#and that is the same case with fonda also.

[i-just-want-to-destroy]

Jimmy stewart and henry fonda r both the same breed of bland, all-american old hollywood leading man but stewart has got this cynical cockiness to him and while fonda is just as bland as the former, fonda’s silently anxious, concerned mannerism is more charming 2 me

[im-probably-crying-rn-ngl]

fuck it, book recommendations based on your favourite driver

+ age rating, summary and rambling disguised as explanation as to why

if your favourite driver is Lewis Hamilton...then i would recommend Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

(historical sports fiction, standalone) "Carrie Soto, a fierce and determined retired tennis champion, comes out of retirement at thirty-seven to reclaim her record and face personal challenges, coached by her father partnered with the man she almost opened her heart to, in Taylor Jenkins Reid's novel about the cost of greatness and a legendary athlete's epic comeback."

the connection between this book and lewis is what inspired this whole post in the first place. a comeback story even if you have proven all there is to be proven? trying to beat all the odds against you even time? being an all-time champion AND an underdog? there are so many links that can be made between carrie and lewis not just with their careers and relationships but also what adversities they have had to face. idk but is this like manifesting that lewis is going to be "back" for his 8th wdc?

if your favourite driver is George Russell...then i would recommend A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

(young adult mystery thriller, book 1 of 3) "In 'A Good Girl's Guide to Murder,' Pippa Fitz-Amobi reexamines a closed case, challenging the conviction of Sal Singh for Andie Bell's murder, unearthing hidden secrets that threaten her safety as she seeks the elusive truth."

ah mr wannabe investigator (we all saw him checking out that redbull) but seriously there's something we grussell sprouts must enjoy about someone who seems so straight-laced and uptight be absolutely blatantly unhinged both on and off track. it's just so george to choose literal murder inquiry as a school project, from the ambition bordering on arrogance of believing a high schooler could do what the authorities couldn't to the genuine heartfelt sincerity in wanting the truth and to bring justice for those already deemed outcasts by society. he's OUR good girl that's not-so-secretly "bad".

(main ship are george and alex coded btw like im just saying)

(+ bonus rec bc i am incredibly biased) if your favourite team is Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team (had to google the name for the nth time)...then i would recommend The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee

(adult fantasy, trilogy, best books i have ever read) "The Green Bone Saga is a fantasy trilogy by Fonda Lee, exploring the intricate power struggles and conflicts within and around the Kaul family. Set in the fictional city of Janloon with ability-enhancing jade as it's lifeblood."

my faves with my faves. mercedes aren't a national institution/emotion (ferrari), a team (red bull racing), a villains' lair (ashton martin) or a pop band (mclaren) but a family. a dysfunctional, awkward, barely concealed hot mess of a family, but family nonetheless. chasing victory while trying to survive the horrors of life and each other is the merc way and you will see the same in this trilogy. *toto voice* loyalty!

family is duty. magic is power. honor is everything. <- literally them

if your favourite driver is Oscar Piastri...then i would recommend The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

(young adult fantasy, book 1 of 5) "In 'The Lightning Thief' by Rick Riordan, seemingly troubled teenager Percy Jackson discovers his divine lineage as a demigod, embarks on a perilous quest with his friends to prevent a war among the gods."

wow guys i don't know what to tell you except oscar JACK piastri, SON of nicole and chris piastri, might literally be percy JACKSON (i have connected the dots, you haven't connected shit). your guy might have had a former illustrious career in undertaking dangerous quests and asking greek gods to pay child support, you should check.

if your favourite driver is Lando Norris...then i would recommend Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings

(adult contemporary romance, check tws, book 1 of an ongoing series) "In 'Magnolia Parks' by Jessa Hastings, a tumultuous love story unfolds between the beautiful and self-involved London socialite Magnolia Parks and Britain's notorious bad-boy BJ Ballentine, as they grapple with a dysfunctional relationship marked by heartbreak, secrets, and the enduring pull they feel towards each other."

picked this based on vibes, just pure vibes but immaculate ones. the drama, the glitz, the glam yes but also the family, friendship, and love found within the pages of this series. this is british gossip girl. i am telling you there is a vision here people.

(+ bonus review because this might be the only book on this list that has less (3.84) than 4+ stars on goodreads and i can't do him and y'all dirty like that: i personally didn't love the first book but the series really comes together and you truly get invested in these characters and their happiness, actually pretty excited to read more.

also if nothing else it's fun, just some brain popcorn)

if your favourite driver is Carlos Sainz...then i would recommend The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh

(young adult romance fantasy, check tws, book 1 of 2) "In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, Shahrzad vows vengeance for her friend's death and becomes the next bride of the tormented Caliph Khalid, discovering unexpected love as she navigates the perilous palace of secrets and stories, torn between survival and the promise of retribution."

wow like you think he didn't step out of a magical retelling of 1001 nights? mhm but let's leave aside the fact i am still not convinced otherwise. carlos this year has shown his insane mega ultra galaxy brain, so i believe the plot of the wrath & the dawn would be something that would resonate with you. the quick wit and guile of the mc as she tries to carry out a revenge plot while trying to not get executed is only comparable to carlos coming up with his own race strategy mid race and cementing himself as the only non-rbr race winner in 2023. wow.

if your favourite driver is Charles Leclerc...then i would recommend The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

(historical romance fantasy, standalone) "The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is an Iliad retelling, focusing on the deep and complex relationship between Achilles and Patroclus."

he has that sadness in his eyes that you only see in tragic greek myths etc etc. i will have to say, achilles walked so charles leclerc could race. *soft longing sigh* il predestinato and aristos achaion, the predestined and the best of the greeks. beloveds born and bathed in golden light. it just makes sense to me.

if your favourite driver is Alex Albon...then i would recommend Beach Read by Emily Henry

(adult contemporary romance, standalone) "A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters."

i mean alex is a living-breathing romance novel of a man. BUT it hasn't always been sunshine and rainbows (helmut marko if i catch you). so i think any emily henry book but especially beach read captures the ups and downs of alex's journey so well compared to just any ole romcom (...but if i had to give one for the alex enjoyers then it would be Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter, coincidentally also george and alex coded lmao).

but was it his remarkable drive back to f1 or the recent holiday beach pics that was the reason behind this rec? i guess we will never know

if your favourite driver is Logan Sargeant...then i would recommend Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

(young adult fantasy, book 1 of 3)"In 'Howl's Moving Castle' by Diana Wynne Jones, eldest daughter Sophie is cursed to age prematurely, the key to break the spell lies in the enigmatic Wizard Howl's castle. Sophie embarks on a quest to confront the Witch who cursed her all the while unraveling hidden truths about herself and Howl."

"let's bring it in and call it a day - let's look after of you." to "that's my girl" pipeline and vice versa. i know what you are.

but logang (the only one i know frfr) you deserve it okay? a cozy lil fantasy full of whimsy and wonder. tuck in and have some tea and cookies, pookies.

(i wanted to do the full grid but keep the teammates together and i haven't yet come up with something for all of em so there will be a part 2...? hopefully...?)

sources for summaries: thestorygraph and goodreads

[skippyv20]

Skip, Julie here. This morning I woke up to that same story and photo of Bruce Willis. I passed my IPad to my husband and said almost the exact words I have just read written by you. I am appalled to be honest that the photos of, not just him, but other ‘ celebrities’ who we have known and loved/ or not since their prime reduced to this sort of reporting. It’s not for us to see or comment on. It’s family heartache and no person should be demeaned in this way. It’s similar to voyalism.

I’m thinking of people like Bridget Fonda out doing her shopping looking less than her catwalk best and dressed not as chic as she would wish she could. She was splashed on world wide papers and it was quite cruel. They did the trim, vibrant photos of her at 25 then her current look at 59.

None of us look like we did at 30, I can wish and dream all I like but that body is long gone but it gives me happy memories. I get annoyed at people criticising Camilla or Sarah because they weren’t blessed with the same looks as Diana

I admire those that look amazing at 70, who want the limelight but that’s just a look at me vanity thing. Basically we are all insecure but most of us private. Mind you I love Dolly Parton too but have no desire to look like her (plus I’m too lazy to do the work necessary and too scared of having any procedure that’s not life saving) at my age. I am comfortable in my own skin.

If I am unlucky enough to get alzheimers in any of its various forms or arm physically infirm I would be horrified if it was splashed all over newspapers even if I wasn’t able to verbalise my objections and in Bruce Willis’ case I think doing so is indecent and disrespectful.

Thank you Julie!  You are so right.  I feel horrible when I see what they do to pictures of Brigette Fonda….Heather Locklear….not to mention the mean articles about Loni Wilson who is homeless and ex of actor.  People, all people have a right to their dignity.  I know the last four movies with Bruce, my hubby and I refuse to watch.  I don’t know what movie it was that we watched and said this doesn’t seem like Bruce.  Then when we found out he had issues even then…we were disgusted that he was being exploited just for his name.  I don’t know how some people can sleep at night.

Also…the message is this to all….

Aging is a gift, that not all receive.  Embrace it and give thanks to God for giving you this gift.  Your face is the journey you have travelled…all good and bad.  Your body no matter what shape it is….is the body that has carried you through the long life you have been gifted.  Give thanks to God for that.  🙏🏻❤️

[gritsandbrits]

With all this talk about how similar amy and rosie are, I wondered if there's other cases in Thomas. While some believe diesel or stanley/Ryan to be the shadow equivalent, I think there's a character who fits the criteria more eloquently.

They're the same character and here's how!

For starters, both lost two significant two people in their lives. Burnett lost his wife Tasha and their engine Lady. Lady's accident was a result of a villainous entity, kinda like how Shadow lost the Robotniks to a raid led by G.U.N.

Because of their experiences, Burnett and Shadow developed a lonely, sour personality. They do work with another person: Rouge and Patch. Through development they come to care for that person.

Shadow and Burnett dedicated their time trying to honor their loved ones' last wishes, but their methods weren't healthy. It was borderline obsession.

Luckily, they had a change of heart through the help of a kind young girl.

Like Shadow, Burnett played an active role in the final battle, helping a blue-themed hero take down the final antagonist.

Speaking of which, Burnett and Shadow are connected to two primary antagonists. PT Boomer and Eggman are humans who use their own technology and have a troubling love for blowing things up. Black Doom and Diesel 10 are fantastical creatures.

Their character arcs are the same. Learning to let go of the past and being content for what they have now.

They're shown to use special type of golden energy

Also consider the both have gold in their color scheme (Burnett's hair, Shadow's muzzle), and a blue item connected to a loved on (Maria's outfit, bluebird plush.

Shadow rode a motorcycle im his solo game. Peter Fonda starred in Easy Rider. And The Wild Angels, two famous movies about - you guessed it - motorcycles!

There's also the fact Shadow was supposed to appear in one game but was so successful he began to pop up in more media, eben getting his own game. Meanwhile Magic Railroad remains Burnett's only appearance, unsuccessful at the box office and unpopular with fans.

In conclusion, Burnett is the closet the series has to Shadow the Hedgehog. I know you all expected an engine but I think there's more behind just superficial traits.

[alackofghosts]

a little while ago @crackinthecup tagged me in this bookish meme, which i have been saving for a rainy day - apparently a very literally rainy day in this case. thank you friend, i do so enjoy rambling about books <3 also tagging @hong-ara, @gloriousmonsters, @fatalism-and-villainy if you guys fancy having a go at it (and anyone else who wants to, i love reading others' opinions on books too)

An estimate of how many physical books I own: um. at least 2000. mom did some inventory once all the way back in 2006, and this was the point at which she got bored of it. i have always lived in a library and even though that many books has certainly been a nuisance, i also find it difficult to imagine a living space without them

Favorite author: honestly a weirdly difficult question. i feel like while i do read a lot for the style of prose, i don't very often go on a frenzy to read everything by the same author. but of course you all know my deep and abiding love for richard brautigan and lately i've been so obsessed with mary oliver. ...picking poets for this is easier :')

continued under the cut

A popular book I’ve never read and never intend to read: it feels funny to say this because i have literally not even once encountered talk of this author on tumblr Organically - which tends to be my benchmark for popularity - but seeing as she's all over every other bookish corner of the internet: i have absolutely no desire whatsoever to read anything by colleen hoover

A popular book I thought was just meh: WHERE DO I BEGIN... i've talked about some of these before but a new(er) addition to this list is in the dream house by carmen maria machado which ONCE AGAIN i feel so bad for not being wildly into! i think it's mostly due to the fact that internet at large painted such an interesting picture of it in terms of viewing ones own life/instance of abuse through the lens of different genres/tropes, but actually reading it, each segment was so short and the stylistic exploration didn't really come through. like it wasn't a bad book by any means and certainly covered an important topic and one that people generally shy away from, just. not at all what i expected it to be.

i tend to pick books based on genre and maybe like top few lines of the summary so i can't conjure up expectations, and obviously with popular books that's somewhat unavoidable :')

Longest book I own: extremely boring answer but my dad's bought a bunch of those 1001 books/movies you need to see before you die compilation books over the years and those all hover around the 1000 page mark

Longest series I own all the books to: if we mean series in terms of consistent cast/story, then i think it's the saga of darren shan by... darren shan, which has 12 books that i absolutely devoured when i was 13. otherwise, while i don't own every single goosebumps book (by rl stine), i do have most of them. i was very obsessed when i was 11-12 - these were actually the first books i ever read in english!

Prettiest book I own: um. honestly no clue, my family has never been one to buy books for the covers or for the special edition-ness and even now i feel like i can't picture any of them in my mind lol

A book or series I wish more people knew about: green bone saga by fonda lee!!! ...though again this might be down to the metric i use to gauge popularity, but even so! it has such wonderful worldbuilding and intricate family dynamics and even though i have big big book fear, i practically devoured them

Book I’m reading now: the silence of the white city by eva garcia saenze de urturi. it's pretty good so far! i've had such a year of thrillers and mysteries, i feel

Book that’s been on my TBR list for a while but I still haven’t got around to it: ...ancillary justice by ann leckie. i've started it a couple of times, but the Stars Were Not Aligned on those days. so i wait.

Do you have any books in a language other than English: most of the books i have are in estonian, actually. there's a pretty decent amount in english (mostly due to me...), and a small handful in swedish and finnish.

And lastly, paperback, hardcover or ebook? eboooook. often when i read an ebook i find myself daydreaming of a physical book, but then when i actually read one i find myself getting so irritated by not being able to find a comfy position lol. i also really love audiobooks, for the multitasking value...

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

--

--

[THREAD]

The most perfect (and almost unbelievable) metaphor for affirmative action: The lives of Allan Bakke (a white guy who challenged racial quotas at UC Davis) and Patrick Chavis (a black guy admitted to UC Davis under affirmative action the year Bakke was rejected). 

After Bakke won his SCOTUS case in 1978 (which ended the use of *overt* racial quotas in university admissions), he finally was accepted at UC Davis medical school. He graduated and eventually began practicing medicine. He kept a low profile, and didn't give interviews. 

Years later, the NY Times, still stinging from Bakke's victory, published a long and glowing account of a “thriving” black UC Davis medical school graduate named Patrick Chavis, noting how he had benefited from the school's old affirmative action quota system. 

Dr. Chavis' story was also featured on TV programs, and senator Ted Kennedy called him a “perfect example” of affirmative action. It was even suggested that Dr. Chavis had achieved more than Dr. Bakke, who graduated a few years after Chavis at UC-Davis. 

State Senator Tom (“Mr. Jane Fonda”) Hayden asked his fellow Californians: “Who made the most of his medical school education? From whom did California taxpayers benefit more?"

Here's Dr. Chavis. He seems nice, doesn't he?

But Dr. Chavis wasn't nice — he was a terrible and spectacularly incompetent doctor, and perhaps, if this is possible, an even worse human being. If the fawning reporter for the Times had done his job and just asked around a little, he would have gotten an earful. 

At the very least, the reporter might have at least been bothered to go down to the court house and dig up records that showed that Dr. Chavis had been sued for malpractice twenty-one times, and had paid settlements on some of those suits. 

But when the NYT has a thesis as important as this one, it usually doesn't want to be hobbled by contradicting evidence or cognitive dissonance. 

Highlights from Dr. Chavis' storied medical career included botched operations at his clinic which killed patients and left others in permanent pain, and — this is rather striking — hiding a patient in his home for two days after she nearly bled to death at his clinic. 

Dr. Chavis' incompetence and disregard for human life finally caught up with him in 1997 when a patient bled to death after he performed a “fly-by-night liposuction” on her and then “disappeared.”

Patients later said they were afraid to report him because of his celebrity. 

With an obviously dead patient and a conspicuously missing doctor on their hands, the California Medical Board California finally acted. Later, that same year, they revoked Dr. Chavis' license. 

In their decision, it cited the doctor's "inability to perform some of the most basic duties required of a physician" and his "poor impulse control and insensitivity to patients' pain."

Special weight was given to that last item. 

A tape recording surfaced of Dr. Chavis chanting "liar, liar, pants on fire” at his patients while they screamed in agony — an extremely idiosyncratic way, to say the least, of soothing them and expressing disbelief at their claims of excruciating pain. 

All told, the California Medical Board brought 90 counts of misconduct and “gross negligence” — probably fair to say a bludgeoning of the Hippocratic Oath — against “the perfect example” of affirmative action. 

If you're finding any of this a little hard to believe, well, I can't say I blame you — it *does*strain credulity.

But wait, it actually gets weirder — PREDICTABLY weirder.

Because, you know, racism. 

That's right, the truly lousy doctor and even lousier human being, now-just-plain-Mr. Patrick Chavis, reached into his back pocket and pulled out the race card, blaming his bad fortune on a particularly virulent strain of structural oppression — “white envy.” 

That sounds interesting. Maybe something the NY Times might want to investigate?

You'd think so, but no — this time the suspiciously silent Times didn't feel it necessary to send a reporter to Cali to capture the thoughts and feelings of its former cover boy. 

So whatever happened to Allan Bakke? Dr. Bakke is retired, finishing his career the way he started it, quietly and with integrity — as an anaesthesiologist at the world-renowned Mayo Clinic. 

Postscript: Patrick Chavis was murdered by carjackers on the streets of Hawthorne, California in 2002, at the age of fifty. He had gone out for an ice cream cone. 

Bakke decision legacy: Very little changed in the UC system. It continues to quietly practice (and quietly celebrate) institutional racism against whites and (especially) Asians.

Just ask the Korean kid who got a 1530 SAT and didn't get in, and the Hispanic with a 960, who did. 

An excellent article (which mentions the above example of the rejected Korean-American applicant) about the persistence of racial preferences in admissions at universities in the UC system .

[back-and-totheleft]

"The same old bullshit"

Oliver Stone said Friday he was shocked to hear that the stars of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer had walked out of its London premiere the day before as SAG-AFTRA officially declared strike action.

“I know several producers are opening movies, like Oppenheimer. Chuck Roven, he was in London. I heard it was going to be cancelled,” said Stone, when asked for his view on the strike.

“I don’t know if it went ahead but all the actors left. That was shocking that they really meant business and cut off right away all the promotion, which is big.”

Commenting on the ongoing 11-week WGA strike, Stone suggested the roots of the current industrial action lie in the deal brokered to end the five-month writers strike in 1988.

“There was a basic miscarriage of justice way back when, when Brian Walton was the head of the WGA, when we gave in. I wasn’t on the front line, but I supported that strike,” said Stone.

“We gave in to the producers. They got away with murder on one of these deals where all that DVD money was deferred. They claimed they were in the hole, in the red, and that they had to get their money back from DVD.

“I forgot what the percentage was, but they took something like the first 75% off the top. The DVD business was huge, especially for my films. So, the gross was never divided fairly.”

Stone said this trend had continued with residuals and profits.

“Not so much residuals, as profits really. Residuals are important for some of the writers who don’t make as much money. But people who do make money, they don’t touch the profits from the film, the studio does,” he said.

“The studio is always telling you that they’re losing money, but they always find a way to make a new level of profit for 10, 15 years. … It’s that perpetual industrial problem with a capitalist group that pays its executives more and more money and screws the average writer.”

Looking back over past industrial action, Stone recalled how the 2007 writers strike initially led to the postponement of his 1968 My Lai massacre drama Pinkville, and then resulted in it being cancelled for good.

“We had three weeks to go and it got cancelled. We got hurt,” he said.

Stone said he doubted there would be a quick or easy resolution to the current writer and actor disputes.

“I don’t think it will be wrapped up quickly. Because well, I don’t understand the economics of Netflix and these new guys, but it’s the same old bullshit. You know they’re making money and they always say they’re losing money. It’s the classic conflict that goes back to the 1880s in America.”

Stone was talking to Deadline at the Jerusalem Film Festival, where he showed his 2022 documentary Nuclear Now, arguing the case for nuclear power as the only viable way to tackle climate change.

Based on the book A Bright Future: How Some Countries Have Solved Climate Change and the Rest Can Follow, the work premiered at Venice last year.

The work is a passion project for Stone, who says he was inspired to make the film by his fear of climate change.

“I’m not a science expert and I have no kinship with nuclear power. On the contrary, you could say I was a mild believer in the Jane Fonda-Ralph Nader concept of the 1980s that nuclear power was dangerous,” said the director, who also took co-writing credits with U.S. scientist Joshua Goldstein.

“But it’s clear to me from my travels all over the world, that it’s getting hotter, and hotter, and hotter. We were in Italy, two, three days ago, and they said it was hottest day on record or something.”

Stone was also honored with a lifetime achievement award from the Jerusalem Film Festival at the opening ceremony Thursday evening alongside Helen Mirren and Belgian directorial duo Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne.

The director last spent extensive time in the country in 2002 at the height of Second Intifada to make his documentary Persona Non Grata, in which he interviewed Israeli leaders Benjamin Netanyahu, Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon as well as the Palestinian Al Aqsa Brigade on the Middle East conflict.

Two decades on, he suggested the situation is unchanged.

“It’s a repetitive cycle. I’ve been here several times. I planted an olive tree for peace here in the ’90s with my then-partner Arnon Milchan and came back in 2002 for Persona Non Grata. … I don’t see a difference. It’s just worse. Like it’s getting hotter. It’s just getting more and more choked.”

-Melanie Goodfellow, "Oliver Stone Shocked By ‘Oppenheimer’ SAG-AFTRA Strike Cast Walkout; Says Roots Of Writers Strike Lie In 1988 Deal," Deadline, Jul 14 2023

[corvarrow]

2023 Wrap up and 2024 Goals

So I have been keeping track of what books I've read and what games I've played each year, for many years now. It's actually been really fun and interesting to look back and see what I ended up with, and it helps when I have to reference when I last looked at something :D So! I'm gonna put my Book/Games list year and combine it with any goals for 2024

Things I've read since Jan 2023

The Written by Ben Galley

Ariel by Steven R Boyette (read most)

STNG: Grounded by David Bischoff

Ascendant by Michael R Miller

STNG: A Call to Darkness by Michael Jan Friedman

STNG: Metamorphosis by Jean Lorrah

Denver Moon: The Minds of Mars by Warren Hammond and Joshua Viola

Masters of Doom by David Kushner

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans

The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

The Tiger and the Wolf by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

This Gilded Abyss by Rebecca Thorne

Witch Hat Atelier 1-11 and Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen

All That Glitters by Loren K Jones

Comments: This is an example of like...I don't even remember reading some of these items. The STNG books (picked up from a library sale) were unexpectedly decent, I believe those were ones actually written by the show's screenwriters, so they read almost exactly like regular episodes. Also, I include manga (and some visual novels) on these lists because of the large quantities of reading ~ as such, WHA was probably my favorite read this year. The art is so gorgeous and the artistic struggles really resonates with me. My favorite non-manga waaas :Ta hmm, probably This Gilded Abyss, though I did not like the ending that much. Its fine if a book is going to be a series but I think that books should be able to be read as a one-off. I guess what I'm saying is make sure the ending is reasonably satisfying for THAT book, even if you want to set up for the next one. For example I'm well aware that ADSOM is a series however it's written with a satisfying ending that I can treat as Just One Book. Which I'm going to do. (Hopefully this all makes sense)

Currently Reading: Well my first book of the 2024 list is Heaven Official's Blessing 1, since its been on my shelf for a while ~ I'm already halfway through and just couldn't finish it before the new year. I see there's a ton in this series so IDK if I'll get through it all, but I do like it more (so far) over the other series by the same author

2024 Book Goals: I have a lot of unread ebooks so I'd like to start getting through those this year, as well as a couple paperback books on my shelf that have been there for years.

---

2023 Video Games:

Baba is You

Cats Organized Neatly

Resident Evil: Village

Ghost Song

Salamander County Public Television

Cassette Beasts

The Mortuary Assistant

Vampire Survivors

Cult of the Lamb

Milo and the Magpies

Pizza Tower

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (DNF)

Celeste (again)

Super Mario RPG remake

The Darkside Detective

The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark

Comments: Honorable mention is MyHouse.wad ~ I haven't played classic DOOM in so long and didn't want to learn how to mod it to play this, but I watched videos obsessively for several weeks when it came out. Its super cool. The Mortuary Assistant I found....strangely relaxing, I'm pretty sure this was not the common experience LOL. TGAAC made me kinda mad, I love AA but I COULD NOT with this one. I got 3 cases in, the pace was absolutely glacial and I did not like any of the side characters so I wasn't enjoying it. Oh well. My favorite game was probably either RE:V or collectively the two Darkside Detective games I just played.

Currently Playing: I just started Super Mario Wonder yesterday after getting it for Christmas. It's cute! I haven't played any mainline Mario games in like 10 years. Seriously the last ones were like Super Luigi Bros and Mario Maker 1 (and even then I think these are spinoffs 🤣)

2024 Game Goals: I have several games in my backlog that I would consider "Large RPGs", such as BG3, and I'd like to get through at least one of them. They're really daunting because of the time commitment required to finish. I'm currently working on some stupid grindy stuff in FFXIV so hopefully (lol) I will just take a break afterwards and can work on one of them.

---

Other 2024 Goals/Art Goals

Yeah I don't like to go too wild with goals anymore. 2023 was just a hot mess year in terms of my day job, for the entire year, and my brain got pretty scrambled. I couldn't think of any silly goal this year (I did "all Ghibli Movies" in a past year for example), so I'm gonna say:

Finish at least 1 sketchbook

Do/Post more finished pieces

Finish a piece of art I've had sitting on my desk since June 2022

I did a big consolidation of art supplies at the end of the year so hopefully I won't be so daunted by what to use in general. The ink challenge I did was very helpful getting a little bit of motivation back. I also have this piece of art that's been sitting unfinished on my desk for a year and a half and I really need to finish it, LOL. I think what happened is the lineart is pretty complicated - once I finished transferring it to a nice sheet of paper I got overwhelmed with the idea of 'ruining' it and put it aside. I really need to get it done though, however it turns out, and move on, as I think the lingering thought is blocking all other pieces.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

2, 3, 11 & 16 for ethe end of year book asks? ✨📖

Did you reread anything? What?

I think I only reread Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth for a lore refresher to get ready for Nona's release. I will do the same thing with all three before Alecto comes out, probably. OH and I reread Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe to get ready for that sequel as well. also reread a couple volumes of Paper Girls because I finally finished the whole series in one big start-to-finish sprint after putting it off for years. okay AND I reread the first four or five volumes of the Sandman. but other than THAT no I did not reread anything lmao.

What were your top five books of the year?

ugh ugh ugh I was trying not to make concrete lists this year BUT

fiction:

The School for Good Mothers (Jessamine Chan)

America is Not the Heart (Elaine Castillo)

The World We Make (N.K. Jemisin)

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty (Akwaeke Emezi)

Jade City (Fonda Lee)

nonfiction:

I'm Glad My Mom Died (Jennette McCurdy)

How to Read Now (Elaine Castillo)

Love Your Asian Body: AIDS Activism in Los Angeles (Eric C. Wat)

Hurts So Good: The Science and Pleasure of Pain on Purpose (Leigh Cowart)

Priestdaddy (Patricia Lockwood)

What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?

I really enjoyed Anne Carson's poetry collection Short Talks, which was published four years before I was born.

What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

"over-hyped" feels like it's asking me to make a really negative judgment about a book and suggest that I the hype is perhaps undeserved, which isn't really the case here. I personally didn't really connect with Sunyi Dean's The Bookeaters and gave up about halfway through, but it's appeared on almost every round-up of the year's best speculative fiction that I've seen. just because the book isn't for me doesn't mean I don't think it should be for anyone, and I'm glad Dean has found such a receptive audience with her debut novel!

[denimbex1986]

'Oliver Stone said Friday he was shocked to hear that the stars of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer had walked out of its London premiere the day before as SAG-AFTRA officially declared strike action.

“I know several producers are opening movies, like Oppenheimer. Chuck Roven, he was in London. I heard it was going to be cancelled,” said Stone, when asked for his view on the strike.

“I don’t know if it went ahead but all the actors left. That was shocking that they really meant business and cut off right away all the promotion, which is big.”

Commenting on the ongoing 11-week WGA strike, Stone suggested the roots of the current industrial action lie in the deal brokered to end the five-month writers strike in 1988.

“There was a basic miscarriage of justice way back when, when Brian Walton was the head of the WGA, when we gave in. I wasn’t on the front line, but I supported that strike,” said Stone.

“We gave in to the producers. They got away with murder on one of these deals where all that DVD money was deferred. They claimed they were in the hole, in the red, and that they had to get their money back from DVD.

“I forgot what the percentage was, but they took something like the first 75% off the top. The DVD business was huge, especially for my films. So, the gross was never divided fairly.”

Stone said this trend had continued with residuals and profits.

“Not so much residuals, as profits really. Residuals are important for some of the writers who don’t make as much money. But people who do make money, they don’t touch the profits from the film, the studio does,” he said.

“The studio is always telling you that they’re losing money, but they always find a way to make a new level of profit for 10, 15 years. … It’s that perpetual industrial problem with a capitalist group that pays its executives more and more money and screws the average writer.”

Looking back over past industrial action, Stone recalled how the 2007 writers strike initially led to the postponement of his 1968 My Lai massacre drama Pinkville, and then resulted in it being cancelled for good.

“We had three weeks to go and it got cancelled. We got hurt,” he said.

Stone said he doubted there would be a quick or easy resolution to the current writer and actor disputes.

“I don’t think it will be wrapped up quickly. Because well, I don’t understand the economics of Netflix and these new guys, but it’s the same old bullsh*t. You know they’re making money and they always say they’re losing money. It’s the classic conflict that goes back to the 1880s in America.”

Stone was talking to Deadline at the Jerusalem Film Festival, where he showed his 2022 documentary Nuclear Now, arguing the case for nuclear power as the only viable way to tackle climate change.

Based on the book A Bright Future: How Some Countries Have Solved Climate Change and the Rest Can Follow, the work premiered at Venice last year.

The work is a passion project for Stone, who says he was inspired to make the film by his fear of climate change.

“I’m not a science expert and I have no kinship with nuclear power. On the contrary, you could say I was a mild believer in the Jane Fonda-Ralph Nader concept of the 1980s that nuclear power was dangerous,” said the director, who also took co-writing credits with U.S. scientist Joshua Goldstein.

“But it’s clear to me from my travels all over the world, that it’s getting hotter, and hotter, and hotter. We were in Italy, two, three days ago, and they said it was hottest day on record or something.”

Stone was also honored with a lifetime achievement award from the Jerusalem Film Festival at the opening ceremony Thursday evening alongside Helen Mirren and Belgian directorial duo Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne.

The director last spent extensive time in the country in 2002 at the height of Second Intifada to make his documentary Persona Non Grata, in which he interviewed Israeli leaders Benjamin Netanyahu, Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon as well as the Palestinian Al Aqsa Brigade on the Middle East conflict.

Two decades on, he suggested the situation is unchanged.

“It’s a repetitive cycle. I’ve been here several times. I planted an olive tree for peace here in the ’90s with my then-partner Arnon Milchan and came back in 2002 for Persona Non Grata. … I don’t see a difference. It’s just worse. Like it’s getting hotter. It’s just getting more and more choked.”'

[summersfirstsnow]

June Reads 2023

A Novel Disguise by Samantha Larson aka Local Spinster Has to Do Everything Around Here. This is the reading experience:

MC: is this a romance me: MAAM YOU BURIED YOUR BROTHER'S CORPSE IN THE BACK GARDEN THREE DAYS AGO MC: okay well I have to prepare this random girl's dead body for viewing, a job that is for some reason mine MC: * physically relocates the dead girl's jaw * MC: okay back to what I was saying about this being a romance! me: the fact that you are capable of contemplating romance in this murder mystery is amazing

Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee: if you watched How to Train Your Dragon and thought "okay but what if the dragons WERE incapable of loving you and would leave you for dead in a heartbeat and might try to eat you, wouldn't that be great" then good news! This is the book for you. I did enjoy this one, it's a very quick read (or listen, in my case). This is about giant birds (love it) and hunting monsters!

Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall: This was. Almost painfully tedious. If you're writing a story where both the romantic leads are women, then you NEED to conceptualize women as active characters who are allowed to be both funny and stupid or your sapphic romance will be so so extremely boring. If your female characters are all reactive rather than active, they will never be able to play off each other, because nobody in that relationship will actually provide the initial motion. And an object at rest will remain. At rest. Until we all die of boredom. Also the narrator choice was genuinely baffling, in all honesty. Like. I don't know why the author went "you know what this novel needed? Someone to constantly comment on how stupid all the events are, in case the reader hasn't noticed." Don't worry, Alexis Hall. I noticed. I noticed.

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2021 edited by John Joseph Abrams & Veronica Roth: These were varying levels of enjoyable for me, but overall, it was a good collection! And This is How to Stay Alive by Shingai Njeri Kagunda made me cry from older sibling feels, among other things. Beyond the Dragon's Gate by Yoon Ha Lee was also a stand-out for me.

To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose: only YA novel on the list for this month, I think! I enjoyed this one a lot. Anequs is definitely a main character who pulls her own story along, and I'm looking forward to picking up the sequel when it comes out. I liked the organic integration of different ways of knowing very much! It does have some of the usual debut novel issues, but hopefully Blackgoose's writing will grow and those will get worked out at the series goes on.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty: this book rollicked along well! The notorious pirate captain Amina Al-Sirafi is retired, and for a good reason, but finds herself pulled back into the world of supernatural creatures, mythical treasures, and high seas misadventure when she is asked ("asked" in heavy quotations) to track down a noble family's missing daughter. This book takes place in the same extended universe as the Daevabad trilogy, but doesn't require having read it.

Bad Cree by Jessica Johns: when Mackenzie, a young Cree woman living in Vancouver, begins bringing things back from her nightmares, she finds herself drawn back home to the rest of her family, to try to figure things out, especially as the dreams get more dangerous. This is a horror story about monsters, but also a horror story about grief and colonialism. It's about a family of magical dreamers, but also about the ties of family and the strength of those ties, no matter how tattered, in the face of generations of horror. This one is an atmospheric story that I found somewhat disorienting as a read, and has a couple debut quirks, but overall was a good reading experience. It got spooky and I just went "the only way out is through" and finished it at 1 AM.

Spectred Isle by KJ Charles: I feel like Saul just goes "well this might as well happen" about basically everything in his life at this point, which definitely brought a certain energy to the story. This one isn't my favourite KJ Charles book (not that I've read all of them but still), despite the fact that usually fantasy is me preferred genre.

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant: This is a reread for me, and still the Seanan Mcguire/Mira Grant book that appeals most to me. Still really enjoy the merfolk in this! Deep-sea dwelling and very toothy. Jurassic Park vibes overall. The dolphin sideplot still feels misplaced with the rest of the story, doesn't really accomplish much of anything, which made it a frustrating digression in an otherwise tightly plotted novel.

[pynkhues]

Do you have any thoughts on nepo babies denying that they had any privilege or dismissing it. I just read an article with lilly-rose Depp where she said he doesn't want to be called a nepo baby. would love to hear your thoughts?

Oh gosh, you made me look up the article, anon.

Speaking of internet opinions, has she heard about the whole “nepo baby” conversation? She laughs dryly: “I’m familiar.” Depp sounds resigned to it, which is maybe all one can be in her situation. “The internet seems to care a lot about that kind of stuff. People are going to have preconceived ideas about you or how you got there, and I can definitely say that nothing is going to get you the part except for being right for the part,” she says. “The internet cares a lot more about who your family is than the people who are casting you in things. Maybe you get your foot in the door, but you still just have your foot in the door. There’s a lot of work that comes after that.”

She does find it “interesting,” however, that she rarely hears anyone refer to a man as a nepo baby. “It’s weird to me to reduce somebody to the idea that they’re only there because it’s a generational thing. It just doesn’t make any sense. If somebody’s mom or dad is a doctor, and then the kid becomes a doctor, you’re not going to be like, ‘Well, you’re only a doctor because your parent is a doctor.’ It’s like, ‘No, I went to medical school and trained.’” Ever careful, she’s quick to add that she is by no means comparing her own work to that of someone in the medical field. “I just hear it a lot more about women, and I don’t think that it’s a coincidence.”

Well, for starters, I don't like her weaponising gender to deflect here at all, because I think this is an area where the internet actually is fairly 'equal opportunity'. Hell, the first people that spring to mind when I think of 'nepo babies' are Brooklyn Beckham, Scott Eastwood and Sam Levinson.

But yeah, if she believes the people casting don't care about her name, she's drunk the Kool-Aid.

I actually don't have a problem with legacy careers. It makes sense to me that children who grow up around a certain industry would develop an interest or an aptitude in it. Hell, in some ways I relate. My parents both work in creative industries (although on a much, much smaller scale, haha), and gosh, in my mum's case, her mother was a local opera singer and actress before she had children, so it's arguably three generations of women working in storytelling, performance and entertainment between my grandmother, mother, and my sister and me.

That does come with drawbacks, sure, but the benefits far outweigh it and to pretend that they don't is frankly absurd. I mostly work in a different medium to my parents, but I grew up around storytelling and conversations around industry that gave me a level of insider knowledge that people who grew up outside of it don't have. I'm also aware that I have been to, and still go to events with them that put me in a position where I can network in a way a lot of people have to work for.

None of this means that I get work off the back of that, but while other people are trying to find a way in the front door, I know I'm already in the building.

And again, I'm on a much, much, much smaller scale than Lily-Rose Depp.

Nepotism in her case doesn't get her 'foot in the door', the door's being held open for her, and to act like she carries the same burden as others trying to break into the industry for simply stepping through that doorway is absurd to the point of delusion.

Again, I don't actually have a problem with nepotism itself, I think it's given us some wonderfully talented people - Laura Dern, Jane Fonda, Chris Pine, Alexander Skarsgård and Tracee Ellis Ross spring immediately to mind - but to pretend that nepotism doesn't give you the benefit of networks, knowledge and opportunities to breakthrough is ridiculous.

In that sense too, I actually don't even think society or the internet cares about nepotism if you're good at your job. No one uses it against the people I listed above for instance, it's only used against those who don't seem willing to acknowledge their privilege or put the effort into learning the job, which having watched a few things Lily-Rose Depp is in...well, all I can say is her and Sam Levinson seem like a match made in nepotism hell, haha. I don't think I'll be watching The Idol.

[lestweforget5]

💢🙈 when you get a chance :)

Hello, Nonnie! Thank you for the ask!

You picked a couple of tougher, though very interesting, questions, so I had to think about them for a bit, hence the delay in my replying to your ask. Your answers are beneath the cut. This was all I could think of for the moment, but I might have more thoughts later.

💢 ANGER - what are some habits they have that will take some getting used to?

Millie is the type to, after the fact, excessively overthink things and to pour over an event and critique her own actions and wonder if something would have been differently if she had done Y, instead of X. She does this after Regensburg in her grief over Curt and Dickie's deaths, but then she turns right around and tries to convince Kenny not to do the exact same thing after Our Baby fails to return from Bremen. I'm not sure if it's a case of "Do as I say, not as I do," or if she just doesn't see the inconsistency.

🙈 SEE-NO-EVIL - whats a side of your oc that they don't want to show other people?

After the war, I think Millie definitely tries to conceal from her family the darker events of her captivity (especially what happened before) and how that has deeply effected and scarred her. And if she absolutely has to mention something because of like a nightmare or her trouble sleeping, for example, she's two-stepping so hard around the actual root cause. In her mind, she's protecting them--Fonda, especially--but there's also a lot of internalized shame.

I think only Millie would be the potentially jealous one in her relationship with Brady, and it's not something she's at all proud of. Especially given the facial scar she gained at Regensburg, she is insecure about her looks and idly notes as much internally (though not in so many words) in Interlude #4. Their relationship is quite strong and is built on so much more than just 'looks,' but we all have bad days. We all have innocuous incidents that can still stir up deep-set insecurities.

[amara-iceleb]

Week Two: MegaWatt Celebrityhood in the Social Media Era

Celebrities can use their influence for good simply by amplifying often ignored voices and using their own voices for change. Celebrities have become more and more effective change makers as time progresses and people are much more willing to openly support a celebrity when they know that they share the same morals and beliefs. Even if a celebrity using their voice doesn’t change the course of the universe, they undoubtedly teach someone, somewhere about a cause they would’ve otherwise never known about and in a day where news has been decentralized — for better in some cases and for worse in others — it’s crucial that information about human rights and environmental justice are shared, especially because others who speak about them could and probably would be censored.

I think they can become superhero(ine)s for change. Because celebrities often are the ones to propel trends to mass popularity, they could and often do the same with social movements. Celebrities showing that they care about certain causes would not only inform people about those causes but also encourage people to join them. During the BLM movement, many celebrities were seen marching which amplified the word about BLM and got more people to go out marching. Since the phenomenon of celebrity is so tied to idolization, people very often want to replicate things their favorite celebrities do or they find celebrities that mirror what they do. In this way, they could bring being a social change maker into the cultural zeitgeist as something cool or noteworthy which would only make people more emboldened to use their voices.

 

I would say that the nature of celebrityhood is kind of undergoing a change but it’s obvious that many celebrities aren’t quite convinced. Many mainstream celebrities have been noted to only say the safe thing or only speak at a safe time. Some celebrities refuse to speak about human rights issues and only speak on environmental issues in a small scale (like using reusable water bottles or paper straws). Other celebrities speak once in a while like encouraging their fans to vote or speaking out against the overturning of Roe v. Wade but then become silent in the face of any other social or environmental strife, often being noted as people who wouldn’t speak up for anything that doesn’t directly affect them, Of course, there are some celebrities that chose to use their piece of the limelight for an abundance of social good, like Jane Fonda and Susan Sarandon mentioned above, but, today, they seem to be anomalies. 

I definitely agree with taxing them at a higher rate seeing as they don’t seem to be slowing down their private jet usage without it. I do think this would solve a small piece of global warming caused by airplane emissions and overconsumption but I think a lot of the change would come from the 1% in general being taxed and discouraged from doing such harmful things. Like most issues concerning climate change, it would take a large shift in lifestyle for people who live so absorbently and that’s a much broader area than just celebrities.

I don’t think they deserve to be rewarded too much if they align with social causes. In this day and age, it’s so common for people to be politically active and use their voice for change, so much so that the everyday person is more of a change maker than the average celebrity. I also think when looking back at celebrities who used their voice to amplify social causes (again, such as Jane Fonda and Susan Sarandon) they don’t expect any reward and they don’t brag about it when promoting their projects or things alike. As of right now, celebrities have to catch up with us and, when they do, hopefully it’ll be so normal and commonplace that nobody would have a second thought about any of it.

I think in order to discern greenwashing from a true commitment to sustainable innovation, you’d have to look at a celebrities past, present, and future actions as well as investigate whatever it is that they are saying/selling. Taylor Swift, for example, had teamed up with UNICEF to guarantee clean water and called climate change one of the “horrific situations that we find ourselves facing right now,” yet routinely tops the charts on highest private jet usage and has been notably silent since, what some have called, her “political era” in 2020-2021 (https://variety.com/2020/music/news/taylor-swift-political-song-documentary-miss-americana-1203473948/). From that evidence, it’s best to assume that Taylor Swift doesn’t actually care about the environment, at least, not as much as she has claimed to, especially since her tour isn’t/wasn’t eco friendly, nothing in her merch shop is sustainably made, etc. etc. If she were to change her tune and start becoming a climate activist and changing the things I listed, it would be easy to say that she isn’t greenwashing when talking about climate change and I think that level of analysis should be done to every celebrity to make sure they aren’t greenwashing since Swift certainly isn’t the only one to use climate change as a temporary platform to garner public support.

I think celebrities of the next generation will be known for their art in the way all artists used to be known for their art. Politics and art and being a human being in this word is so intertwined that it won’t be separated and people wouldn’t expect it to be. Celebrities would use their voice for change and honesty tell their audiences what they believe in, in order to promote the cause. It would no longer be taboo or seen as a “downer” to bring up politics at a concert or at a press interview. Everything in the future would be one and celebrities wouldn’t have to be scared to speak in fear of being ostracized.

[grahamstoney]

My Life So Far by Jane Fonda

New Post has been published on https://grahamstoney.com/self-esteem/my-life-so-far-by-jane-fonda

My Life So Far by Jane Fonda

I am a generation too late to really know much about Jane Fonda, and started reading her autobiography when a friend recommended it. There is lots of name dropping; clearly Ms Fonda was well-connected in her prime, but I don’t recognise most of the names since they were just before my time. Nevertheless, it’s a compelling story.

I was fascinated to read how such a successful woman could be haunted all her life by feelings of inadequacy and insecurity. Despite her feminist leaning and her courage (or was it foolishness?), there’s a strong theme that without the support and approval of men, she felt worthless.

I found her description of the U.S. involvement in the Vietnamese war a disturbing indictment on the power wielded by the American military and the way in which the U.S. President of the time used it to play out his power games in a foreign country about which he had no understanding. The parallel between Vietnam and the current Iraq war became more startling to me the more I learned about what had gone on in Vietnam. I grew up with the belief that the U.S. were unquestionably the “Good Guys”. After all, they were instrumental in saving Australia from being invaded by Japan in World War II. To realise that they had been batting for the wrong team in Vietnam, and now Iraq, I found truly disturbing.

The other theme that struck a chord with me, whether Fonda intended to or not, was that naivety and courage sometimes go hand-in-hand. It was clear that some of her actions, such as her visit to Vietnam to highlight the U.S. bombing of dikes in the river delta, was amazingly naive. She put herself in considerable danger, and was at times manipulated by her hosts. Yet it was also enormously powerful. It reminded me of times in my life where I have thought “I’m really being very naive here”, yet gone ahead anyway because I thought there was a more important cause than just avoiding my own foolishness. And these have been some of the most invigorating times for me.

I found some of Fonda’s off-hand comments about perceived differences between the experience of women and men rather polarizing. She appears to believe that men are largely immune from the sort of self-esteem and sexuality issues that she sees so many women suffering from; if only this were the case. In fact, men suffer from these things too; but it shows in different ways. Hers manifested in an eating disorder and deep-seated need to please men. Nixon had a deep-seated need to create an enemy in his mind out of a peace-loving people on the other side of the planet so he could try to wipe them out. These are both manifestations of the same thing: poor self-esteem. They just came out in different ways. One inwardly destructive, the other outwardly. But even this isn’t necessarily a gender-based difference.

Fonda make the compelling point that aggression and war are generally seen as masculine and active, while peace is seen as feminine and passive. The U.S. Presidents who initiated and supported unwinable wars in Vietnam and Iraq were doing so because they had a point to prove: that they would be strong in the face of a perceived threat. Big boys playing with toys to prove who was the bigger man. The lies and deceit necessary to maintain the charade belied what was really going on. Fonda gives a fascinating account of a meeting she initiated with a group of disgruntled ex-Vietnam vets who were angry at her anti-war activism. They still harboured terrible grief about the war, but felt it unpatriotic to be angry at the government despite the lies it had told; so they aimed their anger at anti-war activists like her instead. She diffused the situation by getting them to talk about what was really going on for them. Vilifying anti-war activists like Fonda was just part of the governments’ efforts to sustain the war so that the men in power could prove how manly they were, and the veterans were just some of the victims. You would think the people in power would have learned something; except for the obvious parallels with the current war in Iraq, which those in power are oblivious to. Fonda points out that at the same time the U.S. Were sending troops into Iraq, their government was also slashing benefits for returned servicemen, and that at the time of the Vietnam war, anti-war activists were actually more supportive of returned servicemen than were pro-war activists. Reading the press you would have got the opposite viewpoint.

I don’t know if Fonda used a ghost writer; the story gives the impression that she wrote it herself, and that some of the pieces of the puzzle of her life didn’t fit together until she spoke to other people about issues during the writing process. I was surprised to find that her book held my attention through all 600 pages. I rarely make it through books that thick, and had no particular interest in Jane Fonda at the outset but nevertheless found her biography quite interesting.

[c-40]

A-T-2 435 The True Meaning Of Leroy Burgess

Only my second Leroy Burgess post (A-T-2 053) I'm surprised! The tracks are classics of the highest order though

Well this one is Fonda Rae's Over Like A Fat Rat, written with Leroy Burgess's regular collaborators, his cousin Sonny T. Davenport and adopted brother James Calloway. It was produced by Bob Blank of Blank Tapes. Fonda Rae had been lead vocalist for the Patrick Adams' group Rainbow Brown

Fonda Rae - Over Like A Fat Rat

This post would be another dedicated to Burgess, Davenport, and Calloway if it wasn't for this record. Leroy Burgess had collaborated with the twin Aleem brothers on the incredible Hooked On You Love in 1979, NIA Records first release. I've posted another Aleem track here, Cosmic Glide by Captain Rock A-T-2 299. The Aleems write and produce Get Down Friday Night, and that sounds like Patrick Adams on the keyboard. It would be 1984's Release Yourself that goes stratospheric (in the UK at least) for Leroy Burgess and Aleem

The Fantastic Aleems featuring Leroy Burgess - Get Down Friday Night

Convertion were a Leroy Burgess studio group with the afore mentioned Sonny T. Davenport and James Calloway with Burgess's Renee J.J. Burgess and Dorothy Terrell adding background vocals, Greg Carmichael produces. Their first record Let's Do It for Sam Records is one of my favourites and a massive hit. Leroy Burgess talks about Convertion in his Red Bull Music Academy interview, I think. The same group recorded as Logg for Salsoul Records. Fonda Rae's Over Like A Fat Rat (above) was recorded for Vanguard, Vanguard also wanted a Conversion record and they got Sweet Thing. Apparently it was a favourite with Frankie Knuckles

Convertion - Sweet Thing

Weekend was originally recorded by Patrick Adams Presents Phreek in 1978. The track was written by Leroy Burgess and James Calloway and produced by Patrick Adams. The Class Action version came out in 1983 but Christine Wiltshire is the only original member involved with that recording. I think the Bad Girls version is the case, it's Began Cedric, percussionist Bashiri Johnson, and Tee Scott mixing like many other Began Cedric cover versions

Bad Girls featuring Best Scott - Weekend

This is another Leroy Burgess associated track. He has nothing to with the track itself but it's here (because it's ace) because Kleeer is the Patrick Adams/Leroy Burgess/Greg Carmichael associated act the Universal Robot Band who had the 1982 Leroy Burgess/Sonny T. Davenport/James Calloway written hit Barely Breaking Even. BBE has Leroy Burgess on lead vocals. As I've said though Kleeer was a non Adams/Burgess/Carmichael project, same musicians led by Woody Cunningham. Taste The Music was their fifth studio album.

Kleeer - Taste The Music

It's just been announced Leroy Burgess's uncle Thom Bell has passed away. I've shared a track from the Denice Willams album Bell worked on in 1982 here A-T-2 343. Not only was Them Bell one of the cornerstones of the Philly sound but (like Curtis Mayfield) he was loved by Jamaicans and there are a lot of reggae versions of his records. Break Up To Make Up originally recorded by The Stylistics, in JA by Junior Byles and The Heptones recorded versions and in 1982 Delroy Wilson records his version

Delroy Wilson - Make Up To Break Up

This is a rarity, released in Malaysia in 1982 it's an album of covers including Dee Dee Bridgewater's Thom Bell penned and produced Lonely Disco Dancer