#real actual midnight crew and felt art might come again one day

[aquared]

i have too many followers you all might have to die

[mostlymovieswithmax]

Movies I watched in May

Sadly, I kind of skipped writing a post for April. It was a mad month with so much going on: lots of emails sent and lots of stress. I started a new job so I’m getting to grips with that... and even then, I still watched a bunch of movies. But this is about what I watched in May and, yeah… still a bunch. So if you’re looking to get into some other movies - possibly some you’ve thought about watching but didn’t know what they were like, or maybe like the look of something you’ve never heard of - then this may help! So here’s every film I watched from the 1st to the 31st of May 2021 Tenet (2020) - 8/10 This was my third time watching Christopher Nolan’s most Christopher Nolan movie ever and it makes no sense but I still love it. The spectacle of it all is truly like nothing I’ve ever seen. I had also watched it four days prior to this watch also, only this time I had enabled audio description for the visually impaired, thinking it would make it funny… It didn’t.

Nomadland (2020) - 6/10 Chloé Zhao’s new movie got a lot of awards attention. Everyone was hyped for this and when it got put out on Disney+ I was eager to see what all the fuss was about. Seeing these real nomads certainly gave the film an authenticity, along with McDormand’s ever-praisable acting. But generally I found it quite underwhelming and lacking a lot in its pacing. Nomadland surely has its moments of captivating cinematography and enticing commentary on the culture of these people, but it felt like it went on forever without any kind of forward direction or goal. The Prince of Egypt (1998) - 6/10 I reviewed this on my podcast, The Sunday Movie Marathon. For what it is, it’s pretty fun but nowhere near as good as some of the best DreamWorks movies.

Chinatown (1974) - 8/10 What a fantastic and wonderfully unpredictable mystery crime film! I regret to say I’ve not seen many Jack Nicholson performances but he steals the show. Despite Polanski’s infamy, it’d be a lie to claim this wasn’t truly masterful. Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) - 8/10 Admittedly I was half asleep as I curled up on the sofa to watch this again on a whim. I watched this with someone who demanded the dubbed version over the subtitled version and while I objected heavily, I knew I’d seen the movie before so it didn’t matter too much. That person also fell asleep about 20 minutes in, so how pointless an argument it was. Howl’s Moving Castle boasts superb animation, the likes of which I’ve only come to expect of Miyazaki. The story is so unique and the colours are absolutely gorgeous. This may not be my favourite from the legendary director but there’s no denying its splendour.

Bāhubali: The Beginning (2015) - 3/10 The next morning I watched some absolute trash. This crazy, over the top Indian movie is hilarious and I could perhaps recommend it if it weren’t so long. That being said, Bāhubali was not a dumpster fire; it has a lot of good-looking visual effects and it’s easy to see the ambition for this epic story, it just doesn’t come together. There’s fun to be had with how the main character is basically the strongest man in the world and yet still comes across as just a lucky dumbass, along with all the dancing that makes no sense but is still entertaining to watch. Seven Samurai (1954) - 10/10 If it wasn’t obvious already, Seven Samurai is a masterpiece. I reviewed this on The Sunday Movie Marathon podcast, so more thoughts can be found there. Red Road (2006) - 6/10 Another recommendation on episode 30 of the podcast. Red Road really captures the authentic British working class experience. Before Sunrise (1995) - 10/10 One of the best romances put to film. The first in Richard Linklater’s Before Trilogy is undoubtedly my favourite, despite its counterparts being almost equally as good. It tells the story of a young couple travelling through Europe, who happen to meet on a train and spend the day together. It is gloriously shot on location in Vienna and features some of the most interesting dialogue I’ve ever seen put to film. Heartbreakingly beautiful.

Tokyo Story (1953) - 9/10 This Japanese classic - along with being visually and sonically masterful - is a lot about appreciating the people in your life and taking the time to show them that you love them. It’s about knowing it’s never too late to rekindle old relationships if you truly want to, which is something I’ve been able to relate to in recent years. It broke my heart in two. Tokyo Story will make you want to call your mother. Before Sunset (2004) - 10/10 Almost a decade after Sunrise, Sunset carries a sombre yet relieving feeling. Again, the performances from Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke take me away, evoking nostalgic feelings as they stroll through the contemporary Parisian streets. There is no regret in me for buying the Criterion blu-ray boxset for this trilogy. Before Midnight (2013) - 10/10 Here, Linklater cements this trilogy as one of the best in film history. It’s certainly not the ending I expected, yet it’s an ending I appreciate endlessly. Because it doesn’t really end. Midnight shows the troubling times of a strained relationship; one that has endured so long and despite initially feeling almost dreamlike in how idealistically that first encounter was portrayed, the cracks appear as the film forces you to come to terms with the fact that fairy-tale romances just don’t exist. Relationships require effort and sacrifice and sometimes the ones that truly work are those that endure through all the rough patches to emerge stronger. The Holy Mountain (1973) - 10/10 Jodorowsky’s masterpiece is absolute insanity. I talked more about it on The Sunday Movie Marathon podcast.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) - 10/10 Another watch for Grand Budapest because I bought the Criterion blu-ray. As unalterably perfect as ever. Blue Jay (2016) - 6/10 Rather good up to a point. My co-hosts and I did not agree on how good this movie was, which is a discussion you can listen to on my podcast. Shadow and Bone: The Afterparty (2021) - 3/10 For what it’s worth, I really enjoyed the first season of Shadow and Bone, which is why I wanted to see what ‘The Afterparty’ was about. This could have been a lot better and much less annoying if all those terrible comedians weren’t hosting and telling bad jokes. I don’t want to see Fortune Feimster attempt to tell a joke about oiling her body as the cast of the show sit awkwardly in their homes over Zoom. If it had simply been a half hour, 45 minute chat with the cast and crew about how they made the show and their thoughts on it, a lot of embarrassment and time-wasting could have been spared. Wadjda (2012) - 6/10 Another recommendation discussed at length on The Sunday Movie Marathon. Wadjda was pretty interesting from a cultural perspective but largely familiar in terms of story structure.

Freddy Got Fingered (2001) - 2/10 A truly terrible movie with maybe one or two scenes that stop it from being a complete catastrophe. Tom Green tried to create something that almost holds a middle finger to everyone who watches it and to some that could be a fun experience, but to me it just came across as utterly irritating. It’s simply a bunch of scenes threaded together with an incredibly loose plot. He wears the skin of a dead deer, smacks a disabled woman over and over again on the legs to turn her on, and he swings a newborn baby around a hospital room by its umbilical cord (that part was actually pretty funny). I cannot believe I watched this again, although I think I repressed a lot of it since having seen it for the first time around five years ago. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 - (2011) I have to say, these movies seem to get better with each instalment. They’re still not very good though. That being said, I’m amazed at how many times I’ve watched each of the Twilight movies at this point. This time around, I watched Breaking Dawn - Part 1 with a YMS commentary track on YouTube and that made the experience a lot more entertaining. Otherwise, this film is super dumb but pretty entertaining. I would recommend watching these movies with friends. Solaris (1972) - 8/10 Andrei Tarkovsky’s grand sci-fi epic about the emotional crises of a crew on the space station orbiting the fictional planet Solaris is much as strange and creepy as you might expect from the master Russian auter. I had wanted to watch this for a while so I bought the Criterion blu-ray and it’s just stunning. It’s clear to see the 2001: A Space Odyssey inspiration but Solaris is quite a different beast entirely. Jaws (1975) - 4/10 I really tried to get into this classic movie, but Jaws exhibits basically everything I don’t like about Steven Spielberg’s directing. For sure, the effects are crazily good but the story itself is poorly handled and largely uninteresting. It was just a massive slog to get through.

Darkman (1990) - 6/10 Sam Raimi’s superhero movie is so much fun, albeit massively stupid. Further discussion on Darkman can be found on episode 32 of The Sunday Movie Marathon podcast. Darkman II: The Return of Durant (1995) - 1/10 Abysmal. I forgot the movie as I watched it. This was part of a marathon my friends and I did for episode 32 of our podcast. Darkman III: Die Darkman Die (1996) - 1/10 Perhaps this trilogy is not so great after all. Only marginally better than Darkman II but still pretty terrible. More thoughts on episode 32 of my podcast. F For Fake (1973) - 8/10 Rewatching this proved to be a worthwhile decision. Albeit slightly boring, there’s no denying how crazy the story of this documentary about art forgers is. The standout however, is the director himself. Orson Welles makes a lot of this film about himself and how hot his girlfriend is and it is hilarious.

The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021) - 4/10 More style over substance, Sony’s new animated adventure wants so much to be in trend with the current internet culture but it simply doesn’t understand what it’s emulating. There’s a nyan cat reference, for crying out loud. For every joke that works, there are about ten more that do not and were it not for the wonderful animation, it simply wouldn’t be getting so much praise. Taxi Driver (1976) - 10/10 The first movie I’ve seen in a cinema since 2020 and damn it was good to be back! I’ve already reviewed Taxi Driver in my March wrap-up but seeing it in the cinema was a real treat. Irreversible (2002) - 8/10 One of the most viscerally horrendous experiences I’ve ever had while watching a movie. I cannot believe a friend of mine gave me the DVD to watch. More thoughts on episode 32 of The Sunday Movie Marathon podcast. Don’t watch it with the family. The Golden Compass (2007) - 1/10 I had no recollection of this being as bad as it is. The Golden Compass is the definition of a factory mandated movie. Nothing it does on its own is worth any kind of merit. I would say, if you wanted an experience like what this tries to communicate, a better option by far is the BBC series, His Dark Materials. More of my thoughts can be found in the review I wrote on Letterboxd.

Antichrist (2009) - 8/10 Lars von Trier is nothing if not provocative and I can understand why someone would not like Antichrist, but I enjoyed it quite a lot. After watching it, I wrote a slightly disjointed summary of my interpretations of this highly metaphorical movie in the group chat, so fair warning for a bit of spoilers and graphic descriptions: It's like, the patriarchy, man! Oppression! Men are the rational thinkers with big brains and the women just cry and be emotional. So she's seen as crazy when she's smashing his cock and driving a drill through his leg to keep him weighted down. Like, how does he like it, ya know? So then she mutilates herself like she did with him and now they're both wounded, but the animals crowd around her (and the crow that he couldn't kill because it's Mother nature, not Father nature, duh). Then he kills her, even though she could've killed him loads of times but didn't. So it's like "haha big win for the man who was subjected to such horrific torture. Victory!" And then all the women with no faces come out of the woods because it's like a constant cycle. Manchester By The Sea (2016) - 6/10 Great performances in this super sad movie. I can’t say I got too much out of it though. Roar (1981) - 9/10 Watching Roar again was still as terrifying an experience as the first time. If you want to watch something that’s loose on plot with poor acting but with real big cats getting in the way of production and physically attacking people, look no further. This is the scariest movie I’ve ever seen because it’s all basically real. Cannot recommend it enough. Eyes Without A Face (1960) - 8/10 I’m glad I checked this old French movie out again. There’s a lot to marvel at in so many aspects, what with the premise itself - a mad surgeon taking the faces from unsuspecting women and transplanting them onto another - being incredibly unique for the time. Short, sweet and entertaining!

Se7en (1995) - 10/10 The first in a David Fincher marathon we did for The Sunday Movie Marathon, episode 33. Zodiac (2007) - 10/10 Second in the marathon, as it was getting late, we decided to watch half that evening and the last half on the following evening. Zodiac is a brilliant movie and you can hear more of my thoughts on the podcast (though I apologise; my audio is not the best in this episode). Gone Girl (2014) - 10/10 My favourite Fincher movie. More insights into this masterpiece in episode 33 of the podcast. Friends: The Reunion (2021) - 6/10 It was heartwarming to see the old actors for this great show together again. I talked about the Friends reunion film at length in episode 33 of my podcast.

Wolfwalkers (2020) - 10/10 I reviewed this in an earlier post but would like to reiterate just how wonderful Wolfwalkers is. If you get the chance, please see it in the cinema. I couldn’t stop crying from how beautiful it was. Raya and The Last Dragon (2021) - 6/10 After watching Wolfwalkers, I decided I didn’t want to go home. So I had lunch in town and booked a ticket for Disney’s Raya and The Last Dragon. A child was coughing directly behind me the entire time. Again, I reviewed this in an earlier post but generally it was decent but I have so many problems with the execution. The Princess Bride (1987) - 9/10 Clearly I underrated this the last time I watched it. The Princess Bride is warm and hilarious with some delightfully memorable characters. A real classic!

The Invisible Kid (1988) - 1/10 About as good as you’d expect a movie with that name to be, The Invisible Kid was a pick for The Sunday Movie Marathon podcast, the discussion for which you can listen to in episode 34. Babel (2006) - 9/10 The same night that I watched The Invisible Kid, I watched a masterful and dour drama from the director of Birdman and The Revenant. Babel calls back to an earlier movie of Iñárritu’s, called Amores Perros and as I was informed while we watched this for the podcast, it turns out Babel is part of a trilogy alongside the aforementioned film. More thoughts in episode 34 of the podcast. Snake Eyes (1998) - 1/10 After feeling thoroughly emotionally wiped out after Babel, we immediately watched another recommendation for the podcast: Snake Eyes, starring Nicolas Cage. This was a truly underwhelming experience and for more of a breakdown into what makes this movie so bad, you can listen to us talk about it on the podcast.

[thespianhauler]

So I saw a Homestuck item for sale recently that might actually be a problem[?]

Not 100% sure on whether it is a problem but I’ma post all the info I have here and let y’all decide.

So it has to do with a pack of Homestuck Midnight Crew playing cards being available for purchase from several different Ebay sellers as well as a few third party online sellers of novelty trading cards [the only reason I saw it is because I collect novelty playing cards].

I did go ahead and grab a pack so that I could compare it to the authentic Midnight Crew Playing cards.

I’m gonna come back to The Felt Playing cards a little later for a different point, but first I just wanna show the box art for them.

The authentic deck box has the suits on it, nice ribbon, all 4 weapons from the crew against a bloody spade backdrop, very nice.

This is one side of the deck box art of the “new” Midnight Crew playing cards. I ain’t saying anything about the art, the art is really nice, this isn’t a complaint about the art, this is me being unsure of how legit these cards are.

This is the art on the other side of the deck box. Also my second point of confusion, if I wasn’t clear my first and main point is the legitimacy of this item, my second point is why is Snow on the box of a midnight crew deck?? She’s not party of the crew, she absolutely does not belong on this box my dudes.

Decks are the same size [2.45 inches by 3.5 inches], an average playing card deck, so nothing majorly changed there

Now admittedly this has messed me up since I got the cards, cause the backing of the authentic cards does not match the deck box art. And on one hand I can understand why, the deck box art is usually symmetrical, that allows for the plays to shuffle the cards as much as they want and always have them remain right side up cause the cards, if split through the middle horizontally remain mirror images of each other.

The deck box art is asymmetrical, and buddy you’d look real dumb holding your cards upside down. But I still feel they could have made the design asymmetrical with some adjustments, but that’s a complaint for a different day. The authentic midnight crew playing cards have the same backing design as the felt playing cards.

For the “new” deck the Snowman design is actually the backing. not only is it asymmetrical and the back of your hand is gunna make you look silly, but again it should have at least been the Slick art cause that makes SENSE

This part made me really feel like the new deck was just milled from a printing company that is open to taking any orders for a deck of cards. It made me feel pretty sure that the deck was a bootleg/knock off.

The left most card is the only bonus card that comes in the authentic deck, giving credit to the artists involved in creating the deck, by name and tumblr blog.

The middle and right most cards come from the new deck, they’re the sort of cards that you sometimes get in regular old playing card decks, poker hands and a how to play x or y game.

Left is the authentic, right is the new. Now this far from the card the camera doesn’t really pick up any differences.

The art from the authentic deck, the colors might look a little washed out I had to brighten my camera to get a clearer picture.

The new deck, between the 2 decks there’s no real difference in art used for the cards. And the colors are identical, the no adjustment in brightness or hue between the 2 sets [any differences seen in the images are probably due to my camera].

This is as close as I could get to a card from the new set, without it going blurry on me, and you can see the little crossing lines on it. That’s the biggest noticeable difference; material quality

The authentic deck is made of card stock with a smooth finish

New deck is card stock with a linen finish [linen while a nice tactile feeling also can make the edges of an image a little blurry; I’ve noticed this the most on the cards that have clocks on them].

The new deck has a very strong plastic smell, but I blame that on the thin plastic the cards were in [but man is it STRONG]

Authentic deck smells of card stock, which I’m hoping this deck smells like when it airs out

They feel about the same thickness

The boxes on the other hand; authentic box feels thicker, sturdier, the print job is sealed, more likely to last

I’ve only just opened the new deck and the box feels much flimsier, there is no sealing on the colors on the deck; which is evidenced by the fact that I’ve managed to scuff it just by opening it

The last thing that bothers me is the copyright information on the box [I don’t know what else to call it]

Now this leaves me confused, The Felt playing cards have the Homestuck and Whatpumpkin logo on the bottom copyright Andrew Hussie bla bla bla you know the rest. But the Midnight Crew cards don’t have that anywhere on the box [and I know damn well they’re authentic]

Yet the new deck has it on the bottom, except it’s being created under the For Fans by Fans, copyright 2019

Which just leaves me confused as fuck all. I, may not be the biggest fan of FFBF as a third party selling site, but I visit it fairly often to keep an eye on what’s going on with the homestuck stuff [I also follow their tumblr and get email updates from them] so like, did I miss something here??? Am I wrong and this is a reprint that was made and sold out hella fast on FFBF??

The last thing I’m gunna include is the description and details that are [literally identical] found on every selling post about these cards

“A playful version of classic playing cards by Homestuck, with art by NightMargin. This deck features the Midnight Crew members: Spades Slick, Hearts Boxcars, Diamonds Droog, and Clubs Deuce, with weapons and objects that they use throughout their missions.

Details:

54 card deck

Card size:  2.5" x 3.5"

Card finish: linen

Box dimensions: 3.59" tall x 2.56" wide

Art by NightMargin

Great for Homestuck collectors

See if the cards are bootleg it means that all those people listed up on the card crediting the artists involved means they are absolutely not getting their due payments for the art provided on the cards, nor is Hussie or for fans by fans getting any money back on these decks.

It also means 1 to a few people had to come together, have really good images of the cards to provide a template for the printing company, pony up the dough to get x amount of decks printed, and then make bank on letting third party sellers on ebay or online sell them [or even they’re the one’s directly selling them online] it’s hard to say.

All I know is this feels real fishy to me

[glopratchet]

egg-drop

As soon as your mother sees you, she rushes over and embraces you in a tight hug You return it of course, it's been months since you last saw her or any of your other family members for that matter "You've grown so much!" She exclaims while holding both of your arms out to see Your father laughs and pats you hard on the back nearly breaking your balance Your other siblings greet you in a similar manner, never really having been an affectionate family, physical touch is rare Your younger brother Eron mentions that he thought you would definitely not be coming back You and your friends fill them in on what happened as they refilled their plates and cups with food and drink " "Oh thank the waters that you're home safe! ~Deaths Door: Chapter 1~ You shift your eyes to take in your surroundings You're seventeen years old in Apelap, which tells you exactly nothing Your name is Tephanis and up until one year ago was a traveling sneakthief with no actual home The first thing you notice is the dull pain in your head and how you can't move , this time without a hitch, however upon our return we were hit by an unexpected maelstrom that blew out our drives!,we decided that there was no point in trying to get the ship enoguh to strčigate the storm as it woulf have been too dangerous for the crew, so we bailed but alas one of the asteroids hit us and pierced our hull! cp-184-b She hums there for a second, waiting for further instruction Ooh! That feels pleasant she says to herself She imagines him kissing and caressing her, She carries his infant on her hip she fondles his robot parts shaped like a phallus oddments compartment she waits for 5 minutes 15 minutes then after 30 minutes her organic mattermind is filled with confusion,Had the captains orders become interrupted? What could it be? Great she its thinking it forgot about me completely The tractor beam stops immediately a friendly competition Each of them strove to nab the most cosmic strings possible for their own home The captain drone exmaple told us how important this was; They use the strings to brush the oxides off the ships ; she would hold it and hug it and she cried letting out the pain of losing her family by letting them go so they could be happy,and because naleen had bled so much she felt woozy so she pulled out a healing kit made of plants and twigs and let it seep into her bloodstream slowly the bloodsoaked twig began to neutralize the bleed It narrowed its eyes and took a step forward Come on, doofus On the screen she only noticed an immense poppy field of stars 's mountain dew before an adventure; she found it did wonders for her agility! She remembered captain kerol was injured at iscwar as he abruptly shouted somthing about wait and grabbed some ketchup of the fridge and grace so she tries to tell herself that her goals are Keep helping people when theyre in trouble and look good while doing it Krang had just hatched from his ovoid,crackalating out adorable duckies Why was everything before her eyes always so darn cute? he tilted his head slightly - as if nodding at he idea She went back on the screen and typed captain can I now iet your ship back to earth\ "bout dam time lady!" which captain could not navigate the ship until disk four was beaten none of them could slack off ever She diddled with ending button 1 for a zillion times, she finally succombed to putting the disk in the system and booted it up game on!! on1y by beating level 16 she can send the ship back to earth squared, but basically would reach final destination Her captaincy of the Excilerator The force feult I needs an explanation! The 1alien looks like a heavy sharp boomerang so when thrown forward it falls back 2wards u, but on teh way back it accelelaters at 1G until its 3 times faster than gunfire!!! The throw is very volatile so you need exceptional strength to support its weight *%$@ luck!!!! of innocents?? No , but she knew how to prepare for this This fragile tool could not be used properly; at least not without its brother With a mermaids sonance she could soft boil an omelette or harden blue wax but that was many moons ago He had a near death experience forgetting everything and everyone he knew but for her warmth in the night-sea A thrill that splinter catalysed through him, blowing kisses down his spine from ove warm sands 1 this almost killed her when the chicken from ziggy played his Death march along her front palour causing the great flood of '87 She looked 2wards the guillotine; she had exxagerated a grossly swollen lymphnodes and furious fibromyalgia But it was too late 2 turn back now TOO LATE!! The turtle had gone into hibernation seven years ago when he felt the creamy fire within her belly these "COUCHES!" grow by crystals shrinking from a parent until they are strong enough carry their own weight She could cut herself on its razor-like edge!!so with exceptional strength she thrust it into the muddy South pole rivers northeast thickest tributary of asia beyond the pale PITY!! 4 red blood cells were running late today so she took the carrotwagon they bought to save time beautiful But The cello player needed an exorbitantly priced enchanted harp for their library, A mere millimeter too short and it could never fill its section of the stands in concert halls But this was it--"the start of something , catching and giving light, blushing with fluffy, rippling reflections between islands of clouds, shuffling the starlight into new constellations Arranged just for her they bounced and bent light By the sheer strength of their woven lightness, they could easily push something so large They do look like dee's finest work So this was it then--parting was such sweet sorrow on the air currents, a mushiness where her feet are supposed to be With this magical force field in place no ordinary revolver could ever take their lives, but tonight their love was written in the stars selfish thought he was completely willing to give up his own life--he just didn't want to lose her too The mere diameter of one of those fibers could trap the moonslight between your chilled fingertips long after twilight, without stirring so much as a dust mote , and here she wet her moldable triangular being to fit the 'stringent requirements' of his infernal charmers Even if he came halfway he would impatiently insist on taking her home at midnight anyway, worst ogre ever They were only a moonstone's throw away now, but! Oh the stars twoleap every seven minutes now and with this big bully blocking half the doorway there's only one solution--thrust him out into space by his heels , and twone of the celestials has a spiraling crushed cyst from the top of his head, most of his arm ripped off, and most likely one or more ribs broken The ogres were thick-skinned alright but with six eyes he could see by moonlight that this punch went through the whole left side of his face! clearly knocking out an eye instantly and ruining everything else inside as he slumps over legless down the spiral staircase, blood pouring down behind him The end --to stay, not leave Thanks for taking this trip with me! One day you can make your own who you're with is always your choice--even if they don't know it--that's extra special though when it happens :) Turn down the hall to continue God and wait here, maybe have to wait a long time and that's okay Time really wasn't 'real' to her anymore anyway--as much as it had been at one time to otherworldly magic portal, which backlit to the glow of a humunculus huddled over a workbench enslaved to the dark arts in the middle of a desert Their sun powered the bonsai-alchemy of his all-consuming twisted lab--but this dusk, it couldn't compete with a descending blood red moon But she just sees things differently now after all she's seen And is that so bad? ! "We're free!" you yell, or something similar "Magic is dying!" Then you kiss--well, it might be some time before you ever have lips again for all you know, but it's as if to say--it doesn't matter now she rolls the windows down and feels the icy wind against her face, excited about who and where she is, rushing toward something--anything before it became an emergency and finally, she started to pack up all their remaining belongings One day Everything! To never have limits or boundaries, and with a beautiful boy by her side blanketing the sky, she couldn't help but laugh The sound of the wheels on the powder chaffing against each other--but then no more The final memories of an old life give way to fun in the fog with a beautiful boy by her side And you have outsmarted fate, or the closest thing to it Your brood of mutant children survive and thrive as their species tends to do The boy's power is their salvation, his instinctive intelligence embraces it The ant-like regularity of a ruthless social hierarchy, along with budding feelings of individuality and free will--due to the loss of its predecessor, are nurtured by you as best you can did affect her outlook on life and attitude especially living without any other adults around in such a small isolated town cut off from the rest of the world Still, she learned to exist with it even if at times she wanted to be petulant whenever she didn't get her way--still got that tendency today fantasy: Dropping out of school wouldn't have gotten you anywhere in this field Feeling bad about not taking your work seriously enough to get your degree? and you didn't feel too much of a stab at your conscious this time around Then, with acceptance of your future, you moved onto the next phase of your life and career WHAT WILL YOU DO: The idea of working extremely long hours under constant stress for at least a decade to come probably doesn't appeal to you all that much right now --something much more interesting It's been a couple days since you have had good long while to catch up on your twin hobbies of reading the news and online browsing Usually at work you made just enough time to quickly skim through the headlines and your favorite internet sites With your new technological appendage poping into view, you feel a baited breath thrill as your nerdy interests fully come back to life-- just as you left them The best virtual reality yet! at every waking moment Its value can never be maximized enough Slacking is bad for you and makes people suspicious, distracting, and inefficient Your superpower could very well one day disappear if you wait too long and sapping it for granted now would be the biggest mistake of your life Time can not be saved: it can only be spent Wasted even , his power of absoption awaits you--its recipient The toys stage direction pops up again arrestingly handsome with a youthful appearance, 22, wears a perfectly fitted gray woolen suit Sprawling in your chair you click on each link proffered to delve further into the matter The internet is vast and holds information for any curious adventure--just waiting to be uncovered Being immensely busy has its advantages, like not having very much idle time When work consumes a good portion of your life, you tend to neglect other areas that don't directly involve said work You haven't drank quite as much since your habits were healthier before and didn't really feel the need to do so all that much anyway However, there is something inherently interesting about alcohol--especially to a certain extent and across oceans of vast uncertainty--drifting slowly Digital displays indicating altitude and airspeed flickered and strobed through the windows so quickly that when looked at directly gave the viewer a sense of vertigo--a temporal whiplash if you will A roller coaster flying through the cosmos it doesn't get much more exhilarating than that and spit out highly radioactive material and coolant all in excess, rarely a moment was had where the power reserves weren't full to the brink The design was made incredibly efficient with intelligent components that made it flexible in flight It wold be able to fly around the world many times without refueling if it weren't for the fact that it sailed through the skies instead of above the ground on wheels or rails Wasting money on vehicles was something you didn't do very often, in fact its first use for a vehicle like this would be for short or distant transport of package and cargo Your fleet employees are all very capable of flying these packages to their designated areas without your direct involvement The company of a vehicle such as this was meant to lounge in while the package convoy multi-tasked around you laying dormant at 300 meters, airship at 150, delivery craft at 550 meters While all of the gas-cells needed for the airship and other types of energy were certainly nothing new to the construction of airships, your main expertise was focused in fusion and anti-matter cells for the primary propulsion drive Of course some of these smaller airships ran on more exotic fuel methods such as cryotechnology, even antimatter lookout platform at 200 meters, forward stabilizers at 50 meters These were all facts that agitated you to overwhelming heights and stimulated your mind all the while Only stopping yourself from running on hours at a time production of new ideas and concepts to improve upon the airship's capabilities and efficiency What a beautiful machine it was, just utterly gorgeous rear mast at 200 meters, antannae at 100 From afar, laying on the newly installed bench-seats from below, you could look up from your elevated viewpoint and see nothing but pure blue skies The vehicle was wide and long, your office quarters encompassed the back 2/5's of the airship and the cockpit took up the forward 3/5's leaving just enough room for a common cabient should you ever need to confine guests for whatever reason long-range antenna at 500 meters, long-range radar at 300 Truly it was an accomplishment for the ages This airship was a just perfect as it could get in your opinion and you started to walk back inside when your eyes casted their view downward to the earth far, far bellow, but instead of the usual creeping terror that consumed you during your first moments aboard, tranquility took its place Peacefulness Serene observation windows at 50 meters Conscious thought leaves you as you take in a deep breath, exhaling slowly as your fears and anxieties subside from their perch in your chest Pride swells within you as you exit the control station inside and ascend up a ladder to your hammock bed located at the rear of your office quarters here at the back of the airship Its just another peaceful evening Dear Diary antennae at 400 meters, long-range radio at 150 Product Name: ZP-29 Atmospheric Processor Promotional video linked on homepage meals and restrooms at 1,000 meters Best of luck to you at Venus Hill The earth its just so bleh Your brother recommended this highly? He who burned everything he touched? I must say the teachers always liked his outdoorsy attitude But does my lazy slob of a younger sibling truly have what it takes to work here? We'll see I suppose view of otherwise "empty" surroundings A trio of flying lizard scouts fly by from high above reports their findings to the Airship, controlling the Atmos-Link machines as it takes in air from zone 1-12 A simple touch of a color-changing button displays the range information needed to be extracted and processed The plants, the lifeforms, temperature, humidity everything Although highly effective, the former T G S units were a bit more interesting A popup alerts near the edges of your screen Send reply to Ragnor: "Hey, stop lounging around and get up here! We got us a ton of work to do and you're sitting around swilling booze like some swine -W " Sent city lights and streetlights life The forests had its own beauty, but the awakened beast within you drives you to want more than what the forests could provide You've wiped the tribal par and village Êlves from the map Now that your reputation is well established, it's unlikely anyone will dare attack you now So now, larger settlements were your trophies of conquest and who was to stop you? Arquest doubts you even have any weapons of "mass destruction" searching threads on Gibraltarpedia Tritorian Empire: The Fatherland The bright lights of an ancient city An entire enclave aimed to bring forth a new industrial revolution under the eyes of the Emperor, Arquest I Indeed, his last name was borrowed from the great Leader of his people and eventual God-Emperor that started this great nation (debated greatly) during the revitalization period after the Robot War laid waste to (nearly) the entire world resumes previous train of thought You touch the unlock pad next to your apartment door Working both ways, a quick scan confirms you'r not bleeding or otherwise injured as it alters colors before you can even turn the knob Even in this part he sector, gangers and Slabaugh Dwellings were close enough that if you ever found yourself in danger from loitering, you could easily run and get home in time answers another private message Slammer: "Alright listen up Ragnor We got some people where we work that say they need extra security measures installed just in case some weirdoes start making trouble there You and I both know that it's probably going to be some ED/GC spies or even those new age turds, but the job pays well " Signed, The Big Fellow mutes another obnoxious advert

[worldofadvent]

NEO World of Advent Chapter Eleven

It was amazing really, Light thought, how one could perceive the slightest shifts in momentum aboard even an advanced naval base. Light recalled some of his team members remarking that they couldn't even feel the waves aboard their new home, the bastards. No, it had to be Light whose seasickness was fine tuned to pick up even the tiniest of aquatic disturbances. He wasn't this way with rumbling earth; only open water could have this effect on him.

Light stared at the shining object in front of him - a pearl-white toilet seat, freshly scrubbed. For once he was not hugging the porcelain throne in a fit of violent seasickness; at the very least he could handle what little motion the waves mustered against their base now. He had been told that there was ultimately no way around getting over seasickness but to get used to the sea. Well, twenty miles off the coast on an otherwise unused naval station certainly counted, Light surmised. No shortage of water there.

No, the real reason behind both Light's placement in front of the aforementioned porcelain throne and its current shiny state were due to his having crashed and burned in a bet against Mist. She had promised to make him scrub the latrines for all eternity if he failed to procure a cure for his seasickness. Given his position as permanent cabin boy, it was pretty clear who had won that bet. Luckily, the rest of the crew had no idea this is what he did in his spare time, Mist having told the group he was off doing something 'Only Light was qualified to do.' She told him it was to avoid demoralizing the group by letting one of their own see another scrub the bathrooms, but Light knew better.

Secretly, she was in love with him. Yes, that was his story and he was sticking to it. It certainly wasn't some hairbrained excuse to keep flirting with his attractive head of command. At first Light feared she would make good on her promises to have him court martialed, but after nothing ever came of it, he felt like it was safe to do so. Approval by way of inaction. Recently, she had even started to talk back, their banter the highlight of Light's erstwhile repetitive and monotonous days.

There was a flush as one of the morning staff came out from one of the toilets, making a jolt of surprise as he saw Light follow his trail to the sinks from one of the toilets he had cleaned not twenty minutes ago, making sure to keep eye contact as long as possible. Once the janitor had been sufficiently freaked out and Light had asserted his rightful dominance as lord of the bathroom stalls, the man made a hurried departure from the room. Light groaned aggravatedly at the thought of scrubbing the seat again, but figured there was no way around it. Mist wanted all the latrines spotless. All. Of. Them. She had developed some sort of sixth sense for when he was slacking off or not putting forth the maximum amount of effort one could possibly put into cleaning bathroom gunk.

There was a rap on the door suddenly as Light felt as though that sixth sense might just be in use. "Occupied," he called out, to little effect. The door swung open, Mist's looming form above him as she criticized his work. "You know," Light said offhandedly. "I could probably sue you for sexual harassment now. Bathrooms are a sacred space. I don't recall giving you my consent to enter."

"Who would believe you," Mist shot back. "Here," she said, handing him something. It appeared to be a handmade pamphlet of sorts. A quick browse through found a variety of people in various forms of peril, always blonde and male, despite their having been labeled 'Damsels in Distress.' Mist folded her arms. "We were going over proper safety procedure. I didn't want you to fall behind."

"While I'm a man who appreciates fine art," Light said as he held one of the depictions of an unnaturally ugly blonde man about to be eaten by sharks, "Aren't damsels supposed to be female? Preferably scantily clad and with big er, you know."

"I can make them women," Mist said, "But I doubt that would make much of a difference in their appearances. I based them off of you, see."

"Ooph." Light held a hand to his heart. "You wound me. Admit it; you can't handle all this raw testosterone."

"Put some of that testosterone into some of those stains," Mist told him. "A five year old girl could do better."

"It's kind of hard to do when people like to make more stains," Light told her. "That sink over there gets nasty; you'll never appreciate true irony until you're using cleaning supplies to mop up the soap."

"What I'm trying to understand is why I'm still talking to you," Mist said. "Don't think you're off the hook for that risque book you sent me anonymously. I know it was you."

Light shrugged, unrepentant. He had it on good authority that the steamiest of romances happened in romance novels with high disparities in social class. He also thought 'The Cabin Boy' was a tasteful choice for some midnight reading. Who was he to deny his captain a good read? "Whatever could you be talking about?"

"You signed it with a 'wink' emoticon," Mist told him. "Not exactly subtle."

"That could have been anyone," Light scoffed. "Unless you caught a whiff of all this boyfriend material on the pages," he added. "I guess it could have been me then."

"In your dreams," Mist said. "The only thing I'm smelling now is my cabin boy amidst twenty gallons of bleach and a bathroom he hasn't finished cleaning yet."

"Who's fault is that," Light countered. "If it's such an intolerable smell, why don't you leave?"

"Good idea," Mist said as she called his bluff. "I'll see you at PT later tonight; don't be late."

Light gave her a small half wave as she sauntered outside. "Parting is such sweet sorrow" he said.

"All the sweeter when it's with you." Mist lingered for one last retort before closing the door behind her. Light cursed at an opportunity to ogle her backside denied, channeling his frustration in finishing the job he had been given. Hopefully, if he timed it right, he could be both on time and late enough to pick a machine behind Mist. Why she liked to choose the machines behind Light was a mystery to him, but it sure made spying on her sweat-soaked body hard. Like another part of his body… No. Bad Light. Focus.

Luckily, the cards were in Light's favor as he returned from a hasty shower in order to mask the harsh smells of cleaning spray. Mist had already chosen a treadmill and nobody had taken the one right behind hers, allowing him the perfect chance to admire her perfectly toned butt. The others didn't give him much notice, giving him a casual grunt of "Cabin Boy" by way of greeting. Light didn't mind; he knew it to be a token of deep affection - just like when they took the last dessert in the mess hall or used up the hot water before he got a chance to use the showers.

Light took his eyes off a much more pleasing sight to examine his machine. The treadmills they were given were designed to give even a reploid like Leviathan a workout (How a sentient machine worked out was still a mystery to Light; he figured that some things were just best left unanswered). He had actually tried out its highest setting once before, against crew recommendation, and fell flat on his face from the high velocity of the track. A quick sampling of eye candy later told Light that Mist's designated setting was two levels higher than his own. A quick re-calibration of his settings later, his muscles screamed but he let the machine spin determinedly.

Light grimaced as he matched Mist's decision to later crank it up a further notch. While he wasn't unused to exercise, this kind of punishment was new to his body. His limbs felt weak and sore by the end of their training, but at least Light knew now he could keep up with Mist's absurd pace. One of his crewmates, Orca, looked at his exhausted state critically as he downed another cup of water.

"Can you do anything right?" Orca asked. "You can't even work out without embarrassing yourself."

"Save it for someone who cares, whale boy. I was pushing myself." Light downed another cup of water beside Mist, who felt a similar need to hydrate.

"Can it you two," Mist said. "Save it for after hours, if you have to bicker. I don't want to hear any of your complaints, got it?"

"Aye aye, Captain." Light enjoyed watching Mist's eye twitch at his signature response. It was perfectly within her requirements - namely calling her captain; there was nothing she could do about it publicly.

"Yes, captain." Orca seemed to reign himself in at Mist's behest, but saved a healthy amount of verbal abuse for Light in her absence. "As you wish."

After their bout of physical training, they were allowed inside a room where Mist went over different scenarios they might encounter while out at sea, far away from Neo Arcadia's protective reach. Apparently many mechanloids still roamed the areas near their haven and provided a lasting threat even as Leviathan sent crews out to clear the waters of the rogue machines.

Light found these times particularly helpful in improving his stature amongst the crew, though he doubted Orca was capable of being impressed by him. Regardless, often it was Light whose proposals for different scenarios were accepted. Fin's input proved an invaluable resource, Light had found, however. Some of the obvious answers were disproven and modified by the more experienced sailor, who had learned the hard way that was the logical solution didn't always yield the expected results, especially in the face of panic.

Once Mist was satisfied with their ability to leave her wordplay wrecks alive, the casualties of whatever mental mishap she had come up safe and sound, she cleared them all for their evening meal before breaking off for the rest of the day. The mess hall, Light had found, was not a place for refined discourse. The six of them (Mist joined in) often made crass jokes and generally made bigger fools of themselves than what Mist would ordinarily have accepted from them. Shale made the comment (a flurry of hand signs that Light could now interpret) that they could have done with a better foodstuff than what they had been given, but Light thought it was alright. A step above sim sausage at least.

After departing from the relative freedom of the dinner table, Mist told them that they had a good hour or so before Lights Out. They thanked her for the heads up as they shuffled over to the space beside the hall where they were assigned individual rooms - a luxury Light had not expected. Light found himself playing foosball with one of the more agreeable members of his squadron, Rak.

Rak was fun to hang around. When Light had switched the covers of riveting books such as '1000 Ways to Tie a Knot' with more compelling novellas filled with an appropriate amount of danger and proper damsels in need of saving, Rak had found the ordeal highly amusing and had even hung out with Light to read their faux-cover contraband before it was taken away. Light supposed it was his fault the ruse had been discovered. You could only get so excited about the myriad ways in which one end of a rope could be pulled through another.

"Cap seemed happy today," Rak said. "You're lucky she let you off the hook for missing class earlier."

If Rak knew the extent of which Mist let Light get away with, he might not think so, but the scope of their unprofessional relationship had thus far been kept a secret. "I was dealing with something 'only I'm qualified to do,'" Light said casually as he hit a ball toward Rak's side of the field. "Super important."

Rak gave him a quizzical look. "What is it that you two are doing when you're off doing your 'top secret work?'"

"Pursuing a career in selective debate," Light said obscurely. He didn't have to let Rak know that their 'debates' were often over the merits of having a romantic relationship with him. "Nothing that would be of interest, I assure you."

Rak seemed to take him at his word. "Kind of like those word games she has us always play. I guess she gives you more challenging ones, given all the times you come up with the plan."

"It's certainly challenging at times," Light admitted. "But I think I can win. It's only a matter of time. You'll see."

"Okay?" Rak shrugged. "I guess it doesn't matter. It's kind of cool to work with Leviathan's daughter, isn't it? She can be a bit scary at times, but I think she cares. You know, deep down."

Light nodded listlessly, deep in thought as he considered the depth in which she cared. "She's a formidable person. I suppose any one of the Guardians' children would be."

"I keep thinking about the way you two sparred," Rak said. "You know, back at orientation. I never thought someone outside a royal family could move like that."

"Any Advent can achieve a certain level of speed and strength," Light told him. "If you train long and hard enough there's no reason you couldn't either. That voodoo with the water, though? Good luck with that."

Rak laughed. "You know, your oversol kind of reminds me of one of Zero's weapons. I studied his movements," he explained. "Learn from the best and all. The Z-knuckle has a similar ability to yours. Is it something like that?"

"Something like that," Light said offhandedly. Exactly like that, he added to himself. "It's pretty useful in neutralizing an annoying ability, but it takes a lot out of me to actually use the stolen power. Most of the time I use it just for the speed and strength increase."

"My oversol isn't great on land," Rak said, "But it's pretty great in the water. I can control water currents and breathe underwater if I let the oversol cover my neck. Kind of like getting metal gills, does that make sense? It's cooler than what it sounds like."

"It sounds pretty cool alright. It's certainly a useful ability to have for the kind of stuff we'll be doing." Light pushed his goalie to the right in a bid to deflect an unexpectedly powerful shot from the other end of the foosball table. "Who is your reploid parent?"

"You wouldn't know him," Rak said. "He's a retired fighter in Leviathan's Meikai army. Mostly stayed out of the major conflicts though."

"Not a bad decision, considering Zero was a part of most major conflicts in recent history. Certainly did wonders for his life expectancy, I bet."

Rak laughed. "Yeah, I don't see my old man holding a candle to a legendary reploid like him. Can you imagine what kind of oversol his child would have? I know that kid, Cero hasn't revealed his yet to the public, but I'd be really interested to see what it could do."

Rak let out a small cheer when Light's lapse in concentration cost him the game point. "I think that makes it my win."

"Yeah," Light said. Then, almost as an afterthought: "What else have you heard about Cero? The Resistance kid, I hear him referred to as a lot."

"Oh him?" Rak thought for a moment. "Not much, really. I know he has two brothers, but they're dead I think. I bet the kid gets along all right though. He's famous; probably has all the chicks asking him out or something."

"Yeah," Light said distractedly. "He's probably doing all right. Hey, I think Lights Out is going to be called soon, and I don't want to be caught at the foosball table when we should be in bed."

Rak took a quick look at the clock. "Oh crap! Good point. I'll catch you later Light, good game."

"Good game," Light said. "Same time tomorrow?"

"You know it!" The two retreated to their separate rooms, where Light felt free to let his thoughts drift. There was a time when family meant the people you hung out with, survived with. He had called someone else brother before ever knowing he had one of flesh and blood. Chaos had been like family to him, Light recalled as he rolled over in what little covers they were given. Sanctum too. How fragile their bonds really were. It only took the appearance of someone from his real family to mess everything up.

A half brother, Light reminded himself. After everything Xavier had done, he was more than willing to milk whatever distance he could from the blue armored Advent. Still, the voice haunted him as he closed his eyes. A cold voice amidst screams, calling him "Brother."

[koekakievyderzhki-blog]

Stanley Kubrick's interview

I had a few intellectual interests as a child. I was a school misfit and considered reading a book a schoolwork. I don’t think I read a book for pleasure until after I graduated high school. I had one thing that perhaps helps me get over being misfit – I became interested in photography about the same time, 12 or 13. I started out by just getting a camera and learning how to take pictures and learning how to print pictures, learning how to build the dark room and learning how to do all technical things and so on. And finally trying to find out how you could sell pictures. And that was a case of a period from the age of 13 to 17 going through step by step by myself when anyone was really helping me. I think looking back that this particular thing about problem solving is something that schools generally don’t teach you. If you can develop a kind of generalized approach to problem solving it’s surprising how it helps you in anything. So I think that photography, that seems like a hobby, ultimately led to professional job might be more valuable than doing proper things in school. When I graduated from high school I couldn’t go to college. Because I graduated in 1945 when all of G.I.’s were pouring back on the G.I. bill. And I had a 67 average. And it turned out that there wasn’t any college in U.S., even the lowest caliber, who would take a student with less than 75 average in that year. So I failed get into college. They wouldn’t accept even your application, if you didn’t have 75 average in that particular year. What happened is that I had developed myself to photographer, I had sold two picture stories to Look. One was about a teacher in high school named Mr. Traister, who taught English. He used to dramatize Shakespeare, he would read the parts and acted out. He made it very interesting. It was one of the few courses that were interesting. Traister was one and I forgot what the other one was now. So I started going to city college at night with the hope that if I got a B average I could then get into a day college. Within about few weeks of this I was at Look with some other pictures and there was an extremely nice picture editor whose name was Helen O’Brien. She asked me what I was doing and I told her: “Nothing”. She said she thought she might be able get me a job as a print test photographer. The managing editor at that time was Jack Gunter. So I went up to see Jack Gunter and so forth and I got a job. I was a print test photographer for 6 months and then I became a staff photographer and I was there for 4 years. That would’ve been the period I spend in college and I think that things that I learned, the practical experience in every aspect, including photography, that I learned in 4 year period exceeded that I could’ve learned in school. I can’t remember what was the particular turning point, but being out of school I began to read. I don’t feel what I missed reading that many books. I was always very interested in movies and I used to go to see films. Actually at that time when I was a teenager art-house didn’t really exist. To the extent it does now. It was the postwar Italian sort of Rossellini pictures which brought art-house into existence. There were not that many good films. Anyway I used to see all of films. I’d see them all number of times. A friend of mine Alex Singer was working as an office boy at the March of Time. One day he tells me that it cost 40 thousand dollars to make a March of Time. And I said to him: “Jeez, that’s a lot of money. I can’t believe it cost so much to make 8 or 9 minutes of film”. So I call up Kodak and checked on the price of film. And then I call up laboratory find out how much it cost to develop and I checked up how much it cost to rent 35 mm movie cameras and I checked the cost of the other facilities: sound and editing and so forth. I could do a documentary film with an original music score and everything for about 35 hundred dollars. So I thought: “Jeez, if they’re making these pictures for 40 thousand and I can make them for 35 hundred surely I must be able to sell them and at least get my money back and probably make a profit. So I rented a 35 mm Eyemo camera and I did a documentary film about a boxer named Walter Cartier, who I had previously done a picture story for Look about. It was called Day of the Fight. Cut the whole thing – did everything. Alex helped me, assisted me. Another friend of mine Gerald Fried did a film score and got the whole thing finished. Then we began to take it around to various companies to sell it. I sold it for about hundred dollars less than it cost me to make it. It was a small loss. But I had a pleasure of seeing it shown. I remember I went to a theater where it was playing and that was very exciting to see it on the screen. And it got a nationwide and worldwide distribution. Everybody liked it. I thought it was good. I thought I would get many of offers. Which I’d got none to do anything. So I made another documentary. This time about a flying priest. And still nothing was happening. I think I lost money on that too. But I had been making unreasonably good salary at Look for 4 years. So I had a certain amount of money and I was still working. I decided that there obviously wasn’t any money in shorts. I had calculated that I could make a feature film for about 10 thousand dollars. Figuring that I get actors to work for nothing. At this point I was the whole crew: cameraman, assistant cameraman, director – everything. So I had no cost. A friend of mine in a village did a script, which was terrible, sort of dull undramatic, but very-very serious allegorical story about four soldiers from a non-name country lost behind enemy lines, trying to find their way home again. And it had lines in it like: “We spend our lives, running our fingers down on the lists of something and looking for our real names”. I totally failed to recognize that I didn’t know about making films anything. I just thought: “Those two things are turning out pretty well”. But they were documentaries. I didn’t really know what I didn’t know. And I wasn’t satisfied to just make an interesting film. I wanted it to be a very poetic and meaningful film. I got the film made, but it was very-very dull and it got an art-house distribution. It had a few good moments in it. With exception of one or two of the actors, they were all terrible actors and I knew nothing about directing. It never returned a penny of its investment. It took a long time to edit the film. I spend over the year. While it was still playing I decided: "Well, I’d better get another script very fast and try to promote some more money on just the fact that the thing was playing". And again not the one single offer ever to do anything from anybody. In about two weeks knocked together another script. This was nothing but action sequences. The guy who has two drugstores on the Bronx co-produced and put up the money to make Killer’s Kiss, the second feature film. I was playing chess for quarters. I just was playing in the park. I was doing it for fun, but I also did make about 2 or 3 dollars a day. When I was waiting for things to happen – waiting to get an answer on something, I would go there about 12 o’clock and stay there until midnight. If you allow yourself to become irritated then it’s just another distraction. I keep thinking about the next thing that I’m doing. I try to use all the time. What I’m just doing is thinking about what I’m about to do. What you really want the actors to do is to feel confident and enjoy what they’re doing. I tend to believe that if you’re right, people realize it. But what may be a trend in Hollywood isn't a trend for me, because I've always approached every picture I've done just from the standpoint of telling a story. It has always seemed to me that really artistic, truthful ambiguity – if we can use such a paradoxical phrase – is the most perfect form of expression. Nobody likes to be told anything. Take Dostoyevsky. It's awfully difficult to say what he felt about any of his characters. I would say ambiguity is the end product of avoiding superficial, pat truths. One of the things that gave me the most confidence in trying to make a film was seeing all the lousy films that I saw. I think the cutting is just a continuation of directing a movie. I think the use of music effects, opticals, and finally main titles are all part of telling the story. And I think the fragmentation of these jobs, by different people, is a very bad thing. Because of my background in photography, I have been able to quickly figure out the best visual way to photograph or represent a scene on the screen. But I never start thinking in terms of shots. I first begin thinking of the main intent of the film. After the actors rehearse the scene and achieve a level of reality and excitement, only then do I really look through the viewfinder and try to figure out the best way to put this on the screen. Generally speaking, you can make almost any action or situation into an interesting shot, if it's composed well and lit well. I've seen many films in which interesting camera angles and lighting effects are totally incongruous to the purpose of the scene. I think music is one of the most effective ways of preparing an audience and reinforcing points that you wish to impose on it. The correct use of music, and this includes the non-use of music, is one of the great weapons that the filmmaker has at his disposal. I believe [Ingmar] Bergman, [Vittorio] De Sica, and [Federico] Fellini are the only three filmmakers in the world who are not just artistic opportunists. By this I mean they don't just sit and wait for a good story to come along and then make it. They have a point of view which is expressed over and over and over again in their films, and they themselves write or have original material written for them. I think that the best plot is no apparent plot. I like a slow start, the start that gets under the audiences skin and involves them so that they can appreciate grace notes and soft tones and don't have to be pounded over the head with plot points and suspense hooks. Maybe the reason why people seem to find it harder to take unhappy endings in movies than in plays or novels is that a good movie engages you so heavily that you find an unhappy ending almost unbearable. But it depends on the story, because there are ways for the director to trick the audience into expecting a happy ending and there are ways of very subtly letting the audience be aware of the fact that the character is hopelessly doomed and there is not going to be a happy ending.