#or put him in his pen with a kong cause i just. cannot

[eqan]

.

[free-hk-blog]

For Basic Human Rights

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION

Hello all,

Welcome to this page.  If you are on this page, I’m assuming it’s because you managed to get a hold of one of my Free HK Hello Kitty Postcards.

If you haven’t been clued in yet towards all the Hong Kong Protests, this is the page for you.  Unfortunately, due to the language barrier and the lack of media coverage, I’m sure a lot of people haven’t heard about all the things happening in Hong Kong since there is almost no access to it.

To give you a short background of the protests, it all began with an Extradition Bill.  It was first considered when Chan Tong-kai, a Hong Kong man, murdered his pregnant girlfriend, Poon Hiu-Wing in Taiwan. Stuffing her body into a suitcase, then dumping it into the thicket of bushes near a subway station in Taipei.  After doing so he fled back to Hong Kong.  He was then arrested.  However, when authorities tried to prosecute him, they found that they were unable to, due to loopholes in the law. [2]

The Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam, decided to pass a law that would allow anyone who committed a crime in Hong Kong to be extradited to China.  [3] Instead of gaining the support of the people of Hong Kong, it caused concern and fear.  

What does being extradited actually mean?

“Extradition is an act where one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to their law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement process between the two jurisdictions and depends on the arrangements made between them.”

This is due to China’s previous dishonesty towards keeping to the One Country two systems agreement with the United Kingdom,   Hong Kong was colonised previously by the British and was handed back to China in July 1st, 1997.  (Before you think that Hong Kong is better off being colonised by the British, there is a whole bit of history behind that and lots of corruption.  After all, Hong Kong was obtained from China in an unjust way.  I’ve put a link below for your to read up on the History of Hong Kong, [1])  China has been trying to make it seem that their One Country two systems method will work through Hong Kong.  However, it is terribly false.  Hong Kong for starters does not even vote for our leader.  Over the years since the hand over, Hong Kong citizens have felt and continue to feel that the mainland is closing in on them in subtle ways.  In fact, they haven’t just been doing that for Hong Kong only, it’s been happening in the west, look how many things are marked “Made In China”.  But, I digress.

Prior to the protests, citizens have previously took to marching on the streets during March and April to protest this corrupt bill.

The citizens of Hong Kong are fearful that it would be used in a corrupt way and would be a gateway for China to extradite and charge anyone in Hong Kong they find that they disagree with.  Hong Kongers took to the streets, (most of them in their teens) protesting the Bill on the 9th of June.  They were peacefully protesting despite being tear gased, being shot at by rubber bullets and pepper sprayed.  However, the police still labelled them as “rioters” rather than “protestors”.  For more information on the Extradition Bill, I will have a set of links beneath this post for you to read. [3][4]

Instead of retracting the bill and throwing it out, Carrie Lam persisted.  Stating in an interview on the 12th of June, “I’ve never once thought that I’ve been doing this against my conscience.  As I’ve said, we firmly believe we have been doing the right thing from the beginning.  It’s not only responsible to the victim’s family.  Now I can only say being responsible, I cannot promise the victim’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Poon, that the suspect that murdered their daughter can be brought to justice.  If young people have taken action, and you don’t give them what you want, what then?  To use a metaphor, I’m a mother too, I have two sons.  If I let him have his way every time my son acts this way, I believe we will have a good relationship in the short term.  But if I indulge in his wayward behaviour, he might regret it after he grows up.  He will then ask me, “Mum, why didn’t you remind me back then?”  To say I have sold out Hong Kong.  How could I have?  I grew up here with all other HongKongers.  My love for this place has prompted me to make many personal sacrifices.” [5][6]

Watch the full video of the interview here

This caused anger through Hong Kong and specifically struck a chord with mothers in Hong Kong more angry as she basically compared the teenagers that are there to protest the Extradition Bill - peacefully, might I add - to children who are just whining, or acting out.  This caused mothers to organise a march for themselves.  However, no one would expect the event that would transpire on the 15th of June.

15th June

His name was Marco Leung.

He was only 35, described as “sunshine” by all friends and family and that he did charity work in his spare time.  And all in all, a good guy.

When Carrie Lam proposed that she was suspending the bill on the 15th of June, rather than withdrawing the bill, Marco Leung Ling-Kit climbed the elevated podium on the rooftop of Pacific Place, a shopping centre in Admiralty at 4:30 pm.  Wearing a yellow raincoat with the words “Brutal police are cold-blooded” and “Carrie Lam is killing Hong Kong” in Chinese written on the back, he hung a banner on the scaffolding with several anti-extradition slogans.  After a five-hour standoff, during which police officers and Democratic Party legislator Roy Kwong attempted to talk him down, Leung jumped to his death, missing an inflatable cushion set up by firefighters.  This fed the anger of the Hong Kong citizens and even more showed up to the protests on the 16th.  Everyone was devastated by the suicide and hoped that there will not be another tragedy like this again.  From then on, the yellow raincoat became a symbol of the protests.

An interview later with Marco Leung’s parents revealed that his mother still made breakfast for him, stating “We still pretend he’s with us, it feels as though he hasn’t left us at all.”  [7][8]

While he is being hailed a hero and a martyr, it makes me feel uneasy and uncomfortable, because he didn’t do it for everyone else, he did it because he couldn’t bare to see the future where China has rule over Hong Kong.  When this happened, it devastated me.  However, this was only just the start of the suicides. ��I will warn you if you are prone to suicidal thoughts or self harm, please be advised that further suicides will be mentioned.  Also, I would like to add that suicide is never the way to resolve things, even if you don’t believe you will be missed, you will be.

On the 29th of June, a 21 year old university student, Lo Hiu-Yan, jumped to her death stating “I would use my little life as a sacrifice to fulfil the wishes of two million people, but please press on.” in her final message written on the wall.  Then on the 30th of June, just a day later, Zhita Wu, 29, left a heartbreaking message on Facebook, asking Hong Kong to “Add oil”, a common phrase to cheer on others, much like adding fuel to an engine.  And that she won’t be at the July 1st protest because she felt like there was no tomorrow and that she was tired and didn’t want to fight for tomorrow anymore.  [9][10]

You would have thought that by the end of the month, Carrie Lam would reconsider because of these suicides, but sadly, that is not to be.  As I check the Wikipedia page for Hong Kong Protests 2019, it says that there are at least 10 deaths, most of them suspected to be suicides. [11] [12] [14][15]

1st July

As I have mentioned before, 1st of July is the day Hong Kong was handed back to China.  Many took to the streets to continue protesting this bill.  However, Carrie Lam ignored the protests and ignored the violence caused by the police.  As a result, the police continued to become violent and protesters were just being labelled as “rioters”.

As police brutality escalated, citizens got more and more enraged by the police.  However, there are also some citizens that actually support the police and are against the protesters.  Many started showing their support for the police by wearing blue t-shirts.  Despite this, many were still against the police.  [13]

Escalation in violence

July 21st, in my opinion, started the escalation of violence on both the protestors and police’s part.  

A group of white clad men, suspected to be triad members, started to indiscriminately attack people in the Yuen Long MTR Station.  (MTR is the name of Hong Kong’s subway system).  Yes, even people that were just getting home from work or a day out were attacked.  Police took over 30 minutes to even respond to the incident.  A protest was organised, but the police tried to ban it.  The protestors defied the ban and went to Yuen Long to protest, saying that they were “Just going shopping in Yuen Long.”  

Because of this, some members of Cathay Pacific organised a peaceful protest at the airport in support of the protestors.

By this point, protests were every Sunday and although the protestors were predominantly non-violent, the police still used inhumane methods to disperse them.  As if the police couldn’t cause further anger towards themselves from the public, they fired tear gas into residential areas, one of which being Wong Tai Sin.

5th August

To further press their point, a strike was organised all over Hong Kong and about 350,000 people joined in on the strikes.  Over 200 flights were cancelled due to this incident.  To disperse the protesters, the police used more than 800 canisters of tear gas.  On August 6th, a student was arrested for possession of “offensive weapons”.  They were laser pens.  This act alone proved how desperate the police were to just accuse someone of crimes.  This prompted protestors to go to the Space museum and hold a Laser show, pointing their laser pointers at the wall of the space museum.

#Eye4HK movement & Airport protests

On the 11th of August, there was another protest.  Protests have been going on for two months now by this point.  But what made this protest so different from the rest was that a medic - who was just volunteering her help in the protests -was hit by a bean bag round fired by the police.  This made the protestors even more furious, it sparked the #Eye4HK movement.  It was started by a Korean actor, Kim Eui Sung on instagram.  [16]  The next day, the 12th, Cathay Pacific threatened its staff with being fired if they participated in protests. [17] Later on, on the 16th of September, the boss of Cathay Pacific stepped down. [18]

In an outrage, a protest was organised within the airport where from the 12th of August to the 14th, protestors sat in the airport, prompting Airport authority to cancel flights.  However, protestors later reflected upon it and decided it wasn’t the correct method to choose and issued an apology over social media.  They also went to the airport the next day and personally apologised to the tourists that were delayed.

#BoycottMulan

A movement to Boycott Mulan sparked when, on the 15th of August, the actress for Mulan posted a post in support of the Hong Kong police.  [19][20]

The Hong Kong Way

On the 23rd of August, Hong Kongers formed a human chain to draw attention to the movement’s five demands.

The Five demands are:

Complete withdrawal of the extradition bill from the legislative process: Although the Chief Executive announced indefinite suspension of the bill on 15 June, reading on it may be quickly resumed. The bill was “pending resumption of second reading” in the Legislative Council. The bill was formally withdrawn on 23 October.

Retraction of the “riot” characterisation: The government originally characterised the 12 June protest as “riots”. Later the description was amended to say there were “some” protesters who rioted. However, protesters contest the existence of acts of rioting during the 12 June protest.

Release and exoneration of arrested protesters: Protesters consider the arrests to be politically motivated; they also question the legitimacy of police arresting protesters at hospitals through access to their confidential medical data in breach of patient privacy.

Establishment of an independent commission of inquiry into police conduct and use of force during the protests: Civic groups felt that the level of violence used by the police on 12 June, specifically those against protesters who were not committing any offences when they were set upon, was unjustified; police performing stop-and-search to numerous passers-by near the protest site without probable cause was also considered abusive.  Some officers’ failure to display or show their police identification number or warrant card despite being required to do so by the Police General Orders is seen to be a breakdown of accountability.  The existing watchdog, Independent Police Complaints Council lacks independence, and its functioning relies on police co-operation.

Resignation of Carrie Lam and the implementation of universal suffrage for Legislative Council and Chief Executive elections:Currently, the Chief Executive is selected by a 1,200-member Election Committee, and 30 of the 70 Legislative Council seats are filled by representatives from different sectors of the economy, forming the majority of the so-called functional constituencies, most of which have few elector

Prince Edward Station Incident

On the 31st of August, protestors, despite the ban put in place by police, still went to protest.  At night, Prince Edward Station was stormed by the Special Tactical Squad.  They beat and pepper-sprayed commuters and protestors alike.  Following that, protestors gathered at Mong Kok MTR station to demand they release the CCTV footage of the incident in Prince Edward Station.  To this date, there has nothing that has become of this CCTV footage.  The pleas have fallen on deaf ears and police have denied that anything even happened. [21] [22]

The Withdrawal of the Bill

On the 4th of September, Carrie Lam decided to (finally) formally withdraw the Extradition Bill.  However, being three months too late, this was received particularly badly by the general public. [23]  The protestors no longer wanted just this anymore, they wanted the Five Demands they requested. [24]

Starting from the 10th of September, protestors began singing “Glory to Hong Kong” [25] while marching or in various locations.  It was a song that was originally posted on the 26th of August.  The song was written to include the phrase “光復香港，時代革命” (“Liberate Hong Kong; revolution of our times”).  They also went on to initiate campaigns to boycott shopping malls that are owned by The MTR corporation, New Town Plaza, Pro-Beijing shops and corporations.  

National Day and Mask ban

On the 1st of October, China’s national day, protestors organised another protest.  The violence escalated further as a protestor was shot in the chest by a police officer while he was trying to hit him with a pipe.  Police attacked protestors with tear gas, rubber bullets, sponge grenades and water cannons.  The protestors fought back, using corrosive fluid, bricks and petrol bombs.  74 protestors were injured and 25 police officers were also injured.

Following that, on the 4th of October, Carrie Lam decided to pass a mask ban in an attempt to stop people from protesting.  But This did not stop the protestors. [26]

#BoycottBlizzard

I’m not going to lie, ever since this incident happened, more of the people I have on my facebook are actually posting about the Hong Kong protests.  More people have become more aware.  On the 6th of October, a gamer known as Blitzchung was kicked out of a professional e-sports tournament after voicing his support for the protestors in Hong Kong in an interview. (“Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times” ) Then shortly after, he was banned for 12 months by Blizzard, who are in business with China and made to forfeit the equivalent of $10,000 in prize money. [27] Blizzard also stated that the two interviewers who conducted the interview were fired.  

Of course, this has highlighted how even the west walks on eggshells when doing business with China.  How they are fearful of being punished otherwise.  A good example of high street brands that had to apologise are Versace, Dior, Muji, Zara, Gap, the list goes on… [29]

The backlash Blizzard face from the rest of the world was huge, making the #BoycottBlizzard tag trend on twitter. [28] They have also shortened Blitzchung’s ban to 6 months and will receive his winnings from the tournament.   Mei from Overwatch has also become a symbol for the protests as a result.  Of course, Blizzard aren’t one of the only companies that came under fire when it comes to the Hong Kong protests.  NBA, Apple and even Google have come under fire over the subject.

"To cut a long story short, Daryl Morey, who was the general manager of Houston Rockets, shared a tweet that showed support for Hong Kong anti-government protesters. This caused backlash from China and the NBA has since apologised. [30] Apple and Google pulled the HKmap.live app from their app stores.  The app allows Hong Kong protestors to see the location of the police and where tear gas has been fired." [31]

Violence & breach of rights against protestors

On the 11th of October, a livestreamed account of a female university student sparked new anger towards the Hong Kong police.  In the account, Sonia Ng, claimed that the police had sexually assaulted her.  She also went on to say that detained protestors were body-searched in dark rooms and that others also “suffered sexual violence”. [32]

This is not the first time the police have been accused of sexual harassment. [33]

Many detainees have also come out to speak about the mistreatment of their time detained by the police. [34][35]

In fact, some protestors have prepared “last letters” to their loved ones in case they don’t return to them. [36]

For more information, please check out the Wikipedia page on the 2019 Hong Kong Protests.  The link will be provided below.  [37]

So, what can you do to help?

Firstly, you’re already helping by reading this long post.  I’m going to be a pain and ask you to read the Wikipedia article too for further information.  Secondly, have you signed the petition yet?  It’s linked at the very top, however, I’ve linked it here too.  Thirdly, If you live in the UK, please bring it up to your MPs, if you live in the US, please bring it up to the senator that represents your area.  Fourthly, just spread the word, share articles on Facebook or Twitter, in fact, just share all of the links I’ve provided in this post.

Lastly, I ask you to remember those who have died from the protests.  Remember Marco Leung, the first person to take his life over the protests.  Remember Lo Hiu-Yan and Zhita Wu, who felt like there was no tomorrow and that she was tired and didn’t want to fight for tomorrow anymore.  Remember all those who couldn’t bare to see the results in the fight for freedom.

Thank you so much for reading this post.  Remember that even if things look bleak, you must press on.

[1] The history of Hong Kong, visualized

[2] Taiwan Murder Case

[3] Everything you need to know about Hong Kong’s extradition law

[4] A digital Cat-and-Mouse Battle between Police and Protesters in Hong Kong

[5] Carrie Lam addresses extradition law controversy

[6] The difference between Police before and Police now

[7] Marco Leung’s suicide

[8] Hong Kong remembering Marco Leung

 Lo Hiu-Yan’s Suicide:

[9] https://www.theepochtimes.com/21-year-old-hong-kong-student-dies-after-leaving-message-protesting-extradition-bill_2983629.html

[10] http://shanghaiist.com/2019/06/30/21-year-old-hong-kong-student-leaves-anti-extradition-note-then-jumps-to-her-death/

 Zhita Wu’s Suicide:

[11] https://shanghaiist.com/2019/07/01/third-suicide-by-an-anti-extradition-protestor-in-hong-kong-sparks-alarm-bells/

[12] https://www.dimsumdaily.hk/copycat-anti-extradition-suicide/

[13] Joshua Wong’s thoughts on July 1st protests

[14]  Another Hong Kong Protester Fell to Her Death After Leaving a Message for the Government

[15] Hong Kong protest Suicides

[16] #Eye4HK: How a Korean actor started social media movement in solidarity with people of Hong Kong

[17] Cathay threatens to fire staff over ‘illegal’ HK protests

[18] Cathay Pacific boss Rupert Hogg quits after protest row

[19] https://twitter.com/AnthonyKFHo/status/1161977889371430914?s=20

[20] Here’s What to Know About the Mulan Boycott

[21] Hong Kong: Rampaging police must be investigated

[22] Hong Kong authorities deny protester death claims after police raid

[23] ‘Too little, too late’: Hong Kong democrats and protesters vow further action despite extradition bill withdrawal

[24] Why are the protesters in Hong Kong not holding back and looking forward to burn with the government

[25] Glory to Hong Kong

[26] Thousands on streets of Hong Kong rage against mask ban

[27] Blizzard bans video game star after he supports Hong Kong protests

[28]  Blizzard, Hearthstone and the Hong Kong protests: What you need to know

[29] Versace is the latest major brand to express its “deepest apologies” to China

[30] The NBA’s crisis in China threatens multibillion-dollar ties

[31] Apple pulls HKmap.live app used in Hong Kong protests

[32] Student’s emotional allegation of sexual assault by Hong Kong police sparks investigation and anger

[33] #ProtestToo: Hongkongers adopt anti-sexual harassment rallying cry in response to police assault allegations

[34] More doctors, nurses decry police for arresting first-aiders, preventing treatment

[35] Amnesty accuses Hong Kong police of abuses, torture of protesters

[36] Hear Hong Kong Protesters Read Their Final Goodbyes | The Dispatch

[37] 2019 Hong Kong protests

[38] Lord Alton's opening speech in Hong Kong debate

Good twitters to follow:

HongKongHermit

Joshua Wong

Misakisuzuki

Winnie the Xi

#HKResist Fight for Hong Kong

[mst3kproject]

909: Gorgo

 I was surprised that Crow and Servo behaved as if Reptilicus was their first non-Japanese giant rubber monster movie… but then, it had been about twenty years and the bots didn’t spend it re-watching the old episodes like I did, so I guess I can forgive them.  You’d think they’d remember all that Dorkin’, though.

A volcano emerges from the ocean, damaging a salvage vessel crewed by identical English guys.  They put in for repairs at the unfriendly Irish island of Nara, where something shady seems to be afoot.  Something shady is, but it doesn’t really matter because the subplot comes to a sudden and premature end with the appearance of a giant finny-eared sea monster! Our heroes – a guy named Sam, played by William Sylvester, and another guy whose name is not Sam, played by a guy who looks exactly like William Sylvester – decide that the obvious thing to do is to capture this beast and take it to a major city.  It’s not like anything could go wrong with that.

I’m not sure why this movie needed the aborted subplot about the Viking treasure, because nobody comes out of that looking good.  Finding treasure in the UK is like finding a body – you have a legal duty to inform the local coroner.  Somebody from the government will then come and assess what you’ve found, and offer right of first purchase to any interested museums.  If the museums can’t afford it (which is very likely), it will be returned to you to dispose of as you please.  The law is intended to protect items whose historical value may be greater than their monetary value (like the tray-jurr chest in The Thing that Couldn’t Die).

Having done this research throws a slightly different light over the whole to-do with the treasure.  If Sam and Not-Sam had threatened to report the treasure to the authorities themselves, they’d still have been bullies but they’d have been doing their citizenly duty.  Instead they decide to steal from the criminals, knowing that the latter can’t complain about it without exposing their own wrongdoing.  Well done, movie, there’s some likable heroes right there!

Besides British treasure laws from the 60’s, the other thing I looked up for this review was Lemon Hart, which is seen in a big background advertisement in the Piccadilly Circus scenes.  Apparently it’s a type of rum.  I wish I’d known that before I watched the movie, and I’m disappointed it’s not an ingredient in @colleenrants ’s Gorgo.

Before I did that research, my first reaction to Gorgo is that this is another movie that looks terrible.  Maybe it’s just the decaying film stock but the whole thing is dark and washed-out to the point where the only noticeable colour besides a dull blue is the pink of flabby British faces that haven’t seen the sun in six months.  The bluescreen work is dreadful and so are the miniatures, and where black and white stock footage is inserted they didn’t even bother to tint it… which makes me suspect that the film stock was awful to begin with.

My second reaction was that for all Leonard Maltin calls this “kind of a British take on Godzilla”, this movie is not Godzilla.  This movie is King Kong.  The main characters put in at an island inhabited by unfriendly people, where they find a giant monster.  A victim is offered up as bait to lure the creature in and capture it, and it is then taken to a big city, where it causes mayhem among major landmarks as the army tries ineffectually to stop it.  This is exactly the plot of King Kong, with William Sylvester in his little diving bell as Fay Wray!

When you look at it this way, there are a few layers of interest in the movie using an Irish island.  The islanders in King Kong were stock savages. The ones in Gorgo are isolated fishermen… but for the last couple of thousand years, ‘unwashed barbarians’ is exactly how the English have perceived not only the Irish but the Scots and the Welsh as well.  These peoples have been treated in the same way as the English treated conquered Africans and Americans, forced to learn English and with their own languages and cultures outlawed (notice how the characters in Gorgo take the speaking of Gaeilge as a sort of insult).  Naturally this has led to large parts of the British Isles being troubled areas full of angry people, but we don’t really notice this in the Americas because we consider them all Brits.

So here’s Nara island thinking they’ve hit the jackpot with their Viking treasure, and then in come our mighty English heroes to do exactly what the English always do – steal what the Irish believe to be rightfully theirs.  It’s even worse than that, though, because these intruders are indirectly responsible for the destruction of the entire community! They take baby Gorgo away, and a few days later the angry Mama shows up to look for her offspring.  As usual, the arrival of Englishmen in boats is bad news for everybody they meet, both people and wildlife.

Having destroyed Nara Island, however, Mama Gorgo then turns her attention to London.  The entire British military cannot stop her and she just marches right in to take back what is hers.  When I was looking for this week’s bonus material, I happened across a post by @redmenaceofficial  suggesting that the movie is an Irish revenge fantasy.  That actually works pretty well, as we see Mama Gorgo destroy several icons of the British empire, including Big Ben and the Tower Bridge. In terms of psychological impact on the English people, this would be like tearing down the Statue of Liberty (which a giant monster did do in Cloverfield, but we didn’t get to watch).

Another level on which this works is the ending, which is actually a pretty surprising one for a monster movie.  Taking their cue from the endings of The Indestructible Man, Night of the Lepus, Killdozer, and heaven knows how many other films, the military decides to electrocute Mama Gorgo… and it doesn’t work.  She walks right through it, breaks Baby Gorgo out of his pen, and takes him back home to the ocean!  Maybe this is just meant to be sequel bait, but maybe it’s also a statement: the entire might of what was once the most powerful nation in the world cannot stand up against this creature.  Mama Gorgo has conquered the conquerors and taught them humility.

The third interesting thing about this ending is that it completes an evolution that’s been going on since Baby Gorgo was captured: although in his first attack on Nara Island, Baby Gorgo is treated as a monster, by the time the end credits roll he has become a suffering victim.  This happens somewhat to King Kong as well, but that’s a product of hindsight, in an age when we’ve come to think of gorillas as gentle forest-dwelling creatures instead of savage hairy beasts.  In Gorgo it’s intentional, as voiced through the character of Shaun, the little boy who wants to see Baby Gorgo returned to the sea.

While we may find an ape an inherently sympathetic creature due to its resemblance to a human, a dinosaur is much harder to anthropomorphize – especially a fire-breathing, city-smashing dinosaur!  When we first see Baby Gorgo attacking Nara Island, where he is driven away by fire, our sympathies are with the frightened Islanders. Likewise when the much more powerful Mama Gorgo comes to destroy the place.  By the time Baby Gorgo gets to Battersea Park, however, where he’s held back by flamethrowers as he’s put into his pen, we have come to see him as an abused and caged animal, something that deserves to be free.  The movie manages this shift without giving the creatures anthropomorphic faces or body language, which is quite an accomplishment.

It’s definitely more convincing than Sam’s character arc, in which he comes to realize that he has treated Baby Gorgo badly and gets drunk and tries to let the creature out!  I’d respect him more if he realized he’d treated the Nara Islanders badly, but nobody seems to care about them.  They’re just Irish, right?

I have remarked before that Asian monster movies seem to have a lower standard of believability than western ones.  This is true even of very recent entries: compare Legendary Pictures’ 2014 Godzilla movie to Toho’s 2016 Shin Gojira.  It is certainly true of Gorgo. While Japanese kaiju eiga of the 60’s were cartoony and colourful and didn’t care too much about scientific plausibility, Gorgo is staid and reserved and gray-blue.  Even the scenes of panicking Londoners seem weirdly low-key, perhaps because they’re narrated by a somber newscaster who spends so much effort coming up with poetic descriptions of what he’s seeing.

At the end, Mama and Baby Gorgo wander off into the ocean to look for Tokyo, London is in ruins, and I think Sam and Not-Sam get married and adopt Shaun.  Maybe it’s the fact that there’s only two women with lines in the whole movie and they only get one each… maybe it’s the fact that Sam and Not-Sam spend the whole movie side-by-side and later take joint charge of young Shaun, much like the two guys raising the kid together in Godzilla vs Megalon.  I don’t think I’m making it up this time.  The movie really is pretty gay.

[smoakqueenfam]

Arrow Rewatch 2018 - 3x01

Y’all, this is a long one. I apologize. But not really because it’s just me fangirling about Olicity the majority of the time, sooooo. Hahaha.

One of my favorite episodes of Arrow!

— I love all the sequences of Oliver running through the forest/woods/trees to start the season. Wish they had kept up with that!

— OTA and Roy looking as polished as they possibly can! Well. Oiled. Machine.

— “Did you buy me a bed?” “You were sleeping on the floor.” All my Olicity feeeels!

— ALL THE FEELINGS. Her cupping his face. Him looking after her so lovingly. Those two are such goners.

— “Lyla has me trying to build a bassinet from hell.” Hahaha.

— “Maybe Felicity will change all that.” DOES SHE EVER.

— “You love her. You even told her so.” “I was trying to fool Slade.” “Ah, yes. But now the only one you’re fooling is yourself.” Preach, Diggle! Preach!

— The Hong Kong flashbacks are my favorites.

— This is one episode I actually like Laurel in. Haha.

— Quentin in his uniform! Gah, I’m gonna miss him.

— Whoever directed this episode did an amazing job of having Oliver standing behind Quentin in the background as he gives recognition to the Arrow.

— Vertigo! I love episodes with vertigo. Just another reason for this being one of my faves! Haha.

— OLIVER ASKED FELICITY OUT ON A DATE. FINALLY!!!

— I love that he had to take a breath, gather himself, and then ask her again. Like he knew this was going to change his life the moment he asked it, either for the better or worse. And her immediate response? Gah. Dead.

— Poor Felicity. Having to wear khakis. Gross.

— “Do you like Italian?” LOVE this whole sequence!

— “You got a hot date or something?” That smiiiiillleeee!!!

— I have a confession to make. I love Olicity. More than any other couple ever. We all know this. BUT I actually don’t HATE Ray and Felicity. I loved the introduction to his character. I love that he was someone that could be a filler for Oliver until he got his shit together. I love that he understood Felicity and her little quirks (just as much as Oliver). I love that he caused all the angst. I really just love Ray as a character. Okay. Just needed to get that out before I continued on with the season. Hahaha. (Don’t hate me, please)

— “I feel like an M1A1!” Hahaha, the look on the doctors fave was priceless.

— THE LOOK OF HAPPINESS ON THEIR FACES. THE HUG. THE HAND SQUEEZE. THE FELICITY BABBLES. BOTH OF THEM BEING SO NERVOUS. OLIVER ACTUALLY BEING OPEN. THE RED PEN. THE TRUST. THE ANGST. OLIVER IN PROTECTIVE MODE. HOW CAN ANYONE NOT LOVE THEM/THIS DATE?!

I’m chill, I’m totally chill. (I’m never chill when it comes to these two)

— “You’re the first person I could see as a..person. There was just something about you.” “Yeah, I was chewing on a pen.” “It was red.” I AM SO EMOTIONAL.

— As soon as he opens his eyes he’s searching for her. Precious.

— And as soon as she wakes up she’s screaming his name. THESE TWO MAKE MY HEART SO HAPPY.

— “Get away from him or get put down!” Quentin has come so far.

— Going to take note every time Felicity asks Oliver if he’s okay this season (because I forgot to the last two seasons haha), 1/1!

— Oliver looking out for Diggle is one of my favorite things.

— Tatsu, Maseo, and Akeo!

— “If I’m not a cop, what am I?” A kick ass deputy mayor for one!

— “You two know each other..?” “Ooooh, frak.” LOLOL.

— PROUD WIFEY FELICITY.

— Oliver’s confused face whenever Felicity says something he doesn’t understand is FOREVER my favorite. Hahaha.

— Oliver hates Ray so much already. Hahaha.

— Loving all the new technology this season!

— OMG. I never noticed that Oliver is looking right at Felicity when he says “It’s the life I can’t have.” GAAAAHHHHHH. KILL ME WITH ALL THE ANGST PLZ.

— “DAMMIT OLIVER, YOU WOULD BE DEAD TEN TIMES OVER IF IT WASNT FOR ME!” True story. I get where Diggle is coming from, but Oliver is right. He needs to be with Lyla and his daughter.

— Side note: Roy’s new suit is FIIIIREEEE.

— Sara! Hey girl!

— Roy and Felicity with the save!

— I LOVE Oliver and Sara as friends.

— “You know how I said I knew a guy that’s looking to hire you?” *points to himself* hahaha.

— “All my data has been replaced with porcupine flatulence.” Hahahaha, dont mess with Felicity. Love this whole exchange so much.

— “BTW, might wanna check your iPad while you’re at it.” Hahahaha.

— “The second I looked at her my whole universe changed. Everything changed.” OLIVER GAZING AT FELICITY. MELT MY FREAKING HEART.

— Doliver’s bromance is everything.

— Oliver knows Felicity is his soulmate. But he has to grow and change into the person that he’s meant to become before he accepts that it’s okay to love her. I get that, but it still sucks that we had to wait a whole season (okay 3 seasons) for it. But again, ALL THE ANGST.

— That kiss punches me right in the gut. EVERY SINGLE TIME I WATCH IT.

— “Don’t ask me to say that I don’t love you.” The way he stares at her. The way he’s cupping her face. The way she is completely out of breath. I CANNOT. I JUST CANT.

— I LOVE that he just holds his hands up where her face was after she walks away. He’s just like “shit. What did I just do? Did I just lose the love of my life?” It’s heartbreaking.

— Barry! What’s up, my friend?!

— “Laurel Lance. Always trying to save the world.” “Runs in the family.” Love their relationship.

— BUT BUT WHHHYYY SARA?! Gah. Forever sad about that death. Even if she did come back to life, haha.

@jules85 @hope-for-olicity @memcjo @allimariexf

[askforhannah-blog]

Keeping Kitty Comfortable

Keeping kittens comfortable is crucial. Especially if they are very young, or on their own ! So let's look at some ways you can assure they are kept safe, warm and stress free.

Please note I am not trying to sell you any products and I am not sponsored by anyone. I am just recommending and sharing with you what I have purchased and found very useful while raising kittens :)

Snuggle safe -

This is a must have product to keep kitty warm and toasty. You simply put the snuggle safe into the microwave for around 5-6 minutes (it has heating instructions on the front) and it stays warm for up to 6-7 hours. When it is heated, I just pop this into the fleece provided and then under a blanket in their play pen. They then curl up onto the pad all snug and warm !

Make sure that they are able to move off the pad should they want to.

Do not let the heat pad cover all of their space, as young kittens are unable to regulate their body temperature on their own. Therefore, rely on moving on and off the heat pad to control their temperature.

The snuggle safe is very handy if you are traveling too, with it staying warm for hours! You can buy a snuggle safe on Amazon. They market around £15 and include a safety fleece to wrap the heat pad in :)

Baby Blankets -

Who doesn't love to be snuggled up on a soft and cosy blanket ? Well, kittens are no different !

I purchased a soft baby blanket, which is great for them all to snuggle on and keeps their paws warm.

(If you have any faux fur, they love this too, as it feels like mum cat)

Depending on the age of the kitten, do take caution with blankets.

If they are new born, you do not want a blanket just yet, as this may cause suffocation, as they cannot turn themselves over. Until they are able to turn themselves over on their own, it is best to settle them on a comfy towel, which is not 'bunched up'

A Playpen/Large travel box -

This is great for kittens to be kept isolated and safe when you are not socialising them. It provides kitty with netted surroundings, so he can still see what is going on around him, but stops them wondering around, keeping them protected.

You can place everything they need inside this pen, such as litter box, food/water, blankets and toys.

Love snuggle kitty/pup -

Okay, so these can be pretty expensive for what they are ! However, for newborn kittens, up to 6 weeks of age, the product is very handy. It is very comforting to have the heat of mother and hearing he heartbeat is very soothing for them, decreasing the anxiety of separation.

These market around £28.99 - £41.00, but if you include postage and packaging, the price will increase.

For a better and cheaper alternative, you can buy the heartbeat replacement, which is around £15 and add this to any soft toy. Along with the snuggle safe, this is a good mimic of Mum cat.

In my opinion, If you foster often, or you are on a budget, it is a better and cheaper option to purchase the snuggle safe and the heartbeat only. I have found it works a lot better for me.

Please note you will need AAA batteries for the heartbeat to work!

Toys -

Kitty can get bored pretty easy and wants some entertainment ! It is great to get him a little toy mouse or teddy kong to play with. Especially if kitty is on his own, as this will allow him to have a rough and tumble with the teddy kong, as a replacement to siblings.

Please do make sure the toy does not have any choking hazards. For example, no glitter or catnip.

Fleas-

These do not make kitty comfortable at all! They irritate kitty and can be dangerous to young kittens, causing them to become anemic.

On a separate blog, I have written about natural flea and worm treatment that is safe for kitties and pregnant cats.

If your kitten/kittens are orphans with fleas, you can follow my advice on the other blog post and you can also wash them in organic fragrance free dish soap.

I use liquid Castile soap. This is organic, fragrance free, SLS and SLES free. It is also vegan friendly.

This is great for washing the kitties fur gently and removing fleas and flea dirt.

Make sure you wash them in room temperature water so you do not burn kitty, or make him cold.

After the wash, wrap him in a towel (make him into a 'purrito') He will dry and feel safe cuddled up to you, while wrapped secure and warm in a towel :)

[pa0231williambrighouse]

Final Film Script Proposal

For my short film proposal, I would like to create a narrative that drives home the value of self-love. Self-love is a valuable skill that I feel needs more representation in family films, as it is required in all stages of life, and teaches us to be happy with who we are and not what others wish of us.

There are many examples of this working well in movies. Monsters University, for example, features a main protagonist who relentlessly tries his best to graduate as a professional "Scarer", going above and beyond everyone around him, but unfortunately failing because he is not thought to be inherently scary. The character ultimately still gets a job in his line of work, but before this accepts that he is just "okay" and not great, and learns to live with himself because of it. This is very important as it shows audiences of all ages that it's possible to value yourself for who you are, whether or not you are surrounded by positive reinforcement and past successes.

 I feel that an effective way to show the value of this message would be to feature a protagonist that is forced into a situation where the only way to move on is to learn to love themselves for who they are. The situation would involve some element of failure, whether this is in defeating their rival, attempting to win the heart of their love interest, or living up to expectation of others.

 The idea I have formed to convey this narrative is through the popular medium of video games. Video games have changed a lot since the industry began in the early 1970’s, both in terms of visual representation and user immersion, so creating a story that pits a modern game character against one from a retro/classic, in which the older game character plays the "protagonist", could be interesting. The characters themselves would be taken from the actual games, with each game's titular character serving as the protagonist/antagonist respectively. The retro/classic game would be a platform/arcade-esque game in the style of Mario or Donkey Kong and a simple "get to the end" plot, while the newer game would be a gritty modern war shooter with dramatic storytelling and realistic characters, in the vein of games such as Call of Duty or Battlefield.

 I originally considered an "Old vs New" style narrative, as it's relatable to older audiences AND it prepares younger audiences for the trials of growing up. However, I felt this not only made the story hard to execute in a short space of time due to the world building required, but also ran the risk of narrowing the moral of the story too much, whereas I wanted the story to be more clearly applicable to all stages of life. A first draft of the story portrayed the protagonist as the main character from a hit 1980’s game trying to secure funding for a new game in their series, but feeling irrelevant due to the changing style of modern video games. This required too much world building for a short film as it needed to be established that the character was once more beloved and recognisable by the world in their time, but lack the same relevancy in modern times

 Instead, I decided that it would make more sense to convey a focused “Quest” narrative; the character wants something and they endeavour to achieve it. Rather than a classic game character, I decided that the protagonist should be a classically styled character born into a modern era. They haven’t experienced the notoriety that many modern characters have, they live in a world where they don’t fit in and yet they strive to do so. The basic plot remains the same; the main character still works hard to fit in with a modern society and fails, but ultimately comes to terms with it. The only concrete difference is that not fitting in with society is just a problem the character has inherently, not because they���re from a different time. This should make the character relatable to more viewers as it still conveys a real issue that people experience, but with less specific origins.

 Initially, I planned for the story to take place in a family home, with the characters living inside the game cartridges/discs/etc. However, to keep the pacing more appropriate for a short film, I decided instead to set the story within a fictional world populated by gaming characters, where video games are shot like movies and their success relies on how much they are played. Originally I also planned for the opening to feature the main character’s life in their prime, back when their game was more popular, but this led to a lot more setup than I felt appropriate for a short film, and was ultimately the deciding factor in removing this from the character’s backstory. I wanted to get to the point faster, to make the story clear from the beginnin

 Following the title sequence, the main character is shown wandering the streets of a ruined town. The town used to be a fun neighbourhood in the times of 8-bit gaming, but now it’s in ruins with dusty signs and abandoned houses all around. Rather than weird and wacky game characters, the streets are now roamed by space marines, mercenaries, assassins, and other edgy characters that are commonplace is modern gaming. Among this crowd is Great Girl, who wanders around uncomfortably in this new world. She immediately stands out due to her shorter stature, cartoonish proportions and “mitten hands” which are only visible when she needs to use them. She is visibly distressed, as she cannot blend in or relate to any of these characters. She tries to jump happily to get their attention, but she is either ignored completely or met with strange looks. She sighs and continues to wander.

 Cut to a large building, the headquarters of a major game development company known as “Active Vision”. Great Girl arrives and stops to look at a billboard outside the main entrance. The bill board reads “Pitch a game day, the best entry will be funded by us!” She nods and smiles with determination, and heads inside the building. She came here so she could seize an opportunity to finally express herself and fit in with the world around her, and starring in a game funded by a famous developer could makes this dream a reality

 Great Girl heads towards a banner which reads “Sign up here!” with a desk beneath it. The desk is occupied by an unimpressed woman in her 20s, clearly not enjoying her job. Great Girl wanders up to the desk, but isn’t noticed by the woman at the desk. Annoyed, she jumps up and rings the bell sitting on the desk, causing the woman to glance at her unenthusiastically. She half-heartedly pushes a piece of paper towards Great Girl. Great Girl notices she does not have a pen, and tries to grab the one on the desk.

 While struggling to reach the pen, a tall man in heavy space armour with a large gun in one hand wanders in, causing the secretary to break out of her bored stupor and Great Girl to fall off the desk. The man’s name is Edge Grittstone, a modern styled game character with the same intention as Great Girl: to fund his game. The woman at the desk is far more attentive to Edge Grittstone, as his appeal in a modern gaming world is more obvious, and she enthusiastically hands him a paper and a pen, the latter of which she didn’t offer to Great Girl at all. This obviously annoys Great Girl, who can only glare angrily. After signing the paper, he ruffles Great Girls hair and walks away. Great Girl glares at him as he leaves, and then grabs the pen from the desk so she can hastily scribble her signature on the paper. She leaves, fuming after the way she was treated and determined to put Edge Grittstone in his place.

 Later, a stage with a small audience of several bored looking business employees in suits observe unenthusiastically. The competition is underway. Great Girl heads on stage and smiles at everyone, prompting no reaction whatsoever. With a hint of nervousness, she presses a button on a small remote to activate her presentation. The first slide features the title of her game, “Great Girl”. She points to this, but the crowd remains unmoved. She starts cycle through the slides, showcasing the features of her game. This includes what is typically expected in a classic platformer; wacky enemies, power ups, collectable coins, and colourful yet minimalistic scenery. After concluding the presentation, Great Girl looks far more uncomfortable than before she began as nobody reacted to any of her slides. After nodding her head to indicate that the presentation is over, the audience claps unenthusiastically. While this applause is clearly just a formality, she tries to remain optimistic and smiles as she exits the stage.

Following Great Girl’s presentation, Edge Grittstone walks in and begins his own presentation. His mere presence causes the audience to straighten up, clearly intrigued by what he has to offer. He reveals the title of his game, “Edge Affliction”, and begins to reveal his pitch. The game is a typical modern first person shooter. It features online multiplayer, voice chat, and a dramatic single player campaign about fighting aliens. The audience is impressed by all of this, and several of the business employees tear up slightly when they hear about the dramatic story. Once the presentation concludes, explosions of confetti surround the stage and a large banner reading “Winner” hangs above the stage. Several business employees climb on stage and enthusiastically obsess over the protagonist of their new game, shaking his hand and patting him on the back. Great Girl is then revealed to be watching this from off stage. Hunched over and dejectedly, she walks away.

Cut to the reception area, Great Girl is sitting on one of the chairs, sulking after her loss. A few seconds later, Edge Grittstone walks by with several business employees following him. He leaves his gun on the table in the reception area, to take a break from carrying it, and heads further into the building. With the reception once again clear, Great Girl eyes the gun curiously. At this point, she wonders if perhaps she should change who she is; she has tried her whole life to be herself and hasn’t been accepted by anybody. Great Girl jumps down from the chair and attempts to pick up the gun. She struggles a lot under the weight of the gun. In addition to the physical discomfort, Great Girl appears visibly uncomfortable with the object, and promptly puts it back.

 After straightening her posture, she produces a small piece of paper with one of her slides printed on to it, showing her jumping in a platform game. She smiles at this, and looks back at the gun. Shaking her head, she realises that she wouldn’t be happy fitting in with society if she had to sacrifice her own identity to do so, and she leaves feeling content with who she is.

 Despite the failure, Great Girl stayed true to herself. In the aftermath of the competition, she finds peace her own identity and learns to appreciate who she is regardless of how well she blends into the world.

 I attempted to incorporate Syd Field's three act structure into this story. The first act sets up the problem straight away. As soon as a the happy cheerful logo ends, we immediately cut to the same scenery in a post apocalyptic state, and see the main character wandering a town filled with cutthroats and mercenaries uncomfortably. The main character then arrives at the place they were travelling; a major game developer's headquarters where she has a chance to receive funding for her game.

This then sets up the scene for act 2. As soon as she tries to interact with another character, we can tell that she is not being taken seriously. The receptionist appears unimpressed with everything about her and sees her as more of a nuisance than anything else. However, it is not until the antagonist, Edge Grittstone, arrives that we start to see her struggle. Great Girkl isn't even wholly aware that she is being mistreated until another character receives far better treatment for doing seemingly nothing.

The rest of the second act involves the rest of the character's trial. While presenting her idea, her confidence begins to waver and her desperate attempts to appeal to her potential employers are crushed immediately after as the antagonist swoops in as a representation of everything she is not, securing funding for his own game and leaving Great Girl utterly defeated.

The third act, as expected, features the protagonist taking control of the situation and rising above it. However, while the obvious conflict with the protagonist is over at this point, her conflict with her own insecurities continue. Without hope of fitting in with the world, Great Girl needs to learn to appreciate herself for how she is. She does this by imagining herself in the antagonist's shoes, touting firearms and explosives in gritty, dramatic games. She realises that this is not her at all, and that fitting in would mean she wouldn't be able to be who she is and do the things she loves. The reaffirms this by looking over one of her slides from the presentation she gave, realising how much she loves being a retro character despite how lonely she feels.