#famous landmark from around the world

[reasonsforhope]

"In short: Thailand's Senate has approved a bill legalising same sex marriage in the South-East Asian country.

It will afford same-sex couples practical benefits such as being able to have children through IVF and make emergency medical decisions for their spouse.

What's next? The first weddings may take place later this year, 120 days after the law is announced in the Royal Gazette.

Thailand has become the first nation in South-East Asia to legalise same sex marriage, with the country's Senate approving the landmark bill this afternoon.

The legislation was expected to pass after it cleared the country's House of Representatives in a near-unanimous vote in March.

Despite Thailand's bustling gay bars and prominent transgender community making it a mecca for LGBTQ+ tourists, until now local same-sex couples there have been unable to marry.

The law will take effect 120 days after its announcement in the Royal Gazette, so the first same sex weddings may take place later this year.

Couples who have been waiting years have hailed the move as a historic moment that will afford them rights only reserved for spouses.

A Lifechanging Law

Photos of Anticha and Worawan [including the article picture], dressed in floor-length white gowns and trailed by rainbow flags, getting married at Bangkok's first Pride Festival two years ago went viral, but they are still not legally married.

Now they will be able to change that, and Anticha Sangchai is elated.

"This will change my life and change many Thai people's lives, especially in the LGBT community," she said.

"It is a historical moment and I really want to join with my community to celebrate this moment.

"I want to send a message to the world that Thailand has changed. Even though there are still many issues, this is a big step for us." ...

There were an estimated 3.7 million LGBT people in Thailand in 2022, according to LGBT Capital, a private company which models economic data pertaining to the community around the world.

For the young couple from Bangkok, being able to marry also has very real practical implications.

If they want to have children through IVF, Ms Sangchai says they will need a marriage certificate first.

"I am quite concerned about the time because we are getting older every day, and the older you get the more difficult it is to have a healthy pregnancy," she said.

"So we've been really wanting this law to pass as soon as possible."

Cabaret performer Jena is excited Thailand's laws are finally catching up with the nation's image...

She too had worried about the practical implications of being unable to marry.

"For example, if myself or my partner had to go to hospital or there was an accident that needs consent for an emergency operation, without a marriage certificate we couldn't sign it," she said.

She now wants the government to move forward with a law to allow transgender people to amend their gender on official documents." ...

An Economic Boost?

Thailand has long been famous for LGBTQ tourism and there are now hopes this new law could allow the country to cash in on the aging members of the community.

Chaiwat Songsiriphan, who runs a health clinic for people in the LGBTQ community, said laws preventing same sex marriage were the last barrier holding the country back from becoming a gay retirement hub.

[Note: They do not just mean for rich westerners; Thailand as a gay retirement hub would probably appeal most to and definitely benefit LGBTQ people from throughout Asia.]

"Thailand has an LGBTQ-friendly environment since Thai culture is quite flexible," he said.

"One of my foreigner friends, a gay friend, told me that when he's in his country he has to pretend to be straight … but when he comes to Bangkok he said you can be as gay as you want.

"When we talk about retirement or a long-term stay for the rest of their lives, what people need is … food, good healthcare services, transportation, homes.

"I think Thailand has it all at a very affordable price."

He said it could help give the country a desperately needed economic boost.

"This will have a lot of benefits for Thailand's economy because when we talk about retirement it's people literally bringing all the money they have earned for the rest of their working lives to spend and invest here," he said.

He said he, like the rest of the community, was thrilled by the news.

"It's not about a privilege, it's just equality," he said.

"We are we also humans, so we should be able to marry the one we love.""

-via ABC Australia, June 18, 2024

[physalian]

11 Underexplored settings of post-apocalyptic worlds

Inspired once again by my recent binge of abandoned explorations.

The greatest hits of the sprawling city scapes and farmland that feature in everything from post-alien invasions to zombie takeovers to just worlds gone by in a not-so-distant future tend to be:

Generic office buildings

Churches

Schools

Water parks

Suburbs

Famous monuments

Cruise ships

It’s come to my attention though just how many architectural abnormalities there are, in their own current post-apocalyptic states, that would absolutely befuddle archaeologists centuries from now trying to figure out their purposes.

So whether you want to go hard into “this new world has completely forgotten what came before it” or your very own and unique road trip through desolation, here’s some suggestions for cool and/or practical settings!

1. Disney/Iconic Theme Parks

2000 years from now after X disaster strikes, survivors completely removed from historical context stumble upon…. Disney World. They presume Mickey really was a giant mutant mouse, or a mouse-shaped deity worshiped by the local populace (and I mean… are they wrong?). People who might have never left the local area without planes and feasible transport, or knowledge that land across the ocean even exists, might be astounded by the buildings of Epcot’s World Showcase, or any of Disney’s themed resorts.

Water parks are done to death, but not enough emphasis is put onto how bizarre these places would look without context, even to a younger generation that has no idea what it used to be.

Orlando has a hotel with its own rainforest in a massive atrium, with ponds and boats and boardwalks inside. But, you know, I guess strolling through Chicago or New York City is cooler. It may be unfilmable, but it’s not unwritable.

2. The foundations of unfinished construction projects

The remains of an office building that never was, a veritable modern Stonehenge with how little would survive an apocalypse. Inexplicable areas of land with massive pits for unbuilt parking garages, or sprawling swimming pools and lazy rivers.

Or massive, skeletal towers that would have been the monument to a much larger estate that just lost funding. Buildings still surrounded by scaffolding, only half-complete with their windows.

3. Survivor’s encampment landmarked by a monument/hotel/theme park that was never built

In one of those abandoned videos, a company in China was trying to build a discount Disneyland and all that remains is an unfinished Cinderella Castle with steel shells of the gables… behind a modern shopping mall.

Any structure that would have been deeply out of place either in the country it’s built in, or the newer buildings that surround it, immediately looks more creative than just ‘generic strip mall’ or ‘generic high school’. And it’s also realistic, as projects like this fall through constantly, as a unique piece of your worldbuilding. Or, it did have its run as whatever the strange building was part of, and through bankruptcy and selling the land around it, it ends up being the only structure that remains.

4. Hotels that are made up as if the staff vanished instantaneously

Or, many, many Covid victims. Having your characters scrounge for resources through a hotel with beds still made, coffee cups on the breakfast tables, serving spoons and plates ready to go by the buffet. Halloween, Christmas, or Valentine’s decorations still on display.

The schedules for the final week of business still hanging in the offices, unopened mail, packages for guests still in the mail room, pallets of new soaps and supplies still in the delivery bay from the distribution center, linens still in the industrial dryers. I worked in a hotel scheduled for eventual demolition and the disrepair the interior fell into because, what’s the point of managing mold and bed bugs when it’s all getting gutted anyway, makes it super creepy knowing guests are completely clueless on the other side.

Places that have been completely ransacked and destroyed are creepy, sure, but places that are almost frozen in time despite the decay around them are both eerie, and rather dark. Cruise ships/confined spaces like ships tend to be used more for horror, but these, too, as if they’re frozen in time.

5. Cargo ships/shipping yards

An easy-ish one to film in. Looters breaking open shipping containers, or building entire communities and homes out of those containers either on land, or on the barges and ships. A community that can weigh anchor and move once resources and scavenging dries up, or another violent group moves in on the land.

Or, in the case of a viral apocalypse, a community relatively spared from the violence out on the open ocean.

6. IKEA/Furniture Warehouses and DC’s

Warehouses especially have few entries and fewer windows to secure, but as their contents (except the showroom floor) are in mint condition at the time of the world ending and probably stored in plastic and crates, they’d be relatively spared from the elements as a good base camp.

Furniture is also too heavy to loot in a panic and absconding with a brand new mattress probably wouldn’t be at the top of people’s minds as doomsday approaches.

Your little community each having their own lavish living spaces with whatever eclectic furniture they either liked or could now get their hands on for free would just be cool to read about.

7. Penthouse suites

Climbing those stairs would suck and depending on the build quality, the safety of the structure over time would degrade, but maybe your community has manual cranks for the elevators. There might be one way down, but there’s also only one way up, and you can see invaders and catastrophe coming for miles.

These places tend to be dripping in luxury your characters might otherwise have never experienced and they could either make a base there, or have a grand old time trashing the place up because the rich are dead and gone.

8. Historical forts

They lasted this long, why not a few centuries more? The fort that comes to mind is the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Florida, right on the beach with a built-in defense wall and a huge courtyard for your community of plucky survivors.

Castles, too, though they’d likely be prime real estate for all manner of interested parties. Aging, famous forts are just never in these types of stories, unless it’s a picture of where the military used to be, now overrun or destroyed.

9. Ski resorts

Similar to the made-up hotels and theme parks, this one comes with presumably multiple buildings, potential use of the slopes and ski transports, isolation via elevation and remoteness from major cities, and the threat of bitter winters and blizzards.

Never been to one myself in winter, but remote locations for a post-apocalypse story tends to just be shorthand for “generic farm or small town,” which isn’t super immersive.

10. Luxury malls

Seen in The Last of US, it gives you a microcosm of so many different environments all slapped together and there’s no limit on what kinds of stores you could include, or all the kiosks, all the mini attractions like trampolines, kiddie parks, massage tables, and even VR flight simulators.

Maybe it has a theater tacked onto it, or a double-story book store, one of those rental spaces dedicated to fancy cars or candy stores. Great for the main setting or even just passing through, especially as they’re already a dying breed you can go ham with. ‘Luxury’ and designer items collecting dust right across from the discount store with everything for under &14.99 could strike a powerful message about social constructs.

11. Science museums

Sure you can make some poignant message about priceless artwork being left to rot, or. When I was a kid, I went to a science center with natural disaster simulators like house fires and tornadoes and a whole-ass IMAX theater where I saw Night at the Museum, the only movie I’ve ever seen in a proper IMAX dome.

There was a whole kids section with a ropes course, area for exploring the human body, a NASA-sponsored mock up space module, mock up grocery store, and little exhibits here and there about optical illusions and the physics behind laying on a bed of nails and how it doesn’t kill you. It’s just something unique and fun that your characters can interact with and gives them plenty to play off and give little anecdotes to make them feel more human.

—

Point is, your post-apocalypse doesn’t have to be limited to the usual suspects. We’ve all seen the strip malls and Walmarts and suburban homes and farms. There is no special effects budget or filming restraint in a book and I’d love to read more stories set in unique and descriptive places, or just fresh takes on your standard survival camp that isn’t just “build a wall around a section of neighborhood”.

It’s the apocalypse. All real estate becomes free real estate.

[visit-new-york]

100 Most Fascinating Facts About the Empire State Building

The Empire State Building, located in the heart of Manhattan, New York City, is an iconic skyscraper and one of the most famous landmarks in the world.

Construction of the Empire State Building began on March 17, 1930, and was completed in just 410 days, opening its doors to the public on May 1, 1931.

Standing at a staggering height of 1,454 feet (443.2 meters), including its antenna, the Empire State Building was the tallest building in the world when it was completed. It held this title for nearly 40 years until the completion of the World Trade Center's North Tower in 1970.

The Empire State Building has 102 floors, with 86 of them being used for office space, and it houses numerous businesses and organizations.

The building was designed by architect William F. Lamb, who worked for the architectural firm Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Associates. The design was inspired by the Art Deco style, which was prevalent in the 1930s.

It cost approximately $40 million to build the Empire State Building, which would be equivalent to over $700 million in today's money when adjusted for inflation.

The building's construction was completed during the Great Depression, and it was often referred to as the "Empty State Building" during its early years due to the difficulty of finding tenants for the office spaces.

To finance the construction, the Empire State Building was funded by a group of wealthy investors, including John J. Raskob, a financier and businessman.

The building's exterior is clad in Indiana limestone and granite, giving it a distinctive and elegant appearance.

The Empire State Building's famous Art Deco spire was originally intended to serve as a mooring mast for dirigibles, but the idea was quickly abandoned due to safety concerns and strong winds at such heights.

The building's construction progressed at a remarkable rate of four and a half stories per week, an unprecedented speed for that time.

During the construction, five workers tragically lost their lives, and they are honored with a memorial plaque inside the building.

The Empire State Building has a total of 73 elevators, including service elevators, and it takes just 45 seconds to reach the 86th-floor observatory from the ground floor.

The building's 86th-floor observatory offers breathtaking panoramic views of New York City and has been visited by millions of tourists from around the world.

Notable visitors to the Empire State Building include several world leaders, celebrities, and even fictional characters like King Kong in the classic 1933 film.

The Empire State Building was the location of several daredevil stunts and record-breaking feats, including the famous race to the top between a man and an elevator.

The building's official lighting system can be programmed to display various colors and patterns during different events and celebrations, making it a striking presence in the New York City skyline.

Every year, on Independence Day, the Empire State Building participates in the Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks display, illuminating the night sky with a colorful show.

In 1964, the Empire State Building was designated as a National Historic Landmark, recognizing its cultural and historical significance.

The building's observatories are open to the public year-round, and they are especially popular during the annual Empire State Building Run-Up event, where participants race up the stairs to the 86th floor.

The iconic scene from the movie "Sleepless in Seattle," where Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan meet on the observation deck, has become a quintessential romantic movie moment.

The Empire State Building has been featured in numerous movies, TV shows, and music videos, cementing its status as a symbol of New York City and an emblem of urban life.

On a clear day, visitors to the observatory can see up to five states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

The building has experienced several incidents of lightning strikes, but its construction materials safely disperse the electrical charge, keeping it relatively safe during storms.

The Empire State Building's Art Deco lobby is adorned with beautiful murals and decorative elements, transporting visitors back to the glamour of the 1930s.

A famous photograph called "Lunch Atop a Skyscraper" was taken during the construction of the building, showing construction workers casually sitting on a steel beam high above the city.

The Empire State Building has appeared in various video games, becoming a recognizable virtual landmark in games set in New York City.

The building's famous spire has undergone several alterations and changes over the years, including the addition of a television broadcasting antenna.

An observation deck is located on the 102nd floor, offering an even higher vantage point for those willing to climb a few more flights of stairs.

During the annual Empire State Building Run-Up, the fastest recorded time for ascending to the 86th floor is just under 10 minutes.

The building's exterior lights are often coordinated to support important causes, such as lighting up in specific colors to raise awareness for charitable events and holidays.

The Empire State Building's lobby houses a scale model of the building, offering visitors a close-up look at its architectural features and design.

The Empire State Building's design and construction techniques were considered innovative for their time, and many of its principles have influenced the development of future skyscrapers.

The building's façade features intricate stone carvings, depicting various animals and mythological creatures, adding a touch of artistry to its exterior.

The Empire State Building was the first building to have more than 100 floors, making it a true marvel of engineering and architectural achievement.

The building's steel frame weighs around 57,000 tons, and the total weight of the building, including its contents, is estimated to be over 365,000 tons.

In 1945, a B-25 bomber crashed into the Empire State Building's 79th floor in dense fog, resulting in 14 fatalities and significant damage to the building.

The Empire State Building's architecture has served as inspiration for various skyscrapers and buildings around the world.

The building's height, including its antenna, is precisely 1,454 feet and 8 9/16 inches (443.2 meters), making it an engineering marvel to achieve such precision during the 1930s.

The Empire State Building has been featured in numerous songs, poems, and works of literature, cementing its status as a symbol of ambition, progress, and the American Dream.

The building's main lobby features a stunning ceiling mural titled "American Progress" by artist Roy Sparkia, depicting the rise of New York City.

A bronze plaque on the ground floor commemorates the visit of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who turned on the building's lights with a push of a button on May 1, 1931.

The Empire State Building was the location of a unique event in 1951 when Kathryn Johnston became the first woman to be married on the building's observatory.

In 1980, the exterior of the Empire State Building was designated as a city landmark, ensuring its preservation for future generations.

The Empire State Building's prominence as a symbol of American industrial prowess and architectural excellence was further solidified by its inclusion in the Great Seal of New York City.

The building has been featured on several postage stamps issued by the United States Postal Service, further showcasing its iconic status.

The Empire State Building played a significant role in numerous movie plots, and its imposing presence has served as a backdrop for memorable cinematic moments.

The building's immense height allows it to be visible from various points across New York City, making it a guiding landmark for many residents and tourists.

The Empire State Building was depicted in the 1983 video game "King Kong," where players climbed the building to rescue the titular character.

The building's observation decks have hosted numerous special events, including weddings, proposals, and even a high-wire walk by daredevil Philippe Petit in 1974.

The Empire State Building is an energy-efficient building, and it has earned a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for its sustainability practices.

The annual Empire State Building Run-Up attracts participants from around the world, with many athletes and fitness enthusiasts challenging themselves to conquer the stairs.

The building's 86th-floor outdoor observatory has been featured in movies like "An Affair to Remember" and "Sleepless in Seattle" as a place where couples can share special moments and breathtaking views.

The building's observation decks have been the setting for several world records, including the highest concert and the highest-flying paper airplane launch.

On a windy day, the Empire State Building sways gently, and the topmost floors can sway up to several feet due to its flexibility and structural design.

The Empire State Building has appeared in numerous comic books and graphic novels, often serving as a backdrop for superhero battles and epic showdowns.

The building's observatories are equipped with high-powered binoculars to allow visitors to get a closer look at various landmarks and attractions across the city.

The Empire State Building has been featured in various virtual reality experiences, allowing people from around the world to explore its heights without leaving their homes.

The Empire State Building's façade lighting is often used to commemorate special occasions, such as holidays, national events, and philanthropic initiatives.

During the Christmas season, the Empire State Building is illuminated with festive colors, and a large Christmas tree is displayed in the lobby.

The building's observatories are open until midnight, offering visitors a chance to experience the stunning nighttime views of the city that never sleeps.

The Empire State Building's central location in Midtown Manhattan makes it a convenient starting point for tourists exploring the city's many attractions.

The Empire State Building has been featured in video games like "Grand Theft Auto IV" and "Crysis 2," allowing gamers to interact with a virtual representation of the iconic structure.

On a clear night, the Empire State Building's lights can be seen from miles away, creating a mesmerizing sight in the New York City skyline.

The building's annual lighting of the tower in blue on April 15th marks the start of Autism Awareness Month, showing its support for autism-related initiatives.

The Empire State Building has been depicted in countless postcards, souvenirs, and artworks, becoming an emblem of New York City's skyline.

The building's iconic mast and tower were originally intended to serve as docking points for airships, but advancements in aviation technology rendered this idea impractical.

In 1947, a United States Army Air Force B-25 Mitchell bomber successfully made a round-trip flight between New York City and Bermuda, proving the feasibility of commercial transatlantic flights.

The Empire State Building was featured in the climactic battle scene of the 2012 film "The Avengers," where the superheroes fought off an alien invasion from the top of the building.

The Empire State Building has appeared in numerous disaster movies, where it is often destroyed or damaged by earthquakes, tidal waves, and alien invasions.

The building's observatories offer a clear view of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Central Park, and other iconic New York City landmarks.

The Empire State Building's interior spaces have been used as sets for various film and TV productions, including commercials, documentaries, and music videos.

On special occasions, the Empire State Building's lights synchronize with music, creating stunning light shows visible from various vantage points around the city.

The building has served as a popular backdrop for fashion shoots, with models posing on its observation decks or in front of its grand entrance.

The Empire State Building was the tallest building in the world when it was featured in the classic 1933 film "King Kong," where the giant ape climbed to the top.

The building's annual Empire State Building Run-Up attracts participants from various backgrounds, including professional athletes, firefighters, and fitness enthusiasts.

The Empire State Building has been a popular destination for marriage proposals, with its breathtaking views providing a romantic setting for couples in love.

The building's observation decks have hosted a variety of events, including live music performances, book signings, and art exhibitions.

The Empire State Building's design incorporates setbacks, creating a distinctive and recognizable silhouette on the Manhattan skyline.

The Empire State Building has been featured in numerous post-apocalyptic movies, symbolizing the endurance of human architecture in the face of catastrophe.

The building's height makes it an ideal location for various telecommunication antennas, broadcasting radio, television, and mobile signals to the city.

The Empire State Building is lit up in blue and white in honor of the annual International Day of Peace on September 21st, promoting global harmony.

The building's interior lobby and halls have appeared in several period dramas and historical movies, evoking the elegance of the Art Deco era.

In 1994, a Norwegian base jumper successfully parachuted from the top of the building, landing safely on the streets of Manhattan.

The Empire State Building has served as a focal point in various New Year's Eve celebrations, with its lighting being an integral part of the festivities.

The Empire State Building has been used in art installations and performance pieces, exploring themes of urbanization, identity, and human experience.

The building's observation decks have been visited by numerous celebrities and dignitaries, from movie stars to political leaders from around the world.

The Empire State Building's Art Deco style has inspired interior designs, fashion trends, and architectural elements in buildings worldwide.

The Empire State Building has been depicted in animated movies and TV shows, capturing the imaginations of younger generations.

The building's grand entrance features exquisite decorative bronze doors, with intricate reliefs and ornamental details.

The Empire State Building has been featured in numerous books and documentaries that explore its history, engineering, and cultural significance.

The building has been the subject of various art projects, including paintings, sculptures, and installations, showcasing its allure as an artistic muse.

The Empire State Building has served as a symbol of resilience, representing New York City's ability to recover and rebuild after the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

The building's observatories have been visited by prominent figures in history, including Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana, and the astronaut Neil Armstrong.

The Empire State Building's annual Halloween lighting event sees the top of the building bathed in orange and other eerie colors, adding a spooky touch to the city's skyline.

The building's observatories have been used to conduct scientific research, such as atmospheric studies and meteorological observations.

The Empire State Building was featured in the 2005 film "King Kong," where the giant ape climbed to the top once again in a modern retelling of the classic story.

The building's exterior and observatories have been a popular filming location for various TV shows, commercials, and music videos.

The Empire State Building has been featured in the backdrop of countless wedding photographs, becoming an iconic symbol of love and commitment.

As one of the most recognizable buildings in the world, the Empire State Building continues to be a symbol of human achievement, architectural excellence, and the spirit of New York City. Its enduring appeal and timeless beauty ensure its place in history for generations to come.

[assiraphales]

the fact that the characters in zombieland were just like ……well we’re actively living in an apocalyptic world but that shouldn’t keep us from having fun. let’s go drive around to see national landmarks and break into famous peoples houses <3 was lowkey so relatable. like oh there’s no laws? no one (except a few hungry undead people) to stop me? road trip!!!!

[mariacallous]

As freshmen at New York University’s film school, some chums and I had an unusual greeting. “We live on rice gruel!” we would say if we saw one another around campus. “We’ll make do on millet!” was the reply.

This back-and-forth comes from an early scene in Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (1954), a movie somewhat force-fed to us on our first day to teach concepts about the language of cinema such as shot/reverse shot and the fourth wall—conventions that today’s students already have in their blood having played with iPhones before they could walk. Though presented as a literal classroom assignment, Seven Samurai’s appropriation as an inside joke among know-it-all 18-year-olds is proof that watching this landmark of world cinema does not feel like homework. Indeed, revisiting the “good guys with a code facing an unwinnable battle” picture for its 70th anniversary, remastered and appearing in cinemas across North America this summer, reminded me that it’s just as fun now as it ever was.

If one had to chisel a Mount Rushmore of so-called foreign films from the influential midcentury period, surely the image of Toshiro Mifune’s mad swordsman Kikuchiyo from Seven Samurai would be among the four granite faces, right next to the cloaked figure of death from Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal (1957), Marcello Mastroianni with the fedora and whip from Federico Fellini’s self-mythologizing 8½ (1963), and Jean-Pierre Léaud’s truant teen in François Truffaut’s directorial debut The 400 Blows (1959). (For the French nouvelle vague, you could also make the case for Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless, but I’m picking The 400 Blows because this way they all have numbers in the title.)

Though Kurosawa was already a known quantity internationally after the release of Rashomon (1950), a period drama in which several people recall a violent incident differently depending on their point of view, Seven Samurai was both a domestic success and a ripping-enough yarn—swords! archery! horses! mud! gruel!—to engage the rest of the world.

Japanese cinema of the postwar period was initially reluctant to dig into its samurai storytelling heritage, the notion of blind loyalty to feudal lords being understandably less popular at the time. The two most famous Japanese films released just before and after Seven Samurai remain Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story (1953), basically an enormous guilt trip pointed at modernity for letting down their elders, and Ishiro Honda’s Godzilla (1954), a nation’s collective apocalyptic nightmare that somehow mutated into a still thriving merchandise line. Seven Samurai is set in the late 1500s, during the Sengoku period of civil war, a chaotic time that found many of the samurai class without masters. Many of these men became mercenaries, but imagine a story in which some of them (seven, if you will) decided to join forces against impossible odds because it was the righteous thing to do. In revisiting classic Japanese heroism but acknowledging the then-current sentiment, the picture had its rice gruel and ate it too.

The tumultuous setting depicted in the film—the most expensive in Japanese history at the time—no doubt resonated with a Japan that was modernizing rapidly, as did the secondary theme, blurring the lines of a previously clear class system. The highborn Katsushiro (Isao Kimura) falling for the farmer’s daughter Shino (Keiko Tsushima) amid the endless meadows of chrysanthemums, and Mifune’s Kikuchiyo, revealed to be a fraud to the samurai class but one who proves himself in combat, may feel like classic movie characters, but to a postwar Japan in search of a new identity, these transgressions resonated on a much deeper level.

Seven Samurai has a very simple story that perfectly suits its several high-energy set pieces. The 207-minute epic (that’s about 29 minutes per samurai) is set during a time when the countryside is terrorized by bandits who plunder small villages, depleting their harvests and kidnapping women. Already brutalized villagers, aware that they will soon be targeted again, decide to defend themselves by hiring some outside muscle. But how can they afford to pay (see above: “We live on rice gruel!”)? you may wonder. The wise elder who lives inside a mill with a water wheel providing an incessant warlike beat knows the answer: Don’t just find samurai, “find hungry samurai.”

Timid representatives of the village head to town and witness the bravery and creative thinking of Kambei (Takashi Shimura). They convince him to take the gig, and then he assembles his crew. This includes Kyuzo (Seiji Miyaguchi), a cold-as-ice swordsman; Gorobei (Yoshio Inaba), a brilliant tactician; the eager silver-spoon apprentice Katsushiro; and the loose-cannon Kikuchiyo, who, in time, emerges as the real star of the show. (There are two other guys: One is kind of the morale officer, and the other is just Kambei’s pal.) Anyway, if the plot seems familiar, yes, it has been adapted for Western cinema several times, most notably as the gunslinging The Magnificent Seven (both in 1960 and 2016), sci-fi romp Battle Beyond the Stars (1980), and, if you want to stretch it, the dopey comedy Three Amigos! (1986) and the Pixar cartoon A Bug’s Life (1998). Beyond that, a great many standard cinematic tropes have their roots in this movie.

Most obvious is the first act of the film, in which Kambei builds up the team. There’s no need to overly intellectualize it; it’s just fun to watch him size up potential comrades, test them out, and then make his appeal. There’s also a wonderful moment in which we think we’ve got a new addition but the samurai in question shrugs off the approach when he hears there’s no money or fame in the job. Should Disney ever purchase Toho Studios, we can maybe expect a limited streaming series to find out whatever happened to that guy. Anyway, every movie from The Dirty Dozen to The Blues Brothers to The Right Stuff to Ocean’s Eleven to School of Rock owes a lot to Seven Samurai.

Another influential development is how the villagers (and we in the audience) first meet Kambei. There is some tumult in town as a thief has kidnapped a child and barricaded himself inside a building. Kambei cuts off his hair (a very big deal for a samurai), poses as a monk, and then, after a series of badass moves, rescues the child and kills the baddie in slow motion. Introducing the hero through a mini-mission before we get to the real mission is now so common (think every single James Bond movie) that it’s funny to think it had to originate somewhere.

Most of the so-called movie brats of New Hollywood revered Kurosawa, but none so much as George Lucas, who would later use his clout to help the Japanese director secure funding for his expansive project Kagemusha. While there are more one-to-one alignments between other Kurosawa films and Star Wars (most famously, the original R2-D2 and C-3PO in 1958’s The Hidden Fortress, two comic-relief peasants tagging along on an adventure to save a princess), there’s still a lot in Seven Samurai that made it to the galaxy far, far away.

For starters, there are those wipe transitions between scenes. And then who is the wise elder hunched in the dark speaking truncated wisdom if not The Empire Strikes Back’s version of Yoda? The romance between Katsushiro and Shino is something like a Han Solo-Princess Leia dynamic in reverse, as well. On a technical level, though, one can point to the rising action of the final battle. While there is no exploding Death Star, Kurosawa, who deployed multiple cameras shooting concurrently, cuts not just between different angles of the same fight but between several skirmishes all building to the final thrilling, albeit pyrrhic, victory.

Most striking for its time—and still fiery today—is Seven Samurai’s most impressive element, Mifune. An explosive performer by any standard, let alone the typically taciturn style seen in Japanese movies of the period, Mifune is like a cross between Stanley Kowalski and Woody Woodpecker: muscular one minute, flamboyantly loosey-goosey the next. Like Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire, Mifune dominates every scene he is in with an unpredictable magnetism. (Though never stated as such, John Belushi’s famous samurai character on Saturday Night Live is basically an exaggerated version of Mifune.) Kikuchiyo is a drunkard and a brute but also silly and, when necessary, fragile. His scene rescuing an infant from a burning building is probably the best thing in the entire movie. Any other actor could have played the part as merely loud and annoying, but Mifune turns the role into something sensuous, mesmerizing, and sui generis. There are many reasons we’re still talking about this movie 70 years later, and the biggest reason of all is him.

The anniversary of the picture means its first remastering to 4K and a significant release in North America. (Not just New York and Los Angeles but places including Akron, Ohio; Paducah, Kentucky; and Kitchener, Ontario—here’s the full list.) With a 15-minute intermission plus a little time to buy popcorn, we’re talking about a four-hour commitment at the movie theater. With today’s limited attention span and hectic schedules, programming this film may seem like going up against impossible odds. Hopefully, there are enough people out there still ready to heed the call and do what’s right, no matter the cost.

[afeelgoodblog]

#075 - The Best News of Last Week - February 27, 2023

🐈 - Do you know Gacek, the most famous cat in Poland?

Hey there! It's Erica here, and I'm excited to share with you some of the most uplifting news stories of the week. In a world that can sometimes seem filled with negativity, it's important to focus on the positive and find inspiration in the good things that are happening around us. Let's dive into this week's collection of wholesome news!

1. 8-year-old boy missing from Washington state for 8 months is found in Missouri

A boy who has been missing from Washington state since at least mid-June was found safe in Missouri, the FBI office in Seattle said Tuesday.

Authorities said 8-year-old Breadson John had vanished by June 17, when a welfare check at his home in Vancouver, Washington, just across the state line from Oregon, determined his absence.

2. World’s biggest four-day working week trial hailed a ‘major breakthrough’

The trial of a four-day working week in the UK, the largest of its kind in the world, has been celebrated as a “major breakthrough” after the majority of participating companies announced their intention to continue with the shorter week.

The trial, which ran for six months from June last year, required firms to reduce their working hours for all employees by 20 per cent without any reduction in wages.

At least 56 out of the 61 companies confirmed they will continue with the four-day working week, while 18 of them have made the policy a permanent change.

3. This dying baby turtle survived after drifting 4,000 miles to Ireland

A family strolling on a beach in Ireland earlier this month spotted a seafarer that had washed up on the rocks. Less than a year old, the female loggerhead survived a months-long journey across the Atlantic Ocean, teeming with dangers including predators and plastic. Although she was still alive, the turtle was dehydrated, massively underweight.

They called her Cróga, the Irish word for “brave.” After finding Cróga in the northwestern part of Ireland, the family called a few groups that rehabilitate whales and dolphins. There, Cróga’s rehabilitation began.

4. A Hernando toddler found alive after being missing for nearly 24 hours

A 2-year-old boy was lost in the Florida woods for 24 hours. Everyone feared the worst. Hundreds of volunteers came out to look for him.

One volunteer came to a fork in a field: right or left? He trusted his gut, went left and soon heard a whimper. It was the little boy, crying but in good health.

I found something interesting while reading this article: If you are part of a SAR team looking for a child to not only call their name but also that they aren’t in trouble. Young children sometimes hide from potential rescuers because they’re afraid they’ll get in trouble.

5. German man remains free of the HIV virus years after receiving stem cell treatment.

Researchers are announcing that a 53-year-old man in Germany has been cured of HIV.

Referred to as "the Dusseldorf patient" to protect his privacy, researchers said he is the fifth confirmed case of an HIV cure. Although the details of his successful treatment were first announced at a conference in 2019, researchers could not confirm he had been officially cured at that time. Today, researchers announced the Dusseldorf patient still has no detectable virus in his body, even after stopping his HIV medication four years ago.

6. South Korea court recognises same-sex couple rights for first time

A South Korean court has for the first time recognised the rights of a same-sex couple in the country. In a landmark ruling, the Seoul High Court found a government health insurer did owe coverage to the spouse of a customer after the firm withdrew it when it found out the pair were gay.

The men had held a wedding ceremony in 2019, but same-sex marriage is not recognised in South Korea.

Activists say the ruling is a leap forward for LGBT rights in the country.

7. A fat cat has become the top-rated tourist attraction in a Polish city with a perfect 5-star average on Google Maps

A fat black-and-white cat called Gacek has become the top-rated tourist attraction in the Polish city of Szczecin.

Gacek has a perfect five-star rating on Google Maps. His name, pronounced gats-ek, means "long-eared bat" in Polish. Gacek first drew international attention when he appeared in a YouTube documentary in 2020

- - -

That's it for this week. If you liked this post you can support this newsletter with a small kofi donation:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Let's carry the positivity into next week and keep spreading the good news!

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

What's in the medal winners box at the 2024 Olympics in Paris? 🇫🇷

The box, measuring about 40 centimetres, contains the official poster of this year's Summer Games. Architectural landmarks star in the "utopian" poster for the Paris 2024 Olympics. The iconic poster is an imagined city stadium open to the world.

French artist Ugo Gattoni has created a duo of intricately hand-drawn posters for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which can function independently or combine seamlessly to create a single composition. It marks the first time that posters for both summer games were designed together as a diptych.

The posters tell a singular story about the games via a hyperreal depiction of Paris incorporating 47 Olympic and Paralympic sports alongside various architectural landmarks.

His aim was to create a series of micro-stories based around familiar Paris monuments such as the Eiffel Tower, the Grand Palais, the Arc de Triomphe and the Trocadéro, where British studio Gustafson Porter + Bowman added an amphitheatre and a green corridor for the games.

In Gattoni's condensed version of Paris, these landmarks rub shoulders with some of the sporting venues used for the games including the Stade de France, which hosts the athletics, rugby sevens, and will host the Para-athletics

The river Seine is represented along with some of its famous bridges including Pont Neuf and Pont Alexandre III. The coast of Teahupo'o in Tahiti, French Polynesia, where the surfing events are held, is pictured in the background.

Gattoni is an illustrator and former swimmer known for his large-format works that can take months or even years to complete – spent more than 2,000 hours creating the illustrations used for the posters.

Also included in the detailed fresco are several symbols related to the games, such as the Olympic rings and the symbol of the Paralympic Games, the three agitos (Latin for “I move”)

The Paris 2024 mascots – modelled on Phrygian caps – are playfully integrated into the scene in multiple places, along with the gold-medal-shaped emblem designed for the games, which was unveiled in 2019.

The symmetrical Olympic Torch created for the games by designer Mathieu Lehanneur can be seen emerging from the water at one end of a pier. At the opposite end, a hand holds the Paris 2024 medals, which feature a real piece of the Eiffel Tower.

The illustration is also available as a colouring poster. Some 40,000 characters are depicted in the posters, with an equal number of men and women in the foreground to symbolise the equality of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

#Paris2024Olympics #UgoGattoni #illustrator #SummerGames #Frenchartist #box #poster #designer #MathieuLehanneur #Paris2024 #mascots #Phrygiancaps #ParalympicGames

Posted 10th August 2024

[mask131]

So you want to know about Oz! (4)

Now that we got the topic of the Oz books out of the way, let's talk about... The MGM musical! The 1939 movie "The Wizard of Oz"!

Or rather, let's NOT talk about it. Let's talk about... its alternate continuity.

"Alternate continuity" or "alternate Oz" are terms cherished by Oz fans and scholars, because they allow one to navigate through the maze of Oz adaptations.

I don't want to talk here about the MGM movie per se, because A) there's way too much to say and B) everybody knows it or saw it, so I don't need to explain what it is as thoroughly. But I want to insist on a specific and given point... The 1939 musical COMPLETELY changed the game.

It is an adaptation of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", yes. And it is the most famous and acclaimed Oz adaptations that ever was - to the point it is a landmark of American cinema, and a key part of American popular culture. But, and here's the important part: it is also not at all a faithful adaptation of Baum's novel. It is a very loose adaptation that omitted, reinvented and added MANY, many things - and the problem is that, since the movie is much more famous and well-known than the original novel, it created its own "alternate continuity" of Oz works, completely dissociated from the original novels by Baum (and other authors). These are two different worlds, that start from the same story-point but diverge in many, many ways.

In this post, I want to look at all the works, movies and adaptations that present themselves as prequel or sequels to the MGM movie, and that build together this "alternate Oz continuity" that is the 1939 continuity.

How do you recognize these works, and separate them from the ones more aligned with the old novels? Simple! All you need is to look out for key details that were introduced by the MGM musical!

The Wicked Witch of the West is considered the supreme evil of Oz, and is depicted as having a green skin and being clad in black.

There is only one Good Witch, Glinda Good Witch of the North.

The magical slippers are Ruby Slippers, not Silver Slippers.

Insistence on Oz being a "dream lord" paralleling the real-world

The Wicked Witches are sisters, and not just unrelated allies in wickedness

And other details of the sort. Alright! Ready? Let's go!

Let me begin with something a bit obscure... The 1990 cartoon "The Wizard of Oz".

In 1990, a Wizard of Oz cartoon started airing on television. This animated series proposed itself as the direct sequel to the MGM movie. Dorothy, still with the ruby slippers, returned to the Land of Oz, called by Glinda due to new troubles brewing in Oz: the Wicked Witch of the West was resurrected. The series is mostly about the group of heroes travelling through Oz, encoutering various Oz folks (purely invented for the series) and defeating the various schemes of the Wicked Witch, while trying to catch up with the Wizard of Oz, whose hot air balloon is tormented by the West Wind...

Unfortunately, due to poor ratings, the series was never renewed beyond its first season. Even worse, it just... kind of stopped mid-season. 13 episodes were created (I am not even sure all were aired?) and... the show just stops. No conclusion, no ending, it just stops. Sometimes, the two-part opening episode "The Rescue of the Emerald City" is edited as one short animated movie.

Much more famous: the Disney movie "Return to Oz", from 1985. One of thes "obscure Disney movies", one of those "weird fantasy sequels", one of those "dark 80s children movies"... There's multiple reasons why this piece became a cult-classic today.

It is most notably one of the many instances of Disney trying to create an Oz product in line with the MGM movie, despite not having the rights to do so, and thus playing around with the public domain of the Oz novels. This movie presents itself as a sort-of-sequel to the MGM movie (sort-of because, since they couldn't make an actual sequel, they have things that do not match - like Dorothy's new appearance - and things that do match - the slippers are ruby). In terms of inspiration, it is mostly a retelling of the third Oz novel, "Ozma of Oz", but with various elements taken from the second Oz novel "The Marvelous Land of Oz". For example, one of the villains of the movie is Mombi, the witch from "The Marvelous Land of Oz", but her behavior and appearance are those of Princess Langwidere, a secondary antagonist of "Ozma of Oz".

Another famous attempt by Disney at gaining their ground on the MGM-Oz domain is this movie:

2013's "Oz: The Great and Powerful". Meant to be a prequel to the MGM Wizard of Oz (but stll placing itself in its own continuity, since it couldn't be an ACTUAL prequel), it tells the story of how Oscar (the Wizard) arrived in Oz, and how the power-struggle between the three Ozian witches put itself in place. And it was... it was not a great success. In term of Oz adaptations it is recognized today to be between "mid" and "failure". (It is still VERY pretty though)

Speaking of Oz failures...

Do you remember THIS movie? "Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return"? Oh that's one messy story...

"Dorothy's Return" (2013) was an animated movie adapting one of the novels written by Roger S. Baum, L. Frank Baum's great-grandson, called "Dorothy of Oz" (1989). And it did... VERY poorly, despite the huge amount of money and advertisement put in it. But you know what's even funnier? Why does the movie has such a long title? Because "Legends of Oz" was actually a HUGE franchise project. There was this plan to create a big line of animated movies and derived products, of which "Dorothy's Return" would have been just the first step. The movie came out, did poorly... and the entire franchise was canceled. But not without a lawsuit being opened for the shady practices and financial ruins behind this project... Yeah it is QUITE a story!

Still within the domain of modern Oz movies people do not particularly like...

The Tom and Jerry Oz movies!

These animated pieces are part of the modern trend of putting Tom and Jerry in famous movies (there is also the very unfamous Tom and Jerry + Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie). The first movie, "Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz" was basically just Tom and Jerry being present during the MGM movie. And... that was it. Oh yes, they did include the Jitterbug deleted scene but you know. It was just that.

Less known is this movie's direct sequel, "Tom and Jerry Back to Oz". It was less talked about than the first one, despite being at least more original! It is notably a loose adaptation of the third Oz novel, "Ozma of Oz".

More successful and beloved: 2017's "Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz".

Just like the 1990s series, it is a children cartoon presenting itself as a direct sequel to the MGM movie, but unlike the 1990s series it was HUGELY successful. It aired for three full seasons, and while it is placed within the MGM continuity, it notably modifies several details so kids could be able to get into the story more (Dorothy is a little girl, the Wicked Witch is replaced by her daughter), and sprinkles several elements from the novels (Ozma, queen of Oz, is a recurring character). It is mostly a... I'll say "slice-of-life" type of show, about Dorothy and her friends just... living in Oz, solving problems if they are, avoiding the various schemes of the Wicked Witch's daughter.

Now that we looked at all the most "recent" incarnations, let's take a look at an older classic: 1972's Journey Back to Oz.

This animated movie is a loose adaptation of the second Oz novel, "The Marvelous Land of Oz", but presented as a sequel to the MGM movie. Tip is replaced by an MGM-looking Dorothy as the protagonist, Mombi is depicted as a green-skinned witch and the cousin of the deceased Wicked Witches of The Wizard of Oz, and Dorothy's voice is provided by Liza Minnelli, the daughter of Judy Garland.

And to conclude it all a movie that... nobody seems to have noticed upon its release?

2000's Lion of Oz. An animated musical movie for children, adapted from Roger S. Baum's novel (yes, still him) "The Lion of Oz and the Badge of Courage" (1995) ; but still placing itself, by the characters' design, under the legacy of the MGM movie.

This movie presents the backstory of the Cowardly Lion, who, as it turns out, was a lion Oscar Diggs brought with him to Oz, and who, before meeting Dorothy, underwent a quest to fight the nefarious plans of the Wicked Witch of the East...

[thatrickmcginnis]

LYDIA LUNCH, Toronto 1988

The closest thing I had to a photographer's studio in early 1988 was an unused room behind the bar at the Silver Dollar Room, a former showbar-turned-strip club that was reopened as a rock club the previous year. This was where I'd do a series of portrait shoots that turned out to be pivotal in my early career, beginning with Lydia Lunch, who came to Toronto on January 26, 1988 on a spoken word tour. Lydia was a star in my little world, famous since her band Teenage Jesus & the Jerks had four songs on the landmark No New York compilation album a decade earlier. She was by this point known as a force of nature, making records and films and publishing books, with a personal style that was as influential as Siouxsie Sioux in that every town's scene had at least a couple of dozen young women who looked exactly like her.

Lydia Lunch showed up performing the material she'd later release on her Oral Fixation record, a pioneer of the spoken word genre (along with former Black Flag singer Henry Rollins - more about him shortly) that would turn out to have real longevity. My photos of her were meant to accompany an article my friend Tim was writing - a paean to the woman who was a kind of nihilist sex symbol in the underground subcultures that had formed since punk rock. So I tried to approach the shoot as something like glamour photography, not dissimilar to the photos I'd take of actress (and onetime Bond Girl) Jane Seymour for a fashion magazine a couple of weeks later. Bringing along my little portable studio - a light stand and umbrella bounce, a portable flash and a big white painter's tarp I carrried around in a gym bag - I cleared a space in the storage room at the Silver Dollar and found an unbroken bar stool that I place midway between my tarp backdrop and my flash.

Delivering a decent shot must have been a priority when I photographed Lydia Lunch because I shot two whole rolls of 120 film that evening hoping for something worthwhile. If you know anything about Lydia you'll have some sense of how intimidating she can be, by choice. (I don't think she'd have a problem with that statement.) My contact sheets show me moving closer with my camera as I got a bit more confident with my subject, who (perhaps accidentally) presented a bit more than her usual defiant face as we talked and took pictures. Lydia had just released Honeymoon in Red, working with guitarist Rowland S. Howard (about whom more soon) and members of The Birthday Party; when I told Howard (in the same back room at the Silver Dollar) that I'd photographed Lydia just a few weeks later, he asked how she was, and I said that there were occasional frames where I got a glimpse of the Catholic girl from upstate New York. He smiled and agreed, laughing that while he'd seen the same aspect of Lydia, he was sure she wouldn't be pleased about it being revealed.

[blueiscoool]

The 200-Year-Old Sycamore Gap Tree 'Deliberately Felled’

A famous tree that has stood sentinel on Britain’s Roman-built Hadrian’s Wall for more than 200 years has been “deliberately felled” in what authorities have called an “act of vandalism.”

The Sycamore Gap, located in the Northumberland National Park in northern England, was made famous to millions around the world when it appeared in Kevin Costner’s 1991 blockbuster film “Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.”

Police said they have arrested a 16-year-old boy and a man in his sixties following the incident, which was believed to have taken place overnight Thursday.

The tree - at a spot known as “Sycamore Gap” – was located on the historic UNESCO World Heritage listed Hadrian’s Wall, which was constructed around 1,900 years ago to guard the furthest northwestern frontier of the Roman Empire.

Sycamore Gap was considered one of the most photographed trees in England and was voted as English Tree of the Year in 2016.

The National Trust heritage charity – which co-manages the site – said it was “shocked and saddened” by the tree’s felling.

Andrew Poad, north east general manager at the National Trust, said: “The tree has been an important and iconic feature in the landscape for nearly 200 years and means a lot to the local community and to anyone who has visited the site.”

Northumberland National Park Authority said it was now “working with the relevant agencies and partners with an interest in this iconic North East landmark.”

The National Park urged visitors to stay away while the site was being made safe.

Police, who earlier said they were investigating what was believed to be a “deliberate act of vandalism,” said a 16-year old youth had been arrested in connection with the incident.

He remains in police custody at this time and is assisting officers with their enquiries,” Northumbria Police posted on X, adding that the “investigation is still at very early stage.”

The man in his sixties was arrested subsequently. “We hope this second arrest demonstrates just how seriously we’re taking this situation and our ongoing commitment to find those responsible and bring them to justice,” the police stated on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Prior to the arrests, the police force described the tree as a “world-renowned landmark.”

“The vandalism has caused understandable shock and anger throughout the local community and beyond,” a statement from Northumbria Police said.

Police Superintendent Kevin Waring added: “This is an incredibly sad day. The tree was iconic to the North East and enjoyed by so many who live in or who have visited this region.”

“Anyone found to have been responsible for this damage – which we believe to be a deliberate act of vandalism – can expect to be dealt with swiftly and appropriately.”

By James Frater.

[visit-new-york]

New York City

New York tumblr more photos here New York City, often simply referred to as NYC, is one of the most iconic and vibrant cities in the world. Located in the northeastern part of the United States, it is situated on the southeastern tip of the state of New York. With a population of over 8 million residents within the city limits and over 20 million in the greater metropolitan area, it is the most populous city in the United States.

Geography and Layout: New York City is composed of five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island. The city is located on a series of islands and connected by bridges and tunnels. Manhattan, the heart of the city, is where many of its most famous landmarks are located. It is divided into several neighborhoods, each with its own distinct character and atmosphere. The city is known for its impressive skyline, dominated by iconic skyscrapers like the Empire State Building, One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower), and the Chrysler Building.

Culture and Diversity: One of New York City's defining characteristics is its incredible diversity. People from all over the world have made the city their home, resulting in a rich tapestry of cultures, languages, cuisines, and traditions. This diversity is celebrated through various cultural events, festivals, and neighborhoods that showcase the heritage of different communities.

The city's cultural scene is unparalleled, with world-class museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and the American Museum of Natural History. Broadway, located in the Theater District of Manhattan, is synonymous with American theater and is famous for its top-tier productions.

Economy and Business: New York City is a global economic powerhouse. Its financial district, centered around Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, is home to some of the world's largest and most influential financial institutions. The city's economy is incredibly diverse, encompassing finance, media, technology, fashion, tourism, and more.

Education and Research: The city boasts some of the world's most prestigious universities, including Columbia University, New York University (NYU), and The City University of New York (CUNY) system. These institutions contribute to the city's reputation as a hub for research, innovation, and intellectual exchange.

Cuisine and Culinary Scene: New York City is a culinary melting pot, offering an array of dining options that reflect its multicultural makeup. From street food carts offering hot dogs and pretzels to high-end restaurants serving international cuisines, the city caters to all tastes and budgets. Iconic foods like New York-style pizza, bagels, and deli sandwiches are part of the city's culinary fabric.

Transportation: The city's extensive public transportation system, which includes the subway, buses, and ferries, is a crucial part of daily life for millions of residents and visitors. The yellow taxi cabs are also an iconic symbol of the city's transportation.

Landmarks and Attractions: New York City is home to an impressive array of landmarks and attractions. Some of the must-visit places include:

Times Square: A bustling commercial and entertainment hub known for its bright lights, theaters, and New Year's Eve celebrations.

Central Park: An expansive green oasis in the heart of Manhattan, offering a retreat from the urban hustle and bustle.

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island: Iconic symbols of American freedom and immigration history.

Brooklyn Bridge: A historic suspension bridge connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn, offering stunning views of the city skyline.

Rockefeller Center: A complex of commercial buildings, famous for its ice-skating rink and the Top of the Rock observation deck.

The High Line: A unique elevated park built on a former railway track, offering a serene escape above the city streets.

Museums and Art Galleries: In addition to the aforementioned museums, NYC is home to the Guggenheim Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art, and more.

Challenges and Opportunities: Despite its allure, New York City also faces challenges such as high living costs, traffic congestion, and issues related to affordable housing. The city has shown resilience in the face of challenges, and initiatives are continually being developed to address these concerns and create a more equitable and sustainable future.

In summary, New York City is a dynamic and multifaceted metropolis that captivates visitors and residents alike with its cultural richness, economic vitality, and unparalleled energy. Its ability to constantly reinvent itself while honoring its history makes it a truly remarkable and enduring global city.

[modelbus]

Hiii! May I request a romantic Tommyinnit x (male! if possible, but if not that's fine too!) reader where the reader is also a vlogger visiting NY.

Basically, one of Tommy's tasks is to find another vlogger and he comes across the reader who is filming a travel vlog? - Anon2

Absolutely! It's a little short, but I made up for it with a bit of a flirty reader :D

Pairing: CC!Tommyinnit x Male!Reader

Viral Vlogger

Out of the many places you've been, New York City has to be among the busiest. Between the cars and people, a constant headache thrummed alongside the anxiety that came with traveling. The locals must be able to see some pattern that you can’t, hence why you escaped to a random park.

While being a vlogger, you’ve discovered a few important things. People look at you a little less weirdly if you call your vlog a movie, traveling alone is recipe for disaster, and parks are the best place to escape to. As long as the park wasn’t famous, that is.

Most tourists flocked to the more popular places, leaving the little parks behind. The locals, on the other hand, knew all the hidden gems and tended to find respite in the parks just like you did. Some of the best conversations you’ve ever had happened because you decided to hide in a park.

“Lighting here should be good enough.” You mumble to yourself.

Your cameraman and best friend was meeting with family, leaving you to record by yourself for the day. Normally you two were like the setup for a bad joke: two guys, a camera, and the sights of the world.

Holding out the camera, you do a little spin around to show off the park. “I know what you’re thinking. He’s done it again! He’s found another park! And yes, yes I have. Do I look like a city boy? Hell no. I’m hoping to be able to speak with some cool people today, get some insight on what really goes on in this city. As much as I love the sights of broadway and famous landmarks, this city is more than its looks. It’s the people. And you guys just love when I embarrass myself in front of people, so there’s also that.”

You laugh, glancing around to try and find someone who’s close and looks friendly.

“Excuse me?” The voice comes from behind you, making you jump. “Are you a vlogger?”

Turning, you find another guy with a camera pointed at you. He’s wearing a shit-eating grin. Looks like you have competition, huh?

“No, I just carry around this camera for fun.” You deadpan.

“Oh. Uh-“

“Yes, I’m a vlogger.”

“Aha! There can only be one vlogger around these parts, and that’s me!”

He’s British, something you missed the first times he spoke. With the newfound information that he’s both British and a vlogger, you take a closer look at him. Despite having weirdly blue eyes and nearly golden-blond hair, his defining feature has to be his smile.

“Who even are you?" You ask, going along with whatever joke he's playing.

With a fake gasp, he screams, "YOU BASTARD! HOW FUCKING DARE YOU?! I AM THE TOM SIMONS!"

Listen, you'd say you're pretty well versed in most of the travel vloggers out there. That being said, you've never heard of Tom Simons.

"Well, Tom Simons, I'm-"

"You're loser boy." He interrupts. "And I'm the king vlogger."

"Okay, if anyone here is the loser boy it's you."

"I AM A MAN!"

"There's no way you're older than nineteen."

His mouth opens and closes, and you know you've got him.

"I think I'll be taking your crown, child."

"Hey! You aren't older than nineteen either, you fucking bitch!"

"No, but I'm cooler."

For a second his angry expression drops to reveal a glimpse of a smile before it's back on. With a little bit of surprise, you realize you're enjoying messing around with him.

"And I'm hotter." He responds, fanning himself.

You literally cannot dispute that, seeing as you just called yourself cool. There's no way you're letting him win this now though. Not after you've gotten yourself invested.

"Maybe cuter."

Well, fuck. While it was a response, it wasn't the one that was meant to come out of your mouth. Flirting, really?

He's flushes red, turning away from you to face the camera. "Average Tom Simons viewer, am I right guys?"

The girl holding the camera covers her mouth to stop her laughter from being picked up by the mic. Tom turns back to you, a slightly different smile on now.

"So, you're vlogging New York City?"

"Yeah, I'm a travel vlogger." You answer.

"That's sick!" Maybe he wasn't a travel vlogger. That'd certainly explain why you'd never heard of him. "How long have you been here for?"

"A few days. You?"

"A whole ass week. I'm pretty much an expert now."

"Really? You should show me the best places around then, expert Tom Simons."

Flirting, but this time with a bit more tact. While you certainly hadn't come to NYC looking for love, you didn't mind possibly finding one. You were already crushing on him just from the fifteen minutes you've spent joking around!

"I will then, loser boy."

"Loser is one letter away from lover, you know."

Tom sputters before crossing his arms. He really never backed down.

"Fine then, lover boy. That was fucking cringe as shit. Fuck that. Let's just go explore the city together and have a whirlwind romance so I can forget you tomorrow."

You laugh, tucking your camera away. "Deal."

The next morning, you wake up with a text from a new contact in your phone. Guess he didn't forget you in a day after all.

One new message from Tom the NYC expert

[hplovecraftmuseum]

Lovecraft's last major original tale was THE HAUNTER of the DARK. It was written in response to a story by his youthful correspondent friend and fiction- writer hopeful, Robert Bloch. Bloch had shown the youthful audacity of killing off a fictional version of H. P. Lovecraft himself in his tale, THE SHAMBLER FROM THE STARS! Lovecraft decided to return the favor by murdering a fictional stand-in for Bloch. The Robert Bloch stand-in would be called 'Robert Harrison Blake'. Our hero would become a young artist and writer specializing in fanciful and supernatural subjects. In essence 'Blake' would return to Providence, RI. location of the Lovecraft character's death featured in Bloch's own story. In Lovecraft's 'retaliation tale' Bloch/Blake would rent lodgings in the very house the REAL H. P. Lovecraft himself was living in at the time! Lovecraft's actual Westward facing study window would become the model for the same window 'Blake' would be sitting at when he meets his death in the HAUNTER story. In the final scene the Robert Blake protagonist would link minds with a monstrous creature hiding out in the steeple of an abandoned church. That church was based on an actual Catholic church in the traditionally Italian section of Providence called, Federal Hill. The monster that links minds with Blake is apparently hoping to invade his body and use it for his own purposes. We are not told exactly what he/it had in mind once the invasion was completed, but we can be sure he wasn't coming to our world just to play tiddlywinks! The vision of a winged monster/ demon coming strait at the viewer in the same manner Blake must have witnessed the horror at the end is rather remarkably reflected in a painting by the noted writer and artist William Blake (Nov. 25, 1757 - August 12, 1827) Blake was known for his mystical and religious works and, THE RED DRAGON AND THE WOMAN CLOTHED WITH THE SUN, was one of his most famous paintings. Comparing the Blake origional with the 2 illustrations featured on the front and rear covers of the landmark publication 'H. P. L' certainly gives evidence to my contention that Lovecraft's tale was influenced by Blake's painting. Of course HPL chose to change Bloch's name to Blake, but he could easily have called him Robert Brown, Blackstone, Bains, Baker, etc. Robert Bloch, William Blake. Well, I've been accused of stretching things in interpretations of Lovecraft before? By the way, notice the lightning bolts rising up around the creature in the Blake origional below left. The same thing is featured in the ink work by illustrator, Herb Arnold, to its right. The ink rendering of the same final scene of Lovecraft's THE HAUNTER OF THE DARK was the creation of Robert Kline. (Bottom below) However, there was no moon featured in the night sky of Lovecraft's HAUNTER OF THE DARK tale as there is in Mr Kline's illustration. The winged, Haunter creature had to depend on a nearly lightless night sky before he could risk traveling across the distance from the steeple at Federal Hill to the residence of Blake to the East on College Hill. On that stormy night there is an electrical failure and the only light that can be provided to ward off the creature are the candles being held by those citizens and priests of Providence who somehow sense that something Evil is about to be exalted. If it were not for a sudden and fortuitous thunderbolt striking the creature (an avatar of Nyarlathotep!) In mid air the world as we know it might not be here right now! (Exhibit 379)

[latenightcinephile]

Film #917: 'The Cool World', dir. Shirley Clarke, 1963.

For all intents and purposes, Shirley Clarke's landmark film about youth gangs in Harlem, The Cool World, is considered a lost film. It was produced by the famous documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman, and when Clarke died in 1997, the rights went to Wiseman. Despite Milestone Films embarking on an eight-year project to restore and make available as many of Clarke's films as possible, Wiseman has never allowed The Cool World to be included in this series or any other. For over twenty years, the only way to see this film is to have been fortunate enough to see it at a film festival, arts show screening, or touring gallery event.

Or, hypothetically, you could find a copy ripped from a screening on German broadcast television, with the German subtitles hard-coded into the bottom of the screen, uploaded to a website you've never heard of before. This particular hypothetical uploader has made it their pastime, evidently, to track key black films from the 1960s and 1970s, and make them available to whoever wants to see them. So it could be possible to watch the film, after all. And if you did, you'd likely find that it is an amazing piece of filmmaking. And you'd likely be a little mad at Frederick Wiseman.

In 1960s Harlem, Duke (Hampton Clanton) is looking to rise through the ranks of his local gang, the Royal Pythons. Convinced that if he gets his hands on a gun, he will be a man to be feared and respected, he makes the acquaintance of a pimp and racketeer named Priest (Carl Lee). Duke's relationship with his mother, who clearly cares for him but finds him difficult to communicate with, declines, and when the Pythons take over an apartment to set up their base, Duke practically lives there full-time. The gang's current president, Blood, brings his girlfriend Luanne to stay in the apartment as the gang's resident prostitute. Luanne becomes sweet on Duke quickly, and she privately supports Duke's aspirations.Duke continues to try and save enough money to buy a gun from Priest by selling cigarettes and occasionally stealing. In his travels around Harlem, he is often witness to discussions about the future prospects of black men in society, and the tactics of the civil rights movement.

Blood is revealed to be a heroin addict, which is against the rules of the Royal Pythons, and he is ousted, with Duke taking his position. Blood challenges Duke to a fight, but the scene is interrupted by the news that Littleman, another member of the Pythons, has been killed by the Wolves, a rival gang. Duke decides to lead a rumble against the Wolves which will take place several nights afterwards. In the meantime, he takes Luanne on a date to Coney Island so she can see the ocean, but she disappears during the date and Duke returns to the gang's headquarters broken-hearted. The night of the rumble, Priest arrives, asking if he can lay low there for a few days, but does not explain the type of trouble he's in. Duke leads the rest of the gang in the fight, during which several members of both gangs are killed, but Duke manages to successfully kill the leader of the Wolves. Coming back to the headquarters, he discovers that Priest has been shot in the head, with the scene posed to make it look like a suicide. Frightened, Duke flees to his old home, but is arrested and taken away. As the credits roll, the soundtrack is filled with voices approvingly remarking on what a "cold killer" Duke is.

It should be noted that, while the version of the film I've seen does feel pretty complete, it does run for 15 minutes shorter than what several sources claim the film to be, and of course I have no other version to compare it to.

There is a valid criticism to be made of The Cool World, which is that it's a black story told by a white director and adapted from a novel by a white author. This criticism is not just a modern phenomenon: several reviews at the film's release, most notably the Los Angeles Times, observed that this type of story was better told by black writers and directors. That said, Clarke's empathy and engagement with the film's subjects is not in doubt. Films about youth crime were usually relegated to the 'moral panic' genre, as a problem that needed to be solved, and as a scaremongering tactic for prurient middle-class audiences. While Duke is arrested at the film's end, the film doesn't pass judgment on the validity of Duke's beliefs or ends. He thinks that a gun will get him power, and he is correct. Clarke presents a remarkably even-handed version of life in a New York youth gang, where violence is abrupt and meaningless, most crime is petty and interspersed with days of just roaming aimlessly, and arrest is likely but doesn't undo the status you've acquired.

Supporting this view throughout the film is the comparative sterility of the world outside the gang. While the life of the Royal Pythons isn't always interesting, it is a space of care and connection between its members, and the film's narrative pulls these details to the foreground. Duke brings Littleman comic books; Luanne wants to go to San Francisco to see the ocean and is enthralled when Duke tells her that they have an ocean in New York City too. Even in one of the most fraught scenes, where Duke ousts Blood as the gang's leader, Clarke fills the film with moments of silence where you can sense the uncertainty of the characters as they calculate the effects of their actions. In comparison, the school trip from which Duke flees at the start of the film is full of libraries and stock exchanges, a world that has no meaning or relevance to the lives of the black teenagers. They will never stay at the Plaza Hotel, the film says, so what's the point in showing it to them?

Likewise, Duke's mother has a life overstuffed with worries and concerns, and while she is anxious for Duke's future, his seeming apathy breeds resentment in her. He is making her life harder. A film with a strong moralising bent would suggest that Duke's interest in the Pythons is an indictment of his mother's failure, and an indictment of the absence of his father. In other words, it would normally be presented as a failure of the individuals to place themselves correctly. There is none of this in The Cool World. Duke simply moves from one set of social structures that have no meaningful space for him to another set of social structures that give him what he wants. Whether he should want that, or whether there are better paths for him to take, is ultimately irrelevant. Of course, it's not ideal that the world Duke lives in offers him no better alternatives, but Clarke's film is not interested in blaming Duke for that, and builds from the underlying premise that Duke is a sensitive, creative and capable young man who is doing the best he can with the lot he has been given.

One thing that is consistently remarked upon about The Cool World is its visual style. Clarke's director of photography, Baird Bryant, imbues every available shot with unexpected kinetic energy - even the school trip at the beginning of the film is shot from the window of a moving bus, with disconnected jump cuts, and the open credits roll right-to-left instead of bottom-to-top, against an almost Expressionist backdrop of sun through the trees. The rumble between the Pythons and the Wolves at the end of the film is similarly surprising, shot almost exclusively in extreme light and dark, with almost no mid-tones, and featuring fight choreography that feels gritty and balletic at the same time. Throughout, a jazzy score led by Dizzy Gillespie hits the same tones as the plot, lilting when it needs to be, before abruptly breaking into discordant and shrieking solos.

In regards to the film's style, though, I think the most powerful scene is the one in which Duke and Luanne visit Coney Island together. It falls at an important moment in the relationship between the two characters - until this point, Luanne has seemed sheltered, despite her sexuality, unaware that the Atlantic Ocean even existed, and it represents how significant her relationship with Duke has been in opening her eyes to a wider world. It's easy to read her abandoning Duke as a sign that she has made an escape into this wider world that she has discovered, while Duke is unable to make the same movement.

Meanwhile, this scene represents for Duke the most traditional moment of romance for him - he has the status and he gets the girl. While the audience may not trust Luanne's faithfulness, Duke certainly does. The editing of the scene, on both a visual and an aural level, performs double duty. For Duke, the giddiness of the jump cuts and the carnivalesque score and soundtrack fits perfectly with an enthusiastic jump into young love - an escape that he has never been permitted to experience before. However, Clarke uses rhythmic and overlapping editing, linking multiple carnival games together almost seamlessly, making it appear as though Duke is caught endlessly repeating the same actions. Somewhere in this chaos, Luanne disappears, and Duke is left alone, on an eerily deserted beachfront. Her disappearance is so complete that she leaves no trace behind on the narrative. It's as though she was never really there at all.

The Coney Island scene, more than any other in this brilliant and engaging film, makes me annoyed that Wiseman has never allowed it to be released to a wider public. I would love to be able to link to a video of the scene so that it can be appreciated as an excellent example of film editing. I would show this scene to first-year students if I could. I genuinely cannot understand why Clarke's most distinguished and successful film is being kept away from a wider appreciation. Milestone Films had a petition for a while, asking Wiseman to make the film available, but it was never successful, and I doubt a polite email would stand a chance of convincing a 94-year-old master documentarian to change his mind.

Maybe I will see The Cool World on the big screen one day, and find out once and for all if I've been writing about the film's full version. I'm not usually in the habit of encouraging people to go out of their way to pirate - I am a fan of supporting media producers where I can - but this might be your only chance to see an excellent film, if it appeals to you at all. The internet is an ephemeral place, where some things live forever but other things disappear before you realise what they were. The Cool World is one of the latter. I waited twenty years to see it, and it was worth the wait.

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

Rebus – BBC picks up new series

BY IAN MCARDELL FILED UNDER NEWS

Richard Rankin takes on the role of the famous Scottish detective

The BBC acquired the Scottish crime drama Rebus. Made by Eleventh Hour Films for Viaplay, and based on Ian Rankin’s novels, the series stars Richard Rankin (no relation) in the title role.

The detective has been previously played, as an Inspector, by both John Hannah and Ken Stott.

Rebus

The six-part series has been adapted for the screen by Gregory Burke who reimagines the character earlier in his career. Detective Sergeant John Rebus is drawn into a violent criminal conflict that turns personal when his brother Michael, a former soldier, crosses the line into criminality. Rebus finds himself torn between protecting his brother and enforcing the law to bring Michael to justice.

Gregory Burke To Adapt Ian Rankin’s Rebus Series as Eleventh Hour Drama Black Watch. Both adaptations, have Richard Rankin’s participation. Based on interviews with former soldiers, it tells the story of troops from the then Black Watch regiment serving in Iraq. The play toured around the world and went on to win four Olivier Awards.

Richard Rankin as John Rebus (Image: Mark Mainz/Eleventh Hour Films)

The series promises to explore family, morality and class in an emotionally charged story, set against the Scottish landmarks that Rankin’s readers know so well.

Joining Richard Rankin (Outlander), the series also stars Lucie Shorthouse (Bulletproof), Brian Ferguson (The Ipcress File) and Amy Manson (The Nevers). Plus, Neshla Caplan, Noof Ousellam, Stuart Bowman, Caroline Lee Johnson, Sean Buchanan, Thoren Ferguson and Michelle Duncan.

Filming took place in Glasgow and Edinburgh last year.

Author Ian Rankin says:

“I’m thrilled that Rebus is coming to the BBC. A great cast and a compelling story – I really can’t wait for viewers to see it.”

This is the first time the BBC has adapted Sir Ian Rankin's detective novels. 📸 Getty Images

Actor Richard Rankin adds:

“I am thrilled that Rebus will premiere on the BBC. It’s been an honour taking on the role of Ian Rankin’s renowned John Rebus. A character enjoyed by so many in such a fresh and original adaptation.”

The six-part series is directed by Niall MacCormick (Wallander) and Fiona Walton (Shetland) and is produced by Angela Murray. Paula Cuddy, Jill Green, Eve Gutierrez, Tomas Axelsson, Isabelle Hultén, Niall MacCormick, Gregory Burke and Ian Rankin are the Executive Producers.

Rebus will air on BBC Scotland, BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this spring.

I'm waiting and watching 🍿

#Rebus #BBCScotland #BBCOne # BBCiPlayer #JohnRebus #DetectiveSergeant #Ian Rankin #novel #RichardRankin #EleventhHourFilms #Viaplay

[that-blue-vault-dweller]

Hey, your companion reacts are pretty good. If you want a suggestion, maybe F Sole finds some old book about famous landmarks (manmade, natural, or both) around the world and shows her friends all the cool ones and see which ones they like the best.

A/N: A little late for Memorial Day, but this is kind of like a nice thing for it. Talking about some landmarks from this great country is the perfect way to celebrate it imo 💙💛

Hope you enjoy!

Cait - Las Vegas. She'd really like to go there and see if it looks anything like the pictures in F!Sole's book. While she does not drink and do chems like she used to, she is still interested in seeing if there's a good fight to be had. She might look at a bit of the scenery along the way, too.

Piper - White House. She wants to see what secrets they're hiding in there. She knows that there's more to it than Pre-War people knew and that most Wastelanders know, and she wants to go in and see for herself.

Curie - Craters of the Moon National Monument and Reserve. She loves a place that has some scientific purpose, and she would greatly enjoy taking the time to study the area.

MacCready - Disney World. He claims that it would be a great place for Duncan to go and have fun, but everyone knows that MacCready would have just as much fun as his son. He's a big kid at heart.

Deacon - Hollywood sign. With his flair for the dramatic, dress-up, and deception? He was definitely meant to be an actor in another life, and having the chance to see the Hollywood sign has been a longtime fixture on his bucket list.

Codsworth - Space Needle. It reminds him of the buildings in Boston with how tall it is and the design, and it comforts him to think of home. He has a tendency to lean toward things that are familiar to him.

Hancock - Fort McHenry. He would absolutely love to see it because it is the place that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the "Star Spangled Banner." And if that isn't patriotic, then Hancock doesn't know what is.

Danse - The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. He would eat that Pre-War stuff up. He just loves nerding out over technology and Pre-War invention, and this museum would be the perfect place because it tells the story of various American milestones and occurrences before the war.

Preston - Statue of Liberty. Despite what Piper says about its true origins and her evidence that she has found about what it truly represents, he still treasures it as something that meant freedom to people from the old world.

Valentine - Atlantic City Boardwalk. He feels like it'd be a nice place to walk around and enjoy just for the leisure of it. Add in a few cigarettes and a sunset, and it would be perfect.

X6-88 - Alcatraz. Has some sort of fascination with prisons and things of the sort and thinks it could be useful for the Institute to create some such place as that for holding specimens from the Commonwealth.

Dogmeat - Cloud Gate. He could see himself in it and he would really like running around and looking into it as he views the world in a different way.

Strong - Mesa Verde National Park. He thinks those cliffside dwellings would be a good, safe fort for supermutants to live in and shoot the little humans on the ground.