#this movie makes Choices and not all of them are good but dem being under at the start and back to himself by the end makes up for all of it

[myheartissetinmotion]

thinking about how, in the midst of a color-saturated, reference-filled, slightly-cringey-yet-delightful, so-hollywood-it-hurts film adaptation that doesn’t get talked about much, lily and finn pulled off the most stunningly nuanced portrayal of delena’s relationship i’ve seen yet

[rebelontheroad]

MICHELLE OBAMA FULL SPEECH (Dem Convention)

«Good evening, everyone. It’s a hard time, and everyone’s feeling it in different ways. And I know a lot of folks are reluctant to tune into a political convention right now or to politics in general. Believe me, I get that. But I am here tonight because I love this country with all my heart, and it pains me to see so many people hurting.

I’ve met so many of you. I’ve heard your stories. And through you, I have seen this country’s promise. And thanks to so many who came before me, thanks to their toil and sweat and blood, I’ve been able to live that promise myself.

That’s the story of America. All those folks who sacrificed and overcame so much in their own times because they wanted something more, something better for their kids.

There’s a lot of beauty in that story. There’s a lot of pain in it, too, a lot of struggle and injustice and work left to do. And who we choose as our president in this election will determine whether or not we honor that struggle and chip away at that injustice and keep alive the very possibility of finishing that work.

I am one of a handful of people living today who have seen firsthand the immense weight and awesome power of the presidency. And let me once again tell you this: The job is hard. It requires clearheaded judgment, a mastery of complex and competing issues, a devotion to facts and history, a moral compass, and an ability to listen — and an abiding belief that each of the 330,000,000 lives in this country has meaning and worth.

A president’s words have the power to move markets. They can start wars or broker peace. They can summon our better angels or awaken our worst instincts. You simply cannot fake your way through this job.

As I’ve said before, being president doesn’t change who you are; it reveals who you are. Well, a presidential election can reveal who we are, too. And four years ago, too many people chose to believe that their votes didn’t matter. Maybe they were fed up. Maybe they thought the outcome wouldn’t be close. Maybe the barriers felt too steep. Whatever the reason, in the end, those choices sent someone to the Oval Office who lost the national popular vote by nearly 3,000,000 votes.

In one of the states that determined the outcome, the winning margin averaged out to just two votes per precinct — two votes. And we’ve all been living with the consequences.

When my husband left office with Joe Biden at his side, we had a record-breaking stretch of job creation. We’d secured the right to health care for 20,000,000 people. We were respected around the world, rallying our allies to confront climate change. And our leaders had worked hand-in-hand with scientists to help prevent an Ebola outbreak from becoming a global pandemic.

Four years later, the state of this nation is very different. More than 150,000 people have died, and our economy is in shambles because of a virus that this president downplayed for too long. It has left millions of people jobless. Too many have lost their health care; too many are struggling to take care of basic necessities like food and rent; too many communities have been left in the lurch to grapple with whether and how to open our schools safely. Internationally, we’ve turned our back, not just on agreements forged by my husband, but on alliances championed by presidents like Reagan and Eisenhower.

And here at home, as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and a never-ending list of innocent people of color continue to be murdered, stating the simple fact that a Black life matters is still met with derision from the nation’s highest office.

Because whenever we look to this White House for some leadership or consolation or any semblance of steadiness, what we get instead is chaos, division, and a total and utter lack of empathy.

Empathy: that’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. The ability to walk in someone else’s shoes; the recognition that someone else’s experience has value, too. Most of us practice this without a second thought. If we see someone suffering or struggling, we don’t stand in judgment. We reach out because, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” It is not a hard concept to grasp. It’s what we teach our children.

And like so many of you, Barack and I have tried our best to instill in our girls a strong moral foundation to carry forward the values that our parents and grandparents poured into us. But right now, kids in this country are seeing what happens when we stop requiring empathy of one another. They’re looking around wondering if we’ve been lying to them this whole time about who we are and what we truly value.

They see people shouting in grocery stores, unwilling to wear a mask to keep us all safe. They see people calling the police on folks minding their own business just because of the color of their skin. They see an entitlement that says only certain people belong here, that greed is good, and winning is everything because as long as you come out on top, it doesn’t matter what happens to everyone else. And they see what happens when that lack of empathy is ginned up into outright disdain.

They see our leaders labeling fellow citizens enemies of the state while emboldening torch-bearing white supremacists. They watch in horror as children are torn from their families and thrown into cages, and pepper spray and rubber bullets are used on peaceful protesters for a photo op.

Sadly, this is the America that is on display for the next generation. A nation that’s underperforming not simply on matters of policy but on matters of character. And that’s not just disappointing; it’s downright infuriating, because I know the goodness and the grace that is out there in households and neighborhoods all across this nation.

And I know that regardless of our race, age, religion, or politics, when we close out the noise and the fear and truly open our hearts, we know that what’s going on in this country is just not right. This is not who we want to be.

So what do we do now? What’s our strategy? Over the past four years, a lot of people have asked me, “When others are going so low, does going high still really work?” My answer: going high is the only thing that works, because when we go low, when we use those same tactics of degrading and dehumanizing others, we just become part of the ugly noise that’s drowning out everything else. We degrade ourselves. We degrade the very causes for which we fight.

But let’s be clear: going high does not mean putting on a smile and saying nice things when confronted by viciousness and cruelty. Going high means taking the harder path. It means scraping and clawing our way to that mountain top. Going high means standing fierce against hatred while remembering that we are one nation under God, and if we want to survive, we’ve got to find a way to live together and work together across our differences.

And going high means unlocking the shackles of lies and mistrust with the only thing that can truly set us free: the cold, hard truth.

So let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can. Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is.

Now, I understand that my message won’t be heard by some people. We live in a nation that is deeply divided, and I am a Black woman speaking at the Democratic Convention. But enough of you know me by now. You know that I tell you exactly what I’m feeling. You know I hate politics. But you also know that I care about this nation. You know how much I care about all of our children.

So if you take one thing from my words tonight, it is this: if you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can; and they will if we don’t make a change in this election. If we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it.

I know Joe. He is a profoundly decent man, guided by faith. He was a terrific vice president. He knows what it takes to rescue an economy, beat back a pandemic, and lead our country. And he listens. He will tell the truth and trust science. He will make smart plans and manage a good team. And he will govern as someone who’s lived a life that the rest of us can recognize.

When he was a kid, Joe’s father lost his job. When he was a young senator, Joe lost his wife and his baby daughter. And when he was vice president, he lost his beloved son. So Joe knows the anguish of sitting at a table with an empty chair, which is why he gives his time so freely to grieving parents. Joe knows what it’s like to struggle, which is why he gives his personal phone number to kids overcoming a stutter of their own.

His life is a testament to getting back up, and he is going to channel that same grit and passion to pick us all up, to help us heal and guide us forward.

Now, Joe is not perfect. And he’d be the first to tell you that. But there is no perfect candidate, no perfect president. And his ability to learn and grow — we find in that the kind of humility and maturity that so many of us yearn for right now. Because Joe Biden has served this nation his entire life without ever losing sight of who he is; but more than that, he has never lost sight of who we are, all of us.

Joe Biden wants all of our kids to go to a good school, see a doctor when they’re sick, live on a healthy planet. And he’s got plans to make all of that happen. Joe Biden wants all of our kids, no matter what they look like, to be able to walk out the door without worrying about being harassed or arrested or killed. He wants all of our kids to be able to go to a movie or a math class without being afraid of getting shot. He wants all our kids to grow up with leaders who won’t just serve themselves and their wealthy peers but will provide a safety net for people facing hard times.

And if we want a chance to pursue any of these goals, any of these most basic requirements for a functioning society, we have to vote for Joe Biden in numbers that cannot be ignored. Because right now, folks who know they cannot win fair and square at the ballot box are doing everything they can to stop us from voting. They’re closing down polling places in minority neighborhoods. They’re purging voter rolls. They’re sending people out to intimidate voters, and they’re lying about the security of our ballots. These tactics are not new.

But this is not the time to withhold our votes in protest or play games with candidates who have no chance of winning. We have got to vote like we did in 2008 and 2012. We’ve got to show up with the same level of passion and hope for Joe Biden. We’ve got to vote early, in person if we can. We’ve got to request our mail-in ballots right now, tonight, and send them back immediately and follow-up to make sure they’re received. And then, make sure our friends and families do the same.

We have got to grab our comfortable shoes, put on our masks, pack a brown bag dinner and maybe breakfast too, because we’ve got to be willing to stand in line all night if we have to.

Look, we have already sacrificed so much this year. So many of you are already going that extra mile. Even when you’re exhausted, you’re mustering up unimaginable courage to put on those scrubs and give our loved ones a fighting chance. Even when you’re anxious, you’re delivering those packages, stocking those shelves, and doing all that essential work so that all of us can keep moving forward.

Even when it all feels so overwhelming, working parents are somehow piecing it all together without child care. Teachers are getting creative so that our kids can still learn and grow. Our young people are desperately fighting to pursue their dreams.

And when the horrors of systemic racism shook our country and our consciences, millions of Americans of every age, every background rose up to march for each other, crying out for justice and progress.

This is who we still are: compassionate, resilient, decent people whose fortunes are bound up with one another. And it is well past time for our leaders to once again reflect our truth.

So, it is up to us to add our voices and our votes to the course of history, echoing heroes like John Lewis who said, “When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something.” That is the truest form of empathy: not just feeling, but doing; not just for ourselves or our kids, but for everyone, for all our kids.

And if we want to keep the possibility of progress alive in our time, if we want to be able to look our children in the eye after this election, we have got to reassert our place in American history. And we have got to do everything we can to elect my friend, Joe Biden, as the next president of the United States.

Thank you all. God bless.»

Michelle Obama

[feathersandblue]

I really can’t recommend this movie enough. On the forefront, it tells a simple enough story: right after the second world war ends, German soldiers - many of them still in their teens, drafted at a point where the war was essentially long lost - have to clean the Danish west coast of landmines.

The historical context: As more soldiers were needed at the eastern front, Germany tried to fortify the Atlantic coast against an allied invasion by building firebases, bunkers, and mining the beach. After the war, prisoners of war were told to clear the beaches - causing many casualties among the German soldiers.

The movie tells a fictional story about a couple of young German men - boys, really - who, under supervision of a hostile Danish sergeant, have to clear a certain section of the beach. They are promised they’ll get to go home once they are done. The German title reflects that promise - “Unter dem Sand - Das Versprechen der Freiheit” (basically: “Under the sand - The Promise of Freedom”). 

At this points, it’s probably fair to say that the story itself is fairly predictable. The plot is formulaic - some of the German prisoners get blown up, the hostile sergeant slowly starts to care, then there’s a setback, in the end, he decides to do the right thing. Nothing we haven’t seen before - but what makes this movie different are a couple of things that you rarely find in Hollywood movies.

Authenticity - the German soldiers’ ragtag uniforms, from Wehrmacht to Volkssturm, the dirt and grime, the wind blowing on the beach, making it difficult to hear each other’s voices from a distance - and actors that are actually as young as they are meant to be.

Parsimony - the movie is only 90 minutes, it doesn’t take any detours, the narrative focuses on what’s important - and it works. It doesn’t have to be surprising or unpredictable to tell its story; it just tells it. It doesn’t have to offer a wide variety of special effects, doesn’t bother with a love story or character exposition - in fact, we never really learn a lot about the characters’ individual backgrounds, or if we do, it’s mostly by accident or through inference.

Restraint - while the director doesn’t shy away from drastic and horrifying scenes, there's nothing gratuituous or excessive about it. The movie does shy away from being overly emotional - toning down on the drama. It foregoes grand gestures, grand speeches, and emotional outbursts, giving more impact to little scenes and quiet moments. It’s consistent in that - even the ending, which is quiet, sincere, and just a little hopeful.

Moral complexity - the movie doesn’t provide simple answers. While the situation, on the forefront, is rather simple - German soldiers occupied Denmark and mined the beaches, so it’s only right they sould have to clear them - the movie also shows that a victor’s justice isn’t always just. Reclaiming their agency and a certain amount  of power, the Danish officers and civilians don’t refrain from abusing prisoners - the ugly side of victory. The lesson, at the end, is one that US-centric cinema too often fails to teach: as an individual, you can’t let your moral choices be dictated - or excused - by superordinate narratives of who is at fault or who started the war. That if you want to be a good person, you can’t be empathetic only when it’s convenient. You can’t be selectively empathetic.

All in all, this is probably one of the best anti-war movies that I’ve ever seen, maybe because if focuses on the aftermath of a war rather than its progress. And it’s a very honest movie that only a Danish director could make. I really wish more people would watch it - it definitely deseves to be watched.

[fencheto]

Forbidden - Part 3 (Dimon Romantic)

The story can also be found on Wattpad You can find the previous chapters here Feedback is greatly appreciated. I went to the bathroom and finally took the much needed shower from the night before. The whole dorm was still densely filled with the smoky-alcoholic scent so I also made sure to open all the windows and doors to get some fresh air in there. “Got any suggestions where to go?” – I yelled through the bathroom door before starting the shower. “How does Starbucks sound?” – Chelle replied from her room. “Works for me.” – I said back and proceeded to wash my body Starbucks was both Chelle and I’s favorite spot for a morning coffee, the café was located in a very nice area, quite close to the centre and was easy to get there on foot from the dorm. The smell there was also blissful, nothing better than a banana cake to match the strong coffee aroma. It was the best time to go out and sit there, especially on such sunny days when the tables outside were available. On the not so bright side though, we could only go there like 2 times per week without going bankrupt. I love those guys but man, are they an expensive place. At the end of the day, I am a student and that meant being on a strict budget and having zero freedom. I put my hair in a high ponytail, and quickly put on a pair of jeans and my favorite oversized t-shirt saying “I’m sorry for what I said when I was hungry”, a present from my sister Dallas, the second biggest weirdo on this planet after me. I noticed I also had dark circles under my eyes, so now the choice was either for some make up or for the big sunglasses. “Demi, are you ready?” – I hear Chelle asking, meaning she was done with her preparations. Well, it will be the sunglasses, then. “Yup, a second” – I replied, putting the last few pins on my hair and spraying a bit of perfume around my neck. “Okay, let’s go” – I told her, letting go of my door handle and going to the front door. The way to the café was a short 10-minute long walk, but we could still notice some leftovers from the few parties that were hosted yesterday. The most common type of garbage was the occasional McDonalds’ huge paper bag or Subway’s sandwich wraps and napkins. It looked as if the rubbish bags were out of stock in this country, a horrible mess. We reached the coffee shop and picked a nice cozy table in the corner on the right. Thankfully not too many people had come yet so the tables outside were still not all taken. Our seats weren’t in the middle of the hustle and bustle if I may call it like that, yet they were also close to the inner part of the café so we wouldn’t need to walk too much with the purchases in our hands. Chelle and I sat on the table and we both started flipping the pages of the menus, as if we didn’t know it all by heart by now. I was certainly gonna be having a frappe today, it was hot AF and the alcohol was still running in my system, so I was sweating like a mine worker. Not the biggest fan of ice coffee, but the situation was of a pressing matter. I turned a few pages further, the breakfast items didn’t look too bad either, the question was if I was actually hungry or just wanted to have a snack though. I thought about having a coffee cake, but that usually bloated me up a lot, so I would rather have the white chocolate chip cookie. It was not too heavy and it usually did cover me well when the sweet tooth hit me with cravings, so I was good with it. “Alright, I can go in there and get the stuff, can you stay here and keep the table?” – Chelle asked a few minutes later. “Yeah that’s cool. Can you get me a frappe and a chocolate chip cookie, with white chocolate chunks though?” “Sure, be right back. Watch my stuff there.” “Here, take 10, should be just enough” – I handed her the bill. Chelle went inside and I plopped myself back on my chair. The day was beautiful; lots of the students from our uni or the few others in town were out as well. Sunday was the day of procrastination and it did hold a very truthful rule for students: If you put it off for Sunday, it won’t happen, dude. At some point a pretty loud noise for my still hangover head came from the road. I turned around to see a black car pull over on the other side of the street. It was a type of car that was pretty rare to notice in Boston or in the states in general, quite low over the road and with a foreign registration plate. It did resemble a very familiar car that I had definitely paid attention to before. If you’d ever watched “Gone in 60 seconds”, then you would know it too – a British Jaguar. How did I know? That was Marissa’s favorite movie and therefore my least favorite one, because we’d watched it like a billion times. The only difference here was that this car was a lot newer – a model I couldn’t name for sure. I kept my gaze on and saw the person on the driving seat fidgeting with something and then opening the door. The driver stepped out, but kept his head towards the car. It seemed as if he was looking for something, until he finally found it and grabbed it from inside. I wondered what it was like to have that much money and to be able to afford such comfort. Surely I was now in a position where finances were not the greatest developing aspect of my life, but that would change later on hopefully. I would love to buy stuff without having to look at the price tag and not worry about it. Just to be impulsive, like: a Jaguar? Yes, please. That car was worth about a million dollars last time I checked. I re-focused my look over to the driver and realized I had seen this man before. Not only that, I had actually known him and already spoken to him. That was Mr. Cowell, my Music Production lecturer. And also the man whose car - probably one of his many, I kicked. And if that wasn’t awkward enough, the man I had the audacity to call ‘a fool’. He was very casually dressed this time – in just a white t-shirt and some jeans, no trace of the formal black blazer he was wearing at the university. He was also wearing a pair of dark ray-bans and was puffing on a cigarette, whilst slowly making his way to internal part of the café. At this point I actually wondered what the best thing to do was: hide from him behind my bag, bury my face in my phone and pretend I never saw him, greet him with a simple nod or step into the dangerous zone of another possible embarrassment and talk to him. In case you wondered why would I talk to him – because I wanted to apologize!? If my math was right, he would be my lecturer for quite some time, and feeling this awkward for so long was something I’d rather pass. Anyway, the problem here was that instead of actually following one of the scenarios I thought of, I was doing probably the worst I could have right now – I was looking, actually I was staring at him as if I was bewitched, with my mouth slightly opened and my chin propped onto the fingers of my hand. Good thing was I was still wearing my sunglasses and so was he, so there was still a chance he didn’t just catch me watching him like some weirdo. He reached the entrance of the café, took the cigarette off his mouth and dogged it in an ashtray on a nearby table on the porch. Once he pinched it off, he carefully lifted his gaze and for a moment looked into my direction. My immediate reaction was to look down for good 3-4 seconds, only to make my sunglasses fall down and hear the cracking sound of them hitting the ground. So much for your strategies, Demetria. I clumsily moved the table to pick them up and saw he was getting inside once I did. My face went deep red; could this have gone any more wrong? I silently hoped there was someone else his eyes were on, but when I looked around, there was no one neither behind me nor closer than 2 tables away. So chances were somewhere between very small and absolute zero. “Sorry I took so long, but there is such a long line, and oh they wrote my name wrong on the cup, so they had to change it…” – Chelle said coming to me, almost out of breath, putting the purchases on our table and taking her seat. “There you go with your drink and the cookie” – She said again, handing me my items. “Thanks Chelle.” - I said kind of distracted. “Since when are you a fan of frappes?” – She asked me. “Yeah I’m not but now it is a bit hot so I will try it out.” – I said, taking my sunglasses off and waving my hand to bring some wind to my still heated face. “Are you alright? You look nervous.” – Chelle asked. “No, nothing” – I replied, mixing my drink with the straw. A few minutes later I saw Mr. Cowell coming out on the porch from the inside part of the café, carrying two cups of coffee, only this time it was not just him, now he was accompanied by a tall blond female. She was wearing a short grey skirt and a top that was outlining her boobs quite clearly. She looked as if she was taken straight out of a magazine cover. I wondered if this was the type of women he was into. They made their way outside and quickly chose their seats, a single table distance across from us. I was facing her back and his seat was positioned in a way that we both could see each other directly. I now started to regret taking my shades off. “Dems, come on, what is it? You seem kind of lightheaded.” – Chelle asked me once again. “How come?” “You seem to not even be listening to me?” “I am, sorry, it is just…” – I said uncomfortably, looking at Simon’s table and then back at her. “What?” “I will tell you, but promise me you won’t look” – I warned in a very quiet voice. “Not look at what?” “Shhh! Okay, Mr. Cowell is sitting right across our table” “What? Where? ” – Chelle asked a lot louder than I would’ve preferred. A few people from the other tables turned their heads towards us. “Don’t shout, he’s going to hear you! There, right behind you.” - I yell-whispered at her. Chelle slowly turned her head, pretending to be fixing her hair and noticed him along with the woman that was sat on the same table. “Woah, talking about appropriate skirts” – She commented, lifting her eyebrows in amusement. “I know.” – I replied, doing the same grimace. “Are you alright?” – She asked me. “Sure, just surprised, though” – I shrugged my shoulders. “Anyway, so tell me about the guy from yesterday, he texted you in the morning didn’t he?” – I asked her, pointing at her phone. Although I had no interest in the guy she hooked up with yesterday, I knew I had to change the topic. I couldn’t possibly talk about Simon the whole afternoon; I mean who talked about their lecturers all the time? Not even geeks did. I asked Chelle more about him, letting her show me photos of them together from last night and share some unnecessary details for me to know. She was quite caught up onto the subject, and despite the fact I should have probably listened to her, I didn’t. I was barely paying attention to her and was occasionally nodding just to confirm I was a part of the conversation. My mind was busy with the man sitting on the table behind my friend. There were two factors creeping into my head constantly though: One was the common sense, telling “He is your lecturer” and two was the guilt, following with “Why is your lecturer such interest to you?” I mean how should I even define this? In general I have always been quite an impulsive person, so yelling at him on that first day we met was no surprise. Okay, the following actions were a bit too aggressive, I take that. But now what? He was offended, didn’t like me, like any other person also wouldn’t. I, on the other hand, was apparently feeling homesick; having the guy I’m in love with thousands of miles away from me, I was looking for comfort. Man’s comfort. That was the only reason behind my strange thoughts. In the meantime I noticed both Simon and the woman stood up. He pointed at the engine to her and motioned that he was going to join after going inside first. She quickly nodded and walked towards the car, whilst he went for the café bar. I followed him with my eyes before turning to Chelle. “Excuse me for a bit.” – I told her and adjusted my shirt. “Where are you going?” – She questioned surprised. “To the bathroom, be right back”- I said, leaving my seat. I got inside the café bar and saw Simon standing at the counter, placing an order for a take out. I pretended to be looking at the cakes behind the glass, standing a few feet away from him. In my ideal world, he would have turned around; I would have greeted him politely, maybe make some small talk and bring him under a somewhat good impression of me. Actually any impression that was better than the one of being a rude, aggressive bitch I had given. That was my goal right now. In reality though, after receiving his order, he was way too busy fixing the 5 items on his hands to pay any attention to me. He kept his head down the whole time, careful not to drop anything on the floor. He passed by me and did not acknowledge me even one bit, his eyes focused on the drinks. He had two drinks in each hand and a cake, which he supported against his chest. He was also mumbling something to himself while looking down, something I couldn’t fully figure out, but it was along the lines “yeah I can carry the office drinks, don’t help me”. Needless to say, I was quite disappointed of not getting the chance to talk to him. I did try to I don’t know, establish some kind of a contact, but it didn’t go as planned. To be honest, it was probably not only the lack of luck, but also the fact that he most likely didn’t want to talk to me. I couldn’t blame him, though. Perhaps it was for the better. Asking for his attention wasn’t a good idea, regardless. As I was about to make my way out to the table and Chelle, I accidentally noticed something, which looked like a small folder, standing by the edge of the counter. I looked over to the staff members, but neither of the them had noticed it yet. I guessed it was because it was left on the front side of the bar. I slowly approached the counter to see it was an open leather wallet. My first thought was to hand it over to the bartender and say I found a lost belonging. Probably what every normal human being would have done. Probably what I should have done. Instead, I decided to check it out on my own first, without giving it much of a thought. I squinted my eyes to see the beholder's name over the documents, only to confirm the doubts I'd had. On the front side of the wallet there was a driver's license, along with a photo and personal details of the beholder - Simon Philip Cowell. This time the question in my head was judged way less by morality and more by motivation. “What are you going to do about it?”

[rilenerocks]

Sometimes things just have to blow, out of nowhere, for no reason in particular. Internal seismic shifts. The other day started out innocently enough. In fact, it was a welcome relief from the previous one which was incredibly stressful. The events of that day began  with a morning email from my mortgage company, telling me I’d filed legally incorrect documents. As I’d completed them myself with no lawyer, I got seriously worried. The bank’s underwriters turned out to be wrong, but still. Not the most relaxing way to start the morning. Then I got a truly disturbing phone call from a friend who’s suffering from intractable depression which has thus far been unresponsive to pharmaceutical intervention. Behaving way beyond my pay grade, I managed to find at least some temporary intervention for him by using my powers of persuasion on his primary doctor. But I know my limits and I was edging past them. I was seriously afraid and uncomfortable. Next up was having some truly beloved people stop by my house, people who were visiting from a coronavirus hotspot in this country. And they have been only sporadically wearing masks. What a dilemma. Contact or no contact? Did I get exposed? No one we love and who love us wants to deliberately harm us. But we can’t possibly know who’s quietly carrying the virus, nor whether we’ll be the ones who wind up with the life-threatening aspects of this disease. When will this pressure end? Not for a long time, apparently, when the public’s responses to the threat are so disparate. Then the guests used the toilet where the seat, unbeknownst to them had been hanging by a thread. When they left, I went in to the bathroom to sanitize and found the seat hopelessly broken. Groan. I ordered a new one that I could pick up without going into a store. I picked it up, went home and took everything apart.  The new one was the wrong size. The day just kept going. I got a huge painful splinter in the bottom of my foot and I couldn’t get part of it out. Later, another friend wrote me from the ER where her teenaged son was in some inexplicable digestive agony. He was released without having a Covid19 test which made me nuts. My youngest grandson swallowed Legos. I couldn’t wait for bedtime. Just one of those wake ups you’d rather forget.

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL!!!

1:40 PM · Jul 6, 2020

444.3K

158.7K people are

In Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and many other countries, SCHOOLS ARE OPEN WITH NO PROBLEMS. The Dems think it would be bad for them politically if U.S. schools open before the November Election, but is important for the children & families. May cut off funding if not open!

The next day started with Trump’s  unhinged comments on opening U.S. schools in the fall, including the threat of cutting federal funding to them if they choose to put their students’ health ahead of his re-election objectives. This infuriating drivel in the midst of the accelerated rate of Covid19 infection in this country wasn’t what I needed after the previous day’s irritations. So I made my way out to my backyard and my tiny pool which is my current substitute for the swimming I so desperately miss right now. 

I slipped my headphones on, put my feet in the water and focused on relaxing. After a short time, I felt the familiar deep rumbling of that seismic shift I was talking about, the one associated with the deep grief I still feel over Michael’s death and the inconsolable sense of loneliness connected only with him. So the wailing burst from me in a series of mini-convulsions that are shocking in their physicality. I’ve learned that there’s nothing to do but let them complete their cycle until I’m left at the end, exhausted, with not much left inside. These don’t happen that frequently any more but I expect they’ll be my companions intermittently for the rest of my life. Big consuming love comes with the expense of its absence. I wouldn’t trade away any of it. My approach was always and remains, full speed ahead, embracing the euphoric and wonderful along with the gaping hole and the despair. Yes. Full speed ahead.

I was pretty spent but took a stroll around the garden where there’s always something to lighten the mood. I decided to try staying away from the news which is never an easy choice for me. One day off won’t hurt anything. I was going to focus on finding some laughter and lightness. Maybe the stars were aligned for me because when I went inside to seek a television line-up, often a wasteland for me, there were  some serendipitous options for a change. I mean, really, does Gladiator have to be playing every single night for seven straight days? Or Kevin Costner’s pathetic excuse for a Robin Hood film when everyone knows the Errol Flynn one from the 1930’s is the best?

I was lucky enough to find Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. I’ve always found that movie really funny. This scene, filmed in my hometown of Chicago, never fails to make me smile.

That was followed by the fabulous screwball comedy, Bringing Up Baby, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. Good acting and great writing hold up over decades and I’m so glad I know how to yank myself out of a dark space using old reliable films.

I finished my mental rehab with the Marx Brothers’ Night at the Opera. Sometimes slapstick works and sometimes it doesn’t, but ridiculous zingers and mad physical antics worked like a tonic for me. All in all, fairly easy ways to revive myself after a big slump. For the rest of the night, I cut myself some slack and just let my mind wander. I started thinking about the different television shows I watched when I was growing up.

There was Lassie, Fury, My Friend Flicka and Annie Oakley. I was always partial to animals and Westerns. I often have conversations with my daughter about how much tv time is too much time for kids these days. Maybe the level of sophisticated technology and the dynamic relationship between the person and the device is really different from how sitting in front of the tube was back in the day. But I certainly watched a lot of shows. And I didn’t get lazy or stupid. I read a lot of books, too. But I suspect there were people in my generation for whom that sedentary part of their lives had adverse effects.  Maybe the difference between now and then really isn’t that dramatic. Or maybe I just feel like being optimistic and naive for awhile. Truthfully, it’s a welcome relief to being grounded in today’s dystopian reality.

I realized that I’ve been so intent on the pandemic, its effect on the foreseeable future and the constraints I’m wrestling with, that I hadn’t gone out in several days to look up. The clouds and skies are always so interesting and soothing for me. So I got back with the program. I was glad I did. Later, when I discussed what I’d felt like on the lousy day with my daughter, I told her that fundamentally, I thought I’d been doing pretty well under the circumstances. Ever the nihilist, she told me she agreed that for a person who was living alone, in a seemingly endless lockdown, with perhaps this current Groundhog Day life being the way my old age  would end, I was doing fantastic. I have to say, her comment made me roar with laughter. I’ve risen from the depths again. As I said, full speed ahead. Maybe to nowhere, but whatever.

  Full Steam Ahead Sometimes things just have to blow, out of nowhere, for no reason in particular. Internal seismic shifts.

[jesliey]

The Many Ask Thingymabob

Second times the charm...

Tagged By: @caramiathegreat

Spoofy Soundcloud or Pandora? Im a spoofy kinda man

Messy or clean room? I think my room is comparatively clean

What colour are your eyes? Bluest blue to ever blue

Do you Like your name and why? Its alright. It always seemed a little lackluster to me

Relationship status? The running joke in my friend group is my 3 year dry spell. It isnt a very funny joke.

Describe your personality in 3 words or less? Distanced pragmatic dumbass

What colour is your hair? Golden and luscious

What kind of car do you drive? My moms PTA-mobile

Where do you shop? Bad Dragon

How would you describe your style? Dying, yet fashionable college student

Favourite social media account? We all know timboblr is utter trash, and i picked up natter a while ago and its honestly pretty fun

Bed size? Queenie my man

Any siblings? two older stepsisters and a wee lil half sister

Anywhere to live in the world and why? GERMANY OR POLAND. BECAUSE HERITAGE

Favourite snapchat filter? I really like the flower crown an butterfly ones but my phone is being dumb with snapchat and i cant get them

Favourite makeup brand? I mean i dont wear it, but im definitely not opposed! i dont know anything about brands and i am ashamed...

How many times a week do you shower? I go by how my hair feels. Usually its every other day, or every two days.

Favourite TV show? Currently? Gotta be that weeb and say Jojo...

Shoe Size? Depends on where i go, but like 12 - 13

How tall are you? Very

Sandals or sneakers? I like wearing socks and sandals feel weird on my feet

Do you go to the gym. I LIFT SO MANY THINGS WEEKLY SWOLE SESSIONS BRUH.

Describe your dream date? Existent... T-T

How much money do you have in your wallet? I dont carry cash!

What colour socks are you wearing? Black

How many pillows do you sleep with? Like 6. Ones a memory foam body pillow its soooo nice....

Do you have a job? Nah...its not for lack of trying though

How many friends do you have? Like...sooo many duuude...not really...

Whats the worst thing youve done? Cut someone who was bad for me out of my life. Bad for them, good for me.

Favourite candle scent? I mean i dont do candles but i love lavender

Favourite boy names?

Gabriel

Alistair

Jeremiah

Favourite girl names?

Elizabeth

Abigail

Lauren

Favourite actor? Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Favourite actress? Ashley Johnson

Celebrity crush? theres a lot...

Favourite movie? The Boondock Saints. Easy question.

Do you read a lot? Whats your favourite book? I dont read as much as i think i should, but i loved 1984. I wanna try David Foster Wallaces Infinite Jest and i have the first book in Baccano that i borrowed from a friend and havent touched yet :/

Money or brains? Ignorance is bliss and im filthy fuckin rich HOLLA

Do you have a nickname? Jesliey is an old one. People also call me J a lot. Very briefly in highschool someone called me J-Money whenever he saw me

How many times have you been to a hospital? Not very many. I went in a few years ago for a tonsil infection but that was it in recent history

Top 10 Favourite Songs? Ok this is in no particular order and also limiting to 10 is blashpemy

Subdivisions by NSP

Everybody Wants to Rule The World by NSP

Resist and Bite by Sabaton though if im honest most of Heroes belongs here this ones just my fav

Winged Hussars by Sabaton POLISH PRIIIIIIDE

Wrong Side of Heaven by Five Finger Death Punch

All of Pendulums Immersion album im not picking one

Come with Me Now by KONGOS

History Maker by Dean Fujioka

Setting Sail, Coming Home by Darren Korb

Sonata For Whitestone Castle by Aiden Chan

Do you take any daily medications? No, but i probably should have...

Whatis your skin type? on a good day, slightly dry. on a bad day, cracked bleeding sandpaper.

Whats your biggest fear? My man i used to battle almost daily with some quite hefty anxiety. I could stare down the Grim Reaper and say “I served my time you come and take me”. Wasps and needles are pretty bad though i guess

How many kids do you want? Id be lying if i said i didnt want a daughter at some point...but theres no way im passing on my genetics. im adopting if i ever want a kid.

Whats your go-to hairstyle? Either free flowing and glorious, or ponytail if i need it out of my face

What ype of house do you live in? Moms house is pretty decently sized i suppose

Who is your role model? I dont really have one...

What was the last compliment you received? I dont know I dont really get those often...this is getting kinda depressing....

What was the last text you sent? “Well i hope shes alright”

How old were you when you stopped believing in Santa? Like 10 or 12

What is your dream car? Oh god i want a 1985 Pontiac Trans Am so bad you have no idea...

Opinion on smoking? I dont get the appeal but everyone can make their own choices

Do you go to college? Yes and im dying

What is your dream job? Metalworking and blacksmithing has lowkey been a huge fascination of mine for like 2 years now. i would love to be able to do that for a living

Rural area or life in suburbia? I like the idea of both, but rural areas have space for metal workshops

Do you take shampoo/conditioner bottles from hotel rooms? Nah i bring my own

Do you have freckles? A few spread sporadically all over my body. no noticeable patches though

Do you smile for pictures? Yeah but most of the time it feels so forced

How many pictures do you have on your phone? Somewhere between 1 and 2 hundred. Im not adding them up among all the folders...

Have you ever peed in the woods? Bruh the forest has seen every bodily fluid ive got

Do you still watch cartoons? ANIME IS NOT A CARTOON DAD. also yes quite often.

Wendys or McDonalds nuggets? GIMME DEM CHICKIN MCNUGGiES

Favourite dipping sauce? Sweet chili thai!

What do you wear to bed? Pajama pants, a shirt, and socks usually. Occasionally whatever i wore during the day. Ive been known to ditch my pants and socks in my sleep.

Ever won a spelling bee? Never been in one, but i think i could have if i wanted to

What are your hobbies? I wont as long as i live under my mothers roof, but i would hella get into amateur blacksmithing!

Can you draw? yes. should i draw? no.

Do you play an instrument? I can play trumpet, but i would really like to pick up playing cello

What was the last concert you saw? If i remember correctly it was the Scorpions

Tea or coffee? Both. Simultaneously. I like to remain calm while containing the energy of a god.

Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts? Fuck you america! Tim Hortons!

Do you want to get married? I wont oppose if a future partner wants to, but if i love someone enough to want to spend the rest of my life with them, then it wont be necessary

What is your crushs first and last initial? Which one tho?

Are you going to change your last name when you get married? Im indifferent

What colour looks best on you? Blue and red are my standard colours

Do you miss anyone right now. If i think about this at all the answer is usually yes

Do you sleep with your door open or closed? I have the lovely habit of losing my pants in my sleep. for the sake of everyone else in this house, closed is best

Do you believe in ghosts? Call me a skeptic

What is your biggest pet peeve? Im pretty laid back about a lot of things. Only thing i can think of now is more of an anxiety thing but i cant stand people randomly touching my hair without me knowing

Last person you called? My mother

Favourite ice cream flavour? Butterscotch ripple

Regular or golden oreos? Golden

Chocolate or rainbow sprinkles? Rainbow

What shirt are you wearing? An old white one with some brand graphic on it

What is your phone background? Lockscreen is Goku from DBZ if he were done as a Jojo character, and home screen is a cr1t1kal quote

Are you outgoing or shy? Im not overly comfortable with just meeting new people and striking up conversations without some kind of help

Do you like it when people play with your hair? I mean i used to...theres a girl at my college who has absolutely no concept of personal boundaries who has at least partially ruined that for me now. Like i said earlier, i cant stand people touching my hair now without me acknowledging it

Do you like your neighbors? Ive lived her about 8 years and im still learning their names

Do you wash your face at night? In the morning? lmao

Have you ever been high? Hella my dude

Have you ever been drunk? Also hella my dude?

Last thing you ate? Coscto chicken penne and a salad.

Favourite lyrics right now? “Light up the night./ There is a city that this darkness can’t hide./ There are embers of a fire that’s gone out,/ but I can still feel the heat on my skin./ This mess we’re in, well you and I,/ maybe you and I,/ we can still make it right./ Maybe we can bring back the light!” Light Up the Night by The Protomen

Summer or Winter? Autumn fuck that noise

Day or night? Night

Dark milk or white chocolate? White!

Favourite month? October

What is your zodac sign? League of Legends Cancer

Who was the last person you cried in front of? I legitimately dont remember...probably @vocoterra

GOOD LORD THIS TOOK TOO LONG TO FINISH

If anyone wants to do this feel free and say i tagged you!

[shinygoku]

Revised TAG Finale Ideas

So, I love TAG very, very much! But that doesn’t stop me from finding the grand finale underwhelming, and I’m here with a couple of suggestions to make it better or at least somewhat more consistent with the series as a whole, haha

Spoilers going forwards!

Jeff Tracy

The enduring mystery of what happened to him, and whether he is MIA or KIA is really interesting and a strong through-line in the more Plot heavy episodes. His [metaphorical] ghost affecting choices is some good storytelling! But... if they were gonna whip out an ending like that it may’ve been better if he was actually dead, and I mean that in the nicest way possible!

Either him confirmed KIA or the mystery book never being closed would have had the powerful bittersweetness that the overly convenient ending in the show has for all of 2 minutes. The 2 minutes were really good, damn it! But my beef ain’t that he was alive the entire time, it’s the silly stakes and reliance on weak secondary characters to enable the Missing for 8 Years thing.

The Missing for 8 Years

What we get: He was in a Space Cloud beyond our Solar System, which is why they never found him even with all the Space Missions that 3 and 5 partake in.

Why this sucks: Because it’s so far off, they can’t just pile in 3 to fetch him. No, they need the bad luck charm that is the ZERO-X. Dubiously the star of the Thunderbirds Are Go movie [from the 60′s], it’s a unique design and it also fails in some way every damn time it shows. First time? A boot stops the hydraulics, forcing the crew to bail after 5 minutes of flight, not even getting out of Earth’s atmosphere. Second time? After some poop snakes scare the Astronauts off Mars, the landing gear doesn’t connect and fucks over not just that, but also the escape pod, somehow!! Third time?? It causes the more menacing Martians, Mysterons, to declare war on Earth after Captain Black destroys their city in confusion. Cue Captain Scarlet series.

And in TAG [2015 series], it continues this bad streak! First it explodes after the Hood steals it [though this is the big twist, it actually nyoomed off into space] and then they make the Zero-XL and they can’t get that to take off until they whip out The Mechanic and he was good all along?? and they need to have a Megaman.EXE digibattle to remove the Hood’s chip in his head?? What is happening??? Anyway then everything is fine and goes so smoothly it’s anticlimactic. No long space flight, they just turn on the Warp and get there as trivially as if they has just popped to the moon for milk and eggs. Boooo!

Revision Idea 1

Oh my god, I was wrong! It was Earth, all along! If Jeff had forced the Zero-X into space but managed to cut his way out of the cockpit or something, he coulda been found by the recently escaped-from-the-escape-pod Hood, who spends the next 8 years for some sexual tension charged failed interrogations. Hood want info on da bois and dem Birds, but Jeff ain’t spilling the beans. The Hood feigns ignorance when he crosses the Tracys in his side gigs, as admitting he has Jeff tied up in his basement would cue the full wrath of the boys with explosive-wielding rocketships to blast him to smithereens and fish their father out of the flaming wreckage.

Arguably anticlimactic, but I think it could be a cool twist [if written well...] if it turns out he’s alive and well and kinda local, seeing how trivial Space Travel is in the setting, it’s much more shocking that he was under their nose the whole time.

Revision Idea 2

This is the voice of the Mysterons. Oh yeah baby, if you’re gonna insist on using the flying lemon that is the Zero-X, then tie it further into the lore it already has! The Supermarionation Sister Series, Captain Scarlet! While it would be a slight deviation to bring them in before SPECTRUM, and their MO might hafta be shifted a little, the idea of them taking Jeff captive after he winds up in their neighbourhood and sending a double down to spy on them could be a really cool thread.

You could take it even further, with the Mysteron Copy getting exploded or something, causing the Tracys to assume he’s dead, until Braman comes back with the new message, as is the case in the fantastic SOS episodes. Again, Mars ain’t as far as Space Fart, so I can enjoy some more Character Moments with the boys on their half hour or so flight instead of them hitting the Teleport Button to arrive instantly.

The Mysterons may not be entirely willing to let go of Jeff, but maybe they do just let them take him, as long as International Rescue are peaceful and don’t bomb their city on sight. Either way, this could then lead into a new CGI reboot of Captain Scarlet! One with less Playstation-y models! Why not blend the stories together into a new plot where International Rescue are involved with controlling the damaged caused by the Mysterons and Spectrum try to prevent incidents before they start.

So, anyway...

Again, I would like to stress my immense love for Thunderbirds are Go! It’s one’a my favourite shows (and I like to think my taste is pretty damn good!) and I wouldn’t care enough to come up with alternate ideas and write about them without the passion behind it. And uhh, sadly this isn’t my only gripe with the TAG series [lame ass bad guys, missed chances for character development, questionable bit characters, and the Age Order are also sins of the series] but when it’s the ending, it feels more important to stick it! And I remember watching it wrap and thinking “Huh. They shoulda changed some things.”

I don’t wanna get into fights, but I do welcome good faith discussion. Also if anyone want to borrow these concepts for a fic, I sure can’t copyright ‘em so go ahead, lol, maybe show me the results :>

[indigo-sails]

Chiroptera Chapter

START "Woah, where am I?" Demetrie was waste deep in a big, golden field of wheat. --- "Hey Zoey!" "Good morning!" "Notice anything... different?" "Why Demetrie, your hair looks fabulous! I wish my bed head looked that good!" "Notice anything... else?" "To what could you be refering? OO do you have a new power?" "I'm thinking along the lines of something fluffly, drooly, barky..." "Oh you mean Ruben! He's my new doggy and I wove him so much!!" "You're dad won't let you have any pets, remeber?" "Did I say my dog? I meant to say your dog." "I don't want a dog." "Mmm, I dunno, from this angle he looks more like an oversized cat to me." "Zoey..." "Aw fine." ~Let's get him back home.~ --- "Okay so - top five favorite festivals: go!!" "Winter and summer festival, they're not even top two, they are both #1. The tourist festival brings so many cool people, world cultures within summer festial, and spring festival. Top five fav festivals: Go!!" "Fall, summer, spring, tourist, and winter! #1 basically counts for all five. It's just magical, the merry go round is my favorite of all!" "Ugh. On the list of my least favorite things; that forest. It's always so creepy." "Yeah," some sort of dream flash back, "It is." From pov of undergrowth, "It always seems like somethings watching me." shot of dog, speech bubbles in bg, "Same! I always feel that!!" "Tho sometimes,  I feel like I want to go into the-" "--RUBEN!"

"You didn't bring a leash or dog treats or anything??" "No, did you??" "What were you going to feed him??" "Pizza, of course!! RUUUBBEEEN" "H-hey! Not too far ahead!" montage of Demetrie turning round and round, creepy angle and what not. "Wait for me!" Small clearing, Zoey's stopped hands on her head. "Did you see where he went?" "No, I can't find him anywhere." Sudden shake in the under growth, both Zoey and Dem freeze. some sequence of panels and horrified faces, Ruben pops out of the bush with a tennis ball "Do they just inherintly know where to find tennis balls?" "I'm pretty sure that's not how dogs work." something alluding to a giant dark creature luming above them in the dark of the trees. -- some sort of transition. I don't want them walking back *zoey dramaticly fake crys* Good bye, sweet Ruben. -- transition "So you really don't want pets?" "Nope! No pets!" "I mean yeah... Is that weird?" "Not even something tiny? Like a fish?" "Nope. I'd probably forget to feed them. Pets take a lot of work!" "You couulllddd get a cat! They basically take care of themselves!" "No cats. No fish. Hey I'm going this way, you want to come over for some lunch?" "Can't! My dad is going to be home soon! I'm going to clean up, and then im going to convince him to let me have a puppy!!" "Awesome!! Tell him I say hi!" "Will do, take care!! -- Later that day... Dem: "So you're sure you don't wanna come over and play Final Destiny 433?" Zoe: ~"Yeah, my dad said there's a good chance he'll be home tonight, I figured I'd clean up a bit."~ Dem: "Awwww okay," Zoe: ~"Quit complaining!"~ Dem: -beep- "Hold on - it's Joey, I'll patch him through. Hey Joe!" Zoe: ~"Heeeeyyy Joeeeyyy!"~ Joe: "Hey! Are y'all going to the premiere tonight?" Dem: "Premiere? What premiere?" Joe: "Battle Force Galactic Blitztasic, it's in 4-D and they got the Hola-cube back up." D + Z: "SERIOUSLY" ~"OMGGGGG"~  Dem: "How much are tickets?" Joe: "Wait, you don't have tickets? I think they sold out already" "WHHAAATTT" ~"NOOOOOOOooooo"~ Joey: "Hold up, I'll patch Damien through. -- Hey Damien" Dame: "Joey! What's up?" Joey: "I got Zoey n Demetrie on the line - Do you have extra tickets to the premiere?" Dame: "Hmmm. What's in it for me tho?" "Cookies!" "I'll commission you an artwork!" "Am I supposed to contribute something??" -car pulls up in the window-- "Sounds delightful! I'll see what I can do. Deme, in the mean time you owe me one! ‍❤️ -click-" Joey: "I'll see what I can do on my end too." Zoey: "I'll see if my dad wants to come!" -knock at the door- Dem: "I'll... have to call you back." Driver: "Hello Demetrie, the Mayor would like to see you." -- Demetrie is in the back of a limo. He pulls up to a big house, he walks inside. "Hello Demetrie! How are you? Have you been well?" "Yeah of course! If you wanted to check up on me, you could've just called-" "Of course my boy, but where's the fun in that? I called you here for more than that, however. The Gaurd Force Cheif wants to include you on a matter of concern." "Oh" "In the conference room to you're right." -- "As you know, we've been getting more disturbances around the perifery of the forest. This morning, we got a call detailing an attack on the west end of town. No one was hurt, but there was a lot of distruction. Similar claw marks were found at two reported store break ins." Shows pictures of claw marks, windows broken, food eaten and missing. "Demetrie, would you happen to know anything about this?" little shocked, "N-no, sir, I do not." "As you can see cheif, I've already told you as much. "Of course. Well, we don't know what it is yet, but it's big..." -- Some notes for tomorrow: "Between the dream and the meeting with the towns gaurd force, I cant seem to catch a break today" "Demetrie!" Deme hearts n like DAW MA FRIENDS ARE MA BREAK /sobs "Wow, there are so many people!" "This is pretty much the only theater in town, but it looks like people came from over the hill. But any way --- That's not important right now." *clasps shoulders srs face*, "Are you prepared." "I was born prepared." *Zoey geeking out in the background* *wooping and cheering* "Guess it's time!" ----- 27 pages at this point SHots of going inside, future tech. Poster of Battle Galactic Blitztastic. Shot of Giant Popcorn Machine "Snap, I always forget how big that thing is" -- Zoey "Yeah, back in the early 3000s they competed nationally to see how big they could get it. We won, of course." "I thought I was supposed to be the history buff!" "Oh, that's right, I forgot that you're brother used to work here." --Dem Alright - let's get ready - to save - the galaxy! *something about representation and synthetics but bruh its straight up about systemic vioelne and oppression, but because robots and synths dont exist yet, it ends up being an allegory abour race. A relatively explicate one, but like, that seems super sucky. A human element is needed Joseph: "Oh yeah! Allissona Zhang is in this! I've been so hyped for this movie, having diasabled actors play disabled charachers is the only way to go." *cracks open phone screen to look up pictures of Allissona, shows Demetrie* Zoey: "Speaking of representation, have you heard the rumors that a Synth is going to be in this one?" Joseph: "What, you mean the robot?" Zoey: "No, a synth, basically a robot with a human brain, but the original human brain was rejected! It's like a person haunting a robot, so trippy." Joseph: "Nah Zoe, synths were debunked, weren't they? We've never had that kind of tech." Zoey: "Yeah, debunked by the US with the New World Council, but that's exactly what they'd want you to think." Joseph: "Dang, true, very true."

Later that night, the premiere is about to start. Zoey shows up, soft aside about her dad not making it to town. We meet more people/characters? Foreshadowing for shenannigins happinging under the facility. The Bat found its way inside from underground, the large old theater is also connected underground to the clock tower (Yes, the small town has a clock tower xD) Establishing shot of the lobby - the complex is pretty huge! There's a huge fountain of pop corn. As the movie starts, the bat peeks menecingly through the projected screen, everyone panics. As everyones leaving, Joey and Zoey rush to Deme's aide and ask how they can help. The bat squirms out into the lobby, starts feisting on the pop corn. They hide behind a counter on the far side. Demetrie runs with the rest of the crowd, then he slows to a stop. He remembers back to the guard force meeting, he feels intense pressure that he is the one who has to defend against this threat. "I'm the one... who's supposed to... protect everyone." flashback: "I've always had faith in you, Demetrie." Vaugely, fuzzily, he hears his friends calling to him, "Demetrie! Come on!" "I can't go." "Deme, this doesn't have to be your fight." "Everyone's counting on me, I feel like I don't have choice." "Demetrie... Fine. If you stay, we stay." "But-"

"We're here to help, tell us what to do!" "Do??"  "What can we do!! Did you see how big it was??" "Don't panic, let's brainstorm." "Right, right." Zoey: "How did it get in here in the first place??" Joe: "The underground tunnels, it's got to be." Zoey: "The basement has tunnels that lead to the outside??" Joey: "That or the creature burrowed it's way down." Deme: "How do we fight a bat??" Joey: "Bright lights? Loud noises??" Zoey: "Maybe we can lure it outside! Joey: "No, not outside, inside. We'll drive it back underground."

Zoey ends up being the one to distract the bat. She notices that it's sweeping along the floor, picking up popcorn. They are both in the isle near the front, it looks at her, it pauses. The bat poses no threat. Either she reaches over to give it popcorn, or she barely has time to think "Wait... popcorn??" and then the emergency sirens blare inside the theater and she snaps back to the plan at hand. "Wait, popcorn??" The alarm sirens blare, the bat screeches and takes out the whole row infront of it, zoey barely dives out of the way.

They trap them under the theater, then realize that the bat is harmless. To save them, they go either underground or sneak their way out and to the clock tower. The giant bat is trapped under some non essential support beams, and the three are talking about what to do with the bat. Zoey notices that its long tounge is snagging tiny bits of popcorn. She runs over and grabs a bag of popcorn that has fallento the ground. The bat calms down. "Zoey! What are you doing!" "No look, he's harmless. He's just hungry!" -- Bat, Demetire and Zoey are in the bell tower. "So. Now we have a bat." "I think I'll name him Ruben!" Deme face palms, "We're not feeding him pizza." shot of the tower and zoey's speech bubble, "Of course not! Duh, bats are insectovors!" END

[rilenerocks]

Sometimes things just have to blow, out of nowhere, for no reason in particular. Internal seismic shifts. The other day started out innocently enough. In fact, it was a welcome relief from the previous one which was incredibly stressful. The events of that day began  with a morning email from my mortgage company, telling me I’d filed legally incorrect documents. As I’d completed them myself with no lawyer, I got seriously worried. The bank’s underwriters turned out to be wrong, but still. Not the most relaxing way to start the morning. Then I got a truly disturbing phone call from a friend who’s suffering from intractable depression which has thus far been unresponsive to pharmaceutical intervention. Behaving way beyond my pay grade, I managed to find at least some temporary intervention for him by using my powers of persuasion on his primary doctor. But I know my limits and I was edging past them. I was seriously afraid and uncomfortable. Next up was having some truly beloved people stop by my house, people who were visiting from a coronavirus hotspot in this country. And they have been only sporadically wearing masks. What a dilemma. Contact or no contact? Did I get exposed? No one we love and who love us wants to deliberately harm us. But we can’t possibly know who’s quietly carrying the virus, nor whether we’ll be the ones who wind up with the life-threatening aspects of this disease. When will this pressure end? Not for a long time, apparently, when the public’s responses to the threat are so disparate. Then the guests used the toilet where the seat, unbeknownst to them had been hanging by a thread. When they left, I went in to the bathroom to sanitize and found the seat hopelessly broken. Groan. I ordered a new one that I could pick up without going into a store. I picked it up, went home and took everything apart.  The new one was the wrong size. The day just kept going. I got a huge painful splinter in the bottom of my foot and I couldn’t get part of it out. Later, another friend wrote me from the ER where her teenaged son was in some inexplicable digestive agony. He was released without having a Covid19 test which made me nuts. My youngest grandson swallowed Legos. I couldn’t wait for bedtime. Just one of those wake ups you’d rather forget.

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL!!!

1:40 PM · Jul 6, 2020

444.3K

158.7K people are

In Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and many other countries, SCHOOLS ARE OPEN WITH NO PROBLEMS. The Dems think it would be bad for them politically if U.S. schools open before the November Election, but is important for the children & families. May cut off funding if not open!

The next day started with Trump’s  unhinged comments on opening U.S. schools in the fall, including the threat of cutting federal funding to them if they choose to put their students’ health ahead of his re-election objectives. This infuriating drivel in the midst of the accelerated rate of Covid19 infection in this country wasn’t what I needed after the previous day’s irritations. So I made my way out to my backyard and my tiny pool which is my current substitute for the swimming I so desperately miss right now. 

I slipped my headphones on, put my feet in the water and focused on relaxing. After a short time, I felt the familiar deep rumbling of that seismic shift I was talking about, the one associated with the deep grief I still feel over Michael’s death and the inconsolable sense of loneliness connected only with him. So the wailing burst from me in a series of mini-convulsions that are shocking in their physicality. I’ve learned that there’s nothing to do but let them complete their cycle until I’m left at the end, exhausted, with not much left inside. These don’t happen that frequently any more but I expect they’ll be my companions intermittently for the rest of my life. Big consuming love comes with the expense of its absence. I wouldn’t trade away any of it. My approach was always and remains, full speed ahead, embracing the euphoric and wonderful along with the gaping hole and the despair. Yes. Full speed ahead.

I was pretty spent but took a stroll around the garden where there’s always something to lighten the mood. I decided to try staying away from the news which is never an easy choice for me. One day off won’t hurt anything. I was going to focus on finding some laughter and lightness. Maybe the stars were aligned for me because when I went inside to seek a television line-up, often a wasteland for me, there were  some serendipitous options for a change. I mean, really, does Gladiator have to be playing every single night for seven straight days? Or Kevin Costner’s pathetic excuse for a Robin Hood film when everyone knows the Errol Flynn one from the 1930’s is the best?

I was lucky enough to find Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. I’ve always found that movie really funny. This scene, filmed in my hometown of Chicago, never fails to make me smile. That was followed by the fabulous screwball comedy, Bringing Up Baby, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. Good acting and great writing hold up over decades and I’m so glad I know how to yank myself out of a dark space using old reliable films. I finished my mental rehab with the Marx Brothers’ Night at the Opera. Sometimes slapstick works and sometimes it doesn’t, but ridiculous zingers and mad physical antics worked like a tonic for me. All in all, fairly easy ways to revive myself after a big slump. For the rest of the night, I cut myself some slack and just let my mind wander. I started thinking about the different television shows I watched when I was growing up.

There was Lassie, Fury, My Friend Flicka and Annie Oakley. I was always partial to animals and Westerns. I often have conversations with my daughter about how much tv time is too much time for kids these days. Maybe the level of sophisticated technology and the dynamic relationship between the person and the device is really different from how sitting in front of the tube was back in the day. But I certainly watched a lot of shows. And I didn’t get lazy or stupid. I read a lot of books, too. But I suspect there were people in my generation for whom that sedentary part of their lives had adverse effects.  Maybe the difference between now and then really isn’t that dramatic. Or maybe I just feel like being optimistic and naive for awhile. Truthfully, it’s a welcome relief to being grounded in today’s dystopian reality.

I realized that I’ve been so intent on the pandemic, its effect on the foreseeable future and the constraints I’m wrestling with, that I hadn’t gone out in several days to look up. The clouds and skies are always so interesting and soothing for me. So I got back with the program. I was glad I did. Later, when I discussed what I’d felt like on the lousy day with my daughter, I told her that fundamentally, I thought I’d been doing pretty well under the circumstances. Ever the nihilist, she told me she agreed that for a person who was living alone, in a seemingly endless lockdown, with perhaps this current Groundhog Day life being the way my old age  would end, I was doing fantastic. I have to say, her comment made me roar with laughter. I’ve risen from the depths again. As I said, full speed ahead. Maybe to nowhere, but whatever.

  Full Steam Ahead Sometimes things just have to blow, out of nowhere, for no reason in particular. Internal seismic shifts.