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christophfanalways · 6 months

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INTERVIEW from Dec. 2, 2023

Actor Christoph Waltz: “Anti-Semitism is a very deep disease in a society. But it's not a fact that you just have to accept."

In an exclusive interview with “NZZ am Sonntag”, the Austrian talks about opera, anti-Semitism in his childhood and neuroses as a family legacy.

Christoph Waltz, do you find films boring?

Christoph Waltz: How did you come up with the idea?

Because you started directing operas after over 120 films and two Oscars.

But not out of boredom! I have always found opera, a story embedded in music, to be extremely interesting. Of course I could pursue this medium at home on the couch with a textbook. But I'm always interested in the activity, the doing. That's why I'm not yet an opera director. There are plenty of great ones out there.

So why do you stage operas?

You always talk about intention and approach, but you also have to be given the chance to implement it. And Aviel Cahn, the director of the Grand Théâtre de Genève, was looking for someone who could tell a compelling story. He didn't ask me because he expected an incredibly innovative concept that would revolutionize opera.

In a conversation with Daniel Barenboim you described yourself as a “conservative fart”. Is this a good starting point for staging an opera in 2023?

I said that because I am following with some interest how a new convention has become established in the cultural world. Look, the iconoclasm has long since been done. All texts are deconstructed. In principle, almost all theoretical approaches have been exhausted. What are you doing now?

Tell us.

Anyone who claims to be iconoclastic or unconventional is simply conforming to this new convention. And as a viewer I'm disappointed because I already suspected that.

That doesn't sound conservative. By conservative I would imagine that you keep something as it is.

May I be very rude: That's just how you imagine it. Words are filled with meanings and we are attached to them.

How do you imagine it?

For me, a work does not have to be new in its form. It's about the viewer. The work is intended to enable him to find a small gap in his beautifully crafted imagination and to let a little light shine through there. I prefer to sit back and be served in the “Kronenhalle”, it costs just as much and takes just as long.

Christoph Waltz

The most elegant of all villains

Born in Vienna in 1956, Waltz grew up in a family of theater makers and psychoanalysts; he has the same stepfather as the director Michael Haneke. Waltz studied singing and acting. He won an Oscar each for “Inglourious Basterds” and “Django Unchained” by Quentin Tarantino. Since then he has been known as a cool, elegant villain.

Richard Strauss' “Rosenkavalier” moves in a time-schizophrenia. A past is imagined, but with waltz sounds that didn't exist back then, and it's about topics that are relevant today, such as #MeToo. What are you after?

I don't have to follow what's already in the story, it's there. And I wouldn't like to claim that I'm so much smarter than Hugo von Hofmannsthal or Richard Strauss that I have to help things along. Although when it comes to Hofmannsthal, I'm not what you would call a fan. The year in which “Rosenkavalier” was performed was the year in which Schönberg’s “Pierrot Lunaire” was written. Hofmannsthal indulged in Kakanien for a bit.

Christoph Waltz rehearsing “Rosenkavalier” at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.

Dougados Magali

In the k.-u.-k. During the monarchy, Vienna's cultural identity was very Jewish. It was the time of Sigmund Freud, Karl Kraus, Oskar Kokoschka, Joseph Roth. Did this mean there was less anti-Semitism in Vienna?

I'm not sure about this. I experienced anti-Semitic things myself as a school child in Vienna. But they weren't problematized in the 1960s. I had a teacher who told my best friend in geography class to stop making stupid Jewish jokes. Nobody was outraged back then. The teacher was just an old Nazi and an idiot, we knew that. My boyfriend didn't mind at all either. I was more itchy than him.

Because your own father's mother was Jewish?

No. Nobody has tied their identity to humiliation. It wasn't scratched.

How is identity determined? At the family? Your grandfather, Rudolf Urbantschitsch, was a psychoanalyst, your grandmother an actress.

A psyche, especially a child's psyche, is occupied with concepts that this brain did not produce on its own. This is inevitable. This is how we shape our personality and our identity. But this is different than one that is consciously and intentionally accepted due to external circumstances.

You need to explain this in a little more detail.

I mean, this identity politics today isn't really about identity. It is identity. I haven't thought this through carefully, but I'll say it anyway: it's more about an agenda than an identity.

Since the outbreak of the Middle East conflict on October 7th, the German cultural scene has been forced to position itself.

This compulsion is akin to the formation of a new convention that we spoke about earlier. Nobody asks exactly, and nobody is interested in the facts. But everyone wants to represent something. Because they don't know exactly what, they just represent themselves. And since they don't have much to do with it, it's made all the more loud and extreme. This is a tragic development that can definitely be attributed to the decline in educational standards.

That's why you're worried about the state of our culture?

The viewer's judgment is hindered. We can only make progress through the judgment of the observer.

Her grandfather coined the phrase: “Neurosis is the emblem of culture.” Was he right?

I think this is a “sound bite” that was already used for marketing back then. This opinion puts me at odds with my siblings, who view the matter with more reverence. My grandfather sometimes formulated something cryptically, not least because he wanted to cover up his less-than-scientific approach.

Why do you view him critically?

That was his conflict with Freud. That Freud said he wasn't scientific. They were together in the Vienna Psychoanalytic Association. My grandfather was, in a sense, a student of Freud. But who wasn't in psychoanalysis at that time?

Was it and was it considered good manners in Vienna to be somewhat neurotic?

Can I say: There are more psychotherapists and psychoanalysts in Zurich than in Vienna. And significantly more.

But any amateur Freudian would be delighted with you because you first married a psychoanalyst and then a costume designer - which was your mother's job.

Yes. Of course all of this influenced me. That would have been the case if my grandfather had been a locksmith and my mother had been a physicist. Everything that has happened to you shapes you. So we all need to be a little more careful about what we do with it.

What do you mean?

Because we are not simply the victims of our conditioning. If we are interested in a particular matter, we must handle the matter responsibly. You have options for action. This also applies to anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism is a very deep disease in a society. But that doesn't mean it's a fact that you just have to accept. Even if you are an anti-Semite yourself. You could also leave it be. This is available to you.

Don't you overestimate us humans?

The question would be: How can I, on my own initiative, decide that it would be much more beneficial not only for myself, but for the general public to let it go?

And how is that supposed to succeed?

No idea. It is the task of those who have already recognized this to show others these possibilities. And not as a moral obligation, but as a practical possibility. This is how cognitive behavioral therapy works. You don't say: You're bad. Because that is – speaking of childhood – the best way to create opposition and neuroses.

Art has to play a role here. The mass medium of film in particular has a very significant impact on young people. But when the threshold of shame falls and the level of education falls, what can art do?

I'm afraid art can't change much. And I fear something even worse: that's not what art is intended for.

Rather?

Art is a way into a dimension that we cannot reach any other way.

But something could happen to me there that reminds me: Be the individual you believe you are. And act accordingly instead of what a group tells you to do.

Of course, you are right. Art can open up a perspective on problematic topics. But she cannot agitate, i.e. reverse the dynamic and intervene didactically.

She could, but she shouldn't.

It can create nothing but vehement opposition if someone throws this thing in my face. Art can only invite me, as a viewer or listener, into this dimension, and I must also be able to venture into it. The change is up to the viewer. But the artist cannot force this on me.

As an actor, you have to trust that the finished film will open doors like that. It is, so to speak, beyond your responsibility how your role affects the audience.

But it is my responsibility to give you a response. Your own and not something I would ask of you. It is a great responsibility not to stand in front of the role and the story and say that you think I, Christoph, are great. But to make room – ultimately for you. But this is one thing that is currently not being taken care of.

So, is your defining characteristic as an actor and director is humility?

I almost said arrogance. But that's not it either. But it is by no means modest.

What then?

It's a completely different consideration: how I open the content. And how I invite you into the content.

You actually want to be repelled by the Bond villain Blofeld, who you played, but you can't. That's one such reaction.

Wondering why you can't manage to dislike the villain? I can't get any higher praise. Because you're asking yourself that, but not me.

They wouldn't even be able to answer it.

No, I don't know what brings you to this.

Why do you like playing these elegant, chilly villains so much?

I don't live out evil. If I played a murderer and wanted to live that out, I would have to go kill someone now. As an actor, I synchronize myself with a story, like you do when you read a novel, for example.

Christoph Waltz as a 20-year-old in the children's show “Amdamdes”

youtube

You studied singing, you can play the cello, piano, saxophone and guitar and you almost became a musician. Is the emotional, romantic opera your balance to your villain roles?

Already. But maybe not for the reasons you mentioned.

Then why?

Because of the music. What is inside her alone. It gives what is being told an additional dimension. Although in the case of “Rosenkavaliers” Strauss may not be at the top of his craft in terms of craftsmanship. The fans had condemned him for this work after his “Elektra”. It's too banal. Not that I have a bad conscience - but I ask myself: Can I really allow myself to talk about Strauss like that?

Why not? As a director, Strauss is your work material.

No, not material, but leadership.

This is too humble an attitude.

Well, I'll allow that, please. Thanks. I'll take advantage of that. This may pose a risk if I don't question the source. But I believe that just as I hinder your viewing when I stand in front of a role as an actor, I hinder your reception when I stand in front of a work as a director.

Are you against interpretation?

If I wanted to put a context on this that I claim I am the only one to recognize, and compel you to share that view, it would be for me as an old practitioner developing a worldview as if the horse was being bridled from the tail.

The music also provides a reading.

There are directors like Michael Haneke who reject music in their films because they say it is a rule for the viewer, a misdirection into emotionality. A film without music is still a film. If you take the music away from the opera, it's no longer opera.

In “Rosenkavalier” Baron Ochs is a terrible philanderer, but he sings very sweetly and naively.

Assuming that you are in a relationship, if you could sometimes smack your partner against the wall, would that mean you love them less at that moment? Definitely not. Conversely, it could be that you can't stand him right now, but in moments you are carried away by a reaction, a behavior. No person who wants to claim to be human consists of only one characteristic.

And you also find that in “Rosenkavalier”?

“Rosenkavalier” is such an incredibly psychologically nuanced piece that the whole Mozartkugel packaging in which we are always fobbed at it doesn’t come close to capturing the dimension of its humanity.

#christoph waltz #christophwaltz #magazine interview

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rainydawgradioblog · 4 months

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Rainy Dawg Radio's Favorite Albums of 2014

The Blawg Team got together and compiled their top five albums of 2014, ten years later.

Emi

Chuuwee, Trizz - Amerikka’s Most Blunted

One of my favorite rap albums ever, Chuuwee never got his limelight. Fun vocal interludes in between brilliant sampling and blunt, catchy verses.

Twin Peaks - Wild Onion

Good indie music from my middle school days.

Ariel Pink - Pom pom

I don’t care that he stormed the capitol.

(Editors note: Rainy Dawg Radio does not endorse the January 6th insurrection.)

Nicki Minaj - Pinkprint

Iconic, formative album. My sister had it on CD and put the foldout poster from the case on our wall.

Mac Demarco - Salad Days

Nobody can’t not like this one.

Sean

Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence

Lana Del Rey embodies “the woman on the side” on her gothic Ultraviolence. Sex, money, and infidelity circulate the project as Lana channels a “mistress” persona on swirling Americana instrumentals.

FKA Twigs - LP1

On her debut LP1, FKA Twigs’ voice effortlessly glides across delicate, porcelain beats that sound like they could shatter at any given moment. Exploring themes of sexuality and devotion, Twig’s invites the listener to step into her world.

Aphex Twin - Syro

Richard D. James’ most intimate digital experiments come to life on Syro. Skittering breaks layered with acidic bass lines ricochet across the tracklist, creating a delightfully unpredictable listening experience. The project is peacefully brought to an end with the astounding closing track aisatsana [102].

Arca - Xen

Arca’s iconic debut Xen combines hazy synths and drum samples with dissonant acoustics. Through the harshness, Xen’s haunting beauty never ceases to shine through.

Tinariwen - Emmaar

The nomadic Taureg rock group made their triumphant return in 2014 with Emmaar after being displaced from Mali. Despite being recorded outside their homeland, Tinariwen makes no compromises on Emmaar; their smoldering lead guitars and resilient lyrics are as strong as ever.

k-murph

mitski - bury me at makeout creek

although the competition is steep, i believe bury me at makeout creek is mitski’s best. although i adore every mistki album, only this one has “last words of a shooting star”. and “francis forever”. and “i will”. and every song on the album. i rest my case.

hozier -hozier

hozier’s debut album will forever stand to me as one of the most enchanting projects of all time. his lyrical genius, beautiful vocals, and sheer force of mystical magical forest man-ness propel this album to the status of a forever classic. i love you hozier. i’m sorry i passed out in the pit of your seattle show four times.

TV girl- french exit

french exit has some of the most enjoyable production out of any album i’ve ever heard. every time i play “lovers rock” at the function, the crowd goes wild. guaranteed! also, apparently, this album was released on my 10th birthday! cool!

adrienne lenker, buck meek - a-sides

i love adrienne lenker more than maybe any other person on earth. the haunting beauty of this album is incredible. also b-sides. this kind of includes both, because i’m famously indecisive. i’ve always said i think adrienne lenker is the perfect artist for some good old-fashioned washington clouds and rain.

taylor swift - 1989

sue me. i simply cannot resist a little bit of sparkle and glitter and corny pop—plus, 1989 undoubtedly marked a cosmic shift in our universe. the impact of “blank space”, let alone this album, is undeniable.

Ben

Mitski - Bury Me At Makeout Creek

Had “Texas Reznikoff” not opened this album, it would still be my favorite album of 2014, but it does, so Bury Me At Makeout Creek is also one of my favorite albums of all time.

Pinata - Madlib/Freddie Gibbs

At fourteen or fifteen years old, you (I) discover an album that not only contains strictly songs you enjoy, but also makes you want to discover more music that sounds just like it. That was Pinata for me… also the production on “Knicks” is ridiculous. And “Shame.” “Robes” too. I’m constantly asking myself “how did he do that” in regards to Madlib’s work on this, but he’s not really reinventing the wheel or anything, it’s just like he woke up and decided to make the best beat you’ve ever heard seventeen times.

Black Kray - 700 Dagreez

I was very late to the Black Kray party but I’ve come to understand 700 Degreez as one of the best cloud rap projects ever released. No album released since has mingled lyrics about crying your eyes out and putting 28-inch rims on a NASCAR Chevy so seamlessly.

Black Messiah - D’Angelo

“Really Love” alone justifies this album at #4 to me…

How To Leave Town - Car Seat Headrest

Confession: I listened to How To Leave Town for the first time two weeks ago. However I’ve listened to “I Want You To Know That I'm Awake / I Hope That You're Asleep" enough since then to last me a lifetime, so I feel entitled to putting it on my list.

Parks

Ten years ago, American/UK album releases were a mess. Two albums stood out to me as being worthwhile… see below

Spoon- They Want My Soul

They Want My Soul is exactly what is to be expected from Spoon. It’s a solid record. “Rainy Taxi" and title track, "They Want My Soul" are standouts.

Les Claypool - Primus and The Chocolate Factory With the Fungi Ensemble

In a dark year for music, Les Claypool blessed us with his presence, if only for a moment. Primus and the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble has exceptional instrumentation and is delightfully creepy.

Honorable Mentions:

The War on Drugs- Lost in the Dream: Great album, just not too familiar with it.

Tom Petty- Hypnotic Dream: Its a 2014 Tom Petty album.

Dishonorable Mention:

Pitbull- Globalization : Thank you dear Pitbull for defining my middle school experience.

Zola

Taylor Swift - 1989

Pop perfection. Perfectly emulates the vibes of the mid 2010’s. One of the first times I remember an album being everywhere. Had 6 singles, all of which achieved massive success, proving that Taylor swift was a crossover mastermind. Unfortunately she desecrated “Style” when rerecording it. Thank you mom for buying this on cd.

Lana Del Ray - Ultraviolence

A perfect follow up to 2012’s Born to die. Helped her usher in a new sound while still staying familiar to her roots. Almost featured Lou Reed.

Lorde - Pure heroine

While technically not released in 2014, nothing encapsulates the 2014 tumblr vibes than Pure Heroine. Lorde ran tumblr, she ran south park, and she ran the radio. It gets a spot on my 2014 list because I was genuinely obsessed with this album in 2014.

TV girl - French Exit.

TV girl’s debut album, which unfortunately did not catch on until tik tok got a hold of it. Featuring the ultra classic “lover’s rock”. The impact this album had on teenage girls in 2021 cannot be understated.

Tove lo - Queen of the clouds.

Stunning debut from Tove Lo. The album is a concept album split into three parts, “The Sex”, “The Love”, and “The Pain''. Overall a 2014 sleeper hit with some memorable bangers. One time “talking body” came on my sixth grade social studies pandora during class time, and I remember some random kid in my class singing along. On the plus side he's now a kicker on the Oregon State football team so maybe he was onto something. (#31)

tide2004

Flowers Taped to Pens - s/t

San Diego screamo. Very unique and influential sound. This album is one of the first screamo releases that I really got into a couple of years ago.

Machine Girl - WLFGRL

Electronic/digital hardcore from Long Island. My best friend Maddie and I listened to this album constantly the summer before I went to college (favorite tracks: “Krystle”, “Ghost”, and “Mg1”).

Alex G - DSU

My favorite Alex G album. I bought the CD last year and I have the lyric booklet up on my wall. When I saw him live he only played one song off it :/

OFF! - Wasted Years

Los Angeles hardcore punk. Ex Black Flag/Circle Jerks

Cuckoo - Magpie e.p.

Math rock from Hakodate, Japan. I love the guitar on this album so much. Really good staring out the window music, reminds me of taking the train down through California for the first time.

Pal

This took some research, because the music that I was listening to in 2014 consisted of “Fireflies” by Owl City, 1989 by Taylor Swift, the Weezer Christmas album, and that one U2 album that got downloaded onto everyone’s iPod. but looking back, there were some really great albums that year.

First and foremost, we have to talk about Mitski’s Bury Me at Makeout Creek. That album dosen’t have a bad song on it, and I can’t count how many times I’ve played it all the way through. “I Don’t Smok”e actually shatters my ribcage every time and so does “I Wil”l, and “Drunk Walk Home”, and “Townie”, and like every other song also. It’s incredible.

You’re Gonna Miss it All by Modern Baseball was a staple of my sophomore year of high school. It was written when the band was in college and realizing that they were going to be graduating soon and moving on with their lives. Coping with that feeling is a lot, and “Fine, Great” as well as “Your Graduation” will probably resonate with most people who feel like they’re losers in a small town.

Syro by Aphex Twin isn’t my favorite Aphex Twin album, but sometimes I put it on just to feel like I’m hanging out in one of those star nurseries the James Webb telescope keeps taking pictures of.

Alvvay’s self titled is the perfect thing to throw on to get some good old fashioned pining in. It’s indie/dream pop sound is light enough to not make you too sad, but also not peppy enough to get your hopes up too high. Also, it just sounds amazing. I’d eat it and it would taste like caramel and strawberries maybe.

How to Leave Town by Carseat Headrest is one of CSH’s best albums in my opinion. It’s more electronic and the themes of teenage romance in their earlier stuff fade more into adult uncertainty.

Too Bright by Perfume Genius is what I think of when I think 2014. I remember my dad playing Queen in the car on the way back from summer camp. Looking back on it, the album's emotional explosion of empowerment, queerness, drag, and radical self-acceptance is incredibly powerful, and I will definitely be playing it more.

Steven Neff

La Dispute - Rooms of the House

One of my favorite albums ever. I revisit this album so regularly so I can practice my cold hard scowl while walking home from class in pouring rain. Woman (In mirror) is genuinely a perfect song.

Adrianne Lenker + Buck Meek - B-Sides

The pinnacle of absolutely crushing acoustic singer-songwriter projects. It is incredible to think that this project is now ten years old considering Big Thief’s increase in cultural relevance. This was before Big Thief was formed as a band and a year before the two got married as well which you can just feel that emotion in this project. I weirdly like the B-Sides far more than I like A-Sides.

Car Seat Headrest - How To Leave Town

Will Toledo. Man. I believe that he claims that How to Leave Town is just a compilation album of stuff that he was working on around the time but you would never tell. “The Ending of Dramamine” and “Hey, Space Cadet” are in the running for my favorite opener and closer to an album genuinely ever.

Modern Baseball - You’re Going To Miss It All

Nostalgia packed up into thirty mins of angst. The quintessential midwest emo album. Timeless. I can sing the entire album from front to back without missing a single word.

Freddie Gibbs, Madlib -Pinata

Not a single skip all the way through. Madlib masterclass as always making it real easy for Freddie Gibbs to do what he does best. “Deeper” is such a good song and easily my favorite Gibbs song ever.

Sofia

Dean Blunt - Black Metal

Mix of alternative/indie and Americana, among other things, that really works when you’re trying to pass time. I first got into this album over the summer when I heard “100” for the first time on vacation – big fan of “HUSH” because of the jazz kind of thing it’s got going on. I also like the way Dean Blunt uses samples in this album; he samples “Over Your Shoulder” by the Pastels in “100” and “For You” by Big Star in “LUSH”, both of which work really well.

Whirr, Nothing - Whirr & Nothing (Split Version)

Noisy and heavy shoegaze/rock split EP. Listened to this EP a lot over the summer lying in bed and counting down the days until I could leave town and come back to school… My favorite song is “Chloroform” by Nothing because it does a quiet-loud-quiet thing that I love.

Brian Jonestown Massacre - Revelation

Dense, long shoegazey psychedelic rock album. The title track (“Vad Hände Med Dem?”) is sung in Swedish. I listened to this album on the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island on a stormy day, which is exactly what it calls for, I think. When I put this album on I skip “Duck and Cover” because it scares the fuck out of me.

Alex G - DSU

Another album that’s great for summer listening. Alex G’s high-pitched voice works really well with the twangy guitar and piano. The lyrics to the tracks on this album are enigmatic as ever, with a bunch of sentimental/emotional lines (“I love you, Harvey, I don’t care” in “Harvey”, for example). Seeing “Sorry" live during his acoustic Seattle show changed my life fall quarter freshman year.

Mac DeMarco - Salad Days

This album is mostly on my list for nostalgia – I did a decent amount of listening to this sophomore year of high school, and I feel like this is the type of music, that lazy-day mix between melancholia and indie guitar. Even though “Chamber of Reflection” got beat to death a few years ago, I still think it holds up, although I’d say my favorites are the first three tracks (so “Salad Days,” “Blue Boy,” and “Brother”). Recorded in Mac DeMarco’s Brooklyn apartment!

Dawson

Aphex Twin - Syro

Slightly less game changing compared to 30 years ago, Aphex Twin’s Syro shows the continuation of his sound. While hits like “180db” grow popular on social media, ambient songs like “aisaitsana”appeal even to audiences not interested in electronic music as a whole.

Machine Girl - Wlfgrl

While in my opinion Wlfgrl is significantly overrated by fans compared to the rest of Machine Girl’s discography, it still shines through as a beautiful album. Their debut on streaming services, this album continues to draw in new fans more than recent works, and esoteric sampling introduces fans to various other niche works such as “The Machine Girl” and “Ginger Claps.”

Joy Again - Forever

No longer named Forever Lesbians, the debut album by Joy Again remains an homage to their former name. A mix of intriguing instrumental tracks and melancholy hits, Forever’s 30 song, 1 hour 17 minute runtime makes current Joy Again fans jealous with its length. The combined length of Joy Agains entire discography since 2014 is less than the length of Forever.

PUP - Self Titled

PUP’s self titled album still hits hard today, despite its 10 year age. Hits like “Reservoir” and “Factories” are a clear demonstration of the talent the band has - vocalist Stefan Babcock’s grandmother’s comment about a “pathetic use of potential” (resulting in the name of the band) are easily proven wrong on this record.

Death’s Dynamic Shroud - NEON GENESIS EVANGELIS

A precursor to their 2015 hit I’ll Try Living Like This, NEON GENESIS EVANGELIS is a must listen for fans of the band. The song “CD Player” is an earlier version of the much more popular song “CD Player, Pt. III”, my personal favorite, “Strange Scenery” creates beautiful soundscapes that almost evoke imagery of the aforementioned strange scenery.

Skyler

(In no particular order)

Kagayaki - Masakatsu Takagi One of my favorite albums of all time. Pure joy for the entire runtime, Masakatsu Takagi’s ear for contemporary classical composing on top of sonically effervescent soundscapes is genuinely so beautiful. I’ve cried to this album –I wanna say, like– 10 times over. His ongoing Marginalia series continues the grounded, blissful tones that Kagayaki started and I couldn’t be happier.

N****s On The Moon: The Powers That B Disc 1 - Death Grips

Conversely, the first half of what would be a completed The Powers That B is composed in what’s nearly an opposite direction to Kagayaki. Compared to their other works, it’s easily overlooked (and while I can absolutely understand why), N****s On The Moon’s dynamic, Björk-fuelled brutalist production and harsh lyricism is such a good time.

You’re Dead! - Flying Lotus

Really incredible hip-hop/jazz-fusion record by Flying Lotus. I remember being given a hand-me-down of this record on vinyl (along top of a fresh copy of his 2010 LP Cosmogramma around 2016, thank you Nolan) and just gawking at the interior artwork while listening to “Tesla.” Really incredible stuff.

Three Love Songs - Ricky Eat Acid

BANGER AFTER BANGER AFTER BANGER. Ricky Eat Acid’s Three Love Songs is in a similar breadth to that of Takagi’s Kagayaki in its minimalist, earthy tones with tracks like “Big Man’s Last Trip Outside” to the grand orchestral airy vocalizations on “I Can Hear Breaking As One,” all accompanied by rounding Moog synths. Sounds like the word “honeycrisp.”

Gray Data - Five Star Hotel

Bombastic harsh noise with gripping discordant beats, Gray Data’s expansion on hardcore EDM means so, so much to me. Incredibly funny and inventive use of sampling (thinking of the siren on “Outside Solaris”). Hypnotic and migraine inducing in the best way possible.

Honorable Mentions: Swans - To Be Kind; Sun Kill Moon - Mom, Benji

Willow Goetting

BLAWG 2014 top albums

Machine Girl - WOLFGRL (2014) (Electronic/breakcore)

Machine Girl is one of the most iconic alternative electronic artists to come out of the 2010s, and has had a large influence on the rise of ‘hyperpop’ and similar genres. WOLFGRL is a favorite of mine not only because of its impeccable tracklist, but also because it heavily features samples from Ginger Snaps (2000). Top tracks: “Frenesi (Machine Girl GabberTrap Mix)”, “Mg1”, and “Out by 16, Dead on the Scene”.

Waveless - Waveless EP (originally released 2014 on BandCamp–says 2017 on Spotify but IDC) (Shoegaze)

The first song on this album is one of my favorite shoegaze songs of all time, and the whole EP is an incredible release. I am pretty sure the band is long gone and broken up now, but it's been a favorite of mine this winter. Top tracks: “Nausea (song for Proski)”, “UPCLOSE/UNCLEAR.”

Alex G - DSU (2014) (Indie rock)

DSU still goes down as one of Alex G’s best albums to date–a perfect follow up to the 2012 release TRICK. It also features a re-recording of the demo “After Ur Gone”, which definitely still recirculates on Spotify as a favorite pick of the rampant ‘alex g archive’ accounts. Top Tracks: “Serpent is Lord”, “Axesteel” and “Harvey”.

Mac Demarco - Salad Days(2014) (Indie/synthpop)

Salad Days planted the seed for the explosion of indie artists from 2014 onwards, with his style still inspiring so many acts coming out today. I still hear “Chamber of Reflection” playing in coffee shops to this very day. Top track: “Treat Her Better.”

Jessica Lea Mayfield - Make My Head Sing…(2014) (Singer-songwriter)

Very sweet and lovely springtime music for when I need some easy listening. I listened to it a lot when I was about to roadtrip to Montana last May, so it holds a very special place in my heart. Top tracks: “Seein* Starz” and “Standing in the Sun.”

Thanks for reading! Be on the lookout for the next joint Blawg Team post, which will see our writers put together some of their favorite lines in music history...

#spotify #2014

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goosemixtapes · 6 months

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max's november 2023 reads

so many online articles this month. which is maybe why i feel like i'm making 0 progress on my hard copy books. in december i'll need to reprioritize, it seems. i also wrote next to nothing this month, which probably explains why i read so many online articles.

fiction

Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene, books 5-6

the latter half of Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin (again)

Shakespeare's Richard III (again, + i started Linda Charnes' Notorious Identity)

Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods by Suzanne Collins (review)

Gregor and the Marks of Secret by Suzanne Collins (review)

Vergil's Georgics, book 3

i continue to chug away at asoiaf #3 but god knows it is neverending

nonfiction

Getting Involved and Staying Regulated by Devon Price (↳ on finding your place in the fight for palestinian liberation)

The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction by Ursula K. Le Guin (↳ on the patriarchal domination of the war narrative, and our other options)

The Cool Kid's Philosopher by Nathan J. Robinson (↳ on Ben Shapiro)

Propaganda 101: How To Defend A Massacre by Nathan J. Robinson (↳ on biased reporting, using the I/P conflict as an example, though this is from 2018 rather than recent)

A Guide For High School Students On How To Avoid Propaganda by Nathan J. Robinson (↳ what the title says; i found it useful despite not being in high school anymore)

the latter half of Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price (review)

What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men? by Clare Dederer (↳ found this one rather disappointing. i like the start, but the gender takes feel lukewarm and imo there's not enough emphasis on the structural vs. individual. this is a nice counterpoint)

Physical Destruction in Whole or in Part by Saree Makdisi (↳ "What we’re witnessing in Gaza, in other words, is not self-defense; it is an opportunistic offensive. It is not a “war,” the word used mendaciously and misleadingly by most of the mainstream Western press; it is a campaign of genocidal violence.")

the first chapter of Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano

the first two chapters of The Great White Bard: How To Love Shakespeare While Talking About Race by Farah Karim-Cooper

a close read of my MFA statement of purpose by Brandon Taylor (↳ on goals, responsibilities, and fictions)

On Mental Hospitals by Ozy Brennan (↳ this is pretty short but very worth it)

How An Algorithm Feels From Inside by Eliezer Yudkowsky (↳ on the psychology of the tree-falls-in-a-forest question)

Scrupulosity Sequence #3: Load-Bearing Things by Ozy Brennan (↳ posts i am clinging to with my fingernails)

Why Are AMAB Trans People Denied The Closet? by Julia Serano (↳ on "gendered socialization" and closeted transfemininity)

Trans Masc Misogyny and the Red Six of Spades by Jude Ellison S. Doyle (↳ "No-one is ever actually a man. Everyone is always in the act of proving they’re a man, first by dominating women and children, then by dominating other men, establishing higher and higher rungs of man-ness until at the end, presumably, the one Real Man in existence gets to be in charge of everyone and everything else.")

Henry Kissinger, War Criminal Beloved By America's Ruling Class, Finally Dies by Spenser Ackerman (↳ clicked for the title, stayed for the comprehensive and vicious takedown of kissinger's crimes)

#max.txt #readings #i also read some fanfiction but that's between me and god.#if you're wondering how i have the time for this i don't. i should be writing. i also don't talk to anyone

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myucornerorg · 29 days

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So the other day I read the first volume of a manga called Magilumiere: Magical Girls Inc., which is set in a world where, kinda like MHA with superheroes, magical girls are a common sight, and being a magical girl is treated like a normal job. Basically, they function as exterminators for these monsters called kaii, and there are multiple companies, of all sizes, that employ magical girls for this purpose.

Anyway, the manga was really cool, but we all know that magical girl transformations (especially techno-magic ones like in this series) look best animated. So naturally, I looked it up to see if there was an anime adaptation. And there is - just not yet. This manga only came out in 2022 in Japan (and it's running in Shonen Jump+, no less), under the title Magilumiere Co. Ltd (Kabushiki Gaisha Majirumie in Japanese) and it only started being released in English by Viz in March of this year. And while an anime version is planned, it's not due out till Q4 of 2024. So I have to wait.

The cast and staff seem pretty good, though. The anime is being made by J.C. Staff (the studio behind many well-known animes, like Azumanga Daioh, the A Certain Magical Index franchise, Saiki K, Food Wars, Revolutionary Girl Utena, and Shakugan no Shana), alongside Studio Moe, which seems to be a pretty new studio with not that many credits. The composer, Makoto Miyazaki, also did the music for One Punch Man and Spy x Family. The script writer Shingo Nagai has also written for Symphogear (so he's no stranger to mahou shoujo). The director, Masahiro Hiraoka, doesn't seem to have much directorial experience (most of his credits on ANN are for artist work, most of which seem to be tied to Studio Moe, which as I mentioned, doesn't have very many credits), but I can overlook that. (Interestingly, a lot of his artist work has been in CG art, including CG for both HeartCatch and Suite PreCure, which makes me think the transformations and maybe attacks will involve CG, though I guess that's expected nowadays).

The cast is interesting too. The two main girls, Kana and Hiromi, are being voiced by Fairouz Ai and Yumiri Hanamori respectively. They previously appeared together in Tropical Rouge PreCure as Cures Summer and Coral respectively (and just last year reprised those roles in the movie PreCure All Stars F), although interestingly here Coral's actress is playing the energetic Hiromi, while Summer's actress is playing the much more reserved and intelligent Kana, which if you know Tropical Rouge is a complete opposite of their Cure characters. But then they have range - Fairouz is also the voice of Jolyne from JoJo and Alisa in Pokémon Concierge, while Yumiri has also played Hayasaka from Kaguya-sama (a character with a varied personality, apparently). So I'm not worried.

The two characters above are the resident programmer at and the boss of the titular Magilumiere. (Yes, the boss is a middle-aged male cosplayer. He's just weird like that). The programmer's name is Kazuo Nikoyama, and rather hilariously given his design, he's going to be voiced by Daiki Yamashita, the same actor who voices Izuku in MHA (I guess the resemblance to Izuku may not have been a coincidence 😂). As for the boss, his name is Kouji Shigemoto, and his planned actor is Rikiya Koyama (Kogorō Mori/Richard Moore in Detective Conan/Case Closed, Jōichiro in Food Wars, and Emiya in the Fate franchise).

Rounding out the currently known cast is nice-guy office worker Midorikawa, who is going to be voiced by Ryota Ohsaka (Keiji in Haikyuu, Sadao/Satan in The Devil is a Part-Timer, and the Japanese voice of Cat Noir).

Anyway, sounds like an interesting series! Unfortunately, Volume 2 of the manga doesn't come out in English until June, so I'll have to wait for that too.

[Picture source]

#slightly off topic #magilumiere co. ltd.#magilumiere magical girls inc.

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kudosmyhero · 2 months

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Batman (vol. 1) #703: The Great Escape

Read Date: June 04, 2023 Cover Date: November 2010 ● Writer: Fabian Nicieza ● Penciler: Cliff Richards ● Inker: Cliff Richards ● Colorist: Ian Hannin ● Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher ● Editor: Mike Marts ◦ Janelle Asselin ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● cool art

● the art really is gorgeous in this issue! it’s a treat to the eyeballs ● 👏👏👏👏👏

Synopsis: Batman and Robin are following a new criminal who calls himself the Getaway Genius, which is an alias used by an old foe of Batman. However, during the chase, the dynamic duo lost him and they decide to search in the sewers, to no avail.

They return to the Batcave, where Damian is pissed at Dick for allowing a common thief to escape. The whole scene reminds Dick of a time when he would berate at Bruce for allowing the original Getaway Genius escape. Dick starts explaining the situation to Damian, but they are interrupted by Red Robin, who arrives with bad news, as their latest failure to capture the thief has made it to the front page of the Gotham Gazette. Dick decides that it's time to put and end to the persecutuion and he goes to talk to the person responsible for the article; Vicki Vale.

After a long time of searching for her at the Gazette building, Dick finally finds her and gives her a message to stop following Bruce Wayne and trying to make connections with him and Batman. However, the visit was not only a warning as Dick manages to place a tracer on Vicki's camera before leaving.

Elsewhere in Gotham, the thief, who turns out to be a woman under the name of Olivia Reynolds II remembers her father, the original Getaway Genius and she starts planning her next robbery.

In the meantime, Damian keeps training in the Batcave, where he is still frustrated at Dick for allowing the thief to escape. Alfred tries to calm him down by telling him that even Bruce, his father, would have reasons to let a "common thief" escape on certain occassions. However, they are both left wondering if Bruce would ever come back to them.

Moments later, there's a victorian ceremony taking place in Gotham, and Vicki Vale is the main reporter and photographer at the Gazette. She keeps track of the people in the gala, but soon she spots a robbery in progress and starts taking pictures of Batman and Robin getting into action. The duo know that the thief is the Getaway Genius again, but they soon lost the thief in the crow. Batman locates her and knocks her out with a strong punch. It is then that they learn that the thief is a female, but she tricks them and manages to run away with her special cloaking suit. Olivia reaches her car without the stolen loot, but when she tries to start it, she realizes that the car has been damaged by Red Robin.

The police arrive soon and arrest Olivia. Batman, Robin and Red Robin watch the scene from the distance and after Red Robin leaves, Dick tells Damian that when Bruce allowed the original Getaway Genius to escape was because he knew that the man was stealing medicine for his own illness. Bruce would then pay for the stolen medicines and allowed the man to be alive long enough to share time with his daughter. Damian is touched by the story and he would like to know more about his father, but Dick tells him that he will, whenever Bruce returns.

Later that night, Vicki is watching some of the pictures she managed to take from the vigilantes and she is determined to prove their connections to the Wayne family. Vicki has also discovered the traced that Dick placed in her camera and is only a few steps closer to find the truth.

(https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Batman_Vol_1_703)

Fan Art: bat family young justice style. by robert023

#dc #dc comics #my dc read #red robin #comics #comic books #batman #fan art #fanart

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tahtahfornow · 1 year

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not quite an ask, but - rec me some poetry!! ❤️

omg you !!!! you asked the ultimate keep-me-up-all-night-thinking question why would you do this. why. i love you so much.

so i guess i should skip (?) probably (?) the ppl that tumblr already seems to be deeply familiar with e.g. richard siken, ocean vuong, franny choi, hanif abdurraqib, ada limon all coming to mind here, though i def love sooo much of what i've read by them & they deserve their dues!

and then idk if i should also skip (?) maybe (?) some of the really obvious super-famous suspects like sylvia plath, anne sexton, t.s. eliot, e.e. cummings, w.b. yeats, frank o'hara, uh. whose poetry i also love. but like? idk probably these are not deep cuts either but i am extremely fond of them so?

mmm okay so that leaves the small intersection of like .... poetry i've actually read (x) poets i don't see floating around tumblr all the time anyway (x) poets still alive or only fairly recently dead and thus not as stupidly famous as shakespeare or neruda?? (spoiler they're still very famous as far as poets are concerned i'm not like. that deep.)

so anyway i think that little list of poets might include: jericho brown (just finally read the tradition, absolutely gorgeous), natasha trethewey, edward hirsch, louise gluck, dianne seuss (recently read frank: sonnets - lovely!), tracy k smith, marie howe, sharon olds, eavan boland, seamus heaney. oh deep cut, i just discovered a young poet named marcus scott williams with some cool stuff! emily skaja and kathryn merwin might be younger/lesser known/deeper cuts too? gosh i know there are so many deserving others and also cool lesser known poets i'm not listing but my mind is like. yknow. whoooooosh.

oh also for easier reading etc here are some links to a few beloved poems by ppl from all these various lists in no logical order whatsoever:

"dear dr. frankenstein" by jericho brown

"ave maria" by frank o'hara (does not get enough love here on tumblr?? all i ever see is "having a coke with you" which don't get me wrong is so so lovely but why do i never see this one on the dash?? my absolute o'hara fave)

"[intimacy unhinged, unpaddocked me]" by diane seuss

"white lies" by natasha trethewey

"for the sleepwalkers" by edward hirsch

"death, the last visit" by marie howe

"that the science of cartography is limited" by eavan boland (some of y'all will def recognize this uh !! i know !! for reasons!)

"since feeling is first" by e.e. cummings

"perihelion: a history of touch" by franny choi

"digging" by seamus heaney

"young" by anne sexton

#asks #broomsticks #poetry #sorry this list is like the shallowest little tip of the iceberg but !!#i hope it contains at least one or two discoveries !!#<3<3<3

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usafphantom2 · 5 months

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Epic video shows B-36 takeoff and landing in James Stewart’s Strategic Air Command Re-edited in 4 K

Strategic Air Command movie

The cool video in this post shows some neat clips of the awesome Convair B-36 strategic bomber taking off and landing.

The footage is taken from James Stewart’s Strategic Air Command movie and has been re-edited in 4 K so, as told in the video description, if you have a big screen 4 K or 8K tv this looks awesome.

Strategic Air Command is a 1955 American military aviation film starring James Stewart and was the first of four Hollywood films that depicted the role of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) in the Cold War era.

youtube

TAP ARROW BUTTON TO VIEW☝️

The B-47 Stratojet, the newest bomber of Strategic Air Command

My father was a navigator /bombardier in the B-47. Strategic Air Command was the movie that my parents watched on their first movie date. This movie introduced B-47 Stratojet as the newest fastest bomber in the world. This aircraft was ready for serious business, armed with a MK 28 1.1 Mt hydrogen bomb.

My parents Dad, Richard Sheffield, and my Mom, Rosie Chard, met each other on a blind date in Sacramento, California. Dad had a really nice bright red Oldsmobile that he bought the day he graduated from Cadets.

Epic video shows B-36 takeoff and landing in James Stewart’s Strategic Air Command Re-edited in 4

My Dad, Richard Sheffield

He had sold an old car a few years before while he was a college student at Wheaton. With no plans to get married and certainly no plans to start a family, the monthly payments were hefty. He wanted to treat himself with the car of his dreams. He agreed to go on the blind date reluctantly because his Buddy did not have a car. My mother also did not want to go on a blind date. Neither one of them had ever been on one before.

A blind date is when you’re set up by your friends to go out with a stranger that your friends approve of but you’ve never met.

When Dad saw my Mother, he knew she was the one for him. It was love at first sight. My mother had an excellent job as a secretary at Procter & Gamble. She was also going to modeling school. She looked like a movie star; after dating each other for four months, they eloped and got married at Reno, Nevada.

Born into the wild blue yonder

Epic video shows B-36 takeoff and landing in James Stewart’s Strategic Air Command Re-edited in 4 K

My Mom, Rosie Chard

A year went by, my young parents are both 23 years old when they were anxiously awaiting the birth of their first child (myself). Alone in a southern town without any family the agreement was my mother and the baby would stay in the hospital until my father came back from flying bomb runs in Europe.

The Air Force could not wait for my mother to go into natural labor. This was a matter of national security. The doctors induced my mother into early labor, so that my father could see his firstborn child before he left for two weeks.

The Air Force song I heard thousands of times during my childhood starts like this …. Off we go into the wild blue yonder flying high into the sky.

SR-71 T-Shirts

CLICK HERE to see The Aviation Geek Club contributor Linda Sheffield’s T-shirt designs! Linda has a personal relationship with the SR-71 because her father Butch Sheffield flew the Blackbird from test flight in 1965 until 1973. Butch’s Granddaughter’s Lisa Burroughs and Susan Miller are graphic designers. They designed most of the merchandise that is for sale on Threadless. A percentage of the profits go to Flight Test Museum at Edwards Air Force Base. This nonprofit charity is personal to the Sheffield family because they are raising money to house SR-71, #955. This was the first Blackbird that Butch Sheffield flew on Oct. 4, 1965.

It was my destiny and honor to be born into the wild blue yonder.

The Air Force was new, B-47 was new, and so was I!

Be sure to check out Linda Sheffield Miller (Col Richard (Butch) Sheffield’s daughter, Col. Sheffield was an SR-71 Reconnaissance Systems Officer) Twitter Page Habubrats SR-71 and Facebook Page Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder for awesome Blackbird’s photos and stories.

Photo credit: Linda Sheffield Miller

B-47 navigator/bombardier recalls when his Stratojet flew the largest Nuclear Bomb ever built to Spain

Richard “Butch” Sheffield is on the far right in the photo. His crew was named Best B-47 crew in 1960

Linda Sheffield Miller

Grew up at Beale Air Force Base, California. I am a Habubrat. Graduated from North Dakota State University. Former Public School Substitute Teacher, (all subjects all grades). Member of the DAR (Daughters of the Revolutionary War). I am interested in History, especially the history of SR-71. Married, Mother of three wonderful daughters and four extremely handsome grandsons. I live near Washington, DC.

@Habubrats71 via X

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safyresky · 8 months

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😈, 🛒, ✨, ❌, and 👀!

😈 Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?

Every time Jacqueline mentions @shittyelfchild in Frostmas, it is done on purpose just to hurt @shittyelfwriter because I love her >:)

I also made Blaise 6'1 just to be mean to Richard lmao. That was recent and a delightful overdramatic petty moment!

🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc.

evil uncles. this one confuses me a lot. my uncles aren't evil, they're just. you know. thy suck. but they aren't evil and haven't like done anything bad to me? one doesn't like me and the other one is too right leaning for my liking most days (and also very inappropriate with jokes tbh)

i do a lot of fluff and hugs and such. i like hugs and fluff. they heal me as much as taking a bat to glass did sunday! lots of setting matching the atmosphere, like pathetic fallacy but instead of weather it's the location, location, location!

i very much enjoy imagery that's like. idk how to explain it. but it's like this:

SHIT LIKE THAT!!!! kills me dead EVERY TIME. I LOVE IMAGERY.

✨ Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉

My dialogue fucking SLAPS. I am so fucking witty with these fucks it's ASTOUNDING.

❌ What's a trope you will never write?

ANYTHING miscommunication related. ESPECIALLY if it's v stupid like y sees x talking to z and hears something out of context and instead of asking them about it, ghosts them and dips. HATE that, REFUSE to write it!!! AH! IF IT'S GONNA BE MISCOMMUNICATION, IT'S GOING TO INVOLVE HUGE ELEMENTAL/MAGICAL BLOWOUTS. AH.

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

hehehehe okay okay okay. Okay. Okay. This one wip. That I have yet to start. BUT AM GOING TO START. Is STEAMY. Involves the following:

dite and jacquie spending the night together for the first time in the traditional sense (they fuck)

dite is the goddess of pleasure. so. it's mind blowing.

so much so. jacqueline straight up sprite sleeps about it

dite thinks she fucked her gf to death. she goes on an adventure and learns about sprite sleeps from, regrettably, jack

when jacquie wakes up she's MORTIFIED but dite is v good at like, spoiling her and they spa about it and she's like okay this was pretty amazing, i just had sex so good it knocked me the fuck out

THEN SHE LEARNS IT'S A) BEEN 3 DAYS AND B) DITE ASKED JACK ABOUT SPRITE SLEEPS AND TOLD HIM W H Y

JACQUELINE IS LIKE THIS IS MORTIFYING HE IS GOING TO ROAST ME I NEED TO HIDE AND PROMPTLY GOES TO SEE MELUSINE OF @kscribbs's fic Miller's Law fame (which, if anyone reading hasn't read it, please do! K is a brilliant writer and I LOVE LOVE LOVE ML sO MUCH. IT'S GOT ME AS BAD AS DITE GOT JACQUIE)

Idk why she does this, Jacquie just told me she goes to see mel about it and Mel was like "absolutely she does" and I went "cool, gr8, let's see how this goes"

Well, Mel makes her a cupperty and they chat and like she feels less mortified after Mel roasts Jack probably and then Mel's like "woman. you got shagged so good you literally went into a coma. let's celebrate that"

AND THEY DO

AND THEY GET VERY VERY WASTED ABOUT IT

AND THE NEXT DAY JACQUIE WAKES UP LIKE HA! THAT FUCKING HAPPENED! OH SHIT I MISSED ELLE'S BDAY

and when she texts Elle and explains why Elle is liek FUCK YEAH BUDDY, HIGH FIVE, GIMMIE THE DEETS AND LET'S CELEBRATE ABOUT IT

I have yet to start it but I KNOW the beats and some of the best lines of dialogue (my favourite being "I love your dress! It looks good on you! But it'll look even better on my bedroom floor >:)" followed by a squeaky 245 and Jacqueline going "sorry, it's going to WHAT?!?!"

My god. She's so funny. She gets so flustered around Dite. What a nerd >:)

ANYWAY THANKS FOR THE ASK! SORRY FOR THE RAMBLES, BUT ALSO NOT SORRY LMAO. I am dying to write the above thing but have yet to find the time/open the doc/work out the kinks of the mel and jacquie bits, but my god do I want to have this thing existing. it's so, so fucking funny ajhdfuiehorjeo

#dani answers #someheroescarryfloss #ask box shenanigans #long post #sorta #cs snips and wips #writing #ty for sending!!! :)

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reallyintoscience · 1 year

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Ten books to know me

Rules: 10 (non-ancient) books for people to get to know you better, or that you just really like.

I was tagged by @mathomhouse-e probably about fifteen internet years ago now. But here we are and thank you!

Who knows what "non-ancient" even means, so here's some books that feel important to me and the way I think about the world.

The Wood Wife by Terri Windling This is THE book to know me. It's about art, creation, what it's like to be a creator of art and poetry and it's also the most beautiful invocation of a supernatural world embedded in a real landscape. It made me love the desert. It has a wonderful trickster character, and found family, and stepping into your power as a creator.

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson If you ask me, this is the foundational cyberpunk novel (I don't get on with Neuromancer). It changed the way I thought about writing, technology and transhumanism and it's so funny. It brings in memes in their original meaning, mythology and cyberpunk. One of the main characters is called Hiro Protagonist. It doesn't devolve into obligatory romance. (Fine and great in its place, but not when it's there in spite of the plot.) I have never liked anything else Stephenson has ever written, but THIS. This is wonderful.

The Last Herald-Mage by Mercedes Lackey Cheating: it's a trilogy. Formative Sad Gay Angst Wizards. This was such a revelation to read in the 90s, as a baby bi. A gay protagonist, actually on-page, not just subtext. Coming out and dealing with homophobia, having sex. Gay protagonist. ALSO the melodrama oh my god Vanyel. I really don't know who'd come out top in a drama-off, him or Dream. But also, Van's struggle with isolating himself to protect his feelings, and let's not forget the cool powers and the magic soulbonding horses. FORMATIVE.

A Land Fit for Heroes by Richard K. Morgan Cheating: it's a trilogy. Matured killer gay wizard-rogue. RINGIL ESKIATH OWNS MY SOUL. He wouldn't want it but too bad. He is my perfect character. He has a bloodthirsty, talking magic sword. It's probably trying to eat his soul. He has a Very Straight warrior best friend and together they have a Very Lesbian crack-addicted elf best friend. They are horrible bastards, and Ringil fucks so much and in all contexts. And the mythology is super cool. Also the politics. This is just perfect for me. (It has so so many content warnings; feel free to hit me up if you're thinking of trying it out.)

The Belgariad by David Eddings Cheating: it's a quintet. Two quintets, if you want to add in the Malloreon. I'm not sure I could go back to it now because the tropes have worn out so much and the gender politics are terrible, but I have read it so many times. This was my first high fantasy epic quest series, and the characters are so dear to me. The way that magic words in this world is refreshingly simple, and I can respect that.

Generation Loss / Cass Neary Series by Elizabeth Hand This is. So fucking good. Cass is The Last Punk Standing, an artist in a fine art street photographer sense, a nihilistic, substance abusing wonderful disaster. This series is part mystery, part grimy supernatural, part literary. It uses Cass's art skills to get her into and out of her problems. It embeds subcultures, eras and the supernatural or just the unsettling so well into the story that it doesn't really feel like an urban fantasy. Again, a lot of content warnings.

The Wicked + The Divine by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie Thiiiiiis graphic novel might still be cheating because there are ten trade books but whatever. It's everything I want a graphic novel to be and the art is fucking gorgeous. It has fandom, music, transformation, gods and monsters and it's just so so fucking cool. What if, every ninety years, twelve humans become gods from existing but not matching pantheons. The deal is they are loved and hated, they're famous for two years, and then they die. It is fantastic.

Machineries of Empire by Yoon Ha Lee Cheating... look I cheat. Whatevs. It's a series. Beautiful twisty space scifi built on a somewhat impenetrable system of math and torture to create the most interesting magic system you ever did see. (You do need a high tolerance for being thrown in the worldbuilding deep end; there will be no infodumps.) There's such wonderful politics and assassins and the best, best Magnificent Bastard ever written, and bodysharing and loyalty and an on-page uniform kink that has to be seen to be believed. It is a wonder and a glory.

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke One of these things is not the like others, but this book is so important to me. The tenderness, the deep thinking about what it means to be a creator. I have it in multiple bindings because whenever I come across it I can't resist.

Close to the Knives: A Memoir of Disintegration by David Wojnarowicz Also a bit of a departure, but Wojnarowicz is so important to me. His art, his activism, but most of all the way he made journaling part of his arts practice. The queer history here, the utter bullshit genocide of the queer community in the 80s and 90s. But the love and the joy as well. His fierce criticism of the culture he lived in. Just. He's my art hero.

The almost made it but I've run out of space: Watership Down by Richard Adams and The Administration series by Manna Francis.

Um, I don't know who did this at the time and who didn't, but if you didn't and you'd like to: @issylra, @beholdme, @ml-nolan, @4ratsinatrenchcoat, @beholdingthegaytimes

#books and reading #tag games #long post

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marley-manson · 1 year

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Hey Marley, it'd be cool if you would drop a list of the masculinity in film books you're reading. No pressure tho!

Oh yeah for sure, lol sorry I have a tendency to default to vagueness when I'm talking about anything outside of fandom.

There's a lot, I went on a spree for a few weeks lol, so this is under a cut

Only one I've read cover to cover so far is Armed Forces: Masculinity and Sexuality in the American War Film - Robert Eberwein which was both interesting and frustrating in that a lot of it was (mildly defensively lol, as a response to a lot of queer film theory) explaining how a lot of homoerotic shit isn't intended to be interpreted as actually gay, but I'm glad I read it because I was specifically trying to understand how contemporary audiences viewed homoerotic shit.

Books I've read at least a chapter of:

Men, Masculinity, and the Media - Steve Craig

Running Scared: Masculinity and the Representation of the Male Body - Peter Lehman

Masculinity: Bodies, Movies, Culture - Peter Lehman

Masculinity and Popular Television - Rebecca Feasey

Buffoon Men: Classic Hollywood Comedians and Queered Masculinity - Scott Balcerzak

Shadows of Doubt: Negotiations of Masculinity in American Genre Films - Barry Keith Grant

Screening the Male: Exploring Masculinities in Hollywood Cinema - Steven Cohan

Laughing Matters: Understanding Film, Television, and Radio Comedy - John Mundy, Glyn White

Laughing Hysterically: American Screen Comedy of the 1950s - Ed Sikov (highly recommend just for the essay on Some Like It Hot)

What Made Pistachio Nuts?: Early Sound Comedy and the Vaudeville Aesthetic - Henry Jenkins

also shoutout to this article

Books I've obtained but haven't looked through yet:

American Cinema of the 1970s: Themes and Variations - Lester D. Friedman

Hollywood Androgyny - Rebecca Bell-Metereau

The New Hollywood: What the Movies Did With the New Freedom of the Seventies - James Bernardoni

Manhood in Hollywood: From Bush to Bush - David Greven

Girls Will Be Boys: Crossdressed Women, Lesbians, and American Cinema - Laura Horak

Hard Bodies: Hollywood Masculinity in the Regan Era - Susan Jeffords

The Remasculinization of America: Gender and the Vietnam War - Susan Jeffords (I've actually read the first Jeffords in uni and parts of the second but they're pretty psychoanalytical so ymmv)

Deviant Eyes, Deviant Bodies: Sexual Re-orientations in Film and Video - Chris Straayer

Masculinity in Fiction and Film: Representing Men in Popular Cultures 1945-2000 - Brian Baker

Masculinity in the Contemporary Romantic Comedy - John Alberti

Out in Culture: Gay, Lesbian and Queer Essays on Popular Culture - Corey K. Creekmur, Alexander Doty

Flaming Classics: Queering the Film Canon - Alexander Doty

Making Things Perfectly Queer: Interpreting Mass Culture - Alexander Doty

Vested Interests: Crossdressing and Cultual Anxiety - Marjorie Garber

Queer Images: A History of Gay and Lesbian Film in America - Harry M. Benshoff

Ghost Faces: Hollywood and Post-Millennial Masculinity - David Greven

Ethereal Queer: Television, Historicity, Desire - Amy Villarejo

Gender Terrains in African Cinema - Dominica Dipio

Masculinity and Monstrosity in Contemporary Hollywood Films - Kirk Combe and Brenda Boyle

Open Secret: Gay Hollywood 1928-1998 - David Ehrenstein

Screened Out: Playing Gay in Hollywood From Edison to Stonewall - Richard Barrios

Hollywood from Vietnam to Regan - Robin Wood

In a Lonely Street: Film Noir, Genre, Masculinity - Frank Krutnik

Unamerican Hollywood: Politics and Film in the Blacklist Era - Frank Krutnik and others

#text post

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tellthemeerkatsitsfine · 1 year

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Last week I saw a documentary about the Edinburgh Festival’s Late ‘n’ Live show, which had multiple moments that I turned into gifs and posted on here.

Another angle on Cowgate, featuring John Oliver brutally attacking the thing with a pipe, Daniel Kitson with a hammer, Demitri Martin looking a bit like a mechanic from a movie working on a car with his sleeves rolled up, David O’Doherty appearing to mainly be there as John Oliver’s cheerleader, and Adam Hills narrating the event through freestyle rap:

Adam Hills kissing Johnny Vegas while Daniel Kitson and Ross Noble hold him down, as they try to drag him off stage because he’s overrun by 20 minutes and it’s 3:30 AM and he’s drunk and refusing to leave:

David O’Doherty throwing himself wildly at Daniel Kitson, the floor, and Jason Byrne:

Russell Howard shouting at people:

(I should acknowledge at this point that I’m not an actual gif maker who knows how to do colour correction and all that cool stuff, and all due respect to people who are, when I say I’ve “made gifs” I just mean I cut out a video clip and put it in an online gif converter so I can show people something.)

I enjoyed that, and it made me go through my folder where I’ve saved all the gifs I’ve made for this blog in the last couple of years. Here are a few of my favourites from that folder:

From the first ever episode of The Last Leg (first episode of their actual show, after the London 2012 ones), which is after the watershed, and it has been established that this live show is allowed to say anything but “cunt”. This has been established a few times when guests - notably Miriam Margolyes twice in a couple of minutes one time, and on another occasion, of all people, Richard Osman - have dropped the C Bomb, and every time, it makes Josh and Alex laugh while Adam Hills has to sheepishly look at the camera and say that joking aside, we genuine apologize to anyone offended by that language.

Anyway, that first episode has a sense of tension throughout, like Josh Widdicombe and Adam Hills both couldn’t quite believe they’re been given this show, and were scared of doing anything that could fuck it up. Alex Brooker seemed much more relaxed than the other two, and this gif is of the first swear word that got used on the show. I saved it because I think it’s funny that even without sound, you can tell exactly when Alex Brooker says the word “fuck” just by looking at Josh Widdicombe and seeing the moment when he flinches and winces a bit, clearly for a split second forgetting that they’re allowed to say that one, because he’s so nervous about anyone doing anything that will fuck up this opportunity.

This next one I saved because, comedy aside, everything else aside, genuinely fucking impressive. Seriously. Stephen K. Amos picking up Daniel Kitson and throwing him on the ground at the Late ‘n’ Live show at the Edinburgh Festival in 2005 - the fact that that happened is weird and funny and it’s amazing that it’s still on YouTube after all these years. But that alone would not have been worth turning into a gif. I made this one because I have spent 18 years learning and then teaching a sport where that exact thing is one of the more complex and difficult moves to get right, and that is very well done. I’ve coached national-level athletes who’ve practised for years and don’t do that move that well. I could once have done it about that well, back when I was still competing, because it was one of my favourite moves and I spent hours and hours for years learning to get it right. That little hip movement he does halfway through - that looks simple, but it’s fucking hard to do when you’re carrying someone’s body weight. And too easy to feel like you’ve got it right, but someone watching from the outside can see you where nowhere near.

I don’t know why comedian Stephen K. Amos is able to do a wrestling move better than a lot of high-level competitive wrestlers. I looked it up and didn’t find anything about him having experience as a wrestler. Meaning that’s amazing. Forget about the novelty of comedians at a late-night gig taking off their shirts and physically attacking each other on stage - the real story here is that Stephen K. Amos is a great loss to combat sports.

Desiree Burch scoring an own goal while playing the goalkeeper position, in a one-on-one game:

One of the final episodes of Mock the Week, Ed Byrne using one of his last Scenes We’d Like to See to fuck with Dara O’Briain one more time. Some things never changed in 17 years.

Hugh Dennis and Noel Fielding breaking the rule of Taskmaster by being genuinely pretty good at something athletic. Solid golf swings with pool cues.

Last year when I re-watched Taskmaster season 4, I made a bunch of gifs out of it. Here’s Joe Lycett breaking a bucket:

And here he is calling Alex a fucking prick for making him eat his own sandwich:

For some reason I always find it really funny when on The Last Leg, a live show where people are always conscious of how they look because if they do something wrong it can’t be fixed in the edit, people use the little TV above the camera that shows what’s being filmed as a mirror. Here are Josh Widdicombe and Joe Thomas using it to fix their hair:

The time Russell Howard said something on an episode of Good News that made my blood run cold for a second, even though I know all it really means is some writer on the show found a meme and added it to the script.

No you fucking didn’t, Russell. You didn’t find anything on Tumblr, you don’t hang out on Tumblr. At least, you’d better fucking not. No one’s supposed to know we’re here.

Sarah Kendall showing off her karate skills on Question Team, which I saved for reasons related entirely to me looking very respectfully and non-objectifyingly with my female gaze. My gay female gaze.

...Here is a gif of Sue Perkins that I made for the exact same reason:

Here is Sean Lock drinking from a massive bottle of whiskey on 8 Out of 10 Cats:

Finally, a few gifs from the greatest video on all of YouTube. I’ve heard Nish Kumar explain that Joel Dommett has a theory that all comedians play football the same way they do comedy. Nish says he believes this theory applies in his own case, because when he plays football, he is “wildly inconsistent and often found on the left wing.”

Let’s see if this holds true for any others. Lee Mack will take any opportunity that comes his way to try something fancy and show-off-y, and it works quite a bit more often than it doesn’t but not every time:

Russell Howard is very enthusiastic but can get ahead of himself in his enthusiasm, and that sometimes trips him up:

Sometimes Alun Cochrane is off doing his own thing, out of step with his peers, and every once in a while you just look over and say, “Wait, what the hell is Alun Cochrane doing over there?”

John Oliver is willing to throw himself into things hard and get knocked around for the sake of his sport/art:

Andy Zaltzman will attack a joke/ball and then stay on it like a fucking terrier, tenaciously coming back to it just when you think he’s letting it go:

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what-if-i-just-did · 11 months

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Writing Realistic Future Names

You writing something with aliens? Dystopian future? Doctor Who fic? 'Humans are the Weird ones' post? Need names?

Are you, like me, tired of dystopian names which are normal names written dumbly, or futuristic settings with normal names (looking at you Star Trek), or absolute nonsense? Well here's some cool ways to get futuristic names that make sense.

Celeb and Fandom Names

Names like Draco, Hermione, Sherlock, Mycroft, Enola, Benedict, Castiel, Destiel, Jensen, Danneel, Spock, Katniss, Primrose, Teyla, Elsa, Anakin, Loki, Constantine, Jinx, Rhianna, Catra, Adora, Zendaya, Halsey, Misha/Mischa, Korra, Katara, Toph, Cardi, Mabel, Ariel, Whoopi, Madonna, Oprah, Usain etc are gonna become increasingly popular, like they already are, even more so once enough time passes that people stop associating them with certain pieces of media or certain famous people.

Other Language Names

Historically, in different times different countries have a total global influence, and that will effect names. Right now, it's the USA. During the Rennasaince, it was France. We're pretty close to having Japan and other Asian cultures become the next big influence, what with all the anime everyone globally is watching/reading. Now, depending on how far in the future you're writing, add global influence from other countries. Dutch names like Marjolein and Ninthe and Brechtje, pronounced to the accent of the setting of your story. Try to go with cultures who have potential to be big: don't choose some small country somewhere that nobody has ever heard of. Go for Native American or Mexican or Russian or Japanese or Egyptian.

Surnames

Use surnames for first names! A lot of names that used to be surnames are now gender neutral first names, such as Avery. Use surnames! Johnson, Harris, Smith. All of it!

Strange Shortenings

Shorten traditional names in unntraditional ways! Richard always gets shortened to Richie or (for some unfathomable reason) Dick. What about Char? Chard? Those are kick-ass names. Chris for Christian? Cancelled. It's Tian now. Cathy for Catherine? Wrong. Let's make it Rhine. Amy from Amelia? Let's screw with that, turn it into Ammy. You get it.

Pretty Words

People tend to call their children by name of something pretty, and then those names exist untill after the words have lost their meaning. Right now, most of our names are Biblical Hebrew and Latin and Old English/German. We're at the point where slowly, child names are gonna mean things in today's language again. It's already happening a little; Dawn and Hope and Autumn... but give me children called Justice and Fauna and Prime and Amethyst and Earth. Ash and Queen and Happy and Light and Feline. Give me twins called Sapphire and Sapphic, like we call our twins Catherine and Caithlynn or Tim / Timothy and Tom / Thomas now.

Spelling

Spelling is going to shift with the years, and you want your names to reflect this. This one pretty much only works for at least a hundred years into the future. Here's some guidelines of what spelling might become:

t / th = d

s / k = c

ee = i

a = e (sometimes)

y = i (sometimes)

ks = x

o = oe

h = h (add more often)

Examples: Katherine = Caderine, Timothee = Dimoedhi, Blake = Bleke, Susanna = Cucennah etc. Of course, you can do it your own way, or only use some of these guidelines if you want. Feel free to play around with it. If you chose to go for this, keep in mind that there will still be some names in old spelling, just like we still have towns called Kooperdeck and stuff like that. This technique sounds dangerously close to the "say names while your mouth is full of oreos" technique that some dystopian writers use that I hate, but because it's based on logic and what the future might actually be like, as long as you use this in moderation, it'll sound really cool. Out of these examples, Caderine and Bleke are better to use than Dimoedhi and Cucennah, because "Timothee" and "Susanna" have been pretty much lost. If that's what you're looking for though, then that's your thing, I just personally like to be able to see realistic names and eventhough those names are based on logical prediction, they sound made-up.

Gender

You need to pay attention to the percieved gender of names. You can use names that are gendered or slightly gendered right now as gender neutral names. But if you're inventing new names, do pay attention to whatever percieved gender they have in your universe. You can use Chard and Jensen for girls, Caderine and Sapphire for guys. In fact, you should definetly use names like Loki and Earth and Rhine as non-binary names.

Disclaimer: I haven't studied history, and most things I reference here as 'historically, x has happened and is therefore likely to repeat in the future' are just things I've picked up on and heard about and logically deduced, and they could be wrong. However, I consider myself very smart and I really really like history, so you should consider this as a fairly accurate depection. Just know that if someone who actually studied or researched this topic says I'm wrong then I'm probably wrong.

So there you go! How to write realistic future names. Have fun!

#writeblr #hfy #character names #future #writing #dystopia #tw star trek mention #fanfiction

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