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shlabam · 4 years

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TOP TEN COMICS BOOK VILLAINS WE PROBABLY WON’T SEE IN THE MOVIES

Superhero media is the hottest thing going right now. It was true ten years ago when the MCU was in its adolescence, and it’s even truer now. Even with film production on lockdown, Marvel and DC are still planning on literally dozens of their characters entering their respective cinematic universes. However, for the fans of the source material, things can be contentious. For every memorable Tony Stark quip, there’s Superman destroying an entire city because he’s, frankly, kind of dumb now. A major point of contention is how the various popular villains are utilized. Making an intimidating and potent villain in a comic book is very different than in a film. In comics, you have months to establish motive, powers, and backstory before the villain even makes their first move. In films, that all has to be compressed and spilled out in the scarce few minutes when Captain America and Bucky aren’t making bambi eyes at each other. To be concise, some villains adapt perfectly, and some, no matter how good they are in the comics, just don’t. And to be clear, this list is of popular villains who have the possibility of appearing in a big-budget film, so no, you won’t be seeing Ten Eyed Man or Big Wheel in there. Their powers are, respectively, having ten eyes, and being very good in business. (That’s a lie, he’s just a huge wheel who chases Spider-Man.)

10: Mr. Mxyzptlk:

Cool, let’s get this one out of the way. Despite being one of Superman’s oldest, longest-lasting, and most popular enemies from all the way back in the Golden Age, there’s no way in hell he will be in a movie. For the uninformed. Mr. Mxyzptlk is a 5th dimensional wizard-genie who appears every ninety days to torment Superman with his reality-altering antics, and can only be sent back to his home dimension if Superman tricks him into saying his own name backwards. Yes, it would be very dazzling, as Mr. Mxyzptlk’s powers in a movie would basically look like if Christopher Nolan directed Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but he’s a little too silly to fit in with the current “everything is gloomy and also a bummer” tone of the Superman films. This silly tone has lent itself perfectly to the Supergirl series, where he’s made a handful of appearances. Besides, if we get Mxyzptlk in a Superman movie before Brainiac, I’ll lose my entire freaking mind.

9: Hobgoblin:

There have been eight Spider-Man movies so far, and of those eight, four of them have, in some capacity, featured the Green Goblin. And that makes sense, right? The Green Goblin is easily Spider-Man’s most memorable and reoccurring nemesis, with Doctor Octopus and Venom close behind, and Peter Parker’s link with Norman and Harry Osbourn makes their tragic story perfect for film adaptation. On the other hand, we have the Hobgoblin, who is essentially Green Goblin with all the gimmicks, none of the Parker-adjacent backstory, and an orange and blue color scheme, likely tying him to the Denver Broncos [citation needed]. Still, in those four cinematic attempts at tackling the Goblin, none of them have quite gotten him right, and I can’t imagine this character, who is, even in canon, an intentional Green Goblin rip-off, would fare any better.

8: Starro:

Brave and the Bold #28 from 1960 featured the first story with the Justice League, and this story put them up against a very unique new villain: Starro the Conqueror, a giant telepathic starfish who can release tiny versions of himself. If these tiny starfish latch onto your head, you’re under his control and obey his commands. The Justice League have battled him fairly regularly over the last fifty years, and he’s a distinct and powerful enemy that the fans generally appreciate, leading to him being referenced occasionally in Smallville, Arrow, and Flash. Why won’t he ever be in a movie? Because if you’re a Hollywood producer, you stopped paying attention at “giant telepathic starfish”. Sorry. Maybe Shuma-Gorath will pop up in the next Doctor Strange movie, and he’ll set off a Twilight-esque wave of starfish monster movies! Then again, almost absolutely not.

7: Puppet Master:

Speaking of mind control, what’s scarier than that? For my money, nothing. Having your body and will taken away from you by an unseen force is a terror greater than death. How could you possibly make a villain based around such a chilling concept and have him not be scary? Well, maybe if it’s an old bald man in an apron playing with dolls. The Puppet Master is an ongoing threat for the Fantastic Four who is just that: he makes models of his foes out of radioactive clay, and makes them punch themselves and dance around and kiss each other, because he’s, y’know, a weird old man. Why is he such a consistent threat who hasn’t fallen into obscurity like other dumb gimmick-based villains? His stepdaughter, Alicia Masters, is the Thing’s longtime girlfriend. As long as she keeps appearing in movies (including being played by… Kerry Washington? That can’t be right), there’s always a chance he’ll pop up, but I don’t think any movie studio is that stupid, despite the quality of every Fantastic Four movie blatantly defying that prediction.

6: Bizarro:

Superman has always suffered in the villains department. When you’re essentially a god, what can they throw at you? As it turns out, Lex Luthor, almost always. But why not another Superman? Bizarro is essentially that, an imperfect clone of Superman who speaks in opposite speak - “Bizarro am good! Me not punch you until you live!” - and features the same abilities as the Man of Steel. Sounds great, right? Putting a hero against a villain with their same powers has worked for nearly every Marvel movie (shots fired). So why won’t we see him grace our silver screens any time soon? Because they’ve never really figured him out. Is he funny? Is he lethal? Does Kryptonite work on him? If he does everything the opposite of Superman, why does he wear clothes? Isn’t being naked the opposite of being clothed? Bizarro is a major Superman side-character and has made appearances in Smallville and Supergirl, but the idea of him being the Big Bad going toe-to-toe with Henry Cavill doesn’t sound like it would generate a lot of views.

5: Impossible Man:

You remember what I said about Mr. Mxyzptlk? Remember? So take that bit, but everywhere I say Superman, have it say Fantastic Four instead… yeah, that should do it.

4: The Wrecking Crew:

Thor has a unique quirk of having a very cinematic rogues gallery. Sure, most of the movies have pitted him against Loki, but if they were to run him up against the Enchantress, or the Absorbing Man, or Ulik the Troll, or Kurse, or even the Stone Men from Saturn, that’s not a bad movie! However, in one of the attempts to give Thor more of a mortal nemesis, they put him up against the Wrecker, who has an… enchanted… indestructible… crowbar. Yeah. Incredibly, the Wrecker and his Wrecking Crew have become very present characters throughout the Marvel Universe, essentially serving as “jobbers”, being rolled out to get beaten up by the new top hero or villain, but that may not work in a movie, where villains have to be seen as having some level of potency before being struck down. That means we’d need at least a short scene where it seems like Thor might lose to a guy whose power is “crowbar”, and that’s about as likely as an Edward Norton cameo in the next Avengers. Ho boy, they did NOT part on good terms!

3: Clayface:

When the movie-going public goes to see a Batman movie, they generally want something a bit more grounded than your typical superhero fare. After all, Batman has no powers, and therefore the most supernatural thing that should happen in these movies is a gas that makes you smile, or a different gas that makes you think your dead parents are back and disappointed in you. Might wanna put a mouth covering on that mask, Bruce! The one and only they’ve made a movie where Batman fights people with real, off-the-wall super powers (Batman and Robin), it did not go great. And those guys pale in comparison to Clayface, who is, yes, made of clay. In the comics and cartoons, Clayface looks awesome, turning his limbs into weapons and being very challenging to incapacitate, but in a live-action, realistic Batman adventure, we wouldn’t want to see the Dark Knight fight a poop-colored version of the T-1000, especially if it’s got the same chemical composition of a little dreidel that I made.

2: Red Hood:

A relative newcomer to the Batman universe, Red Hood is the revived body of Jason Todd, the second Robin, who was brutally killed by the Joker in one of the most controversial storylines DC Comics ever produced. Literally, fans called a 900 number to tell the writers to kill him off. A 900 number. That’s how much they hated the little turd. Anyway, Jason Todd, whom Batman and the rest of the world believed was dead, was revived by Ra’s al Ghul and became a ruthless villain. Since then, he’s gravitated more to the side of the hero, though one a bit more willing to spill blood than his mentors. Why won’t we see him in the darker, edgier Batman films? Because… that’s Bucky. It’s the same thing that happened in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Teen sidekick killed in controversial manner, revived by super villain to be a thorn in said hero’s side, later changes his mind and becomes a good guy again, though with enough PTSD to fill a PTSD super store. The two storylines even occurred in the comics in the same year, 2005, to much fanfare and across-the-board declarations of one company ripping off the other, reminding the world of the great Aquaman-Namor debates of the 1940s. Considering that DC’s films have criminally underperformed compared to Marvel’s, the last thing they want to do is be accused of lazy plagiarism, so Jason Todd will likely remain a permanent fixture in the afterlife, hanging out with Batman’s parents and, at the rate that people are coming back from the dead, literally no one else. (Plus, if they can’t even get Robin right, how are they gonna do this?)

1: Mister Sinister:

Yes, he was teased at the end of X-Men Apocalypse, but ignoring that the film underperformed both critically and commercially, Mister Sinister is never going to be in a movie. It would make sense for him to appear, though, right? He’s one of the most present and potent X-Men villains, he’s played crucial roles in many memorable storylines, he’s got a sick cape, but… something a lot of comic book fans tend to overlook is his murky backstory, powers, and motivations. He was a biologist in Victorian London who did genetic experiments on homeless people in the hopes of finding clues about the oncoming threat of mutants. In this time, he unearthed the long-dormant En Sabah Nur, whom you plebeians may know as Apocalypse, and Apocalypse gifted him with great abilities. What abilities you ask? HA HA, good question! At various times, Sinister has displayed: telepathy, telekinesis, energy projection, shape-shifting, regeneration, and teleportation, but these powers will mysteriously disappear whenever they want him to get sliced up real good by Wolverine. Additionally, it has never been made very clear what Sinister wants. Does he seek perfect mastery of the human genome? Does he live to torment Cyclops? Is he a blind follower of Apocalypse? Is he just running through all the different kinds of goatee? Of course, in adaptation, the writers would pick and choose the aspects they’d want to use, but I doubt they’d want to untangle the Christmas lights mess that is Mister Sinister, especially when they’ve got a perfectly good villain whose power is just “magnets”.

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theparanormalperiodical · 3 years

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The REAL Story Behind The Omen (1976) And The 7 Most Terrifying Omens You Should Definitely Know About

You don't get much irony in horror.

You get buckets of fake blood, you get lashings of sexism with subtle notes of transphobia, and you have dozens of plot holes to get twisted up in. But The Omen (1976) in a very dark, very deathy way, was ironic.

Somehow a film about the rise of the Antichrist - AKA the end of the world - would be accompanied by wild animal attacks, sudden deaths, and even a decapitation. Yep, The Omen was, well, an omen. In fact, this cult classic horror flick is known as one of the most cursed films to date as a result of the story put to the screen and the events that took place behind it.

But the infamous tales surrounding this movie is not the only time an omen has preceded horrific events. In fact, we've been searching for signs of what is to come for millennia. Some of these signs still haunt our darkest nightmares.

You need to look out for them.

Today we will be determining just how accurate the portrayal of The Omen is to the prophecies of the Antichrist, the spooky events that took place behind the camera, and any other signs of death or misfortune you should be wary of.

*crow caws in the distance*

First, let's recap The Omen

The Bible is undoubtedly the best-selling book of all time. And, just like many other chart-topping hits, it’s been turned into a whole host of films. Each has suffered its own onslaught of criticism for its unique take on scripture.

The Omen is one of them.

But The Omen doesn’t follow Jesus’ life story, nor does it CGI various jungle animals onto Noah’s ark. It follows the Antichrist from birth to demise across 3 films (including a made-for-TV Canadian movie which we’ve all agreed to not talk about). It charts the rise of Damien as he develops his paranormal powers and loosely fulfils the prophecies set out for the Devil’s spawn.

Our story starts at his mysterious birth: after a woman has a stillborn child, her husband swaps it for a child whose mother died at birth. When Damien is just 5 years old strange things begin to occur. Animals act strangely around him, various aggressive dogs appear - oh, and Damien’s nanny rudely interrupts his birthday party by throwing herself out of a window with a noose around her neck.

Enter a new nanny who is less Mary Poppins and more Mary Most-definitely-a-satanist-who-wants-to-protect-Damien-and-overthrow-Christ. Things get worse (yes, it’s possible) when everyone around Damien begins to slowly work out that he may or may not be the Antichrist and in turn get killed in assorted horrific - but also mildly hysterical - ways.

It’s the father of Damien (the adoptive one, not the actual Devil) who leads the investigation into his origins. He traces back Damien’s origins back to his dead mother’s grave. Turns out she was a jackal.

Enter the Antichrist expert - he gives Damien’s father the low-down on dealing with demonic children, and explains that the naughty-step is simply not enough. He has to be killed on hallowed ground with a collection of knives I’m pretty sure I saw on Antiques Roadshow. He takes the Daggers of Megiddo and his infant son into a local church, forces him onto the altar and prepares to kill him.

The police shoot him before he can do this.

The following films chase up the rest of Damien’s short but eventful life and include: one sex scene, one King Herod-inspired ‘kill all babies born on this day cause one of ‘em is Jesus’, and even a last minute cameo by Christ himself.

Unlike most horror franchises, however, The Omen is not based on some paranormal investigation or a forgotten urban legend - the story inspiring it is kept very close to the hearts of many around the world. It’s this troubling premise which makes this film one of the most terrifying to date. Question is, just how accurate is The Omen to the actual end of days forecasted by Christians?

How accurate was The Omen to actual prophecies regarding the Antichrist?

Like most things mentioned in The Bible and other religious texts, things are typically vague or lost in translation. This means many concepts and stories have been rewritten and rethought in numerous different ways.

The Omen kinda had to connect the dots.

But there are a few defining features of Damien and his life story which are uncomfortably close to what might just be the apocalypse…

First, the Antichrist is supposed to be born as the opposite of Christ: he is not born of God and a virgin, but of Satan and a ‘whore’. Whilst The Omen appears to be slut-shaming a jackal, we do know Damien is the spawn of Satan. His animal mother (which is referenced later in the franchise when Damien is discovered to have Jackal bone marrow cells) is a reference to Jackals’ biblical presence as tricksters.

The Omen also sticks to the dominant line of thought on Damien’s career path. The Antichrist is mentioned 3 times in the New Testament and follows the end of the world, something we see in the dying moments of the final film: the Book of Revelation and other prophetic texts claim he will rule for 7 years before being defeated by Christ/Angel Gabriel’s army. He will be a tyrant, a trickster, rise to power, and (perhaps) claim he is a messiah.

The Omen is an abridged version of this. Damien is at one point a CEO and then an ambassador to the US before he sees an image of Christ when he gives out his last breath.

But here’s the thing.

Everyone has a different take on how the Antichrist will take his first steps to almighty power before being dethroned by the JC. And everyone has a different take on who it is.

Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, the Pope (I’m pretty sure all of the popes have been accused of being the Antichrist), Prince William… Type in a celebrity name - literally any celebrity name - and the word ‘antichrist’ into Google and there will be “proof” of Kate Hudson using satanic subliminal messaging in How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days. By all accounts The Omen is just another version of how the Antichrist could rise and fall.

The Omen does include a few other suitably-satanic references: the Daggers of Megiddo don’t actually exist according to lore, but are associated with the end of the world. Megiddo is the site of the final battle between the Antichrist and Jesus Christ as mentioned in the Book of Revelation. Its Greek name was even ‘Armageddon’.

We also see throughout the franchise a satanist plot to ensure the Antichrist grows up safely and is ready to do his dark bidding. Modern theorists claim the Antichrist will arrive hand-in-hand with a satanic plot to overturn the Christian faith.

The Omen effectively charts out how the world might end. But for many people working on the film, they were experiencing hell in their own way.

What really happened on the set of The Omen?

An omen is defined as a phenomenon that predicts and hints at the future, or signals a change. The birth and rise of the Antichrist probably fits the definition as it signals the Second Coming of Christ, Judgement Day, and numerous other events anticipated by Christians across the globe. It is an omen for the end of the world.

Hell, it’s the ultimate omen. It doesn’t get more omen-ny than that.

But in some weird omen-ception, The Omen was an omen for the people producing the film. *squints in confusion*

Basics, it is now known as one of the most cursed movie sets ever. And here’s why.

Gregory Peck, the father of Damien, allegedly canceled his seat on a flight that would crash and kill everyone on board. When he did finally get on a plane and flew to England his plane was struck by lightning. The film’s writer experienced the same thing on a separate flight days after Peck’s.

The producers and some actors also nearly attended a restaurant one evening when it was destroyed in an explosion. One of these same producers, Mace Neufeld, also happened to check out early from a hotel in London which was blown up by the IRA shortly after.

The special effects designer witnessed traumatic events mirroring the movie far too closely, too: his wife was decapitated in a car crash, a similar event to one we see in the film. Even an animal trainer used for a scene from which Baboons act wildly and crazed around Damien was killed after being mauled by a tiger.

Yeah.

It’s all very ommeny.

But what are the other omens you should be looking out for?

The 7 omens you should most definitely be watching out for

#1 - Crows

All films or TV shows that feature death or war also feature crows. Their fateful cawing has historically been an omen of misfortune or death and is used for foreshadowing as obvious as the colour black. A single crow is an omen of bad luck - a murder of crows (more than five) is an omen of death or illness for either you or someone you know.

In ancient times birds were common omens and it was the type of bird which signaled different positive and negative changes. Crows in particular were believed to be messengers between the mortal world and the afterlife. Witches were also believed to use crows to cast their death spells.

They have since gained a reputation for being cunning and intelligent creatures, much like the jackal mother of Damien in The Omen.

#2 - Owls

I told you - we are convinced birds bring death.

Much like crows, owls are very deathy. Walking under a tree and hear an owl hoot? You or a family member are gon’ die. One lands on your roof? Death is a-coming.

Owls are even historically believed to herald doom with one Roman Emperor - Antonius - dying after an owl was seen perched above his bedroom door. They are considered wise creatures according to ancient civilisations, as if they know something about the future we do not.

The Welsh, on the other hand, believed they bring fertility. If an owl hoot is heard by a pregnant woman she will have an easy labour.

#3 - Doppelgangers

According to German and Irish folklore, seeing an ‘exact replica’ of you born to different parents is a sign of your death. If your family members or your friends see one, beware of impending danger.

These ‘double-goers’ are considered evil twins in folklore. If you spoke to your doppelganger, they’d try and trick you and plan evil ideas in your mind.

Breton and Cornish folklore claim they are Ankou, servants of death himself who thus personify it.

#4 - Death Knocks Thrice

Let’s set the scene: you’ve just ordered a Nandos and you hear the knock at the door. But instead of a halloumi-topped beanie burger, you open the front door to no one.

Rather than a delicious meal you will soon experience death.

Irish, Scottish, and Native American communities follow this folklore and it is referenced in many different films including The Conjuring. The Perron family hear continuous knocking which comes in threes - the Warrens, however, claim it is a demonic entity or spirit mocking the holy trinity.

#5 - Phantom funerals

Funerals normally come after the omen of death, you know, when the actual ‘death’ part has occurred. But fake funerals led by ghosts are an omen of the death of a loved one. They will take the same place and same route of the actual funeral, however.

If you do see one, however, don’t look into the casket; otherwise, it’ll be your own.

(Dun dun duuuh)

It is believed they are sent by fairies who are infamous for causing mischief. A similar phenomenon, ‘the tolaeth before the coffin’, is when one hears the coffin making process or the funeral take place.

#6 - Solar eclipses

We now have the benefit of science and astrology to tell us that sometimes it gets really dark and really cold in the middle of the day. But way back when, the sun effectively disappearing for a few moments was rather more terrifying.

Ancient civilisations believed it was a warning from pissed off gods that they were going to exact some revenge and send some impending danger or death. Most cultures even believed a folkloric beast or native animal was eating the sun. In fact, that’s why many communities would bang pots or pans together during eclipses to scare away the demon doing it.

They are still considered a mysterious sign something bad is about to go down.

#7 - Black butterflies

We end on an omen I’m probably going to incorporate into my aesthetic for 2021. A black butterfly is considered to be a symbol of misfortune and death in some cultures and a positive sign for others. It could also equate to a less lethal ‘death’ - that is the death of a relationship or a project.

It can thus be considered an omen of renewal or rebirth. And lord knows we all need that for next year.

Have you ever seen an omen?

Let me know in a comment below.

If you liked this post make sure you like, reblog, and then hit follow. I post a new article on the paranormal every Saturday and a new ghost story everyday!

*flies away with the black butterflies*

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hookedontaronfics · 5 years

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Honky Dancer series - Chapter 1

NEW SERIES ALERT

Chapter title: Auditions Rating: M Pairing: Taron x OC Warnings: None at this time A/N: I was inspired to write a series based on the perspective of a Rocketman dancer. I hope you enjoy following a London-based dancer from her first audition run-in with Taron to maybe so much more - but don’t forget a healthy dose of drama along the way! More mature themes will develop, so be warned! Enjoy! x

“And first position … second … third … and fourth … now fifth. Good, and again.” I swept my arms gracefully through the positions my muscles knew by memory and my mind knew by heart. I’d learned the basic positions when I was no older than the girls I now taught, in their adorable pink tutus and bright shiny faces. “Keep going, that’s right,” I encouraged, walking between the barres and making adjustments while the 5-year-olds moved through each ballet position to the music I had queued.

I kept a watchful eye on these aspiring young dancers, hoping to instill in them the love of dance I had grown up with my entire life. Even when I offered corrections, I tried to do so in an encouraging manner. I’d had my share of critical teachers and even a few who thought I wouldn’t get that far. But I’d never let it bring me down and only used the negativity to push harder for what I wanted. Until, that is, a nearly career-ending injury four years ago that had kept me off the stage and behind studio doors instead. I’d made the transition to teaching on the advice of a dance counselor, and I knew I would never look back.

I ended class with some easy stretching and accepted the cute hugs and calls of “Thank you, Miss Juliette!” as my class filed out to their waiting mothers [and two fathers, bless their hearts.] Once the last girl had left I quickly packed my bag as Madison pushed her way in through the door.

“Oh my god, are you excited?” she asked me as I traded out my slippers for sneaks and pulled on a pair of comfy sweatpants and a hoodie over my leotard.

“I’m so nervous I could puke, but I won’t get an opportunity like this again. And I feel like I’m finally ready,” I grinned, making sure I had everything I needed in my bag for the audition I was already running late for. “Thank you for subbing my next class, I appreciate it, Mads,” I grinned, giving her a hug.

“It’s no sweat, now go!” she laughed, fairly pushing me out the door. “And break a leg!” she giggled as I groaned inwardly.

I rushed out of the dance school and hurried along Balderton Street to Oxford, heading toward the Bond Street tube station and taking the train across town to the Paramount studios on Chiswick. I snacked on a protein bar to keep my energy up while we rumbled over the tracks, doing a few stretches to keep my muscles loose as I wouldn’t have much time to warm up again when I got there. If anyone was staring at me, I ignored it, but I’m sure the tube riders had seen far worse than a few grand plies.

Once I arrived at the studio I hurried through the check-in process as quickly as possible. I was issued my number and told which group and studio to join before I rushed off to the bathroom to change. I’d chosen a sparkly magenta pink leotard I’d used for a performance piece years ago for this audition - I was trying out for the dance ensemble cast for Rocketman, the Elton John biopic, so even if it was a bit over-the-top I felt it was appropriate.

I pulled on tights and a black ruffled short skirt over that and strapped on my character shoes. I let my strawberry blonde hair down out of its tightly woven bun and dashed on a bit of thick eyeliner before affixing my number with safety pins. I put on bright pink lipstick and grinned at myself in the mirror. I certainly looked the part, I thought, stashing everything else in my bag and going to find my group.

I dropped my dance bag against the wall with everyone else’s stuff and found an open spot on the floor, sitting in a deep split and doing a few stretches while everyone else either chatted excitedly or went through their own personal warmups. The buzz in the room instantly cut out as a trim stately man strode in; I instantly recognized him as the choreographer we’d be working with. Waves of excitement and nerves washed through me in equal measure as we all stood and lined up without being instructed to. Several other people came in and took seats along the wall; I presumed they were likely producers and crew of some variety.

I tried to secure myself a spot in the middle front; even if I wasn’t feeling the most confident, I could certainly fake my way into it. This was my first professional audition since I’d made company - and later principal - for London Ballet Company. All of my dance dreams had shattered after the injury that meant I couldn’t do pointe work any more, but I’d thrown myself into classes in other styles as a sort of rehab process and in an effort to diversify my skill set, and found I loved jazz and Broadway the most.

So here I was, giving my all through the brief warmup, across-the-floor exercises, and combinations, hoping to catch the choreographers’ eye. I knew I was one dancer in a field of hundreds, some coming from other countries just for this chance. But I also knew how badly I wanted a spot in the ensemble, to be a part of such a spectacle.

My favorite combination involved a bit of a complicated leap into a fan kick; I could see other dancers struggling to get elevated but I felt so completely in my own element, soaring across the floor and losing myself to the music, which unfortunately wasn’t actually from Elton’s catalogue. We were split into smaller groups to perform the series of steps for the choreographer; at the end of it, I added my own little flourish, dropping into a very Fosse-style pose with curved shoulders and tilted hips. The choreographer brushed past me as he circled our group, muttering “very good” so only I could hear. I couldn’t help but smile, but kept my eyes low.

We were given a twenty-minute break after everyone had a chance to perform, and the choreographers from each room of dancers would be making first cuts before we would all be shuffled together and given a full routine to learn and perform on an actual stage. I dearly hoped I’d be making it through the cut, but sometimes not getting a part had nothing to do with how good a dancer you were. Directors sometimes wanted a specific “look,” and I had no idea if this would hold true for Rocketman or not.

The hallways were far too noisy for me so I stepped nimbly over dancers sprawled on the floor as I traveled away from the studio rooms, trying to find somewhere quiet to listen to my music and try to find a bit of peace. I filled my water bottle at a drinking fountain before turning a corner and leaving all the other dancers behind. I probably should have just plopped myself here, but curiosity got the better of me, so I followed down this hallway too, my character shoe footsteps echoing in the quiet even as I tried to walk softly. I plugged my headphones in and was just about to hit play on my Spotify playlist when I heard a couple of voices coming from a cracked doorway. The room had a bank of sweeping windows and I couldn’t help peering in; some day I would learn to tame my incessant curiosity, but today was not that day.

Three men stood inside, involved in what looked like a serious discussion. I couldn’t really make out much of what they were saying, their voices just low murmurs, but I thought I might have recognized one of them. Just then they all turned to head toward the door, and I ducked away from the window, hoping I hadn’t been seen. As I slowly tried to sneak away, the door swung open rather suddenly and flew straight into me, sending me sprawling onto my hands and knees, my phone skidding across the floor.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” the handsome young man I recognized said, instantly offering his hand to help me up and looking embarrassed. I took it, noticing how soft his skin was but how strong he felt as he helped bring me back to my feet.

“It’s alright,” I said with a laugh, brushing off my knees and hands and retrieving my phone from the floor. “Nothing hurt but my pride,” I said as he looked me up and down, taking in my obvious dance garb.

“Here for the auditions, then?” he smiled warmly at me, as the other two men carried on their conversation.

“Um, yes, though I’m hoping I’ve danced with more grace than I just displayed,” I grinned good-naturedly. “Though I should get back to that now.”

“Well I wish you best of luck, Number Two-Nine-Four,” he read off my assigned number with a smirk.

“It’s Juliette,” I supplied with a laugh.

“Juliette then, you may call me Taron,” he replied, smiling so widely his dimples showed through.

“Holy shit, you’re Elton!” I gasped, covering my mouth with my hands and making the other two men halt their conversation mid-sentence as they gawked at me.

“That’s up for debate but yes, I’ll be attempting to play him,” Taron grinned at my shock. I knew now how I’d recognized him, from the Kingsman films. But standing here in front of him was an entirely different thing. He was totally unassuming, just dressed in jeans, a black sweatshirt and a ball cap with “twenty-two” scrawled across it.

“I’m sure you’ll be wonderful at it,” I laughed lightly, trying to not feel shy in front of him, but for his part he did everything to try and make me feel at ease.

“I suppose if I was shit Elton wouldn’t have chosen me,” Taron just chuckled.

“No, I don’t think so. Well, it’s very nice to bump into you but I really must get back,” I said softly.

“Wouldn’t want you to be late, love,” he said with a wink. “We’re heading to the stage now,” he added, making my insides feel rather funny all of a sudden. “Maybe I’ll see you there.”

“Maybe,” I agreed a bit faintly, hurrying back down the hall the way I’d come, my heart pounding and unaware that Taron’s gaze lingered on my willowy frame. The hallways were already deserted and I worried I was late, but I slipped back into the studio room just in time, as we were all called to line up again.

The choreographer was holding a notepad and after thanking everyone for coming out and giving our hardest work, told us only five numbers from our room were advancing to the stage routine. I closed my eyes at that; five out of a room of 35. There’s no way I’m getting through this cut, I thought. I was confident in my abilities but there was so much talent it was practically dripping from the walls.

“If your number is called, please come join me up here,” our choreographer said, and rattled off the first number, 162. A spry male dancer who had all the marks of “ballet” written in his physique left our ranks and joined the choreographer at the front, fairly beaming to be one of the chosen. Next up was 052, a fiery redhead with a pretty face; 291 [so close], a black muscular male with a sweet expression; and 112, a tow-headed boy who looked barely out of secondary school.

I closed my eyes and held my breath as the last number was read, even if I had no chance. “294!” the choreographer called, and no one moved a muscle. Someone next to me tapped me on the shoulder, my eyes still screwed shut tightly.

“Hey, I think that’s you!” a girl whispered as the choreographer called my number again.

“Oh,” I laughed in disbelief, walking to the front in stunned silence as the choreographer clapped for us and everyone else joined in. After more thanking of all the auditioners, the people who hadn’t made it were dismissed, and after much chatter and shuffling of bags, it was just us five left. We’d all been told on the audition notice to bring black pants and a white button-down shirt we could dance in and tap shoes, though the particular style they had left up to us, and we were now instructed to change into those clothes and join all the other dancers in another studio room in ten minutes. I decided to leave my leotard on under my shirt, only doing up three buttons so it could still flash through. I switched my character shoes out for actual taps and then dashed off a squealing text to Madison that I had made it through the first round of cuts.

<Oh my god, that’s so exciting! So what happens next?> she texted back immediately.

<But you’ve been taking hours and hours of classes! I’m sure you’ll do great> she sent back with about ten winky-face emojis. I had to laugh at that.

<Gotta go, I’ll let you know if I make it through to solos.> I stashed my phone in my bag again and made it to the large studio room in time, lost in a sea of other black-and-white clad dancers, all of us trying to individualize in some way, with bright lipsticks or colored socks or patterned scarves tied round our heads. We were all handed cheaply made top hats and shown where to stand. The dancers from each room seemed to band together, so I was in line with the other four from my room, trying to give them encouraging smiles.

“We’ve got this,” I said under my breath to the tow-headed boy next to me, who looked incredibly nervous though he was probably one of the best talents in the room, even so young. He nodded at me and smiled kindly in appreciation, so I gave him a goofy thumbs up before the choreographers addressed our room.

There were about 60 of us, and I strained to hear what was being said over the coughs and rustles as dancers adjusted their clothes. Still, I got the gist of it and then we were hard at work, learning pieces of the routine, repeating each small snippet over and over and then quickly breezing through the next. It felt like a blur, but I did what I knew to do best in these situations; I linked each piece of choreo to an image in my brain to keep the sequence in order, building on it as we moved through the 2 minutes of routine the way a child might play a game of memory.

We were all sweaty and out of breath when our thirty minutes were up, and soon we were herded to the stage to perform the piece all on our own, as the choreographers and producers and maybe even the director for all I knew sat in the audience. Oh, and Taron, I reminded myself, trying not to let that make me suddenly nervous. The last thing I needed to do was forget the choreography. We stood on the stage under lights, staring out into the darkened auditorium. If I squinted hard enough I could make out the shapes of people in the seats but had no idea who they were. I wondered if Taron was out there looking for me, and the thought of it made me smile.

The strains of music began and soon we were lost in the whirlwind of the dance, performing the piece like we’d been rehearsing for months. It was nice to feel like I could rely on the dancers around me as much as they could rely on me. Sure, we were all competing against each other for those coveted spots, but we were also performers at heart. And so, for those two minutes, we leaped and we spun and we tapped and we shone.

When the music was over we all stood around on the stage together, whispering and waiting as the shadows in the audience deliberated our fates. I didn’t think I had missed a step, and I looked forward to giving my solo, a piece I had worked hard on and that had made Mads cry when I performed it for her. Still, twenty people wouldn’t be making it through this round and that made me even more anxious than I already was.

After about ten minutes someone called for order, and we quieted down immediately. Numbers were called quickly, dancers cheered or groaned, and I was thankfully called up somewhere in the middle of the pack this time. My relief was probably evident. We were given about twenty minutes to prepare whatever we needed to; I chose that time to eat another protein bar and chill out to some music. I had a simple costume for this piece, wanting my dancing to be center stage. I kept the black pants but exchanged the leotard and shirt for a black dance bra and black vest. I slicked back my hair into a sleek ponytail and pulled a hat low over my eyes. I wiped off the pink lipstick and left my lips neutral, but painted my eyelids black. It was a dramatic effect and exactly what I was going for.

We had to pick numbers and of course I chose the last slot, so I had a lot of time to wait around. We all were told we could sit in the auditorium seats if we wished to watch each other at this point, and I sat with my new-found “friends” from my original group, all of who had made it through the tap round. There was Pietre, the soft-spoken young boy; Dennis, the athletic black dancer; Leah the precocious redhead; and Markus, the handsome ex-principal. Markus was quite funny, and I enjoyed sitting next to him as we watched other dancers perform.

Slowly, our ranks got smaller and smaller as each dancer went onstage to perform and was subsequently dismissed. We wouldn’t be told if we had gotten the job until the next day, so this was our last real shot to make an impression. I wished Pietre, Dennis, Leah and Markus all good luck, and their solos were all amazing. It was going to be a tall order for the choreographers to make their decisions, whittling us down to just 30 core dancers.

And then it was my turn. There was no one else left to watch except the people judging me. But as I made my way up the stage stairs, I noticed someone standing in the wings, and realized it was Taron, waving at me and giving me a thumbs up. Had he really stuck around this long to watch me? I was a little dumbstruck at that and ended up stumbling over my own name when I was asked to introduce myself, even though they had my audition sheet in front of them. Get a grip, I chastised myself, stealing another glance at the wings. Despite the low light I could see Taron’s eyes glittering at me and I could feel his eyes following me as I took my place on the stage. I took a few slow breaths to still my mind, needing to go to that place where I was beyond my thoughts, where it was nothing but light and color and music.

I’d chosen Annie Lennox’s “Cold,” a song that was dreamy and ethereal and yet somehow heavy. Lines like “Dying is easy/It's living that scares me to death” and “But the more I want you the less I get/Ain't that just the way things are” hit me in the chest and had stayed with me ever since I heard the song, but when “Catch me and let me dive under/For I want to swim in the pools of your eyes” the image of Taron flashed through my mind, and the words gained a new meaning as I couldn’t let go of the way he looked at me.

When the song ended and I had struck my final pose, the auditorium was dead silent; I could have heard a pin drop aside from my own heart beating. I stood back up and took a small bow, turning to leave because I didn’t think anyone was going to say anything before suddenly someone in the auditorium was clapping, the sound hollow in that giant space. I glanced over at the wing, but Taron wasn’t standing there anymore and for some reason that made me feel empty.

“Thank you for your time, that was lovely. We’ll phone you tomorrow,” one of the faceless shapes from the auditorium told me. I gave them my most winning smile and then was dismissed. I was sweaty, sore and exhausted by the time I gathered my bag up, changing once again into sweats and ready to just head home and tuck into a bowl of homemade Thai peanut chicken curry. I’d done my best and the rest was up to someone else. I had my hand on the exit door when someone called my name. I turned to see Taron jogging toward me, a bit out of breath.

“You were brilliant. They all said it in there, you should have heard them after you left,” he grinned. “You left us all absolutely speechless.”

“I, uhm, thank you,” I replied awkwardly, trying to wrap my mind around what he was telling me.

“You’re absolutely a shoe-in, no question, but you didn’t hear it from me,” he said, winking at me for the second time that day. I let out a nervous laugh at that. “I look forward to working with you, Juliette,” he added, and I couldn’t help my legs feeling a little weak at the way he said my name. I was glad I was still holding onto the door handle to steady myself. On second thought, this might be a major problem, I thought, but he was an actor and I was just a dancer and I didn’t think we’d be spending that much time on set together. Besides that, Taron was on a whole other level from me, so I figured he was only being kind.

“Me too,” I finally managed to reply. He bid me have a good night and then disappeared off down the hall, to do what I didn’t know but he seemed intensely focused on every aspect of this project. He had certainly left an impression on me though, and I could feel my cheeks were flushed.

I finally made my way to the tube station, taking it across the city to my flat and letting myself in gratefully, instantly greeted by my fluffy 2-year-old golden retriever Troy. “Hey boy, mommy’s home,” I grinned, ruffling his fur happily. Madison had stopped in earlier to check on him and let him out, and I was forever grateful to her. Mads had been my biggest cheerleader and supporter since I started working at DanceWorks, and I had never met a sweeter, kinder soul.

<Finally home. We’ll know results tomorrow. Everything seemed to go really well for me> I texted her as I tossed my sweaty dance clothes in the wash.

<Think you’ve got the job?> she asked back.

<Not sure, these things are never certain even if you feel good about it but I did my best and something tells me I impressed the choreographers> I wrote back. Or rather someone, I thought, a small smile drawing across my face.

I set about making dinner, feeling half-starved now, and did my best to relax in front of the television, catching up with my favorite shows. I took Troy on a quick walk around the neighborhood in the late evening before finally taking a long soak in the freestanding bathing tub I’d invested good money in. There was nothing better after a long day of dance then letting my muscles unwind with lavender Epsom salts.

Tired and fully worn out, I stretched out in my bed, ready to catch some shut-eye but of course every time I closed my eyes I could see Taron’s handsome face floating in the dark. I wasn’t about to delude myself into thinking I had half a chance with Taron. From all accounts he was just an absolutely caring and sympathetic man and his co-workers always spoke so highly of working with him. But I could definitely say there was now more than one reason why I wanted the chance to dance on Rocketman.

Keep reading: Chapter 2 HERE

#taron imagine #taron egerton #taron x reader #rocketman fanfic #taron egerton fanfiction

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kyufiber-moved · 4 years

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hey hi helloo~ so,,,you kinda seem like you know lots of kdramas,,,,and i wanted to ask you,,,if you could recommend me some of your favorites? tbh anything would be fine kdjs it can be something where i can cry my heart and soul out or something really cute! that's totally up to you (but something where i can absolutely get emotionally invested in that it shatters my heart is what i probs need rn tbh 😩✊🏻)

this is my time to shine 🤓🤓🤓 i DEFINITELY CAN !!! esp for my favorite follower 😔💕 also this is gonna be pretty long bc i gave a lot of info for each drama so i’ll put a read more~!

_ MY PERSONAL FAVS _

go ho’s starry night- a chinese-korean collaboration drama starring snsd's yuri, kim youngkwang (the secret life of my secretary), and lee jihoon (legend of the blue sea) - go ho (yuri) is a dedicated worker who deals with her grumpy boss and quirky coworkers. she requests to be transferred to a different team, where she discovers her new boss is her ex-boyfriend, and then basically there forms a harem of 5 of her coworkers who all like her- super fluffy!! episodes are only about 15 minutes long each, and although there is angst, there's a lot more comedy and fluff. the relationship between the two main leads is adorable and had me squealing way more than once

put your head on my shoulder- a chinese drama starring fair xing (master devil do not kiss me) and lin yi- si tu mo is a bubbly girl who moves into a house only to find out that the owner's nephew (?), gu wei yi, is already living there, and the two end up living together. si tu mo is sweet and outgoing, while gu wei yi is quiet and intellectual- SO cute. although the plot seems cliche, the focus is not really on them living together, that's just what brings them together originally, and the main lead isn't the stereotypical "cold and super smart asshole" type, he's actually very sweet. there are a lot of episodes but i would definitely recommend watching this!

like- a korean webdrama that you can find on youtube starring kim yu an, kim kangmin (maybe, maybe not), yoo jungwoo (love after school), and seo ji hye- about a group of students who create a film club to make youtube videos and the dumb shit they get into, plus there's some romance, betrayal, and fuckboys. - so so so so cute honestly. the dynamic between the characters of the club is so cute and funny, plus the love triangle has me wheezing. also the asshole fuckboy gets what he deserves which is super satisfying. it hasn't finished airing yet, but so far it's really cute

failing in love- korean webdrama you can find on youtube starring son sang yeon (triple fling), yang hye ji, and shin yoon seop- about a group of high schoolers who deal with falling in love, crushes, rejection, etc.- ok so the summary i gave was pretty vague but that's because any more and i'd be exposing the whole plot. there is humor and fluff but also teenage angst, and the characters are all more complex than they first appear. i would highly recommend this show !!!

i have 3 boyfriends- short webdrama you can find on youtube starring kim ji eun, park sungwoo (produce 101 season 2 [that 30 year old dude who danced to rain's song OMG], moon jihoo, and lee jungsik - when la hi gets in a car accident and wakes up with amnesia she finds that she has 3 men all claiming to be her boyfriend.- OK LISTEN . this show is so funny and cute. let me just say: you MUST watch to the end. that's all i'll say. pLS WATCH

last minute romance- two episode drama special starring han seung yeon (age of youth) and lee seo won (the liar and his lover)- when baek se finds out she has terminal cancer and only has a short time to live, she desperately wants to complete her one bucket list item: date her favorite actor. it's then that she meets an aspiring actor who looks exactly like her favorite actor- so cute and very short, so you won't spend ages trying to finish. it is very fluffy, cute, and funny, but has an underlying tone of sadness because the main female lead has cancer and will eventually die. also her best friend is a monk??? the ending is bittersweet but very fitting

want more 19- a short webdrama you can find on youtube starring jung ha joon, sin gi hwan, jeon yoo rim, nam yoon soo, and lee jungha- a story of 5 friends in high school. A mutual crush, a one-sided love, and a rough patch for sweethearts, all taking place right around the end their senior year- OH GOD i can't breathe this drama is so cute. it had me squealing every single episode, and it's very lighthearted with hardly any angst

splash splash love- a two episode drama starring kim seulgi (queen of the ring) and highlight's doojoon (radio romance)- right before her ksat, danbi is transported to the past during a freak rain shower and is mistaken for a eunich (which, in korean, is the same word for high school senior) . due to her knowledge of future math, the king enlists her to teach him mathematics and they fall in love- a lowkey parody/remake of the kdrama love in the moonlight but if you added time travel into the mix and took out nearly all the angst. SO cute and funny, and has a happy but open type ending

something about 1 percent (2016)- korean drama starring jeon so min and ha seokjin (drinking solo)- lee jae in is an arrogant company heir, whose wealthy grandfather who decides to grant all his wealth to a kindly elementary school teacher. to only way for anyone else to get the money is for someone to marry her, but they devise a contract that changes it to date for 10 months. although they hate each other at first, they eventually fall in love- this drama is super cute and the kisses are AMAZING. there are crazy exes and all that but the couple's dynamic is super cute and they quickly warm up to each other

triple fling (s1)- a short choose-your-own-ending korean webdrama on youtube starring jung bomin, son sangyeon (failing in love), themanblk's jeongyou, and themanblk's eom sewoong- lee sehee accidentally becomes friends with the three most popular boys in school and ends up in a love square with them- alright im whipped for stuff like this so naturally i loved it. i also really liked how viewers could choose their own ending as for which boy she chose. there is a second season that i haven't seen yet that focuses on another girl in ANOTHER love square (containing one of the guys from sehee's love square) in which it shows which boy she actually did choose (and it was my favorite so . yay!)

weightlifting fairy kim bok joo- a korean drama starring lee sungkyung (cheese in the trap) and nam joohyuk (who are you: school 2015)- a drama about a female weightlifter who falls in love. persuing the relationship would jeopardize her weightlifting, and focusing on weightlifting would jeopardize her relationship with her crush. she and her group of friends deal with one-sided crushes, athletic pressure, and self-love.- i watched this drama in full in only two days, and loved it. seriously, it's funny, cute, sad, and just a generally AWESOME drama. plus it takes a lot of cliches and makes fun of them or turns them on their head

when you love yourself (s1)- a short webdrama you can find on youtube starring jung mingyu (sweet revenge 2) and saet byeol . - about a girl who is heavier than her classmates who struggles with self-love and self-acceptance, and along the way finds love- god. i can't even explain how much i loved this drama. the message is wonderful and there's no moment where she glows up and loses weight and then gets the guy's attention or anything: he simply loves her as who she is, no matter what weight she is, and is supportive. there's also an episode that focuses on the queen bee girl who also struggles with weight and self-love and it's just beautiful

after school: lucky or not (s1)- short drama starring 5urprise: kang tae oh (my first first love), seo kang joon (are you human too), gong myung (drinking solo), lee taehwan (w: two worlds), and yoo il, as well as kim so eun (our gab soon)- when so eun gets an invite to the choose-your-mission club, she meets 5 chaotic guys that she becomes friends with, but there's something they aren't telling her.- yes, there is a lil romance and a love triangle HOHO. ok but seriously this drama is the most crackheadery i've ever seen like. genuinely i was just wheezing so hard every episode because of the dumb sh*t the guys were doing and so eun's reaction. this drama seems dumb and funny at first, but there are emotional moments as well as some angst relating to the love triangle and the origin of the club. please do watch this show !!! (don't recommend season 2, though)

accidentally in love - a chinese drama starring amy sun (the eternal love), fiction guo, and ma li- chen qingqing, who is raised by her grandfather) is arranged to be married, but wants to find love on her own terms. on the day of the wedding, she runs away to the university her parents attended to find out more about their death. to hide from her grandfather, she changes her appearance drastically and enters university. her new deskmate turns out to be singer si tu feng, whom she has already run into and has gotten off on the wrong foot with- so this drama was longer than the ones i usually watch but it was worth it. it was cute and they didn't drag out the couple not getting together for ages like some dramas tend to do. the romance was super cute and the female lead's undeterred determination to march to her own drummer was amusing. the only thing i didn't like is that they didnt give the side couple enough screentime bc they were super cute too

my woofy poofy love / my dog-like dating- a short korean webdrama you can find on youtube starring chae ji an and kim do hoon (your imagination becomes reality)- a girl who has recently been cruelly dumped by her boyfriend brings a stray dog back to her home and wakes up to find that instead of a dog, there is a man! she happens to be looking for a roommate, and so this man (who can turn into a dog) becomes her new housemate- literally adorable. female lead is stunning and the relationship is so cute and fluffy and innocent, but the kiss is steamy as hell.

unrequited love (2019)- a chinese drama starring zhu yan man zi and zhao shun ran- a story of a girl who has secretly loved the same boy for 10 years, but he doesn't know she exists, until one day when they meet in college. so begins their love story, but things become more complicated because of other people- ok so like . damn i love this couple. this drama is really cute but has its fair share of angst, so don't expect an easy ride the whole way through. very cute though !!_ MORE DRAMA RECS _

a love so beautiful- a chinese drama starring shen yue (meteor garden) and hu yi tuan- chen xiaoxi has liked her neighbor jiangchen onesidedly for years, and continues to like him despite his seeming disinterest. but her determination and bubbly personality, as well as a romantic threat starts to cause him to fall for her- aight so . i feel like this drama was dragged out a little bit longer than necessary and then the ending was slightly rushed but!! it WAS a great and super cute drama

ok to be sensitive (s1)- a webdrama you can find on youtube starring kim da ye and kim youngdae (extraordinary you) and others im too lazy to put- focuses on feminist issues like sexism and sexual harassment in a college setting, which each episode focusing on one particular incident and the characters dealing with it- listen so like . this show had me emotional at some points bc of how amazing the message was. it dealt with sexual harassment, sexism, how females are expected to act, stalking, pressure to have sex... etc and basically every episode was like . you can stand up for yourself. you don’t have to “take it” just bc you’re a female, etc. also there was really cute romance uwu

ok to be sensitive (s2)- season 2 of otbs, also can be found on youtube, starring yoo hye in and lee shin young, as well as others but again im too lazy to list them all- same thing as season 1, but a different cast of main characters, and set in an office workplace. (original cast makes a cameo at the end)- the issues in season 2 were definitely a bit darker because it was set in a work place, where the main characters were worried about getting fired if they stood up for themselves, but the way things were handled was really admirable imo. also the male lead in this one is ABSOLUTELY adorable

go back diary- a 4 episode webdrama you can find on youtube starring kim ye ji and lee jong won (jaemin’s webdrama how to hate you)- about a boy who sees a girl at a karaoke bar (?) and instantly develops a crush on her. she then transfers to his school, and it tells the story of their love story after 10 years.- i’ll just say it right now. the whole drama was adorable except for the ending, which fucking sucked. literally was horrible. boycott episode 4 pls i was SO UPSET. otherwise, great webdrama

before we get married- taiwanese drama starring puff guo (just you; we got married w/ suju’s heechul) and jasper liu- tells the story of two people who already have partners and are planning to marry them, only to meet each other and fall in love- bro this show had so much angst i couldn’t even breathe lmfao. but the romantic scenes between the two leads were S T E A M Y let me TELL you.

love after school (s1)- korean webdrama that can be found on youtube starring park so eun and yoo jungwoo (like)- about a couple who fell in love in high school and their story, told from 5 years later when they meet again- i love love love this bitch. LOVE. season 2 ... we won’t speak of her lol. but season 1 is super cute and the ???? kiss at the end(ish)??? DEAD. literally anything with yoo jungwoo will destroy me but omg. it was fantastic

lucky romance- a korean drama starring hwang jung eum (she was pretty) and ryu joon yeol (reply 1988) - about a woman who believes wholeheartedly in superstitions meeting a man who believes only in science and mathematics, and their very chaotic love story- this show was so funny tbh. the main couple’s dynamic was HILARIOUS and even though they were literally complete opposites they worked so well together. warning: towards the end there’s that whole ‘i have to be noble and let you go bc its for the best’ bullshit but!!! there is a happy ending

maybe, maybe not- a webdrama starring kim kangmin (like) and gong yoorim- a girl who can read minds and is an outside bc she knows what everyone is really thinking meets a guy that she can’t read the mind of- so fluffy. so cute. oh god. pls watch it’s so soft and cute

my first first love- a korean drama starring jisoo (strong woman dbs), dia’s chaeyeon (drinking solo), and b1a4′s jinyoung (love in the moonlight)- about a group of friends who all, due to various circumstances, move into their friend tae oh’s house, and find love along the way.- idk why netflix did that dumbass thing where they did mffl 1 and mffl 2 but they’re the same show, just eps 1-8 then 8-16. anyways !! very cute show!! jisoo is fine as hell. taeoh and the rich girl are cute together. i found the ending abrupt and unsatisfying, but overall a good show

thumping spike (s1)- a korean drama starring hwang seung eon (part-time idol) and song jae rim (our gab soon) - about a volleyball team and their coach who are aiming for success, and a female professional volleyball player who becomes their athletic mentor- i know it doesnt sound super romantic but trust me. there is lots of romance, and even a love triangle hehe

u-prince: the single lawyer- a thai drama apart of the u-prince series starring august vachiravit paisarnkulwong and apple lapisara intarasu- firstclass is a straight a student who is strict about punctuality and properness, while minute is a spoiled rich girl who loses all her luxuries when her family files for bankruptcy. she begins “going out” with her gay best friend, aka firstclass’ brother, for money and ends up living in their house, but she and firstclass hate each other- listen all the u prince dramas are cringy and low quality but does it look like a give a shit . NO BC I KEEP WATCHING THEM . they’re cute ok . anyways this was my favorite one so this is the one im recommending yeehaw

unexpected heroes- a short korean drama sponsored by the CDC organ transplant management center, starring btob’s minhyuk, ioi’s sohye, and choi jonghoon- about three high school students who discover that, after their respective organ transplants, they have supernatural powers- though there’s not much focus on romance in this drama, it’s still funny and cute. plus minhyuk is in it and what more can you ask for ?? lol. anyways the trio uses their powers to help solve crimes n stuff it’s gr8 and ive been waiting for a season 2 for 98429834 years

what to do with you- a korean webdrama - that is actually literally an ad for a facemask - starring lee hayoung and kim youngdae (extraordinary you)- saerom and geun are friends, but it feels like they’re something more. will they ever take the next step?- yeah this webdrama is super cute and that’s really all lol. also the bitchy girl in love after school is the best friend in this one oho

your imagination becomes reality- a webdrama that can be found on youtube starring oh se young, kim dohoon (my woofy poofy love), and jin ho eun- soram has a crush on a mysterious upperclassman, and wishes to see him again: she does, soon after. each time she makes a wish, it seems to magically come true. - yeah so like . it’s not a supernatural thing or anything, it’s just a cute college romance that’s basically every girl with a crush’s dream lol~!

#asks #bossgyu #drama recs #kdrama recs #recs #sorry i took so long to reply!!!!

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district2001 · 6 years

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Bon Voyage Season 3 Episode 3 (BTS x 8th Member Imagine)

PAIRING: BTS x 8th Member (female)

GENRE: Minimal fluff, good old humour

WORDS: 1.5k (whoahh)

Summary: Join BTS as they begin the third season of ‘Bon Voyage.’ In Episode 3, BTS climb the Sydney Harbour bridge.

A/N: please message me or reply to this about what adventures you want to see in BV 3 Xx Took me a few months lmao. Honestly in a bit of a mental blank, but the best way to get over a mental blank is to write a shitty imagine I’m assuming. Lmao. Plz enjoy. ALSO I JUST FIGURED OUT HOW TO ADD “KEEP READING” Go me!

Episode 1 2

The glowing sun. The strange black and white birds flying across the sky. The sweet sounds of “fuck off mate” entering Y/N’s ears every 5 minutes. Australia.

After landing in Sydney yesterday, the squad were relieved to hear that they could relax in the morning, free from any appointments or activities. Y/N and the Melanin king also known as V were lounging by the hotel pool, trying to soak up as much sun as possible, before they were to go back home, where they would be freezing their tits off. Jungkook was also by the pool, but instead of relaxing he was filming the latest edition of his ‘Golden Closet Film’ series, resulting in Jimin and Jin posing like stupid idiots near the outdoor bar. Namjoon was inside, frantically looking for his passport- DESPITE ONLY ARRIVING YESTERDAY. Y/N hoped a repeat of season one wouldn’t happen, although she would love to make fun of him again. Suga, well, everyone knew what he would be doing. Sleeping. No one blamed him though. He had barely gotten enough sleep over the last few days, stating that his “creative juices” were flowing and he couldn’t afford to take a break, and waste the opportunity of producing a hit. J-Hope was in the hotel store, purchasing some souvenirs for his sister.

They spent the morning lounging, not speaking much, not doing much, but just relaxing. They deserved it. With an upcoming tour, and not to mention the new album release, they were in over their heads. Then again, it was exactly what they signed up for. No complaining. Just occasional tears and sore muscles. Nothing they couldn’t handle.

At 4pm, they all stood outside the hotel, some styled better than others. Y/N was wearing her signature denim high waisted shorts, with a white ‘I Love AUS’ shirt tucked in at the front. She had a tradition of wearing souvenirs on all their trips, and she wasn’t planning on stopping anytime soon. To complete her look, she had put on a simple pair of silver hoops which accompanied her Pandora bracelet which Suga had given her for her birthday. J-Hope was rocking his signature pouch, whilst Suga was decked from head to toe in black. Black. In summer. In 40 degrees. That boy was crazy.

The camera’s started rolling, people on the street stopped and stared. Their producer began explaining what exciting events would occur today.

“You may have bungee-jumped in BTS Run, You may have flown in hot air balloons on tour, but today you will be climbing on of Australia’s most famous monuments.”

“They have famous monuments?”

“The Opera house”

“THE ROCK!”

“For Fu- Goodness sake Jimin-ssi, it’s ULURU!”

“When Jungkook knows more about Australia than he does about me CONSIDERING HE DIDN’T WISH ME HAPPY BIRTHDAY”

“Jin Hyung, I didn’t wish you happy birthday as I thought I’d be respectful and not remind you that you’re a year closer to dying.”

“Are we climbing the Harbour Bridge?”

The staff nod, evidently happy that the fight between the oldest and Maknae could be postponed.

Then they were off, once again spending a bit off time packing and unpacking the film equipment. They were fortunate to have had a hotel near the harbour, meaning that they could easily get there on foot. It didn’t mean they wouldn’t complain. Jin was complaining that his white sneakers were getting dirty, whilst Y/N wouldn’t shut up about her straighten hair sticking to her lip gloss. Nevertheless they made it to the bridge, and were told to change into some fugly onesies.

They all sat in the briefing room, waiting for their instructor to go over the safety guidelines. J-Hope couldn’t stop pouting over the fact that he would have to take pictures in such unfashionable clothes, whilst RM was giving him a lecture about enjoying the moment.

A young Australian male entered the room. Y/N was expecting someone with pale skin, freckles, beach blonde hair, super tall with muscles bulging under his shirt and a strong Australian accent. Instead, she was presented with a young girl, of Asian decent, who had a smile stretching from ear to ear.

“Hi! I’m Jennie. I’m a massive fan,” she said in proper Korean, whilst she bowed down to all the staff and the squad.

Everyone smiled, and Y/N saw Namjoon relax through the corners off her eye. Although most of them could speak a decent amount of English, it still took some effort to understand what was going on. By having someone who spoke Korean be with them for the next few hours, Namjoon wouldn’t have to play the role of translator, whilst Y/N could make a new friend.

Jennie introduced herself. She has half Korean and Australian, was from Melbourne but was studying Law at University of New South Wales, and spoke decent Korean. She insisted that she was absolute trash, and that she only knew how to hold a basic conversation due to being forced against her will to go to Korean School until she was 16. Her bubbling personality matched Hobi’s, but Y/n had noticed that she avoided eye contact with Jimin. Probably her bias. Y/N would ask her eventually.

Jennie sped through the safety procedure, stopping occasionally to ask Namjoon about some translations. She told them what they should and shouldn’t do, mentioning it was common sense not to jump around at the top of the bridge, in case it might fall. This caused Jin to nearly have a heart attack. Let’s just say her humour was not appreciated, as in Jins words “what would happen if the most Handsome person in the world died.” Y/N snark response of “the world would continue” led to Jin zapping her sides, causing her to fall to the floor.

Before Y/N realised what was happening they were making their ascend up the bridge. Due to being on a budget, it was just BTS and Jennie, the managers were instead taking a mini 2 hour holiday- probably bitching about their childish behaviour.

The climb up was silent, the group marvelling at Syndey’s beauty. Only occasional remarks were heard before the comfortable silence consumed them.

“Oh look it’s the Opera house!”

“There’s the… what’s it called.”

“CN Tower”

“Ahhhh!”

The silence continued whilst they reached the top. All of them struck in awe about the setting that unfolded infront of their eyes.

For Y/N it was almost like a movie. Where the protagonist finds there identity. Where they decide which boy to give their heart to. What university to go for. Except for Y/N, those didn’t matter to her. She didn’t need a boyfriend (although she lowkey wished she had one to annoy the boys) nor was she unsure about her future. But she still felt a sense of nostalgia. Or reminiscence. She was doing what she loved, surrounded by those she loved. She got to share the stage with her seven brothers and travel the world. Who knows what she would be doing if she wasn’t tricked into going to the Bighit audition by her parents. Would she be on track to spending her life behind a desk. Probably. But because of her family and team believing in her, she was experiencing life. Whether it be sneaking out of a hotel at midnight with Jimin to eat a local delicacy, which upset their stomachs the next morning, or falling asleep on RM’s couch in his studio, when he was going over one of the tracks she badly produced (although he still called it a work of art). Despite the numerous times Jin hyung refused to share his food with her, or the daily occurrences of Suga hyung slamming the Genius Lab door on her face, when she pestered him to leave his studio, she knew that the loved her. And she loved them. And she made sure she expressed it. Whilst they were, more the most part, vocal about their love for each other, she made it her mission to make sure her boys knew she was immensely proud of them. Occasional notes of encouragement were placed in J-Hope’s dance bag, taking Tannie for a walk after rehearsal so V could sleep, or having those deep and meaningful convo’s with Namjoon to ensure he didn’t have too much on his shoulder. Y/N understood how fortunate she was to be living her dream, and she wasn’t ever going to let it go to her-

“AHHHHHH!”

Y/N whipped her head to her left, worried that somehow her idiotic bandmates had found a way to nearly kill themselves.

And as she did a quick head check, she was happy to count 7 heads with very messy hair, due to the strong winds.

Turns out, J-Hope had dropped his vlogging camera. But luckily, their team had envisioned such events, and made them wear a connecting band on their wrist- meaning that the camera currently wasn’t sinking to the bottom of the river.

The descend down was also silent, once again filled with occasional remarks suggesting the editing crew would struggle to make this episode interesting, as barely any words were spoken.

“They can just replace all of Jiminie-hyungs steps with squishy noises.”

“Or they can replace all of Hobi Hyungs screams with your voice crack on stage.”

“fuck off.”

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papermoonloveslucy · 6 years

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LUCY’S REPLACEMENT

S4;E19 ~ January 17, 1972

Directed by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Fred S. Fox and Seaman Jacobs

Synopsis

Harry gets a computer and fires Lucy, who then gets a job in a typing pool at an insurance company. When she starts to miss Harry, Lucy and Kim sabotage the computer to get her old job back.

Regular Cast

Lucille Ball (Lucy Carter), Gale Gordon (Harrison Otis Carter), Lucie Arnaz (Kim Carter)

Guest Cast

R.G. Brown (Mr. Conrad, Insurance Office Manager) appeared on “The Andy Williams Show” (1963) and “The Rich Little Show” (1976). He will do one more episode of “Here's Lucy.”

The character's name is only used in the final credits.

Phil Vandervort (Joe Hackley) appeared in two episodes of “The Lucy Show” where he met Lucie Arnaz. The two were married from 1971 to 1977. This is the second of his three episodes on the series.

Joe Hackley is an electronics major who Kim is dating (occasionally). Lucy calls him “that funny looking guy with the glasses.”

EXMO-III [Experimental Model #3] Model 15545 was designed by ‘Al Rylander.’

It is established that EXMO is a ‘he’. EXMO speaks, but his voice is uncredited.

The 11 typists at the insurance company are played by uncredited background performers.

Coincidentally, two weeks before this episode aired (but well after its filming in late 1971), the first scientific electronic pocket calculator, the HP-35 was introduced by Hewlett-Packard and priced at $395 (equivalent to more than $2,400 today). Although hand-held electronic machines that could multiply and divide had been made since 1971, the HP-35 could handle higher functions including logarithms and trigonometry.

For this episode (only) Lucy Carter wears her hair in a bun similar to the way Lucy Ricardo did. Lucille Ball's hairstyles are credited to Irma Kusely.

Lucy calls the behemoth computer “a left-over from 'Star Trek'.” This is the first mention of the space series that was first produced by Lucille Ball at Desilu. Four days after this episode first aired, the very first convention of ‘Trekkies’ took place in New York City.

Harry credits the creation of the computer to his friend Al Rylander. Rylander was Gale Gordon's 'go-to' name during dictation to Lucille Ball on both “The Lucy Show” and “Here's Lucy.”

Harry mentions Lucy's son Craig, despite the character no longer being part of the series.

Regarding Lucy’s typing skills, Harry facetiously calls Lucy “the high priestess of hunt and peck.” Hunt-and-peck is a method of typing where one looks at the keyboard and only uses the index fingers to depress the keys. The traditional method of typing has the fingers gently resting on the ASDF JKL; keys with eyes on the material being transcribed or the typed paper, not the keys.

Lucy goes to work in the secretarial pool at The Great Pacific Insurance Company.

In “Lucy's Vacation” (S3;E17) Kim says that Harry has fired Lucy 14 times. This episode brings the total up to 17!

The coordinated typing sequence was ‘choreographed’ by Jim Bates, who introduces the episode on the series DVD. It is performed to "The Typewriter", a novelty instrumental piece written by Leroy Anderson in 1950, and first performed by the Boston Pops. The song was recently seen on Amazon TV's “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” using archival footage of a performance of it by Liberace in the late 1950s.

Kim calls Harry and EXMO the odd couple. “The Odd Couple” was a popular television series (based on a 1966 play of the same name by Neil Simon) that starred Tony Randall and Jack Klugman as mismatched roommates. It aired on ABC from 1970 to 1975. Tony Randall guest starred on “Here’s Lucy” (above) during “The Odd Couple’s” first season.

After being sabotaged by Joe Hackley, EXMO squirts coffee and cream in Harry's face, thereby fulfilling one of “Here's Lucy's” staple comedy bits: Getting Harry wet! Off screen, Lucy nicknamed Gale Gordon “Old Soggy Crotch”!

When Lucy walks in on a still-reeling Harry after EXMO has nearly electrocuted him, Lucy asks if he is “trying to bring back the Turkey Trot”. The Turkey Trot was a dance done to fast ragtime music popular from around 1900 to 1910. The basic step began with four hopping steps sideways with the feet apart. The dance fell out of favor by 1915.

Fast and precise typing was demonstrated by Wanda Clark in “Lucy Protects Her Job” (S2;E14). Clark was also Lucille Ball's real-life secretary.

Lucy also had trouble with typewriters in the 1949 film Miss Grant Takes Richmond. In the film, Lucille Ball played Ellen Grant, the worst student at the Woodruff Secretarial School.

Although it wasn’t revealed until 1957′s “Lucy Takes A Cruise To Havana” (LDCH S1;E1), Lucy Ricardo also went to secretarial school (with Susie MacNamara) and wrote an operetta, novel and a play using a typewriter!

Lucy Carmichael was also a skilled typist and became secretary to Mr. Mooney at the bank, where typing was part of her job.

While working for Mr. Mooney, Lucy Carmichael had a human replacement played by Ruta Lee in “Lucy's Substitute Secretary” (TLS S5;E14).

One of the world’s first computers was mentioned on “I Love Lucy” in “Lucy and Bob Hope” (ILL S6;E1) in 1956! UNIVAC (UNIVersal Automatic Computer) was an early computer made by Remington Rand that at the time was used mainly for weather forecasting, but would also correctly predict that outcome of the 1956 Presidential election.

UNIVAC was mentioned again in 1964 in “Chris Goes Steady” (TLS S2;E16). Viv says that UNIVAC “couldn’t have come up with a better match” than Chris and her new boyfriend, Ted.

In 1966, ten years after Hope’s ad-lib mention of UNIVAC, Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon) installed a computer at the Westland Bank in “Lucy, the Superwoman” (TLS S4;E26)...

...as well as another one in “Lucy and Bob Crane” (TLS S4;E22).

On “Here’s Lucy,” Computer Dating was the subject of “Lucy the Matchmaker” (S1;E12) in 1968. The comic payoff of most episodes featuring computers was having them short-circuit and run amok!

Logistics! In the office, the door at the left that is usually a closet, now allows Kim, Lucy and Joe to pass through to the outside hallway. Similarly, the door on the right, sometimes a bathroom, is here called the storage room. The exits are used as per the requirements of the plot without regard to prior episodes.

Props! For the high speed typing practice session, the spare paper is dog-eared to make it easier for Lucille Ball to pick up.

Sitcom Logic Alert! Time flies when EXMO announces it is 2:02pm. Less than 80 seconds of screen time later, EXMO announces it is 2:05pm! At the end of the scene, EXMO announces it is 2:09pm, yet less than 5 minutes have elapsed since he announced it was 2:02! Is is ironic, that on the table just behind EXMO is an hourglass, one of the oldest time-keeping devices known to man!

Knowing Your Place! In the first office scene, EXMO is positioned against the wall behind Lucy’s desk and the shallow table normally there has been removed. In the second office scene, Lucy’s desk has been moved to the side, EXMO has been moved forward and the shallow table has returned! That’s a lot of moving of some very heavy furniture!

“Lucy’s Replacement” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5

The worry that computers would replace people was a common TV trope of the ‘60s and ‘70s. The episode contains a short but wonderful scene between Lucy and Kim that feels especially real. Lucille Ball shows her joy of working with her real daughter as Lucie exits. There are also genuine displays of emotion between Lucy and Harry. Maybe it is her Lucy Ricardo-like hairstyle, but the comedy here is very reminiscent of “I Love Lucy.”

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ursafilms · 5 years

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PureBS

KQED, the local PBS affiliate in San Francisco, hired me on three separate occasions. Perhaps my first four month stint of lambasting pledge; mocking the union slugs; and wearing a “I Hate Public Television” button didn’t alienate enough of the self-righteous to not ask me back.

During the second stretch at KQED, Yan Can Cook, a favorite cooking show of mine, ended up as one of my management responsibilities. Martin Yan, a charming and energetic man, had still not mastered the English language. While this elevated the whimsical personality of the brand, it did cause some consternation amongst his underwriters and sponsors.

One day, after rousing the stage manager from her stupor, we shot promos for the show.

Angry Stage Manager: “Fisherman’s Wharf Consortium. Promo! On. 5, 4, 3 . . . “

Martin Yan: “And dis time of yee-ah, you can take a trip to Fishahman’s Woof, where you can enjoy fresh Dungeness CRAP! And—”

Angry Director: “Cut!”

Martin Yan: “Problem?”

Legend has it that KQED lost the Fisherman’s Woof sponsorship. In the interest of keeping the stupid racism accusations to a minimum, I won’t cover the shoot day with the guest Thai chef who came on Yan Can Cook to make something with peanut sauce.

And if Martin Yan’s questionable diction were the only issue at KQED, and by extension PBS, the very concept of public broadcasting wouldn’t be so irksome. But in addition to top-heavy management, labyrinthine union rules, and the whiny production personnel, KQED’s programming, more of it on the public dime than any stooge at MSNBC will ever admit, ran tried and true to its appeal to aging hippies, angry minorities, guilt-ridden Caucasians.

In other words, less than 50% of the potential market at best.

A typical spate of an evening’s fare, consisting of 99% national feed and 1% of the pathetic excuse for local programming, laid out, with some embellishments as follows:

6pm – 7pm – The McNeil-Lehrer News Hour(of some clone thereof) – Tonight our two Woodward and Bernstein Wannabes present the news of past week with an emphasis on sticking a thumb in the eye of traditional Americans. Our field reporters, recently returned from their internships at the Kremlin, go on location to cover obtrusive American Imperialism in the four corners of the world.

7pm – 8pm – TWIT BAY AREA – This Week In The Bay Area.A series of featurettes on the topics that interest the residents of Kooktown, USA (In fairness, KQED does refer to the city as San Francisco) and its environs. Among tonight’s topics: The concept of White Privilege will be beaten to death by a KQED producer of color who couldn’t make it in the private sector. An inside look at the local burgeoning activist community. And our weekly expose on some rich, white people who just don’t pay their fair share of taxes.

8pm – 9pm – Beverly.A documentary produced by our sister station, WGBH/Boston. It’s the story of a young hermaphroditic transsexual who always felt, deep down inside, that they were a little ‘different.’

9pm – 10pm – Enrico.A documentary produced by our sister station, WGBH/Boston. It’s the story of a young hermaphroditic transsexual who, in addition to being an undocumented person of color, always felt, deep down inside, that they were a little ‘different.’

10pm – 11pm – Masterpiece Theater, Midsommer Murders or Agatha Christie Mysteries.

****

The beauty of KQED programming, and by extension PBS, is that you could fill out the viewing schedule in a matter of minutes for all seven days of the week. A name or title change here and there for the documentaries produced by WGBH, and a veryshort list of the topics that The MacNeil – Lehrer News Hour (Or some clone thereof) and TWIT BAY AREA dared touch and whoever had the job of scheduling at KQED had a very cushy job.

As mentioned earlier, KQED hired me twice in the early 90’s. They also brought me back in the mid-90’s for one more go at mind control assisting with The MacNeil – Lehrer News Hour, but after a third lunch with the local producer of the show did not yield the appropriate responses from Yours truly, the Che Guevara fan club, also known as Human Resources, gave up.

My last lunch with said producer went as follows:

Edward R. Murrow: “I just love Bill Clinton.”

Me: “He’s a lecherous, morally-repugnant layer of veneer. Putting him the White House was bad enough, but now that we’ve lowered the bar for entry, I think anyone can get in.”

Edward R. Murrow: “Check!”

It may have lasted longer than that, but by the time Ed Murrow stomped out of the sad excuse for a watering hole in which we dined, my membership in the Go Along to Get Along Club had been officially rescinded.

****

The sheep mentality engendered by employment within PBS aside, another aspect of working at KQED involved dealing with NABET, the labor union at the station started by the Cromwells. Given the work ethic and attitude with which the membership approached their jobs, the acronym stood for Not A Bit of Effort, Toots.

KQED’s scheduling department, with I which had to deal on an hourly basis, presented the only upside to this situation. The three main people, Jim, Jerry, and Simon must have gone home every night and beaten the dog, given the obstacles consistently put in their way. Their boss, Larry, should have been canonized during his tenure.

Requesting even an hour’s time of one of the 682 skilled laborers present at the station on a daily basis generated enough paperwork, Prilosec, and Sturm Und Drang to mount a summit meeting between superpowers.

Simon: “Scheduling. Dis is Simon.”

Me: “Simon, it’s George in unit managers. I need an hour of audio this afternoon.”

Simon: “I don’t have anybody.”

Me: “I saw a couple hundred of the NABET guys down at the Slo-Club, great name for a hang out for them by the way, having a 27 course lunch.”

Simon: “Yes, Dey on break.”

Me: “I get it. When dey back from break, can I get one of the audio guys or gals to record some V.O. in the booth at three o’clock?”

Simon: “Two.”

Me: “Okay, two o’clock, but I don’t think they’ll even be through the soup course by then.”

Simon: “No. You need two people to run audio in booth.”

Me: “First of all, I didn’t think you hadanybody. Second, that booth isn’t big enough for one person, let alone two. What are theygoing to do?”

Simon: “One to adjust microphone. Other runs tape machine.”

Me: “Are you F&$KING kidding me?”

Simon: “No. Is in NABET rules book. Section 22, para—”

Me: “What does the microphone adjuster do while the other person is running the tape machine?”

Simon: “Fills out timecards for session.”

Me: “Okay, fine.”

Simon: “Send me FAX, two copies of session script, name of actor on AFTRA contract, AFTRA contract in triplicate, radio and TV buy, and name of good place to buy miniature television set.”

Me: “What?”

Simon: “Kids want TV for car. It runs off cigarette lighter input. Very clever. I—”

I made up the part about the 27 course lunch. Might have only been 22.

****

KQED’s staff of producers, as befits the personality of a bunch of touchy-feely Marin County types, had zero interest in actually lodging consistent complaints about NABET. As such, when any of the production people complained to me in Unit Managers, I requested that a discussion with scheduling and the shop steward might be in order.

No one ever wanted to do that. In time, and long after I left, the union, the feckless producers, and their helpmates in top-heavy management cratered the station’s General Ledger and led to even less effective local programming and even fewer documentaries for which the station could claim credit. That trend continues to this day.

But by golly, trotting Bill Moyers, or some clone thereof, out to slam conservatives, and binge-running(No one binge watches PBS, except for Downton Abbey) alternative lifestyle short films, satisfies the sanctimonious and the self-proclaimed superior types.

And I ain’t talking about the viewership.

****

Can’t properly say farewell to this section without a few words on Pledge, the scourge of anything worthwhile to watch on PBS. It is the interrupter of any rhythm and appreciation of public television. If Pledge could be taken outside and shot, I’d be breach loading the shotgun and walking into my backyard to do it.

Pledge runs about 52 weeks out of the year, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Or, perhaps it just feels that way. During whatever air time is left, the local affiliate or national feed consists of worthwhile educational programs and family oriented fare that crosses all borders of gender, faith, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Hah!

And, as much as I’d like to post a typical Pledge Pitch, I haven’t taken nearly enough Xanax in my life to pull myself out of the pit of despair into which I would plummet. I don’t think I can bring myself to recount the dialogue from the usual tag team combination of the effeminate Castrati and the cloyingly solicitous Manhattanite doyenne trying their level best to separate us from $50 for a copy of The Mario Lanza Diet Book.

I am moving on from PBS. You should too. I realize there is a dearthof educational, activity, and alternative viewing stations out there such as The Discovery Channel, NatGeo, Hallmark,

SCI, The History Channel, Ovation, Animal Planet, NASA TV, C-SPAN (Cough), The Travel Channel, The Golf Channel, NFL Network, MLB, NHL, and the various international feeds from other countries that any basic cable package will provide.

And there’s just so darned little On-Demand and on PPV that making a $50 donation to the elites seems like a fair trade. That and the Gazillion Dollars sent to those losers every year, some of which is hoovered out of your taxes, whether anyone at the CPB will confess to it or not.

Yes, the American public should just keep falling for the “Could you really take Sesame Street away from your children.?” Or as the sanctimonious PBS Pledge hosts would put it, “Can you allow the blood-thirsty, evil Republicans to take away the only access to fine, commercial-free programming poor little children of minority parents have? Can you? To those same programs also available to the spoiled-rotten, glow-in-the-dark, pale and washed out spawn of Satan? Can you?”

And now back to the private sector.

0 notes

justanothercinemaniac · 7 years

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Epic Movie (Re)Watch #162 - The Adventures of Ichabod And Mr. Toad

Spoilers Below

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: No.

Format: Blu-ray

1) During World War II, Disney produced a number of “package films” of which this was the last. The war took a number of Disney animators and put a strain on the studio, meaning they had a lot of half ideas which weren’t short enough for a short nor long enough for a feature. So Disney decided to group them together. The results included Fun and Fancy Free, Make Mine Music, Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros, Melody Time, and this film. It was after this film that Disney would return to full length stories with 1950′s Cinderella.

2) They key to this working as a package film and not some strange double feature is the live action connecting tissue. Scenes in a library with two disembodied narrators (Basil Rathbone for “The Wind and the Willows” and Bing Crosby for “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”) is a simple thing to help the film feel like a total picture.

The Wind in the Willows

3) As with most Disney films, the supporting characters of Mole, Rat, & Badger are well established through initial introduction and design.

4) There is a nice establishment of Toad’s wild character before we even meet him.

Badger: “What good are his promises when these wild manias take him?”

And then “Merrily on Our Way to Nowhere in Particular” is a strong visual introduction to how nonsensical and merry Toad is.

Toad is largely a selfish character bust still likable and charming. As the narrator observes himself at the end of the segment, we all wish we could be a bit more like him. Enjoy life more, have more adventures, and just have a merry good time. Toad is a wonderful introductory character, with moments like the setting in of his mania being wildly enjoying to watch. But there’s always a bit more to him than we expect. A bit more cleverness and later in the film a bit of regret. A fun character who may not be as much of an icon as Mickey Mouse but still a Disney great nonetheless.

5) One of the ways the “Wind in the Willows” adaptation stands out to me among other pieces of anthropomorphic animals interacting with humans is that the animals are their standard size. I’m so used to a Mickey Mouse being the same size as Donald Duck and such but these creatures are all their normal sizes. It was a small thing but it struck me.

6) It was when Mr. Toad defends himself in court that I remembered an old adage I heard from a lawyer: only an idiot defends themselves.

Toad certainly is that. A little too sure of himself, a little too trusting. Having a real lawyer probably would’ve helped his case.

7) The Weasels.

The weasels have become one of Disney’s most prominently reoccuring bad guys, having memorable roles in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” to start. They might be better remembered for Roger Rabbit than they are for this film, but without the weasels being a standout element in this movie they would not have been in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Narrator: “Yes, once again it was a White Christmas...”

So Rat and Mole must be visiting Scrooge to ask for some charity at this time.

9) Ah, that 2017 feel.

(GIFs originally posted by @fantasia1940)

10)

Rat [after Badger tells him he found evidence supporting Toad]: “Then Toad was innocent this whole time?”

Was that ever in question? This is a Disney movie. Unless you’re Robin Hood, the title character is not going to be stealing a car.

11) I like how Disney could be a bit more “edgy” back in their early years.

Mole [upon seeing the weasels]: “Oh look, they’re all asleep.”

Badger: “Aye lads, they’re DRUNK!”

12) The chase for the deed to Toad Hall through Toad Hall is a fun bit of animation and includes some great classic gags to it.

youtube

(I don’t think the quality of this video is great but it gets across the cartoony slapstick fun I’m talking about.)

13) I find it a tad dissatisfying that Toad ends basically where he started emotionally, but again the narrator observes that we all wish we could be as adventurous as he.

14) This note is less about the film and more about the ride it inspired. “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” is an attraction which first opened in Disneyland in California (it used to have a twin in Orlando but it was replaced with a Winnie the Pooh ride a believe) where you board a motorcar and ride through town hall...before you get hit by a train and go to hell. That’s right: a Disney ride sends you to hell.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

15) The format of the “Sleepy Hollow” segment of the film relies more heavily on Bing Crosby’s narration than “The Wind in the Willows” did on Basil Rathbone’s. In fact, it plays out like Crosby is reading out of a storybook with animation put to it. He even voices all the male characters (since they only speak in song).

16) Ichabod Crane.

I am actually very impressed and very grateful with how close this version of Ichabod Crane is to Irving’s original character. In most adaptations of the story (1999′s Sleepy Hollow, the recently cancelled TV show “Sleepy Hollow”) he is made more heroic. Nothing could really be further from the truth from the original source material. His physical ugliness (not so ugly in animation but it is intended as such from a design standpoint) reflects his internal ugliness in a strange way. Ichabod Crane is a glutton. A man full of greed who bases every decision in life on how it will help him get ahead. Even his wanting to be with Katrina is EXCLUSIVELY based on how rich she is and how a marriage to her would give him stature. There is even a theory out there that says Ichabod is the villain of the peace - as his greed and desire for status reflect many other Disney villains such as Jafar from Aladdin and Ursula from The Little Mermaid - while Brom Bones is meant to be the hero.

17) Brom Bones.

One of the earliest lines about Brom Bones is this:

Narrator: “There was no malice in his mischief.”

If we subscribe to the theory that Brom is the real hero of the peace, you can see how it might work. He is a friendly guy even if he is a bit brutish. And he moves against the greedy Ichabod Crane. However, it’s hard to get past his initial bullying of Crane for just existing in the town or the fact he only moves so hard against Crane just because they’re both interested in Katrina. Either way, he’s a solid addition to the film (and even reportedly inspired some of Gaston in Beauty and the Beast).

18) Bing Crosby’s skills as a vocal musician are well featured in the film, with one of my favorite (and underrated) songs being “Ichabod”. It’s a simple toe tapper elevated by Crosby’s skills and serves to very clearly introduce Crane to the town of Sleepy Hollow.

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19) Katrina Van Tassel.

So Katrina is...pretty much a female shaped object. She never speaks or sings or anything. Her purpose in the film is literally to be something Brom and Ichabod fight over, and she is “written” as a vain manipulative creature who delights in men fighting over her. And that’s it. That’s her “character”. Usually I try to look for the good in older Disney animated heroines, but I can’t really with Katrina. Ah well.

20) “The Headless Horseman” is another strong example of not only Crosby’s vocals but also the best song in the entire film I think.

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According to IMDb:

The song "Headless Horseman" is considered one of the darkest songs written for a Disney film. It, much like "Worthless" from The Brave Little Toaster (1987) and "Hellfire" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), was nearly cut from the film.

I’m not familiar with “Worthless” but I do love some dark Disney songs (with “Hellfire” being one of my all time favorites). The song was originally meant to be sung by Thurl Ravenscroft (“You’re a Mean one, Mr. Grinch”, Fritz in The Enchanted Tiki Room, and the lead singer of the Singing Busts in The Haunted Mansion ride) and you can still hear his version on "Walt Disney Records Archive Collection, Vol. 1". Or it’s on YouTube right here.

21) The build up to the final encounter with Ichabod and the Headless Horseman is great. There is an excellent sense of darkness, dismay, and fear. Strong imagery bleeds through the scene (a cloud blocking out the moon like a hand, all the creatures of the forest seemingly saying Ichabod’s name, the reeds beating out like horse hooves) and creates a wonderfully tense buildup to the climactic finale.

22) The Headless Horseman.

According to IMDb:

The Headless Horseman is often cited as being, along with The Horned King in The Black Cauldron (1985) and Chernabog in Fantasia (1940), as one of the scariest villains in the Disney canon. Disney still receives complaints from parents about the character frightening their children.

You can definitely see how that’s true. The sheer design of the Horseman is brilliant. He is dark, ominous, but towering and powerful. He is someone/something you would not want to run into alone on a dark night. His mad cackle and wild horse - along with the iconic flaming pumpkin - just add to the terrifying design. For a character with such a brief amount of screen time, the Headless Horseman is one of the most iconic characters in Disney’s canon.

23) The final chase with Ichabod and the Horseman is incredible. It is tense, scary, filled with action, but still featuring some of the signature cartoony fun that Disney is known for. This isn’t suddenly an R-rated horror film, it’s a Disney film but what Disney looks like when things start to go haywire! The final image alone is iconic in and of itself.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is a fun Disney film. A good way to kill only an hour of your time (seriously, it’s just 68 minutes), it features iconic characters, wonderful visuals, strong humor, and a surprising amount of freights. Particularly good for a Halloween viewing, it’s a wonderful piece of animation all around. Give it a watch if you’re ever looking for some old school animated fun.

#The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad #The Legend of Sleepy Hollow #The Wind in the Willows #Disney #Mr. Toad's Wild Ride #Epic Movie (Re)Watch #Movie #Film #GIF #Bing Crosby #Basil Rathbone #Mickey's Christmas Carol

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followrahul · 7 years

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Are you ready for future?

Scary, exciting and ever evolving...Get ready..The future is nearer than you think.. In 1998, Kodak had 170,000 employees and sold 85% of all photo paper worldwide. Within just a few years, their business model disappeared and they went bankrupt as digital cameras took over which lost out to mobile phone cameras... Interestingly the inventor of digital photography in 1975 Steven Sasson worked for Kodak but Kodak ignored the new technology and in the process ignored their future!! What happened to Kodak will happen in a lot of industries in the next 10 years - and most people don't see it coming...Though they are just round the corner... Did you think in 1998 that 3 years later you would never take pictures on paper film again? Yet digital cameras were invented in 1975. The first ones only had 10,000 pixels, but followed Moore's law. So as with all exponential technologies, it was a disappointment for a long time, before it became way superior and got mainstream in only a few short years. It will now happen with Artificial Intelligence, health, autonomous and electric cars, education, 3D printing, agriculture and jobs. Welcome to the 4th Industrial Revolution. _*Welcome to the Exponential Age*_ Software will disrupt most traditional industries in the next 5-10 years, including healthcare! *Uber/Ola* are just a software tool, they don't own any cars, and are now the biggest taxi company in the world. *Airbnb* is now the biggest hotel company in the world, although they don't own any properties. *Artificial Intelligence* : Computers become exponentially better in understanding the world. This year, Google's AI computer beat the best *GO* player in the world, 10 years earlier than expected! *Lawyers*:In the US, young lawyers already don't get jobs. Because of IBM Watson, you can get legal advice (so far for more or less basic stuff) within seconds, with 90% accuracy compared with 70% accuracy when done by humans. So if you study law, stop immediately. There will be 90% fewer lawyers in the future, only specialists will remain. *Watson* already helps nurses diagnosing cancer, 4 times more accurate than human nurses. *Watson* is poised to change the complete health industry *Facebook* now has a pattern recognition software that can recognize faces better than humans. By 2030, computers will become more intelligent than humans. *Autonomous Cars*: In 2018 the first self-driving cars will appear for the public. Around 2020, the complete industry will start to be disrupted. Then you won't need to own a car anymore. You will call a car with your phone, it will show up at your location and drive you to your destination. You will not need to park it, you only pay for the driven distance and can be productive while driving. Our kids will never get a driver's license and will never own a car. It will change the cities, because we will need 90-95% fewer cars for that. We can transform former parking space into parks. 1.2 million people die each year in car accidents worldwide. We now have one accident every 100,000 km, with autonomous driving that will^ drop to one accident in 10 million km. That will save a million lives each year. Most car companies may become bankrupt. Traditional car companies try the evolutionary approach and just build a better car, while tech companies (Tesla, Apple, Google) will do the revolutionary approach and build a computer on wheels. I spoke to a lot of engineers from Volkswagen and Audi; they are completely terrified of Tesla. *Insurance* Companies will have massive trouble because without accidents, the insurance will become 100x cheaper. Their car insurance business model will disappear. Real estate will change. Because if you can work while you commute, people will move further away to live in a more beautiful neighborhood. Electric cars won’t become mainstream until 2020. Cities will be less noisy because all cars will run on electric. *Electricity*: will become incredibly cheap and clean: Solar production has been on an exponential curve for 30 years, but you can only now see the impact. Last year, more solar energy was installed worldwide than fossil fuel based generation plants. The price and efficiency of solar power will drop so much that all coal companies will be out of business by 2025.With cheap electricity comes cheap and abundant water. Desalination now only needs 2kWh per cubic meter. We don't have scarce water in most places, we only have scarce drinking water. Imagine what will be possible if anyone can have as much clean water as they wants, for nearly no cost. *Health*: There will be companies that will build a medical device (called the "Tricorder" from Star Trek) that works with your phone, which takes your retina scan, your blood sample and you breathe into it. It then analyses 54 biomarkers that will identify nearly any disease. It will be cheap, so in a few years everyone on this planet will have access to world class medicine, nearly for free. *3D printing*: The price of the cheapest 3D printer came down from $18,000 to $400 within 10 years. In the same time, it became 100 times faster. You will see 3D Printers that print parts of broken teeth, make crowns and dental bridges... by your chairside in minutes, right in front of you. The same will happen with other consumables in hospitals and later with implants and other body parts. All major shoe companies started 3D printing shoes. Spare airplane parts are already 3D printed in remote airports. The space station now has a printer that eliminates the need for the large number of spare parts they used to have in the past. At the end of this year, new smart phones will have 3D scanning possibilities. You can then 3D scan your feet and print your perfect shoe at home. In China, they already 3D printed a complete 6-storey office building. By 2027, 10% of everything that's being^ produced will be 3D printed. *Business Opportunities*: If you think of a niche^ you want to go in, ask yourself: "in the future, do you think we will have that?" and if the answer is yes, how can you make that happen sooner? If it doesn't work with your phone, forget the idea. And any idea designed for success in the 20th century is doomed to fail in the 21st century. *Work*: 70-80% of jobs will disappear in the next 20 years. There will be a lot of new jobs, but it is not clear if there will be enough new jobs in such a small time. Agriculture: There will be a $100 agricultural robot in the future. Farmers in 3rd world countries can then become managers of their field instead of working all days on their fields. *Agroponics* will need much less water. The first Petri dish produced veal is now available and will be cheaper than cow-produced veal in 2018. Right now, 30% of all agricultural surfaces is used for cows. Imagine if we don't need that space anymore. There are several startups that will bring insect protein to the market shortly. It contains more protein than meat. It will be labeled as "alternative protein source" (because most people still reject the idea of eating insects). There is an app call "moodies" which can already tell in which mood you are. Until 2020 there will be apps that can tell by your facial expressions if you are lying. _Imagine a political debate where it's being displayed when they are telling the truth and when not!_ *Bitcoin* will become mainstream this year and might even become the default reserve currency. *Longevity*: Right now, the average life span increases by 3 months per year. Four years ago, the life span used to be 79 years, now it's^ 80 years. The increase itself is increasing and by 2030, there will be more than one year increase per year. So we all might live for a long long time, probably way more than 100. By that time the elites will have a secondary Brain embedded close to both sides of their fronto-temporal scalp it stores information about their experiences books they read what they heard etc through a High Def Camera just below their eyelids. For those who can afford it forgetfulness will be a forgotten phenomenon. Advanced stem cell technology will allow you to " make " your own organs or replace defective ones early. Life expectancy will be around 115 to 125 yrs in most of developed world and around 100 years in the rest of the world. *Education*: The cheapest smart phones are already at $10 in Africa and Asia. Until 2020, 70% of all humans will own a smart phone. That means, everyone has the same access to world class education. Are you ready for the future.???

#future

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warmau · 7 years

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{Special} College!AU Amber

major: film production

minor: visual arts

sports: she’s on the uni’s women’s basketball team but outside of school she teaches taekwondo to kids !!

clubs: aspiring filmmakers society, girls who skate (all female skateboarding team), big brother big sister (she’s the big sister to a 6th grade girl who cut her hair short because amber inspired her), actually amber is in a lot of clubs because she has 4546932 friends and they invite her to all their clubs and she can never say no rofl

amber,,,,to put it bluntly is the most popular person on the college campus. like,,,,,,everyone knows who she is everyone from newly entered freshmen to people who graduated like three years ago

why? because she’s so damn bright and positive that it’s hard not to notice her and well,,,,she’s probably the first person to befriend you because she’s just so outgoing and she loves loves LOVES making friends

and like amber is friends with jackson who is the other most popular person on campus and the two of them are always outside shooting hoops or being dumb on the quad and like ,,, everyone wants to be their friend because they always look like they’re having fun

but amber is also friends with the queen of the campus aka krystal who seems so cold and unapproachable from far away but somehow she’s always managing to smile and laugh around amber

and amber,,,,she just has a way of pulling everyone in towards her with an addicting laugh and an adorable smile and just this dorky, lovable personality

she’s a film productions major and like she became passionate about making movies after spending time filming skate videos and vlogs for her youtube channel (which btw is still a thing she does. her vlog ‘ranting monkey’ is insanely popular like she has like 4 million subs and her instagram + twitter is always blowing up and everyone on campus is like HOLY SHIT YOU’RE INTERNET FAMOUS and amber’s like LOL NO IM NOT)

but yeah she thought about doing music as a career and learning to become a producer, but she decided that something about film was just more invigorating

and she always has a camera on her and she’s always filming and uploading things

like it can go from her just using her phone to film her having lunch with her friends, to her using the gopro to film her and her friends skating, to her lugging around a huge camcorder for a movie she’s making for a class

but she’s always alWAYS bustling with energy to film something or take photos of something like she can never stop

and everyone she hangs out with somehow inevitably become actors in all her skits and movies

and she’s always posting in the facebook group for the screenwriting majors if anyone wants to work with her for projects and she’s always like juggling 495342 things

people are sometimes like “amber, when do you sleep?” and she just shrugs like “i ????? don’t”

luna and victoria are always nagging her about staying healthy and amber’s like “ok ok ok ill eat!!!” and then she takes a bite of like luna’s salad and drinks some of victoria’s coffee and is like “see? i just had breakfast!” and they’re like aMBER

but it’s too late she’s skated off to her next class

she took visual arts as a minor mostly because she wants to be able to create more things on her own for her films because she’s basically a broke college student

plus all the friends she made in class all offer to like help her draw sets or make props and through visual art she became close with people in the fashion major

and all of them aDORE her and are always like “if you need help with a movie!!!!! tell us!!!!”

and amber only gets shy about things like that, when people are so straightforward with giving her help she’s like you gUYS,,,,,you’re the best but i can’t even pay you???? and they’re like no no we want to do it because you’re amazing

and amber like pulls her hood over her face like iM NOT

and it’s like the only time she gets flustered but it is sooooooo adorable

also she’s the certified girl crush of literally everyone on campus and it is hilarious because when the uni’s basketball teams have games

more girls show up to the women’s game with banners with ambers face on it and poster boards with ‘i love you unnie’ written on them and amber ,,,,,, like,,,,she looks so good in the uniform like ,,,,,, it’s heavenly

everyone always takes pics and a freshman even confessed to amber that they had made a photo of amber jumping to dunk their phone background and amber was like DUDE REALLY and they showed her and she like ruffled their hair like IM HONORED

that freshmen nearly Died because holyshit amber blessed them with a hair ruffle

the women’s teams coach was like ‘amber we’re going to put your face on the university’s sports homepage ok?’ and amber was like ‘what why’ and everyone was like pointing at her fanclub sitting in the bleachers like thats WHY

some people will sometimes talk about her behind her back because of her easygoing personality around boys and how she dresses and chooses to express herself

but like the rumors never go far because anyone that hears someone badmouthing amber will literally stand up for her on the spot because she’s been helpful to so many people and has become friends with even those who have a hard time being social

and like literally 99% of the campus has her back

and it’s cute she’s kind of oblivious to it because everyone does their best to make sure she doesn’t have to hear any bullshit for the way she lives her life

so when someone’s like “god, she’s such a fox hanging around with guys all the time” and amber’s like “who are they talking about?” literally the 10 people around her will be like “oh no one” and then proceed to be like @ the people who were rude like “get a life perhaps?”

once amber came into school not wearing her usual skinny jeans, vans, loose shirt combo but came in like a Suit because she was having an important dinner @ the big brother big sister program later

and everyone lost their shit. she wore that suit once but she got featured in the school newspaper

and amber has a special spot for making films that are like about life and growing up and like learning something about yourself because she really wants to make films that inspire people to be better

so all her professional work is always about like,,,,,,,people overcoming tough situations,,,,,,,,and she’s just a sweetheart because she finds people who are quietly struggling and says she wants to make a film about them because their struggle - and their hard work should be recognized and used as motivation for others

and for most people hearing someone say that, let alone offer to make a film about it, is really,,,,,,,is really touching because you realize that someone notices your efforts

and amber is that person. no matter what - she sees that people are trying, even when it isn’t their best, they’re trying in her eyes

but she hardly ever notices that she’s trying

and it’s that about her that you wish you could tell her,,,,,

and you do,,,,just not to her face???

instead you kinda just comment on her posts with ‘hope you’re eating well!’ ‘i appreciate everything you do!’ and of course ‘i’ll always know you’ll do your best!’

and tbh you don’t think much of it,,,because like other people flood her instagram and twitter with comments all the time

like as humble as amber is, it’s beyond obvious that she’s famous online and like,,,,,,,the only thing that makes you different from the other 40k comments is the fact that you go to uni with her

and you’ve actually spoken to her quite a few times because you work part-time in the uni’s gym so you see amber during basketball practice and she’s always be asking you to help her find her locker key (she has a habit of losing it)

and you always help,,,,,,,even if it meant staying 30-40 minutes after your shift was over because like,,,,it’s amber

her glowing smile and the cute way she jumps up and down when finally finding the key,,,,,it’s something that would warm your heart for hours after

and like most people, developing a crush on amber is pretty much a given,,,,,like it’s impossible not to fall some bit in love with her because she’s all around,,,,,an angel

but your crush didn’t even come from the fact that she’s so silly and adorable

it came from the moment you saw her sitting in the locker room, drinking energy drinks and obviously fighting to stay awake, talking on the phone and going “yeah im fine, don’t worry i slept!! ill come after practice to help you out - no no i promise im totally awake, ill see you at 9!”

and you couldn’t hear what the person on the other line was saying, but amber was telling them over and over that she’d be there after practice

and when she’d finished the call, getting up you could see her stumble a bit,,,drained of energy and when she’d walked past you you could even catch the coming in of dark circles under her eyes

but when she went back out onto the court, no one else seemed to notice. they all just laughed and patted her on the back and somehow amber managed to smile back and crack jokes

and you had wondered to yourself is there was a point that even the most sunny, vibrant people could break and get tired

and so,,,,in a way,,,,,you just wanted to support her. even if commenting ‘i hope you get some rest’ on a photo was all you could really do

but then,,,,,somehow,,,,,,amber’s finding you after your shift in the gym one day and going

“i see you always working here and i was wondering if i could film you a bit for a movie im doing, it’s about kids who work on campus so im also filming jinyoung from the campus bookstore and jin from the campus new channel, would you be ok with being in it?”

and tbh you stand there dumbfounded for like 5 min and amber’s like “heeeey helllloooooo are you listening???” and waving her hand in your face and you’re like UH

and you kind of don’t know how to respond because one) you haven’t ever really thought of ever being on camera especially not for something as mundane as working at your uni’s gym two) amber ,,,,, noticed you enough to ask you to be in a film of hers??? and three) being filmed by her,,,,of all people,,,,,,would you even be able to control your blushing face????

and you stutter a bit because you’re like “it,,,,,it’s going to be b-boring?”

and amber laughs like “well, that’s kinda the point!! that uni jobs are boring, but like you guys perceiver and pull through to do a job that helps a lot of other students! so dude, are you up for it?”

and you don’t even think you say /yes/ but amber is smiling so wide and her eyes are sparkling like stars

and you’re sold. you’re done. you’ll do anything for her just about then

and you nod

and amber grins and tells you she’ll be back with her camera next week

and you stand there for a moment, thinking to yourself,,,,,,,,

amber is going to film,,,,,,,,,me,,,,,

and for a couple days you think you must have like ???? daydreamed it

how could someone so popular, so sociable, and so,,,,,,,,,,so far above you decide suddenly that you - some person who’d just been in the background all the time - be worthy enough to film??/

and you know amber loves motivational things and whatnot but your job isn’t anything like that. you work at the gym and do stuff like get towels clean for the athletes and make sure the basketballs are inflated and sometimes clean up garbage off the bleachers

there’s nothing really motivational, you just need the money

but then - much to your surprise - amber is there just like she said she would be with a camcorder and a mic and a couple of other people all holding light equipment

and when she sees you, she waves and runs over

and it’s like you’re watching it in slow-mo, her bangs brush out of her face as she runs, her smile with the upturned corners of her lips is so distinct and radiant, and most of all her eyes,,,,,pretty big bright pools of brown,,,,,

all happy because of you and god your heart would break right there if it wasn't for the fact that you were scared to death all of a sudden because of everyone else there

amber, the least bit bothered by the crowd of her friends, grabs your hand and is like “are you ready?? i want to shoot a short interview with you and ask some questions so i got some people together to help with lighting and one of them is from the fashion dept she can help do your makeup. we’re gonna shoot it here in the locker room, is that cool beans with you?”

and you’re like “uhhhhhhh”

and amber senses that you’re a Bit shocked and she like slaps your back playfully like “hey, i know it’s all intimidating because woooooah cameras and lights and makeup blah blah blah but it’ll be easy, just trust me ok! i never make things awkward!”

with a wink she nudges you forward and you’re like swallowing the lump in your throat like oK ,,,,,

and you sit down and suddenly there’s someone putting a mic on you and another person arranging your hair from your face and a voice asking you to close your eyes and your head is spinning but before you close your eyes you see amber from the corner of your eye

enthusiastically speaking to someone and she sees you, smiling again

and just with that you think - you can do this!!! whatever,,,,,this is ,,,,,,

and the interview is pretty short amber just asks how you started working here / why do you work here / and your duties

and you’re like “i did it for the money, i need to pay for my own books and stuff so,,,,,”

and amber goes “is there any other reason? like once you started working here, did something about helping out all the athletes feel gratifying? like when you hand someone a towel after practice or help the mascot into their costume?”

for a second you think you want to just come out and say “no” because this job is what you said before, it’s boring. there’s not big reward, nothing like working at the library or working as a TA

but then you look at amber again,,,,,and the moments where you stayed behind with just her to help her find the keys to her locker,,,,the moments where you’d search every corner diligently until you could find the keys that would make the girl you had the biggest crush on jump up and down in happiness

and before you know it you go, “there is another reason.”

amber’s expression gets bright and she follows up with “what’s that reason?”

and now you can’t help but replay all the times you got to be with her in your mind, hearing her complain about how clumsy she is, telling her that it was ok when she apologized for keeping you behind

and you,,,,,,,you bite your tongue because you almost say “you’re the reason”

but instead you go “someone special,,,,,,someone special is my reason”

and amber gives you a thumbs up from behind the camera and claps, saying that that’s the best answer - so touching and that the camera can stop recording and your first shoot is over

you sit there, as the hands reappear to take off your mic and clean off the light makeup

and amber comes over to tell you you did great, but her voice is fuzzy in your ears and you get up and excuse yourself

and as you run from the gym to the dorms you think that,,,,what’s the reason you still work at the gym? what’s the reason you keep cleaning that huge court, picking up garbage from the athletes and from the spectators

you already paid for all your books, you already have your scholarships

“amber” you say outloud,,,,,,and you can’t believe it but maybe your little crush wasn’t so little after all and you recall all the times you would stop to watch her practice, stay behind just in case she lost her keys again, feel sad if she didn’t and then get happy if she did

and you squat down in front of the dorm, clutching your hands to your ears and you tell yourself

“no, don’t do this. you can’t like her. she’s,,,,,,she’s,,,,,,,,impossible to reach.”

“whose impossible to reach?”

the voice comes from behind you and were so busy arguing w/yourself in your head that you didn’t even hear someone running after you

and you turn around and there’s amber,,,,,this time her smile is faltering into a frown and her eyes are filled with worry and you’re like

oh shit oh shit i didn’t mean to make her worried oh shit oh man oh no

and amber gives you a pout that basically lodges a knife into your heart and she’s like “dude you just ran off like the flash and we were all so confused, did something happen? did i do something wrong?”

and you’re like “n-no that’s not it it’s just-”

and amber steps closer and suddenly she’s only inches away, leaning toward your face and grinning, going “c’mon, tell me. don’t lie too, ill know if you’re lying i have spidey senses”

you don’t want to tell her but at the same time you don’t have a choice, if you don’t you’ll just end up being a mess the whole time and ruin her movie so you take a breathe and go

“the person who’s impossible to reach is you. the reason i still work at the gym is you. i lik-”

you choke a bit on the last word and look down at the ground instead of at amber's face

“i like you.”

it’s silent and you can basically hear yourself screaming in your brain because HERE WE GO MAKING THINGS AWKWARD JUST WHEN THE PERSON OF YOUR DREAMS ACTUALLY MAKES AN ATTEMPT TO BE YOUR FRIEND AND YOU GOTTA GO CONFESS YOUR FEELINGS WOW

but then you hear amber’s laugh

the intoxicating, contagious laugh and your eyes widen because it’s even worse than her rejecting you,,,,,she’s straight up making fun of you,,,,,,,

and tears start to well up in your eyes because you can’t take this,,,,but then you hear her go “im sorry- im so- sorry i didn’t mean to laugh but you ,,,,,,you looked so scared,,,,like your eyeballs might pop out of your skull and,,,,,oh wait give me a second”

and she wipes at her face with the sleeve of her hoodie and she’s like “ok ok, i can talk now phew. ok. well it’s a good thing you like me because guess what?”

you don’t look up but amber tilts your chin so you’re forced to

and the next thing you know there are soft lips on yours and you’re like HOLY MOTHER OF

and amber pulls back before you can actually Faint and proceeds to run around in a circle, crinkling her nose and going “i DID that,,,,,ok ok,,,,,,,,,,,,,,AHHHHHH”

and you’re like ???? why are you screaming im the one who just got spontaneously kissed

and amber sticks her tongue out and is like yeAH BUT I DID IT I DIDNT THINK I WOULD GOD WE K I S S E D

and you’re like ?????? yeah,,,,,w,,,we kissed?????

and amber is like,,,,,,,, still jittering and you’re like ?????? and she’s just like sORRY i just,,,,that was our first kiss it was corny right???? i shouldn’t do that right?????? should i do it again???? let’s do it again ok 3-2-1-

and once again there are lips on yours except this time it’s not as shocking, i mean it still is because THE AMBER LIU is kissing you,,,,,,but also like,,,,,

she is so cute and embarrassed and it’s obvious she’s still flustered because she isn’t doing anything but pressing her lips to yours and you’re like,,,,,,,,,ok fine

and you tilt your head a bit and move closer

and now you’re ACTUALLY kissing

but when you pull back amber is red as a cherry,,,,,like more red than you’ve ever seen her and you’re like ??????? are you ok

and amber is like iM,,,,,,new,,,,,,to this

and you’re like what how you’re so popular haven’t you dated like a bunch of people and she’s like,,,,,,,no,,,,,im not even popular what im just me,,,,,,,,

and you’re like omg don’t be cute right now im dying but you’re also like “wait - do you like me too?”

and amber looks at you and then pushes your shoulder playfully like DONT MAKE ME SAY IT OUTLOUD,,,,,but yes

and you’re like wait hold up wait a minute since when

and amber’s like cringing, making noises and she’s like “can we not talk about it,,,,,,,,,it’s so corny,,,,,”

and you’re like “i want to know!!!!” and she’s like fiNE

so she explains that ever since you first helped her out at the gym,,,,actually ever since she saw you cleaning the bleachers after everyone left she’d always thought it was really cool how hardworking and loyal you were to such like a boring job

and she’s like “you’re really dense, i lost my keys like 10 times in two weeks like that’s humanly impossible i was just trying to find excuses to stay behind with you” and you’re like ihdfglff WHAT

and amber is like YEAH DUDE HOW COULD YOU NOT FIGURE THAT OUT

and you’re like i just thought you were that clumsy and amber’s like no one is that clumsy not even kids,,,,,and you’re like ok good point but go on

and she’s just shrugging like “you’re different from most people, you never make a big show out of like being forced to clean up other peoples messes and you always helped me even when you could say no and i don’t know your face it’s like attractive,,,,like i like it,,,,,,,,i bet my dog and cat would like it too so ,,,,,,,,you know,,,,,,whatever i like you there i said it”

and you can’t help but break out into a grin and amber is like

“also maybe i uh made up this film proposition just to get more time with you”

you’re like wait what there isn’t an actual film??? and amber’s like no there IS but,,,,,,it’s all about you im not filming anyone else and you’re like WHaT that’s going to be so boring-

and amber is like STOP SAYING YOU’RE BORING YOU’RE NOT

but you’re like seriously though,,,,i don’t think there’s enough about my job for a whole movie and amber’s like you’re right,,,,,,i guess the rest of the movie can be about,,,,,,,,,

and she steps closer again and you feel her hand on your neck pulling you in again and you’re like,,,,,,,you know what let me just kiss her for now and we’ll figure this out later

in the end,,,,,you and amber end up together in your bed,,,,

cuddling and watching netflix and amber shows you pics of her pets

and it’s an impromptu first date and amber gets calls from all the people back at the gym and she’s like no im not coming back, leave the footage at my place!!!

and then you and her kiss some more and then fall asleep binge watching some anime she couldn’t stop talking about

amber decides that she’ll make the movie after all, but instead of it being about you she also does film other on campus student workers

but she keeps grumbling about how she could have totally found some way for it to be just about you and you’re like no,,,,you can’t and she’s like trust in my skillz and you’re like why do i like you again and she’s like because i got skillz

you actually tell amber that you used to comment on her instagram posts and she’s like SERIOUSLY NO WAY and you’re like “amber, i was your number one fan” and she’s like SHUT UP NOOOOO and you’re like yeah i can show you

and she somehow gets so embarrassed by the fact that you like ??? di that and you’re like why and she’s like,,,,,,,,,it’s cheesy don’t and you’re like you know what’s cheesy you still getting up after we kiss and running around because you’re so embarrassed like we’re dating now amber-

and she’s like LALALAL I CAN’T HEAR YOU

sometimes it is so childish of her but you put up with it because she makes everything better, like your life is just ,,,,,so much more brighter because of her

and when she introduces you to everyone as her significant other everyone is in disbelief because they never thought amber would actually like date someone

she always seemed so uninterested in relationship like everyone just tells you she concentrated on her work and on hanging out with friends so it’s just ,,,,,,,wild

but everyone is nice to you (minus the fanclub who’s like no one is good enough for amber even though you agree with this tbh you’re in shock this is happening, you’ll never be out of shock)

but best of all amber is like “no i get to post some couple photos, come here let’s take a photo of us holding hands-”

and you’re like “for someone who gets worked up after just kissing, you sure are into romantic stuff aren’t you?” and amber is like STOP ITS FOR THE AESTHETIC

and you’re like UHUH

all you talk about with each other is memes. you send vines to each other. you also send photos of like you guys doing random crap like squatting in a starbucks or trying to pet a random dog while the owner isn’t looking

amber starts a vlog answering questions and there’s so many about you that she does a ‘ask my s/o questions’ tag video and you’re like,,,,,awkwardly there but then someone is like “what do you love most about amber?”

and you talk for like a good 30 min while amber flails her arms in the back and rolls around on the bed and runs in and out of the room in embarrassment

and pda for her is like a,,,,,,,it’s like she cannot do it

like you kissed her cheek while you were out w some of her film friends and she dropped the taco she was eating

and that’s like,,,,,,,crazy because amber lives for tacos,,,,,,yet she just dropped it right all over her lap and you were like ,,,,,,,oh no and the entire table broke out into laughter until amber came to her sense and threatened to delete editing softwares off their laptops if they didn’t stop

she skates everywhere and sometimes she’ll skate away and make you jog to keep up and you’re like i swear im just going to buy a scooter one day or something

(for your first anniversary she gets you a freakin scooter)

she has a horrible habit of taking photos of you sleeping and posting them like everywhere with captions about how you’re not getting any work done

you get revenge by taking photos of her drooling in her sleep

you go with her to get another tattoo and she’s like trying to get you to get one and you’re like iffy about it and then the artist is like “you should get ambers name in a heart” and both you and amber are like WAHGTGGF

you once were like getting really into it with her in the locker rooms when everyone was gone but then,,,,,her phone rang and it was,,,,,the goddamn trolololo song and you were like AMBER THIS ISNT 2006 and she was like GOOD MEMES NEVER DIE

after learning she teaches taekwondo to kids and meeting her little sister from the big brother/big sister program and just seeing how well she does with kids you were like

‘mom amber is a cute concept’ and she was like ‘what’ and you were like (---------: you heard me

tries to deny the fact that she’s great with kids but like,,,,,,,how can you deny it she’s literally an excitable five year old sometimes it’s not wonder she’s so good with them

finally finishes editing the film about you and the other uni student workers and you guys watch it on her laptop at like 3 am via skype because you’re the first person she wanted to show it to

and when she’s like “is it ok????”

you’re like, half asleep and like “why do i have pimple in the beginning of the movie” and she’s like “THAT DOESN’T HELP ME” and you’re like “i loved it, you’re amazing id kiss you to prove it if you were here” and she rolls her eyes like don’t

but she’s really really proud that you liked it

you befriend luna, krystal, and victoria really fast because you’re always worried about ambers health and you tell them about that time in the locker room when you though amber was going to pass out but she still agreed to help her friend

and you four are like “we need to protect her. she’s too nice for her own good”

krystal: more like she’s too airheaded for her own good

amber: i AM NOT AIR- OMG look a dog,,,,,im gonna go pet it

jokes but honestly she really does need you guys to keep her in check because she always has so much on her plate with all her friends and all her schoolwork

that sometimes you have to be like ‘amber, we’re going on a date’ and she’s like omg we are and you’re like yeah a nap date come over and get some SLEEP

#i know this is really bad....im so so so sorry #amber scenario #amber scenarios #fx scenario #fx scenarios #f(x) scenarios #f(x) scenario #girl group scenario #girl group scenarios #sfw #also when amber refers to the 'you' character as dude it's gender neutral rofl #college!au

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ellenesh-blog · 4 years

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You dont get a degree in coaching

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rickhorrow · 4 years

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10 To Watch : Mayors Edition 21020

RICK HORROW’S TOP 10 SPORTS/BIZ/TECH/PHILANTHROPY ISSUES FOR THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 10 : MAYOR’S EDITION with Jacob Aere

After years of buildup, opening weekend for the XFL did not disappoint. Four games in D.C., Houston, Dallas and New York aired across ABC, FOX, and ESPN. USA Today noted that it was "up to the product on the field now to convince football fans across the country that another football league is worth investing time into," and after the league’s inaugural game at Audi Field in Washington, DC, it appeared XFL Founder Vince McMahon and Commissioner Oliver Luck "achieved that goal." When the league launched, McMahon was "adamant that the XFL would provide a better entertainment experience by having shorter games." However, the first one "managed to eclipse the three-hour mark.” The XFL also hired Ross Greenburg, the creative mind behind “Hard Knocks,” to produce a 10-minute behind-the-scenes documentary on the run-up to the league’s Saturday launch. In Dallas, close to 20,000 fans braved the rain to see the new Dallas Renegades – with a fair number of fans traveling from Oklahoma to cheer on former OU quarterback Landry Jones and Coach Bob Stoops.

Major League Soccer will enjoy labor peace at least for the next five years, as MLS and the MLS Players Association struck an agreement in principle for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement that will begin with the upcoming season. "As we prepare to celebrate our 25th season, we are very pleased to finalize a new five-year Collective Bargaining Agreement with our players," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. "This agreement addresses key strategic priorities for the league and our players while also retaining the basic player compensation structure that has been the foundation for the growth and stability of Major League Soccer." The deal is subject to approval by the MLS Board of Governors and the MLSPA. Deal points include increased investment in player spending, greater salary budget flexibility across rosters, players sharing in media revenue, and increase in charter flights as well as expanded free agency. The new CBA is particularly important as MLS adds two new franchises this season – Nashville SC, and Inter Miami CF, bringing the total to 26 clubs.

The NBA All-Star Game gets ready to hit Chicago, with major economic upside for the league and the Windy City. The NBA’s annual all-star break is always a beehive of business activity, from the annual NBA tech summit to NBA Cares activations throughout the host city. The NBA, NBPA, and Nike also have announced that the 2020 NBA All-Star uniforms will pay tribute to the late Kobe Bryant, as well as his daughter Gianna and the seven other people who tragically passed away in last Sunday’s helicopter accident. The 2020 NBA All-Star Game will feature Team LeBron wearing the No. 2 and Team Giannis (Antetokounmpo) wearing the No. 24 – Gianna and Kobe’s basketball jersey numbers, respectively. In addition, both teams will wear jersey patches displaying nine stars, representing those who lost their lives in the crash, including John, Keri, and Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah and Payton Chester, Christina Mauser, and Ara Zobayan. The All-Star Game takes place on February 16 at Chicago’s United Center.

Kobe Bryant was also front and center at Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremonies. Not only was Bryant, who won an Oscar for his animated short “Dear Basketball” in 2018, memorialized in the Academy’s annual tribute to artists and artisans who have passed, nominees and presenters used the occasion to remember him. The first Kobe Bryant tribute of the night came from the acceptance speech for best animated short film, “Hair Love.” “This award is dedicated to Kobe Bryant. May we all have a second act as great as his was," director Matthew A. Cherry said. Meanwhile, filmmaker Spike Lee donned a purple suit embroidered with Bryant's Lakers uniform number, 24. The annual In Memoriam tribute opened with a picture of Bryant beside his quote, "Life is too short to get bogged down and be discouraged. You have to keep moving. You have to keep going. Put one foot in front of the other, smile and just keep on rolling." A public memorial for Bryant and the others who lost their lives is set for February 24 at Staples Center, the site of many of his triumphs.

With February underway, the NBA has tipped off leaguewide celebrations of Black History Month. Celebrations will see all NBA teams don custom Nike Black History Month warmup shirts throughout the month. The Nike Dri-FIT T-shirt features words selected by players that “reflect black history and culture, and our collective commitment to equality and diversity: Activate, Believe, Dream, Empower, Engage, Equality, History, Inspire, Justice, Lead, Listen, Love, Perseverance and Unify.” Another cause strongly backed by the NBA, ESPN’s 13th annual V Week for Cancer Research set a new record, raising more than $8.8 million for the V Foundation for Cancer Research to mark a boost of 6% year-over-year. “We broke the V Week record thanks to the passion of those who work on the various initiatives here at ESPN, as well as support from the Disney TV networks, and the generous response from fans,” said Kevin Martinez, vice president of ESPN Corporate Citizenship. “In particular the new aspects of V Week, including a campaign with Andy Grammer and Stuart Scott Day, connected with viewers and drove awareness and donations.”

Amstel Light and Phil Mickelson are teaming up in a multiyear partnership that will see the launch of a campaign focused on “addressing the challenges in adult male friendships.” Last weekend, Mickelson teamed up with NFL Hall of Fame quarterback and new friend Steve Young at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Though the pair came up a little short in the Pro-Am (and in Mickelson’s quest to win Pebble Beach a record six times), their pairing was a fun preview of the wisdom Mickelson will impart in the Amstel Light ads. Throughout the campaign, Mickelson will provide support and advice to men on and off the golf course seeking to make new friends in his own personal comedic style. Consumers will have opportunities to engage directly with Mickelson, both on social and through on-and off-premise activations. A series of contests will be announced using the hashtag, “#FriendswithPhil” through which consumers will have the opportunity to earn the friendship of the golfer. After little more than a year on Instagram, Mickelson has amassed a respectable 742,000 friends and followers, which bodes well for an Amstel Insta boost.

Twitter has posted better than expected quarterly revenue. It was Twitter's first billion-dollar quarter. The company, which announced earnings last Thursday, also continues to attract new users. According to CNet, in the fourth quarter, the number of monetizable daily active Twitter users -- people who log into the site daily and see ads -- hit 152 million, up nearly 21% from the 126 million in the same period last year. The company's stock rose more than 15% in early trading Thursday to around $38.50 per share. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey pointed to work that the company has done to make the service more appealing to new users, including its efforts to help people find and follow topics they're interested in. Twitter executives also looked ahead to big events this year such as the Summer Olympics and elections around the world, including U.S. presidential elections. For the Olympics, Twitter execs pointed to improvements in how the platform uses live and stored video, saying Twitter will have "near real-time highlights of the most important events."

French soccer champions Paris Saint-Germain has opened an academy in Miami worth a reported $70 million. The new campus, which is the largest overseen by a European club in the United States and will cost students between $35,000 and $81,400 per year to attend, will serve as the headquarters for all of PSG’s academies across North America. The facility, built in partnership with franchise holder Paris Saint Germain Academy USA, will also be the new home of the PSG Academy’s residency program, which can serve more than 100 players per season. A 20,000-capacity stadium and five training pitches also sit within the property. The academy, which aims to welcome more than 10,000 developing players in the next three years, also has links to United Soccer League (USL) League Two club FC Miami City. While no link has been announced to the David Beckham-led Inter Miami franchise, which makes its MLS debut next month, the new PSG academy will add even more international soccer cachet to South Florida and help solidify the soccer fan base.

The losing team’s merchandise from the Super Bowl is repurposed for charity. According to Yahoo! Sports, the NFL pre-prints championship merchandise with both teams for fan demand being at its highest while the confetti is still falling. That approach leaves the league with half its inventory rendered instantly unsellable. Prior to 1997, the NFL simply destroyed the “losing” merchandise. Since then, the NFL enlists the services of Good360, a charity experienced in redistributing excess corporate inventory to charitable organizations across the globe. Each year, Good360 and the league begin coordinating their distribution plans several weeks ahead of the playoffs. Right now, the NFL is in the process of inventorying all the excess 49er “championship” merchandise at a central, undisclosed location. Meanwhile, Good360 is working its own worldwide network of charities, trying to line up the right locale with the appropriate merchandise. Several years back, the league provided Good360 with a list of approved countries in Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and from those countries, Good360 targets the appropriate charities with the clothing for people in need.

Dick’s Foundation invests $5 million in women’s soccer. According to Philanthropy Women, the Dick’s Foundation announced a three-year, $5 million Sports Matter grant to the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s United for Girls initiative aimed at increasing opportunities for girls and young women to benefit from soccer. As the presenting partner of United for Girls, the Dick’s Foundation’s grant will be used to create safe places to play, fund coaching and training opportunities, and support soccer programs in underserved communities across the country with the goal of engaging 100,000 girls by 2023. In addition to the multi-year partnership, Dick’s is the official merchandise vendor for the Stand Beside Her tour, which serves as the exhibition and training tour for the 2020 U.S. Women’s National Team ahead of competition this summer in Tokyo. Since 2014, Dick’s and The Dick’s Foundation have pledged more than $100 million to support youth sports teams and leagues in need and their most recent effort is a needed measure to put a spotlight on women’s soccer.

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weekendwarriorblog · 6 years

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND 8/31/18: Labor Day Weekend!

It’s Labor Day weekend, the last weekend of the summer box office season and usually a slower holiday than Memorial Day or July 4th, mainly because many schools are already in session. Also, for many, it’s the last chance for a vacation. In the past, it’s been a weekend used for genre films and prestige films wanting to get an early lead on the fall awards season (which starts officially at the Telluride Film Festival over the weekend). In the past few years, it’s also seen a lot of new movies outright bombing in favor of higher-profile returning films, and this weekend could see some of all the above. (Just for comparison, last Labor Day, there wasn’t a single new movie in the top 10 with none of them opening in over 1,000 theaters. At least this year, we have a few opening in more than 1,800 theaters, which wasn’t the case last Labor Day.

OPERATION FINALE (MGM)

Likely to be one of the weekend’s more high-profile releases, despite this not being a great time for new releases, is this new political thriller from director Chris Weitz, that looks at the 1960 search and capture of the Nazi mastermind of the “Final Solution” Adolph Eichmann by a group of Mossad agents. It opens on Wednesday in hopes of building up word-of-mouth for the longer holiday weekend.

It’s another vehicle for Oscar Isaac, an actor who STILL hasn’t gotten an Oscar nomination despite always doing excellent work in a number of great dramas. At this point, he’s probably best known for playing the role of Poe Dameron in the latest Star Wars trilogy. Besides those movies, Isaac appeared in the Terry George drama The Promise, which was about the Armenian genocide, and that opened with around $4.1 million in 2,251 theaters and grossed a piddling $8 million. Granted, the Armenian genocide is not as well-known as the Holocaust, which is a shame since more people really should know about the million and a half Armenians killed in 1905. His anticipated take on the X-Men villain Apocalypse might not have been received as well by critics or fans, but as long as he keeps balancing the movies with ones like this one, he should have a long and thriving career.

Older moviegoers may be more interested in Oscar winner Sir Ben Kingsley, who plays Eichmann, and seems to be playing another awards-worthy role after a few missteps like last year’s long-delayed Collide, the Focus film Self/Less with Ryan Reynolds and Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings. Kingsley has also appeared in a number of family films including Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book and the last Night at the Museum movie, but he always seems to recover even after appearing in the worst movies. (On the flip side, he’s far too often ignored in some of his better recent movies, as well.)

Prestige films have often done well over Labor Day, maybe because they’re targeting adults over 30 with George Clooney’s The American and The Constant Gardener being two of the breakouts with $16.6 million and $10.9 respectively. If that doesn’t sound like a lot, just look at the last few Labor Days when movies like The Light Between Oceans barely grazed $6 million in 2016. Another good comparison for this one might be the 2011 Focus Features release The Debt, starring Helen Mirren and Jessica Chastain, which opened with $12.5 million over the four-day Labor Day holiday and grossed $31.2 million total. It’s a similar mix of new and old generation of actors, but that also got a much bigger push by Focus with Mirren being more of a proven draw than Kingsley, by far.

What Operation Finale has going for it is its intriguing premise, and although reviews are mixed, there’s enough positive ones that older adults with few options will give this a look-see. Opening in around 1,850 theaters, I could see Operation Finalemaking close to $6 million or slightly moreover the four-day weekend (plus another $1 or 2 million on Weds and Thursday), and that should be good for $15 to 20 million total.

Mini-Review: It’s not too surprising Chris Weitz would take on serious historical subject matter like this as he continues his attempts to be taken seriously as a filmmaker after walking away from the world of studio franchises. It may be surprising (to some) that he’s actually really good at this sort of genre film, creating a tense and infinitely interesting film in the bargain.

Oscar Isaac plays the f*ck-up Mossad agent Peter Malkin who is sent to Buenos Aires to retrieve the evil Nazi mastermind Adolph Eichmann (Ben Kingsley) and bring him back to Israel to try for his crimes. Along with a team of fellow agents, they plot out a scheme that involves nabbing Eichmann when he returns from his job, and it mostly goes as planned until they have to figure out a way to get him to the airport with the airline balking at taking part in a potentially troublesome international incidence.

Working from a fantastic script by Matthew Orton, Weitz creates a great deal of tension during the second and third acts, as the Mossad needs to keep Eichmann hidden away from the Argentine forces who are trying to rescue him. (Unfortunately, there’s a fairly large Nazi faction forming in Buenos Aires who are trying to protect Eichmann.)

This section features some of the best scenes, particularly between Isaac and Kingsley, who are so good together, they deliver some of the finest dramatic moments in any movie this year. Both actors are as great as always, but you can tell that they each pushed the other one to be even better than usual. I’d love to see either or both get awards recognition.

The results are a political thriller that’s relevant to the times without hitting the viewer over the head with that fact (ala BlacKkKlansman), but also a fairly entertaining film in the vein of Argo and others.

Rating: 8.5/10

KIN (Lionsgate)

The other new release being given a moderately wide release is the feature directorial debut from Jonathan and Josh Baker, who previously made a 15-minute short called “Bag Man,” on which this sci-fi crime thriller was based. In fact, you can watch the short below without worrying about spoilers because it’s somewhat of a prequel:

youtube

The short was seen by producer Shawn Levy who produced the feature with his 21 Laps Entertainment production company. If that sounds familiar, it might be because Levy produced the Amy Adams sci-fi thriller Arrival, as well as the hit Netflix show Stranger Things from the Duffer Brothers.

Newcomer Myles Truitt, who has appeared on Queen Sugarand Black Lightning, plays Eli, a 14-year-old boy from Detroit who finds an alien blaster in a deserted warehouse, and when his adopted brother Jimmy (Jack Reynor from Sing Street) gets into trouble with local criminals, they go on the run with Eli using the blaster for them to get money from other corrupt individuals.

The cast is rounded out by Dennis Quaid, whose last movies were the faith-based hit I Can Only Imagine and the canine drama A Dog’s Story, James Franco as one of the baddies and Zoë Kravitz as a stripper they meet along the way. Oh, yeah, and the movie is PG-13, so you don’t have to worry about nudity or blood and gore, cause there’s none of that.

In fact, this is a fairly bland genre film, a bit like Sleight, which was released last year after making waves at Sundance and being picked up by WWE Films and BH Tilt for distribution. That only opened in 565 theaters and made $1.7 million opening weekend and less than $4 million total. We also have to look at another sci-fi film opened over Labor Day two years ago, Fox’s Morgan, which bombed with $2 million in 2,020 theaters despite much bigger names. A month earlier, Lionsgate opened Nerve, a high-concept thriller involving the internet which did far better with $38.5 million.

One has to assume this won’t do nearly as badly as Morgan or Sleight, but it’s unsure whether it can make more than $5 million over the long weekend with no real draw besides the cool visuals. (Quaid is long past being a draw and Franco might still be a little taboo after his #TimesUp faux pas last year.) Expect Kin to end up somewhere near the bottom of the top 10 and mostly be forgotten by the handful of people who do go to see it.

Mini-Review: There are so many science fiction movies that take what might have been a decent premise but can’t find a good way to use it, and that’s certainly the case with this feature expansion on Jonathan and Josh Baker’s “Bag Man” short (which you can watch above).

Myles Truitt is Eli, who we watch finding a high-tech weapon in an abandoned warehouse near a couple bodies. We’ll learn much later that this a gun from another race/planet, but before that, we learn that his brother Jimmy (Jack Reynor) has gotten out of jail and his father (and Eli’s adopted father) Hal (Dennis Quaid) warns Eli to watch out for Jimmy. Sure enough, Jimmy owe a lot of money to James Franco’s Taylor, who tells Jimmy to get the money from his father’s work safe. This sets up the main storyline where Taylor and Jimmy clash while stealing the money and Taylor heads out with Eli to run away from Taylor and his goons. At the same time, a couple alien military types show up where Eli found the gun, wanting it back.

The plot seems fine and if Kin was just a family drama, it might be okay but kind of bland. Most of the movie just follows Eli and Jimmy on the road, getting into trouble with the money, but when they get to a strip club and meet Zoe Kravitz as a stripper, Eli’s high-tech gun gets them out of that trouble.

I think the biggest drag about Kin is by how bad Dennis Quaid is in the movie, and Jack Reynor (who was amazing in Sing Street) is even worse, and then you have James Franco chewing the scenery in every scene. Basically, you have a movie that isn’t well-written to begin with being dragged down by lopsided performances.

The movie’s best parts are the moments between Zoe Kravitz and first-timer Myles Truitt, but that’s not good enough for a movie that seems to struggle to stay interesting outside of the sci-fi elements, which seem to be shoehorned into what is essentially a family drama.

It’s just disappointing to discover the Bakers just don’t have the skill or talent to make a movie like this work. If nothing else, Kin is proof positive that people who play too many video games shouldn’t be allowed to make feature-length films. Rating: 5/10

SEARCHING (Screen Gems)

After opening in nine theaters last weekend and grossing roughly $360,000 (~$40k per theater), Aneesh Chaganty’s directorial debut, the talk of Sundance, will expand moderately wide into around 1,100 to 1,200 theaters across the nation, hoping that strong word-of-mouth from opening weekend will spread.

The movie stars John Cho from Star Trek and Harold and Kumar fame as a father whose teen daughter mysteriously vanishes, and his search for her is told entirely on a computer screen. It’s something that was used recently for Unfriended: Dark Web (also produced by Russian blockbuster filmmaker Timur Bekmembatov) although this one has the added benefit of actually being good.

Cho is a great actor who is really coming into his own, and the movie should benefit from the backing of Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu who wanted to keep the love for Asian leads going, at least until next week’s The Nun (which is at least produced by Asian James Wan).

This is a really intense movie with a number of great twists, and of course Cho is fantastic, so do try to check it out this weekend. It should be good for around $5 million this weekend, more or less.

After that, we get to a few more moderately-released films opening in less than 600 theaters, neither of which I’ve seen, unfortunately:

THE LITTLE STRANGER (Focus Features)

This historic thriller based on Sarah Waters’ book brings together Lucinda Coxon, the writer of The Danish Girl, with Room director Lenny Abrahamson, and unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to see this beforehand, so I have no idea if it’s as good as the trailer. The Little Stranger stars Domhnall Gleeson (another Star Wars vet) and Ruth Wilson from The Affair (which I’ve also never seen), and both of them have done a fair share of promotion for the film. Focus is opening it in 475 theaters on Thursday night, which is fairly moderate, but I don’t think this movie will make more than $1.5 or maybe $2 million over the four-day weekend with stronger adult fare like Operation Finale.

YA VEREMOS (Pantelion/Lionsgate)

The latest film from Pantelion is Pedro Pablo Ibarra’s Mexican drama about a young boy named Santi who has to deal with the separation of his parents (as opposed to being separated from his parents by ICE), who also has to get surgery to save his sight. It’s obviously going to be trying to bring in Mexican audiences over the holiday weekend, opening in 350 theaters across the country. This is another one of Pantelion’s Spanish-language releases similar to La Boda de Valentina, which opened in 331 theaters right before Valentine’s Day, and it grossed less than $3 million. The previous year, Pantelion opened Un Padre No Tan Padre in 312 theaters with similar results, so there’s probably no reason to think this one might do much better. Maybe it’ll make a little more than a million, but less than $3 million total.

On top of that, Roadside Attractions is supposed to expand Jesse Peretz’s adaptation of Nick Hornby’s JULIET, NAKED, starring Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke and Chris O’Dowd nationwide into an unknown number of theaters, so definitely check that out ‘cause it’s great! Chances are that all three of these movies will end up outside the Top 10 with less than $2 million, though.

This week’s top 10 should look something like this… (and please note that these are all for the four-day weekend.)

1. Crazy Rich Asians (New Line) - $28 million +12% 2. The Meg (Warner Bros.) - $9.5 million -26% 3. Operation Finale (MGM) - $6.8 million N/A 4. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Paramount) - $6.5 million -19% 5. The Happytime Murders (STXfilms) - $5.6 million -44% 6. Christopher Robin (Disney) - $5.1 million -20% 7. Searching (Screen Gems) - $4.8 million +1333% 8. Kin (Lionsgate) - $4.5 million N/A 9. Alpha (Sony) - $4.2 million -25% 10. BlacKkKlansman (Focus Features) - $4 million -25%

LIMITED RELEASES

A fun movie for fans of ‘80s movies is Victor Levin’s DESTINATION WEDDING (Regatta), which stars Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder as two strangers who meet on the way to his brother’s destination wedding in California wine country. It’s the epitome of “meet cutes” as the two of them hate each other at first (Ryder plays his brother’s ex-fiancé) but over the course of time, they bond over their snarky feelings on love, marriage and everything else. It’s a hilarious dark comedy with a great script by Levin, one of the producers of the hit show Mad about You, and it will open in New York and L.A. on Friday. This could be an amazing date movie, or it could be a date deal-breaker, but that depends on who you take to see the movie.

My Interview with Victor Levin at NextBestPicture.com

A couple docs worth checking out this weekend:

Don Hardy Jr. and Dana Nachman’s PICK OF THE LITTER (Sundance Selects) is a doc that follows five puppies from birth as they’re raised and trained by Guide Dogs for the Blind to become, well, guide dogs for the blind. Nachman previously directed Batman Begins, which was a favorite of mine a few years back, and this film does a similarly thorough job following the five dogs as they’re paired with families for raising and then work with trainers to pass the rigorous training and testing process before the dogs are paired with a blind person.

I wasn’t as big a fan of Laura Nix’s INVENTING TOMORROW, which opens at the IFC Center in NYC and L.A.’s Arclight Hollywood, but I did like it quite a bit. The first half of the film involves a lot of scientific stuff as it follows four groups of teenagers from Hawaii, India, Indonesia and Mexico, who are working on ecological solutions for local environmental issues that could theoretically be used on a global scale. I was really impressed with these teenagers and their path to a global Science Fair to show their work. My heart was beaming with pride that there are young people out there interested in science and improving the environment.

I wish I could say that I liked the Belgian film LET THE CORPSES TAN (Kino Lorber) from directors Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani, but there was something about the movie that really annoyed me. It’s a very stylish, quickly-cut crime-thriller that involves a group of armed robbers converging on a desolate Mediterranean villa where a painter lives. This could have been like a cool Quentin Tarantino movie with lots of nods to great genre flicks, but instead comes across like the directors were saying “Look how cool we are” throughout the movie with so many close-ups and cutaways that it boggles the mind.

Regardless, Let the Corpses Tan opens at the Quad Cinema on Friday with the directors in person. The Quad is also doing a companion repertory series called Origin Stories: Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani’s Footnotes to Let the Corpses Tan for those who like it. Me? I was kind of disappointed because the trailer is so cool:

youtube

Then there’s a bunch of movies I haven’t seen, so I won’t take up too much time on them.

These include a new Donnie Yen action film called Big Brother (Well Go USA) in which he plays a soldier who has to teach a group of kids. From France comes Jean Paul Civeyrac’s A Paris Education (Kino Lorber) about a young cinephile who leaves his girlfriend behind to study film in Paris… so basically like every French coming-of-age film. Blood Fest (Cinedigm) – not to be confused with Herschl Gordon Lewis’ Blood Feast or next month’s Hell Fest—about a group of teen horror enthusiasts who attend a horror movie festival that starts killing them off. Frank Grillo and Bruce Willis star in Brian Miller’s Reprisal (Lionsgate Premiere) about a bank manager who teams up with an ex-cop to take down a violent bank robber, while Orlando Bloom and Simon Yam star in Charles Martin’s Shanghai-based film S.M.A.R.T. Chase (Universal Pictures Content Group)about a security agent sent to protect a Chinese antique.

Jack Bryan’s doc Active Measures (Super Ltd) is a timely movie about the Russian involvement in the 2016 Presidential election with new interviews with Sen. John McCain, Hillary Clinton and many more. (It also opens at the IFC Center.)

Not much on the repertory front except that the Metrograph will be playing a 30thanniversary revival run of the classic anime film Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo, which starts today. The Quad is also doing an Alain Delon series for the next two weeks.

#TheWeekendWarrior WhatToWatchThisWeekend Movies Reviews BoxOffice #Kin OperationFinale Searching DestinationWedding TheLittleStranger

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learningrendezvous · 6 years

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All About Food

EVOLUTION OF ORGANIC: THE STORY OF THE ORGANIC MOVEMENT

Directed by Mark Kitchell

The story of organic agriculture, told by those in California who built the movement.

EVOLUTION OF ORGANIC, which brings us the story of organic agriculture, told by those who built the movement. A motley crew of back-to-the-landers, spiritual seekers and farmers' sons and daughters rejected modern chemical farming and set out to invent organic alternatives. The movement grew from a small band of rebels to a cultural transformation in the way we grow and eat food. By now organic has mainstreamed, become both an industry oriented toward bringing organic to all people, and a movement that has realized a vision of sustainable agriculture.

This is not just a history, but looks forward to exciting and important futures: the next generation who are broadening organic; what lies "beyond organic"; and carbon farming and sequestration as a solution to climate change -- maybe the best news on the planet.

The film is divided into four "acts".

Act I: Origins - Looks at the beginning of the organic movement in California when the 60s counter-culture moved back to the land.

Act 2: Building Organic - Follows the development of increasingly effective organic farming techniques concentrating on the soil and the microbial life within it.

Act 3: Mainstreaming Organic - Organic booms, growing 20% annually for two decades.

Act 4: Organic Futures - The next generation of organic farmers as well as carbon farming and sequestering carbon dioxide hold out great hope for combating climate change.

DVD / 2017 / (Grades 10-12, College, Adults) / 86 minutes

FOOD FOR CHANGE: THE STORY OF COOPERATION IN AMERICA

Directed by Steve Alves

The deep history of cooperatives in America -- the country's longest-surviving alternative economic system.

FOOD FOR CHANGE looks at the current resurgence of food cooperatives in America and their unique historic place in the economic and political landscape. Born in the heartland, cooperatives are seen as the middle path between Wall Street and Socialism.

The film profiles several food co-ops that have revived neighborhoods and communities - right in the shadows of corporate agribusinesses and supermarket chains. It's an inspiring example of community-centered economies thriving in an age of globalization.

DVD / 2016 / (Grades 7-12, College, Adults) / 82 minutes

FOOD COOP

Directed by Tom Boothe

Looks at the workings of a highly profitable supermarket, Brooklyn's Park Slope Food Coop, which for 44 years has been a shining example of a successful alternative economic system at work.

FOOD COOP takes us deep into the belly of the Park Slope Food Coop, one of America's oldest cooperative food supermarkets, with a healthy dose of insight and wit.

Nestled deep in New York City, which, for many, exemplifies both the glory and the horrors of the capitalist spirit, you can find this highly prosperous institution, just as American and certainly more efficient than Wall Street, but whose objective is entirely non-profit. Working against everything that defines "The American Way of Life," the basic principles of the Park Slope Food Coop are simple: each of its 16,000 members work 2.75 hours per month to earn the right to buy the best food in New York at incredibly low prices. This Brooklyn coop founded in 1973 is probably the best implemented socialist experience in the United States.

Through FOOD COOP, you will see this institution come to life and witness how the enthusiasm that animates the Park Slope Food Coop demonstrates a potential for change; how the coop's mode of participation viscerally teaches democracy to those who take part in its activities.

DVD / 2015 / (Grades 7-12, College, Adults) / 97 minutes

JUST EAT IT: A FOOD WASTE STORY

Directed by Grant Baldwin

Filmmakers and food lovers Jen and Grant dive into the issue of food waste from farm, through retail, all the way to the back of their own fridge.

We all love food. As a society, we devour countless cooking shows, culinary magazines and foodie blogs. So how could we possibly be throwing nearly 50% of it in the trash?

Filmmakers and food lovers Jen and Grant dive into the issue of waste from farm, through retail, all the way to the back of their own fridge. After catching a glimpse of the billions of dollars of good food that is tossed each year in North America, they pledge to quit grocery shopping cold turkey and survive only on foods that would otherwise be thrown away. In a nation where one in 10 people is food insecure, the images they capture of squandered groceries are both shocking and strangely compelling. But as Grant's addictive personality turns full tilt towards food rescue, the "thrill of the find" has unexpected consequences.

Featuring interviews with TED lecturer, author and activist Tristram Stuart, acclaimed author Jonathan Bloom, and food/agriculture scientist Dana Gunders, JUST EAT IT looks at our systemic obsession with expiration dates, perfect produce and portion sizes, and reveals the core of this seemingly insignificant issue that is having devastating consequences around the globe. JUST EAT IT brings farmers, retailers, inspiring organizations, and consumers to the table in a cinematic story that is equal parts education and delicious entertainment.

DVD / 2014 / (Grades 7-12, College, Adult) / 73 minutes

LUNCH LOVE COMMUNITY

Directed by Helen De Michiel

Passion, creative energy and persistence come together when Berkeley advocates and educators tackle food reform and food justice in the schools and in the neighborhoods.

How are citizens transforming local food systems? How are innovators changing the way children eat in schools? How do we talk about culture, identity and responsibility through the lens of food and health?

LUNCH LOVE COMMUNITY is a beautiful and engaging story of how a diverse group of pioneering parents and food advocates came together to tackle food reform and food justice in the schools and neighborhoods of Berkeley, CA.

Through a mosaic of twelve interconnecting short documentaries, the film explores food and education, children and health, and citizens making democratic change. This is a rich and multi-dimensional story of passion, creative energy, and idealism -- a project linking the ways we teach our children to eat and understand food to the traditional passing of powerful values from one generation to the next.

LUNCH LOVE COMMUNITY is divided into three thematic programs - Heart, Body, Mind - each containing four short films.

DVD ( Closed Captioned) / 2014 / (Grades 7-12, College, Adult) / 78 minutes

SEARCH FOR GENERAL TSO, THE

Directed by Ian Cheney

A quest to understand the origins of this ubiquitous, spicy red chicken dish and to explore the history of Chinese-American food.

This mouthwateringly entertaining film travels the globe to unravel a captivating culinary mystery. General Tso's Chicken is a staple of Chinese-American cooking, and a ubiquitous presence on restaurant menus across the country. But just who was General Tso? And how did his chicken become emblematic of an entire national cuisine?

Director Ian Cheney journeys from Shanghai to New York to the American Midwest and beyond to uncover the origins of this iconic dish, turning up surprising revelations and a host of humorous characters along the way. Told with the verve of a good detective story, THE SEARCH FOR GENERAL TSO is as much about food as it is a tale of the American immigrant experience.

DVD / 2014 / (Grades 7-12, College, Adults) / 73 minutes

NEW GREEN GIANTS, THE

Directed by Ted Remerowski

Examines the complex and controversial world of today's exploding organic food industry.

The last ten years have seen a phenomenal explosion in the organic food movement as it has moved from niche market to mainstream. Today, it is the fastest growing segment of the food industry attracting all of the major food corporations. THE NEW GREEN GIANTS looks at a number of these new and old organic corporations and shows how they are managing, or in some cases, failing to live up to the idealistic dreams first espoused by the back-to-the land folk of the late sixties and early seventies.

The documentary also looks at some of the bigger questions surrounding organic food. Is it really healthier? Is it truly organic? Is it possible to grow from a mom-and-pop operation to become a huge supplier of major grocery chains? Is it actually sustainable? Is it realistic to think the world can be fed organically?

The program further examines everything from stealth ownership of organic product lines by large corporations to how organic strawberries have become the focus of a major health debate and how is it that today the world's largest processor of organic food is located in a remote province of China. THE NEW GREEN GIANTS reveals the complex and controversial world of today's organic food industry.

Among those featured are: Gary Hirshberg/Stonyfield Farms, Steve Demos/Silk, Michael Potter/Eden Foods, Maggie Brown/Swanton Berry Farm, George Siemon/Organic Valley, Arran Stephens/Nature's Path, Myra Goodman/Earthbound, and Dick Peixoto/Lakeside Organic.

DVD / 2013 / (Grades 10-12, College, Adult) / 47 minutes

FUTURE FOOD: BIG OR SMALL? (USA)

Directed by Alex Gabbay

What's the best method of growing food for a hungry population of 9.5 billion people: Big, or small?

In the USA alone there are approximately 5 million fewer farmers today than there were in the 1930s. Economies of scale suggests that bigger is better when it comes to feeding a hungry planet. But bigger often requires mechanization and compromise, such as new strains of E. coli bacteria and rising obesity. Often, big also requires growing the same crop varieties.

Many countries are realizing there is a price to "big" that's not factored in at the checkout counter and, as a consequence, a "small farmer" revolution is unfolding in many rich countries including the US. What's the best method of growing food for a hungry population of 9.5 billion people? Big, or small?