#and mashed up will and vincent into edward

[ghostbustermelanieking]

in 1995, mary downing hahn released a vampire novel following cynda, a 16 year old who goes to live with her estranged father at his hotel in maine, after her mother and stepfather move to italy. soon, she meets a mysterious, attractive older man who seems to have a special interest in her. (but unlike a certain other vampire, this man is entirely sinister, and treated as such.) he comes to her bedroom window at night.

does this premise sound familiar?? this was 10 years before twilight, and the first ten-twenty pages sound like a pretty similar plot. i'm convinced stephenie meyer read look for me by moonlight and wanted to write a geniune romantic version, and that's what inspired the set up for bella going to forks

[lxmitlxss]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ Mobile Friendly Muse List

as of 08/29/24

Canon Characters

Pandora Hearts:

Xerxes Break

Gilbert Nightray

Vincent Nightray

Elliot Nightray

Levi Baskerville

Vanitas no Carte:

Noé Archiviste

Vanitas

D. Grey Man:

Allen Walker

Lavi Bookman

Marian Cross

Tikki Mikk

The Ancient Magus Bride:

Elias Answorth

Ruth

The Millionaire Detective: BALANCE UNLIMITED:

Haru Kato

Moriarty the Patriot:

William James Moriarty

Sherlock Holmes

Angels of Death:

Zack

Trigun/Trigun STAMPEDE:

Vash the Stampede ( both versions )

Nicholas D. Wolfwood ( both )

Millions Knives

Meryl Stryfe

One Piece:

Sanji Vinsmoke

Zoro Roronoa

Trafalgar Law

My Hero Academia:

Izuku Midoriya

Shoto Todoroki

Denki Kaminari

Shouta Aizawa

Keigo Takami (Hawks)

Dabi

Jujutsu Kaisen

Yuji Itadori

Megumi Fushiguro

Nobara Kugisaki

Satoru Gojo

Suguru Geto

Yeah I haven't finished this one so BE KIIIIIIND

K Project

Yashiro Isana

Saruhiko Fushimi

Reisi Munakata

Izumo Kusanagi

Durarara!:

Izaya Orihara

Shizuo Heiwajima

Shinra Kishitani

Masaomi Kida

Bungou Stray Dogs

Osamu Dazai

Doppo Kunikida

Chuuya Nakahara

Atsushi Nakajima

Sigma

Jouno Saigiku

Tetchou Suehiro

Honkai Star Rail

Trailblazer

Dan Heng

Welt Yang

Aventurine

Veritas Ratio

Kafka

Boothill

Gallagher

Serval Landau

Sampo Koski

Seele

Huohuo

Genshin Impact

Tartaglia

Kaveh

Albedo

Baizhu

Bennett

Xingqiu

Heizou

Venti

Detroit Become Human

Gavin Reed/GV900

PROMARE

Lio Fotia

Lucia Fex

Bluelock

Rensuke Kunigami

Wataru Kuon

Reo Mikage

Hyouma Chigiri

Danganronpa

Byakuya Togami

Junko Enoshima

Leon Kuwata

Yugioh

Yugi Mutou

Yami Yugi

Joey Wheeler / Katsuya Jonouchi

Seto Kaiba

Ryou Bakura

Yami Bakura / Bakura

Duke Devlin / Ryuji Otogi

Jaden Yuki / Judai Yuki

Syrus Truesdale / Sho Marufuji

Yusei Fudo

Crow Hogan

Leo / Lua

Marvel

Tony Stark

Loki

Hawkeye

Bucky Barnes

Clint Barton

Moon Knight ( Marc & Steven )

Steve Rogers

Thor

Phil Coulson

Bruce Banner

Peter Quill

Rocket Racoon

Steven Strange

Eddie Brock ( mix comic/Sony )

Full Metal Alchemist

Edward Elric

Alphonse Elric

Winry Rockbell

Van Hohenheim

Maes Hughes

Alex Louis Armstrong

King Bradley

Lust

Greed

Envy

Final Fantasy

Cloud Strife

Reno

Squall Leonhart

Vivi Ornitier

Tidus

Yuna

Rikku

Paine

Vaan

Balthier

Prompto Argentum

Ignis Scientia

Servamp

Lawless

Shadowhunters

Magnus Bane

Supernatural

Castiel

Doctor Who

Tenth

Jack Harkness ( req only, might end up discord only )

BBC Sherlock

John Watson

Black Butler

Sebastian Michaelis

Ciel Phantomhive

Alois Trancy

Finnian

Mey-rin

Ronald Knox

Mashle: Magic and Muscles

Mash Burnedead

Dot Barrett

Ghost Hunt

Kazuya " Naru " Shibuya

Hazbin Hotel

Sir Pentious

Magi

Judar

Yunan

Sinbad

Jafar

Aladdin

Mythical Detective Loki Ragnorok

Loki

Dragon Age

Male Mage Hawke

Fenris

Persona

Joker/Ren Amamiya

Sojiro Sakura

Munehisa Iwai

Yu Narukami

Makoto Yuki

Tatsuya Suou ( req, discord prefered )

Princess Tutu

Ahiru/Duck

Fakir

Mr. Cat

Droccelmeyr

Pike & Lillie

Pretear

Himeno Awayuki

Hayate

Sasame

Kei

Go

Mannen

Hajime

Shin

Petite Princess Yucie

Arrow/Arc

Gaga

Cube

Soul Eater

Soul Evans

Death the Kid

Dr. Stein

OCs can be found over on @beyondlxmits

[tilbageidanmark]

Movies I watched this week - 30

Joseph Losey’s brilliant 1963 ‘The Servant’, with dashing Dirk Bogarde and Bowie-lookalike Edward Fox in his first major role.

Chilly, ambiguous sexuality, stylish power dynamics and a creepy attack on Britain's class system. Written by Harold Pinter, with a cool jazz score, and crisp black and white cinematography. A game where the master becomes a slave - A true masterpiece.

✴️

After seeing ‘Pig’ last week, I knew I had to find the documentary The Truffle Hunters. It’s about a group of old mushroom foragers, all in their seventies and eighties, and their dogs, living in the mountains of Piedmont, Italy, and I’m glad I did.

Simple, delicate and rich - a rare find, like the truffles themselves - Best film of the week.

The trailer sums it up.

✴️  

A straightforward Finnish biopic of ‘Tom of Finland’, the influential creator of homoerotic art and fashion. Fascinating subject told in a by-the-number style.

✴️  

Thomas Vinterberg’s 2016 The Commune - a timid drama about a couple trying communal living in 1970s Copenhagen. It would be better if it was just about Trine Dyrholm's and her asshole husband’s (The always unpleasant Ulrich Thomsen) disintegrating marriage. 4/10

✴️

Borgman, a strange Dutch thriller about a charismatic hobo and his manipulative Manson Family posse who take control of a wealthy family and convert them too into his possessed followers. Some biblical and existentialist undertones, maybe diabolical, Christian horror, surrealistic symbolism and disturbing visuals. A mixed fair.

✴️  

Harold and Maude, a love story between two people who like to attend funerals, a young man and 80 year old free spirit Ruth Gordon. With (unrelated to the plot) score by Cat Stevens.

Edgy? Eclectic? “With it”? Not so much after 50 years.

✴️

Benoît Delaunay’s very sad short animation Three Small Cats, about a cute cat family that dies one by one.

✴️

3 more with Willem Dafoe:

✳️✳️✳️ At eternity’s Gate, painter Julian Schnabel‘s hagiographic biopic of Vincent Van Gogh's last two years in Arles.

Beautiful! 9/10.

I remember having a precious edition of ‘Letters to Theo’, which decades later I just gave away with the rest of all my books... Sad!

✳️✳️✳️  Paris, je t'aime, a 2006 anthology of 18 vignettes, each set in different arrondissement (2 are missing). Most are romantic, enjoyable and sentimental “City-Porn”.

The last Alexander Payne short, where lonely letter carrier tourist Margo Martindale has an epiphany on why she loves the city, was perhaps the loveliest.

Also, Maggie Gyllenhaal as a hashish smoking actress was absolutely cute.

✳️✳️✳️ I didn’t know that Paul Schrader directed Adam, Resurrected, a 2008 Israeli film based on Yoram Kanyuk’s book  ( אדם בן כלב‎ ). A horrible and cringy holocaust drama taking place at mental institute in the Negev in 1961.

Unfortunately it is headed by Human Ham Sandwich Jeff Goldblum in a three piece suit and with a fake German accent trying to hamm-out Jerry Lewis in his Auschwitz comedy ‘The Day the Clown Cried’.

One of the worst film I’ve seen during this project!

✴️

Le Samouraï, Jean-Pierre Melville’s tribute to American gangster genre of the 30′s and 40′s. With taciturn Gun-for-hire Alain Delon at his peak handsomeness. Solitary, coolly detached, deadly stylish.

✴️ Discovering Max Tohline:

✳️✳️✳️ Media scholar Max Tohline’s fascinating investigative video essay A Supercut of Supercuts. The 2 hour long academic discussion extends to before the beginning of the cinema to postulates that Supercuts are not a form of aesthetic, but a new mode of knowledge - the database episteme.

Compelling! I’m going to watch the rest of his output!

✳️✳️✳️ ‘The Conversation’ is the Confessional - ‘We’ve heard it all before’.

✳️✳️✳️ Editing as Punctuation in Film - "The whole eloquence of cinema is achieved in the editing room"

✳️✳️✳️ From ^ there ^: György Pálfi’s Final Cut, Ladies and Gentlemen, a romantic experimental mash-up, made up of 450 clips from the most famous films in history. It seems that I’ve seen 90% of all of them here in recent years.

10/10

✳️✳️✳️ More from ^ there ^ : Chuck Workman’s 1986 Precious Images. 470 half-second-long splices of movie moments through the history of American film. Commissioned by the Directors Guild for its 50th anniversary.

✴️

I dislike most “action” movies, but I love Tony Gilroy’s Bourne trilogy, and watch them regularly.  I just binged again on The Bourne Identity, ‘Supremacy and 'Ultimatum, the films he wrote just before directing ‘Michael Clayton’.

All three of them follow the same story patterns. I don’t want to see the last two.

Here is Tony Gilroy Delivers a 2013 BAFTA Screenwriters' Lecture.

Link: About The Bourne trilogy’s shaky-cam action.

✴️

I finally finished Your honor, Bryan Cranston’s 10 episode series, which was unfairly compared to Breaking Bad. Yes, both are dealing with a respectable member of society going ‘Bad’, in this case a New Orleans judge whose son accidentally kills a motorcyclist, and who decides to cover it up.

But this is no ‘Breaking Bad’, because the ridiculous drama here is lazy, full of holes and clichéd throughout.

Based on an Israeli series ‘Kvodo’.

✴️

The princess Bride - First watch: Yes, it’s very quotable. If I was 12 seeing it for the first time, I might find it enchanting, but since I’ve waited 56 years, nah...

✴️

The Hater, another despicable Polish film about a young social media sociopath, online stalker and manipulator who works at troll farm and foments hatred, violence and destruction.

(I’m glad I quit Netflix).

- - - - -

(My complete movie list is here)

[buzzdixonwriter]

Inefficient As Hell

It only took 49 years, but I finally saw Haunts Of The Very Rich, a 1972 ABC-TV MoW (movie of the week).

For those unfamiliar with the term, a MoW was a 75 minute made for TV movie in a 90 minute time slot.  ABC made more than 250 of these over a 6 year period, modern day versions of the programmers and B-movies of the 1930s and 40s.  

Many MoWs served as pilots for later series (The Six Million Dollar Man, Kolchak:  The Night Stalker, etc.), a few were attempts at serious drama (Brian’s Song, That Certain Summer, etc.), a couple were surprisingly good (Duel, Trilogy Of Terror, etc.)…

…and most were like Haunts Of The Very Rich.

It’s pretty much a quintessential example, showing all the strengths and weaknesses of the form:  Sensationalistic story, stellar (at least by TV standards) cast, plus enough time and budget to be more technically proficient and aesthetically pleasing than a typical TV episode are the plus side of the equation; cliché’, hackneyed, predictable, turgid, and astonishingly offensive for racial sensitivities of the era.

If the title didn’t tip you already, the first two minutes hammer the point home:  They’re DEAD!!!  And they’re going to HELL!!!

Okay, dynamite TV cast for the era:   Lloyd Bridges, Cloris Leachman, Edward Asner, Anne Francis, Robert Reed, Donna Mills, Tony Bill, and Moses Gunn all turn in performances ranging from good to very good indeed.

Paul Wendkos director, a respected journeyman director who never made it to the A-list but worked consistently in film and TV across a wide range of genres.  He demonstrated an unsuspected flair for the supernatural in his best known theatrical film, The Mephisto Waltz, and manages to bring that same sensibility to Haunts…

Script?  Eh, don’t ask…  William Wood’s teleplay (story by T.K. Brown III, which I suspect is a pseudonym) is a ripoff of the 1923 play Outward Bound already filmed twice as Outward Bound and Between Two Worlds, but to modern audiences it looks like a Twilight Zone mash-up of Gilligan’s / Fantasy Island.

Seven very rich people (upper middle class bourgeoise, if you ask me) find themselves on a mysterious jetliner taking them to Seacrist, a tropical vacation destination, run by Mr. Seacrist (Gunn) in an all-white outfit than anticipates Mr. Roarke’s wardrobe by a good five years. 

I strongly suspect all the wealthy characters initially represented the seven deadly sins (pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth) but by the time ABC got through mucking with it those distinctions were lost.

Not that it matters.  The seven stooges arrive and run through their various melodramas.  Seacrist resort is cut off from the outside world by a hurricane.  The native help abandons the resort, Mr. Seacrist goes off to find help, the rest of the cast mopes around as resources and tempers grown thin, and it finally dawns on them that they’re DEAD!!!  And they’re in HELL!!!

Folks, ///National Lampoon/// did that as a one panel cartoon called “Presbyterian Hell.”  EC’s Tales From The Crypt would have batted this one out in 6 pages.  As a half hour Twilight Zone it would feel padded (it might have worked as a short segment on Night Gallery).

Despite Wendkos and the cast doing their (dare I say it?  I dare…) damnedest to make the material work, but that script is a killer and not in the good sense.

Case in point #1: Mr. Seacrist is of African descent (Gunn provides him with an erudite, quasi-British colonial accent suggesting a Caribbean background), the staff -- “They understand English but I’ve instructed them not to speak it” (yeah, so the producers don’t have to pay for speaking parts) -- are either Native Americans or of African descent.

The stooges actually comment how surprised they are that Mr. Seacrist is running the show because native staff is one thing, but isn’t there usually a white guy in charge of everything?

Say wha -- ?!?!?  This was 1972, people might still be thinking that b.s. but only Archie Bunker would be saying it out loud.

Case in point #2:   Timothy Leary, Bishop Pike, and Carlos Castaneda’s The Teachings of Don Juan were pretty well known to the American public in 1972, and so Robert Reed’s reverend was given a big anti-drug scene.  I suspect the heavy handed anti-drug message was added not only to blunt (no pun intended) his character’s earlier mention of peyote but also to undercut the pretty chilling “there is no afterlife” context of the original scene.  (Despite this, it’s still the most best thing in Haunts… and Reed shows some fine acting chops here).

Case in point #3:  Lloyd Bridges is a married serial adulterer with a clinging wife he can’t stand who briefly enjoys a romantic fling with the equally married Cloris Leachmen (though if they’re dead, their wedding vows are now null and void).  Bridges’ wife can’t live without him and kills herself, showing up at the end to make his hell complete.

It’s hilarious when it happens to Harcourt Fenton Mudd in Star Trek, it’s horrific for all the wrong reasons here.

Why should she be eternally punished for his being an asshole?

Which leads us to the observation poised in the title of this post:  If this be hell, it’s a damned inefficient one.

Seacrist the vacation / damnation destination is actually the Villa Vizcaya in Florida and I must admit it’s a great location, a huge sprawling estate that gives off the same familiar-yet-somewhat-odd vibe as Portmeirion, Wales did for The Prisoner.

But in the context of the story, why go to all that effort to torment just seven people?  

Ever see Johnny Got His Gun?  The wounded WWI vet in that is blind / deaf / mute / limbless / unable to eat or taste anything (his genitals are still attached and functioning; rendering him the polar opposite of Jake Barnes in Ernest Hemingway’s ///The Sun Also Rises///) is trapped forever in an eternal sensationless hell.  Why go to the trouble of this elaborate stage show that lasts less than a week when these poor bastards are going to be stuck there for hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of trillions of years? Just shove ‘em in airtight boxes and stack ‘em away in a hot room.

The only thing that would make sense about Seacrist would be if it’s not Hell but Purgatory, and the stooges’ suffering will eventually guide them through to eternal bliss.

I suspect that’s what Mr. Seacrist started as; an allusion to “see Christ” but the network suits apparently freaked out over that and made him just a run of the mill sinister host.

 . . .

BTW, I caught Haunts… on the Creature Features channel on YouTube.  Vincent, Tangella and Mr. Livingston picked up the torch (or should I say cigar?) from the late John Stanley and are churning out episode after entertaining episode.  I find they strike the right balance of humor and informative interviews and the show is delightful.  Check ‘em out.

 © Buzz Dixon 

[crowdvscritic]

round up // OCTOBER 20

Hubie Happy Halloween, friends! I’m not sure what October’s been like for you, but here’s a quick summary of my month:

Re-acquainting myself with my collection of (mostly gray and navy blue) sweaters

Ordering an embarrassing—like, I lost count kind of embarassing—number of lattés

Alternating between enjoying the ombré of the fall trees and cozying up with the first logs in the fireplace

Revisiting all-time favorite stories like The Scarlet Pimpernel by the Baroness Orczy, the extended Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, all three seasons of Stranger Things, the 1995 Pride and Prejudice miniseries, and several Harry Potter movies

In short, this month has been all about finding joy in the little things, which is the essence of our search for coziness in autumn. Since these monthly Round Ups only focus on pop culture that’s new to me, that means this month’s list is shorter than usual, but many of the movies and shows feel like warm blankets I’ll return to again. Though, as you’ll see, a few are not…

October Crowd-Pleasers

Enola Holmes (2020)

A movie so charming, I’m on the verge of rewatching even though it’s only been a few weeks. (It’s a rare occurrence for me to return to something so quickly.) It lets a stacked cast of performers known for dramatic roles flex their comedic muscles, including Henry Cavill, Sam Claflin, and—most spectacularly—Millie Bobby Brown. You can read my full review of the new Netflix movie at ZekeFilm. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10

Murder, She Wrote (1984-96)

This entry comes with a bit of an asterisk* because Kyla and I watched this murder mystery procedural in 2018 for our podcast, SO IT’S A SHOW? At the time, I was open to watching more episodes, but it was never so easy as with the launch of the Peacock streaming service. All 12 seasons are available in the free tier, and I never thought a show about murder—and in the procedural format, which I don’t typically love—could be so enjoyable. Angela Lansbury’s mystery writer/amateur detective Jessica Fletcher has become a non-ironic role model for me—I aspire to be as gracious, intelligent, humble, uncynical, and assertive. Also, who says I’m not aspiring to spending my 60s writing, traveling, and solving crimes while wearing a fabulous collection of cardigans?

The Return of SNL

When Saturday Night Live returns in the fall, I always squeak out during the premiere’s opening credits, “My friends are back!” It’s a silly thing to say about an ever-rotating group of people I’ll never meet, but when you’ve been watching Kenan Thompson do his thing for close to two decades, you can only be delighted to see him after months of absence. While the “At Home” episodes this spring were a treat I didn’t think possible, it’s even better to have my friends back at it in their usual environment with the high production value of Studio 8H. These were the skits that made me laugh the most month:

“VP Fly Debate Cold Open,” mostly for the Jeff Goldblum tribute (4602 with Bill Burr)

“New Normal” (4602)

“Dr. Wenowdis on Weekend Update” (4602)

“Enough Is Enough,” a bit which explains my feelings about almost all celebrity political takes (4602)

“Canadian News Show” (4603 with Issa Rae)

“Election Ad” (4604 with Adele)

“The Bachelor” (4604)

For more on how this season has come together back in the studio, you can read the Vulture interview with Lorne Michaels about it.

Coach Carter (2005)

A based-on-a-true-story movie about an unconventional basketball coach (Samuel L. Jackson) who wants his players (including a baby Channing Tatum) to succeed on more than just the court. It’s a straight-down-the-middle story that shares DNA with many of the inspiring sports movies that came out in the wake of Remember the Titans, but it’ll scratch that itch if that’s what you’re looking for. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

Double Feature — Early ’90s Halloween Classics: Edward Scissorhands (1990) + The Addams Family (1991)

Both of these movies start at Christmastime, but both are spooOOooky movies in their bones. Not all Halloween movies are Tim Burton movies, but all Tim Burton movies are Halloween movies, including Edward Scissorhands (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10). Tim Burton is hit-or-miss for me, but I was pleasantly surprised at how moving this idiosyncratic fairy tale was. Johnny Depp is at his most tortured as a Frankstein’s monster whose inventor (Vincent Price) gave him scissors for hands, Dianne Wiest finds the heart and comedy in your local Avon representative, and Winona Ryder is a queen. The Addams Family (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10) might be even more idiosyncratic. I’ve never watched the TV series, so it took me a minute to warm up to its twisted sense of humor (“Are they made from real Girl Scouts?”), but once I did, I started laughing as often as my nostalgic parents.

The Magic iPod

A nostalgia kick you didn’t know you wanted. I have no idea why or how this site exists, only that it brings me joy. Try mashing up “Ms. New Booty” with “A Thousand Miles,” “Get Low” with “Float On,” “Tipsy” with Bring Me to Life,” “99 Problems” with “All Star,” “Country Grammar” with “Complicated,” or any other combo that brings your favorite songs from your first iPod together.

Hubie Halloween (2020)

You know those dumb movies that just hit you in the right spot? Adam Sandler has a knack for those kind of movies, and Hubie Halloween fills the void of Halloween fun you’re probably missing this year. Sandler plays Hubie, a not-very-bright do-gooder with a very big heart whose self-proclaimed purpose is to keep everyone safe in his hometown of Salem. But there are spooOOooky threats on Halloween night this year, and only Hubie and his thermos (which rivals a Swiss army knife in all its functions) will be able to save it. Don’t miss it you’re like me and love a good celebrity cameo and a Hollywood-designed Halloween costumes. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 6/10

Double Feature — Are We Sure These ‘80s Movies Are for Kids? Gremlins (1984) + Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

After seeing Gremlins (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10), I know why parents were clamoring for the PG-13 rating—this movie may be short on the scares for adults, but I have no idea what I’d do for a tyke not expecting the cuddly Gizmo to spawn homicidal ghouls. In what may be the most ‘80s movie I’ve watched yet, we get a legit bonkers story, both in premise and execution—and it might also be a brilliant and scathing satire of consumerism? Perhaps another spoof of consumerism: Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8.5/10), which creates an impressively specific world that’s part animation, part live action. It’s a parody of classic film noir with no shortage of innuendo or just plain weirdness—its artistic achievement makes it worth watching, but since when have kids cared much about any of those things?

Double Feature — So-Bad-They’re-Good Action Flicks: Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000) + Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

If Gremlins is one of the most ‘80s movies, then Gone in Sixty Seconds (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 5.5/10) is one of the most Nicolas Cage movies. He’s a good guy caught on the wrong side of the law in a ridiculous plot engine where he has to steal 50 cars in less than a week. His pent-up frustration lives just below the surface, and his performance is so committed, you’re not sure if he’s knows  the dialogue and plot twists are zany—in fact, you’re not even sure he’s acting at all. Also committed to whatever the heck it’s doing is a movie that’s exactly what it sounds like, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 6/10). An over-qualified cast (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Anthony Mackie, Rufus Sewell, and more) just goes for it in a story with the premise that Abe Lincoln fought oppression caused by slavery and by immortal blood-suckers. I think my favorite part is when a vampire throws a pony at our 16th president—I couldn’t make this up if I tried.

October Critic Picks

Triple Feature — ‘60s Horror Classics: Village of the Damned (1960), The Haunting (1963), Night of the Living Dead (1968)

In Village of the Damned (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8/10), everyone in a British village passes out at the same time for hours, and weird events continue for years, centering around a mysterious group of children. In The Haunting (above, Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 9/10), a group is studying events at a haunted house, but it may be the house that’s in control. And in Night of the Living Dead (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10), the zombie genre dawns with a group huddled away from the undead in a farmhouse. All of these are thoughtful, well-made films, but I recommend them with asterisks* because I’ll never watch any of these groups again. The Haunting made me scared of bumps in the night as I was falling asleep, and Night of the Living Dead gave me zombie-filled nightmares. If you’re looking for a dose of heebie jeebies, these are the movies you’ll be needing!

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

I’m not sure I understood any of it, but I think I liked it? If you don’t mind a film that feels more like poetry than a plot, this visual stunner is worth the long runtime and straight-up weird sequence of scenes. Fortunately, I was prepped for my viewing with the help of Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz and writer/director Brad Bird, who selected as part of this season’s Essentials lineup. While Bird loves the film, Mankiewicz admitted it’s not one of his favorites because it’s such an obtuse head-scratcher. Both acknowledged it’s an important one to cinema, so unless The Tree of Life is still making your brain hurt almost a decade later, it’s worth trying to parse through a story that covers the dawn of man, man’s fight against machine, and, um, a lot of other things I couldn’t explain if I tried. Crowd: 5/10 // Critic: 10/10

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

If you’re a fan of Aaron Sorkin’s idealist monologues and ideological pitter-patter, then pause your latest binge of The West Wing to watch his latest writing/directing outing, now streaming on Netflix. Based on the true story of protesters who clashed with the police outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968—which, yes, doesn’t seem to difficult to imagine these days—it captures the spirit of a wild trial about political activism, healthy debate, fairness in government, and even the importance of grammar. If you watch it and think there’s no way this really happened, be sure to read up on the real trial to see how the film toned down the judicial circus. While this Oscars season will be unusual, we can predict this film will be in the awards conversation. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 9/10

Also in October…

My fellow ZekeFilm writers and I collected our favorite Halloween movies and TV specials for your enjoyment. Not-a-spoiler-alert: My pick is not very scary. In fact, it’s a zom-rom-com I’ve only come to love more since reviewing it upon its release.

Though Kyla and I always talk about Gilmore Girls on our podcast, we don’t just talk about the murder mystery TV shows it references like Murder, She Wrote. This month we talked about an ‘80s prime time soap full of shoulder pads and catfights as well as a ��70s movie starring Rocky and the Fonz. Then we decided there were so many confusing pop culture references in an episode we couldn’t pick just one, so we researched a mish mash of topics like Punk Planet magazine, workout guru Jack LaLanne, singer Blossom Dearie, Manson cult member Leslie Van Houten, and a whole lotta board games.

540 movies and counting! You can follow real-time updates in what I’m watching in quarantine on Letterboxd.

[thenamegarden]

The Name Garden: Q&A Monday

Hey everyone! Sorry for missing last week’s Q&A - I’m still quite sick. I’ve just found out that I have an autoimmune disorder called rheumatoid arthritis, and will be beginning a low-dose chemo treatment as of next week. So things might be a little behind for a while still, but I promise to try keep on top of everything!

In the world of names, I’ve been hearing quite a lot of new ones! My mother is a kindergarten teacher, and the year has just started up, so she’s shared some lists of first names with me. It is very clear that the trend in 2013 was unisex names for girls; lots of Emersyn’s and even one I’ve never heard - Macaitie. What are some new names that you’ve been hearing?

Let’s continue on our name trek, and look at the anonymous questions received over the past two weeks. If you have a question that you’d like answered, feel free to submit it here!

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Q: Hey there! I love the name Scottie (or Scotty) for a girl. I like the idea of it being a nickname for something a little bit more formal though. So far I've heard of Scotia and Scotlyn as options. I prefer the latter but I'm not too crazy about either. Any alternative suggestions?

A: Hello there! There are a few options. Firstly, a name similar to the two above is Scotland. Secondly, you could go with Prescott, which is quite unisex, but definitely has the ability to be shortened to Scottie. Thirdly, there is Scarlett, which doesn’t make Scottie jump to mind, but it really has all the elements in it to make that nickname, and I think it would work. Lastly, there’s the similar name Scout that you could consider, or even just going full out and using Scottie as the full-name!

---

Q: Do you know any good middle names for Guinevere? I really love the name, I just can't think of anything to go with it. Thank you!

A: Sure, here are some ideas for you. Let me know if any are to your taste, and if I can help further!

Guinevere Pearl

Guinevere Lynn

Guinevere Charlotte

Guinevere Primrose

Guinevere Molly

Guinevere Serene

Guinevere Delta

Guinevere Claire

Guinevere Daphne

Guinevere Jasmine

Guinevere Bridget

Guinevere Rose

Guinevere Lucille

Guinevere Maeve

Guinevere Polly

Guinevere Lisa

Guinevere Maura

Guinevere Cassandra

Guinevere Lynette

Guinevere Rae

Guinevere Kaye

Guinevere Liesel

Guinevere Rhiannon

Guinevere Elise

Guinevere May

---

Q: Hi~ can you do the name Emrah please?

A: Hello! And sure. I’ve posted it during the week - you can find it here!

---

Q: What do you think of the name Joshua for a girl?? It has something I really like but I'm not sure.. also what type of person would you associate the name Joshua in a girl?

A: To be honest, I don’t like it at all. My taste in names tends to lean very feminine for girls, and there’s rarely a unisex name that I prefer on a girl than a boy. So it’s just not my style. But if it holds something important, or something that you really like, then it’s fine to use it! 

As for the type of person I associate with it, that’s hard. I tend to see names growing to fit the person, not the person growing to fit the name, if that makes sense! Plus I’ve never considered a female Joshua! I suppose I’d see either a sporty kind of girl, or a girl that’s arty and a bit different from everyone else.

---

Q: Could you do a research post for the name Charlise and Felinda? It's my grandparents' names and I've never heard of them before.

A: Sure thing! I’ve never actually heard of Felinda either! Can I just clarify with you on what gender these names are used on, and what nationality? 

Charlise is a form of the Afrikaans name Charlize, which is their feminine form of Charles. I’ve never heard of it for a boy, and can’t see any details on it for a male, however, if it was used for a male, I’m more than happy to spend some time digging deeper.

As for Felinda, knowing the nationality will help me narrow down the search. At this point, I can only imagine that it’s a Portuguese variant of Felina or Belinda, or maybe even a mash-up, but I’d like to research a bit further! I can also see that it’s very rarely used as a surname, and some indications that it may be related to Flindt. So there’s more to go!

Charlise (female) will be posted on March 1st. Sorry that I can’t give you any more information at this point!

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Q: I love the name Lorenzo (Italian/Spanish) for a boy. Any suggestions for a middle name?

A: Sure! Did you want to stick to Italian/Spanish names, or would you like a different origin? I’ll try to give a mix!

Lorenzo Juan

Lorenzo James

Lorenzo Luis/Louis

Lorenzo Miguel/Michael

Lorenzo Jesus/Joshua

Lorenzo Alessandro/Alejandro/Alexander

Lorenzo Roberto/Robert

Lorenzo Ramon

Lorenzo Frederico/Frederick

Lorenzo Daniel

Lorenzo Vincent

Lorenzo Luca

Lorenzo Manuel/Emmanuel

Lorenzo David

Lorenzo Rafael/Raphael

Lorenzo Thomas

Lorenzo Gabriel

Lorenzo Dominic

Lorenzo Felipe/Phillip

Lorenzo Christian

Lorenzo Javier

Lorenzo John

Lorenzo Nicholas/Nicolo

Lorenzo Eduardo/Edward

Lorenzo Victor

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Q: Could you please give me some first names for Zane? We were thinking Jason Zane but want more options. Thanks!

A: Sure! Here are some that might be your style:

Ethan Zane

Cody Zane

Jacob Zane

Brandon Zane

Joshua Zane

Justin Zane

Matthew Zane

Jeremy Zane

Zachary Zane

Nathaniel Zane

Benjamin Zane

Jonathan Zane

Dylan Zane

William Zane

Cameron Zane

Timothy Zane

Hunter Zane

Hayden Zane

Bradley Zane

Jayden Zane

Derek Zane

Wyatt Zane

Gabriel Zane

Ryan Zane

Daniel Zane

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Q: Is Abraham too old? What middle names might make it seem more modern?

A: No, definitely not! It was actually ranked as the 170th most popular name in the United States of America in 2015! So I definitely think that it fits in with modern times. Here are some middle names that might work for you:

Abraham Tyler

Abraham James

Abraham Daniel

Abraham Thomas

Abraham Mason

Abraham Xavier

Abraham Max

Abraham William

Abraham Logan

Abraham Bentley

Abraham Blake

Abraham Zachary

Abraham Carter

Abraham Zane

Abraham Xander

Abraham Miles

Abraham Lucas

Abraham Levi

Abraham Kayden

Abraham Kai

Abraham Finley

Abraham Grey

Abraham Jacob

Abraham Preston

Abraham Ryder

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Q: Nova?

A: Here you are: Nova.

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Q: I am having some trouble selecting names with my husband. My favorite names for a girl are Flora, Nina, Guinevere, Clementine, Adelaide, Elowen, Estelle, and Skye. What are some other names that you think would fit my style?

A: Hello there. They are very sweet names; a little whimsical. These names might fit your style:

Elise

Hestia

Matilda

Cecilia

Gwendolyn

Rosalie

Esther

Florence

Wren

Iris

Juliet

Lydia

Genevieve

Arabella

Ivy

Lillian

Beatrix

Elora

Emmeline

Esme

Elodie

Willow

Evangeline

Hazel

Celeste

---

Q: We have chosen the name Sullivan for a boy, but are stuck on girl names. What do you think sounds like a good sister name for Sullivan? We would sort of like to stick with the double letter theme since Sullivan has a double letter, but this is not a deal breaker and we are completely open to other suggestions as well! Thanks!

A: That’s a cute name! I’ll give you a list of double-letter names, and a list that doesn’t follow that rule.

With double letters:

Sullivan & Annabelle

Sullivan & Isabelle

Sullivan & Lucille

Sullivan & Cassidy

Sullivan & Charlotte

Sullivan & Willow

Sullivan & Rhiannon

Sullivan & Clarissa

Sullivan & Gabrielle

Sullivan & Scarlett

Sullivan & Molly

Without double letters:

Sullivan & Celeste

Sullivan & Genevieve

Sullivan & Adeline

Sullivan & Abigail

Sullivan & Harper

Sullivan & Georgia

Sullivan & Veronica

Sullivan & Daphne

Sullivan & Delaney

Sullivan & Elizabeth

Sullivan & Emery

Sullivan & Carina

Sullivan & Bridget

Sullivan & Adelaide

I’d like to hear your personal style in names though, as I feel like Sullivan lately fits into a few categories!

---

[zed-air]

CKUA - The Midway: 2017

_____

The Midway was a special program which typically aired from 9:00am-12:00pm (or sometimes 10:00am-2:00) on CKUA from 2016-2019 during statutory holidays.

Click “keep reading” below for my surviving 2017 Midway playlists.

Explore my playlist history for other dates and programs.

- - - - -

AIRTIME // PERFORMING ARTIST // ALBUM

2017-10-09

^^ listener recommendation

10:00; Monday Morning; Pulp; Different Class

10:04; Hippy Hippy Shake; Chan Romero; Original Hits

10:06; Digital Witnesses; St. Vincent; St. Vincent

10:10; Love is the Drug; Roxy Music; The Collection

10:14; Sledgehammer; Peter Gabriel; Hit

10:20; Chicken; Bert Convy; Shut Down - Hot Rod Hits

10:22; Road Runner; The Gants; Shut Down - Hot Rod Hits

10:25; Little Deuce Coupe; The Beach Boys; Greatest Hits

10:29; Clocks; Coldplay; A Rush of Blood To the Head

10:36; Memories; The Burning Hell w/ Katie Baggs; The Bard of Montreal

10:40; Leaving the Table; Leonard Cohen; You Want It Darker

10:45; Message in a Bottle; The Police; Complete Recordings ^^

10:51; How To Forget; Jason Isbell; EFMF Sampler

10:55; Kodachrome; Paul Simon; Essential

11:01; So Sad About Us; The Who; Maximum R&B

11:05; Somewhere My Love; Frank Sinatra; My Way

11:07; Laisser Tomber Les Filles; France Gall; Greatest Hits

11:10; Running on Empty; Jackson Browne; Next Voice You Hear

11:16; Space Truckin’; Deep Purple; Machine Head

11:22; Piggies; Theodore Bikel; Piggies 45

11:25; Animals; The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger; Midnight Sun

11:32; Crippled Inside; John Lennon; Imagine

11:37; Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance; Frank Zappa; The Lost Episodes

11:40; I’m So Happy I Could Cry; The Soul Giants (Zappa); Joe’s Corsage

11:45; Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance; The Mothers of Invention; We’re Only In It For the Money

11:47; Tide is High; Blondie; Best of

11:51; What a Girl’s Gotta Do; Lindi Ortega; ‘Til the Goin’ Gets Gone

11:55; Give Me a Sign; Edward Sharpe & the Mag Zeroes; Give Me a Sign 45

12:02; Chain Gang; Sam Cooke; The Man Who Invented Soul

12:04; Flowers; Leon Bridges; Coming Home

12:08; Let the Good Times Roll; JD McPherson; Let the Good Times Roll

12:11; Gemini; Alabama Shakes; Sound & Colour

12:17; Libra; Harvey Sid Fisher; Harvey Sid FIsher’s Astrology

12:19; Fake Empire; The National; Boxer

12:22; Archie, Marry Me; Alvvays; Alvvays

12:26; Puppet on a String; Sandie Shaw; Sixties Hits

12:31; Less Than Zero; Elvis Costello; My Aim is True

12:35; Baby Workout; Jackie Wilson; Best of

12:38; Heart of Gold; Charles Bradley & Menahan St. Orch; No Time For Dreaming ++

12:41; Going Down Slow; Dee Dee Bridgewater; Memphis… Yes, I’m Ready ++

12:46; Shake; Gary Clark Jr.; Story of Sonny Boy Slim

12:50; Be Alright; Bend Sinister; The Other Way ++

12:56; Monster Mash; Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett; Monster Hits

13:01; Let Them Knock; Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings; Miss Sharon Jones

13:07; Through Blue Light; The Wilderness of Manitoba; Live at CKUA ^^

13:12; Oh, the Wind Will Blow; Doug Hoyer; Walks With the Tender & Growing Night

13:17; He’ll Have To Go; Jim Reeves; Anthology ^^

13:19; Wicked Game; The Give ‘Em Hell Boys; Barn Burner

13:23; I’ll Never Fall in Love Again; Tom Jones; Anthology

13:29; Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut; Almond Joy; Vintage Commercials

13:31; In Spite of Ourselves; John Prine & Iris Dement; In Spite of Ourselves ^^

13:37; Thank You; Led Zeppelin; Led Zeppelin II ^^

13:41; Make It Better (Forget About Me); Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers; Southern Accents ^^

13:47; You Got It; Roy Orbison; Mystery Girl ^^

13:50; Perdono; Caterina Caselli; Italian Rock & Roll Classics ^^

13:55; Dishes; Pulp; This is Hardcore ^^

- - - - -

2017-10-28

^^ listener recommendation

21:06; Saturday Night; The Bay City Rollers; Greatest Hits

21:10; Ain’t That a Shame; Cheap Trick; Live at the Budokan

21:17; Radio, Radio; Elvis Costello; This Year’s Model

21:20; Once in a Lifetime; Talking Heads; Popular Favourites

21:28; Plimsoll Punks; Alvvays; Antisocialites

21:32; Hanging on the Telephone; Blondie; Greatest Hits

21:39; Rescue Me; Fontella Bass; Beg Scream & Shout

21:41; Breaking Down; Florence & the Machine; Ceremonials

21:50; Beehive; Chicago Afrobeat Project; What Goes Up

21:54; Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood; The Animals; Greatest Hits

21:59; Duncan; Sarah Slean; Night Bugs

22:04; Goodbye Yellow Brick Road; Elton John; Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

22:10; Game of Love; Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders; Best of

22:13; Apache; The Shadows; The Shadows

22:17; How Does the Grass Grow; David Bowie; The Next Day

22:21; I Feel Free; Cream; Complete Clapton

22:28; Yakety Yak (re-recording); The Coasters; 20 Best of the ‘50s

22:30; Superstition; Beck Bogart & Appice; Beckology

22:39; Dazed and Confused; Led Zeppelin; Mothership ^^

22:46; Cosmik Debris; Frank Zappa; Apostrophe ^^

22:53; In the Midnight Hour; Wilson Pickett; Atlantic Gold

23:00; Midnight Caller; Badfinger; Best of

23:04; Neptune City; Nicole Atkins; Neptune City

23:08; What the World Needs Now; Jackie de Shannon; Best of Bacharach

23:12; Wicked Game; The Give ‘Em Hell Boys; Barn Burner

23:19; Who’ll Be the Next in Line; The Kinks; Kinda Kinks ^^

23:21; Mercury Blues; David Lindley; El Rayo-X ^^

23:25; All the Young Dudes; Mott the Hoople; Mott the Hoople ^^

23:30; Call Me; Blondie; American Gigolo ^^

23:36; Someday Someway; Marshall Crenshaw; New Wave Hits

23:37; Sorry; The Easybeats; Best of

23:41; Hey St. Peter; Flash and the Pan; New Wave Hits

23:45; The Moment; Tame Impala; Currents

23:50; The One For Me; Doug Hoyer; To Be a River

23:55; Memories; Leonard Cohen; Death of a Ladies’ Man

[shitmyghostdoes]

Saturday, October 14th

Evening ladies and gentlemen and others So, today we actually had dinner together - all five of us and also Vincent, Edward’s bf. Pretty sure we have never even been in the kitchen at the same time before, so it was about time we all gathered up for a real dinner. So, I made pumpkin soup for starters, and then Carla made steak and mashed potatoes, and Morris made apple crumble for dessert. And we all were there - like was so excited about that; though Vincent was a bit late because apparently he was buying a table on some online auction. He also apparently didn’t have the money for a table, so he wanted to borrow the money and tried to give away the old kitchen table (which is very old and sort of ugly and a bit broken) to whoever wanted to give him a loan. As if it’s his kitchen table, like. Hahah what a guy. 

At first we had pumpkin soup, as mentioned. It’s my granny’s recipe and it’s very good. Like, everyone else seemed to think so too - until I noticed that both Edward and Vincent hadn’t even tasted it. I’m not sure if it’s like socially accepted to be obviously offended by such things, but like, I totally was - like I wanted to say something didn’t know what. Thankfully Carla noticed and said something about it or whatever. Edward says something about not being hungry, but at least tasted the soup and was like yeah this is nice is it cinnamon I taste? Like most people don’t notice the cinnamon, so we’re all cool.  That boyfriend of his on the other hand - he says like that he loved pumpkin soup, actually he had it in 1820 and he is still full - the best soup there is, he said. Then he proceeded to taste it but sort of just throw it all into his lap instead. What a guy.

The rest of the dinner passed without weird events. Then after we had desert Carla thought drinking whiskey and playing boardgames would be a great idea, though she added that there would be no use of psychic powers allowed. Morris said boring. Vincent said ”there are not always psychic powers, you have to go like SPIRITS I SUMMON THEE and then there will be psychic powers all right?” Just as he said that the light started flickering a lot - everyone looking up at it as if it was not some weirdly timed lightbulb going out, but actually something relating to what he just said. 
”You guys are so easily scared,” I said. ”It’s just the light bulb!”
 ��James, sweetie,” Morris replied. ”That’s not the light bulb.” 
It must have looked so stupid, all of us there looking up at the lamp, that finally went out and we were left in the darkness. Or, like not entirely dark because there was a lamp in the window too, but you get my drift. 
”Is there anybody there?” Carla asked, a bit insecurely. Nothing happened, of course, and Cormac asked: 
 ”Could it be anyone you know, Vincent?”
 ”Ghosts don’t do surprise visitaitons, Cormac,” Edward said, a bit tiredly. ”They need reason - like, they are bound to a place, or a person. So it must be someone -” 
”Nobody’s here,” Vincent interrupted, sort of sniffing the air around him? 
”No,” Morris agreed. ”I sense it too - just us.” 
Then Carla laughed and sort of clapped my back and said something about how paranoid one can grow. I’m more like ok so you guys actually psychic? Morris laughed a bit and said: 
”No - I am psychic - Vincent is only psychic at given moments. A bit of a fake psychic.”
” Heey,” Vincent said a bit offended and then we played board games instead. It went really well - like we played Clue and I won twice and Carla once. So it was cool.

When everyone had gone to bed, me and Vincent were in the kitchen, you know, just chatting a bit or whatever? And so I’m like asking him if it was him last week? Because I want to know and so, and like a bit confused about the whole psychic thing. He laughed a bit and then admitted it was him and I’m like: 
”So - how did you know that? Like, you - Are you like psychic?”
 He laughed: 
 ”Yeah - well, you need that board. But I know all your dirty little secrets.” 
”What?” I said. 
”Just joking,” he replied. ”It’s rather frustrating, most times - Trust me, you do not want to know what your friends are thinking… But, with Cormac. You should ask him out.” 
”What the fuck man,” I said, and he laughed and was like: 
 ”Are you here Wednesday? It’s my birthday, we’re having a little celebration.”

So that was my night. So nice to have a normal night, and I’m really honoured to have been invited to Vincent boy’s birthday. Like, what a guy. So random, but a really cool person - like all that psychic stuff? What? About Cormac and all that? And yeah… Since he said that I should ask Cormac out… Like do I trust him, like if he’s being nice and so and telling me that because Cormac actually would want to be asked out? What a dilemma, guys. Take care! - James