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burningvelvet · 10 months

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Here are two of the most hilariously scalding letters from the 1800s that I have ever read. One is by the famous writer Lord Byron, and the other is by his daughter Ada Lovelace, the famous mathematician. Both are written to their respective business partners: Byron to his publisher John Murray, and Lovelace to her colleague Charles Babbage. It’s interesting to note how strikingly similar these letters are despite the fact that Ada and her father never knew each other, as her parents separated shortly after her birth and he died abroad when she was eight. Both were rebellious, fond of gambling, prone to tumultuous affairs, and both hated Lady Byron. These similarities may help to explain why her final wish was to be buried next to him instead of her family.

Lord Byron in a Letter to his publisher John Murray about the printing of his magnum opus, the poem Don Juan:

“Ra. August 31st. 1821.

Dear Sir

I have received the Juans – which are printed so carelessly especially the 5th. Canto – as to be disgraceful to me — & not creditable to you.

It really must be gone over again with the Manuscript – the errors are so gross – words added – changed – so as to make cacophony & nonsense. — You have been careless of this poem because some of your Synod don’t approve of it – but I tell you – it will be long before you see any thing half so good as poetry or writing. — Upon what principle have you omitted the note on Bacon & Voltaire? and one of the concluding stanzas sent as an addition? because it ended I suppose – with –

‘And do not link two virtuous souls for life Into that moral Centaur man & wife?’

Now I must say once for all – that I will not permit any human being to take such liberties with my writings – because I am absent. —

I desire the omissions to be replaced (except the stanza on Semiramis) particularly the stanza upon the Turkish marriages – and I request that the whole be carefully gone over with the M.S.S. –

I never saw such stuff as is printed – Gulleyaz – instead of Gulbeyaz &c. Are you aware that Gulbeyaz is a real name – and the other nonsense? – I copied the Cantos out carefully – so that there is no excuse – as the Printer reads or at least prints the M.S.S. of the plays without error. —

If you have no feeling for your own reputation pray have some little for mine. — I have read over the poem carefully – and I tell you it is poetry – Your little envious knot of parson-poets may say what they please — time will show that I am not in this instance mistaken. — Desire my friend Hobhouse to correct the press especially of the last Canto from the Manuscript – as it is – it is enough to drive one out of one’s senses – to see the infernal torture of words from the original. – For instance the line

‘And pair their rhymes as Venus yokes her doves’

Is printed

‘and praise their rhymes &c. –

also ‘precarious’ for ‘precocious’ – and this line. stanza 133.

‘And this strong extreme effect – to tire no longer’

Now do turn to the Manuscript – & see – if I ever made such a line – it is not verse. —

No wonder the poem should fail – (which however it wont you will see) with such things allowed to creep about it. – – Replace what is omitted – – & correct what is so shamefully misprinted, – and let the poem have fair play – – and I fear nothing. — I see in the last two Numbers of the Quarterly – a strong itching to assail me (see the review of the “Etonian”) let it – and see if they shan’t have enough of it. – – I don’t allude to Gifford – who has always been my friend – & whom I do not consider as responsible for the articles written by others. – But if I do not give Mr. Milman – Mr. Southey – & others of the crew something that shall occupy their dream! I am not what I was – that is all

I have not begun with the Quarterers – but let them look to it. – As for Milman (you well know I have not been unfair to his poetry ever) but I have lately had some information of his critical proceedings in the Quarterly which may bring that on him which he will be sorry for. – I happen to know that of him – Which would annihilate him – when he pretends to preach morality – not that he is immoral – because he isn’t – having in early life been once too much so. – And dares he set up for a preacher? let him go and be priest to Cybele. – why let

You will publish the plays – when ready — I am in such a humour about this printing of D.J. so inaccurately – that I must close this.

yrs. [scrawl]

P.S. I presume that you have not lost the stanza to which I allude? it was sent afterwards look over my letters – & find it. The Notes you can’t have lost – you acknowledged them – they included eight or little corrections of Bacon’s mistakes in the apothegms. – And now I ask once more if such liberties taken in a man’s absence – are fair or praise-worthy? – As for you you have no opinions of your own – & never had – but are blown about by the last thing said to you no matter by whom.”

[Separate page]

“Dear Sir

The enclosed letter is written in bad humour – but not without provocation. -

However – let it (that is the bad humour) go for little – but I must request your serious attention to the abuses of the printer which ought never to have been permitted. – You forget that all the fools in London (the chief purchasers of your publications) will condemn in me the stupidity of your printer. — For instance in the Notes to Canto fifth – ‘the Adriatic shore of the Bosphorus – instead of the Asiatic!! – All this may seem little to you – so fine a gentleman with your ministerial connections – but it is serious to me – who am thousands of miles off & have no opportunity of not proving myself the fool yr. printer makes me – except your pleasure & leisure forsooth.

The Gods prosper you — & forgive you, for I wont.

B.”

Ada Lovelace in a letter to her work partner Charles Babbage, who she helped invent the computer with:

“Tuesday Afternoon [1 August 1843] Ockham

. . . Note B has plagued me to death; altho' I have made but little alteration in it. Such alterations as there are however, happen to have been very tiresome & to have demanded minute consideration & very nice adjustments.

It is a very excellent Note.

I wish you were as accurate, & as much to be relied on, as I am myself. You might often save me much trouble, if you were; whereas you in reality add to my trouble not infrequently; and there is at any rate always the anxiety of doubting if you will not get me into a scrape; even when you don't.

By the way, I hope you do not take upon yourself to alter any of my corrections.

I must beg you not. They all have some very sufficient reason. And you have made a pretty mess & confusion in one or two places (which I will show you sometime), where you have ventured in my M.S's, to insert or alter a phrase or word; & have utterly muddled the sense.

I could not conceive at first in one or two places what had happened to my sentences; tho' I soon saw they were patchwork & not my own; and found it so, on referring to the M.S. I fear you will think this a very cross letter. Never mind. I am a good little thing, after all. Yours ever

A. A. L.

Later. P. S. It is impossible to send you anything but Notes B and C; (& this partly owing to some wrong references & blunderations of your own). — Do not be afraid, for I will work like the Devil early tomorrow morning. —“

[Separate Page]

“Wednesday, 4 o'clock [2 August 1843] Ockham

After working almost incessantly, since 7 o'clock this morning, until I am forced to give in from sheer inability to apply longer, I find only the sheet I enclose is quite completed. I shall however send a servant up tomorrow morning by a ten o' clock train, to take you all the rest; so that you will have it almost as soon as this letter.

You cannot conceive the trouble I have had with the trigonometrical Note E. — In fact no one but me, I really believe, would have doggedly stuck to it, as I have been doing, in all wearing minutiae.

I am very uneasy at not hearing from you, as I have expected to do both yesterday & today; & fear some disaster or other. I hope all of Note G is forthcoming; & I also hope you have received all my communications safely.

I think you had better do the second revise of the translation for me. If you will compare it carefully with my first revise, it can hardly be necessary I think for me to go over it again.

I suppose I ought to take it for granted that no news is good news; but I am in a sad fidget. — Yours ever

A. L.”

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richardsphere · 1 year

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Rwby character-writing analasis thing.

Its really interesting to me how much RWBY as a series has changed in the post-beacon era. And while there are many differences i could write page-long essays about, I think most of those are a story for another day. Today i want to talk about how the post S3 change in genre has negatively affected the strength of its characterwriting. (other topics might come up tangentially but wont be the focus.)

Beacon era RWBY was a verry slow, airy slice-of-life heavy show with only a bit of action sprinkled on top, like Fondant on a cake. It gave the characters plenty of time to breathe, interact and just share a chemistry together. I’d even go so far as to say the early show was, 80 percent slice of life (at minimum), and maybe 20% action at most. Even “fight for our life” were permeated with moments of dialogue and lighthearted character-beats. (Ruby and Weiss talking out their squables mid-beowolf fight, Weiss VS Boarbatusk cutting to ruby’s little flags for example) But it should also be noted that, With exception to Pyrrha, who the show knew had only 3 seasons to be fleshed out. Most characters were left deliberately sort-of vauge so they can be deepened out when we get to their arcs later. (certainly they were given “goals” like “find Raven” or “redeem the Fang”, but anything more specific was left out for future writers to resolve). But in a post-beacon world, the showrunners put them into a constant no-time-for-breaks pacing has prevented much of that filling in, as the show repeatedly denied them any moment for them to just “exist” (as well as the infamous stories about how any scenes that do allow characters to do so, having all chemistry surgically removed by production to “prevent romantic spoilers”.) They cut out so much of its slice-of-life moments, that all levity happens either off-screen (Yang+Blake at the disco) or in the background of “actually important” plot-beats. (Meeting Jaune’s sister taking second-seat to a critical debrief re:Ozpin-being-full-of-shit) Not to say there’s been no progress at all on filling out the blanks left behind in their early characterisation but: Ruby’s 6 seasons of constant trauma, ended on a resounding concluding note that “she was fine as-is in S1E1″, meaning nine collective seasons of character development, amounts to a great “Status quo, but now with Laser-eyes”. Yang’s raven-issues “resolved” at the fall of haven, and did so in a rather unsatisfying in the way. Because her and Raven never really explored the abandonment issues beyond a vague “i know you dont care about me, I’ve decided the feelings mutual now Portal me to my sister/Hand me the damn relic”. (which doesnt feel like a resolution, but the show tries to frame it as a “going no-contact” resolution) Blake and Weiss have both actually had their core struggles in the world removed and tranposed onto adjacent characters instead of actually resolving their established “goals” in the world at large. (Weiss no longer wants to redeem the family business, thats Willow and Whitley’s job now, Blake no longer wants to redeem the Fang, thats Ghira and Ilia’s job). and although we now know how Ren and Nora came to be together, their atlas arc only emphasises that even they still dont know who they are themselves. Same for Ozpin, pf whom we now know how he came to be cursed, he spent so much time dormant “regaining his oldest memories” that we only know we dont know him either. Six additional seasons of writing for these characters, and they are all (with possible exception to yang) either back at square one, or in BW’s case have somehow stumbled themselves back to square zero. The only character that’s gotten “more” fleshed out in a way that satisfies on a narrative level is Jaune. (to the point that i cant even fault elements of the fandom criticising the show for being “The Jaune Show”) And even that is only because of how well-realised Pyrrha was at time-of-death, It really says something about the drop quality in the shows post-beacon characterisation that Pyrrha is more well-written in absentia then the entirety of the shows namesake team combined. and that is just plain tragic.

#rwby #rwby analasis #Rwby critical #rwby critique #rwby criticism #Some people probably think i should tag this as Salt Hate or Anti RWBY but im not angry just dissapointed #But yeah this show has me brainbugged #Like if a slow-motion traincrash took your family hostage

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lucaaaaamakesart-lvl6 · 6 months

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SP-RSA: Favourite Responses, Critical Analysis; Successes & Failures

Week 6

I had 3 favourite logo identity options, that I wanted to continue working on, or felt could be successful currently from my digital exploration.

Patched; Hydrocolloid Acne Patches

Successes

The 3D effect and hand written font creates a friendly impression of the brand

The rationale to me, makes sense:

'Patched' refers to blemish patches, explaining the product

'Patched up' being mended and supported.

Patches that we may adorn on our clothing or luggage, is a representation of who we are and where we have been. It may also be a way of expressing ourselves and our personalities, hobbies and interests.

The logo design is bold, which can express how we want our customers to feel

Failures

Patched as a name, doesn't exude friendliness warmth or community. It has good rationale, but the feeling isn't there in my opinion.

There is something strange about the 'e', I think it is squished in the space it is in, as it appears slightly lifted off the baseline. Giving it more room to breath could improve the readability of the logo.

It currently doesn't have a slogan. However I think creating a slogan that includes some of the rationale for the 'patched' name could improve it, and bring friendliness and personality to the logo. Could include 'patched up' or 'wear your patch with pride' something along those lines.

Body Bold with 'BO' Logomark

Successes

Body Bold & bold logo, feels supported and convinced.

Body Bold is catchy, empowering and summarises how we want our customers to feel. I think of all the names, analysed solely for how we want to make the customer feel, this is the most effective on its own, without the need for a slogan.

I think the typeface works well used in a 3D form, it feels modern and trendy

Failures

BO, meant to come from 'BOdy BOld' but BO is an abreviation for Body Odour, only really saw this when I came back to my design after not looking at it for a while

Strangely, when you turn your head 90degrees anticlockwise and look at the logomark, it looks like a face in distress almost moaning in pain. This doesn't convey how we want customers to feel. And even though customers wont be viewing the logo from this angle, it conveys this feeling through the logo.

Successes

Heal & Peel, chronologically makes sense and it quite literally explains the process of using the patches, you heal your acne, then peel it off

Heal & Peel feels fun and catchy, warm and friendly. It doesn't feel the need to have a slogan to convey this, or explain what the product is or how it works.

I think the roughened edge of the words make the brand feel more friendly, feeling fuzzy and soft. Makes it more approachable. Shows we care and care for our customers I think.

I like the use of the '&' sign, it makes it fun and breaks up the text with a symbol

The 3D effect makes the logo feel bold and impactful, representing the impact this may have on your skin. It feels empowering with a powerful logo, with visual connotations of onomatopoeia in comic books. Quite literally jumping off the screen

It rhymes. This is fun, fact.

Failures

I think the logo works without the addition of 'hydrocolloid patches', I think this takes away from the design. Hydrocolloid patches can be added to the packaging, it doesn't need to be in the logo.

I initially really liked the way some letters are extended to fit into each other, and it worked well in the sketches. I am now unsure if it makes it harder to read, for little reasoning.

The name doesn't say anything about what we want to customers to feel. Empowered? Confidence? Expression?

I think currently my favourite logo is Heal & Peel. Then Patched, Then Body Bold. My favourite name is Body Bold, Then Heal&Peel, then Patched, so maybe I need to do some more experimentation with the more successful logos, with the more successful names, and combine these aspects. I also want to bring back some names I liked from previous exploration 'Flaunt'.

I think Flaunt has a lot of connotations of having high self esteem, self confidence, and public confidence. If you are flaunting you are attracting attention, for a good reason. You are showing off, not bashfully, but because you feel good internally about yourself and your appearance. I feel like customers flaunting because of how good they feel and look in their skin, due to the acne tattoo patches, would be an ultimate goal of the brand.

#specialist practice #visual communication #inyourskin #rsa

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hiretrust · 2 years

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Ignore the bug fix comments too, this game loaded and played perfectly and there were no glitches. I gave it four stars as you can still get a really good challenging game out of playing it - i just prefer playing on earth I think ! In all this is a good game and Civ fans will love it. The premise for Beyond Earth is really interesting but I found the technolgies and the buildings very boring because you dont really know what they are. The one thing I could not stand was the Alien feature, it just slows the game right up and there is no feature to turn them off, very much like the raging barbarians in other Civ games but this time round the Aliens are an integral part of the game. The features are very recognisible so you wont get lost or feel daunted if you have played Civ 1-5 and also the tutorials are really good and much improved. I thought it was good but found it did not grip me as much as the traditional game.

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NOTICE: This game is not supported on volumes formatted as Mac OS Extended (CaseSensitive) NOTICE: The following video chipsets are unsupported for Civilization: Beyond Earth

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In order to run the game with satisfactory performance, your Mac must meet these minimum system requirements: 2.2 GHz CPU Speed | 4 GB RAM | 8 GB free disk space | (ATI): Radeon HD 4850 (NVidia): GeForce 640M | (Intel): HD 4000 | 512 MB VRam Your feedback helps us make better games. Our Customer Support team is happy and eager to help. If you encounter problems playing the game, please visit. IMPORTANT NOTICE: Civilization: Beyond Earth does not utilize Steam for encryption and will not work with Steam Beyond Earth DLC. IMPORTANT NOTICE: Currently, Civilization: Beyond Earth for the Mac App Store is currently a single player experience.

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kimostv · 4 years

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thoughts on the IPRE crew and joint popping

davenport: hates it. refuses to crack any joint. will walk out of the room if he thinks someone might try it.

lucretia: sitting hunched over books all day isn't gonna do wonders for you but she only allows herself to publically crack her finger joints. will persuade magnus into giving her a massage(it's not very hard) for neck stiffness like a reasonable person

magnus: when he was a kid someone convinced him that cracking your joints would make them weak so he couldn't bring himself to do it at first. after no longer having to face his own mortality for 100 years he has loosened up a little and will pop his neck for intimidation points

merle: much like a dad sneeze, every time he stretches his back you can hear every vertebrae rearranging if you're within 20 feet of him. incredibly neutral stance on popping bodily joints but incredibly positive stance on popping other types of joints

taako and lup: love crackin' it up. have competitions about who can pop the most or the loudest. one time lup broke her thumb because it refused to pop, and taako begrudgingly had to cook a dinner of her choice since she technically won

barry: he's a >40 yr old human man. he does not stop crackin. this is not a choice. "what's poppin'?" lup asks, and it's barry, probably.

honorable mention: skelly form kravitz technically can't pop any joints, BUT he can remove his head fully from his body and hurl it at taako and lup when they get too loud in their pop battles. also when he shivers his bones clatter against each other but that's cheating so he's not allowed to compete. non-skelly kravitz can't do it and is generally opposed to joint cracking because normal living bodies shouldn't sound like that, taako, please see a doctor

#ive had this in my drafts for so long #i think its finally time it saw the light #i wont be taking criticism but i WILL be interested in additions #also how do i tag this for filtering sdjkfsh #taz balance #the adventure zone #the ipre #taz davenport #taz lup #taz taako #barry bluejeans #taz lucretia #magnus burnsides #merle highchurch #taz kravitz #joint cracking #joint popping #seriously tell me if i should add any tags for filtering omg

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delilahmidnight · 2 years

Note

re: the fandom ask, OUAT. who's your blorbo

SCREEEEEEECCCH THANK U FOR ASKING ME IM LOBE U

Disclaimer I think I stopped watching roundabout S4 so:

Send me a fandom and I’ll tell you my:

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most)

REGINAAAAAAAA. REGINA. Regina Mills. Love of my Life. Queen of my heart. Forever rotating her in my brain like a rotisserie chicken. Shes just *clenches fist* so much

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped)

REGINA BUT SPECIFICALLY MAKING THIS FACE

ALSO RUBY. MY RUBY MY BABY MY LOVE. SHE TRIES SO HARD.

Also dont @ me but. Snow white. Shes so fucking stupid but she really is so shaped.

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave)

RUBY??? WHERE MY DAUGHTER??? WHY DID SHE DISAPPEAR??? WHERE DID SHE GO???? Also honestly all the women are fucking underappreciated but like listen. Mulan was so fucking cool. She was so smart. She was ready to walk away from her love for the sake of her best friend. She would have been a great addition to the party. Anyway.

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week)

RUUUBBYYYYYYYYYYYY. LITERALLY, ANYTIME SHES ON SCREEN IM BARKING IM HISSING IM FROTHING AT THE MOUTH and Granny too SHE WAS SO BADASS WITH HER CROSSBOW HELLO??? MULTIGENERATIONAL WOLF WOMEN FAMILY. Anyways.

Also, Maleficent tbh. Shes just so.......tall 👀👀

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave)

Fucking Zelena. What an asshole. I fucking love her. Bitch.

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason)

I would say r*mple but honestly hes so fucking pathetic and i have no interest in seeing him cry like a little bitch so. Hook. He deserves it. I want to dangle him upside down over croc infested waters and watch him try

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell)

They should have died in s1 no i wont take criticism

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dreamwritesimagines · 3 years

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So...not entirely sure how to pull all of this together but I'll try. This is take 5 : me trying to put this criticism in a respectful manner. In my first three takes I had a lot of stuff to say about your depiction of gangsters (and bakers) but after talking a bit to my Da I realized I need to put my biases in check. So, just to get it out of the way, I think Caught In The Fire suffers from the uninspired. At the moment, it looks like a (gangster + bakery) au = lovable fic Slowburn a typical equation, that actually could be taken in very interesting ways. Except in the first five chapters so far I am not seeing anything particularly interesting to keep me hooked (besides the good quality writing). There's a bit of former sort-of-a-relationship angst, gone mother vagueness, one brief conversation about a dead gang that at this point means nothing, and so Far a promising cast of original characters and canon characters that have not done anything interesting so far. I am very aware the story is in hiatus but just looking at it as is...there's quite a bit that hasn't been solidified yet. (especially when I have experienced fics that are anywhere to three to six chapters long and in hiatus since 2007 that have laid a lot of groundwork and get the ball rolling really fast and hard before you check last updated and then you spend years afterwards pining for what might have happened and hugging what you have so tightly because you have to deal with the fact that the author might never come back but at least they left behind such a beautiful fragment that was shaping up to be a masterpiece but the fragment itself is all there is so that what you study and read again and again- sorry, not over it, but you get my point) but this is just the peas and carrots before the actual potatoes. This is where the root of my criticism comes from. I've tried like six times to get my thoughts in order and it ended up in huge paragraphs with additional bullet points but now I'm just gonna do this rapid fire instead. So ready set go:

Bucky is a good person but is also a criminal and a mob boss which usually means that he would be doing a bunch of super immoral shit as his job. Remind me again how exactly this means he is a good person? Better yet, what exactly does his job entail???? will we ever see Bucky at work or only vague references? (either one is fine its just I need to know because my mind wont let go and I kinda can't figure out what exactly to expect at this point)

Why would Peaches not encourage Bucky to leave his criminal family and get the hell out of dodge when he could? Why on earth would she tell him to STAY on such a path??? Its hard to say she was selfish if she wasn't expecting to see him again, is it?

The bakery could be a bigger part of things, whether its Peaches characterization or actually being a part of the setting or even a plot point. Right now I can not help but wonder why it has to even be here when it doesn't have to be. She literally could work anywhere else and get those cupcakes custom ordered and when they were little they could have been hanging at a bakery. (Also, actually working a bakery is super hard work, like insane hard work. Hint: most of the time, they have to start at like five in the morning and be lifting damned heavy trays and be on their feet all day)

The brief mention of a rival gang getting wiped out made me think of Tywin Lannister wiping out the Reynes and Tarbecks in ASoIaF, and that got me thinking that maybe it doesn't really makes sense in your story that Bucky's Dad wiped out an entire clan of his rivals and that became the ultimate warning because its more likely for innocent and slightly less innocent bystanders to get murdered. (well, what I should mean is that while rival clans killing each other does happen there is way more bodies underneath every rival's eventual corpse...Does that make sense?) So those are my main critiques against Caught In The Fire. Frankly, looking back, these are more like questions that haven't been answered yet but they are driving me crazy anytime I think about it. One of my main issues at first was the first one. The fact that you depict the Mob but don't really shed light on the many crimes and evil shit they would do. There's a couple possibilities here tho.

One, we haven't gotten there yet.

Two, You yourself are not interested in going down such a dark path for you story and I like dark stories so this where both our tastes go different routes.

I think One is a bit more likely when you continue CitF and Two is me having to seriously put my wants and expectations in check even if it turns out its One. (I apologize for judging you so hard before I started reading more of your work. Even now, I must apologize twice over because my earlier drafts of this made me sound like a dick towards you. Personally, I like to explore super dark violent shit a lot in stories, whether writing, reading, or watching, so I reacted really inappropriately at first when I was putting together this.) I'm Sorry. I am sorry. Your work, your writing, all of it is amazing. Your stories are loved, and are beautiful. Your work stays, and I am sorry for being an ass about Caught in the Fire because I got blinded by my blind hunger for edgy shit. So onto other things.

I really like the little sister. I hope to keep on seeing her. Actually, it would be great for Steve and her to get together and talk art. not so sure how to feel about the additional friends in Peaches cast at this point but I've seen how you've dealt with this before so I ain't worried at all. Can't wait to see the other gangs. Who even are they?

Quick theory/question: What if it was all a lie? What if Bucky was the one who killed those rivals? Did Bucky bury the bodies that laid the foundation of what he is now and Peaches is going to find out/its gonna come bite him on the ass now? anyway, I really hope I didn't fuck up this critique too badly. I'm actually a follower but I am also a coward, so that's why this is on anon. I look forward to the next chapter of Burn the Witch and to the next time you update Caught in The Fire -in collo sanguine

Hi there,

No reason to feel nervous about it, we can all exchange our different opinions as long as those opinions are stated respectfully, and I appreciate you taking the time to send me this ask and share them with me in such manner.

So I'm not really going to explain the parts you found boring/uninspired because that's the thing about fiction, you can't convince someone to like a story. That's just not how it works, no reader is obliged to like every part of a story or every story from a person. Most of the time we as readers have different preferences, but it is also important to keep in mind that writers might have different expectations/preferences from their stories, which sounds like you are aware of it, so ;

To explain your bullet points:

*Bucky is a good person but is also a criminal and a mob boss which usually means that he would be doing a bunch of super immoral shit as his job. Remind me again how exactly this means he is a good person?Better yet, what exactly does his job entail???? will we ever see Bucky at work or only vague references?

If I continue that story, and that's an if right now, the main character is definitely going to see Bucky doing some messed up things that would make her question whether he actually is the "good person" she clings to from her past.

*Why would Peaches not encourage Bucky to leave his criminal family and get the hell out of dodge when he could? Why on earth would she tell him to STAY on such a path?

One of the main themes of CitF was actually the theme of running away/not being able to run away from one's family. Granted it's not always as strict in real life as it is in the story, but breaking one's family's influence over them is one of the biggest plotlines of the story. Bucky basically had as many options as Peaches did back then, and he couldn't leave his family behind just like Peaches couldn't, when Bucky asked him to. Family can be very manipulative without letting their children know about it, and a lot of the characters had that...influence on them.

* The bakery could be a bigger part of things, whether its Peaches characterization or actually being a part of the setting or even a plot point. Right now I can not help but wonder why it has to even be here when it doesn't have to be. She literally could work anywhere else and get those cupcakes custom ordered and when they were little they could have been hanging at a bakery. (Also, actually working a bakery is super hard work, like insane hard work Hint: most of the time, they have to start at like five in the morning and be lifting damned heavy trays and be on their feet all day)

It was actually the theme of family, again. Bakery was there as a symbol, the earlier generation's hope for starting fresh only to trap the next generation in their dream. (Yep I know it's hard work, my cousin owns a bakery)

*The brief mention of a rival gang getting wiped out made me think of Tywin Lannister wiping out the Reynes and Tarbecks in ASoIaF, and that got me thinking that maybe it doesn't really makes sense in your story that Bucky's Dad wiped out an entire clan of his rivals and that became the ultimate warning because its more likely for innocent and slightly less innocent bystanders to get murdered.

Wait, you mean the earlier rival gang thing that killed each other? That wasn't Bucky's father, it was a different gang. Peaches mentioned that because that's basically the worst scenario that can come out of a gang war.

It is One, I was planning to get more into that dynamic and what it entailed more as the story evolved, seeing that we only know the story from Peaches' perspective, it would take us (and her) some time to actually witness that.

No reason to apologize for it, the important thing is that you sent me this message and shared your thoughts with me, and I'm glad you did. Like I said, if you like very dark and edgy stories, it might not be for you and there's nothing wrong with that. There are so many wonderful authors that write like... darker stories.

Thank you, and don't worry about it, it's only by talking that we can understand each other, and I really appreciate you explaining your viewpoint on it.

Happy reading!

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hlupdate · 3 years

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Variety’s Grammy-nominated Hitmaker of the Year goes deep on the music industry, the great pause and finding his own muses.

“We’ll dance again,” Harry Styles coos, the Los Angeles sunshine peeking through his pandemic-shaggy hair just so. The singer, songwriter and actor — beloved and critically acclaimed thanks to his life-affirming year-old album, “Fine Line” — is lamenting that his Variety Hitmaker of the Year cover conversation has to be conducted over Zoom rather than in person. Even via videoconference, the Brit is effortlessly charming, as anyone who’s come within earshot of him would attest, but it quickly becomes clear that beneath that genial smile is a well-honed media strategy.

To wit: In an interview that appears a few days later announcing his investment in a new arena in his native Manchester (more on that in a bit), he repeats the refrain — “There will be a time we dance again”— referencing a much-needed return to live music and the promise of some 4,000 jobs for residents.

None of which is to suggest that Styles, 26, phones it in for interviews. Quite the opposite: He does very few, conceivably to give more of himself and not cheapen what is out there and also to use the publicity opportunity to indulge his other interests, like fashion. (Last month Styles became the first male to grace the cover of Vogue solo.) Still, it stings a little that a waltz with the former One Direction member may not come to pass on this album cycle — curse you, coronavirus.

Styles’ isolation has coincided with his maturation as an artist, a thespian and a person. With “Fine Line,” he’s proved himself a skilled lyricist with a tremendous ear for harmony and melody. In preparing for his role in Olivia Wilde’s period thriller “Don’t Worry Darling,” which is shooting outside Palm Springs, he found an outlet for expression in interpreting words on a page. And for the first time, he’s using his megaphone to speak out about social justice — inspired by the outpouring of support for Black people around the world following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May.

Styles has spent much of the past nine months at home in London, where life has slowed considerably. The time has allowed him to ponder such heady issues as his purpose on the earth. “It’s been a pause that I don’t know if I would have otherwise taken,” says Styles. “I think it’s been pretty good for me to have a kind of stop, to look and think about what it actually means to be an artist, what it means to do what we do and why we do it. I lean into moments like this — moments of uncertainty.”

In truth, while Styles has largely been keeping a low profile — his Love On Tour, due to kick off on April 15, was postponed in late March and is now scheduled to launch in February 2021 (whether it actually will remains to be seen) — his music has not. This is especially true in the U.S., where he’s notched two hit singles, “Adore You,” the second-most-played song at radio in 2020, and “Watermelon Sugar” (No. 22 on Variety’s year-end Hitmakers chart), with a third, “Golden,” already cresting the top 20 on the pop format. The massive cross-platform success of these songs means Styles has finally and decisively broken into the American market, maneuvering its web of gatekeepers to accumulate 6.2 million consumption units and rising.

Why do these particular songs resonate in 2020? Styles doesn’t have the faintest idea. While he acknowledges a “nursery rhyme” feel to “Watermelon Sugar” with its earwormy loop of a chorus, that’s about as much insight as he can offer. His longtime collaborator and friend Tom Hull, also known as the producer Kid Harpoon, offers this take: “There’s a lot of amazing things about that song, but what really stands out is the lyric. It’s not trying to hide or be clever. The simplicity of watermelon … there’s such a joy in it, [which] is a massive part of that song’s success.” Also, his kids love it. “I’ve never had a song connect with children in this way,” says Hull, whose credits include tunes by Shawn Mendes, Florence and the Machine and Calvin Harris. “I get sent videos all the time from friends of their kids singing. I have a 3-year-old and an 8-year-old, and they listen to it.”

Styles is quick to note that he doesn’t chase pop appeal when crafting songs. In fact, the times when he pondered or approved a purposeful tweak, like on his self-titled 2017 debut, still gnaw at him. “I love that album so much because it represents such a time in my life, but when I listen to it — sonically and lyrically, especially — I can hear places where I was playing it safe,” he says. “I was scared to get it wrong.”

Contemporary effects and on-trend beats hardly factor into Styles’ decision-making. He likes to focus on feelings — his own and his followers’ — and see himself on the other side of the velvet rope, an important distinction in his view. “People within [the industry] feel like they operate on a higher level of listening, and I like to make music from the point of being a fan of music,” Styles says. “Fans are the best A&R.”

This from someone who’s had free rein to pursue every musical whim, and hand in the album of his dreams in the form of “Fine Line.” Chart success makes it all the sweeter, but Styles insists that writing “for the right reasons” supersedes any commercial considerations. “There’s no part that feels, eh, icky — like it was made in the lab,” he says.

Styles has experience in this realm. As a graduate of the U.K. competition series “The X Factor,” where he and four other auditionees — Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson — were singled out by show creator and star judge Simon Cowell to conjoin as One Direction, he’s seen how the prefab pop machine works up close. The One Direction oeuvre, which counts some 42 million albums sold worldwide, includes songs written with such established hitmakers as Ryan Tedder, Savan Kotecha and Teddy Geiger. Being a studious, insatiable observer, Styles took it all in.

“I learned so much,” he says of the experience. “When we were in the band, I used to try and write with as many different people as I could. I wanted to practice — and I wrote a lot of bad shit.”

His bandmates also benefited from the pop star boot camp. The proof is in the relatively seamless solo transitions of at least three of its members — Payne, Malik and Horan in addition to Styles — each of whom has landed hit singles on charts in the U.K., the U.S. and beyond.

This departs from the typical trajectories of boy bands including New Kids on the Block and ’N Sync, which have all pro ered a star frontman. The thinking for decades was that a record company would be lucky to have one breakout solo career among the bunch.

Styles has plainly thought about this.

“When you look at the history of people coming out of bands and starting solo careers, they feel this need to apologize for being in the band. ‘Don’t worry, everyone, that wasn’t me! Now I get to do what I really want to do.’ But we loved being in the band,” he says. “I think there’s a wont to pit people against each other. And I think it’s never been about that for us. It’s about a next step in evolution. The fact that we’ve all achieved different things outside of the band says a lot about how hard we worked in it.”

Indeed, during the five-ish years that One Direction existed, Styles’ schedule involved the sort of nonstop international jet-setting that few get to see in a lifetime, never mind their teenage years. Between 2011 and 2015, One Direction’s tours pulled in north of $631 million in gross ticket sales, according to concert trade Pollstar, and the band was selling out stadiums worldwide by the time it entered its extended hiatus. Styles, too, had built up to playing arenas as a solo artist, engaging audiences with his colorful stage wear and banter and left-of-center choices for opening acts (a pre-Grammy-haul Kacey Musgraves in 2018; indie darlings King Princess and Jenny Lewis for his rescheduled 2021 run).

Stages of all sizes feel like home to Styles. He grew up in a suburb of Manchester, ground zero for some of the biggest British acts of the 1980s and ’90s, including Joy Division, New Order, the Smiths and Oasis, the latter of which broke the same year Styles was born. His parents were also music lovers. Styles’ father fed him a balanced diet of the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, the Rolling Stones and Queen, while Mum was a fan of Shania Twain, Norah Jones and Savage Garden. “They’re all great melody writers,” says Styles of the acts’ musical throughline.

Stevie Nicks, who in the past has described “Fine Line” as Styles’ “Rumours,” referencing the Fleetwood Mac 1977 classic, sees him as a kindred spirit. “Harry writes and sings his songs about real experiences that seemingly happened yesterday,” she tells Variety. “He taps into real life. He doesn’t make up stories. He tells the truth, and that is what I do. ‘Fine Line’ has been my favorite record since it came out. It is his ‘Rumours.’ I told him that in a note on December 13, 2019 before he went on stage to play the ‘Fine Line’ album at the Forum. We cried. He sang those songs like he had sung them a thousand times. That’s a great songwriter and a great performer.”

“Harry’s playing and writing is instinctual,” adds Jonathan Wilson, a friend and peer who’s advised Styles on backing and session musicians. “He understands history and where to take the torch. You can see the thread of great British performers — from Bolan to Bowie — in his music.”

Also shaping his musical DNA was Manchester itself, the site of a 23,500-seat arena, dubbed Co-op Live, for which Styles is an investor and adviser. Oak View Group, a company specializing in live entertainment and global sports that was founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff in 2015 (Jeffrey Azoff, Irving’s son, represents Styles at Full Stop Management), is leading the effort to construct the venue. The project gained planning approval in September and is set to open in 2023, with its arrival representing a £350 million ($455 million) investment in the city. (Worth noting: Manchester is already home to an arena — the site of a 2017 bombing outside an Ariana Grande concert — and a football stadium, where One Love Manchester, an all-star benefit show to raise money for victims of the terrorist attack, took place.)

“I went to my first shows in Manchester,” Styles says of concerts paid for with money earned delivering newspapers for a supermarket called the Co-op. “My friends and I would go in on weekends. There’s so many amazing small venues, and music is such a massive part of the city. I think Manchester deserves it. It feels like a full-circle, coming-home thing to be doing this and to be able to give any kind of input. I’m incredibly proud. Hopefully they’ll let me play there at some point.”

Though Styles has owned properties in Los Angeles, his base for the foreseeable future is London. “I feel like my relationship with L.A. has changed a lot,” he explains. “I’ve kind of accepted that I don’t have to live here anymore; for a while I felt like I was supposed to. Like it meant things were going well. This happened, then you move to L.A.! But I don’t really want to.”

Is it any wonder? Between COVID and the turmoil in the U.S. spurred by the presidential election, Styles, like some 79 million American voters, is recovering from sticker shock over the bill of goods sold to them by the concept of democracy. “In general, as people, there’s a lack of empathy,” he observes. “We found this place that’s so divisive. We just don’t listen to each other anymore. And that’s quite scary.”

That belief prompted Styles to speak out publicly in the wake of George Floyd’s death. As protests in support of Black Lives Matter took to streets all over the world, for Styles, it triggered a period of introspection, as marked by an Instagram message (liked by 2.7 million users and counting) in which he declared: “I do things every day without fear, because I am privileged, and I am privileged every day because I am white. … Being not racist is not enough, we must be anti racist. Social change is enacted when a society mobilizes. I stand in solidarity with all of those protesting. I’m donating to help post bail for arrested organizers. Look inwards, educate yourself and others. LISTEN, READ, SHARE, DONATE and VOTE. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. BLACK LIVES MATTER.”

“Talking about race can be really uncomfortable for everyone,” Styles elaborates. “I had a realization that my own comfort in the conversation has nothing to do with the problem — like that’s not enough of a reason to not have a conversation. Looking back, I don’t think I’ve been outspoken enough in the past. Using that feeling has pushed me forward to being open and ready to learn. … How can I ensure from my side that in 20 years, the right things are still being done and the right people are getting the right opportunities? That it’s not a passing thing?”

His own record company — and corporate parent Sony Music Group, whose chairman, Rob Stringer, signed Styles in 2016 — has been grappling with these same questions as the industry has faced its own reckoning with race. At issue: inequality among the upper ranks (an oft-cited statistic: popular music is 80% Black, but the music business is 80% white); contracts rooted in a decades-old system that many say is set up to take advantage of artists, Black artists more unfairly than white; and the call for a return of master rights, an ownership model that is at the core of the business.

Styles acknowledges the fundamental imbalance in how a major label deal is structured — the record company takes on the financial risk while the artist is made to recoup money spent on the project before the act is considered profitable and earning royalties (typically at a 15% to 18% rate for the artist, while the label keeps and disburses the rest). “Historically, I can’t think of any industry that’s benefited more off of Black culture than music,” he says. “There are discussions that need to happen about this long history of not being paid fairly. It’s a time for listening, and hopefully, people will come out humbled, educated and willing to learn and change.”

By all accounts, Styles is a voracious reader, a movie lover and an aesthete. He stays in shape by adhering to a strict daily exercise routine. “I tried to keep up but didn’t last more than two weeks,” says Hull, Styles’ producer, with a laugh. “The discipline is terrifying.”

Of course, with the fashion world beckoning — Styles recently appeared in a film series for Gucci’s new collection that was co-directed by the fashion house’s creative director, Alessandro Michele, and Oscar winner Gus Van Sant — and a movie that’s set in the 1950s, maintaining that physique is part of the job. And he’s no stranger to visual continuity after appearing in Christopher Nolan’s epic “Dunkirk” and having to return to set for reshoots; his hair, which needed to be cut back to its circa 1940 form, is a constant topic of conversation among fans. This time, it’s the ink that poses a challenge. By Styles’ tally, he’s up to 60 tattoos, which require an hour in the makeup chair to cover up. “It’s the only time I really regret getting tattooed,” he says.

He shows no regret, however, when it comes to stylistic choices overall, and takes pride in his gender-agnostic portfolio, which includes wearing a Gucci dress on that Vogue cover— an image that incited conservative pundit Candace Owens to plead publicly to “bring back manly men.” In Styles’ view: “To not wear [something] because it’s females’ clothing, you shut out a whole world of great clothes. And I think what’s exciting about right now is you can wear what you like. It doesn’t have to be X or Y. Those lines are becoming more and more blurred.”

But acclaim, if you can believe it, is not top of mind for Styles. As far as the Grammys are concerned, Styles shrugs, “It’s never why I do anything.” His team and longtime label, however, had their hearts set on a showing at the Jan. 31 ceremony. Their investment in Styles has been substantial — not just monetarily but in carefully crafting his career in the wake of such icons as David Bowie, who released his final albums with the label. Hope at the company and in many fans’ hearts that Styles would receive an album of the year nomination did not come to pass. However, he was recognized in three categories, including best pop vocal album.

“It’s always nice to know that people like what you’re doing, but ultimately — and especially working in a subjective field — I don’t put too much weight on that stuff,” Styles says. “I think it’s important when making any kind of art to remove the ego from it.” Citing the painter Matisse, he adds: “It’s about the work that you do when you’re not expecting any applause.”

#harry styles #variety #021220

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hldailyupdate · 3 years

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This Charming Man: Why We’re Wild About Harry Styles

Variety’s Grammy-nominated Hitmaker of the Year goes deep on the music industry, the great pause and finding his own muses.

Styles has plainly thought about this.

Harry for Variety. (2 December 2020)

#harry styles #harry update #article #variety #hldaily #December 2020

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365days365movies · 3 years

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January 15, 2021: Casino Royale (2006) (Part 1)

So...we meet again, Bond. What’ve you been doing for the past few years?

...What. Not who, James, WHAT. Jeez.

Whatever. BrosBond had 3 movies after GoldenEye, and they were...not great, from what I’ve heard. Remember, I wasn’t as big of a fan of GoldenEye as many critics and fans were; so, I can’t imagine what I’d think of the latter three. Maybe one day, but not today!

Today, I’m focusing my sights on the revitalization of the brand. See, in 2002, Die Another Day came out, and that movie was apparently crazy. TOO crazy. So crazy, in fact, that audiences and critics accused it of losing the plot, and the production studio in charge (Eon Productions) had a yearning to change direction. And their inspiration came from...a surprising place.

See, Joel Schumacher’s campy, over-the-top Batman films were basically wiped out by Christopher Nolan’s 2005 reinvention of the character in Batman Begins. Which is, in my opinion, a highly underrated classic, Seriously. And in 2005, this film was absolutely a smash-hit. Batman was cool again, which a lot of people never thought would happen in film. Eon saw this, and thought...how can we apply that to Bond?

Out with Brosnan...in with Craig.

The first of the new, darker, reinvented Bond films is planned for release in 2006, starring Daniel Craig as the suave, sophisticated spy. And the director of the film was selected to be...Martin Campbell? From GoldenEye? The guy who kinda sorta started the modern over-the-top Bond? Really? I mean, OK. The writers this time are different...except for one. I didn’t talk about the writers last time because I don’t like putting people on blast if I don’t gotta. This time...maybe. We’ll see.

If this Casino Royale is basically Bond Begins, I’m definitely interested. Maybe this’ll revitalize that Bond-love from the Connery days. Let’s find out! We’re also gonna look at the Bond checklist again!

Gadgets: better have more cool gadgets than GoldenEye, I swear...

Bond Girl: GoldenEye’s Natalya wasn’t bad, to be honest; let’s see who his Inevitable Love Interest is this time.

Villain: Alec Trevelyan had so much potential. I need my dastardly villain, let’s do this. Oh, and let’s throw the henchman in here, too. Xenia Onatopp was...a lot...but she was a memorable henchman, at least.

Music: Of course. GoldenEye’s theme was good, and we’ll see how 2006 does.

OK, movie time. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

We start at an office building in Prague, where a man makes his way up to his office. Waiting there for him is, of course, James Bond (Daniel Craig). The man is Dryden, section chief at the British Embassy in Prague, whom M has accused of selling secrets, a big no-no. But Bond...isn’t a double-0 agent. Huh. You got me interested.

Apparently, agents get the two zeroes once they’ve killed two people on file. James hadn’t killed anyone...until recently. Which is when we get this.

OH SHIT

This is an absolutely BRUTAL fight. It’s not choreographed flashily, it’s not pretty...it’s rough. It’s intense. And it’s...oh my God, wow. Made me feel it. And what’s astonishing is that it’s SO short.

On learning this, Dryden tells him not to worry, the second one is...

...YOU GOT ME. I’M IN FOR THE FUCKIN’ RIDE

HOW??? How is it that in 3 minutes of screentime, I’m already more satisfied by Craig’s Bond than I was for the ENTIRETY of GoldenEye? That is masterfully done, right off the bat. WOW. We even get a smooth-as-silk segue into the classic bullet turret sequence, and that takes us right into the song and opening credits. And...wow.

youtube

Here’s the thing about Bond openings, as I mentioned last time: they were all directed by one guy up until GoldenEye, and were basically all silhouetted women with themes and scenes from the movie projected around them. The Brosnan movies followed suit, always having silhouetted women in one way or another. Die Another Day used CGI women and...a really bad Madonna song. It was...it is NOT GOOD, guys. Look it up, it’s the most 2002 thing I’ve ever heard.

But here’s the fin bit about Casino Royale. This is the first Bond movie opening with no women in it. Yeah. It’s the first one. And the song is Chris Cornell’s You Know My Name, and it’s good! Not sure it’s going in my soundtrack, though.

Finally, the opening credits sequence itself: it’s once again Daniel Kleinman doing it, and it’s actually inspired by the first James Bond book Casino Royale, which had already had a TV special and unofficial Bond movie made from it! The cover had a playing card motif, and the opening carries over that motif creatively. I really dig it, if I’m honest! Definitely a welcome break from the 44 years of Bond films preceding it.

Uganda! And we meet the villain of this film: Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen). And GODDAMN if that isn’t a Bond villain! He’s a banker, making a deal with a rebel leader, Steven Obanno (Isaach de Bankole), via their liason Mr. White (Jesper Christiensen). Setting up an attack by supplying Obanno with money, he sells his stocks of a company called Skyfleet, knowing that they’re about to fail.

Meanwhile, a ferret’s fighting an Asian species of cobra. In Madagascar. My zoology senses are EXPLODING, OH my God. So much wrong there. Anyway, there’s a bombmaker in the crowd watching the fight. He’s being tailed by Bond and another agent, Carter, who tips off the guy by being a bad spy. Bond chases him to a construction yard. What now, James?

Awesome. Why is this awesome when I said that the tank was dumb? Because at least it makes sense for a bulldozer to go haywire in a construction yard, just sayin’. Plus, this dude clearly isn’t the best, as he fires on construction workers and cops.

Eventually, this chase sequence brings us to the top of a crane, where this exchange happens.

I, uh...I love this movie already. That’s goddamn great.

The chase scene as a whole is also fantastic, as it continues off the bridge and into an abandoned building, then escalates into the streets, brings in law enforcement, and eventually ends with Bond at an embassy, facing down both the military and the bomb maker. He kills the guy, shoots some gas tanks, grabs the bomb, and then gets the hell out of there.

...Y’know what, that was fucking amazing, but he also almost certainly caused an international incident there. And I should be annoyed about that, but guess what! It makes sense! This is an inexperienced Bond, one who’s JUST been promoted to 00 status as 007, as the prologue explained. So, y’know what? I’m into it!

Cut to a yacht, like you do in a Martin Campbell Bond film. There, we have our villain, Le Chiffre, playing a card game. Also, he weeps blood. Yeah. HE WEEPS BLOOD.

OK, if that isn’t some Bond villain shit, I don’t know WHAT is. He’s also asthmatic, because I love it. I love it so much. He’s a mathematically-brilliant asthmatic that weeps blood. More, please.

He’s also a person aware of what Bond did at the embassy, as it’s already become an international incident! Thank you for showing consequences, movie! Damn! I love it! This has two additional consequences. One, Le Chiffre notes that the code “Ellipsis” used by the bomber may be soon to expire, indicating a connection between the two. And the second consequence? M’s pissed.

M! DAME JUDI DENCH! One of my favorite things about GoldenEye was bringing in Judi Dench as M, and she made it through the reboot! And she’s still as entertaining as she was before, calling Bond out for his stupidity, and explaining that she misses the Cold War.

In her apartment, M does her normal exposition schtick, and her interactions with Bond are fantastic here. She’s understandably angry at him, and gives him what for, but she’s also clearly impressed that he FIGURED OUT WHERE SHE LIVES, as well as her REAL NAME. Shows her opinion of Bond and aspects of Bond’s character in a single, masterful stroke.

Well. Goddamn. Done.

The Bahamas! Bond’s here to find Alex Dimitrios (Simon Abkarian), a Greek businessman who’s believed to have a connection with Le Chiffre himself. And, as James Bond is wont to do, he finds him at a party, playing cards. And here’s where the reinvention of Bond comes full circle.

See, Bond’s doing all the typical Bond things, yeah. But there are some differences present here, as well as some neat nuances. Bond isn’t wearing the suit, first of all. He actually hasn’t worn a suit the whole movie, which makes perfect sense for a spy. Suits aren’t exactly the least conspicuous thing in the world; bound to get you noticed if you don’t want to be.

And then, there’s the girl. This is Solange Dimitrios (Catherina Murino), the wife of Alex who was treated BADLY by him at the party. That gives her a reason to take Bond’s offer for a ride to his place, outside of just his raw animalistic charm that he seems to have in some of these movies. Look at that, already more chemistry than he had with Natalya in GoldenEye.

And yes, this results in her cheating on Alex. Is her cheating justified from a moral standpoint? No, of course it isn’t. And of course, this leads to the typical Bond-handsome-sex-GOOD sequence, but again, some nuance here! First of all, he doesn’t win her over with corny clever lines, like what we saw in GoldenEye multiple ties. Second, this is actually all an attempt to get some infomation from her about her husband. Bond might be enjoying it, but his womanizing here actually has a purpose. And that’s rare!

That’s further punctuated by the fact that he STRAIGHT UP LEAVES BEFORE ANYTHING HAPPENS. Yeah, she tells him that Alex just made his way to Miami, and he leaves! Dick move, yeah, but it makes sense! James isn’t here for pleasure, he’s here for work!

He follows Alex to a Bodies at Work exhibit (you know, the preserved and skinned cadavers put into poses that used to tour around the USA? I saw it in Times Square at the end of its popularity. A little ghoulish, maybe, but I think it’s pretty cool), where the two of them get in a very tense close-up knife fight in public.

Alex is dead, but not before passing off a package to someone else at the exhibition. Bond tails the guy to Miami International Airport, where the largest airplane in the world is set to be unveiled. Using the code sent to the bombers, Bond gets into the back, and goes to intercept the disguised bomber who’s set to blow up the SkyChonk (I mean it, that giant airplane is THICCC).

Time for another cool chase sequence! Some luggage is destroyed, along with a bus, the cops join in on the chase, an airplane is prevented from landing (making someone on that plane probably very upset), and Bond somehow manages to prevent the plane from blowing up. And it’s by the SKIN of his teeth, lemme tell you. Also, he blows up a dude with his own flashlight bomb.

Nice. Somehow, Bond isn’t arrested, and makes his way back to the Bahamas. And it looks like Solange isn’t the Bond girl after all. Because she was thought to be the information leak (which she was, to an extent), she was tortured to death. Whoof.

M’s in the Bahamas now, and the exposition continues. She’s done with Bond’s bullshit, and she plants a tracker under his skin. She explains that with the big boi plane destroyed, somebody stood a lot to gain financially from the stock crash to come. Except that the plane wasn’t destroyed, and that person lost $100 million by “betting the wrong way.”

That person, of course, was Le Chiffre, a manthematical genius and chess prodigy, who plays poker for fun, and plays the stock market with his clients’ money. Bond’s the best poker player in MI6 (a good addition that we already saw foreshadowed earlier! See what I mean?), and she’s sending him to a high stakes poker game that Le Chiffre’s looking to regain his money from.

Bond FINALLY dons his suit, and gets on a train in Montenegro, where he meets...

Vesper Lynd (Eva Green). THERE’S our Bond girl! Although, there’s a reference to Miss Moneypenny in their introduction, which is interesting. But Vesper is an agent for the British Treasury, supplying the money for the buy-in for the tournament. And their conversation on the train...wow. Now THIS is chemistry, seriously.

Vesper’s a great character, and she gives Bond NO quarter. She reads his character, and calls him out very accurately. They also explain why both Bond and Vesper are good at poker: it’s all about reading people. I’m genuinely impressed by how this movie is put together, and how well-thought out Bond is as a character. And this is the dimension I love to see in a Bond girl as well!

GODDAMN, I am in love with this movie. More coming in Part 2!

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greenwaterskeeter · 4 years

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College Advice

My brother was like, hey if you have any tips… So i wrote this! And then thought, there’s lots of people on tumblr just now going to college too…

Theres nothing in here about covid or making sure you have enough money– because i dont know anything about being a student during covid and i wouldnt give the same advice for getting money to everyone (and i wouldnt always know how anyway). I assume in the advice that the reader has enough money, because my brother does. That makes a big difference! Someone struggling for money wont have the bandwidth or time, probably, to do a lot of the stuff i advise. Edit: ugh i forgot, this is about US schools, specifically liberal arts US schools. Sorry about that!

Also, I didnt feel right taking the affection out of it once i decided to share it publicly. Help yourself! I may not have as direct an interest in your life, but there’s nothing in there i wouldnt wish for anyone going to college right now. (there’s also quite a bit that I think applies to anyone regardless of whether they do college or not).

Hi ******!

College Advice:

Work: No matter how important your work is or how much you have, take at least one day off a week. No schoolwork or working for money or any kind of work at all that day! (if it works better for you to take a half-day here and there instead of the whole day, that will do). More than one day is preferable, but there may come times when you have So Much To DO that sacrificing your free time doesn’t seem so bad and even one day off feels like too much.

I’m sure you’ve had plenty of this already, but people will keep telling you (by things they say and don’t say) that what you accomplish is the most important thing. It is not. What is most important is up to you– but I think it’s being your own authentic self. That’s complicated of course, but it boils down to: you already have everything you need in yourself, and keeping in touch with what you really truly want and love comes before everything.

If you flunk out of school and all your nightmares come true and you still remember who you are, I will consider you to have succeeded. (but if you do forget– and so many things conspire to make you forget!– I will still be proud of you).

GPA: It’s not the same as it was in high school! I won’t get into specific numbers because different schools have different ways of calculating it, and different rates of gpa inflation etc. It’s mostly bullshit. Unfortunately, if you want to go to graduate school, it is bullshit you have to pay attention to, but even then it’s not as all-important as it was in high school. You don’t need a 4.0, not even to become a doctor or a lawyer. A 3.5 or 3.6 is plenty for the highest ambitions, especially given that you’ll be doing extracurriculars.

I would advise keeping half an eye on the numbers, and not straining yourself for even one additional 0.1 above your target, whatever you decide that is. If you decide not to do graduate school, you honestly could get any GPA as long as you don’t end up on academic probation (which i think goes on your permanent record? Or maybe not. I was on academic probation my last semester of senior year and i’m still not clear on whether it’s on the transcript somehow). After college, people only care that you have your bachelor’s, not what your grades were while you got it. They mostly won’t even care what the bachelor’s is in! It’s very strange, after all the work you’ve put in! (many of them only care that you had the money to go to school, very disappointing)

Extracurriculars: I did a lot of different ones, and still don’t feel entirely qualified to advise about them, because I hated most of them. My mistake was doing things I thought I should do instead of what I wanted to do. I think you should do what you want, even if there’s no existing group for the thing you want to do, for a few reasons. 1. You should enjoy yourself! Having fun is a very serious matter! Keeping the joy of living alive in your heart will make living feel worthwhile, of course, but it will also give you courage and the power to stick by your principles and keep pursuing your goals. 2. It doesn’t actually matter to graduate schools WHAT you did for extracurriculars; what they’re looking for is evidence for what kind of person you are, and they judge that that’s shown through HOW you do your extracurriculars (with commitment and integrity etc) rather than which ones you do. (even so, don’t let the “commitment” part keep you stuck in a soul-sucking activity!)

Choices: You’ll be told you’re supposed to choose your major on a certain timeline, do this and that and everything to very specific deadlines, all very proper. Of course, the more deadlines you meet, the easier things are. But on the other hand– human beings are not machines. You’re allowed to change your mind! Even after you were supposed to be sure! It’s much better to listen to your own misgivings and really look at them to figure out what you want as soon as you know they’re there rather than pushing them down in a panic because you’re not supposed to have them. If they’re ignored, they won’t go away, and they’ll eat at you, and one day they’ll ruin things. (this may be what midlife crises are made of).

Friends: I know you have an established way of having friends, very different from mine, and that’s a good thing! I also know a lot of people take going to college as an opportunity to finally allow themselves certain things. There’s all kinds of takes on this, from putting on a poorly-done accent to binge drinking to coming out. It’s much better to stretch your legs this way than otherwise, I think. We need all the autonomy we can get!

My advice here is: trust yourself. Listen to even your very quiet instincts. They’re there for a reason. You may elect to ignore them, but consider them first, and reject them afterwards if you must. The extreme end of this is Having A Bad Feeling. Listening to that has saved me from some sticky situations! A more mild form is the weird feeling of dissonance between you and an old friend. There are many reasons you may feel that, but unfortunately, in college, one of the most common reasons is that you’re becoming different people who aren’t so suited to being friends as your high school selves were. It’s painful! At the same time, it’s okay to love someone and not be together forever– but I suspect you already know that!

The one thing I would absolutely forbid is isolating yourself. It may seem impossible from where you are now, but that’s what I thought at the beginning too. College is a weird place, not exactly school and not exactly work and not exactly home, and it’s too easy to slip into anonymity. Tell your friends how you feel, good or bad! If you feel like you’re imposing on them, impose!! If they love you, they will prefer inconvenience over learning later that you were in pain and said nothing.

How to Learn: It’s true what they say, that teaching is the best way to learn. Your peers may not always welcome this– I was rather disliked in study groups for always explaining the answer, before I reined it in a bit (things were still awkward unfortunately! possibly for other reasons lol). Of course, other people’s jealousy isn’t your responsibility, and you may sow discord with your brilliance with my full blessing. If you’d rather not do that, my advice would be to become a tutor and/or TA in the subject(s) most important to you at your earliest convenience/whenever they allow you to. It really does make you an expert!

Humanities: They’re going to make you read a lot. Excessively, some might say! You’ll learn which readings are actually necessary to pore over, which ones you may skim, and which ones you may skip altogether. Please don’t feel guilty for not always doing all the reading! Almost no one does all of them. I didn’t even do all of them, and I was a stickler for Doing It Right.

Papers: my tricks are the Purdue OWL website (for brushing up on grammar, looking up how to do those goddamn finicky citation styles, seeing examples of finished papers in those styles), outlining, and rest time. Leaving time between drafts of a paper helps a lot! (that being said, I will be very surprised if you make it all the way through college without turning in at least a few first drafts. It’s not the end of the world, and if you’ve got a knack for it, the professors may not even know the difference! Very amusing). Reading through what you’ve written out loud also helps, however silly it may feel. It has to do with how your brain processes information, and hearing what you’ve written is different enough from seeing it that you’ll be more sensitive to errors and weirdnesses.

STEM subjects: For these ones, it’s more important to do all the homework, because they may only give you one problem per concept. Be very literal about how you interpret things, that’s how folks in STEM usually expect you to think. Office hours are gold, if you can get them (and if the professor isn’t an ass). TAs are hit or miss. Readings are usually super important, relatively short, and can be read multiple times for more benefit.

General knowledge: Don’t forget to think critically! You’d think that’s all you’ll be doing, but in fact most professors only want you to regurgitate their own thoughts back to them. Very disappointing. However, that doesn’t have to stop you! You can always think: “Who benefits from this? What voices aren’t I hearing from in this story?” (even in STEM there are stories). “Why is this important?” In general, don’t stop asking questions! This is where I think true intelligence lies.

I’m sure you don’t need ALL of this advice– please don’t think I don’t think you know what you’re doing! I’m being a little over-cautious not because I don’t trust you but because if there’s any chance of my mistakes and accidental successes helping you do better than otherwise, I want to give all of them that opportunity. Kind of a shotgun approach!

All my love,

Autumn!

#by auti #college advice #adulting #i guess? yeah i think this is that #and i'm mostly teasing abt wanting my brother to make ppl jealous #the joke is that he would NEVER #but i realize now it doesnt translate well to a general audience lol

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gizkasparadise · 4 years

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kdrama rec: welcome to waikiki

master kdrama reclist Series: welcome to waikiki, laughter in waikiki, eulachacha waikiki, go go waikiki (there are like a thousand variants on the name) Episodes: 20 Genres: comedy, romance, slice-of-life, being a tired millennial, found family, friendship Spoilers in the Review: for basic premise and otherwise marked Rank: 10/10!!! If You Like, You’ll Like: the Chaotic Good to It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Chaotic Evil, it’s been compared to New Girl though i havent seen that show, age of youth/hello my twenties!, Friends but better like way better, my first first love but funnier, Concentrated Himbo Energy

“Gwaenchana, gwaenchana!”

PREMISE

the show opens and you’re like “ugh fuck is this going to be like The Hangover?” and, thankfully, the answer to that is no.

dong gu, joon ki, and doo shik are long-time best friends who run a guest house/hostel called Waikiki. in addition to the guest house, they have dreams of making it in the film industry: dong gu as a director, joon ki as an actor, and doo shik as a writer. they’re barely getting by when one morning they wake up and there’s a baby hiding in a bunk bed.

the show’s a lot better than what im selling, but it follows these three, yoon nah, seo jin, and soo ah as they go through nonsense, love, and more nonsense

MAIN CHARACTERS

kang dong gu

my favorite character in the drama. a dude who never has anything go right for him, dong gu comes across as a grumpy tall boi and that’s because he is. the beginning of the drama sees him freshly dumped by his girlfriend of four years, soo ah. an aspiring director, he wants to make Filmes but in the meantime makes videos for baby birthday parties.

petty. p e t t y. p e t t y. p e t t y. i love him so much, like so so much. barfs on the first date, has a weakness for cute things, does not make flashy love confessions. single-minded with spite

lee joon ki

an aspiring actor, joon ki only gets extra/background roles without any lines. the most concentrated himbo energy in one person. in fact, probably accounts for at least 17% of all himbo energy in south korea.

crazy positive. like all the time. will romantically shave your face and dress up as a pink octopus--not necessarily in that order. makes a situation go from 0 to 10 to 100. fakes his own death then blows his cover because he wants a hug really bad

bong doo shik

rounding out Those Three Guys, doo shik is an aspiring writer who also works a lot of part-time jobs. as he works on his Masterpiece, Bruce Lee Is the President, he gets roped into writing for the erotic film industry.

only owns sweat/tracksuits. has never had a girlfriend. sings sad songs with a hamster voice. smelly feet are a Trigger. stay at least 100 yards away

han yoon nah

the single mother to baby sol who stumbles into becoming a long-term resident of the guest house. clueless but well-meaning, she ends up working for waikiki and tries to pursue her dream of becoming a rapper. is quickly discouraged from this dream and tries to pursue Her Other Dream of becoming a professional baker.

tragic backstory so long the show had to finish it off-screen. sick beats. terrible present giver. so cute people almost die from it (people is dong gu)

kang seo jin / “chewbacca”

dong gu’s little sister and resident of waikiki. at the beginning of the drama, she’s graduated from college and is in the process of finding a job as a reporter. has the unfortunate nickname of “chewbacca” due to growing facial hair at an alarming rate (she has to shave 2x a day)

will slap you with a hunk of meat. will slap you with a car. will slap your body ever so far.

min soo ah

dong gu’s ex-girlfriend who ends up moving to the waikiki guest house for Reasons. formerly a model, soo ah tries her hand at fashion designing (results? mixed) and roping doo shik into creating an online shopping mall

makes babies cry. has clear political perspectives on THAAD. confesses feelings during an endoscopy. legend tbh

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS

baby sol

the best actor on the show. the baby to end all babies. the epitome of babies. will watch the baby shark song over and over again. seems to know that her uncles and dad are complete buffoons.

son hyun joon

hot pastry daddy.

rebecca

this car will kill us all.

REVIEW

drawbacks

the screenwriter seems to have a Weird Thing about girls farting. it only happens like 4 times throughout 20ish hours but it’s still really...something

i dont understand any other criticism of this show and i wont respond to it

reasons to watch

i fucking cackled from beginning to end on this one. like. gross, ugly, loud laughs that woke up my spouse at 3am. it’s legit the funniest kdrama i’ve seen

the. ships. they’re all so amazing. there’s three main ones and they’re very distinct and heartwarming in different (and, in one case, very strange) ways. we got tall and small, grumpy and happy, friends to lovers, found family, sensual face shaving-

HERE’S MY FAVORITE: so the show sets up all these kdrama scenarios that im so tired of and then subverts or sidesteps them. for example:

The Ex-Girlfriend Moving In........has the male lead constantly yelling that he doesn’t like her anymore while low-key checking for the new love interest’s reactions to make sure she doesn’t believe he likes her. the ex-girlfriend also has zero interest in the male lead and gets along great with the New Love Interest

Oh My God She’s A Single Mother.....so don’t be an asshole to her (TAKE NOTES CAMELLIA)

spoiler A Friend Wants To Date A Friend’s Ex-Girlfriend..........literally no one cares. it is, in fact, not even brought up that the ex-girlfriend is an ex-girlfriend

spoiler the Rich Stable Man in the love triangle plans to confess his feelings....and tells the female lead to go after the guy she actually likes. he also helps the other side of the love triangle win a camera because his broke and he can’t afford a new one

spoiler The Baby’s Father Shows Up Wanting A Second Chance......and is told to leave 3 times then does. he doesn’t even get a name tag

it does play some relatively straight (ex: brother finding out about his sister and best friend dating and Not Taking It Well), but they’re done in an entertaining way and the melodrama throughout the story is really light/over quickly

so yeah. watch it

#eulachacha waikiki #welcome to waikiki #kim jung hyun #lee yi kyung #son seungwan #kdrama #gizka does kdrama #!my post #i love this one #a lot a lot

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dogcollar101 · 4 years

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How To Keep Your Dog From Running Away Plus How to Build a Very Cosy (Free) Pet Bed

How a large four orders rescue lives

As stated by the National Health Service and press accounts, over 4,500 events per year from the U.K. have people and dogs, together with kids being the most significant prey category. . You might be more inclined to be intimidated by your dog compared to win the lottery!

1 episode is an undesirable statistic but and soon you accept your dog runs off as you let these events will keep that occurs. There are 5 fundamental actions, 4 significant controls and 3 key devices that you want to find out to utilize effortlessly to acquire control and also to build subject in your own dog. This informative article explains the way to achieve so and just how to avoid your dog working out. A collar and guide will work tools of hands, only exactly the like holding your little one's hand. Mobile phones are just another security apparatus we utilize together with your kids to maintain touch as well as for a far safer and more secure atmosphere. Our dogs really are not as crucial and therefore so are at a greater statistical risk compared to our kiddies. Your voice is not likely to be enough. Whistling is hardwork plus it presumes your pet discovers the whistle stronger than that which exactly are at the close of your own nose. You have to begin to comprehend that quitting your dog working out is an ability to be learned and developed an ongoing basis, and such as people, the enter of patience and love, will likely be repaid. The odds is that in case your young ones are version kiddies your pet probably will soon likely be too, but it does not mean it's certainly likely to be simple to coach, it merely means you almost certainly have the disposition and determination to continue to keep your pet secure and disciplined. I admit this guide could be a little contentious however, also the processes work and won't harm or hurt your own dog. Neglect and ignorance can be really just actually a far larger killer. If You Would like to prevent your puppy working out you will find just 3 points that your needs to attain:

Instant response Your puppy's entire and undivided focus Complete obedience You Want to Know There Are 3 Good Reasons why your puppy will run off:-

Sex Cruelty Owner Mis-management Each one reason as mentioned previously could possibly get your pet murdered or badly hurt. In the event that you overlay insufficient success with the 3 most disciplinary aspects you've got serious problems to address and also you also want to improve this fast or risk your own furry friend resulting in death or critical injury. The final result is going to be losing of one's furry friend by lethal injection, gun shot or deadly accidents. If minors are included and they truly have been your family it'll destroy not just your own life but that of one's whole family. This is the way I view it any way and it's that inspires me to receive it directly. Your furry friend running is perhaps never to be dismissed. I propose to test some simple helpful tips which may make your daily life simpler and boost your own association with the creature at a degree you can appreciate and focus onto good impact. I will discount the initial two reasons which cause conducting a way. For those who require guidance to manage them give your puppy to some loving household, this guide isn't for youpersonally. Your dog exists with perceptions that once participated are so compelling you light in to insignificance when they have been participated. That you never have to be your dog whisperer to appreciate that, however you can watch it to the moment you call back your dog. It's maybe perhaps not just a fantastic moment as soon as your pet embarrasses you for the inability to handle it. I do believe a year at your dog's lifetime is all about 6.5 of years, thus by the end of year your pet ought to be needs to makeout noises, short sentence words and structures. The four main orders in sequence are:

Sit cure down remain Dogs really are quick learners. Not merely do they understand your disposition, but they just take every thing directly into the border constantly and they're also quite persistent. The earlier you get started teaching them the greater, attempt to create it interesting without even completing with a dog. Remember that your kiddies really must not be forcefed with a sizable McDonalds everytime that they obtain their dining table ways and The National Hedgehog Road Skills award hasn't been obtained by way of a hedgehog. A direct result could be the same of one's kid's hand. You speak through it precisely the exact identical manner. You wouldn't permit your son or daughter pull you off the feet, notably on a major road, therefore utilize exactly the exact identical area with your own dog.

Step 1 ). It's obviously your fault

I truly do not feel that Springer Spaniels using their pesky ears may hear you precisely over 30 metres off until you shout which causes you to try looking in hands does it not. Once I was younger I had a liver and white springer'Bramble'. He knew for the afternoon exactly what struck him if he had been busy rounding up sheep. I'd have managed to play with to that British Lions using a French handle similar to that, canine went flying, perhaps maybe not at the least little hurt, only caught in the action. He yelped only with fright, but not chased sheep and now episode if he can hear me he reacted immediately to all of the Big-4 orders.

Step Two. How to avoid the dog pulling off the feet.

A sharp and incredibly hard yank the guide yanking back your dog supporting you'll do just fine. Subsequent to the 2nd or next period they'll desist. That is always easier to complete if your St. Bernard can be still a puppy, that explains the reason why I say start instantly. Bad habits are manufactured by the owners not the dogs. Never permit your puppy to tug. Start by holding your pet's hands (the guide ) and work ardently in a disciplined as well as at a reasonable way, and also reward good performance and subject and also focus with behavior that falls short. Little and often is equally good and also a regular is effective. The item that actually gets results will be patience. You wouldn't simply take out your child to some deflecting environment to show them don't get it done to your own dog . Get your pet's care and eye contact and advancement can improve. If you're experiencing trouble getting your pet's care boost the deal value e.g. noodle beef. That really is all about hearts and thoughts and growing absolute confidence. Enough opportunity to utilize treats reaches the start of teaching that the control. Once your dog knows what's demanded of this, a tap on the mind and some reassuring words is adequate.

Step 3. The Way to slow down your dog to a pace

Just how a lot of you really wouldn't hang on tight to a own 6 year-old child's hands at the city center? Would you anticipate that your six year old to speak fluent Russian? No, therefore do not expect your pet to comprehend what sounds exactly the exact same in their mind. Make use of the guide to construct confidence and a great deal of patience. By the time that your dog is just six months old they'll soon be getting more biddable, more interested and much more ascertained but up into this first season you may not be confident. But you're desperate to provide your pet the liberty of this encounter about. A match keeper educated me an excellent strategy called hobbling. Your puppy's collar must allow one to receive three hands under it, even in the event that you cannot it really is overly tight. Simply stick with your puppy's front paw throughout the crate, it appears barbarous, its not and you're able to grab your pet dog on three legs, so it places the odds in your favor, and that means that you finally have the chance to teach your pet to stay near for you, or obtain it back . Do not make work with of a retractable guide it motivates your pet to tug off. Dogs retractable leads aren't correctly trained (this type of statement might be tremendously contentious however I might assume that those owners wont be reading this kind of article therefore that there will not be anybody to violate!)

Step 4. Period - how much time does it take to teach my dog? I presume 300 hours has a fundamental occupation done until your puppy will pertain in to state saving, field sports, or even societal human activities such as military or police work. It will take a fantastic year to repay and train your pet dog. If you receive the Big-4 orders in fast and the dog will begin to execute well however it is going to require no less than annually so have patience and persist. Exercise all of the period - practice makes perfect. ( in addition, it can help you shed weight!) . I finally have a black and white Springer Spaniel and that she had been dreadful for conducting off. This really was my fault. On shadowy evenings I just had to become distracted for a moment and also your dog has been gone. That I am at the dark and pouring rain, then yelling off my head and also canine is at the following county. Twenty anxious minutes after I obtain yourself a chunk of sand straight back! Never be cross legged with a husband, it really is after the fact and so they can misinterpret you, resulting in trauma and confusion. Only get a note yourself to prepare an exercise session at a restricted environment to repair the issue whilst kicking your bottom and perhaps maybe not the dogs!

Step 5. The Way to prevent your puppy working out

You may spend countless hours dealing together with these, you teach the 4 commands so when they're more than 6 weeks and really know the controls then you've got to create subject to endure or face the potential for an unthinkable episode. I've tried whistles, going after her and only leaving her, not one that can be just displays canine to threat. When I can not restrain your dog in both long and short stove she's unworthy from the field besides just a pet. How do I prevent my furry friend out of working out. A match keeper indicated that an electrical collar. I dismissed it out of hand to be unkind, however it's maybe perhaps not quite as unkind as watching your furry friend in misery trapped to some wheel. I opted to try out an electric collar resolved to become fair and kind. It's transformed canine with no cruelty whatsoever which is the way it works: First and just after six weeks , and just when the Big-4 orders come inplace can you utilize . My collar includes an audible alert that canine can hear much when she can not hear or see . She immediately learned to react for the bleep, this means just 1 item'Heal'. Ever since crazy life has got really hearing and fantastic vision toowe expect to find plenty of it if we have been outside today because we're silent, your dog is in order in any way times and especially is safe. Your puppy and notably Springer Spaniels would require to complete as you ask. You ought to be there during the right time of any episode that requires care or arresting and also a bleeper is in fact on the area as well as instant. If your dog does not respond you can find 8 preferences to'tweak your dog's ear', establishing to and including shock. Most these are much milder than demanding handling or hitting dog. They all hurt a whole good deal less than influence with the HGV. I have to stress that in the event you never possess the enormous four orders inplace and also a certain dog you shouldn't deploy this kind of tool, keep your pet on the lead. The collar is simply for the pet's control and protection and also the fee, that will be roughly exactly the same like a static shock in the door handle, doesn't lead to canine much disquiet, however it enables her know I need her care when everyone fails that will be pretty rare nowadays. I actually don't understand how a shepherds get it done however they will have my admiration. I actually don't want my pet to attain such levels. We've got a lot of fun together and that she loves my 2 girls, actually she loves everybody else including the postman! I believe patience would be your trick and after that it's an issue of time. . She has a distinctive settee inside our backyard (but not presumes that directly from your house), and also your dog house made from straw bales she loves since it's quite warm. She knows where the border is, also pushes it like mad, but she's secure and well behaved and in order in any way times because she can hear and each single day that goes with her understanding of speech and also excruciating procedure improves. I believe I shall always utilize an electrical collar today, it's a security device that makes me less nervous concerning your dog's behavior because I will concentrate on enlarging canine's understanding of orders, therefore her behavior continues to enhance and she plays with an even bigger plus a great deal more fulfilling role in day today tasks. In the event you never want your dog to conduct off access to grips with all your collar, guide, instruction, rewarding and subject and also be learned - the ideal method to try this gently is by using a bleeping collar - it works. I feel these new apparatus are your dog identical to a two way radio. No soldier goes into combat with no. I do believe that they truly have been here in order to stay and used sensibly will completely change your own life and also make teaching your pet a true joy with much less worry. Remember it's the finger over the button and you also choose whether you're a dog trainer or perhaps your pet dog re - I know that I am.

How much time does it have to instruct your pet the 4 Commands?

It requires approximately 20 minutes equipped with some very'must have' treats, then repeat the practice per time or so after for a couple seconds until you view it work instantly. I utilize mackerel fillets but whatever aside from chocolate is going to do just fine. For each and each single minute of practice you want one hour or so of training to find the control working consistently after which four or three times more to buy them working together. You'll cover gaps on your regular and also you also are going to certainly be in a position to see if the others have managed your own dog. Dogs will continually push to the limit to learn what they are able to eliminate and that means you've got to become that limitation and also you also can't do this by being fine and feeding canine treats. Never violate your pet by cruelty and bullying to find the claw you need, a busted dog doesn't get the job done precisely and whoever has trained your dog will put a broken dog off a mile, you can not hide it and also you also can not mend the hurt.

A control ought to really be instant, it's futile if it's not and can allow you to get personally, your kids, canine or any poor unsuspecting driver in to an unthinkable position, it's well worth the hard work.

Should you allow your dog on the settee - Training Versus Behaviour?

Oh boy is that a popular potato! Primarily your pet understands the gap between your scruffy sofa in the play room and the main one from the family area however, you might need to work longer on the practice. It's possible to let your pet perform whatever you want provided you put your time and campaign in together with the bottom rules, but here's just a very easy guide.

Your puppy contains just two standard adjustments, you to frighten and the alternative is more lively. Figure out what they are and exactly what exactly they mean. In the event you never desire a yappy dog you'll find the opportunity in approximately ten weeks to sort out it.

Do not permit your pet to act in a means that will be offensive to the others, I am certain that you never require an inventory from me personally.

You are able to make work with of a slap, a business voice or push orders as long because it's instantaneous. If your furry friend is outside reach that you'll have to be very quick (run and voice ) or utilize an electric collar. A sharp jolt beats a struggle or injury. If that really can be administered at the onset of action canine is not likely to replicate the offence. You wont violate canine doing so. Prolonged aggression or ferocious punishment fills your furry friend with dread. I've discovered them begin to yelp in front of a blow has been struck because they understand what's coming. Can you really do your own job knowing some one is all going to offer a good hanging? Neither can the dog. Never have I seen a broken dog which did not attract a lump into my neck and also have me scratching my lip to keep the tears back. Much like canine I suffer silently alone incapable to speak.

Being a Fantastic puppy owner and handler

Awful behavior develops as a consequence of not enough effort or selfishness by the proprietor. Just like your kids the longer patience and time spent together with them and effort that you put in to your own dog, the greater reward you may get with a powerful step of loyalty reimbursed. Like kids that they are going to grab injury between adults and also they don't really enjoy it. Neglect is going to bring about canine making its own rules and you are going to require your dog psychologist to intervene. Unless your pet is ill and needing 24 hour oversight, I would recommend that they should possess their very own special location. A kennel is ordinarily the very most useful so that they are able to get peace and to flake out and dry/chill outside and become . You'll not ordinarily possess your kiddies in bed with you, therefore I believe that it's somewhat strange to own your pets too. Deficiency of good sense is the thing that develops poor creature behavior. Lots of exercise, fantastic diet, subject, regular, attention and care will continue to work with the furry friend.

In conclusion, the 3 fundamental parts of equipment certainly are an outcome, a collar along with an audible apparatus which can be discovered anywhere immediately by means of your puppy which up on being discovered remembers your furry friend to a own side. . If a step of force will be required then this apparatus ought to be able to manage it or be supported it up.

How to Make a comfy dog mattress at no cost - well practically

I Believe a Excellent mattress creates a very Satisfied puppy, especially if they possess a Complete tummy

Being an engineer, specialising in materials storage and handling, as it regards a mattress for your dog I desired to generate a comfy spot for her to bed. For many weeks I persevered with puppy cushions but they simply become dirty and aren't too simple to wash or hot to sleep outdoors. In the winter this season we had two feet of snowwhich canine adored nonetheless it had been cold on her behalf and I wanted some thing .

Pallets tend to be equipment you are able to grab at no cost. Three or two are quite straightforward to convert to a bed. 1000mm x 1200mm is also an ideal size. When you experience an out house, shed or garage they'll fit easily indoors. It is irrelevant whether your dog chews them, the timber may be recycled or used for firewood of course if you make use of straw, the straw might be properly used or burnt. This alternative is not for everyone however the puppy will adore it and also you also will grow to appreciate it and this is the reason:

The straw helps you wash canine The dog may scratch and arrange that the straw since it needs The pallet and a couple of straw bales produce an extremely cozy den Filled with straw your pet can reside outside in all weathers Living out is best for canine Dogs can grow their natural seasonal jackets in accord with this climate. In they move to a country of lasting moulting, outside un-heated they are able to live longer naturally. The straw is comfy and hot annually round particularly with the extra security of 380mm into 450mm of insulating material on either side The pallet keeps your puppy away from the cold floor - crucial. Straw bales include #1.75 to 3.50 Prior to going in to blind fear of scabies or mange, I have not ever had any problem. However, if you're involved ask your veterinarian, I believe that you may realize that the contemporary treatments keep them anyway. Do be careful for cardboard and claws (stapled on). Plywood makes good shirts if the timber is a little rough after which your heavy straw does the remainder.

My pet wants her duvet mattress and can be quite satisfied to have to it and I rarely watch that her little dark nose encounter across the boundary of this bale until I predict on her behalf.

There's a great deal of crap talked about training and maybe perhaps not much help with the true control commands once they don't really get the job done. Much of that time period it's simply impossible to intercept behavioral and mistakes dysfunction with time to improve it you might say that the pet could very easily grasp the condition. This only makes it harder for both you and your puppy

I'm a stuff management engineer by profession, and also an enthusiastic motorcyclist that I use to get work the majority of the yearround. Even the BMW GS 1200 Adventure can be actually just really a trying and awesome system, therefore if you're in trade or industry and would like to develop or produce a brand new warehouse or production unit, then please go and see my site.

I've experienced spaniels all my own life, having grown up using them. I've always found it tough to get assistance with the very tricky pieces of training. I like to coach the basic principles and build my relationship with my dog and now I love to watch her employed in the area doing exactly what she does best and getting her to keep coming straight back again to me personally at a systematic manner and never through the county. I typically ship your pet to get a season having a keeper to empathize, it is somewhat like doing a ski season to get your own dog.

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rivet-ing-titanic · 4 years

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May 25th, 1912 - American Inquiry Day 18

Day 18: The last day. You would think that it being the last day and being off of work, I could get this one done on time. But life gets in the way. SO, here we are, to cover the final day of witness testimony, submitted affidavits, letters and “process-verbal” entered into record. Are you tired of these posts? Did you read or like them or find them interesting? Well if you are tired of them, it is just this and a Final Report summary post left to go. Jury is out on whether I will be back next year to do the British inquiry, day by day. (Maybe I should just do it now so each day will be on the correct day, protect me from my own laziness, personal issues and procrastination.) Enough about me, let’s dive in.

Today, testimony was taken on board the RMS Olympic, in the New York Harbor.

Witnesses:

Herbert James Haddock, Captain, RMS Olympic;

E.J. Moore, Wireless Operator, RMS Olympic;

Frederick Barrett, Leading Fireman, RMS Titanic;

Submitted: (All submissions are linked)

Proces-Verbal – E.J. Moore, Wireless Operator, RMS Olympic;

Affidavit – James McGough, First Class Passenger, RMS Titanic;

Affidavit – Catherine Crosby, First Class Passenger, RMS Titanic;

Affidavit – Imanita Shelley, Second Class Passenger, RMS Titanic;

Affidavit – Eleanor Widener, First Class Passenger, RMS Titanic;

Correspondence – Letter from Stanley Lord, Captain, SS Californian;

Correspondence – C.C. Adams, Vice President, Postal Telegraph-Cable Company;

Correspondence – H.C. Wolfe, New York World;

Correspondence – P.A.S. Franklin, Vice President, IMM;

Correspondence – B. Brooks, GM, Western Union Telegraph Co.;

Statement – Mrs. Lucian P. Smith, First Class Passenger, RMS Titanic;

Notable Quotes/Lines of Questioning or Summarized Testimony:

Smith starts by questioning Captain Haddock, about where they were, when and how he heard of the Titanic situation, and what his actions were. He is also questioned about any notifications of ice sightings they received, of which the first they heard was from the Asian on Saturday morning.

“Fear absolutely no hope searching Titanic's position. Left Leyland S. S. Californian searching around. All boats accounted for. About 675 souls saved, crew and passengers, latter nearly all women and children. Titanic foundered about 2.20 a. m., 5.47. GMT in 41.16 north. 50.14 west; not certain of having got through. Please forward to White Star - also to Cunard. Liverpool and New York - that I am returning to New York. Consider this most advisable for many considerations.” – Rostron (read from the record by Haddock)

Haddock then reads for the record, the exchange of messages between himself and Captain Rostron of Carpathia. They discuss location, ice, particulars of letting the appropriate channels know what has happened, Ismay and that they believe it best that survivors do not see Olympic, that no transfer take place.

Haddock continues to read from Moore’s report, detailing how the names of passengers were passed on by a “half-asleep” Cottam, who asked to be excused for his sending. Moore wrote in his report, “during the transmission of names it was evident the operator on Carpathia was tired out”. Cottam had testified earlier in the inquiry that once he heard Titanic’s distress call on the night of the 14th, he got about a handful hours of sleep over the next few days until they reached New York. He was working the wireless non-stop, with and without assistance from an immobile, frost bitten Bride.

Moore relates to Smith that he received seven or eight messages to the effect of a request for compensation for the story of Titanic. Moore makes note of these in his report, however did not reply to any requests from papers such as the New York Herald, the Sun and the World. He also indicates that he was never told not to give out any information, however he and the captain held information back in a desire that it be more accurate.

In addition to answering Smith’s questions, Moore submitted his wireless report (listed above as process-verbal) that both he and Haddock referred to during their testimony.

The correspondence from Stanley Lord that was submitted into record is a letter to Smith in which Captain Lord corrected a statement he made while testifying, which ultimately is inconsequential in my opinion, and probably more of a formality correction than anything.

As you all know, I love a passenger story or affidavit. So instead of pulling a whole bunch of quotes, as I am so wont to do, I now have just linked all submissions above, for you to peruse at your leisure. Is it being lazy? Maybe a bit, but I wanted to end this day, with a sprinkling of quotes, (of which I hope to have not included any similar before) a few thoughts in regards to any submissions or quotes, and my conclusions prior to the final report.

McGough asked a dining-room steward whether there was any danger, shortly after he left his stateroom. At that time the steward told him “not in the least” and suggested he return to bed. Fortunately for McGough, he did not. This seems a theme throughout this inquiry, where immediately after or even some time after, Titanic crew members, such as stewards, were not totally sure of what was going on or, if they were aware, the severity of it. Personally, I believe part of this to be due to the inability to inform due to technology limitations of the time, solved by walkie-talkies and earpieces today. Additionally, if a steward were on watch, and had not heard anything yet, he or she would have no reason to say anything other than everything is fine. I would also consider the desire to not cause panic had some impact as well. Clearly, it would have been helpful if some sort of light or alarm or notification had been in place, for passengers and crew alike, but word of mouth, on an incredibly large ship, with over 900 crew members, some of whom are sleeping, would be time consuming. Time, unfortunately the Titanic and the souls on board did not have. This does not even take into account the time that would have been necessary to figure out the extent of the damage. So while I personally feel, there should have been some better systems in place, criticism of stewards who only passed on what they knew at the time, or what a higher up told them, should be discouraged. (As you might know, I am currently learning more about crew hierarchy and things of this nature in my new book)

“It was reported on the Carpathia by passengers, whose names I do not recollect, that the lookout who was on duty at the time the Titanic struck the iceberg had said: ‘I know they will blame me for it, because I was on duty, but it was not my fault; I had warned the officers three or four times before striking the iceberg that we were in the vicinity of icebergs, but the officer on the bridge paid no attention to my signals.’ I can not give the name of any passenger who made that statement, but it was common talk on the Carpathia that that is what the lookout said.” – Crosby (hearsay)

Imanita Shelley has an interesting story about her accommodations and slight mishap of rooms that happened upon the start of her journey. See above for a link to her affidavit. I would be interested to see the rooms which were referred to. It does not seem in her affidavit that she makes any mention of actual room numbers. This is also the first, I have read, mention of issues with the heat onboard Titanic.

“Afterwards, on board the Carpathia, a first-cabin passenger a Mme. Baxter, of Montreal, Canada, told Mrs. Shelley that she had sent her son to the captain at the time of the collision to find out what to do. That her son had found the captain in a card game, and he had laughingly assured him that there was no danger and to advise his mother to go back to bed.”- Shelley (a very strong accusation that if true is concerning, however others have testified that this was not the case)

“I borrowed money from a gentleman and took this Marconigram myself and asked the operator to send it for me… it was not received… This is the only complaint I have to make against the Carpathia… He also said it was not necessary to pay him, because the White Star Line was responsible. I insisted, however, because I thought that probably the money might have some weight with them, as the whole thing seemed to have been a monied accident.” – Mrs. Smith

“On the night of Sunday, the 14th of April, 1912, my husband and I gave a dinner at which Capt. Smith was present. Capt. Smith drank absolutely no wine or intoxicating liquor of any kind whatever at the dinner.” - Widener

Conclusions prior to the Final Report:

You could really get into the weeds with the last 18 days of testimony, what people/boats had drinking water, saw her go down and thought she broke in half vs. went down in one piece, who was afraid of suction, who heard explosions, I could go on. Part of me wants to do this, I think it would be quite interesting, especially diving into the distant light/boat testimonies. However, I do not have the time for that these days, and you probably don’t either (if you do please share what you find). What I will say, on my last day-by-day summary post is this: If you are a Titanic crazed person like I am, and love the history, the nuances of what went wrong, what went right, specific passenger experiences directly from their hand or mouth, do yourself a favor, and dive into this. The Titanic Inquiry Project is the most complete, well organized, and informative Titanic site I may have ever had the pleasure of using. They link out to passenger and crew and witness bios, they have the particulars on every ship mentioned, and it continues to add more and more. I am not done with this site now that I am done with this inquiry, I still have the British, and if you remember my post about liability, they now have those hearings. I cannot sing the praises of this enough. So if you have a rainy day, and an inquisitive mind, check out titanicinquiry.org . You will not be disappointed. And, if you like, you can use my American Inquiry posts, all under one link on my page, to help navigate, or pick and choose what you want to read.

SEE American Inquiry Day 17 post HERE.

#mypost #titanic inquiry #rms titanic #passengers #may 25 #US Senate Titanic Inquiry #rms carpathia #white star line #history #limitation of liability #sinking of the titanic #one last american inquiry post #i hope #and a kick ass laundry post that has taken way too long #1912

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chiseler · 4 years

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“You Devilish Mummy!”: Mexican Horror in America, 1958-1963

Rosa Arenas

For some people, Cinqo de Mayo means a nacho party platter, a cooler full of Corona, plastic sombreros and a pinata filled with stale butterscotch discs. For a few of us, though, Cinqo de Mayo means one thing and one thing only: Aztec mummies. The sad part of it is that it might actually make much more sense than the nachos.

After Tod Browning and his crew left the set at the end of the shooting day while working on 1931’s Dracula, they were replaced by director George Melford and a Mexican cast and crew. Using the same sets, the same cameras, and a translated version of the script, they worked all night to shoot the Spanish-language version of the film. Those who have seen both tend to agree that the Spanish version is the superior of the two. The cinematography is more vibrant and less stage-bound than the Browning version, the atmosphere is richer (possibly because they were shooting at night), and most important of all, the Mexican Dracula (Carlos Villar) smolders with a sexual energy and menace Bela Lugosi, great as he is, lacks.

Prior to the mid-’50s, most American audiences would probably be surprised to learn that Mexico even had its own film industry. That’s when low-budget producers from Sam Arkoff on down recognized the economic advantages of snapping up the US distribution rights to existing foreign genre pictures. It made perfect sense. You didn’t need to hire any directors or cameramen or gaffers. There were no actor hissy fits to smooth over. All you needed to do was dub in some English dialogue that more or less made sense, fit the action on the screen, and approximately matched the actors’ lip movements. Or maybe not, whatever. Sometimes you might want to bring in an editor to try and rearrange a few scenes so the picture and dialogue’ll make more sense to the kids at the drive-in, but even that wasn’t always necessary. Come up with a snappy English title, Americanize some of the actors’ names, and you’re good to go. The important thing is these films could be picked up for a song, and minus a few minor expenses everything they brought in was gravy.

Suddenly US theaters were full of sci-fi, horror, and westerns from Italy, Japan, Spain, and yes indeed, Mexico. Low-budget distributor K. Gordon Murray quickly established himself as the king of marketing Mexican horror cheapies to American audiences, handling films like The Man and the Monster, The Brainiac, Curse of the Doll People, and a whole lotta movies with “Aztec Mummy” in the title. It would be nice to say these films have complex and thought-provoking storylines, that the acting is strong and subtle, that the cinematography is dazzling and the special effects on a par with any major American studio at the time, but that would really be pushing it. A lot of the films were just slapdash, flat-footed remakes of popular American films but with cheaper sets. A few of them do stand out, though, in that even the dubbed and edited versions remain uniquely Mexican, even if they do seem to tell the same story over and over again. And some of them are just plain nuts.

Genre director Rafael Portillo and screenwriter Alfredo Salazar were best known for their Aztec Mummy and wrestling pictures, and in 1958 topped even Santo Meets Dracula with La momia azteca contra el robot humano, translated as The Aztec Mummy Against the Humanoid Robot or, more simply, The Robot Meets the Aztec Mummy.

As the opening narration assures us, the film is based on an “actual experiment” conducted by two scientists from “The Los Angeles University” and verified by witnesses who “signed sworn statements with a notary public” so “there is no question about this story’s authenticity.”

Please keep that in mind.

The film is told mostly in flashback and through voiceover, which is generally a sure sign you’re watching a heavy-handed bit of editorial butchery. The same sort of thing was done regularly to the US versions of Toho films, usually with a mind toward simplifying the story.

Okay, a psychiatrist (Ramón Gay) is mocked by his colleagues when he presents a paper about past life regression, so he storms home and hypnotizes his wife Flora (Rosa Arenas). We slip into a low budget flashback within a flashback as we learn Flora was once an Aztec maiden on schedule to be sacrificed when she runs off with a warrior. The village priests find them, bring them back, and bury the warrior alive after placing a curse on him. Then they fit the old Flora with a gold bracelet and breastplate inscribed with directions to the location of “the secret Aztec treasure.” Then they cut out her heart, which may say something about the effectiveness of that breastplate.

Returning to the first flashback, we learn the evil Dr. Krupp had spied on the experiment and now wants in on it. Nevertheless the good doctor decides for some reason that the best way to prove his theory is to find the bracelet and breastplate, so they all go looking. Lucky for them they find a secret passage under the pyramid that I guess is in their backyard. Moments later they find the ancient temple, the skeleton of the old Flora, and the breastplate which they take home with them. The fun doesn’t last long, though, as the warrior’s mummy shows up at the house, grabs the breastplate, grabs Flora, returns to the temple, and prepares to cut out her heart again. At this point we’re about six minutes into the film.

Then it turns out, see, that Dr. Krupp is really a sinister underworld figure known as The Bat, and...oh screw it. Over the course of the rest of the film we get gangsters, a shootout, hypnotism, a mad scientist, a pit full of rattlesnakes, that mummy again, some Aztec rituals, a few vanishing bodies, a police investigation, a stolen corpse, a stolen brain, and a stolen “machine that uses radium,” together with lines of dialogue like, “oh, you devilish mummy!” and “continuing our search we hurried to the snake pit.” Eventually we even get a robot there near the end (though it’s more of a reanimated corpse wearing a metal suit festooned with some blinking lightbulbs),and it has a brief and slow wrestling match with the mummy.

And all of it, believe it or not, is crammed into a zippy 65 minutes. No, it’s not a particularly good film as the term is traditionally used, but it is a fascinating one. As crazy as it all gets, as big as some of the plot holes and lapses in logic may seem, the craziest thing of all is that you can’t really criticize it for any of that given that it’s, y’know, based on a true story.

Robot Meets the Aztec Mummy is a pretty extreme example of what was coming out of Mexico at the time. Other genre pictures were no less strange, maybe, but a little more sane.

Three years after Bert I. Gordon’s Attack of the Puppet People and 25 years after Tod Browning’s The Devil Doll, Benito Alazraki released his 1961 film Muñecos infernales, better known in the States as Curse of the Doll People.

An archaeologist interested in ancient rights and such and her physician husband (Ramon Gay again) visit an art collector friend who regales them with the exciting tale of his recent trip to Haiti. While there, see, he and two friends witnessed a secret voodoo ritual that included human sacrifice. For all the crazy goings on though, the art collector couldn’t take his eyes off the idol the voodoo priests were worshipping. He thought it would make a fine addition to his collection, so the next day he went back and stole it.

(Given that the story is not told in flashback, just by some guy sitting in an easy chair, I’m tempted to think the whole Haiti angle was an invention of the screenwriter for the American version. Maybe the producer was a little tired of Aztecs by this point.)

It’s not hard to guess that stealing a revered idol from a voodoo temple is not without its repercussions, and sure enough before you know it the children of all the men on the Haiti trip start receiving new dolls in the mail. Real nice, realistic-looking ones too. None of the parents seem a bit concerned by the arrival of anonymous gifts for their children, merely handing the dolls to the tykes and sending them off to bed. After a few cuts to an oddly Mexican-looking Haitian voodoo priest, well you guessed it. the dolls start coming to life and knocking off the parents in ways that can’t easily be traced back as the work of an evil dolly.

The one surprise here is given the budget, the special effects (midgets in doll clothes on oversized sets) are really, really good. Better than Bert Gordon’s, even. It’s just too bad the story around them doesn’t have a bit more zing to it. It’s a little flabby and obvious. Still, you start to get the sense a pattern is developing.

El baron del terror (released in the States as The Brainiac in 1962), directed by Chano Urueta, marked a bit of a break from the simple revenge plot. Oh wait, no it didn’t. But it was still a break from the standard storyline.

As the film opens it’s 1661, a comet has appeared in the sky, and an evil baron (Abel Salazar) is being burned at the stake by Inquisitors for practicing black magic. As evil barons are so wont to do when finding themselves in circumstances like that, he places a curse on all those who condemned him, vowing he would return in 300 years when the comet reappears and kill off all their descendants. The Inquisitors, for some reason, don’t seem terribly concerned by all this and go ahead and burn him anyway.

Cut to three hundred years in the future and true to his word the comet has reappeared and so has the baron, who starts snuffing people who didn’t even know they were related to Inquisitors. Yes, it’s a plot we’ve seen how many times already? But the Brainiac, as the title might hint, does offer a twist or two. First, before he kills his victims the Baron transforms into a kind of hideous horned demon monster (the doll special effects were better). Then during the murders he sucks out his victims’ brains, which he keeps in a big salad bowl in the kitchen. When he lures someone over to his apartment and confirms their identity, all he needs to do is excuse himself to the kitchen for a moment, have a spoonful of brains, and shazam. No more descendant and more brains for the baron.

A year later Ueueta returned to more standard form with La cabeza viviente, aka The Living Head. Here again he opens with a long prologue in which he went to some pains to at least give the illusion of historical accuracy. When a great Aztec general dies, not only is he buried, but so are a few of his servants and a high priestess to help him on his way in the afterlife. That those others weren’t quite dead yet doesn’t seem to matter much. It’s all quite a big to-do.

Cut to 450 years in the future, as an incredibly bad archaeologist and two assistants stumble upon the tomb. First they completely destroy the mummy of the high priestess and shrug it off. Then when he finds the invaluable Ring of Death, the archaeologist immediately announces that he’s going to give it to his daughter, “who likes ugly things like that.” Then after reading aloud the very clear curse that will befall anyone who desecrates the tomb, the trio scurry’s off with the general’s mummified head and the mummy of his servant (the one still clutching the knife). Do they then deliver them to the museum where they can be properly cared for and kept in carefully climate-controlled environments? Well, almost: he brings them back to his apartment and keeps them in the living room.

Yeah, it’s not really hard to see where this is headed. The daughter starts wearing the Ring of Death and gets a little kooky in the head . Then the servant and head come to life and all three of them (the daughter carrying the head) go tracking down the desecrators in order to cut out their hearts.

“I know what you’re thinking,” a police inspector says after the first murder. “But I don’t believe in legends. Or in superstitions either. All I know is that this is a very difficult case.”

That’s the real killer in The Living Head. Even more so than most, the dubbing is miserable, with most of the lines either being non-sequiturs, or so plainly obvious and logical they come out sounding like non-sequiturs. I get the feeling sometimes that the voice actors they brought in were never given scripts, simply shown the film and told to make it up as they went along.

Ah, but this is merely a taste of what’s out there in terms of Mexican horror. We haven’t even considered the Santo pictures yet, and there are hundreds of those. I’m not sure if the likes of Robot Meets the Aztec Mummy would really enrich anyone’s appreciation or understanding of Mexican independence, but there are doubtless lessons to be learned here. Namely, should you happen to find some neat stuff in a sacred temple next time you’re in Mexico, for godsakes just leave it there, no matter how cool it is. Those Aztecs mean business.

by Jim Knipfel

#Jim Knipfel #The Chiseler #Robot Meets the Aztec Mummy #Brainiac #The Living Head

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