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astrotranslations · 6 years

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'Refreshing-dols' 'Beagle-dols' ASTRO Have Returned

You’ve continuously been holding overseas performance like in America, Canada, Kazakhstan etc. in the time you took a break from domestic promotions. Is there anything memorable? Cha Eunwoo: Before we left for our Kazakhstan performance, it was a country that we’ve never been to until then so I was a little worried if we’d have fans there. But when we reached the airport, a lot of people were already there. "JinJin, Rocky," they were loudly chanting all 6 of our names to the point that we could hear from inside the arrival hall so I was really thankful. It was a nice memory.

I heard that you have a lot of fans in America. Apparently there were people who even recognised you on the streets, MJ: There weren’t many but there were some (laughs). The six of us were on Broadway Boulevard to buy hamburgers together and I could hear people around me going, "ASTRO, ASTRO." Someone even came up to us and asked if we were ASTRO. We were taken aback too. Moonbin: We wrapped up our American performances and were at the airport waiting for our plane so we could leave for Canada and there was a foreigner who was staring obviously at us. We wondered if they recognised us but they came up to us and asked if we were BTS (laughs). I thought that we’ll have to work harder (laughs). Cha Eunwoo: I saw an electronic displace of BTS sunbae-nims on the streets of New York’s Broadway. It was really cool. I thought that we should work harder when I saw that (laughs). But still, we gained a lot of energy when we performed this time round. Before we left, I thought it’d be a lot of Asians coming down but actually seeing the performance venue, 80-90% of the audience were people of different ethnicities. They sang along to our songs and danced passionately… You could tell they knew a lot about us. I was happy and grateful.

There’re a lot of K-Pop groups so what do you think is the reason people like ASTRO in particular? Yoon Sanha: There’re a lot of people who tell us that the friendship between the members and our teamwork on stage are good. We take self-cameras and upload them on V App and international fans get sad if the intervals between the uploads grow long. I think that people like the members’ natural selves and each of our characters. Moonbin: There’re a lot of 'killing points' in the songs which we’ve released thus far. There are parts which linger in your memory if you listen to them once so I think people find those memorable. I’ve also heard a lot about how others like our bright atmosphere. We’re now slowly growing so we want to show an image that’s a little more developed through this album. You’ll be able to feel a slightly more pop vibe in our music. Rocky: ASTRO’s members have distinct personalities but there’s a synergy which forms when we’re together. If you notice our music preferences, Eunwoo hyung likes ballad, MJ hyung likes trot and Sanha likes acoustic. I like hip-hop. The things we each like and are good at are this different yet we complement each other on stage so I think there’re fans who like that.

All the members are 'talented-idols' who are good at singing and dancing. Wouldn’t that be ASTRO’s strength too? Moonbin: When we promote, there are sometimes moments where we’d have to prepare for stages within a short period of time. The time we had to prepare was really short when we went on 'Immortal Song' and 'Sugarman'. We wondered if we could do well but when we gathered together and prepared zealously, we managed to do a good job in the end. Times like that I can feel how we’ve grown a level higher and makes me proud of ASTRO. Rocky: Our trainee periods were long. We prepared a lot within that time and there’re many things we’ve yet to show. I think there’ll be plenty of moments in the future where we can show a better side of ourselves.

ASTRO’s famous for their solid fandom. Is there a memorable fan? JinJin: When we were in America for our performances, we met a female fan through the 'Make-A-Wish' foundation who applied saying she wanted to meet ASTRO. It’s a foundation which fulfils the wishes of children with terminal illnesses. The young fan came to our practice room before the performance started and burst into tears the moment she saw us. We took pictures together, chatted about various things and we told her, "Get healthy and let’s be sure to meet again." I think about that moment a lot. I really hope she gets better.

Is there a country you’d like to perform at in the future? Rocky: Africa! I think K-Pop groups don’t often go to the Africa region. I hope that ASTRO can pave a new road. I want to go to countries like Egypt. Moonbin: I want to go to the UK. It’ll be nice if ASTRO becomes popular in the birthplace of pop. JinJin: There’re a lot of regions ASTRO have yet to go to. I want to go to those kind of places. I worried a lot the first time we went to Mexico. Like with Kazakhstan, I wondered if we would have fans there but when we actually went, it was to our amazement that there were so many people cheering for us. They usually merrily enjoy themselves so we got pumped too. I want to go through that kind of experience a lot. MJ: I want to go to Dubai. I also want to go to Spain and perform the opening stage for their Bull festival (laughs). We’ve yet to go to China but I’d like to go there soon. Yoon Sanha: It’ll be nice if we go to Australia too. I hope we could go to all the countries we haven’t gone to before.

Are there any goals you’d like to achieve in the future? Please tell us the goals you’d each like to fulfil as ASTRO and as an individual. MJ: It’s my dream to hold a solo concert under ASTRO’s name at our Gocheok Sky Dome, at Japan’s Tokyo Dome, at America’s Super Bowl Stadium, etc.. Personally, I’d like to try trot if the opportunity arises. I’d also like to stand on stage in a musical. Yoon Sanha: ASTRO have yet to win no. 1 on a music broadcast. I also want to hold a concert at the biggest venue in Korea. I hope to be able to enjoy myself together with even more AROHAs. Personally, I like acoustic so I want to one day release a calming album like Roy Kim sunbae-nim’s style. Rocky: Of course as ASTRO I’d like for us to win no. 1 on music broadcasts and stand on big stages. But that isn’t everything. To be honest, I don’t think there’s a specific definition to "an amazing singer". Aren’t singers already no. 1 to their own fans? I don’t want to obsess over that, my real goal is for all our members to get along well like we are now and promote for a long time. Personally, I’d like to challenge myself in different fields. I want to become an all rounded entertainer who’s good at song composition, acting, everything. I believe that an opportunity will come my way if I work hard. I’ll prepare myself well now so that I won’t miss the opportunity when it does come knocking. JinJin: Like Rocky mentioned, I hope for our members to promote together for a long time. I hope we’ll rise together as we experience everything. You’ll grow stronger when you go through difficulties. It’s during times like that when I can feel how our team is growing. It’ll be nice if we can get a no. 1 quickly but more than that, I hope that we could slowly go up the steps and one day become a team who’s capable of playing at big concert venues like BTS sunbae-nims. Personally. I’m studying up on song composition. Rocky and I have our own workspaces. It’s just the start now but I’ll study hard, take part in albums and hopefully produce an album on my own someday. Moonbin: I also want to become a singer who promotes for a long time, an idol of longevity. And I hope that ASTRO will be remembered in the minds of people as "the ones who are cool when they perform". I believe that a singer should be the coolest when he’s on stage. Like the members said, I hope that we can slowly rise as we go through various experiences and when it someday comes the time for us to stand on a big stage, I want us to show everything we’ve got without sparing anything. I also want to try song composition. I have the desire to go on variety programs too. I think I’ll be able to do well in active programs like "Laws of the Jungle" or eating broadcasts. Cha Eunwoo: Personally I’m in the midst of filming a drama. I’ll do my best and do well, I want to show a good side of myself to the people who are cheering me on. As a member of ASTRO, I want to give my all in things that can help the tea,. The six of us are one entity. I’m ASTRO’s Cha Eunwoo. I want to do my best at that role. I also want to challenge myself at ballads one day. I’ll talk it over with the members and it’ll be nice if we can include it in an ASTRO album (laughs). Moonbin: I’d personally like to become someone with influence. I want to become someone who’s able to protect what he want to. It creates a big influence when singers comment whenever setting heartbreaking or unfathomable happens at home and abroad. I want to someday become someone with that kind of benevolent influence.

Lastly, please say something to your fans. JinJin: Our special album is coming out in late July. We’ll be having a Japanese concert in August and probably be preparing for another album after that. I want to meet with our fans as soon as I can. I’ll regularly show you how we’re doing through SNS, V App, etc.. Yoon Sanha: The hiatus period after wrapping up promotions for our 5th album is long. You’ve waited for us for a long time. I hope that we can enjoy ourselves tougher once the special album is released. I want to create lots of good memories. Rocky: I’m always thankful to AROHAs who put their faith in us and like us. Thank you for waiting for us even though there was a hiatus period. Moving forward, we’ll become an ASTRO who won’t disappoint fans. JinJin: I think of it as ASTRO being on a trip with AROHAs. I hope that fans can lay down their burdensome feelings and enjoy us. I hope that they’ll build on happy and nice memories thanks to us. I’ll put in effort so that I can become that kind of singer. We’ve been reorganising ourselves so now we’ll really work hard. Moonbin: Thank you for waiting for us and looking for us despite the long hiatus. The ups and downs the team ASTRO has experienced will be of help to us in reaching a position we want to be at. I’m just apologetic that fans have to share that pain with us. I’m thankful at the same time. As much as it’s been hard, I’ll work harder so that I can think of ourselves as valuable singers really worth liking. I hope that you’ll continue to stay by our sides. Cha Eunwoo: I’m thankful but apologetic. Its a hundred times better proving through actions than words so I want to repay you with better promotions. It’ll be nice for you to anticipate a little more. MJ: We’re putting in effort so that we can meet with fans as soon as we can. I’m only thankful that you’ve waited for us. The comeback getting pushed back is so that we can show you a perfect and cooler side of ourselves so please look forward to it. We’ll meet you the fastest we can.

Source: https://m.post.naver.com/viewer/postView.nhn?volumeNo=16305088&memberNo=39094895

Translations by @99pmh Take out with full credits

#MJ #Myungjun #JinJin #Jinwoo #Eunwoo #lee dongmin #Moonbin #Rocky #Minhyuk #Sanha #ASTRO

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keywestlou · 4 years

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COVID CARNIVAL

Key West smartly cancelled this year’s Fantasy Fest several months ago. Some merchants, primarily bar owners and hotels, were not happy about it. They were losing money and money had become more important to them than good health.

The bar owners especially saw the need for something to replace Fantasy Fest. An informal fantasy fest 10/16-24.

The City said it would not be involved in any way. No additional police, etc.

The informal group is planning to hold some of the usual festive parties under different names.

Local businessmen have been advertising this week’s informal gathering as far away as Tampa.

Doesn’t anyone care about staying healthy, not placing themselves in harm’s way?

So what is happening? This is the first weekend of the informal fantasy fest.

I am into roughly 240 days of self-quarantine. Not on Duval Friday or Saturday nights. My local friends I called to find out what they had seen were wise also. Few went. No way were they going to expose themselves to the virus.

I have piecemealed information from various sources. This is what has been discovered.

Earlier this week, a bare assed woman was sitting on the tiger in front of City Hall. Pictures were being taken. Some by professional photographers it is assumed.

Not one official person tried to stop the exposition.

The City announced that public nudity and body painting would not be allowed.

Apparently a big group is coming down from Tampa. Primarily swingers. They visited for Fantasy Fest a couple of years go and began a huge furor.

The swingers are returning. Someone mentioned they would not be kissing.

Additionally, some one from the Tampa area advised they planned on being “completely non compliant.” No masks, social distancing, etc.

Hotels and guest houses doing a booming business. Most close to full occupancy. Rates at the better hotels $800 a night. Season rates! Shocking people are paying that much.

Someone familiar with Key West happenings mentioned a guest house in one of the “poorer neighborhoods” advertising rooms beginning at $500.

Some interesting observations.

A local described Key West this week as a “Covid Carnival.”

Dr. John Norris is Chief of Staff at the Lower Keys Medical Center. He is also my primary care physician.

He was quoted in a recent interview. The good doctor is much concerned with the virus. He said, “Fantasy Fest is no Sesame Street…..Risque behavior is too risky…..We don’t have anything like a Covid hotel.”

This informal fantasy fest opened its festival party week the same day as the newest coronavirus report came out. This past week, 50 of the 52 States experienced a rise in coronavirus cases. The highest number since July.

Total number of cases now exceeds more than 8 million. Deaths 218,600.

Infectious disease experts warn the U.S. could be facing a “substantial third wave.” I am not an expert. However, I believe we never left the first wave. This “third wave” is actually the ongoing first wave.

Some parents are whacky. Fail to understand the consequences of one person being affected with coronavirus. This group is adamantly opposed to mask wearing by their children.

The problem has arisen in Monroe County schools. Key West is a part of Monroe County.

I suspect the parents have not made themselves aware of the consequences if school children do not wear masks. Monroe County has decided children MUST wear masks.

The parental furor, though not substantial, would make one think the children were being asked to donate a healthy kidney.

The parents’ argument is twofold.

First, the Constitutional rights of their children and themselves are being violated. The second reason a medical one.The claim being made that wearing a face mask more that 6 hours is injurious to a child’s health. Comparable to a child wearing a dirty diaper for 6 hours.

A parent’s tears will not bring back to life the child of the parent opposing mask wearing.

Harsh, but true.

Trump ways are a consistent pattern. It took us 4 years to discover his reactions.

Every time a less than good situation arises affecting Trump, his shout is “bias…..deep Democratic ties…..unfair.”

Spoken by the President with bravado.

The next and last Presidential debate’s moderator is NBC’s Kristen Welker. Trump does not like her for the quoted reasons stated. He said however with further bravado, “I’ll still play the game.”

Yesterday’s Citizens’ Voice contained the following comment: “Just because you say it louder doesn’t make it any more correct. Saying the same untruth repeatedly doesn’t make it not a lie.”

Syracuse football. Another bad day for the Orange. Nevertheless, we still love you “Cuse!

Now to the down and dirty. Syracuse lost yesterday to Liberty University 38-21. Leaves Syracuse 1-4 for the season thus far.

On the other hand, Liberty is 4-0.

Liberty has come a long way!

The school a Christian evangelical university. One of its founders in 1971 Jerry Falwell. An extremist Republican. To the far far right.

The Republican right itself has come a long way. Today they control the Presidency, Senate, Supreme Court, and if the trend continues, national football. The Alabama of tomorrow!

Enjoy your Sunday!

COVID CARNIVAL was originally published on Key West Lou

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booyourboo-blog · 5 years

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The Moments of Truth for Enterprise

Enterprise Rent-A-Car is the largest rental car company in the United States (2014); it was established in St. Louis, Missouri in 1957 by Jack C. Taylor. Originally named as "Executive Leasing Company," after 12 years the name was changed to "Enterprise". According to Enterprise, they have a massive network that includes more than 7,600 locations in over 85 countries (n.d.). It is mean that there is a big chance that a person who is looking for a car will turn their attention to Enterprise as one of the most popular and widespread.

I have rented a car from Enterprise many times at various locations across Richmond Hill and North York. They are not perfect but I trust them more than any other car rental company. The customer service is generally good and they have never tried to cheat me in two years of renting from them. Based on the experiences that I have received in a recent location of Enterprise, I want to share with you my 5 Moments of Truth. I am going to talk about the rental office that is located at 60 Industrial Rd, Richmond Hill, ON; I chose this office not only because it was the location that I visited last but also because I used it most.

For the beginning, before arriving at the office I booked a car online, I entered my personal information, car type and rental period. On the chosen day I went to the office; it is located 15 minutes from my house and it was not difficult to find, the familiar sign was visible from far away. It was very convenient. A large number of car rental points is one of the obvious advantages of Enterprise because it allows everyone to find an office in a suitable place.

Moving on to the next Moment of Truth I will mention that was in the winter. When I went inside the office, I saw a large number of people, there were 13-15 of them, some of them were waiting for their turn, someone was already served, and someone was just here for the company. It was very cold outside so they were all inside and that was the problem. The waiting areas in the offices of rental are very small, most of them hardly fit 15 people, not to mention the winter season when everyone is dressed in voluminous jackets; to be in such a room is not quite comfortable. As a solution to the current situation, I would suggest Enterprise company reconsider its views on the distribution of space in offices, expanding the waiting area and adding seating. This change will not only please customers but also help improve workflow because, with the right office design, even large numbers of customers in the office will not distract employees from work.

After some time, my turn came. The young man behind the reception desk introduced himself and said he would be my manager; he was polite and friendly although it was evident that he was tired. As it turned out further that the car that I booked is not available; the manager said that all available cars are at the parking lots in front of the office. The choice was limited to a few minivans, a pair of jeeps and a pair of pickups; to see the car it was necessary to go outside, but as I said it was in the winter and I didn’t want to be outside again. Based on the gained experience, I believe that the lack of a visual representation of the service is a flaw. I think it would be better to have a visual menu so that a person could choose a car looking at a photo and basic data. According to Matthew Strunk (2017) “There are quite a few cost-effective tools which can help marketers to tailor their strategies to include more visual content.” Several TV screens on the walls of the waiting area might show images of available cars. Such a solution would be ideal since the visual list of services will also be relevant if language barriers arise; will allow you to advertise special offers and discounts and also the most important will facilitate the process of choosing a car for the client. I think this is the main problem and its solution will allow raising the company to a new level.

Car selection was made and after a refreshing walk along the street, I returned back to the office to complete all paperwork. Registration was quick, they asked me for a driver's license and a credit card; explained the insurance terms and procedure for returning the vehicle; after that, they asked me to wait in the same small reception room. Despite the fact that it was a long time to wait, there were problems with finding the keys, I was pleased with the work of the manager because he approached 2 times, apologized and said that they are doing everything possible to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. The only improvement that I would like to offer is an increase in the number of employees in one office; since in this location the staff seemed overloaded and each of them was responsible for several cases at the same time. A new position such as an office administrator could help organize workflow more productively and save time on organizational issues.

In the end, I had a car above the class for the price of the booked. The manager called in the middle of the rental period to clarify whether I want to change the car because they had exactly the one that was booked initially. I did not change anything and used the selected car until the end of the term. The company also provides the most favorable conditions and the new cars to their regular customers and members of the loyalty club. “Customer loyalty achieved through establishing positive relationships in the highest goal of our service efforts.” (Customer Service Skills...,2014, p.13). I believe that the variability and adaptability for client needs make Enterprise one of the most successful company on the market.

In conclusion, I would like to note that in general, I was pleased with the quality of the service provided by the company Enterprise. I noted such positive aspects as a large number of locations, friendly staff and a system of rewarding for the loyal customers. At the same time, I consider that it necessary for the company to focus on the visualization of its products and on redesigning offices to improve the quality of the company's services and develop the loyalty of future customers.

Works Cited

1. Culture and hard work created Enterprise. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2019, from https://www.enterprise.ca/en/about.html

2. Customer Service Skills: Custom Edition for ILAC International College. (2014) New York, NY: Pearson Education.

3. Strunk, M. (2017, July 17). The Importance of Visualization in Marketing. Retrieved February 14, 2019, from https://www.strunkmedia.com/other/importance-visualization-marketing/

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imsonotanartist · 7 years

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X Men First Class Fic Upload

Disclaimer: I do not own the X Men franchise nor any Marvel or Fox characters, only my original characters. This will not be uploaded in order or in final draft form, but I am happy to have feedback. Here's what I've been working on so far. It's a rough idea of one of the chapters I want to include. I think I have an idea of what kind of story I want to write. This was kinda me getting the juices flowing. I may finish this up before I get started on another part of the story. Farmhouse Havshee scene (Alex and Sean) Sean decided to explore a little more of Alex's farmhouse and maybe learn a bit more about his friend and why he never mentioned the place before. The fact that he was bored out of his mind with being cooped up in one of the guest rooms and was sick of staring at the same four walls for the past four hours certainly didn't help curb his curiosity. Screw doctors orders, his side felt fine and it wouldn't be the first time he climbed out of a window a little busted up. He shuddered at some of the memories that thought brought on. He knew there were those that had gotten it much worse, growing up in the system, and despite a few traumatic experiences he had had it relatively easy compared to most. But the memories of those few experiences still shook him sometimes. He cleared his head as he got up out of bed and walked over to the window, reminding himself that he was in his twenties now and he was moving on with his life. It hadn't all been bad, anyways. He had always been there for the other kids, and always helped out the workers that were genuinely just trying to do their best for all the kids. As he opened the window to gauge the distance between him and the ground, he remembered the first time he ever climbed out of a window before. That time hadn't been to get away from anything, but to try and get to someone. Or more specifically, catch someone. This one kid had thought it would be a good idea to try and see the Fourth of July fireworks from the roof of the house him, Sean, and a handful of other kids were staying at at the time. It took two hours to coax the kid to lower himself over the edge of the roof to the attic window ,a foot below, where Sean's arms were waiting to catch him while the only worker watching them at the time held onto Sean's waist so he didn't fall out the window. At the time, Sean was the oldest and biggest and he could carry the weight of the little kid, so that was why the worker had him help instead of calling the fire department. Looking back, he realized that the worker would have been in a lot of trouble if the kid was found on the roof during her shift and that the kid would have been labeled as a trouble maker and sent to a tougher home than that one. He was glad he had been there to keep either of those things from happening. It wasn't the worker’s fault that she had been given no help that day and too many kids to look after. She really had tried her best and cared that they had had a good holiday. Sean had liked her a lot and tried to always give her a hand during the time he had stayed at that particular home. Sean's walk down memory lane ended once he had finished tying the last of the bed-sheets he'd need to safely make it far enough to the ground below. It wouldn't hurt him any to drop down the last three feet or so. At least he hoped it wouldn't. His side may not be severely injured, but it was pretty sore, nonetheless. Still, it would be either risk it or stay lying in bed for however long Hank decided he needed to stay bedridden. Sean decided he was not going to stare at that ceiling any longer. He tied one end of his makeshift rope to the sturdy, old wooden bedpost, confident that it could hold his weight, and started scaling down the side of the farmhouse. His side definitely killed him by the time he dropped down to the ground but being able to look at something other his room made the aching worth it.He spotted and old barn off in the distance, just before the treeline, and decided to check it out. The fresh air of the outside left him with a mixture of calm and excitement at the same time. Sean was eager to explore his new surroundings, but before he could walk too far though, a familiar voice decided to appear in his head again. "You know I prefer using the front door to go out for an midday stroll, but I guess that's just me. Getting bed rest after an injury must just be a singular habit of mine as well." "Oh, come on, Professor X. I can't stay cooped up in that room anymore and if Hank saw me leaving he'd pick me up and drag me back to my bed himself." ,Sean told the telepath in a somewhat pleading tone. Was it just him, or did the man's English accent sound even stronger over telepathy? Or maybe it was just when he was using sarcasm, that would make more sense. "He would drag you back because he is a doctor and actually knows a thing or two about the proper care for injuries. Hank isn't telling you to rest for his own amusement, Sean. He's doing it because its what your body needs. After that run in with Shaw's new recruits, or whoever they were working for, we could all use a little rest." ,Charles informed Sean, sounding very much like the mentor his team had come to see him as over the past few weeks. Even Erik, for all his go it alone attitude, seemed to listen more intently or more readily snap to attention whenever the professor took on the same tone he was now using with Sean. Sean also noticed how much more comfortable the professor seemed to be getting to the new role placed on him. It was as if he was always meant to become some kind of leader or teacher. While Sean had come to admire and trust the man, he was now just getting irritated by him. "The rest of you guys may want to lay around and catch your breath but I have to have something to do to relax. Or at the very least have something to entertain me, and since I doubt the TV gets a good signal all the way out here, then I'm gonna have to settle for exploring our little Havok's secret farm. Who knows, maybe I'll find a spaceship in a storm cellar and it'll turn out he was an alien this whole time? Or I'll just get tetanus on a rusty nail. It's an adventure, anything goes. See ya, Professor. Mind giving me a little privacy for a couple hours?" ,Sean asked, tapping the side of his temple, knowing the professor would understand. "Fine, Sean. I won't stop you, it's your choice. But I will be keeping an eye on your location and if anyone asks about you I will tell them exactly where you are. Please don't snoop around too much. Alex probably hasn't brought up much about his past for a reason and it's not our right to know every detail. After everything this team has been through, we’ve all earned each others trust. He's putting this place in some danger by letting us stay here ,as well, so show him a little respect for that." ,Charles replied, worried the curious mutant might do something to put Alex's home, and the team, in more of a precarious situation than they were already in. Sean was no fool, he was quite quick witted and ,in fact, very resourceful. Not to mention, much smarter than he gave himself credit for. But mistakes happen to even the best of us and Charles didn't want Sean to have to carry the weight of responsibility if their new enemy found them while their guard was down due to some misguided error on his part. Or the guilt if he somehow broke the surprisingly close bond that Sean and Alex had formed with each other over past few weeks by finding something personal of Alex's that he had wanted to remain private. Charles knew Sean meant no harm and he wasn't about about to pick the locks of any safes he came across or look through anything that really did seem private. The jokester truly did see Alex as a friend and Charles could sense that he understood the need to keep some things private, even from a friend. Sean just wanted something to occupy his mind for a time. But Alex had been on edge ever sense he mentioned the farmhouse to the team while they where looking for a safehouse. Charles knew the still somewhat young mutant was prone to stressing about certain things and was a bit confrontational whenever something would trigger one of his moods. The professor was worried that if Alex caught Sean wandering about and looking through things, the young man may not see Sean's intentions as innocent as Charles knew them to be. It truly would be a shame for two get in a fight over a misunderstanding but sometimes certain things cannot be helped. All the professor could do is wait and see what happens and try to put out any fires that may or may not arise. Literally and figuratively. Sean strolled over to the barn he saw, grateful that his was the only window on that corner of the house. He was starting to like the fact that he had wound up with the room on the extension. At first, not being able to hear everyone close by made staying in bed so much more boring, but it did afford him to pull stunts like this with only the professor being the wiser. He also hadn’t missed that odd note in Alex’s voice when the guy had said the extension must be new because it hadn't been there the last time he was here. While he knew things like Alex’s favorite movies and food, how he reacts to danger, his abilities, and a few humorous stories he told Sean once when they had shared a couple beers in the mansions library, he had to admit there was still a lot he didn’t know about the guy. Raven and Hank were open books. They loved talking about their past and and their goals and hopes for the future and what they liked and what they didn’t. Charles was talkative too but he was open in a different way. You knew there was probably stuff he wasn’t telling you, but you got the sense it was more for you than for him. As though he was challenging you to figure it out and was sure you’d succeed. It fit him, really. Always the mentor. Erik was, well, Erik. He was basically a category all his own, in completely different way than the professor was. Honestly, Sean got a bad feeling from the guy. He reminded him of some of the kids he’d met that had gotten hit one too many times and now just wanted to hit back, no matter who was in front of them. It was always sad, but you knew to keep your distance. But Alex was different. He wasn’t an open book in the least. He wasn’t really closed off either, at least by Sean’s standards. Sean had met people like Alex before, in the various foster homes and orphanages he had seen in his time. They always had had something pretty bad happen to them or someone they cared about and more often than not either believed that they didn’t deserve anyone’s time and sympathy, or they believed that talking about it wouldn’t solve anything so they just didn’t talk. Sometimes it would be both, those where the toughest and ,in Sean’s opinion, some of the most heartbreaking cases. He wasn’t naive enough not to know some of it was pride too. But he had also seen enough to know that it didn’t always start out as a case of pride, and he doubted that was the case for Alex, too. Sean knew that the only things that got people like that to open up and try to fix whatever it was that got broken was stability and safety. It’s the same whether the person is a scared ten year old kid, or a wary twenty-something adult. They need a family and to know that that family is gonna stick around when the going gets tough. That takes a hell of a lot more time than a few weeks to set up, and Sean was more than willing to not push the guy until he had had more time. Alex was a good guy, and Sean’s gut told him he could definitely trust him. So, Sean didn’t mind it if he happened to be the one to be there when the guy decided to open up completely. Sean himself was still testing the waters before he really got too comfortable. There was a lot he hadn’t shared with the team and he needed more time as well before he did share. He got the sense that despite maybe having different pasts, there were some things that him and Alex had in common that was more than just favorite movies. Which was why, despite his curiosity at the new environment he was in, Sean didn’t really snoop too much. He mainly just wandered around, enjoying the warm breeze and knee high grass as he made his way closer to the barn. He figured that Charles knew he wasn’t really too keen on digging up anything about Alex’s past which was why the professor didn’t really fight Sean too hard about him going out and strolling around. Sean thought it might be cool to look at some of the farm equipment or see if they had a hay loft that he always heard about barns having. He mainly just wanted to be out of his room. He didn’t think Alex would mind too much as long as he explained his intentions if his buddy caught him in the barn. Sean walked into the barn and looked around for a hay loft, whatever that looked like. He figured on the way there that he would know one if he saw one, but was quickly realizing that might not be the case in the slightest. He was in the middle of wondering if Alex would mind him asking about if there was hay loft or not and what one looked like when he heard footsteps coming up to the barn. Footsteps he didn’t recognize. Oh shit! Sean mentally exclaimed, scrambling for a hiding place while the footsteps got closer. He had just ducked behind some rusty tractor-looking thing when the door to the barn opened. “’Try practicing more at home, Scott. I’m sure a neighbor could show you how the get hang of this, Scott.’ Yeah, right. What part of I live in the middle of nowhere doesn’t that stupid coach get?”, came a voice from the doorway that sounded surprisingly like a disgruntled little kid, mocking someone else. What the heck is a little kid doing out here? Alex didn’t mention anything about him showing up any time soon, and I don’t think he’s ever mentioned a ‘Scott’ before, either. Sean wondered whether or not he should warn the professor, and then figured he would probably know already and what was the point of worrying about a little kid? It’s not like a child was really a threat or anything, and Sean was more than a little curious as to who he was and why he was here. Since this place was Alex’s (supposedly), he figured some how mentioning he was a buddy of Alex’s was a good way to reveal himself without giving the kid too much of a fright. He knew he’d more than likely make the kid jump since the little guy thought he was alone, but Sean mainly just didn’t want him running for the hills when he surprised the kid. After all the nightmares he’d helped soothe in his time, Sean had developed a knack for knowing how to calm a spooked kid. He just hoped his gift wouldn’t fail him now. “Hey, is that a fellow buddy of Alex’s I hear over there? Dude’s got one heck of a place but unfortunately I’m starting to find myself unable to fully appreciate it until someone tells me what a hay loft looks like.” Sean called out, as he stood up and slowly moved out from behind the old farm equipment. He had his friendliest smile on and tried his best to look as least threatening to the kid as possible, putting his hands in his pockets and casually leaning against the equipment he had just a second ago been using as a hiding place. Just as Sean predicted, the kid did jump at the mutant’s voice and eyed the new presence in the barn warily. Sean could see him mentally deciding if it was a good idea to respond or not. After a second or two of tense silence on the munchkin’s part, Sean started wondering if he should give up and go or not before he really did scare the little guy, when the kid in question spoke up, “You know my brother?” ,he asked Sean, still looking like he didn’t completely trust his brother’s new supposed friend. So, Alex has a little brother? That’s definitely something he never mentioned before. Better not tell the kid that though, can’t see that ending all too well. Sean mused as he looked the kid over. He figured he couldn’t be older than seven or eight, and now that he was aware of their relation, he definitely saw a resemblance to Alex. Despite the brown hair and and rounder features, Alex and the kid had the same eyes and made the same kind of expressions. It was almost like talking to a mini Alex, in a way. “Yeah, me and Alex started working together a few weeks ago. Your name must be Scott, right?” Sean asked the kid. “Yeah, I guess you heard me before, huh?” Scott replied, looking a bit miffed and embarrassed at the same time. “Sorry, didn’t mean to hide from you. I wasn’t sure who you were and to be honest you kind of startled me when I heard you walking up. That coach you were mentioning doesn’t seem to know how to teach a kid very well. I had a few coaches like that growing up. Never did like ‘em too much. Only one really seemed to care that we had fun. She was cool. I wasn’t the only one in that class that liked her. What sport are you playing?” Sean asked, trying to keep a friendly conversation. The kid seemed to be watching him closely, probably sizing the lanky, red head up. But whatever Scott saw in Sean seemed to reassure him because the wariness in his voice from before had almost evaporated when he spoke next. “I play soccer and I can’t figure out how to kick the ball down the field without tripping over it. That’s what the coach has been trying to teach me, but I don’t understand a lot of the stuff he says. I think he got tired of me today and just gave up. All of the other kids get it so I guess I’ll just stay on the bench from now on.” Scott lamented to Sean, looking downtrodden. Poor kid. I wonder if Alex would care if I helped him out? Considering the guy didn’t even mention he had a little brother it’s probably not a good idea in the least..but…oh c’mon the little guy looks a freaking puppy that just got kicked. How can I not? Sean thought. The kid could use a break and Alex needed to learn to set more ground rules if he doesn’t want stuff like this happening, anyways. “Hey, Scott, tell you what? I played a good amount of soccer growing up and I taught a few kids how to play too. I bet I could explain some stuff to you better than that coach of yours, as well. If you got a place where we could practice, I could use a game or two. To be honest, I was pretty bored before you showed up and you’d really be doing me a favor. What do you say, buddy? Sound like a good idea?” Sean offered to Scott. The kid’s eyes lit up and all traces of suspicion vanished at Sean’s offer. “Wait, really? You’d practice with me?” Scott asked Sean. Sean gave Scott a smile and nodded his head yes. He mentally thought the kid was little too trusting of strangers, but he definitely wasn’t going to mention that right now. “Yes! There’s a spot over on the other side of the barn there and I use the trees and the wall as goals. I’ve got them marked, I’ll show you!” Scott excitedly informed his new instructor as he ran out the barn door. Sean just chuckled and shook his head as he jogged after his new compatriot. So, this is what Professor X feels like all the time. Sean could see why the telepath always got excited before training. Alex had been pacing out on the back porch for the past half hour. He had gone up to check on Sean and bring him a plate of the dinner the doc and Raven had whipped up for the team. That was when he saw the knotted sheet tied to the end of the bedpost and where it led. Alex was still stunned that the red head had climbed out the window with his side injured like that. Normally he wouldn’t care and he may have even laughed at the stunt. But today was an exception and Alex felt more like punching the dumb ass. But then again it wasn’t really Sean’s fault, Alex had felt like punching something since they had pulled in the driveway. This place just brought back too much pain and too many bittersweet memories. Not to mention, Alex had no idea what he was going to say once his aunt and little brother came home and found Alex and his team camped out in the living room. His aunt hadn’t believed Alex about his powers when he tried to explain them to her for the first time, and they were so volatile he didn’t dare risk actually showing them to her. That day was also the first and last time she had ever picked up Scott from him to take him to the farmhouse. After that, he never saw Scott again. He’d get letters now and then from his aunt and little brother, but the prison that he was incarcerated in was too far from the farm to make regular visits too, and Alex didn’t want Scott to see him like that anyways. Scott had already seen what Alex was capable of once before, he didn’t want to give a baby brother another reason to be afraid of him Memories of the night Alex’s powers first emerged flashed in his mind, momentarily. He pushed them to the side, not wanting to remember all the details. Scott may have seen what had happened that night, but who knows if their Aunt Therese hadn’t convinced him the part about Alex’s abilities was his imagination by now? Alex harbored no bad feeling towards his aunt for not believing him. She had always believed him about the fire his powers had caused being an accident. She never once thought he was a criminal, only that he was just a confused kid in over his head. The more Alex thought about his circumstances, the more he started to think his aunt had been onto something. The consequences of some of the choices he made his life made him question once before whether or not he was fit to be given a second chance. But after his first encounter with Shaw and his crew, he realized that the fallout from his youthful bad decisions was nothing compared to what those real monsters where truly capable of. Alex was definitely in over his head when it came to them. Especially since his team had had their asses handed to them once before by said crew and now it was being handed to them by those black ops looking guys that had been at the site. Just when they had gotten to where they could hold their own against Shaw’s team, they get a new enemy they have to figure out how to beat. It didn’t help matters that Agent McTaggart still couldn’t seem to get a lead on who those guys where or what group they were working for, or even if they were working for a group at all. But considering Shaw’s team didn’t seem to have problem with practically trying to kill those guys over the documents, and seemed to be given the same amount of consideration by their combatants in return, Alex doubted that the two groups were working together. Alex stopped pacing for a moment and looked out over the evening sky. The sun was only just beginning to set and the bright blue from before was now starting to be tinged with purple and orange. When Alex’s family had lived closer to Aunt Theresa he would often stay over at the farmhouse on weekends or school breaks. He remembered always looking forward to seeing the sunset out here. Scott had been born after Alex and his parents had already moved into their big house upstate, so the youngest Summer had never seen the farmhouse before Aunt Theresa took him in. A part of Alex was glad that Scott got a chance to enjoy this old place. He would always wish it was under better circumstances, though. Still, the farm was perfect for a growing kid, especially one as energetic as Alex remembered his little brother being. It had been three years since Alex had been put in jail. He wondered how much Scott had grown in that time. How much much his baby brother had changed and how much he hadn’t. Alex started to feel his chest tighten with emotion and went back to pacing. He focused instead on something that wouldn’t make him so emotional and went back to trying to calculate how much trouble Sean could cause for the team while he was wandering about. Charles had told Alex not to worry and that he was monitoring Sean’s location while he was out of the house after Alex had burst in the professors room explaining what he had found and asking where the red headed mutant had gone. Charles then informed Alex that Sean was spending most of his walking time in the area around the barn and he didn’t seem in too much of a hurry to go anywhere else really. Alex knew there wasn’t much Sean could do to reveal their location to their enemies. Aside from hitching a ride on the highway to the nearest small town a few miles out in each direction and then trying to find at least one working payphone to call up the two groups of bad guys, there wasn’t really anything Sean could do to make the farmhouse any less off the radar. But that still didn’t make Alex worry any less. Alex couldn’t deny that over the past few weeks he had gotten to know Sean more than anyone else on the team. The guy liked to pull pranks, slack off now and then, and could be one hell of a smart ass, sure. Normally, Alex didn’t have any patience when it came to guys like that. But Sean never seemed to feel the need to play the class clown role 24/7, even though he usually did anyways . Whenever he did cross a line or a serious topic or conversation came up, he was as considerate and somber as the rest. Sometimes he even grasped harder to swallow concepts better than most of the team. But mainly, him and Alex had just clicked. Alex couldn’t help it, he still wasn’t sure what it was, but he had found something he liked in the guy. Sean was actually pretty good company when you gave the joker a chance. The two of them had spent a more than a couple of nights over the past few weeks sharing beers and talking about random topics the pair had shared interests in. They had more in common than Alex believed either of them had originally thought they would, and he really did see himself considering Sean a close friend one day, if all of this went well. Alex sighed and decided to go find the guy after all. It wasn’t to make sure his compatriot didn’t get into trouble, he actually thought Sean’s easygoing nature might calm some of the blond mutant’s nerves down some. Alex had to admit, Sean had a way of either riling someone up or helping them relax depending on whatever reaction the jokester wanted to get. He had been pretty good at helping Alex to relax in the past and figured giving the guy a tour of the farm was a good way to pass the time for the both of them. Alex hopped down the stairs leading to the back porch and made his way over to old barn he used to play hide and seek in whenever his childhood friends would stay over with him. Alex remembered his mother mentioning once that Aunt Theresa couldn’t have kids of her own and how happy it would make her whenever she got to look after Alex and his friends. He remembered that being the reason his mother found it so difficult to decide to move upstate, despite his fathers work moving there. Alex found it a shame that his aunt couldn’t have a family of her own. He knew she would have made a wonderful mother. He was glad her and Scott had each other after what had happened. He knew Aunt Theresa would always look after himself and Scott like the pair were her own. The warm breeze from earlier in the day had cooled down a bit and Alex held his arms a bit closer to his side as he got closer to the barn. As he kept walking he started to hear laughter and cheering. Alex jogged over to the source of the sound on the other side of the barn to find his little brother and Sean playing with a soccer ball together. Scott was having difficulty with the ball and Alex could hear Sean giving him pointers and watched older boy stop every now and then the show Scott where it would be best to put his feet in certain circumstances. When the heck had his little brother gotten home and why was Sean teaching him how to kick a soccer ball? Alex was starting to get frustrated until he caught the smile on Scott’s face. After three years of not seeing his baby brother’s smile it hit Alex like a ton of bricks and left him misty eyed. The emotional elder brother staggered back a few steps behind the side of the barn, out of Sean and Scott’s line of sight. As Alex tried calm the tightness in his chest he heard Sean yell out, “Alright, little man, you got it! Keep running, you can do it! Keep it up buddy!” Scott let out an excited yell and Alex peered over the corner to see the cause. He saw Scott kicking the soccer ball down the field towards the makeshift goal with a look of pure joy and pride on his face. Alex suddenly felt very grateful to Sean for giving him this moment to see Scott carefree and happy. After his years in prison, worrying about his brother’s well being and happiness, for this to be Alex’s first sight of Scott after all that time made all the pent up worry and stress melt away. All he wanted now was to watch his baby brother laugh and have fun and enjoy being a kid. He looked up at Sean the same time the red haired mutant noticed Alex’s presence. As they locked eyes, Alex put his index finger to his lips, telling the other young man to not not reveal the elder brother’s presence. Sean gave him a confused look but nodded anyways and went back to yelling encouragements at Scott while the young boy kicked the ball towards his new coach. Alex stayed there for awhile while the light slowly faded. He felt lighter than he had in a long time, watching his brother have fun. Sean had given Alex a few looks of confusion whenever Scott had his back to them, but after a bit his eyes started taking on a knowing look whenever he threw a glance towards the elder brother. Alex ignored him, too focused on enjoying the carefree moment while it lasted.

#xmen first class #xmen #fanfic #banshee #havok #alex summers #sean cassidy #charles xavier #fanfiction

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weekendwarriorblog · 6 years

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ED’s Tribeca Film Festival Diary Part 3 – Wrapping Things Up (Very Late)

The Tribeca Film Festival has been over for weeks now, and it was a moderately decent year, although I was sidetracked by other things to post the last part of my diary. If nothing else, not having a job allowed me to spend a lot more time seeing a variety of movies than I normally do when I have to work on other things for theatrical release.

I saw a bunch of movies, mostly in Chelsea at the Cinepolis Cinemas and SVA Theater because going to Tribeca is still a pain in the butt even though I live downtown. It requires a crosstown bus that only runs certain hours, as I found out when I was left stranded in Battery Park on a Saturday night after the only premiere I went there to see.

Before I get into my final capsule reviews, I want to give a big, big thanks to the wonderful Tammie Rosen, who once again gifted me with a Hudson Pass, which allowed me to get into a lot more public screenings and therefore, see more movies. I probably saw about half press and half public screenings, but I was shocked to not see many press people at the latter, especially with so many of them getting similar access as me. It’s kind of a shame, because you can’t really judge a festival in any given year without making an attempt to see a variety of movies in different sections and especially catch some of the awards winners on the final Sunday. I just don’t see many of the local press taking advantage of this opportunity, so they end up missing many really strong films, even once they finally get theatrical release.

I always have to explain to publicists that I don’t generally cover documentaries at film festivals, and there’s a number of good reasons for this. First of all, few outlets care about doc coverage, mainly because they’re not sexy enough to get the required clicks/traffic that’s so important for a site’s income. I get it. The other reason is that I’m such a fan of the doc genre that very often, almost always actually, docs end up being my favorite thing out of festivals, so it’s rare for me to make a festival “Best of” list that’s NOT topped by a doc. Not exactly fair, but them’s the breaks.

With that caveat, I present two of the best movies I saw at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival…and they’re both documentaries…

It’s a Hard Truth, Ain’t It?

I mentioned this in my capsule review of Madeleine Sackler’s O.G. as a companion doc, but it’s a lot more than that. Frankly, I think this is up there with some of the best docs I’ve seen, which is amazing since it’s essentially a “school project.” Basically, Sackler was teaching a documentary program at the Pendleton maximum security prison in Indiana, allowing a select group of inmates to talk about their stories and what led them to end up in Pendleton for murder, as other inmates filmed them. I’m going to make a confession here, knowing that few people bother to read my blog, but I have a friend in jail who has become my ersatz pen pal over the past few years. I know his story and how he got there, but I also know that he’s not a bad person and he just did something stupid. Hearing the ups and downs of his experience has made me far more in tune with the experience of inmates and ex-cons trying to get back into society. This is an incredibly emotional film, one that nearly had me in tears hearing all the bad things that happened to some of these guys before they eventually lashed out and ended up killing someone. It’s a fair cop and they rightfully deserve to be in jail, but they all seem to have found redemption, and the fact that they were able to make this doc and get it out to the public makes It’s a Hard Truth, Ain’t It one of the best docs I’ve seen this year and many years, in fact, and it deserves your time and attention, as does…

United Skates

Just as I’d settled into the idea of Sackler’s doc being the best of the fest, I was able to catch this documentary, which won the Audience Award and blew me away just as much. Directed by Dyanna Winkler and Tina Brown, it looks at the rise and fall of the skating rink as a place that brought together the African-American communities in various American cities. I’ll admit that I never really knew much about rollerskating, because I’ve never gone myself, but I found the phenomenon intriguing after seeing it depicted in Malcolm Lee’s Roll Bounce. This doc really gets into the nationwide appeal and tragic death of the roller rink as a community meeting space. The filmmakers spent a number of years with a number of rollerskating enthusiasts in North Carolina and California, as well as an independent rink owner in Chicago, showing how the resistance to “adult nights” – essentially when African-Americans can go to the rink to show off their fashion and moves to the music they liked – as well as the re-zoning of existing rink locations that have made them a dying breed. This is a very entertaining doc, regardless of your own personal interest in rollerskating. What was interesting about the screening I saw this at was that there was not an inordinate amount of African-Americans in the audience, which probably is more because many moviegoers probably bought their tickets to the screening before knowing which documentary won. Still, this doc probably has a lot of potential for the right distributor, and I hope it finds one soon.

The Fourth Estate

Tribeca’s closing night film was also a doc, and that was Liz Garbus’ look at the New York Timesduring the first 100 days of the Trump Presidency, the first of a four-part series for Showtime docs that will air later this month. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not particularly political, nor am I an avid reader of the Times. In fact, I prefer plenty of other New York papers to it, because it always came off to be as high-falutin’ and overly-expensive, and yet, it’s still the best newspaper in the world in terms of quality of content, writing and reporting. I don’t have a ton to say about the movie, as it basically covers similar ground as other docs about the Times, although it’s certainly TIMElier (ha ha) by dealing with the paper’s recent political coverage and how the Washington desk works with (or sometimes against) the higher ups in New York. I’ll definitely be curious to watch the other three parts, though I don’t have Showtime, so hopefully they’ll send me a screener.

To Dust

The narrative Audience Award went to Shawn Snyder’s dark dramedy about a Hassidic man whose wife died and who turns to a science teacher to help him understand what’s happening since her body was buried. It’s a fairly grim and morbid premise but one with enough heart and humor that I can totally understand why it played so well with audiences. It wasn’t my personal favorite movie of the festival, but considering that it premiered out of competition as a Special Screening (possibly to avoid favoritism of it having come out of the Tribeca Institute, maybe?), it was good that it got love from the Tribeca audiences, because I might have missed it otherwise. The film stars Géza Röhrig, who played the title character in the Oscar-winning Son of Saul, as Shmuel, a Hassidic cantor whose wife passed away recently, but he’s been having nightmares about her not resting peacefully after her burial. Unsure of what she must be going through as her body decomposes in the ground, he turns to a science teacher played by Matthew Broderick, to figure out what exactly is happening with his wife’s body. It’s a very dark buddy comedy of sorts as these two men from different backgrounds trying to understand death and decomposition, yet the movie does work.

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda

Another Tribeca doc I was interested in, mainly due to my own experiences and passion for music, was this spotlight on the Japanese composer and musician, whose career began with Yellow Magic Orchestra and David Sylvain’s band Japan, which is from where I know him best. Sure, he’s done a ton of soundtrack work and that’s mainly the focus of this film, but it’s by no means a typical “history of” doc, as much as it covers some of his more recent years. It begins with his trip to the Fukushima area where a nuclear power plant exploded in 2011 following an earthquake and monsoon. He was there looking for sound sources but also because he was a frequent ecological warrior in terms of trying to save the earth from the destruction being caused by Godzilla… I mean… man. A few years later, Sakamoto is diagnosed with throat cancer, although it skips over most of his treatment to pick up in 2014 when he’s trying to find direction for his next record. If you’re a musician or into film scores, this doc from Stephen Schible offers enough of Sakomoto’s process for making music to keep you invested, although it’s definitely a movie for music nerds more than anything else. MUBI will release this doc theatrically and On Demand in July sometime.

Egg

I was mostly interested in this film because it was directed by Mariana Palka, whose last movie Bitch, while not perfect, was an interesting commentary on gender roles in the family. (And it starred Jason Ritter, who is one of my favorite underrated actors.) This is a very different movie, written by Risa Mickenberg, and it reminded me very much of God of Carnage, not the play, because I never saw that, but the movie by Roman Polanski that had an all-star cast. This is a similar movie about two couples who get together with issues arising the more time they spend together. The first couple is played by David Alan Basche and Christina Hendricks, who are pregnant with their first child, while Alysia Reiner and Gbenga Akinnagbe play their friends Tina and Wayne, who living in a bohemian Brooklyn loft and are having their own baby through a surrogate. The movie kind of grew on me but really, the best part was when Anna Camp shows up as the notorious surrogate who they’ve been talking about for the last 45 minutes. She brings a much-needed level of humor as the somewhat ditzy but oddly-logical blonde Kiki who really stirs things up. Honestly, this might have worked better as a stageplay, because there’s nothing about it that makes it feel like it necessarily needed to be a movie. I’m sure mileage will vary depending on whether you have had kids or plan to, but it’s not the strongest follow-up for Palka.

Diane

Kent Jones’ narrative feature debut stars Mary Kay Place as the title character, and she’s very good in the role of a middle-aged woman trying to deal with a lot of things at once, including a son with addiction issues, a cousin dying from cancer and more. Jones’ movie reminds me of the work of Kenneth Lonergan, who I’m really not that big a fan of (especially not the much-ballyhooed Margaret), and it’s essentially a character piece that never really goes anywhere. There’s lots of scenes of driving and lots of talking but not really much in terms of plot, as we follow Diane trying to deal with these various things, and quite a bit of time passes over the course of the film. And yet, Jones’ film won the main jury prize as well as awards for screenplay and cinematography. Go figure. I had seen much worthier offerings. (It also became abundantly clear what was missing from Jones’ film when I watched the similarly-paced but far superior First Reformed from Paul Schrader, although to be fair, Schrader has four decades more experience making films than Jones.)

That should be all for now, as the Tribeca Film Festival is over for another year. I’m not sure if I’ll have a job or somewhere to cover Tribeca for next year, but I think I’ve found a happy medium on coverage in terms of seeing as many movies as possible and writing about all of them. Would love to hear your thoughts on my reviews or other movies, if you get a chance.

#TribecaFilmFestival UnitedSkates Egg RyuichiSakamotoCoda ToDust #movie

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isaacscrawford · 7 years

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Should McCain fight or fold?

ANISH KOKA, MD

There are 80,000 new cases of primary brain tumors diagnosed every year in the United States. About 26,000 of these cases are of the malignant variety – and John McCain unfortunately joined their ranks last week. In cancer, fate is defined by cell type, and the adage is of particular relevance here.

Cancer is akin to a mutiny arising within the body, formed of regular every day cells that have forgotten the purpose they were born with. In the case of brain tumors, the mutinous cell frequently happens to not be the brain cell, but rather the lowly astrocyte that normally forms a matrix of support for brain cells. Tumors made up of astrocytes are called astrocytomas. Classification schemes for brain tumors in the era of molecular subtypes has grown enormously complex, but a helpful framework is provided by the appearance of these tumors under a microscope. Grade 1 tumors are indolent, with little invasive capacity, while Grade 4 tumors are highly invasive, marked under the microscope as dense, sheets of cells that can even be seen to grow their own blood supply. Senator McCain has a grade 4 astrocytoma, otherwise known a a glioblastoma (GBM) – the worst kind. Social media from all sides of the political spectrum lit up with well wishes – with most casting the disease as something to be defeated.

John McCain is an American hero & one of the bravest fighters I've ever known. Cancer doesn't know what it's up against. Give it hell, John.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 20, 2017

Others within the medical community took a different take.

GBM sucks & will defeat McCain. "Get Well Soon" is misguided to point of being insensitive.This is where 'thoughts and prayers' makes sense.

— Mehreen (@GrrlMD) July 20, 2017

Mehreen is right. GBM is a deadly disease, the 5-year survival rate for patients with GBMs is <3%. The majority of GBM patients live less than a year. Yet, the medical community of neurosurgeons and oncologists that treat these tumors go to battle with these tumors. Why?

I asked a very busy neurosurgeon this same question. I asked him what he told patients. He told me that he never mentions the word cure. There is no cure. The goal is to manage the disease and buy more time.

Median survival for GBM is measured in weeks, not years. Do nothing, and expect 14 weeks; combining surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy may give you 45 weeks.

What we describe is median survival, of course, and as Stephen J Gould eloquently put in his diatribe against statistics in cancer – the median is hardly the message. The oncologist you want is the one who doesn’t tell you about median survival when breaking the news to you of your cancer – she implicitly understands each GBM has a different path. Here are three such paths.

Case 1.

Margie is 35 year old redhead who hails from Wildwood, New Jersey, where she helps her parents run a boardwalk diner. I first met her 7 years ago after she had presented with a seizure. In this case the seizure was precipitated by a GBM. A resection of the tumor followed – the postoperative course was complicated by more seizures, and an arrhythmia that brought me into her orbit. I’m a cardiologist so I didn’t see her again until she returned 7 years later with a surgical wound infection – but with no evidence of cancer recurrence.

Case 2.

Mr. Walker was a 74 year old man with a very sick heart when he presented with difficulty speaking. A retired executive who was used to being loquacious, he had survived a heart attack with the help of a stent a decade prior, but had been left with disease in little vessels that gave him occasional angina. Otherwise it allowed him to shuttle between his house and his daughter’s house to enjoy his grandchildren. A granddaughter had a wedding in a few months he was hoping to attend. The question to me related to his cardiac risk of surgery. Was there anything that could be done? He was on anti-platelet blood thinners that would have to be stopped to cut into the brain. Would that be ok? I discussed the case with everyone – his eldest son was an orthopedic surgeon, and his daughter was a medical malpractice attorney. I said nothing that they didn’t already know. He was high risk. I quoted a 10% risk of a heart attack or death with the procedure. Mr. Walker wanted to proceed with the proviso that no heroic measures should be undertaken in the case of a complication- in the event of a cardiac arrest, he did not want to be resuscitated.

Five days later, I received a call from the neurointensive care unit. Mr. Walker had been out of surgery for an hour, and his heart rate was low. I was driving to another hospital, but I asked to be sent an electrocardiogram. What I saw made me turn the car around. He was having a heart attack. The stent he had placed some years ago had occluded. He was having mild chest pain and looked uncomfortable. Taking him for an urgent cardiac intervention was out of the question. This would require not one but four potent blood thinners – almost certain disaster in a man hours removed from major brain surgery. Of even more immediate concern was his heart rate. It was dipping dangerously low – he had developed heart block – a condition where the upper chambers of the heart don’t communicate with the lower chambers. This disconnect is at times reversible, but other times not. As his block worsened, there were seconds that would pass with no heart beat at all. With his daughter at his bedside, I tried to explain what was happening, as I tried to figure out what to do. After a particularly long pause in his heart rate when he passed out, he made it easy – he told me – “I’m not ready to die today”. We placed him on a breathing machine. It took me twenty minutes to thread a wire hooked up to an external pacing box into his heart. As the wire passed through the upper chambers of his heart, it precipitated a rapid arrhythmia. Diseased conduction tissue conducts even slower when asked to work harder, and the fast impulses from the upper chambers caused a heart rate too slow to effectively perfuse his brain. He coded. The wire in his heart wasn’t going where it needed to, and I asked the team to start chest compressions. A long minute later, wire situated, rhythm restored, I walked out to talk to his daughter who had been observing the events outside. She wasn’t happy. She demanded to know what I was doing. I explained the best I could – he was completely dependent on his pacemaker, intubated and sedated. I didn’t think he had suffered any significant brain damage from the recent events, but I wasn’t sure how his heart would do as his heart attack completed. We decided to see how he did overnight and make a decision in the morning.

The next morning I walked into a cheerful Mr. Walker eating scrambled eggs, wire still in place, still pacing him. What else was there to do? I explained to Mr. Walker that without his pacemaker he would die – the next day the electrophysiology team placed a permanent pacemaker, and weeks later, a still cheerful Mr. Walker walked into my office with his daughter.

He made his granddaughter’s wedding, but six months later his brain tumor recurred. He died quietly at home a week later.

Case 3

Frank was a large burly 64 year old, accompanied by his wife, wearing a faded Harley Davidson jean jacket adorned with a a bald eagle and an American flag. He was another man with a cardiac stent heading into surgery for a GBM. As happens frequently, he asked me as I started to finish up with him if I knew the surgeon and anything about the surgery. As I shook his hand, I assured him he was in good hands with the surgical team. He held my hand a little longer and told me that he wanted the best treatment, but he didn’t “want to be hooked up to no machines if there was no hope”. His resection was uneventful, but a week later he returned to the hospital. His wife kept a constant vigil as his clinical state worsened. He had not responded to any commands in days, and a ventilator was breathing for him. The surgeons and the intensivists told me that his wife would not let him go and wanted everything possible done. But there was nothing to do. I couldn’t understand it. His wife had witnessed our conversation. I don’t ordinarily discuss goals of care in patients with non cardiac diagnoses. But I felt compelled to advocate for Frank. I gently reminded his wife of our conversation in the office. She remembered. An awkward silence followed, and I slipped up. I asked her how she could do this. I regretted the words the moment they left my mouth. Her eyes took up the flat look of someone being attacked. I clumsily made my exit, and heard later of her displeasure with my conversation. I never saw Frank again. He died a week later, 4 weeks after I shook his hand in my office.

The population health brigade would have us ignore the messages each patient has to give us. But there is so much here that each patient taught me. Margie reminded me that median survival isn’t destiny. Mr. Walker made me appreciate the fog of decision- making in the terminally ill patient. It is hard to let go of life. Mr. Walker wanted to live on that day. Much of the dollars spent on health care in America are decried as wasteful and I imagine that on paper the dollars spent in the last months of Mr. Walker’s life exemplify waste to some. Yet, you’ll understand how some may see not defeat, but victory in the image of a proud grandfather at his granddaughter’s wedding. Frank’s story is a tough reminder of what I see all too frequently in a world where patient and family autonomy is sacrosanct – moribund patients kept alive by families that can’t let go. There is a fundamental tension between paternalism and autonomy – go to far in either direction and you end up lost.

There is something insidious about those who take issue with terms like battling, fighting and hope in these patients. There is a deeply nihilistic message that lies at the core. You are going to lose – so why fight? Why endure brain surgery, or the radiation or chemotherapy to come? The barbarians at the city gates in healthcare are those who believe the primary role for doctors in this unlucky group of patients is to ferry patients gently into that good night. Baloney. Some patients will choose to fight because they want the opportunity to make that next wedding, others will choose to go home. These are hard decisions best left to the patients and their physicians. You’ll excuse me if I don’t begrudge those wishing the Senator well in what ever path he chooses. Give ’em hell, Senator.

Anish Koka is a cardiologist in Philadelphia. Follow him on twitter @anish_koka

Article source:The Health Care Blog

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