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prime-pulse · 3 years

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Westwood Village looks really interesting! If you’re okay with it, what’s the basic plot, or who are the main characters? What does the player character do, who are they?

WAAA thank you!!! I’ll put the main characters (so far, I have about 4 more in the works I haven’t drawn/named yet) beneath a read more because theres quite a few, but I’ll give a basic plot synopsis!!

You are from the bustling trading city of Woodlock Roe, a city situated on the rocky shores and mountains of the Sundering Abyss Sea. Convicted of a crime you did— or didn’t— commit, you have been exiled from the city and sent into the vast Abyssal Forest; essentially a death sentence without being officially stated as one.

Fighting you way through the forest, facing creatures you have only heard of in legends and from the mouths of drunk mercenaries, clinging onto the sliver of life you have left— you are saved by a young hunter, who brings you back to his village within the woods, a village you had never heard of until that moment, Westwood Village.

The game would center around you deciding the fate of Westwood Village, most being exiled, or the children of exiled individuals, also from Woodlock Roe. Dark forces seek to destroy the village, the only thing keeping them from targeting Woodlock Roe for reasons you don’t know— it is up to you if you let them, help them, or stop them. You’d be able to form relationships with any of the townsfolk (hence them all being listed as main characters despite only a certain number of individuals coming to your aid depending on your relationship with them), romantic or platonic, through their own mini-arcs between main plot "chapters"! The game would be an adventure/horror game with some RPG elements, largely impacted by how you treat the characters around you.

Viktor Marley | He/They/It | A young hunter who comes to your aid when you need it most. He runs the local butcher and tanning shop, and usually prefers to keep to himself and hide away in his shack outside the village. He wears a sack over his head, and almost never has any skin revealed.

Nau Beau | They/He/She | A clown who is one of the ex-mayor's sons, preforming every afternoon and every night for the citizens of Westwood Village— throwing fire and jumping through hoops, theres virtually nothing they can’t do! They’re sarcastic and prone to making jokes with an up-beat attitude in costume, however out of costume, they tend to be a bit irritable and cranky— of course, still with their charming wit and sarcasm. They have a niche interest in taxidermy when out of costume, and work hand-in-hand with Viktor to produce life-like taxidermy for the school and doctor in town.

Thatch "Jameson" Beau | He/Him | Son of the ex-mayor, he has lived a lavish life in one of the more well-build houses in the village. He often spends his days at the local inn-tavern, trying to woo visiting mercenaries with his untruthful stories of heroism and adventure. He’s often found squabbling with his sibling when they’re not drinking together, or helping the current mayor keep the town in check. There’s always a glint of caution in his eye.

Matir Rook | It/They/He | It goes into the mountains twice monthly and brings back freshly carved ice for everyone in the village. It does not speak, and instead communicates either through grunts, sign, or paper and ink. Often times, when looking for it, you can’t find it— but sometimes, when you aren’t, it finds you. It can often be found, when not working, at the schoolhouse helping ambitious children climb trees.

Mayor Rheikan Flora | He/She | Having been working tirelessly and nearly thanklessly for the last decade trying to contact Woodlock Roe and keep the village in order, Mayor Flora stands as the only person of government within the village. He is in charge of ruling all squabbles, approving all building plans, approving all marriages— it’s hard work. He’s often found in the mayor's office (his home); except for when it rains. When it rains, he’s often found wandering the streets under his umbrella, cigar in shaky hand.

Dreidiel Malchester | He/They | A priest rather open about being exiled from Woodlock Roe for scamming the government out of tens of thousands, Dreidiel is mainly in charge of officiating weddings and blessing the village bi-weekly to keep whatever lurks outside of it at bay. Having no sermons, or church— not that he ever took that life seriously— he's often found watching one of Nau's performances, helping out at the local school, or being kicked out of the mayor's home for trying to proposition yet another faulty business within the village. He’s never seen without a smile.

Unnamed | She/They | Running the local clinic of Westwood is a hard job, one ran without smiles or patience. It’s a dangerous place to live, and there’s always someone hurt— ??? is the doctor of the village; she's stern and sarcastic, but in a way that makes your heart warm. She may chew you out while bandaging your leg for the third time this week, but she always finishes the wrapping with a bow. Her arms are almost always folded, and you can see the muscle definition from whatever life she lived before.

Unnamed | She/Her | The local tailor of the village, ??? makes sure everyone is walking around in something not sore to the eye. She works with Viktor in obtaining furs, leather, or wool for her work, farming cotton herself on her property above the village. Her prices are always affordable, even for the most beautiful garment, because she prefers everyone look presentable and her be modest than only a few look stunning and she be rich. She’s almost always fidgeting with something in her hands.

Unnamed | They/Them | ??? is the village school teacher, mild-mannered and polite with a bit of a temper. They work well with keeping the children well-behaved and safe in the village, teaching them all they’ll need to know and much more. When school's out, they’re often found at the local inn-tavern with a drink while grading papers, or they’re found by the river studying the local wildlife. Their arms are covered in tattoos resembling serpents, tracking up all the way to their neck.

Unnamed | She/It | i have nothing written on her yet but she’s in charge of the inn-tavern

#Westwood Village #Asks #Not art #Oh god tagging everyone is going to drive me nuts #OC: Viktor Marley #OC: Nau Beau #OC: Thatch Jameson Beau #OC: Matir Rook #OC: Dreidiel Malchester #OC: doctor lady #OC: Tailor lady #OC: school teacher babe #OC: Mayor Flora

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tansypoisoning · 4 years

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Tansy’s Spooky Challenge

Because the World is terrifying :D

To celebrate this milestone (1k followers :O) I’m starting a challenge which hopefully will give back to this community in terms of exposure of less known authors (or just authors that aren’t known by my followers) and in creating more stories. I’m so thankful for all the attention I’ve been given, and I hope to give you guys my attention as well.

I love writing challenges because they give authors motivation to write (sometimes even things out of their comfort zone), because they’re a great way for writer’s to promote themselves, and because it’s a great way for the person hosting it to find more stories and authors they could end up being big fans of :D I especially encourage people with less followers, or whose works I haven’t read to participate.

The main objective of this challenge is to write something that has an element of horror in it. It can range from a situation that seemed scary but is okay, to something that is a little eerie, to pure unadulterated terror. As for rules:

You DON’T have to be following me to participate.

You have to enter with a reader insert/OC fic. There doesn’t have to be any smut or shipping, and if there is, the relationship DOESN’T HAVE to be about dark!character or dark!reader.

I’ll read works for any fandom, but the ones I’m most familiar with are Marvel, Overwatch, Snowpiercer, Knives Out, Naruto, Avatar:The Legend of Aang

You can submit drabbles, one-shots, or an entry of a serialized story.

A single prompt CAN be used by more than a single person.

The fanfics can be of any length, but if they’re on the longer side, please try putting a ‘Read More’ in there somewhere to avoid making things difficult for people reading on phones.

Things that are not allowed in terms of content: underage sex, bestiality, graphic child abuse (allusions are ok) I don’t think anyone would submit an entry that I would have reservations reblogging, but if in doubt you can ask me for help. Give warnings for any sensitive topic you bring up.

Tag your fic with “TansySpookyChallenge2020”

Send me an ask or dm telling me you posted it, preferably a dm. Asks can get eaten by the inbox, and tagging doesn’t always work.

Deadline is November 24th. You can DM for extensions

PROMPTS BELOW

Choose one item from each list and work them into a story. I allow and encourage trying to game the system with multiple interpretations of a term, less literal readings, or wordplay.

List 1

Happiness

Jealousy

Nostalgia

Desperation

Fury

Triumph

Sadness

Acceptance

Fervor

Disgust

Awe

Confusion

Hope

Craving

Foreboding

Denial

Loss

Ennui

Adoration

Sympathy

Pain

Betrayal

Commiseration

Anxiety

Rancor

Determination

List 2

Sink or swim

Chokecherry

Crossroads

“Let me see what you have.” “A knife!”

French vanilla

Something forgotten long ago

The shore

The eye of the storm

Bathtub

Corn hell

Down by the river

Baby’s breath

A little fire

An old saloon

Unearthed bones

On the move

Before dawn

Dead men walking

By candlelight

Frankenstein

Prima Donna

A hill about a mile outta town

First dance

Ritual

Underground

A small request

These text prompts can be used however you want: whether you want to have them in your story in their entirety, use bits, write something around them, something inspired by them, or just something you think has a similar feel. Just let me know which you picked.

There is a Corvette parked in front of the building, just by the front door. You approach the vehicle as if compelled by an invisible force and look in through the closed window. There’s none inside, but you see, in the driver's seat, illuminated by the neon lights of the bar, a white cowboy hat with a golden band. This isn’t the first time you see this hat.

The hole is no more than eight feet long and three feet wide. You peer in deeper, but you can’t see the bottom. There’s a soft but grating sound coming from somewhere within, like sharp nails raking against a metal plate. You can’t see the bottom, but you think you can see movement inside.

You abandon the warmth of the laundromat for the biting cold of the outside world. To your right, the road extends for miles and miles into the night, as it does to your left. There’s no place for you to go, but you can’t go back inside.

The light of the neon sign proudly displaying “Rising Sun Motel” shines through your door. You had closed and locked it before taking your shower – you know you had, because you do it in every room you rent. You take a cursory glance of your surroundings. Nothing is out of place or missing. Must be a faulty lock. The night is windy and could have pushed the cheap door open. You go to lock it again, and when you turn around you see that the closet door is slightly ajar.

The land is flat as far as the eye can see and identical houses with identically manicured lawns sprout from it as far as the eye can see. You run up and then down the street (or is it down and then up?) but you can’t seem to find anything else. The people look so friendly when they smile and wave as they pass you by, but you don’t ask them for directions. You look at your phone. You have signal, but all you can get your internet to show you are advertising for washing machines and sites with recipes for awful things preserved in aspic. The date and hour on your home screen keep changing. You’re positive you’ve been in this place for hours, but the sun won’t set.

“B-but… I don’t understand...” “We have checked the security footage three times and found nothing. There are also no signs of forced entries. No fingerprints.” “-My phone! I took pictures, I know I took-!” “We found nothing on your phone, in the SD card, or in the Cloud. There’s nothing.” “That’s impossible!” “We searched as much as we could. I’m sorry, but… are you sure-” “I know what I saw! I know it! Look again!” You aren’t imagining things. It couldn't have been your mind. It couldn't, it couldn’t, it couldn't

What kind of convenience store has taxidermy heads for decoration? You ask yourself as you roam the aisles of the near empty shop. You peek from behind a row of shelves to one side and spot the clerk. He’s old and severe looking, and although his pupils are pointed in your direction, you get the distinct feeling he’s looking right through you. You move your head to the other side of the shelves and spot another one of those fucking deer heads. This one’s large, wet eyes are turned to a fixture in the ceiling, but you would swear it’s watching you.

Rain pelts you as you stand at the dock, waiting. You hope your boat will arrive soon. You look over your shoulder into the mist and see nothing that should give you pause, but your leg still won’t stop shaking. You touch your arm by reflex and wince when you brush your cut. You think your makeshift tourniquet is working, but it looks fragile, like it could get dismantled at any second. In this weather, you’re sure is just a matter of time. You look over your shoulder again. Still nothing, but you fear it won’t last. You hope your boat will arrive soon.

The living room is dark, but you don’t turn on the lights. You are still too close. You move to the kitchen, and there you feel safe enough to reach for the switch. The illuminated room, much larger than it needed to be, is a ghastly land of contrasts. The many counters and their many marble tops are covered in trash. The tile floors, formerly clean enough to eat out of, are now muddied, not a single spot spared. The eyes of the two stoves are covered by pans and pots boiling foul mixtures. Through the window you can see the sprawling lawn and walls of hedges. They will hide you, but for how long? There is something waiting for you in the hallway, something terrible. You have to address it before sunrise, but for now you’ll wait here. The kitchen isn’t half as bad as the rest of the house.

‘The Bystander Effect’ is the term used to describe the phenomenon in which people don’t intervene in emergency situations when in a group, and, the larger the group, the less likely they are to intervene. You know this to be true, even without doing any research, as you hobble your way through the maze of alleyways. Your cries for help had gone unanswered, bouncing off the concrete walls into a multitude of uncaring ears. It’s just how it is in the big city – every man for himself, and the devil take the hindmost. So much for safety in numbers. The truth is, in this city, surrounded by all these people, you’re more alone than you’d ever been.

You take the first step with care, mindful of all the ice. The second is a little clumsier. On the third you almost slip. You skip the fourth and fall on the fifth, rolling down the stairs and landing face first in the snow. You scramble to get back to your feet and run to your car. You have to get home. You lock yourself in and don’t bother with the safety belt. You shove the key in the ignition and turn and turn but nothing happens. Did you leave it in the cold too long, or- There’s no time to think about it. You step out of the car and start running, into the freezing night. You have to get home, you have to get home now.

Cleanup time is always a hassle. You wish you didn’t have to do it, but it wouldn’t be fair to leave the mess all to your partner. You two near the open trunk of the car and load the heavy cargo into it. Your companion seems the most affected by the weight, and you offer an apologetic smile. Fair is fair though; it was your turn to carry the feet end.

Skinny dipping had seemed like a good idea when your friend suggested it earlier, under the sweltering sun. Now, standing in front of the pool in your bathing suit, all by your lonesome, you start to regret having agreed to her scheme. Wasn’t she supposed to have arrived forty minutes ago? She said she’d bring people too, because skinny dipping alone isn’t fun. Well, now you are all alone in the cold, and you suspect that is even less fun. Just as you make up your mind to leave, you see a car through the chain link fence. It pulls up just before the gate and the engine turns off. That must be them.

#TansySpookyChallenge2020

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plethora-of-imagines · 4 years

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HI!, Currently losing my mind thinking about the master being infatuated with a goth girl the doctor picks as a companion. Like proper Addams family, Lydia Deetz, vibes. Literally kidnaps her and says it's a trap for the doctor but he's just FASCINATED by this strange human. He had no idea that humans could be so unusual. When the doctor finds him he just lets her go (they're obviously suspicious). She tells him about her strange hobbies like taxidermy, bug pinning, ghost hunting, seances,etc.

"Let me guess. I've been kidnapped as bate so you can trap the Doctor."

The side glance the Master gave you from his position working at the console told you that while he appeared busy, he wasn't actually busy. He was just standing there, pretending that a display was important while he watched you from the corner of his eye. It was very clear that the display aas meaningless when it hadn't changed the whole time he had been reading it.

"Of course."

"Of course," you responded in the same no nonsense tone.

You wondered over to the shelf of knickknacks glancing over all of the random items kept on this particular shelf. Books and random trinkets from travels filled the shelf you were currently examining.

"A question for you to answer, Master. What's the most haunted planet you have ever been to?"

"What kind of question it that?"

He looked bewildered by your inquiry. You supposed you should explain the seamingly random question.

"The Doctor let's us choose where she tries to go. We all get turns. The others tend to say something they want to try or they pick randomly from a book of planet names. She refuses to go somewhere haunted when I as so I figured if I knew of a haunted planet I could ask to go there. Then I would get a chance to do some ghost hunting."

He gave you a look, as if he couldn't believe that you were interested in ghosts. Little did he know that you were far more interested in death than any of the Doctor's other companions. You were fascinated with death. Something that aided you in your time with the Doctor. Being intrigued instead of horrified made the dilemmas you experienced entertaining as apposed to horrifying.

"Well they aren't exactly ghosts but one planet I've been to had remnants of those who died appear because of a faulty psychic communication field."

You smiled wickedly, "that would be perfect."

"Planet is called Allecia."

"Thank you. It should be ethereal to visit."

The resulting silence as the conversation ended was comfortable. You continued to look at the various messy shelves and their content. One that particularly caught your eye was one with several TCE victim minatures thrown about the shelf. One of them reminded you of a man who had harassed you one day when you had managed to find a nice occult shop on a gothic style planet. The planet had perfect Tim Burton and Henry Selick vibes that you had adored. You had been tempted to stay but had decided against it considering the incredibly violent wildlife.

You picked up one of the TCE victims to hold in your hand. Holding it gave you the same thrill that holding taxidermy gave you. Something dead yet perserved.

"I have to admire the perfection of these as a form of preservation."

The Master seemed to give up on pretending to be busy as he joined you in looking at the miniaturized figure of what used to be a living man.

"You know you're a very strange person to be traveling with the Doctor. You're very... dark."

"I am indeed strange and unusual. I've found life to be more fun that way," you paused to admire the details of the figure before explaining your fascination with his method of murder. "I used to do taxidermy. I stopped due to a lack of time, it took too long to get good results with the amount of time I had to work on it. So I can't help but admire the results that the TCE gets you so quickly."

He smiled with you.

"It is very efficient."

"What have you done with her Master!"

Both of you jumped in suprise as the doors to the Master's TARDIS opened. The TCE victim you were holding being tossed in the air in your surpise. The Doctor was here, storming in to take you back.

"Nothing Doctor. Nothing at all."

"I don't believe you," she growled.

The Doctor grabbed your arm to drag you behind her as she backed off the ship. Never letting him leave her sight. All the Master did was smirk and wave as you left. You smiled to yourself. It wouldn't be long before he stole you again. He was too intrigued with you to ever leave you alone for long.

(730 words)

#anon #dhawan!master x reader #the master x reader

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noamartucci · 6 years

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Trophy Hunting; A Personal Opinion Supported by Research

Trophy hunting of African wildlife is the legal practice of hunting animals, usually larger ones that are typically taken home and then taxidermied for display as a “trophy” (abcnews.go.com). Animals that are popularly hunted include buffalo, rhino, elephants, lions, crocodiles, and hippos (absnews.go.com). This activity can be rather expensive and is considered to be for the wealthy, as it includes fees for permits, guides, equipment, and travel. All of these costs can add up to be fairly high, depending on the animal a hunter is aiming to kill. It is a hobby which some believe has the potential to positively effect Africans and their wild animals, while others believe it will do the opposite. Is trophy hunting ethical? Could it possess potential benefits for African wildlife as well Africans themselves? For the remainder of this paper, I will argue against the trophy hunting of African wildlife. This position was not easily taken but is the result of the observation and consideration of arguments of those who support trophy hunting as well as those who do not.

Hunting is an unethical form of recreation that disrupts nature by taking the lives of innocent animals. These animals are and have beloved mates and offspring. They are living creatures whose family and social dynamics should be respected and may be seriously disrupted when a hunter cuts lives abruptly short. Species such as elephants, many whom inhibit regions of Africa, can suffer from complicated mental illnesses including depression after the loss of a family member or a mate, similar to humans (news.nationalgeographic.com). If these animals are aware of a hunter, they are intelligent enough to comprehend the situation and they will react emotionally. The animals that are hunted as well as those who are not also experience vast amounts of stress due to hunting as a whole. This stress stems from heightened fear and anxiety, which are the result of the loud noises and commotions that hunters make. This severely throws off normal eating habits, which then increases the struggle of their winter survival after having had difficultly eating and storing the fat and energy that is necessary for the season (peta.org). Both migration and hibernation of animal species is disrupted by the act of hunting itself, as well as the campfires, recreational vehicles, and overall presence of people (peta.org). Trophy hunting clearly affects these animals and their habitat in a negative way. These negative consequences bring about emotional hardship and physical pain too, seeing that even if an animal is successfully shot by a hunter on the first try, a quick kill is not common (peta.org). A study that was tracking eighty deer discovered that of the twenty-two that were shot, eleven of them were wounded but not recovered, left by hunters (idausa.org). This causes much physical pain and suffering for animals like the deer that were unsuccessfully killed, as they are forced to endure a prolonged death or a violent injury.

Those who oppose the information presented in the previous paragraph first and foremost argue that hunting can actually benefit wildlife. They claim that the animal deaths that have arisen from hunting have been far less impactful on species survival as a whole in comparison to deaths that have come about from habitat destruction, declines in species to prey on, and increased conflicts between humans and animals (perc.org). The U.S. Wildlife and Fish conservation says that trophy hunting, when it is done responsibly and lawfully, can play a positive role in a well-managed conservation program and contribute to the long-term survival of the species (perc.org). Regarding the matter of lawful trophy hunting, the Oxford University Wildlife Conservation Research Unit says that the most fundamental benefit of trophy hunting to lion conservation specifically is that it provides a financial incentive to maintain their habitat (telegraph.co.uk). This activity has the ability to generate an impactful amount of the much needed funding for Africa’s larger conservation efforts through the sale of hunting permits, professional guide payments, transportation, lodging, and tourism profits as a whole. In fact, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, responsible for managing the Hwange Nation Park (where Cecil the Lion lived), obtains a majority of its funding from trophy hunting proceeds. Across Africa, hunting produces over $200 million yearly (perc.org). If trophy hunting were to be banned and that revenue were to vanish, various organizations and their ability to protect wildlife from poachers and illegal hunting would vanish as well. Andrew Loveridge, the Oxford researcher who collared and studied Cecil the Lion (who was shot and killed by a trophy hunter), acknowledges the large amount of land that is protected as hunting reserves in Africa and how it noticeably exceeds the amount of land protected as national parks in comparison (perc.org). A situation used to support the importance of the financial benefits of hunting in Africa is that of the Galana Ranch in Kenya. This property, nearly the size of Yellowstone National Park, was leased for 46-years by Martin Anderson around 1960 (hoover.org). Anderson incorporated a ranch running strategy that was comprised of cattle ranching and hunting (hoover.org). This generated income until 1977 when Kenya banned hunting and since then, large animal populations have shrunk 60-70% (hoover.org). The idea is that because of the loss of revenue from hunting, Galana lost the ability to fund private conservation efforts, which was disadvantageous for large animal population survival.

Another notion of those who support trophy hunting in Africa is the idea that the locals will and want to benefit from it. Hunters argue that a majority of the people living in African villages would simply prefer to kill rather than conserve wild creatures like lions (perc.org). This may be in part because of the revenue that trophy hunting generates, but is predominately due to the fear and destruction that wildlife can cause for them. Africans are often faced with the loss of crops, livestock, and even their own lives to dangerous species and thus see them as objects of terror that are to be avoided rather than as something to be protected (NYTimes.com). Lions specifically eat close to $270 worth of livestock annually according to the University of Chicago’s Field Museum and the Kenya Wildlife Service (perc.org). Financially, this is a disastrous loss in a country where the income per capita is $1,200 (perc.org). Goodwell Nzou, a writer for the New York Times and a previous citizen of Zimbabwe, discovered the death of Cecil the Lion and was instinctively filled with joy. When he had heard the reactions of American citizens, he was utterly confused and immediately questioned the designation of Cecil’s killer as the villain. In Nzou’s village, which is surrounded by wildlife conservation areas, no lion has ever been viewed as beloved or given a nickname. He explains this mindset through memory. At nine years old, a lion killed a few chickens, goats, and a cow in his village, which prompted a warning for children to walk to school in groups and stop playing outside. His mother had to be escorted by his father and older brothers with machetes, axes, and spears in order to collect firewood. Soon enough, Nzou’s great uncle was attacked by a lion and luckily escaped with just an injured leg. Wild animals do hold significance for African people that the author refers to as “near-mystical”, but they are also seen as a significant threat to African people and their communities.

The financial justification for trophy hunting made by its advocates is faulty. It is not that hunting’s potential revenue does not have the ability to help fund wildlife conservation efforts, but it is too often that the money obtained from hunting is misused. A new report published by the Democratic staff of the House of Natural Resources Committee found little evidence that the money from trophy hunting profits in Africa is actually being used to help threatened species (NYTimes.com). This is due to the widespread corruption found in some African countries governments and inadequately managed wildlife programs (NYTimes.com). Peter LaFontaine, a trophy hunting expert of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, explains the unfortunate fact that what happens most of the time with hunting revenue is that venal government officials or outfitters receive the money which trophy hunting advocates believe helps conserve animal habitats (abcnews.go.com). Therefore, hunting profit all too often does not end up under the discretion of a local community where hunting goes on, nor in the hands of officials who genuinely care for wildlife, lowering overall incentive and initiative to protect the continent’s wildlife and environment. The abuse of Africa’s hunting income not only affects the animal’s habitat negatively but consequently their population as well. Hunting creates ideal overpopulation conditions when the season ends due to the abrupt population drop it causes (peta.org). This drop leads to less competition between those who remain alive, leading to a higher birth rate (peta.org). What many hunting supporters fail to recognize is the importance of the conservation of natural predators like lions in order to avoid overpopulation of certain species in the hunting off-season (peta.org). Ecosystems in Africa have a delicate balance that trophy hunting evidently interferes with.

It is true that African citizens do suffer some plight and harm because of wildlife, but this does not mean that they would prefer them dead. National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative works to prevent big cat extinction in the wild with the help of African citizens. Jeneria and Yeselai, two men who are Samburu warriors from Kenya, realize that tensions between humans and wildlife are rising as the human population continues to grow in rural African areas (dailybreeze.com). They explain how they track and observe animals that may pose a risk to villages such as lions, using the information acquired through this they warn villagers to contain their livestock and use caution (dailybreeze.com). They also emphasize to the local people that they must react to the disappearing animal with compassion rather than violence. Their actions demonstrate that African locals are willing, and may actually prefer, to counter their issues with wildlife in non-violent ways, at least before resulting to hunting. However, if the need for a lion to be hunted does arise, are the menacing lions the ones that trophy hunters are actually hunting anyway? Hunters tend to kill the animal that would look good above their fireplace, or make the most visually appealing “trophy” (peta.org). This is often the larger and healthier animal’s that are necessary to continue a strong population and animals that are found on game reserves where guides are aware of animal’s locations, habits, use dogs, and lure unsuspecting animals to food (peta.org). The unfortunate reality is that trophy hunters like Dr. Walter J. Palmer, who shot Cecil the Lion, are not hunting for the lions who are terrorizing local villagers but instead are hunting for the best taxidermy (abcnews.go.com).

After the observation and consideration of arguments from sides both for and against trophy hunting in Africa, I am compelled to side against it. The practice of hunting wild animals, usually larger ones that are typically taken home and taxidermied to be a “trophy”, is simply unethical and illogical to partake in during a time when so many animals are suffering threatening population declines. I say this reflecting upon the distress it brings about for wildlife and the considering of information I obtained from reliable sources, which proved pro hunting arguments as flawed. Reviewing the arguments for hunting lead me to discover that despite the assertions made by trophy hunting supporters, in reality there is a significant lack of hunting revenue that is actually used toward conservation efforts. In fact, it has become clear that damages to the animals emotionally, physically, and habitually can result from hunting and the presence of hunters rather than conservation of the land and species. I resent the arguments vocalized by those who endorse hunting after finding evidence of the existence of African villagers who would actually prefer to conserve animals like lions before resorting to killing them, contrary to the argument hunting activists make. Trophy hunting is a violent and unnecessary activity that admittedly does have the potential to produce positive benefits for Africa’s wildlife and people but unfortunately, it fails to do so.

Works Cited

Anderson, Terry, and Shawn Regan. "How Trophy Hunting Can Save Lions." How Trophy Hunting Can Save Lions | PERC – The Property and Environment Research Center. Property and Environment Research Center, 7 Aug. 2015. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

Anderson, Terry. "How Hunting Saves Animals." Hoover Institution. Stanford University, 29 Oct. 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.

"Anti-Hunting." In Defense of Animals. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.

"Big Cats Initiative." National Geographic Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.

"Cecil's Death Highlights Cowardice of Hunting." PETA. N.p., 30 July 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.

Morell, Virginia. "It's Time to Accept That Elephants, Like Us, Are Empathetic Beings." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 23 Feb. 2014. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.

Nzou, Goodwell. "In Zimbabwe, We Don’t Cry for Lions." The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 Aug. 2015. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

Rogers, Katie. "American Hunter Killed Cecil, Beloved Lion Who Was Lured Out of His Sanctuary." The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 July 2015. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.

Smith, Jada F. "Trophy Hunting Fees Do Little to Help Threatened Species, Report Says." The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 June 2016. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.

Tan, Avianne. "Beyond Cecil the Lion: Trophy-Hunting Industry in Africa Explained." ABC News. ABC News Network, 31 July 2015. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

"Trophy Hunting Can 'help Lion Conservation' Says Government Commissioned Report." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 6 Dec. 2016. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.

"Why Sport Hunting Is Cruel and Unnecessary." PETA. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.

"Without Hunting, Deer and Other Animals Would Overpopulate and Die of Starvation." PETA. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.

#Trophy Hunting #Africa #African Wildlife #cecil the lion #Hunting #PETA

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savetopnow · 6 years

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2018-04-01 13 FUNNY now

FUNNY

Awkward Family Photos

The Back Up Plan

Godzilla vs Easter

Easter Egg

The Delivery Room Selfie

Mustache To Heaven

Babylon Bee

How To Argue On The Internet: A Step-By-Step Guide

Report: It Is Finished

Trump Projected To Be Last Remaining Member Of White House By 2 P.M. Tomorrow

Report: 56% Of All Conversions Direct Result Of Christian T-Shirt Parodies

Theological Prodigy Points Out Similarities Between Aslan, Jesus

McSweenys

The Kushner Family Passover Haggadah, 2018 Edition

A Brief Oral History of Babe Ruth Claiming His Bat Was a Wizard’s Staff

An Open Letter to Collegiate Basketball Benchwarmers

Excerpts from My Upcoming Novel, Ready Player Two: Girl Stuff

Email Sign-Offs Employers Will Fire You For, Especially If You Happen to Be a Woman

Passive Aggressive Notes

Coming soon, from Pixar…

Donna, bring a sweater

You can’t spare three squares?

Happy Birthday, and see you soon! xoxo, Cancer

Namaste, asshole.

Reddit Funny

Good to know. Summer will be here soon.

Happy Easter!

Well, I guess they brought their Dog photo

Safety First.

This is the tape our town used for the Easter egg hunt..

Reddit Humor

When You Try to Plug in a USB

Norm Macdonald's Send-Off for Conan's Tonight Show

Internet Comment Etiquette: "People Freaking Out"

I'm taking menthol, which is supposed to clear up your . . . sinuses.

Jam - Chris Morris —A mother hires a reluctant plumber to see to some faulty tubing in her supposedly dead baby [Dark]

Sad and Useless

Bunnies Stuffing Their Cute Faces

What Male Celebrities Would Look Like If They Were Female?

Anatomy of TV Shows

Horribly Funny Taxidermy Fails

Cat Circles, The Phenomenon In Which a Cat Will Always Sit Inside a Circle

The Blogess

Crowdsourcing how to be a good parent.

Why I love twitter.

There is a fine line between crazy and sane and I live there.

I quit. Sort of.

I see a big box of knives in my future. And possibly a tetanus shot. Maybe both.

The Hard Times

The Simpsons Seasons 2-8 to Be Put Into the Disney Vault Until 2035

We Ranked the 97 True Crime Documentaries Coming to Netflix This Weekend

Tour Van Also Mom’s Van

I Used That One Trick Insurance Companies Hate and Now Im in Jail

Badass English Teacher Assigns Van Halen’s 1984

The Onion

Laura Ingraham Apologizes For Mocking Florida Shooting Survivor

EPA Rolls Back Emissions Standards To Increase Consumer Choice Over Type Of Apocalyptic Hellscape Earth Will Become

White House Graciously Accepts Saudi Prince's Thank-You Gift Of Severed Yemeni Head

Fender Introduces New Line Of Sympathy And Bereavement Guitars

Doctor Asks New Mother If She’d Like To Keep Newborn’s Exoskeleton

Whiskey Leaks

Science Explains Why Tide Pods Taste Like Cilantro To Some, Soap To Others

Cummy Bears? Say “I Love You” This Valentines Day With Candy Made From Your Essence

Redskins’ Owner Unveils Newly Acquired Team Logo

Self-Driving Uber Suspended After Touching Self In Front of Female Passenger

OP-ED: A Man Can’t Even Hug A Female Now Without Her Noticing That He’s Raping Her

#funny

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malcolmfriendpoet · 7 years

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How America Loves Ferguson Tweets More than the City of Ferguson (or Any of the Eighty-Nine Other Municipalities in St. Louis)

by Jacqui Germain The camera-flash séance in the middle of West Florissant searches for ghosts in the street lamps, while black bodies mid-funeral, caped in tear gas contort into résumé bullet points. Our jaws broke open in grief make front page in an article that doesn't mention St. Louis, but will win an award for how the photo makes taxidermy of our trauma. Thank god for the internet, how we've taught ourselves to play mortician with each new name we are given, to pinpoint a single faulty organ, mistake it for the whole body, neglect to even ask the bones for a new name. Thank god for twitter, for the microphones and media equipment, for the scavengers' descent onto a single street, for how they ate our terror and vomited a news story, for the blossoming of our messy grief on television screens for a few weeks. --When the Ghosts Come Ashore, Exploding Pinecone Press, 2016

#Jacqui Germain #Poetry #Poem

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kellerwilliamsrealestateser-blog · 6 years

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8 Frightening Things in Sellers' Homes That Can Scare Buyers Silly 1. Too many locks 2. Uncomfortable art 3. Taxidermy 4. Faulty or half-done repairs 5. Unfriendly pets 6. Dust and dirt 7. Mystery smells 8. Hair-raising decor To read the full article, visit: https://www.realtor.com/advice/sell/frightening-things-in-homes-for-sale-that-scare-buyers Photo: @interiors https://www.instagram.com/p/BqJPOP8AZ5x/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1pt07claf2yya

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juliayepes · 7 years

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The Sly Poetics of Terry Zwigoff

"I can't relate to 99 percent of humanity," says a character in Terry Zwigoff's perceptive cult film Ghost World (2001). That movie—an ode to alienation, loneliness, and the melancholy process of growing up—was inspired by the graphic novel of the same name by Daniel Clowes. It's a bittersweet comedy with a strange but alluring rhythm that intricately captures the peculiar moods and emotions of its characters, which include two teenage girls, Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson); Seymour (Steve Buscemi), a middle-aged record collector; and various other characters in an unnamed suburban town. Zwigoff and Clowes collaborated on Ghost World's Oscar-nominated screenplay. With its intentionally oversaturated colors, quirky characters, and offbeat dialogue, the movie bears the signature features of Zwigoff's work. Ghost World was Zwigoff's first fictional film. Previously, he had made Crumb (1995), a startling documentary about a celebrated underground cartoonist that won the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize. Zwigoff's other films include Bad Santa (2003), a wicked (but redemptive) comedy starring Billy Bob Thornton and Tony Cox that was a commercial hit; Art School Confidential (2006), a deft satire, loosely based on a short comic by Clowes; and Louie Bluie (1985), an hour-long documentary portrait of obscure musician, artist, and storyteller Howard Armstrong. Zwigoff's movies are filled with playful touches, as well as withering commentary about consumer culture. In Art School Confidential, there's an Apocalypse Now poster on a film student's dorm-room wall and a cat adoption flyer that's visible during a gruesome campus crime. In a single scene in Ghost World, we see signage for Popeyes, Radio Shack, ProNutrition, Sony Panasonic, and Budweiser, while in Crumb, we see glimpses of Payless Shoe Source, Foxy Lady Boutique, and Picway Shoes. Ahead of a film series devoted to his work at Metrograph, the Lower East Side movie theater in New York, we corresponded with Zwigoff over email. Over six days, he answered our questions—sending a batch of responses each day. He's mild-mannered, but friendly and generous, with a lightness that wasn't evident in earlier profiles. Despite his own occasional feelings of alienation, one of the reasons Zwigoff's films are so insightful is that he's empathetic and attuned to the feelings of others. "I try to relate to almost every single character in my films," he writes. "It makes them much easier to direct." JULIA YEPES: It's hard to think of a movie that, across the board, is as well cast as Ghost World. Were there actors in the film who you had the idea to cast or who you really wanted for their roles? TERRY ZWIGOFF: I was lucky enough to get my first choice for almost every single part in the film, which was a minor miracle in itself. Except for Brad Renfro. He wasn't my idea. I wanted someone much more naturally reticent and introverted [for Josh]. Brad was a rambunctious, outgoing sort. That said, he did a good job, considering the casting was so faulty. And Teri Garr did a fine job [as Maxine], but she wasn't my idea. I was having a difficult time finding someone for that part when Steve Buscemi suggested her. And she was terrific. YEPES: You've said that the first place that most films go wrong is in casting. In the case of Ghost World, Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson were not necessarily obvious choices for the roles of Enid and Rebecca. You thought Thora was better suited to play the role of the conventionally attractive Rebecca than she was to play Enid, the maladjusted one. Do you think that the casting of the two leads added a dimension to the film that wasn't in the graphic novel? ZWIGOFF: I wasn't as concerned with adding another dimension to the film as I was with maintaining a feeling of truth. I recall having a hard time convincing everyone to go along with me wanting to cast Scarlett. I'd seen her in Manny & Lo (1996) and The Horse Whisperer (1998) and I thought she was really terrific. The studio wanted a bigger name and was suggesting a number of older actresses to me, most closer to 30. I thought if this thing were to have any chance of feeling real at the end of the day, we had to hire actresses who were actual teenagers. Scarlett was actually only 15 at the time, but she certainly had the poise to play a little older. Hell, she probably had enough poise to play 35! And then the studio, in their quest for bigger names, suggested Thora after American Beauty (1999) was a big hit. I originally was wary of hiring her for the role of Enid because she played a somewhat similar role in American Beauty and I wanted to differentiate between the two parts. But Thora was really persistent and dedicated and really wanted the part and kept after me. She actually gained 20 pounds to play Enid which I think helped a little bit, but it was her acting ability that really made it work. YEPES: The theme of the two friends growing apart is at the heart of Ghost World. How much did you, Thora, and Scarlett talk about the friendship between Enid and Rebecca beforehand? How did Thora and Scarlett develop the relationship of two college-age girls who've probably known each other all of their lives? ZWIGOFF: I don't recall if we ever spoke of it directly, or anyone in the cast or crew having a hand in it. I give full credit to Thora and Scarlett for building a convincing friendship in a very few days before we had to start shooting. I'm not sure to this day how they pulled that off, but we all hit it off and had a lot of laughs together, on and off the set—I think that helped. I try to make the set as relaxed and fun and stress-free as humanly possible, while still having control over things. It's usually tension that hurts a performance or makes it seem self-conscious. YEPES: Seymour provides an interesting parallel to Enid, and in a sense, his inclusion makes the movie more poignant. Both he and Enid are lonely and both he and Enid are misunderstood. By including Seymour in the movie, Enid has to confront the notion of unfulfilled adulthood more directly. Were there other ideas or issues you wanted to introduce through Seymour's character? ZWIGOFF I wanted to make it a romantic comedy, as well as a coming-of-age story. And through his character, I was able to make it a social and cultural satire as well. YEPES: Near the end of Ghost World, there's a shot of a pensive Enid walking through town. There's a melancholy soundtrack, and a middle-aged sportswear-clad man with a soda and a bag of fast food passes through the frame. The inclusion of these weird, sad characters is the sort of personal touch of yours that adds a layer of pathos and humor, but that also serves as commentary about your view of the world. And in Crumb, there are striking sequences that show people outdoors who seem to reflect aspects of Robert Crumb's perspective. When you made Louie Bluie and Crumb, were you thinking about the kinds of details you could incorporate into fictional films that would make them seem more true to life? Had you wanted to make fictional films long before Ghost World? ZWIGOFF: Incorporating details was more of a natural inclination than a game plan in both documentary and fiction films. It layers the films in a way that allows them to hold up to multiple viewings. The thing I was up against in documentary films—and mine were both primarily character studies—was trying to get non-actors to convincingly play themselves in a way I'd come to know before the camera started rolling. And many non-actors can't do that convincingly, even if they just have to play themselves—they can't be naturalistic. And I would always want to recreate something I'd witnessed them do or say, and it just would be incredibly difficult because of the fact they weren't actors. And so I started thinking it might be more satisfying to just work with actors and get to tell them exactly what to say and how to say it. That appealed to me and led me to fictional films. You get so much more control. I think control is one of the things that appeals to me about cinema in general. You can force people to sit in the dark and focus on this story you're telling them without any distractions. In real life, people seem very distracted all the time. YEPES: The specificity of many moments in Ghost World and Art School Confidential makes them seem like they've been drawn directly from real life, like when Seymour's roommate decides the mongoose at his yard sale is not for sale one week and yet it's at his booth again the next week. Were a good deal of the details and exchanges that you and Daniel Clowes came up with things one of you had observed, and if so, can you recall a few examples? ZWIGOFF: Some were based on things we'd observed—and often disguised and exaggerated or embellished—and some were entirely imagined. Seymour's roommate Joe is based on my old friend Al Dodge. He didn't usually run a garage sale out of his house (he often sold at the Alameda Flea Market) and he didn't own the mongoose taxidermy (I used to have it before I gave it to an ex-girlfriend). But anyway, Al always had a reluctance to part with anything—especially once you made the mistake of expressing any interest in it. Then it'd always be this, "Naaaah ... I dunno ... I may have to hang onto that." Or, "That's not officially for sale." That kind of thing. I've witnessed similar behavior from many collectors over the years, actually. They have a hard time letting go of the treasures they've hoarded, or maybe they just like to play with you. Or maybe they get suspicious once you express interest in it that it must be worth more. For whatever reason, I found that trait memorable and wrote it into the script. YEPES: I watched Ghost World with my boyfriend, who's a record collector, last week. We were cracking up at the behavior and the language of the collectors in the movie—he even more than me—because we recognized so much of it. ZWIGOFF: Does your boyfriend collect 78s? That was, of course, the easiest scene for me to write in the entire film—I could have written a 30-page scene of that milieu's jargon. YEPES: No, but he only buys records that are in pristine condition—like some of the collectors in the movie. ZWIGOFF: Ha! YEPES: One of the things I'm struck by in your fiction films is the dialogue. In Bad Santa, there are quick exchanges between Santa and children that are really funny: "What do you want?" "Pokémon." "Done." ZWIGOFF: I give full credit to the Bad Santa screenwriters John Requa and Glenn Ficara for a wonderful script. YEPES: Is good dialogue one of the most important elements in that you look for in a script? ZWIGOFF: Yes. Dialogue that's distinctive, funny, peculiar, and specific is the main thing that makes me want to get involved with a film to begin with. There was a line in that script I really loved, which almost single-handedly got me to sign up for the film. "Sweet Jews for Jesus," laments the store manager as he sees Santa destroying SantaLand. That really had me laughing. You have to say it with a southern accent. The Coen Brothers are great at dialogue too, of course. Very smart. YEPES: You also devised the scenario for what's probably my favorite moment in Bad Santa. It's the scene where the mother and child approach Santa at the mall on his lunch break. For anyone who's ever had a miserable job, it's a highly relatable moment. ZWIGOFF: I was inspired by "The Santaland Diaries" by David Sedaris—I give him a lot of credit for that scene. I wanted to help make an unlikeable protagonist more sympathetic and I thought this scene helped the audience get there in a truthful sort of way. YEPES: What do you think are other strengths you have as a director? ZWIGOFF: I think I have pretty good taste in the projects I choose to take on. It's a blessing and a curse—I certainly could have worked a lot more if I wasn't as selective, but I just can't bring myself to spend two years of my life slaving away on some project I'm not really enthused about. YEPES: What was your life as an adult like before Crumb was released? And how has it changed since then? ZWIGOFF: I was plagued with a lot of back pain during the years I was making Crumb. I doubt it had anything to do with making the film, but it's since disappeared, which makes my life and outlook much sunnier. YEPES: According to his wife, Aline, you were Robert Crumb's best friend at the time you were making the documentary about him. You must have known how good the film could be as you were shooting some of it. ZWIGOFF: The very first footage I shot was of Charles Crumb and I was certain I had a great film after that very first day. I thought, "I'll just edit this footage of Charles and show potential investors a sample of it. It's so strong that no one will hesitate to give me the money to finish this." Sadly that wasn't the case. It took years to scrape together the money. YEPES: Did you have a sense it could be your breakthrough film? ZWIGOFF: I never thought in terms of a "breakthrough" film. I wasn't looking for fame or a career path into Hollywood. I was doing it for myself. I just wanted to make a film that I really loved. If other people liked it, great. But you can never guess what other people are going to like. YEPES: Roger Ebert quoted you as saying during the nine years that it took to make Crumb, you were averaging an income of about $200 a month and critic Jonathan Rosenbaum said you were in therapy during the making of that documentary. Do you think you've become better able to cope with challenges as you've gotten older? ZWIGOFF: Yes, I'm better able to cope with everything, largely thanks to that awful back pain subsiding. YEPES: I love the moment in Louie Bluie when Howard Armstrong reacts to an outdoor Picasso sculpture in Chicago, emphatically saying he can't relate to it and you should be able to relate to art. At what point during the making of Louie Bluie did you decide you wanted to shoot Howard in shops and walking down the street? The scenes of both Howard and of Robert Crumb interacting with the environments around them reveal so much about their characters. ZWIGOFF: In both films, even though they're documentaries, I had hundreds of pages of notes and ideas I'd jotted down in preparation for planning what I was going to film. I'd sat with Robert many times in cafes while he drew the world around him. I found it interesting, so I made a point to include that in the film. YEPES: Would you give your subjects prompts each time before you began filming? ZWIGOFF: Yes, I usually prompted and set up and staged scenes. Largely due to budgetary constraints—shooting film was expensive! YEPES: How involved was Daniel Clowes during the production of Ghost World and Art School Confidential? ZWIGOFF: We became such good friends writing the [Ghost World] script together, that I encouraged him to come to L.A. to watch the shooting. I thought he'd get bored (every other writer I know gets bored after a few hours and leaves), but he stuck it out and proved to be a big help and made the process much more fun for me. We'd crack each other up all day long. He helped with set dressing, wardrobe, extras, and myriad other things. He'd sometimes whisper ideas into my ear after a take. Some were even good ideas. But he'd never pressure me to take his advice and often I didn't. When we did Art School Confidential together years later, he wrote the script himself (as I was still stuck working on Bad Santa). And I never had any input into that script (I've since learned never to direct a film I don't have a hand in writing), and found it much more difficult to direct. So I leaned on his advice a lot more during that film. He was the producer and writer of it, and it was also sort of the story of his life. It was hard to find my way into it, but he was especially helpful on that one. YEPES: You've said you prefer staying home and reading to traveling or going out for beers. What do you like to read, and do you prefer fiction or non-fiction? ZWIGOFF: I read a lot of non-fiction as well as fiction. I like Charles Bukowski, Jim Thompson, Nathanael West, Camus, Dostoevsky, Orwell, Patricia Highsmith ... all the light, uplifting stuff. YEPES: Are there any recent films that made a favorable impression on you? ZWIGOFF: Recently? Hmm ... The film I liked the most last year was Manchester by the Sea. I'm misquoted somewhere as saying "you have to go back to the '30s and '40s to find any good films." That's not true—I love a lot of films from the '50' to the present. Adaptation (2002) is one of my favorite films. Vertigo (1958). Sunset Blvd. (1950). The Asphalt Jungle (1950). Dr. Strangelove (1964). The King of Comedy (1982). The Godfather (1972). Viridiana (1961). Army of Shadows (1969). Touchez pas au grisbi (1954), Le Trou (1960), Strangers on a Train (1951). I could go on and on. YEPES: I know that the studio was thinking that since Ghost World was about teenage girls, it could have a pop soundtrack. You found an effective way to counter that idea by incorporating the character of Seymour into Ghost World, in part, as a way to choose music you liked for the movie. Can you tell me how you've played with music in your fictional films? ZWIGOFF: Music is of course incredibly important in films. I remember in Bad Santa, when Marcus chops down a mannequin, cross-cutting that with Willie swinging a sledgehammer against a safe. It wasn't really funny until I tried using "The Anvil Chorus" as the music there. I used a lot of familiar pieces of music in that film like the melancholy Chopin in the opening as Willie sits at the bar alone amongst the cheerful festive crowd. It perfectly set the mood for this character study. The studio replaced it with Alvin and the Chipmunks doing "Jingle Bell Rock" and added some uninspired voice-over narration. They were afraid the audience wouldn't know it was a comedy soon enough. Jesus. That was their idea of humor. I fought and fought to get my music back in there. I was mostly successful. YEPES: Who do you think is funny? ZWIGOFF: Well, W.C. Fields, of course. Chaplin. And Laurel & Hardy. James Finlayson. John Candy. Chris Rock. Tony Cox. Will Ferrell. Will Forte. Larry David. Woody Allen. Richard Pryor. Sacha Baron Cohen. Mike Myers. And I love Kristen Wiig. Kate McKinnon. Tina Fey. And the late great Jan Duggan (she played Cleopatra Pepperday in The Old Fashioned Way.) I'm sure there are many others I'm forgetting at the moment. YEPES: Can you recall some things people have said about your movies that you particularly enjoyed or took as compliments? ZWIGOFF: Yes, one critic's review of Bad Santa said, "Bad Santa is the closest thing we have today to a W.C. Fields movie." That's about the highest praise I can imagine. If I can achieve anything even close I'm happy. And I think Roger Ebert said, "It's not what it's about, it's how it goes about it." I thought that was very wise. I miss Roger. ALL FIVE OF TERRY ZWIGOFF'S FILMS ARE PLAYING AT METROGRAPH IN NEW YORK CITY FROM TODAY, MAY 19, THROUGH MAY 21, 2017, AS PART OF THEIR CAREER RETROSPECTIVE OF THE FILMMAKER'S WORK.

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nofomoartworld · 7 years

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Hyperallergic: “Art” at the Science Museum: ‘Da Vinci — The Genius’ in Boston

Installation view of “Da Vinci — The Genius” (2017), Boston Museum of Science (all images by the author for Hyperallergic)

To be clear: there is no actual art by Leonardo at Da Vinci — The Genius, currently on view at the Museum of Science, Boston. The show consists of models of inventions handcrafted from Leonardo’s designs, replicas of his best known paintings, a short video on the “Last Supper” (1495-1498) and a series of very large photographs of the “Mona Lisa” (1503-1506)‍.

A product of the curatorial company Grande Exhibitions, the show is also sponsored by Pascal Cotte, a French engineer who claims to have discovered, through close examination with a high-definition, multi-spectral camera, two portraits hidden in paint layers beneath the “Mona Lisa.”

Leonardo’s remarkable abilities encompassed both science and art, a dual mastery which the exhibition seeks to express. For Leonardo, these two interests fed each other — a point most obviously demonstrated by the role that drawing took in his scientific observations and inventions. In this exhibition, however, art and science sit together uncomfortably.

This is due to the differing gestalt of the museums dedicated to them. The science museum, for the most part, operates as a kind of Plato’s cave: what one experiences there is not so much science, but a representation of it in order to make natural phenomena comprehensible, viz., the Planetarium. The art museum, while it also offers an abstraction of reality — an exhibition, after all, is curated, stripped of the extraneous and interpreted for the viewer — its special offering is proximity to originals, to the actual substance of its subject.

This contradiction in agenda doesn’t mean that any exhibition like this is doomed to fail, but it does here, at least in part. One half of the show succeeds, the display of the numerous models of machines made from Leonardo’s designs. Leonardo never saw a problem he didn’t think he could solve with some clever machine, such as our inability to fly or breathe underwater.

Installation view of “Da Vinci — The Genius” (2017)

Leonardo drew his imagined solutions, explicated by cryptic, mirror-image written notes, in dense brown ink strokes. The models materialize these drawings, built either to functional scale or some reasonable percentage of it. Borrowing the drawings’ color scheme, the models are constructed in dark wood and the metal fittings are a burnished, gunmetal gray. They feel appropriately old, yet new, like a successful product line from Restoration Hardware.

Leonardo’s solutions to problems were naturally conceptualized through the technology and materials available to him at the time. The resulting machines on display feel like an IRL menu of steampunk Apps, such as a device for measuring distances whose ratcheting gears release pebbles, stored in a cup, at every revolution of a wheel. The models are executed with considerable skill and obvious affection, and it is easy to imagine that Leonardo, if he saw them, would want to immediately try the adorable submarine, like a cupola’d raviolo, in the Charles River.

These objects are supported with explanatory texts dealing with technical concepts about things like camshafts and g-forces, but their aura is not that of scientific instruments. This is due in part to their wooden construction, but also to the way they are presented. Compared to the lighting conventions found in the rest of the museum, which uses general daylight like a well-illuminated schoolroom, or bright, focused lights that evoke a scientist’s laboratory at night, the curators chose black walls and a dark carpet for the exhibition hall, with the objects dramatically spotlit.

This moody setting is adorned with pithy quotes by Leonardo inscribed along the tops of walls — a motif borrowed wholesale from art museum exhibitions. With such visual prompts creating the expectation of precious originality, the models fare reasonably well. The faux art, however, does not. Some of it is clearly intended as set dressing, such as a series of forgettable, hand-painted enlargements of drawings from the Codices, which look more suited for the décor of a Leonardo-themed restaurant. With no frames and no wall labels, these canvases broadcast no ambitions beyond serving as a backdrop.

In contrast to these are the actual-sized, wall-labeled, and elaborately framed reproductions of Leonardo’s paintings. The paintings, all very high quality prints, actually look dandy from the distance of about four feet, but as you approach them, their surface — some sort of plastic — has a subtle, synthetic sparkle, like the twinkle at the edge of your eye in that tells you that you are in the Matrix.

Installation view of “Da Vinci — The Genius” (2017)

They raise the question: are we to pretend that we are experiencing real art when we look at these, as the mise-en-scène suggests? Or are we to take our cue from the context of the science museum and approach them like we do the taxidermied beavers downstairs in the New England wildlife dioramas — as a semblance but not a reality? The frames around the simulated paintings, contrary to their usual function as a quasi-halo around an original, then serve the same function as the painted marsh, fake cattails, and Plexiglas water in the beaver display, as a signal to accept the “beaver” as a beaver while knowing all the while that it is but a stuffed fur.

And then there is the Mona Lisa section. In this part of the show, Grande Exhibitions yields the floor to the discoveries of Pascal Cotte, whom the Louvre allowed to photograph “Mona Lisa” without its frame, using a very high definition “multispectral camera” of his own invention. This camera can capture and separate the entire range of colors in the painting, “from ultra violet to infra red,” according to the wall text.

Cotte claims a number of findings based on his photograph, including evidence of two earlier portraits, also by Leonardo, under the current Mona Lisa; that she once had eyelashes and eyebrows; and that the painting has mysteriously shrunk since it was painted. I make no pretense to expertise on any of these matters, and I celebrate the possibility that the “Mona Lisa” once had eyebrows. It would be a huge improvement.

However, I see no reasonable way for the painting to have shrunk as much as he claims (nearly two centimeters) without considerable alterations of the paint film, and I agree with art historian Martin Kemp that it seems truly difficult to tell from his photographs whether the alleged traces of paintings below the painting are complete earlier versions rather than just an image that evolved as the artist worked.

Photographs are Cotte’s chief evidence for his claims in the exhibition. Yet they are presented in a manner that again, in a conceptual sleight of hand, borrows more from artistic than scientific display. Enlarged photographs of la Gioconda’s eyes, all in different tints, are displayed next to each other in a grid that evokes the icon worship of Andy Warhol’s “Marilyn Diptych” (1962).

When you turn around, you are presented with the entire “Mona Lisa,” enlarged from its native dimensions (77 by 53 cm) to about four times that size, like a portrait of a dictator. Next to it on the wall is a wholly speculative “recreation” of one of the “earlier versions” of the painting. Just because an image can be made and then enlarged to the same size as the “Mona Lisa,” however, does not endow it with any artistic value or scientific authority. Yet the rhetoric of the installation is to admire and accept rather to inquire and test.

The presentation of Cotte’s research raises the question of the status of exhibitions in the Museum of Science. One assumes that a concept or discovery presented by the museum has attained its position through the process of real science: peer review, outside testing of the findings, and finally general acceptance. I see no sign in the art historical literature of this process having unfolded for Cotte’s assertions. (While both a book and a documentary have been issued on his work, I have been unable to locate any reviews in art history journals. Cotte has also published articles in scientific journals on the less controversial results of his findings.)

The exhibition makes no mention of dissenting opinions on Cotte’s theories. This raises more questions. Perhaps it does it not matter because the topic is art, and therefore doesn’t rate the scientific method? Or does it not matter because the exhibition is for the general public rather than for scientists or scholars? Both possibilities are damning. Surely, in this age of fake news and climate change denial, we should be seeking to educate the public on scientific method rather than promulgating faulty science in the name of infotainment.

Installation view of “Da Vinci — The Genius” (2017)

A number of promotional images for the show are popping up around town — Redditor-style mashups inserting a present-day ancestor of one of Leonardo’s inventions into a Renaissance or Baroque painting: a passenger jet coasting into for a landing in a classical landscape; a military destroyer docking in a Venetian lagoon; a bicyclist riding through a Renaissance cityscape (in the background, Jesus, caught up in some parable or another, is completely oblivious); and a tank riding herd behind a charging cavalry in a battle scene. These images have a cheeky, prankish quality, suggesting an unstuffy, even iconoclastic lark ahead.

If this tone were in fact continued in the show, the experience would have been more satisfying. What about putting a conceptual pin in that bloated icon of the “Mona Lisa” — and all its purported secrets — instead of pumping it up with even more hot air? What if, instead of pretending that the replicas on display are real, the curators focused on the psychology of aura or the neuroscience of looking? Or, along with the recreated models of Leonardo’s inventions, they focused on the act of drawing as a form of learning, and encouraged visitors to grasp the power of observation through making sketches or taking notes? Someone might learn something.

P.S. It’s “Leonardo,” not “da Vinci.” Calling him “da Vinci,” which tells us he was born in the town of Vinci, is like calling Beyoncé “from Houston.”

Da Vinci — The Genius continues at the Boston Museum of Science (1 Science Park, Boston, Massachusetts) through February 26.

The post “Art” at the Science Museum: ‘Da Vinci — The Genius’ in Boston appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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