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oldsalempost-blog · 6 months

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The Old Salem Post

Our Local Tamassee-Salem SC Area News each Monday except holidays Contact: [email protected] Distributed to local businesses, town hall, library. Volume 7 Issue 43 Week of November 13, 2023 https://www.tumblr.com/settings/blog/oldsalempost-blog Lynne Martin Publishing

EDITOR: Pat’s Cash & Carry 50th Anniversary Conclusion: Christine would have enjoyed the 50th celebration held October 14th with music provided by locals John Oliver and family, Adam Hopkins and Brooks Garrett. “Senator Thomas Alexander came this morning.” Mark stated as he was looking at the numerous photographs throughout the years. One vintage instant Polaroid photo was of a younger version of Thomas Alexander from years past sitting at a table, possibly waiting on a famous hot dog, while talking to members in the community. Pat’s Cash and Carry is full of memories past and is still in the business of making memories that last. It is a special hometown place to meet for lunch. Or, drop the grandkids by for an ice cream cone and continue to make lasting memories with them; memories the community still enjoys.

So where did the name “Pat’s” come from? Christine’s daughter Teresa explained, “Mama was a Patterson. There was already a Patterson store not far away, so the shortened version of her maiden name is where ‘Pats’ came from.” Now we all share that bit of trivia!

The family of Christine and Perry Burgess wishes to thank everyone for all of the continued years of support and especially for all the support for the 50th Celebration. LRM

TOWN of SALEM: Town of Salem Christmas Parade will be Sunday, Dec 3, at 4pm. Theme: The Spirit of Christmas. Sign up 944-2819. Collecting for Toys for Tots through end of November. Next Town Council meeting Thursday November 16th at 5pm. **Downtown Market every Sat 8am-12pm.

JOCASSEE VALLEY BREWING COMPANY,(JVBC) & COFFEE SHOP* 13412 N Hwy 11 Open Wed–Sat 9am-9pm and Sunday 2pm-7pm. Events this week: Wed: El Charro Food Truck 12pm –7pm Blue Grass Jam 6:30pm Thurs: El Charro Food Truck 12pm –7pm Palmetto Trail Talk 6:00pm. Fri: Food: BIGFUSS (specializes in fresh food with amazing flavor) 5pm Music: Dave Dohner (Blues) 6:30pm Sat- Food: LOBSTER DOGS Music: Mountain Bridge at 6:30pm Sunday 2pm-7pm. More Info 864-873-0048.

ASHTON RECALLS Here's the last part of the ongoing 1953 story: by Ashton Hester SALEM WAS ON THE MOVE 70 YEARS AGO - (This is the conclusion of a lengthy story in the June 17, 1953 Keowee Courier with the headline "Progress At Salem Going On And On"). . .The highly active Salem-Whitewater Club has taken a strong role in every civic and area improvement program which has come along since its establishment only a few years ago. . .It has played a major part in the push to have majestic Whitewater Falls developed as one of the east's major tourist attractions, and has never let up on the project to pave the road to the falls. The Oconee Planning and Development Board has now joined forces with the Salem group in that effort. . .It is almost certain that Salem, during its slightly more than two years as an actual incorporated town, has done more advancing than any other Oconee municipality in that short span, and much of the recent progress can be traced easily to its spirited mayor and town council. . .The governing body is headed by Mayor Clyde Talley, who operates a bustling grocery and general store. Council members are Mrs. Ray Green, Sterly Crumpton, Grayson Dalton and Ralph Whitmire. One member who served on the first council but did not run this term is Horace Hinkle. Another is Ray Green who gave up his council membership when Oconee countians elected him to serve them in the state house of representatives last summer. . .END OF STORY

Jottings from Miz Jeannie by Jeannie Barnwell International Encounters at JAKE's I have always been fascinated by variations in dialects of the English language. I promise you that if you hang around Jake's Gas Station and Mini-Mart on Highway 11 in Tamassee that you will encounter EVERY CONCEIVABLE variation of spoken English. Should travelers from distant lands appear at JAKE's, I have appointed myself as the Tamassee Ambassador of Friendship and Goodwill. In the last six months, I have welcomed wayfarers from France, China, Iceland, and Tenafly, New Jersey. Since I seem to have accumulated a surfeit of fabulous vintage costume jewelry, I befriend foreigners by decorating them with a bejeweled creation as a gesture of friendship. I will never see these women again, but my wish for them is that when they wear their new/old necklaces or bracelets that they will recall with delight their visit to Tamassee, South Carolina!

EAGLES NEST ART CENTER

NEW CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: Tamassee-Salem Christian Academy has plans to open its doors for the 2024-2025 school year! Come hear all about the exciting plans in progress and see how you can be involved. Tuesday November 14th, 6pm in the auditorium of the Eagles Nest Art Center. We hope to see you there! UPCOMING EVENTS ENAC! November 18th 7pm Oconee Mountain Opry. Tickets $10 day of event or on our website. Enjoy the beautiful tunes and voice of Fayssoux McLean and Brandon Turner. Fayssoux sang vocals with Emmylou Harris for years, and they continue to collaborate as friends today. Brandon is a brilliant talent among musicians who stays booked continually playing with multiple well-known artists. The Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs are a duo from Raleigh, NC who will delight in their Appalachian Americana tunes. Owen Grooms and Jennifer Linville are from Brevard, NC singing the tunes of Old Time and Mountain Bluegrass. Doors open at 6pm for treasure shopping and concessions. Call fore more information 864-280-1258 Christmas Talent Showcase: Dec 2 6pm-9pm. Tickets $5 Showcase your Christmas talent. Don your Christmas attire and be a part of bringing Christmas Spirit to our community. Email [email protected] or call 864-888-5663

Christmas with the Johnson Edition: Dec 16 at 7pm Tickets $10 Reserve your seats and Bring your family to enjoy delightful time together for the holidays with this talented local family, rising in the ranks of the music world. They stay booked with events, churches, Dollywood, and beyond. Visit our website at Eaglesnestartcenter.org for events and ticket information. *We have a DHEC certified kitchen available for rent or food commissary. Rental space for kitchen, reunions, parties.

GIFT IDEA: Name a seat at ENAC! A single name is $200 and a couple or family is $250. This makes a wonderful gift to support this special community venue. Please call Darlene at 864 710-8758.

CHURCH NEWS Bethel Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 580 Bethel Church Rd Walhalla, 29691, worships at 10:30 a.m. November Schedule: November 5 George Harper, November 12, Mel Davis, November 19, George Harper, November 26, Mel Davis. Love to sing? Join us! Love to be in charge? Come lead us! All worshipers are welcome.

JOCASSEE SANTA at Devils Fork State Park: November 18th, 12noon –3pm at the day area, Eclectic Sun.

Conservation Corner: Our District Oconee County Councilman, John Elliot recently spoke on need to address light pollution before we can no longer enjoy the night skies He spoke out against cookie cutter housing developments stacked on top of each other destroying the environment of every aspect of what is good about our county. I applaud his stance and hope others will join his awakening for more protection. LRM

JUST SHARING: A close friend turned over her deceased husband’s utility stock to a local reputable broker in our county. She relies on her children to read the mail since she is legally blind. She thinks she received 1 mail notice in May from that company, who could have picked up the phone and called her. She received a recent notice saying her stocks have been sold and turned over to the state of SC due to them not being able to reach her within a year. So if you have a broker you think is taking care of your funds, pick up the phone and check in. LRM

Speak out to save TSE! L R Martin

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laughingpinecone · 3 years

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ToT letter 2021

I am laughingpineapple on AO3

Hello dear author! I hope you’ll have fun with our match. Feel free to draw from general or fandom-specific likes, past letters, and/or follow your heart.

Art likes: characters doing something, even something very simple, illustrating a moment rather than abstractly posing. I also enjoy seeing them wear different clothes, getting a feel of what their fashion sense is like beyond their canon outfit(s). Or dressing them up for some outlandish AU!

Likes: worldbuilding, slice of life (especially if the event the fic focuses on is made up but canon-specific), missing moments, 5+1 and similar formats, bonding and emotional support/intimacy, physical intimacy, lingering touches, loyalty, casefic, surrealism, magical realism, established relationships, future fic, hurt/comfort or just comfort from the ample canon hurt, throwing characters into non-canon environments, banter, functional relationships between dysfunctional individuals, unexplained mysteries, bittersweet moods, journal/epistolary fic, dreams and memories and identities, canon-adjacent tropey plots, outsider POV, UST, resolved UST, exploration of secondary bits of canon, leaning on the uniqueness of the canon setting/mood, found families, characters reuniting after a long and/or harrowing time, friends-to-lovers, road trips, maps, mutual pining, cuddling, wintry moods, the feeling of flannel and other fabrics, ridiculous concepts played straight, sensory details, sickfic, places being haunted, people being haunted, the mystery of the woods, small hopes in bleak worlds, electricity, places that don’t quite add up, mismatched memories, caves and deep places, distant city lights at night, emphasis on non-human traits of non-human characters (gen-wise, but also a hearty yes xeno for applicable ships), emphasis on inhuman traits of characters who were human once and have sort of shed it all behind

DNW: non-canonical rape, non-canonical children, focus on children, unrequested ships (background established canon couples are okay, mentions of parents are okay!), canon retellings

All requests are for both fic and art!

Death Crown: Death, trick

(I haven't played the DLC yet so, alas, no demons, or no spoilers for the demons, at least) I am absolutely charmed by the overall mood of this game and would like to see something more in that vein! Anything! Got more sacred (or unholy?) geometrical architecture for Death to interact with, maybe in greater detail than just wrecking it? What else feels like a contemporary take on a Bosch painting? Can Death get lost?

Ghost Trick: Jowd, Cabanela, trick, treat

Anything focused on Cabanela being an unstoppable force (confident, untiring, sparkling, stubborn, dexterous, loyal to the bitter end, legs) and/or Jowd being an immovable object (sarcastic, strong, depressed, self-deprecating but knowing he's hot stuff, also stubborn, clever but an emotional dumbass, round). Figuring out stuff? Something in the new timeline is linked to the old timeline? Coat? Dancing? Scarves? Halloween costumes?

I like Cabanela/Jowd and Cabanela/Alma/Jowd and Cabanela/Alma in scenarios where Jowd isn't around and Alma/Jowd in general (REALLY like all these, okay. like this is the one request where I'd love the most self-indulgent shippy takes as well), and dig Lynne/Memry. Yomiel/fianSissel and Emma/JM also cool!

Hylics: any, trick, treat

(I have only played the first game so far so please no overt spoilers for Hylics 2. Feel free to include stuff from it but... stealthily, I guess?) This is an "anything that feels somewhat like canon, please" sort of request! Love the mood, love the cast, love the little added details in their menu screen. Those can be prompts? Or the oddball stats? How do ToT's trick and treat freeforms apply to Hylics' overall... hylicsness, what would those guys think constitutes a "creepy" moment or a "fluffy" one?

Not into ships for this one, however I WILL say that Dedusmuln has all the proverbial curves in the right places. mostly their face.

Kentucky Route Zero: Weaver

Math, debt, the liminal state of almost being a ghost, seeing the world with a strange clarity... just anything Weaver, please! How'd she make her way to the town? What was it like for her to be working on Xanadu for a time? What about the community broadcast! Does she have an opinion on Carrington's oeuvre? You know... things... stuff. Weaver things. and stuff.

I love the whole cast and Weaver... wove... her story through most of them so feel free to bring in whomever. Not interested in ships here though.

Paradise Killer: Lady Love Dies, trick

A post-canon glimpse of life on '''''perfect''''' 25? That's not QUITE enough class consciousness to make the whole thing work, you guys. What does 'normal' life feel like to LD now? After following Henry's case and talking to Shinji so much, can she see that it's doomed to fail again, and then what? What IS Island 25 like, anyway? (what comes after Island 25, even?)

I liked the choice of canon romances - if it has to be just one I'd prefer it to be Crimson, but I'd also be interested in seeing what a V or triad with Doom Jazz would look like. They're all so chill about stuff

Pyre: Volfred, trick, treat

Pragmatic idealist, charismatic and bad at people, pacifist, activist, physiologically incapable of shutting up for a hot second, what's there not to love... I am very into either of the following: C. Volfred Sandalwood has a fantastic day; C. Volfred Sandalwood has a terrible no good day. Everything is great! Pre-exile antiestablishmentarian antics, maybe with Bertrude? Political gambits? The very physical dangers of the Downside which may or may not catch a scholar by surprise (who saves him?)? Tree problems? Meeting Oralech for the first time and Volfred thinks he himself is hot stuff but out of the two, Oralech is clearly the VIP? Feeling like he should live up to Lu Sclorian's legacy but he feels much closer to other Scribes (and what does Lu have to say about it, one way or another?)? The thrilling intimacy of Reading? The thrilling intimacy of lowercase reading also, maybe reading old manuscripts found in the Downside?

I very much ship him with Tariq and/or Oralech. The only canon ship I like is Hedwyn/Fikani. I also like Soliam/Gol, Bertrude/Pamitha and Celeste/Jodariel. Love all the Nightwings + Dalbert (+Deluge...?); love to dunk on Manley, Brighton and Lendel (I don't enjoy flat-out bashing, more like... I enjoy the way they are portrayed as horrible gremlins in canon and if they turn up in fic I'm not interested in more positive portrayals)

Signs of the Sojourner: Rhea, Elias, trick, treat

Once again pretty much an "anything in the style of canon" request. I love this setting, its themes and all the little lives that fill it. I am interested in a wide range of postcanon scenarios and love the whole cast - does Rhea come back to $town any number of years down the line and find $character? How'd their storyline end up in the medium-long term? What the hell is up with the Stranger (seriously, three runs and I never managed to speak with them, I have no idea)? What's life like for Elias back home, or in a new home if they can't keep the store, or if Rhea landed the Oscar ending or whatever (just, please, not dead Rhea. I love that ending but can't stand to consider what it'd do to Elias)? Or does he join the caravan just once? Who did Rhea grow to really like and can't wait to see every time? Any ghost stories or creepy encounters on the caravan's route? Does Thunder help?

I'm neutral on ships here - good with Rhea&Elias, good with background Rhea/Elias but I wouldn't like a romantic focus.

Totally Normal Wizard Apprentice: apprentice, wizard, master, trick, treat

(conflict of interest disclaimer, I illustrated this but didn't write nor nominate it) What awaits the apprentice outside the wizard's tower? It sounds like a pretty wild moon out there, I loved all the worldbuilding hints of the bigger setting. Does the wizard keep track of the apprentice, with her telescope or otherwise, and how does she take care of her ruined parlor? Was this all some sort of 5d chess on the master's part, and if so to what end? And what kind of otherworldly patience does this man possess, anyway, to handle the apprentice on a daily basis?

Twin Peaks: Margaret, Diane, Lucy, Tammy, trick, treat

(bass-boosted ethereal whooshing) For tricks, I would like to see any of these characters face the woods, the mystery of the woods, and/or a new symbol of your liking. Or: Margaret in the city, Diane and the moon, Lucy and the color blue, Tammy incognito.

For treats, a happy meeting. I love the whole cast and I'm always thrilled by gonzo "&" pairings, bring in whomever! Coffee and pie? The Bookhouse Boys? A kinder aspect of the woods?

Fandom-specific notes: love s3, love the books too. I like Lucy/Andy, Margaret/Sam fwiw, and rarepairs Tammy/Cynthia and Diane/Constance. Please no Fireman's-house-is-the-white-lodge, no Twin Perfect, no Judy-was-destroyed (nor is destroyable).

Arcade Spirits: Percy, Teo, treat

More than anything, I love the sense of group and camaraderie among the arcade's staff and regulars, and I'd love to see some more of it. I picked Percy and Teo 'cause they're my faves but anyone you may want to add, up to and including Sue, is very very welcome. Is there any aspect of gaming that feels like it could be adapted to this strange world of contemporary arcades? Cosplay shenanigans for everyone courtesy of Ashley? Any other activity that could show how Percy and/or Teo get along with the others, like they were all forming little groups during the beach chapter? It's such a feel-good canon, any feel-good situation would be great!

My Ari is with Percy but I'm not really interested in shipping here. All sorts of friendships though!

#letter

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popculturebuffet · 4 years

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Toons For Our Times: The Loud House: Strife of The Party/ Kernel of Truth

Lana plans her and Lola’s party with copius amonts of dirt and garabage while Lola tries sabotaging it and I struggle to figure out which one we’re supposed to be rooting for exactly. Meanwhile Lincoln and Co find an abandoned news room and attempt to start their own news show with the immediate threat of cancelation hanging over their heads. You know like most shows on nick. Also Rusty gets hurt a lot which automatically makes this a winner. News Team Assemble, under the cut.

Well this week was a mixed bag.. which granted could apply to this week as a whole but I meant it specifically for this episodes. Like last week one of them is a true classic that uses the series new status quo to create something intresting, and the other... is the worst episode i’ve reviwed so far. Yes not even one week and the show managed to go from having a boring episode to having a truly odious one. Both metaphorcially and literally as there’s a lot of grossout gags this time around. And unfortuantely since i’ts first in the pairing and the airing, I have to talk about it first. Pitter Patter, let’s get this over with.

Strife of the Party I”m not exaggerating either. I admit I was hard on Schooled! and Family Bonding, but the former sitll had some good content and the latter was .. well it’s still a boring lazy retread with a bonkers ending, but I admitted to having seen worse. But “I’ve seen worse” is never the best defense. I’ll admit usually I avoided the worse episodes of the loud house. I haven’t seen some of the more infamous episodes of the show like “No Such Luck” or “Kings of the Con”.. because as just a viewer I could skip an episode if it sounded like toilet dinner. Sure i’ve still ran into them: “Study Muffin” was just eh when it aired but now both post me too and post chris savino being rightfully fired for being a harassing dickweasel thanks to said movement, it’s realy fucking creepy, has Lori at her worst (Actively trying to cheat on bobby), and .. I have no third thing. All we really got out of it was Lynn Sr’s obsession with the British. And “The Green House”’s reputation proceeds it and there’s a reason I couldn’t finish it. Point is i’ve been lucky to only step in a few cowpies in the field of this show, and now i’m watching it as it comes out i’m accepting the hard truth that with the show’s hit and miss quality, i’m going to have to go panning in shit creek some weeks if I want to find the nuggets of gold. Now I will grant this episode doesn’t sound NEARLY as bad as “No Such Luck”.. but as opus would say....

Exactly my Pengy pal. Again not being worse than the worst episode of the show, still dosen’t make you a good episode. It just makes you marginally less terrible. It’s like saying Creed isn’t as bad as Nickelback. While tha’ts true they both still sound terrible, it’s just playing Creed isn’t a warcrime in some countries. And yes I just compared two episodes of a children’s show to bands my audience thankfully likely weren’t aware ever existed, I don’t care. If you haven’t left my blog running and screaming your either new here or tolerate me being an obscure weirdo.

Before we get in proper, I haven’t covered the twins yet so let’s do that quick. I haven’t really watched a ton of Lola and Lana’s episodes, their not bad characters htey just don’t intrest me much as i’ve seen their gimmicks a lot, but I will say lola’s slightly better and I will say I like Lana more when she’s doing animal antics instead of grossout. Not terirble characters and their acted well, just not my cup of tea is all. Okay enough stalling , pitter patter!

We open with Lola planning the twins upcoming birthday and talking to her stuffed animals which is cute and all.. before a POSSUM CHESTBURSTS OUT OF LOLA’S UNICORN DOLL.

The.. the fuck. Look i’m all for scaring the crap out of kids in children’s entertainment. I loved Courage the Cowardly dog as a kid and as a grown ass man writing about children’s entertainment. I love the lich from adventure time, i’m okay with scaring kids. But this is just.. a bit too realistic. Yes really. While doll that size probably can’t fit a possum it could sure fit something else and i’ve seen stuffed animals big enough for a posssum, so yeah.. this could actually happen to one of my nieces and that thought terrifies me. It happening to me also terrifies me but I’m a grown man not a small child who’d be scarred for life. Christ. The episode does get better, for a second I didn’t bitch for a few paragraphs for nothing. Lana comes in, claims the demon possum, and tells Lola she’ll fix the doll. Uh Lana i’m not sure she wants it back.. you’d be better off burning it and setting the possum free in a republican center’s home where it belongs.

Anyways Lana has a good point, Lola’s been plannig their parties ‘since before they were born”.. literally as the image above shows which is just.. fucking amazing. I cannot belivie they got to go there and it’s glorious they did. I can’t think of many, if any, other chlidren’s cartoons that showed a fetus on screen so kudos.

But yeah that was the one good moment of the episode. Next our twins go to a party suply store where Lola, clearly knowing the host well because these kids have connections, has her stash all the poop colored stuff away... which backfires as lana instead goes to the garbage for party favors and decorations. It fails to get better: Next they go to a bakery where Lana makes her own literal garbage cake and then go to flips for entertainment i.e. a bull. NOw i’ll grant both stops have good bits: The cake store guy asks if Lana’s a cop when she asks for grime and Flip has them sign a waver for the bull. And the bull being lana’s idea of entertainment makes sense.. but overal it just comes off as gross and mean spirited. I mean yes Lola’s about to do some terrible stuff herself and yes Lola ouvershadowed lana.. but she dosen’t deserve this abuse and none of this is healthy or tolerbale for.. well anyone, and could get the Loud Parents in serious trouble, which also leaves the obvious plot hole of “why don’t they step in in either situation. “

The episode would’ve made more snese if Lana went to them to get them to let her host the party and their guilt over letting Lola always do it means they don't’ reign her in despite wanting to. Instead their just.. there at the end for a great bit we’ll get to. It’s always the bad episodes that paint the loud parents as terrible parents honestly. No Suck Luck had them cast their son out into the cold over nonsense, On Thin Ice had Lynn Sr decide forcing his children to embarass themselves was more important than teaching one of them that maybe sometimes you don’t always get to force your family to obey your whims for dumb reasons, and the april fools eps have Lynn Sr so terrified of pranking retribution instead of you know.. GROUNDING Luann for going full joker on their asses. IN most episodes their kind and reasonable but it’s always the bad ones where they instead make Homer Simpson look like a good parent.

But yeah my rant aside the episode COULD work if Lola, encouraged by one of her other siblings, Luann would be a good bet as she could easily slide into the party setting when appropriate without being too distracting, realizes she’s been selfish and tries to hold her tounge for lana’s sake. Maybe then she tries sabotage.. or better she DOSEN’T, but both of them realize something; Lola realizes she’s been doing this to lana their whole lives by forcing her into a party she doesn’t like so LOLA can be happy while Lana realizes she’s being no better. Hell even if Lola did complain, which is in character, this plot woudl still work. instead.. Lana is just as bad as Lola while Lola is still pretty terrible. See the big problem is that NEITHER girl is likeable. As I’ve made clear Lana pushes a gross, dangerous party on her sister she clearly doesn’t like, and Lola, instead of trying tot alk to her parents or get Lana to tone it down.. tries to guide her to what she wants, then when that fails sabotages the party, makes it so Lana has nothing and gets her party. Both sides are being really bad, but instead of them realizing this, lana is treated as the one we should be sympathetic to when she gets mad when she finds out about Lola even though NEITHER of them are sympathetic or likeable and deserve to win 100%. But Lana does, lana gets her way, Lola apologizes and hte paradigm just shifts from one sibling being unhappy to another. We do get that one gag I talked about where when lola goes to make things right she has Lynn Sr stall and he pulls out a cowbell “You thought I wasn’t going to need this”. No bud, Rita HOPE you wouldn’t need this. There’s a difference. Thank god it’s the end.

Final Thoughts for Strife of the Party: They should be obvious but to be clear this is hippo excrement. i’ts not funny, it makes both it’s leads look bad, the parents look worse by inaction and just isn’t pleasant ot watch. I do GET the show has a young audience, and they like grossout, I get i’m not the target demographic, so I probably would just be okay with a good version of this episode.. but even with that in mind both twins come off so unlikeable it’s just not fun to watch or to see Lana win as she didn’t feel like she earned it. It’s bad and it should feel bad, and i’ts the first truly odious episode i’ve had for weekly coverage. I’ve had okay or eh ones, but this one is truly bad and belongs in the pantheon of bad loud house episodes.. or at least in the honrable mentions. Good gravy this blew.

Kernel of Truth

Okay now we’ve panned the gold nugget out of the crap creek, we can get on with the GOOD episode this week. I was excited for this one.. I was excited for both actually, even not being a huge fan of the twins I liked the idea of a loud birthday but as we just saw,.. didn’t work out so good. But this one while I thought it would just be average, promised another lincrew shenanigan and I like most of those i’ve seen, and plus I knew it’d allow me to refrence anchorman a bunch so i was llike :Fuck it let’s go”.. and this one ended up being REALLY damn good and probably one of the best episodes with this group i’ve seen, right up there with “Be Stella My Heart.” I’ts good stuff. But before we get into it you probably noticed my ranting about girl jordan but turns out, while I haven’t watched that episode, she’s in the sand field trip episode from last season hanging out with stella so I have an answer to if they forgot abotu her, they didn’t they just need to use her more, and a new ship so i’m satisfied and I apologize for bitching about it. Next time i’ll just check the wiki and see before I bitch about something. ON with the review.

We open with our motely crew searching for a hidden Game Room rusty’s cousin claims exists, with Stellas as lookout and the guys.. er all in stacks that make it look like their doing a team up move from donkey kong country 2?

I mean I have been playing the game a lot since it came to switch online, seriously if you have the service go play it, but i’m not hte only one seeing this right? Right. So yeah the kid stack fails and Zach doubts Rusty’s story.. because when has rusty ever been right.. well apparently just this one time, but we’ll get to that. They even checked the boiler room.

And then promptly vowed never to go back to the boiler room while Principal RAmierz just sighed at having to deal with a freddy kruger infestation again. They loose more children that way and the school board JUST got him out of the high school. Liam also gets the line of the episodes when he calls the group “Fellas and Stellas” Which is just objectively amazing and needs to be used every time this group appares from now o. Luckily= Stella noticed another closed door, this one taped off instead of just with a keep out sign and the Fellas and Stellas make their way inside and find themselves in.. a news room! But it’s nto a fox news room so it actually had news in it once and not Tucker Carlson, the answer to what happens to an 80′s or 90′s yuppie scumbag villian after they fail to get the orphange paved over for condos

Anyway, our heroes alll ohhh and all while Zach thinks this is where children are harvested. Nah Zach they just call them up on the pa system.

So everyone does what’s natural to them: Zach and Liam inspect the cameras, Stella looks at the old mic because she’s a natural for being an on camera personality and Rusty.. oggles an old group shot of the news team. You know I may not hate him with the hatred of a hundred suns, but he’s still objectively the worst. Zach gets mad at him over it because “That’s my mom”. Rusty defends himself by calling her hot and while th. no please god no dont’ talk about women like that you creepy little weatherbeaten Chucky doll that somehow became a real boy, or had dustin diamond transfer his soul into it befrore he died. Either is possible. The point is Ewww. The other point is while Rusty’s being his usual living proof of while he’ll die alone Zach has no right to get upset , AT FIRST because how the hell would Rusty know that’s hsi mom. You two have the combined braincell of a dead feret. Stella is the only one out of all 6 of you evenmy boy liam who has more than one brain cell. This argument is stupid and I hate you both, just settle things in the most humane way possible.. or at least THIS is what I consider the most humane way possible.

So while those two are being as stupid as expected, Lincoln suggets fixing the place and becoming the new school news crew. I mean they’d need new equipment since even if the stuff there still works’ it’s all worn out 80′s tech none of you know how to use but given their seen with a modern camera later int he episode, I assume they just sold this off and got new cameras. Even if the show flopped, more on that in a minute, the principal could still use those for other projects so it’s a win win. Stella Zhau agrees.. and FINALLY has a last name. Like holy shit i’ve been waiting a full season for this and it feels like that bit was JUST to give her a last name. Now they just need to do Liam but still, I needed this one more. Plus it also means we can now firmly say she’s chinese. Neat!

So after that blockbuster reveal Stella wonders where Rusty is, because fuck if I know, and they all find him continuing to oggle zach’s mom at their age....

Zach snatches it away and crumples up understandably annoyed. Rusty’s response is about what you’d expect.

So once Liam’s done throwing that calender into the school furnace, and saying hi to freddy as he passes the boiler on the way, our team heads to the principal to plead their case. They run into Meryl, the identical in personality, plot function and apperance outside of wearing pink instead of yellow to Cheryl, the receptionest at the elementary school who I really liked and it’s a clever way to keep the character at both schools and pays off the runnig gag of Cheryl asking liincoln or clyde who looks better her or her sister by having said sister show up and ask the same. Good stuff.

Meryl ends up agreeing to let them go see the wizard, I mean Principal Rameriz, because her soap is on. Also clyde’s a fan to his friends blank stares. Come on guys he watches romance movies, of course he’s going to love drama shows, even the non teen ones. I now imagine he joins the loud sisters on their riverdale nights. Riverdale the clusterfuck that has something for all of them: Teen drama and shirtless hunks for Lori and Leni, Music and scantly clad “teens’ of both genders and neither gender for Luna, something to laugh at for Luann who probably loves mst3king stuff, and violence for Lucy.. dosen’t seem like it’d be Lynn’s thing honestly but I rest my case. Also the rest of the sisters are too young but the parents figure Lucy’s desentised enough to violence and blind enough to sex to make an exception.

Now that fun headcanons out of the way our heroes pitch the principal whose skeptical, as the 80′s news show ended because it was boring, much like why that 80′s show ended. That and it was a bunch of 80′s pop culture refrences strung together. I do have a minor nitpick that it seems odd a school room would be in disuse for this long, but given the Principal has apparently spent years looking for aformetioned game room as we find out in the end, the school blueprints are apparnelty lost to the ages or if they exist are some sort of ancient treasure map buried beneath the school drawn in blood by an old witch. I mean this universe has cherry hating peach loving spies now, i’ not ruling anything out.

But our heroes beg them: Clyde has journalism experince on the school paper, Stella has the dedication and heart and Rusty .. thinks people need to see his face on camera. Rusty as far as we know your face functions like the vdieo from the ring and everyone in school is going to die 7 days after seeing it on film. That’s my theroy and i’m sticking to it. Thankfully everyone else is just as annoyed with him as me for once, and we get the glorious shot above of everyone just looking.. done with his antics and wondering why they keep him around. Finally for once I agree iwth the characters on something rusty related. Let’s show that agian.

Poetry. You can just feel the levels of “So done with this crap” seeping from every poor.. except for Poor Lincoln who just wishes his best friends and rusty woudl stop using him as furniture, and Liam whose covered but probably very much on team “Rusty Stop Being Yourself your blowing this for us”. They even have an action news pose.. which is botha dorable and breaks the principal’s bust of herself, so she relucntantly agrees to get them out of there. Plus as I said there’s really no loss for her here. If their sucessful the school gets a new elective, something to put on the tv’s every morning, a way to do announcments so she dosen’t have to, and free good publicity for her next bonus. If not.. then she has somehwere to store her new cameras she can use for other stuff, and come up with something else to do with the media lab. Either way she wins. Plus iwth phones and stuff noawaydays they only need the one new camera. Okay before we move on confession time: I was on a school tv news show’s crew myself. Not in middle school, we werne’te that lucky but in high school we had video media, an elective where seniors edited news segments and what not for the school’s WhamTV program. I hope i’ts still around honestly. I started on a field crew doing stories but my awkardenss and a blow up at my partner where my awkward rage prone ass threatned him by accident, got me bumped to doing credits.. which I genuinely loved. I got to something fun, creative and unique, I was still part of hte intros every week, and I got plenty of time to goof off and watch videos. It’s how I found channel awesome and first got to watch atop the fourth wall since it wasn’t on youtube back then, back before you know, it turned out Doug was abusing all of them and younger me was just unaware of it. But it was still good times so this episode does feel a bit nostalgic for me. But enough teary eyed reminciings of ten years ago, back to the plot. Our heroes air their newscast. It’s the Middle School Action News with with your Anchors Lincoln Loud and Clyde McBride, Stella Zhao in the field, Rusty Spokes on Sports for.. some reason, Cameraman Liam Wedon’tknowhislastname and Zach Gurdle somewhere out of the way. Middle School Action News, always on, always free.. no wiat tha’ts pluto. Middle School Action News, Taste the rainbow. Middle School Action News.. The Good Guys Always Win, Even in The 80′s. Yeah that’ll do!

But yeah while our heroes try their best, and to their credit this does feel like a middle school news show. The writers not our heroes. Anyways Lincoln and Clyde banter and we get our first segment Stella trying to interview mr. Bohlmer about his birthday.. which goes about as well as doing anything for him on ron swansons’ birthday.

Next we have Rusty on sports.. which I questioned when I first say this but as obonxious as Rusty can be.. yeah this is the best place to have him. Stella has the drive and the talent to be their field reporter, Clyde and Lincoln have a lifelong report that does well for the desk, Liam is nice and patient enough for camera work, and Zach is a paranoid weirdo so he probably has experince editing since thats where I assume where he is since htey ddon’t do weather and even if they did Liam’s just not the right shade of oblivoiusly nuts.

I do however at least get why they keep him around as Rusty needs someone to get fed up with him.. but as the above moment showed Clyde and Stella can do that easily, as can Lincoln, so he really has no functional purpose other than as a B-Grade dale gribble. ANd I know kids don’t know who that is but they frankly deserve better. Seriously Zach...

Okay getting back to the segement. For starters Rusty does a breath spray first.. but suprisingly despite interviewing a lady, specifically Lynn, he DOSEN’T hit on her and is actually professional and manages to get a quote despite her disintrest. LIke I know it’s the bare minimum but you’ve met rusty right? the Bare Minimum is hard for him to grasp. Earlier this episode he was oggling old pictures of his friends mom and saying he should take it as a compliment which, Hard No. So the fact hours later he’s talking to a woman without radiating creep after that is an achivment. For him and him alone mind you, most kids should know better. But still I may be hard on the kid, because DAMN is it fun and damn if he dosen’t give me plenty of joke fodder, but I will give him credit even if it’s the bare minmum. Good job rust you passed the very basic plateau of human decency.

Stella wraps things up with a look at the cafteria that’s about what you’d expect from a kids cartoon, shoe int he beans etc. Unfortuantley bean shoes, sportz and angry assholes aren’t enough to float the show and the principal is ready to can it. On hte bright side they have their first lawsuit from Mr. Bohlmer. I mean John Olvier idnd’t start getting sued by dickheads with no real case till he was 30, nicely done kids. And it’s not even why, it’s just boring and the kids aren’t enjoying it. So Stella, being again the one with her own brain cells here, proposes to let them find a big story, and Ramirez reluctantly but graciously agrees. And that’s why I like her so far. Don’t get me wrong having Steven Tobolowsky as principal was great, but I like Rameriz better: she’s smart, weary of the crap she puts up with and tough but fair.. which is a cliche btu fits here: She’ll be honest with her kids but will give them an honest chance and sees our news team really doees want this bad and her giving htem one more day to find something actally intresting is more than fair. So our heroes spitball about what to do for news. LIam suggests alien because again he has about one character trait, so everyone tells him for hte last time no. I mean it isn’t much worse than his last suggestion.

So once agian it’s RUSTY who saves the day, bringing in beet snacks.. which he tries to get them not to stone him over over the fact the popcorn was all gone.. which okay 1) I get the show’s tring to be healthy so maybe ther’es not chips, but I have a hard time buying that there’s no Chez Its, snack packs or other goodies between “Popcorn’ and “something with beetz that only two men would eat” For the record those two men are Dwight Schrute, for obvious reasons, and this guy my boy Tony Chu.

I highly recommend this comic, Chew for the record, to anyone. Just.. anyone whose not a children it gets voilent, but it is sublime. We’re not here for that, but I thought i’d plug it. It also has a spinoff currently running, Chu, following his criminal sister. Also real good and dosen’t really spoil anything for hte main series thus far so you can hop in there instead. Either way your in for a ride. Back on topic, while Rusty failed with snacks he actually brings up a good point: The popcorn isn’t just gone because it’s late in the school day, but because as the kids notice, it’s just missing in general despite the trucks arriving. They have their story and head out to investigate. And suprisingly, unlike last week’s investigation they find something: A mysterious hooded figure bribing the driver for popcorn, and taking it off somewhere. They fail to catch her, as Rusty dives over her telling Liam to “Make sure you get this”.. he instead gets a shrub and video of him attacking a shrub. I’ts a good runner and shows the writers are leanring to use Rusty better. They take the footage to the principal, who is impresssed, but states they need to find out who dun it for the story to be complete which is fair enough. They stalk out the nexxt delivery time later that night, but find the drivers have been switched and the mystery person has fled to canada. Rusty once again tries catching her and fall sin the water. Liam once again responds with a cheerful “Don’t worry rusty I got it”.. okay this dynamic is honestly better than him and Zach: Cheerful oblivious Liam and scheming dumbass rusty. Why isn’t THIS the “Those Two Guys” dynamic in the group, honestly.

Anyways Lincoln is dispondent the next day as iwth no leads, they have no programa nd prepares to do a spider-man no more with his anchorsuit.. which okay 1) you can use that for other things man. Peter Parker can’t really use a spider-man suit for anything but spider-manning but you can use that suit for dates and dances and stuff. and 2).. whya re he and the clyde the only ones with outfits? I mean.. it’s clear from this episode there will be more school news stories nad it just looks weird that they get to play dressup in suits but the rest of the crew isn’t. Liam at leat is working the camera and Zach is Zach but rusty and Stella are field reporters. Field reporters, while not always, usually get nice suits too guys.

ANyways Lincoln finds something in the garbage. And not his sister this time, as Lana oscar the grouched it up lat episode in sadness. Which to be fair will be her future career mark my words. At least I think that’s a career. Anyways, our heros find a ferry ticket meaning whoever fled to Canada is in the building. They trail some popcorn from the ticket to the locked door from earlier, which Rusty, finishing the rule of three, tries knocking it down hwile Liam gets it. Stella, again proving to be the real hero of this tale, uses her hair as a lockpick. Is.. is there anythign this child can’t do? She and Marcy should swap notes sometime damn.

And the culprit is MERYL! She was using the popcorn for insulation to get a quite room to herself and begs the kids not to tell which. is the weaker part of the episode> We don’t have the investment in Meryl we do in Cheryl, and she did you know.. steal school property.. or at least buy it off under the table. But the kids being the sweet kids they are understandably, schemes or not don’t want her to loose her job, and agree to not tell on her even if they loose their show. And to their creid and what keeps this from sinking the episode Meryl is genuinely greatful for this gesture, and gives them the scoop. And as i’ve been mentioning turns out RUSTY WAS RIGHT. Yes Rusty. That Rusty. Was Right about something. The Game Room exists. They find it thorugh a hidden locker entrance and unlock it from the inside, with af lodo of viewers coming in. Granted at first I didn’t know why Meryl didn’t just use this room but then I thought “Oh yeah she’s a full grown adult and can’t fit in the entrance and i’m assuming it was locked from the other side to the rest of the school”. So the kids have a new hangout and as the principal joins them, they havea show! Turns out she’d been looking for this place for years.. and doesn’t turn it into something else. What a legend. She plays Air Hockey with Meryl, is there something going on there or are my shipping goggles acting up.. probably both. Anyways our heroes have genuine thanks, a fun new hangout at school, their own headquarters and their own news show. It’s a heck of a day but it’s no time to rest as Rusty tells them he has another tip and i’ts off... to pick up a broom to sweep up the gumball machine they knock over.. THEN they can go find the hot tub for the teachers lounge.

Final Thoughts: OH me mow, this was a great one. For one the main complaint I had I mentioned at Schooled! of it not feeling like Lincoln’s friends were given enough personality sometimes? Gone enitrely. Everyone except Clyde and Zach get a moment and Clyde is still fully present and has gotten several focus episodes at this point, while Zach again should just leave already. But the rest of them? All on form. Stella continues to prove her competence, energy and adorability, Rusty is not only actually useful for once but was actually really funny his episode. The gag with Zach’s mom was actually pretty hilarious, my jabs at him aside, and the runner of him trying to do some epic stunt, telling Liam to film it and then humiliating himself while his pal cheerfully tells him he got it is just great and Lincoln’s Spider-Man no more moment with his suit was both said and kinda funny and I love him and Clyde’s reporter outfits. It’s why I wanted everyone to have them, especially since this will be a recurring theme and looks to be a fun one. It was fun, creative, and took me back a decade. It was a REALLY damn good one and I’m glad I watched this one first, a true highlight of the series and a true good sign that the season can, even with some hiccups, will apparnetly have some REALLY great episodes on average even with the weaker ones. That’s it for this week... and somehow for loud house coverage as, for now, their doesn’t’t seem to be any new episodes in October, but that could change. Until then, follow this blog every Monday for regular ducktales coverage and come back in October for more loud house, more the Casagrandes and some spooky spooky fun Until then, Go team venture.

#The Loud House #Lincoln Loud #Lana Loud #Lola Loud #Clyde McBride #Stella Zhau #Liam #Zach Girdle #Rusty Spokes #Principal Rameriz #Meryl #Lynn Loud #Girl Jordan #Lynn Loud Sr #Rita Loud

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osseincactus · 5 years

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ohhh 21 + 22 for Lynn and the babieeee please ToT

21.Talk about a time when the children got into trouble!

oh boy… Okay Lotte is a crafty kid, she’s good at “escaping” the safety of the lucky 38. Even if you have 4 people keeping an eye on her she can still sneak out. She also really loves to find various wildlife and try to keep it. One time while they were all on a little camping trip around red rock Lotte managed to get out, get a fire gecko and bring it back before anyone noticed… the gecko didnt hurt Lotte but really didnt want anyone else near it. It took almost an hour to convince Lotte to give them the gecko and release it back into the wild. After that they made sure to keep all the doors locked til they left.

22.What kind of people do the children grow up to be? What do they do?

Lotte’s adult life is actually based on one of Boone’s possible endings!! She becomes a mercenary and basically just spends most of her time killing people... she’s a good person at heart but also very proficient with a gun. I havent drawn her rifle yet although I need to, it’s a plasma sniper rifle! She also takes Lynn’s nightstalker with her when she’s out.

#courierspikeee #thank you <3 #Lotte is a troublemaker and you all legally have to love her

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pixiealtaira · 7 years

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My favorite places to eat…

pairing: Kadam by the end

There’s a little diner on the northern outskirts of Lima that Kurt’s mother would take him to between picking him up from his dance class and taking him to the garage to be watched by his dad while his mom taught her afternoon piano lessons. They stopped for French fries and small milk shakes and always split a piece of pie or cheese cake. In winter they had hot chocolates instead of milkshakes, with whipped creams and chocolate sprinkles. As soon as Kurt learned to drive and got his license, he headed there whenever needed time to regroup and gather his wits, whenever he needed time to just get through another day. LuLu knows him by name and always had hot chocolate with sprinkles or a blueberry shake ready for him within two minutes of his arrival. He went with the girls from Glee Club once. Rachel threw a fit over the lack of vegetarian choices and Mercedes was rude about the lack of tater tots and Santana and Brittany skipped out as soon as they pulled in the parking lot. Only Tina was relatively nice about it. Kurt didn’t bother bringing anyone else from glee. Kurt never took Blaine there, not in all the time they were together. Not After Blaine’s response when they had had to pull into the truck-stop diner on the way from Dalton to Lima the one evening when the snow was coming down so badly Kurt could not see any longer. Blaine’s sneer and refusal to sit and eat anything amidst such ‘low-life’ as common truck drivers made Kurt vow never to allow him close enough to hurt LuLu or any of the others at the diner, even though it hurt to not be able to share that part of himself with Blaine. It made Kurt feel…less.

Two blocks down and two blocks over from the loft is a small diner Kurt found during Rachel’s first ‘I’m queen of the whole world’ phase. He heads over quite often. Nana Jo feeds him all sorts of ‘New York’ foods, but his favorite thing served is their seafood hot sub and the ‘old-fashioned port’ soda. He doesn’t get to order it often, though, because Nana Jo wants him to try everything at least once. He took Adam there once, on their first dinner date. Nana Jo adored him. He never took Blaine there. He almost did, but Blaine scoffed at the store front as they walked by and Kurt decided it was just be his place to enjoy when he needed a place to get away. He invited Elliot and Dani to join him there after Santana and Rachel were no longer in the band. They liked it as much as he did and Nana Jo always talked to Dani about new dishes she could try that Dani would like. Soon Nana Jo has quite the business with Dani’s vegetarian friends.

Down from the theater where Kurt ended up with a work study job as an errand boy and usher after he came back to New York from Lima, leaving Rachel to run the glee club and Blaine to happily shack up with Dave and Sue Sylvester to be utterly insane…all without him, is a Diner with an old fashioned soda counter and booths that remind him of Grease. It reminds him a little bit of the Spotlight, where he managed to get his job back because he could sing with the guys and girls where ever Gunther needed an extra voice. He drops in on the way to work for breakfast and a coffee every day. Ms. Bessie reminds him so much of Debbie from Queer as Folk that Kurt walked out and looked at the name of the diner to make sure he hadn’t walked into a different reality. He loves her as much as he thinks he would have loved Debbie, too. She introduced him to biscuits and gravy and scones with honey butter, and Kurt eats their fruit bowl and granola three days a week to make up for the other two. It turns out many of the theater workers frequent the diner and after one very stressful day when Kurt was at his wits end due to the director having ‘issues’ with the stage manager and airing them loudly for all in the theater to hear, witness, and unfortunately for Kurt be runner for…Ms. Bessie came running in with a banana split milkshake with cherries and hot fudge for him and milkshakes for the others stuck there. One of the actors, who had the smarts with all the other actors to vacate and move practice to someone’s apartment when the stage manager started throwing things, had informed Ms. Bessie that Kurt and the few others stuck at the theater still needed something good. She bustled Kurt and the two stage hands left in the line of fire into a dressing room to eat and then left. When Kurt and the others left, well…the director and the stage manager were no longer at odds and Kurt made sure to steam clean the sofa on stage before anyone used it the next day. When Rachel came to town, demanding Kurt get her an audition for something where he was working, because ‘Jesse managed and Kurt didn’t want to be behind in the best friend race did he?’, and Kurt said no just to have Rachel storm around threatening him, his whole career, and everything else in front of everyone he worked with…everyone…Kurt spent the evening at the diner. Luckily a few apples and Elliot came back into his life before Rachel came back to NYADA…queening it about as if she’d never left. They spent hours at the diner down the street from the theater Kurt worked at after Kurt got a stage hand job after his work study and hours at the diner by the loft. The post work-study job fit nicely into his schedule since he couldn’t get his Vogue job back after going to Lima for so long.

He ran into Adam again at a diner not far from the theater where Adam was playing in an off-Broadway modern-day version of Taming of the Shrew. Kurt was there to meet up with Lenny, who he had worked with during his work study and who had landed the stage manager job in the show Adam was in. He’d just seen the show on the tickets Lenny had given out to friends he’d worked with before. Lenny had been a great co-worker and Kurt had been excited to see him and catch up with him after several months of not seeing him and Lenny had insisted he need to talk to Kurt and share news. Kurt hadn’t expected to see Adam. He hadn’t known Adam was in the show. Adam was brilliant, beautiful… breathtaking. Kurt had left quickly and waited for Lenny at the designated diner, his mind no longer on Lenny and his news but on Adam. Lenny came in and Kurt’s attention settled a bit, long enough to head Lenny’s news of marriage and a baby on the way…which Kurt was really happy about since Lenny and his girlfriend had been trying to have kids for years…but then Adam came into the diner and Kurt couldn’t help but stare.

“Kurt?” Lenny said, after noticing Kurt had not been listening to him. He followed Kurt’s gaze to where Adam was sitting.

“Ahh. Yo! Kurt!” Lenny said a bit louder. Kurt looked back to Lenny with a bit of a blush.

“Sorry.” Kurt said.

“So, have a bit of a crush on the resident heartthrob?” Lenny asked. “You aren’t the first to stare at him and I’m sure you won’t be the last. Do you want me to introduce you?”

Kurt shook his head. “No. It’s ok. Now, are you hoping for a boy or a girl?”

Lenny smiled. “After all we’ve dealt with I just want a healthy baby. Are you sure you don’t want an introduction? Adam is…”

“Pleased to see you here,” Adam said from behind Kurt. “I love this diner. Did I hear right? Congratulations Lenny.”

“Thanks, Adam this is…” Lenny started.

“Kurt,” Adam said very softly. “I was hoping it was you.”

“Adam, you were breathtaking.” Kurt whispered.

Lenny sat back and raised his eyebrows as Adam reached forward towards Kurt’s face before pulling his hand back.

“Isn’t that my line?” Adam replied with a smile.

“Adam, you were breathtaking.” Kurt repeated, smiling back.

“Thank you. How have you been?” Adam asked.

“I’ve been.” Kurt replied. “It’s been life, you know….good bad ugly messy…and you?”

“I’ve been good. Better now I’m back in the US and working a steady job. How are thing between you and….Blaine wasn’t it?”

“They aren’t and it had been an unmitigated disaster for much longer than I ever should have allowed. Oh, God Adam, I am so sorry…sorry for how you were treated by Rachel and Santana and sorry for how I treated you and sorry you were touched by the catastrophe that was my life and…just sorry. I was such a mess and I had no right letting it all touch you in any way without giving you a whole lot more warning first.”

Kurt’s outburst came with tears and Lenny handed Kurt a napkin, reminding the other two men he was still there.

“Oh, Lenny. I am so sorry….I didn’t mean to ignore you.” Kurt said.

‘Oh, no…it is fine.” Lenny said. “I need to be heading home anyway…Jewel likes me to be home close to on time.”

“Tell her congratulations from me and that as soon as she wants I’ll take her shopping. I know the best places to dress your little one like a star for very very little money!” Kurt said.

Lenny laughed. “I’ll tell her. I’ll leave you two to your…reunion?”

Adam chuckled. “I met Kurt his first semester at NYADA.”

“Ahh…anyway, later.”

Kurt and Adam watched Lenny leave and Adam slid into the bench Lenny had been sitting in. “Mind if I eat something? I’m starving and I have nothing at home to fix.” Adam said.

“Go ahead. I think I’ll grab something as well…and then you can tell me what you’ve been up to.”

Their grab something turned out to be multiple somethings as they talked for hours. They met Missi and Kendra who kept them in coffee and fries and then Jamie Lynn who introduced them to the diner’s famous breakfast bowls. Adam and Kurt saw them every night for about six weeks for hours after Adam was done with his show. By that time Adam had been introduced to Ms. Bessie and been reintroduced to Nana Jo. After six weeks they stopped by a lot less in the diner by Adam’s work and a lot more in the diner by the loft…as Adam moved in with Kurt as roommates.

Two years later Kurt took Adam to Lima. LuLu greeted Kurt at the door with a hug and a kiss on the cheek and pulled out photos of Kurt and his mother eating there to show Adam. She produced peach pie for Adam and Cheery cheesecake for Kurt, to match his still cherry like cheeks. She and the other waitresses who’d worked there when Kurt was a wee tot told Adam and Kurt tale after tale of little Kurt’s adventures and teen Kurt’s heartaches. Kurt left with the promise for it never to be so long between visits and to bring Adam back with every time he came home to Lima. It is never longer than six months between visits again.

Years later, in an interview after his first Tony award, the reporter asked Kurt about his favorite place to eat.

“Diners.” Kurt answered. “There is just something mystic about Diners. Magical people work there and there is always something incredible to eat.”

#glee fanfic #Kurt Hummel #Kadam

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thegrumpykitty · 7 years

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Tag game!

I was tagged by @pohci

a - age: 21 (my birthday’s in 2 months!) b - birthplace: Indiana, but i moved a lot, i didn’t grow up there c - current time: 3:15 PM d - drink you last had: fuckin’ water... i hate water e - easiest person to talk to: probably Jen tbh f - favourite song: i literally hate this question. i don’t have one. g - grossest memory: uuuuhh idek man. i’m not easily grossed out. h - horror yes or horror no: not usually, no i - in love?: nah j - jealous of people? everyone is..... k - killed someone? the fuq, no l - love at first sight or should I walk by again: if you’re asking if i believe in love at first sight, no m - middle name: Lynne n - number of siblings: 1, younger brother o - one wish: To go to the Seventeen concert in August! p - person you called last: my friend from school q - question you’re always asked: What do you want to do after graduation? (I graduate next spring so) r - reason to smile: kim jonghyun exists s - song you sang last: dude i don’t know.... u - underwear color: white and blue stripes v - vacation: like dream vacation? idk, i’d honestly enjoy just about anywhere out of the country x - x-rays: i got one when i was little but i don’t remember what for. y - your favourite food: probably tator tot casserole z- zodiac sign: leo

Anyway I know I like to pretend to complain about these but they’re actually fun so thanks for tagging me, love!

I’ll tag @rayster-teeth, @leejinklies, and @thekoreanguys (HAHAHAH I GOT YOU THIS TIME)

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birbsong · 2 months

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ohhhhi forgot how much i like 杨天翔's voice acting

#less than 5 minutes into the event and im already kicking my feet and giggling #marius my first and true beloved #i love the way he and rosa tease each other #胡说八道 #lynn talks tot

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oldsalempost-blog · 7 months

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The Old Salem Post

Our Local Tamassee-Salem SC Area News each Monday except holidays Contact: [email protected] Distributed to local businesses, town hall, library.

Volume 7 Issue 39 Week of October 16, 2023 https://www.tumblr.com/settings/blog/oldsalempost-blog Lynne Martin Publishing

EDITOR: Trials will eventually pass. We choose how to respond. Think. Pray. Wait. The answers are not always the ones we want. Sometimes the answer is better than we could have anticipated. I often have to remind myself the words of Joyce Meyer, “Trust, and Do Good.” Lynne

Town of SALEM: Election: Mayor and 2 Council seats running unopposed Nov 7, 2023 at the Salem Town Hall. Collecting Toys for Tots through November. We are asking all local churches and businesses to participate to fill up our boxes. ****Downtown Market every Sat 8am-12pm.*** You may donate candy at the town for the Tamassee-Salem Community Fall Festival and Trunk or Treat on the ballfield. October 27th 5:30pm-7:30pm Stay tuned: The Tamassee-Salem Rec Department has something fun lined up for Halloween! Town of Salem Christmas Parade will be Sunday, Dec 3, at 4pm. Theme: The Spirit of Christmas. Sign up 944-2819.

Jottings from Jeannie Miz Jeannie & the Rattle Snake The yard man said he heard a rattling from my messy flower patch I tried to find advice but the response to my requests for help: Animal Control: We don't do wild animals. Dept of Natural Resources: We don't do wild animals, either. (Well. WHAT am I paying taxes for?) Amber and Wanda at the Americans Defense Co in Salem were the most supportive and knowledgeable. Wanda showed me the skin of 3+ foot rattler they killed. WHEN I do buy a gun, I will buy it from Wanda, but currently, I am too prissy, so I wandered into the adjoining antique store. AMBER offered this sensible plan: "Back as far away as possible and scare it off with a sharp blast of water from the hose pipe." Gentle Readers! Please do business at the American Defense Co. in Salem b/c they were SO NICE to me! At the American Defense Company, you can get your hair done, buy a shot gun and purchase antiques-- all under one roof! Love Y'all-- Miz Jeannie JOCASSEE VALLEY BREWING COMPANY,(JVBC) & COFFEE SHOP* 13412 N Hwy 11 Open Wed–Sat 8am-9pm and Sunday 2pm-7pm. Wed: BLUE GRASS JAM at 6:30 Thurs: Food: El Charro lunch and supper. Palmetto Trail Talk 6pm with Andrew Gleason former director of the Foothills Trail. Fri: Music Eric Congdon at 6:30pm Food to be determined. Sat- Food: Rad Dads 4pm Music: Spare Parts at 6:30pm. Sun: 2pm-7pm. More information 864-873-0048. * Pisgah Roasters Coffee

ASHTON RECALLS by Ashton Hester In my early days at the Keowee Courier, beginning in 1973, I extensively covered Salem and Tamassee: Here's another story for The Old Salem Post. FIFTH ANNUAL SALEM RODEO HELD IN 1953 - (The following story was in the October 14, 1953 issue of the Keowee Courier). . .The legendary wild west will move into Salem this Friday and Saturday as the annual rodeo fever takes over Oconee's newest and one of its most progressive towns. . .Action will begin at 2 p.m. both days. Admission is free. . .This will mark the fifth year that Salem has staged the rodeo, and it has grown by leaps and bounds in each succeeding year. . .As many as 12,000 persons are expected to jampack into the arena there during the two-day event to see both local and visiting riders and ropers, from as far away as Montana and Texas, strut their stuff. . .Last year's attendance was an estimated 10,000, including a maximum of 7,000 at one time, but organizer Grayson Dalton reports that seating capacity has been increased this year. . .The Salem rodeo is the biggest one in South Carolina and the only free-admission rodeo known to exist in the nation. . .(Footnote: In conjunction with the Salem rodeo, Moore's Men's & Boys' Store in Walhalla placed an advertisement in the Keowee Courier with the heading "Attention Rodeo Fans!" It advertised a sale on Lee overalls, Western jackets, and genuine cowboy boots. This probably ensured that some local "dudes" were properly attired for the event.)

CONSERVATION CORNER: Do you get a letter every other week from someone wanting to purchase your property? Save them up for good fire starters. It’s time for a bonfire. TAKE A DRIVE or A HIKE. The leaves are changing. Imagine what it would be if we did not have the mountains and beautiful landscape. Imagine towers, townhouses, condos, and houses instead of trees with colorful leaves. Only we can protect the natural resources entrusted to us. Be a part of conservation groups. Engage with our legislators for protection.

Treasure Store and Bag Sale Store open this Saturday, Nov 21, 9am-12noon.

UPCOMING EVENTS!

November 4th Tunes of the Cowboy Trail Tickets $10 day of event or on our website. $20 show&supper Hear the tunes of Cowboy Copus, Gene Autry and more by Jef Wilson. If you want to ensure your dinner ticket it is best to reserve your evening by purchasing a ticket prior to this delightful event. We will serve dinner until show time or sell out, whichever comes first.

November 18th 7pm Oconee Mountain Opry. Tickets $10 day of event or on our website. Enjoy the beautiful tunes and voice of Fayssoux McLean and Brandon Turner. Fayssoux sang vocals with Emmylou Harris for years, and they continue to collaborate as friends today. Brandon is a brilliant talent among musicians who stays booked continually playing with multiple well-known artists. More artist information next week.

Christmas Talent Showcase: Dec 2 6pm-9pm. Showcase your Christmas talent. Don your Christmas attire and be a part of bringing Christmas Spirit to our community. Email [email protected] or call 864-280-1258

Visit our website at Eaglesnestartcenter.org for events and ticket information. *We have a DHEC certified kitchen available for rent or food commissary. Rental space for kitchen, reunions, parties. ****NEW at the ENAC site is Juliet Bravo Pottery Classes: Call Jason and Jessica Buddin 864-539-2389****

CHURCH NEWS

Bethel Presbyterian Church(PCUSA), 580 Bethel Church Rd Walhalla, 29691, worships at 10:30 a.m. Sermon: October 15, Message by George Harper, Ecclesiastical Bull Scripture: Ex. 32:1-14; Matt. 22:1-14 October 22, Message by Mel Davis, October 29 Message by Mel Davis. Good news! Our choir has increased to four people! Love to sing? Join us! Love to be in charge? Come lead us! All worshipers are welcome. Salem Methodist Church: Breakfast every Sunday 9am. Sunday School 9:30am. Worship at 10:30am Sunday Outreach Ministry with Adam Hopkins each Sunday at 4pm in the Salem Methodist Fellowship Hall.

Ministry with Martha Watson: The Honeycomb Meeting Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3202681443?pwd=SFl6YkJ3Qk1POTJwNUgwcWFUeU9QZz09 Meeting ID: 320 268 1443 Passcode: r395tb

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Hear the cries of this hurting and lost world out of control. We desperately need you! Amen

PROPOSED CLOSING OF TAMASSEE-SALEM ELEMENTARY: The Oconee County School Board has plans to close our T-S Elementary in 2027 on the long range plan. Together we can win the battle of this absurdity! There is a survey on their website that now has OTHER as a choice. Choose Other to make your comments. Call the administrative office at 864-886-4400 to be a speaker or sign up on your early arrival at the next meeting on Monday, Oct 16th at 6pm at the SDOC Board Room located 414 South Pine Street in Walhalla. PAT’S CASH & CARRY would like to everyone for all the support throughout their 50 years of business and for the heart warming support for the 50th anniversary celebration!

See you at S Pine Street Oct 16th! LRM Happy Birthday to Sister Susan! Show your support for T-S Elementary!

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instantdeerlover · 4 years

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The Austin (Quarantine) Dinner & A Movie Guide added to Google Docs

The Austin (Quarantine) Dinner & A Movie Guide

Dinner and a movie is a timeless combination. And while you might not be leaving your house at the moment, you don’t really have to - there’s plenty to watch at home, and even more to order for delivery or takeout (how’s that for optimism?). Below, you’ll find our picks for great takeout and delivery, and which movie you should pair it with - 10 combinations to keep your quarantine nights feeling fun, and hopefully, just a bit more normal.

All restaurants featured on The Infatuation are selected by our editorial team. The Austin (Quarantine) Dinner & A Movie Guide is presented by Uber Eats. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, supporting our local restaurant community has never been more important. Uber Eats customers can now give directly to the restaurants they love at checkout. 100% will go to the restaurant. Order now to support. See app for details.

The Spots Jeffrey's $ $ $ $ American , French , Steaks in Clarksville $$$$ 1204 W Lynn St Not

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Movie Pairing: Casino Royale (HBO)

There are very few things in this world more “James Bond” than a martini - Aston Martins, submarine cars, and laser watches, maybe. But chances are high that you don’t have any of those. The martini kits at Jeffrey’s make five drinks, so by the end you’ll at least think that you’re ready to parkour your way through a construction site. And Casino Royale largely takes place in a casino, as you may have guessed, focused around a high-stakes poker game. We took that as an opportunity to dress up a little on a Friday night in, and ordered some food in addition to the martinis (Bond might never need to eat, but we do). If it fits your budget, go for the 32-day dry-aged steaks, or grab the dry-aged prime wagyu burger for something a little friendlier on the wallet.

Top Notch $ $ $ $ American , Burgers in Crestview $$$$ 7525 Burnet Rd Not

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Movie Pairing: Dazed and Confused (Amazon)

Alright, alright, alright - this one might be a little on the nose, but as soon as you see the glowing Top Notch sign at the beginning of Dazed and Confused, you’ll immediately get nostalgic for a time you may or may not have lived through. The best part is that not much about this place has changed - they still have the same delicious charcoal-grilled burgers that they’ve been cooking up for almost 60 years, and they just started their car hop service back up, so you can really feel like you’re living in Austin in the 70s. Grab a burger and make sure to throw in some onion rings. And we’re not saying you have to add on a milkshake, but it’d be a lot cooler if you did.

Nicolai McCrary Ramen Tatsu-ya $ $ $ $ Ramen in East Austin $$$$ 1600 E 6th St Not

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Movie Pairing: Tampopo (Google Play)

This 1985 cult-classic describes itself as a “ramen western,” and while it’s absurd at times, it still manages to act as a tribute to Japanese cuisine and culture, without ever taking itself too seriously. A few things you can expect to see: lessons from a ramen master, training montages with kitchen utensils, and an etiquette class on how to eat spaghetti properly. Warning - you will want ramen when this is done. And our favorite spot when that hits is Ramen Tatsu-Ya. We can’t really suggest a favorite bowl because they’re all beautiful in their own way.

Habana Restaurant & Bar $$$$ 2728 S Congress Ave

Movie Pairing: Chef (Amazon)

Chef was one of our favorite feel-good movies of 2014 - a quality we were very much in search of when we decided to revisit it recently. It’s a movie about a professional chef who just wants to cook what he’s passionate about - think montages of beautifully shot food, and a fun cross-country, father-son adventure that plays tributes to regional cuisines all along the way. When you inevitably find yourself craving a Cuban sandwich after (or during), we found the one from Habana really managed to hit the spot.

Matt Harrington Swedish Hill Bakery & Cafe $ $ $ $ American , Cafe/Bakery in Clarksville $$$$ 1120 W 6th St Not

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Movie Pairing: Paddington 2 (HBO)

Paddington 2 is the sequel to a film about a talking bear that loves orange marmalade. Not sold? Neither were we. But look past its cute, family-friendly mask, and you might be as surprised as us. The cinematography feels like a tribute to Wes Anderson, and the story is sincere enough to make up for that entire season of Too Hot To Handle that you just binged. Throw in some great performances by Brendan Gleeson, Sally Hawkins, and Hugh Grant and you’ve got yourself the highest rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes. The first movie is a lot of fun as well, if you find yourself suddenly invested in the Paddington Cinematic Universe, but not a necessary prerequisite. We laughed, we cried, and we wanted orange marmalade when it was all done. Fortunately the folks over at Swedish Hill make a great one, so you can keep the smiles going all weekend.

Crown & Anchor Pub $ $ $ $ Bar Food , Burgers in Campus $$$$ 2911 San Jacinto Blvd

Movie Pairing: The World’s End (Amazon)

The third installment in the Cornetto Trilogy (a very loosely-related anthology series starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost), The World’s End finds a group of old friends reuniting to complete an epic pub crawl, only to make an important discovery. We won’t give anything else away, but we will say you’re going to want a nice cold pint and maybe a burger to get you through the journey. And Crown & Anchor is a favorite of ours for both. We usually go with the classic cheeseburger and fries, but the Crown BLT is just as great. Grab a growler to go and buckle in.

Nicolai McCrary Bufalina $ $ $ $ Pizza in East Austin $$$$ 1519 E Cesar Chavez St 8.6 /10

Movie Pairing: Sideways (Amazon)

“Sideways has to be one of the best wine movies ever made” - us, sometime last month. We just rewatched it for the first time in years, and it certainly holds up. Sideways will ignite your love for pinot noir, suddenly make you look down on merlot, and possibly start narrating your life in Paul Giamatti’s voice. And if you’re staring into a pantry full of Franzia, give the folks at Bufalina a call. They’ve got a great wine list with a big emphasis on natural wines - bottles start at around $20. And of course, they have some of the best Neapolitan pizza in town. We’re big fans of the classic Margherita, but toppings, after all, are a personal choice.

Nicolai McCrary Uroko $ $ $ $ Japanese , Sushi in East Austin $$$$ 1023 Springdale Rd Bldg 1 Not

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Movie Pairing: Lost In Translation (Amazon)

This is the movie that made us really want to travel to Japan. Lost In Translation features Bill Murray as an aging movie star and Scarlett Johansson as a recent college-graduate who cross paths while staying at the same hotel in Tokyo. It explores ideas of loneliness, isolation (sound familiar?), and culture shock as they explore the country and form a friendship based on their shared experiences and existential outlooks. They share a number of scenes navigating the world of Japanese cuisine, and at one point joke about dining at a restaurant that makes them cook their own food. So why not pick up a DIY sushi hand roll set from Uroko to keep your fingers busy while you watch? You may have to assemble your meal, but don’t worry, you won’t have to cook anything.

Delray Cafe $$$$ 1133 E 11th St

Movie Pairing: Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle (Amazon)

The title of this movie is easily the most succinct summary that we could have provided. It tells you everything that happens, but nothing about the film. It’s a classic 2004 stoner-comedy about two friends on a journey to get some burgers. Along the way they end up performing surgery, riding a cheetah, and getting their car stolen by Neil Patrick Harris. By the end you’ll definitely want a few sliders. And since there isn’t a single White Castle anywhere in Texas, the next closest thing is probably the slider at Delray Cafe - just small enough that you can crush a few of them if you want that same movie experience, or grab a double with cheese (our favorite). Get some wings or tater tots while you’re at it.

Nicolai McCrary Patrizi's $ $ $ $ Pasta , Italian in Manor $$$$ 2307 Manor Rd Not

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Movie Pairing: Big Night (Amazon)

Big Night is a 1996 comedy-drama about two Italian immigrant brothers that decide to open up a restaurant in New Jersey in the 1950s. There’s drama, there’s scandal, there’s contempt for the Americanization of Italian food (don’t even ask them to make spaghetti with meatballs). The business struggles, but sees a chance for rejuvenation with a rumored celebrity appearance. So the brothers decide to go all out for one…big night. And when you inevitably find yourself craving Italian, we’re fans of the pasta at Patrizi’s - made daily, from scratch. Our favorite is the Carbonara Alexandra (pancetta, egg, cheese), but the Patrizi’s Red is great if you’re in the mood for something with a little more sauce. And you can also add a giant meatball to any of the orders, no matter what Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci say.

via The Infatuation Feed https://www.theinfatuation.com/austin/guides/austin-dinner-movie-guide Nhà hàng Hương Sen chuyên buffet hải sản cao cấp✅ Tổ chức tiệc cưới✅ Hội nghị, hội thảo✅ Tiệc lưu động✅ Sự kiện mang tầm cỡ quốc gia 52 Phố Miếu Đầm, Mễ Trì, Nam Từ Liêm, Hà Nội http://huongsen.vn/ 0904988999 http://huongsen.vn/to-chuc-tiec-hoi-nghi/ https://trello.com/userhuongsen

Created May 8, 2020 at 04:33AM /huong sen View Google Doc Nhà hàng Hương Sen chuyên buffet hải sản cao cấp✅ Tổ chức tiệc cưới✅ Hội nghị, hội thảo✅ Tiệc lưu động✅ Sự kiện mang tầm cỡ quốc gia 52 Phố Miếu Đầm, Mễ Trì, Nam Từ Liêm, Hà Nội http://huongsen.vn/ 0904988999 http://huongsen.vn/to-chuc-tiec-hoi-nghi/ https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xa6sRugRZk4MDSyctcqusGYBv1lXYkrF

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marilynngmesalo · 5 years

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REVIEW: In ’La Llorona,’ a creepy folktale made banal

REVIEW: In ’La Llorona,’ a creepy folktale made banal REVIEW: In ’La Llorona,’ a creepy folktale made banal http://bit.ly/2VRImjG

La Llorona, a woman who according to Mexican legend murdered her own children and now wanders the earth looking for them, snatching other unsuspecting tots and drowning them, gets her close-up in a major Hollywood film, Warner Bros.’ “The Curse of La Llorona.” It’s a pretty terrifying bedtime story popular in the Latino community, used to scare children into behaving with the threat that La Llorona will come and take them if they don’t. Seems like decent enough fodder for a jumpy 93 minutes at the movies.

But the so-called “weeping woman” may have another reason to wail once her big North American debut hits theatres. The movie, from director Michael Chaves and producer James Wan, who made “The Conjuring” so good and stylish that it inspired a whole “universe” of films, including this one, just isn’t that great. In fact, it makes La Llorona pretty ordinary — a demonic bride who terrorizes two single-moms and their families in Los Angeles in the late 1970s by running at them screaming and crying oily black tears. Subtlety isn’t really her thing.

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Linda Cardellini in a scene from “The Curse of La Llorona.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

The screenplay, credited to Mikki Daughtry and Tobais Iaconis, is mainly about Anna Tate-Garcia (Linda Cardellini), a widowed child services worker and mom to two, Chris (Roman Christou) and Samantha (Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen). One of her cases, Patricia Alvarez (Patricia Velasquez), a mother of two, is being haunted by La Llorona and when Anna intervenes, suspecting that it was mom who burned marks into her sons’ arms, both boys end up dead, drowned in the shallow LA River.

So La Llorona turns her attentions to Anna’s kids, and things start to get quite stressful and scary in their big craftsman home, in part because although Anna, Chris and Samantha eventually encounter this very formal demon, none talk to each other about it. Even more frustrating: When Anna sees burn marks on her daughter’s arm, after very recently having seen the same marks on the two now dead Alavarez boys, she doesn’t pry further when Samantha says she merely fell. She just tells her daughter that the world can be scary and to hug her doll when it is. Anna, you start to suspect, might not be the best at her job.

The film feels both long and rushed which is something of an accomplishment as Chaves speeds through scenes and on to the next dutifully: Here’s where they finally get help, here’s where you get a tie-in to the other “Conjuring” films, etc. Plotlines are abandoned at will, there are set ups for things that never come back and some suspiciously malleable “monster-logic” that makes the whole endeavour seem a little lazy and half-baked. At one point, he seems to even give up on how to create tension, opting to turn one scare into what feels more like a trailer with quick, disconnected flashes of images and black.

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Which is a shame because it’s not like the film has nothing to offer. A bucket of popcorn stands no chance against the many, many jump scares that are to come. “La Llorona” is at its best when Chaves is permitted to give scenes time to breathe. There’s a great sequence early on with kids in a car that is sure to inspire more than a few nightmares about manual car windows.

The legend of La Llorona could inspire a whole universe of films on its own, but not with a kick-off like this.

“The Curse of La Llorona,” a Warner Bros. release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for “violence and terror.” Running time: 93 minutes. Two stars out of four.

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how2to18 · 6 years

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THERE’S A PHOTOGRAPH my mother can’t stop thinking about. She is about nine years old in it, dangling from her father’s arms as he dips her low to the ground, a blissful moment she can’t remember, one of the few they shared together. She texts me a picture of it one afternoon, its corner creased from an antique vanity mirror where she keeps it tucked up against the glass. She stares straight at the camera, and I can tell she is laughing, even though her upside-down figure is a blur. My grandfather leans too far forward; I can’t see his face. My mother tells me the photograph still makes her cry, but I wonder: For whom? The girl she once was, or the man he is no longer? That smeary snapshot is a substitute for other memories she’d prefer to forget. Its truth is a necessary fiction.

II.

Ezekiel Hooper Stark is obsessed with family photographs. The narrator of Lynne Tillman’s Men and Apparitions — the author’s first novel in 12 years — pores over them, scrutinizing their subjects, often to the exclusion of his real family. A cultural anthropologist by profession, Zeke ricochets between detached analysis of heirloom pictures — his own, or others fished from flea-market albums — and theories of photography in a 400-page monologue packed with observations on gender, sex, and death. “My self is my field, and habitually I observe, and write field notes,” Zeke proclaims. His book, MEN IN QUOTES, a loose ethnographic study of contemporary masculinity, is excerpted at the novel’s end. Photographs here provide a basis for self-image and self-reflection, and Tillman seesaws between an analysis of physical pictures and an examination of the ways we picture ourselves and others.

“Photographs render worlds,” writes Tillman, and so from the outset Zeke’s world is constructed from photographs — or rather, from the medium of photography itself. “I wished upon the first star that winked at me in a black sky: preserve me, keep me safe,” he recalls, in the hope he might never grow older. Zeke soon learns that photographs cheat the aging process: “At nine I stared at pictures of Mother when she was nine, so cool, Mother, Ellen, a girl, and only I alone could force a Mother into Being.” They give him the power of time-travel, the ability to surround himself with people plucked from the past, like bugs encased in amber. His mother deems him morbid, for she understands photography’s relationship to death, something Zeke discovers only later. The episode recalls Roland Barthes’s photograph of his mother as a five-year-old, which he describes in Camera Lucida (1980) as collecting “all the possible predicates from which [her] being had been constituted,” a total image that rehearses her eventual death while freezing her in suspended animation.

Boy Zeke is a loner, more content to keep company with the dead. Close family and friends appear in static snapshots: “I see the barbecue pit, my father disdainfully flipping burgers.” His narration grows so detached, he calls his kin “the family,” and he refers to his sibling as “Little Sister” in a tone less autobiographical than anthropological. When Zeke’s father dies, his ambivalent eulogy is abruptly intercut with a paean to Polaroid film, which ceased production that same year; he understands his father’s impatience and materialism through the immediacy of the film he once favored.

Zeke’s one close live friend, Mr. Petey, is a praying mantis he spots in the family garden. A flighty endangered species with a talent for camouflage, Mr. Petey is the consummate observer, seeing more than his human neighbors while remaining unaware of ecological threats to his survival. If photography allows Zeke to trap metaphorical bugs, Mr. Petey is one he cannot catch (praying mantises are protected by federal law); but he keeps him in plush effigy, a stuffed witness to the Stark family drama. Mr. Petey might just stand in for a film camera, a mute super-eye threatened with extinction.

When Zeke finally gets his own camera, it gives him a sense of dominion over the world — the feeling it can be captured, developed, cataloged. “I wasn’t into the mechanics of cameras — lenses, focal length, speed — just the imagination behind the camera — me,” he recalls. “I was engaged in me, what was before me, which became a strange ownership, probably symptomatic or evidence of a little person’s pride in what he believes he controls. Silly tot.” His recollection of childish entitlement, which could portend an artist’s ego, is actually the admission of someone terrified by fate’s unphotographable power. What lies beyond the frame always determines what fits within it.

III.

Framing, and the framed, are central to Lynne Tillman’s writing, which ranges freely across genres, from fiction to art to literary criticism. Among my favorite of her creations is Madame Realism, a sage proxy who browses exhibitions at art and historical museums, often addressing the signage and lighting with the same perspicacity as she does the objects on display. From the moment she appeared in a 1986 column in Art in America, Madame Realism made criticism personal, its analysis situated in real space trafficked by real people. In a form of critique reminiscent of Andrea Fraser’s early performances, her observations at once lance visible institutional biases and the hidden forces that instill them. She teaches us how to look, while revealing why we see what we do. Zeke Hooper might be Madame Realism reincarnate: his monologue is an essay, a theory of photography, that reveals as much about its author (Zeke? Lynne?) as it does about our acculturation by images.

Thirty-seven, white, male, and heterosexual, from an upper-middle-class family in the Boston suburbs, Zeke is the kind of guy who likes to hear himself talk. He often concludes self-lacerating statements with “kidding,” a verbal tic that seems somewhat insincere. As he considers the “glut of images” in which we live, his own mind comes to resemble that glut. Personal digressions suggest an intelligent polymath with an empathy problem, too aloof to relate to those closest to him. The novel’s facts start to seem suspicious; Zeke’s research for MEN IN QUOTES is strung through with joking asides and anecdotes that would surely invite academic scorn. Men and Apparitions is a work of fiction as ventriloquy by a winking puppet. If it is criticism, too, it knowingly undermines its own arguments. “A photograph doesn’t speak,” notes Zeke. “If it did it would be just another unreliable narrator.” What else is there?

Good writers are always ethnographers of a sort. They study human behavior in minute detail, connecting actions with their motivations, cultural forms with their social function. Writers are also always untrustworthy. Bias is a fact of writing as much as perspective is a quality of sight. “I don’t pretend I’m ‘just’ an observer,” Zeke proclaims. “In the field, ethnographers become engaged, entranced, involved, even entangled.” Tillman, Zeke, and their readers are both looking and being looked at. This book’s lens is also a mirror.

IV.

Am I a “New Man”? A list of possible criteria, drawn up from Men and Apparitions: self-avowedly feminist, emotional, alienated, resistant to stereotypical gender roles, intimidated by machismo. Perhaps. “New Men” are Zeke’s subject of study for MEN IN QUOTES, though he clearly counts as one, too. He sets out to explore “what are ‘men’ now, after the women’s movement of the 1960s and 1970s, feminism, generally, how has that changed us, in what ways, and the women we know and love or hate, and what do we want from women.” The sample of men he interviews is self-selecting, composed of familiar peers. His true subject, it seems, is himself: “I could shape myself into an ethnographer without a knowing attitude, and could learn as much about my own as ‘the other,’ or discover the other inside.” At his core, Zeke feels alienated by society’s expectations of men, as if his privilege affords him no feeling of ownership over the world he was meant to master.

Zeke craves intimacy with women and is drawn to their strength, but he is ultimately more comfortable keeping them at a distance. The women he understands best live in silver gelatin: a long portion of the novel is dedicated to Clover Hooper Adams, a distant relative and amateur photographer, whose work was much acclaimed by her circle of New England patricians, including close confidant Henry James. There’s evidence James based his “Pandora” (1884) on her, a whip-smart, creative “New Woman” to match Zeke the New Man. Several of Clover’s photographs appear here, along with excerpts from letters she wrote to family and friends. Zeke wonders if he inherited his love of photography from her, though they more clearly share a sense of alienation from the world around them. Unappreciated by her husband, who disapproved of her practice, Clover killed herself one morning in 1885 by drinking photochemicals. Zeke suggests many causes for her gruesome suicide, but we are left to wonder if she wasn’t killed by photography itself, and the emotional space it forced between her and the people she captured. “Like a pair of binoculars with no right or wrong end, the camera makes exotic things near, intimate; and familiar things small, abstract, strange, much farther away,” Susan Sontag wrote in On Photography (1977). “It offers, in one easy, habit-forming activity, both participation and alienation in our own lives and those of others — allowing us to participate, while confirming alienation.” For Clover, as for Zeke, that psychic distance becomes too great to bridge.

Zeke’s infatuation for Clover grows when his wife, Maggie, leaves him for his best friend. Maggie appears throughout the novel only as a kind of cipher, thinly described, an image lacking true life. Zeke cannot perceive the emotional needs of the woman beside him and so returns to the company of a woman who cannot object to his advances. “I fell in love with an essentially always unavailable woman, the image of a beloved,” he laments. Photographs, unlike human beings, can’t betray us.

Recent conversations around sexual harassment and assault have focused on men as individual perpetrators but rarely have examined the broader cultural conditions that shape their relationships with women. It’s worth treating the first post-feminist generation of adult males as a test case for long-term solutions to the problem. If Zeke is a New Man in search of New Women, his notional feminism isn’t backed up by behavior. He still lacks empathy. He hates having his intellectual authority questioned. He idealizes a certain image of femininity, but lays blame when women don’t conform. The New Man is a paradox: self-aware of his privilege, and evaluative of his masculinity, but forced by analysis into a state of detachment that strains emotional engagement. He can talk the talk, but so what? All leftist politics face this same challenge, to move beyond the mere assimilation of radical discourse and into the realm of real action.

Tillman is 71, but she delves deeply into the psychology of a man half her age. In many ways, Men and Apparitions is a portrait of Generation X: caught between the analog and the digital, economic prosperity and recession, the sexually objectifying gender stereotypes of the Bush-Clinton years and the Obama-era gender revolution, Gen-X men are cleaved by history, left raw and ready for the malaise of middle age. Zeke’s world, and its expectations of him, have changed as rapidly as photography. He feels endangered, a Mr. Petey past his prime. The part of him left behind, wounded by cultural obsolescence, is perhaps his true “other inside.”

One recent gray afternoon, I found myself on the fifth floor of the Whitney Museum, in New York, browsing Zoe Leonard: Survey, an exhibition of the American artist’s nearly 40-year practice. On a quiet wall facing the Hudson River, as bright and colorless as a mirror, hung five photographs of photographs: portraits of a woman in a dark coat, silhouetted against the deck railing of a ship as it passes the Statue of Liberty. Across these five frames, the same two pictures repeat, as though Leonard’s film had been jammed. In one, the woman faces Liberty, while in the other, she looks slightly askance. Photographed on tables wrapped in crinkled white butcher paper, they appear worn by human touch, as if cut from the jaundiced innards of a family album. Leonard found them while looking through her mother’s pictures, and they show her grandmother as she first arrived in the United States after the long sea voyage from Poland. I think of my mother’s text message: a photograph of a photograph, its physicality preserved while also flattened. Leonard’s photographs have a metonymic quality, like tender relics of a relative she hardly knew, realer now than the person they capture.

Zeke Hooper is a picture of pictures, an amalgamation of the images he so hungrily consumes. “I’m a picture to myself, a mental image,” he remarks, “but when I look in the mirror, I don’t know that person.” The central crisis of Men and Apparitions is Zeke’s inability to match his own self-conception, a crisis that pervades our social media age. The self-representation Leonard so poignantly foregrounds has since been sapped of its agency, subjected to the manic expectations of a society reprogrammed by digital images’ instantaneous circulation. Our public personae are now simulacra, crafted to appeal to specific audiences and subject to constant reformulation. We snap, we look, we share, we move on. “For ethnology to live, its subject must die,” Jean Baudrillard wrote in Simulations (1983), and so now we die every day. Zeke’s melancholic obsession with analog photographs is also a refusal to let a part of him go that must expire so that photography can survive. New Men need New Pictures.

I return to my mother’s photograph, or my pixelated version of that glossy object. How does it suggest I can emulate my grandfather, while learning from his mistakes? He belonged to another era of masculinity, and so the image makes me think of my relationship to my mother, my mother’s to my father, my father’s to my sisters. Each time I look at it, I force my nine-year-old mother into being, hold her, giggling, all to myself. I imagine how Barthes felt about that portrait of his mother, how he saw her whole life in its fragment. Zeke would cherish my photograph, too, and its false promise to make sense of the past. “The self is a necessary fiction,” he observes. I love that fiction; I need it. It is Lynne Tillman’s true genre, her subject, her muse.

Evan Moffitt is a writer and critic based in New York. He is the associate editor of frieze.

Banner image from Diego de Silva.

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tonyduncanbb73 · 6 years

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Suburban Updates: A Bacon-Centric Worcester Pub Now Has a Ramen Sibling

And more news from outside Boston

There’s more to Massachusetts dining than just Boston proper restaurants. We’re keeping tabs on developments in the Greater Boston area and beyond, including openings, closures, and more. With a focus on Greater Boston suburbs, this piece will be updated on a rolling basis, with the most recent news appearing at the top.

January 3, 2018

ARLINGTON — Chilly Cow (451 Massachusetts Ave.) will convert into Abilyn’s Frozen Bakery, under the same ownership. The ice cream shop will serve largely the same items with some additions, with a goal of making a name for itself as a national wholesale brand.

SAUGUS — A planned expansion of Kane’s Donuts will likely happen this spring, as the popular shop prepares to open a location with a drive-thru window within the Essex Landing development, which many will remember as the site of the Route 1 miniature golf course and its recognizable orange dinosaur statue, which still stands.

TAUNTON — A new Fratelli’s Pastry Shop is open (1 Washington St.), and it joins two more in Quincy and Weymouth. Like its counterparts, the Taunton shop serves specialty cakes, cupcakes, pastries, cookies, pies, and breads, in addition to a menu of sandwiches, salads, pizzas, calzones, and more Italian dishes. The Taunton bakery is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

WELLESLEY — The Cottage (190 Linden St.) temporarily closed down on January 2 to allow for updates, including a menu change and interior renovations courtesy of Taniya Nayak, a former HGTV host and designer who has worked on several restaurants in the area, including Yellow Door Taqueria and Lower Mills Tavern, among others. Her designs for The Cottage will reportedly feature natural wood and greenery. Culinary director Peter Hansen will oversee updates to the menu. Expect The Cottage to reopen mid-January.

WEYMOUTH — Gourmet Oriental (625 Washington St.)has closed down. The restaurant served a mixture of Chinese dishes and offered karaoke, live music, and other entertainment.

WORCESTER — The team behind The Hangover Pub (Worcester’s bacon-filled restaurant) has a new restaurant focused on ramen. Broth is now open next door at 106 Green St., serving five different soups (including a vegetarian option), light appetizers, several cocktails, and two desserts made with bacon.

December 27, 2017

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The Angry Donut

LEXINGTON — Yangtze River(25 Depot Sq.), a Chinese-American restaurant that first opened in the 1970s, has closed down, per Boston Restaurant Talk. It served lunch and dinner, plus dim sum on the weekends. A different restaurant called Sanyo will take its place.

MARLBOROUGH — A new spot joined the interesting restaurant names category: Thairiffic is now open in Marlborough (128 Main St.), serving items like massaman curry, tom yum soup, and fresh rolls. The restaurant also offers takeout.

NEEDHAM — It’s been many months since chef Rachel Klein departed the restaurant that bears her initials, RFK Kitchen (30 Dedham Ave.), and now it’s getting a rebranding. L&K (“lounge and kitchen”) grandly reopens tomorrow, December 28, with new managers and a new menu by new executive chef Matthew Kovach. There’s also a new cocktail menu and selection of “lounge bites.”

NEWBURYPORT — A pop-up called The Angry Donut has permanent aspirations. Founder Tom Quill is a native of Newburyport, and he connected with baker Jill Passen to launch The Angry Donut, appearing as a pop-up and at farmers markets around the region. Now, they’re working to secure a permanent location and have launched a Kickstarter to help fund the process, offering rewards for those who donate.

WESTFORD — Go to The Okipoké(8 Cornerstone Sq., Unit B) and eat yourself some fish. The new restaurant in Westford serves a wide range of options, including bowls, burritos, and salads, topped with tuna, salmon, shrimp, tofu, and more.

WORCESTER — A place for Vietnamese noodles and seafood opened recently in Worcester. My Sister’s Crawfish II(442 Park Ave.)joins Dorchester’s My Sister’s Crawfish in serving rice plates, bun, noodles, spring rolls, and crawfish by the pound, plus bubble tea.

December 20, 2017

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Tuna poke tostadas at Bueno Malo

ANDOVER — “The flavors of Mexico meet the heartbeat of Southern California” at Bueno Malo, which opened about six weeks ago in Andover. Mike Reidy and Franco Lozano III teamed up for the restaurant, which has a full bar and serves tacos and burritos stuffed with steak, grilled chicken, shrimp, fish, bean and cheese, and even tater tots. For dinner, there are wings, taquitos, ceviche, nachos, and street corn.

DEDHAM — Legacy Place continues to grow its food and beverage options, adding one more this week: Temazcal Tequila Cantina’snewest location, now open, spans 7,000 square feet, filling nearly every inch with Mexican dishes and more than 250 varieties of tequila.

NORTH ANDOVER — Howling Wolf Taqueria, featured in Eater Boston’s Salem dining guide, already has one fast-casual location in Marblehead, but this spring it will add another in North Andover. The new Howling Wolf Express will operate with a full liquor license within a space at 550 Turnpike St.

SAUGUS — One of the most recognizable plots of land in Saugus will soon be home to a new restaurant. A development project at the site of the former Hilltop Steak House will bring a 110 Grill restaurant to the area, along with an undetermined fast-casual restaurant. The Saugus 110 Grill will join several existing locations around the state, and a bunch more are on the way.

SWAMPSCOTT — Local-born chain B.Good will expand to the North Shore, adding a restaurant in Swampscott at 450 Paradise Rd. B.Good serves a line of locally-sourced fast-casual meals, including salads, burgers, sandwiches, and grain bowls.

WALPOLE — A source for beer will go quietly into the night in Walpole: British Beer Company on Route 1 will shutter on Christmas Eve, with reports indicating the business couldn’t reach an agreement with the landlord. There are 13 other locations in the region.

December 13, 2017

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Mooyah burgers

BERLIN — Mooyah Burgers, Fries & Shakes opened its newest Massachusetts location on December 11 (48 Highland Commons East). The Texas-based fast-food chain serves a menu true to its silly name, focusing on burgers, which are topped with items like bacon and jalapeños. There are turkey burger and chicken options for sandwiches as well, and the restaurant also has vegetarian options, plus hot dogs, french fries, and salads, along with shakes.

BRAINTREE — The Braintree side of the Weymouth Landing development will welcome a new restaurant, Bates Bar and Grill(2 Commercial St.), taking the place of the Landing Pub and Ultimate Pizza, which were torn down after a fire.

MELROSE — A restaurant serving sushi and pan-Asian dishes is now open in Melrose. Tsukiji Bistro is located at 505 Main St., in the same building as Stearns & Hill’s Bistro.

SALEM — Stacia’s Place closed down (97 Bridge St.) on December 1. The restaurant had been around for 35 years, serving subs of all varieties, along with soup, salads, wings, hot dogs, and several other items.

Also in Salem, Victoria Station has been shut down, with reports indicating that it had not renewed the lease for the space at 86 Wharf St.

WELLESLEY — Smith & Wollensky plans to open a steakhouse location in Wellesley — taking over the longtime Blue Ginger space at 583 Washington St., as previously reported — and has set a target opening date for mid-April 2018. There are two existing locations in Boston proper, along with other steakhouses in Chicago, Columbus, Houston, Miami Beach, and London.

November 29, 2017

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Fiorella’s Concord

CONCORD — Fiorella’s has arrived in Concord, joining an existing location in Newton (and takeout-oriented siblings dubbed Fiorella’s Express in Belmont, Cambridge, and Brighton). The new restaurant, located at 24 Walden St. (the former Bondir space), serves the familiar menu of Italian dishes in a full-service dining format.

FRAMINGHAM — The beloved J&M Diner is back in business after a devastating fire pushed it out of its original home back in March. The new restaurant opened at 50 Worcester Rd. at 6 a.m. on November 27, with a line out the door.

WALTHAM — A Brothers Marketplace is on the way to Waltham and will open within The Merc at Moody and Main (45 Moody St.), per Boston Restaurant Talk. There are other locations in Weston and Medfield, offering retail goods along with prepared foods.

November 22, 2017

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Blue Canoe Cafe storefront

CONCORD — A new market on the way to Concord will also serve prepared foods, and the folks behind it also run Trail’s End Cafe and Lincoln Kitchen. Concord Market will be located on Lowell Road and could open in about a year.

DEDHAM — Yep, there’s another Caffe Nero open. This one’s at Legacy Place (218 Legacy Pl.); it debuted on November 20.

MARBLEHEAD — A new place for coffee and food will open within a storefront on School Street that was previously home to Atomic Cafe. Blue Canoe Cafe (14 School St.) will serve coffee, sandwiches, smoothies, and baked goods, along with bags of Atomic coffee. Renovations are underway.

PEABODY — Seawitch Restaurant & Oyster Bar, a longtime restaurant and fish market, is now under new ownership with a new name — well, two: The market arm of the business became North Shore Lobster and the restaurant became SeaGrilz. Both are open and located at 203 Newbury St. (Rte. 1).

Peabody will also see the addition of a La Siesta restaurant, which has an existing location in Winthrop. The Mexican restaurant will open within a building under redevelopment at 1 Main St.

November 15, 2017

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Pressed Juicery juices

LYNN — A Central American chicken chain called Pollo Campero (25 State St.) grandly opened a location in Lynn this week, serving fried and grilled chicken. There are also two other locations nearby, in East Boston and Chelsea.

WAKEFIELD — A new restaurant called Public Kitchen (395 Main St.) will take over for Caryn’s Sports Bar & Restaurant in Wakefield. The partners in the new restaurant are all connected to Giacomo’s, which has locations in Melrose and both Boston’s North End and South End. Expect to see pub-style items like burgers, flatbreads, wings, and chili.

WELLESLEY — California-based Pressed Juicery has a new location in Linden Square (180 Linden St., Suite 107), where it offers cold-pressed juices and frozen treats. There’s also a location in Cambridge’s Harvard Square and one on Newbury Street in Boston.

WORCESTER — A 1920s-themed restaurant called Josephine (551 Main St.) will open within the Hanover Theater in Worcester around spring 2018, and the person behind it is Chris Rassias, who also operates The Farimount Grille in Hyde Park.

November 8, 2017

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Singh Saab

ARLINGTON — Waltham’s Santa Banta has officially relocated and reopened in Arlington as Singh Saab(444 Massachusetts Ave.). The restaurant offers a large menu of Punjabi dishes and a lunch buffet.

BURLINGTON — Singh Saab also got a sister restaurant in Burlington this week, an Indochinese restaurant called Singh Ching (184 Cambridge St.)

NEW BEDFORD — dNB Burgers (22 Elm St.)once again fell victim to vandalism this week, with a Facebook post showing a brick that had been thrown through one of the windows. This is the fourth instance of vandalism or break-in at the restaurant.

NORTH SCITUATE — A fire destroyed 50-year-old Jamie’s Grille & Pub in North Scituate this past weekend, and the building will likely be torn down. A post on the restaurant’s Facebook page indicated there were no injuries. There is no word yet on whether the owners will rebuild.

November 1, 2017

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Friendly’s ice cream

MARLBOROUGH — In an attempt to rebound from closures, Friendly’s is testing a new prototype restaurant in Marlborough, with plans to open more locations in the next several years, MassLive reports. The new restaurants feature drive-through windows, which 10 existing locations will also get. The Marlborough location is slated to open on November 6 at the Apex Center on Route 20 (180 Boston Post Rd. W.)

NEEDHAM — The James Pub & Provisions will open within the former home of the Centre Cafe (1027 Great Plain Ave.), per Boston Restaurant Talk. The owners aim to “bring the pubs of fond memory into the light once more,” according to the restaurant’s website, and it will reportedly open some time this fall.

WOBURN — A new restaurant called Shallots (920 Main St.) opened in September with an Asian fusion lunch and dinner menu that includes items like stir-fry noodles, panang curry, mango fried rice, chili duck, steak, and spicy eggplant, among others.

October 25, 2017

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Spiga

LYNN — The White Rose Coffee House has closed, as The Daily Item reports, due to drama prompted by anti-police statements that the owner’s daughter (and a manager at the cafe) made on Facebook. Owner Kato Mele apologized, fired her daughter, and invited police to the cafe to make amends, but it was not enough.

NEEDHAM — The nearly decade-old Spiga (18 Highland Cir.) has reopened after a big revamp, with chef Marisa Iocco in charge as the new co-owner. The Italian restaurant underwent a menu and design overhaul over the summer.

PEABODY — Regina Pizzeria has closed down its location at the Northshore Mall, sharing an update on Twitter that “we closed at that location because the Mall took our space to make a new entrance.”

WOBURN — Arcenia’s Cucina Rustica closed its doors in Woburn and has now been replaced by a different Italian restaurant called Fortunato’s (428 Main St.)

October 18, 2017

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Davio’s in Braintree

BRAINTREE — Davio’s officially opened its newest location in Braintree this week at the South Shore Plaza. This is the ninth location for the restaurant.

CHELMSFORD — The Establishment is a family owned and operated restaurant at 75 Princeton St. that debuted in September with a menu ranging from burgers and pizza to baked haddock, steak tips, and more.

CONCORD — As Country Kitchen owner Trish Irons prepares for retirement, the restaurant prepares to close on December 15, per Boston Restaurant Talk. Irons is pursuing options, including having someone else take over the restaurant.

LOWELL — Loui Loui Louisiana Seafood opened a new location in Lowell a few months ago, and its recent growth has gone beyond the Northeast. The restaurant had just two other locations when it opened in Allston earlier this year (in Stoneham, Massachusetts, and Fort Lee, New Jersey), and now its presence reaches as far as Duluth, Georgia, with six total restaurants.

STONEHAM — One restaurant closed down and another is on the way to Stoneham, just north of Boston. Felicia’s (423 Main St.) shuttered over the weekend after more than 50 years in business. Meanwhile, chef Patrick Campbell (previously of Cafe ArtScience and No. 9 Park) plans to open The Stones Common House & Kitchen in the town square.

October 11, 2017

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Cook in Needham

BRAINTREE — Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse will soon add a new member of the family with the opening of its Braintree restaurant at 250 Granite St. The massive restaurant, slated to open early next week at South Shore Plaza, spans 10,000 square feet and serves pasta made in-house, seafood, beef entrees, and more.

DEDHAM — Fast food chicken chain Chick-Fil-A (140 Providence Hwy.) opened its eleventh location in Massachusetts last week. The beloved, albeit controversial, restaurant is known for giving away free chicken to the first 100 customers on opening day, and Dedham’s opening drew a crowd ahead of time.

NEEDHAM — Cook (109 Chapel St.) opened over the weekend, joining an existing location in Newton (825 Washington St.) Right now, Cook is open for dinner, but lunch and brunch will follow soon. The restaurant seats 115 and serves items like lobster sliders, chili-rubbed flat-iron steak, and tagliatelle with meatballs.

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singeorzangabriel-blog · 6 years

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Film: You Were Never Really Here

De film dat ik gekeken heb is: You Were Never Really Here. Het is al van 15 november aanwezig in de bioscopen. De Schotse Lynne Ramsay is waarschijnlijk één van de boeiendste filmmaaksters van het moment. Ze is ook de regisseuse van de film You Were Never Really Here en We Need to Talk About Kevin.

You Were Never Really Here brengt je in de wereld van een afgestompte huurmoordenaar. Het heeft veel horror, het is hondsbrutaal maar ik vind toch dat Joe (=Joaquin Phoenix, de hoofdrol ) ook een soort van liefde toont. Joaquin Phoenix kreeg in Cannes de prijs voor Beste Mannelijke Hoofdrol. Ik vond het ook een zeer goed acteur, zeker voor de emoties en de crises dat hij zo goed kan acteren zelfs speelt hij een rol van een emotieloos persoon. In de film leeft hij nog altijd samen met zijn moeder, dat bijna niet meer in staat is om alleen te stappen, en hij doet alles om zijn ‘professioneel’ leven en zijn privéleven gescheiden te houden. Dat vind ik toch op een of ander manier een soort van liefde voor zijn moeder. Ik wist niet dat Joe een Irak-veteraan was maar wel dat hij mentale problemen heeft. Ik dacht dat de beelden, die altijd terugkwamen doorheen de film, beelden waren van toen hij jong was en pogingen had tot zelfmoord. Hij zat met zijn kop in een plastiek zakje en ademde niet. Ik vind dat het niet duidelijk is dat hij gewoon zijn ademhaling probeert de houden. Joe redt kinderen uit pedofiele netwerken en daarvoor moet hij eerst ‘de stoute jongens’ hun les leren. In de film krijgt hij een nieuwe opdracht, waarbij alles fout loopt. Bij elke opdracht koopt Joe een nieuwe hamer. Ik vind dit interessant. Joe moet een tienjarige meisje, namelijk Nina, gaan bevrijden uit een kinderprostitutie netwerk. De vader van Nina is staatssenator Votto ( Alex Manette ). Joe spreekt met de vader van Nina af dat hij haar in hotel Kareem in kamer 701 zal terugbezorgen. We zien in de film dat Joe een echte expert huurmoordenaar is en dat maakt de film nog beter. Alles loopt goed tot op het moment dat Joe met Nina in hotel Kareem in kamer 701 aankomen. Joe doet de televisie aan en ze zien dat staatssenator Votto, de vader van Nina, zelfmoord heeft gepleegd. Nina wordt opnieuw ontvoerd in de hotelkamer maar Joe vindt haar terug en zo eindigt de film. Terwijl hij Nina voor de tweede keer aan het zoeken was passeert hij eerst langs zijn moeder en toen hij langs het raam van haar kamer binnenkwam, zag hij zijn moeder in bed liggen met een kussen op haar hoofd. Zijn moeder werd, door de kussen en haar bril, doodgeschoten. De moordenaars waren nog beneden in het huis. Joe vermoordt de eerste moordenaar en de andere houdt hij om nog informatie van hem te krijgen. De moordenaar zei gewoon dat zijn moeder sliep toen ze haar dood had geschoten. De moordenaar, samen met Joe, valen samen op het grond en beginnen samen een muziek, ‘I‘ve Been To Paradise’, te zingen terwijl ze hun handen vasthouden. Dit is volgens mij de beste scene uit de film. Ik vond het in het begin super grappig maar nu dat ik beter nadenk vind ik dat Joe nog altijd een soort van liefde toont tegen de moordenaar van zijn moeder. Er zit dus ook subtiele humor in de film. Met dat ga ik akkoord. Joe gaat nadien zijn moeder in een meer, in een plastic zak die hij zwaarder maakt met stenen, dumpen. Vervolgens gaat Joe met de info die hij bekwam op zoek naar gouverneur Williams ( Alessandro Nivola ) waar Nina zich bevindt.

You Were Never Really Here toont het thema kindermisbruik anders volgens de recensie van de film. Ze zeggen dat het de klassieke pad van het jonge hulpeloze meisje dat gered moet worden verlaten is. Ik vond dat het totaal niet zo was. Ramsey kon volgens mij een betere verhaallijn vinden. Wat ik ook geweldig vond in deze film is dat Ramsay het geweld grotendeels buiten beeld houdt. Het is alsof de scenes anders te gruwelijk zouden worden en dat het niet gefilmd mag. De cameraman komt altijd te laat of te vroeg op de misdaden. Deze film, zelf begreep ik het in het begin niet en zou ik het nooit nog is bekijken, verdient volgens deze recensie en volgens mij ook een oscar prijs.

Het meesterlijke You Were Never Really Here dompelt je onder in de wereld van een afgestompte huurmoordenaar. Tegelijk grimmig en poëtisch, teder en hondsbrutaal, met een griezelig intense Joaquin Phoenix in de hoofdrol.

Het is er weer gezellig, in het hoofd van de Schotse regisseuse Lynne Ramsay. In 2011 maakte ze al het ijzingwekkende We Need to Talk About Kevin, over een moeder die zich schuldig voelt om haar psychopathische zoon, die een bloedbad heeft aangericht op zijn middelbare school. Nu is Ramsay eindelijk terug met You Were Never Really Here. Alweer een lange titel, alweer een stomp in de maag.

Deze keer dompelt Ramsay ons onder in het miezerige bestaan van de bebaarde Joe (Joaquin Phoenix), een afgestompte ex-militair die tegenwoordig zijn boterham verdient als huurling: hij spoort de vermiste zoons en dochters van rijke New Yorkers op, en brengt ze weer naar huis. Voor elke opdracht brengt Joe een bezoekje aan de lokale doe-het-zelfzaak om een nieuwe hamer te kopen. Hoeft het gezegd dat er bloed zal vloeien?

Ramsay houdt het bikkelharde geweld grotendeels buiten beeld, waardoor het in feite nog harder aankomt. Er worden kelen overgesneden, schedels ingeslagen en handen vermorzeld, maar meestal komt de camera net te laat, of eerder: net op tijd om de schade op te meten.

Als Joaquin Phoenix voor deze gekwelde vertolking geen Oscar-nominatie krijgt, dan zullen wij de Academy wat gezond verstand moeten intimmeren

Die spaarzame aanpak kenmerkt heel de film: met een speelduur van nog geen anderhalf uur is dit tot op het naakte vel uitgeklede cinema. De gewelddadige jeugd van Joe wordt ons niet met uitleggerige dialogen ingelepeld, maar dringt het verhaal nu en dan onaangekondigd binnen, in flitsen die recht uit een horrorfilm lijken te komen. Want dat moet het voor Joe ook geweest zijn.

Joaquin Phoenix is terug na twee jaar schermafwezigheid, en doet meteen een Rundskopje: spreken doet hij nauwelijks, zijn opgepompte lichaam voert het woord. Zijn kolossale torso vol littekens, is als een oorlogslandschap. Niet toevallig vertoont het gelijkenissen met de oneffen bepleisterde muren van zijn ouderlijke huis, waar Joe in een constante staat van terreur opgroeide. Het is alsof die plek, en dus ook het trauma, zich permanent op (en in) zijn lijf hebben vastgezet.

Uit zijn vel springen

Dat Phoenix intens kon acteren, wist u al (zie onder andere The Master, Two Lovers en, euh,I'm Still Here), maar in deze rol gaat hij nog wat dieper. Zelfs wanneer hij gewoon maar van een kraantje staat de drinken, lijkt het alsof hij elk moment uit zijn vel kan springen. Als hij voor deze gekwelde vertolking niet minstens een Oscarnominatie krijgt, dan zullen wij toch eens langs de doe-het-zelfzaak moeten, om de dames en heren van de Academy wat gezond verstand bij te timmeren.

Aan de oppervlakte lijkt You Were Never Really Here in de eerste plaats een gewelddadige genrefilm. De parallel met Taxi Driver is snel getrokken, en de hamer doet onvermijdelijk denken aan Oldboy. Maar Ramsay gebruikt de codes van het genre om iets heel anders te vertellen: meer nog dan een tocht door de onderbuik van New York is dit een mentale trip doorheen het chaotische hoofd van Joe. De score van Radiohead-gitarist Jonny Greenwood, die verontrustende strijkers mengt met gortdroge beats, maakt het helemaal beklemmend.

Door die rauwe emotionele nabijheid wordt de film uiteindelijk gruwelijk ontroerend. Wanneer Joe het laatste restje tederheid verliest, breekt je hart voor hem. Ramsay is erin geslaagd om een gewelddadig monster menselijk te maken.

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