today is a weird day for theatre nerds everywhere.

Lost in Translation

If someone told me a couple of months ago how invested I’d be in OH and the story, I would laugh at them. But here we are, isn’t life full of surprises :) 

Apologies for mistakes, if you notice any please feel free to let me know!

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x f!MC 

Word Count: 2,358

Summary: What happens when it’s just Dr Ramsey and his thoughts?

Warnings: None, just a tiny bit of angst & fluff. A lot of introspection!

~~~~~~~

After what felt like the longest shift ever, Dr Ethan Ramsey finally entered his apartment. He closed the door, leaving the whirlwind of his professional life outside.

A biscuit golden retriever jumped at him with all the might in his paws and the sore muscles of a 37-year old diagnostician almost gave up under the pressure of furry ball of fluff.

“I’m happy to see you too, buddy. But you need to go easy on me today.”

Jenner just stared at him with those big black eyes, licked his hand and went back to solving the most important problem of the day: how to cadge some real food, the one hooomans eat.

Although he was far from contemplating whether dogs have what resembles an intelligence (it was someone else’s specialty) he couldn’t help but think Jenner knows. This constantly salivating, instinct-driven creature somehow understands what it is that Ethan asked him to do and why.

“Great, Ramsey. You are going crazy, may as well admit yourself to the psychiatric ward right now. Dr Keller will be delighted to see you. And all the predators of Edenbrook will finally have a proper fodder - Ethan freaking Ramsey has officially freaked out.”

Having poured himself a decent glass of scotch, he stood in front of a giant window overlooking the bay. The waters were quiet and calm, a total contrast to the fire burning inside him after taking a long sip. There was something soothing in the almost painful feeling. 10 years ago downing a whole glass of neat scotch was way beyond his repertoire. One of the perks of being over 35, he guessed. It was scientifically proven that man’s tastebuds change drastically after reaching certain age. He had to admit, there was at least a grain of truth in this. The gold liquid was no longer just bitter and harsh; it had texture, flavour, a complexity - something he wasn’t able to appreciate before. As a doctor, he also knew that he’s got 20, maybe 25 years of this experience left - until ruthless time and ageing will blend all tastes into one.

The lights of the night danced around the spacious living room, their gold reflections creating an aura of mystery in a dimly-lit apartment. He looked around and his gaze landed on antique vase, a present Naveen brought him from Greece for his 35th birthday. It complemented tasteful interior design, expensive decorations and custom furniture perfectly.

As beautiful as they were, all these things made him feel nothing. It was almost ironic that this unquestionably beautiful property, paid for with his own blood, sweat and tears, he couldn’t possibly care less about. Right now, he could have been in some shithole in Roxbury, sipping cheap beer and it would make no difference whatsoever. Except, it would have saved him a mini fortune, which he was now spending on this goddamn penthouse in Beacon Hill. A place he never ever spent more than 4 hours at a time in.

He smirked at the thought - that’s exactly what Naveen said about his own lake house before saying goodbye to his mentee last year. Back when he thought he was going to die soon. Was it surprising? No, everyone was expecting that Ethan will one day take Naveen’s place as the best diagnostician in the world. He considered this not so much an honour, but rather a tribute to his biggest idol, his friend, his father figure. If he was to ever repay Dr Banerji for everything he’s done for him, there was only one way - he needed to be the best among the best.

They called him the best diagnostician of his generation. Although he resented the title, this label given to him by the mutual admiration society (that he had zero respect for), he was very much aware that he was exceptional at his job. Ethan never thought of this as bragging, because bragging made people vain. He liked to think of it as self-confidence, which, as it grew stronger, made him work for his patients even harder than he ever thought possible. The people whose lives he saved, they had to have confidence in him. They had to believe that he knows what he’s doing. And how could he instil a sense of confidence in them, had he not had it himself?

“You can’t give what you don’t have.” - the sentence kept echoing in his head. Tobias used to say that to him all the time, he lived by these words. It was probably the only relic of their once unbreakable (or so they stupidly thought) bond and also the only thing relating to Tobias that didn’t make him want to gag.

So Ethan accepted his role as a successor of the greatest diagnostician in the country. Because there was a mission and a responsibility behind this fate. Because there was a sense of safety in predictable realms of medicine. Also, because… it felt like kicking Tobias right in the crotch. Although he’d never admit this to anyone, least of all himself, the unwritten competition they were subject to for the past 17 years, helped him keep a laser focus on the tasks in front of him. And every time he was able to wipe the smile off Mass Kenmore’s ‘star’ handsome face, Ethan felt satisfaction.

Becoming the man he was today required a lot of changes. He got rid of all the needs of usual Everyman. First, he swept his feelings under the carpet of indifference and cynicism. Then, he learned how to live among people, but without delving into deep and ‘meaningful’ relationships. This was his bauble and he was perfectly… content with it. That is, until it hadn’t been smashed to pieces because something happened to him.

Someone happened to him.

Oh fuck.

He made a desperate attempt to try and stop the inevitable, but it was too late.

His head was instantly flooded with images, followed by ubiquitous tingles that filled his body. In his mind’s eye, a face shaped instantly, the image so vivid that he was almost blinded by it. It’s as if the person was standing right in front of him. The feeling was as mesmerising as it was painful.

Damn it. She didn’t even have to be here to do things to him. To make him see things. Smell things. Hear things. Feel things.

Ethan and The Feelings. This band rarely played together. Ethan wasn’t really a team player and The Feelings were loud, untameable and too unpredictable for the likes of him. He had to learn to tolerate them, because wherever she went, they followed.

He couldn’t rid of her presence, no matter where he was or what he did. Not that he wanted to - he just couldn’t, for the love of god, comprehend all this. Having been a king of self-control and master of his own life, it was beyond Ethan’s understanding how this woman, almost a decade younger than him, managed to turn him into… well, Jenner. He’d do anything she’d ask him to do. He was an electric ride-on, the one they buy for children. And she was holding the remote.

No, this wasn’t the most fortunate comparison. Because an electric toy was not capable of feeling things. And he was. A lot. More than he ever thought possible and more than he wanted to.

The fear of being misapprehended stopped him from telling her that sometimes he hated what she was doing to him. Not her, he could never hate her. He hated this unexplainable power she had over him and wasn’t even fully aware of. It frightened him. That she clawed his composure back so easily. That her youth, enthusiasm and energy were like a tornado to the illusionary beach he used to inhabit in his head. The force of her personality wreaked havoc on the well-oiled cogs of the machine that was once his life.

It took all the strength he had to stay away, from the day he first saw her. No, that’s not right. From the first time he felt her. Ethan’s mind was definitely against him today, because the images materialised within seconds, before he even managed to fully accept the presence of the thought.

He was sitting in his office, wondering why the hell has he agreed to help Harper with reading pages of blabber from wannabe surgeons and doctors. They were all the same and if he got a cent for every time they got under his skin, he’d be a millionaire. But Harper was an old friend and his ex, he had a lot of respect for her. She’d just been promoted to the Chief of Medicine and although she was more than capable to do the job, he understood that transition from theatre to bureaucracy was scary and challenging for her. It was the least he could do to help and certainly a task way easier than being a shoulder to cry on.

Having gone through pages of “I wanna change the world and find a cure for cancer” he almost fell asleep on his desk. Not that there was something wrong with medical research or a quest for deeper meaning of one’s career - but what he read in those applications sounded like an extract from a beauty pageant. And, frankly, when he looked at some of the photos attached to applications, he couldn’t help but think beauty pageants were a better fit for some of these people than a hospital.

“Christ, are they giving away medical degrees for free these days?” He sighed loudly, sending another handful of pages onto the pile of would-be Grey’s as he called them, because he was more than certain that majority of these people derived their idea of work in hospital from the TV series Grey’s Anatomy. All Ethan knew was that he’s never seen anything more divorced from reality, having watched one episode after all the nurses kept chirping about Dr Derek Shepherd for a whole week.

Fully prepared for yet another disappointment, he turned the front page of next file. Looking at him was a young, beautiful woman with raven hair. Her gaze was daring and gentle at the same time. Even though it was just a photo, he couldn’t shake the feeling that she looked right through him.

Things only got better as he kept going through the next pages. Her application was a riveting read, it was honest, filled with passion and well written, all without being cliche. He saw the most incredible potential, but more importantly, he felt it. She made him feel things, even though he never met her. It was all just pouring from the pages. Ethan would always remember how excited and nervous it made him feel. He almost suffered from a head-on crash with gurney whilst running to Harper’s office, because he had to make sure that she gets the residency position in the hospital. His own feelings played no role here, she simply deserved this position and he knew Dr Emery won’t even question his judgement.

And then he met her.

To be honest, he completely forgot about the interns’ induction, he’s seen so many in his life already that he couldn’t care less. The new case Diagnostics Team took onboard was occupying him completely on that day.

Looking at it now, he couldn’t help but think of one of his favourite movies, Picnic at Hanging Rock. There was this line that he always felt drawn to, but could never fully understand:

“Everything begins and ends at exactly the right time and place“

He was walking down the long corridor, when he heard Danny, one of the nurses, screaming. A minute later Ethan was on his knees, next to a woman in her 50s. He figured out quite quickly what was happening to her, but if his diagnosis was correct, he was going to need some help. Having lifted his gaze, he looked for a familiar face. But there was no one around. That’s when he remembered about the stupid intern induction.

“Damn it, where are the doctors?!” - he asked out loud.

“I’m a doctor!” - responded an unfamiliar voice. Ethan turned around and saw a young woman with black hair in fresh scrubs. He never saw her before and figured she must be one of the new interns.

“You, Rookie. Come here!” - he literally wouldn’t mind if she was an actress playing a doctor, he needed an extra pair of hands. Right here, right now. She kneeled on the patient’s left side, her sight piercing him, waiting for instructions. That’s when it hit him.

It was her.

The fate didn’t spare her - Ethan knew as well as she did that having to deal with Hemothorax on your first day was a tricky business. But she was brilliant. A little nervous, yes, but brilliant.

All she needed was a push. That’s why he picked her to pieces, leaving her confused and probably upset. She will understand one day and she will be grateful.

He said what he had to say and then he just disappeared behind the corridor. He couldn’t be around her more than necessary. Because she made him feel. And this was the last thing he needed right now. Or ever.

What the hell?

Dr Ramsey shook his head and woke up from his daydream. He felt his loyal furry companion licking his hand with a pleading gaze. Suddenly, the weight of the thoughts crushed him like a tidal wave, the feeling so intense that his legs instantly turned into Jell-O, forcing him to sit down. That’s exactly what he was afraid of. The moment he’s had a minute, he immediately gave into thoughts. That’s what she was doing to him. Every part of him wanted to take an extra shift, but common sense and medical knowledge prevailed. He needed 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, otherwise his body would give up soon, making him no use to anyone, especially not all the patients who desperately needed him.

But he was a fool to assume this was going to happen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tag list (please let me know if you wish to be removed, I tagged the accounts I follow and truly admire!): @terrm9 @openheart12 @openheartthot @rookie-ramsey @alwaysmychoices @brooks-eden @drethanramslay @starrystarrytrouble @justanotherrookie @caseyvalentineramsey @incorrectopenheart @heauxplesslydevoted @perriewinklenerdie

Jake On Weed

Pairing: Thor x OC (sort of OC, sort of Reader Insert) Loki x OC Friend of Main Character

Warnings: Fluff, Comedy, Fangirling for Middle Aged Ladies

Word Count: 3799

Summary: You are a huge fan of a-ha, you are going to their concert with your best friend and well, you never know who you’ll see.

A/N: This was written for @captain-rogers-beard​ One Hit Wonder challenge. Thank you for giving me an extension. This thought for a story has been in my head for a while now, so I had to take the opportunity to write it down. My prompt/song was Take On Me by a-ha. A-ha is my favorite band in the world! Plus I saw a comic of Thor wearing an a-ha tshirt and being that I love both, they all had to go together. Also this was inspired by my life events and by my dear friend who had some of the events in the story happen in real life. This is also my tribute to the fact that I have tickets to see them in LA this August, although with the pandemic going on, that may not happen. I kinda left Infinity War/Endgame out and obviously Loki is alive. Also tagging my Thor’s Whores as well. 

Enjoy!!

@thorfanficwriter​ @lancsnerd​ @saviorsong​ @queenoftheunderdark​ @lovesdarkness​ @fictivefrolic​ @michelehansel​

The lifelong, not quite obsession but bordering on fanatic for the band had started when you where 11 years old. It started when you had first heard ‘Take On Me’ played on the local radio station. As the song became more popular, it was played more regularly until eventually it became a #1 hit single for the band. Due to the songs resounding popularity, subsequent music video that is still one of the best ever made, and this had catapulted the band into worldwide stardom.

         The more popular they became you knew more about them. Being the first group from Norway to have this kind of international success was a big deal. You always had a special place for Norway in your heart as that’s where your maternal ancestors were from. Each band members were all extremely cute, and the lead singer could sing. I mean his voice was amazing. Within a short time they had more videos on tv, more singles on the radio, you had their posters on your walls, and so that love was cemented.

         It was so much so that when it seemed as though the band had disappeared from the airwaves in America after their amazing second album, you had to buy their music from record stores at import prices. You didn’t mind because you knew their music was worth the price and the time you waited, however that didn’t make it easy to be a fan of the band.

         Being that when they toured the US the last time, you were too young to attend their shows, so sadly you missed out on seeing them in concert.  It was something that you would always regret and that you’d hope to one day change making that dream become reality. Now that dream did come true 10 years ago when the band had decided to go their separate ways and did a final tour including many places they hadn’t toured in more than 20 years.

         That concert was a dream come true. Something that you never thought would happen and you remember it like it happened yesterday. You and your best friend, Bridgette, who also loves the band the way you do, still talk about it. In all actuality it was your mutual love of the band that brought you too each other. That bond is stronger than ever and the fact that this would be the one and only time you’d see the band perform live was a bit disheartening however sharing the experience with her made it hurt less.

         So imagine your mental state when the band announced they be touring again, in support of their first albums release, ‘Hunting High And Low’ playing the album in its entirety on the 35th anniversary of its’ release, as well as a setlist full of their hits and fan favorites, you and your bestie had already decided that if they toured here, you both would be there.

Nothing would stop it.

Nothing.

Nothing short of a global pandemic.

So, when the actual global pandemic happened and the tour was postponed, you two were devastated. What was one more year to wait when the first time you waited 25 years? You had both prayed and thanked Asgard for bringing the band back to you and keeping those that you loved safe. The time had gone fast and you two were planning another weekend that included the concert and hanging out with other friends that were fans too.

         The day of the show was a whirlwind. Meeting your friends for a late lunch prior to going to the preshow fan party. The party was fun. You got hangout and see people that you’d only meet online. A few you had met the prior show and were happy to reconnect with over your shared love of the band. One friend in particular, Elizabeth, who you talked outside of the fan boards and shared life experiences with was there and you were so happy to see her. The following day the three of you were scheduled to go to the fabric district to hang out before the next show the following night.  

         However tonight was what you were focused on. You and Bridge had found your seats. They were in the third row from the stage, just to the left of the stage. Elizabeth and a few of your other friends were in the front and second row just ahead of you. You weren’t sure how you were going to survive but you knew you would. As you two were waiting you were looking around the theatre and the two seats next you were empty. It was getting closer to show time and you were wondering something to yourself, however you said it out loud because that was your mental state at the moment. The energy of the entire place was electric! “Do you think Thor likes A-ha?” You asked Bridge.

         She looked at you and a pensive look crossed her face, a momentary change from the 15 year old fangirl smile you both had been wearing the entire day. “That’s a good question. I mean, why wouldn’t he like A-ha?” She asked you back and you thought about it. You did see that one drawing from the Loki, Agent of Asgard comic and it always had you wondering. In the drawing Thor was wearing an A-ha t-shirt. So maybe??

         “Maybe he does. I mean the band are Norwegian and the ancient Norse did worship Asgard.” You thought about it and so did she. “Wouldn’t it be funny if they sat next to us for the show?” You say and your friends face breaks into a smile before a face of utter shock passes over it. Since you were turned to look at her away from the empty seats on your left you had no idea what was making her react that way. In responding to her you scrunch your eyebrows together, you were perplexed. You mouth ‘what?’ to her and she motioned with her head behind you. Turning to see what got her in awe, you turn to look and into a nearly brick wall of a chest. Slowly turning your gaze up, you see a sight you never thought you would.

Thor. Thor, the God of Thunder. Asgardian King.

There he stood looking down at you. His smile as big as you had seen in photos and on tv. The bluest blue eyes looked at you and they held nothing but joy. You mentally say what the actual fuck, however you realized you actually hadn’t when Thor says to you, “Pardon, I didn’t quite hear you.” You look at him and then you feel a hand on your shoulder as you turn to see your friend standing up next to you holding on for support.

“I’m sorry, did I say something?” You ask him back.

He begins to answer you when from behind him immerges his brother, Loki. “You said what the actual fuck, with a question on the end. You heard her brother; we have much better hearing than the Midgardians do.”

“I know we do, but I try not to make them feel bad about Loki. It’s not their fault.” Thor had turned to his brother and made a sad face at him. Loki rolled his eyes.

“Did I make you feel bad Ms?” Loki asked you and you stood there looking at them both.

Your bestie squeezed your shoulder and you responded, “No, not at all. I mean I know I’m Midgardian and have no powers.”

“See Thor, she’s perfectly fine.” Loki says in his smooth as silk voice. He smiles at you, but you see the mischief in his eyes. “Are you alright?” He asks but you see he is looking at your bestie now. You looked back to her and she’s looking at him.  

She nods her head at him and says, “Yeah, I am.” Her eyes don’t look convinced but you’re not going to point that out. She did stop shaking or was that you? At this point it was possibly both of you.

“Are you excited for the show tonight?” You hear that big voice again and turn your attention back it from Loki and your bestie.

“Oh yeah, we’ve been anticipating it for a while now. Especially since they postponed it from last year. How about you guys?” It felt weird referring to them as just guys but in all honesty they were dressed in casual clothes. Loki in a leather blazer, black with dark jeans, hair slicked back, and this air of magic around him. It was tangible. You were positive everyone around them felt it. Thor was wearing a wine colored bomber jacket, dark blue jeans, black boots, long braided beard, and his hair was pulled back into a ponytail. It had grown out since they had founded New Asgard in Norway after Hela, their sister destroyed Asgard in a jealous fit of rage. A simplistic yet accurate description of events.

Occasionally you see them on the news and other online outlets. Thor helping the New Avengers and Loki keeping mostly quiet. Mostly. “We have been long time fans of the band. Actually, Loki brought the band to my attention within his time travels and being that Asgard is in Norway, well it’s not difficult to be a fan.” Thor answered you and smiled. You smiled back and suddenly the lights dimmed in the theater and you knew the show was about to begin. Thor turned towards the stage after you did. Someone over the sound system said hello to the crowd and you and your friend cheered, loudly. A spotlight came on and Magne stepped out into the light, walking over to his keyboard, Morten followed and stood center stage at his microphone, and Pal Walked out last standing at his mic on the left side of the stage, guitar already slung, ready to play.

“Hello LA” Magne says and the crowd cheers. Your friend Elizabeth turned around and smiled at you and Bridgette. You both smiled at her and then you turned to your left and there was Thor and Loki, Thor cheered along with the crowd, Loki applauded earnestly. You and Thor smiled at each other, you thought you’d died and gone to heaven, maybe you did but who cared? You certainly were in some sort of heaven and you’d be damned if you had to return to whatever life you lived prior.

The band began to play and started with, “Take On Me” The audience was singing along. This may have been their breakout hit but it certainly wasn’t their only one. You turned to Thor and he was singing to the song as well. When the chorus comes on and you swear he and Loki are both singing ‘Jake On Weed’ and not ‘Take On Me’. You and Bridgette both look at Thor and Loki as they sing loudly, ‘Jake On Weed’ during the chorus.

“Sing it with us, ‘Jake On Weed’.” Thor says loudly into your ear as he leans down.

You look at him and ask loudly, “Why?”

“I’ll tell you after the show over drinks, okay my lady.” Thor says and you look at him albeit a bit stunned but you start singing ‘Jake On Weed’ instead of ‘Take On Me’. Now you knew a certain story behind those lyrics, but you had no idea how Thor and Loki knew those exact same ones. You were definitely going to ask him over drinks. Hopefully, he didn’t forget or find the company of another instead. Elizabeth heard you four singing the lyrics and turned around stunned. She knew the story, it was her story after all. She knew that Bridge and you knew, the other two were a huge mystery to her as well. Before the end of the song several people around you were also singing ‘Jake On Weed’ instead of ‘Take On Me’. The band laughed at the audiences’ antics to the lyrics and continued on with the rest of the show. Bridge and you sang along to every song, dancing too, and you tried not to bump into Thor, although it was hard not too. He didn’t seem to mind though, as a matter of fact he loosened up and swayed to the music too. You wouldn’t call it dancing however if you were him, you’d be a little self-conscious too. The first set was the entire album ‘Hunting High and Low’ in the order of the tracks on the album.

You and Bridge couldn’t help but be teary eyed when the band played the title song as you did the first time you saw them live. You tried not to let Thor see but he leaned down, “Are you okay my ladies?”

You nod yes and answer him, “Yes, we just get a bit emotional at the song.” He put his hand on your shoulder and gently squeezed it. You tried not over analyze the interaction, he was just being nice. You both smiled at one another and turned your attentions back to the show.

Set List:

Take On Me

Train Of Thought

Hunting High and Low

The Blue Sky

Living A Boy’s Adventure Tale

The Sun Always Shines On TV

And You Tell Me

Love Is Reason

I Dream Myself Alive

Here I Stand and Face The Rain

The second set was a mix of their hits from their other nine albums as well as new track that hadn’t been released called ‘Digital Rain’.

Set 2

Analogue (All I Want)

Foot of The Mountain

The Swing of The Things

Crying In The Rain

Sycamore Leaves

Digital River

I’ve Been Losing You

Stay on These Roads

 Encore

Scoundrel Days

The Living Daylights

 You and Bridge got teary eyed during ‘Stay on These Roads’ however Thor didn’t say anything, but sang along with you as you put your arm around him this time. You were not sure why you did but you felt he needed the reassurance and a connection.  He understood the lyrics; if anything they spoke more to him than most. With everything he had been through over his lifetime, he knew that you had to stay on no matter how bad it got. That better things were ahead. The band closed with their Bond Theme, from the movie of the same title, and it was the perfect ending to an amazing night.

You were sad to see it end, however Thor and Loki turned to you, “So I offered to buy you a drink.” He says to you.

“You did offer but you don’t have too.” Trying to let him out of the obligation he set for himself.

“No! Now, we are not ready for the night to end just yet and besides, we promised to tell you the story of the song.” Thor smiles. “Now I know you know who we are but let me introduce myself and my brother. I’m Thor Odinson and this is Loki Odinson, my brother.” Thor extends his hand towards you and you offer yours in kind. Expecting a handshake and getting a kiss on the back of your hand instead. You tried not to blush, but Loki saw it and he made a smirk at you. You rolled your eyes at him and he laughed. Thor kissed Bridge’s hand too, ever the gentleman you thought. She blushed and the blush furthered when Loki winked at her. Again you rolled your eyes at him. He smirked at you and you turned back to Thor.

“My name is Elora and this is my dear friend Bridgette. We are heading out to an after party in Hollywood with other fans. Would you like to join us? Then you can buy us a drink and share your story about Jake On Weed.” You say trying not to sound like you just had one of the best nights of your life but you couldn’t hide your happiness. The smile on your face was too sincere to wish away.

“Loki, what do you say?” Thor asked his brother. Loki looked to you and Bridgette.

“Only if she let’s me buy her drink.” He looks as Bridgette and winks at her.

“Of course he can, right Bridge?” You answer for her because you knew that’s what she wanted. If you considered yourself a Thor’s Whore, well then she was a Loki’s Loose Lady. “I’m going to order a car for us.”

While you were ordering the car, Elizabeth walked over to your happenstance group of the evening. “Hey! The show was fantastic!” She paused and reached out to hug you. You hugged her back and then she continued with what she was saying. “You all are coming to the party, right?” She looked to Bridge, Thor, and Loki.

“We’re all going to be there. Oh, let me introduce you to out newest friends?” You say with a question. You look at Thor and he nods yes to your question. “This is Thor and Loki Odinson, Asgards biggest A-ha fans. Who knew?!”

“It’s nice to meet you both.” Jane says and waves at them from where she’s standing next you. “Okay, do you have the address to the party?”

“Yes. I already ordered a car to come and pick us up. It should be here in about 10 minutes, so we should probably head out to meet it soon.”

“Good. I just ordered our car as well, so we’ll all head out together.” Elizabeth said and then continued her train of audible thought. “Can I ask you two a question?” She looked at Thor and Loki as she asked.

“Certainly. We’ve nothing to hide.” Thor says smiling at Loki who just shakes his head at him.

“Fair enough. So why were you singing ‘Jake On Weed’ instead of ‘Take On Me’?” Elizabeth asked them with a bewildered look on her face.

Thor and Loki exchange glances. Loki actually chuckles before he speaks. “Well it was record store day and upon my travels throughout the realms, I’ve come to discover the love of vinyl. I have quite a collection and I enjoy listening to it. Our mother would’ve loved it, right?”

“Oh she’d love to sit and listen to music with you. You always did have the arts in common.” Thor says with a fondness in his voice to offset Loki’s hint of sadness.

“Upon learning of record store day, I took Thor shopping with me in the DC area to look for the releases. Now we happen into a store, with a young man as the clerk. He is on his phone, managing his social media accounts or whatever it is they do. The phone rings, the store phone not his cell phone, and he answers it. Of course you know he’s trying to be helpful. I can hear her talking to the clerk on the other end of the line. Good hearing, Asgardians have good hearing.”

“We’ve already established that Loki.” Thor interjects and Loki smiles.

“Yes, we have. So She asks him for a specific Record Store Day release. “Take On Me”. Of course he can’t understand her and looks at me. I whisper to him, “Jake On Weed” So repeats it to her, “Jake On Weed?” She replies, “No, Take On Me by A-ha” He answer’s her, “Is that A H A?” She replies “Yes”. He say, “Um, no, we don’t have that one. Sorry.” So that was the end of that conversation. Now you have to understand 3 other individuals called asking about it while we were there. You got the ‘Jake On Weed’ and to the others I told them ‘Spank My Knee’, ‘Pee On Me’, and ‘She Just Teed’. Yours was my favorite.” Loki smiled his mischievously charming smile at Elizabeth who looked amazed and in awe.

“So, it was you who did that?” Elizabeth shook her head and laughed. We all did. Bridge and you had heard her talk about this and sadly you never did get your copy of ‘Jake On Weed’ that Record Store Day. Elizabeth did and she had an unknown interaction with the God of Mischief himself.

“It was and look at how it has brought us all together.” Loki added.

“We should probably head out front, our cars are probably waiting.” You say to the group who has now become a bit larger with Elizabeth’s party joining in on the story you all knew but from one point of view.

“After you.” Thor says and let’s you lead the way out of the front lobby of the theatre. He places a hand on the small of your back as he leads you through the crowd of fans waiting. Loki walks with Bridgette behind the two of you. You spot your car waiting for you.

“We’ll see you there!” You say to Elizabeth.

She’s walking the opposite way to her ride. “Okay, be safe! See you in a bit.” Elizabeth replies with a huge smile.

The four of approach the minivan and the driver roles down the passenger window. “Elora?” He asks.

“Yes, party of four to West Hollywood.” You say to him and he smiles.He opens the side door automatically and Loki grabs Bridgette’s hand.

“Trouble makers to the back of the bus, right?” He askes her and she looks at you then back to Loki.

“It’s the best seat in the van.” Bridgette says to him and helps her in first and slinks in after her. You watch in almost utter amazement as they get into the rear seat of the minivan.

Suddenly you feel the hand move from the small of your back to you right hand. It was large, calloused, and warmly electrifying. You looked over and Thor motioned for you to get it. “After you, Lady Elora.” He bows a bit and you duck inside sitting in the far captain’s chair behind the driver. Thor sits in the other captains chair and the driver closes the door.

“Are we all ready?” The driver asks.

“Yes, my good sir.” Thor answers and turns, smiling at you. “So you ready for that drink?” He asks you.

“Oh yes and you may get a dance if you’re lucky!” You tell him and wink.

“I do feel lucky.” Thor says and reaches over taking your hand. You look at your hands, fingers intertwined. You can hear Loki from the rear seat whispering in Bridgette’s ear. Your hearing wasn’t as bad you pretended. Of course, you didn’t have to hear whatever Asgardian sweet talk he was telling Bridge. Thor wasn’t the only one feeling lucky.

‘We’re talking away

I don’t know what I’m to say

I’ll say it anway

Today’s another day to find you

Shying away

I’ll be coming for your love, okay?’          

☾     ▹     °     ⋅     aaron     tveit          /          thirty   -  five          /          cis     male          ;          have     you     had     the     chance     to     meet     gabriel     crowley          ?          he     has     lived     in     old     sprigg     for     thirty     years     ,     gaining     a     reputation     for     being     quite     intrepid     ,     romantic     ,     tragicomic          &          tenebrous     .     this     pansexual     gemini     can     be     found     around     the     clover     and     he     works     as     a     lawyer          &          playwright     .     most     people     tend     to     associate     them     with     expensive     shirts     undone     at     the     throat     and     rolled     up     to     the     forearms     ,     and     the     passenger     seat     of     a     well     -     loved     car     piled     with     reusable     coffee     cups     ,     half     -     scribbled     drafts     and     case     briefs     alike     .

this  was  meant  to  go  up  earlier  but  i  fell  asleep  and  then  my  laptop  decided  to  reboot  itself  and  i  lost  all  my  progress  and  i  kind  of  had  a  breakdown  over  it .  anyways   !   i’m  vanya ,  i’m  20 ,  i’m  writing  from  aest / hell ,  and  i  tend  to  use  she/they  pns .  i’m  the  world’s  worst  law  student ,  so  catch  me  whipping  up  lengthy  emotional  responses  when  i’m  meant  to  be  writing  letters  of  advice  n  whatnot   !   this  is  the  first  of  two  intros ,  so  bear  w  me   --- -   but  without  further  ado ,  here’s  the  loml ,  gabe   !

𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚛     𝚘𝚗𝚎     .          x          𝗱𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗲𝗿     .

full  name:  gabriel  arthur  crowley .  

nicknames:  goes  primarily  by  gabe .

age:  thirty - five .

date  of  birth:  june  sixteenth .

place  of  birth:  old  sprigg ,  missouri .

occupation:  local  lawyer ,  aspiring  playwright .

gender  identity  &  pronouns:  cisgender  male ,  he/him .

sexual  identity:  pansexual .

romantic  identity:  panromantic .

western  zodiac:  gemini .

hogwarts  house:  gryffindor .

𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚛     𝚝𝚠𝚘     .          x          𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆     .

so ,  gabriel  is  from  a  pretty  prominent  family  in  old  sprigg   --- -   they’ve  been  living  there  for  generations ,  and  lay  claim  to  a  mom  and  pop  convenience  store  in  the  centre  of  town .  the  crowleys  aren’t  wealthy  wealthy ,  but  they  are  comfortable  (  which  is  what  rich  people  say ,  but  whatever  ) .  he’s  the  oldest  of  his  five  siblings  (  wcs  that  i’ll  probs  pop  in  later ,  oops  )  and  the  responsibility  of  taking  care  of  the  shop  has  fallen  to his  younger  sister .

just  for  reference ,  the  family  structure  is  below   !   they  range  from  35,  obvs,  to  27 .  they  were  all  born  in  quite  quick  succession .  bold  indicates  twins   !

gabriel .

younger sister .

younger sister .

younger brother .

younger sister .

growing  up ,  he  was  quick  to  assume  responsibility  and  play  the  protective  older  brother   --- -   he  helped  get  lunches  ready  in  the  morning ,  helped  cook  dinner ,  helped  look  after  the  younger  four  ;   he  adapted  well  to  the  responsibility .  he’s  always  been  quite  mature  in  that  respect ,  always  choosing  to  go  home  and  help  with  the  younger  kids  than  to  go  out  and  party  and  whatnot .  

throughout  his  childhood ,  he  showed  incredible  promise  with  language .  he  was  a  keen  reader ,  and  developed  a  taste  for  classic  literature  early  on .  his  teachers  understood  that  and  responded  to  it  well ,  and  fostered  that  love .  by  the  time  he  was  in  fourth  grade ,  he  was  being  sent  off  to  do  much  more  advanced  work .  he’s  maintained  this  love  for  literature  and  language   --- -   an  entire  room  in  his  house  is  dedicated  to  all  of  his  books .  (  he’s  formed  his  own  little  library ,  and  he’s  not  mad  about  it .  )

somewhere  in  high  school ,  he  was  introduced  to  the  possibility  of  doing  law ,  and  fell  head  over  heels .  there  was  something  about  its  innate  intricacies ,  the  interweaving  of  theory  and  language  and  cleverness  that  spoke  to  his  soul .  he  started  discussing  the  idea  with  his  parents ,  who  jumped  at  the  idea  of  having  a  lawyer  in  the  family  again  (  bc  who  the  fuck  wouldn’t  )   --- -   they  eventually  decided  on  a   university  in  kansas  city ,  and  before  he  even  realised  it ,  he  was  applying .  

he  moved  out  of  the  family  home  at  eighteen ,  car  loaded  with  boxes  and  heart  full  of  sorrow  and  the  inexplicable  joy  of  what  was  to  come .  he  can’t  say  he’s  sorry  for  leaving ,  but  he  will  admit  that  it  was  hard  .  living  in  such  a  close - knit ,  beautiful  family ,  you  get  very  attached  to  the  people  around  you  and  having  to  leave  is  a  pain  like  no  other .  (  he  drove  home  every  chance  he  could ,  brought  books  and  records  for  his  younger  siblings  to  swap  around ,  told  stories  of  university  life  with  only  a  touch  of  embellishment ,  bc  no  one  wants  to  hear  another  story  abt  how  you  stayed  home  on  friday  night  rereading  the  iliad  again .  )

he  pretty  much  cruised  through  uni  on  high  marks ,  tbh .  in  his  latter  years  he  became  a  tutor  and  peer  mentor ,  but  he  pretty  much  stuck  to  himself  for  most  of  his  time  there .  he  dabbled  in  theatre  arts ,  stage  managed  and  starred  in  a  few  shows ,  but  for  the  most  part  he  stuck  to  his  own  guns  and  got  through  uni  the  way  he  wanted  to .  it’s  here  that  he  starts  drafting  ideas  for  his  own  plays ,  but  he  doesn’t  take  them  too  seriously .  he  tends  to  write  them  as  a  detox  from  writing  legal  essays ,  and  his  first  ones  aren’t  great  but  they  get  better  and  better  as  time  goes  on .

after  he  graduated  with  first  class  honours ,  gabe  started  looking  for  work  and  after  a  month  of  relative  unemployment  (  there  was  a  whole  lot  of  greasy  takeout  and  near - teary  breakdowns  experienced  that  month ) ,  he  got  the  job  of  an  absolute  lifetime   --- -   working  as  a  legal  assistant  in  a  firm  in  new  york  city .  he  didn’t  hesitate  about  taking  that  job .

new  york  wasn’t  quite  what  it  was  cracked  up  to  be .  the  rent  on  his  apartment  was  exorbitant ,  moments  of  peace  and  quiet  were  transitory ,  he  was  overworked  and  underpaid ,  but  there  was  still  something  about  it  that  appealed  to  him  like  nothing  else .  he’d  save  his  change  and  go  see  broadway  shows  when  he  could ,  fell  in  love  with  everything  about  the  theatre .  note  that  his  burgenoning  love  for  theatre  didn’t  replace  his  love  for  the  law   --- -   it  merely  grew  out  of  the  same  place ,  that  same  love  for language  and  literature  that  drove  him  into  law .  

he  ended  up  working  in  new  york  for  about  five  years  before  deciding  to  pack  it  in  and  move  back  to  old  sprigg .  there’d  been  a  job  opening  back  home  and  he  was  starting  to  feel  the  urge  to  return  home   ---   so  five  years  ago ,  he  packed  up  his  car  again  and  made  the  long  trip  back  home .  he  doesn’t  regret  leaving  new  york ,  not  at  all .  he’d  made  quite  the  success  story  of  himself  there ,  and  it’s  not  like  he  couldn’t  just  travel  back  and  forth  for  big  cases .  the  firm  was  reticent  to  let  their  ‘  hotshot  little  attorney   ’  go ,  but  it’s  been  the  best  thing  for  him .

he’s  been  back  for  five  years  now .  he  bought  a  house  relatively  close  to  his  parents  and  siblings ,  and  has  since  established  a  small  business  offering  legal  advice  and  taking  on  distance  cases .  he  travels  back  and  forth ,  but  he  loves  it  regardless .  he’s  adopted  three  dogs  and  a  cat ,  all  of  whom  insist  on  sleeping  in  the  bed   --- -   gabe  gets  the  smallest  sliver  of  bed ,  naturally .  he’s  written  two  plays  (  both  of  which  have  been  published  )  and  he’s  starting  work  on  the  third  one  now .

idk  he’s  just  happier  in  old  sprigg  than  he  ever  was  in  nyc  and  he  deserves  that

𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚛     𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎     .          x          𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗸𝘀     .

style  inspirations:  spencer  reid ,  the  tenth  doctor .  it’s  a  lot  of  expensive  dress  shirts  and  scuffed - up  sneakers .  when  he’s  actually  in  court ,  he’ll  dress  quite  professionally  but  when  he’s  not ,  he’ll  keep  the  nice  shirts  and  swap  everything  else  out  for  worn  jeans  and  converse  in  varying  colours .  occasionally ,  we’ll  get  a  knitted  scarf .

exhales   ...   big  on  saving  the  environment .  turns  up  to  convenience  stores  with  canvas  bags  in  tow ,  has  a  reusable  coffee  cup  for  every  mood ,  tries  to  make  as  little  waste  as  humanly  possible .  he’s  slowly  weaning  himself  off  of  meat ,  and  he  won’t  go  fully  vegan ,  but  he’s  doing  his  best  to  avoid  meat  and  dairy .  (  yes ,  he  saw  greta  thunberg’s  tedtalk  and  promptly  felt  guilty  and  started  making  changes .  )

used  to  smoke ,  because  it  was  a  social  thing  in  the  firm  he  worked  at  in  nyc .  since  he’s  moved  back ,  he’s  quit .  he’ll  have  one  a  week  if  he  feels  the  need .  

he  did  a  few  shows  in  high  school  and  university .  he’s  got  a  fuckin  beautiful  voice ,  and  if  you  walk  by  at  the  right  time ,  you  can  catch  him  singing  to  himself  and  his  dogs  while  making  breakfast .  

he  jogs ,  bc  of  fucking  course  he  does .

talks  with  his  hands  a  lot .  doesn’t  know  where  he  gets  it  from .

holds  a  regular  saturday  night  movie  marathon  at  his  house  for  friends  and  family  ,  and  seeing  as  fall  is  approaching  it’s  gonna  be  halloween  movies  from  now  on .  he’s  a  sucker  for  a  good  horror  movie .

angelic  in  every  way ,  shape  n  form .  thank  u .

L.A.

Los Angeles: City of fallen angels

After much too long dragging ourselves out of the quicksand of our modern lives, we touched down in the city of angels with no sleep and, by then, uncomfortable shoes. We at once found ourselves being spoken to like slow children by a large, surly black woman who had apparently seen fit to apply thick, white house paint as nail polish and eye shadow, as we negotiated passage through the broken down houses, and barred windows of Inglewood to our accom in Koreatown. After a brief glimpse of the famous Hollywood sign through the green/grey haze of the thick LA air, we arrived at our temporary home. Our driver of course, was not shy to ask me for a tip (we come from a non-tipping culture in Australia and New Zealand) an awkward exchange which consisted of him giving me change for the ride fare, and then me giving it straight back. We then stashed the bags, as we were much too early to check in and, with a much needed change into my trusty jandels/ thongs/ flip flops, set out into the 40 Celsius morning to kill some time.

Following a lot of cursing and sweating, we managed to get a tuna melt in the belly, and board one of the mobile looney bins they call buses, to the Downtown area for a quick reconnaissance mission. We stumbled into “The Last Bookstore”, and the “Grand Central Market” which was more of an immense extended food court, with great local beers, and a mind boggling array of local delicacies. With the jagged teeth of jet lag digging deeply into our ability to remain conscious, we just managed to get back to Koreatown before surrendering to sleep. Waking sticky, but refreshed, it was back to the Grand Central market for great local beers, tongue tacos and the spiciest raw prawns I’ve had since Bangkok. Marinated in lime juice and coriander and swimming in pure evil, this refreshing bowl of prawn aguachile was the perfect catalyst for a big night out.

First stop, “Varnish.” The worst kept secret bar in LA. With a great cocktail list and super authentic prohibition era speakeasy vibe, this gem is hidden behind a sandwich shop. You enter through a door that from a distance just looks like a wooden panel wall. A few cocktails down, the best mint julep I’ve ever had, and free shots from the vibrant and knowledgeable bar staff, we did what all self respecting traveling alcoholics should do, and asked the bar keep where they go to drink. Seems simple enough right? It’s like asking chefs where they go to eat. We’ve employed this technique many times in foreign lands and have yet to be disappointed. Next to “Bar Clacson” for a beer and to watch people play pétanque on their full sized indoor pitch until I notice a lot of people emerging from the back of the bar. Another hidden space is revealed as we head through to a dark, dingier space playing punk music at high volumes and finished with arcade games. Needles to say this is much more our scene and we hold up here until we can barely stand.

As we leave, we employ the old ‘ask the bar tender where to go’ trick one last time and end up in the middle of nowhere eating tostadas and tacos from a truck with a bunch of LA natives. These taco trucks are an institution here and people are pretty faithful to their favourites. I’ll admit on our way to the “Flamin Tacos” truck, it seemed like the mother of all bad ideas; heading into the unknown with no trusty internet service or cell phone coverage to get our drunk asses back home. But as soon as I tasted the “Cubano,” a two pound sandwich filled with every kind of dead animal you could think of I realised, I am home!

As a child I can vividly remember one of my friends going to Disneyland over the school break. I can also remember being intensely jealous and vowing to get myself there some day. Well folks some 25 years later this overgrown kid got his wish, and then some. We hit three theme parks in 4 days, a deceptively exhausting exercise. I’ll spare the details in favour of a brief overview of each as we experienced them.

Universal studios. This was our first one so we were naturally pretty excited despite getting in from our taco excursion at 2.30am. In short this place is like the Gold Coast’s “Movie World” on crack! Not so many actual roller coasters, but 3D motion master type rides are the go here. The highlight was definitely Harry Potter’s Wizarding World. All the lengthy queues for rides were well shaded with big misting fans everywhere, which were a godsend in the crippling heat. Longest wait time was 45 mins for the Harry Potter ride, but it was the best!

S

6 Flags, Magic Mountain. Our roller coaster lust was fully sated at this park. There so many that we couldn’t possibly ride them all in one day, though we did try. This one is a long way out of town and involved us having to hire a car and drive ourselves out there. We’d had another big night the day before. This coupled with learning to drive on the right side of the road made for a pretty exhilarating experience before we even got to the park. The highlight was probably the “Tatsu” in which you are strapped in then turned to face the ground, and hurtled head first through the most terrifying series of twists and turns ever dreamed up by some sick genius engineers. It was the first ride of the day and we foolishly thought we had picked a gentle ride to warm up with, not the most intense ride in the whole park! Parts of this park where a bit run down and shabby to be fair. Also in a week of bad theme park food, the styrofoam biscuit they were marketing as a burger here was the fucking pits. Longest wait time was an hour I think, and lines were unshaded and the park overall felt poorly thought out compared to the other two. The “Superman Escape” is worth an honourable mention as I have never screamed with such honest and complete terror as I did while being shot 35 meters in the air backwards at 100miles per hour.

Disneyland. We really did save the best for last. As soon as you set foot in the magical kingdom you can’t help but revert back to an awe stricken 10 year old kid. The obsessive attention to detail was impressive to say the least. Some of these rides are at least 40 years old now, but you’d never know. Everything was so beautifully maintained, you’d swear it was built yesterday. Beautiful design and flawless staff execution, (the other parks probably had more thrilling rides) overall immersion, professionalism, and a sense of true childhood wonder made this place on point. Highlight was the “Indiana Jones “ ride which also had the longest wait, not that that mattered as the queue lead you through an ancient temple complete with booby traps and ancient relics. Also “New Orleans Town” was fucken mint! Unfortunately the “Haunted Mansion “ and “Space Mountain” where both closed which kinda sucks but this place was still the happiest place on earth. They also had the best food with the “Dole Whip”, a pineapple soft serve that actually tasted like a real pineapple, and a Moa sized turkey leg that tasted like ham and left me greasy and defeated.

We did all the other LA staples, the Hollywood walk of fame, the Chinese theatre. We saw an orchestra performance of some of John Williams finest film scores at the Hollywood Bowl which was $20, BYO, and so epic it still brought a smile to this jaded old travellers face. I was delightfully and constantly surprised at how, despite the reputation for rudeness, the people of LA were so polite, kind, and helpful. The traffic gets a bum rap here too but to be honest, Auckland traffic is much, much worse (sort your shit out Auckland!), besides once you have mastered the “hook turn” on the mean streets of the Melbourne CBD, you can basically drive anywhere it seems (except Saigon, Saigon is fucked up!). We’re told that no trip to this town is complete without a trip to “In-n-Out Burger” and to be fair it was an experience. If you’ve never seen a drive through queue spill out onto the road, around the block and hold up traffic a road over, then you ain’t seen shit son! The burgers were good, but not that good. We went to “Five Guys” burger parlour a couple of days later which was far superior in every way, and we didn’t have to wait 45 mins for burgers and battle overweight, heavy breathing burger whores for a scrap of table space to actually eat. In a town built on hype and little substance I felt like In-n-Out’s popularity is symptomatic of an age when you can be famous for simply being famous. Sure the secret menu items are kind of a cool touch, but is a secret menu really that cool if everyone, their dog and the internet knows about it?

After cramming in as much as possible in our short time, in this very large city, we decided to hit “Little Tokyo” for drinks and nibbles. Starting with “Mumford Brewing “ we demolished their range of very delicious IPA’s before striding through what was hands down the biggest homeless tent city I have come across. The stark contrast between the “haves” and the “have-nots” in this town was never so brutally apparent as while watching my back we made our way to the next port, in this sea of misery and decrepitude. We’ve seen real poverty in places like Cambodia before, but it was a cold hard slap in the face to see this happening on such a large scale in the “Greatest Nation On Earth”; for shame America. 

Our night then took us to “Wolf & Crane”, where the barkeep directed us to a great sushi bar down the road (always ask the bartenders where to go), where we gorged ourselves on very well priced raw delicacies prepared right in front of us, and sipped giant Sopporo’s and tried our best to order what we could in poorly spoken Japanese. Back to Wolf & Crane for more beers, whiskey tasting flights, and eventually being held captive by the head bartender who knocked off, sat down with us, and proceeded to get us completely shit faced until the wee hours, and refused to let us pay for anything.

Suffering the most brutal hangover, in a week of foggy starts, we pulled our shit together, cleaned up the now unrecognisable food mess we had presumably purchased before retiring only a few hours before, and prepared to leave Los Angeles. We rented a car, packed up all our shit and hit the road for the California coast. The fresh sea breeze and coastal hillsides did much to mend the self inflicted mental wounds we sustained in the concrete jungle. Mile after mile of pristine coast line gobbled up by big business and wanky resorts the size of small towns, made me long for untouched New Zealand just a little, as we made our way down to the border to cross into Mexico.

Los Angeles, city of angels, home of the dodgers and of course Mickey Mouse. Where the air is thick, the water dehydrates you, and the sun is always shining. Looking back however, the angels are dodgy at best, with soiled, scabbed wings, and yellowed nubs for teeth that chatter incessantly to drug induced apparitions, while constantly scratching at the imaginary worms crawling under their skin. I’m no stranger to colourful characters coming from one of the rougher parts of Auckland, and now living in a once notoriously sketchy area of Melbourne, but as we catch the bus to downtown LA to rustle up something to eat, it strikes me that there are an extraordinary amount of damaged individuals roaming the streets in the broad, unforgiving daylight. It takes more than the far off gaze of a few broken souls to deter my appetite, but as I stare into the vast void pooling behind those dead eyes, I have to ask myself, “who is to blame for all this misery?” And then it clicks, who else could it be? The only logical conclusion is as obvious as the track marks on the arms of its victims, we must of course blame the mouse! That’s not to say that I believe a 5 foot rodent wearing gloves and pants is responsible for all the hurt on the streets here, rather it is an effective symbol for the dream, or rather, lies that lead so many hopefuls to over extend and wind up facedown in the gutter. We are all told that if we work hard we can do anything. But this is not necessarily the truth. Do you really think a man (or women) wakes up one day with the burning desire to clear away other people’s trash. Most of us have to play with the hands we were dealt. But that’s a necessary evil in our world. Simply put, if we all got what we wanted out of life by following our dreams our filth would ultimately pile up in the streets and choke society to death. Some ones gotta pick up the trash. Hollywood makes its living packaging up the lie, the dream, and selling it off piece by piece for the price of an admission ticket. So like moths flying too close to the light bulb, the hopefuls come to ‘make it’ in tinsel town, but instead crash and burn, and wind up chatting to themselves on the 720 to downtown. Possibly also the apparent lack of an effective welfare and public mental health systems could be a large contributing factor, but it’s not as fun as taking a swipe at everyone’s favourite bipedal magic vermin.

A few days late, but as promised, I'm finally answering this. Thanks goes to @hailkuvira and @mindatworkk for tagging me! ^_^

Rules: Answer these 92 statements and tag 20 people

THE LAST: 1. Drink: Forest berry (including strawberry, raspberry and blueberry) flavoured Nestea, yum! A new brand of Nestea that I bought for the first time this weekend. Reminds me of regular berry juice. 2. Phone call: My mother. 3. Text message: Does the messenger on Facebook count? Cause then it'd be a chat about how we're doing with my former classmate, K.H. 4. Song you listened to: "Stay" by Hurts, their last song during the concert at Õllesummer. 5. Time you cried: Last week during a senseless row, after which everybody made up.

HAVE YOU: 6. Dated someone twice: Not yet. 7. Kissed someone and regretted it: No. 8. Been cheated on: No. 9. Lost someone special: Yes, of course - a close family member, a schoolmate from our parallel class, famous Estonians who were and continue to be close to our hearts. 10. Been depressed: I haven't had depression (as in the mental illness that needs medical attention), but I've been through some hard times, sure. 11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: No, and this is something I'm proud of. I've never been drunk and intend to keep it that way because I simply don't like alcohol.

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS: 12-14: Red, blue, black (black especially when it concerns clothing because it makes me look thinner).

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU: 15. Made new friends: Yes. 16. Fallen out of love: No. 17. Laughed until you cried: Definitely, many times! Most likely while watching/reading something funny. 18. Found out someone was talking about you: I don't think so. 19. Met someone who changed you: Again, I don't think I've changed. 20. Found out who your friends are: I've always known who they are. 21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: No.

GENERAL: 22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: All of them I believe, since I don't have many friends and I don't add random strangers who I know nothing about. 23. Do you have any pets: No. I wanted to get a dog or a parrot when I was a little girl though, so whenever we passed our local pet store, my mom and I would go inside to look at those pretty colourful birds in the cages on sale.

24. Do you want to change your name: Definitely not, because it's really beautiful (for a reason)! I'm worried that my future husband and I would have a serious talk about which surname would stay, ha-ha! (Nah, I'm always ready to discuss our options.) 25. What did you do for your last birthday: Just stayed home with my parents, ate some special cake and enjoyed my day.. Wait, WHAT AM I EVEN SAYING!? It was another Kataang Week, for goodness' sake! I was busy participating and browsing through the quality content! 26. What time did you wake up: Today, around 2:45 pm. Just in time to see the start of the Formula 1 Austrian GP. 27. What were you doing at midnight last night: Putting away most of the stuff I brought home from my rented apartment/bought yesterday. 28. Name something you can't wait for: Umm.. Kataang Week (+ my birthday) in two weeks? Also, the first part of "Turf Wars" coming out soon. 29. When was the last time you saw your mom: She's sleeping in the bedroom, so an hour ago. 30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: If I were younger, I would've answered by listing a dozen things. But honestly, nothing, because then it wouldn't be my life. I've learned to accept things as they are and that I can only change them when I do something about it. 31. What are you listening right now: Nothing. 32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: I.. think.. not. 33. Something that is getting on your nerves: The state of the world, the current American President, minorities not being taken seriously (such as the LGBTQ+ community and their human rights; smaller countries and their people not being respected like the bigger ones - what Jean-Claude Juncker said when Malta was handing over the presidency to Estonia in the European Union last week), politicians provoking unnecessary xenophobia or hate towards refugees (the EKRE party in Estonia - gosh, I HATE THESE MORONS!), the political situations in many countries, how our certain neighbour is trying to restore its former glory by occupying small parts of its neighbouring countries (one by one) and we're all LETTING IT HAPPEN IN THE FRICKING 21ST CENTURY!.. Politics in general. 34. Most visited website: Ooh! I have so many: Gmail, Facebook, Neopets, YouTube, Tumblr...

LOST QUESTIONS. I JUST PUT IN RANDOM INFO ABOUT ME 35. Mole/s: I have quite many all over my skin. 36. Mark/s: I have my dad's birthmark on the inside of my right thigh. 37. Childhood dream: To become a doctor. 38. Haircolor: Blonde. 39. Long or short hair: Long, very long. 40. Do you have a crush on someone: No. 41. What do you like about yourself: That I'm well-educated and intelligent, I worked really hard to get a gold medal and graduate with straight A's during secondary school. 42. Piercings: None, and I have no intention of letting any be done. 43. Bloodtype: A+, I think? Definitely A. 44. Nickname: Don't have any. 45. Relationship status: Single. 46. Zodiac: Leo. 47. Pronouns: She/her. 48. Favorite TV show: "Avatar: The Last Airbender". 49. Tattoos: None (yet). 50. Right or left hand: Right. 51. Surgery: Twice - to have my adenoids and tonsils removed. 52. Hair dyed in different color: No. 53. Sport: Chess (I've won a trophy, 5 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze medal from tournaments). 54. (question wasn't here) 55. Vacation: I always looked forward to my summer vacations during school/university. 56. Pair of trainers: Black and white Nike ones, though I have a few more in the cupboards.

MORE GENERAL: 57. Eating: I try to vary my menu, but recently it goes like: main dish, fruit and dessert along with milk, juice and tea. 58. Drinking: Anything non-alcoholic. 59. I'm about to: Finish answering these questions. 62. Want: To find a job, finish my WIPs. 63. Get married: I hope I will in the future. 64. Career: An IT-specialist, my second choice will always be a doctor.

WHICH IS BETTER 65. Hugs or kisses: Hugs. 66. Lips or eyes: Eyes. 67. Shorter or taller: Any height is okay. Though when it concerns me, then I've always liked that I'm much taller than most of my friends. Also, it gives me the advantage to seem more threatening. 68. Older or younger: Umm, both are okay? 70. Nice arms or nice stomach: Probably arms. 71. Sensitive or loud: Sensitive. 72. Hook up or relationship: Relationship. 73. Troublemaker or hesitant: Hesitant.

HAVE YOU EVER: 74. Kissed a stranger: No. 75. Drank hard liquor: Nope, already covered that earlier.. 76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: It's not even possible because I don't wear any. 77. Turned someone down: Yes. 78. Sex on the first date: No. 79. Broken someone's heart: I'm not sure.. Maybe unintentionally? 80. Had your heart broken: Yes. 81. Been arrested: No. 82. Cried when someone died: Yes. 83. Fallen for a friend: Without him knowing and me getting over those mixed feelings - once.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN: 84. Yourself: Yes. 85. Miracles: I suppose in a way, yes. 86. Love at first sight: Yes. 87. Santa Claus: Yes, because I know there is a person like that who lives very near - in Lapland, Finland! 88. Kiss on the first date: Is this really something to believe in? If two people really match so well or have known each other for a long time before even going out on a date, then yes, it could happen.

OTHER: 90. Current best friend name: I don't think I have a best friend (just a lot of close friends), but the girl I met during 1st grade and who was my main deskmate during school throughout the years - J.K. 91. Eyecolor: Light greyish blue. 92. Favorite movie: There are so many! Mostly I like cheesy romantic comedies, plain comedies, good dramas or cartoons. How about "Cars" since its 3rd part is coming out in Estonian movie theatres on my birthday this July? (And yes, I'm thinking of going to see it as a birthday present.)

Tagging: @aconfusionoffandoms @cassidy-alice @chel-burr @cutiecount3 @erinchaaaa @eskalations @feelz-this-moment @interessantisanders @iroh-is-god @jinoras-light @jooliescorner @kataracy @kyeshirosaki @letthepickaxedothetalking @nautiscarader @obbsessedturtle @reducetoabsurdness @satanonatoilet @snotpup @teammeganftw

(Btw, questions 54, 60, 61, 69 and 89 are missing!)

Down, but not out In September of 2018, I decided to head back to work in advertising and public relations with my own firm called Kera Marketing Group. I wasn’t too thrilled to be heading back to an industry that I once loved, but hated and dreaded of working with clients that often pay very little or no money at all. I worked in PR for over ten years and I started doing it after I graduated from the University of La Verne. Most college grads go off and find a job working in various industries, including law, like many of college classmates. I didn't go off to law school like I wanted to, but instead I worked in PR. What was my reason not going, if you may ask? It’s because I didn’t have the funds to begin the long three year process of obtaining my law degree. My father wanted me to find a job fast, so he can retire and move back to Croatia full time with my mother. I guess the universe had different plans than what he anticipated. In those ten years or so, I was successful and not so successful at the field of PR. Some clients paid well enough to pay off some college loans and I’ve developed connections in the entertainment industry. Before college, I was and now am, an actor in the film and television industry, having studied acting at the Lee Strasburg Theatre Institute in Los Angeles. However, I had bad luck with people who never believed in me, most particularly my “friends”. Notice how I put friends in quotations? That’s because they were never my friends to begin with and furthermore, I love to say I no longer associate myself with them. YIPPPPPIIEEEEE!!! I’m free! But that’s a different article. Let’s get back and talk about why I went back to doing PR and forming a new company. So, as I said before, in September of 2018 I went back and began working in PR for myself and before that, I worked in construction. You see, my father was a construction laborer who worked as a painter and dry wall union man who worked in this field for 35 years of his life. He too wanted me in the trades when I graduated from high school instead of going into college. I also did some handyman work as well, doing odd jobs around wealthy people homes throughout Los Angeles and brought in some nice hunk of change too. I fled the marketing world because I was tired of dealing with clients who were rude, devious, and often times, con men who took my time away from family and other opportunities. In that same month, I was involved in an automobile accident, where my 1998 Toyota Tacoma was T-Boned on the driver’s side damaging the driver’s side door and front too. It was early morning on a Wednesday and I got a call from my sister-in-law’s younger brother, who happened to be a trial lawyer. He called me and asked if I can do him a favor by submitting some court documents for a trial in San Bernardino City. I said, “Sure”. I went down to his office and picked up the file to be processed by the court. I headed back to my truck and drove off, not knowing that this will be the last time I will see my truck again. As I exited the freeway, I ventured off to a main street towards the court house and as I passed one street to the next street, it was going to be the hardest impact I would ever feel. A car that was traveling south heading towards the intersection of where my truck will be, was traveling faster than the posted speed limit of 35MPH. The car never slowed down and suddenly, my truck was struck from the side and I spun a 180 degree turn on the middle of the intersection. My head struck the side window, but not impacting any glass. I developed a concussion and my left should was throbbing. The car backed up and drove towards me again, hitting my truck on the front collision. The car backed up and took off running, leaving me in the center of the intersection. I was able to drive the truck towards the curb facing south. I paused for a moment. Trying to catch my breath and realized what just happened to me. My head was throbbing and I felt a bit dazed. I couldn’t get out of the truck as the driver side door was crushed from the impact. I had to crawl to the other side towards the passenger side and open the door. I walked out with my two feet on the ground and no signs of any serious injuries. I walked around and noticed the impact of the vehicle. I was shocked that I could have survived that impact with the car fast approaching. A police officer stopped and asked if I was alright. Still in a bit of shock, the officer examined the wreckage of my truck and said to me, “You’re lucky to be alive. Two more feet into the center of the door and you would have been killed on impact.” I couldn’t believe he had said that to me. I could have be killed. The officer told me that they caught the man who slammed into me and arrested him for fleeing the scene and driving without auto insurance. I was like, “Great, now what am I to do?” In addition to, the man had a pregnant woman with him in the passenger seat too. What an A&*hole! A tow truck took my truck away with me in the passenger seat in the tow truck and I was thinking, “What am I to do without my truck?” I knew I was going to loose my job in construction, since it was required to have a pick up truck to haul my tools and ladder around. I lost handyman jobs too, where I was set to do some painting jobs to help buy a new truck I wanted to get. My mother took me to the doctor to have myself looked at and get a medical report. I suffered no broken bones, but a minor concussion. The doctor told me I needed some rest and be prepared to feel some aches and pain from the crash.   I spent the next few days laying in bed realizing that I was down, but not out. I told my boss on what happened and he felt sorry, but he had to let me go since I no longer had a truck for work. Again, down but not out. My father taught me in life, learn to work with your hands if you can’t find work to where you can work with your mind. So, I went back working in PR and I also began to work as a reseller by buying things at clearance from the stores and reselling them at a higher price online through Amazon, eBay, and Mercari. It was going fine until January of 2019 when my health insurance bill was going to increase by $61.00 more. I was not having a good year so far. But I had to persist in gaining more work, and I did, by adding more services to my marketing firm. I added web design and photography for clients who needed it. I gained a few clients for web design and began selling more products online. You see in California, you have to have a transportation to move ahead out here. Not like New York, Chicago and Boston, where the public transportation is more accessible than in Los Angeles. I began working harder on my job as a publicist. Then, it dawned on me. Do I really love this job? Am I really happy dealing with people and their marketing problems and often times finding potential clients? I said I want to exit the field of marketing once and for all and venture towards my own media company. You see, I formed a film and television production company called 523 Productions, LLC, which focuses on independent filmmaking. I’m currently writing scripts for film, shorts and television production projects and I love it. Let me say that again, I LOVE IT! It’s the greatest feeling in the world. I began working on projects and going back to focus on other projects and now. I’m writing this blog. The universe has spoken and not me. The universe said, “John, you’re better than this and people know it”. I often ignore the universe’s message and what it’s trying to tell me. You see, when things go south as it did for me with the truck accident, the universe knew I could be doing better than working in construction. Not that it’s a bad choice in a career, but the universe knows what I am capable of doing and creating. This article I am writing, is just the tip of the iceberg of what I can create. I was meant to be in media and a lot people recognize me working in a field that I love and I am very proud of working in. I love the creative individuals who bring so much to the industry and I want to learn from them as well. Maybe I will be a media mogul or something. Maybe I will just fulfill a big part in media career by telling compelling stories in documentary films or write a film story that will captivate an audience. Whatever the universe brings me, it’s meant for me. Remember, just because you’re down that doesn’t mean you’re out. Pay close attention to the universe and listen to what it’s telling you. Your ambitions, your dreams and your future should not be ignored by the downside of things. That’s part of life and what is to become of you in the future. Be prepared for what is coming. I know I wasn’t but I’m glad I’m seeing things in a better light for my future.

Musical Theatre Themed Ask

Okay, I’m gonna answer... all of these! (Because I have a paper to write and zero motivation. And also: musicals.)

Oh, and by the way, I’m going to assume that every “Broadway” is a “Broadway/West End” because Tumblr is a free platform.

1. What was the first musical you saw?

Mary Poppins, West End, 2006 (not 100% sure about the year)

2. What musical got you really  into theatre?

Les Misérables - saw the film, started stalking the actors, you know how it goes.

3. Who was your first Broadway crush?

Aaron Tveit (he’s the main one) and Samantha Barks - like I said, stalking the Les Mis actors...

4. Name three of your current Broadway crushes.

Um... still Aaron Tveit? Plus Rob Houchen (Les Mis London) and Cleve September (In the Heights London and soon Hamilton London) - Also, I get “talent crushes” not physical attraction crushes.

5. Name four of your dream roles.

Only 4? Natalie Goodman, Enjolras, Maureen Johnson, and HERCULES MULLIGAN!!

(I can’t sing, act, or dance, nor am I a man, so...)

6. Favourite off-broadway show:

Heathers and The Last Five Years

7. Favourite cast recording.

Gotta be Hamilton, it’s just such a well-produced album. Bonus points for including nearly the entire show.

8. 2013 Tony opening number or 2016 Tony opening number?

2012? The Book of Mormon thing is just pure gold!

9. Favourite show currently on Broadway.

Broadway: I guess Hamilton - There are way too few that I actually know.

West End: Les Misérables forever!

10. A musical that closed and you’re still bitter about. Rant a bit.

In the Heights London! Though I can’t really complain, they extended their initially run several times and now they’ve cast my amazing Sonny as Laurens/Philip, so... But it was just so good!!

11. Best stage to screen adaptation?

Les Misérables. Controversial, I know, but I usually kind of hate movie musicals. With this one they did something new and different and I think it works. The Last Five Years is pretty good too, though it lost a lot in the adaptation (couldn’t be avoided).

12. Worst  stage to screen adaptation?

Rent. I’m sorry, I love the show, I love the cast, but it all feels so staged and wrong and meh. Also, they cut Goodbye Love and left in fucking Santa Fé which adds exactly nothing to the plot!!

13. Favourite #ham4ham?

Gotta be the Schuyler Georges, but there have been so many great ones...

14. A musical you would love to see produced by Deaf West?

Oh, tricky... Maybe Next to Normal? That has a lot to do with people holding things in and failing to see each others’ struggles.

15. If you could revive any musical, which one would it be and who would you cast in it?

Not exactly a revival, but bring Next to Normal to the West End already! That show’s got a sodding Pulitzer. And London’s only a 2 hour flight away from where I live, not a transatlantic one, so I might actually be able to go see it.

Oh, and give Spring Awakening another chance, West End. Maybe adapt some American Sign Language into British Sign Language and...?

Also, maybe revive Rent, Broadway? (And cast Aaron Tveit as Roger... please?)

16. If you could go to a concert at the 54 below, who’s would it be?

That list would be waaaaaayyy too long...

17. Do you watch broadway.com vlogs? Which one is your favourite?

I’ve seen a few, but I don’t really watch them on a regular basis, so no favourites...

18. Make a Broadway related confession.

I really, really hate South Pacific. It was part of our American drama syllabus, as an example of a musical. Quite apart from the fact that I think it’s a godawful, sort of racist and sexist show (it’s from the 40s, go figure), it displays LITERALLY EVERY cliché about musicals!

19. What do musicals mean to you?

Hard to say... Apart from hours and hours of ALL the emotions, some awesome internet buddies (looking at you, @frei-und-schwerelos), I’ve got generally more interested in and knowledgable about theatre, which is a great asset when you study English. Musicals have also introduced me to a wide range of music I wouldn’t normally listen to and so many talented people I wouldn’t have known about otherwise...

20. Express some love for understudies and swings!

Okay here goes: I went to see the West End production of Memphis because of Killian Donnelly and then he unexpectedly wasn’t on that night - bummer. But then Jon Robyns just knocked it out of the part (and I only ever listened to Avenue Q and Spamalot because I watched clips of him when he was in those shows).

My first Thénardier was Adam Pearce and his version of “It was me wot told you so...” is the funniest one I’ve ever heard (he kind of went “No? Sorry, fair enough.”).

The second time I saw the show Adam Bayjou was Valjean and his Bring Him Home was one of the best I’ve ever heard (effortless high notes).

Also, Charlotte Kennedy was Cosette that time (she’s principal Cosette now) and her performance was so incredibly sweet! (She also brought some brunette power into the sea of blond that were Marius and Éponine.)

And Jordan Lee Davies was Bamatabois both times and he was great!

Oh, and my Christine from Phantom was the wonderful Lisa-Anne Wood.

21. Best Disney musical:

Mary Poppins - My first ever musical, fond memories, I still wear the Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious shirt my dad bought me (11 years ago... didn’t fit then, fits now).

22. Which Disney movie should be made into a musical?

Uh, I don’t know. Tangled’s funny...

23. Which musical fandom has the funniest memes?

Hamilton and Les Mis. I mean, the Les Mis/Mean Girls crossovers alone...

24. Name a character from a musical you would sort into your Hogwarts house.

Well, the test sorted me into Hufflepuff (great house), but I know that I am a Ravenclaw (and, as we know, the hat listens to you). Okay, Ravenclaw... maybe Melchior from Spring Awakening?

25. Name a Broadway star you would sort into your Hogwarts house.

Ugh, that’s even harder! Sorry, no clue.

26. Best on stage chemistry?

Hmm from what I’ve seen live, Rob Houchen and Carrie Hope Fletcher were pretty darn amazing together.

From what I haven’t seen live, Jennifer Damiano and Adam Chanler-Berat, and Justin Johnston and Michael McElroy seemed fantastic.

27. A Broadway duo you love.

I’m gonna say Jonathan Groff and Lin-Manuel Miranda, but I’m not sure I understand the question...

28. What book, tv show, movie, biography, video game, etc. should be turned into a musical?

Umm... I don’t know. Supernatural sort of is a musical... A Lord of the Rings musical in the style of A Very Potter Musical might be fun. The Fellowship of the Sing? I’ll show myself out.

29. If you could make a jukebox musical, what artist or genre would you pick?

I doubt many people know her but: Vienna Teng. For three reasons (aside from me liking her songs): 1. Her songs tell stories. 2. She often writes from the perspective of “characters.” 3. Her songs are actual poetry!

30. Favourite role played by _________________?

I don’t get it. What am I supposed to put here?

31. What musical has made you cry the most?

I don’t actually cry often at musicals (internally I do), but It’s Quiet Uptown from Hamilton got me bad the first time. And I once listened to Next to Normal when I was already feeling like shit - bad idea! (Don’t listen to There’s a World when you kind of want there to not be a world, kids...)

32. What musical has made you laugh the most?

Probably Avenue Q and Something Rotten

33. Current showtune stuck in you head:

Well, you just put Hard to Be the Bard in my head!

34. A musical that has left you thinking about life for a long time or deeply inspired you.

Les Misérables... I haven’t spent a single week without thinking about that show (or, indeed, the book) since early 2013.

Next to Normal also gave me a lot to think about.

I keep discovering new little bits of genius in Hamilton lyrics. Also, I’m writing a paper on the early US for the second time in under a year and characters from Hamilton (otherwise know as historical figures) keep popping up. Seriously, I’m writing about the Whiskey Rebellion and every time I read Hamilton’s name my brain goes PAY YOUR FUCKING TAXES!

I’ve also thought quite a bit about Heathers and The Last Five Years, because both of them have had productions where they genderbended (genderbent?) a main character, which made me think about how it changes the story and why.

35. If you could perform any ensemble number , which one would you pick?

“If you could...” Are you implying that I don’t?! Come on, any theatre geek who claims never to have done a solo rendition of One Day More is definitely lying! Oh, and I rapped myself all the way through One Shot the other day and made only one mistake - one that Lin’s made before, so I’m proud!

36. Name a musical you didn’t like at first but ended up loving.

I don’t think that’s really happened... There have been shows where I thought “What in the holy hell is this?!” and ended up loving it. I mean, what in the holy hell is Avenue Q?!

37. What are some costumes you’d love to try on?

Give me that red vest! Also, let me play Enjolras! Yes, I know I’m a woman and can only hit that low “foooorm” when I’ve got a really bad cold, but fuck all that!

I’d also really like to try on Elphaba’s Act II dress, because it’s epic!

38. Favourite dance break.

Hmmm... I don’t really have one? The one in Cool and the ballet in Somewhere where they sort of replay what’s happened are pretty amazing (both West Side Story).

39. Favourite Starkid musical:

A Very Potter Musical is the only one I know... Sorry...

40. What’s a musical more people should know about?

Well, where I live, most people have heard of Cats, Phantom, and Mamma Mia and that’s about it.

But in general, I’ve never met anyone who’s even heard of Assassins (although many people who have met me have now heard everything about Assassins - I’m that kind of person).

41. What are some lines from musicals you really like?

Okay, this is gonna take a while...

"Can you remind me of what it was like at the top of the world?” (In the Heights)

“Oh, my friends, my friends, don’t ask me what your sacrifice was for.” (Les Misérables - internal Niagara Falls!)

“Here, put some hail into the chief.” (Assassins)

“But the sky’s gonna hurt when it falls. So you’d better start building some walls.” (Heathers)

“I’m not mad that you got mad when I got mad when you said I should go drop dead!” (Tick, Tick... Boom!)

“My God, in God we trust, but we never really know what God discussed.” (Hamilton)

“What doesn’t kill me doesn’t kill me.” (Next to Normal)

And just for fun: “Honest living, honest living, honest living, honest living,...” (Rent)

42. Name a Tony performance you rewatch and rewatch.

In the Heights, Next to Normal, Hamilton, and Spring Awakening (both versions).

GOOD MUSIC IS GOOD MUSIC

ROCKER GONE SOFT?

I mean, LA Opera’s “Hansel & Gretel” for pete’s sake, the children’s tale, now a holiday staple? And all that other classical stuff?

Well, “H&G“ rocks, baby. The first opera based entirely on a fairy tale, German composer Engelbert Humperdinck picked a Grimm one, and the brothers were indeed grim, I learned at the pre-concert lecture from LA Opera conductor James Conlon. Two of nine Grimm children (three died in childhood), they knew quite well the pain of hunger, and that is an important opening and backdrop to this story. And at the LA Opera community outreach lecture that afternoon at our main library here, I learned and saw how different the H&G interpretations can be.

You can have a really ugly witch (like in the film we saw), or one like this production’s Susan Graham who brought great comedic skills with her superb voice. (All the singers were outstanding, especially H & G and their father, there are only five, plus two minor parts).

The sets and the forest characters were magical, and I was completely entertained, in an adult way. You shouldn’t miss this one. See below.

Also at our main library last week, I caught another performance of their outstanding, always provocative and high quality Soundwaves concert series, which, as usual, was a shorter preview of a later performance at Disney Hall’s Zipper Hall, next Tuesday (not free). Outstanding pianist Gloria Cheng presented “Garlands for Steven Stucky,” the LA Phil’s composer in residence for decades who was greatly skilled and loved as a mentor.

And Sunday morning I was treated to a marvelous Ted talk-like program upstairs at the Laemmle Theatre downtown, mixing data mining with music interpretation by a marvelous string quartet, in a most intriguing way. What a great town.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:

LA OPERA: Hansel & Gretel (Engelbert Humperdinck ain’t no Puccini, Verdi or Strauss but H&G is considered his greatest work and Strauss dug him so much he conducted the premier, a smashing success, and he also ain’t the schmaltzy crooner who stole his name in the ‘60s, but don’t get too distracted from the superb Wagnerian score by the 12-foot magical characters on stage, the fantastical sets and special effects of this production and it’s also got laughs, see above), Sun 2 p.m., Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, downtown LA, $16-$294.

RECOMMENDED:

TONIGHT! – LA PHILHARMONIC: Stanley Kubrick’s Sound Odyssey (Kubrick loved him some classical music scores for his films, Beethoven to Bartok, Ligeti to Penderecki, can’t imagine “2001” or “A Clockwork Orange” without those signatures, you will see a string of clips from his great ones, hosted by none other than “Clockwork’s” Alex, Malcolm McDowell, and hear the music live and fabulous from the LA Phil, seems like a good night’s entertainment), Thurs, Fri 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., Walt Disney Concert Hall, downtown LA, $20-$204.

TONIGHT! – PATTI LABELLE (would I send you all the way out to Temecula, yes I would to see the great Patti Labelle, sometimes not included in the pantheon of the greatest soul voices ever but she most definitely is, put her on your bucket list, you may not have seen her blow minds in the ‘70s on tour with her outrageous trio LaBelle, I did, straight from the New York Continental baths scene, glammed up in what I dubbed the Crustaceans from Outer Space silver outfits, it’s when I learned there were gay people in Albuquerque, what a party that was, you may not have seen her take the stage in LA as the Tina Turner “replacement” Acid Queen in the one-off all-star “Tommy,” I did, no one missed Tina I’ll tell ya, but you can always see my other sweetest performance by her, you know how people say so-and-so could sing the phone book, or the alphabet and it would be fabulous, well she did sing the ABCs song gospel-style on Sesame Street 2/19/99, 11+M views, and you should watch, I did, I do, pretty often, good for the soul, but call Pechanga if you really want to go because it may be sold out but it is her only show in the area, so, bucket list), 7 p.m., Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, $69 up.

JACK SHELDON (great trumpeter-singer-actor who was part of the ‘50s West Coast jazz scene and has been performing ever since in so many fields, this is his birthday party for himself, turning 87, famous voices singing in “Schoolhouse Rock” including “I’m Just a Bill” and the guy who explained the electoral college — I think he needs a re-do now explaining how we can get rid of it — and if you see him live you will not only catch a legend with the best sidemen but you will wonder if he missed his calling at stand-up, he is sooo bawdy funny), Fri, Sat 8:30 p.m., Catalina Bar & Grill, Hollywood, $25-$30.

I SEE HAWKS IN LA, MEAT PUPPETS (two great bands with very different styles and right, another long journey for great music I’m sending you on, the Hawks do play locally somewhat regularly but not Phoenix’s legendary Meat Puppets so maybe you’re coming back from Thanksgiving anyway past Joshua Tree, do yourself a favor and dew drop inn), Sat 9 p.m., Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, Joshua Tree, $25.

GLORIA CHENG, “Garlands for Steven Stucky” (see above), Tues 8 p.m., the Colburn School of Music, Zipper Concert Hall.

THE SKATALITES (they’re still around? didn’t they invent ska in the mid-’60s? maybe, named it anyway, were really active only 1964-’65 but so influential, worked with all the best Jamaican producers and players, the 10 founders were a who’s who of JA music, Jackie Mitoo, Don Drummond, Tommy McCook, Rolando Alphonso et al, started playing together in ‘55, all gone now save Lester Sterling and Doreen Shaffer, reformed and touring the last 35 years so I believe you will get the real deal), Wed 9 p.m., the Echoplex, Echo Park, $20.

HOUSE OF VIBE ALL STARS (ordinarily I never recommend something I haven’t seen but the boys at Harvelle’s, with the perfect resume for taking over this nearly 90-year-old blues club in downtown Santa Monica from longtime mogul Seven, keep telling me this is a great show I must see so I am recommending it based on great sources and promise to go so I can give a personal assessment, meanwhile if you go and you hate it I will personally give you your 5 bucks back), Wed 9 p.m., Harvelle’s, Santa Monica, $5.

ELVIS COSTELLO (Elvis Costello!), next Thurs, 7 p.m., the Wiltern, Mid-Wilshire, $125-$240 (too much! but it’s your money).

A LYRIC SO GOOD I WISH I HAD THOUGHT OF IT: “I’d rather go blind, boy, than to see you walk away from me.”

— (Etta James, Ellington Jordan, Billy Foster  1967)

Sung with such palpable, heart-wrenching emotion by the late great Etta James, it became an instant blues classic, covered by Beyonce (playing her in “Cadillac Ranch”), Clarence Carter (blind from birth), Koko Taylor, Little Milton, B.B. King and currently on the airwaves — remember airwaves? — a very credible version by Grace Potter.

But what an image. For a sighted person, is there a much bleaker future than to suddenly go blind? Think of it. I think about it, probably you have too, at least once. Your whole world would change. A pitch black world filled achingly with color memories, fading each day a little more. What worse could happen? And yet, the love-struck singer tells us, I’d choose it, rather than have eyes to witness the unbearable sight of you walking away from me. Has that ever been portrayed more powerfully, 13 words, in written word anywhere?

Charles Andrews has listened to a lot of music of all kinds, including more than 2,000 live shows. He has lived in Santa Monica for 32 years and wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world. Really. Send love and/or rebuke to him at  [email protected]

Q&A: Pam Ann Flys in for a Special NYE Performance

International celebrity airhostess, Pam Ann (look below to find out how the name came about), has evolved since first jetting out of her hometown of Melbourne over 20 years ago.  Pam – the alter-ego of Australian comedian-writer-producer Caroline Reid – has developed a cult following, both here in the States and overseas, with her masterful portrayal of an International Flight Attendant. Pam Ann is returning to Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale on December 31 at 8 p.m. with a special New Year’s Eve show, NYE—Flight 2018. For those of you who have never seen a Pam Ann performance, get ready for turbulence caused by all the hysterical laughter. It was, once again, a pleasure to sit down with both Pam and Caroline for this exclusive Hotspots interview.

What has happened in the last years since we last spoke?

I have been traveling the world with Pam Ann from Miami, London, Stockholm, Paris, Mykonos, and New York. It’s my first year living in Miami and I must say it’s been the best decision I’ve ever made. I feel less stressed and I’ve been enjoying the beach and meeting so many fabulous people in between my trips away. I love living in a vacation destination.

How did you create Pam Ann?

She was born out of a bottle of Absolut vodka. I had a James Bond themed birthday party back in 1996 (Sean Connery Bond). He only flew Pan American, so I went dressed to my birthday as a Pan Am 1960’s air hostess. Over the course of the evening everyone was getting more and more drunk and started calling me Pan Am. The drunker my friends got, the more it sounded like Pam Ann. Try it say Pan Am ten times in a row BOOM PAM ANN is born. Plus, my love of everything 60’s design and airlines created what Pam Ann is today. Seriously I never thought I’d end up in comedy, I actually wanted to be a department store window dresser… before Pam Ann I actually used to sell mannequins at Mei & Picchi in Fitzroy Melbourne.

WATCH:

Did you ever expect this level of success and how did it change your life?

I never try to have expectations period. I’ve always lived my life and career organically and followed my heart and passion. Success is a weird word; it’s all in the mind what you perceive. I just try to be as authentic as possible and I don’t think about success.  I feel like I haven’t even started yet and still have a long journey ahead. Pam Ann has gifted me the opportunity to live a carefree life and travel the world doing what I love, I couldn’t be more grateful to her. I’ve met so many incredible friends along the way. I’m a High School dropout so for me Pam Ann has been my university in life. I am now the Wikipedia on airlines, flight attendants, cultures and global travel. My US green card to me is one of my greatest achievements, it’s my college degree … Pam Ann got me into the USA.

You have worked with so many superstars, who are your favorites and why?

Elton John and David Furnish are my favorite superstars and people in the world. Not only do they support and encourage new talent, they have raised so much awareness and money for HIV and AIDS; they are my heroes. I love them both so, so much… and damn, they know how to throw a great party.

Is there one gig that was your favorite and if so why?

One of my favorite shows was in Paris at the beautiful Alhambra theatre. I love Parisians and I love performing in Paris. My bar is set high to achieve and do the best I can for the Parisians. Comedy is like a drug—you’re always chasing the perfect show. So this one particulate night in Paris I’d performed what I thought was an ok show in my mind. I went off stage and said to my tour manager Esther (who’s been with me for over 12 years and knows me so well) damn that wasn’t good enough. I went to my dressing room took off my wig and threw off my Chanel pumps. Esther then came running into my dressing room saying they won’t leave… I said who? She said the audience. They are stamping their feet and demanding you come out for an encore. I was in shock, and I went out barefoot, wig in hand completely confused…they all stood on their feet and shouted BRAVO, BRAVO, BRAVO! I cried and thanked them as they hugged me with their hearts. I’ll never forget it, it was my Edith Piaf moment. I love and adore the French so much and even though I can’t speak French, they feel it from my soul. That’s why I love what I do, for these precious magical golden rare moments.

Now that you live in the states, do you miss Australia and how often do you get back down under?

I love Australia, my family and my best friends live there. I’ve had friends in Oz for over 30yrs who are all part of my DNA. Pam Ann was born in Melbourne through the encouragement of so many darling friends of mine, without them Pam Ann might never have been. I miss everyone so much I wish we could pull Australia over and join it to Miami. IMAGINE Miami with kangaroos! I try and go back two times a year of course flying the Qantas, the flying kangaroo.

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How do you keep your material fresh for the audience and for yourself as an artist?

I never do the same show…ever! I tailor my shows to what country I’m in and talk about their national airline and what is currently happening in their world that we all can relate to. I improvise the first hour or so of my show and I work on the fly so to speak. I don’t write I just tell my stories though my real life experiences and observations (I have an incredible Wikipedia library in my head). I have brought back much more audience participation to my shows once again, which I love. I stopped doing it for a while…long story all I’ll say it involved glitter and a homophobic couple. But rest assured I’m back in full swing so watch out Pam Ann Frequent Flyers.

Describe Pam Ann is three words?

 Honest, funny and ‘plane’ filthy.

What should the South Florida Audiences expect from the New Year’s Eve Show?

I will be talking a lot about the year we just had and I will be sharing stories from all of my travels. I have some fabulous new videos spoofing the ‘Great British Bake Off’ and there will be lots of audience interaction.

Do you have a warning for the virgins of your show? 

Turn your f*cking phones off!

What does the future hold for Pam Ann and for Caroline?

I’m looking forward to touring Australia with Pam Ann in the New Year and visiting my family. I have created a brand new stand up show as myself so I will be performing this new show RAWR on London’s West End in 2018 which is an exciting new chapter for me. I look forward to lots of new projects in 2018 and also lying on the beach more.

Tickets are now on sale for NYE—Flight 2018 at pamann.ticketleap.com. General Admission, Premium Seating, and VIP tickets (including a meet and greet) available. $35-$100.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2017/12/14/qa-pam-ann-flys-in-for-a-special-nye-performance/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.tumblr.com/post/168538993280

NQ’s Penda looks at another county eaterie…

There were  furrowed brows from the younger Penda friends as they looked at the menu at uber-trendy Foodies.Rocks (not my punctuation).

They were conflicted: they’d been given their own menus and a little tick-box order form each. They were being Grown-ups.

On the other hand, they couldn’t work out if there was anything they actually liked.

From Fish Tacos with Kiwi and Lime Sauce to Taiwanese Gua Bao, there wasn’t a chicken nugget in sight. Good.

They were encouraged to choose two dishes each. This is casual dining: street food – so the portions aren’t huge and arrive in paper-lined baskets as soon as each is cooked. Don’t wait for the whole lot to arrive before tucking in, the staff tick each item off the receipt on your table. You can’t be a food hogger here, your guests will be nicking your cassava chips before you can ask: What’s cassava? (since you ask, a starchy vegetable, also known as yuca root).

They chose carefully, going down the list of 12 savoury options discussing what they might not like. They settled on edamame hummus with crispy bread, miso soup, pork gyoza and Korean Sriracha fried chicken with some cassava chips to share too.

Penda has a penchant for Foodies’ Taiwanese Gua Bao, two strangely squidgy, doughy steamed buns with a tempura prawn in each, kimchi (a fermented vegetable relish that isn’t vinegary), sweet chilli mayo and lots of chopped spring onions. I’ve had them a few times and they always satisfy, albeit with the indignity of eating something as it all falls inelegantly down your chin. You can get a BBQ pork version with cucumber, hoisin and crushed peanuts too.

The youngsters eyed their dishes with suspicion but were reassured by our excellent waitress that it was good to be a little adventurous. She was right, the miso soup was gobbled up with an extra little dish of crispy dippy bread after a minor argument between siblings about how the bread we already had should only be for the person who ordered the edamame hummus. The hummus scored well too, it looks and tastes just like normal chickpea hummus; maybe a little bit runnier and in this case served with a sprinkling of wakame seaweed, chilli flakes and sesame seeds.

The Korean chicken was also gone in a flash, and declared not too spicy at all by a now confident teen who also ate the hot saucy mooli (that’s a grated raw white radish by the way). We used the cassava chips as carriers for the hummus (they can be a bit bland without lots of salt and something dippy, and the red chutney it came with was rejected as ‘not ketchupy enough’). There was a side order of seaweed salad, a generous big pot of the stuff you get in posher sushi bento boxes. The kids turned their noses up at it, so Penda ate it all.

The pork gyoza dumplings (you get about five) have also been a previous purchase and sometimes are sometimes served a bit more steamed than grilled – this time they were a perfect combination of crispy on the outside and soft in the middle, and they come with a soy dip. We miss the previous Foodies favourite, which were sticky chicken skewers with a blob of rice, but then menus do need to change now and then.

We’d ordered a couple of pasel de nata for pud, those delicious Portugese tarts that so weirded out the cooks on this year’s Great British Bake Off. We were also brought two great big pots of ice cream, free for under 16s, sprinkled with coconut and with warm hazelnut chocolate sauce. Who’d have thought kids would not like grated coconut? – Penda ended up with it while they pinched the tarts.

The decor in Foodies is very urban industrial, with old cameras as decoration, concrete walls and exposed pipes, rough wood doors and handles made of hammers. But don’t go down the road of thinking all this fusion food and reclaimed setting sounds way too hipster for Northampton.

It’s undoubtedly arty-cool, with excellent graffiti in the loos (and a funky baby-change station) and tables made from giant cotton reels. The venue also has regular art, theatre, music and spoken-word events downstairs, where there’s a bar, a footy table and a giant Tekken arcade game. They also have vegan options and craft beer. Hipster? Tick, tick and tick again.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

But Northampton needs a hipster hangout like this, and it’s perfectly placed for the theatres over the road. It’s hardly ever empty when we’ve visited and the service on this particular Friday at 7pm, when its 35 or so covers (there are bar stools too) were filling up, was excellent. Water and glasses arrived without us having to ask, and they’ve even relented and started stocking Diet Coke as well the more artisan bottles of pop.

One big no-no for Penda, however, and it may just be Penda’s weird problem, is the use of wooden cutlery. Just typing it makes one’s teeth ache. Yes, of course it’s better for the environment but dear God, just give me some proper metal spoons.

Price-wise, it came in at about fifty quid for three of us; seven dishes and some pop. All except the soup and salad are £5-6 each, and are reasonable except, perhaps, for the hummus which felt over-priced.

Overall, Foodies.Rocks offers a genuinely different dining experience, pushing us all out of our culinary comfort zones, especially those of us who haven’t travelled the world to taste these exotic foods in their native habitats. Penda may just have to take a metal spork next time.

Penda

Kids rocked at Foodies.(Rock)

NQ’s Penda looks at another county eaterie… There were  furrowed brows from the younger Penda friends as they looked at the menu at uber-trendy Foodies.Rocks (not my punctuation).

Kids rocked at Foodies.(Rock) NQ's Penda looks at another county eaterie... There were  furrowed brows from the younger Penda friends as they looked at the menu at uber-trendy Foodies.Rocks (not my punctuation).

NQ’s Penda looks at another county eaterie…

There were  furrowed brows from the younger Penda friends as they looked at the menu at uber-trendy Foodies.Rocks (not my punctuation).

They were conflicted: they’d been given their own menus and a little tick-box order form each. They were being Grown-ups.

On the other hand, they couldn’t work out if there was anything they actually liked.

From Fish Tacos with Kiwi and Lime Sauce to Taiwanese Gua Bao, there wasn’t a chicken nugget in sight. Good.

They were encouraged to choose two dishes each. This is casual dining: street food – so the portions aren’t huge and arrive in paper-lined baskets as soon as each is cooked. Don’t wait for the whole lot to arrive before tucking in, the staff tick each item off the receipt on your table. You can’t be a food hogger here, your guests will be nicking your cassava chips before you can ask: What’s cassava? (since you ask, a starchy vegetable, also known as yuca root).

They chose carefully, going down the list of 12 savoury options discussing what they might not like. They settled on edamame hummus with crispy bread, miso soup, pork gyoza and Korean Sriracha fried chicken with some cassava chips to share too.

Penda has a penchant for Foodies’ Taiwanese Gua Bao, two strangely squidgy, doughy steamed buns with a tempura prawn in each, kimchi (a fermented vegetable relish that isn’t vinegary), sweet chilli mayo and lots of chopped spring onions. I’ve had them a few times and they always satisfy, albeit with the indignity of eating something as it all falls inelegantly down your chin. You can get a BBQ pork version with cucumber, hoisin and crushed peanuts too.

The youngsters eyed their dishes with suspicion but were reassured by our excellent waitress that it was good to be a little adventurous. She was right, the miso soup was gobbled up with an extra little dish of crispy dippy bread after a minor argument between siblings about how the bread we already had should only be for the person who ordered the edamame hummus. The hummus scored well too, it looks and tastes just like normal chickpea hummus; maybe a little bit runnier and in this case served with a sprinkling of wakame seaweed, chilli flakes and sesame seeds.

The Korean chicken was also gone in a flash, and declared not too spicy at all by a now confident teen who also ate the hot saucy mooli (that’s a grated raw white radish by the way). We used the cassava chips as carriers for the hummus (they can be a bit bland without lots of salt and something dippy, and the red chutney it came with was rejected as ‘not ketchupy enough’). There was a side order of seaweed salad, a generous big pot of the stuff you get in posher sushi bento boxes. The kids turned their noses up at it, so Penda ate it all.

The pork gyoza dumplings (you get about five) have also been a previous purchase and sometimes are sometimes served a bit more steamed than grilled – this time they were a perfect combination of crispy on the outside and soft in the middle, and they come with a soy dip. We miss the previous Foodies favourite, which were sticky chicken skewers with a blob of rice, but then menus do need to change now and then.

We’d ordered a couple of pasel de nata for pud, those delicious Portugese tarts that so weirded out the cooks on this year’s Great British Bake Off. We were also brought two great big pots of ice cream, free for under 16s, sprinkled with coconut and with warm hazelnut chocolate sauce. Who’d have thought kids would not like grated coconut? – Penda ended up with it while they pinched the tarts.

The decor in Foodies is very urban industrial, with old cameras as decoration, concrete walls and exposed pipes, rough wood doors and handles made of hammers. But don’t go down the road of thinking all this fusion food and reclaimed setting sounds way too hipster for Northampton.

It’s undoubtedly arty-cool, with excellent graffiti in the loos (and a funky baby-change station) and tables made from giant cotton reels. The venue also has regular art, theatre, music and spoken-word events downstairs, where there’s a bar, a footy table and a giant Tekken arcade game. They also have vegan options and craft beer. Hipster? Tick, tick and tick again.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

But Northampton needs a hipster hangout like this, and it’s perfectly placed for the theatres over the road. It’s hardly ever empty when we’ve visited and the service on this particular Friday at 7pm, when its 35 or so covers (there are bar stools too) were filling up, was excellent. Water and glasses arrived without us having to ask, and they’ve even relented and started stocking Diet Coke as well the more artisan bottles of pop.

One big no-no for Penda, however, and it may just be Penda’s weird problem, is the use of wooden cutlery. Just typing it makes one’s teeth ache. Yes, of course it’s better for the environment but dear God, just give me some proper metal spoons.

Price-wise, it came in at about fifty quid for three of us; seven dishes and some pop. All except the soup and salad are £5-6 each, and are reasonable except, perhaps, for the hummus which felt over-priced.

Overall, Foodies.Rocks offers a genuinely different dining experience, pushing us all out of our culinary comfort zones, especially those of us who haven’t travelled the world to taste these exotic foods in their native habitats. Penda may just have to take a metal spork next time.

Penda

Kids rocked at Foodies.(Rock) NQ's Penda looks at another county eaterie... There were  furrowed brows from the younger Penda friends as they looked at the menu at uber-trendy Foodies.Rocks (not my punctuation).

Obituary: Sir Bruce Forsyth – BBC News

Image caption He made his stage debut aged just 14 as Boy Bruce, the Mighty Atom

Veteran entertainer Sir Bruce Forsyth had a career spanning eight decades, in which he went from struggling variety performer to Saturday night TV stardom.

On the way, he became one of the most recognisable entertainers in the business, driven by what appeared to be inexhaustible energy.

He became synonymous with the plethora of game shows that seemed to dominate television light entertainment in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, although he often felt he had become typecast as the genial quizmaster.

And at an age when most performers would have put their feet up, his career enjoyed a huge revival with the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.

Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson was born in Edmonton, north London, on 22 February 1928.

His father owned a local garage and both his parents were Salvation Army members who sang and played music at home.

Image copyright Rex Features

Image caption Beat the Clock was just one of many games he hosted

The young Bruce was a direct descendant of William Forsyth, a founder of the Royal Horticultural Society, whose name was given to the plant forsythia.

His interest in showbusiness was kindled at the age of eight and he was reportedly found tap-dancing on the flat roof after watching his first Fred Astaire film.

"As soon as I got home from school," he recalled, "I'd take up the carpet, because there was lino underneath, and start tapping away."

He made his stage debut at the age of 14 as Boy Bruce, the Mighty Atom, appearing bottom of the bill at the Theatre Royal, Bilston.

Live entertainment was a way of escaping the pressures and dangers of wartime Britain, and there was a huge demand for acts, no matter how bad they were.

Many years later he explained his motivation on a BBC chat show. "I wanted to be famous and buy my mum a fur coat."

Famous Forsyth catchphrases

"I'm in charge."

"All right, my loves?"

"Good game, good game!"

"Nice to see you, to see you nice."

"Give us a twirl!"

"Cuddly toy, cuddly toy!"

"OK, dollies do your dealing."

"You get nothing for a pair!"

"What do points make?"

"Didn't he/she do well?"

"You're my favourite."

"Keeeeep dancing!"

But there was to be no fast track to success. For the next 16 years he performed in church halls and theatres across the country, sleeping in train luggage racks and waiting for the big break.

It came in 1958, at a time when he had been unemployed for more than three months and was seriously considering giving up on showbusiness.

He was asked to present Sunday Night at the London Palladium, a televised variety show, made by Lord Grade's ATV company for the ITV network.

He'd finally found the fame he had always craved, appearing not in front of a couple of hundred people in a theatre, but the more than 10 million who regularly tuned in to the show.

"The pubs would empty when it came on," he told an interviewer. "We would get calls saying: 'Can't you start it later?'"

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption At one point, he was Britain's highest-paid entertainer

Originally booked for two weeks, he stayed five years, by which time he was Britain's highest-paid entertainer, earning 1,000 a week (18,700 in today's money).

But he continued touring with his variety show and the strain of combining this with his Palladium appearances took a toll on his private life.

He divorced his first wife, Penny Calvert, a dancer he'd met in the theatre, and she wrote an account of her husband's perpetual absence, called Darling, Your Dinner's in the Dustbin.

A popular element in his Palladium show was a feature called Beat the Clock, in which contestants, egged on by Forsyth, had to complete quirky tasks as a huge clock ticked down.

Sir Bruce Forsyth dies aged 89

Life in pictures

Lord Grade recalls 'a very special man'

Stars remember Brucie

The segment gave a hint of his future television role and he went on to host some of the most popular television game shows of the 1970s and 80s.

With his catchphrases of "Nice to see you, to see you nice" and "Didn't he do well?" he reigned supreme at the helm of the BBC's Generation Game for six years from 1971, and again at the beginning of the 1990s.

At its peak, the programme attracted 20 million viewers, who tuned in to watch Forsyth seemingly having more fun than the competitors, enthusing over the mundane prizes on the conveyor belt.

The presenter argued with his BBC managers about the show's early evening timeslot but he eventually accepted his role as the "warm-up man" for Saturday night television.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption The Beatles were among the stars he introduced at the London Palladium

His co-host on the show, Anthea Redfern, was each week encouraged to "give us a twirl". The couple married in 1973 but divorced six years later.

It was on the Generation Game that he introduced his famous "thinker" pose, appearing in silhouette at the beginning of each show.

The idea came from the classic circus strongman pose, something he'd perfected during his days in variety.

He repeated his success on ITV's Play Your Cards Right, where the audience joined in the cries of "higher" or "lower" as the contestants tried to guess the value of a series of playing cards.

Changing tastes

Michael Grade said of him: "He knows how to get laughs out of people but it's never cruel and he leaves their dignity intact."

In 1995, a year after his final Generation Game appearance, he received a lifetime achievement award for variety at the British Comedy Awards and began hosting ITV's The Price is Right.

The entertainer was, by this time, a Rolls-Royce-driving multimillionaire and married since 1983 to Wilnelia Merced, a former Miss World.

He later claimed that he regretted becoming so associated with game shows and wished he'd done more variety work on TV.

Image caption Forsyth with Anthea Redfern on the Generation Game

Play Your Cards Right was axed in 1999 and, with changing tastes in entertainment, his TV career began to slide.

He returned to the theatre - but experienced an unexpected revival after his wife watched an edition of the satirical quiz, Have I Got News For You, and suggested he could present the programme.

After calling show regular Paul Merton, he landed the gig and offered to be "a little bit deadpan".

"But the team said, 'No, be Bruce Forsyth,'" he said.

He used the occasion to parody some of his old game shows, much to the ill-disguised disgust of team captain Ian Hislop.

But the appearance led to Forsyth, an accomplished tap dancer, being offered the job of hosting Strictly Come Dancing, which began a year later.

Viewed with scepticism when it launched, the celebrity dance show became one of the most-watched programmes on TV by the time it reached its fifth series in 2007.

He brought his own brand of avuncular good humour to the proceedings - reassuring many of the contestants with the phrase "you're my favourites".

Image caption He parodied some of his old game shows on Have I Got News For You

"His particular character and personality went a long way to making the show what it is," said former contestant Ann Widdecombe.

But the presenter once revealed that Strictly "was never the show that I thought it would be".

"I thought it'd be a comedy show - me getting among the contestants and showing them how to dance, and them all falling over," he told ITV's This Morning. "It was a different show."

After missing a handful of episodes because of illness, he decided to "step down from the rigours" of presenting Strictly in 2014.

Golfing passion

"But I'm not retiring," he insisted. "That's the last thing in the world I want to do. This isn't Brucie walking into the sunset."

He continued to host the Christmas and charity editions of Strictly until 2014 - all of which were taped, as opposed to live broadcasts.

Away from entertainment, Forsyth's biggest passion was golf and he took part in many pro-celebrity tournaments.

His house was next to the course at Wentworth, where he played with many of the world's best players, practising in the bunker in his own back garden.

Image caption He presented Strictly Come Dancing with Tess Daly

During his career, Forsyth's multiple talents and years of application sparked an enduring appeal.

In 2011 he was knighted after years of campaigning by his fans and a parliamentary Early Day Motion signed by 73 MPs.

But he suffered from ill health towards the end of his life, and in 2016 his wife revealed he still had "a bit of a problem moving", following major surgery a year earlier.

Sir Bruce was one of the last entertainers from the tradition of music hall to be working on British television.

In many ways his act barely changed. The same corny gags, the same toothy smile and, above all, the same manic enthusiasm.

"On stage I think I'm 35," he once said. "Working takes over my whole body and I become a younger man - that's why I won't stop."

He will be particularly remembered for his ability to transform run-of-the-mill party games into glorious moments of mayhem that enthralled contestants and audiences alike.

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Original Rude Boy Neville Staple (The Specials, Fun Boy Three) Releases New Album 'Return of Judge Roughneck'

On February 17, legendary Specials and Fun Boy Three founding member Neville Staple will be releasing his new studio album ‘Return of Judge Roughneck’ via Cleopatra Records. This double LP features brilliant new re-workings of classic Jamaican cuts, some brand new material, and a few gems from Neville’s past, along with a bonus dub album offering serious bass-bin shaking mixes. Known as The Original Rudeboy, Neville Staple is a Jamaican-born British singer credited with changing the face of pop music not only once but twice. His 35-year career in the music business is well documented, from the early days with The Coventry Automatics, The Specials and Fun Boy Three to collaboration with Ranking Roger in The Special Beat and various other collaborations during his solo career from the 90s until the present day. About his musical legacy, Neville Staple comments: “The way we brought it was mixing Jamaican music with the English style, which was actually punk at the time. Now most people are into ska, they listen to all the people that we talked about that they might not have listened to before... This has happened again and again with the different waves of ska. I am hearing lots more young bands now also putting their own spin on ska – some with dance music and some with a rock beat. It's all good. The music just makes you want to dance. Even when singing about tough times, every-day things or bad things, the beat and the rhythm makes you want to move!"  In 2004, Neville formed The Neville Staple Band, releasing the critically acclaimed album 'The Rude Boy Returns', with contributions from Clash guitarist Mick Jones and Damned drummer Rat Scabies, with Flipron's Joe Atkinson on organ. The group also featured former members of the British ska band Bad Manners. Following on from the 2009 Specials reunion and Neville’s departure from the band in late 2012, he continues to be a forerunner of the ska movement. 

The Neville Staple Band continually thrilling audiences, touring relentlessly and playing many festivals, including a headline slot on the Avalon Stage at Glastonbury Festival. As Staple continues his critically acclaimed solo career path, ska’s reigning Rude Boy will be releasing ‘Return of Judge Roughneck’ this month. His previous album ‘Ska Crazy’ was released in May 2014, featuring guest vocals from his wife Christine ‘Sugary’ Staple and long time friend, DJ and artist Daddy Woody.  

The new album involves members of the Neville Staple Band and guest musicians, including violinist Jessy Greene (The Jayhawks, Geraldine Fibbers), producer Ed Rome and Neville’s wife Christine ‘Sugary’ Staple, who co-produced the album with Neville and Tom Lowry (Planet Studios) with Mike Bennett providing additional mastering. ‘Return of Judge Roughneck’ will be available on both CD and in a special limited edition 2LP vinyl package! Here Neville Staple recreates his famous Judge Roughneck character, who first emerged as part of the ‘Stupid Marriage’ song from The Specials’ debut album on 2 Tone Records. Be prepared for a super ride through classic Jamaican early reggae tunes, ska stomping rhythms and new tracks, fitting perfectly with echoes of 2 Tone and Bluebeat mixed with Trojan music styles. In Part 2 of the album, a full set of bonus dub remixes, takes you on a journey with atmospheric vibes, toasting fun and twisted song versions. 

The lead track ‘Return of Judge Roughneck’ is a fun ska dance video filled with Judge Roughneck’s take on the world of politicians, bankers and bullies, along with dancing barristers and cocky jailbirds. Shot by Lee Cogswell and Daniel Thompson (production storyline & casting by Christine Sugary Staple, who also features here), the video is shot at various locations in the historic 2 Tone city of Coventry in the UK’s West Midlands. Ironically, the video was partially shot at the heritage building of the historic ‘Coventry County Court’ (now a restaurant called the Establishment), where Neville was once sentenced to borstal (a youth detention center), along with sites at Coventry University’s Moot Room, the local Council Chambers, St Mary’s Guildhall and the Belgrade Theatre.  Neville’s autobiography ‘The Original Rude Boy’ was published in the UK by Aurum Press in May 2009. This amazing story traces Neville’s interest in music in the early ‘60s to his relationship with Pete Waterman (record producer, songwriter, radio and club DJ, and television presenter) and his rise from hell into stardom. The Neville Staple Band is playing shows all around the UK in late winter and spring in support of ‘Return of Judge Roughneck’, which will be available on Vinyl, CD, iTunes and Bandcamp.

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