#is this an annie murphy blog now?

[popculturebuffet]

Batmarch Finale: Batman (1989) Review: At Long Last Joker Dancing on Parade Float

Hello all you happy batpeople and it's time for the finale of Batmarch! It's been a fun ride that really made me love the character again and it ends here with something i've been wanting to do since the start of this blog: IT's time to talk about Tim Burton's Batman, the 1989 classic blockbuster that created the first superhero movie boom, solidified the caped crusader as a dark brooding vigilante in the public eye, and gave us not one but two iconic scenes of joker dancing to prince music that live rent free in my head forevermore.

Batman took almost a decade to get going, with Producer Micheal Uslan, a comic book historian who taught a succesful course on comics as literature, wanting to take batman back to his earlier days as a mysterious figure of darkness. His timing was great as by the late 70's when he started his crusade for the caped crusader, Batman had been on a course back to those very roots thanks to the works of Neil Adams and Denny O'Neil. Comic fans ate up a darker batman and Batman returned to being a creature of the night.

The problem was for most audiences.. he was a creature of camp. While I adore the Adam West Batman, i'm honestly shocked i've only covered ONE episode of that gloriously goofy series, it left a mark on the character, with everyone assuming "Well that's what batman is". It's a common trait in comic book adaptations: TV and Movies reach a wide audience. It's why most people think Scott Summers is a plank of wood instead of a tatctical genius with a lot of baggage.

Thus studios either flat out rejected them or wanted a comedy in the vein of the adam wast show. Or rejected it for reasons like "It would be called Batman and Robin and we just had a film with robin in the name tha tbombed" or "It and Annie are both "from the funnie" pages and Annie just bombed (yet did INCREDIBLY well on home video)"

Thankfully the film got rescued as, with John "Giant Mechanical Spider Peters" getting on board, he suggested they do what they did with superman: promote the hell out of the film and the script they had and hope someone buys into the hype. Sure enough it worked as Warner Bros picked up the film and to my suprise they already owned DC Comics, the rights simply got sold off for the reasons film rights to properties often do

So Warner was eager to get the property back in house and profit off it.

With that it was time for a full script by Tom Mankiewicz who based it largely on Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers short but memorable run on Detective Comics I wasn't aware of till doing research for this review, but now happily own. Rogers was even brought on to do concept art. The script went through NINE revisions according to wikipedia, but all were based largely on tom's original. Directing wise Joe Dante and Wes Craven were both considered and i'd loved to see what their version of the film would've been like. Ivan Reitman also was, but wanted a comedy starring billl murray with the studio eyeing eddie murphy for robin.

Thankfully the success of Pee Wee's Big Adventure lead Warner Bros to go with their new golden boy, who was just coming off production of another soon to be hit, Beetlejuice, Tim Burton, pictured here looking like Batman's goth best friend he takes in the batmobile to get him out of the house.

I'd pay so much to see that version of this movie.

Burton wasn't a comic fan , but upon getting the project was a fan of recent hits The Dark Knight Returns and The Killing Joke, and was fascinated with what batman could be. Meanwhile Warner brought in Englehart himself to make a draft. Burton then brought in Sam Hamm, a rookie screenwriter and HUGE fan of the character who quickly proved to be the perfect fit, tightening up the screenplay: he removed Robin (something no one was sad about as he was a studio mandate), replaced Silver St Cloud (Bruce's love intrest during the Englehart Run) and Rupert Throne with Vicki Vale and Carl Grissom and the script was set.

So casting began. After a number of more traditional leads were considered, Burton went with Micheal Keaton at the suggestion of Peters, who felt Keaton has the tortured quality batman needed. It was a great call as he fit both sides: he was stoic and comanding as batman, but as bruce was perfectly absentminded, as if he was far away, yet still charastmatic and likeable. It was a good contrast and also made it easy to see why no one suspect this guy was batman.

Unfortuantely the fans.. were not pleased. Yes even then peopl ewere liable to throw hands over casting decisions before seeing them proper. I've not been imune to this: I liked Ben Affleck but wasn't sure he fit batman, only to be proven wrong when he was easily one of the saving graces of Batman V Superman and it's regretful he couldn't be batman in a better movie.

Fans worried that Keaton , who up to this point had mostly been in comedies, meant the film would be camp like the tv series and film again, to the point this MADE HEADLINES. The studio even breifly considered reasting, but burton held firm.

If your curious other actors considered were Pierce Brosnan (who had no intrest in doing a comic book movie), Mel Gibson (dodged a bullet there), Kevin Costner, Charlie Sheen (Another bullet dodged, too much tiger blood to be a bat man), Tom Selleck, Harrison Ford and Dennis Quaid. None of these really.. feel right, and it's burton's first choice before realizing Keaton was it , the green goblin himself Willam Dafoe, that woul'dve worked with what he was going for. None of these actors are bad, even sheen and gibson are good actors just..awful human beings, they just don't fit the part. Sheen in paticular feels like the worst timeline and I pity the earth that got saddled with frat bro batman.

Naturally every hero needs a good villian and while another row of talent was considered, the studio and Peters heavily pushed for Jack Nicholson over other competiors such as Brad Douriff, Tim Curry, and David Bowie, all versions of this film i'd LOVE to see in some other timeline. That said Nichelson was the perfect choice.

How they finally nailed him down is my faviorite story I found from the documentary: So Nicholson was open to it, liking the part but to lock it down wanted them to meet him for horseback riding. Burton , nature's perfect indoor kid, was naturally deeply uncomfortable on a horse and i'd pay good money to get the picture they claimed existed of Tim Burton on a horse with Jack Nicholson. I find it fascinating in of itself that Jack Nicholson rides horses and has a deep love of horses. That's a thing that fits, but just never occured to me. The most uncomfortbale horse ride ever netted him the part and Nicholson trusted burton completely on set and spoke highly of him in the documentary.

The final main cast addition came due to , of all the possile reasons, a horse riding accident. No it wasn't tim burton himself, but Sean Young, who'd been cast as Bruce's reporter love intrest Vicky Vale and had to bow out, replaced by Kim Bassinger.

Rounding out the cast we have Robert Whul as local reporter and only one digging into this batman case Knox, Cool School owner and operator Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent, Pat Hingle as Comissioner Gordon, acting legend Jack Palance as crime boss and the joker's boss Carl Grissom, and Tracey Walter as Joker's NUMBER. ONE. GUY. Bob.

Promotion for the film was something unique. Nowadays we're used to big, omnipresent ad blitzes with our blockbusters, a huge swath of adds to let you know THIS FILM'S A COMIN. YOU CANNOT ESCAPE THIS FILM. I DON'T CARE IF YOUR AMBVILENT ABOUT ARTHUR AND THE KING YOU WILL GET 20 ADDS FOR IT JACOB. THE HYPE MACHINE HATH SPOKEN.

To start Jon Peters helped cut a teaser trailer, wanting to get SOMETHING out to show that no, this wasn't going to be like the Adam West show stop calling me about it dennis. The trailer was only a minute and a half, had no music behind it, something I only found out, and is clearly just whatever clips they had that were ready. You can find it here. It's throughly intresting.

It also.. works. While it's only a short teaser, it gets across what this film is, shows both joker and batman enough to get hyped, all while not spoiling the film. Granted they probably didn't have enough footage yet TO do that but still, it's a well done teaser with only one or two bits feeling like their just.. thrown in there and given the time crunch to get this in front of a teast audence, I can salute that it's still works.

And it worked MASSIVELY. People bought tickets JUST to see this teaser, bootlegs of it sold like hot cakes. It was meant to get people hyped up for what this film actually was.. and it DID, erasing doubts Keaton wasn't batman and showing people just what they were getting.

Warner then went all in promoting the hell out of this film, to the point Marvel's she hulk did a parody of this where a new super heroine does a simliar add blitz: There was cereal, tiger games, merchandising of all kinds. It was a huge gamble as if the film failed to live up to the hype... it'd be a joke NOTHING could live down, would sink the careers of everyone involved from production on down, and possibly destroy warner.

Naturally though.. it didn't. The gamble paid off. It's almost like if you actually RELEASE a film and have faith in the creators, you'll make money. The film was a massive success leading to three more films in this series and a mind boggling 11 theatrical and 60+ total films JUST starring the batman. That's not getting into team movies.

So join me under the cut as we see if , after 35 years of excellence, this film still lives up to the hype in a genre now packed with classics.

Bat Class and Bat Style:

Starting out with the style of the film, it can't be overstated the sheer impact this film had on Gotham city as a place. Before this it was mostly a standard city, just more of a crime hole than most. It was weird reading some of that very Steve Englehart run I mentioned and seeing Gotham. .as a pretty standard metropolis, if not obviously THE metropolis.

Batman is where , to my shock, Gotham was first portrayed as this art deco 40's style hellscape, a city of old buildings with the crime built into it's very foundations: a city of frequent nights, heavy shadows and plenty of places for an up and coming here ot perch and brood. It's an atmosphere that almost feels consuming: you can't escape gotham and it won't let you. It's a monster as much of a city. Batman the Animated series would build on this, making this what gotham was: a city with it's dark history seeped into it's stone that feels massive and endless, like no matter how much batman does the city is almost too big for him to ever fully save.

The rest of the style is after the 40's, a nice nod to batman premiering JUST before they started in 1939. We have large flashes on the cameras, reporters in suits the like.

I also realized this wasn't just a cool style choice, it's a thematic one: Most of Gotham wears these types of clothes, fitting with how Gotham is: a city with a long proud history.. but one it finds itself stuck in. A lot of those men in suits are either helpless goverment types who WANT to make things better but can only do so much like Gordon or Dent, or outright corrupt men like the various mob bosses who control it from the shadow. Even Knox , who tries to go for the scoop, is stuck in the old behaviors of sexisim, hitting on his photographer and creative partner vicki a lot nad being a possesive dick about her romance when it's none of his damn buinsess.

The people who may actually change this city are the ones who come off more with the time: Bruce most of the time wears looser suits or , in one scene casual clothes. The one time he dosen't is to fit in at his own party, to blend in so well Knox and Vale don't even notice he was behind them for a whole scene. When he's himself he's awkward, but also kind and charming. When he's his truest self batman he's calm, intmidating and of course dressed in a lot of rubber. He dosen't fit with Gotham.. but by doing so he can change it for the better.

Vicki is diffrent, fitting in a bit better but her hair and styles tend more toward practical, often wearing her glasses which look neat. Wish I had a pair like that. She brushes off Knox's comments, dosen't want anyone taking ownership of her and rightly calls bruce out for ghosting her (Granted he's also right ot try and get her to stop for one minute so he can tell her she's batman). She's trying to change it more by simply finding the batman, but it's still someone diffrent.

Finally we have the Joker, who stylistically dosen't deviate greately as jack.. but once he becomes something else, he changes. he wears the suit sure... but it's a bright purple with a giant boutiner. He wears makeup, but it's barely covering and by the time of the art heist there more for a joke than actual cover. His attempts to fit in are really more a joke than an actual attempt. Napier never really fit in... he simply stopped putting on the pretense once he became the joker.

Joker's moderness also comes through in othe rways; his biggest scheme heavily involves the rise of cosmetics and the television, using his then modern Smilex adds to stow paranoia. He vandalizes classic art for funsies to a dope prince song. And for his final masterstroke he captalizes on the greedhead nature of the 80's: he correctly figures if you throw enough money at people they'll forgive anything, and throws a ton of money into the crowd in the film's best scene, capering and hamming it up as he prepares to kill them all by luring them into one place. It's telling that the only two places in the film itself Prince's songs show up are with the Joker, who embodies the excess of the 80's while still having his classic 40's born design.

And since we're talking about him...

The Devil in the Pale Moon Light

Nicholson's joker is fantastic. I wasn't big on him for a long time.. but I realized on rewatch it wasn't the performance. Nicholson fucking nails it, having that manic energy hid with a genial calm that makes a good joker to me, that sort of charisma where you geninely can't tell if you'll end the scene as his NUMBER. ONE. GUY. or with a bullet in the belly. He's hammy as hell when he wants to be, deathly calm when he wants to be, and the only one who truly understands himself always.

Nicholson's joker strikes me as a mad Performanceartist, an interpretation I like: his jokes are carefully crafted pieces always done for a terrified audience of some kind. Only one of his kills or crimes post putting a smile on that face dosen't have an audience, Grissom, and he STILL puts on a show for him, shooting him to opera music while giggling like a mad man. Every other crime is a big show, which isn't inconsitant for joker. Every joker has theater kid tendencies, this joker is just the one who has the most thespian energy.

His schemes are also fantastic, props to Burton and the writers: their the right mix of operartic performance art and ghastly crime. From defacing a museum for the attention, to the utterly brillaint smilex ad which parodies the hell out of 80's ad trends and is one of the best joker scenes in media, perfectly capturing his sort of scheme, this versions love of a good performance, and the time it was in. The poor editing and his "Chances are you already own some" and the laugh after.. it's genius. Every piece is great. I also love the pen stabbing which I didn't really pay much attention to before but the mimes, the awesome as hell outfit, the "Uncle bingo" line.. it's so damn fun and the mundanety of the stabbing, feather quill or not makes it a shocker

The two best though are the ones embeded on my mind from childhood to present day: THe art scene is awesome and I love the way he says lawrence, with him just getting into general dicking around shenanigans because it's fun, saving a picture because it's horrifying. I also love his dickish "date" with vicky where he just calls all her glamour photo's crap. You can tell Jack Nicholson is loving EVERY second of this. Granted who wouldn't love grooving to Party Man, which is a truly awesome song. Prince didn't half ass it for this album and while his inclusion is a clear studio mandate Tim Burton didn't seem enthused about in the documentary, Burton still made it work perfectly. It's really hard to not make prince work granted, but it's still flawlessly used.

My faviorite scene of the film though... is Trust aka "Jack nicholson fucking destroys while riding on a blimp" Those hand moves, his expressions, bob and lawrence's grins as they throw money, the banger that is Trust behind him. While Partyman is good and really fits Joker, Trust is a fun banger jam that fits the party atmosphere of Joker's final gambit. The sight of joker throwing money everywhere while mugging is just.. peak joker and one of the best moments of the character and in superhero cinema period.

While Nicholson's joker is mostly celebrated there are two big points of contention, two elephants in the room to tackle.

The first is the fact we get Joker's name at all, that we know anything about him before he became joker as a huge part of his mystique is being this mysterious murder clown who just.. fell in a vat one day and that's all we know before he started chasing batman.

I prefer his past to be a mystery, it adds to the charm and the terror of this guy... but on this watch I felt the Jack Napier version still really works. Nichson does a good job making both Jack and Joker feel like two very diffrent people: Jack was a fairly unambitious hood who WANTED to run everything, but had no real plans for it, content to screw the bosses mistress and be done with it. It's easy to buy into corrupt cop Eckhart's view Jack has no future.. because he didn't. The second Grissom found out what he was doing, he set Jack up to die. Jack ONLY escapes ace chemicals alive due to pure luck: Gordon got informed in time to take over and stop a potetial execution and Bob turned out to be the best guy ever and held said Gordon hostage to get batman to let Jack go. And even then Jack's own impulsiveness nearly killed him, falling into the vat. He's ONLY alive because of sheer luck and knowing a good back alley doctor using tools he got from a dentist who mysteriously died a few decades back.

Jack is an impulsive trainwreck.. the joker.. is Jack with all his inhibitions stripped.. and tha'ts why knowing Jack works. Jack was a pretty common hood: even the Wayne murder, we'll get to that shortly, was just buisness as usual. Jack had ambitious DREAMS, but seemed content to just wait for Grissom to die naturally then take his empire.

Joker by contrast is a mad artist: he sees gotham as his canvas, a toy to play with. He has all of jack's greed and drive, but none of his hesitance to act on it. He's impulsive but unlike jack, he thinks out his impulsive plans. He wants vicky kidnapped, but has his minons bring her, has a bunch of stuff ready and has a whole music video ready after. He barges in on her apartment but brings goons just in case. He's still impulsive enough to be the joker: He dosen't have a plan b for the parade, the pen stabbing comes off as "wouldn't this be neat let's do that", but it's still more than jack ever thought. Jack is truly gone: vestiges of him remain in his new self, he makes sure Grissom dies and wants to control gotham.. but he's now got the higher calling of mayhem: ruling gotham isn't because it's there.. it's because it's FUN. It works because it shows just how FAR joker can go, going from a midly high level enforcer, to a mad god whose only stopped by batman yanking hard enough. Jack works because, ala killing joke, it shows a mostly normal person becoming something far worse. The Joker has an origin and it informs him a bit.. but who jack was is gone by the joker and it's fascinating watching hwat he became.

So that brings us to the OTHER big change: Jack Napier killed Batman's parents. Now this one I agree was a bad idea: the tragedy of the wayne murders. .is that it was just some guy. Some random hood, sometimes named joe hill, shot two innocent people and doing so broke a child and created a bat. It being his future arch enemy feels contrived. Like IT HAD to be someone important because it was his destiny to be a vengeful orphan man! It can't have been just some guy it had to be a number one guy yes yes. It misses the point entirely and it just feels dumb and that reveal clouded my judgement. Jack on his own isn't bad but making him batman's parent's killer is just.. too much. That part sucks but everything ELSE about Uncle Bingo rules and one bad decision, that writer Sam Hamm swears wasn't his idea and came after it was in Burton's hands so blame accordingly, shoudln't negate such a fine performance.

Let's Get Nuts

Speaking of fine performances, let's talk about the Batman of the hour himself. While I went Joker first, Keaton's batman is awesome and has gotten it's due praise over the last few years.

Ironically a lot of what fans hated about him, his everyman looks and not being "muscular" are what make this bruce work. Much like Robert Pattinson's brilliant turn after, this is a Bruce who doesn't really socialize. Unlike Pattinsons he does put in the bare minimum, throwing parties and such... but it's clear while bruce is a known philanthropist, he's not really a big name figure in gotham beyond that. He's an inconspcious guy, so much that Vicky and Knox dont' even notice him or realize it is him. And that suits what he does great: he's so nondescript that once people start looking for batman they won't look there.

Not tha this secret identity being in danger is a big issue at first: Batman's experinced here, but also early enough he's just a myth: Only Knox thinks he's real and even he has no idea what this guy looks like. The criminals know, but both bruce and batman are unknowns at first and prefer it this way.

Bruce is a kind, gentle, down to earth guy: he quickly wins Vicki Vale over.. simply by showing an intrest in her work. It's subtly contrasted with the other two men in her life: Knox first notices her legs, hits on her mildly agresively and is a possesive tool, while Joker outright claims her and tries to kill bruce for stepping on his territory. Bruce wins Vicky over.. because he sees her as a PERSON and not boobs or a prize to be one. Basinger and Keaton have really great chemistry and while the two don't get a ton of scenes together, you see why Bruce takes to her so quickly.. and why he pushe sher away. His war on crime is ALL he has, and he dosen't want her getting caught in it, ironically taking away the agency that brought him to her. It's only when he realizes HOW much she means that he tries to open up. Then a clown shoots him but you know , thems the breka. It's telling when Alfred, to finally break this will they or won't they stalemate, brings her down he's not the least bit mad and is honest with Vicki and continues seeing her.. until she didn't come back for the sequel but that's a review for another day. A christmas day.

I bring up the relatoinship because it's what defines bruce, and while romances can be rushed in these movies.. this one works and fleshes bruce out. It creates a nice divide between the man he thinks he should be, the creatue of the night who scares a cowardly and superstitious lot, who dosen't flinch in any situation and is always calm.. with the all too human bruce who simply dosen't want to be alone. Well he has alfred but he can't rely on his dad forever.

As batman.. there isn't a ton to talk about as he's mostly stoic and badass. Keaton does a really good job of that.. but there's not a ton of expression other than "scowling and it's only in his final confrontation with the joker, his parents murderer he really emotes with pure unyielding rage. It's not bad.

There is one aspect that needs to be talked about though: This batman.. kills. It's a divisive idea as by this point batman's no killing rule was in place... but it's one I get Burton not using. He and those around him based this film on the earliest works, and in those.. Batman had no issue killing if he had to.

It works for me largely because Batman isn't wontonly killing: he uses the machine guns primarily to clear the way and presumibly, like the dark knight returns which is where Burton probably got the machine gun, their likely rubber bullets. The only person he truly tries to kill repeadetly is Jack. Not at the plant, as while it's said he drops him .. it really dosen't come off that way. It's left ambigious if batman did it on purpose or simply COULDN'T hold onto jack much longer. The only person Batman truly wants dead.. is the man who created him. Any other kills are mostly just life or death struggles. I prefer batman not to kill... but one who does so judciously still fits the character.

Finally before we move on we have the way his origin's done: While I said I didn't like the jack part the film tries to treat this as some big mystery.. with the problem being even in a post adam west pre burton world.. most people probably knew batman's parents were dead. It works to a point, but out of all the things in the film.. it feels like padding. We know why he's doing this, we're just waiting for Vicky to catch up and i'd be fine with that but ther'es juts.. nothing really added. She finds out his parents died. A matter of public record he didn't really bury. The only shocking reveal she finds is who killed his parents, which while a decen tswerve, couldv'e been hidden until the reveal. It just.. pads the film slightly, but not so much it obstructs it

The People of Gotham

Now for our side cast. Starting with our third lead we have Vicky Vale, she of the 80's hair, neat glasses and inconstient spelling in this review. Kim Bassinger does a great job with the character and they do TRY to flesh her out: she's been both a war reporter and a fashion photographer, is great at her career and while enamored with Bruce only takes his shit so far.

That being said while I do LIKE Vicky, it's largely down to the performance: Bassinger is a talented actress and i'd like to see her in more films. I mean i've only seen her in this, Wayne's World 2 and bits of Cool World. She did fine in all three, it's just clear she has talent and I hope to see her make a comeback if she wants. She makes a character given just enough sparkle.

That being said... plot wise.. Vicky's just there for exposition and as an object. They give her some depth, being a former war photographer, but the film's unintrested in exploring her as a person, instead having her explore bruce.

And get put in danger three diffrent times. I mean she only gets kidnapped once but it feels like she's mostly there to get scared or romance bruce. The romance plot IS important as it fleshes Bruce out as a person... but it's telling it's mostly to flesh HIM out. Vicky and him have chemistry.. but again that's because her actress is that good. I can kinda see why she didn't want to return for the sequel, and feel bad that her replacement of sorts got way more with her character. Vicky.. deserved better.

Onto Alexander Knox, who is probably confusing those of you who haven't seen the film. Knox is a reporter and is intended as mild comic relief at times. In practice he's aged like fine cheese on a sidewalk covered in radioactive ants and pudding. His first words upon seeing Vicky "Hello Legs"

He then offers to do nudes and in general just.. tends to hit on her often, while she clearly just wants to work with him and is only putting up with her bullshit because she's so clearly used to sexist bullshit and come ons at this point. I DO think some of this is intetional as there's a contrast in how he greets her and how Bruce greets her: Knox recognizes her work, but is mostly interested in

While Bruce you know.. sees her as a person. That said Knox.. is also creepily posessive, telling her not to go out with bruce, not getting what she sees in him, and clearly being jealous. He's just kinda there to set up that batman's been a thing and is mostly seen as a myth then ceases to be relevant but sticks around the film anyway. He does go after some guys with a baseball bat but it's too little too late.

Finally out of our heroes side, we have Alfred. Micheal Gogh dosen't get a ton to do, but really owns the roll, giving you the impression of a man who simply dosen't want to see his surrogate son spend his whole life in a cave. he says as much outright but you can see just how HAPPY he is that Bruce has Vicky and how much he dosen't want him to loose her. He dosen't get to do much.. but his one big action was a source of contention for Sam Hamm, as it was added after. Alfred takes Vicky to the batcave. In Hamm's words "That would be his last day of employment"

Alfred... is Bruce's dad. Not biologically, that we know of, but he raised Bruce. Even by this point in the comics it was clear Alfred was just as much a faithful retainer as he was Bruce's dad. Bruce would get mad about something like this.. but he'd never fire Alfred as a snap judgement, especially when Bruce WAS GOING TO TELL VICKY ANYWAY. Alfred likely knew this. All Alfred did was eliminate a step. It wasn't like Alfred invited his acapella group, the Alfredpellas, down there.

We then have Alicia. Alicia dosen't get much to do as this script REALLY wasn't intrested in women but is intresting. My friend Jess the Vampire pointed out when we watched this she's kind of a proto harley quinn: someone deeply intrested in the Joker despite how he abuses her. At first it's fairly equal: Jack gives her attention Grissom isn't and him becoming joker shocks her but isn't bad. Then he horribly scars her as an art piece, and abandons her for Vicky and the sheer trauma causes her to throw herself off a building. It's a tragic story as she didn't relaly do anything wrong, she just had bad taste in men: first Grissom then Jack then Joker. It's not as layered as poor harley, but it's a good first draft and adds to what a monster Joker is. He just makes her into his horrifying art then throws her away when he's done.

Finally out of the major characters we have Bob. Bob is a quiet MVP in this film, Jack's best friend and #2 and Joker's Number. One. Guy.

What I hadn't noticed before is even pre joker.. Bob is LOYAL to Jack. He gets Eckhart not to shoot jack, and most importantly saves Jack from Batman at Ace Chemicals, holding Gordon hostage. From the go he's invauable to his bestie, helping make up for Jack's impulsivness. And while Jack just kinda shrugs, as he tends to, Joker recognizes this. He instantly makes Bob his NUMBER. ONE. GUY. and unlike grissom, who only said it in jest and as a veiled threat, Joker really seems to mean it. He has Bob stalk vicky for him, lure her to the musuem, all creepy shit sure but all stuff Joker needs vitally done and trusts Bob to do without any ulterior motive. And he does. Bob's also just fun: he capers a lot during partyman and is one of the best parts of Trust, his expression as he's throwing money gives me life. It also makes his death tragic. Bob was not a good guy, again he stalked a woman because he was told to.. but he was loyal and friendly.. and joker kills him simply because he got pissed off. His death is, fitting the joker, hilarious, just the casual way he asks for a gunt hen shoots bob with it, but it's a sad end to a NUMBER. ONE. GUY.

The rest of the side cast.. is pretty one note. Gordon is just the police chief, something that carries over to most other versions we've seen on film, Dark Knight being the exception. He has a great moment at ace chemicals but does fuck all the rest of the film except light up the bat signal. Harvey Dent is there to set up a future role that never comes for Billy Dee Williams. Grissom is memorable thanks to Jack Palance's delivery of "NUMBER. ONE. GUY. ", but otherwise is just a standard gangster man. The rest of the cast is mostly there to do plot and they do do it well but don't do much else.

Conclusion: And with that Bat March comes to a belated end. I enjoyed this review as it made me take a close look at a film I loved... and ended up loving it MORE. Batman has rough edges, some due to age some due to simply being one of the earlier comic book movies, but it' sstill damn good even today. It's a classic, a fun ride with banger performances, a lot of detail and deft direction from Burton. If you haven't watched it in a while, please do. If you have.. well do anyway it's that good.

Thanks for reading and thanks for enjoying batmarch

[newyorksrose]

gonna post this on rosie's blog since sandra's still gonna keep up that theft accusation and tumblr's block feature is hiding my response👏🏾

Hi @k4ndall, I’m aware this isn’t the first time you posted about me “stealing from Jessica” and because I no longer consider myself to be an active roleplayer, I thought I would confront this narrative head-on. Yes, I did use Marisa Abela for my OC Rosaria and no, that is not theft. Marisa is not from a super rare or old show. Industry was streaming on HBOMax the same time that Euphoria was.

Did you ever think that maybe I saw the program, considered using that FC for a new OC, but hesitated from bringing them to the roleplay community? Furthermore, Marisa is not the only FC you use for Jessica. If I recall right, when we were mutuals you used…

Melanie Scrofano

Olivia Cooke

Annie Murphy

Sydney Sweeney

Marisa Abela

You even entertained using Juliette Lewis for Jessica.

And let me be frank when I say none of these women look like the same person. Which is why I felt that using Marisa would ultimately NOT diminish your portrayal of Jessica.

I largely wanted to use Marisa Abela because Rosaria Scozzari is the sister to Salvatore Scozzari, since their FCs looked alike through their similar eyes and noses. I was already using him for Sal at the time of my “theft.”

Now, FCs aside, your belief that I copied you is honestly a shallow, surface-level examination of Rosaria Scozzari. Let’s go over the similarities of Rosaria and Jessica.

They both have office jobs. 

I’m inclined to portray Rosaria doing more average/low-paying office work. In the recent writing I’ve been doing, I depict her as a secretary. In the RPC, I depicted her as working at a bratva-owned insurance company that isn’t glamorous at all. But, this work is ultimately temporary for Rosaria, as she becomes a lawyer by the time she’s in her forties. In contrast, Jessica works on Wall Street which frankly, seems significantly better and higher paying.

They’re both Italian-American.

Jessica is a quiet girl who lives at home with her conservative family. Rosaria is extroverted, neurotic, and lives alone because she doesn’t want to live with her rambunctious family. Jessica is the older sister to her younger brother. Rosaria is the younger sister to Salvatore and Sonia.  Since leaving the RPC I’ve been exploring the paternal side of Sal and Rosaria’s family, which is composed of Italian-Brazilians. Which is interesting because I heard you had a OC who was Italian with roots from Argentine…

You act as though I stole the fundamental family headcanons of Jessica. Which I would consider the headcanons about the family-run candy store, the abundance of cousins, the cousin in an abusive relationship, or an office romance.

But let me say another thing: your depiction of Jessica on Wall Street isn’t original whatsoever. When I capped icons from that show for Rosaria I saw how many elements you actually stole from Yasmin, the character Marisa plays.

I recall you posting that this variation of Jessica spoke with a posh accent when at work. That’s an odd coincidence, considering the FC is an upper-class British woman.

The secret horny side for her co-worker. That’s an odd coincidence, considering you use the same character as a NPC that Jessica crushes on.

In fact, all the NPCs in Jessica’s life are from Industry.

So, all you did was portray Yasmin as an Italian-American woman. There’s nothing original or unique to your portrayal. If I used a new FC for Rosaria, you would not be claiming I stole from you. They would just both be white women who worked at an office, but MUCH different offices. In fact? They would probably be meeting at a bar getting drinks together and talking about the things that piss them off.

If Marisa was the sole FC you used for Jessica and I used her? That would be fucked up. But she was just one face in a collection of women who looked absolutely nothing alike.

[tedllasso]

ANNIE MURPHY for Emmy Magazine, 2021.

[titleleaf]

i want to know why midcentury america was so whack!!

This is an excellent question and I’m glad somebody asked it because I’m constantly thinking about it! A big part of it was the Cold War, though necessarily in the obvious sense of overt anti-Communist sentiment but at least as far as the United States goes, there’s not a single area however seemingly-trivial (fashion, cosmetics, car culture, film, popular literature) that wasn’t touched by the cultural shakeup of the Second World War and the sense that a return to postwar normalcy at home (and an avoidance of further Nazi-style atrocities whether from outside or perpetrated by Americans themselves) required aggressive commitment to forging that normalcy through participation. That anxious sense of the importance of individual participation in uniquely-American capitalist enterprise, yoked to runaway technological advancements, rapidly amping-up consumer culture, and the real coming-of-age for media as a tool for political and social messaging (for good and ill), resulted in a lot of weird shit that’s also pretty well-documented relative to earlier periods of cultural shakeup. The upheaval might have been relatively subtle compared to how we conceptualize the late 1960s/1980s/uh, right nows but some weird shit was going on. 

Racism, sexism, and homophobia (among many other shitty things) continued apace during this period, in many ways intensifying and taking new shapes in response to any whiff of advancement or social mobility by marginalized people, but all the ways the era’s unique damage manifested that seem so bonkers to us now (”refrigerator mothers”, jello salads, CONELRAD radio bands, rapid advances in psych drug availability with few corresponding developments in professional ethics, menstrual pads worn on a little garter belt thing) almost all make more sense in the context of people desperately trying to project an air of understanding and confidence regarding technologies and understandings of the world that were still really new to them. Even the fucking jello salad. I wish I had a more cohesive outline of why shit was so inexplicably bonkers but Cold War + post-WWII hangover is at least a big chunk of it. 

Some of my favorite books on various ways mid-20th century America was heinous, definitely not comprehensive:

From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship in Twentieth-Century America, Beth Bailey (I especially appreciate the chapter about sexual liberation dovetailing with fucked-up misogyny in dating guides for men/boys)

Killer on the Road: Violence and the American Interstate, Ginger Strand

Relative Intimacy: Fathers, Adolescent Daughters, And Postwar American Culture, Rachel Devlin

Fall-Out Shelters For The Human Spirit: American Art And The Cold War, Michael L. Krenn

The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!: Pageantry And Patriotism In Cold War America, Richard M. Fried 

If you (like me) are interested in the long shadow of nuclear science and nuclear warfare over the second half (and some change) of the 20th century, you might like Alex Wellerstein’s blog Restricted Data, in particular his writing on civil defense. He does some writing about modern events in the field, if that’s something you’d like to avoid. 

If you just want to look at weird fucking food... it’s hard to beat Jane and Michael Stern’s food writing, particularly Square Meals and American Gourmet, or John Lileks’ Gallery of Regrettable Food. 

Other stuff:

‘"Politics in an Age of Anxiety": Cold War Political Culture and the Crisis in American Masculinity; 1949-1960′, K. A. Cuordileone

Many episodes of Sexing History, especially Bandstand And The Closet and I Must Increase My Bust!

Invasion Of The Minnesota Normals, Annie Murphy Paul

[demivampirew]

Keep Calm and go to London chapter 18

The story is about Henry, not Geralt (only using this gif because it fits perfectly for this chapter)

Synopsis: This is the story of (y/n), a successful actress,  musician, musical producer and songwriter. After battling depression and  breaking up a long relationship, she seeks for a change of air,  escaping LA for a while going to visit some friends in London and there  she meets Henry. -Disclaimer: some chapters are mostly smut.

Previous Chapters:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5 (smut)

Chapter 6

Chapter 7 (smut)

Chapter 8 (smut/roleplay)

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12 (smut)

Chapter 13

Chapter 14 (smut)

Chapter 15

Chapter 16 (smut/ s&m) Chapter 17

Triggers:   Smut (I know, too much smut chapters 😁 😂 🤣 , but this chapter needed to have smut, you’ll see why 😜 ); mention of rape, sex trafficking and panic attacks (while talking about a movie; only mention those words, not describing anything them in any way)

Tag list:  Here’s the incredible people who showed me support (thank  you    so  much for that) and people who asked me to tag them too  ☺️   (I    think  I will write a few chapters of this story, if you want me to  tag     you, tell me ☺️   ) @cavillanche @mary-ann84 @henry-owns-these-tatas @yespolkadotkitty @dancingwendigo   constip8merm8     penwieldingdreamer iloveyouyen  littlefreya  wondersofdreaming    alyxkbrl solariumss  sweetybuzz25 @thethirstyarchive @agniavateira   @honeyloverogers @hell1129-blog   @lunedelorient​  @michelle-1185​  

During quarantine, Henry spend lots of time cooking delicious meals, bread and desserts for the two of you. He pretended not to be good, but low key you knew that he wanted compliments because his food was freaking fantastic and you were sure he knew that already. He was in the kitchen preparing cookies for you an afternoon snack. Meanwhile, you entertained him dancing around, there were some real dance moves there, but mostly silly things that you did intend to make him laugh. Lizzo's "Juice", Nicky Minaj's "Anaconda", Rihanna's "Bitch better have my money", Bruno Mars's "24K Magic" were some of the songs you choose to perform for him. You closed your little show with N*Sync's "Bye bye bye" which make him laughed so hard that Kal barked at him. He mentioned that in his youth he made a movie with Joey Fatone and you were green with envy because you used to be a N*Sync fangirl when you were little. - What was he like? - you asked - Oh, he's great! Cool guy. If I ever cross paths with him again, I'll invite him to hang out so you can meet him too. - he replied - Oh yeah, baby. That'd be a childhood dream come true. - Have you ever meet one of your idols? - he questioned curiously - Hmm... yeah, I met Slash, he's now a friend of mine. He gave me guitar lessons. - You learned to play the guitar with Slash from Guns n' Roses? - he repeated your words as a question due to the surprise revelation - No. I was already pretty good. He gave me lessons on how to improve my guitar solos. It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I've learnt so much with him and improved drastically my habilities. - you explained - I've also met Duff and he is cool too. I met Nikolaj Coster-Waldau from Game of Thrones, he's one of the sweetest people I've ever met. I met my now friend Annie (Hathaway), which you must already know because we worked together in my first acting role and she is a mentor, she truly helped me a lot to become a good actress. - you paused, thinking and after a few moments continued.- I've met Robert De Niro, he played my dad in the movie that you didn't see - previously you have had a conversation in which he confessed to having seen three on the four movies that you made in your short but successful career as an actress. You advised him not to watch the movie, because you played a woman caught in sex trafficking and there were a lot of rape scenes and you thought he may be affected to see you like that, even you had panic attacks after filming that movie and never watched again after the premiere. You couldn't even see Cillian Murphy anymore, another co-star in that movie, because he was the villain and there was a much graphic scene in which his character raped yours. "Only the twisted mind of Darren Aronofsky could come with a story dark as that one," you told Henry laughing because you liked the director, he was a good man, but with a weird taste for disaster and dark psychology-.  You talked about meeting people that you admire and he mentioned Russell Crowe, Tom Cruise and Guy Ritchie, among others. As you predicted, the cookies were delicious. Your boyfriend was, definitely, the perfect man. Not only he was the sweetest, you two never fought, but he was also an amazing lover - he even made out a rule that you that to tell him if you didn't have an orgasm (or wanted more) so he could take care of that because those moments were made so both of you could have a great time and not just him. And, on top of all of that, he cooked for you amazing dishes and desserts. He was the definition of perfection. - Someday you're going to get tired of cooking for me and that'd be my doom. - you pointed out as you ate the tasteful cookies. - Not at all. I'll never get tired of cooking for the woman I love. - he assured you smiling. You chocked with the cooking you were eating and recover a few seconds later and starred at his face with an expression of full shock in yours. - What did you say? - you demanded him to repeat his words - What? I've said that I love cooking for the woman I love.- he repeated without understanding what was wrong with his words. - "The woman you love"? Do you love me? -you asked astonished - Absolutely.- he admitted with a smile on his face- I've been in love with you practically since the time I asked you to be my girlfriend, I just thought that you were going to think I was crazy and was too soon for saying the L word. - I felt the same way. I wanted you to be the first to say it. -you confessed him. - So, we are in love with eachother.- he confirmed with happiness written on his face; the kind of happiness that a child would experience on Christmas day if he/she received exactly what was expecting. You stood up from the table and run into his arms, as he embraced you for your first kiss after knowing that you were in love. Hours later, Henry was back again in the kitchen. This time he was planning to prepare dinner for him since you told him the cookies made you feel full and you didn't want to eat anything else for the day. He was preparing everything that he needed, when you showed up in the kitchen wearing nothing but translucid bran with pastel green colour and white flowers on it. The bra was delicate and made your breasts look amazing. You also wear a white thong and white stockings and stiletto heels pumps. You left Henry speechless. You got closer to him, put your arms around his neck a started to kiss him. You could feel his hands sliding through your back reaching your ass and grabbing it. That made you laughed and he joined you. You looked at his eyes and suggested him to take things to bed. You indicated that you couldn't wait anymore to properly celebrate the fact that you loved each other. He picked you up, holding you by your thighs and walked to the bedroom. He left you on the bed as he turned to close the door and took his clothes off. He got on the bed and then slowly slid your thong and then throw it away. Grabbing you by your thighs, he began to pleasure you with his mouth. He loved to stroke your clit with his tongue, grabbing it and sucking it as well. He could do that for long periods. You were used to him putting his fingers inside your underwear and make you cum over and over. He'd do that at least three or four times per week -without counting that you had sex every single night and some mornings as well. He always wanted to take you and satisfy his desires but also wanted to make you happy. He couldn't get enough of you, and the feeling was mutual. You could feel him tasting you, after several orgasms, you were dripping wet. He climbed on top of you and kissed you, grabbing your lips with his. He grabbed a condom from the nightstand and after putting it on, he put his member inside of you, making you burned inside. It felt so good. He would go from slow movements to really fast pound. He had both of his hands on the mattress and your's were on his neck. He would separate his mouth from yours from time to time only to be able to kiss your neck and breasts. He knew how much you needed the touch of his sweet lips on yours; to feel his tongue dancing inside your mouth. You put your arms on his back and dug your fingers on his back, followed by your nails scratching his back. That made him insane. He had shaved two days before that moment, but his beard started to grow again. He also left he moustache to grow. It was still on its early stages, but still made you tingle and it felt so amazing, especially when he was with his head between your legs. He made you stood up from the bed and then grabbed you by your thighs once more, as you entwined your arms around his neck and he started to thrust you. Your body was on flames. The fact that he was strong enough to fuck you while holding you amazed you. For moments, you would free one of your hands just to stroke his arm, as his muscles tense. He sat on the edge of the bed and continued to pound you, buried himself inside of you deeper and deeper each time. You pushed his back against the mattress, kissed him with burning passion and then started to ride him, placing your hands on his majestic hairy chest. Then, you enlaced your hands with his while you continue to move up and down his cock. He pulled your hands into his lips, kissing both of them, one at the time. You put your chest against his and whispered on his ear "You're mine, baby. You're mine and I'm yours", he looked into your eyes. Just as he thought he couldn't want you more, you told him everything he wanted to hear, that you were his. He remembered at that moment that if he wasn't for your ex, he'd been the only man you have been with. That thought made him feel both jealous and lucky at the same time. Another man had you before him, but he intended to be the only man you'll be with for the rest of his life. You were his. He wasn't the kind of man that would treat you as an object, as something that could belong to him, but you were his woman, he loved you and would make sure that you'll want him forever over anybody else because he could not stand the idea of losing you. You were his angel and he would love you and protect you and hopefully make you as happy as you made him. Life with you was a paradise. You woke up due to the need to drink some water. You had your head pressed against Henry's chest. You had sex until the sunrise. You felt so tired after that amazing night. You checked your phone to see the time and to your surprise, it was midday. You got up and decided to prepare lunch for the two of you. You starred at him for a moment before leaving the bedroom. Seeing him sleep so peaceful felt like a warm hug. You were so lucky. He was amazing and he loved you as much as you loved him.

[newagesispage]

                                                                JULY                                   2021

 THE RIB PAGE

 *****

They are still uncovering statues on Easter Island.

*****

Everyone is talking about ‘Exterminate all the Brutes” from Raoul Peck.

*****

Vampire bats, prevalent in Latin America may be on the way to the U.S.

*****

What they call faith, I call strength.

*****

Criss angel will open CABLP, a restaurant in Overton, Nevada. The letters stand for breakfast, lunch and pizza and will include a free meal outreach program to help under privileged and pediatric cancer families.

*****

A fifth ocean in Antartica??** There have also found 4 new ocean species: Apolemia, Tegula Kusairo, Leptarma Biju and Duobrachium Sparksae.

*****

In China they have found a possible new species in a skull that is 140,000 years old.

*****

Why would Jeffrey Toobin be back at CNN?? Surely there are more young deserving talking heads around.

*****

The Keystone pipeline is dead.

*****

5,000 pounds of explosives were discovered in a home in South LA. LAPD seems to have detonated the fireworks in a truck right there in the neighborhood. They were too dangerous to transport but not enough to blow them up??? How stupid are these people??

*****

Days alert : So glad to see Clyde again even if it is only for a moment!! **BTW, I do not understand the Daytime Emmy noms this year as they relate to Days. I really was pulling for Victoria Koneful (Ciara) and she won but George DelHoya (Orpheus), Tamara Braun (Ava) and Cady McClain (Jennifer)??? I was shocked when Cady McClain won. I mean, she was so whiny. I question my own ability to judge a performance. In most categories, the winner was usually the one I thought was the worst option. I was happy for Max Gail and CBS Sunday Morning.  Some performances were sure overlooked. What about James Read (Clyde), Paul Telfer (Xander), Bryan Dattilo (Lucas), Robert Scott Wilson (Ben), Daniel Kerr (Eli) and Lindsay Arnold (Allie) ?? As annoying as the Kristen character is and as long as it took me to get used to Stacy Haiduk in the role, she kicked ass this year. Did they even submit clips?? And,  they are not often on but Tony and Anna forever!!!!!!** And how wonderful is it to see the Dimera boys all together and recounting the whole fam for the votes? **And one more thing, Days was not even nominated for writing while Bold and the Beautiful spends every other show with the Liam character standing in front of the fireplace making excuses for the same shit! Just push repeat, C,mon!!**Philip had a great line for Brady about following Kristen like a zombie.** Dis Eli really say, “Peacock and chill??’ Are these the things they will have to do to do to stay on the air? It took me right out of the show. It was the same day the ads for Days on Peacock started. OMG

*****

Texas Gov. Abbott vetoed a bill that would make it illegal to chain up dogs without water.**ATexas churches have lost their 501(c) (3) status because it actively ‘educates’ its members on electing specific Republican politicians. –Pete West* This should have been happening long ago. Many churches I know of do this and should not be allowed to have it both ways. #tax the church

*****

Ellen Burstyn, Jane Curtin, Loretta Devine, Christopher Lloyd, James Caan, French Stewart and Ann-Margaret in Queen Bees and directed by Michael Lembeck?? Yes please!!

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NY has suspended Giuliani’s law license.

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Miracle Workers: The Oregon Trail is coming to TBS, this will be season 3 in the series.

*****

What is this about Bowen Yang?? A podcast about a sperm bank heist?? Yeow!!

*****

David Geffen has given $150,000,000 to Yale drama school: Every student will be tuition- free in perpetuity.

*****

Allison Mack was sentenced to 3 years.

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The latest in sexual assault news: James Franco has agreed to 2.2 mil settlement in sexual misconduct case.** Kyle Massey was charged with immoral communication with a minor.**Bill Cosby is out and here are some reactions: A terrible wrong is being righted.: a miscarriage of justice is corrected. I fully support survivors of sexual assault coming forward.- Phylicia Rashad*I really don’t ever want to hear again as to why many survivors don’t report their rape or assault.- Charlotte Clymer* Women are showing great restraint in not burning everything to the ground right now and I don’t know how they do it.-Jeff Tiedrich

*****

Amazon is making a series of A League of Their Own with Nick Offerman as the coach.

*****

Does anyone else have family members that are rich, transient, know it all snobs??

*****

It looks like New York’s ranked choice voting is leaning toward Eric Adams for Mayor.

*****

Michigan republicans investigating voter fraud found 2 incidents. One is for a lady who voted by mail and then died, the other was confusion over a man who had the same name as his Father. That was it!

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Jamie Lee Curtis will get the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the 78th Venice International Film Fest in September.

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Jerry Seinfeld will star in and direct ‘Unfrosted’ about Pop-Tarts.

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Why is Airbnb still listing properties in illegal settlements and outposts in Palestinian occupied territories? –James J. Zogby

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Merrick Garland has announced that the Justice department sued Georgia over the voting rights.

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The NFL says that it will halt the use of “race norming” which assumed black players started out with lower cognitive functioning in a $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims. The practice had made it harder for black players to qualify. –The Associated Press.

*****

Scary Clown 45 ended his ‘From the desk of Donald J. Trump’ blog after 29 days. Word is that he felt he was being mocked in the media.

*****

Religious leadership keeps engaging in partisan politics on behalf of politicians that are particularly unpopular with younger people and they wonder why younger people are disenchanted with the church. – Schooley ** Give young people credit as well for seeing through the hype and lies of these religious hypocrites who use God only as a weapon and a threat. –Larry Charles

*****

Amazon will stop drug testing for employment. Can every other company jump on this bandwagon? Let’s judge employees on the work they give.

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The Backstreet Boys and NSync are going to work together??!!

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Showtime is bringing back American Gigolo with Jon Bernthal.

*****

If Biden can carry out air strikes without proper authorization, the Senate can raise the minimum wage without the Parliamentarian.  –Alexandra M. Hunt

Reality Winner is out!!

*****

Judy Woodruff has been given the Peabody award for journalistic integrity.

*****

Donald Glover is bringing us Hive. Malia Obama will be a writer.

*****

Nicholas Cage has married Riko Shibata.

*****

Catch and Kill: The podcast tapes, is here on HBO.

*****

Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening will star in Jerry and Marge go large.

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Amblin Partners and Netflix are partners.

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Fall 2022 will bring the Roybal School of film and television production for underserved communities. They are looking to help 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade students. Among others, the program was cofounded by George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Kerry Washington, Mindy Kaling and Eva Longoria.

*****

Will there be a Wedding Crashers2??

*****

The Mysterious Benedict Society stars Tony Hale.** I would love to see he and Danny Pudi in something together.

*****

Actor Stephen Amell from Arrow was removed from a plane after getting into it with his wife.  A source said he was drunk and screaming. An official source said that they removed “an unruly customer.”** Andy Dick was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, allegedly assaulting his partner, Lucas with a metal chair.

*****

So.. Fox news was digitally altering the faces of people they did not care for??? Is there no end to their bullshit????

*****

Mark Ronson is set to marry Grace Gummer.

*****

Crime shows seem to be in the cycle of prisoners and the women who get a thrill from helping them escape.

*****

Wolfgang Van Halen has released a debut album: Mammoth

*****

Everyone seems to love Danny Trejo’s memoir and its honesty.

*****

David Spade will take over as host of Bachelor in Paradise.

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I am sickened when I see the first question that pops up on an online search is the net worth of a person. Oh this twisted world.

*****

Life is a short pause between 2 great mysteries. –Jung

*****

Prince Harry and Meghan had a daughter that they named Lilibet ‘Lili” Diana.

*****

Michael Flynn’s brother Charles (who withheld help from the capitol on Jan. 6), leads the U.S. Army Pacific and commands 90,000 troops.

*****

I am so excited to read ‘The Boys’ from Clint and Ron Howard, due out in October.

*****

Dave Chappelle closed out the Tribeca film fest with a surprise concert. This was the first in person film fest since Covid. Look for This time, this place which premiered there.

*****

Ron Wood will release the album Mr. Luck: A tribute to Jimmy Reed on Sept. 3

*****

Howard Stern signed a new $500 mil contract with Sirius XM. He is taking the whole summer off and many fans say they will cancel their subscription because they don’t want to pay for a summer of reruns.

*****

Acorn will bring Jane Seymour back to a series. Seymour will be co -executive produce on Harry Wild. Her character will be a retired University professor who loves her whiskey and solves crimes.

*****

Annie Murphy  stasr in ‘Kevin can f*** himself about a sitcom wife which airs on AMC.

*****

I still do not understand why Rep. Mike Nearman hasn’t been arrested for letting insurrectionists into the Capitol.

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There is a wing shortage??

*****

The Pulitzer prizes have been announced. The list includes Ben Faub, Barry Blitt, Katori Hall, Emilio Morenatti, AP photographers Marcio Jose Sanchez, Alex Brandon, David Goldman, Julio Cortez, John Minchillo, Frank Franklin II, Ringo H.W. Chiu, Evan Vucci, Mike Stewart and Noah Berger. There was a special citation for Darnella Frazier who filmed the death of George Floyd.

*****

Conan’s last TBS guests were Martin Short, Jack Black, Bill Hader, Mila Kunis, Dana Carvey, Patton Oswalt and JB Smoove. There were some surprises.  The big musical number never happened when Jack Black hurt himself. It was all funny and sweet but Conan never mentioned the band in the last show WTF????????????????????????????????????????? Music is so important to him and he does not thank the band? ** Colbert and Brian Stack gave Conan a cute send after4, 368 shows on CBS calling him a ‘Slenderman Ron Weasly’.  Kimmel wished Conn well also.** Hope his HBO MAX variety show goes well.** BTW, the Duvall interview with Colbert was great to see but why does nobody ever mention ‘Get Low?’ What a performance!!

*****

Tattoos are on the rise.

*****

Fast food drive thru’s sometime close with fake excuses like the equipment is down or something because they don’t feel like working. Good people can’t find work and so many waste the opportunities they have. AAAAGHH!!

*****

Valerie Bertinelli and Demi Lovato will star in ‘Hungry’ on NBC.

*****

Hulu will bring us David E. Kelley’s Nine Perfect Strangers with Nicole Kidman, Michael Shannon, Regina Hall, Bobby Cannavale and Melissa McCarthy.

*****

R.I.P. Gavin Macleod, Frank Bonner, Joy Vogelsang, Benigno Aquino, Champ Biden, victims of the Miami building collapse, Robert Sacchi, Stuart Damon, Johnny Solinger  and Clarence Williams III.

[sincerelyreidburke]

PLEASE ELABORATE ON QUINN AS EVAN HANSEN OMG

SAY NO MORE!!!!!!!! :D

Bless you for sending this ask. You’re enabling me.

I need you all to know that Quinn as Evan Hansen has been taking up a large section of real estate in my brain for the past week. So. There’s that.

- Anyway, the Samwell drama club selects it as their spring musical during the crickets’ freshman year. Now, technically I know that this was 2018, and that the show probably wasn’t actually available for licensing that early, but we’re going to pretend that in the omgcp universe it was. So. They pick the show.

- Quinn knows he wants to audition, but here’s the thing. In high school theatre, he was never exactly intimidated by other actors, but coming to college sort of changes the game just a little— only because he is filled with the immense need to impress as a freshman. Quinn bases just a little too much of himself on whether or not other people approve of his performance— whether academic, or theatrical, or social, you get the picture.

- So anyway, he very much plans to audition, but he doesn’t think there’s a chance in hell he’s getting cast. He resolves to be on the crew instead, fully prepared to volunteer himself to the costuming department once the list comes back and he’s inevitably not on it.

- Spoiler alert; he gets cast!!!!!! I need you to know that he auditions with Waving Through A Window, because Quinn Cooper goes hard. He never explicitly tells the production staff that he’s going out for the lead, but he walks off the stage after the audition and the staff look at each other and they’re like, WHELP, that’s Evan.

- (By the way, leading up to that audition, he is super nervous. Quinn’s nerves manifest as him getting grouchy, so he’s a bit irritable for the few days leading up to it, and Nando can tell. Nando is patient and knows how to deal with this, because by the time this audition rolls around, they’ve been dating for about two months. Quinn does a lot of practicing and going over stuff in front of him, and also Nando definitely makes him do a chill night at some point where he makes him tea and they snuggle and it’s soft as all hell. Okay, anyways.)

- He doesn’t get a callback. He is confident that this is because he bombed the audition and he is not being cast. Other people who have become his friends do get callbacks, because they’re trying to decide on those supporting roles, but by the time the day of the cast list posting rolls around, he has landed neatly in the acceptance stage of grief. He’s ready to go to costuming and sign himself up to help.

- Then. The day arrives.

- The Samwell drama club has an unspoken agreement that nobody spoils each other’s parts for them, because people can’t all get to the cast list posting outside the auditorium at the same time. What they will do, however, is, once they see the list, text their friends who are on it to go look at the list!!!!!! go see the cast!!!!!!!!!!!! go to the auditorium!!!!!!!!!!!!

- So Quinn has a busy morning. He has class and then a lab, so it’s late lunchtime when he gets a moment to be free and walk across campus to look at the list. He asks Nando to meet him there, because he kind of wants moral support. Meanwhile, his phone is being bombarded by people who have already seen the list.

Quinn go see the list!

dude it’ll be worth your while go see the cast list

GO 2 THE BOARD

- Ford even texts Nando. Please tell your boyfriend to go look at that cast list ASAP, he needs to see it. They don’t tell Nando that Quinn got cast, because Nando wouldn’t be able to keep that secret for shit.

- Nando brings him Annie’s. It’s his standard order, hot earl gray tea with milk and cane sugar. Nando also gets himself one of those mocha frappes because the boy has a serious Annie’s addiction.

- Nando gets to the auditorium first. He can see the board where the list is posted, but he doesn’t go look because he wants Quinn to see it first. Instead, he sits on a bench. A few random performing arts majors probably see him, this huge dude in a Samwell Hockey sweatshirt, and hiss because why is there an athlete in their auditorium. (This is literally High School Musical.)

- Anyway. Quinn finally shows up. He’s nervous and he’s been itching to get over to the auditorium all day. He sees Nando and asks if he’s looked. Nando shakes his head.

- Quinn takes a long, therapeutic breath. He walks to the cast list. He is ready to accept his defeat.

- Wait— wait— wait wait wait wait— what?!?!????!

- The only reason Quinn does not physically fall over when he sees his name at the top of the list is because Nando catches him.

- And then they do a huge celly in the middle of the auditorium lobby.

- Holy crap, this is getting long and he only just got cast. Sorry. Okay, let’s talk.

- He’s so good. Hold on, I have to cry. He’s so good????? He has a lovely voice and he’s such a good actor and he just... makes the perfect Evan? Real-life Quinn is not socially anxious like that, but he’s just so serious about connecting with the characters he plays that he takes it upon himself to get very in his head, and he just... why am I crying?

- I’ve been thinking about Quinn singing For Forever for the past two days straight. Especially the long high riff at the very end on all we SEE is LIIIIIIGHT—

- I also somehow came up with the idea of Rhodey playing Connor Murphy, but that can’t happen because a.) Rhodey can’t sing or dance well enough, and b.) the hockey schedule would never allow it. I think I had this thought because Rhodey has that Connor Murphy aesthetic.

- Rhodey makes Quinn practice Sincerely Me with him, though, so he can do the Connor parts and live vicariously through him.

- I’m sorry, but Sincerely Me is so fucking funny. I laugh my ass off every time I listen to the recording. This is just an aside.

- Quinn is still a little intimidated by some seniors in the cast, because there is a small handful of people who are pissed that a freshman got the lead. Not only that, but Quinn can be precocious? Quinn is not an asshole, in any way, shape, or form, but he’s just... he’s Quinn. We love him. And although he can be a fussy person, he’s never a high-maintenance actor.

- I can see him in the costume so well. If someone drew this, I would physically ascend. I don’t think I would even know what to do with myself. By the way, his performance day outfit is peak fashion and I’ll tell you about it if you want.

- I could make a whole other post about the actual performances, so hit me up if you want to hear more about this, because trust me, there is more to say. There’s an entire scene that’s been in my head all day about when Nando comes to see him and then they reunite in the lobby after the show on opening night.

- Apparently we’re all in our feelings tonight about DEH Quinn.

Thank you for this extremely enabling ask. I owe you my life. I also will definitely write fic about this at some point. But as long as the asks keep coming, I will also ramble on my blog about it.

Ask me anything about the crickets and company!!!!!

[jswdmb1]

24 Frames

“You thought God was an architect, now you know

He's something like a pipe bomb ready to blow

And everything you built that's all for show 

goes up in flames - in twenty- four frames”

- Jason Isbell

This may come as a shock, especially to those who know me well, but I can be very stubborn. Sometimes this can work into my favor as it helps bolster confidence when I take a difficult position that I know is right, or it can help me persist when odds are long such as starting a new business.  But this often is a character trait that I know can hold me back.  In particular, I bristle at things I am told that I “should” do even when it clearly would be in my best interest to do whatever is being suggested.  It usually takes someone equally stubborn to get me to move off of my position, but this did happen recently.

My wife is always on me to watch various different television programs, but I always balk.  I watch some TV but is it well documented (on this blog) that it is pretty much limited to PBS and reruns of old game shows and sitcoms.  I don’t like to leave that comfort zone, and it takes a lot for me to try out a new show – especially one that is episodic that expects you to come back week-after-week. I know that means I miss out on a lot of good stuff, but I’m okay with that as it allows me to keep my time on the tube under control and I don’t get more involved with something than I really want to be.  But on this one particular show, she was quite persistent, and I was challenged to at least give it a try.

The show is Schitt’s Creek, and I am sure you have heard of it if you do not already know it well. If you haven’t seen it, do not worry, as I will not be disclosing too much about the program.  Even if you have heard a lot about it and feel you know the story, part of the charm of the show is watching the characters develop throughout the series, so plot turns and the such are not as important as in some other episodic series.  The basic plot is that an extremely wealthy family of four, including two adult children, are forced to move to a small town when they lose everything overnight due to a business manager not paying taxes.  The series starts with the scene of revenue agents raiding their mansion as the family frantically collects a few belongings, so no time is spent on their past life.  Every moment from the first scene is spent on their life afterwards which involves living somewhere in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of regular folks.  It sounds like a typical fish-out-of-water setting (think the second Bob Newhart show for the closest example), and that is certainly mined for plenty of laughs, but it quickly becomes clear that the show is about much more than this.

That is all you are going to get from me about the actual show, because no more details are relevant to the rest of this post.  Except that the acting in this show is brilliant and worth watching for that alone.  The father and mother are played by Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara, both of whom I have been watching for decades in their various film roles and on the hilarious SCTV program.  The chemistry between the two is so natural and genuine that you quickly adopt them as Johnny and Moira Rose and forget their 40+ years in show business as other characters.  The children played by Levy’s son Dan and Annie Murphy are equally good and get a lot of the laughs as their clear lack of reality in their past lives plays to insane results when applied to the real world of the town of Schitt’s Creek.  The supporting cast is not just a bunch of wacky neighbors but add much depth to the show and develop themselves over the course of the series, especially the character of Stevie played by Emily Hampshire. The character of Roland Schitt, played by Chris Elliot, may be the best second banana on television since Cosmo Kramer. Again, none of this gives away much if anything about the show or the various plot arcs, but it should give you extra motivation to watch as talent like this collecting in one place is rare indeed.

And why exactly am I so intent on you watching this show?  While the quality of the program and the enjoyment it will provide you is enough reason to dive in, I have discovered a much greater purpose to following the evolving journey of the Roses.  Even though the show was created over five years ago, and largely wrapped production on its sixth season before 2020, it has become for me the perfect allegory for the United States right now.  Our country is going through the same experience that the Roses went through much of the first two seasons.  After the sudden event of COVID-19, we found ourselves much in a place like Schitt’s Creek. Over seven months into this pandemic, we are still stuck in what life was like before and when will it ever return. I do not think this is much of a spoiler alert for anyone who is rational, but how the way things were is never coming back.  COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on our society, and we like to blame it for all of our current problems, but it simply laid bare all of our faults and weaknesses almost overnight.  We are now no longer able to push those existential problems aside and have to face them head on. Many of us are not up for the challenge and would like something to change things back overnight, but that is not happening.  It doesn’t matter if there is a vaccine, or a new president, we have to face that we collectively lived lives that were not grounded in reality and our fates hung delicately in the balance just waiting for something like COVID-19 to come and bring it crashing down.  Just like the Roses lost everything in one quick raid, we now find ourselves building our lives all over again in a strange place where we are very uncomfortable.

Now I know that is difficult to hear and very depressing, but here comes the good part.  Just because things have changed does not necessarily mean that we can’t grow and develop into something even better than we had before. Obviously, a deadly disease like COVID-19 is not something we ever wanted, and it has brought countless suffering and death to too many people, but it does provide for a starting point to helping us grow beyond some of the shallower lives we lead previously.  It may take a lot of tough love, but we will eventually get the virus under control and the big question will be what is next.  For me, there needs to be an evolution past wherever we were before this all went down. I think our guide can be the Rose family in Schitt’s Creek.  The a-ha moment for me came at the end of season two titled “Happy Anniversary”.  I will disclose nothing more about it other than to say it was a transformative episode not only for the Roses, but for my own outlook on things as we move into what will be a very dark winter.  

If you are a watcher of the series, some of this may make more sense to you, but I think even you could benefit from another viewing to see if you can apply some of this to your own life as well.  I am actually only through Season 3 so far (I know enough about what lies ahead to be able to write this post, but it hasn’t ruined a thing for me), but I am already making plans for starting over to pick up things I missed the first time around. And it is important that you start in the beginning and move through the episodes sequentially.  Not so much because you will lose the story, as many of the stories are self-contained within an episode, but because you will miss out on the character development along the way (again, kudos to the actors and actresses in this show who so brilliantly developed these characters). I know this is playing it up quite a bit but trust this one-time reluctant viewer to be assured that your time is going to be well spent.

This many come off as a review, but it really is not.  I mean, if I were a reviewer, I would include some of the above in my story (and end with four stars or whatever the highest rating is), but this has become so much more for me.  It has served as a life-saving antidote to the poison spewed in traditional media and social media that makes me nauseous on a daily basis.  I find myself occasionally daydreaming about a funny scene I saw, or a subtle profound moment in the show, which has replaced some of the constant worry about the pandemic, or economy, or the election, all of which have a life-or-death feeling to them.  It has proven to be a rare new tool in my arsenal against anxiety and it will end up being one of my lasting memories of 2020.  That is a lot to say for one show about a year as particularly disastrous as this one, but I sincerely believe that.  

So, don’t be like me and be stubborn if you haven’t seen this show.  As soon as you read my last sentence, get yourself on Netflix and start watching with Season 1, Episode 1.  And make sure you don’t have anywhere to be tomorrow because the one negative is that it will be hard to stop once you get started.  But I think it is okay right now to binge on something that is finally showing us that there is a way to succeed in life without putting others down or placing selfish pursuits over relationships.  So, dig in and enjoy and I promise that I have learned one other thing throughout this experience – keep an open mind.  Because when you keep your mind closed, you shut out a world of possibilities, even when that world seems to have none.  

Enjoy,

Jim

[marielle-heller]

I was tagged by @gwil-lee!! thank you so much this is super cute!

my icon: Alexis Rose herself, Annie Murphy!!! one of my crushes so I thought it’d make a cute icon, especially as Schitt’s Creek was winding down 😢

my content: um.... very all over the place, I guess? some things I feel I post about pretty frequently are b99, Stranger Things, Queen/Bohemian Rhapsody, Superstore, Schitt’s Creek, The Good Place, but really I just do whatever I’m feeling? 🤷🏼‍♀️ especially with gifs, which lately I’ve done quite a few Beastie Boys (I may have a plan for one more set....)

header: Josh Charles (as Will Gardner) being fed ice cream on The Good Wife. I know there’s a story behind this... I don’t know exactly how it came up, but I know I was talking with Kim, and like, I had made this gif cause I was lowkey obsessed with this moment, and anyway the result of the discussion was that I decided to put it as my header just for fun. and then tumblr tried to block my blog for being too inappropriate, so now I have to keep it because I fought for my right to use it

url: I was still pretty newly into making gifs and I wanted a new url, and Mari worked so well!!!! a. I adore her, b. since she’s a director it gives a good film association that I thought was the right vibe for a new identity, and c. since she’s married to Jorma from The Lonely Island, it brought me back to my “roots” a bit!! (when I joined the b99 fandom originally, I was roscoesantangelo, after Jorm’s Parks & Rec character)

my blog title: “you are the queen of my world”. it’s a lyric from Rebel Girl by Bikini Kill, an absolute bop!!! I believe I changed it right after watched The Punk Singer (an amazing doc about Kathleen Hanna, Bikini Kill’s singer). it’s kind of a song to like,,, rage to, but also the lyrics on their own are cute so I thought that was nice!!

moving forward I’m gonna tag @three-drink-amy @adam-yauchs @vampire-sunny @youngsamberg and @sybbie-crawley to participate if y’all want!! enjoy!

[hudders-and-hiddles]

Hey! No worries if you don’t feel like getting into it, but regarding Schitts Creek, how long does it take for David and Patrick to come into the story? And what else about the show makes it worth watching? Your blogging about David and Patrick has made me interested, but I don’t want to start watching it for just one thing and then realize it won’t come around for 3 seasons :p

Totally happy to dig into this but going to put it below the cut just in case anyone considers even this basic info too spoilery for their tastes:

You actually pretty much nailed it there that Patrick doesn’t show up until the middle of the 3rd season. So it does take a little bit to get there, but that being said, I think there are plenty of reasons to watch the whole show anyway. First of all, it’s a relatively quick watch. Each episode is in the 20-25 minute range, and there are only 13 episodes per season. I finished the whole show in a week. (Hell, I started it again on Sunday morning while doing other things around the house, and I made it back to the start of s3 just in one day.) So it’s not like it will take you ages to get to the storyline you want to see.

It’s also a great example of the kind of LGBTQ representation I personally love to see. David is openly pan, and that’s not made into A Thing beyond like, him confirming that fact when someone asks. There’s no drama surrounding it. His family knows and is supportive of him. No one in the town makes fun of him or acts like it’s anything other than normal. There’s no coming out storyline, no hate crimes, no name calling, no bury your gays, none of any other tropes typically used to wring Emotions from audiences when queer people are on screen. It’s all just normal, which is fantastic, and I have no reason to think that won’t continue. Daniel Levy, who plays David and is the show runner, is gay and has stated in multiple interviews that he doesn’t want anything about David and Patrick’s relationship to come across as a lesson–he just wants to treat it as normally as any het relationship would be treated, and that comes across super clear in the show. It’s refreshing in that way, and that holds true throughout the show as a whole, even before Patrick comes along.

And on top of all that, it’s super funny. Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara are comedy legends, and Dan and Annie Murphy more than hold their own with them. In particular though, Catherine O’Hara’s performance as Moira is… probably one of the weirdest but also funniest things I’ve seen in a long time. And Dan’s facial expressions are legitimately my favorite thing on tv right now. All the writing is super sharp, the characters are quick-witted and sarcastic and quotable, and beyond that humor, there’s also a lot of heart. At its core, it’s a show about what it means to be a family and how they all come together to support each other in a trying situation. The first 2 seasons focus more on the fish-out-of-water aspect of their experience, finding humor in their new living situation, but by season 3 things start to shift a bit as we see more of who the characters once were and who they are now and who they’re growing to be. (I definitely cried a few times here and there.)

Which brings me back around to Patrick… Yes, Patrick doesn’t show up until season 3, but I think that David also isn’t really ready for that relationship until then. Some of his sharp edges have rounded out a bit, and he’s started to find his place, which allows him to let Patrick in. And that makes it much more satisfying to see him in that relationship, too. I think that in theory you could probably start watching the show in the middle of s3 if that’s really all you wanted to see and it would be fine in the grand scheme of things–you’d miss a few earlier plot points that come up again, but for the most part you could watch just everything with Patrick and be generally satisfied with the show–but I think that missing the context of how David got there would really take something away from the experience. By the time that Patrick showed up on my screen, I loved David so much and wanted good things for him so badly that I was legitimately squealing the first time Patrick smiled at him.

Anyway, that was probably far too long, but that’s my pitch. It’s funny, it’s sweet, and it’s honestly pretty short, and I think that we’re in good hands for a happy future for these boys. If you’re remotely interested, I’d say give it a try.

[tothewaterhq]

ACCEPTED // IPHEGENIA “GENI” SNOW

the capitol → sponsor →  Annie Murphy fc  → she/her

three strengths: manipulative, intelligent, charitable three weaknesses: privileged, spoiled, unsympathetic looks for: star-crossed lovers, careers (pref. girls)

tw: victor prostitution

bio:

iphigenia snow was born to the president snow’s only son, septimus snow, who is a well-known businessman. despite being the elder of snow’s two children, septimus never quite had the knack for politics that his younger sister, minerva did, and so he went into business, working closely with the gamemakers to make the tributes’ arena uniforms and then, when the games were over, hiring famous stylists and designers to create fashion lines based on that year’s arena that he sold for exorbitant prices. her mother was a famous capitol model who her father met through one of his fashion lines, and the two of them were married less than a year later. quickly after, their first child, iphigenia, or ‘geni’ as she came to be known, came along. she grew up on the lap of luxury, never wanting for everything. the first grandchild, she was always her grandfather’s favorite, something that only increased when he saw how much she loved the games.

one of geni’s earliest memories was watching the tribute parade of the sixty-first annual hunger games on her grandfather’s lap. that was the first hunger games she’d ever been allowed to watch, and she remained riveted to the screen the entire time. she even gave her allowance to her father to help buy the district one girl a sponsor gift. and when glitter slit her district partner’s throat, geni cheered. she even met glitter during at the victor’s ball, and geni was starstruck. ever since that games, geni’s remained thrilled and delighted by the games to such an extent that it concerns some of the other capitolites. for her eighteenth birthday, geni’s grandfather ‘bought’ her gloss lepointe to spend the night with (though she remained ignorant of the threats trading hands, instead believing that aforementioned victor had just been charmed by her). now, at twenty-four, geni’s moved out of her family home in the outskirts of the capitol and into one of the most expensive penthouses in panem, and she’s ready for the new games season. geni has her sights set on one day becoming a games commentator, but in the meantime, she’s just going to have to content herself with running her (well known) blog on the games.

PLAYED BY // BEV

[mfackenthal]

MFackenthal’s A Week In Reviews - 5th edition!

It’s time for another MFackenthal’s A Week in Reviews!  It’s been over two weeks since I published the last one.  I meant to get this out on Friday ... but life happened.  Thank you for your patience.  And, please, let me take a moment to say thank you to all of you for your support of me and this blog. 

I’m always working to find new authors - so if there’s anyone’s work (your own or someone else’s) that you want me to review - please send it to me. 

Also, as you can tell, I’m not always caught up with everyone’s work - I’m waaaay behind.  I don’t know that I’ll ever catch up.  ha!  But I’ll keep reading and reviewing because I’m still loving this!

Weekly reminders:

(1) This list does not include headcanon posts, ABC posts or any post that wasn’t a fic.  This also only includes reblogs and not work I “liked” but wasn’t able to provide commentary on.  

(2) If you want to find out what I specifically thought about each chapter, that can be found on my blog.  To more easily search my blog, search the phrase “mfackenthal reviews ________” and fill in the blank with the blog name.  IE “mfackenthal reviews maxattack-powell” to find the work I reblogged specifically by @maxattack-powell.

(3) In case it’s not obvious: I recommend ALL of these fics and ALL of these authors.  I cannot say enough about the fabulousness that is these authors. 

(4) The list is loosely organized by love interest and partially on the order in which I read the fics.  As some of these stories are poly or love triangles, some are just listed by whichever love interest I decided it was “safest” (meaning not a spoiler) to feature.  

If the “read more” works then you’ll find the full list under the cut.

Leo X MC

Duties of a Prince by @theroyalweisme

This used to posted under Liam x MC, but things have changed my friends.  This fabulous author is showing us a side of Leo that isn’t always explored.  His tender side.  It also shows us a Leo that wants to be the best leader for Cordonia. Are we starting to also see a Leo that is in love?  This are really starting to heat up in these chapters – so if you haven’t caught up, now is the time to do so.  PLUS, you get to meet an amazing gal named Megan and what can I say – us Megan’s have to stick together!

Chapter 23 https://theroyalweisme.tumblr.com/post/175402169594/duties-of-a-prince-chapter-23-leo-x-liam-x-mc

Chapter 24 https://theroyalweisme.tumblr.com/post/175538310602/duties-of-a-prince-chapter-24-leo-x-liam-x-mc

Chapter 25 https://theroyalweisme.tumblr.com/post/175638779065/duties-of-a-prince-chapter-25-leo-x-liam-x-mc Chapter 26 https://theroyalweisme.tumblr.com/post/175776966796/duties-of-a-prince-chapter-26-leo-x-liam-x-mc Chapter 27 https://theroyalweisme.tumblr.com/post/175878953321/duties-of-a-prince-chapter-27-leo-x-liam-x-mc

Liam X MC

Through the Storm (TTS) by @choicesfanatic86 If you’ve been following my reviews, you all know that I’m addicted to this series.  Riley is pregnant and back in Cordonia.  Will Liam be able to woo her?  (Will anyone be able to convince him not to use the phrase “woo her”?  Or do I secretly love to hate that he uses that phrase?)

TTS: Part 44 https://choicesfanatic86.tumblr.com/post/175472185988/tts-part-44-liam-x-mc

TTS: Part 45 https://choicesfanatic86.tumblr.com/post/175506848705/tts-part-45-liam-x-mc

TTS: Part 46 https://choicesfanatic86.tumblr.com/post/175709814351/tts-part-46-liam-x-mc The Miserable Year series by @laniquelove This is an AMAZING series about Liam and Freya and the worst year of their life.  It’s the very definition of Murphy’s law.  These last chapters had me laughing and crying.  I should have seen the end coming, but I didn’t.  I’m so glad I didn’t, and I LOVED EVERY MINUTE of this series.  Do yourself a favor – read it! November https://laniquelove.tumblr.com/post/175078125226/november

November Pt. 2 https://laniquelove.tumblr.com/post/175116324643/november-pt-2

November Pt. 3 https://laniquelove.tumblr.com/post/175142597553/november-pt-3

December https://laniquelove.tumblr.com/post/175241506274/december

December Pt. 2 https://laniquelove.tumblr.com/post/175274987237/december-pt2

December Pt. 3 https://laniquelove.tumblr.com/post/175308164628/december-pt3

December Pt. 4 https://laniquelove.tumblr.com/post/175375291431/december-pt4

December Pt. 5 https://laniquelove.tumblr.com/post/175475073027/december-pt5 December Pt. 7 https://laniquelove.tumblr.com/post/175509639261/december-pt7 January…Again? https://laniquelove.tumblr.com/post/175511173848/januaryagain Happy 4th of July by @kinkykingliam Liam brings a little 4th of July spirit to Cordonia for his love Riley. Happy 4th of July! https://kinkykingliam.tumblr.com/post/175540769902/happy-4th-of-july-liam-x-riley-mc-nsfw-just The Consequence of Secrets-Part 13A-The Road Trip by @blackcatkita Liam and Drake are still estranged. However, Liam and Jennifer (MC) seem to be on the same page again.  Learn more about Liam’s childhood in this chapter of The Consequence of Secrets. https://blackcatkita.tumblr.com/post/175575744258/the-consequence-of-secrets-part-13a-the-road To (Secretly) Love You – series by @choicesbyjade What really happened right after MC’s original scandal?  I kinda forgot that Leo was around for that.  @choicesbyjade did not forget.  This Liam has a backbone and I love it! Ready https://choicesbyjade.tumblr.com/post/175500295712/ready Welcome to My Dark Side https://choicesbyjade.tumblr.com/post/175581505816/welcome-to-my-dark-side-liam-x-madeleine What Almost Was by @bobasheebaby Come meet and fall in love with Perceval. Of course, will MC fall in love with him?  Or will she still chose Liam or Drake?

Fallout https://bobasheebaby.tumblr.com/post/174986371291/fallout-drabble-pairing-liam-x-madeline-word Just Friends https://bobasheebaby.tumblr.com/post/175039925260/just-friends-nsfw-pairing-athena-x-drake-word Image Above All (Drabble) https://bobasheebaby.tumblr.com/post/175027752388/image-above-all-drabble-characters-perceval To Tell Her the Truth https://bobasheebaby.tumblr.com/post/175049491998/to-tell-her-the-truth-pairing-perceval-liam

Broken Fairytales Part 1 by @darley1101 Someone is trying to assassinate Cordonia’s leaders.  Follow Olivia as she survives the attack.  Things will not go as scripted by PB. https://darley1101.tumblr.com/post/174124139583/broken-fairytales-part-1 You Have Never Loved Me (AU) Part 5 by @kawairinrin Liam reaches out to Annie (MC) to try to explain what he has said and done and why.  Will she listen? Will the instant fame be a good thing for Annie?  Or will it cause her more difficulty? https://mfackenthal.tumblr.com/post/175629722612/you-have-never-loved-me-au-liam-x-mc-part-5 The Heir series by @thatcatlady0716 Liam and Kendra (MC) share a passionate night when they meet, but Kendra doesn’t go to Cordonia.  Kendra gives birth to Liam’s child.  When Liam returns to the states and looks Kendra up, will she be able to tell him that he fathers a child?  What will his response be?

Return of the King https://thatcatlady0716.tumblr.com/post/173777168641/return-of-the-king Lie in the bed you made https://thatcatlady0716.tumblr.com/post/174933205471/lie-in-the-bed-you-made Almost: Chapter 4 by @choicesfanatic86 Liam and Riley have a past – one from before his engagement night.  Drake is slowly dragging the past back out … y’know, so us readers can know what is going on too! https://choicesfanatic86.tumblr.com/post/175641234118/almost-chapter-4-liam-x-mc My Immortal by @queencatherynerhys A continuation of a TRR AU where Liam ends up marrying Madeleine and Catheryne (MC) stays to watch.  Come read this beautiful but heart breaking rendition of MC’s emotional state. https://queencatherynerhys.tumblr.com/post/175658982491/my-immortal Good Grades by @kawairinrin Liam is a professor and Riley helps him with grading.  Come see why I’d take class with Professor Rhys. http://kawairinrin.tumblr.com/post/175816077241/good-grades-liam-x-mc-nsfw-this-is-complete-a With A Heavy Heart by @captain-kingliamsqueen Set when Riley was accused and Madeleine thought she had won … will love be enough to keep Riley around despite how poorly Madeleine treats her? https://captain-kingliamsqueen.tumblr.com/post/175839022176/with-a-heavy-heart We the People by @kinkykingliam If you missed the last chapter of “We the People” you have to catch up!  We’ve moved forward in time and people are making decisions I was not prepared for.  I want to hate it cause I’m so mad at Em, but I love it! The Surprise https://kinkykingliam.tumblr.com/post/175312996967/we-the-people-the-surprise The B*tch is Back https://kinkykingliam.tumblr.com/post/175589101457/we-the-people-the-btch-is-back Torn https://kinkykingliam.tumblr.com/post/175895578172/we-the-people-torn Drake x MC

Epithymia by @choiceswreckedme Liam has broken all of his own rules and cheated on Charlie (MC) with Madeleine.  Charlie is away from Cordonia with Olivia and Leo.  She realizes that she loves Drake.  Drake comes to find her.  This is where the chapters pick up this week.  I cannot wait to see where things head next …

Epithymia – Chapter 13 https://choiceswreckedme.tumblr.com/post/175513130885/epithymia-chapter-13

Epithymia – Chapter 14, Pt. 1 https://choiceswreckedme.tumblr.com/post/175617236925/epithymia-chapter-14-pt-1 German Lessons by @tmarie82 Is it any surprise that MC gets a little commanding over the subject of German? (tee hee hee – that’s what she said!) https://tmarie82.tumblr.com/post/175437143703/german-lessons-pairing-drake-x-mc-emma The True Kings by @silviasutton1989 It seems someone was out to assassinate King Liam.  In a botched attempt, one of them grabs a noble woman and makes a run for it. Who is taken?  How will the group rally? Is Cordonia’s leadership council compromised?  

The True Kings Ch. 1 “The 1st Victim” https://silviasutton1989.tumblr.com/post/175283692598/the-true-kings-ch-1-the-1st-victim

“Cherry” 1.2 of the True Kings https://silviasutton1989.tumblr.com/post/175358761478/cherry-12-of-the-true-kings

The True Kings Ch. 2 “Run” https://silviasutton1989.tumblr.com/post/175486703213/the-true-kings-ch-2-run-nsfw

The True Kings Ch. 3 “Suspect” https://silviasutton1989.tumblr.com/post/175589530233/the-true-kings-ch-3-suspect Queen of My Heart Chapter by @walkerismychoice This fabulous retelling of TRR if TRR had been a reality TV show continues.  Riley tells Liam what she thinks is going on, see the crew go camping, and enjoy the suspense of the next plot line with me!

Queen of My Heart Chapter 24 https://walkerismychoice.tumblr.com/post/175599950158/queen-of-my-heart-chapter-24 Queen of My Heart Chapter 25 https://walkerismychoice.tumblr.com/post/175748982813/queen-of-my-heart-chapter-25 Queen of My Heart Chapter 26 https://walkerismychoice.tumblr.com/post/175827206013/queen-of-my-heart-chapter-26 Wake Up Call by @the-everlasting-dream Drake and MC battle out who can be more stubborn.  Drake helps MC wake up in the morning.  Oh, if we could all be this lucky … http://the-everlasting-dream.tumblr.com/post/175638755282/wake-up-call-drake-x-mc-nsfw All’s Fair in Love and War by @tmarie82 Fics where the whole TRR gang is together are my favorite!  They’re like episodes of Friends where the whole gang never leaves the apartment. In this story, the whole gang is playing paintball.  It’s a battle of the sexes.  It’s not a spoiler when I say, we all know the women are going to win – come see how that happens! https://tmarie82.tumblr.com/post/175674836753/alls-fair-in-love-and-war-characters-the-entire Supposed to Be by @drakewalkerwhipped This seriously amazing series has made me weep, it’s made me laugh, I’ve fallen in love with Liam, Drake and Jaela while simultaneously being pissed with all three of them.  No matter the drama, though, the love these characters has for each other runs deep.  Their acceptance of each other is beautiful, if also heart-wrenching.  Here are chapters 18 – 22.  

Goodbye (supposed to be part 18) https://drakewalkerwhipped.tumblr.com/post/174949843936/goodbye-drake-x-mc-x-liam Squeeze (supposed to be part 19) https://drakewalkerwhipped.tumblr.com/post/175180615931/squeeze-drake-x-mc-x-liam It’s Over (supposed to be part 20) https://drakewalkerwhipped.tumblr.com/post/175412581751/its-over-drake-x-mc-x-liam Loved (supposed to be part 21) https://drakewalkerwhipped.tumblr.com/post/175654072351/loved-drake-x-mc-x-liam Here (supposed to be part 22) https://drakewalkerwhipped.tumblr.com/post/175889519376/here-drake-x-mc-x-liam-nsfw

Insatiable by @tmarie82 In case you worried that marriage or pregnancy might change our favorite couple and keep them from sneaking away from the party – read this fic and confirm for yourself that this is not true. https://tmarie82.tumblr.com/post/175820387423/insatiable-pairing-drake-x-mc-emma

Drake X Liam

Forever by @debramcg1106 This series hooked me immediately!  This is a love letter written to Drake.  Come see how MC fits into the love story of Drake and Liam.  Then, when you’re done, come whine to the author with me about how we need an epilogue! Forever https://debramcg1106.tumblr.com/post/174467758764/forever Forever (Part 2) https://debramcg1106.tumblr.com/post/174891205744/forever-part-2 Forever (Part 3) https://debramcg1106.tumblr.com/post/174981062834/forever-part-3 Forever (Part 4) https://debramcg1106.tumblr.com/post/175177760254/forever-part-4-nsfw Forever (Part 5) https://debramcg1106.tumblr.com/post/175422424854/forever-part-5-nsfw Forever (Part 6) https://debramcg1106.tumblr.com/post/175493331209/forever-part-6

Drake x MC x Liam You Can Wait by @drakewalkerwhipped Come see how when you’re in a poly relationship – the definition of “torture” may be ever so slightly different … https://drakewalkerwhipped.tumblr.com/post/174308392841/you-can-wait-drake-x-mc-x-liam-nsfw Cuffed (Part 2) by @drakewalkerwhipped In this poly fic, it’s Drake that is the focus. His wants and needs are displayed for all to see – but don’t worry, he’s serviced. Be sure to read to the end because Drake’s admission will melt your heart. https://drakewalkerwhipped.tumblr.com/post/175359362276/cuffed-part-2-drake-x-jaela-x-liam-nsfw

Olivia x MC Frozen (The Scarlet Queen Prologue) by @olivia-nevrakis Here’s an AU where Olivia plays the role of Liam.  Can she handle the pressure?  Who will she choose? https://olivia-nevrakis.tumblr.com/post/175407475382/frozen-olivia-x-mcthe-scarlet-queen-prologue Bastien x MC More than This – series by @honeylightningambition Bastien and Tavvy have decided to take a trip together.  This means singing in the car, lots of time together, and (spoiler) will they have to share a very large suite together?  Come see how our favorite couple fares when secrets are revealed and feelings are shared. More than This, Part 15 https://mfackenthal.tumblr.com/post/175969775557/more-than-this-part-fifteen More than This, Part 16 https://mfackenthal.tumblr.com/post/175970112517/more-than-this-part-sixteen More than This, Part 17 https://mfackenthal.tumblr.com/post/175970548927/more-than-this-part-seventeen

More than This, Part 18 https://mfackenthal.tumblr.com/post/175970952907/more-than-this-part-eighteen

Chris x MC

Light a Candle for Me Part 3: “This is the worst of humanity.” By @drivenbyfantasy The next chapter of this amazing series will make you smile and it will make you cry.  The kindness of individuals will warm your heart.  The reality of war will be heartbreaking. https://drivenbyfantasy.tumblr.com/post/175456630891/light-a-candle-for-me-part-3-this-is-the-worst

Boston – Girls Like You (2-8c) by @maxattack-powell Chris has taken MC to Boston to help get her mind off of how stupid James is being. Come hang out with Ethan (my favorite) and text with Ryan.  See how well Chris and MC take care of each other. Oh!  And meet MC’s ex – Peter! https://maxattack-powell.tumblr.com/post/175569787221/boston-girls-like-you-2-8c-nsfw

Writer’s Retreat (AU), Part 12 by @lolablackwrites (see a greater explanation in the section of Zig x MC) MC spends the day at the fair with Chris. Things are sweet. https://lolablackwrites.tumblr.com/post/175600631360/writers-retreat-au-part-12-chris-x-mc

Crashed (the Junior AU) Part 3 by @flynnomalleys Chris is depressed because of his injuries in the accident.  The gang goes out to blow some steam.  Harsh words are exchanged.  True colors are revealed.  Jenny (MC) makes some questionable decisions but ends up on the right side.  Will she survive the night? https://flynnomalleys.tumblr.com/post/173361480687/crashed-the-junior-au-part-3 Reunited Part 1 by @eadanga Chris and MC broke up after dating for 4 years.  Everything seems amicable.  What will happen with Chris returns?  Does MC even want to see Chris? https://eadanga.tumblr.com/post/174837673554/reunited-part-1 The Hartfield Athletic Trainer: Wrap it Up by @maxattack-powell Chris has been hard core flirting with the athletic trainer, who definitely returns his feelings.  What comes next?  Find out in this “mad-libs” style fic. https://maxattack-powell.tumblr.com/post/175764071801/the-hartfeld-athletic-trainer-wrap-it-up Close Encounters Ch. 9/10/11 by @kinkykingliam I don’t know how @kinkykingliam keeps all of her stories straight.  In this AU, Chris and MC have reunited quickly and it seemed like there would be no problems at all with the ex, Jeremy … and then Jeremy comes back … https://kinkykingliam.tumblr.com/post/174629943212/close-encounters-chris-powell-au-ch-91011 The Boy Next Door – Chapter 4 – Moving Past It by @kinkykingliam Chris and MC never dated in college. Chris went pro and MC married another man.  One child and one divorce later, MC isn’t really thinking about dating anyone else. She’s just trying to make things work with the father.  Will things change when Chris ends up buying the house next door? https://kinkykingliam.tumblr.com/post/175868556292/the-boy-next-door-chris-powell-au-chapter-4 The Bond (AU: Chris x MC x Zig) by @maxattack-powell Chris and MC share an apartment.  Zig is over quite often.  Learn more about where things stand in the first chapter of this mini-series. https://maxattack-powell.tumblr.com/post/175949148558/the-bond-au-chris-x-mc-x-zig James x MC

Never Mess With a Lioness and her Pride by @keltic-moon Things seem to go so well when Sam (MC) is able to bring people together to bring Nathan down.  Sam has a history though.  Will it be returning? http://keltic-moon.tumblr.com/post/175519183462/never-mess-with-a-lioness-and-her-pride Zig x MC

Writer’s Retreat (AU) by @lolablackwrites James has allowed/stashed Charlotte (MC) away in a cabin while he gets married and goes on his honeymoon.  Sure, he’s an ass for doing so, but it’s working out well for Charlotte.  She’s enjoying time with both Chris and Zig.  Here are the most recent Zig chapters. Writer’s Retreat (AU), Part 10 https://lolablackwrites.tumblr.com/post/175264702225/writers-retreat-au-part-10-zig-x-mc-nsfw

Writer’s Retreat (AU), Part 11 https://lolablackwrites.tumblr.com/post/175461591925/writers-retreat-au-part-11-zig-x-mc-nsfw

Damien x MC Part 1 by @clarissafics A delightful retelling of Perfect Match. One where Maya (MC) isn’t easily swooning over Hayden and is a bit more aware of her feelings for Damien. https://clarissafics.tumblr.com/post/175504149863/part-1 Mismatched, Ch 1 – Welcome to Kindergarten! By @kinkykingliam Hayden and Kaia (MC) have a child named Gemma. It’s Gemma’s first day of school. Does Damien still love Kaia? https://kinkykingliam.tumblr.com/post/174788458582/mismatched-ch1-welcome-to-kindergarten-its Everything (Damien One-Shot) by @drakewalkerwhipped Kai blows up Eros … will Damien make it out in time? https://drakewalkerwhipped.tumblr.com/post/174647355736/everything-damien-one-shot Not a Date by @lizeboredom Come fall in love with Damien all over again. Or for the first time.  If that doesn’t get you to read it, maybe this will: come discover what Damien has in his wallet that makes him blush. http://choicesfanfic.com/content/not-a-date/ Seth x MC

Defining Moments, Part 1 by @mrswalkerwrites See why Seth and Willa (MC) are such a good pair.  Enjoy their dorky banter.  Watch Willa blurt out what she is thinking and Seth simply state what he is feeling. This fic is bound to put a smile on your face.   https://mrswalkerwrites.tumblr.com/post/175446597793/defining-moments-part-1-seth-x-mc-pg

Kenna x Val The Queens of Stormholt: Trials and Tribulations Chapter 17/23 The King of Cordonia by @kennaxval Love is the rallying cry of the victorious in this amazing chapter of the Queens of Stormholt.  Come see how Liam reacts to being pulled into the past. https://kennaxval.tumblr.com/post/175066418972/the-queens-of-stormholt-trials-and-tribulations As always, I hope you find something new to read on the list this week!

Have a GREAT week all!

end notes:

(1) Big thanks to @drivenbyfantasy for creating the graphic.  

(2) I reblogged 88 fics since my last post. Eek!  I’m slowing down!  Haha!  In my defense, I also read three full books. So like an additional 600 pages outside of tumblr-land.

Yes, I have an addiction to your work.  No, I don’t know how I keep up with this.

(3) Last, but not least, on the off chance that I missed a fic that you know I reblogged, my apologies! It was unintentional and is not a reflection on you, but upon my inability to maintain my own blog.  Also, if a link or a tag doesn’t work – my apologies if the error is on my part.  My last review worked on mobile but not the desktop … don’t know how I was able to make that happen …

[erinthomsonhnd1photo]

Seeing The Light: Evaluation

In conclusion, I enjoyed the Seeing The Light.

Something I was very aware of was waiting till the last minute to blog and publish my work. I had it created and saved but in order to ensure I was fully happy with it, I held back on posting till closer to the deadline. Consequently one of my weaknesses from this brief was holding back instead of trusting my judgement and instincts. I know now it would have been more practical to publish my work when it was finished rather than keeping it in my drafts as this would have helped me to keep my Tumblr more organised and concise as well as knowing it was finished and I could move on.  I enjoyed creating the posts however; collating images and writing up my findings from either research or from practicing and gathering practical evidence. It helped to have somewhere to put everything I was working on including side projects, briefs and mini tasks that made me think and that I needed to analyse. I found the inspiration hour to be very useful as it helped open my mind to the different possibilities while introducing me to a number of influential photographers. Some I had heard of already like Annie Liebovitz whereas we were also able to investigate photographers of our own choosing as we delved deeper into the sub genres of portraiture and met with the chance to meet a Glasgow photographer named Simon Murphy who is still actively shooting within local communities. Overall I found the research component to be very useful, especially before beginning the practical side of the project, it really helped to find real world examples and information that supported the requirements of the brief and what had been said during lectures. 

Prior to beginning the practical side of the project I was rather inexperienced in portrait photography. In my previous experiences in photography, I had captured people before for things like newspapers and within school briefs and even gigs/music but looking back on my work from then compared to now, I can see how different my standard of work is. From getting to know my camera and lenses, to learning how to use a new piece of kit, to working on a closer more formal and professional level with real people. Therefore this Seeing The Light brief really allowed me the opportunity to experiment, grow and progress in knowledge and skill. I found that there was plenty of opportunity to put what I was learning in class into practice like light metering for example. Furthermore I had the opportunity to build on my understanding of depth of field which had a positive knock on affect on my understanding of focal length and my camera lenses. Not only was this my first experience shooting portraits for a few years, this was my first time using and working with light modifiers. After looking at the different DIY options and the resources on mycity, I decided to invest in a 5 in 1 reflector. I found this to be a really interesting experience as I learned how to work with the five different components in different situations and how to manipulate light. I also found this gave me insight into past photographic experiences and how using a modifier would have made the lighting easier to work with or where I could have improved my images. Out of all of my different options the 5 in 1 gave me, I used the gold and white side most often, whereas I struggled to work with the silver and didn't like the light it was adding to my portraits and found more opportunity to use flagging, diffusion and the white or gold reflector. I noticed that the gold reflector was good at adding in or enhancing warmth to my portraiture while the white and silver I found useful when the sky was more overcast or the lighting was less than ideal. Whereas the diffuser I used at night time and while I didn't use the photoshoot, this was another helpful experience that I was able to learn from and where the piece of equipment made things easier. 

In total I did 6 photoshoots for the Seeing The Light brief, excluding two reshoots. I found that as I got to understand the brief better and learn from my experimentation and improve on my work as I got more chances to shoot and new places to go or new ideas I wanted to try. Therefore I know one of my strengths was learning from my work and always moving forward allowing me to see my progress from start to finish during the Seeing The Light brief. This was something that also gave me a sense of accomplishment, and showed me that while working on this project I had a lot of personal growth in the field of photography. 

However when on photoshoots I often found myself stuck on how to direct my model and because I was using my flatmates they were dependant on me to guide them. Therefore this created a few pauses during my shoots while I looked at my research and for inspiration even though I had looked at various resources prior to meeting my model. There were two photoshoots that I did that I chose not to use for different reasons. The second photoshoot I did for this project featured strong and dynamic shadows and I found them to be a good set of portraits. However I found that as I got to understand the brief more, the images I had taken did not fit the requirements. There was not enough focus on the eyes and the catchlights Whereas one of the other photoshoots I did took place at night and focused the reflections of the river combined with streetlights and the artificial light found in the city. I did this shoot on two different occasions and each time it got easier but I knew when to step back and move on to try out one of the other concepts I had in mind for Seeing The Light. 

Another strength was taking feedback on board, experimenting and embracing the different things being asked of me rather than holding back because I was nervous and in new territory. Overall by doing this first project I saw an improvement in my confidence in my skill and initiative. Not only was I able to expand on my previous skill but I also took a number of new skills and pieces of knowledge forwards into the next briefs with me. 

[evawinget1232]

Canadian Comedy Series “Schitt’s Creek” Completes Historic Sweep at 72nd Emmy Awards

Canadian sitcom Schitt’s Creek has been awarded Best Comedy series award at the 72nd edition of Primetime Emmy Awards in recognition of its outstanding belly tickling situational comedy.The award became a cherry on the top as it completed a historical sweep in all major comedy genre award categories. Most of the cast received a nod with the likes of Eugene Levy, Daniel Levy, Catherine O’Hara, and Annie Murphy all coming out winners in their respective categories. Daniel Levy should have the biggest smile on his face as he heard his name as a winner in writing as well as direction category. The later one he shared with Andrew Cividino with whom he had collaborated in helming the project.

Schitt’s Creek has now written its name in the history books as the first show ever to win every single major award at the Emmys.

The final season ended the journey of the Rose family on a very high note, concluding every character arc on a happy ending. It had received a total of 15 nominations which was three times the number it had received last year. However, it was the first instance when the sitcom was able to bag the biggest award in the comedy genre and with it, it established an imprint of long-lasting legacy.

In 15 nominations, Eugene and O’Hara spearheaded the team in the Lead Actor and Actress category. The mastermind of the show Daniel Levy received the nod in Best Supporting Actor in comedy series with Annie Murphy winning it in Best Actress category, and along with that, it received two nominations in comedy writing and one in comedy directing, comedy casting, non-prosthetic contemporary makeup, contemporary hairstyling, contemporary costumes, editing, and sound mixing.

It was a familiar name in the Creative Arts Awards as well, with the sitcom winning the award in the contemporary series casting during the fourth night of the award ceremony and contemporary costumes award during the fifth (final) night, i.e., on Saturday.

Following on the footsteps of Sofia Vergara and Ty Burrell starrer “Modern Family”, “Schitt’s Creek” became the first family sitcom after internationally renowned HBO series to win the Comedy Series Emmy Award. The former had won it in 2014.

Competing with the winning sitcom were high quality shows such as NBC’s Kristen Bell starrer “Good Place”, Rachel Brosnan starrer Amazon Prime show Marvelous “Mrs Maisel,” an FX show “What We Do in the Shadows,” Larry David starrer HBO show “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and Issa Rae’s show “Insecure” ( also an HBO product).

From Netflix’s side, “Dead to Me” and “The Kominsky Method” were the nominees in the category.  

Schitt’s Creek, though a CBC television product, but all the six seasons of the show can be streamed on Netflix (Unlimited) and Amazon Prime (pay per watch).

It was a weird award show with no audience, and people connecting through video conferencing, but Jimmy Kimmel handled the awkwardness really well with his comedic virtuosity and sensitivity. Disney+ show “The Mandalorian” and HBO shows “Watchmen”, and “Succession” have been some well-deserved winners from Sunday night’s unprecedented award ceremony.

Eva Winget is a Microsoft Office expert and has been working in the technical industry since 2006. As a technical expert, Eva has written technical blogs, manuals, white papers, and reviews for many websites such as 2021directory

SOURCE: Canadian Comedy Series “Schitt’s Creek” Completes Historic Sweep at 72nd Emmy Awards

[dear-jason-goodman]

1-30

Since I just rebloged 3 ask memes and you didn’t say with one I will just answered then all favourite musical overallRentlist your top 10 favourite musicals1. Rent2. Next to normal3. Bare. 4. Dear Evan Hansen 5. American idiot 6. Bandstand 7. Bonnie and Clyde 8. Spring awakening 9. Rocky horror 10. Cinderella favourite musical to listen toAt the current moment bare a pop opera but it always changes favourite musical to watch At the current moment bare but it changes all the time favourite musical you want to see liveDear Evan Hansen next to normal and bare favourite musical you’ve seen liveRent favourite musical you’ve been a part of (or one you want to be a part of if you haven’t participated in any!)I would love to be a part of rent or wicked or phantom doing the makeup for it favourite song from a musicalI can’t pick but season of love it one of them favourite character from a musicalI can’t pick they are all amazing but atm peter or Jason from bare is my favorite buy I love them all favourite actor/actress in a musicalJonah platt Ben platt all fo them literally there is not a actor that I have seen and haven’t fall in love with favourite musical on broadway right nowDear Evan Hansen favourite musical that’s no longer on broadwayRent or next to normal favourite musical that’s never been on broadwayBare a pop opera favourite revival of a musicalCinderella favourite musical that needs to be revivedBonnie and Clyde favourite musical that’s underratedBare a pop opera favourite musical that you’re ashamed to likeNone favourite musical you never talk/blog aboutBeautiful or something rotten favourite musical to talk about with friendsAmerican idiot or what ever they will let me talk about favourite musical for sentimental reasonsRent or Annie or Cinderella favourite musical that means a lot to youRent bare next to normal or dear Evan Hansen favourite musical to sing along toSpring awakening or American idiot favourite lyric from a musicalThis is two hard I quite but the first one that popped in my head was “And I keep on waiting...: Waiting in the rainAnd I keep on hating... All...Hating all the painAnd I keep on trying...Trying to beginAnd I keep on dying...Dying to fit in” for one for bare is one that has been playing though my head for days favourite set from a musicalRent or phantom favourite costumes from a musicalSomething rotten or American idiot because I could love in the costumes for American idiot favourite obc cast of a musicalDeh favourite non-obc cast of a musicalThe movie cast of rent or the touring cast of something rotten favourite female character in a musicalNatalie from next to normal favourite male character in a musicalConnor Murphy-dear Evan Hansen favourite musical to read/write fanfictions forI don’t read or write fan ric 1 - Who was the last person you texted?My group chat 
2 - When is your birthday?News years eve 
3 - Who do you want to be with right now?My friends 
4 - What sports do you play?I don’t play sports 
5 - Who is the first person in your contacts?My brother 
6 - What is your favorite song as of the moment?Are you there for bare a pop opera 
7 - If you were stranded on an island, who do you wish to be with?Ben platt 
8 - What do you feel right now?Very clam and tried 
9 - What chocolate is your favorite?I love milk chocolate 
10 - How many boyfriends/girlfriends did you have?I have had 1 boyfriend 
11 - Why did you create a Tumblr account?Because my friends said Tumblr was cool and I created this musical account because I needed somewhere I could post about shows and just escaped two when life is two much 
12 - Who is your favorite blogger?@pontmarius or @flyawayrachel
13 - Where do you want to be right now?1920’s New York City in December right near Christmas 
14 - What do you want to be in the future?The tony awards in new your city on 20/20 
15 - When was the last time you cried? Why?I cried last night because a show I was watching was sad 
16 - Are you happy?Sometimes 
17 - Who do you miss?People who have left my life 
18 - If you were given a chance, would you like to have a different life?Yes and no. The life I have can be hard and sometimes I hate it but it’s mine if I had a different life some if not all of my problems would still be hear and it wouldn’t be my life it would be someone else. At the end of the day not matter what I have been through or the challenges I ahve face this is my life good and bad so why change that 
19 - What was the best thing you were given?The opportunity to fall in love with something it could be a musical or a person or a food or whatever but the chance to love something with all your heart is a great gift 
20 - Who was the last person who called you?My mom I think 
21 - What is your favorite dish?Asparagus with a lemon butter sauce and tofu 
22 - Who is your bestfriend?My sister or elyse it drew or pont or Rachael 
23 - What is your biggest regret?I don’t believe in regret the mistakes o made are the choices I made even if I think it turned out bad or probably wasn’t the best choice it was mine to make and I have to live with that so why choose to live with regret. I rather choose to live with the lesson I learned so I am better prepared for my future 
24 - Have you ever cheated on your partner?No 
25 - Who do you spend crazy moments with?I don’t think I have any crazy moments but probably my sister 
26 - Name someone pretty.Everyone on earth 
27 - Who was the last person you hugged?Idk probably drew or elyse 
28 - What kind of music do you listen to?All of it 
29 - Are you over your past?Yes and no 
30 - Who is the last person in your contacts?A radio station Favorite scary movieScream or Sweeney Todd Favorite Halloween (not necessarily scary) movie The nightmare before Christmas Favorite Halloween costume I’ve wornEliza Hamilton Halloween costume I want to dress as but haven’t yetMimi form rent My ultimate dream Halloween costumeA very historical accurate Bonnie for Bonnie and Clyde Favorite character from a Halloween movieJack skeleton Favorite spooky novelDon’t have one Favorite scary video gameDon’t have one Favorite classic movie/book monsterDracula Best memory from a past HalloweenMy first Halloween dance was pretty amazing Favorite Autumn drinkHot cocoa Favorite Autumn food/treatIce cream that tastes like pumpkins What I’d love to carve into a pumpkinRent Best pumpkin design I’ve ever carved/plan on carvinI don’t carve pumpkins Do you do anything special for Halloween?I like to watch movies and a chill after I trick or treat but this year is my last year trick or treating Do you enjoy bonfires, or have you ever attended one? I do and I have but like only once Favorite scary story or legendDon’t have one Favorite Halloween candyAll of it Do you like going to Halloween stores?Yes If you do go to Halloween stores, do you buy anything or just look around?Look around I just like to be in the present of Halloween stuff it makes me happy and makes me feel safe and calm If you wear costumes, do you make your own costumes or purchase them? A combo of both I buy things so I can put them together to make my own Have you ever gone to a Haunted House attraction? YYes Have you ever gone to a corn maze?I think How about a pumpkin patch? Yes What did you always wish you could dress up as when you were a kid?A witch I did it like every year Do you ever partake in a nice leaf pile jump?I think once Do you call apples covered in sweets: caramel apples, candy apples, toffee apples, or something else?Caramel apples Tell a spooky campfire story (if you have one)I don’t Do you believe in ghosts? If so, have you ever had an experience?I believe that they exist because why would they because ghost are supposed to be the sprite of people who died two soon and people died two sooon all the time. It I don’t they ghost are evil and I never have encountered one but I think they are out there If you live in a climate where the trees change colors, do you like walking/driving around and looking at them?Yes

[partikle]

on key: twin peaks season 3, episode 7

(First attempt at live-blogging the episode as I stream it.)

1min

Jerry... Is he really scared or really high?

Ben Horne! That’s a brother who is really trying.

Jerry has lost it. And his car.

“Oh, good lord, Jerry,” says Benjamin.

3 min

HAWK & Frank Truman

Laura’s pages about Annie saying Dale Cooper and Laura were in the Lodge!

This IS what the Log Lady wanted you to find, Hawk.

Three of the FOUR PAGES? Of course there’s one page missing.

How did they get in the bathroom door? Good question, Frank.

Hawk thinks Leland hid the pages.

Hawk: “... the one who came out of the Lodge that night was not the Good Cooper.”

Harry is SICK and that is SAD, but TRUMAN -- ASK HIM. ASK HIM. The selfish part of me wants Frank Truman to ask Harry, before he goes. Frank is far more patient and balanced than I am.

8 min

ANDY doing some police work. Kinda sorta. Way to go, Andy!

Has to do with the wiped-down grill of a certain truck.  Say goodbye to that guy who just asked for 2 hours.

9 min

Doc Hayward and Frank Truman SKYPING! Oh, the magic of TP in the modern era.

That’s a fancy computer screen. We’re in the Lodge of the Future. 2001 Forest Odyssey.

DOC HAYWARD!  

Cooper went to intensive care because didn’t he bang his head into -- OH...

First time anyone mentions AUDREY!!! in a COMA!!!! HOLY SHIT. FINALLY we learn she didn’t die immediately following the explosion in the bank.

Are they going to mention Donna?!?

No mention of Donna. I wanted too much too soon. I can wait.

13min

Lt. Knox... Finally back to the prints!

Lt. Knox: There’s a body?

Where’s the rest of him? haha

Oooh. YES. Who is this person walking down the hallway? Spooky spooky spooky person. Holy FUCK! Who is that scary person? And the reverb in the background? Yikes. That person was kinda nasty. Is it the Ghose being we saw in the jail cell earlier? We’re still in Buckhorn. Who could that be?

17min

Gordon Cole is whistling in front of a Nuclear Explosion. Looks kinda phallic?

Albert

Diane -- seeing Cooper, ‘No fucking way.’ She must have felt abandoned by him.

“Say please, Albert.” That’s all Albert wants, is to be treated decently. I adore Albert.

LOL. Oh you want personal? Fuck you, too, Albert.

I love Diane’s mid-century interior design.

Damn Good Coffee. No shit.

Okay on a flight to South Dakota where Bad Cooper is being held. Last two thirds of the season and we’re moving now.  This is really coming together.

Fuck you, Albert #2. Love it.

Tamara Preston -- good to see she’s still hanging on!

A Girl from Ipanima? That seems a little on the nose or trying too hard to be clever. That’s almost too well-known enough reference. But the point is Bad Coop lived in Rio.

Ha! “Fuck you, Tammy.”

Bad Cooper’s black eyes are dead.

Bob as Cooper perhaps violated her or something.

I feel that Laura Dern is overacting. Something about her performance that is off. She was attacked in some way, for sure. But still it feels off or not enough.

Warden Murphy and a strawberry.  What’s the threat. I bet we never know. Irrelevant to the overall story.

30min

Andy is actually doing some policing! Hate to sound patronizing, but it’s true.

Audrey must be coming in Episode 9.

Warden Murphy

Joel McClusky? Okay, new complications.

Dog legs were sent with some info.

Mr Strawberry?

34min

Dougie & Janie-E and a LV police detective group of three.

40:20min

Just as I thought -- Coop’s instincts will kick in.

Ike the Spike. See ya, though probably not the last we hear of him.

Perhaps television coverage will broadcast Good Coop

Ew, what is that piece of a hand on the gun? This show is fucking great.

42:44min

Audible element? It’s wind from a portion of the hallway. From the secret passageway!

44:24min

Room 315: Room where Agent Cooper was shot.

46m

Oooh, Ben is working it.

48m

Holy Shit! Who Is This? He’s sick? I don’t know this guy. He’s sick and depressed.

Thought it was Harry Truman. Nut no. Then I thought it was Leo. But no, it’s Tom. Woah. Ashley Judd is UPSET. UNHAPPY.

49m

Song

This song plays on the conference call line at my office. Often. Mixes in with about 8 songs -- One Beatles Song, one Frank Sinatra song, etc. Sparingly but this does play.  

Sweeping the floor at the Road House. Counter programming to the sleek bands.  Jacques Renault!!! I thought he was killed. I thought LeLand killed them. This HAS to be a dream. What? Glad he’s back as a character.

53m

Bullshit. Bad Cooper is OUT.

54 min

Bing?  Who is Bing? Double-R is off the hook!

57 min

Love how the music gets eery at the end, and then just like a cherry on top, we are blessed with Heidi’s giggle.

58min

In memory of Warren Frost.