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helenbucher · 1 year

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cute but deadly 🔥 my team hehe

#helen bucher #pokemon #pokemon violet #digital #procreate #illustration

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dusoir · 1 year

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Writing and creating my memoire almost felt like an impossible task. Starting with a structure was one of the first difficulties I encountered. Putting things in order and trying to understand how to connect them seemed not to fit my way of working. I made different structures and then ended up writing something that did not really resonate with me. The initial title was Motheriality, and I would talk a lot about the idea of a living home, a home resembling a living organism and a way of communicating without words, via osmosis. From my emotions going into the materials and then to the viewer. I changed most of that and decided to go with the flow. Taking my pieces as a starting point I mainly explained the thought-process and making process, then I connected those to theorists and artists. The main artists I used are, Helen Marten, Marisa Merz, Heidi Bucher and Louie Bourgeois. The main theorists I used are Karen Barad, Ursula Le Guin, Tim Ingold and Jane Bennet.

I struggled throughout the months. My motivation towards making had already left me after the Compote exhibition last summer. I got to a point of hating my pieces and rejecting them and wanting to stop using latex. I don’t know where that anger came from but it was surely directed at my pieces. The exhibition interrupted my process of orderly making in a state of flow and, once that balance and equilibrium was broken, it was hard to get back into the same state of mind as before the exhibition. Interruptions, wether they be my job. holidays, breaks, exhibitions or something else, are very damaging for my process. The Mémoire was one of those big interruptions. I felt almost guilty to make work and I felt my stream of thoughts interrupted by worries about my thesis. Having to go back in time chronologically was also unsettling at times. I felt, at the end of the memoire, the need of going back to the beginning and start making the same work I had already made at the beginning of the course. A sort of nostalgia.

Something I also didn’t enjoy about the memoire was to have to use words to explain my work. It felt like a paradox, considering that the main reason why I make work is to avoid language.

Having no motivation feels like having the haviest backpack on your shoulders. You can still walk but your movement forward is barely noticeable. Progressing is almost painful and frustrating. You know you can do it but the effort it takes is discouraging. i wish I had enjoyed writing the Memoire.

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cindyglitters · 2 years

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✨💖🧙🏻‍♀️Gorgeous art by Helen Bucher on Instagram and Twitter.🧙🏻‍♀️💖✨

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fantrashgirlbag · 4 years

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https://www.instagram.com/p/B0mBIp8Invx/

I’m obsessed with Helen’s art style!!! Visit her instagram!

#helen bucher #stranger things art

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yagirlqueenie · 5 years

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Redraw @helenbucher ‘s drawing for her DTIYS on insta!!

#draw this in your style #redrawhelen #helen bucher #flowers #floral #rose #roses #cute #pretty #beauty #beautiful #queenie draws #drawing #digital art #artists on tumblr

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theheartofthegryffindorwolf · 7 years

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Name our goddamn women. Our women who fight for their countries and their religions. Our women who educate children. Our women who strive for success. Our women who protect those who cannot protect themselves. Our women who use their privilege to rebuild lives. Our women who raise awareness for global and personal issues. Our women who achieve great scientific breakthroughs. They are authors, dancers, scientists, beauticians, engineers, accountants, astronauts, police officers, actors, leaders, activists, musicians, soldiers, they are anything and everything they could want to be. But our women have names. Don't just stick them with the label of a race or religion, or some shallow celebrity comparison, or whatever words you use to cheapen their achievements. NAME THEM.

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automaticvr · 4 years

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vimeo

Cyberpunk is a genre of literature that is set in the near dystopian future that contemplates technological advancements and how they affect society. Cyberpunk’s vision has evolved with the media landscape and is still prevalent as a sub-genre throughout these digital environments. This video essay aims to explore these neon-drenched melancholic spaces within. Throughout my video essay I include film/tv clips, video game sequences, GIFs, ambient score and quotes from Cyberpunk literature to conceptualize these digital spaces. Cyberpunk’s contemporary vivid audiovisual aesthetics form an alluring, ethereal space to contemplate virtual identity. The remediation of these digital spaces form an assemblage of digital identity through the influence of technology, the movement and constant state of flux of these environments are interconnected within the terminal identity of the embodiment of the user. Bio: Jordon J. Jacobson is an M.A. candidate in Cinema Studies at San Francisco State University. He earned a B.A. in History while studying at Washington State University. His areas of research include affect theory, cinematic mood, aesthetic analysis of postmodern noir, genre cinema, media history, digital aesthetics, cinematic memory, and game studies. References: Bolter, Jay David. and Richard Grusin. Remediation: Understanding New Media. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2000. Nakamura, Lisa. Digitizing Race: Visual Cultures of the Internet. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008. Bucher, Taina. and Anne Helmond. “The Affordances of Social Media Platforms.” In The SAGE Handbook of Social Media, edited by Jean Burgess, Thomas Poell, and Alice Marwick, 233-253. London and New York: SAGE Publications, 2018. "When the Machines Stop: Fantasy, Reality, and Terminal Identity in "Neon Genesis Evangelion" and "Serial Experiments Lain" " -Susan J. Napier “WICKED CITIES Cyberculture and the reimagining of identity in the ‘non-Western’ metropolis” - Gregory B Lee and Sunny S K Lam References: Abbott, Carl. "Cyberpunk Cities: Science Fiction Meets Urban Theory. Journal of Planning Education and Research 27, no. 2 (2007): 122-31. Anno, Hideaki. Neon Genesis Evangelion. Collection 0:4 Collection 0:4. 2000. Tokyo, Japan: Gainax and Netflix. Streaming. Gibson, William. Neuromancer. New York: Ace Science Fiction Books, 1984. Leary, David and Jim Walls. Blade Runner. Computer Software. Las Vegas, NV. Westwood Studios. 1997. Marker, Chris, dir. Sans Soleil. 1983. Paris, France: Argos Films, and Criterion Collection. DVD. Oshii, Mamoru. Ghost in the Shell. 1995. Tokyo, Japan: Shochiku. and Production I.G. DVD. Paco, Jordi de. The Red Strings Club. Computer Software. Valencia, Spain. Devolver Digital. 2018. Pynchon, Thomas. Bleeding Edge. New York: Penguin Press, 2013. Soundtrack: 輕描淡寫, “我昨晚梦见你了,” 2018, track 1 on 小圈子, Bludhoney. Streaming. Diamondstein & Sangam, “I Wish I Had More To Offer” 2017, track 1 on Lullabies For Broken Spirits, Doom Trip Records. Streaming. Helen, “Night City,” 2017, track 4 on 聖域, Self-Publish. Streaming. Sangam x Origami Girl, “Empty Inside,” 2018, track 7 on Empty Inside, Collapsed Structures. Streaming.

#Vimeo

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bad-puns-and-even-worse-magic · 6 years

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The Phoenix of the MCU: How Tony Stark’s Character Rose, Fell, and Rose Again

The Tony Stark of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a different breed from the Tony Stark that’s seen in the comics and while that’s a good thing in its own right, the movie genre creates an alternate universe compared to characters that exist on the printed page. Similarities between the comics and the MCU exist, but the characters, the stories, and their interactions have just enough familiarity to them to draw in old fans and new ones.

Just like the comics, the movies are written by different people, they’re directed by different people. The MCU is a sandbox that multiple kids are playing in which means that there will be a great influx of characterizations—especially when movies are being completed near or around the same time. For Tony Stark, this means that there is a major rise, then fall, to his characterization that is rebooted in time for Avengers: Infinity War (2018).

In 2008, the superhero genre received a massive shock to the chest with the release of Iron Man. Despite any feelings directed towards the plotline of the story, Tony Stark not only is a major key factor about why the story works, but also was just flat out fun to watch. The armour was badass, his banter with Jarvis was fantastic, and Iron Man was easily the coolest superhero on the big screen.

Until Captain America.

Part One: The Fall of Tony Stark aka How to Bucher a Character in Two Hours or Less by Joss Whedon

The First Avenger wasn’t the best movie—nor was it the worst—and it relied heavily on Chris Evans being incredibly charming, touching, and so impossible not to love that he distracts the audience from its almost cheesey Indiana Jones style plot (looking at you ‘Nazis searching for magical objects’). Evans, as Steve Rogers, proceeds to carry the character through The Avengers and beyond but while his character rises, Tony Stark’s falls.

The Avengers was a cinematic feat that still manages to hold up plot wise with its pacing and story. Its major pitfalls are with the characters. Instead of focusing on the characters as a whole, each of them is given a defining characteristic and then that characteristic is emphasized, expanded, and blown up enough that it becomes nothing more than a balloon waiting to pop.

Take, for example, Steve Rogers suddenly becoming a thundering dumbass who constantly reminds people that he was born in the 1940’s. “I understood that reference”, while funny in the short term, is just a long list of tally marks to make everyone remember that Captain America is Old Fashioned. He says things like “there’s only one god ma’am, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that”, wears clothes that look straight out of some grandfather’s closet, and constantly looks confused by the tech around him. This is a far cry from The First Avenger where he learns how to use the Hydra weapons, figures out that he was probably kidnapped based on a baseball game playing on the radio, and immediately disrespected authority to go save Bucky. In the Avengers all that is pushed to the side and Steve Rogers becomes less of the three dimensional character the audiences knew and more one dimension and a half.

In contrast, Bruce Banner benefited from such a tactic by becoming more intense, more regretful, and more nervous. Seeing the guards on the helicarrier, he immediately ducks away as the instinct to hide kicks in despite the fact that he’s allowed to be there and was actually invited by Nick Fury. This is a moment that establishes the character; he feels uncomfortable, he doesn’t want to be there. After The Incredible Hulk, Marvel was looking for a rebound and this was it.

That rebound was not intended for Tony Stark. The same Tony Stark that already had two movies that established his personality and laid a basic groundwork for his character. In The Avengers, Tony is a straight up jackass. This isn’t about his normal asshole-ness where he is sometimes brass and difficult to work with—because that’s just who he is—but The Avengers takes that quirk and runs a marathon with it. He was never a bully in Iron Man and Iron Man 2 so his line to Steve Rogers (“You might have missed a couple things. You know. Doing time as a Capsicle”) is completely out of character, the way he says “I’m a big fan of the way you turn into a giant green rage monster” despite Bruce banner clearly not being comfortable with it, and mocking Nick Fury’s disability in front of the rest of the ‘team’ shows a lack of understanding of what this character has gone through and the growth he’s already had.

Fans at this point would argue the point of Howard Stark. ‘But Tony hates Cap because of Howard’s relationship to Rogers!’ and they can argue that point until their blue in the face but at this point of time—when The Avengers first came out—there was no Agents of Shield to build a backing on and there was no Agent Carter. Iron Man 2 didn’t set up the reasoning for Howard’s neglect; just that it happened. For the Audience simply watching the movie at that time with no comic book background, Tony Stark is being a major jackass.

The mischaracterization doesn’t stop there. It doesn’t even stop at The Avengers. Tony becomes ignorant (“I have a plan: attack”) and rushes in despite stating that he’s a genius and the other movies building up that his mind is his greatest advantage, not the Iron Man suit itself. There’s also the fact that he’s just so rude to people. This is, apparently, the same man who was spooked and horrified by the fact that he was letting people come to harm in Iron Man to the point that he dedicated the rest of his life to righting that wrong. In Age of Ultron he creates a killer AI and his first reaction to when Helen Cho asks “why is it trying to kill us?” is to laugh.

Thor: Do you think this is funny?

Tony: No. It’s probably not, right? Is this very terrible? Is it so...is it so...it is. It's so terrible.

The same guy who wanted his company to have nothing to do with weapons, who halted all manufacturing immediately and was so betrayed by the knowledge that Obadiah Stane was still selling them to both sides, laughed at the threat on other people’s lives. It’s almost as if he’s going out of his way to be a douche bag in this movie.

In Age of Ultron Tony Stark is a jerk who is actually playing with lives. He laughs about the situation he and Bruce banner have put the Avengers in, constantly uses his past trauma as an excuse to be forgiven for all misdeeds (“Does anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?”) and while Tony’s intentions are to fight the Big Bad that he believes is coming, the creation of Ultron is not the problem; it is how he reacted, as a character, to the idea that people’s lives were in trouble. Compared to Iron Man, where he is almost visibly brought to tears, the Tony Stark in Age of Ultron is a heartless bastard.

On the same note of comparing Iron Man and Whedon’s Avenger movies, Tony Stark is suddenly ridiculously overpowered. The idea of the Superhero Genre is to take characters who are Good and place them against the Bad. Playing around with the grey area between is where the audience gets to see remarkable character interactions but having a hero who is strong enough that they aren’t challenged by the big bad Baddie means no interesting interactions, means no fun rise of that character overcoming their struggles, and basically means that Tony Stark can apparently overpower the Hulk and blow Ultron into itty bitty pieces.

Granted, blowing Ultron to pieces doesn’t fully work in the end, but there is a massive difference between how Tony has a breeze fighting both the Hulk and Ultron while Steve has to get up again and again and again despite how the odds are against him.

Steve Rogers: Welp! He’s definitely unhappy! I’m gonna try and keep him that way.

Clint Barton: You’re not a match for him, Cap.

Steve Rogers: Thanks. Partner.

That’s what a superhero is. When Tony is so efficient that no other characters can compare and is never getting a good asswhooping he has to rise up against, it’s boring. It’s ridiculous. It’s absolutely a waste of the superhero genre. If I wanted to watch billionaires overcome all the odds so easily I could turn on the TV and watch the news. When a hero is so ridiculously overpowered that you know they’re going to win anyway, it’s hard to root for them. The Nuke scene in The Avengers is probably the closest director Joss Whedon ever manages to get to actually playing with this concept but it’s still not as impactful as the scene in Iron Man where Tony is crawling across the floor of his garage to get to his old Arc Reactor before he goes into cardiac arrest.

That is the kind of moment that has the audience on the edge of their seats, where they are truly rooting for the main character to succeed. Not in a battle with the Hulk where the only actual danger is maybe the Hulk Smashing Armour is damaged. And that’s a big ‘maybe’.

Between the two Avengers movies is Iron Man 3 and while the movie does try to humble Tony Stark through his PTSD, it falls short of actually doing the mental condition justice as he just seems to think his way through those panic attacks. It’s a good example of the after effects of heroism, how something like flying an active warhead through a portal and into space can have an effect on people, but after the last panic attack in the car he just seems to get over it and there’s no mention of it through the rest of the movie.

It seems, however, that Iron Man 3 and Age of Ultron have the same issues plot wise, however, and that’s having a villain that doesn’t necessary challenge Tony Stark in a meaningful way. Killian kidnaps Pepper, but there are no actual challenges to Tony fighting him besides a visibly cool scene involving the different armours and a guy that can regenerate limbs and breathe fire. Obadiah Stane and Vanko challenged Tony in a way he never had before while Killian did not.

Beyond Killian, the only major part of this movie that would have raised the stakes for Tony Stark would if Pepper Potts had died during the climax. While this falls into the glaringly gross trope of Women in Refrigerators, it would have added the emotional baggage that just hasn’t existed for Tony since Iron Man.

Between the area of The Avengers and Age of Ultron, there was no growth for Tony Stark. He suffered (a little) became a douche bag (a lot) but he wasn’t really challenged in the way Steve Rogers had been challenged on the other side of the MCU.

Part Two:

The Foil of Steve Rogers, How Captain America Stole the Spotlight, and the Build Up of Tony Stark

Compared to Tony Stark, Steve Rogers went from strength to strength and none more so than in Captain America: Winter Soldier. In Iron Man 3, Tony falsely loses things (his house which he can rebuild because he has that kind of money, his suits which he doesn’t so much as lose as blow up, and Pepper who is still alive after “[falling] thirty feet”) While in Winter Soldier, Steve loses a lot. Peggy Carter, his one last connection to the past, has Alzheimer’s and her body is failing, Shield—perhaps the one true stable point in his life—ends up being a front for a Nazi organization he fought to eradicate in the 40’s, and, perhaps most importantly, he loses his faith in authority. Throughout the movie he’s challenged both ideologically, emotionally, and physically to his limits.

The way this is done is through a triangle of supporting characters. Unlike in The Avengers, Winter Soldier doesn’t depend on inflating characters into caricatures to establish differences between the cast. The supporting characters—Natasha Romanoff, Sam Wilson, and Bucky Barnes—play off of Steve and, in return, help to move the story forward.

Natasha Romanoff forces Steve to broaden his look at the world. She challenges him ideology, teaching him that the world isn’t black and white. The good guys can do bad things and the bad guys can do good things. The world is too grey for the thought of a true Right and Wrong philosophy. Steve Rogers has to choose between doing the good thing and breaking the law or doing the bad thing and not breaking the law. Of course, Winter Soldier is a superhero movie, so doing the good thing while breaking the law wins out in the end.

On the other hand, Sam Wilson fills the role of a new best friend. He’s similar to Steve and they have shared experiences, but his wit and humour plays off well against Steve’s no-nonsense 20th century temperament. Finally, it’s a return back to The First Avenger where Bucky and Steve joke just before getting on that all important train.

Last is Bucky Barnes. He’s a Terminator style antagonist who not only has the very real chance of killing Steve but almost succeeds in doing so. He challenges Steve emotionally and physically to the point of almost breaking the hero, opening a harrowing window to the past that no one else in the movie can quite understand. For the audience it’s watching Tony Stark crawl through his garage all over again except worse because the watchers don’t exactly want Steve to win the fight (as that would mean losing Bucky again) and they don’t want him to lose (which could possibly end in death for Steve).

This triangle of characters forces Steve to experience challenges and emotions in a new and fresh way and it’s what happens to Tony Stark in Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. He becomes bolstered by a triangle of characters that challenge him, change his views, and force him to think about things differently.

The first of these characters is Steve Rogers himself. While most of the driving force between their relationship in the movie is based around the Sokovia Accords, Tony is convinced to support the law due to a run in with Miriam Sharpe. Her son, Charlie Spencer, died in Sokovia and she asks Tony “who is going to avenge my son, Stark? He’s dead and I blame you.” Compared to the scene in Ultron, Tony’s attitude is remarkably different. Rather than laughing about the danger he’s created, bragging about his achievement in making a murderous AI, Tony takes responsibility for his actions and even makes a concerted effort to try and keep the team together. When he says “I’m trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart” at the airport, it’s clear from the look on his face that he doesn’t want to fight the people he’s come to respect and doesn’t want to see his friends behind bars looking at him with disdain and hatred.

At the same time, there are two different stories happening in Civil War that are part of the same coin. Steve Rogers is trying to save Bucky Barnes from wrongful imprisonment while trying to bring the actual terrorist to justice, and Tony Stark is struggling with looking Mariam Sharpe in the eye and realizing that there is not justice to be done for the people who died in Sokovia. In fact, for both characters, nobody except for the audience actually know how Tony and Steve feel because we are the only ones who witness both moments.

This is a storytelling trick that helps the audience align with both characters and see both points of view which is why it is so hard to actually choose a side in Civil War and why the argument could be made that the audience was never meant to actually pick one in the first place. Whether or not there is agreement on their stance on the Accords, the movie makes it clear that both Steve and Tony have a point.

Civil War takes it a step further with Tony and forces him out of his comfort zone in a way that he hasn’t been challenged since Iron Man or Iron Man 2 in order to keep the peace. While the movie was about Captain America, it had to do a lot of major patch up work for the character of Tony Stark. He is morose after finding out that his actions directly led to someone getting killed which is a return back to the whole point of why he became Iron Man in the first place: to save people’s lives.

Even when Steve and Tony argue, there is no direct bullying from either side that happens in the posturing in The Avengers and even Age of Ultron. Neither side resort to insults and, even in their disagreements, never resort to the needle-like jabs that Joss Whedon seems to think should be the basis of their ‘friendship’.

Steve Rogers: Protection? Is that how you see this? This is protection? It's internment, Tony.

Tony Stark: She's not a US citizen—

Steve Rogers: Oh, come on, Tony.

Tony Stark: And they don't grant visas to weapons of mass destruction.

Steve Rogers: She's a kid!

Tony Stark: Give me a break! I'm doing what has to be done to stave off something worse.

He’s listening to Steve and they both respect each other to hear the other’s point of view. In this single scene, Tony is far more measured than in both of the previous Avenger films combined. It almost feels like he’s grown up. Steve Rogers and the situation at hand is forcing Tony to look at himself and become better from it.

This isn’t to say that Civil War doesn’t take Tony Stark to his lowest point and possibly the closest we ever will get to the almost villainous Tony of the comics, but it’s a moment that feels, for once, truly earned.

Steve Rogers: Tony. Tony.

Tony Stark: Did you know?

Steve Rogers: I didn't know it was him.

Tony Stark: Don't bullshit me, Rogers! Did you know?

Steve Rogers: Yes.

As a character who is never supposed to lie, this moment is a breaking point in the relationship between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. As a character who has always told the truth, no matter how big that truth is, Steve keeping a secret means that the information is incredibly important to him. Bucky is enough for Steve to bend his morals and is something that is, understandably, shocking for Tony as he is directly involved. While Bucky was controlled by Hydra, Tony Stark goes through a massive amount of revelations all at once; finding out his parents were murdered instead of dying in a car accident (watching them being beaten and choked to death on a monitor), finding out Bucky was directly involved, and then also finding out that Steve, a man he trusted, kept that a secret from him. All of this is the cataclysm that begins the fight at the end of Civil War and everything leading up to that one key moment make perfect sense.

The fact that the fight gets so out of hand that Tony Stark would have been willing to murder Bucky, the fact that he cowers underneath Steve when the shield is raised thinking that he’s driven Steve to do the same to him; that is what ruins their friendship in the end. The trust is gone and he doesn’t even get to take the high ground in the situation as Steve leaves the shield of his own, free will and walks away leaving Tony completely alone and abandoned by the team he once surrounded himself with.

Suddenly all that humbleness, all that struggle, all that loss that was missing from 2012 onward is dumped across Tony in the biggest way imaginable. Civil War patches up the holes in Tony Stark’s character and refuses to use the frilly Hello Kitty band aids of Iron Man 3 but instead use a whole tub of quick drying cement and sand him down so it’s polished. While I’m sure a lot of his fans would like for him to not have gone through the entirety of Civil War at all, the movie was completely necessary to not only fix Tony for future instalments in the MCU but it’s simply just good writing.

Part Three:

The Unstoppable Force Meets an Immoveable Object

In Avengers: Infinity War, the introduction of Thanos becomes the epicentre of Tony’s entire focus. He now knows the name of the Big Bad he’s feared since the end of The Avengers. Tony Stark, realizing the threat, goes into overdrive. There is an influx of sudden physicality and panic where he stretched against Doctor Strange’s cauldron and argues about what to do with the infinity stone.

During his argument with Doctor Strange aboard Ebony Maw’s ship, it’s clear that, for the first time since Obadiah Stane, Tony has met his match. Out in the universe, there is an entity that can drive him to obsession, give him PTSD, and leave him designing the ultimate nano-tech suit just in the hope that maybe he is prepared enough to face this colossus on the horizon. Up to this point, Tony Stark has suffered from having good, but not great villains. They never actually ever manage to leave their mark on Tony despite having all the right ingredients. The closest would be Ultron, but it’s still Miriam Sharpe who directly impacts him, not Ultron himself.

After so long, after a grand total of nineteen films, the final fight on Titan between Tony and Thanos feels like a culmination of all that waiting and there is finally a villain that can match Tony Stark step by step. Both of them dread it, both of them have to face it, and, when Tony is the last one standing, giving everything he has; Thanos wins.

Every hero failed in Avengers: Infinity War but no one failed as much as Tony Stark. His story was built up around this battle. His suffering after New York, his PTSD in Iron Man 3 and his desperation to keep the team together in Civil War has all led up to the single moment on Titan where Thanos stabs him and walks away with Doctor Strange’s time stone.

While Civil War marked the rise and the beginning of the rebirth of Tony’s character, Infinity War was the fire that set the phoenix ablaze. It was a rejuvenation, a cultivation, and the beginning of a new start for Tony that simply wasn’t there during The Avengers and Age of Ultron. It brought back new love for the character and an appreciation of who he is, what he could do, and why all of this, the entirety of the MCU, started with Iron Man.

#analysis #i put this entire thing behind a cut #so if you had to scroll all the way through i'm so sorry

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shiftyskip · 6 years

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My Grandpa’s Diary- Pete Rakiewicz

Keep in mind this is boring. My grandpa didn’t do much during the World War. He didn’t jump out of an airplane, drop bombs, or kill anyone. He owned a monkey named Cheetah (because she cheated at cards) and killed time. But war isn’t always insteresting, sometimes it’s boring one side.

But I found his diary and it’s one of the only things of his other than his wartime harmonica than I have left of him. I thought I’d share it with you.

4/7/45 Saturday

It's been one full year on this island today (Oh, Brother)

Orientation at 1300 hours. Played poker, won about seven bucks. Took a shower, shaved, washed items of clothes, & brushed teeth - all in 20 min. Wrote a 3-pager to Pugs. Listened to Hit Parade. No. 1 song, Accentuate the Positive, was sung by Lawrence Tibbetts & it was murder no end! Sold ½ case of beer for Four Checks. Hit the hay at lights out.

4/8/45 Sunday

Went to church & communion, made Easter duty, last service of Father Neagle. Rec'd letters from Janie & Marion & 2 from Pugs. Wrote to Janie & Marion. Had tough time getting a vehicle from motor pool. Drove down to hospital to see Bearman, stayed 10 min, returned to area in time to see movie "And Now Tomorrow" starring Alan Ladd & Loretta Young. Did some bookkeeping. Hit the hay just before lights out.

4/9/45 Monday

Read Time, Look, Pic, Yank magazines. Forgot Novena & class in practical electricity. Rec'd letters from Johnny & Pugs. Wrote Pugs a 3-pager. Drank one beer just before lights out. Insect made noise like a riveting machine, spent 15 min. tracking it down with flash-light, threw pest out the door. Hit the hay no earlier than 2330 hours.

4/10/45Tuesday

Read new Time magazine. Watched part of basketball game - then the lights all over the place dimmed out - generator trouble. Saw movie "Ministry of Fear" with Ray Milland & Marjorie Reynolds - she sure is a sharp looker. That's against my motto 'cause I don't go for blondes. Wrote to Johnny. Hit the hay at 2230.

4/11/45 Wednesday

BUSY DAY - BUSY DAY

Used rake on movie area. Grenade range - expended but one, which took up rest of morning. Miller, our driver, nearly got done away with thru his own carelessness of course. He pulled ring, released lever, prepared to throw it while it was sizzling. Lucky for him he didn't hold it long enough to explode.Socked the new punching bag till my arms nearly fell off. Put together the parts & pieces of a grenade to keep as a souvenir.

4/11/45

Saw good movie "Hollywood Canteen" with millions of stars & Joan Leslie & Bob Hutton. She's awfully nice-looking -- my ideal of a girl friend. Was part of a general discussion session which was held after the movie in the mess hall. C.O. gave main points on TDRR&R & rotation. Questions asked were answered to the best of his ability. My choice was TDRR&R, the technical army name which in all respects is just a furlough with immediate return to same overseas outfit. Hit the hay at 2310 hours.

4/12/45 Thursday

Mess hall inspected by a General (Gilbreath) was not to his liking. Later, Bn, C.O. looked it over and also found it the same way. Fixed water barrels. Sprayed oil to kill grass around our barracks. Went to movie, saw"Greenwich Village" (Don Ameche - Vivian Blaine), "The Fighting Lady" story of a carrier narrated by Lt. Bob Taylor, U.S.N.R. a short on the birth of a B-29 Superfort. Wrote 3-pager to Pugs. Hit the hay at 2310 hours.

4/13/45 Friday

Last nights movie took in more than three hours. During the night, a detail worked on mess hall so it could pass the inspection tomorrow. Col. Trower is expected to be the inspector. Cleaned our barracks also for the inspection & we better pass 'cause I sure don't like working on Sunday. Punched the bag again till the arms nearly fell off. Finished Lesson 12 in bkkg. It's ready for mailing. Had a slight storm, rain came in sudden burst came in buckets and just sudden it stopped. Wonderful place for fishes in this place. Saw movie "Mark of the Whistler", Richard Dix. It was sort of a stinkeroo, just as bad as Lawrence Tibbett's singing. Wrote a two-pager to Bob's folks in answer to the letter of theirs that I received today. Have yet to write to the kid bro. Hit the hay at 2240 hours.

4/14/45 Saturday

Read "Valley of Silent Men" novel - pretty good.

Author James Oliver Curwood. Orientation 1300 hours. Passed inspection. which is a mystery to me. Paid in advance for Monday's beer. 6 bucks. Indulged in poker, came out a little ahead. Saw movie "Dark Waters" Merle Oberon, Franchot Tone - Fair. Missed Hit Parade. Listened to records in orderly room instead. Hit the hay sometime after 2300 hours.

4/15/45 Sunday

Yesterday received two letters one each from Pugs and Mom. Mom said she mailed radio & extra tubes to me, April 4. Dick may go home on leave (I hope so). Went to church, new priest, Father Kuhn.

Played softball, won 9-8 in extra inning. I stunk. Had three ice creams at P.X. Bought two Park lighters. Indulged in poker, came out a little ahead. Washed clothes. Didn't shave 'cause my face was a bit sunburned from this morning's softball game. Intended to take pictures but time flew too fast. Saw "Winged Victory" - fair. Should write a letter to Mom & to Pug but I'm too tired. Hit the hay at 2230 hours.

4/16/45 Monday

Stood memorial parade in honor of president's death. Had most of morning off, in which time I had my picture taken 3 times. Wrote to Dick, to Mom & a three-pager to Pugs. Had ice cream & cokes at P.X. Missed half of Novena. Saw movie "Rainbow Island" Dorothy Lamour & Eddie Bracken - fair. Hit the hay right at lights out.

4/17/45 Tuesday

Bought four tubes of Ipana, my favorite tooth paste, yes, yes. Watched basketball game. Bn won. It's about time the M.P.'s got beat. Saw movie "One Body Too Many" with Jack Haley, Jean Parker - fair. Wrote to Frank Powers. Hit the hay at 2130 hours.

4/18/45 Wednesday

For dinner we fried ourselves a steak with french fried potatoes & onions. Toasted my bread a bit and everything went swell with the beer I had stacked away. Didn't get any ice cream -- the line at the P.X. was from here to Madison Ave. Group was alerted last week, been packing ever since. Saw movie "I'll Remember April", Gloria Jean growed-up to nice proportions - fair. Played pinochle. Hit the hay at 2245 hours.

4/19/45 Thursday

Third time this week we had fresh sunny-side-up eggs. Had two bits worth of ice cream & coke. Sprayed oil to kill grass around barracks. Received letter each from Pugs, Mom, & Treble. Wrote a three-pager to Pugs. Gave five beers to Joe Bucher for nix on account of two of his buddies came to see him. Hit the hay no earlier than 2200 hours.

4/20/45 Friday

Wrote to Trebie. Saw movie "Keys of the Kingdom" Gregory Peck, Thomas Mitchell. Good, something on the order of "Going My Way." Had a bull session of memories on things we remembered most from back home. Hit the hay at lights out but didn't start chasing forty winks until about 2340 hours. Two pictures were good from the two rolls that were taken Sunday & Monday. (Give me strength)

4/21/45 Saturday

Read Reader's Digest. Orientation 1300 hours. Played softball against the officers, trimmed 'em alive. For myself I got one good double & a fielder's choice. Score 12-2. Washed a stack of clothes. No movie tonight for a change. Indulged in poker, was going O.K. till Kraft sat beside me. Then I lost 7 bucks. Forgot to listen to Hit Parade. Hit the hay at lights out.

4/22/45 Sunday

Went to church - 0830. Straightened my junk. Borrowed camera from Biff because we were doubtful about Bob's. Took pictures, one whole roll. Wrote to Bob's aunt & uncle in answer to letters of theirs I received yesterday. Heard Sammy Kayes's program. Turned in shoes for salvage. Got a serum shot in left arm. Hit the hay just at lights out.

4/29/45 Sunday

Co. now packing boxes. Special details only went out to work. Worked fifteen & one-half hours on Tuesday. Sprayed D.D.T. on clothes. Bought turtle-shell necklace for seven bucks - it's for Pugs. We were all set to move but the ship isn't docked as yet. Church service was given by a missionary, performed in our chapel. Been playing poker all along and I either won or came out even. Hope it continues to my benefit. All during the week we had it pretty easy - except MON. & Tues. when we tried to get ready for moving.

5/6/45 Sunday

Received letters from Janie, Bob, Moe, Bob's folks and Helen. Answered all except three of four from Pugs. Turned in roll of film to be developed next Tuesday. Saw quite a lot of movies - among them "Kismet" & "Murder My Sweet" - both were good. Received picture from Sailor Dick - he's changed a bit already. Also got a letter from Mom. It has to be answered today, Sunday. Haven't received radio as yet -- but I guess it's due in this week. Had training lectures all last week with afternoons off. Calisthenics gave me sore muscles - cadence exercise for twenty minutes all last week, Due to see "Guest in the House" tonight. Reveille was changed from 5:30 to 6:30 - good deal. Movie was changed to "Here Comes the Waves". Golly, that Bing can sing! Answered Mom's letter.

5/7/45 Monday

Played poker, lost a few bucks, then won to get back to my original thirty-five. Saw "Guest In the House" starring Ann Baxter, Ralph Bellamy - good picture, she did a nice bit of acting. Had more of same stuff of last week. Forgot to mention we had from seven to ten shots in the last ten days.

5/9/45 Wednesday

Packed all our stuff & equipment, emptied the barracks. The band played solid for us right in front of our company. Went to see three-fourths of "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn". Then we were called to the company area. Piled 100 fellows, duffel bags, packs etc. into cattle truck. Left at nine o'clock, boarded the Bluem Fontaine, a Dutch (?) ship, at ten.

5/10/45 Thursday

Docked at Tulagi in the morning. At sea sometime in the P.M. In the next two weeks we had air raid drills, exercises, long lines for P.X. & chow & you had to be a contortionist to find a decent place to park your carcass. Chow wasn't any too good. The hold was next to hell. I had five days of K.P. & it was murder.

5/24/45 Thurs.

Docked at Batangas, P.I. in anchorage. Hit the shore in "Ducks". Flips greeted us with joy. I caught a blister-rash which caused me a lot of agony. Made friends with Jon, Mary & Eusabio. Invited to a chicken dinner. It was good. The first three days we slept in pup tents - with centipedes crawling over our stomachs. Then we changed to pyramidals. The first thing I noticed was that most of the kids had jungle ulcers all over their legs. Then we moved to the Guadalupe ruins on the outskirts of Manila. It was another hill-camp almost like Guadalcanal.

6/4/45 to 7/16/45

Stayed in camp most of the time, saw quite o bit of movies. That lasted about 5 to 6 weeks. Then Ronnie introduced me to Lydia and you couldn't find me in camp. Her brother taught me basic tango and rhumba. Rec'd my radio in good condition. It came 7-7-45 or thereabouts. Also about this time, I rec'd the photo album from Pugs, filled it with pictures I had on hand.

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lindseystirlingczsk · 6 years

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Krásný fanart od Helen Bucher :) Maia

#lindsey stirling #lindseystomp #stirlingites #violinist

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helenbucher · 1 year

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preparing the new sticker sheets for the next shop update 🥳

#helen bucher #sticker sheet #shop update

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thebrakespearevoyage-blog · 6 years

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The Book of the Enemy

Coming soon with stories by Nate Bumber, Andrew Hickey, Philip Purser-Hallard, Jacob Black, Grant Springford, Nick Wallace, Christian Read, Lawrence Burton, Helen Angove, Lisa Sarah Good, Jay Eales, Wilhelm Liebknecht, and ..together with editing.. Me, Simon Bucher-Jones #faction paradox

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jamieclawhorn · 6 years

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Why this 7% dividend stock should be a better buy than Debenhams

The Debenhams (LSE: DEB) share price fell by about 10% on Tuesday, after the firm issued its third profit warning this year. The shares have now fallen by almost 50% since the start of the year.

When I last wrote about Debenhams in April, I warned that there could be worse to come. Unfortunately today’s update confirms that I was right to be worried.

Sales continued to fall during the third quarter and were 1.6% lower than during the same period last year. Like-for-like sales fell by 1.7%, which was only a slight improvement on the 2.2% LFL decline seen during H1.

Pre-tax profit for the current year is now expected to be £35m-£40m, compared to market forecasts of £50m. Net debt is now expected to be at the top end of previous guidance, at £320m. That’s too high, in my view, but I don’t think it’s the company’s biggest problem.

This is the problem

In April, Sergio Bucher, Debenhams’ newish chief executive said that the group’s website is its biggest and fastest-growing store, with 150m annual visits and annualised sales of nearly £250m. That’s nearly 10% of total group revenue.

This growth continued during the third quarter, when digital sales rose by 16%. Unfortunately, this success highlights the group’s biggest problem — its bricks and mortar stores.

These large-format department stores have an average remaining lease length of 18 years, according to the firm. In my opinion they are too large and too expensive. I suspect some may be unprofitable. But exiting from such long leases will be very expensive.

The company says it’s trialling new-format stores that are delivering higher sales densities and require less discounting. But refitting stores comes at a cost. The firm is now trying to “reduce rollout costs while capturing the majority of expected benefits”.

Keep selling

In my view, Debenhams could still have further to fall. Another dividend cut seems likely to me. I also believe that some kind of financial restructuring may be needed to enable the group to close some stores.

For equity holders, I believe the risks are too high. I’d rate the shares as a sell.

One retailer I would buy

One retail stock I do own is Bonmarche Holdings (LSE: BON). This small-cap firm specialises in affordable womenswear “in a wide range of sizes” for “mature women”.

Sales at this niche retailer have been under pressure and fell by 2.1% to £186m during the year to 1 April. However, tight control on costs helped to lift the group’s underlying pre-tax profit by 27% to £8m.

One bright area is online sales which rose by 34.5% last year, and now account for 9.5% of all sales. This increase helped to offset a 4.5% fall in like-for-like sales in the firm’s stores.

Cash generation also improved, thanks to a reduction in stock levels. Cash generated from operations rose from £9.5m to £10.6m last year. The group ended the year with a net cash balance of £4.3m, and was able to increase the dividend by 8.5% to 7.75p per share.

I’d keep buying

Bonmarche is still something of a turnaround situation. But chief executive Helen Connolly expects to report “further progress for the business” this year.

With the shares trading on 7.3 times forecast earnings and offering a 7% dividend yield, I rate Bonmarche as a buy.

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