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theartistknownaslymond · 2 years

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Also this could be a request but do you have any thoughts about maybe like… we’ve talked a lot about Jerott’s nostalgia music with his dad, does he have anything with his mom? Generally Jerott + French (language/artist/etc) music would be fun :)

Yesssssssssssssssss

"You and I are not even Knights of the Order - we are renegade French, liable to lead the Sultan personally into the Grand Master's room." [Disorderly Knights]

nous sommes des renégats

1) Georges Brassens - Les philistins 2) Warda - El Baghbaghan 3) Jean Ferrat - Camarade 4) Jacques Dutronc - Le responsable 5) Dahmane El Harrachi - Ya Rayah 6) Johnny Hallyday - Dans un jardin d'amour 7) El Hachemi Guerouabi - El bareh 8) Leonard Cohen - The Partisan 9) Umm Kulthum - Al Atlaal 10) Nick Drake - Three Hours 11) Fadhéla Dziria - Mal h'bibi malou 12) Django Reinhardt & Quintette du Hot Club - Nature Boy 13) Renaud - Marche à l'ombre 14) TRUST - Antisocial 15) Cheikha Rimitti - Charak gataa 16) Sapho - Marrakech 17) Renaud - Si t'es mon pote 18) Bérurier Noir - Porcherie 19) Rachid Taha - Voilà voilà 20) Cheikha Rimitti - NOUAR

Usual deal: background information below the cut. Faceclaims: Viveik Kalra for Jerott, and Aure Atika for his mum, Kahina.

Bonus feelings about canon: Jerott Blyth is French, he’s born in Nantes, though his father’s Scottish, which is why they’re both at Solway. The quote I took the playlist title from induced unexpected Feels about his specific ‘pledged to a dead girl as opposed to pledged to the Order’ situation, where it’s implied that even inside this community he’s made himself part of, he’s always treated with suspicion by some for where he was born.

Georges Brassens - Les philistins I honestly had no idea how foul-mouthed Georges Brassens was! He was anti-establishment, anti-organised religion, generally anarchic and critical of French society. What a legend. Anyway, this is quite innocent by his standards and Kahina, having discovered him on her arrival in Paris, is smitten and probably sings it as a lullaby to baby Jerott. Get him listening to those guitar heroes early! <Philistines, grocers, while you were caressing your wives,

dreaming of litte ones that your uncouth appetites engender,

you thought "They'll be clean shaven, round bellied lawyers."

But to punish you as you deserve one day you'll seeing coming into the world

some unwanted children who will become long-haired poets.> Warda - El Baghbaghan Warda Al-Jazairia was one of Algeria's biggest stars. She started off singing at her father's cabaret - which was busted in the early days of the war for concealing weapons for the FLN. After living in Lebanon for a while with her mother's family, she returned to marry in Algeria in the 1960s and her husband forbade her from making music. Ten years later, following a request by the president of Algeria that she perform again, she and her husband divorced (she actually remarried and divorced a second time, too). Are you sensing Kahina might see her as an important role model? :') Unfortunately I had to rely on Google translate for the gist of this one, but I can again see Kahina liking to sing this one to Jerott, particularly once he starts showing an aptitude for music: <He memorizes what you say and studies it all night long You get to see him and he says it again by himself too Like a smart student who doesn't study for the exam He gets upset when I say a word that angers him in particular And he rejoices when you fix it with plant sugar He gets upset when I say a word that angers him in particular And he rejoices when you fix it with plant sugar He sings all the songs and imitates the melodies He sings all the songs and imitates the melodies I hide it and it is sweet and I will save any song Nor has he ever been rebellious, nor has he been confused in the tones Like a smart student who doesn't study for the exam> Jean Ferrat - Camarade Ferrat was a vocal Communist, but the Warsaw Pact invasion in 1969 led him to write this out of disillusionment and frustration. Kahina knows the feeling all too well. <It's a terrible name Comrade It's a terrible name to say At a time such as a masquerade It can only shudder What have you come to do Comrade What have you come to do here It was at five o'clock in Prague That the month of August was obscured Comrade Comrade

It's a cute name Comrade It's a cute name you know My heart beats like a drum roll To make it live forever The cherry and the grenade are united With a hundred May flowers> Jacques Dutronc - Le responsable Inescapable French rock #1! And it is absolutely a bop. Probably gives off vibes of how Kahina views Jawad, the responsible provider who wants to fix everything for her and Jerott: <The more worries I have, the happier I am I whip them up like cream What I like most is being sick with worry I feed on the worries every which way

But I also like catastrophes Which put my life in relief When things are going well, I am unhappy When things are going poorly, I am very happy> Dahmane El Harrachi - Ya Rayah Like some of the other Algerian singers on this playlist, he's not from a similar background to Kahina, but he ended up living in France and playing French cafés, giving Kahina a chance to introduce Jerott to châabi music, in particularly his own compositions which, like this one, tended to focus on immigrant life and a longing for the homeland. This is one of his biggest hits. If Jerott ever stops to work on his Arabic properly, these lyrics are going to be a gut punch for him: <Oh Traveler, where are you going? You'll leave, get tired and eventually come back Haven't you realised how many unwise people regretted this decision before you and I did?

How many overpopulated countries and deserted areas have you seen? How much time have you wasted and how much more are you planning on wasting? Oh stranger, you never cease to run in foreign lands Destiny and time will follow their course, yet you turn a blind eye> Johnny Hallyday - Dans un jardin d'amour Inescapable French rock #2! Come on. There has to be a bit of Johnny Hallyday in baby Jerott's life. Kahina probably has a video recording of him dancing to this from just before the divorce is finalised and kind of loves tormenting him with it later. By then he can play along with the guitar, too. El Hachemi Guerouabi - El bareh Another châabi player - maybe Kahina wanted Jerott to take up the mandole, but guitar was a good enough compromise. Notable because, out of fear of foreign influence on Algerian music, he ended up revolutionising the genre himself to keep up with the times. Another song where I had to rely on Google translate, but it seems to be about a kind of melancholic yearning for youth and possibility. Leonard Cohen - The Partisan Not as specific about who the enemy is as the original French language version, and probably all the more appealing to Kahina and Jerott for that. Umm Kulthum - Al Atlaal This is a tiny, tiny instrumental sample of the song, which is often over an hour long when performed live [Sapho, see below, recorded a version in the 2000s]. Umm Kulthum was probably inescapable for Kahina, even though she's Egyptian not Algerian, as she was the biggest Arabic-language musician around. As with many of her songs, Al Atlaal is based on poetry, in this case the poetry of Ibrahim Nagi, a writer and medical doctor. Even aside from Ibrahim's successful combination of art and career (looking at you, Jawad!) Kahina would identify with the lyrics: <Give me my freedom, let go of my hands, I gave (everything) and left nothing (to be given) Ah, your chain is bleeding my wrist, why do I keep it when it's kept nothing of me What's my keeping of promises you didn't protect, and what's the imprisonment when I have all of life> Nick Drake - Three Hours An incredible guitarist, and the drums in this track are a little reminiscent of raï drumming I think. Nick Drake barely sold in the UK, so I doubt Jerott got hold of his albums in Paris, but Kahina's music primes him to really love this when he discovers it - probably only after reading Drake's obituaries in the music press in 1975 (CW suicide references, depression, schizophrenia, drug use), when he's living in Glasgow. Drake studied in France before university and worked with Françoise Hardy, another connection that would intrigue Jerott - though not entirely for good reasons, to be honest. Inside teenage Jerott are two wolves, one of which objectively finds Hardy hot, the other of which sees her talking about 'anti-French racism' and is thoroughly grossed out. There's a reason she was never on Kahina's record player! Anyway it's a Nick Drake song Jerott drunkenly seduces Peder the OC with in Más é an ceol bia an ghrá. And of all the records he buys in Glasgow, this is one he can take to Paris and play Kahina and know she’ll like too. Fadhéla Dziria - Mal h'bibi malou Another important female singer in Algerian musical history, this time representing the Andalusian style/hawzi music. She and her sister were involved in fund-raising for the FLN (and apprently she was 'married for a short time at age 13'(!) so another example of a separated, successful woman for Kahina?). This is a big old heart-broken folk song, and it's not like Kahina stops loving Jawad when she sends him away: <Oh beloved, have some mercy You abandoned me with no reason You forgot all our sweet memories And you hurt me You wasted my time You lost me And ran after another I don't regret loving Allah knows what I feel inside He's the only one who could help me forget you And heal my wounds> Django Reinhardt & Quintette du Hot Club - Nature Boy The song is originally about the 'Wandervogel' proto-hippy movement, and was picked up and made big by Nat King Cole and covered by loads of people. It anticipates Jerott’s sannyasin calling somewhat. This is an instrumental interpretation by one of the best guitarists of the twentieth century, a Franco-Romani musician who made guitar the centre of a jazz band for the first time. BIG influence for both Jerott and Francis. This is probably one of the last albums Jerott gets for himself before moving to Glasgow. Renaud - Marche à l'ombre Outspoken leftwing rocker - he features on the Francis/Philippa pining playlist, but this is from an earlier album. It lists the kind of people a conservative barfly would hate, and touches on nearly every aspect of Jerott's personality/his family, so he's probably a fan of ironically singing along to it and showing off with the twiddly guitar part: <When this dirty hippie Got out of his Volkswagen Kombi That he parked like a rag In front of my pub I told to Bob who was playing pinball << Look at this scatterbrained that is coming You see his look ? What a pity ... >> Patchouli, Pataugas shoes A guide book in the pocket Are Krishna down to the grave Henna in the hairs Pierced ears I am sure, I can make a bet That he will beg for a hundred bucks To go to Kathmandu Or elsewhere in Nepal Before he could say a single word I took the guy by the overcoat

And I told him You, you're getting me on my nerves And you shouldn't be in my world Get outta here, you're not from my gang Get out, you stink And walk in the shade> TRUST - Antisocial Jerott's angry and lost when he moves back in with Kahina in 1980. He's probably quite happy to listen to unsophisticated angry rock music, and this song is a bit of an inheritor to Le responsable - it's about people just getting on with things for themselves and trampling others as they do, viewing people like that as cut-off from others (in an unhealthy way, not an enlightened way), wasting their lives and encouraging the contempt of others. So not really how Jerott wants to think of himself 'giving up' and getting a professional career, but. The thought is there, and he doesn't really like himself for it. (Lucky that nice Swami Geetesh is there to give him another option) Cheikha Rimitti - Charak gataa Apparently this is a song encouraging girls to get out there and lose their virginity, take ownership of their sexuality, and, to be reductive, it's basically the Algerian equivalent of rock and roll from the 1950s. It's radical and it's badass. Cheikha Rimitti was on the streets as a teenager and joined a group of travelling musicians, singing 'songs of the street' about sex, alcohol, dancing and getting on with living life. She obviously didn't go down well with Islamist revolutionaries, nor with moralising colonial powers - she was banned from performing in Algeria in the '60s and lived in France for a while, performing to ex-pats. She's from an exceedingly different background to Kahina, who, worldly as she tries to appear, is probably knocked for six by some of the lyrics when she first hears them. But the sense of being rejected by both sides in the War of Independence and Rimitti's sheer grit and passion for her art is going to make her a huge favourite of Kahina's. And Jerott appreciates rock and roll, wherever it's coming from. Sapho - Marrakech Moroccan-French singer who embraced her Arabic language heritage in the '80s on this album (Passions, passons - it's so good, really, go and listen to the whole thing!). She's very inspired by Umm Kulthum, but this track is such a great blend of New Romantic '80s pop and Arabic styles, I don't think Jerott and Kahina would be able to resist it. Renaud - Si t'es mon pote Another Renaud track, this one is here because the lyrics are just *the most* Jerott in Checkmate it is possible for a song to be. Here's a sample (all translations from lyricstranslate): <Well okay, it's late and you're a bit tired of drinking You do drink like a Polish man But you just can't get drunk You are not lucky But don't leave me there I'm blasted like a rat, turned on Okay, I don't care, get the hell outta here I'll pay for the round of drinks You fucker

But if you're my pal, you don't lemme drink alone And you don't complain if you see me crazy I pay you a drink at Ali's Café, the last one I swear If you are my pal, you're following me

Well okay, indeed she's fuckable but I don't know What she can give to you that I can't It's been weeks since you left me for this ass I just can't believe you Be careful, don't let our friendship buried by that slut Who is jealousy from the head to the feet That doesn't know me at all and hate me

But if you're my pal, admit that it's a bit shameful She's not really a nun, she's not Christine Okrent And she got a mental level rather close to the ground If you are my pal, throw her out> Bérurier Noir - Porcherie France's very own anti-fascist anthem from the late '80s! Rachid Taha - Voilà voilà It sounds very '90s because it is, but I needed to put Rachid on here. Rachid lived in Lyon and ran a club in the late 1970s where as a DJ he played a totally wild mix of Algerian and Western music. He's often called a rai artist, but his stuff went way beyond that really. Teen Jerott on a summer holiday before his final year at school would LOVE it. Allegedly Rachid's band's early music might have inspired The Clash's Rock the Casbah (which I should probably have put on this playlist too, but forgot about until I was practically done), so jot that one down. Here's a little excerpt from Rachid's Wiki page that should show why he's important to/an influence on Jerott, even though tbh their careers are happening in parallel: 'These were difficult years since record stores often refused to stock their records "because they didn't want Arabs coming into their shops". There was little money; the band performed in suburbs of Lyon. Taha took a standard patriotic French song entitled "Sweet France" (in French: Douce France) which had originally been recorded by Charles Trenet in the 1940s, kept the lyrics, but sang it with "furious irony" which irritated many French listeners, particularly coming from a "scruffy, bohemian-looking Arabic singer", to the point where Taha's version was banned from French radio.' <The lesson was not learned Remember they chose to forget Everywhere I hear what they say Foreigners you are the cause of our problems Me I thought it was all over But in fact, it was only a pause Voilà, voilà, it starts again Everywhere and in la douce France Voilà, voilà, it starts again> Cheikha Rimitti - NOUAR More Cheikha Rimitti because she was amazing, and this shows the kind of collaborations she ended up doing more recently. Plus, yes, the lyrics seem to be addressed to one 'Danny'. يا داني و داني دان داني دايني يالالة – Hey, Danny, Danny, Dan, Danny, Denny, what a machine. أﻧﺎ وﻏﺰاﻟﻲ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺠﺒﻞ نلقط ﻓﻲ اﻟﻨﻮار – Me and my deer in the mountain, catching in the light. أﻧﺎ وﻏﺰاﻟﻲ ﻫﺎ لالة – Me and my deer are a machine.

#character: jerott blyth #character: kahina bensaïd #band au: background #band au: prequel #character meta #playlists: period-appropriate #ask me and I will play #ficspiration: lyrics

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wanderingmultitudes · 5 years

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Femme Sharks, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

FEMME SHARKS DON’T EAT OUR OWN.

FEMME SHARKS LIKE TO EAT THOUGH

FEMME SHARKS RECOGNIZE THAT FEMMES COME IN ALL KINDS OF SIZES AND EACH KIND IS LUSCIOUS. WE WORK TOWARDS LOVING OUR CURVY, FAT, SKINNY, SUPERSIZE, THICK, DISABLED, BLACK AND BROWN FINE-ASS BODIES EVERY DAY. WE REALIZE THAT LOVING OURSELVES IN A RACIST/SEXIST/HOMO/TRANSPHOBIC/ABLIST/CLASSIST SYSTEM IS AN EVERY DAY ACT OF WAR AGAINST THAT SYSTEM.

FEMME SHARKS DON’T THINK ANOREXIA IS CUTE.

WE THINK EATING A BIG-ASS MEAL IS SEXY.

WE SAY SCREW “HEIGHT WEIGHT PROPORTIONATE PLEASE” IN CRAIGSLIST WOMEN SEEKING WOMEN ADS AND IN LIFE.

WE HAVE BIG MOUTHS AND WE KNOW HOW TO USE

THEM. DON’T FUCK WITH US! ASK US IF WE WANT TO FUCK THOUGH !

FEMME SHARKS WILL RECLAIM THE POWER AND DIGNITY OF FEMALENESS BY ANY MEANS NECCESARY.

WE’RE GIRLS BLOWN UP, TURNED INSIDE OUT AND REMIXED.

FEMME SHARKS ARE OVER WHITE QUEERS OBLIVIOUSNESS TO QUEER OF COLOR, TWO SPIRIT AND TRANS OF COLOR LIVES.

WE KNOW THAT WE ARE A CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE

WE’RE OVER WHITE FEMMES AND BUTCHES WHO THINK THAT FEMME ONLY COMES IN THE COLOR OF BARBIE.

WE’RE OVER BUTCHES AND BOYS AND OTHER FEMMES TELLING US WHAT WE NEED TO DO, WEAR OR BE IN ORDER TO BE “REALLY FEMME.”

FEMME SHARKS RECOGNIZE THAT FEMMES, BUTCHES, GENDERQUEER AND TRANS PEOPLE

HAVE BEEN IN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR SINCE FOREVER.

THAT BEFORE COLONIZATION WE WERE SEEN AS SACRED

AND WE WERE SOME OF THE FIRST FOLKS MOST VIOLENTLY ATTACKED

WHEN OUR LANDS WERE INVADED AND COLONIZED.

FEMME SHARKS WON’T REST UNTIL WE RECLAIM OUR POSITIONS

AS BELOVED FAMILY WITHIN OUR COMMUNITIES.

FEMME SHARKS AREN’T JUST DIMEPIECES AND TROPHY WIVES

FUCK THAT!

WE MIGHT BE YOUR GIRL,

BUT WE’RE OUR OWN FEMMES.

WE RECOGNIZE THAT FEMMES ARE LEADERS OF OUR COMMUNITIES.

WE HOLD IT DOWN, CALM YOUR TEARS, ORGANIZE THE RALLY, VISIT YOU IN JAIL, GET CHILDCARE HOOKED UP, LOAN YOU TWENTY DOLLARS.

FEMMES ARE WELDERS, AFTERSCHOOL TEACHERS, ABORTION CLINIC WORKERS, STRIPPERS, WRITERS, FACTORY WORKERS, MOMS, REVOLUTIONARIES DEDICATED TO TAKING THE SYSTEM THE HELL DOWN SO WE CAN BE FREE!

FEMMES ARE LEADERS IN TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS/ DEFENDING OUR QUEER AND TRANS OF COLOR COMMUNITIES.

WE USED OUR STILETTOS AS WEAPONS AT STONEWALL.

WE WERE THE TRANSWOMEN WHO FOUGHT BACK AT THE COMPTON

CAFETERIA

WE’RE THE GIRLS WHO STARE DOWN ASSHOLES STARING AT OUR LOVERS AND FRIENDS ON THE SUBWAY.

WE WALK EACH OTHER HOME

ACT CRAZY ON THE BUS TO GET ASSHOLES TO MOVE AWAY

AND KNOW HOW TO BREAK SOMEONE’S LEGS

WE SHARE WHAT WE KNOW.

FEMME SHARKS STAND UP FOR THE NEW JERSEY FOUR AND EVERY OTHER QUEER AND TRANS PERSON OF COLOR IN THE PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX FOR DEFENDING OUR LIVES.

WE BELIEVE IN SELF-DEFENSE AND SELF-DETIRMINATION.

WE BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE A RIGHT TO DEFEND OURSELVES AND OUR COMMUNITIES

AGAINST ANY KIND OF ATTACK-

FROM ASSHOLES ON THE STREET

TO RACIST WHITE CLUB OWNERS WHO WANT THREE PIECES OF ID

TO FOLKS WHO INSIST THAT WE’RE STRAIGHT.

TO PEOPLE WHO TAKE OUR LAND.

WE REMEMBER OUR DEAD- SAKIA GUNN, GWEN ARAUJO, AND MANY OTHER QUEER AND TRANS POC WHO DIED BECAUSE OF RACIST, HOMO/TRANSPHOBIC VIOLENCE

NOT AS A POLITICAL STATEMENT

BUT AS WOMEN WE LOVED IN REAL LIFE

WOMEN WHO COULD’VE BEEN US OR OUR LOVES.

WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE LEFT OUT OF “THE STRUGGLE.”

NOT THIS TIME.

WE’RE NOT JUST A PRETTY FACE.

FEMMES GODDAMN WELL KNOW HOW TO STRAP IT ON, CHANGE THE OIL IN THE CAR AND PUT UP SHELVES.

WE CAN DO ANY GODDAMN THING WE WANT!

THAT’S WHY WE’RE FEMME SHARKS!

FEMME IS NOT THE SAME THING AS BEING OUR MOMS

FEMMES ARE BEAUTIFUL AND STRONG WHEN WE BOTTOM

AND WE’RE HOT AS HELL WHEN WE TOP

OUR BOTTOMING AND TOPPPING ARE BOTH GIFTS TO BE MET WITH RESPECT.

WHEN WE TAKE OUR LOVERS FIST ALL THE WAY INSIDE

ASK FOR WHAT WE WANT

BE THE BEST DIRTY GIRL

OR MAKE OUR LOVERS FLIP

WE’RE A FUCKING MIRACLE.

IN THE WORDS OF JILL SCOTT, “YOU GOTTA DO RIGHT BY ME. IT’S MANDATORY, BABY.”

FEMME SHARKS SHOP AT ROSS, FOXY LADY, VALUE VILLAGE, THE HM $5 RACK, TORRID AND THE DOLLAR STORE , AND KNOW HOW TO SHOPLIFT

WE CONCOCT BRILLIANT STRATEGIES TO LOOK FINE

ON TEN DOLLARS OR LESS.

WE’RE ONLY “INVISIBLE” IF YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO LOOK FOR US.

WE TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER

RECOGNIZE THAT FEMMES ARE EACH OTHERS’ WEALTH

HOS BEFORE BROS, ALWAYS!

FEMME SOLIDARITY AND LOVE FOR EACH OTHER

IS A REVOLUTIONARY FORCE

WE BELIEVE IN GIRLS LOVING GIRLS, RESPECTING EACH OTHER’S BRILLIANCE

NOT FIGHTING OVER BOIS OR BUTCHES

NOT TRYING TO BE THE ALPHA FEMME

WE’RE ANTI-DRAMA

BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF COMMUNITIES THAT HEAL HURT, APOLOGIZE, LISTEN TO EACH OTHER AND MAKE THINGS RIGHT.

WE BELIEVE IN BUILDING OUR QTPOC COMMUNITIES STRONG

FEMME SHARKS WERE THERE WHEN FRIDA KAHLO HOOKED UP WITH HER

GIRLFRIENDS

WHEN JOAN NESTLE, CHRYSTOS, JEWELLE GOMEZ, ALEXIS DE VEUX, SYLVIA RIVERA, DOROTHY ALLISON, MINNIE BRUCE PRATT AND AMBER HOLLIBAUGH MADE QUEER FEMME HISTORY

WHEN ZAPATISTA WOMEN HOOKED UP

WHEN OUR COUSINS WERE MAKING OUT IN THE WOMEN’S SECTION OF THE MASJID

WHEN OUR GRANDMAS AND QUEER AUNTIES SNUCK OUT AT NIGHT

DIDN’T GET MARRIED TIL LATE- OR AT ALL

HAS A BEST GIRLFRIEND

AND STOOD UP FOR HER

FEMME SHARKS WERE THERE.

FEMME SHARKS ARE IN THE BODIES OF COUNTLESS SEX WORKERS, NEIGHBORS AND LADIES WAITING FOR THE BUS AND IN THE LINEUP AT CENTURY 21.

AT RIIS BEACH, FUNKASIA, LOVERGIRL NYC, BUTTA, MANGO, MANHATTAN’S, DESILICIOUS, AND BIBI!

FEMME SHARKS LIVE ON THE REZ, IN CAPETOWN, NEWARK, OAKLAND!!!!!, THE SOUTH SIDE, NEW ORLEANS, COLOMBO, JUAREZ AND BROOKLYN SUBURBIA, THE FARM, AND LITTLE SMALL TOWNS.

WE’RE IN FOSTER CARE, THE PSYCH WARD, JUVIE, AND ABOUT TO BE EVICTED.

WE ARE SURVIVORS WHO ARE MORE THAN WHAT WE SURVIVED.

WE ARE FIGURING OUT HOW TO HEAL

AND HOW TO MAKE IT SO THAT NO ONE

WILL HAVE TO SURVIVE SEXUAL VIOLENCE EVER AGAIN.

WE BELIEVE IN THE TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF THE SYSTEM AS WE KNOW IT

TO MAKE SOMETHING MUCH MO BETTA

AND WE BELIEVE IN MAKING OUR OWN WAYS TO FIGHT AND RESIST

ON THE DAILY.

A FEMME SHARK IS ANY GIRL

WHO IS TOUGH, HUNGRY, FIGHTS FOR HERSELF AND HER FAM

AND IS WORKING ON BECOMCNG THE KIND OF GIRL

WHO FINDS GOD IN HERSELF

AND LOVES HER FIERCELY

WE’RE YOUR BEST GIRLFRIEND AND YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE

LOVE AND RAGE

THE FEMME SHARKS

FEMME SHARKS ARE ON PATROL!

JOIN THE MOVEMENT! SHARK SHARK IT UP!

http://brownstargirl.org/femme-shark-manifesto/

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bloodfromtherock-blog · 6 years

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KAVANAUGH & THE CORONATED CREEPS

Daniel Hutchens October 10, 2018

"It would be naive to depend on the Supreme Court to defend the rights of poor people, women, people of color, dissenters of all kinds. Those rights only come alive when citizens organize, protest, demonstrate, strike, boycott, rebel, and violate the law in order to uphold justice." -Howard Zinn **********************************************

Kavanaugh repeatedly lied to the US Senate under oath during his job interview for Justice of the Supreme Court. These lies have been well-documented at this point, and aren’t even being contested; the essence of the reply from the Republican oligarchy is, “It doesn’t matter.”

And American women at this point have been demoted to second-class citizens by the Trump administration. This is clearly observable. Trump’s attacks on women are relentless; his push toward more restrictive policies on contraception and abortion, his rollback of gender equality pay laws, removal of paycheck transparency, forced arbitration clauses for sexual harassment, sexual assault or discrimination claims...for me, as the father of an 11 year old daughter, this is all a sinister slap in the face. But more to the point, Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court now puts Trumpsters firmly in control of the move to strike down Roe v. Wade. Understand this clearly: female American citizens are considered nothing more than property by the Old Boys Club, and women’s voices regarding reproductive rights and their own bodies are considered irrelevant. In Trump’s eyes, women are cattle to be branded and used as deemed appropriate.

Kavanaugh is staunchly anti-abortion and has no intent of ruling objectively on this issue. When Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, shadily swung her support to Kavanaugh during the hearings, she apparently felt compelled to grandstand dishonestly for the cameras, maybe in deference to the power of the #MeToo movement, considering her stature as a female Senator. Her behavior reeks of a back room deal, after her previous assertions that if Kavanaugh lied he should be disqualified. She helped Republicans by putting a woman’s face on their warped campaign to shame and discredit survivors of sexual assault, thereby aiding Trump’s shitty backlash against #MeToo, and his brain dead catch phrase, “It’s a very scary time for young men in America.” #MeToo is so powerful that people like Susan Collins have to pretend to support it. She said that Kavanaugh would preserve Roe v Wade and legal abortion. Bullshit. “Operation Rescue,” a group working since the ‘80s to “make America abortion free,” and the rest of the extremist anti-woman crowd have all supported Kavanaugh’s nomination right down the line.

The looming abortion showdown is grim news for American women and those who care about them, alright. The notion that there’s some religious or ethical justification behind returning to back-alley amateurs and economically-selective access to these medical procedures is a sleazeball scam. And just for the record, the “religious right” who have supported Trump have completely forfeited all claim on morality, forevermore, end of discussion. Their previous hand-wringing over opposition candidates for sexual scandals, affairs etc.—then their ridiculous postures that “God chose Trump,” and they “weren’t electing a Sunday school teacher,” their transparent indifference to his cheating on all his wives with porn stars, scamming American citizens with rackets like Trump University etc., his history of racist business practices, his shady record of tax fraud and his whole laundry list of decidedly unChristian behavior, in the most basic sense of spirituality and genuine concern for others, which some of our parents actually schooled us about...yeah, those evangelical hucksters are exposed and discredited and can shut their mouths permanently about abortion and everything else. There are people with genuine soul convictions about these issues, but there are also plenty of imposters and their servility to a snake like Trump spotlights their insincerity. Ye shall know ‘em by their fruits, I’ve heard tell.

Of COURSE Trump wanted Kavanaugh on the Court. Kavanaugh has confirmed himself as a “get out of jail free card" should Trump ever be charged with any crime. Not to mention that Trump and Kavanaugh are plainly fellow members of a perverse fraternity we might as well call “The He-Man Woman Haters Club,” with apologies to the Little Rascals. They both have histories of a predatory mindset, insulting attitudes toward women in general (and no, hiring a few females or minorities does not erase acts of bigotry, and none of us fail to understand the concept of “making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to do a particular thing, especially by recruiting a small number of people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of sexual or racial equality”)…and Trump’s recent sideshow of mocking Dr. Ford was one of the most jaw-droppingly ugly little political performances this nation has witnessed in many years. (Excepting other Trump tantrums, of course.) Not so long ago, such a warped demonstration would have dropped like a stone any American politician from favor by both parties, immediately and with extreme prejudice. Not so in today’s world of Trumpian “alternative facts” and low-rent bullying.

Also revisit the whole Justice Kennedy/Deutsch Bank scandal, and put the pieces together. Plenty of in-depth and sobering articles are available on this subject, and the bottom line takeaway is that Russian money and influence indeed are swaying American policy and elections, and the whole thing is directly tied to the slow-moving Republican/Russian takeover of everything from our Supreme Court on down. By all means, don’t take my word for it, but by all means do your own research and do your own thinking. But these topics expand and branch out mighty far. Let’s snap focus back onto Kavanaugh.

******************************** “The politically convenient, scientifically baseless theory that sexual assault so traumatized Christine Blasey Ford she mixed up her attacker is now something like common wisdom for many Republicans… less than three weeks ago, when the mistaken-identity theory was first formulated, it was so widely ridiculed that a pundit who advanced it on Twitter subsequently apologized and offered to resign from his job.” -Avi Selk ********************************

Some of Kavanaugh’s defenders have criticized Dr. Ford for being “coached” and otherwise manipulated. I have no doubt she got some advice from lawyers, etc., nor that the timing and presentation of her complaints were orchestrated through Democratic channels. That’s the name of the game in Big Time American Politics, folks. But her testimony was believable and compelling, and she retained adult composure through her emotions (it’s tough to imagine the storm of criticism she would have received from Republicans if she had behaved anything like Kavanaugh.) But the implication that Kavanaugh wasn’t also coached (with a professional eye toward manipulating opinion) is high-grade bullshit, or else a stunning level of naivete. Kavanaugh’s TV appearance in which he portrayed himself as a meek little virgin til long after high school, etc., was harshly disapproved of by Team Trump, and they coached him up with specific instructions for the Senate hearing: their advice was that he needed to unleash his anger. And Kavanaugh ran with the “anger” bit and it got away from him; that much-reported nasty temperament of his glared through the cracks in his public facade, and it wasn’t a pretty sight.

Kavanaugh’s face...God have mercy. Now in addition to Trump, we have another bitter, hideous visage to haunt our collective dreams. Understand we’re not discussing aesthetics. I’m referring to that old notion that eyes are the windows to the soul, and that intuitive interpretation of facial displays gives us significant information about an individual’s attitude, sense of humor, empathy...or the lack of it. And we were burned by flashes of Kavanaugh’s inner demons during the hearing. Much like Trump, Kavanaugh’s features contorted into a repellent mask of childish temper, ill-mannered impatience and lurking malevolence. It was a freak show that could have taught Hollywood’s monster make-up artists a trick or two. To the extent that Kavanaugh was moved (instructed) to write a quasi-apologetic op-ed piece after the hearing. But we all know what we saw.

During that hearing he raged at those who had questioned his nomination and he hinted not-so-subtly at retribution. He was prodded by White House counsel Don McGahn, who sat directly behind Kavanaugh during the hearing. The whole performance was sickeningly indignant, unashamedly entitled and arrogant, and stunningly partisan in a way that would have disqualified any nominee from previous years—but again, not so in today’s atmosphere of Trumpian distortion and pettiness.

Plenty of us out here recognize Kavanaugh for who he is. We’ve all known “that guy” in our lives; the spoiled, sneering little punkass who talks differently about women as soon as they walk out the door, and who suffers delusions of superiority, and who no one wants to hear any more shit from down at the corner bar.

Kavanaugh’s appointment was questioned or condemned by vast numbers in this country, represented by such organizations as the American Bar Association, Yale Law School, over 2400 Law Professors nationwide, many former classmates and friends, and the National Council of Churches (which represents 100,000 churches and about 45 million churchgoers.) Not to mention the many womens’ groups, the #MeToo movement, etc. Such outright opposition to a nominee for the Supreme Court is extraordinary, and the fact that said opposition was mocked, belittled and outright ignored by the Republicans determined to ram this nomination through come hell or high water—“we’re going to plow right through it,” as Mitch McConnell claimed without shame—yeah, such utter disregard for mass portions of the population is ominous. (And by the way, Trump’s dumbassed claim that Kavanaugh was “proven innocent” indicates a farcical, childish lack of legal comprehension.)

And of course, the meager FBI “investigation” allowed was nothing but a front. The whole circus was rushed and hushed, with zero perceivable interest in knowing the real truth. If team Trump had any interest in uniting the country or in general fairness, they could have trotted out any of a dozen other nominees, all of whom would even have satisfied the wish list of the conservative right, without all the unnecessary baggage. But there are higher priorities for these particular elected officials than fairness or the genuine best interests of the nation.

To pretend Kavanaugh isn’t a partisan shill now planted in the land’s highest court is preposterous belief in “alternative facts” and simplistic hype. The only ones who are fooled by Trump’s blather at this point are those who want to be fooled. His outright nonsense and habitual lies are easily spotted from miles away, but the sad fact is that his supporters don’t give a fuck. They don’t care if he lies, or demeans women or minorities or stirs up international diplomatic firestorms with “shithole countries”-style verbal diarrhea. As Trump himself famously said, he could “shoot somebody and not lose voters.” It’s strangely, sadly true.

It’s also true of Trump’s new handpuppet, Kavanaugh. To whom the idea of “a personality that is even-handed, unbiased, impartial, and dedicated to a process, not a result” in no way applies. Certainly not at this point, after he ranted about “the revenge of the Clintons,” and openly attacked “the Left,” “Democrats” and (for Crissakes) “the media” during his whinefest in front of the US Senate…beyond the pale, folks. We live in a strange new land, in strange new times.

Post-American, by many accounts. The much-revered and much-hated icon of the Left, Michael Moore, predicted Trump’s election in a written article in 2016. The prediction was often reprinted and ballyhooed as campaign-banner fodder by the Far Right. But they missed the warning flash of Moore’s article, and the unnerving prediction: “And now you’re fucked…When the rightfully angry people of Ohio and Michigan and Pennsylvania and Wisconsin find out after a few months in office that President Trump wasn’t going to do a damn thing for them, it will be too late to do anything about it…Goodnight America. You’ve just elected the last president of the United States.”

Pretty dramatic words, but unfortunately the further we sink into the era of the Trump regime, the less incredible such sentiments sound. We’re witnessing an active dismantling and attempted discrediting of institutions ranging from public education to the Free Press. And the schemed attack on the Supreme Court, again, has proven successful for far-righters who don’t give a damn about being even-handed or protecting an independent judiciary.

Trump said that Dr. Ford seemed “a very credible witness”and “very compelling” on one day. Then a few days later he openly mocked her like he was a dimwitted schoolkid. He gushed about what a great man Kavanaugh is, then the next day said, “I don’t even know him!” It’s all topsy-turvy and bizarre, the truth is treated like a curious artifact from a long-dead age, and Trump’s supporters act like it’s all “normal.” But it’s not. And the glimmer of hope is that there are plenty of us out here who understand perfectly well that Emperor Trump ain’t wearing any clothes. We see very clearly what’s happening in this country, the legitimizing of white supremacy, misogyny, homophobia, and bigotry of every stripe. We see you. We see you and know you and so does the whole world, and so will the history books, baby.

“I know Brett Kavanaugh but I wouldn’t confirm him,” wrote Benjamin Wittes, who had previously published and even admired Kavanaugh. “I cannot condone the partisanship—which was raw, undisguised, naked, and conspiratorial—from someone who asks for public faith as a dispassionate and impartial judicial actor. His performance was wholly inconsistent with the conduct we should expect from a member of the judiciary.”

And the message to women in this country, again, is sadly obvious. “Shut the hell up. Because if you ever dare to speak up about this kind of thing again, we will openly ridicule you and no one in power will ever take you seriously.”

******************************************** “Kavanaugh, though, has a distinct honor: He will be the first justice nominated by someone who lost the popular vote to earn his seat on the bench with support from senators representing less than half of the country while having his nomination opposed by a majority of the country.” -Philip Bump *********************************************

CODA: Yeah. The country is divided in a way it hasn’t been since Vietnam. Extremists are multiplying, and they’re nurturing diseases that were seething under the surface for many years before Trump. And indeed, we’re witnessing a perverse resurgence of tolerance for fascism and white supremacism worldwide. But here in America, Trump is the ringmaster of the new Ugliness; his lowering the bar of public discourse, his smug approval of greed and cruelty, his nod-and-a-wink okey-dokes to racism, misogyny and all manner of bigotry—he has legitimized, pardoned and coronated the creeps, the rotten underbelly of our society, the very worst we have to offer.

Let’s vote some of these bastards out in November, folks.

#Kavanaugh #Trump #SupremeCourt #Resist #MeToo #DrChristineBlaseyFord

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stwcrossover · 6 years

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shulk was a late addition to team f, so here’s a post on how he fits into the team f dynamics, as well as some further thoughts!

massive xenoblade chronicles spoilers under the cut

> shulk and jade and snake geek out about weapons a lot together

> shulk probably modifies one of jade’s guns, she loves it

> soma and shulk bond a lot about bodysharing. jade kind of does also, it’s just like

soma: reincarnation of some ancient anti-thesis to a god who now lives in my soul with me shulk: Literally A God hijacked my body jade: woof

> team f has a group chat that jade and shulk managed to rig togehter. it’s a local network and only works between their devices, and honestly they don’t even need it because they’re probably rarely apart but soma and jade really wanted the aesthetic of it.

> shulk is the youngest (by a year), jade and soma tease him about it constantly

> kratos, meanwhile, realizes jsut how young these kids are and is kind of fucked up by it, fuck he’s getting fond and protective, why are his dad instincts so strong (because they all remind him of lloyd in one way or another tbh,) (also, he needed someone to attach to,,) (he just got Three)

> soma and jade and shulk have a longrunning discussion going about how multiverses interact with each other and how certain things (like video games based on others lives) bleed into some universes but not others. soma only understands part of the bullshit they go on about, because shulk is a nerd and jade is a space witch with a deep understanding of her aspect, and so they can get really technically and soma is like “please. Please.”

> no one likes zanza that much. drac and kratos especially---who can feel just how powerful he is---are the most put off by him. drac’s a little pissy, kratos is just uncomfortable

> there’s a lot of jokes about this party being made up of a vessel for a god a vessel for essentially the devil a girl who is a god and a man who is an angel along with a Regular Ass Human

> soma sees alucard in kratos. will drac accidentally try parenting him? i don’t know but probably since that’d be fucking hilarious

> kratos and snake are the coparents some fucking how but occasionally soma joins them discussing dad troubles

> kratos and drac have a Dead Wives Club

> the three kids all get along really well and are the life of the party

> alvis Canonically knows a couple of memes so occasionally soma or jade will say something and shulk will be like “oh i’ve heard alvis say that, what’s it mean”

> i thought “kratos reminds shulk of dickson” and i’m tendo????? alternatively of dunban but i think snake and dunban are more adjacent, either way i’m tendo. jade and soma are kind of fiora and reyn adjacent but Barely,

> the point is shulk clings to kratos a little bit as a parental figure, probably

> wonders if kratos sees some of yuan in shulk (in shulk’s inability to let fate Just Happen To Them) but also fuck me that’s a lloyd thing too isn’t it. maybe soma is more yuan adjacent. idk where i’m going with any of this

> i’m scrambling but i think that’s everything

> team f................... Good

#team f #c: soma #c: shulk #c: jade #c: kratos #c: snake #oh god i have to tag fucking #c: dracula #c: zanza #PUTS HEAD IN ME HANDS

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thezachrogers · 6 years

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TOP 50 OF 2017

(revised 1/15/2018)

Well everyone, as 2017 comes to a close, and as the holidays are just a head of us full of the best and most anticipated films of the year...it is time to recap some of the best and worst movies I have seen so far this year...50 of them to be exact!

WORST TEN:

10. Life (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

Sony was very vague about if this was a prequel to the upcoming Tom Hardy Venom spinoff. Even if it was or wasn’t, it would not make this film any better. So if and only if it is in fact a Marvel film, SPOILER ALERT, the symbiote makes it back to Earth, darkens (goes from white to black when hitting Earth’s atmosphere) and can kill or keep its hosts alive. The end.

IMDB - 6.6/10 Rotten Tomatoes 67% My score - 2/5 Stars

9. Transformers: The Last Knight (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

This is arguably the worst installment of the explosive franchise. I keep scratching my head as to why these films keep getting made. And then I remember, “oh yea, toy sales.” Even though Michael Bay and Mark Wahlberg are calling it quits, a sixth installment is in motion set as a prequel in the 80s that will be loyal to the original transformers animated series will drop sometime in 2019. Don’t waste your time on this piece of garbage.

IMDB - 5.2/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 16% My score - 1.5/5 Stars

8. Death Note (available for stream on NETFLIX now)

I laughed repeatedly at how ridiculous this movie was. Based off the anime, Willem Dafoe stars as Anti-hero/Villain Akira who is a demon that comes along with a book titled “death note” that allows you to kill anyone you want by writing their name down in a book. Production is quality for Netflix, and I can say that I did enjoy this movie even though I knew it was bad. Definitely one for the tweens.

IMDB - 4.6/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 40% My score - 1.5/5 Stars

7. GOLD (now available for stream on Netflix, Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

Why does Matthew McConaughey now think he has to completely change his appearance and body weight in order for us to assume he is a good actor? It worked with Dallas Buyers Club because he didn’t just change his body, but it was also the token gay film of the year to take home all of the awards. Gold however has no gay undertones, neither does it have humor, nor a good story. Just a fat, balding, snaggle-toothed version of himself with an excessively hot out of his league version of Bryce Dallas Howard. Another true story that is crap and should have been made into a movie, this film should have been a straight to Redbox or Netflix feature.

IMDB - 6.7/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 43% My Score - 1.5/5 Stars

6. The Heart of Man (one night only documentary for Fathom Events at AMC)

I don’t even know y’all. Why do Christians feel the need to put crap like this in theaters? I can’t even call this a documentary - there was this weird analogy/metaphorical scene throughout the film with this “God” like character (old and bearded hipster) playing a violin and this other dude, let’s call him gaptooth, running away chasing his definition of hot girls (guess they couldn’t find any to be in the movie) and he didn’t want to play violin anymore. Then the girl he is making out with turns into a crack head dude (so I guess she’s a tranny?) and he/she locks gaptooth in a cave. Whaaaaaaaaaaa? Throughout the “artpiece” there were people spilling out their guts in interview format on committing adultery. Yea it was weird. I walked out with my community group thinking “so do all of our wives think we are cheating on them?

Yea this was just a giant turd. Don’t bother seeing it.

IMDB - 8.6/10 (probably from christian bloggers) Rotten Tomatoes - no score (surprised?) my score - 1/5 Stars

5. Baywatch (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

Wow, this was so bad. I don’t know when Dwayne Johnson will ever make a good film. How is this dude the highest paid actor in Hollywood when he ONLY makes trash movies? I know he’s a great person and all but...we need a good movie from you man. With the exception of the eye candy as seen above there is nothing watchable about this movie.

IMDB - 5.6/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 19% My score - 1 star

4. Power Rangers (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

You are probably not surprised, but the worst five films I have seen this year were all my wife’s doing. This one is on the list as well. I grew up a Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers fan and knew this one was going to be terrible as well. Another movie made simply to sell toys. Such a garbage movie with too many good actors like Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Banks, and Stranger Things 2′s Dacre Montgomery. Please don’t waste your time with this movie unless you have kids that want to watch as they will probably love it and want to go to the store after and buy toys.

IMDB - 6.1/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 43% My score - 1 star

3. A Dog’s Purpose (now available on Digital, Blu-ray, DVD)

AND THE WORST MOVIE THAT I SAW IN 2017 GOES TO...

AND THE WORST REBOOT OF ALL TIME GOES TO...

AND THE WORST START OF A UNIVERSE/FRANCHISE GOES TO...

AND THE WORST MOVIE OF RUSSEL CROWE’S CAREER GOES TO...

AND THE WORST MOVIE OF TOM CRUISE’S CAREER GOES TO...

2. The Mummy (2017) (now available to not watch on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

1. Flatliners (review coming soon)

IMDB - 5.5/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 16% My score .25/5 Stars

TOP 56 (revised 1/15/18)

56. The Lost City of Z (Now on Amazon Prime, Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)The cast is superb. This a true story as far as script goes, not really much you can change..it’s just not a great story. No great character development, even though the acting is great; halfway through the movie, junior has a time jump and grows to be Tom Holland, who we now know and love as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. The movie is just weak.IMDB - 6.6/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 87% My score - 2.5/5 Stars

55. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

54. The Case for Christ (2017) (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

Not bad Pure Flix Studios, not bad at all.

IMDB - 5.9/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 55% Me- 3 Stars

53. Despicable Me 3

52. Bright (Review Coming Soon)

51. Better Watch Out (now on Digital)

Fun, suspenseful, thrilling movie that brings a twist on the Holiday genre. Another one for Dacre Montgomery in 2017...this is a satirical horror, and is nothing like Home Alone as what you may have thought from the trailers.

IMDB - 6.6/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 90% My score - 3/5 Stars

50. The Fate of the Furious (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

49. Kong: Skull Island (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

Do we need another King Kong reboot? No. Was the movie cool? Yes. This film also sets up to be a follow-up of 2014′s Godzilla and opens up to a monster universe franchise.

IMDB - 6.7/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 76% My Score - 3.25/5 Stars

48. Murder On the Orient Express (2017) (now in theaters)

Probably the most A-List Ensemble cast of 2017 and directed and starred by Kenneth Branagh, this movie was lots of fun! I would recommend waiting for rental early in 2018 rather than seeing in theaters but without seeing the original film, this story will keep you guessing till the end on who did it!

IMDB - 6.8/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 60% My Score 3.5 Stars

47. Kingsman: The Golden Circle (coming soon to Digital, Blu-Ray, and DVD)

Just as fun as the first movie, excited for the third!

IMDB - 7.2/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 51% My Score - 3.5/5 Stars

46. Hush (now available for stream on NETFLIX)

IMDB - 6.6/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 94% My Score - 3.75/5 Stars

45. Lady Bird (Review coming soon)

44. Gaga: Five Foot Two (now available for stream on NETFLIX)

A peak into the life of the last two years of Gaga’s life recording and realasing her latest album “Joanne” leading up to her superbowl halftime performance.

IMDB - 7.2/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 75% My Score - 3.75/5 Stars

43. Silence (now available on Digital and DVD)

42. Super Dark Times (now on Digital)

This has been the year of suspense/horror! This film is super dark (pun intended) and definitely a period piece that captures life for teens in the late 90s during the times of the Columbine shootings. Video Games do affect the brain y’all!

IMDB - 6.6/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 91% My Score - 4/5 Stars

41. Logan Lucky (now on Digital, Blu-Ray, and DVD)

The Redneck Ocean’s Eleven from the same director with dry humor. I enjoyed, definitely a must rent.

IMDB - 7.2/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 93% - My Score - 4/5 Stars

40. Ingrid Goes West (now on Digital, Blu-Ray, and DVD)

Brilliant film about people obsessed with instagram likes and revolving their whole world around social media. Reminds me of ABC’s The Bachelor/The Bachelorette pretty people.

IMDB - 6.7/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 85% My Score - 4/5 Stars

39. The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (now available for stream on NETFLIX)

The fourth and final film of Adam Sandler’s four film Netflix contact, he FINALLY delivers. Meyerowitz has already won sever film festival awards and critics’ awards. I see Oscar nods for the future of this movie. Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Adam Sandler, and Ben Stiller all deliver in this melancholy dry-wit drama, definitely has a taste of Woody Allen in it.

IMDB - 7.1/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 93% - My Score - 4/5 Stars

38. Justice League (in theaters now)

37. Happy Death Day (review coming soon)

36. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

35. The Founder (now available to stream on NETFLIX, Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

34. The Lego Batman Movie (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

33. Beauty and the Beast (2017) (now available to stream on NETFLIX, Digital, Blu-Ray, and DVD)

32. John Wick: Chapter 2 (now available to stream on HBO GO/NOW, Digital, Blu-Ray, and DVD)

31. American Made (now in theaters)

Based on the events of the life of pilot Barry Seal. Seal (Cruise) was an airline pilot recruited by the CIA to pilot for Pablo Escobar and the Medellin and Cali Cartel and monitor activity for the CIA. Ironic how one of Cruise’s best and one of his worst films can come out with in three months of each other.

IMDB - 7.2/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 87% My Score - 4/5 Stars

30. Our Souls at Night (now available for stream on NETFLIX)

When three Hollywood legends like Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, and Bruce Dern are on screen together; it’s movie magic. Hands down, Netflix’s best original film to date. I’m throwing Oscar nods it’s way.

IMDB - 7/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 91% My Score - 4/5 Stars

29. Goodbye Christopher Robin (review coming soon)

28. War for the Planet of the Apes

The final installment into the Caesar’s prequel trilogy, this is hands down the best Apes film of them all. Woody Harrelson plays the best antagonist in the Apes saga and this movie ends with you wanting more.

IMDB - 7.6/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 93% My Score - 4/5 Stars

27. Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (review coming soon)

26. The Greatest Showman (now in theaters)

25. IT (2017) (now in theaters)

The reboot of the infamous clown that terrorized my childhood. Blows the original 1990 miniseries out of the water. I am so jacked up for the second installment as this film has made so much money that tells me that the all grown up versions of the characters will get an A List cast!

IMDB - 7.7/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 85% My Score - 4/5 Stars

24. Split (now on Digital, Blu-Ray, and DVD)

23. Wind River (now in Theaters, on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

No, this is not a Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olson), and Punisher (Jon Bernthal) spinoff...however it is one of the best thriller/suspense/murder mysteries to release in the last decade! The whole cast brings it on a story about a murder on a Native American reserve where the law can barely touch.

IMDB - 7.8/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 88% My Score - 4.5/5 Stars

22. Hidden Figures (now on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

21. Blade Runner 2049 (now in theaters)

Not my 11th favorite movie of the year, but it deserves to be this high up on the list of “best films” to appreciate what the first Blade Runner did for film and the sci-fi genre as a whole. If you’re wanting a lot of Harrison Ford, this is not your movie, he doesn't show up until 1 hour and 55 minutes into the movie. Gosling is definitely the protagonist. They left it open for there to be third movie but I also think they left it open for us to imagine what comes next as if there will not be a third. All in all it was visually stunning and was a great script for the long awaited sequel 35 years in the making.

IMDB - 8.4/10 Rotten Tomatoes 87% My score - 4/5 Stars

20. Dunkirk (Digital, Blu-Ray, and DVD)

My all time favorite director made another masterpiece. I can say that this was an attempt at story, not character which was a little shocking to say the least coming from Christopher Nolan! Harry Styles definitely stole the show with this one! Tom Hardy's character arc was my favorite story line out of the three narratives in the film. Definitely a Blu-Ray to buy for Christmas!

IMDB - 8.3/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 92% My score - 4.5/5 Stars

19. Spider-Man: Homecoming (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

read review in previous post here

18. The Big Sick (now available for stream on Amazon Prime, Digital, Blu-ray, DVD)

Hilarious and heart felt, this is the true biographical story of Kumail Nanjiani as portrayed by Kumail Nanjiani.

IMDB - 7.7/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 98% My Score - 4.5/Stars

17. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (now in theaters)

16. Patriots Day (now on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

15. Stronger (review coming soon)

14. Get Out (now on digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

review posted here

13. Darkest Hour (review coming soon)

12. The Disaster Artist (now in theaters)

11. Wonder Woman (now on digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

review posted here

10. Baby Driver (now on Digital, Blu-Ray, and DVD)

Filmed in Atlanta, takes place in Atlanta, shows off some hot spots in Atlanta I have been to on several occasions, I can say I have some bias on why this movie is so far up there. Unfortunately, this will probably be the last film of Kevin Spacey’s long career. I do enjoy his work, hate to hear who he is as a person though. Spacey did play a very minor role in this film. Arguably the best role of Jamie Foxx’s career, Ansel Elgort’s breakout performance and definitely throws 2015′s Live Action Cinderella’s Lily James as an A-List actor from here on out. Great film to watch in 4K as it is action packed, check this movie out now!

IMDB - 7.8/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 93% My score - 5 Stars

9. Brawl In Cell Block 99 (now on Digital)

Hands down, the best film of Vince Vaughn’s career. He should be nominated for the Academy Award. 180 from Wedding Crashers y’all, believe me. This film is exploding with hand to hand combat violence and acting like I’ve never seen from a comedic actor in my life. Probably the darkest action film this year next to LOGAN. I cannot say much more as I do not want to give the plot away, I think it’ll be the worth the watch if you don’t know much before watching the movie.

IMDB - 7.2/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 92% My score - 5 Stars

8. I, Tonya (Review Coming soon)

7. Coco (now in theaters today!)

Pixar never disappoints as this is one of their best films yet! Heart-warming, fun, and full of laughter, I would say this is Pixar’s best film since 2015′s Inside Out! This Pixar instant classic will remind adults and show kids the importance of family (especially this time of year)!

IMDB - 9.1/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 95% My Score - 5 Stars

6. Thor: Ragnarok (now in theaters)

Now in my top three favorite MCU films EVER!! (next to Avengers and Iron Man) Ragnarok will make you pee your pants laugh as it is funnier than Guardians 2 from earlier this year and as it was directed by co-creator of HBO’s Flight of the Conchords Taika Waititi! Learning the movie was 80% improv by the actors made it this movie that much better. The entire cast from Hemsworth to Ruffalo to Blanchett, Thor finally gets the movie this superhero deserves.

IMDB - 8.2/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 92% My score - 5 Stars

5. Wonder (now in theaters)

Can’t...stop...crying. The feel good movie of the year. Ask my wife, I literally cried from the first five minutes to the last second of the movie. This film broke my heart in all the best ways. Wonder (based on the NY Times best selling fiction novel) is a very real story about boy with Treacher Collins’ Syndrome (facial deformities) starting public school in the 5th grade and everything that comes along with it for his family and friend’s as they walk through this journey with Auggie. One of the best takes on character I have ever seen in film. This picture will be nominated for several Academy Awards including best lead actor by none other than Auggie Pullman himself 2015′s Room’s Jacob Tremblay. I want to hug every kid in this movie, the entire ensemble cast was superb.

IMDB - 8.1 Rotten Tomatoes - 86% My score - 5 Stars

4. The Post (review coming soon)

3. Molly’s Game (review coming soon)

2. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

1. LOGAN (now on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

see review in previous post here.

and there it is fam - my top 50 list of 2017! Feel free to share, comment, and like! As the holidays are coming upon us this list will get updates and I will be posting single movie reviews as well!

- Z

#movie #2017 #coco #wonder #thor ragnarok #justice league #thanksgiving

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chiseler · 4 years

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Theater of War

Towering at six and a half gangling feet, with a long face that drooped like a pensive sunflower over everyone he met, playwright Robert Sherwood loomed large in New York culture, in more than one sense, from the 1930s through the war and beyond. Between 1936 and the coming of war in Europe he gradually transformed from a writer of Pulitzer-winning antiwar plays to a gung-ho war propagandist and speechwriter for Franklin Roosevelt. In his shift from isolationist to interventionist, he helped prod the rest of America in the same direction.

New York theater in the 1930s had a long conversation with its audiences about isolation and intervention, war and pacifism. Elmer Rice wrote what are said to be the first two Broadway dramas responding to what was happening in Hitler's Germany: We, the People, which ran at the Empire Theatre on 42nd Street in 1933, and Judgment Day, which opened at the nearby Belasco the following year. Rice -- born Elmer Reizenstein on East 90th Street in 1892 -- graduated from New York Law School in 1912 but preferred courtroom dramas to actual courtrooms. On Trial, his first play (1914), was a giant hit, as was the 1929 Street Scene, a realistic drama about tenement life in New York, which earned him a Pulitzer and was adapted as both a film and later an opera, with music by Kurt Weill and lyrics by Langston Hughes.

In 1932 he visited Germany and was appalled by the fascism and anti-Semitism. He came home to write the sprawling We, the People, which dramatized the lives of working class and farm families being pulled under by the Depression. Rice's message was that unless the businessmen and politicians who ran the country did something, America could be heading for a German-style revolution and fascistic crackdown. Audiences who could still afford Broadway tickets in Depression 1933 didn't go to the opulent Empire Theatre to be hectored and depressed. The show opened in January and closed in March after only 49 performances.

We, the People was in the middle of its short run when the Reichstag in Berlin burned on the night of February 27. The Nazis arrested four Communists and tried them in Leipzig for arson and treason. In the internationally publicized trial, one of the last displays of a free court in Hitler's Germany, only one of the men was convicted (and soon guillotined). Rice used it as the inspiration for Judgment Day, about a show trial in a fictionalized Eastern European country where members of the "People's Party" are accused of trying to assassinate "our leader, Minister-President Grigori Vesnic" of the National Party. Unlike the Leipzig trial, this one ends with an appearance by the dictator Vesnic himself, and his assassination there in the courtroom. Judgment Day fared little better than We, the People, closing after three months.

One of the first Broadway plays to address the Nazis' abuse of Jews -- and the only one of the period that depicted Nazi violence onstage -- was Clifford Odet's one-act Till the Day I Die. The Group Theatre presented it and Odets' Waiting for Lefty at the Longacre Theatre on West 48th Street for 136 performances in the spring and summer of 1935. It was set in Berlin, where Nazis have rounded up some Jews and Communists. They smash one prisoner's fingers with a rifle butt, and kick and beat others. Audiences were shocked and horrified. In addition, Odets flirted with the idea, widely promoted by the left in the 1930s, that the Nazis' brutality and cult of extreme virility were twisted expressions of their homosexuality. One officer tells another that "it might be much better for both of us if you weren't so graceful with those expressive hands of yours. Flitting around here like a soulful antelope. I'm lonely, I've got no one in the whole world." The other replies, "You've got me, Eric."

Two of the most talked-about plays of 1936, when Americans were still almost unanimously isolationist, were outspokenly antiwar: Irwin Shaw's Bury the Dead and Sherwood's Idiot's Delight. Shaw, whose actual surname was Shamforoff, was born in the Bronx in 1913 and raised in Brooklyn, where he graduated from Brooklyn College. He was 23 when he wrote Bury the Dead, a bitterly absurdist antiwar fantasy that ran from April to July 1936 at Broadway's Ethel Barrymore Theatre. It was set in "the second year of the war that is to begin tomorrow night." The corpses of six young soldiers who died in battle stand up in their shrouds and refuse to be buried. This causes all sorts of problems for the army brass, the warmongering businessmen, and the clergy, while the news media spin it as a sign of "the indomitable spirit of the American doughboy." In the play's best scenes, the corpses' wives and mothers try to convince them to lie back down. A twenty-year-old soldier tells his mom that he lived too little to be content with death. An angry wife berates her husband for only standing up to the generals now that he's dead. When no one can convince them, a frustrated general grabs a gun and tries to kill them all over again, but they simply walk off.

Bury the Dead was a critical sensation. In the Times, Brooks Atkinson raved about "the genius of Mr. Shaw's lacerating drama. It is a rebellious dance of scabrous death on the battlefield. Take it also as a warning from the young." Eleanor Roosevelt had just begun writing a nationally syndicated daily newspaper column, "My Day," which, amazingly, she would keep up until a few months before her death in 1962. After seeing Bury the Dead in May 1936, she wrote that "the thoughts hit you like hammer blows," adding that it would be "long be remembered by anyone who sees it and its strength lies, I think, in the fact that it is the expression of the thought and feeling of thousands upon thousands of people today."

She was right about its longevity: Bury the Dead remains one of the best-known of all American antiwar plays, and continues to be performed in revivals as the country goes from one conflict to the next.

Idiot's Delight followed Sherwood's first bona-fide Broadway success, The Petrified Forest. Sherwood grew up in Manhattan at the beginning of the century, son of a prosperous Wall Streeter and an artist. Just as the Great War broke out in 1914 he went off to Harvard, where he wrote for the Lampoon and the Hasty Pudding Club. When America entered the war in 1917 he volunteered for the American Expeditionary Force, but he was rejected as too tall for combat -- the standard depth for front line trenches was only six feet. So he crossed the border and joined the kilted Canadian Black Watch. On an infantry charge in France he was gassed and got hung up in barbed wire. Like many other young Americans, he went Over There convinced of the righteousness of the war, and came back shocked by its obscene futility.

In 1919 a family friend got Sherwood an entry-level job at Vanity Fair, where Robert Benchley and Dorothy Parker took a shine to him. Despite an apparently complete lack of their flair for cunning repartee -- Parker called him the Conversation Stopper -- he joined them in the Algonquin Round Table, the "Vicious Circle," with regulars who included theater critic Alexander Woollcott; Harold Ross, who would start The New Yorker in 1925; the leftist journalist Heywood Broun; and novelist Edna Ferber.

It was Ferber who encouraged Sherwood to write plays. His first work on Broadway, the 1927 The Road to Rome, was a light historical fantasy in which Hannibal is talked out of sacking Rome by the emperor's amorous wife, who convinces him that love, sex and joy are preferable to war, death and pain. Sherwood assayed various topics and styles over the next few years before finding his mature voice with The Petrified Forest, which opened at the Broadhurst Theatre in 1935 with Humphrey Bogart and Leslie Howard in the roles they would reprise in the Warner Bros. movie that appeared the following year.

Sherwood's Idiot's Delight opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre in May 1936, when Bury the Dead was still running nearby, and ran for 300 performances. In a set-up similar to the one in Forest, an international gaggle of characters gets stuck at a ski lodge in the Italian Alps. Principle among them are a down-at-heels American showman named Harry Van, a wealthy arms merchant named Weber, and the mysterious Russian countess Irene, who is really a show girl and con artist Harry spent a night with years ago. Just as they congregate, war breaks out again among the European powers, giving Sherwood the opportunity to have the characters voice different points of view, from Harry's feckless American optimism to Weber's worldly cynicism.

Irene says to Weber, "I'm so happy for you. All this great, wonderful death and destruction, everywhere. And you promoted it!"

"Ask yourself: why shouldn't they die?" Weber replies. "And who are the greater criminals -- those who sell the instruments of death, or those who buy them, and use them?" He argues that she shouldn't blame men like him for war, but the millions of "little people" who allow themselves to be goaded into fighting with cheap appeals to patriotism and duty.

Sherwood was citing an idea that was central to the antiwar movement in the mid-1930s: the notion that international munitions dealers like Weber, the "merchants of death," had used propaganda and political influence to manipulate the world into the Great War. The remarkable Marine Corps General and twice Medal of Honor recipient Smedley Butler put this notion succinctly in his pamphlet War Is a Racket, published in 1935. He argued that modern war was choreographed by the arms dealers, steel companies, bankers and other capitalists for their own immense profit and everyone else's terrible loss. In 1934 this idea led to a Senate Special Committee on Investigation of the Munitions Industry, better known as the Nye Committee for its chairman, the isolationist North Dakota Senator Gerald Nye. The later-infamous Alger Hiss served as its chief counsel. The committee not only put an official stamp on the antiwar movement; it helped prod Congress into passing a series of Neutrality Acts beginning in 1935 that prohibited the export of arms to warring nations; banned loans to warring nations; and forbade U.S. merchant ships from carrying arms to belligerents, even if manufactured elsewhere.

Idiot's Delight won Sherwood his first Pulitzer. He wrote the screenplay for the MGM film adaptation that appeared in 1939, with Clark Gable as Harry Van and Norma Shearer as Irene.

The situation in Europe had changed a great deal between 1936 and 1939, and the film was dated the day it opened. Hitler and Stalin had, each in his own way, made their intentions unmistakably clear, forcing Sherwood and Shaw to reassess their antiwar stances of just three years earlier.

Shaw's The Gentle People: A Brooklyn Fable premiered at the Belasco Theatre in January 1939, with Harold Clurman directing an extraordinary cast that included Same Jaffe, Franchot Tone, Sylvia Sidney, Karl Malden, and Lee J. Cobb. Shaw transposed events in Europe to the Brooklyn waterfront, where a pair of middle-aged fishermen, Jonah and Philip, are preyed on by a Hitleresque thug named Goff. He shakes them down for weekly pay-offs, and for a long while they give in, in effect appeasing him the way England and France appeased Hitler. "We are not all made out of the same material," Goff explains to them. "There are superior people and there are inferior people. The superior people make the inferior people work for them. That is the law of nature. If there is any trouble you beat 'em up a coupla times and then there is no more trouble. Then you have peace."

Eventually, Jonah tells Philip that the only way to rid their neighborhood of Goff is to murder him.

"All my life I wanted only peace and gentleness," Philip counters. "Violence. Leave it to men like Goff."

Jonah replies that "if you want peace and gentleness, you got to take violence out of hands of the people like Goff and you got to take it in your own hands and use it like a club. Then maybe, on the other side of the violence, there will be peace and gentleness."

They kill Goff, and not only get away with it, but get back all the money he extorted from them. In an introduction, Shaw wryly notes: "This play is a fairy tale with a moral. In it justice triumphs and the meek prove victorious over arrogant and violent men. The author does not pretend that this is the case in real life."

When the U.S. went to war two years later, Shaw would enlist in the Army and serve as a warrant officer. He'd put his wartime experiences into two later novels, The Young Lions and Rich Man, Poor Man.

Robert Sherwood was "sickened" when the Soviets invaded Finland late in 1939. Although he still considered himself a pacifist, he had now come to equate isolationism with escapism, reluctantly concluding that sooner or later the United States would be forced to defend itself and "save the human race from complete calamity." He had "consistently tried to plead the cause of pacifism," he wrote in a letter that December. "But the terrible truth is that when war comes to you, you have to fight it." As the outgunned Finns mounted a splendidly courageous defense that humiliated the Red Army through the winter, Sherwood churned out a play about a Finnish family and assorted others who join the resistance. His friends Alfred Lunt, who was of Finnish descent, and Lynne Fontanne agreed to star, and Lunt asked to direct. Montgomery Clift and Sidney Greenstreet were also cast. They were still in rehearsals when Finland finally capitulated in March 1940, but all felt the play should go on.

There Shall Be No Night opened on Broadway at the Alvin (now the Neil Simon) Theatre that April. In the Times, Brooks Atkinson was critical of the play's dramatic weaknesses but not its message, declaring that "the best parts of it speak for the truth with enkindling faith and passionate conviction." Life praised the "simple, poignant story" and said it had "chances of being an important hit."

Isolations from the left, right and middle attacked the play. The Washington Post assailed it as "a rank inflammatory job, pleading for intervention." The Daily Worker denounced Sherwood as a "stooge of the imperialist warmongers," while conservatives called him a stooge of international Communism (because the play theorized that the Soviets were merely Hitler’s tools).

The same month that Sherwood's play opened, Hitler's Blitzkrieg devoured Denmark and Norway. In May German armies poured into Belgium, Luxembourg, and Holland. Sherwood wrote a full-page ad that appeared in the New York Times and other newspapers nationwide, asserting that only "an imbecile or a traitor" could fail to see that if Britain and France fell too, America would find itself "alone in a barbaric world – a world ruled by Nazis."

France fell in June, and Hitler's Luftwaffe began bombing England to soften it up for a planned invasion. By the fall of 1940, Sherwood was helping to write Franklin Roosevelt's speeches explaining to the American people why the U.S. had to get involved. After America did enter the war at the end of 1941, Sherwood would run the foreign branch of the government's Office of Wartime Information, including the Voice of America, as well as continuing to help write FDR's speeches. He would not write another Broadway play until the war was over.

by John Strausbaugh

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spread-the-word · 4 years

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A Brief Walkthrough of the Anti-LGBT Movement: Then and Now

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1mLHIgqZzulSvMBj_NZPl9Di4x0QFayBfrdPdJxClQi4/edit?usp=sharing

In November, one of my friends and I gave a presentation to our Writing and Activism class on the Anti-LGBT movement. Here is the presentation and associated write-up, if you’re interested in learning about the history—present of the movement that rose up in resistance to the LGBT movement (a movement mainly made up of angry bigots) then read on! The presentation includes videos and visuals, and the write-up is under the cut!

LGBT people have existed as long as civilizations have. Shocking, I know. Many Native Americans happily lived queer lifestyles before colonists showed up. “Joya” was a term for men living as women, and the female Crow Chief Barcheeampe was found to have many wives. Colonization, however, brought with it anti-LGBT sentiment.

In 1969, the Stonewall Riots ignited the modern LGBT Rights movement. Before this, the Anti-LGBT movement had been in its genesis. Over the following decade, the Anti-LGBT movement moved into social unrest.

In 1977, Anita Bryant founded the first national anti-gay group, Save Our Children, starting organized opposition to the Gay Rights movement, and in 1979 Reverend Jerry Falwell founded the Moral Majority, bringing about an effort to increase fundamentalist votes and elect Christian Right candidates. They made a “Declaration of War” against homosexuality.

The movement’s mobilization continued well into the 80s as these groups continued to gain support and a platform. The Supreme Court case Bowers v. Hardwick in 1986 ruled that anti-sodomy statutes were constituational, and gave renewed vigor to the movement. At the same time, the LGBT+ movement was growing. The first National Coming Out Day was observed in 1988.

Anti-LGBT legislation was upheld into the 90s, when a 1992 amendment that would have protected lesbians and gay men from discrimination in Colorado was overturned, and in 1994 when 40+ fundamentalist groups, led by Focus on the Family, met in Colorado to coordinate a “special rights” argument to oppose gay rights.

Happily, the anti-LGBT movement has had to change as the LGBT movement has grown and gained more traction and public support. Public Opinion: Being anti-LGBT isn’t as popular now as it was before. On June 26th, 2015, gay marriage was legalized in all 50 states, so many anti-gay arguments have turned to “slippery slope” theories, wondering what will happen now. Anti-gay marriage arguments may technically be on the wrong side of the law now, but other legislation affecting LGBT protections is in jeopardy. Marriage was not the great equalizer, it was just a step in the right direction, as the anti-LGBT movement is by no means out of opportunities to roll back change and protections for the LGBT community, and bigotry still exists even if it is becoming less popular.

In North Carolina, HB2 (“The Bathroom Bill”) prevented transgender people from using the bathroom matching their gender identity, and nullified local ordinances (that existed before) protecting LGBT people. After public backlash, it was replaced with HB142 and the public was satisfied. This, however, has been deemed a “fake repeal” of HB2, as it doubles down on much of HB2. Trans people are no longer prevented from using public facilities matching their gender identity, but they are also not protected. HB142 also prevents decisions on discrimination protections in employment until Dec. 2020 (when it will be reexamined). However, until then, it is perfectly legal for an employer in NC to fire their employee because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and there isn’t even any guarantee that this will be overturned in Dec. 2020, it’s just being “reexamined.” Whatever the hell that will mean by next December for the state that I’ve lived in all my life and I would very much like to continue living in as a lesbian, I don’t know.

In June 12, 2016, the second deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, with 49 dead and 53 injured, occured at the Pulse Nightclub in Florida. The shooter entered with two weapons (an assault rifle and handgun that he bought legally), and threatened to put bomb vests on people in the club. It was a violent, radical, militant horror. The motivation behind the shooting was deemed unclear; Omar Mateen claimed to have ties to Al-Qaeda and Isis (he was investigated in 2013/14 for possible ties to a suicide bombing). This was, however, clearly a hate crime: The shooter’s father claimed that his son was angered by the sight of men kissing.

Hate preachers are other particularly well-known members of the Anti-LGBT community. They give Christianity a bad rep in the LGBT community, although there are still members of the community that are Christians and refuse those hateful beliefs. It is important that these people aren’t dismissed outright, however, because they often have huge followings and we need to take them somewhat seriously to combat it. Conversion therapy rises out of their doctrine, as do ridiculous terms like “sodomites” (here’s the true T: Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of rape and inhospitality, not homosexuality). Many preach :love the sinner, hate the sin” (gee, thanks) but one church in particular is infamous for loudly hating both… The Westboro Baptist Church. They’re an extremely unpopular example, and their actual website is www.godhatesfags.com. On their FAQ page, under a question about why they focus on homosexuality, they say: “Imagine if embezzlers, murderers or rapists demanded that they be given protection - not punishment - by law because of their wrongful deeds? Or imagine that any of these sinners got together and paraded down Main Street in a ‘Murderers Pride Parade’? Most would gasp in amazement. Yet most embrace the notion that because someone engages in sex with a person of the same gender - and then chooses to broadcast that fact - they should be protected, even though God Almighty has forever denounced that practice and called it an abominable sin.”

It’s not all bleak, though, and there are things we can do in response. Join a Counter-protest, respond to ignorance with intelligence, and VOTE. Gay representation is becoming more prevalent in the media and in popular culture, and the bigots are more unpopular then ever. Forge ahead, you’re on the right side of history!

Thanks for reading all that. Here’s a video clowning Alex Jones to celebrate:

youtube

#lgbt #gay rights #history #lgbt activism #anti-lgbt

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displacedprincess · 6 years

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In which Elena messily keeps track of what became of people in Avalor upon Shuriki’s coup...

[alternatively: All My Friends Are Dead; Avaloran nobility and political elite version]

tw: death, lots and lots of death

*I knew them personally, well

Lady Dayana “Daya” Vidal* - one of my only girl friends ever, was 25. Werewolf, refused to ally with Shuriki, was executed shortly after I fled Avalor in the 2015 attempt to purge nobility who tried to stand up to her too strongly. She was like a big sister to me. I’m sorry, Daya. You deserved so much more.

Duke Estanislau y Duchess Laura Vidal - Daya’s parents. 2015. As far as I know, Estanislau’s brothers Antônio, Diago, and Oscar are alive and in hiding with their wives, children, and Daya’s younger brother. Possibly in Brazil. The Vidal family is ethnically Brazilian and has ties there still.

José Carlos Castillo* - Eldest cousin on my father’s side, his death was bragged about. 2015.

Senator Simão Monreal - commoner politician who survived two attempts on his life, 2015 and 2016. Was good friends with my father, the late King Raul. Refuses to renounce the Flores family as rightful rulers of Avalor. According to Esteban, orchestrates an underground rebel group these days.

Justina Monreal - Senator Monreal’s wife. officially: missing. factually: no longer with us

Gabriela, Edmaria, Camila, and Guillermo Monreal - Senator Monreal’s daughters and younger son. All still alive. for now

Dario Monreal* - Senator Monreal’s oldest son and third child, killed by one of Shuriki’s men in March 2017. We danced at my quince. We kissed once while dancing to reggaeton at a club a few years ago. He was kind and charming, he would’ve made a woman very happy one day.

Duke Gerardo Córdoba - Last I heard, he’s started funneling money to pro-crown rebel groups. Nobody in his family has been killed, keeping his head down. Duchess Miriam is keeping out of trouble, since her sister was executed in 2016.

Alonso Córdoba - The bane of my existence, but I’m glad he’s not dead.

Lady Serafina Molina* - Duchess Miriam’s younger half-sister. Executed with a group of other women in mid 2016 for planting a bomb at a nobility social event with the aim of blowing up Shuriki. Sera went out with a bang, which was what she would have wanted. Was good friends with Esteban. Aged 30. Esteban seemed rather distraught. I think they were closer than he let on.

Lady Camila Maradona, Duchess Genoveva Pacheco, Lady Paula Valderrama, Lady Pilar Castillo*, y Representative Salete Requião - the five women who devised the bomb plot with Sera Molina. Pilar was my cousin. They were all in their mid-twenties, with the exception of Representative Requião, she was 33. Esteban was close to most of them as well, they were his crowd.

Manolo Salas - He was a guard at the palace. About five years older than me. His official status is missing, but we know what that means. Manny was loyal to my family, unfortunately, until his death.

Lord Murillo y Lady Valentina Cortes - defected to Shuriki. Of course. They always slithered up to whoever they thought could promise them a better status and good marriages for their children.

Marina Cortes* - I’m surprised. Word from one of my contacts in Avalor states she’s ditched her family and since late 2016 has been living with pro-crown rebel fighters. She was a decent friend, just more prim and proper than I could ever be, I’m surprised she left her cozy life behind to live as a fugitive without access to a shower 24/7.

Reynaldo, Pedro, Ofelia, y Alodia Cortes - still alive, as far as I know. Alodia can’t be any older than...eleven. The Cortes kids are relatively young compared to the rest of the nobility in and around my generation. I hope Pedro follows Marina’s example at least. He was a good kid, I didn’t mind him.

Lord Mariano Duarte - he has apparently stepped out of the political spotlight. Signals he’s not fully backing Shuriki, but he won’t cause any trouble, either. They’ll watch him, he won’t do anything suspicious, and he will survive like a cockroach.

Felisa Elizaga* - Senator Elizaga’s middle kid and only daughter. Apparently was in prison but escaped at about the same time I came to Swynlake. What a boss bitch, if anybody could break out of prison, it WOULD be Felisa. No official word since, but probably alive. Her death would have been bragged about. Not even an army wants to fuck with Felisa.

Pablo Molano* - missing. parents were both commoner representatives to Avalor’s government. obviously, dead. Last seen in June 2017. He was sweet. Funny. Three years older than me; we were actually discussing a courtship possibility a few months before the coup. We decided we were better off as friends and ridiculously liberal political allies. I hope he’s just really good at hiding, but one of my contacts should have been able to confirm his being by now. He’s dead.

The list keeps growing longer, and I wish I could attach positive notes to more names. ‘Escaped to Peru!’ ‘Living in the Swiss Alps!’ ‘Fighting with the anti-Shuriki groups!’ but too many people are coming up dead. Or so dead, there’s no body to be found so they’re missing. I still haven’t head about most of my cousins.

Is it possible to experience survivor’s guilt for events you’d already fled the country for?

#&&...journal #&&...hc #have some angst that literally nobody asked for including myself l o l

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slaytorism · 5 years

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Glossy remake of ‘me’!

For those who don’t know me, I am a world famous comedian. I have done stand up in every country on this planet. Its your fault you never made it to any of my shows.

I have just returned from Dubai. Lived there for 2 years. Everything you think or know about this city is true. It is a terrible place to be. Absolutely scary for women. It’s true. You’ve been right all this time. Women have no rights in Dubai. At all. It’s tough. Men on the other hand, have a tremendous life. Especially, if you are a straight brown man. I will give you an example. If you go to any starbucks in Dubai, prove that you are a man - you get free coffee. If you are able to grow a beard, like I have, you get 50% discount in alcohol purchases. If you pray 5 times a day, you get a playboy delivered to your homes. It is awesome! Women, unfortunately, they don’t even get read a playboy. Because, Dubai women can’t read.

I am not married. I intend to someday. Go through this beautiful process of self indulgence to inevitable gloom and death. Yeah, I wanna sign up for that! I am not married but I do have a girlfriend. It’s funny, in Dubai men can have upto 4 wives. Can you believe it? 4 Wives?! I would rather be a neo-Nazi. Okay. Okay. You may think this is a joke in bad taste but believe me, it’s not. it’s not a joke. I would actually get a skin pigment alteration, get a bunch of tattoos, chant anti-semitic slogans and all those “White is right” catch phrases, than have 4 wives; which by the way, so dumb some of them, seriously. They need a creative marketing team to join them. For realz! My girlfriend has a Marketing degree. I keep telling her, babe, you have this incredible opportunity to do some really creative work for them. You’re smart, matching qualifications, a boyfriend who is an aspiring neo-nazi and the biggest skillset of all.. YOU ARE WHITE. She slapped me, took my cat and left me all by myself in Dubai. Can you believe it? I was just trying to look after her. I mean, there is nothing called good companionship anymore.

Okay. I am not an aspiring neo-Nazi but also I don’t want 4 wives. I mean, there are some technical concerns; the top one being, I do not belong to the Islamic faith. I was born a HinJew - I mean, Hindu. For the lay men, Hindu is the shorter version of Hinduism. Like Buddy for Buddhism. Did you know that? Or Sex for Sexism. Did you know that either? I doubt it. Don’t pretend you did.

Hinduism, folks believe a marriage is between any two creatures or objects. I am serious. Hinduism is, for a lack of better word, DOPE. There are ancient manuscripts of homosexual conduct in Hindu mythology from 3000 years ago. One of the 33 million Gods in Hinduism is transgender. Manuscripts reading suggestions around practice anal sex in certain Hindu kingdoms. On top of that, marriage is not just between a man and a woman (or multiple women in some cases). You can get married to a dog or a tree or a book. Even in this day and age, people do that, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? You have ceremonial Alcohol. You have ceremonial weed. WTF! I am so not making full use of my religion in any shape or form. Jesus Christ!

Yeah, so when I arrived in the Middle East, I was curious, what would it be for men who are not married. Can they have 4 girlfriends instead? Turns out you can. In Dubai, you need a NOC from your employer, obviously. Keep your employers in the loop. In rest of the world, you can have 4 girlfriends. But you have to be smart. I was not. I got the NOC. And guess what, I have 4 girlfriends. Obviously, it goes without saying, I have the most racially and culturally balanced relationship(s). But due to economic conditions, I had to let one go, with a pretty hefty redundancy package.

Yeah, I am not a good guy, you might think. But I am not a bad guy either. Reason I say that so boldly is that I have a particular problem, which makes me believe that. I can’t say NO. Let me tell you a story. My very first house party in Dubai, I was completely smashed. Remember the 50% discount? Yeah. And so was my buddy, Moh, offered me a ride home. I had met him in the party. He is a good guy. Egyptian, beautiful hair, amazing accent, <mimicking Russian accent>”My name is Mohm. Osama Kassab”. A bit Russian. Yeah, that is his name. Moh. Osama, Kassab. Let me dissect that for you. In reverse order. Kassab was the Pakistani terrorist who was responsible for 26/11, who attacked Mumbai. Osama, is bit of a celebrity in America. 9/11, #neverforget. And Mohm., who’s birthday in 2019 is supposed to be on 9/11 (November 9th). Wow. Did I just add a new conspiracy theory? Baseline, 11? Never mind, so this chap, M.O.K was wasted like Charlie Sheen was while he was contracting HIV. This guy was so wasted, I could actually see Earth’s gravity failing to keep him on the ground. Yeah, of course, I forgot, if your name has Mohm. in Middle East, you get free shipping on your 1st 20 oz. order of Cocaine. So yeah. And this fella, my best friend for the night, offered me a ride home, “<Russian accent> Shakya, I will drop you home my friend. I will drop you home in my Porsche 911.” And as I told you earlier. I can’t say NO. In this occasion, I should have. But I literally couldn’t. Unbearable. No wonder I have 4 girlfriends. Anyway. I told him, YES. I will follow you to the gates of hell. Then he said, “<Russian accent> You might think I am very intoxicated right now. Right? Trust me, I have a test. That is 100% foolproof. If I pass that test, I can confidently say, I will not die while driving.” While, he said all that, I had already started to piss myself. “<Russian accent> If I don’t find my Porsche 911 in next 15 mins, It means, I am not fit to drive tonight.”

For those you don’t know. In Dubai, Parking is super easy but finding where you parked - it’s fundamentally a living nightmare. People lose their family finding which sub section of which gate on which floor they had parked. For the 10% of the people, who take note of the parking details, it takes them 25 mins to find their car. Remaining, 90% are just confident they will. Just like my friend here Mohm.

“<Russian accent> Time starts now. Go Go Go.”

And here I am, volunteering to step into the rabbit hole with my soulmate. The only thought I was having at that time, is the silver lining of this all, would be the headline in the next day’s newspaper. “Inebriated M crashed his 911 into a limousine heading to a major Dubai strip club.” That, ironically would show this city in the most progressive light IMAGINABLE.

“<Russian accent> 14 mins and 45 seconds. Not bad, eh? Yalla. Come on, let me take you home.”

“Sure.”

“<Russian accent> What is that? Did you piss yourself? I can’t have your piss on my 911. F-off. Get a taxi.”

“Sure!”

And somehow me pissing my trousers, saved my life. I say that, because I haven’t heard from him ever since. I am not saying he is dead, just saying, we are not in touch. Why would you assume he died that night? Jesus!

Now F-off. Get a taxi. Go home.

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365news · 5 years

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365News NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES FOR SATURDAY 22ND JUNE 2019

365News NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES FOR SATURDAY 22ND JUNE 2019 *PUNCH* Kellogg awards N5m scholarship to 50 pupils FG depriving judges, lawyers of working independently NBA Experts seeks more support for albinos in Nigeria Police partner firm to introduce database, criminal records Firm partners Yabatech on security management No immediate plan to ban Almajiri system Presidency Boisterous Grammarians Anti-graft war: Buhari signs mutual assistance bill to prosecute offenders within, outside Nigeriau Ex-CRiver official kidnapped in Calabar Only Presidency can resolve OML 25 oil field controversy Traders drag Ebonyi govt to court over land documents Ghost workers are expanding our wage bill Rivers LG boss NDLEA partners hoteliers to curb drug abuse in Imo FG committed to environment-friendly projects Osinbajo Dont mistake professional dues for tax, RIRS warns Copa America: Suarez rues Japan draw Reals plot to hijack 120m Felix failed Gunners want Izzo Eavesdropper Before Stardom with Georgina Ibeh My marriageKemi Oyedepo Music helps my creative thinking Austin, US-based activist You are part of the problem! *VANGUARD* I've three wives, 11 children: Kidnap suspect boasts of his success Thank God for Thailand Our search for youth empowerment cut across the world Family battles LASG over Millennium Housing Project Ariya Repete 2019: Lagos auditions yield winners, as show goes Drug Abuse: winner emerges in 2019 'Monster Hit Story Contest Discordant Tunes Trail EU, IRI, NDI Post-2019 Election Reports Than Adekunle Abdul on a mission Prophet Nosa marks milestone NGO advocates focus on children with special needs Gunmen kill 18 persons in fresh attacks in Zamfara ' Monarch Okowa battles flood in Asaba as water hyacinths overrun Egbema kingdom Working with Hugh Masekela has been helpful to my music ' Femi Ogunkoya Edo plans rehabilitation centre for victims of drug abuse When a governor appreciates the media Absentee governance must stop As Okiye emerges Edo House Speaker . . . Edo Assembly faults APC publicity secretary, Issa-Onilu Extradition: Sen. Buruji Kashamu to know fate on July 2 No immediate Ban on Almajiri ' PRESIDENCY PDP condemns alleged raid on Gov. Ishaku's residence I'm ashamed of Obaseki's role in Edo Assembly Crisis ' Oshiomhole PDP orders fresh state congress in Kogi *THE NATION* Why I killed my girlfriends mother Man, 22, held for allegedly beheading four kids in Abuja 72-yr-old Cele prophet allegedly kills, buries female undergraduate Why we should take care of our appetites, passions, and emotions NCAC boss to be honoured at Accra Weizo NAPTIP DG hails Agege council chief over social intervention programmes Fly Super Eagles fly NACCIMA boss seeks road map for capacity development of chambers How state police, NSIP can fight crime Sacked lecturers to Sanwo-Olu: save us from starvation N19.8bn welcome pay to 9th Assembly members senseless ACF Vodacom unit to sell operations in Nigeria, others Oando: US-Nigeria Council for Food Security asks SEC to follow due process Bandits kill 18 in fresh Zamfara attacks Insurgency, pregnancies keep 441,126 Adamawa girls out of school Yahoo boy shocks commuters at Edo checkpoint LASTMA groans under corrupt policemens burden How Lawan misfired over appointments Asset Declaration: FG drags Nwaoboshi to CCT, set for prosecution Akeredolu restates administrations commitment to rid waterways of criminals Tecno promo winners feature in conference Awolowo: NEPC, Shoprite partner to boost export DisCos to match TCN network expansion with $4.2b projects *THISDAY* All-new Arocs Combines Power, Robustness, Efficiency New BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe Packs Four Doors Rolls-Royce Cullinan Berths in Nigeria Telenovela Series Asintado Airs on Startimes Exhibitors Express Confidence in NigerianMarket at Food & Beverage Fair Munch It Thrills Lagosians with Free Bus Ride Promasidor Launches Chatbox for Cowbellpedia Candidates EnergiaExpands Presence in Nigeria Rice Revolution: The Good News from CRiver State Bayelsa 2020: In Search of Dicksons Successor Bayelsa Guber: Uphill Task Before Alaibe Ekweremadu: A Rebel with a Cause Governor Bagudu Vs Justice Karatu: Unmasking the Truth Buhari Must Read UNICEFs Report on Borno State TACKLING THE LAGOS GRIDLOCK INEC AND THE 2019 ELECTION Ndigbo and the Presidency Super Eagles Begin Quest for fourth AFCON Title Players Expected to Set the AFCON Alight The HIVE Leagues Begins 6-A-side World Cup Registration Korede Adedoyin: Hunted By Big Clubs 1980 AFCON Winner, Charles Bassey ill, Solicits for Help NNPC Assures NTA/HotSports of Support for AFCON 2019 TV Broadcast *THE SUN* June 12: How Kingibe betrayed Abiola, Falae, Yar'adua 'Sule Lamido We worked for Abiola, June 12, while in Abacha's government ' Ebenezer Babatope Tinubu is Southwest's choice for 2023 presidency ' Ex-Minister, Ogunlewe PDP govs seek probe of police raid on Taraba gov's home Don't create crisis in Bauchi, Oshiomhole warns Gov Muhammed PDP Reps candidate fined over 'frivolous' election appeal Ogun: Tribunal dismisses LP's petition against Abiodun's victory Super Eagles begin quest for 4th African glory in Egypt We 've sinned, Ijaw group begs Oba of Benin I've not eaten eba in 6 years ' Mikel Bauchi Assembly crisis: APC condemns election of 2 speakers Buhari's cabinet: Group demands representation from women, PWD Women's World Cup: Falcons'll take fight to Germany- Dennerby Women's World Cup: We're up against tough Nigeria ' German coach AFCON 2019: SuperSport names Okocha, Yobo pundits LaLiga 'interactive space' in Cairo Etebo: We're not afraid of Egypt, Senegal AFCON 2019: Burundi can shock Nigeria ' Berahino Barcelona to play Arsenal in friendly at Nou Camp Trinidad and Tobago to host 2021 Commonwealth Youth Games FG orders schools to begin immediate teaching of history study Gov. Makinde inaugurates 10-man advisory council Nigeria open for business, Osinbajo assures French investors *GUARDIAN* FG direct schools on immediate implementation of History Study Ohanaeze, others reject proposal for Fulani vigilante in Southeast Eagles on the march again, meets Burundi today Calabar: Fuel crisis worsens as IPMAN leadership tussle persists Barca Academy grooming future football stars from Nigeria Finally, The Bling Lagosians hits big screen Wooden furniture is here to stay Scented gardens For Salamatu Gbajabiamila, it's her time to shine Falcons will take the fight to Germany, says Dennerby *DAILY TRUST* Groups call for Bulama as APC National Secretary No immediate plan to ban Almajiri System of Education ' Presidency Insurgency: COAS commends soldiers, assures of more operation platforms, welfare Catholic priests task country's leaders on service oriented leadership Jonathan eulogises Okara, tasks writers on nation building BREAKING: Police arrest 2 Boko Haram commanders in Borno NAF reactivates 3 fighter jets to combat bandits, Boko Haram Gunmen kill 18 persons in fresh attacks in Zamfara'Monarch DNFIs safe havens for money-laundering- Magut Buhari assents to Mutual Assistance in C riminal Matters Act 2019 FG to inaugurate SEC board Monday Letter to President Buhari The unmasking of a kingmaker Botswana University reduces fees for Nigerians Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic Bauchi matriculates 5,000 students FG direct schools on immediate implementation of history study A game of health and politics HIV stigma in hospitals 'very real thing Home Remedy Alert! PROBLEM:Mosquito bites' Try: onion Let's disband the State and create another one Super Eagles hunt for fourth AFCON title in Egypt Abubakar Balarabe: I am still angry I was dropped from Algiers '90 Super Eagles squad Del Potro out of Wimbledon after another kneecap fracture *TRIBUNE* Ban on Almajiri not immediate ' Presidency I'm not against creation of state police ' El-Rufai Oshiomhole asks IGP to seal off Bauchi House of Assembly, says APC won't accept illegality Seven killed in Baghdad bomb blast at Shi'ite mosque China police rescues 1,100 trafficked women US suspends Malawi diplomats' visa privileges Massive fire, explosions rock Philadelphia in refinery fire 30 dead as fire engulf matchstick factory in Indonesia Cyprus ex-president, Demetris Christofias dies at 72 20 ships discharging at Lagos ports, 11 waiting to berth 27 more expected NAMA solicits IATA's collaboration on manpower training Virgin Atlantic begins fleet renewal, expansion Selects 14 A330neo aircraft Demuren for aviation journalists' conference *LEADERSHIP* Party Supremacy Has Returned To APC ' Aganaba Y Week Governors Took Over Aso Rock The Legends Of Aso Rock Anxiety As Rising Container Deaths Continue Unabated Dr. Ojougboh Cairo Godson: Facts About One Nigerian Medical Doctor, Politician AfDB Creates 400m Fintech Fund To Boost Financial Inclusion PMB Signs Mutual Assistance In Criminal Matters Bill FG To Restore Polluted Rivers Communities j PDP Condemns Invasion Of Ishaku's Residence Oshiomhole Reads Riot Act To Bauchi Gov NAF Graduates 26 Pilots From Ab-initio Flying Training N19.8bn NASS Welcome Package Morally Preposterous ' ACF Travelling With Declared Lost Passport Attracts 10 Years Imprisonment ' NIS Northern, Southern Leaders Demand Urgent Amendment Of Electoral Law Islamic Scholars Back FG On Proscription Of Almajiri APC Rejects Edo, Bauchi Assembly Inaugurations I Broke My Wrist While Trying To Scale A Fence ' Afolabi Relief As Eye Centre Patients Regain Sight Top 10 Richest Musicians In Nigeria 2019 Ganduje Woos Investors To Kano Jonas Brothers Top Billboard Artiste 100 Chart For First Time NSE Mentors Students In Engineering Profession Collaborate To Reposition Power Sector, Expert Charges CBN, NERC *BLUE PRINT* #Live: Host Egypt dig deep to defeat Zimbabwe in 2019 AFCON opener Breaking: Police nab top Boko Haram commanders in Borno N19.8bn welcome package for 9th NASS ridiculous, unreasonable ' ACF Revealed! Morsi was 'killed' by Egyptian government ' Sony Breaking: Anxiety as Super Eagles striker collapses during training, rushed to hospital ahead Burundi AFCON clash Go forth and conquer, ex-Sports Minister charges Super Falcons, Eagles Edo Speaker to APC: Youy 've no powers to adjudicate on House leadership Shocker! I beheaded 4 children for ritual, suspect confesses FG gets 7-day ultimatum to abolish acceptance fees in tertiary institutions UI expels 5 students, rusticates 16 others How ASUP reacted to Buhari's assent of polytechnic Bill Nasarawa varsity holds 22nd inaugural lecture Proliferation of secondary schools reduces quality UTME 2019: 'Why JAMB set 160 as cutoff point for varsities Drama as Officials force Okorocha's aide out of office PDP warns party members against anti-party activities in Bayelsa Nigerian legion appeals for support from FG, states, others UN Rep tasks NGOs on service to humanity in Borno Choose your spouses among Bayelsans, Dickson urges corps members Breaking: Don't invite trouble to Bauchi, Oshiomhole warns Bala Muhammed Muslim NGO calls for restructuring of Almajiri education Ejidike charges Super Eagles to go for AFCON glory AA suspends 9 national officers as crisis deepens *BUSINESSDAY* Updated: CBN responds to BusinessDay's report, says TSA covers FG's overdraft Hi Stop Driving Capital Away: A Lesson from South Africa Insurgency: Buratai's comments on soldiers' commitment unfortunate, demoralising ' Experts Updated: Lafarge Africa sells South African subsidiary to LafargeHolcim for $316m The dangerous seductiveness of collective narcissism Consumer firms current debt level doesn't call for deleveraging Discos, signs & wonders, and citizens furry Why Eterna plc is embarking on a five year corporate plan South-East 2023: Applying the SDGs Otedola exits Forte Oil shares in N64.3bn off-market deals *SPORTS* 1980 AFCON Winner, Charles Bassey ill, Solicits for Help - Thisday 200 Participants benefit from Regent Primary School Health Walk exercise - Peoples Daily 2019 AFCON: Femi Kuti, others thrill at colourful opening ceremony in Cairo - Vanguard 2019 NHL Draft Results: Full List of Round 1 Selections - Bleacher Report Abubakar Balarabe: I am still angry I was dropped from Algiers '90 Super Eagles squad - Daily Trust Afcon 2019 Live Blog: Egypt host Zimbabwe in Group A's opening match - Goal AFCON 2019: Burundi can shock Nigeria ' Berahino - The Sun AFCON 2019: Friday Scores, Results, Standings and Updated Schedule - Bleacher Report AFCON 2019: How High Can The Super Eagles Fly - Leadership AFCON 2019: SuperSport names Okocha, Yobo pundits - The Sun *GOOD MORNING* . 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lyannas · 7 years

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Hi! I'm asking as much of the Children of the Earth (the ASoIaF meta-tumblr community) this... what are/is *the* crucial, essential element(s), if you could be that precise, of ASoIaF that makes you think 'yup, this is a series worth pouring tons of time, words and blood into'? Even through any and all *really* frustrating elements (Dead Ladies Club, undeconstructed misogyny, uncomfortable orientalism, slaver bears and weaker writing points)?Thank you in advance and hope you have a good day!

Hahaha I'm honored to be considered a part of that community!For me, it essentially boils down to the female perspective and the anti-war rhetoric. I have always loved art and media that depicts war's human consequences. I never cared for patriotic war films, novels, and poems. The thing that sets ASOIAF apart from many other anti-war pieces is the female perspective and children's perspectives on war-- the people who most often suffer the consequences and the ones who die without any honors bestowed upon them.It's the sort of thing I've seen in films like Two Women, of the effects war have on women and children, particularly mothers. In ASOIAF we see many women and children who are not combatants, but are the mothers, wives, children, and victims of combatants. We see how male ambition hurts women and hurts children. We some of these victims break, we some of them thrive, and we even see some of them participate.GRRM's choice to exclude the perpetrators of Westeros's war from having POVs sets these books far apart from other novels with similar plots and rhetoric. He does this while building an extremely expansive world and exploring wildly different characters. The world is just *deep* and there are so many layers to the books and so much to work with. ASOIAF is a giant sandlot with something for everybody.There is no character that is perfect. The flaws introduced are realistic ones that make sense in the context of a teenager, or a mother, or an adult man, or what have you. Everyone has their own struggles. Everyone suffers, even those who shouldn't have to. Everyone has their place in the plot.It's not without its issues, of course, but I adopt a critical perspective because my values don't end when I pick up a book. There are elements of the book that are *written* in a typical racist or misogynistic fashion and there is a lot that can be improved upon. Ultimately, though, I'm just along for the ride like everyone else!

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learningrendezvous · 5 years

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Women's Studies

ALL WE'VE GOT

By Alexis Clements

ALL WE'VE GOT is a personal exploration of LGBTQI women's communities, cultures, and social justice work through the lens of the physical spaces they create, from bars to bookstores to arts and political hubs.

Social groups rely on physical spaces to meet and build connections, step outside oppressive social structures, avoid policing and violence, share information, provide support, and organize politically. Yet, in the past decade, more than 100 bars, bookstores, art and community spaces where LGBTQI women gather have closed. In ALL WE'VE GOT, filmmaker Alexis Clements travels the country to explore the factors driving the loss of these spaces, understand why some are able to endure, and to search for community among the ones that remain. From a lesbian bar in Oklahoma; to the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center in San Antonio run by queer Latinas; to the WOW Cafe Theatre in New York; to the public gatherings organized by the Trans Ladies Picnics around the US and beyond; to the Lesbian Herstory Archives in Brooklyn, the film takes us into diverse LGBTQI spaces and shines a light on why having a place to gather matters. Ultimately, ALL WE'VE GOT is a celebration of the history and resilience of the LGBTQI community and the inclusive spaces they make, as well as a call to action to continue building stronger futures for all communities.

DVD (Color) / 2019 / 67 minutes

I AM THE REVOLUTION

By Benedetta Argentieri

I AM THE REVOLUTION is an empowering portrait of three determined women in the Middle East who are leading the fight for gender equality and freedom. Politician Selay Ghaffar is one of the most wanted people in the world by the Taliban and yet she still travels through Afghanistan to educate other women about their rights. Rojda Felat is a commander of the Syrian Democratic Army, leading 60,000 troops to defeat ISIS, including freeing their hold on Raqqa and rescuing its people. And Yanar Mohammed, named by the BBC as one of 100 most influential women in the world in 2018, pushes for parliamentary reform in Iraq while running shelters for abused women. Despite battling seemingly overwhelming obstacles, all three women display resilience, bravery and compassion. I AM THE REVOLUTION challenges the images of veiled, silent women in the Middle East and instead reveals the extraordinary strength of women rising up on the front lines to claim their voice and their rights.

DVD (English, Arabic, Kurdish, Pashtun, Color) / 2019 / 72 minutes

93QUEEN

By Paula Eiselt

93QUEEN follows Rachel "Ruchie" Freier, a no-nonsense Hasidic lawyer and mother of six who is determined to shake up the boys club in her Hasidic community by creating Ezras Nashim, the first all-female ambulance corps in NYC.

In the Hasidic enclave of Borough Park, Brooklyn, EMS corps have long been the province of men. Though the neighborhood is home to the largest volunteer ambulance corps in the world known as Hatzolah, that organization has steadfastly banned women from its ranks. Now Ruchie and an engaging cast of dogged Hasidic women are risking their reputations, and the futures of their children, by taking matters into their own hands to provide dignified emergency medical care to the Hasidic women and girls of Borough Park. In a society where most women don't drive-and a few minutes can mean the difference between life and death-how do female EMTs transport themselves to the scene of an emergency? And how does Ezras Nashim combat a behemoth like Hatzolah, which possesses political clout throughout New York City?

With unprecedented and exclusive access, 93QUEEN follows the formation and launch of Ezras Nashim through the organization's first year on the ground. We witness the highs and lows of creating an organization against incredible odds, as well as the women's struggles to "have it all" as wives and mothers. And in the midst of this already ground-breaking endeavor, Ruchie announces that she had decided to take her burgeoning feminism even further when she enters the race for civil court judge in Brooklyn's 5th Municipal Court District. Through it all, we see Ruchie and the other women grappling to balance their faith with their nascent feminism, even as they are confronted by the patriarchal attitudes that so dominate Hasidic society. As Ruchie observes, while making dinner at 3 a.m., "I sometimes wonder why God created me a woman. If I'd have been born a Hasidic man, I don't think I would have half the problems I have."

DVD (Color) / 2018 / 90 minutes

COUNCILWOMAN

By Margo Guernsey

COUNCILWOMAN is the inspiring story of Carmen Castillo, an immigrant Dominican housekeeper in a Providence hotel who wins a seat in City Council, taking her advocacy for low-income workers from the margins to city politics.

The film follows Castillo's first term as she balances her full-time day job as a housekeeper with her family life and the demands of public office. She faces skeptics who say she doesn't have the education to govern, the power of corporate interests who take a stand against her fight for a $15 hourly wage, and a tough re-election against two contenders. As Castillo battles personal setbacks and deep-rooted notions of who is qualified to run for political office, she fiercely defends her vision of a society in which all people can earn enough to support themselves and their families.

An eye-opening look at entrenched power in American democracy, COUNCILWOMAN is essential viewing for Latinx, Immigrant, Political Science and Labor Studies courses.

DVD (English, Spanish, Color) / 2018 / 57 minutes

HOME TRUTH

By April Hayes and Katia Maguire

Filmed over the course of nine years, HOME TRUTH chronicles one family's pursuit of justice, shedding light on how our society responds to domestic violence and how the trauma from domestic violence tragedies can linger throughout generations.

In 1999, Colorado mother Jessica Gonzales experienced every parent's worst nightmare when her three young daughters were killed after being abducted by their father in violation of a domestic violence restraining order. Devastated, Jessica sued her local police department for failing to adequately enforce her restraining order despite her repeated calls for help that night. Determined to make sure her daughters did not die in vain, Jessica pursued her case to the US Supreme Court and an international human rights tribunal, seeking to strengthen legal rights for domestic violence victims. When her legal journey finally achieved widespread national change and she became an acclaimed activist, Jessica struggled to put her life and relationships back together.

DVD (Color) / 2018 / 72 minutes

LOVESICK

By Ann S. Kim & Priya Giri Desai

In India, where marriage is a must but AIDS carries a stigma, what are HIV-positive people to do?

After discovering India's first case of HIV in 1986, Dr. Suniti Solomon left a prestigious academic post to found India's premier HIV/AIDS clinic. Twenty-five years later, India now produces its own anti-retroviral medications, enabling Dr. Solomon's to patients live longer - and face the pressure to marry. At the age if seventy-two, and in the twilight of her bold and unconventional career, Dr. Solomon has taken on a new role: marriage matchmaker. Like other Indian matchmakers, Dr. Solomon matches by religion, education, and income; but she also matches by white blood cell counts and viral loads. For her, this isn't just about romance - it is a way to stem the spread of HIV and fight stigma.

LOVESICK interweaves Dr. Solomon's personal and professional journeys with the lives of two patients: Karthik, a reticent bachelor, and Manu who, like many women in India, was infected by her first husband. As Karthik and Manu search for love, they learn how to survive under the shadow of HIV. Shot over eight years and told with humor and compassion, LOVESICK is a surprising and hopeful story about the universal desire for love.

DVD (English, Tamil, Hindi, Color) / 2018 / 74 minutes

MARCELINE. A WOMAN. A CENTURY

By Cordelia Dvorak

MARCELINE. A WOMAN. A CENTURY is a fascinating portrait of the persevering French filmmaker, writer, and Holocaust survivor Marceline Loridan-Ivens (1928-2018).

Marceline was only 15 when both she and her father, a Polish Jew from Lodz, were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. She survived but her father didn't, and Marceline had to find radical and unconventional ways to heal after the tragedies of the war. In 1961, she appeared in Jean Rouch and Edgar Morin's landmark film Chronicle of a Summer, which gave birth to the term cinema verite. Later she married the legendary Dutch documentary director Joris Ivens, traveled with him to Vietnam, and co-directed films such as 17th Parallel: Vietnam in War (1968) and How Yukong Moved the Mountains (1976).

Filmed as she was nearing 90 years old and living in Paris, MARCELINE. A WOMAN. A CENTURY spans the broad arc of her life from Holocaust survivor to political activist to combatively critical filmmaker. Looking back on the momentous events she experienced and filmed such as the Algerian and Vietnam Wars and the Chinese Cultural Revolution, MARCELINE is a thought-provoking chronicle of a remarkable witness of the 20th century.

DVD (French, Color, Closed Captioned) / 2018 / 58 minutes

PRIMAS

By Laura Bari

PRIMAS is an evocative and poetic portrait of two Argentine teenage cousins who come of age together as they overcome the heinous acts of violence that interrupted their childhoods.

When Rocio was 10 years old, she was dragged from her bike by a stranger, raped, set on fire and left for dead. Now a teenager, she still grapples with memories of the nightmarish assault that left her body scarred. Together with her cousin Aldana, who was sexually abused for years by her own father, she lives, laughs and shares her story. Traveling through Argentina and Montreal, the two cousins embark upon a program of theater, dance, and circus that helps them process complex emotions. Little by little, they manage to rebuild the lives that were so brutally stolen from them and free themselves from the shadows of their past.

A humanistic exploration of familial love, creativity, and courage in the wake of sexual violence, PRIMAS is a moving tribute to the deep strength of resilient women.

DVD (Color, Spanish) / 2018 / 95 minutes

REST I MAKE UP, THE

By Michelle Memran

The visionary Cuban-American dramatist and educator Maria Irene Fornes spent her career constructing astonishing worlds onstage and teaching countless students how to connect with their imaginations. When she gradually stops writing due to dementia, an unexpected friendship with filmmaker Michelle Memran reignites her spontaneous creative spirit and triggers a decade-long collaboration that picks up where the pen left off.

The duo travels from New York to Havana, Miami to Seattle, exploring the playwright's remembered past and their shared present. Theater luminaries such as Edward Albee, Ellen Stewart, Lanford Wilson, and others weigh in on Fornes's important contributions. What began as an accidental collaboration becomes a story of love, creativity, and connection that persists even in the face of forgetting.

DVD (Color) / 2018 / 79 minutes

THOUSAND GIRLS LIKE ME, A

By Sahra Mani

A THOUSAND GIRLS LIKE ME is an awe-inspiring verite documentary that tells the story of a young Afghan woman's fight for justice after experiencing years of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her father.

Khatera Golzad was brutally raped by her father for thirteen years, resulting in numerous pregnancies, most of which ended in forced abortions. But two reached full term. Despite her many attempts to file charges, neither the Afghan police nor the legal system helped her. In 2014, she appeared on national television to publicly accuse her father, finally succeeding in bringing her case to court despite threats from male relatives and judges who labelled her a liar.

A THOUSAND GIRLS LIKE ME sheds light on the broken Afghan judicial system and the women it seldom protects. In a country where the systematic abuse of girls is rarely discussed, Afghan filmmaker Sahra Mani presents a story of one woman's battle against cultural, familial, and legal pressures as she embarks on a mission to set a positive example for her daughter and other girls like her.

DVD (Color) / 2018 / 52 minutes

YOURS IN SISTERHOOD

By Irene Lusztig

YOURS IN SISTERHOOD is a performative, participatory documentary inspired by the breadth and complexity of letters that were sent in the 1970s to the editor of Ms.- America's first mainstream feminist magazine. The film documents hundreds of strangers from around the U.S. who were invited to read aloud and respond to these letters written by women, men and children from diverse backgrounds. Collectively, the letters feel like an encyclopedia of both the 70s and the women's movement- an almost literal invocation of the second-wave feminist slogan "the personal is political." The intimate, provocative, and sometimes heartbreaking conversations that emerge from these performances invite viewers to think about the past, present, and future of feminism.

DVD (Color) / 2018 / 101 minutes

BREAST ARCHIVES, THE

Director: Meagan Murphy

Real women reveal their breasts and uncover personal truths in this gently provocative documentary exploring embodiment, womanhood, and the power of being seen.

The Breast Archives features nine women's personal stories of empowerment. Baring their breasts and their hearts, the women share the unique journeys they've made with their bodies, from their formative years of hiding, shame, and disconnection to adulthood and the discovery of what it means to be a powerful woman. As the women slowly reconnect with their body-based stories they find a reservoir of strength and wisdom that lies within their breasts.

DVD / 2017 / 57 minutes

FEMINISTA: A JOURNEY TO THE HEART OF FEMINISM IN EUROPE

By Myriam Fougere

FEMINISTA is a lively and inspiring feminist road movie that explores the largely unrecognized yet hugely vibrant pan European feminist movement. Filmmaker Myriam Fougere joined an international group of young feminists who were traveling across twenty countries - from Turkey to Portugal, by the way of the Balkans, to Italy, Spain and Portugal - to make connections and unite forces with other women. She witnessed these determined activists participating in political gatherings, supporting homegrown local feminist struggles, exchanging strategies, and inventing new ways to resist and fight for change. Revealing how feminism is transmitted from one generation to another, FEMINISTA provides a rare glimpse into a widespread feminist groundswell movement, possibly one of the largest and unrecognized mass political movements that is very much alive and well throughout Europe today.

DVD (Color) / 2017 / 60 minutes

TRACKING EDITH

Director: Peter Stephan Jungk

When she wasn't working as a Soviet agent, she was taking photos of workers and street children in Vienna and London, documenting poverty and social deprivation. Being a secret agent doesn't seem to have come naturally to the photographer Edith Tudor-Hart. But she did manage to recruit Kim Philby, and act as one of the architects of the Cambridge Five, the Soviet Union's most successful spy ring in Great Britain.

Edith was director Peter Stephan Jungk's great aunt, his mother's cousin; in Tracking Edith he tries to unravel the truth about his great aunt's life - a spy with a conscience and hidden family secrets.

DVD / 2017 / 92 minutes

SPEED SISTERS

Director: Amber Fares

The Speed Sisters are the first all-woman race car driving team in the Middle East. Grabbing headlines and turning heads at improvised tracks across the West Bank, these five women have sped their way into the heart of the gritty, male-dominated Palestinian street car-racing scene. Weaving together their lives on and off the track, Speed Sisters takes you on a surprising journey into the drive to go further and faster than anyone thought you could.

DVD (Arabic and English with English subtitles) / 2016 / 80 minutes

HARPER LEE: FROM MOCKINGBIRD TO WATCHMAN

Director: Mary McDonagh Murphy

To everyone's surprise, fifty-five years after the publication of "To Kill a Mockingbird" Harper Lee is publishing another novel. "Go Set a Watchman" was written before Lee's beloved masterpiece, as director Mary McDonagh Murphy explains in this update of her 2011 documentary Hey Boo: Harper Lee and "To Kill a Mockingbird". Murphy's Harper Lee: From Mockingbird to Watchman brings the story up-to-date as it sifts through the facts and speculation surrounding Lee and both her novels, and includes interviews with Lee's older sister, close friends, and literary admirers, from Oprah Winfrey to Wally Lamb.

DVD / 2015 / 82 minutes

ALTINA

Director: Peter Sanders

Altina is the provocative portrait of an American trendsetter whose free spirit defied convention. A woman ahead of her time, Altina Schinasi was born in 1907 in New York City; the daughter of a tobacco tycoon and decedent of Sephardic Jews, she upended the expectations that accompanied her position. Altina was a paradox: simultaneously seductive and reserved, her genteel upbringing was in sharp contrast to the bold sexuality of her art and her life.

In addition to creating whimsical works of art and sculpture, Altina invented the glamorous Harlequin 'cat's-eye' eyeglasses, worn by the likes of Lucille Ball and Peggy Guggenheim, and as well directed an Oscar-nominated documentary about Nazi brutality told through the drawings of German expressionist artist George Grosz. Altina's life was anchored in the social and political issues of the time: helping Jewish refugees escape the Holocaust; providing aid and shelter to friends who were targeted by Joseph McCarthy's Un-American Activities campaign; and being involved early on in the struggles of Martin Luther King Jr.

Directed by her grandson Peter Sanders, the film captures this unpredictable woman whose bold, uninhibited passion for life is an inspiration for all.

DVD / 2014 / 80 minutes

I AM FEMEN

Director: Alain Margot

They are known around the world as the topless female activists who fight corrupt and patriarchal political systems. Their weapon of choice is their bodies- which they place front and center in protests around the streets of Kiev, where the group began, and all across Europe.

Oksana Shachko is FEMEN's creative backbone. As a teenager, her fascination with religious painting led her to consider entering a convent, but in the end she used her many talents to create FEMEN and devoted herself to a life of activism.

With I am FEMEN, director Alain Margot paints a portrait of the bewitching and many-faceted Oksana, while also revealing the stories of the brave young women around her who put their bodies on the front line in the fight for justice and equality.

DVD (Russian and French with English Subtitles) / 2014 / 94 minutes

ANITA: SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER

Director: Freida Mock

An entire country watched transfixed as a poised, beautiful African-American woman in a blue dress sat before a Senate committee of 14 white men and with a clear, unwavering voice recounted the repeated acts of sexual harassment she had endured while working with U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. That October day in 1991 Anita Hill, a bookish law professor from Oklahoma, was thrust onto the world stage and instantly became a celebrated, hated, venerated, and divisive figure. She has become an American icon, empowering millions of women and men around the world to stand up for equality and justice.

Against a backdrop of sex, politics, and race, ANITA reveals the intimate story of a woman who spoke truth to power. Directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Freida Mock, the film is both a celebration of Anita Hill's legacy and a rare glimpse into her private life with friends and family, many of whom were by her side that fateful day 22 years ago. Anita Hill courageously speaks openly and intimately for the first time about her experiences that led her to testify before the Senate and the obstacles she faced in simply telling the truth. Anita Hill's graphic testimony was a turning point for gender equality in the U.S. and ignited a political firestorm about sexual misconduct and power in the workplace that resonates still today.

DVD / 2013 / 77 minutes

HALF THE ROAD

Director: Kathryn Bertine

Half the Road is a documentary film that explores the world of women's professional cycling, focusing on both the love of the sport and the pressing issues of inequality that modern-day female riders face in a male dominated sport. With footage from some of the world's top UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) races to interviews with Olympians, World Champions, coaches, and managers, Half the Road offers a unique insight into the drive, dedication and passion it takes for a female cyclist to thrive.

The documentary highlights significant inequalities that separate men's and women's professional cycling including: shorter race's than men's events, lower prize money granted to female winners, a lack of union or standardized salary to support female pros, factors which limit the length and success of professional female cyclist's careers. These institutionalized pitfalls demonstrate the shortcomings of Title IX and similar legislation and explores how women can achieve equality, support, and equal pay with their male cycling counterparts.

DVD / 2013 / 106 minutes

MERCEDES SOSA: THE VOICE OF LATIN AMERICA

Director: Rodrigo H. Vila

In 1960s, prior to her fame and international acclaim, Mercedes Sosa defied expectations by drafting, together with four other young musicians, the "Manifesto del Nuevo Cancionero" ("The New Songbook Manifesto"). How did this manifesto make an impact on youth culture in Argentina and future generations of Latin Americans? How much did the "Nuevo Cancionero" influence the development of the "Nueva Trova Cubana," the folk-music revolution driven by its message of social and political change? How did Sosa's ideology affect the politics of both emerging and developed countries? Apart from the millions of records she sold, the thousands of international concerts, her countless fans and detractors, Mercedes Sosa left behind an indelible legacy, an ideal that has not become a reality yet but which keeps pushing forward. Mercedes Sosa, The Voice of Latin America is an intimate and informative journey into the world of a ground-breaking artist and activist.

DVD (English, Spanish, Portuguese and French with English Subtitles) / 2013 / 93 minutes

PINK RIBBONS, INC.

Director: Lea Pool

The ubiquitous pink ribbons of breast cancer philanthropy - and the hand-in-hand marketing of brands and products associated with that philanthropy - permeates our culture, providing assurance that we are engaged in a successful battle against this insidious disease. But the campaign obscures the reality and facts of breast cancer - more and more women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, and face the same treatment options they did 40 years ago. Yet women are also the most influential market group, buying 80 percent of consumer products and making most major household purchasing decisions. So then who really benefits from the pink ribbon campaigns - the cause or the company? And what if the very companies and products that profit from their association have actually contributed to the problem?

In showing the real story of breast cancer and the lives of those who fight it, Pink Ribbons, Inc. reveals the co-opting of what marketing experts have labeled a "dream cause."

DVD-R / 2012 / 98 minutes

GIRL MODEL

Directors: David Redmon & Ashley Sabin

Despite a lack of obvious similarities between Siberia and Tokyo, a thriving model industry connects these distant regions. Girl Model follows two protagonists involved in this industry: Ashley, a deeply ambivalent model scout who scours the Siberian countryside looking for fresh faces to send to the Japanese market, and one of her discoveries, Nadya, a 13-year-old plucked from her rustic home in Russia and dropped into the center of bustling Tokyo with promises of a profitable career. After Ashley's initial discovery of Nadya, they rarely meet again, but their stories are inextricably bound. As Nadya's optimism about rescuing her family from financial hardship grows, her dreams contrast against Ashley's more jaded outlook about the industry's corrosive influence.

DVD-R (English, Japanese and Russian with English Subtitles) / 2011 / 77 minutes

OUR CITY DREAMS

Director: Chiara Clemente

Chiara Clemente's affecting documentary strings together the self-told narrative of five women artists of all ages, each of whom has a passion for making art inseparable from her devotion to New York. Swoon, the youngest, exhibits cut-outs directly on city walls and subways, and exudes idealism and energy while carrying a two by four the way some women would a briefcase. Cairo-born Ghada Amer mixes media - embroidering with painting - to confront sexual taboos that cross cultural boundaries. After experiencing The New York Dolls in San Francisco, Kiki Smith realized she needed the energy of the city to create her paintings and sculptures. Marina Abramovic, originally of Belgrade, is a performance art pioneer who often uses her own body as a canvas. And Nancy Spero returned from Paris with artist-husband Leon Golub in 1964, to meld art and activism during the Vietnam War and become, in her own words, "a woman warrior."

DVD / 2008 / 87 minutes

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