isn’t good enough and i NeEd To FiNd WoRk InStEaD. it all built up again, and to the point i literally couldn’t live on my own. the month before my graduation, i almost checked into the psychiatric ward at the hospital—the thing that stopped me was my mom and stepdad moving back to his mom’s house down in the california mountains because she died the year before and the house was abandoned. i didn’t want to leave oregon but i didn’t have much choice.

after the move, i started working out more. i met chris cornell and had a parasocial relationship with him—he loved my art and he loved me. he was my comfort when my grandma died in summer 2016 (my sister-in-law was killed in a car accident a month later). he was my comfort when i started asserting myself more to my family and they thought there was something wrong with me: my dad tried to get me to go to alcoholics anonymous because he’s an alcoholic and therefore i must be, too—i’m not, i’m just gonna tell you that right now. but he’s thoroughly convinced, though: even before i moved, my skin was starting to clear up and i was feeling physically healthier.

when chris died, it felt like my parents splitting all over again and the rug was yanked out from under me. i went offline for two years and i swear to god, everyone forgot me. when i came back online in late 2018, and i tried to gain traction again… needless to say, i couldn’t. my brother showed “concern” and thought i was losing my mind (when i hadn’t had any horrible thoughts in over a year at that point), and started calling me late at night to ramble about complete bullshit. i put a stop to it after four times: it was just too much and he didn’t let me talk, either.

i found power in writing in 2019, specifically fan writing. that summer, i came to instagram for my art. my stepdad’s alcoholism however started to pick up: he was a mean drunk, too. mean and borderline abusive.

then the pandemic hit. oh, jesus. for me, it wasn’t that bad: the one change was wearing the mask. but then, my social life went sideways again: someone i thought was my friend plagiarized from me, cut me off, and then blamed me for it when i tried to stand up for myself. once again, i tried to tell someone about it and somehow, my brother got word of it and he called the cops on me (all while posing as my dad) in an attempt to get me on suicide watch—i don’t know why he’s so dumb. a smart guy with a bachelors degree in chemical engineering and experience in the astronomy department, with six children… and yet his mormon faith and his own bullshit ate his brain.

but then… come last year… i met him on a whim. the amazing, the beautiful, probably the love of my life, alex skolnick. i caught him on his livestream and i was enthralled. it felt like he was seducing me. i drew a cartoon for him and he shared it the day before valentine’s day. he was so sweet and kind. i started mingling with him more. mingling turned into flirting, flirting turned into crushing, crushing turned into more crushing… i love him so much, i wrote a million word fanfic about it—it’s not done, either! i’ve struggled with my sexuality for years, too, and it started cropping up in the summer before the pandemic: from not feeling it to wondering if i even have one to wondering if it’s even there to wondering if it’s even functional… but he woke up something in me. i called him handsome and he liked it, and i liked that he liked it: it made him feel good about himself and it makes me feel sexy for once. i told him i love him to the moon and back on christmas eve. but i’m not confident about talking about him with people, especially with my history of fangirling, too, being told that it’s just a phase—if there’s any good out of it, however, it’s that it’s only made me feel closer to him. i’m literally considering discontinuing art on facebook because no one sees it—and i can’t say anything about it, either, not without running the risk of being put in the nuthouse—and i can’t afford not being seen anymore.

my whole life, i’ve been given these messages that it isn’t okay to be me. that i am not allowed to be here and that nothing about me matters. i was never encouraged to have boundaries, either: whenever i refused something, i would be guilt tripped into it, told that “i don’t know what i’m missing”—glad the worst drug i ever tried was l.s.d., otherwise i probably wouldn’t even be writing this—that my tastes, my likes and dislikes, my feelings, everything about me is inherently wrong, from family, from friends, from society.

i was never told to express myself and that i could be a creative person my whole life: if anything, i was discouraged from it. from expression, from joy and pleasure, from true life itself. i had to seek it out myself, and when i did, the atmosphere outside my door was so toxic and obsessive that i refuse to share anything i make or who i love for that matter with family. it all almost completely destroyed me. i am forced, time and time again, to apologize for being me. i am forced time and time again to forfeit my power because the other alternative is to be turned away and left to die—and weirdly, whenever i talked about death, i’m looked at with concern. i am not loved: i’m seen as disposable.

but i have to live, though. i have something to do. there’s a reason why i’m here, and it’s not to please someone or to make money. i feel like that in and of itself should be enough: knowing you have a purpose, knowing there’s a reason why you were born and you came to planet earth. i feel like that alone should bestow you with strength. i know it has with me.

[thexfridax]

Translated interview with Adèle Haenel, heroine of “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”

Performing in order to richly live the now

Tomoko Ogawa, in: Ginza Mag, 3rd of December 2020 Translation by Rose @rosedelosvientos​ 🙏🏾

Set in 18th-century France, the daughter of an aristocrat who refuses marriage and a female painter who makes her portrait  - two people of different social status - meet and fall in an unforgettable love that will last for a lifetime.

In the film “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”, Héloïse, an aristocrat, is played by Adèle Haenel, who, as an actress, always thinks, acts and decides constantly for herself. Late last year, she filed a complaint against the director for sexual abuse during/after her first film debut 18 years ago. At the César Awards, she protested and walked out after Polanski won Best Director, which shook the world of French cinema and is also still fresh from memory.

This film is also the work of Céline Sciamma, the director of Water Lilies, in which Adèle Haenel also appeared. Adèle recounts her thoughts about her current film, and director Sciamma’s “Female Gaze”, who, for many years was also her partner in her private life.

Q: Last year, “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” opened and was screened in Europe, and won Best Screenplay at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival. A year and a half has passed since then. Do you feel the magnitude of this work’s influence on women empowerment?

A: If put this way, people might think that it may be too subjective, but I think that not only this film, but Céline Sciamma’s works have constantly played a role in empowering women. But, it was understood that, surely, there’s also a way - that it’s possible to show the worldview of equal love between women from a different perspective, in a history where there are a lot of films that contained an element of women being controlled unilaterally from men’s point of view.

Q: Not dominance, but the joy of collaborating and creating something with someone, and the love that continues to grow is depicted in this film. What do you think sets it apart from many other films that have depicted love until now?

A: Until now, love has been depicted in ways such as controlling the other person, and in a sensual manner, but in this film, the nature of love is kinda different, I guess. The two women who happen to be in that place - while interacting extemporaneously using language that is characteristic of themselves and figuring each other out - are building up their relationship. While it’s fictional without altering historical facts, it’s a proposal that’s entirely different from what love looks like until now. I think that it’s a film that brings with it a new perspective.

Q: It’s not a one-sided view from the painter’s perspective where the person whose portrait is being painted is the “muse”, but rather of both sides looking at each other, and the connection of being seen is depicted. I think that you’ve also been called a “muse” up to this point, but during those times, do you remember how you felt then?

A: The word “muse” is used against actresses as a stereotype, and there were people who did say that to me that but, even if I were called a “muse”, I’ve come to be aware of not taking that position that’s being asked. That’s because even if it’s the director who’s directing, ultimately it’s up to the actors how they perform something while working together with different actors. So, you’re supposed to actively consider how you build up the character relationships artistically, politically, all aspects. In the first place, it’s not acceptable that in most films it’s the men looking, and the women being looked at, so even for things that aren’t visible on the surface, I constantly think and make decisions for myself.

Q: Tell us about the charm of Céline Sciamma as a director.  

A: She has a very clear perspective, doesn’t she? She’s a person who can raise all sorts of questions and kinda make you rethink various ideas, not about how reality is, simply, but beyond those ideas that are based on the reality that there is. She’s also a visionary, and she understands the wonder of fiction, and has philosophical ideas.

Q: In this film, you were also able to apply the relationship of trust that you’ve built with your partner, at the time, through the course of many years.

A: That’s right. I’ve been friends with her for as long as 15 years, and of course she was also my partner, and that’s because I’ve been collaborating artistically for many years. This time,  in the script, too, the character of Héloïse was written with me in mind. So since we’ve already built that trust with each other, there was no need to talk about every little thing, like, “I’m thinking of doing it this way”.

Q: This film has a mostly female staff, such as director Céline Sciamma, cinematographer Claire Mathon, Hélène Delmaire, the female artist who carried out the painting on-screen, etc. What do you think about its significance?

A: From the very start, this film’s intent  - especially since the relationship between women hasn’t really been presented as something very important - is to focus the spotlight on women across history who weren’t written about. This time, an axis (focal point) has been put together by the film crew for the women who properly understand that importance, so there’s a part  where the production did really well, I think.

Q: Through this film, is there anything that you discovered about yourself?

A: I don’t think in a way like, that there was a discovery or change just because of the role that I played. Basically, I’m the type of person who keeps moving and doesn’t stand still, who constantly asks and answers my own questions, and raises issues. Whichever work it is, I perceive them in one of those processes.

Q: I see. In the midst of constant movement, what is your primary motivation as an actor?

A: Meeting with people with whom I can collaborate with is a big one. Whenever I work with new people, I’m made to realize that there’s also such a different way of depicting (t/n: lit. “drawing”) the world. That there is a way to richly live the now, that is in film and art in general. That also motivates me.

Q: With all this motivation that’s hitherto been given to you by the director, do you think that it’s because you both share a common perspective?

A: Since I take the responsibility myself when I perform, there’s no such thing as being influenced by the director. I’m a person who doesn’t really care (t/n: I’ve a feeling ‘give a shit’ is what she really wanted to say here) about hierarchy, and the people whom I can really respect are those persuasive people who have a clear perspective, and, within the silence, can properly show what they want to talk about. Directors who give hints to the actors on how they can arrive at the reality that they’re thinking they want to depict more. I’m thinking that actors don’t express form, rather, their role is to explore the expounding of their own vocabulary. So a person who has a clear vision of what they want, and what they want to draw is amazing, in my opinion.  

Q: Finally, all the handmade dresses have an impression that they’re being fastened thickly and heavily, but how do you think the costumes influence your acting?

A: When I wear the costumes, I feel like a pilot in the Star Wars series (laughs), so as we handle the costumes that we’re given, I really think about how I’m going to move while in it, you know? The one we had was a basic dress, but at first there was a feeling of nervousness, a tense kind of stiffness. But as the story went on, I try to be aware that the movements of the dress will become a bit softer along with my facial expressions. Even if it’s the same costume, I performed while feeling that change of heart.

“Portrait of a Lady on Fire” Original Title:  Portrait de la jeune fille en feu Director: Céline Sciamma Cast: Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel, Luana Bajrami, Valeria Golino Music: Jean-Baptiste de Laubier Distribution: GAGA 2019/France/122 mins./Colour/Vista/5.1 Digital Channel Dec. 4, 2020, TOHO Cinema Chanter, Bunkamura Le Cinéma Nationwide Screening © Lilies Films https://gaga.ne.jp/portrait/

Profile Adèle Haenel Born in January 1, 1989 in Paris, France. Attended theater classes at 13 years old. In 2002, debuted as the heroine Chloe in Les Diables. In 2007, her name became more well-known after being nominated for Most Promising Actress at the César Awards. Furthermore, she was also nominated for her role in House of Tolerance (2011), and for Suzanne (2013), achieved Best Supporting Actress, and won Best Actress for Love at First Sight (2014) – becoming one of the actresses representing the world of French cinema both in name and substance. Her major appearances also include The Unknown Girl (2016) and Bloom of Yesterday (2016), among others.

***

Translated excerpt from ’“Portrait of a Lady on Fire” - Approaching the True Face* of Adèle Haenel’

Atsuko Tatsuta, in: Madame Figaro Japan, 4th of December 2020 Translation by Rose @rosedelosvientos 💜

(*t/n: may also mean the 'true nature’ of AH. Literally it means bare face with no make-up.)

“A woman who has an adventurous spirit, while living under constraints.”

Interviewer: Marianne and Héloïse are depicted as contrasting characters, aren’t they? From the outset, when the canvas falls from the boat, Marianne jumps into the ocean in order to retrieve it. Héloïse, which you performed, has never gone into the sea despite living in the island. How did you interpret the contrast between this free and conservative way of living?

Adèle Haenel: Marianne and Héloïse were indeed depicted contrastingly. Not just marriage, but Héloïse is a person who’s lived within various restrictions. But, as the story progresses,  you’ll understand that actually she’s a character who is highly curious, and also has an adventurous spirit. People tend to think that she’s dull and lacks vigour, but it’s soon understood that up to this point, in reality, her actions are coming from a place of being shackled. Playing the transformation of such a character was very interesting.

[frogoat]

A Timeline of the Frogwares Sherlock Holmes Games

Most of the following is based on direct information found in the various Sherlock Holmes video games made by Frogwares. While the games make several references to the original Canon as written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, they function separately as perhaps an alternate version of events with new material. For example, when some of the Canon cases are adapted or elements of cases are borrowed for the games original cases. That said, we can at least refer to and compare the Canon with the games own timeline for clues as to how it all lines up...or doesn’t line up at times.

I’ll attempt to provide sources where necessary for any claims I make that aren’t overtly referenced in the games themselves. I will be looking exclusively at the mainline games from Frogwares, not the more casual games released on handheld devices etc. Spoilers ahead, obviously.

1869+ - Chapter One (2021)

*As this game has not been released at the time of this writing, this is all based on the details we have from trailers and interviews*

Acting as a prequel to all previous entries in the series, Chapter One is said to revolve around a 21 year old Sherlock returning to his former family home on a Mediterranean island to investigate his mother’s death. As shown in the first trailer, Holmes’ mother is given the name ‘Violet Holmes’ on her gravestone, along with the years ‘1829-1869′ which evidently refer to the year of her birth and death. It’s possible the game takes place in 1869 shortly after Violet’s, though this hasn’t technically been confirmed as yet. In fact, the previous game Devil’s Daughter has a brief reference from Holmes to his mother dying when he as very young, so it’s possible this was foreshadowing.  If the game does take place in 1869, it makes Holmes significantly older in his later adventures than might have been expected. Alternatively, perhaps Holmes returns to investigate Violet’s long-ago death following the introduction of new information. Other trailers say the game takes place ‘at the end of the 19th century’. Time will tell.

1888 - Versus Jack the Ripper (2009)

Events of this game occur from the 31st of August to the 9th November 1888 and loosely follow the historical events surrounding the mystery of Jack the Ripper. The location of Whitechapel is seen again in Testament of Sherlock Holmes and mentioned in Crimes & Punishments. At present this is the earliest point in the Frogwares Sherlock Holmes timeline, though evidently the next entry Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One will be set far earlier, dealing with a 21 year old Sherlock.

1894 - The Awakened (2007)

The game establishes in the opening scenes that it takes place ‘Two years ago, London, 6th of September 1894′ and spans a few months, ending in ‘Scotland, Ardnamurcham Lighthouse, December 1894′. During this time, Holmes’ and Watson’s journey spans from London to Switzerland to New Orleans back to London and finally the aforementioned Scottish lighthouse. Notably, while investigating the Swedish Edweiss Institute, Holmes discovers a seemingly brain damaged and amnesiac but very much alive Professor James Moriarty. During his escape, Sherlock triggers the Professor’s memories of his archenemy, which will lead to complications later on. Also, aside from the obvious Lovecraftian references and a few to the previous entry’s Silver Earring characters, we also get some solid D & D nods and brief encounter with a boy by the name of Hercule Poirot. 

1895 - Crimes & Punishments (2014)

This game is probably my favourite in the series. It’s also the first to present a collection of smaller mysteries, rather than an overarching plot. That said, the game does present a loose thread throughout the background of the various and otherwise unconnected mysteries which leads to the final case involving the anarchic and socialist group known as The Merry Men. The first case -an adaption of The Adventure of Black Peter- can be definitively dated as taking place in 1895 due to the titular victim being born in 1845 and established as 50 years of age when he dies. According to the original Canon, Peter died July 1895, meaning at least this single mystery may take place right around the time of the Arsène Lupin game, either before or after. 

 The second case is loosely based on The Lost Special, a not-quite-Canon story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle which was released in 1898 but set in 1890. However, the thread about The Merry Men makes it apparent that the game’s version of the adventure occurs after the previous case, so potentially still in 1895.The following case is an original one called Blood Bath and features a suspect named Sir Percival Blinkhorn. I mention this because there is a nod to this character in The Devil’s Daughter which gives his date of death as 1895, making it pretty easy to pin down when this mystery takes place. Additionally, because Crimes & Punishments presents the player with moral choices at the conclusion, via the mention in Devil’s Daughter we also have a canonical outcome for the case. 

The next case is a fairly close adaption of The Adventure of the Abbey Grange set in 1897, but based on a photo dated 1893 that is said to be from ‘a year and a half ago’ this case mystery could be easily placed in either 1894 or 1895 much like the other cases before it. A document seen later in the case complicates matters by giving the murder victim’s date of death as November 7th 1894. Still, it may be possible to explain this, as in both the original story and this game’s case Holmes tells the guilty (though noble) party to return for his love in one year’s time. Perhaps the main case is set in 1894 before the rest of the game’s adventures? This is supported by the fact The Merry Men are not mentioned during the case, making it’s placement less connected to the prior mysteries. 

The following case is a wholly original adventure taking place at the Kew Gardens and thanks to a few documents found throughout the investigation, it’s evident that it occurs in 1895. The concluding case of the game is also an original one called A Half Moon Walk which brings The Merry Men into the finale. This case sees Holmes and Watson in Whitechapel once more and features references to the Ripper, naturally. This case specifically identifies fireworks being used in celebration of Queen Victoria’s Birthday and Sherlock notes it is May, which lines up with the real world event but indicates Black Peter may have occurred earlier in the year than previously thought. Confirmation of the year 1895 is found when comparing dates of the theft of jewellery said to be a decade prior in 1885. Curiously the games ending cinematic makes mention of a woman moving in next door, presumably intended at the time to foreshadow the next game in the series.

1895 - Versus Arsène Lupin/Nemesis (2007)

This battle of wits spans less than a week from the 14th to 19th of July 1895, with the titular French gentleman thief sets challenges for the master detective across London landmarks. Lupin is foreshadowed in the previous game, Awakened by way of a newspaper article detailing one of his exploits. Furthermore, we get another retroactive reference to the thief during the chronologically earlier Jack the Ripper game when Holmes receives ‘A gift from a young admirer’: a bottle of French champagne from ‘Raoul d’Andresy.’ The game also has overt references to the previous game thanks to Watson’s troubled nightmares and a Cthulhu statue. Oh, and there’s a cute Batman reference for those paying attention!

1896 - Mystery of the Persian Carpet (2008)

More of a side-story, this game begins on the 7th of August 1896 and appears to span only a few days. This game usually isn’t included with the main series of games, often being grouped with the handheld releases instead. I don’t have much to say about this entry, I’m afraid. It relies mostly on reused assets from the previous release in the form of still images for it’s mostly click and find gameplay. If anyone knows of any connections to other games in-universe, let me know!

1897 - Secret of the Silver Earring (2004)

This game also spans a brief period of time; the 14th to the 18th of October 1897. A character mentioned in this game (Hermann Grimble) is mentioned as having been burgled  in a later game in the series, Arsène Lupin, making another retroactive connection between two of the games.

1898 - Testament of Sherlock Holmes (2012)

While the framing scenes of this games’ narrative features three little children reading from Watson’s journal at an indeterminate point in the future (though one that becomes more clear as the story progresses), the main story concerning Holmes begins in September 1898 as seen on the newspaper articles throughout the game. We also see returning characters Lucy and Danny from the Jack the Ripper game make appearances. Far more importantly, this game sees the return of mastermind and archfoe Moriarty and marks the first appearance of his daughter (unnamed at this point) in it’s closing moments. Moriarty dies for real this time, leaving his young daughter behind. Holmes adopts her.

1899 - The Mystery of the Mummy (2002)

The one that started the Frogwares video game series of Sherlock Holmes adventures. This story is very clearly set in ‘London 1899′ based on the opening cinematic, and features a solo Holmes answering a request from his distant cousin Andrew’s soon-to-be-wife Elisabeth Montcalfe. The case involves investigating the Montcalfe manor for clues relating to the disappearance and apparent death of Elisabeth’s father Lord Montcalfe, a respected Egyptologist. Dr Watson only appears in the final cinematic of the game, having been on vacation with Mrs Watson, which is I believe the only mention in the games of John’s marriage. This is also -on the surface- the latest chronological adventure for Sherlock, however I have one more I’d like to touch on that I believe *should* take place afterwards.

1895 or 1904/5 - The Devil’s Daughter (2016)

I’m going to be throwing speculation and a corrections into this entry’s timeline. Why? Because without it, the timeline falls apart and I feel it’s easily remedied with a little effort. This game forms a more connected plot which plays across the smaller cases Holmes investigates. The overarching plot surrounds new neighbour Miss Alice De’Bouvier. I think the previous entry, Crimes & Punishments was intended to lead directly into this game, with the teaser of a new female neighbour but as you’ll see that doesn’t make sense. Not only do we meet Miss De’Bouvier, but we also get to know Holmes’ young adopted daughter Katelyn who has been sent home from boarding school unexpectedly. Katelyn is the daughter of James Moriarty first seen as a small child in Testament. Kate becomes aware of the facts of her parentage by the game’s conclusion. Now, the first case, Prey Tell, provides our first continuity problem thanks to a boy named Tom from Whitechapel whom Holmes deduces was ‘born in 1887′ and is ‘8 years old’. This obviously places the game’s events no later than November 6th-7th 1895 (which is further confirmed by pre-paid rental slips and letters seen a little later), which doesn’t fit with Katelyn being a part of Holmes’ life before the events of her introduction in Testament set in 1898. I attribute this discontinuity to Frogwares changing plans during production, as they also made the creative decision to change the physical appearance of both Watson and Holmes and recast the voice actors in an evident attempt to softly refresh the series. There’s a potentially self-aware nod to this changed timeline: Tom has a copy of The Strand Magazine which first printed ‘The Adventure of the Norwood Builder’ by Doyle in his possession. This Canon story is set in 1894 but was published in 1903 however the cover in-game gives it an 1893 cover date, a whole decade earlier than in the real world. Further discontinuity occurs when Katelyn is gifted a copy of ‘Dracula’ by Alice. If the story were to take place in 1895, then Dracula wouldn’t be in print for another two years in 1897 let alone, as is mentioned, banned from Katelyn’s boarding school library.

The second case, A Study in Green is where we see the earlier mentioned reference to Sir Percival Blinkhorn. Additionally, Miss Alice gives Katelyn a copy of The Adventure of the Empty House, which in the real world was published in 1903 and is set in 1894. It details Sherlock’s miraculous return following his apparent death 3 years prior during his struggle with Moriarty. A victim in this case may be a reference to Tarzan, being named Zacharias Greystoke. Oh, and a Sir J Brombsy is also among the list of deceased donors, presumably a relative to the family seen in the Silver Earring game. An expedition in 1881 is said to have been 14 years prior.

The third case presents us with Miss Alice’s birth certificate which gives the year 1867 and we know she is at least 21 years of age (though, evidently older) thanks to another letter. Sherlock discovers he played a major role in Alice’s father being arrested in 1875 which is said to be 20 years prior, again setting the events of this game in 1895. While it’s not impossible that Holmes was active in 1875, it does make it an extremely early adventure based on the Canon, one that predates Watson’s first meeting with Sherlock.

Despite all of these clear and established dates, we still have to consider how this story fits into the continuity of the other games, particularly Katelyn only entering Holmes care in 1898 as established in Testament. A part of me suspects the writers simply liked the concept of Holmes raising the daughter of his greatest foe and perhaps preferred to have this occur earlier, to line up better wth Moriarty’s original death in the Canon during The Final Problem. Either way, I find it more satisfying to use a looser approach to this entry: ignore the established dates from documents and simply place it where it best fits in the game series order of events over all. Essentially, I propose we adopt a sliding timeline to the series, almost. I don’t believe there are any in-dialogue references to the years in question, so we could apply the same lower-tier canonicity to the dates in documents as one might to movie props that contradict the year given on screen or in dialogue. There’s some fun little discrepancies in the fourth case that make me more certain that the game should at least take place at a later year then indicated.

The fourth case Chain Reaction (and my person favourite of the game) involves investigating a traffic ‘accident’. A key aspect of the mystery involves a stolen technical cab from the Underground Electric Railways Company of London, which is in fact a real company that upgraded the existing system of underground railway between 1903 and 1905 to use electricity. If this adventure and the rest of the game were to take place in 1895, this would be an anachronism. Hence why I propose a date of 1904 (or 1905 if you prefer a nice round decade jump) which allows for the electrical system to exist and also gives Katelyn a sensible placement in the timeline after the events of Testament. In fact, it also allows Katelyn to be the older child who attends boarding school, reads Dracula (published in 1897) and generally behaves like a girl older than the small child seen in Testament. Perhaps 6 years older? Of course, this requires us to ignore the specific dates in all the previous cases in the game, but as none of them appear to be tied to anything that absolutely requires them to take place in 1895, I think it would be just as easy to move them forward a decade without affecting anything relevant to the narrative.

So, yes, it’s not a perfect solution but it does correct the continuity errors inherent by placing this story earlier than Holmes’ first meeting with Katelyn in1898. 1904 or 1905 is a better placement for the narrative of the Devil’s Daughter. This is where I think the games narrative should be set. I personally believe the superficial appearances of Watson and Holmes further justify this approach, as visual design and details change throughout the series based on the development teams influences and preferences at the time and can thus be dismissed when they are contradictory to the overall narrative. Who knows, maybe Watson just changed the dates and this game is merely a retelling with his usual embellishments?

Anyway, that was my attempt at a timeline for this great series of games. If you have any notes, please don’t hesitate to share them! 

[carsonreal]

The Best Team in Hockey: The Chicago Blackhawks

There’s just something about the red, white, and black on the Blackhawks jerseys that really draws you in. Maybe it’s the fact that it is clearly the best jersey in the world, let alone in the National Hockey League (according to a poll of NHL players). Maybe it’s the fact that they have been the most successful and dominant hockey team of the 2010′s, winning 3 Stanley Cup Championships in 2010, 2013, and 2015. Or maybe because the most electrifying hockey player on the planet, Patrick Kane (who just recently played his 1000th game in the National Hockey League) has his number 88 stitched to the back of that beautiful sweater. The point is that this team has been so important to me in my life, as well as the lives of most people from or living in the Chicago area, because of their success as a team and really just as a part of growing up in Chicago.

There is a lot of history behind the Blackhawks organization that makes it one of the most special and one of the most historic franchises in all of sports. When the National Hockey League first came to fruition, there were only 6 teams, and these teams were known as the “Original Six”. This group of teams consisted of the New York Rangers, the Boston Bruins, the Montreal Canadiens, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Detroit Red Wings, and the Chicago Blackhawks. Being among the group of first National Hockey League teams automatically brings a ton of history to the franchise that other teams, other than the remaining 5 members of the “Original Six”, simply do not have. Not only does the team itself have a ton of history, but the Blackhawks have had a load of players that have gone down, or will go down, as all time great players that the National Hockey League has ever seen play the game. According to the National Hockey League’s website, which continually updates its “Top 100 Players of All Time” list, the list consists of former Blackhawks players Chris Chelios, Tony Esposito, Glenn Hall, Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, and Denis Savard. All of these guys are historic players that suited up for the Chicago Blackhawks for the majority of their career, if not their whole career. Even better than having 6 former Blackhawks on the list, is having 3 current Blackhawks, that made the cut, with those guys being Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, and Jonathan Toews. I obviously don’t have much memories of the 6 former players on the list, but I am extremely familiar with the 3 current players on the list, as they have had a huge effect on my life and are honestly extremely important to my childhood.

Duncan Keith has been the core of the Blackhawks defensemen since he first made the Blackhawks roster after being drafted by the team in June of 2002 (he was drafted less than a month after I was born, which I find absolutely crazy sometimes). When he first became a part of the Chicago Blackhawks organization, they were in a bad spot. They were not winning many games, they were going through a lot of changes when it comes to the management positions and the coaching staff, and they were starting to become a young team that really lacked experience. However, Duncan Keith was the first guy that was a part of that young group of guys that showed a ton of potential. He was the beginning of the dynasty that was the 2010′s Chicago Blackhawks, and it showed in being a key part of winning 3 Stanley Cup Championships, and 2 Norris Trophies, which show that he was the best defenseman in the league for two of his seasons in his career.

Patrick Kane is the most electric, fun to watch, skilled player that the Chicago Blackhawks have ever seen, as he rightfully obtained the nickname “Showtime” throughout his career in this organization. Drafted in 2007 with the first overall pick, everyone knew that he was going to be something special. I can still remember watching him skate all over the ice when I was 6 or 7 years old and just being astonished at how good he was, and how much better he was than almost everyone I have ever seen play the game of hockey. Not only is he known as probably the best Blackhawk to ever put on the red, white, and black jerseys, but he is also almost undoubtedly the best American born player that the league has ever seen. Hockey in Chicago was on a serious downward trajectory before Patrick Kane arrived, and it’s safe to say that he was the key in bringing the hockey fandom back into Chicago. Throughout his career, he has won 3 Stanley Cup Championships, as well as a Calder Trophy for being the best first year player, and a Hart Trophy as the Most Valuable Player in the National Hockey League.

Jonathan Toews has been the captain of the Chicago Blackhawks since the start of the 2008 season. He was just 20 years old when he was named the captain of the team, and was the third youngest captain that the National Hockey League has ever had. The first memory that I have of Jonathan Toews, or “Captain Serious” as Chicagoans have grown to know him as, is looking at the Blackhawks calendar that showcased a different player on the team for each month. One might think that his name would be pronounced “Toes”, but quickly we learned that it was actually pronounced “Taves” (somehow). “Captain Serious” was my favorite player that the Blackhawks have ever had throughout my life, and he probably had the biggest impact on my life as a Blackhawks fan. Toews was the young guy, but he was also the leader of the team from the day that he stepped foot in that locker room. He was a no nonsense type of player and worked harder than anyone else when he was on the ice, but you could tell that he was a super fun, energetic, and positive guy off of the ice as well. Recently he has been away from the team and unable to play with an unknown illness, which is very scary. Everyone hopes that he can return to the team next year, healthy and ready to go. 

The Blackhawks have been a huge part of my life. Growing up in the Chicago area, sports were just always prevalent in that area, and throughout my whole life, the teams have been extremely successful, but none more than the Chicago Blackhawks. They have the most championships in the league in the 2010′s, proving that nobody could really compete with them as far as team success in the league goes. Also, the players on the team have formed such a connection with the city of Chicago and all of the Blackhawks fans, that we all feel like they are truly part of our city and our culture. People that are my age have grown up with the guys that are currently on the team, and it really feels like myself and my peers have been a part of the team ever since the first championship season in 2010. My life has been infinitely better as a Blackhawks fan, and I couldn't thank guys like Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, and Jonathan Toews enough for helping with that, as well as every single player that was a part of the team since I've been a fan. Nothing else that I have ever encountered or that has been a part of my life has effected me like sports, and out of all the teams that I have been a fan of since I was born, the Blackhawks have been the most successful and the team that I felt the most connected to.

[juleshq]

*  𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐠𝐨𝐬  here  and  do  i  have  the  tea  for  you  .  𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 is  back  in  bridgehampton  for  the  summer  ,  living  off  the 𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐎 family  𝟐.𝟑 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧  net  worth  .  must  be  nice  to  come  back  home  to  the  hamptons  ,  i  wonder  what  her  fellow  class  of  2017  grads  think  of  her  return  .  you  know  ,  she  was  known  around  town  as  the  𝐂𝐎𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄 and  for  bhs  senior  superlatives  pronouns  was  crowned  as  𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐓𝐎 𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐏𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐕𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐒 & 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐃 .  i  wonder  if  that  still  holds  true  today  ,  a  lot  can  change  when  you  go  off  to  𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐘 and  study  𝐁𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘  .  either  way  ,  i  bet  she  is  still  very  𝐀𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐄 , 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐃 , 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐈𝐓𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄  . hopefully  this  time  next  year  the  plans  to  𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋 come  true  .  in  the  meantime  ,  i  look  forward  to  seeing  her  blast  𝐢 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐫 (𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐈 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃 𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐄) 𝖇𝖞 𝐤𝐚𝐥𝐢 𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐬  at  every  hamptons  function  .  it’s  going  to  be  a  wild  summer  home  ,  welcome  back  .

i  don’t  think  i’ve  EVER  been  this  excited  to  plot  and interact with a group of people ,  u  all  seem  like  such  beaut  ppl  &  i’m  in  love  already  but   i’m  a  little  . . .  intimidated  ADFJH .  anyways  ,  i’m  not  going  to  ramble  bc  i’m  ready  to  get  down  to  business  ,  i’m  sammie  &  i  go  by  she  /  her  pronouns  !  under  the  cut  is  a  long  bio  on  jules !  i  will  GLADLY  give  you  a  synopsis  on  this  chaotic  mess  pls  just  ask  ,  HERE  is  her  pinterest  board  please  ignore  the  sudden  amount  of  pins  of  just  her  , also  i’m  down  to  plot  here  or  on  discord  ,  my  discord  is  @ᵘ ᵍᵒᵗ ᵃ ᵈᵒˡˡᵃʳ ?#3246  

* / BASICS

full name: juliana kaia dicaprio

nicknames: jules , julie / juli 

age & dob: twenty-one , august 14th , 1998

place of birth: long island , new york .

sexuality: heterosexual ( that she knows off )

bender: cisfemale

* /  MORE BASIC INFO

languages: english, french, some spanish.

religion: catholic

education: high school , majoring in biology at stanford

occupation: unemployed

drinks, smokes, & drugs: all of the above

* / PERSONALITY

zodiac sign: leo

likes: dark chocolate , tea in the morning , white roses , instigating bad situations , wine , black coffee , the smell of freshly brewed coffee , talking with strangers , long travels , adventures , being called “ angel ” , popcorn , quick tex responders , products made with silk , athletes , crime shows / films , crowded rooms , glitter .

dislikes: fake designer bags , people who don’t know how to lie , f , people who wear pearls regularly , long text messages , voicemails , men who are cheap , people who chew with their mouth open , humming ,  thrift shops , water-poof mascara , the smell of grass , extensive planning , and arrogance & stupidity combined .

bad habits: breaking promises to herself & others , not thinking before doing , fixating with her hair when nervous .

secret talent: juggling

fears: aging terribly , being widowed , drowning , being buried alive .

positive traits: alluring , convincing , affectionate , ambitious / devoted , systematic .

negative traits: manipulative , conniving , deceitful , dishonest , subjective .

* / APPEARANCE

tattoos: dagger on right index finger , “ devil ” on left index finger .

piercings: three in each ear , cartilage .

* / FAMILY INFO.

parent names: claire boucher & david dicaprio .

parent relationship: divorced .

sibling names: annalise , ashton , keller , & wade .

sibling relationship: step siblings & half .

children: none .

pets: 2 family dogs on her moms side.

* / BIOGRAPHY

i’m sorry it got long

             𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐘𝐋𝐄𝐑’s entire childhood was spent in the spotlight -- her father was a huge rockstar in the 70's & 80's, and her mother a model . Claire spent her childhood between Florida , California , and New York , attending red carpets , premieres , etc. Claire attended Stanford to obtain a bachelor in science but was in and out of modeling in her teens and early twenties .

            𝐃𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐃 𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐎  lived an affluent life more under the radar . His grandfather is CEO of JD banking , one of the four largest banks in the world . He attended Princeton as the rest of his family did . He got involved in the company business at a very young age as did his brothers , but went on to become the new CEO after his fathers unfortunate passing in 2002 .

            𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 was and will forever be her parents pride & joy . her parents were high school sweethearts & got married young -- at a twenty-two / twenty-three . they had been trying for two years to start their own family but jules’ mother struggled . thanksgiving in the hamptons , a dicaprio family tradition the day is engraved in her mothers memory , in 1997 , they announced to their family that after years of trying , they were pregnant .

            𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 grew up completely pampered ; bi-weekly trips to the nail salon with her mother and annual father-daughter trips . her mother was her best friend until she began morphing jules into what she thought was perfect . making sure she spoke at least one other language , was active in school , extracurriculars , how she presented herself . her mother cared about image due to her own childhood of growing up in the spotlight . besides the near brainwash to fit her mother’s image of perfect , everything was ideal &  ‘ normal ’ up until the summer before her freshman year of high school . her mother discovered the affair her father had been having for months with a woman he did business with . he claimed it was due to the fact that jules’ mother had returned to some normalcy and wanted to work again , modeling and doing some traveling , therefore he ‘ just missed her around ’ . jules was aware of everything going on  , heard the countless nights they spent arguing in the opposite wing of the house , she picked up on her father being late to family dinner because “ he had work to do ” . her parents tried their best to keep her in the dark for the sake of her sanity , innocence , and view on her father . jules went along with it all , the daddy’s girl in her was in denial for all of the months leading up to their divorce . at the end , her mother got full custody of her .

             𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐈𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐂𝐄 came two “ yes ” parents . everything became a competition between the two , trying to one up the other ; who took jules on the better summer vacation , had the most over the top christmas morning , etc . it  was insanely manipulative & jules there wasn’t a time period where jules felt more alone ; not having a sibling to relate to , she was embarassed to tell her peers the real reason why her parents split , it was so cliché . both parents didn’t take too long to remarry , her father found another stay-at-home wife and her mother lucked out with a lawyer ten years older than she . her step-father had two daughtes & son with whom jules hated in the beginning – it  was a lot to take in and she was used to being the only child . her father went on to have a child with his new wife two years after their marriage . it was all an immense amount of change within seven years .

              𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 for jules had been constantly changing since the news of her father’s affair , she’d spend her summers & holiday’s going back & forth between each parents in the hamptons until her father moved to calabasas to be closer to his wife’s family as soon as the baby was born . jules had always been a wild , reckless child at heart and the divorce between her parents only allowed her to push her limits even more . the two-three years her parents spent processing their divorce were her golden years -- she could not get in trouble with her parents and they never got upset with her . she took advantage of it all and abused drinking , hanging out with boys , you name it . she loved the attention she received from any male figure -- it made up for the lack of attention she was getting from her father once he got the boot .

              𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐄 was where jules found her safe space ; she could be her wild self , far away from home and only a five hour drive from her father that she still rarely sees . she joined a sorority , joined the exec board , was forced to join french club by her mother , all while maintaining a 4.08 gpa .

           *  ` 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐖𝐈𝐒��� jules has always been a wild child . she’s always had a desire for attention , all eyes & attention on her , though the B I R T H of her uncontrollable desire for attention from males stemmed after her parents divorce . the lack of attention from her father allowed her to realize her dad wasn’t the only one who could spoil her & every man was basically the same . she’s not super close with either of her dads at the moment and sees her father about three times a year , two of which are holidays & every now and then the spontaneous visit from him in cali .  

          𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 is a h u g e  cry baby in the sense that she hates not getting what she wants . its not on purpose most of the time , it’s the way she was raised and the nature of her parents . she’s never had to ask for anything twice & hates doing so . though she’s a huge cry baby , she will try her best to mask her actual tears . she does a good job of seeming innocent , she’s that one friend that is super sus & lies a lot & keeps secrets but somehow is so good at convincing people other wise ? she’s a huge flirt , even when she’s not doing it on purpose , it’s sort of a weird practice or habit she’s grown into ? she feels empowered in the weirdest way of owning men and being able to form their opinion of her for them , this stems from her newly founded daddy issues  it’s more so due to the fact that her relationship with her father began to diminish once he moved out . she is & has been on her “ fuck love ” rampage .

       𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 do whatever she wants and will hide her bad intentions . she lives for chaos , loves enjoys pushing limits & boundaries . she loves a game of cat & mouse / teasing just knowing she has someone in her grip is what helps her sleep at night . she is a bit crazy . . .  the type to watch someone’s snap score go up . def that type to block and unblock someone 238473 timES . she has an underlying need of approval from others and she almost needs to be liked by everyone she meets .

     𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 she wants to model & be a playboy bunny BUT her dad would literally disown her if she didn’t follow her family legacy and attend stanford or yale to use her brains for good . she’s in school to be a pediatrician because at the end of the day she loves children and always wanted to seek a job in the healthcare field . she has plans to attend yale’s medical school after her senior year is complete at stanford .

i really based her off of american beauty & angela in the movie ( if you’ve seen it omg ily ) g

[a-silent-symphony]

Nightwish's Floor Jansen: the music that changed my life

Nightwish singer Floor Jansen celebrates the music that lit her path into symphonic metal

The Gathering - Mandylion

"This album was the reason I started to form the idea in my brain that I could sing in a metal band. There‘s a song on it called Strange Machines and it got played on the radio when was I starting to get interested in metal.

"It was combination of that style of female vocals and heavy guitars. Anna Van Giersbergen’s voice was just … wow to me and hearing her sing on that kind of music, I was like, ‘Yeah that’s what I want.’ For me, an interest in female singers started with Anna Van Giersbergen and with Mandylion."

Joseph And the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat

"This was life changing because it made me aware that I could sing. It was a musical that we held at our high school, and I was in it. I must have been 12. There were actual auditions and I participated, wanting the role of the narrator which was one of the main roles and one of the characters who sings by far the most. And I got it, even though I shared the position with two other girls.

"All of a sudden, I realised I can sing. I was the teased child, but in that group, I found I could be myself. Only recently, I was reunited with the two teachers that were behind the whole thing. It was fantastic to meet them again and I wondered, if they hadn’t spent so much time investing time in us to make music, who knows if I would have found out that I wanted to sing, that I can sing and that I’m a born performer?

"I was the great mouse as a child. I was the odd one. Why would I want to be onstage? But as soon as I was on it, I belonged there."

Pantera - Vulgar Display Of Power and Machine Head - Burn My Eyes

"Pantera and Machine Head were the two bands that got me into metal. I must have heard things before that when I was listening to grunge, but it was way too heavy for me - I missed melody. It was just un-dynamic, hard music.

"I miss something vocally in both, but I liked the energy of this kind of metal. They are both melodic and very groovy. I was listening as a teenager so and while I wouldn’t play Machine Head so much now, Pantera has become a timeless thing for me."

Nightwish

"I can’t remember when I heard Nightwish for the first time, or which Nightwish album it was exactly when I got into them. And I can’t name one Nightwish album that meant so much it was life changing, but touring with them in 2002 with After Forever as a support act - that was life changing for me.

"I wanted to do what they were doing. That kept me going, it gave me a purpose. I remember that was 2002 we were going to go on our first European tour and share our bus with part of the crew with Nightwish. Tony and Ewo [Nightwish’s management] were these massive big Finnish guys. Both of them are extremely tall, broad shouldered, low voiced giants and they came in and explained the basic rules of touring together.

"We were like a bunch of school kids listening to them. We were almost afraid, but then they started talking with their low voices and I realised these are super nice guys. It all came down to just, ‘Don’t be a total asshole, let’s drink a little too much and have a good time.’ Which we did!"

Russell Allen [Symphony X singer]

"He’s simply my favourite singer in metal. His voice is so diverse, he’s someone who can voice emotion so well. His interpretation of a lyric means you feel the lyric, regardless of its meaning - even if it’s about saving the world and, ‘Here comes the demon…’ and shit I don’t personally get excited about.

"He can make a very proggy band with endless solos sound graspable, understandable by his vocals lines. I mean I like Prog, I just don’t fancy listening to endless solos especially on the keyboards when it just sounds like, ‘I can play a lot of notes really fast!’ Then comes Russell just glues everything together with vocal lines that make complete sense over really complicated parts, with that voice that can colour endlessly.

"We’ve been friends since I met him in 2002. He’s nine or ten years older than me, he was 31, I was 21, he’s super American and I was super Dutch and he really made a big impression on me."

Skunk Anansie - Paranoid And Sunburnt

"I already gave away that I like power voices and… what a woman. I found the total package of her fascinating. There she is [Skunk Anansie singer Skin], with her bald head and her blackness, screaming with anger and god forbid she’s bi-sexual. She rubbed it in like, ‘I don’t give a shit what you think.’ I liked the openness of her, the directness of it and her amazing voice.

"She makes things sound so easy when she sings it and then you go ahead and give it a shot and it’s not. To keep it that powerful and controlled, it’s not easy. Fantastic voice, fantastic songwriter, fantastic performer. Weak As I Am - try and finish that from beginning to end with an untrained voice. It was a challenge."

Alanis Morrisette - Jagged Little Pill

"I recently saw her in a documentary about high sensitive people. Someone recommended it to me because I am also a high sensitive person. We’re simply wired differently. There’s something else in our brains, so we perceive the world differently. Hence the fact I was teased so much, why I was a different child and why certain environments don’t work for me.

"You’re more sensitive to the emotions of other people, to smell, sounds. In this documentary she’s talking about it as though she is talking to me. Her experiences are very much like mine. The fact that she is a songwriter herself, she’s doing what she wants and has been doing that her entire career made her a role model."

Roxette - Look Sharp

"This album got me singing. Sitting in the car going on family holiday is the most vivid holiday memory I have so that must be pretty early on. My sister and I would be in the back of the car, singing along with it. We knew all the words. If it was life changing I don’t know, but it sowed the seeds for [singing].

"There was a lot of metal that wasn’t fun to sing. I like Pantera but I’m not going to sing along to it. I like Machine Head and Sepultura. Same thing. [Roxette vocalist Marie Fredriksson] died recently but she made a huge impact on me. She was so forward and so sexy, but she wasn’t seen as a sex object. She was seen as a singer, as a strong woman, as a role model."

[somefantasticplace]

THE MIRROR INTERVIEW

Bob Mortimer, the shorter half of Reeves & Mortimer, has made a fortune out of being daft. He and Jim Moir, Vic Reeves' alter ego, have become famous for making clever and surrealist comedy that looks very similar to two blokes whacking each other with frying pans, farting and wearing inside-out footballs on their heads. They have been labelled childish, silly and rude and stand guilty as charged. But even Bob was shocked when he realised his comic genius was too immature for his four year old son, Harry.

"The only bit of Reeves & Mortimer my son has ever seen is us hitting each other with frying pans," Bob says with a sigh. "He got really upset. He said, 'Why is he hitting you daddy?' I said "Well, its just being funny." Harry looked at him with disdain. 'Hitting people is not funny,' he told his dad.

"The funny thing is that me and Jim have never had an argument, ever," Bob says. "We spend half the time on TV smacking each other and arguing. But we've never had a real argument."

The pots and pans are polystyrene and most of the props are balsa wood, but he and Vic still injure each other. "When we did Big Night Out we were terrible," he says of their first TV venture. "We're rubbish at pretend punching and hitting and there were no retakes so we just had to punch each other." He winces at the memory. "In one bit, Jim had to rip off half the lid of the desk and smack me on the head with it. One half was balsa wood and the other was proper wood. He picked up the wring half!" Bob mimes being attacked by a heavy wooden desk. "It looked fantastic on telly," he adds proudly. "There's stuff coming out of my nose..."

Harry, you reflect, wouldn't be very impressed. But then Bob knows keeping millions of TV viewers amused is child's play compared to entertaining his kids. When he's not filming, he's a full-time dad. "It's shattering," he admits, rubbing tired, pinprick eyes. "My kids are three and four and in the mornings it gets to 11am and I think 'I've been entertaining the kids for five hours already." The comic never knew his own father, who died when he was six. "My father's death was probably the defining moment of my life. Which is strange in a way because I don't remember him. The only thing I can remember is him walking out of a door." He looks sad when he says this. "When me dad died he was a salesman, selling Fox's biscuits."

He was insistent about the type - crumble crunch - and the brand, Fox's. It seemed eccentric but it suddenly makes sense. He's maintaining a link to the father he can't remember.

"I don't know if he would be proud of what I do," Bob continues. "He might disapprove - I never knew him to know what he liked." "I don't want to be dull about it. I don't miss him because I don't remember him, but I do sort of know that his death made me the person I am."

What sort of person is he? "I'm a compulsive helper - that's probably what a shrink would diagnose. I always want to help." "I tried to be strong for me mam when my dad died. It was selfish, I suppose, because I knew that if I lost my mam I'd have nothing. That's what I'm like. I try to be nice to people so they'll need me, so they don't f*** off".

In all the years since he was 12, 41 year old Bob has never been out of a relationship. "I've been with my girlfriend, Lisa, 10 years now," he says.

Comedy may be the new rock and roll, but Bob's a domestic animal. Even his face is sleepy and cat-like. "Even before we had kids, we weren't exactly wild," he says. "Most of our time was spent sitting on the settee watching the box, going to Ikea, getting up late on Saturdays..."

His mum was a cookery teacher and spent the war "at the Ministry of Food showing people what to do with powdered eggs." Her son makes a fine ox-tongue, he says. "I can do all those tricky things. I can do all the jams - and I love my vegetable patch. The first time you actually plant something and it grows is magic."

Seeing Bob on the TV, zipping about like a hyperactive kid on high E numbers, it's hard to picture him making jam and tending to cabbages. But it's even harder to imagine that he was once a grey-suited solicitor, the sort of bloke that no one noticed. "They must be gobsmacked if they've seen me on telly," he says of his former colleagues at Southwark Council's legal centre. "Nobody noticed me there at all."

One night, on the way to the pub after work, a man suddenly came up behind him and held a knife to his throat. "It happened dead fast," recalls Bob. "I thought, 'I'm being mugged!' but all of a sudden he put his knife back in his pocket and said 'Oh hello Mr Mortimer, I didn't know it was you.' "It was one of my regular clients. I'd represented him in court about 15 times. He was a professional mugger."

Apart from the near mugging, life carried on quietly and Bob might have continued being invisible, except for a chance meeting at a pub in South London... with a man performing a comedy act with a ladder and a lump of lard. Bob started heckling from the audience and Jim Moir invited him on stage. There was a clap of thunder somewhere in the comic heavens and Vic  & Bob were born. From then on, every Thursday, he and Jim performed their irresistibly bizarre double act.

"When I first met Jim, Thursday nights were a bright spot in my life," Bob admits. "Working with Jim cracks me up and no one can make Jim laugh like I can."

Their pub act was spotted by Jonathan Ross's brother Adam and, on his recommendation, Michael Grade signed the pair up for Channel 4. In a hangover from those days, the duo always drank four weak pints of lager before performing a show. "We always drank," says Bob. "In the pub in New Cross we wouldn't be on until 11 O'clock, by which time we'd have had four pints. Now I'd be scared not to...

"People think we're mad because we need four pints of lager, under 3.4% proof. Four pints of strong lager and we'd be drunk. It's a fine line. You need to get that familiar feeling but it would be terrible if you were actually drunk," he laughs. "I have to admit that we were very drunk on Jonathan Ross's New Years Eve Special. I can't remember what we said. I don't even know if they showed it." When Vic and Bob were first on telly, Bob lived in a homeless shelter in South London. He'd left his native Middlesbrough to work at the council and had nowhere to live. The best the council could offer was the shelter and, as far as Bob could see, it had everything a young man could need - a roof, a bed and a decent pub nearby. He stayed there for five years.

"When we'd just become famous I used to think I'd love to be on Through the Keyhole," Bob says. He impersonates Lloyd's weird vowels and imagines him walking around the hostel: Whoo liiives heeere??"

He only left when the place went up in flames. "One of the nutters who lived there burnt it down one Easter," he says matter-of-factly. "I came back from me mam's at Easter and had nowhere to live. So I got a council flat instead." He scratches his chin. "You know, I wouldn't like to be one of those comedians straight from university," he says, thoughtfully. "I don't know how you get any perspective on it when life's always been as lovely as that. You haven't had a real life. How can you be happy?" Bob screws up his face and contemplates the present. He lives in a beautiful house Kent with Lisa and their two children. He and Vic are planning a new comedy series and have also been given lots of money for a film script which they keep forgetting to finish. A new series of Shooting Stars starts this month, with added sketches and the inspired choices of novelist Will Self and comedian Johnny Vegas to replace Mark Lamarr.

Comic quiz shows abound but Vic and Bob remain masters of their genre. Who else would have Debbie McGee abseil across the studio or have Michael Winner sniff out "dirty boys" using an elephants trunk? It is utterly, plainly, deliriously daft. But then, Reeves & Mortimer have made daft an art form.

"If you've nothing to compare it to it's not that much of a laugh in the end, being on the box," says Bob, seriously. "But I tell you something - it's absolute heaven compared to working with a council." The Mirror

Jan 2002

[rawiswhore]

Triple H/Shawn Michaels x Fem Reader- “Put A Ring On It”

The reason I say “Triple H/Shawn Michaels” in this fanfic is because you could have either Triple H or Shawn Michaels in this fanfic when you read it.

You can imagine Triple H doing this to you or Shawn.

________________________________________________________________

The year is 2003.

And the most famous professional wrestling company in the world, the WWF, has now changed its name, to the WWE, during the previous year, which is what the company would be called and known as from now on.

Shawn Michaels, after having a lengthy, incredible career throughout the 1990's, has now made a comeback the previous year, where he'd wrestle all throughout the 2000's until his retirement in 2009.

But this time, Shawn has slightly shorter hair, he's sober, and he's even now a born again Christian!

Shawn Michaels isn't the only WWF star to make a comeback.

You have also made a comeback to the company, after taking a hiatus from 2000 to 2002 due to suffering from a real life sex addiction and depression.

Speaking of which...

You have dated Shawn/Triple H for several years, since 1996.

In the summer of 1995, you were sitting at home at night, getting ready to go to work, but to kill off some time before you left, you were flipping through the channels, trying to find something to watch on TV, like maybe a movie you enjoy or a rerun of "The Simpsons", "In Living Color" or even "Ren and Stimpy".

Until you came across a WWF show, where you saw Hunter Hearst Helmsley for the first time.

He immediately caught your eye. You had never heard of him before or ever seen him before.

You couldn't take your eyes off of him when you saw him.

He didn't look like a stereotypical wrestler like Hulk Hogan or Macho Man Randy Savage.

And unlike those 2, he was actually *gasp!* good looking?

You soon started watching the WWF just to see Hunter Hearst Helmsley.

You heard about how rock stars, rappers, athletes, and yes, pro wrestlers, have groupies; wrestling groupies are known as "ring rats".

When the WWF rolled into a town close to yours or even to your town, you went to a show not just to see Hunter Hearst Helmsley, but even have sex with him.

Once you met Hunter back stage, even he thought you were absolutely beautiful.

So beautiful, he wanted to turn you into one of his valets.

You had doubts about this at first, but you decided to go for it.

Soon, you'd become more popular than he is, getting cheers and pops from the male audience while the male audience booed Hunter.

Anyway, enough about that.

Despite dating Triple H/Shawn for several years, they had never quite popped a certain iconic question and request for you...until tonight.

Although, Triple H did say that if you got clean and sober from drugs and alcohol, he'd do something special to you.

And this special is what this fanfic will be about.

On a show in 2003, Triple H is on a roll this year, and he's gone through quite a number of gimmick changes over the years.

However, what's about to happen to you tonight in this particular WWE show, with bookoos of people in the audience watching, some of them holding up signs and posters, is not rehearsed or scripted.

Even you don't know what will happen to you tonight, but Triple H/Shawn Michaels does.

You were in the ring with Triple H/Shawn, Triple H dressed in his typical JC Penney's pantsuit he's been wearing this year, Shawn dressed usually how he dresses in 2003.

During this year, you were in a story line involving being in a love triangle with Triple H and Shawn.

However, tonight...

"Y/n" Triple H/Shawn stated, holding the microphone up to his mouth. "I've been dating you for several years, and despite some of the ups and downs we've had for several years, you fulfill my life..."

"Oh my God, is he gonna pop the big question?!" Jerry Lawler exclaimed.

The audience was expecting him to propose to you in marriage.

And that's exactly what Triple H/Shawn was about to do.

"Will you do me the honor and make me the happiest man on Earth?" Triple H/Shawn asked and pleaded to you, his face looking at you, and while they said this, he got down on one bended knee, laying their calf on the ring's trampoline.

He put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a little ring box, where he opened the velvet ring box and revealed a beautiful white diamond ring.

When he got down on bended knee and pulled a ring box, your eyes grew wider and wider, your mouth dropping and agape in shock.

Your face was freaking out and stunned seeing that diamond ring, you were trying to keep your balance by holding onto the ropes against the ring, your arms laying across the top of the ropes.

Your face could easily now be an Internet meme or a "reaction meme".

The audience was also going nuts about this too.

The people in the audience, even the people watching this on television, didn't know whether or not if this was scripted or if this was for real.

Now that's what you call kayfabe.

"Will you marry me?" Triple H/Shawn asked you.

Tears of happiness started to form in your eyes, your hands covered up your wide smile spreading across your face.

"Yes!" you exclaimed, holding the microphone up to your mouth.

You then stuck your hand out, beautiful and well manicured, where Triple H/Shawn took the ring out of the box and walked up to you with that ring, where he slid it all the way down your ring finger.

Those tears of happiness you were trying to hold back now started falling down your cheeks.

You didn't know he was going to propose to you in marriage, this wasn't rehearsed, but the people watching this, either in the arena or on television didn't know whether or not if this is all scripted for television or if this is for real.

Once that ring was now on your finger, you wrapped your arms around and behind Triple H/Shawn's shoulders in an embrace, burying your face in his shoulder.

He wrapped his arms around your waist, hugging and embracing you.

While he embraced you, he kissed the top of your head, tasting your hair.

Not the best taste, especially since you hairsprayed it so much.

Surprisingly, Triple H/Shawn didn't enter the arena, disgusted at you cheating on him.

But that's not important.

What's important is whether or not if this was all rehearsed or was this real?

A few months later, in early 2004, people would find out this proposal was not scripted but for real. Why?

You and Triple H/Shawn did get married in real life.

You had thought of marrying him inside the WWE ring, not with several wrestling fans (at least wrestling fans that aren't related to you and Triple H/Shawn) in the audience, but with your family members, his family members as well as your friends from your childhood and some WWE wrestlers in the audience.

Although this isn't really the most romantic place to get married in...

Triple H really is the epitome of someone who can turn a ho into a housewife.

Why?

You were once sexually promiscuous, even before you worked as Hunter Hearst Helmsley's valet he'd enter the arena with, you also worked as a stripper before becoming Hunter's valet, and after you were Hunter's valet, not only did you sleep with Hunter and Shawn, but other male pro wrestlers you thought were hot.

You also used to party with Shawn Michaels; doing all sorts of drugs and alcohol.

Triple H, or Hunter as he was known back then, was worried about you both.

Hunter promised you if you didn't do drugs and abuse alcohol again, he'd marry you.

You did eventually get off of drugs and alcohol just for him, even though you had doubts of marrying him and even being his valet.

You wanted to get clean off of drugs and alcohol since you wanted to remember and have great memories of the 1990's.

Although after you got clean and sober from drugs and alcohol, Triple H didn't propose to you, which made you think twice of dating him and marrying him.

Which is a shame he didn't propose to you after you had gotten clean and sober, because Triple H looked absolutely gorgeous after you had gotten sober and clean.

You would've loved to have gotten married to him and maybe even have his children.

Though you struggled with another addiction, and that's sex addiction.

Not only did you have sex with Triple H and Shawn, but other pro wrestlers as well. They were so hot!

You also worked as a Pussycat Doll at their burlesque club and your gimmick in the WWE basically was being a slut or a nymphomaniac.

After you got married to Triple H, you no longer did drugs, partied, cheated on him, even had any threesomes with him.

The only slutty things you did was guest star on "Californication" with David Duchovny and have a sex scene with him as well as have a stripper pole in your special dancing room, and that pole is for fitness and exercise.

You now are a mother of 2 kids who never talks about anything inappropriate on social media due to being a mom now and trying to be a good role model for your children.

When you made a special guest appearance on the WWE during their PG era, your gimmick when the company was TV-14 was being a slut, and you couldn't do that because the WWE is now rated PG.

You would've loved to have flashed your breasts or have done something inappropriate in a PG rated show, but you're a mom with 2 kids now, you can't do that on television.

Even if you had gotten married to Shawn Michaels, Shawn would've turned you from a ho into a housewife, who no longer does drugs, sleeps around, or even posts or says anything inappropriate on social media due to your children.

As well as the whole "not doing something inappropriate on a show rated TV PG" thing.

________________________________________________________________

I wonder if I should write these fanfics that aren’t so raunchy, I have these ideas for fanfics I want to write that aren’t so pornographic involving Triple H and Shawn...

[justforbooks]

Jacques Chirac, former French president, dies aged 86

The former French president Jacques Chirac, a self-styled affable rogue who had one of the longest political careers in Europe, has died aged 86.

For several years he had suffered from memory loss said to be linked to a form of Alzheimer’s disease or to the minor stroke that he had while in office.

Chirac, who was head of state from 1995 to 2007, boasted one of the longest continuous political careers in Europe – twice president, twice prime minister and 18 years as mayor of Paris.

Although his time as president was marked by inaction and political stagnation, and despite having left France just as divided and struggling with mounting debt, inequalities and unemployment as he had found it, his debonair persona meant that in retirement he was embraced as one of France’s favourite politicians.

Chirac will be remembered internationally for leading France’s strong opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, when approval ratings for his anti-war stance in France soared to 90%. “War is always a last resort. It is always proof of failure. It is always the worst of solutions, because it brings death and misery,” he said a week before the US-led coalition forces invaded Iraq. He warned that any occupation of Iraq would prove a “nightmare”.

One of Chirac’s greatest gestures at home was to reconcile the nation with its history by acknowledging that France as a whole was responsible for the roundup of some 76,000 Jews sent to Nazi death camps during the second world war. His vow that the “criminal folly” of the German occupation was “assisted by the French people, by the French state” lifted the last taboo of the occupation and the collaborationist Vichy regime. His apology was the first time a postwar French head of state had fully acknowledged France’s role.

Chirac will be remembered above all as a master in the art of political seduction. For decades he charmed the public with his endless handshaking, patting of cows’ backsides and shaking of dogs’ paws on his tours around France – a beer-drinking, Gitanes-smoking man of the people who was able to eat five lunches in one afternoon on the election trail.

He shook so many hands while criss-crossing France that he used to plunge his fingers into a bucket of ice at the end of the day or wear plasters to protect from the blisters he got from his powerful grip on pensioners and farmers. He had a visceral need to reach out and touch people – whether it was hugging an elderly voter or flamboyantly kissing the hand of the German chancellor, Angela Merkel.

Chirac was much mocked, often satirised and once nicknamed “Superliar”. After a historic trial in 2011, he became the first former president to be convicted of corruption following embezzlement charges in a party funding scandal when he was mayor of Paris. Yet he was seen to embody the French president’s role as republican monarch with a kind of panache that Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande would later be found by the public to be lacking.

Politically he was known as the “weathervane”, for his ability to shift as it suited him. He went from championing state control in the 1970s to Ronald Reagan’s free-market liberalism in the 1980s. When he was elected president in 1995, he shocked the world by resuming nuclear testing in atoll explosions in the South Pacific, then took to the stage as an eco-champion at the 2002 Earth summit, warning: “Our house is burning while we look elsewhere.” He went from virulent eurosceptic in the late 1970s to staunch euro-defender 10 years later.

During more than 43 years in politics, Chirac was described as a “bulldozer” and “killer” of rivals. Born to well-off but progressive parents in Paris, what really marked him was his military service on the frontline during the Algerian war – he was the last French president to have direct experience of combat and it left him both a fan of military strategy and cautious about war.

He was a figure in French political life from the early 1960s, starting as an adviser to the prime minister George Pompidou, becoming an MP in rural Corrèze and then a minister. Before he finally became president in 1995, he founded a political party, the Gaullist Rally for the Republic, served twice as prime minister and failed twice at a presidential election. It was his ability to take knocks and get up again that proved part of his charm.

When Chirac became president in 1995, he promised to heal the “social fracture”, the crippling unemployment, division and inequalities that plagued France. But instead, his government’s contested pension reform and planned austerity package of social security cuts prompted up to 2 million people to take to the streets, paralysing France in the worst strikes since May 1968. His term was then hamstrung by his disastrous decision to call parliamentary elections in 1997 in a bid to boost his support. The Socialists won, forcing Chirac into uncomfortable power-sharing.

In 2002, he was re-elected president with 82% of the vote after the Front National’s Jean-Marie Le Pen shocked the nation by getting into the final round run-off. Chirac won because much of the leftwing electorate voting for him in order to stop the far-right leader. He later said one of his biggest regrets was not having formed a mixed national-unity government with ministers from all political sides. Instead, he stuck to his own brand of centre-right politics. In 2002 he agreed common agricultural policy payments with Germany, securing his popularity.

At home, he was most criticised for failing to steward change in France, avoiding reforms, and allowing inequalities to fester, symbolised by the 2005 urban riots on housing estates across France. The same year he called a referendum on approving the proposed EU constitution but then failed to sell the idea to the electorate, who voted no. It was a devastating blow. His popularity ratings near the end of his term were the lowest of any president since the war.

Among his success stories in office was his fight to improve road safety which was calculated to have saved 8,500 lives in four years. He ended compulsory military service and reduced the presidential term from seven years to five.

He was a lifelong source of barbed quotes and digs, famously asking in reference to Margaret Thatcher: “What more does the bag want, my balls on a platter?” He once said of Britain: “You can’t trust people who cook as badly as that.” But he also made comments he would regret. “Africa is not ready for democracy,” he told a group of African leaders in the early 1990s. When mayor of Paris in 1991, he made a controversial speech about immigration and talked of French people being disturbed by “the noise and the smell”, sparking outrage.

Like François Mitterrand before him, Chirac wanted to leave behind a great cultural project and created Paris’s Quai Branly museum, a riverside monument to himself as the “great defender” of African, Asian, American and other indigenous cultures.

Throughout his presidency, he was dogged by the sleaze scandals from his days as mayor at Paris city hall. He claimed immunity as president, but when he left office he swiftly became the first former president convicted of a crime. Aged 79, he was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of embezzling public funds as Paris mayor in order to illegally finance the right wing party he led.

His lawyer, Georges Kiejman, said at the time: “What I hope is that this ruling doesn’t change in any way the deep affection the French feel legitimately for Jacques Chirac.”

It was a mark of Chirac’s extraordinary life and luck that it didn’t.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[bbclesmis]

Los Angeles Times: Dominic West on the near-erotic bond between Valjean and Javert in ‘Les Miserables’

Since the original publication of Victor Hugo’s novel “Les Miserables” more than 150 years ago, the brutal conflict between the convict-turned-savior Jean Valjean and ruthless pursuer Inspector Javert has been dramatized countless times on stage, screen and even radio.

Although most of the versions have been dramatic, the most dominant and popular adaptation of the 1862 novel is musical. The Tony Award-winning “Les Miserables,” launched in Paris in 1980, has been featured on stages around the globe, and its colorful characters, luscious ballads and rousing anthems have been embraced by millions of theatergoers.

Dominic West is not among them.

The actor who came to prominence in the landmark HBO series “The Wire” and is starring in Showtime’s “The Affair,” has never seen “Les Miserables” on stage. And he didn’t make it all the way through the 2012 film version starring Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe.

Still, he understood how immensely popular the musical is. Which is one reason he had doubts about taking on the role when he was approached about playing Jean Valjean in a new dramatic six-hour adaptation of “Les Miserables.”

“I thought, ‘What’s the point?’ ” West said as he sat in the front courtyard of a boutique hotel in Santa Monica recently. “They’ve made a very successful film, and the stage musical is so successful. Then I read the script, and I realized there was a lot more to it. In living memory there’s been no six-hour version, no long-form version of the novel. The story you’re familiar with and the characters you’re familiar with are seen in greater depth.”

The miniseries, which debuts April 14 on PBS’ “Masterpiece,” also stars David Oyelowo (“Selma”) as Javert, Lily Collins (“Rules Don’t Apply”) as the doomed seamstress Fantine and recent Oscar winner Olivia Colman (“The Favourite”) as the abusive innkeeper Lady Thenardier. Andrew Davies, who has written adaptations of everything from “Pride and Prejudice” and “Bleak House” to “House of Cards” and “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” adapted Hugo’s novel for the project, which was co-produced by “Masterpiece” with BBC Studios.

The bleakness and brutality of Hugo’s vision is vividly depicted, alerting viewers immediately that there will be no catchy songs or light moments in this “Les Miserables.” “Masterpiece” executive producer Rebecca Eaton said there are compelling differences that should appeal to fans of the musical and devotees of Hugo’s work.

“The musical is great, the songs are great, but sometimes it covers up the story,” Eaton said in a phone interview. “What we’ve done is the narrative, with all its intricacies and subtleties that you just don’t get in the musical. We’re going much deeper. I love how Andrew humanizes and animates these 19th century tomes. He really went for the highs and the lows, and is making a political statement about poverty and class.”

The depiction of the virginal Fantine’s fall into degradation and prostitution, for example, is explored in chilling and horrifying detail. One of the highlights of the musical is “Master of the House,” a comic ode to the crooked operation of the inn run by the Thenardiers; in the “Masterpiece” version, the couple is much more menacing and manipulative.

And viewers who remember West as detective Jimmy McNulty from “The Wire” or are used to seeing him in various states of undress and in steamy sex scenes in “The Affair” may be startled when he is introduced as Prisoner 24601. He is almost unrecognizable, shorn of almost all his hair (“They cut my hair off with a knife and fork”) and wearing a lengthy and unkempt beard.

But it’s his performance, along with Oyelowo’s, that is at the center of this “Les Miserables,” and Eaton maintained that viewers will be captivated by how the two actors play out the life-and-death battle between Valjean and Javert: “To watch these two is just mesmerizing, My weakness is actors, and when I’m in the presence of first actors, it’s just wonderful.”

Among the most prominent film adaptations was a 1935 Oscar-nominated film starring Frederic March, a 1998 film starring Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush, and a 2000 French miniseries starring Gerard Depardieu and John Malkovich.

West became a believer in this latest version after reading Davies’ adaptation, and Hugo’s novel.

“Reading the book was the most pleasurable reading experience I’ve ever had,” he said. “I think it’s the best book ever written. It’s even greater than Tolstoy. Valjean is the greatest hero in literature. His story of redemption and the battle he has against his adversaries and against himself make him such a compelling hero.”

As Valjean, West had to connect with both his brutal side and his tenderness: “He’s been imprisoned for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving nieces and nephews,” he said. “He knew when he went to prison that they would all die in starvation.”

He added, “What’s central to the book is Javert’s view of the criminal, which is they are born and cannot be redeemed, and Hugo’s more enlightened view, that you’re a product of the way people treat you. If you’re brutalized for 19 years, you will be a brute. His evolution from violent brute to pillar of the community and then romantic hero is what’s so extraordinary about his character arc. Behind this beast is this great compassionate soul.”

Then there’s the core of “Les Miserables” — the clash between Valjean and Javert.

“There’s an almost erotic bond between Valjean and Javert,” West said. “Javert is nuts about him. We kind of hint at it. In these things, you always look for the strongest impulse, and that’s always sex and love.”

However, there was not much love between West and Oyelowo during the shoot.

“I kept trying to get to know David; I kept asking him out to dinner, and he was very aloof,” West said with a laugh. “I thought, ‘Boy, is he unfriendly! He’s a bit snooty.’ And then at the end, we finally went out — it was his birthday — and we had this great night. I said, ‘Wow, we should have done this months ago,’ and he said, ‘No, no, I was deliberately avoiding you.’ It was very clever. You do have a rapport with someone you hang out with on a set, and he didn’t want to have that. He was bloody right.”

He laughed again. “He has everything I lack. He has immense discipline, whereas I’m incapable of not wanting someone to be my friend. He’s perfectly able for the benefit of the work to keep his distance. I admire him hugely as a person and as an actor.”

Both he and Oyelowo are executive producers of “Les Miserables.” “I had never done it before,” West said. “David was good at it. He’d watch stuff and come out with useful notes the next day. I had a lot of opinions about the production until we got into the shoot. Then the only notes I had was, ‘Could you hold on me a little longer? I think you’re missing a bit of magic.’ ” He burst into a loud laugh. “Of course they ignored me.”

West credits his role in “The Affair” with being a crucial tool in helping him prepare for “Les Miserables.” The Showtime drama, which explores the impact of an extramarital affair from different perspectives, is in the midst of filming its fifth and final season.

“There was never a light moment on ‘The Affair,’ “ he said. “It was always emotionally expensive stuff. Lots of grief and emotion. It taught me a lot. I don’t think I could have done Valjean without being on that show.”

Even then, it took time for West to understand Valjean. “What I found so difficult to understand is why he surrenders himself to Javert. Why does he feel he’s a bad guy when all he did was steal a loaf of bread? That took me a very long time, to realize what sort of psychology Hugo was anatomizing there,” West said. “He’s been so brutalized, told that he’s an animal for 20 years. He believes he’s not worthy of love, he believes he’s not worthy of living in normal society, he believes the only thing he deserves is the brutal life of the prison.”

As happy as he is with “Les Miserables,” West is also coming to grips with wrapping up “The Affair.” which also stars Maura Tierney and, until last season’s plot twist, Ruth Wilson. ”Five years is a long time for television, and I’m ready to move on, for sure.”

Although he is looking forward to new projects, he is also constantly reminded of his past — particularly “The Wire” which has only gained in reputation since its original five-season run, which started in 2002. The multilayered series about the narcotics scene in Baltimore is regarded as one of the most significant and compelling dramas in recent TV history.

“It’s really extraordinary how it’s grown in stature, and I feel very lucky to have been involved,” West said. “People always come up to me and say they’ve just watched it. If it came out now, I think it would have been lost in the sheer volume of great projects. But in some way, it can be said it catalyzed this golden age of television and to have raised the bar. For me, it’s been the gift that keeps on giving.”

[aliveandfullofjoy]

Hello friends! Popping by for my annual reflection of the film performances that I’ve seen this year that have really stuck with me. My usual rule applies: no films from this year or last year (so no performances from 2018 or 2017 were considered). Presented in alphabetical order, here they are.

Bibi Andersson & Liv Ullmann, Persona (dir. Ingmar Bergman, 1966) When you think about Persona, it becomes virtually impossible to separate these two performances. There’s hardly any frame in the film with neither Andersson or Ullmann, and the entire story depends on their relationship: Andersson plays the sexy, playful, sad figure of Alma, a nurse tasked with taking care of an actress who has suddenly gone mute, played with unspoken doubt and anxiety by Ullmann. Both Persona and both of these performances have an air of legend around them, and it’s very clear why.

Icíar Bollaín, El Sur (dir. Víctor Erice, 1983) Icíar Bollaín was only fifteen when she filmed El Sur, Víctor Erice’s gorgeous memory story about a girl grappling with who her mysterious father really was. Bollaín plays Estrella as a fifteen-year-old, sharing the role with the younger Sonsolas Aranguren (who also does an excellent job), but it’s Bollaín who gets a dynamite scene with her father (played beautifully by Omero Antonutti) near the end of the film. It’s just a conversation where daughter and father are honest with each other for the first time. It’s astonishing, and as good as Antonutti is, the magic almost entirely comes from Bollaín.

Youssef Chahine, Cairo Station (dir. Youssef Chahine, 1958) Cairo Station is an utterly brilliant Egyptian noir directed by and starring Youssef Chahine. Chahine plays Qiwani, a beggar driven to murder through his own spiritual defeat and his own twisted form of hope. Chahine directs the film beautifully, and his performance is equally impressive, laying out a disturbing and heartbreaking transformation, wringing copious amounts of pity and fear from the viewer.

Judy Davis, My Brilliant Career (dir. Gillian Armstrong, 1979) A classic star-is-born performance from Judy Davis. She establishes herself as an effortlessly watchable screen presence, creating endless depths of a whole human within the character of Sybylla. My Brilliant Career delivers a heroine who is hilarious, touching, fierce, and incredibly endearing. It’s in the writing, but Davis brings it to life in a thrilling way.

Cora Lee Day, Daughters of the Dust (dir. Julie Dash, 1991) Julie Dash’s breathtaking Daughters of the Dust tells the story of a matriarchy in the Gullah culture off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. The entire cast, free of any star power or recognizable faces, does an exceptional job in the film, but it’s Cora Lee Day as the grand matriarch of the Peazant family who leaves the longest-lasting impact. Warm but authoritarian, loving but unsmiling, she acts the bedrock on which this whole community is founded. Her performance, and the film as a whole, is a gorgeous experience like no other.

Mel Gibson, Signs (dir. M. Night Shyamalan, 2002) Disclaimer: There are few people in Hollywood that I detest more than Mel Gibson. I think he’s a garbage person and a garbage director. And in an alien movie by M. Night Shyamalan? No way it’s good.  Having said that, I was shocked and almost appalled at how good his performance is here. Gibson creates an Everyman who instantly earns our trust and support, and he nails every single moment of the complex emotional beats in the film. And that dinner table scene? Oh man. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Kirin Kiki, Still Walking (dir. Hirokazu Koreeda, 2008) Kirin Kiki is the beating heart at the center of Still Walking, Hirokazu Koreeda’s stunning drama about a small family reunion twelve years after the death of one of the family’s sons. As the matriarch of the family, Kiki is an unbelievably warm presence, smiling and joking and rolling her eyes, ever cooking. As the story progresses, we see the reality of the grief she’s been living with for the last twelve years, as well as flashes of joy remembering the early days of her marriage. Kiki just passed away in September of this year; you can catch one of her final performances now in Koreeda’s Shoplifters, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes a couple months back and is Japan’s entry in the Foreign Language Film Oscar.

Giulietta Masina, La Strada (dir. Federico Fellini, 1954) La Strada is a genuinely affecting melodrama and almost all of its emotional power comes from the masterful central performance from Giulietta Masina. It’s astonishing what she’s able to convey in just a blink. Masina’s performance is heartbreaking and transcendent, and it was clear how much Federico Fellini loved her -- they were married until his death in 1993. Every frame feels like a love letter.

Oliver Reed, The Devils (dir. Ken Russell, 1971) The Devils is a deeply disturbing, irreverent, and blasphemous piece of work from Ken Russell, one of the great visionaries of counterculture cinema. It’s a political drama trapped in a supernatural horror movie, and at its core is the anchoring performance from Oliver Reed as the ill-fated Father Urbain Grandier. He is astonishing in this film, vomiting out the complex, beautiful language like the old pro that he is, as well as being tortured in a distressingly real manner. It’s not an easy film or performance to watch, but it’s an outstanding testament to the skill of a mostly forgotten actor. 

Kim Stanley, Séance on a Wet Afternoon (dir. Bryan Forbes, 1964) Séance on a Wet Afternoon is essentially a two-hander, with the two central performances from Kim Stanley and Richard Attenborough being deeply tied and both incredibly impressive, but with as great as Attenborough is (and he is so, so great), Stanley manages to walk away with the film here as Myra, a professional medium who creates a plan to kidnap a little girl. One part tense crime drama, one part shattering portrait of grief and mental illness, Stanley keeps Séance rooted firmly in honesty. She gets to dig into an emotional breakdown scene mid-séance late in the film that is just amazing to watch. 

Honorable mentions: the entire cast of Fanny and Alexander (dir. Ingmar Bergman, 1982); Richard Attenborough in Séance on a Wet Afternoon (dir. Bryan Forbes, 1964); Jeremy Irons in Dead Ringers (dir. David Cronenberg, 1988); Burt Lancaster in The Swimmer (dir. Frank Perry and Sydney Pollack, 1968); Lucy Liu in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (dir. Quentin Tarantino, 2003); Aline MacMahon in Gold Diggers of 1933 (dir. Mervyn LeRoy and Busby Berkeley, 1933); Claude Rains in Notorious (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1946); Victor Sjöström in A Man There Was (dir. Victor Sjöström, 1917); Timothy Spall in All or Nothing (dir. Mike Leigh, 2002); Sharmila Tagore in The Goddess (dir. Satyajit Ray, 1960); Taika Waititi in What We Do in the Shadows (dir. Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, 2014).

So there we are! My favorite performances of the year. Before 2019 officially starts, I’ll post my favorite movies from the year as well (outside of 2018 and 2017, as usual). Turns out movies are actually good sometimes?

[pinkyheaven]

ROCK & READ 078 Ruki’s Interview (Part 1)

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

profile and information

Born February 1. Blood type B. Vocalist of the GazettE formed in 2002. Other members: URUHA (g), AOI (g), REITA (b), KAI (ds). On March 13th, after 3 years, they released their ninth album “NINTH“. On July 19th (Thursday) and 20th (Friday), they are starting the first part of their new tour called “the GazettE Live Tour18 THE NINTH / PHASE #01 -PHENOMENON- at Misato City Cultural Hall.

During the 15th anniversary, basically the whole last year, the GazettE were hiding in the underground, working hard trying to produce their new album. But now the album is complete and it’s time to rage again with the people in the underground! Their ninth album is called “NINTH”. Compared to the previous work “DOGMA”, that was completely dark, I think that this album turned out to be very easy to understand. This time the title of the album came from the keyword of number 9, connected with this album. This is the GazettE of “PAST” and “PRESENT”!

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Q: The title of this album that’s been released after 3 years is “NINTH”, this time you decided to use a number 9 as a keyword. But first, I’d like to talk about “DOGMA”. This previous album was released about 3 years ago, in August 2015. If we roughly summarized the interview that you gave to this magazine at that time, we could say that the GazettE is an absolute and true virtue, bringing the complete worldview with a dark sound. Could we say that this concept more or less fits “DOGMA”?

R: I agree, it fits.

Q: Looking back to this whole time of more than a year - from when the album was released until the final at Makuhari Messe, do you think you completed everything that you wanted?

R: Ahh, I think I did. Up until now there were a lot of albums that ended up with that feeling like it didn’t have enough time to properly digest. For example, the number of lives we did wasn’t enough. So, we were doing things like “REDEFINITION”. In comparison, with “DOGMA” we passed this problem and we felt like we were continuing with it forever.

Q: Yes, it took a long time.

R: During that time, we also released a few singles. Our “DOGMA lifestyle” was continuing for quite a while. (lol)

Q: “DOGMA lifestyle”? (lol)

R: Because of that, we got pretty familiar with it, and we were able to finish it with a “this is already enough” feeling.

Q: Could we say that the album reached a phase where it could already rest in peace?

R: Yeah, that’s right. There was quite enough of everything.

Q: Among all the things, what is something that stuck in your memory the most?

R: Something that stuck in my memory the most? Umm, I thought about something bad, I broke my ribs. I broke them before the recording of “UGLY”.

Q: Whaat!?

R: I’ve caught a cold and I couldn’t stop coughing for more than a month. So, that’s how one of my ribs broke and during the tour, I broke another one. It was quite difficult during that time, I was doing everything while drinking analgesics and wearing a corset.

Q: No way, is it possible to break your rib while coughing?

R: When you cough the lungs don’t go *whoosh* filling with air, so there’s an empty space left (so the ribs have nothing to support them and bend too much causing a break) if the force of a cough is too strong the rib goes *snap*

Q: So, in other words, it seems that it was such a strong cough……

R: Because of that I went to the hospital, but after all, it seems like they couldn’t do much, they just said eventually it will heal and take some time to rest, so that’s how it was. During that time, I decided to not talk about it, so I didn’t really say anything publicly, but yeah, I had this serious thing going on.

Q: I heard that it’s more difficult physically than mentally.

R: No, it was difficult mentally too. We had a pretty tight schedule. During that time, I couldn’t sleep well, we also had lives in the evening. Well, there weren’t many good things at that time, now that I think back on it. (lol)

Q: Hahaha! Between all of this, were there any good things going on?

R: Good things? I wonder if there was any…… No, there wasn’t.

Q: To that extent that you could let for “DOGMA” to rest in peace?

R: Yeah, that’s right. The lives themselves, were good, I think.

Q: By the way, it was September 27, when you did the last free live at the Makuhari Messe. Did you have a bit of a break after that?

R: No, I don’t really remember having any time to rest back then. After that it was Halloween, I think. Maybe my memories of having a break got lost because of it.