#not included is 'all too well' and 'deliver us' from the prince of egypt sound track that i listened to at least 50 times

[agentmmayy]

september rotation

this was an interesting month for music! i didn’t discover as many new songs as i usually do or typically put on here, but these are my top picks for the month 

mushroom punch - zella day: zella day is on the fast track to be coming my new favorite artist bc this is a banger that’s equally as arresting as radio silence. just as punchy as the title suggests. it begs to be sung along to  

cyclone - maude lateur: the beat!!!!!!!!! absolutely a sad twerking song. it’s about realizing the self-destruction of past relationships with the beautiful comparison to a hurricane (...to soon?) it includes the build-up to expecting a disaster and the excitement buried beneath fear it incites and the heart-breaking devastation that follows

take off - prinze george: i’ve had this song stuck in my head for days and for good reason. ABSOLUTE banger. it’s selfish and greedy and all consuming in the way love is sometimes 

close to you - the wildlife: @majicmarker introduced me to this song and i haven’t recovered since. it has me down SO BAD i’m writing a whole ass fic. the eddissy vibes are off the charts and the lyrics ‘push your hands against the wall, kissing in the bathroom stall’ produced a very whoreish reaction from me ngl

lonely - ladyhawke: the yearning here... coupled with the haunting and harrowing vocals... contrasting the hopeful tone with the “hopeless” “other” in the song... the repetition of ‘run’ and ‘running’... all accumulates into this heavyhearted masterpiece that has me laying in bed and crying to. also the cover art fucks

graduating - nell mescal: oh this song... whew. it’s bittersweet. i know i describe a lot of songs on here as melancholic but this fits it to a tee. it’s also angry and hurting. like poking at a fresh bruise or an open wound. you want to heal but can’t do that without aggravating the pain, whether purposefully or not 

i wanna - ella jane: back again with the yearning! i had to google what the artist says about this song and she describes it as coming from being fed up with being single and admitting to wanting to be in love as such a vulnerable and honest and even embarrassing place and describes the chorus as “empowering” which i completely agree with. 

i WILL, however, debate with the interviewer of the article where they say the song “felt like they were in a coming-of-age film.” i wouldn’t definitively categorize this song as “coming-of-age” though i can see how it can be seen as such. it’s just not letting it live to its full potential. it’s a disservice. falling in love or realizing you want to be in love and be in a relationship isn’t limited to the ages between childhood/adolescence/adulthood. love can be found at any age! BUT i am also not trying to make this song inaccessible to people who are at that age (since ella jane is a young adult and wrote this song recently) and could benefit from hearing it

coolest fucking bitch in town - haley blais: already poured out the majority of my thoughts on this song to @152glasslippers whose tags introduced me to it and WOW. mind = blown. it’s nothing like i expected from the title and openly admit i was humbled right from the start. it’s soft yet still unapologetic and cathartic. i’ve been thinking about those trumpets ever since yesterday

[serene-faerie]

21st Anniversary of The Prince of Egypt

To think this movie is already 21 years old (fun fact, this movie came out the date before my birthday, in the year after my birth), and it’s such a beautiful masterpiece!

To celebrate, here’s a list of my favourite moments in no particular order:

1) Deliver Us- This song is perhaps my most favourite song in the whole movie. It’s epic, bitter, and the music is so rhythmic as it captures the suffering of the Hebrews and sets the tone for the rest of the film. There’s also the brief glimmer of hope it offers when baby Moses is found by Queen Tuya, who immediately takes him in after being completely charmed by his adorableness, and Miriam’s lovely reprise of Yocheved’s River Lullaby. And of course, we cannot forget Ofra Haza’s amazing vocals as Yocheved, especially with how she sings in Hebrew in her introduction. She had such a divine voice, and she shall be missed forever. 

2) The Plagues- Of course, this song will also be one of my favourites as well. The emotion in the music, the way the choir sounds so intimidating as they sing lines like “I send the thunder from the sky, I send the fire raining down”, it truly conveys God’s wrath, all while underscoring the turbulent emotional conflict between Moses and Rameses. Hearing the pain in Moses’ voice as he’s forced to watch the Egyptians suffer, and hearing the bitter anger in Rameses’ voice as he remains stubborn to Moses’ pleading... this song is truly a masterpiece. It also really shows how human Moses is. The Old Testament never really shows Moses feeling any remorse for the suffering that the Egyptians go through, but this movie makes Moses so human, so much more real, and shows how he still cares about Egypt, even as he’s trying to free his people.

3) The Return to Egypt- I love the music that plays during Moses and Tzipporah’s journey back to Egypt, especially with the additions of Ofra Haza’s beautiful vocals that underscore the suffering of the Hebrew slaves. And that determined, serious expression on Moses’ face as they near the palace just makes him look so badass, especially when he and Tzipporah enter the palace and make their way to the Pharaoh. I especially loved the festive undercurrent of that particular section of the soundtrack, with Moses and Tzipporah walking with determination into the great hall as the people look at them in surprise and suspicion, all while the dancers are dancing before the Pharaoh. It’s quite a phenomenal scene, really heightening the tension to reveal the Pharaoh upon the throne as Rameses, upon which the music ends. It’s such a determined, badass scene that I just had to include it here.

4) Look Through Heaven’s Eyes- After Moses has lost everything he’s ever known, after his entire life has been destroyed, he feels so unworthy of honour and praise. But with Jethro’s patience and kindness, the help of the Midianites, and the support of Tzipporah, Moses rebuilds a brand new life for himself as a shepherd. It’s such an uplifting song with beautiful lyrics that encourages us to look at our lives in a different perspective, that we all have meaning within us, we just have to find it. And really, it’s so wonderful to see how Moses learns and adapts to a new way of living, how he makes new friends, and of course, how blissful and happy he is after marrying Tzipporah. Plus, seeing Moses and Tzipporah falling in love is super sweet. Ultimately, it’s a song that I’ve now taken to heart, and will remember if I’m ever stuck in a rut.

5) The Burning Bush- Who can ever forget this scene, when Moses meets God? Oh my gosh, it is such an amazingly powerful scene; from the wistful music that plays when Moses discovers the burning bush to the way the bush flowers after God speaks to Moses... I really have to hand it to the filmmakers; they’ve successfully managed to capture the powerful and almighty presence of God. I love how God chastises Moses for questioning Him, then immediately comforts Moses like a loving parent, promising him that He will be there with him, just like any parent would say. It truly is a wonderful, amazing scene that’ll always leave me breathless. Also worth mentioning is the moment before, when Moses gives Tzipporah a kiss in the morning, and after the scene, when he picks Tzipporah up and twirls her around a bit. It’s so sweet and touching to watch, and they’re just so believable as a married couple!

6) The Hieroglyph Nightmare- Despite how dark and horrifying the whole nightmare sequence is, I really love the animation in that scene. Seeing the events of the beginning from Moses’ perspective in the style of hieroglyph paintings is really impressive, but it’s also so chilling to actually see the soldiers tearing babies from their cradles, from their mothers’ arms, all while such terrifying music plays in the background. Every time I watch that scene, I get chills down my spine when I hear the screaming of the mothers and babies that underscores the scene, and then Moses seeing his biological mother sending him as an infant in the basket always pulls at my heart. And the inclusion of the sun disk, Aten, is quite a clever way of showing that God sent Moses the nightmare in a way he understands.

7) The Chariot Race/Moses and Rameses’ Bond- Honestly, this is what really made me love this movie’s portrayal of Moses. As someone who studied the Old Testament in high school, this scene really offers a unique, refreshing portrayal of a Biblical character. I haven’t seen too many Biblical movies, but most of the time, Moses has always been portrayed as old and serious, especially when he returns to free the Hebrews. Seeing Moses portrayed as young, handsome, mischievous, and playful really makes him so much more human, especially when we see how close he and Rameses are. This movie shows that Moses has fond memories of his upbringing in Egypt, and that he truly loves and cares about Rameses, which makes it so much more painful when he’s forced to be enemies with his adoptive brother. And his close bond with Rameses is truly one of the sweetest parts of this movie, especially when Rameses bear-hugs Moses in front of the entire court, which makes the gradual destruction of their brotherhood all the more tragic.

8) The Parting of the Red Sea- Apparently, it took the animators two years to do this scene, and it really shows. It’s so epic and gorgeous to watch, and the passage of the Hebrews through the partition was so amazing. I love how we saw the whale shark being illuminated through one of the walls of water; it truly adds to how majestic this whole scene is. On an emotional level, seeing Aaron being the first one to encourage the Hebrews to cross, and putting his faith in Moses, it’s quite a touching moment. And on a nightmare-fuel level, watching the walls of water collapse and drown all the Egyptian soldiers while pushing Rameses back to the shore is truly terrifying. Honestly, this is another scene that really shows God’s wrath and cruel mercy, and will always chill me whenever I watch it. It truly is a spectacular, sublime moment in this movie.

9) When You Believe- This song is truly a beautiful, touching piece of music, with incredibly uplifting lyrics, and for it to come after one of the most darkest and saddest moments in the movie, I find it quite fitting, actually. Despite the fact that Moses has officially lost Rameses for good, he’s finally succeeded in freeing his people, even though it has come at a heavy price. While Rameses giving Moses permission to leave Egypt with his people was such a bleak and despairing moment, this song offers a glimmer of hope in the darkness. In addition, the children singing “Mi Chamocha” was so sweet, especially as we see how the Hebrews gradually become more cheerful once they realize that they’re free for real. It goes from being sorrowful and tentatively hopeful to triumphant and optimistic, and it’s such a beautiful scene to watch. And of course, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey’s version is truly the best as well.

10) Playing With The Big Boys- This song is quite a scary song, but it’s just such a cool scene to watch as well. I love the rhythmic invocation of the Egyptian pantheon, especially with how ominous the music is. But I also love how it shows a sharp contrast between how Moses invokes the power of God and how the priests invoke the power of their gods. Moses didn’t need any theatrics or magic tricks to turn his staff into a snake, while the priests literally use smoke and mirrors and elaborate rituals to turn their staffs into snakes. And the fact that the song ends with their snakes being consumed by the snake from Moses’ staff really foreshadows just who ends up winning in the long run, making it quite a good song. And plus, I also like to read the YouTube comments on this particular song, they’re just hilarious.

And those are my top moments of The Prince of Egypt. Of course, it’s an incomplete list, but this is all in no particular order, since I just love the whole movie so much. So happy anniversary to this beautiful, wonderful movie!

[cuddlycharizard]

Prince of Egypt appreciation post

Ok so with the release of httyd 3 I want to talk about my favourite dreamworks movie of all time, the Prince of Egypt.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore the httyd franchise and 1 + 2 come as close seconds (not seen 3 yet) but the Prince of Egypt is a masterpiece that really does not get the love it deserves.

So let’s start with a bit of background.

The Prince of Egypt came out in 1998, and was dreamworks’ second movie (it would have been first if they didn’t bring Antz forward to try and compete with Bug’s life).

The Prince of Egypt has an incredible voice cast including Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes (Aka Voldemort), Sandra Bullock, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steve Martin, Jeff Goldblum, Patrick Stewart and Helen Mirram (whew, that’s a lot of people).

This movie did very well at the box office and one of its songs - “When you believe”- actually won an Oscar for best song.

But since then it has just kind of been forgotten. I’m not really sure why, but this seems to be unfortunately the case for many of dreamwork’s other hand drawn treasures such as “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron” and “The Road to El Dorado.” (I would also highly recommended both of these movies).

Now onto the movie

Ok, these first words may put a lot of people off, bear with me.

It’s the story of Moses.

I know what many of you are probably thinking, it’s a religious movie, an automatic turn off for many but the Prince of Egypt isn’t like most religious movies. Rather than focusing the story on God and pushing a religious agenda, the story is largely focused on the relationship between Moses (Val Kilmer) and his adopted brother Rameses (Ralph Fiennes) and this movie doesn’t shy away from any of the awful things that happen in the bible story to try and portray God in a better light either, people die in this movie, lots of them, many of them due to God’s wrath.

If you don’t know the story, a mother sends her baby away down the river to protect him from the cull of Israelite babies that the pharaoh has ordered, the baby is found by the queen and is named Moses. Moses grows up, unaware of his past, being raised alongside Rameses, the Pharoh’s biological son and heir. Moses finds out about his past and events lead him to run away into the desert before eventually being told by God that he must go back to Egypt to free the Israelites from slavery.

If the plot sounds similar, it should, this story was one of the inspirations behind the story of The Lion King (besides Hamlet obviously).

I admit as a child, I never really appreciated this movie, the themes were to adult for me to fully understand and went completely over my head so I prettymuch forgot about it. But a chance rewatch changed that view completely. (Basically the same thing happened for me with Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame - I might do a seperate post on this movie at a later date). So let’s have a look into what makes this movie so great.

The animation is phenomenal.

The lead animator for Moses was none other than James Baxter, he has worked on films such as The Lion King, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, Road to El Dorado, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron, Recuers down Under, and much more (including guest animating for Steven Universe Change your Mind)

I’m just going to leave some more gifs here. (Seeing as I can’t post the entire movie)

The story

Like I previously mentioned, the story doesn’t really have too much of a focus on God and instead focuses on relationships between characters, particularly Moses and Rameses. The dynamic between the two brothers feels so real and they are both believable characters. There is no one in this movie who is 100% good and 100% bad, everyone is complex which is something that often isn’t portrayed well in these kind of stories.

Relationships aside this movie is dark as hell. The first few minutes of the movie are filled with infanticide and slavery and, again like I have previously mentioned, the movie does not shy away from the dark parts of the bible story that an animation studio may wish to omit.

And my final point

The music

The soundtrack for this movie is absolutely amazing. This movie is a musical and every single song works. I can’t really say too much but just search “Deliver us.”, it’s the first song of the movie (so if you are yet to watch it you can go in spoiler free), I will provide a link once tumblr stops being stupid.

Overall Prince of Egypt is a masterpiece and regardless of you believe in one god, multiple gods or no gods, this is a movie I can’t recommend enough.

(Ok my hands hurt now, off to watch Prince of Egypt again)

[thecrownnet]

Emmy Voters Shouldn’t Take Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ For Granted, as It’s The Last Chance to Reward Beautifully Understated Work

Season 2 is the final chance for "The Crown" stars like Claire Foy and Matt Smith to collect Emmys as they move on to other opportunities and new stars step in.

Netflix’s lavishly appointed Season 2 of “The Crown,” which takes place from 1956-1964, landed the same number of Emmy nominations as last year (13). But the series faces a mighty lineup of dramas this time, including Season 2 of last year’s winner “The Handmaid’s Tale,” as well as the penultimate season of “Game of Thrones” and the lauded final season of “The Americans.” This intense race could be close.

Netflix knows how to campaign, and the royal saga is popular, which would appear to give it an edge. But many Emmy voters seem to take for granted how well the team led by showrunner Peter Morgan (“The Queen,” “The Audience”), who writes and delivers all ten episodes at the start of each season, pulls off an historic costume drama on a fast-paced television schedule, complete with elaborate period sets and costumes. At a hefty $6 million-$7 million per episode for 20 episodes (a total $130 million), Morgan calls it “cinematic television.”

“He doesn’t mess around,” Smith told me. “It’s the only show I’ve ever been on where all ten scripts are in pretty good lick. He manages these characters and episodes and stories we think we know well and finds an interesting angle of approach.”

The Crown (L to R) Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth discuss Charles’ education [s2e9] Robert Viglasky / Netflix

And the acting is top-notch too, led by Golden Globe-winner Claire Foy (“Wolf Hall”) as rock-solid Queen Elizabeth. The Queen is trying to hang on to her fragile prime ministers as well as her dashing swain Prince Philip (Matt Smith) and keep the peace with her hipper sister, stylish Princess Margaret (Vanessa Kirby), who recovers from a broken heart by falling for swinging photographer Anthony Armstrong-Jones (Matthew Goode). All earned nominations this year; last time only John Lithgow as Winston Churchill took home an Emmy statue.

It’s the last round for this cast, however, as Season 3 sends in an replacement crew to play the Royals as the hit middle age, including Olivia Colman (“The Night Manager”) as the Queen, “Outlander” villain Tobias Menzies as Philip, and Helena Bonham Carter (“Sweeney Todd”) as Margaret. While the original cast are wistful to leave the “The Crown” family, they’re moving on to opportunities aplenty. Before Season 3 started filming, Kirby was in touch with Bonham-Carter every day, sending her a music playlist for Margaret. “I’m grateful to get to share Margaret with somebody,” she said. “My obsession is extreme!”

Morgan did not know when he started how popular the show would be, but he signed his stars for only two years. “I don’t think it’s fair to ask an actor to age more than 20 years,” he said at a TV Academy panel. “If we’re going to be doing 60 years, it’s not fair for them to spend five hours in makeup every day. But it’s hard for me, now that I’ve got used to how Claire is. I’ve hit my stride in writing for her, it’s writers interruptus. You meet these wonderful actors and discover what they can do. The same with Vanessa. The new cast will present new challenges–it’s hard enough without new challenges!”

Smith had already experienced giving up a popular role with Doctor Who. “I’d rather do two years than seven,” he said.

While Smith (“Doctor Who”) and Goode (“The Imitation Game”) are fairly well-known, both Foy and Kirby launched film careers with the series, from Foy’s punk hacker Lisbeth Salander in the upcoming “Dragon Tattoo” sequel “The Girl In the Spider’s Web” to Kirby’s flirtatious turn opposite Tom Cruise in summer smash “Mission: Impossible–Fallout.” Meanwhile, Smith has taken on two creepy characters, Patrick Bateman in London musical “American Psycho” and Charles Manson in upcoming “Charlie Says.”

The issue of who got paid what has hovered over the series. Although Foy was cast first as the Queen of England and commanded more screen time, she was less established at the start than Smith, who broke out as a star in Doctor Who and had salary leverage when Morgan insisted on casting him because the chemistry with Foy was so strong in their auditions. “There was electric, immediate energy in the room,” said Morgan. “The producers said, ‘look, we’re in negotiation, does he really have to be Philip?’ ‘There is no option. It has to be him.'”

So they paid him more than Foy.

“I find a huge amount of support around me and in the industry and around the world,” said Foy of her unequal pay vs. Smith, “knowing that if I don’t speak up and support myself than nobody else will. You have to be your own advocate, without being difficult, and be willing to step away from something you don’t agree with. That’s happening and it’s extraordinary.”

If Season 1 set up the royal stakes in the central fraught marriage between dashing Navy man Philip and the Queen to whom he had bow and kneel, it was also a hard act to follow.  All the directors came back to shoot Season 2, including Stephen Daldry (who cherry-picked episodes eight and nine). There was more color and travel, roving from Tonga, Ghana and Papua New Guinea to the Antarctic.

With Season 2, the team moved with more confidence into the story that digs deeper into Queen Elizabeth’s relationship with her husband and her prime ministers, such as Anthony Eden (Jeremy Northam), as he colludes with Egypt on the Aswan Dam. Fashionably modern John and Jackie Kennedy come to Buckingham Palace. And old-fashioned Elizabeth faces harsh criticism from one politician, Lord Altrincham (John Heffernan), causing her to change the stilted way she speaks in public.

The cast who played royals practiced the accent constantly. “We spent all our time speaking it on set,” Kirby told me in a phone interview. “It must have pissed off the crew. We were all in it together. I tried to find a middle ground, we didn’t want to alienate people too much, I tried to make my voice slower. She sounds different by the end of the season, we’re growing up with them. “

As Morgan writes the episodes himself, he doesn’t have a writers’ room, but a researchers’ room. He sifts through history, dumping the obvious stuff in favor of delicious details that might surprise or upend conventional wisdom. “It’s an absolute joy, as a dramatist, looking at the intimate and the epic,” he said. “They are just like us and they are nothing like us.”

On “The Crown,” where the Queen tends to keep a stiff upper lip, a scene between Jackie and Elizabeth having tea and scones is as dramatic as it gets. “I’ve long been writing this for so long, everyone is so polite, I’m desperate for a fight scene,” Morgan said. “I long to write a punch-up, there’s been no blood on this show for 20 episodes. That scone was my fight scene. She buttered the scone irritatedly.”

Claire Foy, “The Crown” Stuart Hendry / Netflix

Most dramatists don’t pick an introverted, shy, middle-aged woman as their central protagonist. “With someone like Tony Soprano, any emotional response was valid: kindness, cruelty, gentleness, butchery sexiness,” said Morgan. “You don’t have that with the Queen. You’ve got her trapped within this other thing: it is very Russian doll. You’ve got the woman within the woman within the thing that is not the woman– the Crown–which is not gender specific, neither feminine or masculine. How a woman connects with that is complex, so she’s lost some of herself. She’s not an articulate person, so you can’t go on and on to explain that complexity. So someone like Claire is skilled enough to do it in repose. So you never feel that the character is not complex, because you’ve got an actor skillful enough to give you that, even in silence.”

In the editing room, Morgan found that whenever there was a missing transition he learned to rely on Foy’s reaction shots. “When Claire was on screen the whole thing was settled,” he said. “That wouldn’t involve her throwing plates. It was just the strength of her performance and how completely she inhabited the character, and how she as an actor in that character could give the whole thing an orientation and center and an anchor. As the Queen gives anchor and stability to the country, so Claire was doing in our show.”

Luckily Foy has always been a reactive listener. “I love being in a scene and not thinking about anything but what that character is thinking,” she said. “I’ve always loved listening and being able to think like the character. And this show appreciated a character who doesn’t go forward, but sits and lets people come to her. And not many shows appreciate that, they don’t put someone at the center, who’s just being and listening.”

Smith is Foy’s exact opposite. He brings a competitive athlete’s physical masculinity to Philip. “I quite like Philip’s maleness,” said Smith, “which in this day and age is interesting. And Elizabeth liked that about him.”

“Philip is a tough man,” said Smith. “Charles notoriously wasn’t, he’s the antithesis of Philip, emotional and sensitive. Philip is those things deep down. But he was growing up in a different time, he had to grow up quite quickly. He went through death and tragedy as a young man. He was essentially orphaned.”

Foy and Smith were opposites as actors. “We work in different ways,” Foy said. “We brought out in each other instantly a friendship, we’re able to give each other what we needed. Matt wants to try new things and get an extra take; I’m ready to go on the first take, to be real and never do it again. That was a tricky thing to negotiate.”

Foy admired Smith’s willingness not to make audiences like Philip. “He’s masculine and feminine, able to be emotional and vulnerable and bit of a love,” she said. “He can be incredibly selfish and you still like him, he has the gift of being likable.”

At the end of the series, as pregnant Elizabeth is lonely and isolated at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, scandal-plagued Philip finally comes to her on his knees, a supplicant. “That scene was a pain in the ass,” Smith said. “It took three days. The history is tricky. How much of it to reveal, a sensitive subject, that. With the Queen of England you never acknowledge the fact that Philip was over the abyss. I look at it as a man on his back foot fighting for his life. Whatever you say, they endure. They are a team. He makes her laugh.”

“The Crown” Alex Bailey / Netflix

On the other hand, Vanessa Kirby as Margaret gets to open up more. “The biggest gift was that she feels everything so deeply,” she said. “Whatever color of emotion she’s having is 100 percent. Claire is the master of subtle and internal; I’m sweating and spit is coming out. Margaret’s emotions are all on the surface, while Elizabeth’s are buried.”

In Season 2, Kirby gets to smash up her room a bit. Margaret is “someone in pain who descends into something quite scary,” she said. “Along comes Tony Armstrong-Jones and she meets him when she’s in the worst place.”

In the first cycle, Foy got to wear an elaborate wedding dress; now it was Kirby’s turn. “I’m not very fashionable, I wear jeans and shorts,” said Kirby. “Margaret taught me a lot, to express my internal life through costumes.” She and the costume designer Jane Petrie spent weeks choosing ratios and shapes and fabrics. “Her costumes are an indication of where she was at. Even when she trashes her room she’s wearing a gothic robe. The next morning, she’s pale in a yellow granny nighty, she had lost all sense of her identity. I wanted to take her on a journey to  show how Margaret finds her place in the world. She’s born into something she couldn’t escape from.”

Meanwhile, Margaret yet again has to seek Elizabeth’s permission to marry. “I didn’t want to overplay it or underplay it,” Kirby said. “It’s a mixture of resentment and intense need and exhaustion and vibrancy. She is in active denial, looking away from Tony who is massively disloyal and destructive and dysfunctional for her. All those things in one scene feels quite scary.”

[fran-is-a-writer]

Hello folks and welcome to another blog post by A Healthy Dose of Fran, today I post my Top 10 Movie Musicals (Disney excluded as that’ll have its own segment). Now you may not agree with my list, and that’s OK, we can debate in the comments later. So, let’s get down to business then, shall we?

10. Girl Trash: All Night Long

If you haven’t heard of this, then you probably aren’t a lesbian or bisexual woman. And if you are a lesbian or bisexual woman who hasn’t, you are missing out! The first outright lesbian musical, with lesbians as the focus, the songs about lesbianism, and, even better, starring the queens of South of Nowhere, Mandy Musgrave (Ashley) and Gabrielle Christian (Spencer), and a few other notable lesbian character stars. This movie is kick ass and the music is hilarious, if a little cringy, but you can’t help but sing along as they say, “don’t shit on my dreams it’s just my fantasy, of what could possibly be”. This is a movie that should be seen.

After finishing this post of course.

9. Chicago

Have you committed a crime? Well you should have this performance tucked up your sleeve to get away with it, because surely, HE HAD IT COMING, HE ONLY HAD HIMSELF TO BLAME. Now If that doesn’t give you confidence, then any number of the tunes in this hit will, want some Jazz, well how about All That Jazz? Following the murderess tales of multiple women, but focusing on the dastardliness two, this film takes many twists and turns that ends with murderers on- ah, spoilers.

8. All Dogs Go to Heaven

Charlie B. Barkin – that name alone deserves a place on this list. Add in a surprisingly dark family film musical with gang war, murder plots, and the ideas of heaven and hell, a heart-warming tale about a young girl who wants a family and a dog who wants revenge but ends up changing for her – this film never fails to make me cry. With some awesome bops like ‘You Can’t Keep a Good Dog Down’ this is definitely a musical to see.

7. Bride and Prejudice

No life without wife? Damn woman you know how to break my heart. Well, this may be a surprising edition to this list as, more often or not, this film is forgotten, even though it is, in my opinion, the best Jane Austen adaption ever. And the tunes? Incredible. My first experience of a Bollywood film (which, considering it was made in conjunction with a UK studio, probably doesn’t count), and it was the first of many (thanks also to discussions about it with my best friend). Check out the soundtrack first if the film doesn’t sound interesting, but trust me, unlike most period-adaptions, this one is one to remember!

6. Hairspray

60s beats, 60s attitude, 60s hair and look, but a modern opinion. That’s Hairspray in a nutshell. A film (that was originally a stage production) that tells the tale of Tracey, a slightly hefty girl who loves to dance and tries out for the happening TV show for kids and gets on! But hey modernist views of happily conversing and dancing with blacks (shock horror!) and her non-conventional body shape, get her in trouble, not that she gives a damn, she’s proud and damn right she should be! Not to mention she can belt a bloody tune too, and this film is full of them! Cause WITHOUT LOVE, this movie wouldn’t have caught my attention – (but that may also be due to Zac Efron).

5. Burlesque

Christina Aguilera? Cher? STANLEY TUCCI! Sign me the F up! Oh God and Kristen Bell? Burlesquing? And Singing? Y’all trying to kill me??!!! Well you succeeded! I’m dead. This fantastic story not only grasped my attention, but the music added to the drama and was threaded in so nicely that I couldn’t not watch again and again. Downloading the soundtrack after the first watch, I go back to this musical at least once a year. With one song in at least every one of my playlists, it’s going to show me how to Burlesque.

4. Dreamgirls

If I thought Burlesque was star studded and a gem of a film that was nothing until I saw Dreamgirls starring Beyoncé, Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphey and so many more. Set in the 60s and the eras to follow, we follow the lives of black musicians and their dreams, particularly the Dreamettes who take the music world by storm. Dark tales are alongside this tale including blackmail, drug abuse, and so forth. But not only that, we received the most beautiful tunes known including Listen sung by Queen B and I Am Telling You sung by Jennifer Hudson. This musical is a gem to be remembered, with the mesmerising story to go alongside it.

3. Anastasia

Yooo, surprised to see this? Well it’s not a Disney film if that helps the confusion, but with its Princess Anastasia, its animation style, and plot line of lost princess finding her family, you can see where people get confused. But this tale is one of my ultimate favourites – with the original badass Princess who doesn’t take nothing from know one and will happily punch you in the face, you know the story is going to be interesting. Add is some brilliant tunes like ‘Journey to the Past’ and ‘Learn to Do It’ and you have a hit, and now a Broadway musical – that’s why this is on my list.

2. Quest for Camelot

Anything with Celine Dion is recipe for success. But add in King Arthur, bad ass female characters, and a twist on the English Legend. Add in beautiful music and probably the best love story ever written, oh and a two headed dragon with conflicting personalities, and you have a recipe for AWESOMENESS. This musical was my childhood and continues to fill my days with joy as I watch the film on a regular basis (and yes Sister, I only bought it for you for Christmas for me, you have been duped). Adventure, love, mystery, and music – what’s not to love?

1. Prince of Egypt

Now, are y’all surprised? If you are, YOU ARE AN UNCULTURED SWINE (I say with love)! This is, the best musical of all time. Compelling story, the greatest soundtrack ever created, with breathtaking animation to boot – oh, and a brilliant meme maker too. Telling the story of Moses from the bible, we start with the most emotive opening song ‘Deliver Us’ and, you know things are going to be great when a movie goes as far as to use the original Hebrew language within a song as they tell the story of persecution with the visuals of it alongside. The story is dramatic, emotional, and a true learning experience – if you haven’t seen this film before, you need to.

Thank you guys so much for reading this post. What are your top non-disney musicals? What would you have added? Leave a comment!

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Till next time folks!

Top 10 Movie Musicals Hello folks and welcome to another blog post by A Healthy Dose of Fran, today I post my Top 10 Movie Musicals (Disney excluded as that'll have its own segment).

[fandomjunkyard]

UPDATE REDO WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL IT

 Tagged by:myself

Rules: You can tell a lot about a person by the music they listen to, put your MP3 player, iTunes, Spotify, etc on shuffle and list the first ten (I might do 20) songs, then tag ten people, NO SKIPPING, you must also include your favourite lyrics from each song! It’s Tough To Be a God It’s Tough To Be a God,but if you get the people’s nod Count your blessings,yeah Keep ‘em sweet That’s our advice Honor To Us All We’ll have you,washed and dried Primped and polished ‘til you glow with pride Trust my recipe for instant bride You’ll bring honor to us all Deliver Us Yal-di ha-tor veh ha-rach Al ti-ra veh al tif-chad My son, I have nothing I can give, but this chance that you may live, I pray we’ll meet again,if he will, Deliver us! Evermore Now I know she’ll never leave me, Even as she fades from view She will still inspire me Be apart of everything I do Wasting in my lonely tower Waiting by an open door I’ll fool myself she’ll walk right in And as the long long nights begin, I’ll think of all that might have been,  Waiting here for evermore! (sorry I love this part) The Plagues You who I called brother,how could you have come to hate me so? Is this what you wanted? Then let my heart be hardened, And nevermind how high the cost may grow, This will still be so, I will never let,your,people,go! Colorbars Soon we’ll televise our C-O-L-O-R Now leave me blinded,and erase my memories Rotary dial  Time after time after time after time,  I can tell you this(Oh!) Time is just a-ticking away(Now, hey, now) For you, for you Nevermore, forevermore Love is nothing but a waste Join hands in a beautiful marriage It’s driving me mad! I can tell you this(Oh!) Life is just a-ticking away (Now, hey, now) For you, for you Threaded cords and sewing words Say “I do” and end the world Baby, now, for the 87th time It’s driving me mad!(another long one sorry) La Vie En Rose And when you speak,angels sing from above Everyday words seem to turn into love songs, Give your heart and soul to me,and life will always be, La vie en rose Love Like You Look at you go, I just adore you, I wish that I knew, What makes you think I’m so special Happy Days I’m all yours, I’ll do anything! So kiss my tongue make everything better,show me you’ll be with me forever Still our happy days will never be granted, ‘Cause even if it’s never said, I know it’s true You want me dead (FUCK IT LET’S DO 20) Augustus Gloop Although of course, we must admit, He will be altered quite a bit, Slowly wheels go round and round, And cogs begin to grind and pound, We’ll boil him for a minute more,until we’re absolutely sure Then out he comes,by god,by grace,a miracle has taken place, This greedy brute,this louse’s ear, Is loved by people everywhere, for who could hate or bear a grudge, Against a luscious bit of fudge? All I Ever Wanted I am a sovereign prince of Egypt, a son of a proud history that’s shown, Etched on every wall! Surely this is all I ever wanted,all I ever wanted... Evelyn,Evelyn We grew up so very close A parasite needs a host I'm only trying to do what is best for us Well, I never asked for this, I never wanted this All that I want is some time to myself Looking in your eyes, I'm coming home Just get away from me, please just stop touching me You're always trying to be somebody else Now I realize I'm not alone Well, you're only scared of me But you never cared for me Why don't you let me free? 'Cause you'd never dare to be 'Cause you never listen, you're always insisting (I'm just/just stop) reminiscing, I feel something missing I just want (you here with me my privacy), God (can't we just get along/won't you leave me alone)? (sorry long) Mike Teavee It rots the senses in the head It kills imagination dead It clogs and clutters up the mind It makes a child so dull and blind (So dull and blind, so dull and blind)He can no longer understand A fairytale in fairyland (A Fairyland, A Fairyland) His brain becomes as soft as cheese His thinking powers rust and freeze He cannot think he only sees (He only sees, he only sees) Veruca Salt  A fish head, for example, cut This morning from a halibut. An oyster from an oyster stew, A steak that no one else would chew, And lots of other things as well, Each with a rather horrid smell. Star of the Show  I don’t think the show is ending, Everybody’s still applauding I don’t see the point in painting merry smiles on my face You know it’s rude to stare This really isn’t fair  Your helium infected voice, Please shut up you make too much noise Violet Beauregarde (FUCK THIS ONE’S HARD) For years and years she chews away Her jaw gets stronger every day. And with one great tremendous chew They bite the poor girls tongue in two And that is why we try so hard To save miss Violet Beauregarde Chewing, chewing all day long chewing, Chewing all day long Chewing, chewing, chewing, chewing, chewing, chewing all day long Housewife Radio Memories inside my heart are there to grieve Color-coded by the love he gave to me Ah, his voice, it speaks to me through the radio Pressing spotted fabric on an ironing board Losing bobbins under tables, is it so? Every day, it feels like seams are more than torn Buttoned patchwork, thread that's tied in knots Hand-sew everything with kind intention Liquid sound waves pour from my eyes My heart cries out to you in desperation 7AM is when the station plays its sounds Listening to the speaker while the patterns sew into place Unmistakably, he'll return alive His colors ought to show again I Dreamed a Dream He filled my days with endless wonder, He took my childhood in his stride! But he was gone when Autumn came, And still I dream he’ll come to me, That we will live the years together, But there are dreams that cannot be! And there are storms we cannot weather. Trust In Me I understand you have your reservations, Not knowing what I’ll ask from you,there’s reason to think twice, But I give you my word you both will be safe and sound, Although you’ll soon learn magic never comes without a price!

[theonyxpath]

  Brazil is the topic of the day, today, for a variety of reasons.

1) Last week I received a bunch of pics and notes from our friends at Cronistas das Trevas who ran a Chronicles of Darkness Day all across Brazil that demonstrates that the Brazilian tabletop RPG scene is exploding! 160 people in 14 different cities (double the number of cities from last year!) sat down to play Chronicles of Darkness games. It sounds like a great time was had by all!

Maybe one of these years some of us Onyx Path folks can join you down there for the day…

Here is the website, and a few pics I pretty much randomly pulled to share with you all: http://ift.tt/2kJbPue/

    These folks played two games while podcasting!

  2) Cursed Necropolis: Rio is getting set for approvals and then out as a Backer PDF to the Mummy: the Curse KS backers. It is the last of the KS Stretch Goal rewards, and while it took us a much longer time to deliver everything from that KS, it feels great to have delivered (almooost) such a diverse yet solid selection of Mummy: the Curse books.

3) Just today, Fast Eddy Webb let me know that there is a translator/publisher in Brazil interested in Pugmire. This is both very cool, and not surprising. We have had interest in all of the game lines we publish from possible translators from Brazil, and we’re looking forward to getting some signed up soon. Again, from what I hear, the country is just in love with tabletop RPGs, and very open to cool new games.

    CofD Dark Eras Companion art by Vince Locke

  This brings up something I do want to touch on.

I get a fair number of requests from players in other countries outside the US for us to create our books in their language. This is cool, and it is great to hear that there is interest there, but I hope folks understand that we’re not the ones who are translating and publishing the books in other languages.

We just don’t have the bandwidth or knowledge base for that. We also do not have the time to actively seek out translation partners.

Onyx Path relies on working with translation/publishing partners in other countries who have contacted us, have proven they can do great work, and who are willing and able to pay the licensing fee or fees we ask for. If we had our way, there’d be a partner company in every country around the world making localized versions of our books!

But unfortunately, that’s not the case yet, so we are gradually building relationships with those folks who can and do match up with what we need from our translation partners. If we haven’t done that for your favorite game in your language, please rest assured it is not that we hate your country, language, that game, or you! We just haven’t found a partner who can make it happen yet.

    Pugmire illustration by Claudio Pozas

  Finally, and try as I might I can’t really get it to fit the Brazil theme, I did want to let Mage 20 fans know that Rollickin’ Rose and Mighty Matt and I sat down with Satyr Phil Brucato and worked out ways to get an additional developer or two onto some of the M20 books we have listed as coming out of the Deluxe M20 Kickstarter. The one dev I heard for certain is onboard is our old friend Pete Woodworth, which Satyr let me know about over the weekend.

Satyr puts his heart and soul into every book, and writes and rewrites and develops the hell out of them (or into them in the case of the Book of the Fallen?), but that dedication has also slowed things down as there are only so many hours in the day for one creator to cover so many things. Satyr didn’t like it, we certainly didn’t, and now we have a working plan.

Really just one of the many ways we’re learning from the lessons of the past five years to move into our next five.

    BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER!

We’re exploring card game Kickstarters, packaging, and components, for Prince’s Gambit. I’m working on the KS pages this week, and our video genius is assembling edits while Justin is picking music. Things look good, and we are all for starting the KS in Feb so long as the process of pulling the KS together cooperates. If so, then Monarchies of Mau KS would be next, after Gambit.

  ON SALE!

Hunter: the Vigil explodes into the Bundle of Holding! Starting today, you can pledge for first edition Hunter: the Vigil PDFs at massive discounts and 10% of your purchase goes to the RPG Creators Relief Fund, INC too, which is very cool. Check it out here: http://ift.tt/2jUHawr

This offer is doing really well- thanks to all of you who have supported a great cause so far!

How about we do something never before attempted and add WoD Armory to this set of PDFs! For those of you who pledged already- we give this with our thanks! And if you haven’t pledged yet…well now you get even more awesome PDFs when you do!

  Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: http://ift.tt/1ZlTT6z

We’re preparing wave 2 of our Deluxe and Prestige print overrun books, including Deluxe Mage 20th Anniversary, and Deluxe V20 Dark Ages.

      From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: Ruins of Empire (Mummy 1893-1924). Perhaps the quintessential era of the mummy in the minds of Westerners, this period saw the decline of the two greatest empires of the age: British and Ottoman. Walk with the Arisen as they bear witness to the death of the Victorian age, to pivotal mortal discoveries in Egypt, and to the horrors of the Great War.

Available in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG. http://ift.tt/2k0XDhX

    From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: The Sundered World (Werewolf and Mage 5500-5000 BCE). At the birth of civilization, in the shadow of the Fall, the Awakened stand as champions and protectors of the agricultural villages spread across the Balkans. In a world without a Gauntlet, where Shadow and flesh mingle, the steady taming of the world by humanity conflicts with the half-spirit children of Father Wolf.

Available in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG. http://ift.tt/2k16mRj

    Night Horrors: Conquering Heroes for Beast: the Primordial is available now as an Advance PDF: http://ift.tt/2j7p7lO

This book includes: 

An in-depth look at how Heroes hunt and what makes a Hero, with eleven new Heroes to drop into any chronicle.

A brief look at why Beasts may antagonize one another, with seven new Beasts to drop into any chronicle.

Rules for Insatiables, ancient creatures born of the Primordial Dream intent on hunting down Beasts to fill a hunger without end, featuring six examples ready to use in any chronicle.

    The PDF and physical book PoD versions of Reap the Whirlwind, the Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition Jumpstart swirls into being on DTRPG! http://ift.tt/2i1WPpD

You are a vampire, a junkie. Every night, you beg and you borrow and you steal just a little more life, just a few more sweet moments. But there’s a guy at the top. The Prince. He’s got everything. The money, the secrets, the blood.

Tonight, you’re going to take it from him. Tomorrow, there’ll be hell to pay.

This updated edition of Reap the Whirlwind features revisions to match the core rulebook for Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition. Text edits and rules clarifications have also been updated.

Reap the Whirlwind Revised includes:

Rules for creating and playing vampires in the Chronicles of Darkness

The first two levels of every clan Discipline, the dark powers of the dead

A complete adventure by noted horror author Chuck Wendig

This new revised Reap the Whirlwind Revised includes an updated booklet, 7 condition cards, and the interactive Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition character sheet.

        It is now the preordained time for Dawn of Heresies, the Mummy: the Curse novel written by internationally renowned author Brian Hodge to arise! Both PDF/electronic and physical book PoD versions are now available on DTRPG! http://ift.tt/2iEP9dW

Rawhead and bloody bones

Steals naughty children from their homes,

Takes them to his dirty den

And they are never seen again. 

So says the nursery rhyme that gives birth to Rawhead, the most fearsome entity to imperil the living since the infamous Roller. Once an obedient mummy by name of Benefre, a desperate bid by his cult fails in tragic fashion, and in so doing, sends him to the Devourerís waiting, corruptive maw. What remains of Benefreís ambitious soul rises again, impure and unholy, set to the execution of a scheme so baleful, it constitutes a heresy even among his own misbegotten kind.

All that stands between Rawhead and his terrible aim are a lone mummy, Kemsiyet, and what little remains of her cult following its destruction at Rawhead’s hands. Declan, her prized security aide, and Fiona, an Irish researcher only just recently inducted into the cult and its blood-soaked world, must fight both the odds and the clock in order to prevent a calamity the likes of which the world hasnít seen since the days of the mummies’ creation.

About the Author:

BRIAN HODGE is the acclaimed author of 11 novels, almost 125 short stories, and four full-length collections. His first collection, The Convulsion Factory, was ranked by critic Stanley Wiater among the 113 best books of modern horror. Heís currently wrapping up his fifth, The Immaculate Void. Among gamers, he is perhaps best known as the author of the first official Hellboy novel, On Earth as It Is in Hell.

Recent works include “The Weight of the Dead,” from Tor, and novelettes of cosmic horror in The Mammoth Book of Cthulhu and Children of Lovecraft. His oft-reprinted 2013 novella, “The Same Deep Waters as You” has recently been optioned by a London-based production studio for development for television. Brian lives in Colorado.

    Open the V20 Dark Ages: Tome of Secrets now on DTRPG! Both PDF and physical book PoD versions are now available! http://ift.tt/2i1XOXd

The Tome of Secrets is a treatment of numerous topics about Cainites and stranger things in the Dark Medieval World. It’s about peeling back the curtain, and digging a little deeper. Inside, you’ll find:

• Expanded treatment of Assamite Sorcery, Koldunic Sorcery, Necromancy, and Setite Sorcery

• A look at Cainite knightly orders, faith movements, and even human witchcraft

• Letters and diaries from all over the Dark Medieval World

    Travel with us all the way to the Red Planet for the Cavaliers of Mars Jumpstart: A Festival of Blades, available in PDF and PoD on DTRPG! http://ift.tt/2biWBpR

Live, fight, and love on Mars, a world of red death and strange mystery, a world of savagery and romance.

Includes: 

A complete adventure set in one of dying Mars’ greatest remaining cities.

The innovative DEIMOS rules, for high-flying, swashbuckling adventure.

Four pre-generated player characters, ready to get into the heart of the action.

    The Locker is open; the Chronicles of Darkness: Hurt Locker, that is! The Advance PDF is now available on DTRPG! http://ift.tt/2gbM9me

Hurt Locker features:

Treatment of violence in the Chronicles of Darkness. Lasting trauma, scene framing, and other tools for making your stories hurt.

Many new player options, including Merits, supernatural knacks, and even new character types like psychic vampires and sleeper cell soldiers.

Expanded equipment and equipment rules.

Hurt Locker requires the Chronicles of Darkness Rulebook or any other standalone Chronicles of Darkness rulebook such as Vampire: The Requiem, Werewolf: The Forsaken, or Beast: The Primordial to use.

    Discover the long-awaited  Secrets of the Covenants for Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition as we unearth the Advance PDF now on DTRPG! http://ift.tt/2gbQjus

This book includes:

A variety of stories from each of the covenants, all told in their own words.

Never-before revealed secrets, like the fate of the Prince of New Orleans.

New blood sorcery, oaths, and other hidden powers of the covenants.

      CONVENTIONS!

Discussing GenCon plans. August 17th – 20th, Indianapolis. Every chance the booth will actually be 20′ x 30′ this year.

        And now, the new project status updates!

    DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM ROLLICKING ROSE (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

Exalted 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Trinity Continuum: Aeon Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

M20 Gods and Monsters (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 Cookbook (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

CtD C20 Jumpstart (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

Pugmire Pan’s Guide for New Pioneers (Pugmire)

Monarchies of Mau Early Access (Pugmire)

Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)

  Redlines

Scion: Origins (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Hero (Scion 2nd Edition)

Kithbook Boggans (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

GtS Geist 2e core (Geist: the Sin-Eaters Second Edition)

VtR Half-Damned (Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition)

V20 Dark Ages Jumpstart (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)

  Second Draft

The Realm (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Dragon-Blooded (Exalted 3rd Edition)

BtP Beast Player’s Guide (Beast: the Primordial)

Book of Freeholds (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

  Development

W20 Changing Ways (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)

Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

SL Ring of Spiragos (Pathfinder – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)

Ring of Spiragos (5e – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)

SL Dagger of Spiragos (Pathfinder – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)

Dagger of Spiragos (5e– Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)

Arms of the Chosen (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition, featuring the Huntsmen Chronicle (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)

BtP Building a Legend (Beast: the Primordial)

CtD C20 Anthology (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

Wraith: the Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition

  Editing:

VtR A Thousand Years of Night (Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition)

V20 Beckett’s Jyhad Diary (Stretch Goal Content)

W20 Song of Unmaking novel (Bridges) (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)

  Post-Editing Development:

CtL fiction anthology (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)

Cavaliers of Mars

Indexing:

      ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

In Art Direction

Dark Eras Companion

Beckett’s Jyhad Diary

C20 

M20 Book of Secrets – AD’d

W20 Pentex Employee Indoctrination Handbook

V20 Dark Ages Companion

EX3 Tomb of Dreams Jumpstart – More color comps coming in.

Dagger of Spiragos 

VTR: Thousand Years of Night

Cavaliers of Mars 

  Marketing Stuff

  In Layout

V20 Lore of the Bloodlines

Prince’s Gambit – Kickstarter Prep.

Wise & the Wicked 5e

Dark Eras Companion – Getting things ready to roll.

Pugmire

  Proofing

Necropolis Rio

At Press

Ex 3 Screen – Finished at the Printer.

Ex 3 core book – From RichT: manufacturing finishing up. Shipping books from printer to shippers.

Beast Condition Cards – Pod proofs ordered.

CofD Hurt Locker – Waiting for tech OK to order PoD.

Secrets of the Covenants – Waiting for errata to make PoD.

Beckett Screen – At Printer, reviewing proof. Too dark, new fixed proof coming.

W20 Shattered Dreams – Prepping shipping to fulfillment shippers.

Shattered Dreams Screen – At Printer, waiting to print.

Promethean 2nd Condition Cards – PoD proofs ordered.

Beast Conquering Heroes – Advance PDF now on sale at DTRPG, gathering errata.

Mortal Remains: Beast- Red In Tooth and Claw – Going out to Beast KS backers this week.

Dark Eras: Doubting Souls – Uploading files to Drivethru.

Dark Eras: Bowery Dogs – Files uploaded.

      TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: Wow. Tough week for this one. Howzabout this week we go from January to February, which is our shortest month, so we’ll get through that the fastest into March, which means Winter is almost over. Throw me a frickin’ bone here, people.

[itshistoryyall]

Part 5: Wrapping Up Europe

(Holy Roman Empire) 

I am not gonna lie, that last section exhausted me. It took some time to get back into a researching worthy headspace. Regardless, this section will be much shorter and will put us up to speed so that we can end with the Salem Witch Trials, and perhaps some modern witch hunts and why that terminology is confusing for the U.S. President to use.

These next trials have casualties numbering in the thousands and occur during one of history’s most tumultuous time periods. Beginning with the Würzburg Trials in 1626, the executions lasted through 1631 with only 219 taking place within the city proper. By comparison, Bamberg, a city with the largest death count, numbered in the thousands. A bit of background before we dive in—the Holy Roman Empire (800-1806) encompassed much of central and western Europe, including all of what is now Germany. During the late 16th/17th centuries the world experienced a period of atypically cold temperatures that caused crop failures, deep freezes, poor survival of livestock, and a higher risk of disease. This is referred to as The Little Ice Age, and as you can imagine pushed tensions to a precipice and made people suspicious. Quickly, all of the calamity that had befallen the common man was blamed on the mystical, and it was believed that only a supernatural force could account for the loss a normal way of life. As we progress through a few decades, there were sporadic executions for witchcraft under each prince-bishop’s rule in Bamberg; however, the real trouble starts with Johann Georg Fuch von Dornheim in 1626. One night a severe frost decimated crops and livestock in a large area, and the slowly fizzled-out witch hunts resumed their prior intrigue—this time with a few major changes. Times were tough, and officials needed a better way to execute witches without wasting precious firewood, so a large crematorium was constructed in the epicenter of the executions. Additionally, Bamberg constructed a large prison to house the insurmountable number of accused. The prison called a Drudenhaus or Malefizhaus, were large structures built with single cells for individuals as well as larger cell sections that could house larger groups of prisoners. The structure in Bamberg, has been all but completely destroyed in our current time, and we have little information on what it actually looked like, but what we do know comes from prints that were illustrated within a pamphlet distributed during the time of the executions. In the prints we can see some of the layout of these prisons as well as some inscriptions on plaques above the entrance.

“And at this house, which is high, every one who passeth by it shall be astonished and shall hiss; and they shall say, ‘Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land and to this house?’

 9 And they shall answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord their God who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshiped them and served them; therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil.’”(1 Kings 9:8-9)

The other passages were in a medieval dialect of German that was difficult to translate, so I did not, but there were also passages from the Bible covering the walls within the hallways. Those accused of witchcraft were held here and tortured. I don’t know if any of this is starting to sound really familiar or not, but it seems to me as if it shares a few similarities to a large-scale genocide that occurred about three centuries after these events.[1]

(Picture Public Domain)

One of the most important sources of information that we have regarding the torture of prisoners is the letter that one of the victims, Johannes Junius, had written to his daughter explaining his confession of practicing witchcraft. He mentions in the letter that he had already been tortured, and that some kindly executioner told him that if he didn’t confess in some way that he would continue to be tortured until it killed him. Since Johannes had already faced severe torture, he decided to take the less painful route and confess to the crimes that he was falsely accused of. In the margins of the note he details that some of his accusers apologized to him because they were also forced to accuse him with the threat of torture.[2] The executions and torture went on for quite some time until the working class began to realize that no one was safe from the accusations which were synonymous with execution at this point, and began to refuse to contribute fire wood, or other important materials that were needed to perform the executions. The final nail in the coffin, after the chancellor of Bamberg himself, was the execution of a wealthy woman named Dorothea Flock. She was the second wife of the city’s councilor whose first wife was also executed for witchcraft. Dorothea’s family quickly tried to have her released and every effort was thwarted. Eventually, her husband entreated the highest council of Germany known as the Hofrat to send release documents to have her taken out of the prison and returned home. However, the witch hunters were tipped off about the arrival of the letters, and they executed Dorothy before they had a chance to be delivered. This did have a positive outcome, though, and the trials were halted pending an investigation by the Hofrat in 1630, leading the Catholic Church to blame the bishop for the issue. There remained a small trickle of executions for two more years until the Swedish Protestant troops arrived in Bamberg and released the remaining prisoners asking that they refrain from divulging information regarding the activities taking place inside the prison walls.

The last European trial I wanna talk about is not so much a trial as it is a giant historical scandal which are by far the most fun topics to research when sifting through a ton of material. It is called the Affair of Poisons, and it took place in France during King Louis XIV’s rule between 1677-1682. This is not a prominent number of casualties; however, it is one of the closest occurrences to the trials that occurred in the American Colonies. I find this particular event especially interesting because this is the only case where some essence of a realistic explanation is the root cause of the accusations and consequential executions. It all began with a tale as old as time—an arbitrary case of a woman conspiring to poison her father and two brothers so that she and her lover could inherit the estates and money. The accused, Marie Madeleine d’Aubray, marquise de Brinvilliers, was a part of a Parisian fad to dabble in the spiritual and exciting aspects of magic, and she visited her regular spiritual councilor to procure the poison that she used to murder her family. Often this popular fad would include seances, fortune-telling, and love potions that were very très chic at the lavish parties that the French aristocracy was widely known for, and its popularity spanned the gap between classes including bourgeoisie and poorer peoples of France.

The fun was short-lived, however, and Marie’s trial drew a lot of attention and spurred the anxieties of other nobles who were afraid something similar might happen to them. A special court was instituted to help quell these panic-driven accusations. Known as chambre ardente, or burning court, the court held 210 sessions over three years and issued 319 arrests.[3] Once fortune tellers were arrested for providing poisons to murderers, they gave up lists of their clients—these lists gave no distinction between those who might have had a spiritual reading versus those that had purchased a poison with the intent to murder someone. The most famously known execution is that of Madame Monvoisin, whose client list included marquises, family of clergy members, military heroes, and many more of France’s most elite members of society—including, Madame de Montespan, mistress to the king. Montespan was accused of having won the king’s love via potions and other nefarious and manipulative magical means, but it is important to note that she was interrogated while intoxicated and was never proven to have taken part in these dealings. The tribunal that was established to deal with these cases is notable because it is one of the only witch hunts to have been conducted so professionally, and with far less of the hysterics that were typical of other trials on this scale. There were only 36 people sentenced to death and many others were not even brought to trial.

So concludes our European adventures, and I think that we can without a doubt say that it doesn’t even begin to end there. There are still so many other cases that I didn’t look into because of the sheer amount of information that needed sorting through, but I hope that the important information about this topic was conveyed clearly and in a memorable way. I know that I certainly learned a lot from this part of the project, and I’m looking forward to finishing it with the conclusions we can draw, the historical implications of these events, and the parallels that we can draw from these events that reflect on recent and current events. See you guys in America circa 1692!

[1] That would be the Holocaust that I’m referring to here. You know, the one where they built prisons that they tortured people in on massive scales? Wait, wasn’t that about religious intolerance too? It’s almost like it’s always about religious intolerance….weird

[2] (History Muse, 1628)

[3] (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010)

[newstfionline]

Why Saad Hariri Had That Strange Sojourn in Saudi Arabia

By Anne Barnard And Maria Abi-Habib, NY Times, Dec. 24, 2017

BEIRUT, Lebanon--Lebanon’s prime minister, Saad Hariri, was summoned at 8:30 a.m. to the Saudi royal offices--unseemly early, by the kingdom’s standards--on the second day of a visit that was already far from what he had expected.

Mr. Hariri, long an ally of the Saudis, dressed that morning in jeans and a T-shirt, thinking he was going camping in the desert with the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

But instead he was stripped of his cellphones, separated from all but one of his usual cluster of bodyguards, and shoved and insulted by Saudi security officers. Then came the ultimate indignity: He was handed a prewritten resignation speech and forced to read it on Saudi television.

This, it seemed, was the real reason he had been beckoned to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, a day earlier: to resign under pressure and publicly blame Iran, as if he were an employee and not a sovereign leader. Before going on TV, he was not even allowed to go to the house he owns there; he had to ask guards to bring him a suit.

As bizarre as the episode was, it was just one chapter in the story of Prince Mohammed, the ambitious young heir apparent determined to shake up the power structure not just of his own country but of the entire region. At home, he has jailed hundreds of fellow princes and businessmen in what he casts as an anticorruption drive. Abroad, he has waged war in Yemen and confronted Qatar.

The day Mr. Hariri was ordered to report to Riyadh, he was just a pawn in the crown prince’s overall battle: to rein in the regional ambitions of Saudi Arabia’s longtime rival, Iran.

This is the back story of Mr. Hariri’s long, strange sojourn in Saudi Arabia last month, as revealed in behind-the-scenes accounts from a dozen Western, Lebanese and regional officials and associates of Mr. Hariri.

After delivering his speech, as his bewildered aides tried in vain to reach him from Beirut, Mr. Hariri did, indeed, eventually spend the evening in the desert with the crown prince, one senior Lebanese official said.

It was a surreal counterpoint to a series of events unfolding that day and into the night that set the entire Middle East on edge: a missile fired at Riyadh, the hundreds of Saudi princes and businessmen arrested, and Lebanon left stunned and confused.

Prince Mohammed had already launched a war in neighboring Yemen against Iran-aligned rebels, and gotten bogged down. He had blockaded Qatar, only to push the gulf country closer to Iran.

Now, he was looking to take out the prime minister of another country, one who was deemed not sufficiently obedient to his Saudi patrons. The prince intended to send a message: It was time to stop Iran’s Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, the powerful Shiite organization that is Lebanon’s most influential political actor, from growing still stronger.

The prime minister’s monthlong saga was another example of a brash new leader trying to change the way Saudi Arabia has worked for years, but finding that action often results in unintended consequences, especially in such a complicated region. Now, Mr. Hariri remains in office with new popularity, and Hezbollah is stronger than before.

Saudi Arabia’s heavy-handed--arguably clumsy--tactics alienated even staunch allies like the United States, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt and much of Mr. Hariri’s Lebanese Sunni party. Saudi Arabia may yet clinch some modest concessions from Lebanon, officials and analysts say, but ones perhaps not worth the diplomatic storm.

The officials who described the saga were granted anonymity to speak freely about events that were highly secret and, for Mr. Hariri, deeply troubling and embarrassing. Some gaps in the story remain, given the intense pressure to keep quiet and the fact that no one person privy to all the details--except, perhaps, Mr. Hariri, who rescinded his resignation immediately after an international diplomatic scramble brought him safely home.

Mr. Hariri did not respond to multiple requests for comment; he has said publicly that he acted freely and wants to put the Riyadh episode behind him. A senior Saudi official said in a statement only that Mr. Hariri was “treated with the utmost respect,” resigned of his own accord, and remains an “honored friend” with the kingdom’s support.

The Saudi moves that started on Nov. 4 came in rapid-fire succession. In the space of little more than a day, the Saudis extracted Mr. Hariri’s resignation; accused Iran and Lebanon of an act of war after Yemeni rebels fired a missile at Riyadh; and rounded up the princes and businessmen on opaque corruption charges. A week later, they ordered Saudi citizens to evacuate Lebanon.

The burst of contentious actions sent war tremors across the region.

Western and Arab officials say they are still puzzling over what the Saudis hoped to accomplish with all this intrigue. Several do not rule out the possibility that they aimed to foment internal unrest in Lebanon, or even war.

What is clear, they say, is that Saudi Arabia sought to instigate a broad realignment of Lebanese politics to reduce Hezbollah’s power by forcing the collapse of Mr. Hariri’s coalition government, which includes Hezbollah and its allies.

But crafting the nimble and activist foreign policy that Prince Mohammed wants requires “a depth of understanding of political dynamics in other countries and an investment in diplomatic ties that can’t be created overnight,” said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington.

“The competition for power and influence in today’s Middle East has changed significantly,” he said, “and the Saudis are playing catch-up, with very mixed results.”

This risks miscalculations and escalations in a region riven by wars and tensions, he said.

Trouble had been brewing for years between Mr. Hariri and the Saudis.

Like his father, Rafik, before him, Mr. Hariri, owed his political career and considerable family fortune to Saudi backing. But the Saudis grumbled that Mr. Hariri’s government was giving too much sway to Hezbollah, which is both a political party and a militant group not answerable to the state.

Mr. Hariri visited Riyadh in late October, and believed he had made the Saudis understand his need to compromise with Hezbollah to avoid political deadlock, officials said. Back in Beirut, to placate the Saudis, he asked Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, through intermediaries, to tone down his blistering speeches against Saudi Arabia’s devastating war in Yemen and on Prince Mohammed personally.

That same week, a Saudi minister known as a firebrand on Iran, Thamer al-Sabhan, warned Lebanon of “astonishing” developments on the horizon and accused Hezbollah of making war on Saudi Arabia.

On Nov. 3, Mr. Hariri met with a senior Iranian official, Ali Akbar Velayati, who then praised Iran’s cooperation with Lebanon. That may have been the last straw for the Saudis.

Within hours, Mr. Hariri received a message from the Saudi king--come now--ahead of a meeting that had been scheduled days later, a senior Lebanese official said. A well-connected Lebanese analyst, Johnny Munayyer, said the prime minister was invited to spend a day in the desert with the prince.

But when he landed in Riyadh, Saudi officials took Mr. Hariri to his house and told him to wait--not for the king, but for the prince. He waited, from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. No one came.

The next morning, he was summoned to meet the prince. There was no customary royal convoy, so Mr. Hariri took his own car. And instead of meeting the prince, officials said, he was manhandled by Saudi officials.

Lebanese officials described the long hours between the arrival and the resignation as a “black box.” They said they were reluctant to press Mr. Hariri for details. When asked, one of them said, Mr. Hariri just looked down at the table and said it was worse than they knew.

Saudi Arabia had many pressure points to use against Mr. Hariri. It could threaten to expel the 250,000 or so Lebanese workers in Saudi Arabia, damaging Lebanon’s economy. And since Mr. Hariri is a dual Saudi citizen, with extensive business dealings in a country where kickbacks are endemic, they could threaten him personally. An Arab diplomat said Mr. Hariri was threatened with corruption charges.

The prime minister was handed a resignation speech to read, which he did at 2:30 p.m. from a room an official said was down the hall from the prince’s office. The text blamed Hezbollah and claimed his life was in danger; it used words that associates said did not sound like him.

Hours later, the Saudi authorities began their corruption roundups, detaining two of Mr. Hariri’s former business partners, a reminder of his own vulnerability.

In Lebanon, Western diplomats and Lebanese officials said, the Saudis expected the resignation would be taken at face value and bring about a mass outpouring of popular support from Hezbollah’s opponents. Instead, Lebanon reacted with mass suspicion. No one took to the streets. And Lebanon’s president, Michel Aoun, a Hezbollah ally, refused to accept the resignation unless Mr. Hariri delivered it in person.

After disappearing for hours, Mr. Hariri made his first known call to Mr. Aoun, who realized that the prime minister was not speaking freely. Lebanese officials began making the rounds to puzzled Western diplomats with an unusual message: We have reason to believe our prime minister has been detained.

Mr. Hariri, the officials said, was eventually placed with Saudi guards in a guesthouse on his own property, forbidden to see his wife and children. Within days, several Western ambassadors visited him there. They came away with conflicting impressions of how free he was. There were two Saudi guards in the room, officials said, and when the diplomats asked if the guards could leave, Mr. Hariri said no, they could stay.

Lebanon’s internal intelligence chief, Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, put it this way to envoys who could not quite believe a leader could be forced by foreign officials to resign, a senior official said: “It’s simple: I could bring two soldiers and put you on TV saying you hate your country.”

Meanwhile, the Saudi prince, apparently undaunted by international concerns, summoned yet another leader, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and issued instructions on Palestinian politics. Officials differ on what Mr. Abbas was told in Riyadh. But Lebanese officials were alarmed. They dispatched General Ibrahim and a Palestinian envoy to Amman, Jordan, to debrief Mr. Abbas, three senior Lebanese officials said.

Concerns were high for several reasons. The Saudi recommendations to Mr. Abbas could destabilize the fractious Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, a senior Lebanese official said. Separately, a Lebanese ally of the Saudis had urged jihadist factions in one Palestinian camp to form a “Sunni resistance” militia to counter Hezbollah--an idea so dangerous that the jihadists themselves refused, Lebanese and Palestinian officials and a Western diplomat said.

The Saudis and Mr. Abbas’s spokesman denied the accounts.

On a visit to Washington soon after Mr. Hariri’s televised resignation, Mr. Sabhan, the Saudi minister of gulf affairs, got a withering reception, Western and Arab officials said, from David M. Satterfield, the State Department’s acting assistant secretary for Near Eastern Affairs. He demanded that Mr. Sabhan explain why Riyadh was destabilizing Lebanon.

Intense diplomacy followed by France, the United States, Egypt and other countries, producing a deal that allowed Mr. Hariri to leave Saudi Arabia.

But Prince Mohammed sent him home with a task: to get Hezbollah to withdraw its fighters from Yemen, Lebanese officials and Western and Arab diplomats involved in the deal said. That demand proved, the Western and Arab diplomats said, that the prince was not well-informed on Yemen, sometimes called “Riyadh’s Vietnam.” Hezbollah, a Western diplomat said, had only about 50 fighters in Yemen, with Iran playing a much larger role in training and aiding the Houthis.

To end the war in Yemen, a Lebanese official said, Beirut is “the wrong P.O. box.”

Riyadh did get something out of the turmoil. Lebanese officials are seeking a deal with Hezbollah that could include toning down Hezbollah’s anti-Saudi rhetoric--as Mr. Hariri requested even before the Riyadh episode--and shuttering a pro-Houthi television station in Beirut.

It remains unclear if Mr. Hariri can deliver enough to placate Riyadh. Mr. Nasrallah’s speeches have omitted critiques of Prince Mohammed lately, and on Wednesday, he called for peace talks in Yemen, a major step.

Then again, on Tuesday, Yemen’s Houthis fired another missile at Riyadh.