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dweemeister · 3 years

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Kiss of Death (1947)

When 20th Century Fox put together the pieces to launch a production of film noir Kiss of Death, the picture was to be a vehicle for leading man Victor Mature. Mature had impressed Fox’s chief executive, Darryl F. Zanuck, in a supporting performance as Doc Holliday in My Darling Clementine (1946). Zanuck wished to reward the Fox contractee with a starring role, buying the rights to the film’s story with Mature in mind. But no one at Fox expected what would happen next: an actor debuting in his first film role would overshadow Mature. Kiss of Death marks the cinematic debut for Richard Widmark, best-known at the time for his Broadway work in pleasant, romantic comedy roles. For his first movie appearance, Widmark – and I don’t write something like this lightly – provides one of the most terrifying debuts in film history. This is not to downplay the performances (of Mature, Brian Donlevy, or fellow debutant Coleen Gray) or the filmmaking, but Widmark’s performance alone make Kiss of Death – directed by Henry Hathaway, from a screenplay by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer – an essential film noir.

After a failed jewelry store robbery on Christmas Eve, ex-con Nick Bianco (Victor Mature) is offered leniency from New York City Assistant District Attorney Louis D’Angelo (Brian Donlevy) if Nick can provide the names of his accomplices to the robbery. Against all common sense and in the belief his accomplices will take care of his wife and daughters, Nick refuses. He is handed a twenty-year sentence in Sing Sing. Several months into the sentence, he learns that his wife has committed suicide following a rape by one of his accomplices* and that his daughters have been handed over to an orphanage. Former babysitter Nettie Cavallo (Coleen Gray) divulges this news to Nick, who then indicates his desire to cooperate with the ADA. In an arrangement agreed to by D’Angelo and Nick’s lawyer, Earl Howser (Taylor Holmes), Nick becomes a jailhouse informant and is given the possibility of an earlier parole. While serving as a jailhouse informant, he will encounter Tommy Udo (Widmark) – who, eventually, uses any means at his disposal to keep Nick silent about his plans and partners-in-crime.

The film also stars Mildred Dunnock (appearing briefly in one of the most memorable scenes in any film noir), character actors Howard Smith and Millard Mitchell, and only the second credited film for eventual star Karl Malden.

Before commenting on how the performances heighten what could have been your run-of-the-mill film noir, Norbert Brodine’s (1938’s Merrily We Live, 1949’s Thieves’ Highway) cinematography and J. Watson Webb Jr.’s (1944’s The Lodger, 1952’s With a Song in My Heart) editing are superb. One only has to watch the opening moments of the film to witness the benefits of their collaboration. The failed robbery scene is a textbook example of economical filmmaking. Webb’s cutting neither lingers nor moves away too rapidly for the audience’s comprehension. Brodine’s strategic placements of his camera and use of blocking – of Mature, the supporting actors, extras, and the production design – ratchets up the tension, suggesting without any words how little room for error there is in this operation. Small details such as what level an elevator is on allow the audience to agonize – however much we do not want to see this robbery succeed – over the robbers’ wasted seconds. In Kiss of Death’s tensest scenes, this mercurial combination splices into moments that will shock and unnerve. Kiss of Death is an ideal counterargument to black-and-white film’s uninformed naysayers but, more compellingly, an entry point for film noir novices.

When complemented with Richard Widmark’s performance, Kiss of Death becomes horrifying. Widmark’s face often sports a toothy half-grin that only serves to intimidate. To make matters worse, as Tommy Udo, his staccato snigger accompanies a grin belying a man unhinged, delighting in his sadistic and psychopathic ways. Udo’s disconcerting voice and manner of speech reveals a character as slippery as a soapy eel. The way he tells a cop prodding for information that, “I wouldn’t give you the skin off a grape,” comes laced with dismissal, menace, and even playfulness.

It is difficult to watch the harm Tommy Udo brings to others. But Widmark is so convincing in the role, it is impossible to keep one’s eyes off of him. If you are aware about the basics of the Hays Code, you can easily guess Tommy Udo’s fate. But beyond the scope of the film’s narrative, the character inspired certain men in American colleges and universities to form Tommy Udo clubs or fraternities. These clubs and fraternities codified Udo’s disgusting male chauvinism – as if colleges and universities needed any more such behavior. It is a magnificent about-face from Widmark’s Broadway roles at the time; his actual off-screen persona (by all accounts, Widmark was one of the kindest people in Hollywood and was known to apologize for any hurtful words or behaviors he performed while in character on a film shoot); and many of the upstanding roles he would play later in his career.

Though outshone by Widmark, Mature strikes the balance of being a former hoodlum and caring parent. His physical acting cannot hide his character’s violent past, but – akin to his performance as Doc Holliday the previous year – there is ample room for melancholy and remorse. Mature pairs well with Coleen Gray, whose innocent demeanor recalls her later performances in Red River (1948) and other film noir projects.

Speaking of film noir, most noir is set in an urban environment and filmed on a soundstage. Kiss of Death is no exception to this rule, but a decent portion of the film was shot on-location in New York City and numerous interiors do not feel as if shot on a soundstage. The Bianco family home has a riverfront view in Queens and the interior and exteriors of the Chrysler Building (where the opening heist is filmed), Criminal Courts Building, Sing Sing (Hathaway had Mature and Widmark go through a simulation of convict processing to help them embody the mindset of a prisoner), among other locations. Quotations from the main theme of Alfred Newman’s score to Street Scene (1931) bolsters the authenticity of the film’s New York environment. In terms of backgrounds and production design, there is little sense of artificiality that might have emanated from an all-too-obvious soundstage. Hathaway’s direction posits Kiss of Death as documentary-like without ever quite crossing the lines of fiction and non-fiction. In combination with the performances, these decisions, in aggregate, elevate Kiss of Death from just another film noir. No disrespect intended to the esteemed and prolific screenwriters, Ben Hecht (1932’s Scarface, 1946’s Notorious) and Charles Lederer (1940’s His Girl Friday, 1960’s Ocean’s Eleven), but this was not their most original screenplay – ideologically, structurally, or in terms of character development.

Other reviewers have noted how Tommy Udo might have been influenced by the Joker from the Batman comics. Some go further, claiming that Widmark was a fan of Batman and based Udo’s persona on the Joker and that actor Frank Gorshin based his portrayal of The Riddler in the 1960s Batman television series on Udo. There are no primary sources to confirm any of these claims. If any prior narrative media influenced Widmark’s performance, I cannot confirm any such claims however convincing, on the surface, they might be. The provenance of the influences of and by this performance remains a mystery.

Kiss of Death derives its power almost solely from its performances and nail-biting action. The latter is almost entirely accomplished with slower and/or less motion than one might expect. It is another tribute to the editing’s manipulation of space and time that segments featuring a steady walk, a seemingly ordinary dinner table conversation, or a character sitting alone in darkness watching the movement across the street can leave viewers with wide eyes and goosebumps. Kiss of Death may not stake a claim to being one of the best examples of film noir. Yet through its incredible performances and dramatic ferocity, it will leave impressions that will jangle even the most composed viewers.

My rating: 8/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. Half-points are always rounded down. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog (as of July 1, 2020, tumblr is not permitting certain posts with links to appear on tag pages, so I cannot provide the URL).

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

* Actress Patricia Morrison (1943′s The Song of Bernadette, 1946′s Dressed to Kill... but better known for her stage performances) was cast as Nick Bianco’s wife. She filmed both the rape and suicide scenes, but both were cut in the final print. It is unknown who – Hathaway? Kohlmar? Zanuck? – made this decision. But I imagine that the Production Code Administration, applying the Hays Code which forbade such depictions, might have been instrumental in forcing Fox to drop the scenes.

#Kiss of Death #Henry Hathaway #Victor Mature #Richard Widmark #Brian Donlevy #Coleen Gray #Taylor Holmes #Ben Hecht #Charles Lederer #Norbert Brodine #J. Watson Webb Jr.#Fred Kohlmar #Darryl F. Zanuck #TCM #My Movie Odyssey

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qualquercoisa945 · 5 years

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My Heart’s At The Wheel Now (Part 2)- I Know In Due Time Every Right Thing Will Find Its Right Place

AO3 Link

Title Inspiration- Everything Changes from Waitress

Okay so this has been ready for a couple days now but I wanted to wait to post it because it’s incredibly Lizzie centric and today would be her birthday. So, this is, in a way, a bit of a tribute to one of the best monarchs England ever had. I hope she’s happy, wherever she is

Trigger Warnings- brief mentions of death and i think that’s it, but ask me to tag

Anne hadn’t cared much about what Cassandra wanted to tell them at first. When she’d heard she “wanted them to meet someone,” she’d assumed it was just an interviewer or something.

But then a young girl’s voice sounded through the phone, and Anne paused. It sounded oddly familiar, but she couldn’t quite place her finger on it.

And then came Cathy and Kath’s joint comment, the one that made her freeze. She turned around, suddenly very much paying attention to the conversation.

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out!” The girl’s- her girl’s, she reminded herself, a small skip of her heart when she thought those words- voice spoke again, and she found herself taking quiet steps forward, although not enough to be in the camera’s range. “But, uh, yeah. It’s me. It’s been a while, huh?”

She noticed Kath take a step back as Cathy stepped forward, all the tell tale signs of her anxiety showing as she spoke. “Lizzie, I’m so sor-”

“Don’t. I dropped whatever little anger I had over that a long time ago.” Anne just barely bit back the smirk that tried to snake its way to her face- she was right about how her daughter felt about it. She watched as Cathy’s expression turned into shock, and then just gentle fondness.

“It’s very nice to see you again, Lizzie.” She replied softly, an odd tone to hear the usually fierce queen take. There was a moment of silence, and then Lizzie spoke up.

“So, um. I guess I should tell you that, all four of us are back. Me, Mary, Eddie, and… Mae.” At those words, everyone was struck silent, watching Cathy as her eyes widened and her mouth fell slightly open. “Yeah. Do you wanna talk to her?”

Cathy seemed to pause for a moment to think, then speak up. “You’re already here, you might as well talk to your mum first.” Anne froze at that, watching as the others agreed and slipped out of the kitchen to “give them some space”. There was a moment where her and Cathy’s eyes met as the latter gave her the phone, and then Anne took it and sat at the table, waiting for the last queen to leave before setting the phone on the table and facing the camera.

“Hi mama.” Anne felt a lump form in her throat at that word, but she forced herself to stay calm, despite how close she felt to breaking down after finally, finally seeing her little girl again.

“Hey, ma princesse.” She finally replied, giving her daughter the softest smile she could manage.

The pair then fell into silence, silence that was relatively calm, if not slightly tense, before Lizzie spoke up again.

“Um, so you’re telling your stories, huh?” Anne gave a nod, smiling softly. “Through a musical, I assume you’ve been told.”

Lizzie nodded, giving her an amused smirk. “Odd method, but it seems to be working.” The girl paused for a moment, and if the way her arms were positioned and the incredibly soft sound she heard from the other end of the phone were any indication, Anne would guess she was fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.

“I’m happy for you all.” She finally spoke up, snapping Anne out of her reverie. “That you’re reclaiming your stories, and separating them from…” She trailed off, but there was no need to actually say his name- they both knew who it was. “You guys have been done enough injustices.”

She shook her head, her expression shifting into a grin that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “But enough of that. How is everyone?” For a moment, Anne almost considered going back to the previous subject, to make sure she was alright. But maybe that’d be too much for their first conversation after so long. She understood why Lizzie wanted to keep the mood lighter for now. So she moved on.

“As well as we can be, honestly. We’re all… healing. And having the others there has helped.” She paused for a moment, thinking back to her earlier conversation with Cathy, but made herself go back to the present. “Me and Aragon don’t argue as much anymore. We never argued all that much, honestly, not big arguments anyways. I think that’s good, honestly, it would’ve made things way harder than they need to be.”

“Oh, that’s nice!” Lizzie chirped up, though her expression fell soon after. “Though, I think you’ll have more trouble with Mary. You and Kitty, she doesn’t seem to like either of you much. I’m surprised she doesn’t dislike me, honestly.”

Anne gave her a soft, hopefully comforting smile- she wished she could be there for her daughter, be able to hold her and such, because that would make comforting her much easier, but for now words would have to do. “I’m sure things will work out. It’s alright, ma princesse, don’t worry about it much.” Lizzie nodded, and so Anne continued. “Jane…” She paused when she noticed Lizzie’s lips press into a fine line. “I know, I know. I didn’t trust her in the beginning either. But she’s changed. Truly, she’s worked towards it and still is. It was very tense in the beginning, but we’ve worked past that as best we can, and although there are still some… not as good days, we’ve mostly worked past those issues. She’s changed.” “I’ll believe that when I see it.” Lizzie muttered, and Anne had to bite back a chuckle- Cathy wasn’t joking when she’d said Lizzie was a lot like her, it seemed.

“Moving on, Anna is honestly doing really well. She supports us as best she can, and it seems she doesn’t let whatever scars she has from the past hold her back much.” She left out her suspicions that Anna didn’t let the others see into those scars much- Lizzie had just come back into their lives, she wasn’t going to put that kind of thing on her.

“Good. She always seemed really cool when we met, I’m glad she’s doing well.” Lizzie replied with a kind smile, that quickly faded. “How… how’s Kitty?”

Anne sighed softly, giving her a small, slightly regretful smile. “She’s… healing. It’s tough, but she’s getting there, I’m sure of it. She’s come really far already, and I couldn’t be prouder.” She paused for a moment, debating over whether or not to keep going. “She and Jane think of each other as mother and daughter.” She held a hand up when Lizzie opened her mouth. “I know, I know. But Jane does really care for her. I trust her, and you can too.”

“Again, I’ll believe it when I see it.” Lizzie repeated, and Anne simply nodded in response.

“I can’t blame you for that. But, well, rest assured I wouldn’t be letting her around Kitty if I didn’t think she’d be happy.” When Lizzie nodded in response, Anne continued. “And Cathy…” “As withdrawn as ever, I assume?” Lizzie piped with an amused smirk, and Anne couldn’t help but laugh, nodding. This earned a confident chuckle from Lizzie. “Figures. But I do hope she’s doing well.”

“She’s trying to open up more, I think. I hope you lot coming back, her Mary-”

“Mae.” Anne paused at that, letting out an inelegant “uh?”, earning a soft, slightly nostalgic smirk from Lizzie. “She always said, if she had a girl, she’d name her Mary but call her Mae as a nickname. Figured we should honor that, especially now that she has her back, you know?”

Anne froze for a bit after that, then gave her a soft, proud smile. “That’s very right, Lizzie. ’m proud of you.” She chuckled softly at the way her daughter’s smile widened at that. “But, going back to what I was saying, I hope you lot coming back, Mae especially, will help her to open up more. It’s okay if it doesn’t, though.”

“You gotta heal at your own pace, and all that?” Lizzie piped up, nodding with a smirk when Anne agreed. “And what about you, then?”

Anne gave her a soft smile. “I’m… I’m pretty happy, honestly. I can actually speak my mind now, which is still taking a bit to adjust to, despite having had a whole new life in this time. But I’m getting there. It’s just taking some time.”

“It’s what I just said, right?”

“Indeed it is.” Anne agreed, and then once again they fell into comfortable silence for a few moments. “And you?”

Lizzie shrugged, and for a moment Anne noticed an odd sort of neutrality in her eyes that she couldn’t help but worry about. “Well, I’m 11. I like to draw, paint, I guess I’m what you’d call the artsy kid in school.” She let out an soft giggle, then fell back into that same neutral expression. “No clue who my birth parents are in this life, though. Either they died or they abandoned me. Sucky, but, what’re you gonna do about it, you know?”

Ah. “Oh, sweetness…” Anne murmured softly, her mind freezing up with shock as she tried to figure out what to say.

But then Lizzie shrugged. “It’s whatever. Can’t miss something you never had, right?” She giggled again, but this time it was much emptier, almost anxious. “Though, I’ll admit, once I figured out who I am… Well, I’d always missed you, obviously, and Cathy as well, and just about anyone I actually liked from back then, but knowing…”

“It makes it worse.” Lizzie nodded, and Anne gave her a soft, sympathetic smile. “It sucks, I know, ma princesse. It does get easier with time, though, as cliché as that sounds.”

“I know.” Lizzie replied softly, pausing for a moment before giving Anne an incredibly shaky smile and- were those tears in the corners of her eyes? “‘m glad we get this second chance. To like, be together and crap. It was really sucky that we didn’t get one the first time.”

“Agreed.” Anne murmured, and for the first time she noticed she, too, had tears in the corners of her eyes. She gave Lizzie a soft smile, then heard a knock on the other end. She fell quiet as Lizzie had a conversation with whoever it was- in all fairness, she sort of let her mind wander after the knock, tuning it out. Then Lizzie spoke again, and her tiny smile was gone.

“Eddie wants to talk to his mum. Can you go get Jane?” She kept her tone neutral, probably to try and keep the boy from noticing the dislike for his mother that she previously had no trouble voicing, but Anne didn’t mention it. Instead, she just nodded, giving her another soft smile.

“I love you, ma princesse.” After she got a soft “love you too, mama” in response that had her all but melting- seriously, how was she meant to handle these feelings?- she set the phone down, ignoring the shuffle she heard on the other end as she headed for the living room. There, she found Aragon, with Cathy cuddled up to her and what she was fairly sure were tear stains running down her cheeks, though she couldn’t blame her for it, on one end of the couch, Kitty cuddled up to Jane, who definitely had tear stains on her cheeks, and Anna, who walked over with a soft smile. “How are you feeling?”

Anne paused for a moment before she answered, giving her a lopsided, slightly awkward grin. “I’m feeling a lot of things right now.” She admitted with a laugh, before sobering up slightly as she turned to face the couch. “Jane, it’s your turn.”

#anne boleyn #elizabeth boleyn #catherine parr #six the musical #writing #anna of cleves #my heart's at the wheel now

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actuallylorelaigilmore · 6 years

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Hey, I saw you were doing headcanon stuff! So, I have this like burgeoning headcanon that Josh x Donna's first daughter is wlw. I don't know if you build off of other people's headcanons, but this one has been with me for a long time, and you are such a talented writer and storyteller in general that I thought maybe you'd be interested in taking a crack out of this very specific headcanon?!? I've just been projecting a lot of brainpower towards it and I want to talk to someone else about it!

Okay, so first, all my future headcanons for TWW spring from this original post that’s gotten around a bit. I’ve written a tiny bit of kidfic using them as well so I decided to connect yours to mine because tbh I love this idea and heck yeah, at least one of their daughters should be queer :D that’s just way more fun than if they’re both straight.

So, given what I’d already sorted out for the future, here are my thoughts. There are oh so many ideas behind the cut because apparently I can’t sleep but I can create a bunch of people out of thin air.

Their eldest daughter, Brianna Joan, started insisting everyone call her ‘Jo’ when she was five. They were both surprised by her stubbornness on the matter, but Josh was secretly pleased since her middle name was a tribute to his sister. Donna assumed it was a phase she would grow out of, like a lot of kids when they’re young and establishing their independence. She didn’t–and Jo later believed it was the first hint that she was never meant to be the girly daughter they might have expected.

Charlotte inherited her mother’s grace under pressure, along with her dancer’s form and creative flexibility. While Jo had Donna’s sass and sense of humor, she shared her dad’s brown hair and eyes, constant need to be in motion, and impulsive streak. Josh liked to say Jo got his athletic prowess, too, but Donna always countered with ‘your what now?’ and made the girls laugh. Jo surpassed him in sports talent by junior high, thanks in no small part to coaching by Charlie’s not-so-little-anymore sister Deena.

Junior high and high school were rough, especially girl’s softball and basketball. The rumors and slurs about which girls were probably gay because they were a little too good on the court or the mound bothered her, especially when she got sick of her unruly hair and cut it off at fourteen and the kids started aiming them at her…but it was hard to do the right thing and stand up to them when she was starting to wonder if maybe they were right.

The first crush she developed on an older, female student that she actually admitted to herself was a crush happened a year later, when she was trying to survive her entrance into high school. She came out to her best friend at sixteen and felt bad that she didn’t tell her parents first, but her dad was still working with the White House occasionally during his “retirement,” and her mom was starting her campaign for Congress, and the last thing Jo wanted to do was make that harder.

It wasn’t like she thought they’d be upset, or disappointed in her, exactly. But a tiny part of her did have doubts, after a couple of her friends had come out to their liberal parents and hit a cruel wall of family double-standards. Surely Josh Lyman and Donna Moss, champions of progressive causes, wouldn’t be that way…she hoped.

Just to be safe, Jo told them the week after her mom won her Congressional campaign, when it would cause the least trouble if they did freak out. Donna wasn’t surprised, not even a little, and only shared her worries at night with Josh. She knew how hard it was to be a woman in the world, and it could only be more painful for their eldest facing additional discrimination on top of that. “We just have to love her even harder,” Donna whispered, “and hope it’ll be enough.”

Unlike his wife, Josh was–as always–oblivious. Jo coming out was big surprise, but one he was happy about. She trusted them enough to tell them, and include them in her confusing teenage life. Surely that meant they were on the right track. “And hey,” he offered up in the initial shock of her disclosure, “I can’t exactly blame her. Women…are great. I’m a big fan. Of them.”

Just like he did with all the girl’s activities over the years, from dance to soccer, Josh threw himself into being a parental ally until he annoyed Jo with his enthusiasm. PFLAG, marches, fundraisers, sponsoring local clubs…"which one of us is gay again?” she would mutter to her sister with an eyeroll sometimes, out of earshot of the DC dad with the rainbow t-shirt passing out mini flags.

She was grateful though, especially after she survived college, and law school, and volunteered at a nonprofit that exposed her to so many kids whose parents didn’t care if they lived or died, simply because of who they turned out to be. Josh started getting handmade cards for his birthday and Father’s Day every year, filled with Jo’s illegible handwriting–that, he knew, she definitely didn’t get from him–telling him how much she loved and appreciated him. He put them on the fridge next to the sketches her little sister sent, like they were both still in grade school. Donna teased him about that, but whenever their friends visited she was the first one to casually point them out.

In the family, Charlotte was the only one that ever gave Jo any grief about her sexuality. It was mostly sibling sniping, because Charlotte was quieter than her sister but even more competitive, and she was never quite able to catch up with the three year gap between them. Still, it made Jo uncomfortable in her late teens because she and her baby sister were always so close growing up, and she couldn’t tell if the snark was coming from someplace deeper. When Charlie was fifteen, she got a week’s suspension for breaking a boy’s nose after he called her valedictorian sister a slur she refused to repeat to anyone. Jo worried less after that, and the sarcastic comments never happened again.

Toby’s son Huck came out as bisexual in college, and Jo joined his twin sister in being his closest support system while he braced for his parents’ reactions. There was a lot of hugging, and some knowing looks between Toby and Josh when the kids weren’t paying attention, and Huck had to pay Jo twenty bucks because she promised it would go over fine and he was certain it would be a disaster. He never learned to love the Yankees but he shared his father’s temperament from an early age. He and Charlie dated briefly in their twenties, causing a minor scandal to ripple through the connected families.

CJ’s daughter Nora, who was like a distant cousin Jo never got to visit enough in sunny California, only allowed the family to use her full name. She got a lot of weird looks when strangers overheard, or friends found out how old-fashioned it was, but Jo liked to call her by it anyway when they chatted. She never got to meet her dad’s mentor, and she thought based on the stories she’d heard that he would be embarrassed but proud to learn that Claudia Jean named her firstborn Leonora after she left the White House.

Nora was the one who introduced Jo to her future wife, an architect based out of Sacramento with an independent streak and temper that secretly reminded Josh of one of his exes. Unlike him and Amy, Jo and her fiance were a happy fit, sharing similar political beliefs but no professional rivalry. They spent as much time at home swapping stories and advice about their demanding careers as they did on community activism. Jo mellowed out a little after they got married–”she’s so much like you,” Donna told Josh with a smile–and they moved five times in three years before buying a house and starting their attempts to have a family.

That was the first time Jo ever really surprised her mom, who cried when she found out they were expecting. “I thought…you never talked about wanting kids,” Donna said carefully, and Jo just grinned that bright grin that was so much like her father’s. “I needed some time,” she told her mom, “to figure out what I wanted. But I think that if I manage to be half as good at it as you were, I’ll be an amazing mom.”

Josh and Donna bantered anxiously in the waiting room while each of their eldest daughter’s three kids came into the world. Two she gave birth to, and one she didn’t. They spoiled them all the same.

And when Charlotte brought the Lyman-Moss legacy back to the White House, Jo’s youngest son got to hunt Easter Eggs on the lawn. He stood next to his aunt during the photo op, just one of a dozen kids surrounding the first female President of the United States.

#seriously #just so. many. thoughts #this got totally out of hand #josh x donna #headcanons #it's super fun to play with future fic i must say #tww #replies #theonewithwaytoomanyfandoms

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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The 100 Season 7 Episode 16: The Last War

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This THE 100 review contains spoilers

The 100 Season 7 Episode 16

Ultimately, The 100 turned in a series finale that’s better than the back half of its final season, but not by a whole lot. The use of two fan-favorite characters (Lexa and Abby), and a last-minute twist, are responsible for much of the emotionally satisfying material. So much of the rest, including the saber-rattling and Sheidheda skulking around, feel like a waste of precious time, plot missteps from earlier in the season that long overstayed their welcome.

The most successful moments were based in the characters we’ve invested in for so long. Octavia’s jaded takes on war, culminating in her speech. Raven holding it down for absolutely everyone. Murphy and Emori grieving what they thought were one another’s deaths. Miller and Jackson’s reunion and dancing juxtaposed with Emori and Murphy’s dire goodbye was a beautiful way to let us say goodbye to those characters, because even if everybody lives, we’re still saying goodbye.

This episode spends quite a bit of time on the concept of judging Clarke’s actions as a proxy for all of humanity. While that has always come with the territory of the show, it feels like an extremely reductive way of viewing seven seasons with a strong ensemble cast and far more robust storytelling, yet it’s the one the finale imposes upon us. Clarke was right about one thing: getting Raven back in the mix should have been Plan A, not cleanup.

It’s far too easy to judge an entire show based on whether you like the main character, even moreso when that character is a woman or girl. It feels odd for The 100, the same show that quietly gave us so many accomplished women and girls as leaders, to spend so many of its final minutes on this. Even with Raven and Octavia course-correcting, the series finale of the show still comes down to a question of Clarke’s choices, and whether we think they’re justified or not. Surely after all this time, The 100 could have aimed higher than that?

Up until the reveal that Clarke’s friends returned to Earth for her, the episode has almost no emotional heft outside of Emori’s fate. Seeing Indra vanquish Sheidheda for her mother was nice, but long overdue considering we’d watched her fail to pull the trigger so many times before. Raven’s pleading on behalf of humanity had more punch because it was with Abby, but it came so late in the episode and was so brief..

One of the more promising opportunities was Clarke’s conversation with her judge. While it’s not actually a long-awaited reunion with Lexa, it’s recognition that Lexa was Clarke’s greatest love, and perhaps her greatest teacher. I appreciate that the higher being pushed Clarke to justify some of her choices, though she mostly let Clarke slide on her intent to murder her own child.

Continuing this season’s theme, there were a few beats we never got to unpack because The 100 preferred to go for surprise (also a problem during season 5, which has more similarities than I’d like to this final season.) Octavia stopping the war was something only she could do, but rather than seeing the faith and growth it took for Blodreina to lay down her arms, the moment was clipped. Clarke killing Cadogan was a badass moment, but shooting him at that point in his test meant we never got to see what it looked like when he had to respond to the higher consciousness, who was in the process of grilling him about giving up love when Clarke takes him down. Similarly, we learned the mystery of what Becca saw, that she was asked to take the test and declined. But there wasn’t time to consider what that actually means.

Did Emori transcend? Her body was dead but her consciousness was alive, and we saw her orb swirl around John’s and transcend. Is she in his mind? Apparently she was in the final scene, but she was hard to spot, even on re-watch. This feels like an odd loose end to leave hanging and not make more explicit, especially after spending so much time this season building up these two possible deaths. Whether she lived or said goodbye in the mindspace, both could have been satisfying, but the in-between space feels accidental or even thoughtless.

In the end, it got me to see all these characters back together on Earth and building again. While they didn’t transcend, it’s their own kind of heaven to be together and to create a life that’s (presumably) free from violence and war. It doesn’t hold up to much scrutiny of course, but when I think of the show from seasons one and two that I fell in love with, it’s the final scenes on the shore that I’ll recall, if I think of the finale at all.

More likely, I’ll think of Octavia’s time on Sky Ring, Indra’s relationship with her daughters and how she let them teach her as much as she taught them, Gabriel’s humanity and eternal sense of curiosity, and the way Murphy and Emori changed so much, but always back to one another. How much I enjoyed meeting Hope, how Diyoza evolved beyond my wildest imagination, Raven’s strength and how she owned her mistakes, and so much more from so many seasons gone by and characters long gone. And how much this little show that people ignored or made fun of had to say about grief, trauma, colonialism, found family, and what we do to survive.

May we meet again.

Other notes…

The high power mind palace place looks like the galaxy version of Rainbow Road but a lot less fun. Carved into the wood are Cadogan and his daughter’s initials, plus “Ben was here,” and JR + JR in a heart, which I assume was Jason Rothenberg’s tribute to his wife Joy. Any idea what these mean, or spot any others? Let us know in the comments.

They still have not explained how Earth even exists right now. Are they back in time? Is this one magic? Are we in a multiverse? Alright, I know, I give up…It just feels relevant since a spinoff is happening on Earth at another time to know if that’s how Earth has suddenly cropped up all fine and dandy again.

Can we just take a moment to appreciate how incredibly long Raven’s to do list was during this episode? Did she time travel? She must be exhausted.

War is bad and stuff, but hell yeah O in her OG Trikru war paint! Linctavia forever.

I just want it on the record that I’m bummed out that Jordan’s plan did not involve spraying algae on all the invisible Disciples.

One thing I do appreciate is that The 100 continued to reckon with the doctrine of jus drein, jus draun and various aspects of Grounder culture until the very end.

The contemporary music for The 100 has always been used sparingly and generally to great effect. Here we got a heavier hand than usual, but I think it still worked. The cover of REM’s “The One I Love” had the sort of intensity needed for the battlefield, though it seems they were using a very literal interpretation of the title. The Vance Joy song Miller/Jackson and Memori dance to felt like a lighter touch, especially when was filtered through some brain waves. Using U2 for the final scenes is the perfect Dad Rock move from Jroth, though “Bad” is somehow both surprising and on the nose. (Were they not allowed to use “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” or “Where the Streets Have No Name”?)

It is low-key hilarious that Murphy is the first person Clarke assumes might not have transcended

Clarke not getting to go to the Promised Land is very Moses of her, which sort of works because Clarke is very Old Testament.

Birth control suddenly being handled feels like a real gift but also a weird thing for the Lexified higher being to mention, since this show has very much ignored birth control for seven whole seasons.

The post The 100 Season 7 Episode 16: The Last War appeared first on Den of Geek.

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clockworkopera · 7 years

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Theories on Cortana...

A few weeks ago I referenced this quote in an earlier post about Edom: When they arrived in the mirrored city of a destroyed Alicante Alec tells them Edom’s story (COHF 482-483): “They didn’t have seraph blades; they hadn’t developed them. It doesn’t look like they had Iron Sisters or Silent Brothers, either. They had blacksmiths, and they developed some sort of weapon, something they thought might help them.”

BLACKSMITHS !!!

Theory: If Isabelle’s ruby pendant was made from the same material as the Skeptron and found its way into this dimension, then could the reason Cortana (and other Wayland swords) be different is because it was forged by the Nephilim of Edom.

Note: As far as we know no Great Swords have been forged since Wayland the Smith. I know that the Iron Sisters work with Adamas, but it seems they don’t know the secrets of the Great Swords, for wouldn’t they make them like the Family rings if they did? Each family having its own sword?

This is a favorite theory of mine, so it goes first, but there are other considerations:

There are two things I want answers to the most about Cortana.

1) What does it mean when Cortana strikes something like the Black Volume of the Dead or the Mortal Sword and her hand and body go numb with electrified pain?

2) What does it mean when a Rider of Mannan makes the statement: “It is yet only one blade.”

So begins my journey…

Let’s go over what we know of Cortana:

-It’s been in the Carstairs family for generations. It belonged to Jonah Carstairs (Jem Carstairs’ father) and Will Herondale refused it as a gift from Jonah’s brother Elias after Jem became a Silent Brother. The inscription on the blade reads: “My name is Cortana, of the same steel and temper as Joyeuse and Durendal.” Cordelia became a wielder, instead of her older brother Alastair, “Because to an extent, Cortana chooses who it wants to be with. Believe me, Alastair isn’t initially pleased!” Cassandra Clare revealed answering questions on Tumblr. Also: On the Angel feather in the hilt: It is a big part of what gives Cortana it’s special powers and is the reason Cortana is able to do something in LoS no other sword has ever done. AND, That sword has magic badass powers we can only begin to comprehend. Gwyn also refers to it as one of the Great Swords. It eventually came to John Carstairs, Emma’s father and finally to her.

It’s history says it was forged by Wayland the Smith, and once belonged to Tristan and Ogier the Dane and is also according to Emma’s mother in a dream, LM (pg532): “And remember that a blade made by Wayland the Smith can cut anything.”

When Emma found out about her parents death she cradled the Sword, slicing her arm open, bloodying it and leaving a fierce scar on her inner arm. She used it to fight and protect the Blackthorns in the Accords Hall during the Dark War. In her battle with Malcolm, Emma struck the heart of the Black Volume with Cortana(LMpg596-7): She shrieked with pain as what felt like a bolt of electricity went up her arm. AND: Red pain misted behind her eyelids. Through the fog, she saw Malcolm standing over her. “Oh, that was precious.” He grinned. “That was amazing. That was the hand of God, Emma!”

----------------

My own take is that Emma and Cortana have a symbiotic relationship and have in a way become extensions of each other. My original theory was Cortana was tied to the power of the Black Volume and Emma is the only one who can now wield that magic. I had a wonderfully written piece that got hacked with red ink today when Cassie told us more about Cortana in her Tumblr: “Cortana…doesn’t absorb the power of what it strikes. We’ve certainly never seen it do that and it’s not part of the sword’s mythology.”

So maybe the big take away is that 1) Emma can cut through, hack away things of major magic (Black book, Mortal Sword and the Rider) and 2) Live through it

*** If Cortana shattered the Mortal Sword, then what did it do to the Black Volume? Is the magic of the Black Volume now fractured somehow? And what would that mean to the effectiveness of any spell used?

And what the hell was that black sap oozing from the Mortal Sword? What was that about? I have no ideas on that! (I digress)

But if Emma and Cortana have a symbiotic relationship while the sword may retain no residual connection to the energy it’s destroyed, could Emma herself? I think this might be important because Magnus warned Julian that Annabel is connected to the magic of the book, and I still wonder if Emma somehow isn’t too.

The other question that has been bugging me: What does it mean when a Rider of Mannan makes the statement: “It is yet only one blade.”

Does it mean that they can melt it down and make a whole bunch more ‘Great Swords’ with it, or does it mean it might get reunited with the other swords of it same steel and temper? “My name is Cortana, of the same steel and temper as Joyeuse and Durendal.” So, I set myself the task of doing and old fashioned sort of book report. I don’t know how much historical relevance Cassie plans on weaving into her books, if any at all—but the history is interesting, especially Durendal. Kit needs Durendal!

I’m leaning toward the ideas of the Riders knowing of a time, or a prophecy where all three blades will be united again in battle. I think that is something they fear.

Cortana’s Mythological History:

In the Mundane world, our world, Cortana does exist, both in mythology and in reality. It currently resides as a Crown Jewel and is used in inaugural ceremonies of the British Crown. Its mythological history is long.

It first comes to attention in the story of Tristan and Isolde and their story takes place in Cornwall. Tristan came to live with his Uncle Mark who was the King of Cornwall and in an effort to prove himself worthy, stood as the King’s champion. In battle, Tristan saved the king from paying tribute to an Irish King by killing his foe and it was during this fight with Cortana that the tip broke off. (This is the first reference to Cortana breaking and the legend behind why the tip of Cortana is missing from the actual Crown Jewel Sword)

After Tristan died the sword was bequeathed to Ogier the Dane, a paladin of Charlemagne.

This goes back to the Legends of Charlemagne, because the inscription of Cortana was taken right out of Bulfinch’s Mythology— “My name is Cortana, of the same steel and temper as Joyeuse and Durendal.”

All three swords were used in Charlemagne’s Campaigns. Charlemagne was Emperor of Rome who united and basically founded the Frankish state (what eventually becomes modern Europe) and brought Christianity to Europe.

The story that Arthur was referring to (and this is from Bulfinch, because I found too many versions to include) was that Ogier’s son was killed by Charlemagne’s psychopathic son Charlot. Charlemagne refused to punish his son (this is from Bulfinch’s, but the next part comes from the book, The Crown Jewels— I didn’t have access to it, so this is reported from Wikipedia): “When Ogier was about to slay the son of Charlemagne, (for revenge) an angel appeared and knocked it out of his hand, breaking the tip and exclaiming “Mercy is better than revenge.” From then on Cortana was known as the Sword of Mercy.

It also happens the other swords of Joyeuse and Durendal were with Charlemagne’s campaign as well.

Joyeuse is the Legendary Sword of Charlemagne. It is said to have been “So bright that it could outshine the sun and blind its wielder’s enemies in battle” (Ancient-Origins.net)

There are a lot of legends including: it was forged to contain the Lance of Longinus, it was smithed from same materials as Cortana and Durendal or that it was given as a gift from an angel.

The real Joyeuse was moved to the Louvre in 1792.

Durendal was no slouch either. The sword belonged to Roland another paladin of Charlemagne. He used the sword to hold off 100,000 Saracens (by himself) long enough for Charlemagne to retreat in an epic battle. Wikipedia: “The Song of Roland, the sword is said to contain within its golden hilt a tooth of Saint Peter, blood of Basil of Caesarea, hair of Saint Denis, and a piece of the raiment of Mary, mother of Jesus, and to be the sharpest sword in all existence.” Fearing the sword would fall into enemy hands Roland tried to destroy it but it couldn’t be destroyed. “After being mortally wounded, Roland hid it beneath his body as he lay dying.” The folklore says it still exists, embedded in a cliff walls in the Pyrenees, but it has never been found.

***I read that, and I thought—WOW! We need to find that sword for Kit!

Everyone petition CC that Kit needs Durendal!!

There are a lot of references and agreement that Durendal was forged by Wayland the Smith. So, while neither Cortana or Joyeuse are referenced to him being their creator, if you follow the clue of the inscription that is the connection. If he made one, then didn’t he make them all?

WHOA! Did you know Wayland the Smith was a true mythological character?

This is where it gets interesting.

Wayland the Smith is from Norse Mythology. Legend said he and his two brothers lived with three Valkyries. In one version, he married his Swan Maiden Valkyrie.

I bring this up because Gwyn mentioned the daughters of Rhiannon, the Valkyrie as almost a counterpart to the Wild Hunt—at least that was my impression, and they are wild magic. And when Cassie talked about wild magic in relation to Kieran’s eyes she said in her tumble post: “Wild magic kind of does what it does without being bound by too many rules.” So if Cortana is made with parts of that magic maybe that is why it seems to have a mind of its own, at least in who it picks for its wielders.

I am hoping that in the Last Hours Cordelia will learn more about Cortana’s history. How it came to be in possession of the Carstairs family, what other history with the Shadowhunters it has, and maybe give us some clues about what else might be possible with Emma for the QoaAD.

Please add comments, I love hearing what other people think!

#Cortana #lord of shadows #kit needs durendal #wayland the smith #dark artifices #cassandra clare #lord of shadows theories #edom #theories #dialogues #TDA #original post

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babbleuk · 4 years

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A Conversation with Brett Hurt

Brett Hurt Bio

Brett is a General Partner at Hurt+Harbach, a seed-stage venture capital firm. Prior to Hurt+Harbach, Brett worked at Austin Ventures from November of 2012 to August of 2013 and focused on early-stage software investing. Prior to AV, Brett founded Bazaarvoice (NASDAQ: BV) and served as CEO and President for seven years, leading the company from bootstrapped concept to almost 2,000 clients worldwide and through its successful IPO. He subsequently guided the company through a successful follow-on offering, and two acquisitions, PowerReviews and Longboard Media. Brett continues to actively support Bazaarvoice as the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. Prior to Bazaarvoice, Brett founded Coremetrics and helped grow the company into a global, leading marketing analytics solution for the eCommerce industry before its acquisition by IBM. Brett holds an MBA in High-Tech Entrepreneurship from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BBA in Management Information Systems from the University of Texas at Austin. He served three terms on the Board of Directors of Shop.org, the leading non-profit industry association for retailers online and a division of the National Retail Federation, the largest trade organization for retailers. He also serves as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Wharton School. Brett established the Bazaarvoice Foundation and is very active in the philanthropic arena. He received the Austin Entrepreneurs Foundation’s Community Leadership Award in 2012.

Interview

Byron Reese: So, you have a new book out called The Entrepreneur’s Essentials.

Brett Hurt: I do.

You were kind enough to publish for free for everybody. Why did you write the book, and why did you decide to distribute it that way?

Yeah. So. You know, as you know, I started a blog in 2012 after I “retired” from Bazaarvoice. I did that because I realized that I’d just gone through an incredible journey as an entrepreneur, culminating in an IPO over a billion-dollar evaluation, six years from inception of the company. On my 40th birthday – I actually turned 40 on our IPO roadshow – and I just thought, “How lucky am I to just have this experience?” I needed to capture, really, what I learned for my children, for myself, and for anybody interested, in a way that forces me to reflect on it.

The beautiful thing about writing that I learned from that initial desire to do that when I started my blog, is that you’re on a journey, too, as the writer. I know you’ve written books that I love. I love your books. When you start writing, you literally are on a journey. You don’t always know where you’re going. You know? You can have a thesis about what you’re writing, but these creative forces just kind of come in.

There’s this great book called The War of Art. Have you read that book, Byron?

No.

It’s written by the guy who wrote The Legend of Bagger Vance. This is his only non-profit book. He didn’t come into his own as an author until he was in his fifties, but he talks about that process of writing and how these muses come to your aid and give you all types of creative insight. That’s how I viewed writing. It’s been this really amazing journey.

So, I really just loved that I was getting to learn more by writing. You know, to attempt to teach is actually to learn yourself. I named my blog, as I think you know, “Lucky Seven” as a tribute to my mom, who, unfortunately, passed away seven years ago now. She passed away, unfortunately, very young, after my father passed away. She was just an incredible force in my life. I mean, she bought me my first computer when I was seven years old. I was the kid who was trying to take the Pong machine apart when I was four. So, I wasn’t just satisfied with playing Pong; I was trying to see how it worked. She thought that was weird.

I have memories of playing Pong. I don’t have memories of trying to take apart the machine at four, but I do have memories of playing it. But she thought that was very strange, in a good way, and she bought me my first computer when I was seven when she read an article about the first Atari coming out, and the fact that there was an option where you could get the basic cartridge with the plugin, keypad that plugs into the joystick ports, and program. She learned how to program with me. I became completely infatuated with that, and I did it over forty hours a week, from age 7 to 21. I went through the whole Atari line. The 400, the 800, the 1200, the XL, and the ST. I think they even had a 2400 before the XL. But, anyways, I digress.

Then, I ran through PCs, and then I eventually got on Macs. But I just became so passionate about that, and I realized that I was so lucky in several ways. One, for growing up in Austin, which was one of the few cities that would have supported that habit starting when I started, in 1979. What I mean by that is, my mom was able to drop me off at user group meetings when I was 10, and I’d get to learn from people like the Bitmap Brothers—you know, who became very famous video game creators later on in life, but they were much older than me.

It was just so cool that Austin had that kind of culture. I didn’t realize it as a kid that that was so lucky, but in hindsight, as an adult, I realize that.

The main thing that I realized, in terms of my luck, is that I’d found my passion at age seven, and I had a mom who would fight all the societal forces – including some of my teachers, who were telling her, her child was completely unbalanced and had no future, because all he talked about was computers. My extended family would say that during Thanksgiving. My third-grade teacher pulled my mom aside and said, “Your son’s going to be a loser in life. All he talks about is computers.” She was very offended. She didn’t tell me that until I was successful as an adult.

So, that’s why I named my blog “Lucky Seven” as a tribute to her – as a tribute to a superhuman person who believed in me from that age.

So, I started to write on my blog, and that lead me to this place of writing more and more things that I’ve learned, and being able to share more and more things in fiscal conversations. So, I started to invest in startups, and today my wife and I are investors in 77 startups, and 21 VC funds. [Editor note – Full disclosure, GigaOm is one of the 77 startups Brett has invested in]

So, you know. Here I was, making startup investments and trying to help entrepreneurs. I found that my writing was a great way to do it, because I would get asked questions like, “How did Bazaarvoice become the number one place to work in Austin?” You know, how did I create a culture like that?

I would say, “Well, it starts with hiring.” I said, “If there’s anything that made a massive impact in the Bazaarvoice culture is the way we hired,” and I would describe our hiring process.

Then, I thought to myself, “Well, why not I just write that down, since I keep answering that question over and over again? I’ll spend four to six hours writing it down in a much better way than kind of off-the-cuff talking about it.” Because, you know, sometimes you have good days and bad days, in terms of all the things you remember about that. So, I’m like, I’m going to really concentrate, write the best answer I possibly can—the most complete answer I possibly can for them—and then I would give shorter answers when I was asked that question inevitably again, and direct them to the blog post after the conversation. I’d say, “Here, just check it out on Lucky Seven. I spent five hours writing this, and it’s the best complete answer to your question.” They would come back and thank me.

So, I did that more and more over the years. It was our daughter, who – at age 13 – came out with her first book. Her dream, since age seven, was to be a writer. It’s kind of a cool story. She saved up to write a book since she was age seven. She saved up by selling jewelry—like, handmade jewelry that she made—at coffee shops. She accumulated enough money were, by the time she was thirteen and she decided she was going to come out with her own book, she was able to give 100% of her savings. She literally gave 100% of her savings to the illustrator of her book. He was an award-winning illustrator and has illustrated 80 children’s books. The illustrations in her book are just beautiful. It’s called “Guardians of the Forest.” You can only buy it via her website, which is guardiansoftheforestbook.com.

But, anyways, she achieved that. I thought to myself, “Okay. My daughter has achieved this goal and really inspired me and inspired others. She’s giving lots of public speeches about it. And here I am, with this blog that has a lot of utility to entrepreneurs.”

By the way, I had already gotten back into the arena to start data.world after trying on retirement for three years, but it was a very active form of retirement. It was very actively engaged with startups and the rest.

I thought, “I’m going to start packaging up the best of these posts—the ones that I know have gotten the most inquiry, have gotten the most comments, the ones that VCs and entrepreneurs alike have told me are the most important. I’m going to start to package these up in a book, and since I’m a couple of years into data.world, I’m going to force myself to reflect on how I’ve applied this to data.world and whether or not I’ve done a good job of it. I’m going to do it in a way where the whole team at data.world can follow along, where it’s a way of me teaching, as a CEO, on things that I wrote in terms of the best plays I ran at Bazaarvoice, and core metrics before, and judge myself in a way—very publicly—on whether or not I actually lived up to these at data.world.” I think that that recalls all good types of cultural conversations and company.

So, that was another forced reflection exercise. The reason I decided to make it free is very simple. When I read The Bootstrapper’s Bible by Seth Godin—it was the first book he ever came out with—he gave it away for free. He gave it away for free as a gift to entrepreneurs, because he had become a successful entrepreneur, and he felt like all entrepreneurs should have access to it. Money should not be the gating factor—the deciding factor—to buy it.

So, I did it because he did it. I did it because I had had a role model who had done it before, and had helped me unknowingly – I don’t actually know Seth Godin – I thought, “What a cool way to do it.” It’s all available online, on Medium, as you know, and you can provide a link to the table of contents. The Foreword is written by John Mackey, who’s an incredible entrepreneur. The founder and CEO of Whole Foods, and someone who’s been kind enough to mentor me for the past decade. The afterward is written by Bob Campbell, who was actually my first boss outside of working for my parents. I grew up in an entrepreneurial family, so I worked for them growing up. Someone who I always thought should either be the President of the U.S., or at bare minimum the governor of Texas, and is just an absolutely amazing leader. One of the most professional, ethical people I’ve ever met. He wrote the afterward, which was a nice bookend to my career today because it’s literally how I started my career.

So, it’s all out there for free. The next step is to turn it into a print book. The only reason I’m going to turn it into a print book is because a lot of people have asked me to do so. They want to have a physical copy to be able to take with them. I actually think that the online book is a better product than the print book will be because the online book has lots of hyperlinks and videos and is much more of a Wikipedia-style resource than a print book will be. But I’m happy to turn it into a print book and do that for people if they would like it.

So, I’m proud that it’s out there, and I get a real high—a real helper’s high, that is—on people telling me how much they appreciate it, and someone like John Mackey actually reading it and then writing the forward and saying he wished he’d had it at the beginning of Whole Foods means a tremendous amount to me.

So, it’s a gift to hopefully help lots of entrepreneurs, not unlike I’ve tried to help them by investing in them and mentoring when they would like mentorship. When they would ask for help, I try to be a coach that really is a coach, not trying to run things for them. I’ve had bad mentors and good mentors. I learned from my bad mentors, so I try to be a good mentor or always couch things. I’m not running your company. This is just my opinion. Based on my experience, I’ve learned that there’s a lot of gray in life. There’s not much black or white. This is one man’s opinion, but it’s one I feel pretty strongly about, given my experiences. But, you know, I’m not going to judge you based on whatever you decide. I’m just here to help.

So, I always try to couch my advice in that way when I’m giving advice to an entrepreneur. As you know, being a CEO is hard work. Being a founder/CEO is very, very hard work. You need people that will believe in you and not be so judgmental when you talk with them.

So, that’s why I put The Entrepreneur’s Essentials out there.

My next question is how normative do you think the advice that you give is? Do you think it is your formula, or a kind of universal formula? I’m curious to what extent you tried to write a book which was about your journey, or were you trying to write a book that other people that apply, in general ways, to everybody else’s journey?

Well, it’s definitely a bit of both, but I do think the way we hire and the way we hired at Bazaarvoice and the way we hire at data.world can be applied to all companies. There are many right answers, but I have not heard of a better way yet to hire. I’ve talked with John Mackey, I’ve talked with many people that I respect, that have built best place to work-type of culture, high-performing cultures, and achieved great financial success.

One thing I write in the book is how to check references on board members and executives. One of the things I’m very transparent about in the book is that it took me learning from Scott Cook, the founder of Intuit, to really figure out the best way to do that. I mean, when he spoke on that, we were both speaking at a conference: the First Round Capital CEO Summit. When he talked about the secret to checking references on board members and executive team members, I thought, “Oh my gosh. Why did I not know that?” You know? Why did I not know that? I made so many mistakes!

So, the reason I wrote that is that, if you hire a board member that isn’t a great fit for you, or really has a bad background but you just didn’t know it because the headlines looked really good, or you hire an executive—they can do a lot more damage than a junior engineer is. But, the strange thing is, at almost all companies, the junior engineers’ references will be checked much more thoroughly than someone who comes in with a lot of panache and a lot of public fame. I mean, I’ve had some horrific board members in my past, and I can tell you that they get hired over and over again, and nobody calls me about them to check their reference. I’m just shocked. These people actually I know! I’m like, I can’t believe they didn’t give me a ring. How can they not give me a call? I’m not offended by it at all – not like I have some personal vendetta or something – but it’s just, like, it’s very common. The more panache an executive has in their background or a board member has, the less they will be vetted. Strangely enough, it’s true. Strange, but true.

So, I wrote that chapter because that can have a really big impact on your company, and Scott Cook ultimately gave the answer.

You know, part of the reason you put a book out there—and I’m sure you feel the same way to a large extent—is you actually want people to challenge you. I love on Medium when people comment on an aspect of the book and challenge something I said because I want to learn. I don’t feel like I have all the answers. I feel like I have some good answers to things that people struggle with a lot—that entrepreneurs struggle with a lot—and so I put it out there. But if someone has a better answer, I want to learn, because I want to apply that at data.world.

You know, I wrote a chapter of the book about how to form your company values. Here I am on my sixth business, and it’s the first one where I applied a technique that I learned about at the Conscious Capitalism CEO Summit, and I think it’s the best technique to form your company values that I’ve ever come across. But it took me six companies to figure that out, and I didn’t figure it out in a vacuum. I figured it out because a CEO was speaking at the Conscious Capitalism CEO Summit and was kind enough to share an idea—that provocative idea. I thought, “Oh my gosh! That’s it! That’s so smart.” I tried it out at data.world. It was experimental, and it worked incredibly well, and that’s how we codified our values.

So, I’m on a journey like everybody else. I don’t feel like I have all the answers, but I do feel like I’ve got some good answers that have been beaten up through data, that have been AB tested through multiple startups, and through startups that I’ve funded—that I’ve seen them apply things and seen how they’ve worked out. So, that’s all I wanted to share. I don’t feel like I have all the answers. I feel like I’ve got some good answers.

You know, humans have these cognitive biases that are well documented. They’re ways our reasoning is demonstrably false. Yeah. There’s a couple hundred of them. I think most of them, even though they are wrong for individuals, if you think about it they’re right for society. So, these cognitive biases actually confer a survival benefit to the group, I think. I wonder if entrepreneurship’s not like that, because most people are going to fail. Yet, most people who do it think, “Yeah. Most people fail, but I won’t.” So, collectively, they’re mostly wrong. So, I’m wondering: A, do you agree that entrepreneurs wouldn’t do it, by and large, if they really understood their chances of success, and B, who do you think should or shouldn’t be an entrepreneur?

So, the first part is, I actually wrote a chapter to address that. It’s called The Paralyzing Fear of Getting Started. You can kind of pair that with the chapter that’s on the fallacy of risk in entrepreneurship. So, a couple of things there. The most successful entrepreneurs I’ve met in my limited data set, but I’ve been an entrepreneur for a long time, are people that are very playful, that don’t metaphorically just jump off the cliff and build the wings on the way down. I think that’s bullshit. That kind of plot things out and think things through before they actually even start. But, I wanted to pair that with this paralyzing fear of getting started, because I wanted to share with the world, as part of my journey, that I was paralyzed with fear in the first couple of months of data.world. I wanted to share that because the people that know me, know what I’ve achieved as an entrepreneur. They wouldn’t believe that unless I shared it with them. Like, I could easily hide behind in a way of my success, and not share things like that. You know, that could be something I only share with my wife or my closest friends.

I wanted to share it, because I wanted to say, “Look. I actually think this is the natural condition of most human beings that start businesses.” It really resonated with people. I mean, that really, really resonated with people. I think, in a way, the more you’ve achieved as an entrepreneur, the more you have to lose because there’s even…

Every time you start a business, you’re putting your ego out there. The more of public figure you are, the more you have to lose psychologically if your business fails. You know, everybody’s going to look at what Meg Whitman does next. Right now, you may know that she’s engaged in a streaming media venture that is going to face an enormous amount of competition when she launches. You know, from Netflix and Disney’s new streaming service, and on, and on, and on. But yet, she’s out there. She’s brave enough to do it. She’s brave enough to start it up from the beginning. But, she’s out there. Right? You’ve got to applaud that.

But I guarantee you that even Meg Whitman—I don’t know this for a fact, but I would be willing to bet money on it: that she has had some paralyzing moments of fear in starting that, because of how high-profile she was. She came into eBay and just turned it into an absolutely juggernaut, alongside a great team. So, you know, that’s the first part.

The second part, who shouldn’t be an entrepreneur, I am in no position to judge that. One thing that I learned at the Wharton school, when I was earning my MBA there. I was trying to get up my own gumption to be an entrepreneur. I attended every entrepreneurial presentation you could think of. I worked until three, four in the morning almost every single night on my businesses while I was in school to prove to myself that I could do it, and to try to find the big idea. That big idea ultimately turned into Core Metrics. That was a company that I launched when I was 26 and eventually sold for $300 million to IBM. That business, I wouldn’t have started, I don’t think if it wasn’t for all of the kind entrepreneurs who took time out of their schedule to fly into Philadelphia and speak to us about starting a business. I mean, it was many. It was many, many, many people that did that.

The one thing that I was trying to figure out when I saw them speak was, I was like, “What do they have in common?” Like, “What do they have in common?”

One looks like a school teacher. The other, you know, is Hispanic. This one is African American. This one is fat, this one is skinny, this one looks like a nerd, this one looks like a jock. Okay. So, what is it? They talk so differently. What do they have in common?

The only thing I could derive is that they were incredibly passionate and persistent. That’s the only thing that they had in common that I could figure out. One could be dumb—appear to be dumb—and one could appear to be very smart. Now, the dumb one might be a genius. I don’t know. But they talked in a way where I thought they were not very smart. But, they all were very successful and that was the only thing I was able to derive.

Whenever I’m looking to invest in an entrepreneur, I’m asking myself many questions. I have a chapter in the book on questions I’m asking myself. I’m asking myself many questions. That chapter in the book is called “The Five Key Ingredients to Build a Big Business.” But I’m asking myself, “Are they really passionate? Are they really persistent?” Because it takes so much willpower to build anything that, if they aren’t, then I’m probably…

I would say, if I know they aren’t, I’m definitely not going to invest. Right? So, that’s what separates them. It’s that person you meet who you’re like, “This person is on fire. They’re going to do something.”

I just invested in a business in Mexico City named Beek. The entrepreneur used to live here in Austin. Her name’s Pamela. She remembered me really well, because I had met with her at Capital Factor a few times.

She told me that I said this. I had forgotten that I said this, but she told me that I said this, and it sounds like something I would say. I had told her, “Pamela, I know you’re going to be a successful entrepreneur. I can tell. You’ve got the passion and you’ve got the persistence in spades. I just don’t know if it’s going to be this business.” I reconnected with her during the ACL festival, and she had pivoted the business to something that was scaling incredibly well. She said, “I’m going to allow you to invest because I always made it a goal to have you invest. I don’t even have a round open right now.” And I invested because she had finally found the model that she had remembered the kindness that I had offered her, and the advice I had given her, and the blog post I had shared with her. That type of karma comes back to you, and now, you know, I’m in her company.

So, I would say a key ingredient must be passion and persistence, but the rest, you know. If they didn’t go to college, doesn’t matter to me. If they’re not technical, it doesn’t matter to me if it’s tech business with an asterisk. So, the asterisk on that would be that I’ll never back a company where there’s not someone in the company amongst founding, or the very early team—and I’m talking the first five people. There has to be someone there that has to effectively sell the solution. Someone there that can effectively service the solution. And someone there that can effectively build the solution. If I see an entrepreneur that is not technical, but has a technical idea, and they’re off-shoring everything to India to build V1, I just run away. Because that’s not someone that’s sharing equity with people that are going to run through walls when that thing crashes. So, there are certain rules that I have on that front.

So, what kind of reception have you had? Do you have any clue how many people have read it? And the book is kind of modular, or was written that way, so are people consuming just a chapter and there?

Yeah. Actually, I found out after the fact, I didn’t realize this at the time, but, you know, this is how Mark Cuban wrote his book. He started out as a blog and then packaged up the best of his blog into a book. I didn’t realize it. Then, I undoubtedly was influenced—although I can’t say consciously, because I didn’t remember this until after I wrote the book—but one of the most important books I read as a software service entrepreneur is Mark Benioff’s book Behind the Cloud, which is written as a series of plays. Almost like you’re calling plays as a coach. It’s just an absolutely brilliant book. So, it’s kind of set up in a way that you can jump in at any point in Mark’s book and say, “Okay. Well, I want to see how they handle customer success! Or I want to see how they handle marketing! Or I want to see how they took over trade shows!” And all the “crazy stuff” they did to compete with Siebel. You know, petitioning outside of trade shows, getting people to pay attention. The end of software and the rest of it. So, it was set up in a way that’s very much a modular way.

So, undoubtedly, I was at least unconsciously influenced by that, because an entire—I got the entire executive team at Bazaarvoice to read Behind the Cloud.

There are times where I’ll introduce a book to our company here, and say it’s required reading. Then we’ll have a discussion on it. I don’t feel comfortable doing that with my own book. I feel like it’s chock-full of insights about data.world, and I shared some of that on our Slack. I recently had a Lunch & Learn a few days ago, actually. I had a Lunch & Learn on my book and the process of writing the book and why I wrote it and some of the insights in it. I made that optional. So, not everybody in the company attended it.

So, I just feel like if it’s something that I wrote that should be required. I don’t know. I don’t know if that’s humility.

So, how did you know when to stop writing it? Because, presumably, not every drop of your knowledge has been squeezed out of you. So, does that mean you’re writing another one?

So, the answer on writing another one is probably. I’ll probably handle it the same way. I’ll write on my blog for the next six years, and then package that up as I help more and more startups. Probably six years from now we’ll probably be at 140 startups, instead of 77.

So, that’s the answer to that. If I feel like it’ll have high utility to help entrepreneurs, I’ll do it.

The “how did I decide on where to stop” on this one. When I started the process of writing it in September of last year, I actually created an outline for myself that I felt like had some kind of logical order. You know, I talked about earlier that when you’re writing, you’re on a journey, and you don’t really know where that journey’s going. That is true, but I felt like, from a topical standpoint, I should at least have an outline for myself, where I knew that this is kind of how I was going to structure the book.

I ultimately structured it in a very simplistic way. It’s kind of a three-part. Part one is on founding. So, it’s chapters that I feel like are essential for someone considering founding a business, to consider. There’s one in there, for example, for middle-aged people that have never started a business or never worked for an entrepreneur, to consider, and center themselves with, because it’s going to be really hard. Most of those people will not be successful, because they pick up the phone and they work for P&G, and everybody’s going to salute them on the other end of the line. But the reality is and you’re the CEO of data.world and nobody has ever heard of it, that’s not true anymore, but that was true when we first started out. It’s hard. It’s hard to get anybody to care.

Like, I write about an interruption of my book that you have to go on this journey from irrelevancy—where nobody cares, except for you—to relevancy, to where your business becomes market-relevant, to the must-have. John Mackey really lays that out well in his forward, about how Whole Foods went on that journey to irrelevancy, to relevancy, to the must-have, as it transitioned from Safer Way, which almost nobody cared about, to Whole Foods Market, which became relevant to that eventually becoming a big movement and being bought by Amazon.

So, I have that section of chapters on founding. Then, the second section is on building. This is now, you’re already in it. There’s no going back. You know? Burn the bridges. You’ve started it. So, now you’re in it, and how do you build?

Then, the final section is on helping. I only have one chapter in that section, and I probably should have more, but I decided that it would just be one, and that’s one my lessons learned in angel investing. The reason I included that section is that, if you’re lucky enough to become a successful entrepreneur, then you may feel that you have a duty to give back to other entrepreneurs in a way that so many helped you before. Because, I’ve never seen, from my own experience, an entrepreneur become successful without lots of help and lots of people that believed in them. I’ve never seen one hero entrepreneur where it’s like, you know, somehow they become successful. They could even have “against all odds,” but there’s lots of people helping them along the way. So, I think that’s also a myth that needs to be busted.

So, anyways, that’s kind of the three-party layout. Yes, I did have in my mind that from the beginning. I did have it in my mind what blog post would be incorporated. But then as I wrote the book, I found it…I waited until an idea comes to me, which typically happens through a series of lunch conversations with people we’ve invested in, or a VC meeting I’ve had where the lightbulb goes on where it led me to write a chapter that then becomes part of the book. Like, the Paralyzing Fear of Getting Started, that was not in my original outline. That was something where I was writing the book, and I thought, “I’m going to put out this blog post because most people probably have no clue that I also felt paralyzed, even though this is my sixth business. So, here’s how I worked through that. Here’s my practical advice for working through that paralysis.” Then, I’m like, “This has to be part of the book. It has to be in that chapter on founding.” I mean, that section on founding.

You mentioned that the entrepreneurs would come to Wharton and talk, and you would try to figure out what they had in common. And that got me thinking: There’s one kind of CEO that’s beloved by the people in the company, and they would walk through a wall for him or her. Then, there’s a CEO that’s a total jerk, and people are bound to that person by opportunism—which is also a powerful motivator. Right?

Right. It is. Yeah.

But nobody likes them.

Yeah.

Or is there, you think, an advantage to one of those? Is there a kindness advantage, being an entrepreneur?

I think that karma is a very real thing. You can look at karma as something that’s spiritual, or you can look at karma as the fact that we’re all just very social creatures, and we became successful human beings—homo sapiens—by the fact that we were natural collaborators. No matter how many wars we’ve had and everything else, and no matter how many horrific things have happened, the underlying motivation is one of collaboration. That doesn’t mean that you can’t also be competitive at times. Even when you are competitive, you are collaborating within a company to be competitive in a market.

So, I’m a deep believer in conscious capitalism. I served on the board of Conscious Capitalism. Data.world is a B Corporation, which is a for-profit corporation with a real strong public mission statement that is filed on record in the state of Delaware in our corporation documents, so that all of our shareholders know what we stand for and we publicly report on that.

I do agree that the Leviathan CEO can also be effective. Hobbes wrote about, the need for human beings to be controlled. It’s a very Hobbesian view to work for a jerk, where you’re just opportunistic. I don’t think that that is good for people’s psychological or physical well-being, nor do I think it’s good for the leaders. I feel like the leaders that are kind of the Al “Chainsaw” Dunlaps of the world. If you go in and just hatchet out everything and, you know, make a company much more profitable for a period of time. I mean, who talks about Al “Chainsaw” Dunlap these days? He was on the cover of Business Week and everything else in the ‘90s, I believe it was.

So, can they be successful? Yes. Is that the nature of humanity? No, in my opinion. But there are people who will take to counter that, and those people that will take the counter to that will undoubtedly take the Hobbesian-types of thinkers. They believe in the leviathan model. They look at someone like President Trump and the actions President Trump takes, and they’re like, “Yup. He’s a Leviathan leader, and that’s what we need.” I disagree. I am a leader that leads with love at my core. I’ve got that love because it was instilled in me from age seven by a mom who believed in me, against all societal forces trying to beat that out. So, it’s a big part of who I am.

I do think, if you look at the Fortune best places to work, from Raj Sisodia’s book, Firms of Endearment, which was something that he wrote either before or after he came out with Conscious Capitalism with John Mackey, but this is one of Raj’s books.

These companies dramatically outperform the stock market. Dramatically. They’re led by people who really care. You know? There’s no way you can have a great culture, be a Fortune best place to work, unless there are leaders there that really care about people—they really believe in the power of people. Firms of Endearment are about iconic leaders that really believe in the power of the people, and they’ve dramatically outperformed even the company’s listed in that book built to last.

So, that’s a strong belief I have. It is based on some data. It’s not, you know…Being the CEO of data.world, I should have the canonical dataset on this on data.world. It actually may exist. I don’t know. I need to get on there and search really quickly. Someone else may have already uploaded it. I know people upload data sets on Fortune best place to work and things like that.

But, it’s a strong belief that I have that, in the short term, if you’re a Leviathan-like leader, you can leverage fear to generate short-term results. In the long-term, it always ends up making your life miserable and their life miserable. Nobody’s going to look back on their deathbed and think that was a beloved place. They’re going to think, “I made a ton of money. I provided for my family. I did what I had to do, as a dad or mom. But, boy, that sucked.” I just think that’s a waste of life. I have a very strong view on that.

That’s a perfect ending of the interview, and our time is up. But that’s a beautiful place to end it.

from Gigaom https://gigaom.com/2019/11/26/a-conversation-with-brett-hurt/

#Gigaom

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gyrlversion · 5 years

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Celebs Go Dating pay tribute to Mike Thalassitis after star dies

Celebs Go Dating honoured Mike Thalassitis in their Sunday night episode, just a day after the 26-year-old’s death was announced, leaving fans in tears.

The E4 dating show paid tribute to the Love Island star, who appeared on the show in February 2018, by dedicating the episode to the reality TV star.

After the show concluded and the credit rolled, a photo of the star appeared on the screen alongside the words : ‘In memory of Mike Thalassitis 1993-2019.’

Tribute: Celebs Go Dating honoured Mike Thalassitis in their Sunday night episode, just a day after the 26-year-old’s death was announced

Mike was found dead Saturday morning in Edmonton, North London, the Metropolitan Police has confirmed.

Viewers took to Twitter to thank the show for the tribute and on how touching it was.

One offered: ‘Gosh I’m in actual tears at that tribute to at the end of @celebsgodating RIP #MikeThalassitis.’

Another typed: ‘So nice to see that @CelebsGodating did a tribute to @Mikethalassitis tonight R.I.P angel x.

‘Nice to see a tribute to @MikeThalassitis at the end of #CelebsGoDating,’ alongside a crying emoji added a viewer.

Starred on the show: The E4 dating show paid tribute to the Love Island star, who appeared on the show in February 2018, by dedicating the episode to the reality TV star

Teary eyed: Viewers took to Twitter to thank the show for the tribute and on how touching it was

Mike, who found fame on Love Island, starred on Celebs Go Dating alongside other household names such as Talia Storm, Gemma Collins, Ollie Locke and Sam Thompson.

Prior to the show airing, Celebs Go Dating bosses made a statement on Twitter, which read: ‘Everyone here at Celebs Go Dating are shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of our dear friend Mike.

‘Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends at this very sad time. Rest in peace Mike.’

Memory: At the end of the show, a photo of Mike appeared on the screen

Currently on the dating agency’s books is Megan McKenna, who was in a 7-month relationship with Mike following his time on the show.

Mike was found dead Saturday morning in Edmonton, North London, the Metropolitan Police has confirmed.

It has been suggested that Mike was at the time struggling to come to terms with the death of his grandmother and had recently been dealing with debt. The reality TV star had moved in with the 94-year-old after her deteriorating health meant she needed a full time carer.

Heartbreaking: Prior to the show airing, Celebs Go Dating bosses made a statement on Twitter

The Metropolitan Police confirmed on Sunday that the body of a man had been found at 9.28am on Saturday, with the circumstances around the death not considered to be suspicious.

A spokesman said: ‘Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended and found a man, aged in his 20s, deceased. Police are in the process of informing the man’s next of kin.’

Mike’s parents Andreas Thalassitis, 62, and Shirley Thalassitis, 61, were too upset to comment on Sunday at their semi detached home.

While his mother’s sister Laura Goldsmid, 60, said that everyone was ‘in shock’ following the tragic news.

Alumni: Mike, who found fame on Love Island, starred on Celebs Go Dating alongside other household names such as Talia Storm, Gemma Collins, Ollie Locke and Sam Thompson

It was reported on Sunday that Mike had been dealing with huge debts in the months leading up to his tragic death after overextending himself with a party lifestyle.

A source told The Mirror: ‘His party lifestyle came at a price and he wasn’t earning a lot of cash after Love Island, especially as he became his nan’s carer.’

Thalassitis had also been due to open a restaurant in Essex called The Skillet with former professional footballer Scott Neilson, according to filings at Companies House.

Hitting out: Malin Andersson, who lost her daughter earlier this year hit out at Love Island for not giving contestants support

Lack of support: Love Island co-star Dom Lever slammed Love Island for its lack of support once contestants leave the villa

After learning of the news of his death, former Love Island co-star Dom Lever slammed Love Island for its lack of support once contestants leave the villa.

He said: ‘You get a psychological evaluation before and after you go on the show but hands down once you are done on the show you don’t get any support unless you’re number one.’ This followed a tweet where he expressed how shocked he was at the news.

Malin Andersson, who lost her daughter earlier this year also hit out at the show and said she ‘wouldn’t have been able to cope’ after the show if she didn’t have a ‘strong head on her’.

She said: ‘If I didn’t have a strong head on me that my mum passed down to me, I wouldn’t have been able to cope with this all. But not everyone is like this. PLEASE IF YOU FEEL ALONE, OR SAD, OR STUCK REACH OUT TO SOMEBODY!

‘Nothing when my mum died. Nothing when Sophie died. Change needs to happen.’ She also urged the show to ‘wake up!’ and said that enough was enough.

‘I got flowers from the producers when my daughter died. No f****** phone call. No support, or help.’

For confidential help and support please contact Samaritans for free on 116 123

Former relationship: Mike and Megan McKenna (who is on the current series of Celebs Go Dating) were together for 7-months

The post Celebs Go Dating pay tribute to Mike Thalassitis after star dies appeared first on Gyrlversion.

from WordPress https://www.gyrlversion.net/celebs-go-dating-pay-tribute-to-mike-thalassitis-after-star-dies/

#Entertainment News

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cover2covermom · 5 years

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Hello bookworms!

After a crazy nonstop weekend, I’m actually relieved that it’s Monday. In case you missed it, you can catch up with all the wonderful things happening in my personal life in my bookish weekly wrap-up for this past week 🙂

I read 10 books in February! 4 of these books were in honor of #BlackHistoryMonth! I am very pleased with both my reading & blogging month in February.

» The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2) by Holly Black

The first 200 pages of The Wicked King were very disappointing, but the last 130-ish were up to expectations… Still interested in seeing where this story goes in the 3rd book.

You can read my review here ⇒ The Wicked King

» Arrow’s Fall (Heralds of Valdemar #3) by Mercedes Lackey

Underwhelming conclusion to a series that was missing that spark for me despite having wonderful things going for it.

You can read my review here ⇒ Mini Reviews: Heralds of Valdemar Trilogy #ReadingValdemar

» The Poppy War (The Poppy War #1) by R.F. Kuang

*4.5 Stars*

#YARC2019

This book is worth all the hype! Epic, brutal, and morally gray. The book did lose some steam at some points, hence the half star deduction. This will be another book in my “top books of 2019” list.

» Akata Witch(Akata Witch #1) by Nnedi Okorafor

*4.5 Stars*

#BlackHistoryMonth

A book set in Nigeria about an albino girl that discovers she is a Leopard person. Loved the magic system based on west African culture & folklore.

» Once Upon a Riverby Diane Setterfield

A Gothic style mystery with a touch of magic realism. Would recommend to fans of Kate Morton.

» Betty Before X by Ilyasah Shabazz

#BlackHistoryMonth

A middle grade book I read for #BlackHistoryMonth. This books talks about the early life of Betty Shabazz growing up in Detroit Michigan. Betty was the wife of Malcolm X. Their daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz, wrote the book. A beautiful tribute to her mother’s early life.

» The Rejected Writers’ Book Club (Southlea Bay #1) by Suzanne Kelman

DNF @ 20% This book just isn’t my cup of tea. Far too cheesy & cliche.

» Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary by Walter Dean Myers

*4.5 Stars*

#BlackHistoryMonth

A well executed memoir of an important figure in black history. I feel like I now have a better understanding of Malcolm X’s beliefs, and why he felt the way he did.

» Daughters of the Silk Roadby Debbie Rix

*2.5 Stars*

The concept of this story was intriguing: following a vase as it passes from generation to generation starting in the 1440s. Unfortunately, the execution of the story didn’t completely work for me.

» When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoirby Patrisse Khan-Cullors & Asha Bendele

#BlackHistoryMonth

A memoir of Patrisse Khan-Cullors, activist & #BlackLivesMatter movement co-founder. This memoir was heartbreaking and eye-opening. I wanted more about the founding & logistics of the BLM movement.

» Circeby Madeline Miller

Worth all the hype! I just love how Madeline Miller spins her Greek mythology retellings. I cannot wait to see which myth/mythological figure she tackles next.

Goodreads Challenge Update:

#YARC2019 Update:

Year of Asian Reading Challenge TBR + Progress Tracker #YARC2019

I’ve read 1 book towards #YARC2019 in March. I read The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang. I’ve read 3 books total for this year-long challenge.

2019 Goals Update:

» 80% NetGalley feedback ratio = 15 backlist ARCs ⇒ 4/15 complete

I read The Rejected Writers’ Book Club which I DNFed at 20% and I read Daughters of the Silk Road.

» 30 physical TBR books ⇒ 5/30 complete

I read Akata Witchby Nnedi Okorafor.

» No buying new books ⇒ Success?

Technically I did buy books this month BUT hear me out. I purchased a few books with a gift card I received from Christmas – totally doesn’t count. I also purchased the hardback copy of the 20th anniversary edition of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson to get singed at her book event in March. If you remember, I stipulated that purchasing books to get signed at author events didn’t count towards my 2019 book buying ban either. So yes, thank god for loop holes 🙂

» Complete mini reviews for all books read ⇒ Yes!

Mini Book Reviews: February 2019 (Part 1)

I’m also almost done drafting all my mini-reviews for the rest of the books I read this month, I just haven’t posted them yet.

» Two creative blog posts per month ⇒ 2/2 posts published

The Dos & Don’ts of Attending Author Signings/Book Tours

Book Recs: Books to Read for #BlackHistoryMonth

» Read long books I’ve been putting off ⇒ 0/3

I will be putting one of these books on my April TBR.

January 2019 Reading & Blogging Wrap-Up

February 2019 TBR

Book Review: The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa

Mini Book Reviews: February 2019 (Part 1)

The Dos & Don’ts of Attending Author Signings/Book Tours

Mini Reviews: Heralds of Valdemar Trilogy #ReadingValdemar

Book Recs: Books to Read for #BlackHistoryMonth

Kids’ Corner: Picture Books to Read in Honor of #BlackHistoryMonth

Book Review: Where the River Parts by Radhika Swarup

Cover2CoverMom Celebrates 3 Years Blogging + Q&A Session

Kids’ Corner: Diverse Children’s Picture Books (February 2019)

» The Children’s Collectible Edition Boxed Set (Barnes & Nobel Collectible Editions)

*Books included The Story of King Authur and his Knights, Greek Myths, Treasure Island, Peter Pan, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, Grimm’s Fairy Tales.

*Gift card used to purchase*

» The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth #1) by N.K. Jeminsin

*Gift card used to purchase*

» The Stone Sky (The Broken Earth #3) by N.K. Jeminsin

*Gift card used to purchase*

» Bright We Burn (The Conqueror’s Saga #3) by Kiersten White

*Gift card used to purchase*

» Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

*Purchased for author event*

» The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin

*Sent by publisher for review*

Which books did you read this month?

Have you read any of the books I read or hauled this month? If so, what did you think?

Did you buy any books? If so, which ones?

Comment below & let me know 🙂

See which #books I #read in February 2019 in my #Reading & #Blogging Wrap-Up. #BookBlog #BookBlogger #Bookish #Bibliophile #Bookworm Hello bookworms! After a crazy nonstop weekend, I'm actually relieved that it's Monday. In case you missed it, you can catch up with all the wonderful things happening in my personal life in my…

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latesthollywoodnews · 6 years

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Selena Gomez Admits To Comparing Herself in CRYPTIC Post & Gets NEW Tattoos

Jeremy Brown - Latest News - My Hollywood News

Selena Gomez Admits To Comparing Herself in CRYPTIC Post & Gets NEW Tattoos, Hollywood News 2018.

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Top Rated Celebrities and Most Popular Celebrities, Hollywood Celebrities 2017, Selena Gomez Admits To Comparing Herself in CRYPTIC Post & Gets NEW Tattoos.

Hollywood Celebrities Latest Story Emily Blunt Celebrities Coming In 2019 next Cartoon Network Studios is an American animation studio based in Burbank, California. It is owned by Cartoon Network and Turner Broadcasting System, which are both subsidiaries of Time Warner.

Who married Sleeping Beauty?

Prince Phillip tells his father that he has met a young woman in the forest and that he will marry her, against his father’s will. Unbeknownst to Hubert, this young woman is Aurora under the disguise of “Briar Rose”, the fake identity the fairies have given her to protect her from Maleficent.

What does Mulan’s name mean?

In the original poem, the heroine’s name is “Mulan.” According to the Chinese- English dictionary, the name means “lily magnolia.” Mulan is often given a last name, “Hua,” which means “flower.” The Chinese pinyin spelling of the name is “Hua Mu-Lan.”

Who is the president of Hollywoodland?

With Meg’s transition complete, George A. Kalogridis is named president of the Walt Hollywood World Resort, and Michael Colglazier is named president of the Hollywoodland Resort.

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If any of yall follow Selena Gomez on IG, you’d think home girl is LIVING HER BEST LIFE. Especially ever since Biebs took the plunge and became engaged to hailey Baldwin. It was like the band aid was ripped off of Selena’s heart and she was finally free. She has over 140 million followers on Instagram and her page looks like a spread in Teen Vogue for what happiness under 25 is supposed to look like. But Selena wants us to take her IG with a grain of salt. Check out what she wrote on her most recent post. QUOTE: “A few of my favorite things in the entire world!!! UPDATE: I had something I’ve thought about for a while that I want to share. This page is my highlights and a few low lights. I post what I am willing to share with you guys.” “I hear people say all the time that they wish they had someone else’s life based on a few pictures.. we all do it. But this is me sharing some happy moments with you guys. Trust me, my life isn’t always this filtered and flowery… We are all on our own journey.” Some people are wondering if this is Selena admitting that she’s struggling with depression. But I think those people drank too much coffee this morning. She’s just saying, life isn’t perfect, including her own. Plus she ended her post with a sunflower emoji, so things can’t be that bad. On another note, during a recent birthday celebration with some of her dearest close friends- Courtney Barry, Ashley Cook, and Raquelle Stevens- Gomez added a couple more tattoos to her impressive collection. Sometime after dinner in honor of Barry’s 26th birthday, the foursome found themselves in a tattoo shop. And they forever cemented their longtime friendships. This of course Selena’s first foray into inking her body, but we’re not so sure the same can be said for her friend Stevens, who Gomez joked “had a panic attack” in the chair. QUOTE “My best friend turned 26. Part one,” the former Disney star captioned pics from their night out — before they decided to hit up the tattoo shop. Sel revealed her new tats in a pair of touching Instagram posts on Saturday, August 18th. First up: a delicate “4.” QUOTE “Best friend turned 26. Part 2 #4 because these women have stayed by my side for 7 years (@ashley_cook 12 years) 4, because you are my 4 for the rest of my life,” Gomez wrote in her Instagram caption. “I love you ladies. You all inspire me to be better, stronger, closer to god and we have lived the most INSANE story together already. Can’t wait for 50 more!!” The 26-year-old singer then got another tattoo with Barry on their rib cages. “My actual #1 @courtneyjbarry you are an incredible woman. The way you handle life’s most confusing moments is indescribable and graceful,” she began in a sweet Instagram tribute. “You are moved by the littlest stories to the most heartbreaking ones, you will give someone your perfume if they say you smell nice, you are freaking hilarious and always stand firm in your faith, a loving sister, an amazing friend and a beautiful daughter. You are the definition of FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY made baby! #1.” Selena definitely has one HELL of a strong and devoted girl crew. Let us not forget she was gifted an actual kidney from friend and Secret Life of the American Teenager actress Francia Raisa. If that’s not a testament to true friendship, we don’t know what is. So what do you think of Selena’s cryptic post and how awesome are her new tats? Think she’ll regret em? I hope not. Those babies are with her for LIFE. Anyway, comment below then take 30 seconds to comment on my Insta and follow me on twitter. @Miriamisa and @Miriam_isa. Anyway, thanks for watching! Please click to the right to watch another new video and don’t forget to subscribe to our channels. I’m Miriam Isa and see you soon!

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jonathansherman · 6 years

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Rock Therapy: 102 Groovy VW Songs

I think I can safely claim this is the most comprehensive collection about vintage VW songs ever. I belong to a couple local VW groups and attend VW car shows. I made this playlist for all my VW chums. These songs cover most genres. Some are professionally done, some aren't. Some are better than others. Some are all about the VW while others mention them in a passing lyric. Let me know which ones you like best.

Why VW songs for Rock Therapy? Okay, that's pretty obvious: Vintage VW's are super chill. The VW Bug and Bus are cultural icons of the ideal of "peace, love and happiness, baby!" And the wonderful irony is that the Volkswagen was started by the polar opposite of that ideal, Adolf Hitler. He wanted an affordable people's car. Fortunately, he's gone and this car for the people was co-opted by the hippie movement (a group of people that he would have despised! Ha!). These songs all capture what the Bugs and Buses have come to represent to so many: "Peace, love and happiness.' They are vehicles you drive because you are in no hurry, have minimal ego, don't mind getting dirty fixing it up, and aren't afraid to figure out how to wrench on it a little... because for a long time it was poorer people (the people's car) who couldn't afford a "nicer" car. Funny thing is that these cheap little cars, weren't cheap in quality, and their design (in both form and function) was simple, elegant and brilliant. That's why they are still around, sought after, and universally enjoyed by owners and fans alike.

Also, there's a very personal connection to VW's. If you don't know yet, my wife and I have had our 1969 VW Westfalia Bus since we were first married over 25 years ago. My wife and her family grew up with two Bugs as well. Plus, my daughter Molly and I have been restoring her 1969 VW Bug together as a daddy-daughty project. So, we really like old VWs around here My kids have learned to drive in our Bus and all have good memories with friends cruising around town in the Bus. It became the #ChalkBus in .... and ever since the MarriageEnvy #ChalkBus has been a crowd and community fav around town and at special events. It's been featured in the news, on the radio, a rock music video, photo shoots, and now a documentary. Following the playlist are notes on each of the songs...

**** Embed this post on the CB page, too.

1. Vincent Rolls, by Dave Manning

I came across this song in one of the VW documentaries, though I can't remember which one, but he's a singer/songwriter who travels from gig to gig in his Bus, Vincent. Nice tribute to his faithful companion vehicle.

2. The Volkswagen Song, by Gord Yelich

This song is written and performed by BC singer/ songwriter Gord Yelich, and is taken from his first album "from wobbly knees." For all you Volkswagen enthusiasts out there. A love song.

3. Mabel VW Beetle, by Peter Simmons

"This is the story of Mabel, a 1959 VW Beetle." A bluesy fun tune.

4. The Volkswagen Song, sung by Jill Adamson & Mary Elaine.

A happy little song from "Sing a song of Motor Cars," 1970.

5. VW Bug Song, by Denny Brening

A very simple acoustic punkish song. I really like it.

6. Come and Get It / VW Beetle Song, by Cable35

A commenter clarified, "the song is called "come and get it" written and produced by cornelius hager, singer is kriz cable from the maltese punkband cable35. production: tinseltown music / germany the song is made for vw,"

7. Magic Bus, by The Who

This one isn't actually about a VW Bus, but any Bus owner considers it a theme song for sure. My Brit punk rocker VW chum Gary Pilcher's VW Bus is called "The Magic Bus." This song was also the background music in this radio spot/podcast that was done about my #ChalkBus (about half-way down page).

8. Waitin' for the Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago, by ZZ Top

"Have mercy! Been waitin' for the bus all day" are the opening lyrics. Again, not about a VW Bus, but c'mon! My Bus has been broken down enough I've pleaded for mercy as I've been waiting for my Bus to work again while I've been working on it all day!

9. VW Bus, by The Newbies

I believe this song and all the pics are by the owner of the 71 bus in the pics. Nice!.

10. Down Under, by Men at Work

"Travelin' in a fried out Kombi..." is the opening line and one of my favorite opening lines of a song. For those who don't know, a Kombi is the same as a Bus. It's what they were originally/officially called as it's a combination or multi-purpose vehicle. And the opening scene of the video features a panel van bay window VW Bus. Nice.

11. Convoy, by C.W. McCall

Somehow this became a hit song and movie in the 70s. I had this song on a 45. There was something exciting about having a big rig (there was also a hit TV show called BJ and the Bear), being a trucker, a CB radio, and knowing CB lingo. And then having a huge convoy of renegade truckers sticking it to the man was glorious anarchy. And a bit ridiculous. But what the hey... so was the 70s.

Among all these huge semi's then enters the VW Bus. See 2:42 for a Bay window VW Microbus in the video and the lyric, "Well we shot the line, we went for broke, with a thousand trucks and 11 long-haired friends of Jesus in a chartreuse Microbus."

And then on the CB you hear, "Lookie, you want to put that Microbus in behind that suicide jockey?" And the reply, "Yeah, he's hauling dynamite--he needs all the help he can get!" A VW Bus loaded with dynamite ready to blow through the state trooper barricade. In the 70s that was cool. Now that's terrorism....

12. Rapper's Delight, by The SugarHill Gang

The song isn't VW-related, but it's played by a unique record player... be sure to watch the video...

13. Camper Van, by The Adventure Babies

A happy summer afternoon tune.

14. VW Bus, by Mommy Daddy Issues

They invite a smack-talking cracker to stop giving them crap and instead join them to chill out with them in their VW Bus.

15. The VW Campervan Summer Song, by Scouting For Girls

Man, I just love this song. I mean exactly.

16. VW Bus Song, by F.A.M.E 1984 (Judy Winter, et al)

With a heavy borrow from the song Wild Thing... It's in German and all I know is that Google Translate gives this translation from the description in the video, though I can't vouch for its accuracy: "a homage to the VW Bus. What we would have done without him. Have we taken time, when we were quite wide. F.A.M.E. 1984 = Judy Winter, Ian Jory, and Silvie Jung, Helmut war, Peavy Schmidt, Dieter Roehrig,"

17. VW Bus, by Litchtfeld

Another VW Bus song in German. I don't understand it, but I like it.

18. Hippie-Bus, by Dodo

A German reggae song about a hippy bus. Yeah. They make a cool cut out VW Bus that they walk about town. Fun. The video description has lyrics if you want to copy and translate them in Google Translate...

19. Get Away (Bulli Edition), by FRONTAL

Another VW Bus song in German. Catchy.

20. "Ode to the Bus" AKA: Arnie's Song, by Tyler Firestone

The singer says, "lol I wrote this song because my friend Arnie from the Barrie Folk Society offered me a part for my VW Bus under one condition. I needed to write a song about THE BEST VEHICLE IN THE WORLD!!!! THE V-DUBYA MICROBUS!!! I was honored to For all you groovy people ouyt there... Here it is!"

21. Love Bug Blues, by Charles Bradley

This has nothing to do with an actual VW Bug, but we all know that they are called "love bugs" and I couldn't resist the tie in to this playlist. Besides this is some pretty dang sweet blues and I think I can safely say we've all been there...

22. Herbie the Love Bug TV Theme Song

This is horrible, cheesy and embarrassing. But I felt obligated. I mean Herbie made many of us fall in love with VW Bugs when we were kids.

23. Herbie the Love Bug Movie Theme Song

Classic island surf-style groovy 60's hip music. Instrumental.

24. Cesar Laser - Supersonic Volkswagen Beetle

This odd little number was first on Britain's Got Talent (you can watch that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT5WpGfYGuE). Give the full song a listen. In satirical Kraftwerk style, it's really quite funny.

25. VW Beetle Song, from a film by Esso and Wolfsburg

I think I can safely say this was the very first VW Beetle song. I'd love to have this one translated from the German. A short film was made in 1949 by Esso and the Wolfsburg Volkswagen plant four years after the war. This song is sung at the end of the 58 minutes movie.

26. Beetle Love, by Volkswagen

A rather dreadful little song that I find hard to listen to... but it still has to be on this list I think mostly because of what the uploader said, "I found this on a vintage LP entitled "Volkswagen '79: Music From The '79 Intro Show" which I presume was a private issue intended solely for the VW-USA sales team."

27. VW Song, by The Supernaturals

I quite like this one.

28. VW Bus T3, by Kone

Another Bus song in German. For those who don't know, T3 refers to the Type 3 version of the Bus which is the Vanagon. The T1s are the first Buses with the split front windows. The T2s are the bay window buses (like mine).

29. The Big White Van, by ???

The uploader says, "A tuneful video about a families ownership of a VW Bay type 2 camper van since 1979 until 2016 with all the good and bad times, mostly good. A catchy tune and brain worm chorus." Nice.

30. VW Van, by Jake Owen

I was enjoying this fun country song celebrating the VW Van... then I noticed some commenters getting critical because "it's a BUS not a VAN!!!" Oh brother. Big deal. So, I shared the following comment: "For those who are getting bent that he's calling it a "van" most do call it a Bus but there are plenty in the VW Bus community who refer to owning a Bus as "VanLife." I've had my 69 pop top Westy VW Bus, aka the #ChalkBus, for 24 years now so I have a little "cred" here :-). I prefer Bus but have no prob with it being called a VW van or VW camper van as others call them. The VW Bus is also called officially the Kombi, Microbus, Transporter, Samba, Bulli, and Campmobile. Variations are Westfalias (Westy), pop tops, tin tops, high tops, Bay, Splitty, etc. It's been called a lot of things. The Bus itself doesn't care. Let it go. It's a fun, catchy song praising a great vehicle. Enjoy it."

31. Das VW Käfer, by ???

A VW Beetle song in German. No idea what his saying but the tune is catchy.

32. Mechanic, by Claire Ness

Not a song about VW's but about wrenching on them for sure, and this is from the superior web series documenting a VW Bus traveling from southern Chile to Alaska. A trip that was meant to be done in one year took four. The coolest guy and people. The show is Hasta Alaska and the channel is Kombi Life. A must watch!

33. That Kombi Song, by Kevin Brand

A catchy tune that understands what owning a Bus is all about.

34. The Kombi Song, by Harrison Biden

The singer says, "The song is about my first memories of surfing and our first surfing car."

35. The Kombi Song, by ???

"Try to fix it cheap she'll cost ya double..." Ha! No doubt.

36. The Vanagon Song, by Mica Strong

Warning: Explicit Lyrics. For you T3 Vanagon lovers... The last of the VW line that understand what the Bus was about. The Eurovan was just a minivan with camp stuff inside, ya know? Or is that just me?

37. The VW Song, by Jer Grissom

Nice little acoustic song.

38. Cute as a Bug, by Lyle Lovett

"That's when I saw her, singin' and laughin' Tryin' to pass me in a Volkswagen She's as cute as a bug..."

39. Sikh in a Baja Volkswagen Bug, by Grandaddy

I don't know how to explain this other than the title says it all.

40. Amen, by Paula Cole

"I'm siphoning gass from the high school bus Into the tank of my beat-up Bug So I can drive away from the shouting and misery"

41. I Got Me a Lady - She Drives a Little Blue Volkswagen Car (Live), by Les McCann and His Magic Band

Cool, bluesy tune.

42. Volkswagen, by Dog Faced Hermans

A trippy, psychedelic romp...

"Volkswagen the sun Volkswagen the moon"

43. '69 Beetle, by Bo Billy

A country boy gets an hand me down VW while all his buddies got pickup trucks...

44. Sleeping in the Beetle Bug, by "of Montreal"

45. Peace and Love, by Fountains of Wayne

"Riding around in a Volkswagen van Thinking 'bout the people upside-down in Japan"

46 & 47. Da Da Da (English and German versions), by Trio

I included this as this was made famous by the Volkswagen ad campaign.

48. A onda é a Kombi, by Henrique e Ruan

Brazilian group. The title translates from Portuguese into "The wave is the van."

49. Autobahn, by Kraftwerk

The song begins with the sound of a VW Bug door closing and engine starting up and driving off. And the album cover features a white VW Bug driving down the Autobahn in the right lane.

50. VW Bus, Aaron Pritchett

"Impulse buy on a drive-by deal."

51. VW Bus T3 Lied

This is the Google Translation from the German lyrics. I especially like the moral of the story at the end of the song!

"The VW Bus T3 song, played and sung by Mic, texted by Dirk, at the forumvwbus.de meeting in Clausthal, 01.-04.05.2008 Here is the text: ---------------------------------------- The bus Once upon a time there was a little boy he could not say a word about his tongue he did not dream of the first kiss but from a private bus He grew bigger, girls came rarely kept their names because everything did not matter to him Only the T3 was in sight Finally, when the ruble rolled and he could do what he wanted he cleared his account and plunged into traffic Engine behind, boy in front Hard music on the ears, Finally there was time for women there is room for bodies in T3! And, how should it be different, soon, child seats came in. From the cool Love-Mobil their cries came to a great deal Later then, after hard years and again, long savings stood in front of the house hipp, hippy hurray a dream-bear of Westfalia !! He has sworn himself firmly and wrote behind their own ears never to deliver this bus he is a part of life Fine dust, soot and environmental zone The boy does not itch the bean He is happy, drives and cleans the bus until the end .... until the end ... .... and the moral of the story You do not sell a good bus !!"

52. Bessie The Bus, by Stevie Bradford

"A happy little blues song." :-)

53. VW Bus Lament, by Idyltime

"Once I had a Volkswagen van and it cost me a lot of dough..."

54. VW Bus, by Teesy & Tribe

German rap group, translated part of the lyrics on Google Translate:

"Build my 'VW bus for a motorhome Drive through the country without a destination Write another letter And then I say "Bye."

55. VW Van, by Owen Steel

Guy who wished he had bought a VW Van from his high school principal but had no moolah

56. VW Bus Song, by MANNSWILD

German song. Fun vid. They say, "You are in love with your VW Bus - your heart beats for the only real Bulli. We, the band MANNSWILD from out of Germany share this passion. Here comes the BULLI."

57. Sweetheart, the VW Bus, from Kiepie & Kandas intro

Intro song from a 1980 Afrikaans movie with the song 'Die Army van Kandas' singing about Sweetheart, the VW Bus.

58. The Camper Van Song, by The John Meed Band

"Those hippies were crazy, but they sure knew what to drive..."

59. Campervan Song, by Jimmy Lee Morris

"A waltzy homage to our first 1976 Type 2 Bay Window Campervan"

60. Camper Van Driver, by Kludo White

61. The Campervan Song, by Intersonic

"A song about the happiness and the despair of a good ol' road trip."

62. Campervan Song, by Dan Platt

"Song about my vw camper van."

63. Volks, Volkswagen Blues, by Gilberto Gil

A chill song from 69 or 71.

64. The Fool, by Old 97s

"He came from Phoenix in a borrowed VW bug To be somebody or just be somebody who Came from Phoenix in a borrowed VW bug"

65. The Boogie Man, by Kinky Friedman

"The boogie man, he's got a little piece of land, He got a mean ol' lady keeps him gentle as a lamb. He got a dog named Frog and a VW van"

66. I Love Planet Earth, by Eleni Mandell

"One road goes through the reservation With one casino and one gas station Rusted VW bug upside down By the side of the road"

67. Hillbilly Hippies, by Montgomery Gentry

"We got some friends like us Fill up a crew cab truck Like an old VW bus"

68. The Great Hank, by Robert Earl Keen

"So there we were out the door and into the city of brotherly love Into the night, out of sight In a VW Bug"

69. Glory Bound, by Martin Sexton

"So I packed it up and I went to the winds And I lived out of a VW bus for a year or two Ain't nothing but a pipe dream and my guitar"

70. Factory, John Cougar Mellencamp

"Well I'm up every morning by 6:08 Take the Volkswagen bus up the interstate"

71. W.O.L.D., by Harry Chapin

"You picked me up in your battered blue Volkswagen, babe You laid me down on the mattress on the Floor that was your bed"

72. Hippopotamus, by Sparks

"There's a Volkswagen microbus, a Volkswagen microbus, a Volkswagen microbus in my pool A '58 microbus A '58 microbus A '58 microbus in my pool. A hippie is driving, a hippie is driving, a trippy old hippie poor, poor guy A hippie is driving, a hippie is driving, I throw him a towel Here, go get dry"

73. Gypsy In My Soul, by Johnny Reid

"Momma told me my daddy was a ramblin' man I was born in the backseat of a Volkswagen van"

74. Volkswagen Van, by Wonder Coast

75. Volkswagen Bus, Alex Call

76. Volkswagen Thing, by Asylum Street Spankers

77. Volkswagen, by Bennettopia

78. Volkswagen Boogie, by Henry & The Bleeders

79. Volkswagen Blues, by Black Cassette

80. Volkswagen Breakdown, by The Plate Scrapers

81. Grey Volkswage, by Poor Man's Whiskey

82. Volkswagen Commercial, by Ryan Kulp

83. Blue Volkswagen, by Michael Beetley

84. Volks Volkswagen Blue, by Os Brazões

85. Blues to a VW Bus, Vasko the Patch

Bulgarian artist.

86. Calamine / Volkswagen Breakdown (Live), by Zigue

87. Quero Ser o Teu Volkswagen, by Balla

Translates to "I want to be your volkswagen." Hmmmm.

88. I Got a Volkswagen You Got a Cadillac, by Buzzy Beano

89. Lost in the Bush in a Broken Down Volkswagen in Nigeria, by Nikolaj Hess

90. Little VW Kafer Car, by A-OK for Kids

91. Saga of a Volkswagen Kafer Car, by Stories for Kids

Not a song, but a fun little story of the life cycle of a Volkswagen Bug for kids.

92. Blue Kombi, Davizera

93. Na Kombi, by Expresso Luz

94. Kombi 71, by Paulo Meyer and the Thunderheads

95. Kombi 72, by Paulo Meyer and the Thunderheads

96. Centennial, by Tokyo Police Club

"I'm running to catch up to that old VW They're leaning out the back"

VW Songs on Spotify that aren't on YouTube

97. VW Bus Vibe$, by AJ

98. Little Blue Volkswagen, by Dean Brody

99. Transporter You a& I, by Volkswagen

100. Volkswagen Blue, by Jose Cid

101. As Great as Those Great Volkswagen Ads, by FAD

102. El Agua en la VW Camper, by El Ruido Blanco

LOOK FOR MORE HERE:

https://www.lyrics.com/lyrics/VW

https://www.lyrics.com/lyrics/volkswagen

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