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i-did-not-mean-to · 3 years

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Hike-Story

So...I’ve been on a hike today with friends and I’ve been told a lovely local legend of my country and region. I’ve decided to put it into a short story with Thorin.

It’s a sort of prequel to all the amazing stories some authors write about Thorin and OCs while already under the Mountain... Please feel free to reblog and further the local saga of Oberschlinden 😊

So...here goes...

Black

Prologue

In a valley hidden within a dark forest, there were once two villages, very different from one another and yet doomed to suffer the same fate.

The first village was prosperous and industrious and its inhabitants knew much success in their bountiful endeavours, whereas the second village was merry and joyous, filled with music and celebrations all year round.

One day, a weary gleeman came this way and asked to be lodged and fed in exchange for a tune, but the upstanding villagers turned him away for they were much afeared that he had come to rob them of their wealth and goods. “We have no need for your futile, frivolous shenanigans.” They claimed and forbade him to set foot into their town.

Understanding what they were really afraid of, the man replied: “So be it, I should not have taken a single coin that had not been given to me freely. For your callous ignominy, I shall leave you something instead.”

And with these words, he turned around and headed to the other village across the valley.

Here, he was welcomed with open arms. He was fed and housed and after having regained his strength, he went on his merry way again to entertain and amuse other villages. The villagers were much aggrieved about his departure as they had greatly enjoyed his contribution to their daily merriment. They let him leave with their best wishes, nonetheless, for they were an indolent people, unable and unwilling to defend their interests with any kind of forcefulness.

A shadow fell over the valley. A dark sickness befell the first village and rapidly spread across the valley to the other one that had taken no precautions to keep the grim reaper out. Too busy had they been celebrating life and the sinking sun to pay any heed to the pestilence creeping their way.

This is how the first village learned that one who is too afraid to lose what he cannot keep, might well be given what he cannot get rid of, and the second village understood that evil spread faster than fell the night and crept, insidious, into every crack if not actively opposed. Like moss covering the immobile stone, the plague washed over the villages and left none but two women standing.

One of those women would rail and wail all day long, lamenting the loss of her glorious life and of her dear family, until madness took her and she returned to her empty house to wait for death to be her last visitor.

The other one, however, took it upon herself to do penance for the sins of her valley and all its ghostly inhabitants that were heard in the moaning of the wind and the gurgling of the brook.

This is her story.

The sun was low in the sky already when she was startled by the sound of footsteps behind her, making her look up in amazement.

“Good day, good woman, I am a blacksmith and I am looking for the prosperous village hidden in this valley. I am on my way back to my people and I am willing to work in exchange for food and lodging. May you point out the way to me, please?” A gruff voice resounded and a man stepped out of the shadow of the dense foliage.

He was short and stout, unlike any other man she had ever seen in her life, and she was so surprised by his appearance that it took a moment for her to react to his words.

“Good day, Master Dwarf,” she replied courteously, for she now saw that this was what he was, “I am sorry to confess that this village no longer exists. Neither does its sister. I am the last living soul in these parts.”

He looked much alarmed at her words.

“Moreover, there is a sickness lying over the valley. It is not advisable to traverse it.” She went on, getting up from her kneeling position at the foot of the little chapel. “Master Dwarf, I live at the other side of this cursed valley, it is a two-hour walk and the light is failing. I offer you my guidance around the affected area and my hospitality.” She spoke, bowing her head deferentially.

The dwarf seemed to ponder her words for a moment, then nodded.

“Step where I step; the path is treacherous and night shall be upon us soon.” She warned and set out.

Every day, she made her way along the rocky outcrops and the stony ledges, through the dense foliage of the underbrush and the silent desert of trees, to circle the whole valley and pray for hours at the foot of the small chapel for the souls of those who had fallen prey to sickness, stubbornness and wicked ignorance.

Along the way, she collected herbs and mushrooms to sustain herself and produce ointments and potions she sold once a month in the next village, just beyond the valley.

She led a lonely life, but she was unerring in her penance. Those two villages that had been mother and father to her for most of her adult life had done wrong and had been smitten for it by the hand of God. There was nobody left to ask for forgiveness, but her.

“Dwarves have steady steps and exceptional eyesight, even in the darkness. Worry not for me.” The man, for she could not call him anything else than that, answered.

He was well-grown, like an oak, strong and sturdy; he seemed tired though and she vowed that she would not commit the same mistake her forefathers and elders had made; she would be a gracious host. Indeed, she would salve the burns on his bare arms and give him the best parts of whatever she would find in her traps along her daily trek.

“Have you no kin, woman?” He asked after they had mounted a steep rocky ledge leading them through dense undergrowth from which she would extract berries and healing herbs to stow away in the satchels she carried on her back.

“I have no kin, Master Dwarf.” She shrugged, extending her hand to him when they came to a brook. The stones were slippery and wont to shift beneath the unfamiliar foot.

He just chuckled, a sound reminiscent of the big rockslide that had occurred a few months ago, and leapt easily enough across the narrow expanse of wet pebbles.

For a creature looking this heavy, he was surprisingly agile, she thought. She knew nothing about dwarves of course. In her nan’s tales, there had been mentions of those mysterious man-like beings who lived under mountains and in golden halls, but she had imagined them smaller and less…beautiful than what she saw in front of her.

As a matter of fact, she could not remember ever having seen a man quite as enchanting as the one following her swift steps effortlessly. There were beads in his hair that shimmered in the dying light and his eyes were the colour of the great river rushing through the valley; indeed, he was the closest she had ever come to a genuine fairy tale.

“What happened here?” He inquired, as they reached the highest ledge and looked down on the villages, already plunged in deep shadows and obviously deserted.

“A plague broke out and took every living soul. It is said that it was the refusal of hospitality by this village,” she pointed to one cluster of houses, “and the lack of zeal or backbone of that one,” she pointed to the opposite side of the valley, “that led to their doom.”

She had been there, she had seen the people who had been her friends and family die a miserable, painful death and she had waited for the blight to fall upon her as well. It had never come and now, she was the watcher of the dead valley; in a world of ghosts, there was none who felt less alive than her, walking along the deserted ruins of her existence day after day.

“Thank you for warning me.” He had a good voice, she thought, low and kind. It was a miracle to stumble upon another living being, but his voice and the empathy in his eyes felt like a caress upon her bruised soul.

“It is my duty, Master Dwarf. I shall stand in harm’s way as long as I can.”

“My name is Thorin.” He declared in an almost questioning voice. He had been reticent to divulge his name, she realised and turned around to bow deeply.

“Come along, Master Thorin. The light is fading fast now.” She urged him on, almost running along the rocky paths, her feet sending up sprays of pebbles in her wake.

They walked on tirelessly for a long time, until they reached a fallen tree stump that had not been there when she had come this way earlier in the day.

Clambering over the dead wood swiftly, Thorin extended his arms, in turn, to her. She stepped closer and uttered a small cry of astonishment when he simply lifted her over the obstacle as if she weighed nothing at all. “Thank you, Master Thorin.” She bowed again.

He smelled like the pines that grew beyond the valley, she noticed, and like life. Everything about him was painfully alive: the vivid intelligence of his eyes, the small smirk he gave her on account of her breathless incredulity, and the warmth of his hands on her ribs that left a palpable impression.

As she walked on, nearing the point where the path would dip drastically and the danger doubled, she came to accept that she would cherish this encounter until the end of her days.

Maybe God had heard her prayers and granted her the small solace of seeing another soul, of speaking to someone who actually answered and of feeling living flesh upon her own once more.

She extricated a small rabbit from the trap she had laid on the highest crest and pushed it down into her satchel as well, gesturing to the silent valley with a sense of pride.

“This is home. And there’s my hut.” She pointed to a small wooden house at the far end of the valley, nestled between two tiny hills and reflecting the last rays of sun.

The light was growing dimmer now and the way down was treacherous even in broad daylight. “Permit me, Mistress.” He gave her a mocking smile and took her hand.

It felt huge and calloused, but its roughness comforted her. She had lived in this rocky wilderness for years now and the feeling of warm stones would always be synonymous with home to her.

To her shame and despair, she tottered several times on their way down and when Thorin slung his arm around her waist and steadied her, she did not object.

Finally, they reached the little plateau she called her own.

“Give me your boots.” She asked and when he did, she set them aside to be cleaned afterwards.

Stoking the fire, she started taking the small rabbit apart and tossing the various leaves and mushrooms she had collected into the pot filled with fresh water. She would deplete her stocks for him; she would not be a bad host like the first villagers. Also, she would mend his socks, tend to his injuries and clean his boots; she would not be a slovenly scallywag like the second villagers either.

“Make yourself at home.” She invited him, giving him the best chair and a blanket she had woven herself in her youth.

“Are you really all alone?” He asked her, as she sat on the floor, grinding herbs into a paste with devoted focus. “Yes, Master Dwarf.” She smiled, taking his hand and spreading the ointment gingerly on the burns dotting his strong forearms.

“Do you like being alone?” He pressed on, wincing as the wet unguent made his wounds smart.

“It is my punishment and my expiation.” She replied while stirring the stew she was preparing.

His eyes settled heavily on her face and she could read sympathy and sadness in those dark, blue lakes shot through with silver. He looked rather like a gem hewn from precious stone himself, she had to admit, feeling drawn to the solidity of his frame and the living warmth of his gaze.

“Eat, Master Thorin.” She handed him a deep bowl, containing most of the mushrooms and all of the meat she had managed to scrape off the scrawny rabbit.

“What about you?” He asked, suspicious, when she filled a goblet with the fragrant broth.

“Eat.” She encouraged him again. He had obviously known a long and tiresome road and she wanted him to feel safe and cared for; she was thankful for the chance to do right by him.

It was a small redemption of her blood to be a good host after the opposite reaction had plunged her people into extinction.

He looked relaxed now, sitting by the fire, listening to her hum to herself while she cleaned his boots and mended his clothing. “Your gifts are wasted on the dead.” He suddenly said.

“Beg your pardon?” She looked up from polishing his boots, a questioning expression in her eyes.

“You have been a good host to me, you’re a steady cook and a knowledgeable reader of nature. Come with me.”

She blinked. She knew not what he was talking about.

“I am, as I said, on my way to rejoin my kin. Come with me, there is nothing here for you but desolation and loneliness. There are people yet alive beyond this valley and they could greatly benefit from your knowledge…and your sweet nature. Come with me! Be my travel companion!” He reiterated when she didn’t reply.

“I cannot…I am here to…” - “You are here to wait for the next weary traveller and right the wrong inflicted by and upon your people. Consider it done, Mahal has heard you child, I am Thorin, and I shall be King under the Mountain one day. I might be here to deliver you and take you away from this place.” He interrupted her harshly.

A king, she thought, a future king. What prevented him from being king now?

“It is a hard life amongst my people; there will be deprivation and long, cold nights.” He warned her, but she simply motioned to the small hut they sat in while the wind howled with furious intensity outside.

“But…it is a life. I offer you a life, not an easy one, not a pretty one necessarily, but a life. Be the watcher of the living, be the minder of the sick, be the guide of the hale-bodied; leave behind your dead and let them find their peace. Come with me!”

She thought about it for a moment, then nodded. He was right; he might have been the sign she had been waiting for all these years.

Epilogue:

The last survivor of the great plague that had ravaged the valley and left it inhabited forevermore was never seen again. People say, she just vanished at some point. Some hold the belief that she has been carried away by fairies and others claim that on windy nights, one could see her walk along the stony ledges on her eternal way to the abandoned chapel.

We shall never know for sure what really happened to that sole survivor, but her name disappeared from the ledgers, never to be mentioned again in the books of men.

#thorin oakenshield #FanFiction #folklore #imagine #writing #hike #oberschlinder #blacksmith thorin #cursed village #thorin thursday #richard armitage #prologue #go on if you can

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47pictures · 3 years

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“All-Star”

Link to original r/nosleep post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/mv9j9a/for_my_blog_i_toured_a_movie_studio_to_find_the/

________________________________________________________________

I finally made it to Hollywood… at least, I suppose that’s what I’d say if I were trying to make it big. That wasn’t exactly the case, though. On the contrary, my old hometown friend was the one who I’d say ‘made it big,' and she was the only reason I managed to get there. No way in hell I could just stroll through these Hollywood gates without some sort of reputation associated with my name.

I’m currently pursuing a degree in journalism, and right now I’ve got a pretty successful status as a blogger, and hopefully podcaster in the near future. My topics typically cover things involving entertainment, specifically movies, television, some celebrity gossip here-and-there, the ins and outs of the film and occasionally music industry, nerd topics about comic books or comic book movies, and I could go on. Essentially, all the things you’d expect from an entertainment blogger.

I don’t have a secret or special tip for how I grew a mass following. It just sort of happened. I did it since I was in high school - sophomore year, to be exact, and it started mainly as a hobby. Most people are surprised to hear that I was such a good writer and articulate for my age when they look back on the articles I’d put up during that time, speaking on topics such as the ‘downfall of blockbuster films,’ and the ‘toxicity of media's body standards on the youth.’ Truthfully, I didn’t know all of what I was saying half the time. Writing was sort of just my natural gift that I honed to where I could essentially bullshit anything well enough to make a great story. However, being ethical always remained my moral code.

The topic I was covering now involved my own personal ‘investigation’ of a famous movie studio known as Gemini Films. They’ve put out several flicks now that have garnered what most would consider moderate success (they're no Warner Bros. or Paramount, that's for sure). They deal mostly in the thriller/horror genre, sort of like Blumhouse. I’m a bit more in the sci-fi, comedy realm when it comes to my tastes, but really, I’m a bit of a pussy when it comes to scary stuff.

So why am I 'investigating' them? Well, as it turns out, it's their amazing use of special effects. Yep, that’s it. Special effects, that thing we fell for as children we called ‘movie magic,' and growing up learned that some of it were all the crafty work of well-put CGI. Though that’s usually the case, this time, something about Gemini Films seemed different. They’ve always been praised for their ‘hyperrealistic’ visual effects and pulling off stunts that would otherwise seem impossible. I was watching one of their action/horror films titled Last Thorn, and in a particular scene, a character’s on-screen death is, well, very lightly put, gruesome. I’ve seen my share of on-screen gore and played plenty of Mortal Kombat growing up, but I gotta say, I found the scene hard to watch. To clarify, it involved a character literally exploding before the camera, and from the way it was shot and the lack of cuts and edits typically required to create the illusion of a scene, it seemed quite real. A little too real…

They’ve done other things aside from their special effects department that some people on internet discussion forums found a bit too impressive. Take the actors, for instance. In their dramatic scenes, especially the horror flicks, I’m almost always convinced that the actors are actually going to die on screen. I’m surprised all of them haven’t been given Oscars yet, ‘cause goddamn, you’d think the director was holding them at gunpoint. We all saw just how amazing the acting was in films like Hereditary and The Babadook were, but I gotta say, after watching these films, they make those two look like child’s play (no pun intended to the Chucky series). I was so impressed with the actors that I had to look them up and see what other work they’d done, but from what I did find, their resumes didn’t seem that much greater than the work they’d done for GF. It was almost as if that was the peak of their careers unless they decided to further their contracts to star in any more of their movies. Anything else they did pale in comparison that showcased their acting chops.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jamie Douglas.

It had somewhat of household name potential, I thought. She was the next rising star. She’d just won a Golden Globe for her leading role in a TV series I’m sure no one had high hopes for in the beginning, and her name was now attached to an Academy Award-winning film for Best Original Screenplay, all at the age of 22. Her acting was stellar, always had been even growing up back in high school when we did theater together. I was never for the acting side of things; I always preferred the technical realm and behind-the-scenes work. She, however, had the ‘it’ factor. I never once doubted that she’d be famous. It was destined for her.

The taxi driver dropped me off in front of a luxurious one-story home in the Beverly Hills neighborhood, surrounded by other similar houses with a property value larger than what I’d probably make in my lifetime if I was being honest. From the outside, her home reminded me of that gilded, golden age of Hollywood back in the 60s, with a slanted roof and art deco-styled exaggerated features. It was nice and simple. But that’s how Jamie was. Nice and simple.

I could see her peeking through the curtains of her window before she came running out the door to meet me in the front yard. That big beautiful smile and those joyous eyes came rushing at me with open arms.

“Christian!” she screamed my name with excitement, as she gave me a big, suffocating hug.

I hugged her back with my free arm, as my other one was still carrying my trolley bag and she had that one pinned in her grip.

“I’m so glad you made it,” she exclaimed.

“Yeah, I made it to Hollywood, right?” I dryly humored.

Jamie giggled as she began to pull back from her hug and put both her hands on my shoulders.

“Yes we did,” she said with a big smile, flashing her perfectly straight, white teeth. “We sure did.”

She led me inside the house and gave me a tour. Compared to the outside, the inside was the complete opposite in regards to the decorative era. Whereas the exterior was ‘groovy’, the inside was a bit more with the times. Wide-open spaces, tan or beige-colored furniture and walls, a wide sliding door for the backyard where you can see the pool. Jamie recently moved into the house, so I figured there wouldn’t be a lot of things to fill it up with just yet.

“Someone said Bette Davis used to live in this house, which I knew was bullshit, otherwise the value on this home woulda been way outta my league,” Jamie commented.

I chuckled. “Oh, I think you’re well on your way, trust me,” I reassured.

I was going to be staying with her for a week while I did my journaling/blogging. We did tons of catching up. She gave me all the inside scoop of what goes on in Hollywood - or ‘Hollyweird’ as I liked to call it - and even some of her other famous neighbors you might recognize living double lives on the down-low. She said she’d been to a couple of big mansion parties as well, where you’ll see all sorts of celebs from different categories of entertainment. Actors, athletes, musicians, models, influencers, you name it. But Jamie insists that she doesn’t attend those very often, if hardly at all. She prefers to be a homebody when she’s not seeking work through her agent, and her extraversion mostly comes to play when it involves networking.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The rest of the night we stayed up watching TV and YouTube videos. One that fascinated both of us was a video explaining how scientists managed to find a way to make a perfectly cooked steak from a cow, but without actually harming or slaughtering it. Instead, they extracted a small sample of the cow’s cells and took it to a lab where the cells would essentially grow into muscle for it to be cooked later.

“I’d consider that over going vegan,” Jamie said.

But I grimaced at the thought. “I don’t know, it just doesn’t seem right,” I remarked.

"What, are you vegan?"

"No, not that. Just the thought of cloning animals, ya know?"

“I mean, it’s not like they’re killing the cow or anything. They said it’s perfectly unharmed.”

“I know, but still…”

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning was day one for me. Jamie had the right connections to get me an on-set tour of the studio lots associated with Gemini Films. I was greeted and led by the third assistant director (or AD as they’re commonly referred to).

“Hi, I’m Tiffany, nice to meet you,” she said, with a rather forced smile and handshake.

She carried a clipboard in her other arm, as well as a hand-held radio clipped to the pocket of her jeans, and I saw that she also had an earpiece nestled in her right ear. I could tell she was about her business and probably didn’t have time to be overly nice or talk too much.

I got a sneak peek of their most current production under the production title *"*Cold Silence", which required me to sign an NDA beforehand, of course. That wasn't actually their final name for the movie, but it's a common thing for them to do when shooting a film when either they haven't decided on a name yet or to keep the nature of the project a secret. It sort of took me back to my theater tech days with all the set designs and props lying around, except these were much more detailed and intricate thanks to their higher budget than what my high school had at the time. Here, there was limitless potential. Tiffany also introduced me to the other ADs, PAs, boom operators, cameramen, make-up artists, and then last but certainly not least, the director.

“Jeffrey?” Tiffany called to the man sitting in the director’s chair. The man turned to face her and then me. “This is Christian Watkins. He’s the man we’re giving a behind-the-scenes scoop for his… blog?” She looked to me for confirmation, to which I nodded. “Yeah, for his blog.”

The man in the big chair stood up with a cool smile and classy charm and extended his hand for me to shake.

“Christian, nice to meet you,” the man spoke in a tenor pitch. “Jeffrey Bachmann,” he introduced himself.

I didn’t take too much time last night trying to read up on his bio, but from what I could tell at first glance I knew that he was about in his mid to late fifties, as his hair was greying and skin was starting to wrinkle, and I could see that he had a surprisingly calm and laid-back demeanor. Surprising to me, at least. I always thought directing was a high-paced, chaotic mess that never ceased to present a myriad of complications onset that’d make any man want to pull their hair out. But Jeffrey seemed calm, collected, and very personable.

“Hi, thank you for having me,” I replied. “Seriously, this is like a really cool opportunity for me and my blog.”

“Hey man, it’s my pleasure,” Jeffrey said. “I heard you got a big following behind your name. Props to you. I respect the work ethic, especially giving your readers what they really want to see, ya know?”

I shrugged modestly. “Well thank you, but this time was mostly in my own interest to seek out this idea for my current blog,” I said.

“Ah, an interest in GF, huh?” Jeffrey replied. “Well, what would you like to know? We’ve got nothing but time today. In fact, we’re just getting ready to shoot the mangle scene for today and then we’ll wrap it up before we review the dailies.”

“Mangle scene?”

“Oh yeah, if you’ve got a weak stomach or aren’t into gore you don’t have to watch.”

At least he gave me discretion. “Hmm, I think I’ll tough this one out,” I said. “For the blog.”

Jeffrey gave me a sincere but slightly unsettling grin. “That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout.”

He was a nice guy so far, but you know how you just meet certain people that for whatever reason, out of their control, their aura seems off? Maybe it was my preconceived notion and warranted cynicism I had of people working in Hollywood. Just a bunch of sharks in a pool with hungry eyes for desperate young talents eager to take a dive in the spotlight. But as I’d imagine with any field, there had to be a decent share of lambs among the many wolves.

Suddenly, one of the makeup artists scampered over to us, their attention directly at Jeffrey.

“Hey,” they said to him with a noticeably fake inflection.

“Hey, what's up?” Jeffrey returned.

“Savannah? She’s losing it back there. Said she wants to talk to you and only you.”

Jeffrey nodded. “Don’t worry, I got it,” he said, as he patted his hand on the MUAs shoulder. He then gave me an apologetic look. “Sorry, Christian, duty calls, but hey, Tiffany?” he looked to the stern AD. “Make sure he gets a front-row view for the martini shot.”

“Yes sir,” Tiffany replied.

Jeffrey and the MUA stepped off to handle whatever business needed handling regarding one of the actresses backstage in the dressing room.

“Martini shot?” I asked.

“Last shot for the day,” Tiffany explained. “For me, that’s a term I like to take literally.”

She seemed so serious all this time that I found the joke almost funny.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

There was now quiet on the set. Shooting was about to start shortly. At this point in the movie, the main character has a stand-off that turns into a big fight scene with the main bad guy at a warehouse factory building. At first, there’s a gunfight, then eventually they both run out of ammo and it comes down to a fistfight before finally having a standstill on top of a rail just over a giant industrial shredder.

Right now, the actor playing the bad guy, Will, is hanging on for his life over the rail above the shredder, while Thomas, the main good guy, is standing over him victoriously. My question was, is the shredder real? ‘Cause it sure as hell looks like it. It wasn’t turned on yet, but just from a glance it seemed legit enough that if I dropped something as sturdy as a microwave in there, it’d come out jelly on the other end.

For the blog, I told myself. For the blog…

Suddenly, my suspicions were confirmed once Jeffrey called to have the shredder turned on. The machine roared to life, the inverting sharp metal gears rotating past each other being a black hole eating everything that passes through it with no escape. Holy shit. It was actually fucking real.

Jeffrey gave the nod to the 1st AD, and the AD returned the same.

“Action!” the AD called.

Based on what Jeffrey showed me from the script, Thomas is supposed to stomp on Will’s hand that’s gripping onto the edge of the rail, causing him to fall to his death into the shredder. The camera was now rolling, yet, I didn’t see Thomas do the deed. Was he pausing for dramatic effect? Was he acting for the camera? I wasn’t quite sure why he was hesitating.

I peaked over to notice that Jeffrey, the once calm and collected man I met backstage earlier, was now beginning to seem noticeably impatient and about to snap at any moment. There was now that dark edge I noticed about him from before but couldn’t quite put a finger on that I could see now coming to light.

Hesitation filled Thomas’ veins, about to raise his foot, then not, dragging on the scene longer than intended. From this distance, I tried to see Will’s own expression, and I regret ever doing so. Surely he was acting, but I’ll be damned, it was too good. Whatever fear he portrayed transmuted itself into me now. It was the kind of fear that I didn’t think could be replicated on command. Jeffrey stood up from his seat, but just before he could say anything or call ‘cut’, Thomas stomped his foot down on Will’s hand, and we all watched as his fingers slip from the railing. Will sent out a bloodcurdling scream as he plummeted to his ‘death’. What followed will haunt me forever.

Do you know what it sounds like to have a person’s body mangled to death? Have you bitten into the bone of any sort of meat? Heard and felt the crunch? Or maybe even the crunch of celery? I myself have never broken a single bone in my body, but imagining what it might sound like other than what I’d heard in movies or video games all seemed elementary now. At first, I had to look away, but what forced me out of my seat to leave was Will’s horrifying screams. He’d fallen feet first into the shredder, so his lower body had to suffer first before reaching his upper body and finally silencing him at the head.

I ran to find the nearest trashcan and hurled. I guess I really didn’t have the stomach for gore, at least, not to this degree. Will’s screams kept looping in my head. It was a new primal sound that evoked a dread within me that I wish I never discovered. The sound of torment. One thing was for sure, Will was one fucking hell of an actor - if this was acting. But the shredder…

It seemed so real. And there was no greenscreen besides the ones to be used for the background later in post-production. I saw him fall right into the damn thing. With my own eyes. In living color. There were no edits, no crazy tricks, no lighting effects. There couldn’t be. It just wasn’t possible.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I was sitting down trying to recuperate, as everyone else around me was wrapping up set for the day. Tiffany came over and handed me a bottle of water.

“Thanks,” I said, taking it.

“You feelin’ better?” she asked.

“Hmm,” I answered with a scoff, raising both my eyebrows and taking a sip from the bottle.

“I’m surprised you stuck around if you had such a weak stomach. I mean, he at least warned you.”

“I usually don’t. But that?” I shook my head. “How do you guys do it? It looked so real.”

“I’m just pulling your leg. I almost vomited too my first time. Nothing to be embarrassed about.”

If it was a shame to flinch at something so vile, I don’t wanna know what goes on in Jeffrey’s mind to even come up with such a scene. Speaking of which, I still didn’t get a one-on-one interview with him as I’d hoped. All I had was the end result of his ‘movie magic’, but not how he did it. At this point, I'm not sure I really wanna know.

I went to go get my belongings, which were left in one of the dressing rooms, and was stopped by the sound sniffling from the one a couple doors ahead of mine. I looked on the door to read whose room it belonged to. It read: SAVANNAH YOUNG. She was one of the lead actresses in the movie, or rather I should say the only actress in the whole film. With the makeup artist and Jeffrey thing that happened earlier, it was evident to me that something sour had gone on behind the scenes I didn’t know about.

The door was cracked open and I couldn’t see her face entirely from my view, but I knew she was sobbing. She looked to be sitting in front of her mirror. I was about to just ignore it and go on about my business.

I lightly knocked on the door. “You okay in there?” I asked.

She stopped and I could hear her get up and approach the door. She pulled it back just enough to where I could see her whole face. She was beautiful, just like Jamie, even if she had been crying.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Savannah said. “Thank you.”

There was a brief awkward moment of silence between us. Clearly, she wasn’t fine, but I didn’t wish to pry any further than that.

“Are you one of the new PAs?” she asked. I arched a brow. “Production assistant?” she clarified.

“Oh, no, I’m just a visitor,” I assured. “Writing for my blog. I was supposed to be writing about behind-the-scenes things and how it all works around here, but I bitched out from the ‘mangling scene’.”

Savannah gave a short nod. “I see,” she said. “Well… I don’t blame you.”

I wasn’t sure if it was the way she said it or just from the state that I was in, but her words gave me chills.

“I should get going,” I told her. “Nice meeting you.”

“Likewise,” she replied, and then shut the door.

I got my stuff from the dressing room and got ready to head out. I wonder what could’ve made Savannah so down to where the director had to get involved and set her straight. Jeffrey seemed pleasant to work with at first glance, but who knows, maybe he had a mean streak to him after all, especially the way he looked during the shooting of the scene. God, I just wanted to forget about it. I can’t unhear the sounds. The bones crunching, the blood splattering, and the screaming. The fucking screaming…

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As I was leaving the studio lot, I noticed the cleaning crew of two men dump a large amount of black bags in the dumpster. From the way they swung the bags over into the bin, the shit didn’t seem light. The bags were in several different sizes, some small, some big, some disproportionate. I stood there and watched as the two men finished disposing of the junk and walked away to go about their other duties.

Regular, common sense me would’ve just picked up the phone, called Jamie to let her know I’m ready to get picked up, and go about my day. But the nosy blogger me kept itching…

I made sure the coast was clear and made my way over to the bin. I can’t believe I was actually dumpster diving, and for what? What did I really expect to find? In my head, I knew the answer, but was avoiding it, either out of how ridiculous it may sound or, God forbid, I was right.

The trash wasn’t stacked high enough from the bottom for me to simply reach, so I had to literally get in there myself. I climbed over on the other end, raised the lid, and jumped down on the piles of plastic bags, holding the lid up with my arm and my breath so I didn’t get a huge whiff of the smell. Though, if I did need to puke again, I supposed this would be the place to do it.

I immediately noticed the bags the men threw away, but in order for me to check what was inside, I’d have to crouch down and let the lid close on me. Fine. That’s what the flashlight on my phone was for. Surrounded in darkness and garbage now, I turned the flash on, illuminating the four dirty walls around me and I pulled back one of the bags. I felt around to try and see what sort of contents might be inside. Mush. It felt all mushy with chunks of solid and a little bit of liquid.

This was stupid, I thought. I realized how stupid I probably looked right then and there, sitting in a bin full of filth looking for clues like some sort of private detective. My followers have no idea how far I’d go, but this was ridiculous. Oh well, I’m too deep in it now, no pun intended.

I held my phone in my mouth as I used my hands to rip open the plastic. My heart began pounding as I slowly pried the bag open. Once I got a peek inside, shame and embarrassment came over me.

Food.

I should’ve just called Jamie to come get me. Had I really become that desperate? I threw the bag over and out of my way. Then I noticed the bag underneath had trickles of fluid. Curious, I shined the light down on it. They were red trickles. Considering how I’d just overreacted only to find a bag full of thrown out lunch, I wasn’t about to get all up in arms about finding red drops behind a Hollywood studio lot. I didn’t know the full recipe for fake blood, but if I recall correctly, Alfred Hitchcock used chocolate when they filmed the shower scene from Psycho.

I tried to follow the small trail and see if it led to another bag. I slowly pointed the light further up and it led me to the bag just behind the one I tossed to the side. Looks like it had a small bust that caused it to leak. When I pulled this one over, a very noticeable smell filled my nostrils and erased any other scent of the trash that surrounded me. It was a metallic, rusty sort of odor, like copper from a penny. However, that smell also belonged to something else…

I ripped open the bag, and with the shine of my light beaming down, I was welcomed to a bright crimson sight of mashed blood and guts. It had to be fake, I thought. It had to… but the way I recoiled from the putrid metallic fresh scent of carnage, my primal instincts told me that wasn’t the case. I innately knew that it was real. I was staring at Will’s mangled body.

Frozen from fear, I sat there for who-knows-how-long. What the fuck was I supposed to do? I’d call the cops first, of course, but they would need evidence, and even then they’d probably dismiss me after I told them I dove into the dumpster of a movie set where fake blood is a common prop. I’d tell Jamie the same, but she’d look at me crazy, too.

I unlocked my phone and started snapping pictures. As much as I could. I even opened some other bags and did the same. I tried to snap every bit of remains that was left of Will and saved them into my phone. It felt like a sick test to see how long I could hold my breath so I wouldn’t gag, and I think I broke a new record that day.

I snapped probably about 47 pictures on my phone before I finally shot up and threw open the bin. The wave of fresh air hit me like a truck, and enjoyed it for only a brief second before turning to see Jeffrey, Tiffany, and the other AD standing by his side. My soul left my body right then and there.

“Christian?” Jeffrey said, sounding concerned.

Fucking say something, I told myself. I did my best not to stutter and look stupid.

“Hey, Jeff,” I said, raising the inflection of my voice, probably sounding dumb.

“Going for a swim there?” Jeffrey joked.

I fake laughed, then put on my best acting skills. “I cannot for the life of me find my ring.”

“Your ring?”

“Yeah, my mom’s ring?”

Then, with the slick subtle motion, I hid my hands to where they couldn’t see them behind the walls of the bin, and with careful coordination used my fingers on my right hand to pull the ring I already had on and flicked it down onto the trash below. I shuffled my feet over the bags I stood on to make noise so they wouldn’t hear the ring drop. Please God, don’t let the ring hit the hard bottom floor or one of the rusty walls, I thought. To my relief, it didn’t.

“Oh man, I’m sorry, Christian, I haven’t seen it,” Jeffrey said, as he looked at the other two as they also shook their heads. “But we can definitely look around again and let you know if we find anything.”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” I said, trying not to make my voice tremble with anxiety.

“Now, c’mon, let’s get you outta there,” Jeffrey said, waving his hand over.

I nodded and shot a quick timid smile. I climbed out of the bin and faced the three before me, wiping myself down.

“Hands a little messy there,” Jeffrey said.

Anxiety raced through me again, but adrenaline had my back to make sure I didn’t fuck up by saying anything dumb.

“Oh, the fake blood?” I chortled. “Yeah, you guys lots of that shit in there. Smells like a chocolate factory.”

Jeffrey fell for it, and laughed. Good. But he could just as easily be playing me right now.

“Given how you ran off earlier back there I’m surprised you can stand to look at it, better yet, touch it,” he remarked.

“I’m sorry about that,” I stammered but stayed on track. “It’s just… I now see for myself, no one does it like GF.”

“Haha, you don’t have to flatter me to get back my respect. Don’t sweat it. I totally understand.”

Is that so? I thought.

“You could use that martini shot right about now, huh?” Tiffany joked.

Definitely not with her any time soon. Or any of them, for that matter.

“Well we’re just heading out for the day, you got a ride?” said Jeffrey.

“Yeah, I should probably call Jamie now and let her know I’m done,” I replied.

“It’s no problem, man, I can give you a lift. I can drop you off wherever you need me to.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Seriously, I insist-”

“Jamie and I got a spa appointment to catch in a bit. Otherwise I appreciate the offer.”

Jeffrey had a brief look in his eyes, a glint of what I could only compare to a wolf’s gaze hiding behind that sheep’s clothing he carried himself around as, and then smiled and nodded.

“Okay, Christian,” he said. “Once again, nice to meet you and I hoped you enjoyed the tour, and hopefully make some good content for your blog.”

“Absolutely,” I said. “Thank you so much again. Seriously, I can’t thank you enough.”

“It’s nothing, Chris,” Jeffrey said, throwing me off a bit. “Can I call you, Chris?’

I shrugged. “Sure. I mean, I called you Jeff by accident,” I said.

“It’s fine. Chris and Jeff it is.”

I needed to get away from here. Now and as fast as possible. But I still needed to do one more thing.

“Any chance I can wash these off inside?” I said, raising my bloodied hands.

“Oh of course,” Jeff said.

“I can lead him back,” Tiffany said, ready to go with, but Jeffrey stopped her.

“Ah, he knows his way in, right?” Jeff looked to me for reassurance.

“Yeah,” I answered confidently.

“Good, well hopefully I’ll see you around, Chris, and you enjoy the rest of your day.”

“Thank you, Jeff. And you all do the same.”

As I walked past them and towards the studio lot, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was being set up. Why hadn’t he let Tiffany escort me back inside? I’d think that would be customary for them to do for visitors entering and exiting the building. But I felt that they were watching me from behind, and with every step, I grew more and more anxious.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I’d made it inside and the lot was now nearly empty and quieter. I didn’t see a single person in sight, and only a few lights remained on, making it mostly dark. I hurried the fuck up and did what I came to do, as I didn’t wanna be here any longer and didn’t feel safe.

Down the hall where the dressing rooms were, I rushed over to Savannah’s door, and saw that it was closed. I tried opening it only to see it was locked. Looking down, there was no light shining through the cracks either, meaning there was no one inside. She wasn’t there. Shit.

I washed my hands in the bathroom, scrubbing the dried blood off as thoroughly as possible, getting under nails and all, cringing at the thought of it being Will’s. Suddenly, I heard a noise from outside the hall leading to the bathroom. Petrified, my heart sank into my chest, and I froze. I shut the water off, and carefully approached the door. I listened for any other sounds as I placed my ear closer. After a few moments, I heard the noise again, but then realized that it seemed to be coming from one of the dressing rooms just outside in the hall.

Since I carry a notebook around most of the time for jotting down notes, I certainly always carry a pen. What most people don’t know is that I carry a military tactical pen for a variety of uses, and in times like these, it can be used as a subtle but effective weapon. I switched the tip from an ink ball to a small slick blade.

I opened the bathroom door and crept through the hall over to the dressing room door that made the noise, holding the pen underneath the breast pocket of my sweater. On the outside of the door, it read, “WILL BANKS.”

Confused, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Common sense me once again kept barking in my brain telling me to GTFO, but I had to be sure. I gave three shy knocks and waited. There was definitely someone in there because whatever noise I thought I heard from behind came to an utter halt. I could hear faint whispers of someone’s voice, and then another. There was more than one. My hand trembled as it tightly gripped the pen underneath with sweat as I heard whoever it was on the other end of the door approach.

It swung open, and there stood Will Banks, the man whose blood was just on my hands moments ago, alive and well, in the flesh. It couldn’t be, I thought to myself.

“Can I help you?” he said.

I just stood there, baffled, without answering. Behind him, I saw Savannah, who instantly recognized me and came over.

“Hi,” she said. “I thought everyone left.” She looked to Will. “He was visiting the set today for his vlog, or I’m sorry, blog.”

Will nodded, understanding now. “Oh. Sorry, I didn’t get to meet you. Will Banks,” he said, pointing at his name on the door. “As you can see.” Savannah chuckled, and Will extended his hand for me to shake.

“Christian, or Chris,” I said, releasing the pen from inside my sweater and reaching my own hand out to take his. "Whichever you please."

He had a firm shake, and it felt uncanny considering what I’d just witnessed. I was touching him, feeling his skin and bone underneath, the warmth of his body temperature through the flesh. He was real. He was alive and breathing. That couldn’t be faked. That couldn’t be a visual effect. This was real. After we let go, suddenly my hand went cold. Everything about this seemed off and downright strange.

“Did you stick around for the shoot?” Will asked.

“I did, as a matter of fact.”

“Well, what’d you think?”

I wanted to say so many things right then and there, he had no idea.

“Um... y’all are some damn good actors,” I said.

Will laughed a bit, accepting my sham form of flattery, but Savannah, not so much. She gave one of those forced gestures as to not make it feel awkward, though, I noticed it right away.

“How do you do it?” I asked.

“I would give you some artistic bullshit answer like ‘study your craft’ or ‘years of training,' things like that, but honestly… it just kinda clicks, ya know?”

I fake chuckled. “No, I don’t. It looked kinda real from my end. Too real, I might add. Care to go into detail how you guys pulled it off?”

“Well, uh-”

Savannah interrupted. “Wait, you know what Jeffrey would say,” she whispered to him.

“I know, but it’s for his blog,” Will argued.

“But still.”

“I mean, Jeffrey’s not here, right?” I chimed in.

They both looked at me, then at each other. There seemed to be some sort of nonverbal understanding between them, and Will looked back at me.

“All right, for the sake of your blog, I’ll give you what I can to the best of my wording, that sound good?” Will proposed.

I took the pen back out from inside, switching it to the ink ball with a short click, and whipped out my small notebook. “Hit me,” I said.

“Get ready for this one. Basically, we’ve been using a new thing in the biz lately sort of like mocap but it’s not exactly. It’s also kinda like hologram sort of tech?”

“Really?” I said, eyes widened with interest as I wrote words down.

“Yep. That’s how we did it. What you saw, was as real as the hologram thingamajig allowed you to.”

“Hmm.”

“The shredder, too.”

“What?”

“The shredder. That was a hologram also.”

“Really? Okay…”

I finished writing on my notepad then turned it so that Will could read it.

BITE ME, I wrote with a big circle around it.

He laughed. Savannah did, too, but, again, in a strange nervous and restrained demeanor.

“That’s a nice story,” I said. “So if you’re ready to quit bullshitting with me, and tell the truth, I’m ready,” I spoke in a playful yet no-nonsense tone. “How’d you do it?”

“You’re good, man,” Will said with a smile, pointing his finger at me. “Like a true journalist.”

Any other day I’d be pleased to hear that, but I was serious. I needed to know, so much that I’d forgotten how long I’d actually been here. I told myself I was gonna leave as soon as I could, but now, for some reason after talking with Will and seeing how personable and genuine he came off, he put me a bit at ease. Maybe I was blowing this out of proportion. But then the screams echoed in my head again, and the smell...

“You’re not gonna tell me, are you?” I said.

“Look, I wish I could, honestly, but if I did, Jeffrey may not be too happy with either of us,” Will responded sincerely. That much was true, I could tell.

“All right, I think I tortured you enough,” I said, then immediately regretted my choice of words.

“No worries, man. Nice meetin’ ya. Good luck with the blog.”

“Thanks.”

I looked at Savannah one last time, and she looked back with a serious and almost scary gaze as though she needed to tell me something very bad. That’s who I came back for anyways. But that opportunity was a lost cause now, as I left with nothing and still no understanding of how Gemini Films did their visual effects? And I lost my mother’s ring. Fuck, I didn’t have time to go get it right now. I didn’t wanna risk being seen again. Hopefully, Jeffrey keeps his word and they somehow manage to give it back. That being said, I'd be fine with not having to see him ever again.

Whose blood was that? Whose body was that in the dumpster? Was it real? Was it actually just that well made to where the average person could be fooled into thinking it was actual flesh? Who’d go through the trouble of all that?

The screams of losing your life inch by inch, the sounds that would haunt me forever. And the smell of what was inside that bag. That instinctual gut feeling… how was it not real?

#writing #story #horror #nosleep #horror stories

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mercurypilgrim · 4 years

Note

“Why are you being nice to me?” prompt please! XD

(Ask, and ye shall receive! ;) ) Odessen was… cold.

Fia shivered as she stepped off the shuttle, pulling her cloak around her shoulders.

The Force was in such serene balance, it almost made her head spin.

It was strange really, to be so overwhelmed by balance.

She was nervous.

Master Till'in had always mentioned that she needed to be more level-headed, but it was hard to quell the squirming feeling of nerves that made her feel a little sick.

From her spot off to the side of the ramp, she watched the rest of the inhabitants of the shuttle disembark.

She had recognised a fellow Jedi in there, but the others were unknown. A trio of surly looking soldiers in Republic armour had stuck closely together, watching everyone else with thinly veiled suspicion. A quiet woman in the garb of a spacer had played with her holopad the entire journey, and the other Jedi had been content to meditate by themself.

Fia had felt quite out of place, even as the other Jedi had opened an eye to give her a warm smile before slipping back into their mediation.

This was the most nerve-wracking thing she had done since passing her trials to become a Knight, and that was on her second try.

She looked up in a watery blue sky garnished with puffy clouds, and breathed in cool, crisp air.

She had always loved being out in the fresh air.

Her former occupation as a crew member on a junk hauler on Raxus Prime seemed impossibly long ago now, but the distaste of fumes and industrial spaces lingered.

Gingerly, she followed the quiet spacer as she headed for the huge staging area, hewn from the rock. The sheer scale was impressive enough, but the fact that it had been done so quickly was astonishing.

Glancing around, she felt strangely guilty for being here, as though she was invading the space. People baring Alliance insignia hurried back and forth, some dressed in fatigues and others in officers’ uniforms.

It all felt awfully familiar, and at the same time, completely out of place.

She swallowed hard when she spotted a figure in a dark robe, hood over their face and a lightsaber clipped to their belt, hurry past them with a thunderous expression on her face. Stark crimson tattoos covered her face, and Fia knew what that meant.

She was so busy staring, she almost bumped into the spacer when she suddenly stopped.

Flashing an awkward, apologetic smile to the dark look thrown her way, she peered through the throng of people.

A woman in fatigues and with the baring of someone used to being listened to was standing waiting for them, her face stony. She was backed by a cohort of neutral looking assistants, all of whom stayed quiet.

“I am Lieutenant Fisher,” the leader introduced, her accent placing her from one of the Imperial fringe worlds. She was a mountain of a woman, standing tall and broad. Her sharp dark eyes and closely cropped hair gave her the air of someone Fia would never ever cross. “Welcome to Odessen.”

She continued her welcome, and Fia strained to listen for fear of missing a single instruction. Her mind tended to wander easily, and she always tried listen extra hard to people who looked like they could break her in two.

Eventually, she heard that she and any other Force inclined recruits were to head for the Force Enclave. Having no idea where this was, she resolved to follow the kindly Jedi she had met on the shuttle.

They were already following one of the assistants, and Fia scrambled to keep up.

The Jedi shot her a little smile when she joined their side, quiet and calm.

Fia wished she could be so composed.

She followed the two as the assistant led them through a maze of rock hewn corridors, passing rooms and doors by the dozen. She craned her neck to take in every detail, turning her head to look at everything on their path. People were everywhere, going about their business as though they weren’t part of the most amazing thing Fia had ever seen.

The Alliance was monumental.

Amazing.

Awe inspiring.

How could she not want to be a part of that?

She-

She blinked, pausing.

She didn’t see her Jedi companion anymore.

She didn’t see the assistant, either.

Attempting to squash the panic threatening to rise in her belly, she looked around and found herself completely lost.

She had been so busy staring at everything that she must have missed them turning off down another corridor.

Wringing her hands, she headed back the way she came, recognising none of it.

It was quiet here too, and as soon as she spotted someone that she could ask, they hurried away with their heads in a holopad or call.

Calm.

She needed to stay calm and normal and peaceful.

She was lost.

Oh, what if they thought she was a spy? They had Imperials in the Alliance so what if they wanted to torture her because she had wandered into a restricted area and she had only stepped off the shuttle half an hour ago and now she was poking around where she shouldn’t and-

“Are you alright?”

She jumped, her whole body tensing as a sudden voice cut through her growing fright.

She whirled around and, to her horror, came face to face with black armor and amber eyes.

She blinked, wringing her hands.

“Ahh, I- I’m really sorry!” She burst out with, mouth moving faster than her brain. “I didn’t mean to- I mean, I just got off the shuttle and then I lost the person- the guy I was following, and- I’m sorry.”

She cringed as the Sith, for he couldn’t have been anything else with that armour and those eyes, looked at her.

“You’re lost? Well, it happens.” The Sith smiled, showing sharp teeth. She squeaked, and his eyes crinkled with humour. “But I asked if you were alright. You look a bit shaken. Do you need a sit down? A shot of whiskey? Maybe a hug?”

Fia stared. The Sith didn’t seem angry, and he sounded like he was teasing her.

She looked at him more closely.

He was Mirialan, tall and solid looking under that armour. His face was decorated with geometric tattoos, and his eyes were bright golden amber against dark skin. Orange ringed his iris like a mockery of a limbic circle, and she marvelled at it. He was smiling at her.

“I- um…“

He raised a dark eyebrow, and it disappeared under the mop of curls that reached down to brush his shoulders.

“A sit down then. Come on, I’ll show you the cantina.”

“I’m supposed to be going to the Force Enclave.” She managed shyly, and he waved a dismissive hand.

She stared. Those gauntlets had claws on them.

“Oh, they can complain if they want.” He grinned, leading the way, and apparently expecting her to follow. “You need a drink.”

Fia cringed.

“I don’t- uh, I can’t really have-“

“Booze? Fair enough. I think they have Xambu juice in this week.”

What in the name of all the stars was Xambu juice?

She followed along meekly, half expecting the Sith to turn and go for her throat.

“I’m Ven’fir, by the way.” He introduced as he led her into a corridor with more people. The air was more relaxed here, and she could hear music getting louder as they approached, as well as the sound of talking and clinking glasses. “You’re one of the new recruits, yeah?”

She nodded, trying to keep pace with his long strides.

“Yes. I’m Fia. Uh, Knight Fia.” She corrected with an awkward smile.

He grinned at her again, and she was struck by how not-menacing it was.

“Not used to the rank yet?” he asked pleasantly, leading her into a cantina. It was a huge space, the craggy rock ceiling giving it a rather unique atmosphere. It was fairly quiet at this hour, but there were still enough people to give the place a low buzz of sound.

She shook her head.

“It’s been two years.” She admitted. “But I’m still not used to it.”

“I know the feeling.” He replied vaguely, and she wondered what he meant.

He rattled of an order to the serving droid and handed her one of the glasses that it returned with. The liquid inside was clear, but too thick to be water. It had a pretty iridescence when it caught the light, and a bright pink fruit on the side of the glass.

The Sith was drinking the same thing.

He led her to a table and settled down, clearly expecting her to join him.

He raised a glass to someone who waved at him, shooting them a grin and wink.

Fia was feeling quite overwhelmed. She took a drink of her strange beverage and found it to be deliriously sweet. It was pleasant and fizzed on her tongue as she tasted it.

“Why are you being nice to me?” she blurted, sitting awkwardly in her chair.

She Sith blinked in surprise, glass halfway to his mouth.

He took a drink, swallowed it, and shrugged.

“Why not?” he asked, “What good would being cruel to you do me?”

Fia wasn’t sure how to answer that without offending him.

He noticed her reluctance to speak, and a knowing look crossed his face.

“It’s because I’m Sith, isn’t it?” he said, taking another drink. “You thought I would go out of my way to torment a Jedi.”

She cringed, her cheeks heating up. She wrung her hands in her lap.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful.” She assured. “That was really rude of me.”

He gave a little smile.

“It’s alright, I understand why you’d be nervous. We were on opposite sides not too long ago, after all.” He reassured. “Every Sith here is here because they want to be, same as every Jedi. They’re not all saints, but they’re Alliance.” He said firmly. “And that means they’ve chosen to leave everything they’ve ever known just to be here, just like you.”

She swallowed painfully, nodding.

“Yeah, I- I know. I’m just being stupid. I do that a lot.” She offered him a smile and was relieved when she got one back.

“Oh, there’s plenty of stupidity here.” He laughed, and the sound was loud and restrained. “Mostly from me, or so my advisors tell me.”

She frowned.

“Advisors?”

Important people had advisors.

He glanced at her, sly.

“Yeah. I was a bit… less than completely honest when I introduced myself earlier.” He admitted with a sheepish grin. “The name’s Ven’fir Quinn, Darth Venator and Alliance Commander. Nice to meet you.”

Fia stared at him in horror as he offered her his hand to shake, clawed gauntlet and all.

Unable to keep a straight face, Ven’fir couldn’t help but laugh.

His laugh was loud and infectious, and soon she found herself giggling too.

The knot of nerves in her belly untangled itself and melted away, and finally she felt like she was safe.

#SWTOR #Fanfiction #Asks #Padawan Fia #Venf'ir #OCs #Ven can be sneaky sometimes #For like 5 minutes #The Jedi are completely justified in being weirded out by the Sith tho #As are the Sith about being near Jedi #I think Ven would take no shit on that front though #You will get along or we will MAKE you get along #by ordering you to go to cultural sensitivity classes #or therapy

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fayewonglibrary · 4 years

Text

"To Love" Reviews (2003)

Progress or the beginning of a decline?

When describing a new Faye Wong album, words like "looking forward to it with great anticipation" are usually used to show people's full expectations for the singing queen and also reflects how important her position is in everyone's hearts. Faye Wong, who has not released a new album for more than two years since the 2001 self-titled album "Faye Wong", finally released her new album "To Love".

The title of the album "To Love" is actually an abbreviation of "To Love to the End". In this album, Faye Wong played a lot of word games, such as "Spinning Wood" is "Carousel", "Yang Bao" is "Sunshine Baby", "Beauty Error" is "Beautiful Mistake", "Night Makeup" means "heavy makeup at night" and so on. These little word games make people feel that the cold and arrogant queen of the past has lowered herself down to get closer to the people. The unsmiling Faye Wong has become humorous. And to strengthen this "zero distance" feeling, you will have to listen to the songs in the album one by one.

"To Love" uses war as a metaphor for love. The cruelty, burning, and death in war will also be experienced in the world of love. Faye Wong wrote this song herself to express a kind of fear of love. The spirit of carrying love through to the end and overcoming all difficulties to fight for victory is truly impressive.

"No Regrets" composer Yuan Weiren wrote "Carousel" and added a touch of warmth.

Guo Zi's "Beautiful Mistake" adds a layer of femininity comparable to his previous song for her ("Reservedness").

"Empty City" and "Night Makeup" were written by one of Faye Wong’s old partners, manager Kwan, who wrote words that outlined a different kind of urban feeling.

"Leave Nothing" uses a lot of parallel lines. She sings about the love of two people, "I give my thoughts to you/my time to him" and "I give my heart to you/my body to him". Faye Wong's voice is hoarse and sexy.

"Passenger" is a cover of the song "Going Home" from Sweden's Sophie Zelmani. It is like a road movie where the camera scans everyone's fixed face and reflects their inner thoughts. Lin Xi's poetic lyrics were beautifully and ambiguously written, and brings to mind a dim yellow street lamp on the corner of a distant city.

The genre of the whole album of "To Love" is very mixed from pop, trip-hop, folk, Latin dance music, etc. The gorgeous arrangements that come in wave after wave seem to indicate Faye Wong's thoroughness and determination. After the two albums "Fable" (2000) and "Faye Wong" (2001) did not achieve great commercial success, Faye Wong has reduced her experimental exploration of music and replaced it with more popular and beautiful sounds in "To Love", and her singing voice has also reverted to the coquettishness of the "I'm Willing" era. When personal experimentation becomes restrained by record sales and mainstream entertainment dictates music aesthetics, the miserable side of the record industry is revealed - sales are everything and commerce prevails.

It was reported that "To Love" broke through one million sales as soon as it was released. Although this number must be attributed to the hype by the record company, the commercial success of this record cannot be denied. However, some fans believe that the album is "terrible" and her entanglement with Nicholas Tse has made Faye Wong "decline". Such statements seem a bit extreme. Faye Wong no longer insists on her usual arrogance and indifference to the business. She was seen attending press conferences, playing volleyball, and even appeared on gossip variety shows. At least the past Faye Wong, who despised the industry and was low-key, has undergone a transformation. From this perspective, it may not be known whether this is Faye Wong’s progress or the beginning of a decline.

In terms of the music, Faye Wong has gradually waned and was unable to grow in "To Love". The success of this album is glitzy on the surface but has nothing to do with the improvement of music standards. One day, someone will use unprecedented and brilliant music to beat the shameless music business. Can you still count on this person to be Faye Wong?

SOURCE: MUSIC WORLD // TRANSLATED BY: FAYE WONG FUZAO

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After a wait of two years, Faye Wong finally released her new Mandarin album "To Love" on November 7, 2003, after joining Sony Music. This is an important prelude to her "Faye Unusual Concert" series at the Hong Kong Coliseum, December 20-27.

The idea conveyed in the new album "To Love" emphasizes the persistence of "to love to the end". As Faye Wong said: "If you have love in your heart, you will not despair. Love is pure and should not be disturbed by anything else."

"To Love" is actually the abbreviation of "to love to the end". In fact, a major feature of the new album are the many two-character song titles, such as "Spinning Wood" (Carousel) and "Mei Cuo" (Beautiful Mistake), “Yang Bao” (Sunshine Baby), “Ye Zhuang” (Heavy Makeup at Night), etc. They are like the popular made up words and phrases among Taiwan’s junior high students. The fun lies between solvable and unsolvable, under their extreme simplicity, each has a touching story. Faye Wong hopes that this will allow the audience to more deeply feel the spirit and ideas she wants to convey when listening to her music. There are also 10 different ideas in the song titles but as long as everyone's heart is touched by the music, this is what Faye Wong really wants to express through the songs.

The music and lyrics of the first song "To Love" were written by the heavenly queen. It uses war as a metaphor to describe the cruelty and sacrifice of love. The concept is fresh and it represents a kind of fearlessness when facing external forces. With a firm attitude and courage, the atmosphere of the music is powerful, which fully demonstrates Faye Wong's unique style of daring to love and hate. Faye Wong’s music and lyrics also shows her views on life. She feels that there is no absolute "right" or "wrong". The opposition of "love" is not "hate", and love should always exist in everyone's heart. Although people are lonely as the lyrics say "loneliness is eternal", but as long as love is still in the heart, there will be no despair. This single also happens to represent the core concept of this album.

The album brings together Golden Melody Award "Best Composer" Chen Xiaojuan, Lin Xi, Zhang Yadong, Yuan Weiren, Guo Zi, Yang Mingxue, and Kwan in a super lineup. Plus Faye Wong's own four compositions and three lyrics definitely makes "To Love" the most anticipated album of the year.

As long-term partners, Faye Wong believes that Lin Xi’s words have their own unique charm. Although Faye Wong and Lin Xi do not have frequent communication with each other, but through Lin Xi’s observations plus their similar view points in life, the lyrics are consistent. Even if Lin Xi's creation is not a true portrayal of Faye Wong, it still feels connected to her. And Zhang Yadong, a long-time music partner, is still an important behind-the-scenes player in the album. He is an all-rounder in production, composing, arranging, and singing. In addition to the electronic music style he has always excelled at, one of the songs "Smoke" contains a lot of Latin elements to make Faye Wong's voice pleasantly surprise listeners with its intoxication for love.

In addition, she worked with Taiwanese creators Chen Xiaojuan, Yuan Weiren, and Guo Zi. This time, Chen Xiaojuan’s "Empty City" follows "Passing Years" and "Overthrow". Yuan Weiren's "Carousel" when compared to the previous "No Regrets” has a sense of warmth, coupled with the poetry of the young talent Yang Ming, which is very touching. Guo Zi's "Beautiful Mistake" is comparable to "Reservedness", revealing the gentleness of women. Another old partner, her manager Kwan’s "Empty City" and "Night Makeup" have an urban sensibility. And their lyrical words all present the beauty of calmness and determination.

Faye Wong’s music is mostly inseparable from lyrical and electronic styles. In the new album "To Love", more diverse genres have been integrated, including elements of Middle Eastern and Latin music, as well as trip-hop, folk, etc., making the music rich and strong. Faye Wong has created a brand new design, bringing more musical possibilities. In addition to Zhang Yadong, Faye Wong is also the producer of the album, which guarantees to be invigorating.

The new album contains four of her personal compositions and three lyrics. When talking about the possibility of creating an entire album, she frankly admitted that life is the source of her creative inspiration, and all creative motivation comes from her. Regarding her experiences and emotions of life, she only wants to express the feeling of a certain point in time and place, so she does not force herself to create the entire album. She just hopes that her creations can be closer to her own ideas and express herself through the songs, letting everyone understand her through her music.

Faye Wong, who is not good at verbal expression, has presented her mood and feelings on life during the past two years in front of everyone through her creations. She has always given the media and people the impression that she does not speak too much. She chooses to express herself in songs, regardless of the interpretation, as a singer and songwriter, she has profoundly conveyed Faye Wong 100%.

[Special Edition]

Limited CD+VCD enhanced version.

In order to repay the fans’ enthusiasm for waiting two years, Sony and the production company "Silverfish Music" spared no efforts in design. In addition to the 13-song CD, it comes with a collection of Faye Wong’s MVs and other behind-the-scenes production highlights. The 2-for-1 price is a super deal.

[Song Introduction]

To Love Music / Lyrics: Faye Wong Arranger: Zhang Yadong

Faye Wong wrote these lyrics using war as a metaphor for love. The cruel sacrifice of love is a fresh idea. It represents a firm, courageous attitude defying forces. Isn't love a kind of faith? Thousands of lovers are martyrs, willing to fight against everything. Heaven is near, we should “love to the end".

Empty City Music: Chen Xiaojuan Lyrics: KWAN Arrangement: Lin Hai

Empty City is the next masterpiece after "To Love". Is love illusory or real? Is a lover made in heaven or a natural enemy? Don't make empty promises, just feel it. The piano and strings, coupled with Faye Wong's easy-going vocal performance convey a heart-stirring desire for true love.

Leave Nothing Music / Lyrics: Faye Wong Arrangement: Zhang Yadong

A song of women’s hearts, another designated classic of KTV. The parallel lines are full of Faye Wong-style word games, comparing and contrasting. It is full of wit that makes people smile. In the lyrics, she said that the body and mind belong to two different people in their love affairs, in which there is a kind of unreserved and carefree freedom.

Passenger Composer: Sophie Zelmani / Lars Halapi Lyrics: Lin Xi Arranger: Guo Liang 　　

The song is like a road movie, showing the imagery through the song. You can vaguely see the passengers inside the car in Lin Xi's vivid strokes and gentle thoughts. There's a touch of sorrow, the coolest weather in autumn. This is a cover of "Going Home" by Sweden's Sophie Zelmani .

Carousel Music: Yuan Wei Ren Lyrics: Yang Ming Arranger: Huang Zhongyue 　　

Fresh and moving song about bringing joy to others, but not themselves. The carousel is a metaphor of selfless love. The whole song exudes a faint sadness within its warmth.

SOURCE: NETEASE // TRANSLATED BY: FAYE WONG FUZAO

#2003

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old1ddude · 6 years

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Reflections in Pink

Harry Styles was being set up for solo success almost since the formation of One Direction. He was given the highest platform to dive into solo stardom from, but the waters beneath were all the more treacherous for it.

It was only natural for PR surrounding Harry’s solo launch to hype him as much as possible. It’s all been done a thousand times before - or has it? The expectations surrounding Harry’s launch were monumental, contradictory and just plain impossible. Given his ridiculous charm, talent and reputation, Harry was expected to drop an album that would dominate top 40 charts, world-wide. His album was supposed to be Pop, but not formulaic Pop. Pink was supposed to be steamy and sexy, or sexually ambiguous and gender neutral, depending on what segment of fandom you came from. Harry was expected to be a consummate singer, songwriter, social justice warrior... The list goes on and on.

It seems that many expected Harry to be a militant, music messiah. He would march forth as king - carrying Louis, Niall and Liam in his train - Azoff as his general - forever vanquishing the power of record labels. (I must admit to falling into this type of thinking myself - to a slightly less hyperbolic degree.)

In truth, I don’t think Harry sees himself as a powerful person at all. I think he has seen himself as an ant - desperately trying to avoid being trampled by enormous, music industry feet. He purposely sought out the biggest sharks in artist representation - sharks who could hopefully protect him. Harry, at this point in his career, has not sought to right every wrong in the music business’ power structure. He is not a militant force, whatsoever. What he has done is to create the safest possible space for himself and his fans - a refuge and shelter.

Treat People with Kindness wasn’t an afterthought. It is a re-iteration of “the golden rule” that is bigger than any one moment in time, or whatever the current, hot button political issues are. Other than embracing his own, LBGT+ community, I don’t think Harry wants his career to be bogged down in current political discourse. (Even though he has given a more subtle nod to a couple current issues.) I believe that Harry is aiming for some transcendence in message and music.

Harry did not release the album he was supposed to. It’s not Pop, it doesn’t sound current, at all. Rock is a flagging genre. This presented HSHQ with a problem. Following is an excerpt from this post by @lawyerlarrie. Used by permission.

I think the album Harry made is the album he wanted to make. While I hope he grows going forward, I don’t think anyone forced him to make a certain type of music. And the reality is that that musical taste is out of step with mainstream pop right now. They had to deal with a pop star who doesn’t make pop music. And the music industry doesn’t know what to do with that. They just want to make money and this isn’t a way that has proven profitable in the past. So everyone’s sorta winging it. It seems contradictory because it IS, because Harry is an individual with his own taste and not just a demographic. And the music industry has trained us to respond as a demographic. When we don’t – when a rock-singing, Liberace-dressed pop star’s audience is made up largely of twenty-to-fifty-something wlw with the earnest devotion of teeny boppers and way more cash and way more voice and agency – they don’t know what to do. Because that’s not a demographic they’ve ever noticed before.

All things considered, ‘Harry Styles’ has been a remarkable commercial success, given the kind of music he made. HSHQ did their damnedest to get Harry the critical attention he so richly deserved. They had some success, but ultimately, the Grammys couldn’t see anything beyond the tips of their noses - if that thing came from a boy-band without wholesale rejecting everything said boy-band had stood for. The Azoffs know their business, but there is no road-map, or framework for marketing a gay, closeted, “womanizing,” 1970′s rock singing, LBGT promoting, Pop icon. Also, they don’t know what to do with his audience, as @lawyerlarrie explained. No wonder there has been some conflict in his marketing. Not to mention, a good deal of misunderstanding what his lyrical tropes truly signify.

Touring Pink is where Harry chose to make his most personal statement. This should come as no surprise. Even in the last years of 1D, the stage is where he let his guard down most. Harry Styles is the rock star who hates fame. He loves and craves attention, yet requires a great deal of privacy. He’s dealing with his own, internal conflicts and incongruities. The stage is where he made enormous strides in confidence and presence as a solo artist. He pushes through his fears - that is the definition of bravery. (I can’t imagine headlining SNL just as he’s trying to figure out how to be a solo performer.) He waves the rainbow flags and acknowledges his community, but larger still is his timeless message, “Treat People With Kindness.” And yes, that means all kinds of people. What kind of rock star image is that?

It’s hard to say how quickly his public image will change, or exactly where it’s going. His arena tour culminated with the statement, “I mean, we're all a little bit gay, aren't we?" I don’t see this as a coming out (many will continue clinging to an image of Harry that is mostly straight) but certainly chipping at his old image. He will never have the freedom to deny all his old “relationships.” Currently, however, he’s had the same (barely visible) “girlfriend” for over a year. His image has already changed a lot, it’s just hard to notice from up close sometimes. (When you haven’t seen a small child for a few months, it’s surprising how much they’ve grown. The parents - those who see the child every day, don’t notice it so easily.)

Great album, great performer, great human being. I can’t ask any more of him, except maybe another album - and tour, please!

#Harry

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waxontape-blog · 7 years

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Not Fade Away: A Look Back at Buddy Holly and The Crickets

The relevance of musical aptitude has waxed and waned with what the general public has decided is in fashion. As a result, one could argue that the mainstream musical landscape has seen yearlong talent droughts more than once or twice before, and it would not be a difficult point to argue. Coinciding with the explosion of MTV, artist and band members had to present evocative visuals and in no uncertain terms be physically attractive-- talent was an added bonus. In the 1990s, feelings were "in," and it became trend to be introspective; in 2017, it is social media which dictates an artist's commercial successes. However, at the earliest on-set of rock and roll, the rules for pop music presentation were still developing, with racial politics and an icy reception from the jazz industry playing an important role.

Just shortly before four unknown young men from Liverpool, England would take the world by force with their accessible sound and rebellious creativity, another four young men from Lubbock, Texas were busy laying down the foundation for what would become the rock and roll revolution. Niki Sullivan, Jerry Allison, Joe B. Maudlin, and Charles Holley were studio musicians merely dabbling in the only type of true indulgence teenagers had at that time. Blues and rockabilly, country and folk-- already established genres in their own right-- would be used as raw clay for the four boys, who would craft a concoction that would revolutionize the adolescent's very place in society.

But before then, a landmark invention would have to hit shelves in order to get their unique blend to the masses.

With the end of World War II came the advent of the personal radio, the forefather of the Walkman, Discman, Minidisc Player, the iPod, and now the smartphone and streaming services. These small, compact radios were a far cry away from the larger beasts installed in parlors and dens across the world. Which program to listen to on which evening was no longer decided upon by democracy; rather, the sole owner and operator had control over what he or she filled her ears with. This practice had only ever been seen before with the mass production of books. In a world where America had been the heroes in Europe (and the ogres in Asia), life for the average teenager meant being bombarded with omnipresent, brightly painted advertisements, new technology, the promises of travel with family-sized camper vans, the sweet tastes of new candies and ice cream from hamburger joints, and all of it still very much constricted by the need to be "one of us." Regardless, it was the first time in American history that the standard, family-centric paradigm was broken-- the average teenager no longer needed to "share," so to speak.

The personal radio, merely an empty vessel, would soon work its way into the hands of every child and teenager and became a revolution, but it needed the content to propel it forward. And rock and roll, blues, country, and danceable R&B became the software needed to break the mold. The days of jazz pop were slowly being eclipsed, its subversive counter culture once perceived as dangerous was more common place than ever before. The hot, new thing by the middle of the 1950s became records with an electric edge to them. Although tame by today's standards, the melodies and guitar riffs (often adapted and retooled from blues and country-folk origins),present on these recordings were integral to music evolution and still hold their own today.

The combination of Sullivan, Allison, Maudlin, and Holley proved to be reactive, and lucrative. Charles Holley, a charismatic front man with boy-next-door looks, was quick to show his licks from the word go. The boys formed as The Crickets, following the natural dissolution of another band, The Three Tones, and released The Chirping Crickets in 1957, a mixture of original material and blues/R&B covers featuring tight musicianship and impressive performance. 1958's almost immediate follow-up would be the result of a slick marketing ploy, catapulting the front man into the realm of supreme celebrity. The record would bear his now-iconic stage name: Buddy Holly.

Albums were an entirely different beast in the 1950s in comparison to today, and thus these two projects cannot be analyzed separately. Although thematic projects had been ushered into the mainstream music canon by Frank Sinatra, who is often credited with creating the earliest examples of concept albums, rock and roll was a newborn baby rapidly stumbling towards the age of growing pains. As such, Buddy Holly is not an album that was assembled with any great attention to detail. In reality, it is the second slice of the Crickets pie, released under Holly's name in order to capitalize on the band's signature sound and Holly's ever-growing popularity. Also, it was a clever way around contractual obligations by signing the band as two separate acts. The Chirping Crickets and Buddy Holly are two sides of the very same coin, the former a slightly more distant affair in comparison to the latter's more targeted presentation. Whereas The Chirping Crickets is far more general in its approach, the songs on Buddy Holly seem to be directing themselves at a teenage audience while simultaneously marketing the man for whom the record is named.

The two albums are neck and neck in terms of their quality, which stand out as arguably the best survived recordings of the whole of the 1950s. The range of fidelity on these records is astounding for the time period, with raw experimentation placed right at the forefront. Although the songs seem to draw their inspirations from a myriad of sources (from classical to lullaby to rhythm and blues), they are defined by the band's willingness to push forth into unknown territory. This is perhaps best evinced by the simplistic and sweet "Everyday," which perfectly encapsulates Holly's charisma and ability to adapt his voice to particular song styles. This evergreen is defined by the rather interesting combination of certain elements: acoustic and bass guitars, a typewriter, Holly's voice, and the gentle slapping of hands on Jerry Allison's knees. Its lack of decoration is strong evidence that less is, in many cases, more. It is also at stark contrast to the up-tempo rendition of "Ready Teddy," on which Buddy snarls with the gusto and experienced snap of a man thirty years his senior.

Despite not being the most artistic of albums, Buddy Holly is a non-stop disc of action, collecting within its short half-hour run time some of Holly and The Crickets' most important material. The classic (albeit rather overrated musically) "Peggy Sue" defines golden oldies in today's society, and the definitive reading of Sonny West's "Rave On" is a compact rock bullet to the ears. But elsewhere on this album, the deeper cuts ruminate and delight with their slick production and perfectly crafted melodies. From the jazzy, bass and piano--driven "Look at Me" to the rather sensual "Words of Love," the material present here is nothing if not far more advanced than the average pop songs on radio of the day. Whereas much of the standard fair was uncompromisingly pop or uncompromisingly rock, The Crickets managed to marry the genres, creating the blueprint for those who came after them.

The influence from black musicians of the era is full and complete on both The Chirping Crickets and Buddy Holly, which (as opposed to later-era acts like The Beach Boys and at times The Beatles) do not rob-- they contribute to the sound of the day. These four men were deep in the trenches, their youthful energy spilling over across two marvelous pieces of wax. Unfortunately, both of these records are meager when taken on the whole. Due to the nature of the recording industry at that time, much of Holly's best work (both with and without The Crickets) is not present on these two canon albums. Neither houses the spectacularly sexy "Well, All Right," the signature "That'll Be the Day," or "Blue Days, Black Nights," that last of which John Fogerty would later lift for his Blue Moon Swamp album in 1997.

There is a wealth of fantastic material to discover when searching through demos and one-off singles, in addition to Decca Records's That'll Be the Day, the unofficial third LP in Holly's canon, released only in response to The Crickets' later success on Coral and Brunswick. There's the downright sassy, almost baroque-pop "It Doesn't Marry Anymore," the near tropical stylings of "Heartbeat," and the bittersweet sequel "Peggy Sue Got Married" tucked in between all the flash and sizzle of Holly's biggest hits. They are also important clues for where Holly would have taken his musical adeptness into the 1960s, had he lived to help define them. His final recordings, unfortunately dubbed after his death, serve as our last glimpses into what the future could have been. At times, they are difficult to listen to.

Many of Holly's hits would be defined by the long shadow cast by his untimely death during the Winter Dance Party Tour in 1959, with "True Love Ways," an unreleased ballad from 1958 written for Holly's wife, perhaps the most heart-breaking of them all: "Sometimes we'll sigh / Sometimes we'll cry / And we'll know why just you and I know true love ways." These posthumous hits, along with some of his most experimental and/or forgotten material, would be collected and released on various compilations, the best of which being Decca Records's comprehensive triple-disc set The Very Best of Buddy Holly & The Crickets and the rare but complete Not Fade Away.

Today, Holly is regarded as one of the great grand-fathers of modern rock and roll, and nobody would be wrong in this declaration. However, it is important to note the important songwriting contributions from Jerry Allison and record producer Norman Petty. Between the three of them, they are responsible for the band's most iconic and important works. With Holly's tragic and untimely death (now coined "The Day the Music Died") we, as listeners, lost the original trajectory for pop music in forms we can only imagine. Would there be a The Beatles? A Duran Duran? A Madonna? A Janet Jackson? A Radiohead? Would disco have risen to power in the 1970s, and would synthesizers had taken the 1980s by storm? We cannot say, but one thing is for sure-- Buddy Holly and his bandmates had a lot more to offer the world that we could ever fathom. Although his career began and ended during the most embryonic phase of rock and roll’s fairly short existence, The Crickets ushered the genre towards excellence and informed every act who came after them.

Click here to buy material from Buddy Holly and The Crickets.

#buddy holly #buddyholly #music #music retrospective #thecrickets #the crickets #rockandroll #old hollywood #retro #vintage #1950s #the chirping crickets #jerry allison #charles holley #niki sullivan #joe b maudlin #waxontape #feature

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shemakesmusic-uk · 4 years

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INTERVIEW: Imogen Clark.

Cutting her teeth playing in local pubs in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales Australia before taking the stage with artists like Shania Twain, Ian Moss and Willie Watson, Imogen Clark has worked relentlessly over the past decade, building up her musical chops. She has worked with Mark Lizotte (Diesel), Kasey Chambers and Jim Lauderdale and now cites Benmont Tench (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) and Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello and the Attractions) amongst her collaborators, both appearing on the new The Making Of Me EP.

The songs on this EP are the by product of a year that found Imogen picking up the pieces and putting together a new version of herself. A huge part of the process of making this EP, and this song, in particular, was allowing herself to embrace imperfections, and make the kind of music that she had previously been too afraid to pursue due to outside forces trying to fit her into someone else’s idea of what is authentic. Imogen has finally come to a point in her life where she stopped caring about the surrounding noise and outside opinions and is writing songs that represent all of who she is. She equally adores artists like Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen and is now making the music that reflects that.

We had a chat with Imogen all about The Making Of Me, how she’s spending her time in quarantine, the struggles ahe has faced in the music industry and more. Read the interview below.

Hi Imogen! How are you? How are you coping with the situation we're all in at the moment? Do you have any advice/tips?

"Hi there! I’m doing well, despite all the chaos. I think the best way to get through tough times like this is to try and keep busy. The moment I find myself sitting on the couch and falling into an anxiety puddle about the current state of the world, I force myself to get up and go for a run, do some work on my laptop, do some writing or practicing on an instrument. It’s important to keep our minds distracted."

You recently returned with your new single 'Found Me'. How does it feel to be back?

"It feels great to be releasing new music again after two years! I spent the time between my last record and now working super hard on the road and writing a ton of new songs, and ‘Found Me’ felt like the perfect re-entrance. It represents a pretty big sonic evolution for me, and although it sounds like no other music I’ve released before, it somehow feels more me than anything I’ve done to date."

What's the story behind 'Found Me'? What does the song mean to you?

"'Found Me' is an empowering break up anthem with a twist. It’s not a song of sorrow or grieving; it’s about making the tough decisions you need to make and letting go of someone important to you, in order to become the person you need and want to be.

"I wrote it when I was at a low point in my life last year, having just ended the longest and most serious romantic relationship of my life. I was also exhausted, having just come off a giant U.K./Europe tour and gone straight into a U.S. tour opening for the wonderful Clare Bowen. Clare and her husband Brandon Robert Young became beautiful friends and mentors to me over this time, giving me advice and letting me pour my heart out to them after gigs. When we sat down to write a song together in Nashville at the end of the tour, Found Me just poured out. I think everyone knows the feeling of being in love with someone but feeling like perhaps you’re growing at a pace which your partner can’t accept or understand. Sometimes we need to make sacrifices to find out who we really are beneath all the pain. Clare and Brandon were amazing co-writers for this song, and Clare also added the stunning harmonies you can hear on the track."

'Found Me' is taken from your upcoming new EP The Making Of Me. What can you tell us about the record?

"The Making Of Me is a collection of songs I wrote throughout a year that really tested me. It’s about becoming your fullest self, embracing your own power and learning to live without fear. I’ve always felt in some way beholden to other people’s ideas of what box I fit into, or what authentic art is. This is the first time I’ve made music with absolutely no boundaries on how it “should” sound, and I’m sure people will be able to hear the sound of that liberating confidence when they listen to the songs.

"I was lucky to have a brilliant team in the studio; Mike Bloom (Jenny Lewis, Julian Casablancas) producing, Will Golden engineering and my manager Jeremy Dylan, all of whom were creative, supportive and encouraging influences, and brought so many wonderful ideas to the table."

How is The Making Of Me different (or similar) to your previous material? Were there any musical influences or sounds that you were able to incorporate this time around that you hadn’t in your previous releases?

"This record is like nothing I’ve made before in that we used so many wildly different musical influences, and we let the songs go where they wanted to go, without putting limitations on ourselves. We never stepped back and said “What sort of record are we making?” We just let the songs and our feelings guide us. In the studio, we were referencing everything from Maggie Rogers to Prince to Christine and the Queens to Bruce Springsteen to Taylor Swift. It’s so freeing to make music like that, and I think you can hear that feeling when you listen to the songs."

What do you hope fans will take away from The Making Of Me?

"I wrote these songs during a year that almost broke me. I know so many people are facing a year like that right now. While I wrote these songs about and during challenging times, there is an unyieldingly optimistic undertone to it all. This isn’t a record to make you cry; it’s a record to give you strength and remind you that there’s always light on the other side of the darkness, and that often we come out the other side better for having survived it. I hope it can relight some people’s fires right now."

You worked with some big names on the EP. What was that like and what sort of things have you learned from them and vice versa?

"I couldn’t have asked for better folks to make this record with. At the beginning of the process, we had Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello & The Imposters) come in and lay down drums, and then the next day we had Benmont Tench (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) come in and track keys and organ. These are two musicians I greatly admire and I grew up listening to their playing on some of my favourite records.

"I love seeing people like that in the zone doing what they do best, because it always inspires me to work hard to be the best possible musician I can be. It was like a masterclass in musicianship watching them in the studio, and I figure if I’m the worst musician in the room at any given time, I’ve surrounded myself with the right people. I was absolutely thrilled to have them both come in and lend their magic to my songs. It was an incredibly surreal “pinch me” moment in my life that I will never forget."

Which new artists/bands are you listening to right now? Is there anyone else you would love to collaborate with in the future?

"Right now, I’m all about Maggie Rogers and Lennon Stella, two artists I’d love to collaborate with if ever the opportunity came up!"

You've been in the industry a long time now! What struggles have you faced as an artist in the music business and how have you overcome them?

"I think starting so young was both a good and a bad thing for me. I cut my teeth playing 4-hour cover gigs in pubs in my hometown of the Hawkesbury, New South Wales from age 12. That is a wonderful way to learn how to develop a thick skin and stand up for yourself when drunk people heckle you, as well as the obvious skill-building it allows."

"A difficult thing about starting so early however, is that people see you as a child for a long time, and it’s always a challenge to get people to take you seriously. Being a young woman in the music industry is fraught with pressure to look a certain way and feelings of being underestimated at every turn. You have to work twice as hard as your male counterparts to earn the same respect. What I’ve learned over the years though, is that although that is clearly unfair and hurtful, I can use it as fire in my belly to fuel me forward. It has taught me to back myself even more. I know I’m good enough to be here and I’m going to keep proving it."

Finally, what are your plans when we're all back to some sort of normality?

"The first thing I can’t wait to do once it’s safe is go back out on the road! I am so terribly missing playing live for people and the pure magic you feel in a room where everyone is connecting to and feeling the music together. I’d love to be touring internationally again as soon as possible."

The Making Of Me is out August 21.

Photo credit: Jeremy Dylan

#imogen clark #interview #the making of me

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ecotone99 · 4 years

Text

[NF] My Experiences in Saigon, Vietnam, During the 1970s

As a boy growing up in Saigon, Vietnam, during the 1970s, I had a large degree of freedom. It would seem ironic then that by the time I was able to walk, my beloved city of Saigon fell -- overwhelmed and invaded by communist forces on April 30, 1975. Tragically they would later rename it to "Ho Chi Minh City," after the symbolic leader of those invaders. Ho Chi Minh wasn't even a Southerner. It's analogous to renaming Atlanta to "William Tecumseh Sherman City," after the general who burned down Atlanta. Do you think Atlantans would be happy about it? So it may come as no surprise that to this very day many Saigonese and I still consider the city of my birth Saigon.

Similar to oppressive French rule, practically nobody liked the oppressive communist government in Saigon when I was there. The worst insult you could give someone was calling him a Viet Cong, a southern supporter of communism, whether the claim was true or not. He was accused of being a traitor. My ancestry actually originated from north Vietnam, near Hanoi. As farm owners, my family cultivated the northern lands for countless generations. We also have a long history of fighting communism as early as the 1940s, then came our migration to Saigon after the barbaric land reforms of the 1950s, and finally embarking on our perilous journey to America for freedom. However, unlike several Vietnamese-American authors, I refuse to be portrayed as a victim because we were not. My family actively resisted and fought. Some of my family members died defending our way of life. Those still living made a conscious decision and belatedly left the only Vietnamese city I have ever known.

Nostalgia would be the closest description of Saigon for me. The experience was beyond the sight of darting cars, mopeds, and Hondas (a motorcycle brand so ubiquitous, it was interchangeable with the Vietnamese word xe mô tô). Saigon was filled with the music of Thanh Nga, an actress of immense beauty, and Hung Cuong, a singer with probably the most masculine Vietnamese name ever (literally, Strong Hero). When Thanh Nga was murdered, the naive boy in me who had never felt cold or grief up to that point would feel what virtually everyone in Saigon felt: shock and chilling dismay. It would seem she was the final straw. Today I really want to talk about happier times in Saigon. Yesterday someone made me cry. He said to me, "Your homeland misses you, Cuong!" He then shared me a song called, Bonjour Vietnam. I don't know for sure whether Vietnam misses me, but I sure do miss Saigon. It is with this in mind I'm sharing with you a few personal memories of my birthplace.

As a boy, I went out into the Saigon streets alone each morning to buy sweetened sticky rice with peanuts and coconut (xôi dừa đậu phộng) wrapped in a banana leaf. I cannot fully describe what a divine experience it was: the amazing smell, taste, and texture, mixed with the sights and sounds of a lively Saigon. When a multimillionaire in India was asked why he still sometimes eats cheap street food, I immediately knew his answer before he gave it. Comfort food. A priceless transport to a more innocent time.

Every few weeks, I went to the barber shop all by myself. I crossed the busy and expansive main Saigon street to get my hair trimmed and then crossed that same Saigon street back. There might have been a time or two I almost got run over, but who's counting. Occasionally I would fall down into one of the storm drains the city left exposed. At least I was well-groomed wading through waste water. Good times.

But the best times were when I was out and about in Saigon with my family. My dad often took me on his motorcycle and we cruised Saigon together. Most significant of all was my father always treated me with patience and kindness. Along with his gentle disposition he had the best smile and was the most handsome man I know. I was told he was very well-liked and popular with many people in Saigon. Sometime later, like numerous South Vietnamese men who fought against the north during the war, my dad was sent to the communist party's inhumane re-education camp. Students of history know that it was neither a camp nor was it an educational one. For me, those few family visitation times to see my father were happy -- his hugs and kisses were nice but his whiskers were rough! -- yet short-lived. Whenever I got mad at my mom, I would threaten I'd run away and see dad (ba). Only I was unaware this wasn't possible, at least not in this world. A Vietnamese man cannot be put in a cage. He rather die than to live in a cage.

I was privileged enough to know my grandmother. She was traditional and dignified. She had blackened teeth and always wore her long hair in a bun wrapped around by a silk Vietnamese turban. She and I regularly went to the Vietnamese opera theater shows (hát bội). Nguyen kings supported the art form. It was the precursor to the more popular Cai Luong. The stage characters and scenery were majestic and extravagant, portraying the days of old when kings were kings and generals were generals. When ordering tickets, my grandmother would request for us to be seated below the ceiling fans. Loud and dramatic, it was a nice breaking from our usual haunts in sleepy, hot, stuffy temples filled with burning incense and somber chanting Buddhists.

When I slept at home, it was on a large varnished wooden bed (no mattress!) covered from the ceiling by a large mosquito net. I don't remember ever using a blanket. In fact, I don't remember ever feeling cold, even when given a bath of only cold water. Because the cold water was naturally warm, which came from an enormous tiled concrete water reservoir located inside our house. My older brothers would put betta fighting fish inside it, which upset my parents, because it was also a source of drinking and cooking water. There were only two seasons in Vietnam: the summer and the rainy. Both were hot. My parents wouldn't allow me to play in the heavy rain like the other kids in our neighborhood. They were afraid I'd get sick. I remember watching my friends playing outside, chasing each other, laughing and having fun.

When it wasn't raining, there was always something to do in Saigon. One time there was an outdoor showing of a movie that featured an Aquaman-type protagonist. The thought that a person with gills being able to breathe underwater was pretty cool for a boy like me. I didn't understand the language it was in but the experience of being with my siblings and other Saigonese was thrilling enough. After the movie ended, there was a huge rush of people trying to get out. I had flip flops (dép) on, so I tried my best to hang on to them with my toes. Alas, I wasn't able to prevent them from being trampled on and thus lost them in the crowd. The scene of the aftermath was a sea of flip flops that other people have lost as well. There were so many that the effort to find mine was futile. One was too small, another too big, the others were of different colors. We gave up. The next day, my mom took me around the shoe shops. But no kid I knew wore shoes (giày), much less wear them with socks. As I mentioned earlier, Saigon was a hot and humid place. My mom bought me a pair of brown leather sandals with straps secured by little golden buckles. They were spiffy. I was ready to take on Aquaman again!

Taking care of the kids was what my parents did well. My siblings and I each had our own nannies. I was told that this practice wasn't all that uncommon in Vietnam. But apparently what was uncommon were a TV and a flushing toilet, both of which we owned, the only family in our entire block to have them. While many of the neighborhood children had little to eat, I shamefully recall a time when I stubbornly refused to eat and only wanted exactly two grains of rice for dinner. My parents were educated people. They didn't earn crazy money, just livable wages. They were frugal, industrious, and worked hard so their kids could be happy. Ensuring our future happiness, too, was why they left Saigon and Vietnam altogether.

And living and being happy were all the people in Saigon wanted to do and be in the 1970s. Whether it's the immoral South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem or the cruel northern communists, Saigonese didn't appreciate corrupt people standing in their way. Life principles are always difficult because we all have different experiences. Truth to me might not be truth to you, and that's ok if we can agree on the goals at hand: independence, liberty, happiness (độc lập, tự do, hạnh phúc). If we truly mean what we say, then it's well worth putting those ideals into practice today.

You can read more about my life's stories at Cuong.com (no ads, no monetization).

submitted by /u/VietnamNation [link] [comments] via Blogger https://ift.tt/2W2hPkV

#Blogger #Story

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amtopmthoughts · 4 years

Text

FINN DOESN’T DIE

Finn Hudson

After returning from his short (stay at?) the Army he went backpacking through Georgia before he was ready to go back home (back) to Lima and face everyone. When he went to visit Rachel, the two of them eventually broke up. He went back to Lima and helped coach the Glee Club and eventually realised he wanted to become a (music) teacher. At Mr. Schue’s wedding he and Rachel slept together and got (even) closer after that. They got back together a few months after that and he moved to New York with Blaine and the four of them were/started living together. Enrolled in NYU in September of 2013.

After getting his teaching degree he got a job as a music teacher at a high school in New York and started his own Glee Club there.

Some years later he and Rachel bought a house in the suburbs outside New York.

Changes from the series:

Finn didn’t enrol in the University of Lima, when he realised he wanted to be a teacher, he applied to colleges in New York and started living with Rachel, Kurt and Blaine.

Rachel Berry

Changes from the series:

Rachel didn’t get the part in the Funny Girl play and never went to L.A.

Kurt Hummel

Changes from the series:

Blaine never proposed so they didn’t break up and they didn’t have a double wedding with Brittany and Santana either.

Blaine Anderson

Changes from the series:

Blaine didn’t propose so they never broke up and never dropped out of NYADA. Didn’t get married.

Quinn Fabray

Quinn leaves Lima after being accepted into Yale. She chooses a/to major in English Literature. Her plans after college are to work for a publishing company and maybe writing a book or two. She also sings in a jazz club/pub. Very dark and moody, where her “tremulous alto”, as Rachel once described her voice, fit perfectly.

Changes from the series:

She attended Brittany and Santana’s wedding.

Santana

Santana went to the University of Louisville already with her sights set in New York so it was likely/predictable that she would eventually drop out. So she did, a few months later/in. She wanted to be famous. Adrift for some time, not really sure of what she’d do next, she comes back to Lima, gets back with Brittany and eventually she proposes and the two of them get married. After the wedding, the two move to NY, along with Rachel, Kurt and Blaine and they get their own apartment. Finally, Santana decides to enrol in Parsons to study Fashion Design. Some years later, Santana Lopez is a world renown fashion designer, based in New York.

Brittany S. Pierce

After leaving MIT realising she didn’t like the life of a math genius, she returns to Lima. After getting married to Santana, they both move to NY to their own apartment. After 5 years growing, her famous internet talk show “Fondue for Two” gets more popular by the day and she eventually creates a youtube channel, starts doing podcasts and becomes a social media queen.

Mercedes Jones

Right after graduation, Mercedes was off to LA. The video Sam posted on youtube was a hit with over 2 million views and she got so much attention she eventually was offered a recording contract. Although things didn’t work out perfectly as she struggled to stay true to her values in the shady business that is the music industry, she eventually thrived, getting to open up for Beyoncé��s world tour. After the tour was over, she started working on her third album and it was such a sales success she went on a national tour of her own this time.

She also attended a couple classes at UCLA but eventually couldn’t keep up with her studies and recording an album. She eventually dropped out, she was already doing what she wanted and college isn’t for everybody, anyway.

Sam

After getting/arriving to/in New York and realising he didn’t belong there, he came back to Lima. As he said, New York is too fast, too loud. When he came back, Coach Beiste offered him a job as her assistant coach for the football team. After McKinley was turned into an arts school and Mr Schue was named Principal he chose him to teach the New Directions, one of the glee clubs of the new school. After a while he met one of the dance teachers, asked her out and they eventually started dating.

Artie Abrams

After NYU, Artie moves to LA because Hollywood is where movie magic happens. He starts making a few short films, pitching it to production companies and eventually succeeds. A few/some years later he starts making real movies and eventually wins an Oscar.

RACHEL

Broadway Actress NEW YORK

FINN HUDSON

Music Teacher NEW YORK

KURT HUMMEL

Fashion Editor in Chief NEW YORK

BLAINE ANDERSON

NEW YORK

QUINN FABRAY CONNECTICUT/LIMA/NEW YORK

Book publisher (and author)/Lawyer

NOAH PUCKERMAN

Air Force

SANTANA LOPEZ LA/LIMA/NEW YORK

Publicist/PR Agent, Executive

BRITTANY S. PIERCE LA/LIMA/NEW YORK

Social Media Queen

SAM EVANS LIMA

Glee Club “the New Directions” Director/Coach

ARTIE ABRAMS LA

Film Director

TINA COHEN-CHANG LA

TV/Movie Actress

MIKE CHANG CHICAGO

Dancer

MERCEDES LA

KIDS

FINN AND RACHEL:

Olivia/Charlotte "Charlie" (a lawyer)

Theo (a singer and piano player)?

Christopher

?, even though she did have a beautiful voice and knew how to place

KURT AND BLAINE:

Henry

Lily

SANTANA AND BRITTANY:

Lola

(Sofia)

QUINN AND PUCK:

(Beth)

Grace?

ARTIE AND TINA:

MERCEDES AND ROCK JESUS:

MIKE AND

SAM AND ALEX:

Archie

Ben

Lexi

WILL AND EMMA:

Danny

Ava

Charlotte "Charlie"

It was Friday night. She and Kurt were home binge watching Golden Girls and eating popcorn.

Another episode ended. “Well, that’s my cue. I’m going to bed, I’ve got to be up early tomorrow.”, Kurt said.

“Oh, yeah?”, Rachel asked.

“Isabelle is having an important early important and she said she wants me there.”

“Well, that’s a big deal.”

“Yeah, I’m excited. It feels good knowing she believes in me this much.”

“Of course she does, you’re amazing.”

Kurt and Rachel both reached for each others hands. “Well, I’m going to bed. See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow, love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Rachel was left alone in the living room with her thoughts. Lately she hadn’t been having time for a lot of that, lately. She was pretty busy with her NYADA schedules and then at home she was almost never alone. But whenever she was her thoughts were traced back to him. Finn. Every time she thought about

Helping with the Glee Club while Mr. Schue was gone really helped me see the light. I want to be a teacher. And hopefully be for other kids what Mr. Schue was for me. A role model. Someone I could look up to.

“All these years people telling me I should be a leader and more often than not that actually worked. In some way, I did lead the Glee Club/New Directions. For some reason, they all trusted me so maybe this is what I should be doing. What Mr. Schue did for us. Teach. He taught us good music and to better people. I want that, I want to be (a part of) that, too.”

“Finn, I think that’s perfect.”

“I think so, too. It feels right.”

“Mr. Schue, can I have a word with you?”

“Of course, what’s up?”

“You know how most of the Glee Club wanted to be artists? Like Rachel and Broadway, Mercedes wanting to be a Pop Diva… Being here and falling in love with music and singing and my almost career in football being a total fail/flop, it kind of made me think that’s what I should be doing/wanted to do. Being on a stage, performing. But (for some reason) it didn’t feel right, going to New York, to the Actors’ Studio, even attending some of Rachel’s classes at NYADA. I didn’t understand why, I had no direction, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I felt so lost I joined the army…”

Mr. Schue chuckled, “Yeah…”

“But I think I do now. I think I’ve figured out what I’m meant to do. (I’m) getting a teaching degree. I want to teach. I want to be a music teacher. Like you.”

“Wow… Finn… That’s-that’s amazing.”, he hugs Finn.

“It’s all because of you, Mr. Schue. You’ve changed my life. You showed me what it was to be a man before anyone else. You gave me someone to look up to.”

“That makes me so happy.”, the two of them hugged. “Oh, I can totally see you teaching at McKinley. I’d be honoured to teach along side you, Finn.”

“That’s the thing. I’m thinking of applying to schools in New York.”

“To be with Rachel…”

“Well, yeah…”

“But are you two back together?”

“No. But we did got together on your wed- almost wedding… And we’re going to get back together. I just know it.”

“You guys have faced a lot of ups and downs and always came through so I don’t see why not.”

“So you think I should do it?”

“I think you should be honest with each other about what you feel and if that’s being together/wanting to be together, why not? You guys are young, take a risk/take a chance.”

“I'm going to New York with Blaine this weekend. He's visiting Kurt (before graduation) and I'm tagging along. And I'll talk to Rachel then. Maybe check out some colleges, the campus."

"Do that."

"Thanks, Mr. Schue.”

“I’m so proud of you, Finn. I’ve watched you grow from a ? boy into a strong, mature and kind human being. You’re going to be great at whatever you do.”

“We both deserve to be happy. We both deserve to do what makes us happy.”

“Being with you is what makes me happy.”

“That’s not enough. You need other things in your life. I can’t be the only one who gets to do what she loves, to be fulfilled career wise.”

“You know that (that) are schools with education programs in New York too, right? If I didn’t know you loved me I’d actually say/think you’re making excuses for us not to be together.”

“Of course not! I just don’t want you to make a mistake, I don’t want you to move here, make this big change in your life for me and then resent me for it for the rest of your life. We almost did that senior year, you applied to PACE and you ended up joining the army and I went/came to New York alone. Without you. And we ended up broken up for months/a year.”

“I’m doing it for you, yes, but it’s for me, too. It’s because I can’t stand being away from you anymore. We’ve waisted too much time./It would never have worked me coming here without a plan, not having a live (for myself), but it’s different now. I was lost then, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, but I do now. (I want to teach). I could never ask you to give up your dream because it’s not just a dream, it’s your destiny and you can’t fulfil your destiny in Ohio, but I can live mine here. I’m doing it for you, yes, but it’s for me, too. It’s because I can’t stand being away from you anymore. We’ve waisted too much time.”

“...But you hate New York.”

“I don’t hate New York.”

“You told me it was too big and too loud for you.”

“(It is.) So we’ll buy a house just outside of New York. In the suburbs. You'll be an hour drive away from the city and I'll have a garage space and a backyard I can have Sunday barbecues on."

“It’ll take years until we’ll be able to buy our own house.”

“So we’ll wait. We’ll work and we’ll save. Rachel, I want to do this. With you. It’ll be hard for me to adjust, sure, but I will. It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. I’m not doing this to make you happy, it’s because the only way I can be truly happy is if I’m with you. The girl of my dreams.”

They kiss

“So, we’re actually doing this.”

“We are.”

At diner

“So, guys, we have news to tell you.”

“Finn’s moving to New York!”

“What?! Are you serious?”, Kurt hugs Finn.

“That’s great, guys!”

“I haven’t told anyone yet besides my mom and Burt - and Rachel - but I actually got accepted into NYU. I’m starting next fall.”

“Oh my god! I’m so happy! All of us together. In New York. It doesn’t get any better than this.”

“That’s so great, Finn.”

“So I’m guessing you two are back together.”

“Yeah…”

“I’m so happy for you two. As long as you’re not planning on getting married anytime soon.”

“Kurt…”

“They know I say this with love. I think they have other things to focus on right now, churches will still be open in a few years.”

“Don't worry. We're not rushing (into) anything this time."

“I only have one condition.”

“Tell me.”

“I don’t want any of that I won’t let you pay for that. We both know an actress gets paid more than a high school teacher. I want you to know that my money is our money just as your money is our money, too.”

“Because I know it’d be okay for you to buy us house but you would never let me buy us a house. Finn, of all of the arguments we’re going to have over the years, I don’t ever want them to about money. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“My co-star from the play I’m working on now gave me his real estate agent/realtor and I gave her a call and told her we were looking to a buy a house outside the city. She showed the most beautiful houses…”

“But…”

“You know Finn is proud, he would never let me buy us a house. He wants us to buy a house together, so we have to slip it.”

“So try to find a middle term. Not too big, not too small.”

“Babe, I found us the most amazing house.”

“Oh yeah?”

“It’s a chateau.”

“Let me see.”

“It’s by the lake, beautiful landscape. Tons of space for a barbecue station, swings, a pool?”

“Rach, the house is beautiful.”

“So.. Should we buy it?”

“Let’s go for it.”

“I joined a company and got to perform in so many amazing places - even at Carnegie Mellon - but then I met my wife and I suddenly I felt the need to stop, to settle. It didn’t feel right anymore to be all over the place. So we moved in together and I decided to open my own dance studio. I teach and dance and I’m a choreograph dances for some artists, too.”

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freedomfaucet-blog · 6 years

Text

Everything You Need to Know About Airdrops Hard Forks amp ICOs

New Post has been published on https://freedomfaucet.com/2018/06/21/everything-you-need-to-know-about-airdrops-hard-forks-amp-icos/

Everything You Need to Know About Airdrops Hard Forks amp ICOs

Everything You Need to Know About Airdrops, Hard Forks, & ICOs

Basic Returns vs. Premium Returns

Although investing in cryptocurrency looks complicated to the untrained eye, it is astoundingly simple. Too simple, in fact.

Here’s a real life example.

One of my friends bought $1,000.00 of Ethereum (ETH) at the start of 2017. When he wanted to calculate his earnings for that year, he looked at how much prices had changed over the course of 12 months. A quick bit of arithmetic showed he had made $91,620 in profit. This is a jaw-dropping return by any standard, but here’s the kickerâ—âhe actually underestimated his own returns.

You see, cryptocurrencies have hidden propertiesâ—âairdrops, hard forks, ICOsâ—âthat may boost their long-term value. Last September, Ethereum had an air drop that could have added upto $77,890 to my friend’s earnings. But his simple view of investing in cryptocurrency ignored these hidden riches.

Even so, my friend was lucky. Despite his ignorance about airdrops and hard forks, he still walked away with his pockets full. But imagine if the situation were slightly different. Imagine that Ethereum prices had stagnated rather than skyrocketed. Would my friend still have invested? Probably not. He would have thought it wasn’t worth his time, and as a consequence he would have lost out on a small fortune.

Why Does No One Talk About Airdrops?

Initial coin offerings and hard forks are well known. In 2017, there was a minor ICO craze after investors first discovered them, and hard forks slipped into the ether when Bitcoin Cash split from Bitcoin. Very few people understand them, of course, but at least you can articles about them in financial media. Airdrops, by contrast, are virtually unknown. Why?

That’s a hard question to answer.

One explanation is that cryptocurrencies are relatively young. Investors have not had enough time to study their eccentricities, nor have analysts had much time to communicate their technical aspects in normal language. Another is the business of news. Mainstream outlets are incentivized by Google and Facebook to publish clickbait rather than nerdy stories about airdrops. But it hardly matters. Regardless of why investors are ignorant of these subtleties, it’s important for them to understand these features. Can you imagine widespread ignorance about share buybacks or dividends? It’s inconceivable! With that in mind, let’s jump into the details.

What are airdrops, hard forks, and ICOs?

For the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with these terms, I’ve included a list of working definitions below. Underneath each definition is what I’d consider an equivalent event in the stock market. Hopefully, that will illuminate how these forces affect cryptocurrency returns.

AIRDROPS Airdrops are essentially free handouts of cryptocurrency. They occur when a blockchain startup is looking to gin up attention their new token. When one public company buys another, investors can either receive a payout or equivalent shares of the buyer’s stock. Theoretically the merger is supposed to create extra value, thus increasing the value of the stock. Likewise, the idea that airdropped tokens have value rests on the assumption that you can sell them to willing buyers.

HARD FORKS Hard forks occur when a blockchain splits in two. These forks often result in airdropped tokens, although it’s important to distinguish between the two terms. Why? Well, because hard forks suggest internal conflict among the blockchain’s developers. Two factions that cannot agree eventually lead to one group splintering off from the other, thus creating a second cryptocurrency.

This comparison is a bit of a stretch, but the Bitcoin/Bitcoin Cash fork resulted in investors getting another $200.00 airdropped into their wallets. In a way, this is like a company deciding to return cash to shareholders. Sure, investors get a sudden infusion of new money, but it’s a bittersweet because it means that company is not investing in research, development, or acquisitions. It isn’t growing, in other words.

INITIAL COIN OFFERINGS

Initial coin offerings (ICOs) offer startups an alternative way to raise money. Rather than begging venture capitalists for table scraps or going public via an initial public offering, startups can simply issue their own cryptocurrency. This offers tremendous upside to the startup, since they forfeit no equity in the company. However, they need to ensure the token offers some value or else investors and regulators can take legal action.

In the first quarter of 2018, the music streaming service known as Spotify filed for a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange. This means that Spotify will circumvent the normal process going public, such as wooing institutional investors and paying investment bankers outrageous fees. It is a bold move that removes the middlemen of finance, much like an ICO.

Let’s Talk About Risks and Rewards

In terms of outcomes, the upside potential of airdrops, hard forks, and ICOs is well established. Consider the following examples.

Stellar Lumens (XLM) airdrops 16 billion tokens.

If you had been holding Bitcoin on June 26, 2017, you were eligible to claim free money that Stellar Lumens would airdrop into your account. The good folks at Stellar say that “Bitcoin acted as a profound inspiration” when they were creating their cryptocurrency, and that’s why they want to share the love. Whatever their reason, the important takeaway is that XLM coins appreciated by more than 1,000% from then to the end of 2017. (Sidenote: Bitcoin holders could only claim the same percentage of the airdrop that they owned of the total Bitcoin supply. So, if they owned 0.002% of all Bitcoins in existence, they could only claim 0.002% of the air drop.)

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) forks off Bitcoin (BTC).

In August 2017, a group of dissident developers broke off from the Bitcoin community, splitting the blockchain in two. This hard fork resulted in every Bitcoin holder getting Bitcoin Cash tokens at a rate of 1-to-1. At the time, the price of one Bitcoin was $2,750. By comparison, BCH traded at approximately $200.00, although it would later skyrocket by more than 2,000%. Anyone holding Bitcoin at the time of the hard fork would have received this unexpected boon.

Golem (GNT) becomes a golden goose.

One of the earliest high-profile ICOs was held by Golem on November 10, 2016. This startup gives everyone access to immense processing power by connecting them to a network of computers around the world. The only catch is you pay for those resources by way of GNT tokens. What this does is effectively put the idle computing power of the world to good use. Investors thought this was a solid business plan, so they went long on GNT. Those that did would have made more than 3,000% returns by the time this article went to press.

So what are the risks?

One, regulators will decide these are financial products which need to be overseen and taxed. Two, someone is scamming you.

Both risks are pretty serious.

China and South Korea have banned ICOs already, proving that regulators are capable of coming down hard on the industry. The European Union, meanwhile, demands that ICOs meet anti-money laundering and anti-fraud compliance regulations. Canada deems them securities. The U.S. is similarly tough, and many other places have not yet established rules, but are in the process of doing so. With all this regulation coming down the pipeline, it’s easy to forget why regulators are worried. Namely, that cryptocurrency scams are dime a dozen.

From pump and dump scams to price manipulation, the industry is overpopulated by bad-faith actors looking to take prey on retail investors. So even while the upcoming regulation is burdensome, it is necessary for the industry to succeed.

Verdict: Big Cryptos Are Often The Best

Some readers might rush off to invest in small, unknown ICOs after reading this report. That would mean I failed to communicate the dangers of ICOs or that they did not grasp the significance of airdrops. The same goes for hard forks. Building an investment strategy around these features is a high risk, high reward approach. But airdrops, on the other hand, are a relatively risk-free way to line your pockets. That said, the million dollar question remains: Which cryptocurrencies are best for airdrops? My advice is to go Big. Airdrops benefit larger cryptos, such as Ethereum and Bitcoin. Not the no-name cryptos with $100,000 in market cap. Here’s why.

The purpose of an airdrop is to gain attention by leveraging the liquidity of a popular cryptocurrency. OmiseGO and did not search through the bargain bin for its airdrop destinationâ—âit chose Ethereum, in the same way that Stellar Lumens chose Bitcoin. I want you to remember this, because cryptocurrencies are built on shifting sands. Some of the cryptoâ—âmost of them in factâ—âmight not be around in a few years. The ones that will, however, could be worth a fortune.

Article Produced By G. S. Iyer Senior Tech Editor @ Lombardi Publishing. Columnist @ Profit Confidential.

https://medium.com/@iyer_gs/airdrops-hardforks-icos-63e1efaf16a7

#airdrop #airdrops #cryptocurrency #Markethive

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davidchanus · 6 years

Text

The EU is giving YouTube the biggest threat to its business model in a decade (GOOG, GOOGL)

A European parliament committee voted in favor of legislation designed to help pocket a greater share of the money that they help YouTube-esque sites generate.

The proposed law could require YouTube to license copyrighted content that users post to the site, or be required to quickly remove it.

The way it works now under current copyright law is that the owners of the IP can choose to share ad revenue from the infringing content with Google, or send Google a takedown notice and have it removed from YouTube entirely.

Tech companies say the legislation is misguided and will "break the internet."

The bill must still be voted on by the full European Parliament.

In Europe, YouTube is trying to fend off the most serious challenge to its business model since Viacom filed a $1 billion copyright lawsuit against the service a decade ago.

A year ago, the European Commission concluded in a report that the financial relationship between services like the Google-owned YouTube and content creators was too one-sided. The commission said the European Union (EU) should "modernize" copyright rules so that it's easier for music artists and filmmakers to negotiate better deals with YouTube and similar services.

Today those proposals took a step closer to becoming law, after a European parliament committee voted in favor of the legislation. Tech companies have bashed the proposals, and say that if passed, the proposals will “break the internet.”

Following the vote, Google said in a statement: "We’ve always believed there’s a better way than this, and that innovation and partnership are the keys to successful, diverse and sustainable news and creative sectors in the EU."

The proposed law covers a lot of ground. Google and Facebook might be forced to pay newspapers for linking to their articles in what has been called a “link tax.” Web sites and apps would be required to filter and block copyrighted material, turning them into censors, according to critics of the proposals.

But for YouTube, Google’s golden goose of a video-sharing site, the legislation threatens to strip the “safe” out of the safe harbor provision in copyright law. This is what shields YouTube from liability for the vast amounts of copyright-infringing material posted to the site by users. Without this provision, Viacom, the entertainment conglomerate and parent company of Paramount Studios, might have prevailed in the landmark copyright-infringement suit it filed against YouTube a decade ago.

Stripping the safe out of copyright law's safe harbor

It's unclear how the EU would ensure content creators get a better deal from YouTube-like sites, but some observers say that the service could be forced to license content just like Spotify, Apple and Amazon.

Should the legislation become law in the EU, it would not be binding in the United States. But with legal precedents, one can never predict how they might sway the courts or politicians in the future. Certainly, US entertainment companies could cite Europe’s decision to try and persuade lawmakers here that US copyright rules are out of step with the rest of the Western world.

The legislation comes just as YouTube appears to be making good on the service’s early promise. Last month, investment bank Morgan Stanley estimated YouTube worth to be $160 billion based on a sum-of-the-parts valuation analysis. That would mean YouTube is worth more than Disney, General Electric, IBM, PepsiCo or Comcast.

One has to hand it to the entertainment sector. In recent years, Google’s enormous financial resources and growing political influence made the company seem nearly invincible in policy fights. But thanks largely to the numerous missteps in Europe of numerous US firms — not just tech companies — Google now seems much more vulnerable on the continent.

Last year, the EU hit Google with a record $2.7 billion antitrust fine that the company is appealing, even while the EU considers slapping another fine on the company after accusing it of anti-competitive practices involving Android. The EU cracked down on Apple, Starbucks, and McDonalds for allegedly dodging taxes. Facebook looked like a privacy nightmare following the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

American companies haven't behaved well in Europe

Perhaps the poster child for America’s often-negative reputation overseas is Uber, which once defied an order from the French government to shut down its low-cost UberPop service. Two Uber executives were eventually arrested for operating an illegal taxi service, put on trial and eventually fined.

The controversies have made it easier for rivals to find sympathetic ears in the EU parliament. In October, Cary Sherman, chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America, the lobbying group for the three top record labels, visited Paris and met with officials of the French government.

Sherman likely mentioned the "value gap." This is the term the labels use to describe the dissimilarity in the money paid by different music services. The RIAA says platforms such as YouTube account for 64 percent of music streaming time while generating only 9% of streaming revenue. In contrast, subscription services like Spotify make-up 17 percent of streaming while generating 82% of the revenue.

The reason for the discrepancy is simple, Sherman told an audience at the Paris MaMA music conference the day before meeting French officials. Copyright laws protect YouTube from liability and because of that YouTube execs, who have denied the existence of a value gap, can largely dictate terms in licensing talks. They know recording companies fear pulling their songs off the site because users quickly upload new versions. That’s what happened to Warner Music Group a decade ago after licensing talks between the two companies broke down.

"Nine months later," Sherman told the audience, "after spending millions of dollars on pointless takedown efforts, Warner threw in the towel and accepted essentially the same terms YouTube had offered before. They were making no money, spending more money and the result was the same. The music was still (on YouTube)."

If the EU adopts the new proposals, YouTube wouldn’t possess the same protection in Europe, and at minimum the law stands to increase the company’s costs.

Google still has a chance

But don't count out Google just yet. The legislation still needs the approval of the full European Parliament. Google has a record of killing legislation that seemed a shoe-in to become law. In 2011, Google helped drum up huge opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act, the entertainment sector's US anti-piracy bill. After that, support for the bill on Capitol Hill suddenly evaporated.

Google might argue there’s no reason for the EU to change copyright law. For example, music industry revenues are modestly climbing again. Sherman, the RIAA chief, however described the recording industry’s health during his conference appearance as promising but not yet out of danger. This might also be an apt appraisal of the fight with Google on the proposed legislation.

"We are not yet at the end of the road,” Sherman said. “We are still on the road and there are a lot of surprises along the way, and we don’t know what awaits us."

SEE ALSO: Morgan Stanley figured out how much YouTube would be worth if it were a separate company, and it's more valuable than Disney

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: What would happen if America's Internet went down

from Legal News http://www.businessinsider.com/eu-copyright-reforms-youtube-threat-2018-6

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ramialkarmi · 6 years

Text

The EU is giving YouTube the biggest threat to its business model in a decade (GOOG, GOOGL)

A European parliament committee voted in favor of legislation designed to help pocket a greater share of the money that they help YouTube-esque sites generate.

The proposed law could require YouTube to license copyrighted content that users post to the site, or be required to quickly remove it.

Tech companies say the legislation is misguided and will "break the internet."

The bill must still be voted on by the full European Parliament.

In Europe, YouTube is trying to fend off the most serious challenge to its business model since Viacom filed a $1 billion copyright lawsuit against the service a decade ago.

Stripping the safe out of copyright law's safe harbor

American companies haven't behaved well in Europe

If the EU adopts the new proposals, YouTube wouldn’t possess the same protection in Europe, and at minimum the law stands to increase the company’s costs.

Google still has a chance

"We are not yet at the end of the road,” Sherman said. “We are still on the road and there are a lot of surprises along the way, and we don’t know what awaits us."

SEE ALSO: Morgan Stanley figured out how much YouTube would be worth if it were a separate company, and it's more valuable than Disney

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why Siri sucks

#Tech Insider #Arab #Entrepreneurship #sillicon alley insider

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epchapman89 · 6 years

Text

Ian Williams of Deadstock Coffee: The Sprudge Interview

Ian Williams worked his way up from janitor to shoe designer at Nike, then left it all to start his dream cafe: Deadstock Coffee, a hub of Portland design talent and cultural force located in the city’s Old Town district. Self-described as “snob-free coffee,” a single guiding mantra drives Deadstock: “Coffee Should Be Dope.”

It’s a sentiment that’s hard to argue with, and the coffee—roasted by Williams himself, at Portland co-roaster facility of note Buckman Coffee Factory—is indeed delicious. A sharp focus on accessibility runs throughout the menu, which includes house specials like the “Lebronald Palmer” (a blend of coffee, sweet tea, and lemonade) and the “Charged Up” (green coffee extract and Green flavor Kool-Aid). “I don’t really do light roast,” Williams tells me over a mug in the shop’s busy entryway. “I just want to make good, even, mellow coffees.”

Conversations here are punctuated by greetings, departures, and casual updates from regulars, making for a space that feels alive with vibe and running dialogue. People talk to each other at Deadstock. A white board next to the cash register records the day’s specials, the current soundtrack, and what the staff is wearing on their feet. You want to look nice showing up here, in a low key way. Come wearing something you like—a pair of shoes, or a coat, or a cool t-shirt—and Williams and his team are bound to notice, and use it to jump off a conversation.

Making a LeBronold Palmer.

Over a series of visits for this article I meet, in no particular order, multiple local artists, writers, local coffee heads, the leader of the neighborhood council, the landlord, the barista’s dad, various other stylish Portlanders of a creative extraction, and Williams’ own mother, who bakes the shop’s mascot pastry: Butterscotch Trap Cake. It is a riff on poundcake, tea cake-like loaf of textual duality, with a crunchy top and deeply satisfying golden base. (You may be asked to decide between an end piece and a centerpiece. There is no wrong answer.) There are typically at least three to five designers in the shop at any time, easy to spot by the stickers on their laptops and two-at-a-screen flow of revolving meetings. More work gets done in this space than just about any other venue in town, including actual offices. The music is always good.

Coffee fuels it all, but in a subtle way—you don’t have to know everything about coffee to feel good here. It is absolutely unlike any other cafe in Portland right now. I mean that as a compliment.

Inside Deadstock Coffee

There is a seamless blending of coffee and sneaker cultures, which feels effortless in Williams’ hands, but is the stuff a thousand design decks are made of. What they’ve found at Deadstock is an expression of the cafe space as a unique statement, a conduit for a unique individual voice, rarer than any ungettable nanolot Gesha. Indeed, each day to its dedicated clientele in the heart of Portland’s oldest neighborhood, Deadstock is sourcing and serving the scarcest of coffee commodities in 2018: originality.

I spoke with Ian Williams about his time at Nike, how he parlayed that into starting Deadstock, and the shop’s deep bench of influences and collaborators. “It’s about the people in here,” he tells me, and as if on queue another regular walks through the door. We’re introduced, we shake hands. The conversation grows.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Ian Williams

Ian Williams: Hey, this is nice! [Points to my shirt] This is from Patta, and you got the Coq Sportif‘s on…

Jordan Michelman: Thank you. I feel like I have to look cool coming in here.

Yeah, we like that. That experience and people chilling is more important to me than what goes into the cup—which is different from what you guys usually cover on Sprudge—but hopefully what does goes into the cup here is fire.

Who painted this Charlie Brown scene on the door?

That’s our “Trappy Christmas” display, painted by the brothers, Connor and Chandler Radonich. It’s got Joe Budden, Lil Yachty, Migos, Kodak Black—rappers as Charlie Brown characters.

“Trappy Christmas” on the front door.

How did you meet the brothers?

I’ve known them since they were 13, 14—their mom would drop them off at Index and we would be like, okay, we’re responsible for these kids. They were always kids that had a lot of questions. And one day they came in here, doing work for Compound across the street, and they came in and said they wanted to learn how to design, and so I said, if you work with me and do design work with me I’ll teach you how to do illustrator and photoshop—I’ll help you get to production ready work. Now they’re 18, they started when they were 17, and this is all they do now. They’re even starting to do design work for other coffee companies. We want to do dope stuff with our friends. That’s all that really matters.

When did you first move into this space?

February 2016. This is the old 24 Hour Church of Elvis. The landlord of this building is the same guy who owns the building that Compound is in, and at first, we were looking at the space right next door to Compound, but that space is like 3,00-square-feet, and the landlord said no. But he saw that I was working towards something and he had the idea to open something in this space. So we took it, made it larger—part of it was a hallway, part a garage—and we made it one space.

He was just like super helpful, the landlord, his name is David Gold and he’s really accommodating. All the people in all the buildings he owns are good people. He’s really about helping out artists and people who wanted to do good things for the city and community and culture. It’s pretty cool.

Barista and designer Connor Radonich updating the menu.

Tell us the story about your time at Nike.

I stated at Nike in 2006, working retail in their employee store, and left after the holidays were over, but it made me realize I wanted to do sneakers as my life, not just as a hobby. Growing up, I was a big Allen Iverson fan—still am—and whatever new shoe he had coming out, I had to have it. I would get one new pair of shoes a year, and that new shoe would be my school shoe, and the old shoe would be my play shoe. I grew up out in the Hillsborough/Beaverton area, and Nike was right there.

I was trying to figure out how to get back in and found a temp job making airbags—you know, the air units that go in the shoes. They actually make ‘em here and ship ‘em overseas and then they get put in the shoes. It was the worst job ever. But then I found out about this janitor job on the Nike campus, and I knew I would be seen. So I took it, and just kind of ran from there.

How did you make the jump from janitor to designer?

Well, I worked as a janitor first for like three years, before I found out about an open designer job. At that point, I had made friends with a lot of people. Those three years as a janitor, I used it as my college—I didn’t go to college—but I worked my through Nike, asking questions, coming in early, giving myself a desk in the hallway, whatever hustle things I could do. If a designer needed a closet reorganized, I was there. People who saw me during the day had no idea I wasn’t in footwear. Most people thought I already worked in footwear, but at night I was a janitor—most people didn’t see that part.

My whole Nike career was like one big, smooth stretched truth. You know, like, someone asking, “Ian, you know how to do that?”—hey, of course I do! [texting motion] Meanwhile I’m Googling on the side…

After you advanced, what was your favorite part of working in footwear?

Well, I got to do some cool stuff there. I actually got to design a shoe. It’s a Nike SB, inspired by the wet floor sign, the slippery sign. The guys who worked in skate, I said, “Let me do a shoe” and presented them with a three pack, all inspired by working as a janitor. There was a wet floor sign shoe, a windex shoe, and a vacuum shoe. They picked up the floor sign.

The “wet floor sign” Nike shoe designed by Ian Williams.

How many did they make?

They did 5000 pairs—they’re starting to pick up in value now actually. It’s because I’m famous (just kidding)—you know, for most of the pairs, people bought them and beat ‘em up, but there’s a few left that look nice. My payment was they gave me twenty pairs, and I gave ‘em out to people along the way, people I had asked design questions, or people who let me do stuff like clean closets or have that desk in the hallway. I have just two pairs left now.

When did coffee come into your life?

In maybe late 2013, or 2014. Nike was cool and all, but I started getting kind of restless with the way that everything was going. It was just super…structured. I thought once I got into footwear it would be more laid back and about the people, but around that time I started curating these art shows, doing side events, inviting my homies to put art up for it. I wanted to do events and put a brand together for a style of chilling that wasn’t work. We had done like three events, a house party, a couple of small things—single day pop-up events—and that was definitely a lot of work. I started to think like, maybe I should open a gallery… but galleries don’t make money. What makes money? Coffee shops.

A coffee shop is a place you can go where you can have a meeting, have an interview, go on a date, catch up with somebody, sit by yourself, get work done, go with a group—I wanted to create a place where it’s okay to loiter. You can’t do that in a shoe store. The only other thing was a bar or a club, but that excludes young people, and if we want the footwear industry to thrive you need to give young people access to it.

Williams behind the bar.

From there, how did you make the decision to get into roasting? Was it an aesthetic decision or more practical?

I just started roasting February of this year. I started out with Dapper & Wise—I have a mentor from high school who is really close with those guys, and they’re from Hillsborough. I didn’t really drink coffee when this space opened! But I have a friend named Sarah Cooley—we call her Breezy—and she LOVES coffee. In the early days she would go with me to try coffee places. She was the one who helped me with Dapper & Wise, and they’re cool people, their coffee is good. They opened a new facility in Hillsborough with rental space and she was helping them connect with Nike and hold meetings there.

At the end of 2016, beginning 2017 we had all that bad weather here in Portland, and our business dropped like a quarter of what we’re doing. Right before the holidays we ordered a bunch of coffee to give out as gift kits to influencers and what not, but then the weather hit and I wasn’t able to pay dapper, and so the only thing I really could do was start a new account or figure out a roasting thing and pay for it as you go. Buy green, pay hourly, figure it out, and use the money it would generate to pay Dapper back.

So it was not your dream to be a roaster?

I said I would never roast! But in all honesty I’m really competitive. I said, if I’m gonna do it, I’ll be really good at it. I’m not concerned at being the greatest but I don’t want it to be something where like, yeah, the coffee is okay. I want people to like it. My whole coffee roasting model is “coffees that work”—nothing that fights with milk, nothing that’s going to turn people away. I just want to make good, even, mellow coffees, roasted medium to dark. I don’t really do light roast.

How would you describe the design feel of this cafe?

I think most coffee shops are an interior design competition. If you are a coffee shop in Portland, and this is no diss on anybody involved, but if you don’t use Bee Local Honey and Jacobson Sea Salt and Woodblock Chocolate and a lot of these other companies, and your walls aren’t white with a crazy looking espresso machine, and you aren’t playing super mellow whatever music, you don’t fit in the coffee world here. But I don’t like any of that. That’s not for me.

I just really… you know, a lot of the reason why I opened a coffee shop was because I didn’t feel comfortable in all these other places. I wanted to hang out with my friends who moved to Adidas or Under Armour, and there was nowhere we could hang out during the day that wasn’t alcohol, and I don’t drink. I felt like—to me, all these coffee shops suck, and so instead of complaining I made one. A place where I would feel good, my homies would feel good, and other people would feel good. When people come in, we make them feel good—even to just be like “wassup?”, that feels good. And we will joke on you, most definitely. If we’re not joking it’s weird in here. A lot of people describe us as like a high school bedroom, with posters and things like that, and there’s so many people that come through and they’re like, “Whoa, I used to have that poster,” or “I never thought of such-and-such art this way.”

It’s such an intimate space, and everybody is everybody’s friend. We bank on customers knowing each other. It’s a small space. If you’re waiting in line you aren’t twiddling your thumbs. Customers really know people’s kids, and you know like, somebody maybe just had a job interview, or whatever, and we all talk about it. It’s about the people in here.

Deadstock Coffee candle.

You still have a gallery component to the space right?

Yes! We have a show from the homie Nate Corrado, who still works for Adidas. We rotate the show out every month or two. The one we did for Sneaker Week was very popular—we took shoes and cut them open, deconstructed them, so people can understand and see inside. We always see shoes as what we buy and what comes in the box, but you never see the components of what they are. So instead of just putting colorways on the wall, I wanted to do more education. The next collaboration features a coffee bag, a shirt, a mug, and vinyl toys all done together with an artist— he’ll paint the walls and everything—from an artist I’ve been following for many years named Perez Westbrooks, who goes by Gaijin.

Sleeves “for baby hands.”

This cafe is a fusion of coffee and sneaker culture. Obviously you sell coffee here—why don’t you sell shoes?

For a couple of reasons. One, we’re right in the heart of the sneaker community here in Portland, where the sneaker culture lives. Within a few blocks we have Compound (retail), Index (consignment), Unspoken (new and up and coming), Upper Playground doing street art t-shirts, and then we have Pensole. The only sneaker design school in the world is on the other side of this building, run by my mentor at Nike. If we sold shoes at Deadstock we would be competing with our friends.

The other reason is that in Portland specifically, everyone has access to discounts. Nobody pays full price. We would just be a random store here selling random product, and Portland can’t support that. There’s a lot more tourists coming now, and more people moving here, but nobody needs anything in the sneaker world. I think it makes us a more authentic space—we’re not a shoe store. We’re a coffee shop and a community space, and we happen to be serious about shoes.

What’s your sneaker white whale? The sneaker you’ve always wanted to find but have never been able to bring home?

We call ‘em grails, like a Holy Grail. My grails are actually all relatively inexpensive compared to most sneakers. They’re shoes I really, really like, but I need to find them for the price I want to pay. The shoes I love go for maybe $200 or up to $500, $600, which is expensive but compared to other stuff in the shoe world? People pay ten, or even twenty thousand dollars for sneakers all the time.

That’s wild. That’s like wine nerd wild.

Yes. But so, for me, there’s a Pharrell NERD Dunk that got made in like ’03, i think, or ’04. It’s an all-black Dunk high with the NERD brain logo on the heel, and that’s it. I want them so bad. There’s another pair of Dunks called Dinosaur Jr., named after the band, and they’re all silver with a purple swoosh and it says “Dinosaur Jr.”—I also want them so bad.

There’s another shoe called the Ray Gun Home or Ray Gun Away, which is based on like a fictional basketball team that Nike made. They did a pair of SB’s, the home color—usually home is light, away is dark—but they flipped it so home is dark, away is light. Every time I see them I get really, really sad—I really want those.

And there was another shoe, too, called the Purple Pigeon: all grey, Dunk low, with hints of light purple. Index has a pair right now and I said “how much” and they said “$350” and it’s like…well, I would pay $200, or $250 maybe, but not $350. And I used to own a pair! I lost ‘em. For the longest time, Purple Pigeons were out there going for like ninety bucks. And now, because I want them, they go for $350. I still look for them when I got to my mom’s house.

These are the shoes that are really important to me. For other people it might be like, “Okay, big deal,” but to me it’s like, “Yo, I NEED this.”

What’s next for Deadstock? We heard something about maybe a collaboration with Wrecking Ball Coffee down in San Francisco—any other collaborations in the works?

We’re still trying to figure out something with Wrecking Ball. Right now we’re a bunch of people who like sneakers and mess around with this coffee thing. But you know, it’s a conversation that I always have—we call each other coffee homies. We’re sneaker heads who work in the coffee industry. One of our biggest thing is making coffee not so pretentious. So for us, it’s about aligning with people who share our sentiment—people who feel comfortable with doing an event that’s a little bit different. During Coffee Fest here in Portland there were all these events that are like, coffee triangulations and latte art and stuff, but we did a karaoke party instead. Whatever happened to people coming together and hanging out?

Whatever we do next, I want it to be a reflection of my vision—our vision—and what the community needs, what I feel the community needs. That’s way more important to me than opening another shop. And even if we were, as I look for opportunities, you know, I feel like I could open out on SE Hawthorne and we would be successful, or in the Pearl, you know, we’re cool, and it would be a busy space—but what does that community do for us? What are they doing for us? The neighborhood? So making sure the next place is somewhere we can work together is way more important.

I’ve had offers to be purchased now. One of the first offers for investment would have required us to open up in SF first, not Portland. But we couldn’t do that because for this to be a coffee shop that is sneaker themed and inspired by this culture, we can’t be from somewhere else. This is where the culture is. It’s the sneaker capital of the world.

Butterscotch trap cake.

And this way here, your mom can still bake the cake?

Yup, my mom bakes the cake we sell here. Butterscotch Trap Cake. It’s so real.

“Coffee Should Be Dope” outside Deadstock Coffee.

Deadstock Coffee is located at 408 Northwest Couch Street in Portland, Oregon. Hours daily, closed Sunday. Visit Deadstock’s official website and follow them on Instagram and Twitter.

Jordan Michelman is a co-founder and editor at Sprudge Media Network. Read more Jordan Michelman on Sprudge.

Photos by Zachary Carlsen for Sprudge Media Network.

The post Ian Williams of Deadstock Coffee: The Sprudge Interview appeared first on Sprudge.

seen 1st on http://sprudge.com

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mystlnewsonline · 6 years

Photo

New Post has been published on https://www.stl.news/latest-three-billboards-wins-best-drama-film-globe/63249/

The Latest: 'Three Billboards' wins best drama film Globe

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. /January 7, 2018 (AP)(STL.News) — The Latest on the presentation of the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California (all times local):

8:05 p.m.

The fierce revenge tale “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” has won the Golden Globe Award for best film drama.

Frances McDormand stars as a raging mother seeking answers for her daughter’s murder. Directed by Martin McDonagh, the film has garnered widespread praise for McDormand’s fierce performance.

The film won the honor moments after McDormand won the Globe award for best actress in a film drama. Sam Rockwell also won the Globe award for best supporting actor.

___

8 p.m.

Frances McDormand is the winner of the best actress in a drama film for her role in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missiouri.”

McDormand plays the mother seeking justice for her daughter, who was raped and killed, and takes on the small town police force who she doesn’t believe is doing enough to solve the case.

The actress accepted the award saying she would buy tequila for all the other nominees in the category.

She also ribbed the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which hands out the Globes, saying she still didn’t know who they are but credited them for electing a female president.

___

7:50 p.m.

Gary Oldman is the winner of the Golden Globe Award for best actor in a drama film.

Oldman won for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour,” which focuses on the British statesman’s efforts to convince his countrymen to fight the Nazis in World War II.

The actor quoted Churchill, saying he was surrounded by the very best people in the industry, while working on the film.

___

7:40 p.m.

Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut “Lady Bird” has won the Golden Globe Award for best film comedy or musical.

“Lady Bird” stars Saoirse Ronan as the title character, a teenager in Sacramento, California, who is navigating her last days of high school and her tense relationship with her mother. The film has earned Gerwig, Ronan and her co-star Laurie Metcalf widespread

The film’s producer ceded his speech to Gerwig, who profusely thanked everyone who worked on the film and Ronan, who moments earlier won the best actress in a film comedy Globe award.

___

7:35 p.m.

Saoirse Ronan is the winner of the best actress in a film comedy or musical Golden Globe Award.

Ronan won for “Lady Bird,” in which she plays a teenager in Sacramento, California, who’s juggling her last year in high school, college ambitions and a tense relationship with her mother.

With Sunday’s ceremony running long, Ronan had to deliver a rushed speech. She profusely thanked her mother, who she said was on a video call.

___

7:30 p.m.

“Big Little Lies” is the winner of the Golden Globe Award for the best television limited series or movie.

The series follows a group of mothers in Northern California who each have their own secrets threatening them and their families. The show won the Emmy Award last year for best limited series and will return for a second season on HBO.

The show dominated the Globes in the limited series category on Sunday, with wins for Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgard.

Reese Witherspoon, who starred in and produced the series, said of women who have been abused, “”We see you, we hear you, and we will tell your stories.”

___

7:25 p.m.

The bathrooms at the Golden Globes are more like hair salons.

The A-list stars attending this year’s show always look picture perfect for a reason: When they head to the restroom they meet up with hair stylists who touch their hair and makeup, giving them a refreshed looked before they return to their seats.

They are also a place where stars get to praise one another.

During one bathroom break before the show started, Sarah Paulson declared to anyone who could hear her in in line for ladies’ restroom: “Ladies and gentlemen, Claire Foy is here and nothing else matters. We don’t have to pretend we don’t all feel the same way.”

Moments earlier, Paulson and actress Amanda Peet gushed directly to “The Crown” Star about her performance. Foy blushed is response, then dashed into an open compartment.

— Lynn Elber and Sandy Cohen (APSandy) from inside the Golden Globes ceremony.

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7:20 p.m.

Guillermo del Toro is the winner of the best director Golden Globe Award for his Cold War fairy tale “The Shape of Water.”

The film stars Sally Hawkins as a mute cleaning lady who falls in love with an amphibious creature kept confined in a government lab. The film has become of the front-runners for best picture at March’s Academy Awards. Del Toro’s acceptance speech, which was interrupted by the orchestra at one point, was an ode to his love affair with monsters.

He thanked the film’s cast, before continuing: “My monsters thank you.”

The category was dominated by male directors, which drew criticism since 2017 featured several acclaimed films from female directors, including “Wonder Woman,” ”Lady Bird” and “Mudbound.”

It was a point that presenter Natalie Portman accentuated before the names of the nominees were read Sunday night.

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7:10 p.m.

Oprah Winfrey has accepted a lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes by saying she hopes as the first black women to accept the honor, she hopes it has an impact on young girls watching Sunday’s ceremony.

The actress and businesswoman accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award at Sunday’s Globes ceremony and received a lengthy standing ovation, which she tried to calm down.

She spoke about the feelings she had as a young girl watching Sidney Poitier win the best actor Academy Award in 1964. She likened the pride she felt watching Poitier, the first black man to win the best best actor Oscar, to the impact she hoped she could have on young women.

Winfrey also addressed the sexual misconduct scandal roiling Hollywood and beyond, telling those watching “speaking your truth is the most powerful tool you all have.”

Reese Witherspoon introduced Winfrey and described their friendship, forged over long sessions in a makeup trailer while filming “A Wrinkle in Time.” Witherspoon said sitting in the room with Oprah was like taking the best business classes, and her hugs could end wars.

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7 p.m.

Aziz Ansari has won the best television comedy actor Golden Globe Award for his role on “Master of None.”

Ansari is a co-creator of the Netflix series which focuses on his character, Dev, as he navigates relationships and his growing television career.

The show’s second season expanded to tell the backstories of some of Dev’s friends, including an episode that focused on the life of ordinary New Yorkers and another that explored the coming out story of a lesbian character played by Lena Waithe.

Ansari accepted the award by saying he didn’t think he would win it since so many websites had predicted he would lose Sunday night.

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6:55 p.m.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is the winner of the Golden Globe Award for best television comedy.

The freshman Amazon series stars Rachel Brosnahan as a 1950s housewife who pursues a stand-up comedy career. It’s been a big evening for the show — Brosnahan won the best actress in a comedy series award earlier in the ceremony.

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6:45 p.m.

Ewan McGregor has won the Golden Globe Award for best actor in a television limited series or movie for his dual roles in the third season of the FX series “Fargo.”

McGregor plays brothers, one a successful businessman and the other a parole officer, who find themselves at odds over the paths their lives have taken.

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6:40 p.m.

Germany and France’s “In the Fade” is the winner of the best foreign language Golden Globe Award.

The film stars Diane Kruger as a woman forced to cope with the death of her Turkish husband and their young son in a terrorist attack. It is from director Fatih Akin, a German-born filmmaker of Turkish descent.

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6:30 p.m.

Allison Janney is the winner of the best supporting film actress Golden Globe Award for her role in “I, Tonya.”

Janney won for her portrayal of figure skater Tonya Harding’s mother, who unleashes abuse on her daughter to try to make her a better athlete.

She thanked co-star Margot Robbie and profusely thanked Harding, who was in the ballroom for Sunday’s ceremony.

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6:20 p.m.

“Coco” has won the Golden Globe Award for best animated film.

The Disney and Pixar collaboration is considered a leading contender for an Academy Award for best animated feature. It tells the story of a Mexican boy who dreams of being a musician despite his family’s wishes and falls into the realm of the dead.

“Coco” has drawn widespread praise for the culturally authentic way it presents Mexico’s “Day of the Dead” culture.

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6:05 p.m.

James Franco has won the Golden Globe Award for best actor in a comedy or musical for his portrayal of the mysterious man who created what many consider the worst movie ever made.

Franco directed and starred in “The Disaster Artist,” which tells the story of the mysterious filmmaker Tommy Wiseau and his passion project, “The Room.” Savaged by critics, “The Room” has since gained a cult following, and Franco has received considerable Oscar buzz.

Franco opened his speech by inviting “The Room” creator Wiseau up on stage and giving him a hug and reading a passage he said Wiseau wrote 19 years ago.

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6 p.m.

“This is Me” is the winner of the best song Golden Globe Award. The track was created for the film “The Greatest Showman.”

“The Greatest Showman” song is the work of Oscar-winning duo Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, who won an Academy Award for their song “City of Stars” in “La La Land.” The “Showman” tune appears in the musical starring Hugh Jackman about the life of P.T. Barnum.

It beat out songs created by stars such as Mary J. Blige and Mariah Carey, who was onstage at the Globes moments before the best song award was announced.

Carey, who was nominated for her song “The Star,” helped announce the winner of the best original score honor, which went to Alexandre Desplat for “The Shape of Water.”

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5:55 p.m.

The group that bestows the Golden Globe Awards is giving $1 million apiece to two journalism groups.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association President Meher Tatna announced the awards to the International Consortium Of Investigative Journalists, which led the investigation that yielded the Panama Papers, and the Committee To Protect Journalists.

The grants are the first to ever be announced during the Globes telecast.

The awards are part of the HFPA’s charitable giving, which now totals millions a year, thanks to the broadcast rights the group receives from NBC.

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5:50 p.m.

The dystopian series “The Handmaid’s Tale” is the winner of the best television drama Golden Globe Award.

The Hulu series stars Elisabeth Moss as one of the few fertile women left in a world ruled by a totalitarian regime that treats women as property. The show is based on Margaret Atwood’s best-selling novel of the same name.

It is the series’ second win of the evening. Elisabeth Moss won the best actress in a television drama earlier in the ceremony.

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5:40 p.m.

Sterling K. Brown is the winner of the best television drama actor Golden Globe Award for his role on “This is Us.”

Brown plays a family man recovering from a nervous breakdown and the complicated dynamics of the family that adopted him when he was a baby.

Brown opened his speech by remarking on Oprah Winfrey’s presence in the room — she is receiving a lifetime achievement award — before quickly saying he needed to thank his wife before he forgot. He also told his children that he would take them to school in the morning.

Brown profusely thanked “This Is Us” creator Dan Fogelman for engaging in colorblind casting and giving him great material to work with.

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5:35 p.m.

“The Handmaid’s Tale’s” Elisabeth Moss has won the Golden Globe Award for best actress in a television drama.

Moss plays one of the few fertile women left in a world ruled by a totalitarian regime where women are considered property. Moss attempts to keep her identity and humanity in the Hulu series, which is based on Margaret Atwood’s best-selling novel.

She dedicated her award to Atwood, reading some of the author’s words and saying that women are now “writing the stories ourselves.”

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5:30 p.m.

Rachel Brosnahan has been awarded the best television comedy actress Golden Globe Award for her role on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

Brosnahan plays a 1950s mom who decides to pursue a stand-up comedy career. The show is also nominated for best comedy series at Sunday’s Globes.

The actress won the award on her first nomination.

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5:20 p.m.

Sam Rockwell has won the best film supporting actor Golden Globe Award for his role in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”

Rockwell won for his role as a small town cop with anger issues in the revenge tale starring fellow-Globes nominee Frances McDormand. He thanked McDormand and “Three Billboards” director Martin McDonagh, who he thanked for giving him such beautiful words to say.

Rockwell called McDormand a “force of nature” who made him a better actor.

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5:15 p.m.

Nicole Kidman has won the Golden Globe Award for best actress in a limited television series or movie for her role in the HBO series “Big Little Lies.”

Kidman plays a lawyer who gave up her successful career to be a full-time mom in a rich coastal Northern California town. Her life is not as idyllic as it seems — her husband frequently beats her.

She referenced her character in her acceptance speech, urging others to keep the conversation about abuse and the treatment of women alive.

The actress also thanked her “Big Little Lies” co-stars, saying she was sharing the honor with fellow nominees Laura Dern, Shailene Woodley and Reese Witherspoon.

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5:05 p.m.

Seth Meyers has opened the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards with jokes about the sexual misconduct scandal, saying it’s the first time in three months that it won’t be terrifying for male actors to have their names read out loud.

Meyers started his monologue by saying, “Good evening ladies and remaining gentlemen!”

He also jabbed disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein who has been accused by dozens of women of sexual harassment and abuse. Meyers noted that Weinstein isn’t present for Sunday’s ceremony, but said that he’ll be back in 20 years — when he’ll be the “first person ever booed during the In Memorium” segment.

The joke was met with some groans in the ballroom.

Meyers mixed his comments about the sexual misconduct scandal with jokes about the nominees and a few barbs directed at President Donald Trump.

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4:40 p.m.

There’s more to occupy the Golden Globes crowd than awards.

They can get their face copied atop a cappuccino or latte. How many stars are taking advantage before the show? So far, a barista says none: they’re focusing on the alcoholic drinks.

Stars often rush into the International Ballroom at the Beverly Hilton Hotel at the last minute, so the Globes this year are attempting to get people in their seats earlier in the evening. Red carpet interviews are supposed to already be done, and an announcer has told the group it’s 30 minutes to show time.

— Lynn Elber in the Golden Globes ballroom.

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4:20 p.m.

Dinner is served so early at the Golden Globes it can be confusing.

More than hour before the show, “This Is Us” star Milo Ventimiglia asked castmate Chris Sullivan if it was time to sit down at one of the tables already set with salads. When Sullivan said he’d been in place for a half-hour, Ventimiglia started chowing down. It’s a good thing — the three-course meal is served and cleared fast, so all the eating is done before the ceremony starts. But the wine and Champagne keep flowing throughout the three-hour ceremony.

Among the other early arrivals were the cast of “Stranger Things,” ”Get Out” stars Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams, Meryl Streep and John Goodman, who enjoyed a cigarette on the terrace while he watched a live feed of the arrivals.

— Lynn Elber and Sandy Cohen (APSandy) in the Golden Globes ballroom.

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4:10 p.m.

Debra Messing has made her point about gender equality by calling out E! Entertainment Television on the issue while doing an interview with the network on the Golden Globes red carpet Sunday.

Messing was explaining why she wore black to support Hollywood’s whistleblowers and the Time’s Up initiative, then referenced the recent departure from E! of host Catt Sadler, who has said she learned she was making about half the pay of her male counterpart, Jason Kennedy.

Messing tells E! host Giuliana Rancic, “I was so shocked to hear that E! doesn’t believe in paying their female co-hosts the same as their male co-hosts. I miss Catt Sadler.”

Messing says it’s crucial to “start having this conversation that women are just as valuable as men are.”

— Jocelyn Noveck

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4 p.m.

Golden Globe nominee Michelle Williams says that she just wants to listen to what #MeToo founder Tarana Burke has to say, and that’s why she brought her to Sunday’s Golden Globes.

Williams tells The Associated Press, “I’m so much more interested in what you have to say than what I have to say.”

Burke says the solidarity and the support behind Time’s Up and #MeToo is something we’ve never seen before.

Williams is one of eight actresses who are attending the Golden Globes with advocates for gender and racial justice.

Burke says the actresses are generous in sharing their platform so they could highlight their causes and turn the spotlight back on the survivors and solutions rather than the perpetrators.

Williams is nominated for her role in Ridley Scott’s “All the Money in the World.” When asked about working with Christopher Plummer who replaced Kevin Spacey in the film after Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct, Williams says she’s “not talking about that.”

— Nicole Evatt (@NicoleEvatt) and Lindsey Bahr (@ldbahr) on the Golden Globes red carpet.

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3:25 p.m.

Alison Brie says that the Time’s Up initiative has made her realize how powerful women can be when they all stand together.

The actress is nominated for a Golden Globe for her work in the Netflix wrestling show “GLOW.” Brie, who also appears in the Golden Globe nominated films “The Post” and “The Disaster Artist,” wore a dramatic strapless black dress with a sweetheart neckline to show solidarity with Time’s Up.

Brie says she thinks change will come when more women are in power at the top. She says a lot more listening needs to happen across all industries.

— Nicole Evatt (@NicoleEvatt) and Lindsey Bahr (@ldbahr) on the Golden Globes red carpet.

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3:15 p.m.

“Get Out” star Daniel Kaluuya says that the fact that the film is still in the conversation is “mind-boggling.”

He noted Sunday on the Golden Globes red carpet that the film came out almost a year ago in February.

Kaluuya wore a black tux with a Time’s Up pin on his lapel. He is nominated for best actor in a musical or comedy, and “Get Out” is up for best picture in the same category.

He says he feels privileged to stand by the women fighting against the unnecessary evils that are happening in the industry.

— Nicole Evatt (@NicoleEvatt) and Lindsey Bahr (@ldbahr) on the Golden Globes red carpet.

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For full coverage of awards season, visit: https://apnews.com/tag/AwardsSeason

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2:55 p.m.

Alfred Molina says he feels terrible for his “Frida” co-star Salma Hayek’s experiences with Harvey Weinstein. Hayek detailed sexual harassment from Weinstein during the production of “Frida” in a New York Times essay in December.

Speaking Sunday on the Golden Globes red carpet, Molina says that Hayek is not one to exaggerate and is a serious, forthright woman and he was struck by her bravery. He says it’s saddening and heartbreaking that she had to carry that weight for so long.

Sporting all black, down to his tie and his shirt, the “Feud” star said that it was a very small gesture of solidarity but hoped that out of small gestures comes big ones.

Chris Sullivan of “This Is Us” did not wear an all-black outfit, but painted his fingernails black for Sunday’s ceremony.

— Nicole Evatt (@NicoleEvatt) and Lindsey Bahr (@ldbahr) on the Golden Globes red carpet.

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2:40 p.m.

The highly anticipated wear-black protest at the Golden Globes got off to an early start Sunday as soon as the red carpet opened, including Michelle Williams in an embellished off-the-shoulder look and “Me Too” founder Tarana Burke at her side.

Turning the Globes dark on the fashion front had been anticipated for days after a call for massive reform following the downfall of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and numerous others in Hollywood, media, fashion, tech, publishing and other industries. The new initiative Time’s Up, backed by more than 300 women in Hollywood, doled out pins intended for those who might already have locked in more colorful looks.

Allison Williams provided a pop of orange and silver on the bodice of her black column gown.

Not everybody supports the protest. Rose McGowan, who has accused Weinstein of rape, has loudly and persistently called the effort an empty gesture.

— Leanne Italie

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2:30 p.m.

Michelle Williams has arrived at the Golden Globes with the first of several gender and racial activists who are accompanying actresses to Sunday’s awards gala.

Williams has brought #MeToo founder Tarana Burke to the awards show to help highlight gender inequality. Seven other actresses, including Emma Stone and Meryl Streep, are bringing activists to the ceremony, which is the first major awards show since the sexual misconduct scandal roiled Hollywood.

Both Williams and Burke wore black dresses. Many actresses are planning to wear black to Sunday’s ceremony to show solidarity for the victims of sexual misconduct.

— Andrew Dalton (@andyjamesdalton) in the fan bleachers outside the Golden Globes.

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2 p.m.

Al Roker and Carson Daly have drawn quite the crowd of spectators as they made their way past the champagne and photographers on the red carpet and into the Golden Globes ballroom, trailed by a crew of cameras and lights.

Roker tweeted earlier that he’s never seen security like this for the Globes. He said there was checkpoint after checkpoint and that they were not kidding around.

Elsewhere on the red carpet, Mario Lopez filmed an early segment and other TV reporters fanned themselves down amid the rising temperatures.

— Lindsey Bahr (@ldbahr) on the Golden Globes red carpet.

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12:55 p.m.

Temperatures pushed into the 70s in the hours before the limousines began arriving at the Golden Globes.

Security of all kinds lined the scene Sunday. Motorcycle officers cruised down the red carpet. A sniper in military attire put a large rifle on a tripod on a low rooftop of the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Workers sneaked quick photos on the red carpet while they could.

Fans who crammed into a small set of bleachers stood and strained to see any celebrity bigger than the gathered reporters.

The red carpet was scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Pacific, but will get busier closer to the start of the Globes ceremony at 5 p.m.

— Andrew Dalton (@andyjamesdalton) in the fan bleachers outside the Golden Globes.

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10:25 a.m.

Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, Emma Watson and Amy Poehler are just a few of the actresses who are planning to bring gender and racial justice activists as their guests to the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday evening.

Streep will attend with Ai-jen Poo, the director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance; Williams with Tarana Burke, the founder of the “me too” movement; and Watson will bring Marai Larasi, the executive director of Imkaan, a black-feminist organization.

In a statement Sunday, the advocates say they were inspired by the Time’s Up initiative. They say the goal in attending the awards will be to shift focus away from the perpetrators and back on survivors and creating lasting change.

Many attending the Golden Globes will also be wearing black to protest sexual harassment.

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8 a.m.

The Golden Globes, once the stomping grounds of Harvey Weinstein, will belong to someone else this year.

The 75th Golden Globe Awards is considered wide open, with contenders including Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water,” Steven Spielberg’s “The Post” and Martin McDonaugh’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”

But whoever takes home the hardware Sunday, the spotlight is unlikely to stray far from the sexual misconduct scandals that have roiled Hollywood ever since an avalanche of allegations toppled Weinstein. Out of solidarity with the victims of sexual harassment and assault, many women have said they will be dressing in black.

Red carpet arrivals are expected to begin around 5 p.m. EST, with the broadcast starting on NBC at 8 p.m. Oprah Winfrey will receive the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award.

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By Associated Press – published on STL.News by St. Louis Media, LLC (ZS)

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#best drama #film Globe #Three Billboards #wins

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