6 albums I’ve been listening to + 1 standout track

Thank you @superhaught for tagging me

I mostly listen to singles but I was able to find six albums :)

1. Older by Lizzy McAlpine (Fav track: All Falls Down)

2. Prelude to Ecstasy by The Last Dinner Party (Fav track: Nothing Matters)

3. Party Favors by Sir Chloe (Fav track: Squaring Up)

4. The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan (Fav track: Femininomenon)

5. Snow Angel by Renee Rapp (Fav track: I Wish)

6. the record by boygenius (Fav track: Without You Without Them)

Tagging: @bugs013 @idontplaytrack @ashecampos @chaoticneutralsapphic (no pressure/only if you want to)

rules: shuffle youre repeated playlist and post the first 10 tracks, then tag ten people

tagged by: @jamietarttdodododododo 💕

oh god this is gonna be embarrassing but let’s goooo

1. snow angel by reneé rapp (i’m seeing her on sunday!)

2. the killing moon by echo & the bunnymen

3. spillways by ghost

4. anti-hero by taylor swift

5. tummy hurts by reneé rapp

6. square hammer by ghost

7. castles crumbling (feat. hayley williams) by taylor swift

8. pretty girls by reneé rapp

9. mary on a cross by ghost

10. lacy by olivia rodrigo

no pressure tags: @bendystrah @hemlocksandfoxgloves @outcastpack @thiamsxbitch @bellatrixxmarierose

Seneca County real estate: See all homes sold, Jan. 27-Feb. 2 The following is a listing of all home... #movie quote #movies #movie line #movie line #movie scenes #cinema #movie stills #film quotes #film edit #vintage #movie scenes #love quotes #life quotes #positive quotes #vintage #retro #quote #quotes #sayings #cinematography

General Lafayette, a French officer in the American Revolutionary War, spoke at what would become Lafayette Square, Buffalo, during his visit to the United States on June 4, 1825.  

Too Much Part 2–Mitch Rapp

Part 1, Part 3, Part 4*

Mitch's POV

I watched as a few guys carefully carried the gurney out of the gym. Once the door had shut, I looked around to see all the remaining guys staring at me. Staring wasn't the right word. Neither was glaring. It was more like murdering me with their eyes.

I ran my hand through my hair as I turned and started walking to my gym bag over in the corner. I looked down when I noticed a guy walking towards me. As I was about to pass him, he roughly grabbed my arm and stopped me.

"I know you're new here," he said under his breath, "but you need to get over yourself. Y/N is well respected here. You disrespect her, you disrespect all of us. In other words, hurt her again and you'll be the one on the way to the infirmary."

He let go of me and walked away. I looked over my shoulder to see some of the other guys giving him nods and patting him on the back. I turned back around and sighed when another guy was right in front of me.

"If you haven't figured it out, we're all pretty protective of Y/N." I was about to respond, but he shook his head. "And not because she's a girl. We're protective of her because she's one of us. Are you?"

I let out an annoyed sigh as he walked away. As I got my bag and headed back to my bunk, every guy I passed glared at me.

"All this because I was too rough on her?" I mumbled. "Why is everyone so damn intense around here?"

                       * * * * *

It's been a week since I sparred with Y/N and I haven't seen her since Hurley took her to the infirmary. Then again, it's not like I've tried to see her.

I wasn't allowed to. No one was. Whenever someone asked about her, Hurley would just shake his head and say she needed rest. And then he'd glare at me before turning on his heel and leaving.

I looked over at the clock and sighed when I saw it was barely past 2 am. I threw my blanket off and quietly made my way to the kitchen. I hesitated when I saw the lights were already on.

"Oh," I said softly when I saw who was in the kitchen.

"I know why I can't sleep. Why can't you?" Y/N asked, not turning around.

"I just. . . I was. . ." I quickly stopped talking when she looked at me from over her shoulder.

"Just come in," she sighed, turning back around. "I don't care."

I hesitated before walking over to the fridge. I instantly grabbed a beer and walked around so I was leaning against the counter. I opened my beer and took a large sip, not sure whether or not I should leave.

I couldn't help but look over at Y/N, watching as she continued to read through a file. "What's that?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"New target," she said, not looking up as she lifted her mug to her lips and took a sip. I just nodded, not sure what else to say.

I watched her scan through the various documents in her file, ignoring me. The longer I stared at her, the more I realized she really didn't care that I was standing there, watching her.

"About earlier," I said, clearing my throat. Y/N sighed as she put down her file and looked up at me.

"You mean about how you almost killed me? Rapp, you do realize that was over a week ago, right?"

"Well, yeah. I just. . ." I stuttered, unsure of how to phrase what I wanted to say.

"If this is you trying to apologize," she sighed, "you suck at it."

She grabbed her file and started to leave the room. I stepped in front of her, forcing her to stop. She looked up at me, a bored expression on her face.

"I didn't mean to be so rough on you," I rushed out. "It's like I forget my own strength sometimes. I don't know why I. . ."

"I know," she shrugged, interrupting me. I waited for her to continue, but she didn't.

"Would you care to share with the rest of the class?" I asked, causing her to raise her eyebrows at me and cross her arms over her chest. I subconsciously took a step back.

"You have a short temper," she smirked at me. "And you're shit at controlling it. You let your anger control you, Rapp. You sit back and let it use you instead of you using it."

She tried to walk away, but I grabbed her arm. I instantly let go when she let out a painful gasp. I took a step back, my mouth suddenly dry.

"What did you mean?" I asked, my voice soft. "I let my anger use me?"

"It's actually pretty common around here," she shrugged. "You have a lot of shit bottled up, which is fine. It's your business. But what isn't fine is that you are letting it control you. You haven't dealt with it or moved on or whatever you need to do, so it comes out in random bursts of uncontrollable anger. Instead of these outbursts, you should use that anger to fuel your stamina and strategic planning during a fight. You should use it to watch and strategize against your opponent instead of using it to give you the strength to forcefully go for their throats. Or their whole body, since that seems like more your thing." She sent me a look before walking away.

"I'm sorry," I said, making her freeze in the doorway. She turned around and stared at me like she was studying me.

"What did you just say?"

"I said I was sorry," I sighed. "And you're right. I do have a lot bottled up that I. . . I just don't want to deal with. I don't know how to deal with it."

"You want to know the first step?" She asked. I nodded, encouraging her to explain.

"The first step is to get over yourself and start listening to the people around you. Once you let us–me–in, then you can start working through that anger."

                       * * * * *

Reader's POV

I walked into the gym the next day, freezing in the doorway when I saw Rapp sitting off to the side, waiting for me. He looked up when the door slammed shut behind me.

"Hey," he said as he stood up and started jogging towards me. He scanned me over before asking, "Is Hurley okay with you training? I thought I heard him say you were on bedrest another week."

"Yeah," I said, quickly clearing my throat. "Well, he overreacts about things like this."

"You mean things like you being body-slammed to the ground by a guy at least 50 pounds heavier than you?" He said with a slight laugh.

"Just 50 pounds?" I asked as I tilted my head. I smirked when he sent me a playful glare before laughing.

"What?" He asked after a few seconds of me just staring at him.

"Nothing," I shook my head, stuttering slightly. He sent me a look before shrugging.

"Ready?" He asked, gesturing with his head towards the mat.

"Actually, we are starting on the punching bag." He looked towards the large bag hanging in the corner of the room. "Not that one," I said turning and pointing towards a smaller one across the room. "That one."

"Why is that one so special?" He asked as we started walking over to it.

"This one measures your strength," I explained as I stood on my toes in order to reach the on button. I looked over at Rapp to see him watching me. I walked over and grabbed two sets of gloves.

Rapp easily caught the pair that I threw at him. "How does it work?" He asked as he put on his gloves.

"Pretty simple," I shrugged. "You punch it and it shows your level of strength."

"Based on. . ."

"Based on your height, weight, and age. And off of the average muscle mass and strength of someone the same build as you."

He just nodded as I started putting in my data. I waved my hands, signaling for him to take a few steps back. I ignored his smirk as he moved to the side and folded his arms across his chest.

I tightened my gloves, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. I positioned myself parallel to the bag, sliding my right foot slightly behind my left. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before opening them and pulling my shoulder back, punching the bag as hard as I could.

I took a step back, getting a little dizzy. I took a few slow breaths as I felt Rapp instantly walk up next to me.

"You okay?" He asked as he stood in front of me. I watched as he hesitated to grab me but decided not to.

I nodded as the dizzy spell finally stopped. I took one more slow breath before looking up. When I made eye contact with Rapp, there was something different in the way he was looking at me. It was almost like he was genuinely worried about me.

I cleared my throat as I looked over at the bag, waiting for it to calculate my hit. When the numbers came up, they were drastically higher than the average girl my age, height, and weight.

78% above average.

"Damn," Rapp laughed softly. I cleared my throat when I felt my cheeks burning.

"Alright," I said, clapping my hands. "Go put in your information and we'll see what you've got."

He looked at me, hesitating, before nodding and walking past me. I stepped back and waited for him as he put in his information. I watched as he squared up, getting ready to hit the bag. I took mental note of a few things he could do to improve his stance.

I watched as he pulled his arm back and hit the bag with all his strength, letting out a small grunt as his fist made contact. He took a step back and we both watched the screen on the side, waiting for his results.

16% above average.

I looked over, waiting to see his reaction. I furrowed my eyebrows together when I noticed he seemed slightly disappointed.

"Most guys here are less than 10% above their average," I said, making him look at me. "Many of them can't even break 5." He glanced back at the screen before shrugging.

"So, now what?" He asked, looking over at me.

"Now, you increase that number," I said, pointing at the screen.

"How do I do that?"

"By listening and actually taking my corrections," I said with a knowing look on my face. He let out a small laugh as he reached up and scratched the back of his neck.

"I can do that."

"You sure?" I teased, earning an annoyed look from him. That look was quickly replaced with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Théâtre de la Tour Eiffel, 4 square Rapp

Formerly (2015) Salle Adyar, the 385-seat art deco building in the shadow of the famous Tower dates from 1912-15. The programming now leans heavily on one man/woman shows, and concerts. A recent big hit was the two-person comedy Le tour du Monde en 80 Jours.

Wow. Lotsa folks dead on this date in music. Some were sick, some in an accident, some drugs, and way too many left us of their own hand…

And there were some other notable moments as well…

April 5th

1962 - The Beatles

The Beatles performed at The Cavern Club in Liverpool as part of a special night presented by the Beatles' fan club. The Beatles wear their black leather outfits for the first half of the performance, for old time's sake, then change into their new suits for the second half of the show.

1967 - Monkees

Monkees fans walked from London's Marble Arch to the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square to protest Davy Jones' planned call-up. Jones was exempted because he was deemed responsible for supporting his father.

1975 - Minnie Riperton

Minnie Riperton went to No.1 on the US singles chart with the Stevie Wonder produced song 'Loving You' (a No.2 hit in the UK). It was the singers only US chart hit. Riperton died of cancer on 12th July 1979.

1981 - Bob Hite

Canned Heat singer Bob "The Bear" Hite died of a heart attack aged 36. (1970 UK No.2 & US No.26 single 'Let's Work Together'). Played at both the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival and the 1969 Woodstock Festival.

1983 - Danny Rapp

Danny Rapp, leader of 50s group Danny and the Juniors committed suicide in a hotel in Arizona by shooting himself. With Danny and the Juniors he had the 1958 US No.1 & UK No.3 single 'At The Hop'.

1984 - Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye's funeral took place at The Forest Lawn Cemetery, Los Angeles; Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy and other Motown singers, writers and producers, attended the service.

1994 - Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain committed suicide by shooting himself in the head at his home in Seattle. Cobain's body wasn't discovered until April 8, by an electrician who had arrived to install a security system, who initially believed that Cobain was asleep, until he saw the shotgun pointing at his chin. A suicide note was found that said, "I haven't felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music, along with really writing . . . for too many years now". A high concentration of heroin and traces of Valium were found in Cobain's body. His death was officially ruled as suicide by a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head.

1995 - Jimi Hendrix

Monika Dannerman, the one time girlfriend of Jimi Hendrix committed suicide, two days after losing a court battle with another of the guitarist's ex-lovers.

1998 - Cozy Powell

British drummer Cozy Powell (Colin Flooks) was killed when his car smashed into crash barriers on the M4 motorway near Bristol, England. Powell had worked with the Jeff Beck Group, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Brian May, Peter Green and the ELP spin-off Emerson, Lake, and Powell. Powell, known as one of the most driving drummers in rock, had also had hits as a solo artist, including Dance WithThe Devil and The Man In Black, and had fronted his own band, Cozy Powell's Hammer.

2002 - Layne Staley

American singer Layne Staley of Alice in Chains was found dead from a mixture of heroin and cocaine in his home. It was reported that the 6-foot (1.8 m) Staley weighed only 86 pounds (39 kg) when his body was discovered. His body was partially decomposed when he was found. Medical examiners had to identify it by dental records.

2006 - Gene Pitney

Gene Pitney was found dead aged 65 in his bed in a Cardiff hotel. The American singer was on a UK tour and had shown no signs of illness. Pitney helped The Rolling Stones break the American market with his endorsement of the band. Jagger and Richards wrote his hit 'That Girl Belongs to Yesterday' which became the Stones duo's first composition to reach the American charts. He scored the 1962 US No.4 single 'Only Love Can Break A Heart'. and 1967 solo UK No.5 & 1989 UK No.1 single with Marc Almond 'Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart', plus over 15 other US & UK Top 40 hits.

2007 - Kiss

Former Kiss guitarist Mark St. John died from an apparent brain haemorrhage at the age of 51. St. John was Kiss' third official guitarist, having replaced Vinnie Vincent in 1984 and appeared on the album 'Animalize'.

2008 - iTunes

Apple's iTunes overtook supermarket group Wal-Mart to become the largest music retailer in the US. Market research firm NPD said iTunes surpassed Wal-Mart in January and February if 12 downloads are considered equal to the sale of one CD album. iTunes had sold more than four billion songs since its launch in 2003

2011 - Nirvana

A statue in tribute to Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain was unveiled in his hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, The unveiling marked the 17th anniversary of Cobain's death, which occurred on April 5, 1994. The statue designed by local artists Kim and Lora Malakoff was of his signature Fender Jag-Stang guitar. The concrete guitar was eight and a half feet tall and also featured a ribbon with lyrics written on it from Nirvana's 'On a Plain'. It reads: "One more special message to go and then I'm done and I can go home."

2012 - Jim Marshall

Jim Marshall, who made rock ’n’ roll rawer and noisier by inventing the Marshall amplifier died at a hospice in London, aged 88. His amplifiers and speakers known as 'Marshall stacks' were used by Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and almost every other major rock guitarist in the ’60s and ’70s and by the next generation of guitarists as well, including Kurt Cobain, Eddie Van Halen and Slash.

2013 - Mark Knopfler

Mark Knopfler cancelled two shows in Russia in protest over what he called the country's "crackdown" on human rights groups. The former Dire Straits frontman pulled out of the gigs in June after Russian authorities searched the offices of organisations including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Critics said the raids were an attempt to crush government dissent.

Wilfred Courtney aka Tex Larabey, Kingston's great cowboy crooner, was born 1930 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He recorded and self-released two albums of mostly covers and had a popular country radio show on Kingston's WKNY. At age 43, only five years after releasing his first album, Tex died in a car accident outside of Atlanta a few days before Christmas 1973.

The record points to early tumult. The 1940 census tallies Courtney among the residential patients in a children's hospital. At 21, he operated the "Relloplane" ride for a traveling carnival. He was charged with manslaughter when a cable snapped "hurling two plane-type cars against each other," killing a New Jersey teenager. Eventually acquitted, he settled in Troy, NY and started driving a taxi. In 1953, he reinvented himself as Tex Larabey, soundtracking square dances and usually billing his backing band as the Rhythm Riders.

In 1970, Kingston's Daily Freeman ran a profile about Tex and his 4 AM to 6 AM radio show. The article claims Tex moved to the area in 1959 "by way of the Carolinas," and his obituary notes he began driving for local company John Rapp Van Lines that same year. Nearly a decade later, Tex would record his two albums in Greenville, South Carolina at Mark V Studios.

Tex lived in Port Ewen with his daughter and wife (who sewed his flamboyant outfits), and drove a car with his name printed on the side. Beyond his charismatic reputation, he was a respected country music promoter and brought many national acts to the area. Tex appeared all over Kingston, performing at restaurants, the county fair, and the armory on Manor Ave. He broadcasted from car dealerships, department stores, and movie theaters. He was a community fixture and remains well-remembered. Wilfred Courtney is buried in Kingston's Wiltwyck Cemetery, his musical moniker and an acoustic guitar carved into his headstone.

Un nouvel article a été publié sur https://www.rollingstone.fr/10-plus-grandes-chansons-de-jay-z/

Les 10 plus grandes chansons de Jay-Z

Avec une carrière qui a commencé à la fin des années 80, les chansons de Jay-Z ont connu plusieurs styles. Voici ses 10 meilleures chansons

Jay-Z est-il le plus grand rappeur de tous les temps ? « J’ai ce truc comme Elvis », a-t-il déclaré à Rolling Stone en 2007 peu de temps avant d’égaler le record du King de 10 albums se classant Numéro Un dès leur sortie (et bien avant d’en avoir quatre de plus dans la décennie suivante). En effet, la carrière de Jay-Z est impressionnante : 21 Grammys, premier rappeur du Songwriters Hall of Fame et cité dans les Top Fives de nombreux rappeurs (par exemple Kendrick Lamar, T.I. et J. Cole. Lil Wayne a d’ailleurs les paroles d’une des chansons de Jay-Z tatouées sur sa jambe). Il est non seulement bourré de talent, mais il a aussi le sens des affaires : l’image cool mais distante d’un ancien arnaqueur de rue, un flow techniquement avancé et une fortune inimaginable que Forbes et d’autres magazines ont du mal à calculer. Cependant, même parmi les largesses musicales de Jay, certaines de ses chansons classiques sont meilleures que les autres. Voici notre liste de ses 10 meilleures chansons.

10. Jay-Z et Kanye West, « Niggas in Paris » (2011)

Cet hymne de stade présent sur Watch the Throne et interprété par Jay-Z et Kanye est théâtral. Au milieu des « hah?! » particuliers de West, des Audemars et des vestes Margiela, ce single qui s’est hissé dans le Top 10 est vraiment un profond soupir de soulagement. « If you escaped what I’ve escaped/You’d be in Paris getting fucked up too », entonne Jay avec une joie palpable. « C’est comme être sous le choc d’être là. Être toujours émerveillé et jamais blasé, a déclaré Jay à GQ à propos de l’inspiration derrière ce titre produit par Hit-boy. J’ai connu tellement de personnes qui n’y sont pas parvenues. La plupart des gens regardent une photo des enfants avec qui ils ont grandi et se disent « Ah oui, Adam est allé à Harvard ». C’est une conversation complètement différente ».

9. « Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem) » (1998)

Pour le premier single de Jay-Z à se hisser dans le Top 15 des titres pop, le producteur  Mark « The 45 King » a pris un morceau indélébile de la bande originale de la comédie musicale Annie. Il a donné un dubplate à Kid Capri qui faisait le DJ sur la tournée No Way Out de Puff Daddy. « Les fans demandaient « Comment est-ce que vous avez fait pour la chanson d’Annie derrière la batterie ? ». C’était principalement des blancs qui venaient vers moi, a déclaré Capri à Grantland. Je savais de par leur réaction que ça marchait vraiment ». Jay a lui aussi fini par poser la question et c’est là qu’a débuté ce très grand succès, un aperçu frappant et mélancolique de son ascension. « Je n’avais pas peur du clash entre les paroles dures et l’image d’une Annie aux cheveux roux, a écrit Jay dans Decoded. J’ai trouvé le miroir entre les deux histoires. L’histoire d’Annie, c’était la mienne, et la mienne, c’était la sienne. La chanson, c’est l’endroit où nos expériences n’entraient pas en contradiction. Elles n’étaient que des dimensions différentes de la même réalité ».

8. « Nigga What, Nigga Who (Originator ’99) » feat. Big Jaz (1999)

Lorsque Jay-Z est devenu une star, il a invité the Jaz (aujourd’hui Big Jaz), son ami et mentor, sur un sequel du rapide « The Originator » sorti en 1990. « On utilisait ce rythme rapide que tout le monde semble utiliser aujourd’hui », a déclaré Jay dans le fascicule de Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life. Là où Jay et Jaz utilisaient leur flow rapide sur une production détendue et jazzy en 1990, leurs retrouvailles en 1998 ont eu lieu sur un morceau futuriste et planant de Timbaland. Timbo avait déjà changé le son du R&B avec Aaliyah et accompagné le hip-hop créatif et léger de Missy Elliott, mais il était arrivé à un moment charnière de sa carrière, la première fois qu’un MC d’élite avait un flow rapide qui correspondait à sa musique.

7. « Public Service Announcement » (2003)

Jay-Z a dû arrêter la fabrication de The Black Album pour y inclure cette ré-introduction à la dernière minute. Il a un jour répondu à un journaliste qui venait d’assister à toute une session d’écoute du nouvel album et dont la seule question était comment associer un T-shirt du Che Guevara avec une chaîne. « Les échecs du Che ont été sanglants et ses contradictions frustrantes, a écrit Jay-Z dans Decoded. Mais avoir des contradictions, en particulier quand vous vous battez pour votre vie, c’est quelque chose d’humain. Et porter un T-shirt du Che et une chaîne en platine et en diamants est honnête ». Le producteur Just Blaze ouvre la voie avec une intro parlée (« Fellow Americans… ») parfaite pour une révolution sur le point d’avoir lieu au Madison Square Garden.

6. « Brooklyn’s Finest » feat. The Notorious B.I.G. (1996)

« Brooklyn’s Finest » reste un document magnifique sur deux grands de Brooklyn au meilleur de leur forme. Jay-Z et Notorious B.I.G. développaient un nouveau groupe avec Charli Baltimore, la petite amie de Biggie, appelé the Commission. « L’année suivante, on ne parlait pas que des projets pour the Commission, a déclaré Jay-Z à XXL en 1998. Il avait beaucoup de projets pour [Life After Death], notamment une tournée et un déménagement ». Au lieu de ça, il a été tué en mars 1997. Cette chanson sonne comme le premier chapitre d’un partenariat qui ne s’est jamais concrétisé. Démarrant par l’interpolation de Wayne, Biggie et Jay évoquent des crimes plus ridicules les uns que les autres : Jay rappe « Peep the style and the way the cops sweat us » tandis que Biggie affirme qu’il tirera dans le muscle du genou de sa fille (« shoot your daughter in the calf muscle »). Le moment le plus célèbre de la chanson arrive quand Biggie essaye de répondre à l’affirmation « Hit ‘Em Up » fallacieuse de 2Pac : « If Fay have twins, she’d probably have two Pacs/Get it, 2Pac’s? ».

5. « U Don’t Know » (2001)

L’association de basse et d’un extrait accéléré de « I’m Not to Blame » de Bobby Byrd agit comme un tremplin capital pour les différents succès commerciaux de Jay (la drogue avec les paroles « Hell, where you are welcome to sell » et le développement de son empire avec « smarten up, open the market up »). Jay scande « Motherfucker, I – will – not – lose » avant le quatrième couplet. C’est un moment sensationnel où sa confiance explose en une catharsis triomphante.

4. « 99 Problems » (2004)

Jay-Z a rendu visite à Rick Rubin pour « retrouver ce sentiment que j’avais quand j’étais enfant », comme il l’explique dans le documentaire Fade to Black. Le résultat de cette session a été un rappel heavy metal du travail de Rubin dans les années 80 avec LL Cool J et Beastie Boys, mais pour ce qui est des paroles, c’était une critique moderne et cinglante de ceux qui le diabolisent comme un homme de couleur et un rappeur. « Même quand j’enregistrais,  je savais que quelqu’un, quelque part, allait dire « Aha, le voilà qui parle encore des putes ! » », a écrit Jay dans Decoded. La chanson est devenue assez iconique pour que Barack Obama l’évoque au Dîner des Correspondants de la Maison Blanche en 2013 : au vu de la visite controversée de Jay et de Bey à Cuba, il a affirmé « I’ve got 99 problems and now Jay-Z is one », ce qui a fait rire l’assemblée.

3. « Big Pimpin’ » feat. UGK (2000)

Lorsqu’ils ont vu que le titre « Things That U Do » estampillé Mariah Carey se réussissait pas à se classer dans les charts lors des deux premiers mois de sa sortie en tant que single tiré de Vol. 3 de Jay, lui et Dame Dash sont rapidement passés à « Big Pimpin’ », un titre exotique produit par Timbaland et qui vend le deuxième plus vieux métier du monde comme un style de vie jet-set arrosé de champagne. Timbaland a par la suite été poursuivi pour son utilisation d’un extrait de « Khusara Khusara » de Baligh Hamdi. Inspiré par le personnage de Pretty Tony dans le film Le Mac sorti en 1973, les paroles de Jay sont froides et détachées. Les paroles prononcées par Bun (« step up your vocab ») sont aussi mémorables que celles de Jay, et Pimp C, inspiré par Big Gipp, offre une coda brute.

2. « Dead Presidents II » (1996)

Sortie en février 1996, la chanson originale « Dead Presidents » a permis à Jay-Z d’évoquer les faux malfrats et de palabrer sur la « représentation de l’infini avec les présidences », tout ça dans le style loquace qui était la marque de fabrique du rap Mafioso. Cependant, lorsque Reasonable Doubt, son premier album, est sorti en juin de la même année aux États-Unis, il a ajouté deux nouveaux couplets qui ont abordé encore plus profondément le sujet. Il fait allusion à DeHaven Irby, un ami d’enfance qui s’est fait tirer dessus et qui lui a appris le jeu de la drogue (« On the uptown high block he got his side sprayed up ») et se souvient de comment il a lui-même évité quelques balles mortelles (« I had near brushes, not to mention, three shots close range »). Il évoque sa supériorité (« Roc-A-Fella, don’t get it corrected, this shit is perfected ») avec des apartés biographiques, ce qui en fait un sequel poignant et supérieur. Dans cette chanson, le producteur Ski Beatz a mélangé « A Garden of Peace » de Lonnie Liston Smith et « The World Is Yours » de Nas. « J’ai juste mis quelques extraits pour voir si ça fonctionnait parce que j’aimais la voix de Nas », a déclaré Ski à Complex en 2010. Cependant, le refus de Nas de ré-enregistrer le refrain (AZ apparaît dans le clip de « Dead Presidents ») a mené à l’une des plus grandes rivalités de l’histoire du hip-hop.

1.  « Where I’m From » (1997)

Le producteur Ron « Amen-Ra » Lawrence était à la recherche de titres en 1996 lorsqu’il a déniché « Let Your Hair Down » de la chanteuse soul Yvonne Fair. Il a alors essayé, comme il le raconte à Rolling Stone, « de lui donner une sensation de bande originale plus sinistre ». La chanson, que Diddy a refusée, était encore dans sa forme brute (aucun effet sonore, aucune percussion supplémentaire), mais lorsque Jay-Z a entendu ce que « Where I’m From » allait devenir, le rappeur, inspiré, a immédiatement commencé à enregistrer ses propres couplets. « J’ai eu une vision comme quoi le morceau devait être plus dramatique en me basant sur le flow de Jay », déclare Lawrence.

Le résultat est l’un des morceaux les plus candides et intimes de Jay. A la fois autobiographique, une critique culturelle et socio-économique et une distillation de son environnement passé et présent. « Il a peint une image sombre de Marcy Projects, affirme Lawrence. La personne qui l’écoute a alors une vision mentale de son enfance à Brooklyn ».

Dès les premières paroles directes qui ouvrent la chanson (« I’m from where the hammers rung / News cameras never come »), Jay décrit un endroit où « l’espérance de vie est tellement basse qu’on fait des testaments à 18 ans » (« life expectancy is so low, we making out wills at 18 »). « Where I’m From » contient également certains des couplets les plus complets de Jay : « Where how you get rid of guys who step out of line, your rep solidifies/ So tell me when I rap, you think I give a fuck who criticize? ».

  Par Christopher R. Weingarten, Elias Leight, Mosi Reeves, Al Shipley, Jason Newman, Christina Lee, David Drake, Maura Johnston, Dan Hyman / Traduit et adapté par Mélanie Geffroy

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Places To Retire Mexico - Visit San Miguel de Allende

Summary: San Miguel de Allende has become a cultural whirlwind in the center of Mexico. We share with you six events you might want to witness while traveling through Mexico.

San Miguel de Allende is a blooming city in the center of Guanajuato one of the best places to retire in Mexico. It has been steadily growing since the 1990s when several ex-pats made it their home. Businesses and hotels opened, and soon San Miguel was hosting international events. In this article, we tell you six reasons you might make plans to visit SMA soon.

 One. International GIFF, an Inclusive Movie Festival

The Festival Internacional de Cine Guanajuato (GIFF) is the most important movie festival in Latin America for young filmmakers. It started back in 1998. GIFF has continued to bring every year movies, conferences, concerts and more to San Miguel de Allende. Most activities are free of charge.

Many famous people in the film industry visit Guanajuato to network during the festival. It also includes a lot of opportunities for young people who want to dedicate their lives to film. The festival is an incubator where several scripts take shape, and many projects come to life.

Festival organizers, led by Sarah Hoch, do an amazing job to put together an international program. The festival also helps finance projects. The festival also homages different celebrities around the world. They invite prestigious directors, producers, and actors that have made us love movies. Last year, in 2019, GIFF celebrated director Gus Van Sant who visited San Miguel. Yalitzia Aparicio, famous for her role in the movie “Roma”, came to the festival to advocate towards women’s rights.

 Two. Art Walks at La Aurora

La Aurora was a textile factory that opened back in 1902. This factory became one of the most important ones in Mexico. Almost a thousand workers made a living there, earning between 25- and 30-peso cents a day.

By 1990, it had closed its doors. The English made the beautiful building which has remained in excellent shape. That is why in 2004 it reopened its doors as a huge art gallery that hosts several art workshops as well.

Twelve stone arches and huge iron doors welcome the visitors.  Francisco Garay, Christopher Fallon, Mary Rapp, Merry Calderoni and Dewayne Youts are the people who made La Aurora as you can see it today. You can visit La Aurora almost every day of the year, but some days it offers amazing art walks.

Some galleries present local art, but you will also find important masterpieces. Skot Foreman Art Gallery features works by Andy Warhol and David Alfaro Siqueiros.

 Three. Crazy People Walk (Dia de Los Locos)

Every year, on June 13th, San Miguel inhabitants are free to dress as they wish. They put on makeup or masks, along with wigs, and raise hell through the narrow streets of San Miguel. You can see mockeries of politicians, and animals, superheroes, aliens, and drag queens. Both women and men crossdress and enjoy themselves in this crazy carnival.

Creativity is the rule. People use old clothes, crepe paper, masking tape, and garbage to create their characters. Entire families gather to put together amazing creations.

They go out to the street, where they have to “pay” the spectators with loads of candy. Some people even take an inverted umbrella to receive all the candy they can collect.

The streets are packed with people. Many photographers come from different parts of the world to capture this unusual event. People dance, sing and make jokes. Everyone seems to be happy together. Spectators fill the balconies to film the event.

 Four. Celebrate the Alborada in Honor of Archangel San Miguel

San Miguel gets its name from the archangel.  The city celebrates San Miguel as its protector every year during the last days of September and the beginning of October. Every neighborhood in San Miguel prepares for this big party. This is a very old tradition that dates back to prehispanic times.

“Alborada” is the name of this celebration. The name means that the party starts well before the sun rises. Around 2:30 am, people from different neighborhoods bring huge stars to the main square. Some stars are so big they have up to 12 points.

The party starts with mariachis and other musical bands, who at 4:30 am sing for the city. There is a firework show that ends around 5 am, as the sun is rising. Then everybody sings “Las Mañanitas”, the traditional Mexican birthday song.

Several other events are planned for the day. Papantla spinners fly off in the Jardin, some papier-mache figures are burnt. Traditional indigenous dancers arrive. Concheros dance by present their xuchiles, a name for plant offerings. Then the Mojigangas, huge puppets, dance for everyone to enjoy.

 Five. San Miguel Writers Conference and Literary Festival

This event has no precedent in all Mexico. From its very beginning, this festival was born as a bilingual festival for writers. Nobody in San Miguel should be excluded from participating. People come from Australia, Greece or as far as Japan to join in.

Mexico has a very low reading level among the general population. Thus, the festival organizers decided to include both Mexican and foreign writers. They wanted people who shared their joy of reading and writing. All conferences are simultaneously translated during the festival, as well as most workshops. This allows the community to mingle and enjoy both the written and spoken word.

The festival can dress up to celebrate a theme, for example, migration around the world. Then the organizers plan some of the activities around these topics. Susan Page started this event, which has continued to exist throughout the years. It has grown so much that it hosts more than 100 activities. These include panels, special events, editorial help in both English and Spanish.

The scholarships that the program grants to students and emerging authors are a highlight of the festival. The price can be very high for some people (up to 700 USD). So, the festival works to sponsors up to 25 people who enjoy and take part in it.

 Six. San Miguel International Jazz and Blues Festival

The San Miguel International Jazz and Blues Festival has celebrated 25 years of wonderful music, live concerts and homages to musicians and singers. This festival is one of the most important music festivals in all Latin America.

The festival celebrates music through several free activities. There is a jazz workshop, a movie festival, and masterclasses. Last year, artists like The Dusha Collection Jazz Trio from Austria, the Simon Wyrsch Jazz Quartet and the Whitney Shays Blues Band made everybody sing and dance!

San Miguel de Allende is more than tourism and stores. We hope you can plan your retirement around one of these events and discover Mexico under a different light.

Hewlett Packard 440K-SF Houston-campus!

Bill Rapp here with the Heartfelt and Hot in Houston Blog, and this is our newest segment: Hewlett Packard 440K-SF Houston-campus! Construction has begun on Hewlett Packard Enterprise's (NYSE: HPE) new campus in Springwoods Village north of Houston, according to a Feb. 12 press release. Palo Alto, California-based HPE announced in November 2017 that it would eventually move out of its Houston campus due to unprecedented flooding two years in a row. A year later, plans were revealed for the new campus. HPE preleased 568,000 square feet, and the project was expected to break ground in the fourth quarter of 2019. Hewlett Packard 440K-SF Houston-campus! Now, the campus is slated to consist of two five-story buildings with about 440,000 square feet of rentable space combined, per the release. The buildings will be at the southwest corner of East Mossy Oaks Road and Lake Plaza Drive and will have a bridge connector at each level. There will be structured parking for 2,055 cars. The campus's amenities will include a fitness center, cafe, kitchen and pharmacy, laboratory and office space, and a large central courtyard with a multiuse basketball pavilion, fitness/yoga lawn, water feature, outdoor tables, seating and games and a large greenspace lawn. There will be a green rooftop terrace adjacent to the main conference center. Hewlett Packard 440K-SF Houston-campus! A joint venture of Houston-based Patrinely Group, San Antonio-based USAA Real Estate and CDC Houston, a subsidiary of New York-based Coventry Development Corp., are the developers behind CityPlace at Springwoods Village, a 60-acre mixed-use development within the 2,000-acre Springwoods Village master-planned community. Houston-based D.E. Harvey Builders is the general contractor on the HPE campus. Connecticut-based Pickard Chilton is the design architect, Houston-based Kirksey is the executive architect, and Oklahoma City-based Rees Associates Inc. is the interior architect. The project is expected to be complete in spring 2022. "Breaking ground on HPE's campus is another major milestone reinforcing CityPlace as the most important and vibrant, 18-hour mixed-use destination in north Houston," Robert Fields, president and CEO of Patrinely Group, said in the release. "2019 was a significant year with the opening of ABS headquarters, the HP Inc. campus, Star Cinema Grill, 24 Hour Fitness, and two Class A multi-tenant buildings, CityPlace 1 and 1401 Lake Plaza Drive." Palo Alto-based HP Inc. also moved its Houston-area operations into a new building in CityPlace in late 2018. The former Hewlett-Packard Co. officially split into Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HP Inc. in November 2015. Before HP Inc.'s move, both companies were sharing the former Compaq campus in Houston, but they occupied separate buildings and operate separately. In January 2018, as HPE was still occupying the Compaq campus and searching for a site for its new Houston-area campus, the company retained JLL to market the former Compaq campus. At the time, HPE planned to lease back the facility should it be sold before the new campus is move-in ready. When complete, CityPlace is expected to include 4 million square feet of Class A office space and 400,000 square feet of retail. Springwoods Village is anchored by Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil Corp.'s corporate campus. Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) moved into the 385-acre campus in mid-2015. That is all for today folks from the Heartfelt & Hot In Houston Blog, make it a great day! The inspiration for today’s edition came from this original article: https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2020/02/13/hewlett-packard-enterprises-springwoods-village.html?ana=apple_houston If you are seriously considering moving right now you need to take action right now and talk to a reputable Real Estate & Mortgage Broker today, please call 281-222-0433 or visit: https://www.zillow.com/lender-profile/BillRappMortgageViking http://www.homesforheroes.com/affiliate/bill-rapp-1 https://www.billrapponline.com/ https://twitter.com/BillRappRE https://caliberhomeloans.com/wrapp https://onlineapp.caliberhomeloans.com/?LoanOfficerId=21493 https://mortgageviking.billrapponline.com https://highcostarea.billrapponline.com https://commercial.billrapponline.com https://doctorvideo.billrapponline.com https://doctorvideo.billrapponline.com https://sba.billrapponline.com/ https://veteransvideo.billrapponline.com https://fha203h.billrapponline.com https://privatemoney.billrapponline.com https://rei-investor.billrapponline.com https://manufacturedhousing.billrapponline.com https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsF3Rh4Akd1OAOAgTmzgqQg       Read the full article

Virginia Beach Shooting: A City Grieves Its Workers a Day After Horror

If you were a Virginia Beach Municipal Center manager, what would you do in honor of the 12 people gunned down in a shooting rampage by a veteran city engineer? Why? What are the ethics underlying your decision?

Eleven of them were civil servants, the kind of people who worked on construction projects and water quality and right of way issues. Another was a local contractor who had come by to talk about a permit.

Between them, they had more than 150 years of experience helping to make Virginia’s largest city work — the unelected, behind-the-scenes figures who drew up plans, issued permits and performed the vital jobs that help keep a community intact. And on Friday, their lives ended with a man’s barrage of bullets in a three-floor rampage that once again pushed the nation’s death toll from mass shootings higher.

“Today, we all grieve,” David L. Hansen, the Virginia Beach city manager, said on Saturday. “I have worked with most of them for many years. We want you to know who they were, so in the days and weeks to come, you will learn what they meant to all of us.”

He then began a grim, halting roll call of the dead, their jobs and their lengths of service. He started with LaQuita Brown, and he ended with Herbert Snelling, the contractor. It lasted nearly three minutes.

Only after the last name was read did Mr. Hansen pause and ask the police chief to talk about “that 13th person,” the 15-year city employee who opened fire in Building No. 2. Chief James A. Cervera identified the dead suspect, DeWayne Craddock, and said it would be “the only time we will announce his name.”

So as state troopers stood guard and F.B.I. agents in cargo pants collected evidence at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center on Saturday, the city — a mix of a three-mile beachfront boardwalk lined with hotels, a naval air station and old and new shopping centers — was left to take stock of those it had so suddenly lost.

Virginia Beach is a sprawling city of about 450,000 people. But in its core, particularly around the municipal complex, it has a town-square feel, with all the cross-connected relationships of a much smaller place. When Mayor Bobby Dyer saw the list of the dead, his heart fell. These were people everyone knew.

There was Alexander Mikhail Gusev, an immigrant from Belarus who had worked as a right of way agent and had been with the city for more than nine years. Before the gunfire, he had planned to spend Friday evening with his twin brother, repairing a property in nearby Portsmouth.

“It was getting late, so I called him and, you know, there was no answer,” said Aliaksei Huseu, standing in the doorway of his brother’s rowhouse on Saturday morning. “He was a hard worker, but he liked fun. He would act a little bit like the fool just to make everybody smile. Everybody’s crying. I’m not. I have a lot of thoughts in my head, but I’m not crying. I don’t know why.”

Mary Louise Gayle had worked for the city for more than 24 years and reached a sweet spot in her life, friends and neighbors said. She had been looking forward to receiving a free day at a spa, a reward for her work in the right of way section of the public utilities division.

Ms. Gayle, a single mother in her 60s who had raised a son and daughter on her own, was known in the neighborhood for spending hours working in the yard of her meticulously maintained ranch house a few miles from work. She had recently pulled down a dying pine tree, and replaced it with a pair of azalea bushes — which were starting to flower in front of her empty house on Saturday.

“She was a super sweet lady; she always had this big smile,” said her next-door neighbor John Cushman, 33, a firefighter in Portsmouth. “She would always be out there in the yard, working on something and talking to my daughters.”

Ryan Keith Cox had lately been dividing his time between his work as an account clerk and his preparations for his first sermon.

Recently he felt “the Lord called him to preach,” his brother said, and wanted to follow his father, who has been a pastor for 56 years. “He felt that it was time,” said Ervin Cox Jr., Mr. Cox’s older brother.

“This is hard. It hurts, it hurts deep,” Ervin Cox said Saturday.

And there was Ms. Brown, a Jehovah’s Witness who was a native of this coastal shipbuilding region. She was already fluent in French, and was learning Japanese and sign language so she could spread her faith.

“That’s my heart, that’s my first born,” her father, Dwight G. Brown Sr., said as he began to cry. “I have two kids; now I only have a son. This is devastating.”

Mr. Snelling, the only non-city employee to die in the attack, was a contractor who had worked for the mayor, replacing a sliding glass wall in his bedroom, fixing trim, rebuilding his balcony.

“He was phenomenal — personable, a consummate professional, a perfectionist, a great carpenter, and just about the nicest human being you will ever meet,” Mr. Dyer said.

The city identified each of the other victims: Tara Welch Gallagher, an engineer; Katherine A. Nixon, an engineer who spent more than a decade working for Virginia Beach; Richard H. Nettleton, a 28-year veteran of city government who served alongside Mr. Hansen in the Army; Christopher Kelly Rapp, who joined the municipal government less than a year ago; Joshua O. Hardy, an engineering technician; Michelle Langer, known as Missy, who was an administrative assistant; and Robert Williams, a Public Utilities Department employee for 41 years.

At least three more people were listed in critical condition at local hospitals on Saturday.

Gov. Ralph Northam, a physician who treated soldiers from Operation Desert Storm, visited the wounded early Saturday and said he emerged seeing similarities between their injuries and those he had seen in combat.

“Its difficult as a physician, and it’s difficult as a human being, to see what these weapons can do to the human body,” said the governor in an interview. “I saw it during the war, and I saw it today. It has an effect on you, no question about it.”

Relatives of the dead learned the extent of the carnage early on Saturday morning, Mr. Cox said, when they were told at a middle school who had died.

“Just to have such a senseless thing done to take his life, to take him away from us,” Mr. Cox said.

Although there are hundreds of workplace-related homicides a year, according to federal government data, most happen under far different circumstances, like robbery or domestic violence.

City officials would not discuss the suspect or his work history in detail, but they said that he was an employee at the time of the attack, that he had held a security access card and that he had been “authorized” to be where he was.

A person familiar with the investigation, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said that the 40-year-old gunman had no record of workplace behavioral problems until recently, when he got into physical “scuffles” with other employees, including a violent altercation that he was told would lead to discipline.

Chief Cervera refused to discuss a possible motive for the attack, which he said left “a horrific crime scene” and provoked “a long-term, large gunfight” with police officers who responded to 911 calls.

Two handguns found with the suspect were purchased legally in 2016 and 2018, the authorities said. And officials said that two other weapons were found during a search of the gunman’s apartment; at least one had been purchased legally. The suspect spent time in the Virginia National Guard, and court records did not suggest a history with the legal system beyond traffic violations.

Mr. Northam, who ordered state flags to be flown at half-staff until next weekend, said that he would pursue gun control measures “in upcoming days.”

“There are things we can do as governor,” said Mr. Northam, a Democrat who also attended a vigil on Saturday outside a Virginia Beach movie theater.

The vigil drew a handful of city employees, some of whom stood in the crowd and were overcome with emotion. A man, dressed in a white button-down shirt with the city government’s logo, received hugs as faith leaders sang, backed by acoustic guitars.

He turned to leave.

“It’s just too much,” he said.

By then, cul-de-sacs and streets around the area were filled with cars as family members and friends gathered at the homes of the dead. At Mr. Snelling’s home, where a patriotic wreath hung a few feet above a sign that read “God shed his grace on thee,” tearful neighbors hurried past an R.V. that was parked in the driveway.

And Mr. Cushman, the neighbor of Ms. Gayle who recalled how she would speak to his 2- and 4-year-old daughters, paused when he considered how he would tell them.

“I won’t,” he said. “They are too young.”

As the theater awards season enters the home stretch – what’s left: Drama Desk Awards, Theatre World Awards, the Tonys – the question arises once again:How does one determine, or even define, excellence in theater?

“I’ve become increasingly convinced that as a field we do not have a cohesive definition of excellence,” Chad Bauman,  the managing director of Milwaukee Repertory Theater, wrote last year in American Theatre.

So he asked his colleagues across the country, and got some 50 responses – but the question he asked was about excellence in a theater as a whole (regional theaters in particular), not about individual shows. So the answers about excellence in individual shows didn’t get much more specific than “artistic quality.” All did agree that courage counts – such as not being afraid to play with form.

Five years ago, in an article titled Divining Artistic Excellence ,  theater artist and historian Lynne Connor pointed out that, while the concept of excellence can refer to something semi-tangible such as “the sophistication of a play’s dramatic arc,” more often people conflate excellence with taste, “something far less tangible and thus far less quantifiable.” And what determines taste? ��Personal taste in everything from beer to Shakespeare comes about through a combination of biology, past experience, cultural norms, and individual predilections.”

She concludes: “We need to find productive ways to invite audiences of all tastes (and all economic and ethnic backgrounds) to join in the conversation about (the struggle over) meaning and value.”

Week in New York Theater Awards

Obie Awards

The 64th Annual Obie Awards, celebrating Off and Off-Off-Broadway Theater, was a New York Theatre Workshop lovefest, with Obies going to NYTW playwrights Heidi Schreck, Madeleine George, Marcus Gardley, and lighting designer Isabella Byrd, as well as a lifetime achievement Obie to NYTW’s artistic director James Nicola. It was also a tribute to the many women working in the theater in New York. But Obies like to spread the wealth, literally — Four theaters received grants.

Full list

  Terrence McNally was made an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts at New York University’s Commencement. NYU Prof (and playwright) Kristoffer Diaz read the citation:”  Terrence McNally, one of theatre’s greatest contemporary playwrights, you have created over the past half-century an eclectic and prolific body of work—literally scores of plays, musicals, opera libretti, and scripts for film and television. Your razor wit and complexities of character largely explain how you created theatre that functions as family, launched the careers of great actors, and helped audiences cope with the AIDS crisis that engulfed them. You placed your unique stamp on American drama by probing the urgent need for connection that resonates at the core of human experience. From an expansive mind and generous spirit, you have created masterful and enduring art and in the process have celebrated and uplifted humankind.”

The latest is a revival of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, which opens May 30th at Broadway’s Broadhurst Theater.

  Madeline Michel from Monticello High School in Charlottesville, VA was the winner of the 2019 Excellence in Theatre Education Award from the Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon

After the white supremacist rally in their city, Michel’s students wrote and performed original theater to address racial inequality, helping to elevated the conversation for a wounded community.

Some 2019 Outer Critics Circle Award winners accept their awards at a celebratory luncheon at Sardi’s

elia Keenan-Bolger, featured actress in a play, To Kill a Mockingbird

Amber Gray, featured actress in a musical, Hadestown

Andre De Shields, featured actor in a musical, Hadestown

Benjamin Walker, featured actor in a play, All My Sons

Bryan Cranston, lead actor in a play, Network

Stephanie J. Block, lead actress in a musical, The Cher Show

Santino Fontana, lead actor in a musical, Tootsie

  The Week in New York Theater Reviews and Previews

Brian d’Arcy James (Quinn Carney) and Holley Fain (Caitlin Carney

The Ferryman on Broadway with American cast

The Ferryman, a feast of Irish storytelling in a breathtaking mix of genres, opened on Broadway seven months ago, and since then it’s gotten nine Tony nominations, best play awards from the New York Drama Critics Circle, the Outer Critics Circle, AND the Drama League…and an almost entirely new cast, the original British and Irish actors replaced by Americans. Even Laura Donnelly has been replaced. She is the Belfast-born actress whose uncle’s disappearance, and the subsequent discovery years later of his murdered corpse, inspired playwright Jez Butterworth to write the play in the first place. Donnelly’s character Caitin Carney is now being portrayed by Holley Fain, an actress born in Kansas.

…Does this matter? It might in one way to those of us who saw the original cast. But to those theatergoers who have not yet had the pleasure of experiencing The Ferryman (which they have only until July 7th to do), the play is still a rich, sweeping entertainment — epic, tragic….and cinematic.

Lunch Bunch at Clubbed Thumb

n the first play of Clubbed Thumb’s 24thannual  Summerworks festival at the Wild Project – the first summer theater festival of the season — the cast faces us a la A Chorus Line, except instead of singing “I hope I get it,”they recite “Veggie enchiladas with Clementine” and “Rice, steamed kale, spiced tofu.”

It’s only after several such culinary recitations that we’re told these people are members of a lunch group, each member having agreed to make lunch for everybody else once a week.  It takes a little longer to figure out that they are lawyers in a public defender’s office, that it’s a taxing job – “Greg’s resilient,” says Tuttle (Keilly McQuail), “He never cries in the coat closet” – and that obsessing on food is what helps keep them going.

Loveville High

Two things distinguish Loveville High, a new musical that takes place on prom night in a high school in Loveville, Ohio. First: The cast of 13 is comprised of some of the most talented young theater stars in New York, several of them also currently performing on Broadway — Ali Stroker (Tony nominee for Oklahoma!), Kathryn Allison (Aladdin), Andrew Durand (Ink), Gizel Jiménez (Wicked), and Ryann Redmond (Frozen)  — and they sing the hell out of the lively, often witty songs  by David Zellnik (Yank!) and Eric Svejcar (Disney’s Peter Pan Jr.) How is it possible to be in two shows at the same time?  That’s the second aspect of this musical that’s unusual: It has no choreographer, no set designer…no stage. It’s a podcast.

Úna Clancy and Maryann Plunkett

  Sean O’Casey’s Dublin Trilogy

Sean O’Casey was 43 years old and had worked his whole life as a laborer, when he finally had a play accepted in 1922 by the founders of Dublin’s famed Abbey Theater, the dramatist Lady Gregory and the poet W.B. Yeats. That play, The Shadow of A Gunman, was set during the 1920 Irish War of Independence, and is the first play of what came to be called O’Casey’s Dublin Trilogy, a chronicle of Ireland’s violent struggle for independence from the British, set from 1916 to 1922.

To celebrate its 30th anniversary, the Irish Rep is mounting all three plays in repertory,

  The Week in New York Theater News

Goodbye, Avenue Q

Marisa Tomei will play Serafina Delle Rose in the third Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams’ 1951 play “The Rose Tattoo,” opening October 15, 2019 on Broadway at Roundabout’s American Airlines Theater. .

Mary-Louise Parker as Bella Baird in “The Sound Inside” at Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Mary-Louise Parker will star in the Broadway premiere of “The Sound Inside”, written by Adam Rapp (Red Light Winter), directed by David Cromer Opens October 17, 2019 at Studio 54 Play debuted last year at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. “A tenured professor. A talented student. A troubling favor.”

Cast announced for @Alanis ‘s @jaggedmusical, opening at Broadway’s Broadhurst Dec 5: Elizabeth Stanley, @PattenLauren, @DerekKlena, Kathryn Gallagher, @SeanAllanKrill, & @celia_gooding

“The Healys appear to be a picture-perfect suburban family — but looks can be deceiving.” pic.twitter.com/0izIBUOWd7

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) May 23, 2019

.@RattlestickNY has a busy and exciting June, starting with #AlumniJam June 3, in which 5 playwrights offer sneak previews of their new plays — clockwise from top left @OhYeaDiana ,Jesse Eisenberg, @HalleyFeiffer , Ren Santiago, @SamuelDHunterhttps://t.co/jHtc8ihYKn pic.twitter.com/gF1RElEOyC

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) May 21, 2019

Immersive powerhouse Third Rail Projects will  stage “Midsummer A Banquet,” culinary version of Shakespeare’s comedy w/ a tasting menu July 15- Sept 8, a co-production with Food of Love Productions at Cafe Fae in Union Square

Third season of #NextDooratNYTW will offer 10 plays from The Penal Colony by @miranda__haymon, adapted from Kafka short story, July 2019 to “Raisins Not Virgins” by @sharbarizohra in June 2020 Also @michiMigdalia @missmillythomas @andybragen more!https://t.co/KomdhI7hAK pic.twitter.com/XPoTLOWaMc

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) May 20, 2019

  The real Lunt and Fontanne

After Fosse Verdon, What’s Next?

  EXTRAS NEEDED! Do u live in Washington Heights? Do u want to be in a movie?! How about a movie MUSICAL?!!!! We are doing an open call for Extras for our #InTheHeights shooting very very soon! Check out attached flyers 4details on how to submit. @Lin_Manuel @quiarahudes pic.twitter.com/j7oFk9wYIw

— Jon M. Chu (@jonmchu) May 25, 2019

.@LPTWomen‘s 7th Annual Women Stage the World March, June 11th, Times Square The march is “designed to educate the public about the role women play in creating theatre and the gender barriers they face as men continue to outnumber women by 4 to 1.” https://t.co/56VVv938kO pic.twitter.com/wQzOEmkAHh

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) May 23, 2019

Nik Wallenda and Lijanda Wallenda, seventh generation daredevils, will walk 25 stories above street level between 1 Times Square & 2 Times Square. Time Square is not for the faint-hearted, as anybody who’s tried to navigated around the Elmos and tourists can tell you

I’m so excited to announce that I’m returning to the highwire with my sister Lijana for a never before attempted walk across New York City’s iconic Times Square! Join me LIVE Sunday, June 23 on ABC. #HighwireLIVE pic.twitter.com/yVi9hqVHB2

— Nik Wallenda (@NikWallenda) May 23, 2019

Billboard above the Empire Diner in Chelsea:

A Mount Rushmore of avant-garde art. But isn’t that a contradiction?

Excellence in Theater…or Taste? Marisa Tomei, Mary-Louise Parker Back on Broadway. Third Rail’s New Immersive Shakespeare! #Stageworthy News of the Week As the theater awards season enters the home stretch – what’s left: Drama Desk Awards, Theatre World Awards, the Tonys – the question arises once again:How does one determine, or even define, excellence in theater?

Shows to Check Out in New York this Weekend (November 30-December 2, 2018)

New York has one of the most vibrant music scenes in the world. From large venues with nationally touring artists to smaller clubs giving up-and-comers their big breaks, there is never a dull moment. There is usually something going on every night of the week. With the weekend almost here, this is the perfect time to check out just what the music scene has to offer.

There is a lot going on in the New York area this weekend, particularly when it comes to rock shows. Bob Dylan is finishing up his seven show Beacon Theatre run. The Hold Steady and Yo La Tengo have holiday residencies that will be anything but predictable. We also have some big shows from Dave Matthews Band, O.A.R. and Peter Bjorn and John.

Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s music outlet, loves live music. That’s why we’ve once again compiled a list of our picks for this weekend’s hottest shows in the New York area. Here are eight we know will be worth checking out.

1.       Peter Bjorn and John: Swedish indie rockers Peter Bjorn and John released their new album ‘Darker Days’ last month. The album brought them back to their original style of writing and producing songs themselves. Catch the band promote the album on tour this weekend. Georgi Kay opens tonight’s show, while Talos opens Saturday.  (Friday, Rough Trade; Saturday, Bowery Ballroom)

2.       The Hold Steady: The Hold Steady is in the middle of their third-annual ‘Massive Nights’ holiday run. So far, the band has played their album ‘Stay Positive’ in its entirety, as well as had surprise opening sets from Ted Leo (night one) and Laura Stevenson and Bomb the Music Industry!/Antarctigo Vespucci’s Jeff Rosenstock (night two). Tonight’s opener was reviled earlier today as Bad Moves, but there is still no word yet on who will be opening Saturday’s show. (Friday & Saturday, Brooklyn Bowl)

3.       Bob Dylan: There are only two more shows in Bob Dylan’s epic seven night Beacon Theatre residency! Catch the legendary folk-rock singer/songwriter and Nobel Laureate as he performs some of his most iconic songs (Friday & Saturday, Beacon Theatre)

4.       Dave Matthews Band: Dave Matthews Band released their latest album, ‘Come Tomorrow,’ in June, their first studio effort in six years. The band kicked off a short fall tour behind the album, playing the first of two Madison Square Garden shows last night. The band plays the second sold out show tonight. (Friday, Madison Square Garden)

5.       O.A.R.: O.A.R. is slated to release their new album, ‘The Mighty,’ this spring. In the meantime, the band is out on the road with their ‘Just Like Paradise’ headlining tour with Huntertones and Lumin as openers. (Saturday, St. George Theatre; Sunday, The Paramount)

6.       Jesse Malin: New York punk icon Jesse Malin will be headlining this year’s ‘Rock the Night’ fundraiser, happening this weekend. The event raises money and awareness for Crohn’s and Colitis Research. Also on the bill are Trapper Schoepp and comedians Bill Burr and Dean DelRay. (Saturday, Highline Ballroom)

7.       Yo La Tengo: Yo La Tengo are back for another year of Hanukkah shows. Starting Sunday night (Hanukkah night one) and lasting all eight nights, the band will be playing their hits, music from their new album, ‘There’s a Riot Going On’, and covers. The band also usually has some super secret special guests, so there are sure to be some surprises. Note: All nights are sold out. (Sunday - 12/9, Bowery Ballroom)

8.       Adam Pascal & Anthony Rapp: It has been a little over two decades since Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal starred in the Broadway production of ‘Rent’ playing Mark Cohen and Roger Davis, respectively. And though the two have moved on to other roles, they have maintained their friendship throughout the years. The two share the stage again this weekend for an intimate show celebrating that friendship. (Sunday, Sony Hall)

With a plethora of hot shows happening around the New York area this weekend, this is a great chance to see just what the music scene has to offer. Check out one of the shows above or any of the many others peppering the area and let us know what shows you’re excited to see live.

                                                             ---

Find music from these touring artists and more at Vinyl Bay 777. As Long Island’s top new independent record shop we have thousands of titles to choose from in a variety of genres to fit most music lovers’ tastes. Browse our wide selection of new and used vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, music DVDs, memorabilia and more in store at our Plainview location or online at vinylbay777.com. With more titles being added to our selection all the time, you never know what you might find at Vinyl Bay 777.

For the fun of it, I’m going to post about all the cases I can remember where I stopped buying stuff from a company involved in creative works because of various things they did. Also, my history with them and current state. I could write very long posts on each of these, but my intent is to try to keep it short and straightforward.

Square-Enix

I grew up with Final Fantasy from Squaresoft. It was my lifelong fandom.

Problems arose with Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, and Chrono Trigger DS. All of these games either were ideas for new franchises forced where they didn’t belong, or half-assed projects meant to bilk money out of people. The final straw was 3rd Birthday, one of the most insulting works I’ve ever seen. It bent over backwards to ruin perception of Aya, treated her like a sex object, and the producer and scriptwriter lied profusely about things like how the clothes ripping away mechanic was for “realism.”

Current status: Starting 2010, I’ve refused to buy anything Squeenix until a new game starring Aya Brea would be made that treats Aya right and makes 3rd Birthday noncanon. Squeenix’s philosophy is to hide its mistakes instead of fixing them, so I expect I’ll never buy and engage in anything from Squeenix again.

Ubisoft

I didn’t have much history with Ubisoft. I had been starting to get some interest in Assassin’s Creed after an online pal introduced me to the franchise. I greatly enjoyed AC3.

Then, Ubisoft decided to be dicks to Patrice Desilets. A lot could be said about this, but the cliffnotes is this. Desilets was making 1666 with THQ. Ubisoft bought THQ. When Desilets left/was fired (can’t remember which), the rights to 1666 were to go back to him if it got canceled. So, Ubisoft put the game on “indefinite hold” instead of canceling it - ensuring the rights wouldn’t go back to Desilets while never actually doing anything with it. I stopped buying anything Ubisoft until Desilets got the rights back.

Current status: The rights finally went back to Desilets after a few years. I immediately bought four games: Far Cry 3, Far Cry 4, Far Cry Primal, and Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. This year, I bought Far Cry 5, and I currently have Assassin’s Creed Odyssey next to play after I’m done with Soul Calibur VI.

Soul Calibur

I’ve been playing Soul Calibur games since SCII. I’ve enjoyed them a great deal. My favorite character in the franchise is Setsuka.

Soul Calibur V is where I had big complaints. The excuse of a time jump to change the roster conveniently meant most of the female roster “needed” to be changed while most of the male roster got to remain. Including the removal of Sophitia and Taki. To Taki’s exclusion, the director claimed she was “too old” to be a ninja, yet he saw no problem with Mitsurugi, Siegfried, or Raphael returning. I played Lost Swords, but I determined that I wouldn’t play another Soul Calibur entry until Sophitia and Taki were brought back.

Current status: Soul Calibur VI just recently came out, and it brought back Sophitia and Taki, and gave them some of the respect they should’ve gotten during SCV. As such, I own this game. I’m playing it right now. 

Resident Evil

Like most people, I started with Resident Evil 2. I was never a huge fan, but I followed along with main entries up to and including Resident Evil 5.

Then Resident Evil 6 happened. A supposed “anniversary” title, it excluded Jill and Claire completely, while putting Chris and Leon on a pedestal. Other projects began to make it abundantly clear that the current team fanwanks over Chris and Leon while refusing to acknowledge the value of Jill and Claire. I can say so, so much on this, but I’ll refrain for brevity sake. I determined that after RE6, I would only buy something if it starred Jill or Claire, until they got to be the stars of a main numbered entry again.

Current status: Capcom still hasn’t done it, so this rule is still in effect. Notably, I’m skipping the Resident Evil 2 “remake” because it’s become abundantly clear that the team is treating it like a Leon fanwank with Claire included rather than an actual remake.

DC Comics

Of the two “big” superhero entities, DC is the one I grew up with. It was mostly Batman growing up, because that’s what DC was focusing on the most. But I still loved Superman a lot. I never really got to watch any of the cartoons. Never seemed to catch them. It was mostly about films. I came to greatly enjoy Harley Quinn as I got older, to the point where I read her first (in my mind only) solo series.

The first DC “reboot” of the 2010s is where things changed. I had huge problems with how they changed Harley Quinn. The design threw away her entire harlequin theme, and all the fun it meant, to make her basically look like a clown girl Joker knockoff. I dropped everything DC at that point with plan to only engage in stuff that included actual Harley Quinn until she came back.

Current status: In rare cases where I find out actual Harley Quinn is involved in something, I check it out. I watched the Batman and Harley Quinn animated movie (which sucked) in theaters, for example. The only exception I’ve made so far was the Wonder Woman film, to support female-led superhero films. I do see that there’s going to be an animated series with Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. If that’s the start of bringing back actual Harley, I may be returning to DC soon.

Nintendo

I also grew up with Nintendo. They were the main video game provider. There’s not a lot to say in this regard.

Other M was where problems started. I actually bought, played and beat the game, and I can tell you it’s an insulting wreck. But it’s Nintendo’s behavior afterward that turned me against them. They basically blacklisted Metroid and Samus except for cases where they “had” to use her. They treated her and Metroid like a minor franchise, ignoring its anniversary, cause they didn’t want to admit they made a mistake and fix it. And there’s also Federation Force which is a whole other ball of bullshit. Nintendo’s antics there led me to refuse to buy anything Nintendo until they decided to make up for what they were doing to Metroid and Samus and treat them right.

Current status: Nintendo put out a new Metroid game and plan to release Prime 4 too. I wish I could say that’s the end of the story, but it isn’t. I’m pretty pissed still that they threw Alison Rapp under the bus for a bunch of vile assholes, and fueled more harassment in the industry. I don’t know when I’ll get Nintendo stuff again. I’m still not fucking over this.

ArenaNet

I bought and played Guild Wars when it came out. I played and enjoyed it. There isn’t a whole lot to say on this.

If you’ve watched video game news this year, you know Mike O’Brien fired Jessica Price and Peter Fries for bullshit reasons. In doing so, he fueled tons of assholes hellbent on harassing good people and forcing them out of the industry. My reaction is that I’m never touching another ArenaNet thing until Mike O’Brien is out. Because he should be forced out. He doesn’t deserve his position.

Current status: Nothing’s changed, so I’m waiting for Mike O’Brien to be gone. I don’t anticipate this being any kind of burden on me.

Disney/Star Wars/Marvel

Oooookay, this is a big ball of stuff right here. It’s gonna be hard to keep this short.

Obviously I grew up on a lot of Disney stuff, like just about anyone in the United States. Star Wars, I got into during the 90s when the original trilogy was getting released. Marvel, I saw stuff here and there but didn’t truly give a damn until 2009 when I discovered Polaris.

When Disney bought up Star Wars, they shut down Lucasarts very abruptly, with no plans whatsoever to prep the studio’s employees for its end. I found (and still find) that absolutely fucking atrocious. So, I refuse to touch Star Wars video games. I actually don’t have any criteria for engaging in Star Wars content again. Maybe that criteria will come back some day. Maybe I’ll never touch another Star Wars game. This happened in 2013, by the way.

Then Marvel. After the forced retcon on Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver’s parentage, I vowed to never buy or engage in anything from Marvel except content that’s either X-Men related or tied to Polaris, until the twins were Magneto’s kids again. Only exception I made was the Black Panther movie, to support minority-led films.

Now, I’m about to drop everything Disney - including X-Men content, Star Wars, ABC programs and anything else - because of their treatment of Polaris this past year. To treat Polaris like her only value exists in being a supporting character for the stories of men, then throw her into limbo while putting those men on a pedestal, fucking infuriates me. Disney does not deserve money or support, so I won’t give it to them. This will only change for me if Polaris gets a solo, mini or oneshot comic, or leads a team book again.

Current status: No plans to ever play a Star Wars game again. Everything’s on track for me to refuse to touch Disney content after this year, possibly for the rest of my life. Only exception I plan to make is Episode IX, just to wrap up the sequel trilogy I’ve been watching.

In conclusion, I have a lot of companies that I refuse to play, watch, read anything they offer. Sometimes, like with Soul Calibur and Ubisoft, things change for the better and I come back to it. But most of the time, it’s like Squeenix or Disney. A company treats franchises or people like shit, they do nothing to fix their mistakes, I continue to not give them money or support because they don’t deserve it.

A lot of people think this is a huge burden. It’s not. The truth is that in our world, there’s a looooooooooooooot of creative content out there. If I wanted to, I could spend the rest of my life reading all the fanfiction written just today. I’m watching 5 TV shows right now that aren’t tied to Disney, more than I watched during the 2000s. I’ve recently played Far Cry 5, Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, Soul Calibur VI, and I’ll soon by playing Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.

I don’t need these companies to find entertainment. In some cases, I can even make my own. I can create things that these companies refuse to make. These companies need me more than I need them, because they need money to stay in business, and my money plays a role in that.

That’s my long post.