Art| FVCKRENDER Unveils New Solo Exhibit "Ascend" at Frieze New York
For Frieze New York, contemporary artist FVCKRENDER heads to the big apple to debut his solo art show dubbed “Ascend” hosted by pop culture critic Carlo McCormick.
Ascend contributes significantly to forging forward into a new era of art and artists. The exhibit is a collection dedicated to the meshing of physical and digital artworks which are intended to make a statement for independence &…
Believe it or not, I do have interests outside of the One Chicago & Grey's Anatomy fandoms lol One of my favorite pastimes is reading. I usually have an old-fashioned "tree" book in hand. I adore the written word. Fiction is my jam. Escaping into a fantasy world where anything is possible feels amazing!
I thought every once in a while, I'd share my thoughts about the books I'm reading. Please feel free to chime in with your opinions as well. I'd love to hear about your own favorite books. Oh, and send me some recs if you can!
I have read 16 total novels in the month of December. I am pretty sure I won't finish any more before the year is up but here is the first of two lists with a few thoughts on each book. Thanks for checking out this post & come back soon please for Part 2.
Dread on Arrival
I've read 2 or 3 other books in this series, and not one of them has impressed me. Like, at all. But this one was by far the worst of the bunch. The plot was terrible. There were about 200 hundred characters to try to remember, and if it was supposed to be a murder mystery, where was the damned murder, huh? It didn't happen until almost 70% through the book and the denouement was shoddily wrapped up. The best part about this book? Finishing it! I will not be reading anymore Claudia Bishop books from here on out.
Mary Anne's Bad-Luck Mystery
So, I have a little confession to make. I am an incurable "Baby-sitters Club" addict. There is no fix for me. I am hopeless as I am way past my tween years but still reading these books with no end in sight. My dream is to be Ann M. Martin and invent a series with characters as iconic and amazing as Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and the rest of the gang. I mean, if only...
But I digress. We're here to talk about Mary Anne and her Bad Luck. This was actually one of the rare books I'd never read before and while I enjoyed it for the most part, I thought it paled in comparison to the epic spookiness of The Ghost at Dawn's House (book # 9). That book had meat and depth & moved important story forward. This was pretty silly, and kind of felt like a whole lot of something about nothing. But hey, not every book needs to be deep and heavy like War and Peace, right?
Author Day
Speaking of Ann M. Martin, it was only about a year ago that I learned she wrote a spin-off series to the "Baby-sitters Club Little Sister" series called “The Kids in Ms. Colman's Class”. (Color me shocked that I did not know everything about my bookish idol lol) This was a very short-lived series. I think it has maybe 12 or 13 books and it follows (as the series title suggests) the kids in Ms. Colman’s class. They are the fellow classmates of the precocious Karen Brewer who is Kristy Thomas’s stepsister (Kristy is, as most people know, the founder & president of the BSC).
The series is very pedestrian, very dry, and pretty darn generic. I honestly wonder if Ann even really wrote it herself, or if one of her ghostwriters did. It’s full of lazy storytelling. The plot of this one is so thin, it’s almost invisible. I honestly only gave it 3 stars out of loyalty to the BSC franchise. I know. Bad me, bad me. I can see why the series did not take off. Ann (or her ghostwriter, or whomever) did not even try to give these kids unique personalities. It’s a shame too because it could have been a cool concept for the pre-tween crowd of the 90's.
The Mystery at Lilac Inn
Ahh my Nancy Drew. Now there’s another series I really like & grew up with. Nancy is such a cool character, always so quick on her feet and ready to tackle any mystery that comes her way. I also like that she’s truly sympathetic to the hardships that befall the misfortunate in these books & always willing to make things right for the people the best way she knows how. If Ann M. Martin is my real-life bookish idol, then Ms. Drew is my fictional one. Oh, to be like that fearless titan blonde snoop!
This book in particular was pretty exciting to read. Our pal Nancy got into some big trouble. There were some vicious baddies, including a Nancy doppelganger! There was danger galore. Sweet Helen Corning (my favorite of Nancy’s sidekicks) was around. I was a pretty happy camper. A solid read for sure.
The Family Remains
This is the follow-up to the hit bestseller The Family Upstairs. I was hypnotized by that book. It had me on the edge of my seat, furiously turning pages, excited to see what would come next. This book? Not so much. It wasn't bad. Not at all. But I felt Jewell tried too hard to 1) preach to her readers & 2) wrap things up in a neat little bow, thus forsaking a lot of excitement and drama in the process. Truthfully, I read psychological thrillers for well, the thrill, and for the insanity of it all, and there wasn't a ton of either here. It was kind of a letdown and I'm wondering if Jewell should have left well enough alone with just the one book. Not every loose end needs to be tied up. In real life, things stay tangled sometimes.
Stacey’s Mistake
Another day, another BSC read, but honestly, I didn’t enjoy this one very much, to be honest. I am not a big fan of the books where the girls have their feet on each other’s necks, and that was certainly the case here pretty much from beginning to nearly the end. Obviously, teen girls are gunna teen girl, & fight. That’s a given, but they get so mean about it, you gotta wonder why they even hang out sometimes. Plus, I found some of the characterizations off. Confidant, self-assured Cali girl Dawn suddenly was scared of her own shadow? Did not compute. It was just a weird book all around. Again, I rated it a 3 simply out of loyalty to the BSC franchise, but it’s far from my fave book in the series.
Spirit of the Season
I read a review from someone that said this was the “worst book ever written”. While I can’t totally agree (that dubious “honor” actually belongs to the 50 Shades books *sorry Christian Grey fans!*), it is pretty bad. What do you call a Christmas tale without charm, warmth, whimsy, humor, or joy? Crap. Spirit of the Season was utter crap! Sticky crap oozing on the sidewalk. I think I’ve read Michaels before. She was never Shakespeare, but she wasn’t bad… Was she?
The main character in this was so selfish and rude. The way she kept verbally attacking the help at her late grandmother’s bed and breakfast was awful. And they’d forgive her simply because of her stress and “low blood sugar”. Like, no, no. Girl’s a beeyotch, that doesn’t fly with me. There was zero romantic chemistry between her and her new beau. Their insta-love was pathetic. I enjoy a good romance like nobody’s business, but this wasn't it. So, if you’re looking for a holiday read next year, do yourself a favor and don't pick up this one!
Cut
How do you rate a book like Cut? It’s such an important topic. I read the writer spent something like 3 years researching the topic before she wrote it. That's a serious commitment. This was short, almost too short, but still powerful with a fairly hopeful ending. Maybe too hopeful. Do things ever wrap up that easily in real life? Still, the prose was sparse and strong. While it was not quite on the level of a book like Speak (though that also has a too-convenient ending), it was still very readable and relatable. I would recommend it to all teens.
And that's it for now, folks. I will have the second & final part of my December book reviews up in a few days. Thanks for checking this out!
I accidentally watched the German dub of South Park a few days ago, and like, it's not even that bad (some of the translation work is actually pretty great IMO), but I still can't stand it. Reason? Well... It's because the direction is often very strange (Example) and the VAs they chose don't really capture the characters IMO – particularly that they are kids. The latter is especially baffling to me since they absolutely nailed it in the German version of the opening (funfact, those entire opening lyrics were done by one person).
However, as with everything, there is one exception to this and in this case, it's Kenny McCormick. He is the only one of the boys, not just in the main cast but the entire school (at least since Season 5), who is voiced by a female actor in German. Sabine Bohlmann, said actress, might actually be my absolute favorite voice for Kenny, hands down. Not only does she manage to make him sound like a ten-year-old, her delivery is also stellar. Two personal highlights:
In The Scoots (German: Die Roller), when Kenny is at the councelor's office to ask what he should do since it's Halloween and he doesn't have a phone to operate the eScooters, Bohlmann makes him genuinely sound like he is going to cry in German.
In Poor and Stupid (German: Arm aber Dämlich), when Kenny tries to bring a sniper rifle to the NASCAR race and it gets conficated by security, he shouts "Fick dich ins Knie, Mann!" (Go fuck yourself into the knee, man) in German. Bohlmann's delivery on the line is absolute perfection with just the right amount of anger to make it sound extremely believable and like a spontanous reaction.
Bonus: some of Sabine Bohlmann's other well-known roles (because I love looking that stuff up) include Sailor Moon, Lisa Simpson and Pikachu.
23 Republican Senators & 124 Congressmen signed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court asking for a 50 state ban on mifepristone, a drug safer than tylenol that is standard treatment for abortion & miscarriages, "due to safety concerns".
The brief DARES to argue that banning the life saving drug would save women from 'reproductive control'. (x)
These 147 people would rather have women die of sepsis than let women control their own bodies. If your representatives are on this list, call them and tell their office you will be voting against them in the next election because they asked SCOTUS to throw the US medical drug system into chaos at the cost of American lives.
United States Senate
Lead Senator: Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS)
John Barrasso (WY)
Mike Braun (IN)
Katie Britt (AL)
Ted Budd (NC)
Bill Cassidy (LA)
Kevin Cramer (ND)
Mike Crapo (ID)
Ted Cruz (TX)
Steve Daines (MT)
Josh Hawley (MO)
John Hoeven (ND)
James Lankford (OK)
Mike Lee (UT)
Cynthia Lummis (WY)
Roger Marshall (KS)
Markwayne Mullin (OK)
James Risch (ID)
Marco Rubio (FL)
Rich Scott (FL)
John Thune (SD)
Tommy Tuberville (AL)
Roger Wicker (MS)
United States House of Representatives
Lead Representative: August Pfluger (TX–11)
Robert Aderholt (AL–04)
Mark Alford (MO–04)
Rick Allen (GA–12)
Jodey Arrington (TX–19)
Brian Babin (TX–36)
Troy Balderson (OH–12)
Jim Banks (IN–03)
Aaron Bean (FL–04)
Cliff Bentz (OR–02)
Jack Bergman (MI–01)
Andy Biggs (AZ–05)
Gus Bilirakis (FL–12)
Dan Bishop (NC–08)
Lauren Boebert (CO–03)
Mike Bost (IL–12)
Josh Brecheen (OK–02)
Ken Buck (CO–04)
Tim Burchett (TN–02)
Michael Burgess, M.D. (TX–26)
Eric Burlison (MO–07)
Kat Cammack (FL–03)
Mike Carey (OH–15)
Jerry Carl (AL–01)
Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (GA–01)
John Carter (TX–31)
Ben Cline (VA–06)
Michael Cloud (TX–27)
Andrew Clyde (GA–09)
Mike Collins (GA–10)
Elijah Crane (AZ–02)
Eric A. “Rick” Crawford (AR–01)
John Curtis (UT–03)
Warren Davidson (OH–08)
Monica De La Cruz (TX–15)
Jeff Duncan (SC–03)
Jake Ellzey (TX–06)
Ron Estes (KS–04)
Mike Ezell (MS–04)
Pat Fallon (TX–04)
Randy Feenstra (IA–04)
Brad Finstad (MN–01)
Michelle Fischbach (MN–07)
Scott Fitzgerald (WI–05)
Mike Flood (NE–01)
Virginia Foxx (NC–05)
Scott Franklin (FL–18)
Russell Fry (SC–07)
Russ Fulcher (ID–01)
Tony Gonzales (TX–23)
Bob Good (VA–05)
Paul Gosar (AZ–09)
Garret Graves (LA–06)
Mark Green (TN–07)
Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA–14)
H. Morgan Griffith (VA–09)
Glenn Grothman (WI–06)
Michael Guest (MS–03)
Harriet Hageman (WY)
Andy Harris, M.D. (MD–01)
Diana Harshbarger (TN–01)
Kevin Hern (OK–01)
Clay Higgins (LA–03)
Ashley Hinson (IA–02)
Erin Houchin (IN–02)
Richard Hudson (NC–09)
Bill Huizenga (MI–04)
Bill Johnson (OH–06)
Mike Johnson (LA–04)
Jim Jordan (OH–04)
Mike Kelly (PA–16)
Trent Kelly (MS–01)
Doug LaMalfa (CA–01)
Doug Lamborn (CO–05)
Nicholas Langworthy (NY–23)
Jake LaTurner (KS–02)
Debbie Lesko (AZ–08)
Barry Loudermilk (GA–11)
Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO–03)
Tracey Mann (KS–01)
Lisa McClain (MI–09)
Dr. Rich McCormick (GA–06)
Patrick McHenry (NC–10)
Carol Miller (WV–01)
Mary Miller (IL–15)
Max Miller (OH–07)
Cory Mills (FL–07)
John Moolenar (MI–02)
Alex X. Mooney (WV–02)
Barry Moore (AL–02)
Blake Moore (UT–01)
Gregory F. Murphy, M.D. (NC–03)
Troy Nehls (TX–22)
Ralph Norman (SC–05)
Andy Ogles (TN–05)
Gary Palmer (AL–06)
Bill Posey (FL–08)
Guy Reschenthaler (PA–14)
Mike Rogers (AL–03)
John Rose (TN–06)
Matthew Rosendale, Sr. (MT–02)
David Rouzer (NC–07)
Steve Scalise (LA–01)
Keith Self (TX–03)
Pete Sessions (TX–17)
Adrian Smith (NE–03)
Christopher H. Smith (NJ–04)
Lloyd Smucker (PA–11)
Pete Stauber (MN–08)
Elise Stefanik (NY–21)
Dale Strong (AL–05)
Claudia Tenney (NY–24)
Glenn Thompson (PA–15)
William Timmons, IV (SC–04)
Beth Van Duyne (TX–24)
Tim Walberg (MI–05)
Michael Waltz (FL–05)
Randy Weber, Sr. (TX–14)
Daniel Webster (FL–11)
Brad R. Wenstrup, D.P.M. (OH–02)
Bruce Westerman (AR–04)
Roger Williams (TX–25)
Joe Wilson (SC–02)
Rudy Yakym (IN–02)
If your representatives are on this list, call them and tell their office you will be voting against them in the next election because they asked SCOTUS to throw the US medical drug system into chaos at the cost of American lives.
Help to patients who have to cross state lines to get medical care by donating to your local abortion fund here. (x)
It's announced that Consumer Advocate Lisa McCormick is issuing a call to the U.S. Department of Justice against WBD CEO David Zaslav over the shelving of Coyote vs ACME. Thoughts on how Zaslav may finally face legal consequences for how he treated Coyote vs ACME?
I've heard this song before so we'll have to see. This is the second time someone's called for someone to do something... but something NEEDS to happen as what Zaslav's doing feels sketchy as fuck and really SHOUDLN'T be legal or at hte very least shouldn't be THIS easy to do.
I know it's not Christmas but this edit is for these who Lost their lives in 2020 2021 2022 2023 and 2024 Semina Mary Halliwell, Ava Jordan Wood, Aubreigh Paige Wyatt, Tristyn Bailey, Lily, Rylee, Nati, Ava Martin White, Lily Rose Diaz, Riley Faith Steep, Rylie Nicholls, Moa Leontine Björk, Lucy Morgan, Sloan Mattingly, Audrii Cunningham, Rylee Jade Hatlen,Kayla Jade Tankersley, Kaylee Jade Goncalves, Madison May “Maddie” Mogen, Ethan James Chapin, Xana Alexia Kernodle, Athena Presley Monroe Strand, Athena Alexandria Brownfield, Destiny Arianna Kay Riekeberg, Alice da Silva Aguiar,Elsie Dot Stancombe, Raegan Elizabeth Mize, Ayla Grace Slivka, June Dallas Peden-Stade, Calleigh Jean Cairns, Aaliyah Georgia “Ali” McCormick, Charlotte Figi, Robb Elementary School Victims, Vladislav Ribnikar Model Elementary School Victims, The Covenant School Victims, Ahmir Jolliff, Sidra Hassouna and her family, Lisa Loring, Bob Saget, Betty White, Tom Sizemore, Ray Liotta, Lance Reddick, Kenny Rogers, BeBe King, Emily Grace Jones, Terry Funk, Bray Wyatt, Bob Barker, Michael Gambon, Robbie Coltrane, Kambria "Kam" Charlotte Grenfell, Jordyn Mika Chan, Lee Williams, Bishop Rance Allen, Aleyah Rayne O'Brien, Madeline "Maddy" Suy, Everly Mae Settlemyer, John Aprea, Phil Donahue, Tyler Christopher, Billy Miller, Johnny Wactor, Young Dolph, Paul Beasley, James Caan, Donald Sutherland, rest in peace in heaven angels
Discussing the 2022Psychological Horror Thriller Film : eXploited
Starring : Jordan Ver Hoeve, Andrew Matthew Welch, Makenzie Vega,
Hannah Rose May, Will Peltz, Spencer List, Colin Bates, Leah Pipes,
Sierra McCormick, Lisa Thornhill
Director : Jon Abrahams
Writer : Carl Moellenberg, Anthony Del Negro
My Score 8.5/10
IMDB : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10503988/
Trailer : • Exploited - Official Trailer
My IMDB : https://www.imdb.com/user/ur48636572
My Letterboxed : https://letterboxd.com/Redrusty66/
My Poetry : https://allpoetry.com/Redrusty66
These are the brands I’m wearing most and enjoying the most right now: I use their catalogues for inspiration and often I try to buy secondhand or recreate a piece myself, since a lot of these brands are expensive and difficult to find in the UK/Europe. I also don’t limit myself to these brands, I wear a lot of vintage and a lot of homemade or charity-shop pieces, but these are the brands I’ve been searching first when I want something new for the summer.
Think of the Disney+ DVS track for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and the emotion of the one for Monsters, Inc. For more instructions, be sure to read the Ultimate Guide to Audio Description on u3playmedia.com.
Narrator: Leilani Jones-Wilmore (The Nightmare Before Christmas, the Monsters, Inc. duology, the Finding Nemo duology, Shrek 2, the Cars trilogy, the High School Musical trilogy, Ratatouille, Cars Toons: Mater’s Tall Tales, Up, The Princess and the Frog, Alice in Wonderland (2010), Toy Story 3, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, The Social Network, Gnomeo and Juliet, Brave, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, The Radiator Springs 500 1/2, Annie (2014), Inside Out, The Good Dinosaur, Despicable Me 3, The Boss Baby: Family Business, Sing 2, Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Trolls Band Together)
Credit rolls (Mistral arc)
Here’s a demonstration (sped up because the normal speed is over three minutes long)
Volume 4
Created by
Monty Oum
Directed by
Kerry Shawcross
Co-Directors
Gray G. Haddock
Miles Luna
Story by
Miles Luna
Monty Oum
Kerry Shawcross
Written by
Miles Luna
Kerry Shawcross
Executive Producers
Burnie Burns
Matt Hullum
Supervising Producer
Gray G. Haddock
Producer
Koen Wooten
Post Production Producer
Chrysta Hiser
Technical Producer
Sean Murphy
Assistant Producer of Pre-Production
Nick Todd
Assistant Producer of Animation
Luis “Paco” Vazquez
Starring the voices of
Lindsay Jones as Ruby Rose
Kara Eberle as Weiss Schnee
Arryn Zech as Blake Belladonna
Barbara Dunkelman as Yang Xiao Long
———————————————————————————
Jessica Nigri as Cinder Fall
Christopher Sabat as Arthur Watts
Josh Grelle as Tyrian Callows
Jen Taylor as Salem
William Orendorff as Hazel Rainart
Katie Newville as Emerald Sustrai
Samantha Ireland as Nora Valkyrie
Neath Oum as Lie Ren
Miles Luna as Jaune Arc
Mike McFarland as Mayor
Chris Guerrero as Blacksmith
J. Michael Tatum as Klein Sieben
Howard Wang as Whitley Schnee
Jen Brown as Pyrrha Nikos
Alejandro Saab as Dying Huntsman
Jason Douglas as Jacques Schnee
Jason Rose as James Ironwood
Bruce Carey as Captain
Tyler Coe as Reporter 01
Amber Lee Connors as Reporter 02
Jason Douglas as Reporter 03
Jen Brown as Lisa Lavender
Burnie Burns as Taiyang Xiao Long
Yunhao Zhang as Crew Member 01
Kendra Ziegler as First Mate
Michael Jones as Sun Wukong
Chris Kokkinos as Crew Member 02
Aaron Dismuke as Oscar Pine
Shannon McCormick as Professor Ozpin
Marissa Lenti as Oscar’s Aunt
Ryan Haywood as Peter Port
Joel Heyman as Bartholomew Oobleck
Vic Mignogna as Qrow Branwen
Kim Newman as Higanbana Waitress
Anna Hullum as Raven Branwen
Tara Platt as Kali Belladonna
Kent Williams as Ghira Belladonna
Derek Mears as Corsac Albain
Mike McFarland as Fennec Albain
Scott Frerichs as Businessman
Amber Lee Connors as Businesswoman
Alejandro Saab as Henry Marigold
Nick Landis as Angry Businessman
Kyler Smith as Waiter
Felicia Angelle as Trophy Wife
Chris Kokkinos as Husband
Cherami Leigh Kuehn as Ilia Amitola
Dawn M. Bennett as An Ren
Apphia Yu as Young Ren
Connor Pickens as Young Blacksmith
Scott Frerichs as Tall Boy
Marissa Lenti as Short Boy
Amber Lee Connors as Medium Boy
Kaiji Tang as Li Ren
Kristen McGuire as Young Nora
Stan Lewis as Mistral Pilot
Richard Norman as Atlas Pilot
Alena Lecorchick as Train Announcer
Music
“Let’s Just Live”
Lead vocals by Casey Lee Williams
Lyrics and music written by Jeff Williams
Performed, produced and mixed by Jeff Williams
“Like Morning Follows Night”
Lead vocals by Jeff Williams and Casey Lee Williams
This piece of media has been described by the Media Access Group at WGBH with funding from Rooster Teeth Productions and Viz Media, read by Leilani Jones-Wilmore. For more information about motion picture access, visit our website at access.wgbh.org.
This piece of media has been described by the Media Access Group at WGBH with funding from Rooster Teeth Productions and Viz Media, read by Leilani Jones-Wilmore. For more information about motion picture access, visit our website at access.wgbh.org.
This piece of media has been described by the Media Access Group at WGBH with funding from Rooster Teeth Productions and Viz Media, read by Leilani Jones-Wilmore. For more information about motion picture access, visit our website at access.wgbh.org.