The Pantheon should be considered the eighth wonder of the world because of its influence on the architectural design that followed it. When I first saw the Pantheon, it looked like every building in Washington DC I grew up visiting. It has the same massive white columns supporting the structure and a dome that was much larger than any dome I had ever seen. In his presentation, Wyatt mentioned that Thomas Jefferson was inspired by the structure and it shows. His home in Monticello take inspiration from it as well as the Jefferson Memorial. The Jefferson Memorial looks like a smaller version of the Pantheon. There are many other structures throughout Washington DC that take inspiration from the Pantheon.

Like the other seven wonders of the world, the Pantheon gives the viewer insight into what life was like in the structure’s heyday. The Pantheon served as a gathering place for worship and continues to be an iconic meeting place to this day.

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Strike Back: Vendetta. Episode four icons.

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Golden

Yeehaw Leo… it's all because this song came on one day (I don’t even really listen to country anymore so it really is fate). Leo is based off that song, each chapter is going to be based off a yeehaw song too.

Characters belong to @lumosinlove

Beta: @the-most-slyterin-hufflepuff & @punkkkboi

TW/CW: Smut, terrible yeehaw sayings and jokes, injuries, mentions of past death/suicide, minor character death, underage drinking, mentions of past arrests, cringe

Chapter Songs (listening in order is recommended):

Chapter 15:

Thomas was sleeping, he was having a peaceful slumber until he felt the back of a hand across his face. Waking up startled he sits up. He goes to ask what's wrong but his face is grabbed by Noelle who drags him into an extra spicy kiss. He takes a sharp breath in through his nose and cups the back of her head. Kissing back but still confused. He looks for Clay who sleeps on the other side of Noelle, he seems to be missing.

Then he notices the lump under the covers…. Then it all clicks.

Thomas closes his eyes and smirks into the kiss with Noelle as she whines into his mouth and unintentionally yanks on the hair at the side and back of his head. Thomas blindly starts feeling around for the edge of the covers, when he finds then he tosses them back.

“So cold!” Noelle mumbles on his lips, Thomas pulls away a bit to look down at Clay who looks like he is being suffocated between Noelle's thighs. It was a beautiful sight. “Thomas, please kiss me-” Her breath hitched and her legs twitched for a moment before her ankles locked behind Clay’s head. “I’m so close!”

Thomas doesn't want this to end yet and he knows Noelle has gotten to the point where she can’t get off unless she is being stimulated in more than one place. Trying to make this moment last longer, Thomas would lean in to kiss her but swerve away to kiss her cheek or her neck. Just to tease her. His hand that wasn’t supporting his body was cupping her jaw so she had to look at him.

He was acting like he wasn’t hard as a fucking rock.

Eventually, Noelle's hips were canting up like she didn’t have control anymore. Clay’s arms were wrapped under her legs and he was gripping her hips to hold on for dear life. She grabs Thomas’ face and shoves her tongue in his mouth aggressively. Thomas folds and kisses her back. She climaxes, her mouth falling open, her hands gripping her boys almost too tight, and her legs snap shut but Clay doesn’t mind.

Once she finishes her body goes completely limp and her eyes close because they are rolling in different directions because her body is so relaxed. Thomas is petting her hair, not paying attention at all. Just soaking in just how beautiful she is in her afterglow.

A shocked moan jumps out of his throat as he feels a tight wet heat around his almost painfully hard cock. His hand jumps to Clay’s hair and he looks down to see him looking back up at him with his iconic puppy dog eyes. Thomas tips his head back as he catches his breath from when he was surprised.

Noelle comes back too and sees her boys, she turns on her side so her head is resting on Thoams’ shoulder, she reaches down to pat through Clay’s wild curls, messed up from sleeping. Clay opens his eyes from when they slipped closed after Thomas looked away. He sees the way Noelle is looking at him and he starts grinding against the bed.

He wanted to show his lovers how much he loves and appreciates them, he’s never experienced love and trust like this. He has a thing for being praised by Noelle and he knows this head petting is a way she does that without words.

Thomas on the other hand.

“Clay- fuck you’re suck a slut aren’t you. Got Noelle off and couldn’t help yourself.” Clay immediately flushes bright red and pinches his eyebrows together as the mixture of the silent praise from Noelle and the degrading talk that Thomas throws at him. Clay is being pushed closer to his own edge. He has never came untouched before but he wouldn’t be surprised if they could do that to him. So he doubles down on Thomas as he grinds against the bed harder.

He knows Thomas is close by the way his voice has turned into a whisper. Clay pulls off just in time to get a face full of Thomas. He blinks a couple of times before he is tossed on his back.

“I always knew you were a cum slut but I never thought you’d purposely make me cum on your face.” Thomas gives Clay a tight pull after spitting in his hand and Clay moans louder than he meant to. He flushes again from embarrassment.

“Always so pretty for us, Doll.” Noelle has moved to be kneeling next to Clay’s side, lightly touching his smooth stomach up to his chest and looking at him. “So gorgeous.”

“I’m gonna-” Thomas gives Clay exactly three pulls before he is spilling over his hand and his own stomach. Noelle leaned over and is peppering his neck and shoulders in little kisses before getting up to grab their designated sex towel. It had Daffy duck on it and Clay brought it with him as a joke.

They all get cleaned up and sprawl out on the fresh sheets together.

“I’m going to order food because I’m so hungry I feel my stomach digesting itself.” Thomas is typing on his phone their normal orders from a deli just down the street from them. Clay smiles and laughs a bit from how dramatic Thomas always gets. Eventually the food is out for delivery and the tallest of the bunch gets up and pulls on some sweats.

Clay rolls over to his side and shoves his face into Noelle's boobs because they are his favorite things. Noelle absentmindedly starts scratching his scalp because she feels like it. Thomas comes back and see’s Clay’s face looking way too similar to his O face just from her scratching his scalp.

“Nope, if you do that I’m going to get all hot and horny again. We need to eat, Noelle leaves in five hours.” He sits on the bed and tosses them their sandwiches.

“What are you two going to do while I’m gone?” Noelle unwraps her sandwich and takes a bite while she checks her phone for her flight information. Her, Logan, Finn and Leo are all going to Canada to spend the holiday with her parents. Logan plans to tell their parents about Leo and she knows it won’t go well.

Her parent adore Finn and most likely only accepted Logan for being bisexual because of Finn. He was the perfect all-american boy who was successful… and white. Her parents have come to terms with her dating Thomas but they still bad mouth him in front of her with wild accusations.

She also knows that she is the favorite child from how her parents treat her versus her sisters and Logan. So she gets away with a lot more. But she knows if they knew about Clay they would freak the fuck out.

She doesn’t think this is going to go as well as Logan hopes but she will support him no matter what. So will Sydney and Aubrey. They have had to support each other for their entire lives. Their family dynamic was one of those, you act all friendly and nice when you are with your parents but once you are away from them you can actually be yourself. Oh, and talk shit on the parents because they always think they are right.

“If you want we can go visit my parents, they have been dying to meet you. Yes my mom talked to you when the team was down at Leo’s but they didn’t get to know you.” Clay is already done with his food because the bitch eats fast. “I have a pilot friend who could take us.”

“Really?” Thomas was halfway through his sandwich with his mouth full of food.

“Yeah, he was friends with Wyatt in the air force and flies us to Brazil every year. He’s a good family friend. Super funny too, I think he’d be a good comedian.” Clay smiles and takes the trash from their food, tossing it in the trash before going to get dressed for the day in his normal at home shorts, skipping a shirt and putting on socks because the wood floors are cold. “Want me to call him?”

“Yeah why not, I’d love to meet your parents.” Thomas has a soft smile as he takes another bite. He has met Noelle’s parents but knows they don’t like him no matter what he does so he plans to charm the pants off Clay’s parents.

Clay leaves to the living room to go call, Noelle gets up to get dressed for the day but before she can get off the bed Thomas pulls her into his lap. Just holding her and smooching his face into her neck.

“Worried?”

“What would I need to be worried about?” Thomas kissed her cheek and gave her a squeeze. “Well, I take that back, I guess Leo is going with you guys and I don’t see Maurice taking that very well.” Noelle nods and sighs.

“I’m worried too, I don’t think it’s a good idea but Logan tries so hard to impress Maman and Papa that it doesn’t surprise me that he is bringing Leo. I mean, Leo is rich, respectful, kind and American so he is everything they have ever wanted…. But with him having a criminal record and tattoo’s and the same sense of challenge that Clay has, I don’t expect them to take him in like they did Finn. Also, his teeth are still fucked from when Aubrey dumped him out of the car and he doesn’t really care about it, so it makes him seem like he doesn’t care about appearances. Which they do.” She flops her head on his shoulder and groans annoyed. “I guess I’ll give you updates about how it's going.”

“I’d appreciate that, sweet thang.” He gives her one last smooch before she gets up to get dressed. Clay walks back in as she is leaving, Noelle smacks his ass as she passes causing him to jump and look back as she disappears into the closet.

“He said he could take us tomorrow, he needs to call the airport and set up a take off and landing schedule.” He flops on the bed and narrows his eyes at the ceiling. “There are so many crumbs on the bed.”

Leo had never been on a commercial plane; it was kinda stuffy. It was also cramped, but he was between his boys so he didn’t really mind. Logan had his headphones on and Finn was sleeping with his head resting back on the seat. Leo was very squished, maybe a bit too tall for the seats. He only needed to be squished for about an hour and a half so he would survive.

As they landed Logan took off his headphones and started texting his parents, Noelle was a seat or two behind them so they were all being picked up by their mother, Leo thinks her name is Mary… honestly Logan barely talks about his parents unless he wants to show them an achievement of his so Leo really didn’t know anything about them besides they don’t like a lot of tattoos on a person so Noelle and Logan are both just wearing long sleeves the whole time to hide their newest additions while Leo is wearing his selling black turtles neck.

Saying he was nervous was a bit of an understatement.

They grabbed their bags from the claim and made their way outside, a large white SUV pulled up and Noelle started heading towards it, Logan following next to Finn and Leo trailing behind.

It was cold.

A short woman with a paisley pattern blue scarf covering her hair got out of the large car and ran up to Noelle and engulfed her into a tight hug, speaking quick French to her as Noelle took a second to hug back. Logan was bouncing on his toes a little behind her waiting for his hug. Leo watched as Logan deflated when his mother, Leo was guessing that's who it is, skips over him to hug Finn just as tight as Noelle. Leo stood to the side awkwardly waiting to see how she reacts to him.

He knows she has looked his way because he saw his reflection in her dark sunglasses. He acts like he is dusting stuff off of him as he looks down at his nice jeans, belt and boots that he wore today trying to make a good first impression. But judging from how Mary is dressed in an expensive dress, coat and shoes, he thinks he chose the wrong outfit.

She eventually pulls away from Finn after kissing his cheeks, leaving Finn an adorable shade of red, she helps him get his bags in the car. Leaving everyone else to put their own in by themselves. Glancing at Logan he notices he has his ‘I’m upset but will try to look neutral’ face on. Leo wants to reach out and comfort him but he knows now isn’t a good time.

The car ride was short, into the heart of the city to a nice sized house surrounded by even bigger houses that are almost the size of the ranch. It was a pale blue color with a red door that was glossy and wooden. Leo expected it to be heavy but he wasn’t expecting it to be shut on him before he even entered the house. He opens the door to find a man in a Police uniform hugging Noelle and laughing with Finn while Logan holds Finn’s hand.

He suddenly felt very uneasy being in the house, so he decided to stay standing by the door. Pretending he was invisible, standing with his luggage in front of him. Logan looks at him and raises an eyebrow until he sees Leo flick his eyes from Logan to the man. Logan nods and mouths an apology. Sending a shaky smile back Leo’s attention is turned to the two older siblings walking over to him.

“Hey guys.” He smiles tightly and accepts hugs from both of them.

“How are your teeth?” Aubrey asks light heartedly, as she sips on her glass of plum colored wine.

“Still broken.” He smiles with his teeth this time, already feeling more relaxed now that the sisters were joking with him.

“Don’t they hurt?” Sydney leans forward a little to examine them. “I work at a dentist. I could get them fixed for you.” Leo remembers Logan mentioning how Sydney was a dental assistant and Aubrey was a lawyer. A very successful family: Lawyer, Dental Assistant, Marine biologist, and a Pro-Hockey Player. He shakes his head no when he looks past them to see Logan finally getting some form of affection from his parents, his father is patting him on the shoulder as Noelle follows her mother into the kitchen and Finn goes to take Logan and his bags to Logan’s room. Maybe he should take his bags too.

“Papa, this is Leo.” Logan gestures to Leo and he takes that as his queue to go over to them. He walks over, trying to calm his nerves. Standing next to Logan he holds out his hand to shake his fathers. “I thought it would be nice to bring him along.” Logan doesn’t plan to tell his parents they are dating until after the first dinner together. His father looks Leo up and down with his intense green eyes taking in every flaw of his. Eventually he takes his hand and shakes it, a bit harder than Leo was expecting.

“You a manual labor worker? Your hands are quite rough.” Leo tries to pretend he didn’t see Logan’s dad wipe his hand on his trousers.

“I sell horses down in Louisiana, my family owns a ranch.”

“Your accent is quite thick, ever thought of speech therapy so people can understand you better?” Leo furrows his brows and shakes his head slightly in surprise. No one has ever been that blunt to him before. “It might be better for your… business.” Logan clears his throat.

“He is living with Finn right now in Gryffindor.” Logan notices how his dad's expression becomes one of suspicion and untrust. Swallowing his worry he continues on. “He is a Professional Bull Rider during the summer.” His father slowly nods as he takes in the information given.

“Explains the dirty boots on my floor. Dinner is in an hour.” He turns away from them and starts walking as Leo is looking down at his freshly polished boots, they were his formal boots that rarely ever get worn. “Oh, and I hope you have another place to stay, we don’t have room in the house for you.” Leo looks up to see Logan’s dad staring at him seriously before he starts walking again. Logan is just as confused as Leo and the sister behind them. Before Logan can go after his dad Leo grabs his arm.

“Hey it’s okay, I saw a hotel just down the street I can stay at. I don’t want you to fight with your parents over me.” Logan is looking like he is going to argue back but then he sighs in defeat and nods. Leo looks back at his bags for a second before following Logan down the stairs, following a long hall into Logan’s room. It was quite small, the walls were a boring cream color that doesn’t scream Logan. Wild and vibrant Logan. The bedspread was dark burgundy and the bed was twin mattresses on a queen frame put together. Leo could see them under the short duvet. There was a lot of hand-me-down furniture in the room. Or Leo was guessing it was from how old and beat up it is, all mismatching colors and textures. The carpet was a dull brown and there was a broken closet door.

As he was taking in the room around him, which barely had enough room for them to move around, he noticed the door hinges looked as though they had been taken off and put back on a few times. He didn’t ask about it. He knew family was a sensitive subject for Logan.

“I’m sorry, he doesn’t really know how to be subtle about things.” Logan hugs Leo after closing the door that doesn’t quite shut properly. “I’ve never seen him so mean to a stranger before.”

“Is he mean to people he knows? Like you?” Logan shakes his head and Leo relaxes a bit. “This isn’t really what I expected your room to look like, it’s very” He looks around as he rubs Logan’s back and Finn is still trying to find a spot to put their bags. “Bland.”

“I was never allowed to decorate how I wanted because my parents told me it would be harder to sell when they retire and move to France where the rest of the family is. It used to be my dad’s office space before I was born. They didn’t really plan for me, but they love me and that's all I need.” Logan pulls away and flops on his bed.

“Aha!” Finn has found a place to fit their bags and looks at Leo. “Where are your bags? I found a place for all three to fit.” He smiles so proud of himself. “I tell you, playing Tetris has really helped me in my life.” Plopping his hands on his hips and leaning a little to the side he notices how quiet Leo and Logan both are. Logan is picking at his bedspread and Leo has his arms crossed leaning against the wall. “Did I miss something?”

“I’m getting a hotel room, I don’t think Logan’s dad likes me much.” Leo smiles at him, watching as Finn’s face goes from his smile to a confused frown.

“But I thought they said he could stay over the phone.”

“Papa shook his hand and told him he can’t stay, I think it's because I told him that Leo is living with you.” Logan is looking rather guilty when he looks up at them.

“Lo, babe. It wasn’t anything you said, I just have that effect on people, especially older people.” Leo takes the two sets front he door to the bed to lean down and kiss his forehead. “And I don’t mind, really it's okay.”

“I can stay with you.” Finn sits next to Logan as he speaks, jostling the bed, causing it to squeak.

“I don’t think that's a good idea. You better stay here, plus I think Lo needs you.” he smooches Finn’s forehead as well and pulls out his phone to call the hotel down the street for a reservation.

Dinner smelled amazing, walking up the stairs Leo followed the other two. The kitchen was rustic but sleek, lots of bright whites and khaki. A table is set to the right of the large granite island where all the food is set out. Leo is told to sit while Finn and Logan get a plate of food for him. Logan's parents are sitting on either side of him, his dad has changed out of his uniform to some lounge pants and a t- shirt. His mother was still in full makeup and the fancy dress and shoes from earlier. Leo knew their dynamic immediately. He shifts uncomfortably in his chair as the parents speak to each other in French not knowing that he can understand them.

“C'est un criminel, j'ai regardé son casier.” Leo acts like he isn’t listening but he can’t help but grip his pant leg under the table.

“Il essaie également de corrompre Finn. Vivre avec lui ne me semble pas bien.” It appears the parents have been gossiping about him. Sydney and Aubrey Place plates of food in front of the parents and go to sit across them side by side. Leaving two spaces open next to them.

“Les filles, éloignez-vous de lui. c'est un méchant.” Logan’s dad said, whose name Leo learned from Finn, is Maurice. He waits for Logan and Finn to sit before he relaxes, Logan setting a plate of food in front of him.

What was left he was guessing. There definitely isn’t southern hospitality up here.

“Logan, pourquoi amenez-vous ce... Mec ici. Dans notre maison.” Finn looks around confused and shares a look with Leo, who hasn’t touched his food and is looking rather upset.

“Il parle français, maman…” Logan is looking at his parents with a completely baffled look, how could they be this bold and this rude. Noelle was still missing from the table, her place already having food at it, yet she wasn't there. “Where is Noelle?”

“I’m here! Sorry I was talking to some friends.” Noelle is red in the face as she sits down at her spot, looking rather glowy… Logan cringes at the thought of what she was doing. “Dinner looks lovely Maman.”

Her mothers face completely lights up and she starts rambling on about how she made dinner. While everyone was eating, it was mostly silent. Maurice suddenly turns to Leo.

“Tell us about your family? I would like to know you better before I figure out if I want you around Finn and Logan.”

“Well… my mom works on the ranch selling the horses with me, she was a beauty queen when she was younger.” Leo notices Mary roll her eyes out of the corner of his own. It was irritating. “ My dad was an AirForce pilot but passed away a few years ago.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Aubrey sends him a sad smile and Sydney nods in agreement.

“If you don’t mind me asking. How did your father pass?” Maurice wipes his face with his napkin and looks at him sincerely for the first time that night. Logan gives Leo a look that tells him to tread lightly. Leo thinks for a moment before answering, taking a bite of food so it doesn’t seem like he is stalling.

“He died from a gunshot wound, Sir.” The table goes silent for a moment but Leo just keeps eating so as to not make the awkwardness even worse. “We planted a tree for him, a Weeping Willow by the pond he loved.”

“That's very sweet.” Mary says as she lightly pats his forearm in what is supposed to be a comforting way. Leo knows she doesn’t mean anything bad so he stuffs the irritation he feels down.

“Any siblings?” Sydney tries to move the conversation along from the morbid topic of death. Her plate was finished and her napkin was covering it as she took a drink of water.

“I have a best friend Clayton, he's basically my brother.” Leo notices how Noelle stops and sees the slight alarm in her eyes, he knows better than to throw her under the bus like that so of course he won’t mention their relationship.

“Can we see a picture of him?” Sydney smiles genuinely and it makes Leo relax a bit. Talking about Clay was easy, they had so many stories. He could definitely twist them to be more appropriate. Leo nods and pulls out his phone, trying to find a good picture. He lands on one of them in their rodeo grab from last year right after Leo had his face smashed into the poll of Canadian Mist. “Oh he’s a cutie!” She smiles at the picture and Leo gives her his phone to take a better look, she leans over to show Aubrey.

“You have a good looking family.” She passed the phone to Noelle whose eyes softened at the picture but her face stayed neutral, nodding in agreement she passed the phone to Maurice. He sat there for a moment just looking at the picture, Leo wasn’t sure what he was staring at until his mouth opened.

“So it appears your mother was rather unfaithful. Obviously, you are white and I’m guessing your parents are white… yet one of her sons is black.” Leo, Finn and the siblings all sit there in shock, Mary doesn’t even flinch and just finishes her meal. That was the last straw for dinner, Leo stands up quickly snatching his phone from Maurice who was scrolling through his photos, his chair squeaks but he doesn’t care as he walks off towards the basement bathroom that he remembers passing on the way up from Logan's room. Stomping down the stairs and quietly closing the door.

“Papa! He said he was his BEST FRIEND! Someone LIKE his brother! Not his actual brother, ugh you are so mean sometimes!” Logan gets up and follows Leo, Finn is about to join him but he is asked to help with the dishes and is too afraid to say no. Logan bounds down the stairs and looks in his room first, not finding his cowboy there he heads towards the bathroom. He sees the light is on under the door and he knocks. “Leo? Sunshine? It’s Logan, can I come in?”

“One second.” He hears a slight crack in Leo’s voice and his heart just breaks, he hears a bit of shuffling and then the door is slightly opened. Leo had reached from where he was sitting on the closed toilet seat to open the door. “I didn’t mean to storm out like that, I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing? What he was was fucking cruel and you know it.” Logan kneels down on the cold linoleum between Leo’s legs so he can look him in the eyes. Placing his hands on his thighs he dips his head a bit to look at Leo’s downturned face. “I’m sorry he said that and I understand if you want to go home.”

“This is important to you, Sweet Pea. I won’t leave.” Leo looks up at him, his eyes are brighter than normal and Logan is guessing it's because he was either crying or tearing up before he knocked on the door.

“Leo you do so much already-”

“I’m staying Lo, I’m staying because I promised and I don’t break promises.” Leo smiles a little at him and Logans sighs. Leo is so stubborn sometimes, but Logan loves that about him. Defeated he sits back on his heels and rests his head on Leo’s thigh.

“Can I at least make you feel better?” He has an idea of what to do, running his hand up and down the long inner thigh that belongs to the beautiful man in front of him. Leo’s breath hitches for a second. Looking away from where his hand is tracing the seam of Leo’s jeans to see a blush across the blonde boy's nose. “Please?” His hand moves to palm Leo’s slowly growing tent in his jeans and smiles when he sees a nod. Getting comfortable Logan sits on his butt with his legs on either side of the base of the toilet, Leo’s feet set behind his hips.

Logan leans forward and undoes Leo’s belt and jeans pulling them down just enough that they rest on his upper thighs. He can’t help but smile at Leo’s underwear being Canadian themed. Pulling the waistband down he is just about hit in the nose but Leo’s full erection. Looking up to Leo who has his hand over his mouth to keep him from laughing he smiles.

Licking just beneath the head he watched Leo's expression change. Knowing at this angle he won’t be able to take all of Leo in his mouth he grips the base and takes the red tip into his mouth, sucking just enough to make Leo’s eyes scrunch shut as he keeps himself from making a sound. Running his tongue up the large vein on Leo’s cock he feels a hand in his hair and knows he is doing well. He finally takes as much of Leo into his mouth as he can and sucks hard in a way that would be painful to most but he knows that pain just makes it better for Leo.

After a good couple of minutes of this Leo felt like he was teetering on the edge when there was a knock on the door, not knowing if Logan hears it, he tugs his hair lightly in a way he wouldn’t durring sex to catch Logan’s attention. Logan pulls off and is about to ask what is wrong when the door handle turns, luckily for them Logan has a habit of locking the bathroom door.

“Logan? Are you in there?” It was his dad. Logan looks at Leo and gives him a quiet gesture with his finger to his lips as he uses his other hand to continue working Leo who threw his head back and covers his mouth tightly so he doesn’t make a sound. “Logan.”

“Yeah?” His voice is a bit dodgy, like he has been crying, but really it was from having a dick in his throat... but his dad didn’t need to know that.

“Are you crying? I raised you better than that, you need to be a man and come talk to me.” Maurice stomps off back up the stairs. Logan just goes back to what he was doing. Sucking Leo back do to his knuckles where his fist is holding the rest of Leo. It takes about two more minutes before Leo is cumming down his throat. After swallowing it all Logan stands up and settles himself in Leo’s lap kissing him passionately. Leo cups his cock through his pants and lets Logan grind down on his hand until he finishes into his pants. Leo is peppering Logan’s neck in kisses as he is coming down from his high.

Walking back upstairs to a rather quiet house was eerie, Leo and Logan actually find Finn and Noelle outside on the back porch by the heater just detoxing from dinner. Logan walks out first, sitting between them and sighing loudly. He is now wearing Finn’s sweatpants which are much too long on him but are slightly tight on his thighs. Leo follows after he pats down his pockets making sure he has his cigarettes and lighter because a smoke sounds amazing at the very moment.

Walking outside with his cigarette in between his lips he lights it and takes a long drag, moving to sit next to Noelle since there are only two benches outside and they both fit two people.

“You alright?” Noelle looks up from her phone. He was texting her boys and letting them know how everything went with dinner. She looks up to see Leo just staring off into the distance and decides its best not to press. “So, do you think telling Maman and Papa is a good idea after all that?” She turns her gaze to Logan who is resting his head on Finn’s shoulder with the red head's arm around his own.

“I still want to tell them, they need to know that I am happy with the loves of my life.” Leo blinks out of his disassociating stare to look at them. Logan doesn’t seem phased by calling him a ‘love of his life’ but they haven’t said the big three words to each other yet.

“Mind if we join?” Sydney and Aubrey walk over to them on the porch and perch themselves on the arms of the benches.

“Perfect timing, I actually want to tell you something.” Logan shares a glance at Leo, who nods knowing what he is going to tell them, Leo likes all the Tremblay siblings so he doesn’t mind them knowing. He knows they will support them. “You know how Finn and I are dating?”

“Yeeaaah?” They both say it at the same time and in the same way that it's almost freaky.

“We are also dating Leo.” It was silent for a few seconds before the sisters broke into giant grins.

“I told you!” Sydney shouts at Aubrey who is looking shocked but happy. “I knew the second you were getting the yeux de mort from our baby brother after you broke Leo’s teeth!” Sydney laughs a bit as Aubrey turns red.

“I didn’t mean too! Also, I’m happy for you three. You should know I’m bad at reading relationships by now.” They chat from a few seconds before the slamming of the door to the porch brings them out of their delightful bubble. Maurice is standing outside of the door looking like he is about to kill. His eyes are dangerously sharp and his breathing is fast. Walking over to the group pointing to the window behind them… that's open. Logan goes pale and Finn looks down at his hands trying to act like he isn’t there. Noelle, Sydney and Aubrey all just look at each other and decide it's best to leave. Walking towards the door giving each other worried glances.

“What! Did I just hear! You are dating this- this- this lowlife criminal?! Just because he has money does not mean he loves you Logan! He is a leech! He is dirty and will trick you into doing things for his own pleasure!” Storming over to Leo he grabs the collar of his turtle neck and yanks him forward on the bench.

Nose to nose.

“Sir I-”

“I don’t care what you have to say! You stay away from my son and his boyfriend, you whore! You are not good enough for them and will never be good enough for them… You. Are. Scum.”

“Papa! Stop it! He has never done anything to hurt us, and I know he never would! He is not ‘buying’ our love! Stop treating him so poorly, we want him just like we want each other!” Logan stands up and tries to get his dad's hand to let go of Leo’s shirt but just ends up getting pushed away.

“Logan. Stay out of this, I am protecting you because you apparently don’t know how to.” Maurice glances down at Leo’s neck where his tattoo is now exposed from Murice holding the neck of his shirt. “I bet you are covered in tattoos! I should have you arrested for trespassing on my property.” Leo’s eyes go wide and he doesn’t know what to do, he knows if he opens his mouth this will all get worse. So he stays silent. “He doesn’t even have the guts to protect himself.” He roughly lets go of Leo’s collar and turns to face Logan. “He will never be allowed in my house again after this trip, after tomorrow he will be gone and never come back.”

“Then I will never come back.” Logan and Maurice look strikingly similar, nostrils flared, hair curling wildly, cheeks flushed from anger. There was no doubt they were father and son.

“You will come back, because you are family. He is not and never will be.” He doesn’t let Logan respond before he starts stalking back towards the door, footsteps heavy making Leo’s ears ring with every step he takes.

“Leo? Can you hear me?” He blinks a couple times, finding Finn sitting next to him and holding his hand tightly. Logan is gone, probably following his dad to keep arguing. Leo didn’t want Logan to argue with his family over him. “Hey, look at me.” Leo is brought back from his thoughts once again, looking into those copper colored eyes he loves so much.

“I’m okay.” His answer was short and his hands were slightly shaking but he grips Finn's hand tighter. “I don’t want to come in between Logan’s family like this…”

“Baby, it’s going to be okay. Him and his dad's relationship has always been rocky.”

“But… They love you.” Leo is about to continue but receives a rather annoyed look from Finn.

“They only like me because… honestly I really don’t know because I have made Logan do lots of stupid stuff in college they wouldn’t approve of.” Finn gives him a soft smile and kisses his forehead. “Leo, we aren’t going anywhere. I promise.”

“I think I’m going to head to the hotel for the night, I need some alone time after that. If that's okay.” Leo stands up and tugs Finn’s hand to make him stand as well.

“Of course it’s okay, but if you need something you better call or else I’ll bury you alive.”

“Bit morbid.”

“With hugs and kisses.” Finn winks at him causing Leo to laugh a bit as they walk towards the door, Leo is checking his phone for Ubers nearby to take him to the hotel and books one. Not sparing the Tremblay parents another glance, he kisses Logan goodbye after telling him he is going to the hotel. Waving goodbye to the sisters hiding in the hallway eavesdropping on the argument in the kitchen, he takes his bags and walks out the front door.

The next morning Logan is waiting eagerly for Leo to show up for breakfast. When he does, boy oh boy does he make an entrance. Walking in the door with his arms full of shopping bags from the local stores. He is smiling wide and seems to be in a much better mood. He has gifts for all the siblings and of course his boys.

“What's this?” Maurice asks as soon as he sees the mountain of bags under their Christmas tree, they were here for the holidays after all. There were separate piles for everyone and Leo was in the middle of setting up Finn’s pile when the devil himself walked in the room.

“You said I buy love, so I bought things… with love.” Leo smirks at him and Logan tries to hide his amused smile behind his hand, walking over to Leo and gluing himself to his side. Leo looks down at him and wraps his arm around Logan, giving him a squeeze before they share a kiss much to Maurice's dismay.

“Can I have one?” Finn walks over to them with the rare shy smile on his face, Leo leans forward to give him a kiss as well. The rest of the day went rocky but better than yesterday, with Maurice staying out of the way and Logan being stuck to Leo all day with Finn occasionally joining when he isn’t dragged off to do something by the rest of the Tremblay’s. Leo went back to the hotel that night feeling much lighter. Calling his mother to wish her and the Bruss', where apparently Clayton and Thomas were, happy holidays.

They fly home tomorrow and Leo was excited. Home means he will be watching the Dumias kids with Logan, while Pascal and Celeste go off on a date trip for the weekend and Finn has to fly to Florida for a wedding.

Western August I: Stagecoach (1939) - Recap and Review

Let’s start at the beginning...almost,

The Western arguably was born with the 1903 film, The Great Train Robbery. This 12-minute short film is a classic, and one of the earliest achievements in film-making. It’s also, unsurprisingly, a Western, and based on an actual train robbery. At the time it was made, the Wild West had only really ended a few years prior, with its heyday being about 40 years past. Which, yeah, is CRAZY. People who remembered the Wild West lived into the 1950s and ‘60s. It seems like so long ago, and it was, but it was still relatively recent from a historical standpoint.

From then, the Western remained a staple of cinema, and would be so for over half a century. And then, enter John Ford. Born in 1894, the Irish American director began his career in 1914 as an assistant and handyman, often working with his older brother Francis. Eventually, John took his place as a director, starting with silent films, especially westerns. Starting with the very successful film The Iron Horse in 1924, he quickly rose to stardom. He transitioned from silent films to talkies pretty effortlessly, and continued his streak. All the while, he was also one of the first directors to have a roster of actors in his company. You know how Tim Burton always uses Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter? Or how the Coen Brothers always use Frances McDormand and John Goodman? Or Wes Andersen with Bill Murray and Owen Wilson? Yeah, that started with John Ford and...ugh...

Before I start...fuck John Wayne.

Dude was a racist homophobic asshole, and absolutely a dick. Look it up, or don’t if you’d rather not have one of cinemas most iconic faces completely ruined for you. But OK, outside of that one time that he said that the Native Americans were “selfishly trying to keep the land for themselves”, or that he believed in white supremacy over uneducated blacks...yeah, he’s a DICK...

Marion Robert Morrison was born in Iowa in 1907, and began his film career after becoming injured while surfing without a surfboard and ending his football career. Yes, really. His football coach was a friend of a film director named John Ford, who hired Morrison as a favor to him. Said football coach was also friends with an actual remnant of the Old West: WYATT FUCKING EARP. YEAH.

For years, Morrison was a bit player until starring in the film The Big Trail in 1930, a Western directed by Raoul Walsh. And he wasn’t exactly famous after this, but it was with this film that he took up a screen name: John Wayne, after a Revolutionary War general, Anthony Wayne, and...well, the name John. Anthony sounded too Italian. Yes, really. After this movie, Wayne continued to star in more Westerns, and even became one of the first film cowboys to sing on camera. 

And then, 1939 came along, and John Ford came to him with a new film project. Being a classic Western, the film was about a group of settlers riding on a stagecoach together through the West. Strangers to each other, they find themselves attacked by a group of Native Americans belonging to the Apache tribes. This film, an adaptation of a 1939 short story, would come to be known as Stagecoach. And it would launch Ford, Wayne, and the Western genre into a Golden Age. So no more navel-gazing, let’s get started!

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

I get reminded that I haven’t watched a Criterion Collection film in a while, and the film begins with a rousing Western theme, courtesy of...holy shit, this movie has SEVEN COMPOSERS? Well, OK, courtesy of somebody in that list of seven. From there, we cut to a camp somewhere in the Arizona Territory in 1880. Which, again, is only 60 years prior to this film’s release date. There, a group of men discuss the danger imposed on them by the Apache, stirred up by the legendary warrior Geronimo. 

And from there, we go to the town of Tonto, where stagecoach driver Buck (Andy Devine) lets a group of passengers out. One of these passengers is Lucy Mallory (Louise Platt), there to catch another shuttle to meet her husband in Dry Fork, New Mexico. However, the stagecoach gains an extra passenger in the form of the Marshal, Curley Wilcox (George Bancroft), who goes to find an outlaw also in Lordsburg.

The passenger list builds with the addition of Doc Boone (Thomas Mitchell) and Dallas (Claire Trevor), a drunk and a prostitute both driven out of town by the Law and Order League of Women, due to social stigma affecting them both. In a bar getting a farewell drink, Doc meets yet one more passenger, Samuel Peacock (Donald Meek), a whiskey salesman that Doc is glad to meet. Meanwhile, banker Henry Gatewood (Berton Churchill) also boards the vehicle, under mysterious circumstances.

Friends of Lucy are worried with her travelling a drunk and a prostitute (the ABSOLUTE SCANDAL), but she needs to visit her husband in Dry Fork. As she leaves, she meets eyes with the dangerous but enigmatic gambler Hatfield (John Carradine). And before they’re able to leave altogether, the carriage is stopped by the army, who warn them of the Apache and Geronimo. All of the passengers refuse to get off, and YET TWO MORE passengers board to protect the carriage: the Marshal and Hatfield. And finally, they’re off! But as they head out, they’re stopped when they encounter a recently escaped outlaw.

This is The Ringo Kid (John Wayne), who just got out of prison. The Marshal sees him, and takes him into custody on the way to Lordsburg, where they plan to drop him off into jail. And yes, he’s put on the fucking stagecoach. In total, we have Buck, the Marshal, Lucy, Hatfield, Doc, Peacock, Gatewood, and the Ringo Kid. Jesus, that’s a crowded-ass carriage, even if two of them are outside of it. Hell, Ringo’s sitting on the fuckin’ floor!

Anyway, the group interacts and introduces themselves. We learn that Doc once patched up Ringo’s brother, and was discharged from the Union Army for drunkenness. We learn that Hatfield is a true southern gentleman, and a veteran of the Confederate army (much to Doc’s ire), and that Ringo’s brother was murdered under mysterious circumstances.

The group gets to Dry Forks, currently under occupation by the army. Said army had accompanied them (outside of the carriage, thank God) to Dry Forks, and are staying there to guard against the Apache. Meanwhile, Lucy’s dismayed to find that her husband isn’t in fact there. This leads to the debate of whether or not the party should go back to Tonto, or head onwards to Lordsburg. Buck wants to go back to Tonto, as does Peacock, while literally everybody else wants to go to Lordsburg. And so, they continue onwards.

Before heading onwards, the group sits for dinner, during which Ringo is the only one to show any form of kindness to Dallas, as everybody else looks down on her for prostitution. Shit, man, they won’t even sit near her at the table. Jesus. Unfortunately, Dallas is used to this cruel treatment, and it allows her to bond with Ringo in her loneliness. Once again, character interactions reveal things about our cast. Lucy is feeling quite ill, and Hatfield reveals that he served under her father in the Confederate Army. 

And from there, the coach continues on through the desert. Buck and the Marshal argue about letting Ringo free, as he aims to continue his feud with the outlaw Luke Plummer and his brothers, despite the fact that he’ll likely be killed by them. It’s for this reason that the Marshal wants to keep Ringo in his custody, as he was good friends with his father and doesn’t want to see him killed by the dangerous Plummers, whom Buck thinks should be taken down regardless.

Inside the coach, the banker reveals that he’s literally a Republican from 2016 (he rants about small government, and claims that a businessman should be President, holy shit), while people keep treating Dallas like shit, except for Ringo. They go through a cold mountain pass, which isn’t great for Lucy for some reason. It’s actually quite rough on everyone. Except for Doc Boone, who keeps drinking Peacock’s whiskey samples, which is hilarious.

Finally, the group makes it to the next stop, Apache Wells. There, Lucy discovers that her husband has been severely wounded in a battle with the Apache, and she falls faint. Despite being absolutely SMASHED, Doc sobers up to help her, with the help of Ringo and the Marshal. Meanwhile, Dallas watches over her, despite the rancor that Lucy’s tossed at her this whole time.

The group stays the night, attended to by Chris (Chris Pin-Martin) a Mexican man who’s married to Yakima (Elvira Rios), an Apache woman who...is played by a Mexican singer. Huh. I mean...it’s still technically redface, unfortunately. But then again, the attitude towards Native American actors at this time was...oh boy. And the portrayal of the Mexicans in the camp aren’t exactly great, as a group of them steal the group’s spare horses, meaning that they only have one set of horses to use from here on out.

But amongst the unpleasant is a pleasant surprise, and the reveal of the cause for Lucy’s mysterious condition: she’s pregnant. Or rather, she was, as the baby’s just been delivered, and is being held by Dallas. As the group celebrates, Chris warns Ringo to stay away from Lordsburg, as the Plummers will kill him. But Ringo has something else on his mind.

See, on seeing Dallas with the baby, he finds himself quite in love with her. He finds her outside, and tells her that his father and brothers were killed by the Plummers. In turn, she reveals that her family was massacred on the real-life Superstition Mountain. Their conversation ends in Ringo proposing to Dallas, which she protests to because of her mysterious past.

The next morning, Yakima’s left with Chris’ horse and rifle, and the group worry that she’s gone to tell the Apache. After Gatewood panics about his mysterious valise being possibly stolen, the group packs up and readies themselves to go. But Lucy is, of course, still ill from literally giving birth hours ago. Things are still tense between Lucy and Dallas, despite Dallas taking care of her the entire fucking night. Jesus, lady, that high horse is looking uncomfortable, you should get off it.

Dallas has something else to worry about, as she’s thinking on Ringo’s proposal. She consults with the doctor, who reminds her of her mysterious and checkered past being revealed if she goes. But she doesn’t seem to care, and she decides to accept the proposal. As for the rest, Gatewood’s freakin’ the fuck out. Because of Lucy’s condition, the doctor requests that they don’t leave until a day later. And Gatewood doesn’t give a single shit, as the Apache are close enough. Still, the party decides to stay, at Hatfield’s added insistence.

Ringo and Dallas talk, with Dallas both warning him of the Plummers, and also accepting his proposal. The men are all still arguing about whether or not they should leave, and they note that the Apache are likely between them and their destination. Ringo then takes the opportunity to escape and ride to Lordsburg for revenge on the Plummers. But he stops when he sees smoke signals on the hill. The Apache are coming.

No more waiting, it’s time to GO. Taking the still recovering lady and her newborn child Coyote into the stagecoach, they take off into the desert. Gatewood continues to run his loudmouth, to the ire of Hatfield and Ringo. And Peacock, to my delight, shows some kindness and “Christian charity” to Dallas, as she holds Coyote during the ride. And after all, they’re almost at the ferry!

Ah, shit, the ferry! Looks like the ferry, and the entire town of Lee’s Ferry have been burned. And if they ford the river, all of their supplies could be flooded, or the oxen could drown! Or worse, dysentery could set in! That’s what The Oregon Trail taught me! And yet, despite this, that’s actually EXACTLY what they do! And unlike me literally every time I’ve every tried to cross a river without a ferry, they make it through fine! Realistic educational games my ASS!

But it’s not entirely safe, as the group are being watched by none other than the Apache, who make their way down to intercept the group. In the carriage, meanwhile, the group is thankful that they’ve made their way from danger, and even Gatewood relaxes a little. Doc Boone makes a toast, and everyone seems to be getting along for once.

OH FUCK, PEACOCK GOT HIT!

The girlfriend IMMEDIATELY SAYS, “Now he really is Drew Peacock.” I leave and get boba to soothe my injured spirit from that well-timed joke. And then, the movie continues, and the chase is on! The Apache chase the stagecoach through the desert, and the groups trade gunshots and arrows, with Ringo shooting from the back. Gatewood panics so hard that Doc Boone punches him and IMMEDIATELY knocks him out, as he attends to Peacock’s injuries.

But despite their best efforts, the Apache group catches up to them, although many of them are killed by Ringo, the Marshal, Doc, and Hatfield. In the process, Buck is also shot, and Ringo literally jumps ON THE FUCKING HORSES, and commands them from the front like a goddamn badass. Things begin to get worse, as everybody in the stagecoach runs out of ammo, at the worst possible time. Hatfield only has one bullet remaining, and he considers using it...to kill Lucy! Holy fuck!

And just as he’s about to fire IN HER FUCKING FACE, the sounds of horns ring out as the cavalry arrives. And Hatfield, dick that he is, is shot. I think he was trying to spare her the indignity of being captured by the Apache, but Jesus, man! He collapses, and reveals that his father is a judge in Virginia before he...either passes out or dies, I’m not sure. The group finally gets to Lordsburg, where it turns out that Lucy’s husband is gonna be OK, and wasn’t severely injured. She tanks Dallas for everything that she’s done, and promises to help her should she ever need assistance. Good, finally, the lady needs a goddamn break.

The stagecoach rides through the busy town, and the arrival of the Ringo Kid gets the attention of Luke Plummer (Tom Tyler), who fetches his brothers Hank (Vester Pegg) and Ike (Joe Rickson). Time to get ready for a showdown, it seems. Dallas seems to know this, and goes to Ringo after the living Peacock (yay!) and the not-so-living Hatfield (oof) are brought in for medical help.

Buck’s also OK, but Gatewood isn’t. See, that valise he was carrying was actually full of money, and he had embezzled it from his own bank. He had counted on telegraph lines being down, so that he could escape with his ill-gotten gains, but has no such luck, and is led away in handcuffs! HA!

Ringo, meanwhile, is set to kill Luke Plummer and his brothers. The Marshal lets him escape, and promises to get Dallas safely down to a little ranch he owns in the South. Dallas and Ringo walk off together, and Dallas tries to get him to leave and say goodbye before he goes to his death, and before he finds out about her past (presumably as a prostitute). 

See, they’re actually walking up to a brothel, where Dallas is going to stay and work. Because, yeah, she’s a prostitute. Sucks that she’s been so maligned, because prostitution fuckin’ BUILT the Old West! I guess it’s easier to see that with historical context. As Ringo finds out the truth about Dallas (which he might’ve known all along), he still insists upon marrying her...and upon killing the Plummers.

Doc, meanwhile, goes to the bar where the Plummers are waiting. He tells them that he’ll get them arrested, and Luke swears to come back for him after their business with Ringo is concluded. The brothers head outside, ready for the final showdown. It’s 3 on one, Plummers against Ringo. Ringo fires! A few more shots...then silence. And Dallas mourns.

Except that Ringo wins the fight, and goes back to her! A happy ending! I’m sure that’ll be pretty goddamn rare this month. The Marshal arrives to take Ringo away, and Ringo goes as promised. She asks to ride with him a bit, and the Marshal agrees. He and Doc watch them get on, then cause the horses of the carriage to stampede away, letting Ringo and Dallas escape into the desert, together. And that’s the end!

Y’know...I liked it! I really liked it! 

This movie is often referred to as the greatest Western of all time, and the reason that the Western survived into the next several decades. And honestly, I get it! It was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, and won for Best Supporting Actor (Thomas Mitchell, AKA Doc) and Best Original Score, both of which were quite deserved!

Review time!

Cast and Acting - 9/10: Sure, it’s a little hokey. But at the same time, it’s good classic Hollywood acting! Wayne, Trevor, Mitchell, Carradine, and Devine are standouts for me, all of which serving their roles well. Also, fun fact about Andy Devine: he’s the voice of Friar Tuck in Disney’s Robin Hood! KNEW I recognized that voice!

Plot and Writing - 10/10: Standard plot? Sure. Engaging as hell? Hell yeah! This is just a good story, plain and simple. No holes, no problems, no mistakes, and purely straightforward. Great writing by the original story author, Ernest Haycox, and great screenplay by Dudley Nichols!

Directing and Cinematography - 10/10: Great looking movie, too! All credit to John Ford, unsurprisingly. Cinematographer Bert Glennon also deserves credit for the beautiful landscape shots throughout. Gogeous film, even in black-and-white!

Production and Art Design - 8/10: This is pretty standard Western production design, so not a lot to write home about specifically. However, that doesn’t mean it’s bad. To the contrary, it’s quite good! Just does stand out to me quite as much as other movies. Might be a nitpick, but it’s still something against the film.

Music and Editing - 10/10: No complaints! Seven composers definitely make their presence known, and you can tell that this score heavily informed all Western scores after it. It’s iconic, and it’s perfect for the mood. As for the editing by Otho Lovering and Dorothy Spencer...it’s great! Perfect pacing, well-edited...no complaints whatsoever.

94%, and I had fun with this one!

I honestly did have quite a good time with this one. I can’t really call it a “fun” movie, but it definitely is a good one. Plus, it’s a John Ford/John Wayne film, which is basically a staple of the genre. So, what’s next?

Next: My Darling Clementine (1946), dir. John Ford

Football 5/16/2019 9:59:00 AM

Mark Harmon Named 2019 NFF Gold Medal Recipient

On Dec. 10, the NFF will present its highest honor to Harmon in recognition of his roots as a football scholar-athlete and subsequent accomplishments as a leader in the field of entertainment. IRVING, Texas (May 16, 2019) – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today that former UCLA quarterback Mark Harmon has been named the 2019 recipient of the NFF Gold Medal in recognition of his exceptional accomplishments, unblemished reputation and for reflecting the values of amateur football. He will be honored for his achievements during the 62nd NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 10 at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City, which will also celebrate the 150th anniversary of college Football.

"As we prepare to celebrate the 150th anniversary of college football, Mark Harmon captures exactly what we hope to inspire in future generations of young football players, making him the perfect recipient for the NFF's highest honor," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "An NFF National Scholar-Athlete at UCLA in the early 1970s, Mark took that same relentless drive to succeed, applying it to his career as an actor and unequivocally becoming one of the most successful stars of his generation. He has earned this honor many times over, and we are extremely proud to add his name to the esteemed list of past NFF Gold Medal recipients."

The highest and most prestigious award presented by the National Football Foundation, the Gold Medal recognizes an outstanding American who has demonstrated integrity and honesty; achieved significant career success; and has reflected the basic values of those who have excelled in amateur sport, particularly football. First presented to President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner in 1958, the Gold Medal boasts an impressive list of past recipients, including seven presidents, four generals, three admirals, one Supreme Court Justice, 29 corporate CEOs and chairmen, actor John Wayne and baseball immortal Jackie Robinson. Harmon will become the 65th recipient of the NFF Gold Medal. (See below for the full list of past recipients.)

"Having achieved the highest levels of success, Mark Harmon has always remained humble and focused on the things that really matter in life, which is hard work, perseverance and teamwork," said NFF Awards Committee Chairman Jack Ford. "His success on the gridiron as a student-athlete and his subsequent icon status in film and television make him exceptionally well-qualified as our 2019 Gold Medal recipient. We look forward to welcoming him back to the NFF's stage in December, poetically 46 years after his being honored as an NFF National Scholar-Athlete during an event when another famous actor, John Wayne, accepted the NFF Gold Medal."

Harmon was born and raised in Southern California; the son of actress Elyse Knox and Heisman Trophy winner Tom Harmon, a 1954 College Football Hall of Fame inductee from Michigan. He attended The Harvard School (now known as Harvard-Westlake) in Los Angeles, playing football, baseball and rugby. On the gridiron, he mostly took the field as a running back and safety, only appearing in four games at quarterback. He broke his elbow as a junior, and did not play varsity football as a senior. 

Not recruited out of high school, Harmon headed to Pierce Junior College in Woodland Hills, California, and he quarterbacked the team to a 7-2 record in 1971, earning All-America laurels. His performance earned him multiple scholarship offers, including Oklahoma in an effort led by Barry Switzer, the offensive coordinator at the time and a future College Football Hall of Fame coach, to recruit him. Harmon opted to stay in his hometown of Los Angeles, playing for UCLA head coach Pepper Rodgers and assistant coaches Homer Smith, Lynn Stiles and Terry Donahue, also a future College Football Hall of Fame coach.

Playing alongside future College Football Hall of Fame inductees Randy Cross and John Sciarra, Harmon helped orchestrate a UCLA turnaround, quarterbacking the Bruins, which had finished 2-7-1 at eighth-place in the Pac-8 in 1971, to a combined 17-5 record in 1972 and 1973. In his first game ever as a Bruin, which opened the 1972 season, Harmon led an underdog UCLA to a dramatic 20-17 win against two-time defending national champion Nebraska, snapping the Huskers' 32-game-unbeaten streak.   A Wishbone-T quarterback who could run, pass, fake and mix plays, Harmon rushed for more yards and touchdowns than he did passing, amassing 1,504 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns versus passing for 845 yards and 9 touchdowns during his tenure in Westwood. The offensive coordinator Homer Smith's wishbone offense forced Harmon to make multiple decisions in very short time periods, distributing the ball to running backs Kermit Johnson and James McAlister. The combination created the top running game in the nation in 1973, and UCLA set school records for total yards gained (4,403), average yards per game (400) and rushing touchdowns (56).   A Communications major who aspired to become a doctor, Harmon excelled in the UCLA classrooms, carrying a 3.45 GPA and graduating cum laude. His accomplishments earned him Second Team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors as well as an NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award, which led to his trip to New York City where he was honored at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner the same night that John Wayne accepted the NFF Gold Medal.   "In today's society, the scholar-athlete is indeed a rare breed," Harmon said in responding for the NFF Scholar-Athlete Class in 1973. "Not only does he excel on the field, but he competes in the classroom as well…. As we gather here tonight to pay our respects to the men who made the great American game of football what it is today, we hope that one day in the future some of us from the Class of '74 might be fortunate enough to carry on the great tradition that has been passed down by the distinguished men in this room. If we do, it is because our universities gave us the chance and the game of football has given us the principles."   After UCLA, Harmon declined professional football offers to instead pursue acting. He worked in advertising, as a shoe company rep and as a carpenter between acting gigs and appearing in Coors beer commercials. His hard work eventually paid off with a big break on NBC's St. Elsewhere and the leading role of Dr. Robert Caldwell. His success continued on NBC's police drama Reasonable Doubts starring as detective Dickey Cobb and CBS's Chicago Hope where he appeared as Dr. Jack McNeil.   He also had memorable arcs on the hit shows Moonlighting and The West Wing before landing the lead role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, a special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, on CBS' global favorite NCIS series, which has become part of television history, approaching its 400th episode and recently inking a deal for its 17th season. The most-watched-scripted show on American television today and consistently ranked among the five highest-rated TV shows each year, NCIS is a TV juggernaut, attracting more than 15 million viewers each week throughout most of its run.   In 2011, Harmon became an executive producer on NCIS, and in 2014 an idea he co-developed became the spinoff NCIS: New Orleans which premiered on CBS with Harmon as an executive producer alongside Gary Glasberg. His big-screen credits include Freaky Friday, Wyatt Earp, The Presidio, Summer School and Stealing Home. He has worked with Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jodie Foster, Allison Janney, Karl Malden, Patricia Arquette and Denzel Washington among countless other Hollywood notables.   Harmon has received numerous accolades and award nominations during his career, including being honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Oct. 1, 2012, but he has always remained humble with an appreciation for the efforts of others. Quietly giving back, Harmon's charitable work includes Saving Bristol Bay, Stand Up To Cancer, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Kids Wish Network, Clothes Off Our Back, Entertainment Industry Foundation, Oklahoma Kidz Charities Foundation, Oklahoma City Indian Clinic and The Children's Center OKC.   From his time as a quarterback at UCLA until now, as an executive producer and star of the CBS hit series NCIS, Harmon has always treated teammates and production crews with familial respect and loyalty. "I look at the show as a team," Harmon said during a previous interview. "I've always been a team guy. I'm not in [acting] for the personal part of this, and I wasn't as an athlete either. It's about the work and we all work together."   Harmon will be honored during the 62nd NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 10 at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City. Harmon will accept his award alongside the yet-to-be-announced recipients of the NFF Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award, NFF John L. Toner Award for excellence in athletics administration and NFF Chris Schenkel Award for excellence in broadcasting.   In addition to the presentation of the NFF Major Awards, the 62nd NFF Annual Awards Dinner will provide the stage for the induction of the 2019 College Football Hall of Fame Class; the presentation of the 2019 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards; and the bestowing of the 30th NFF William V. Campbell Trophy® to the nation's top football scholar-athlete.   The 2019 College Football Hall of Fame Class includes Terrell Buckley (Florida State), Rickey Dixon (Oklahoma), London Fletcher (John Carroll [OH]), Jacob Green (Texas A&M), Torry Holt (North Carolina State), Raghib "Rocket" Ismail (Notre Dame), Darren McFadden (Arkansas), Jake Plummer (Arizona State), Troy Polamalu (Southern California), Joe Thomas (Wisconsin), Lorenzo White (Michigan State), Patrick Willis (Mississippi), Vince Young (Texas) and coaches Dennis Erickson (Idaho, Wyoming, Washington State, Miami [FL], Oregon State, Arizona State) and Joe Taylor (Howard, Virginia Union, Hampton, Florida A&M).   On Oct. 30, the NFF will announce the members of the 2019 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, who will vie as finalists for The William V. Campbell Trophy®. They will be honored at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 10, where one will be named the recipient of the Campbell Trophy® as the nation's top football scholar-athlete.   For ticket information at the 62nd NFF Annual Awards Dinner, please contact Will Rudd at 972.556.1000 or [email protected].

Recipients of the NFF Gold Medal include:

2019 – Mark Harmon 2018 – Aaron Feis 2018 – Jason Seaman 2016 – Archie Manning 2015 – Dr. Condoleezza Rice 2014 – Dr. Tom G. Catena 2014 – George M. Weiss 2013 – Roger Goodell 2012 – Roscoe C. Brown, Jr. 2011 – Robert M. Gates 2009 – Bill Bowerman 2009 – Phil Knight 2008 – Sen. John Glenn 2007 – Gen. Pete Dawkins 2007 – Roger Staubach 2006 – Bobby Bowden 2006 – Joseph V. Paterno  2005 – Jon F. Hanson 2004 – William V. Campbell 2003 – Gen. Tommy R. Franks 2002 – George Steinbrenner III 2001 – Billy Joe "Red" McCombs 2000 – F.M. Kirby 1999 – Keith Jackson 1998 – John H. McConnell 1997 – Jackie Robinson 1996 – Eugene F. Corrigan 1995 – Harold Alfond 1994 – Thomas S. Murphy 1993 – Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf 1992 – Donald R. Keough 1991 – Pres. George H. Bush 1990 – Adm. Thomas H. Moorer 1989 – Paul Brown 1988 – Clinton E. Frank 1987 – Gen. Charles R. Meyer 1986 – William H. Morton 1985 – William I. Spencer 1984 – John F. McGillicuddy 1983 – Sen. Jack Kemp 1982 – Silver Anniversary (All Past Honorees Recognized) 1981 – Justin W. Dart 1980 – Walter J. Zable 1979 – Adm. William P. Lawrence 1978 – Vincent dePaul Draddy 1977 – Gen. Louis H. Wilson 1976 – Edgar B. Speer 1975 – David Packard 1974 – Gerald B. Zornow 1973 – John Wayne 1972 – Pres. Gerald R. Ford 1971 – Pres. Ronald W. Reagan 1970 – Adm. Thomas J. Hamilton 1969 – Pres. Richard M. Nixon 1968 – Chester J. LaRoche 1967 – Frederick L. Hovde 1966 – Earl H. "Red" Blaik  1965 – Juan T. Trippe 1964 – Donold B. Lourie 1963 – Roger M. Blough 1962 – Byron "Whizzer" White 1961 – Pres. John F. Kennedy 1960 – Pres. Herbert C. Hoover 1960 – Amos Alonzo Stagg 1959 – Gen. Douglas A. MacArthur 1958 – Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Blu-ray Review: Amityville: The Cursed Collection

After the original trilogy, The Amityville Horror's storyline had run its course, as had its theatrical viability. The 1979 original is an iconic adaptation of Jay Anson’s allegedly true book. 1982's Amityville II: The Possession is a successful prequel that shows the murders that led to the house being haunted. 1983's Amityville 3-D rested its laurels on the 3D gimmick for a largely dull entry.

This would spell the end for most franchises (at least until the remake boom), but once the home video industry blossomed, the marketable title was revived for a spate of direct-to-video sequels. While the initial source material had been tapped, four of these later efforts borrowed a concept from John G. Jones' 1988 short story collection, Amityville: The Evil Escapes, in which cursed objects from the original house find their way into unsuspecting peoples' lives.

Vinegar Syndrome has collected the pseudo-quadrilogy of 1989's Amityville: The Evil Escapes, 1992's Amityville: It’s About Time, 1993's Amityville: A New Generation, and 1996's Amityville Dollhouse - the fourth, sixth, seventh, and eighth installments in the franchise, respectively - in a Blu-ray box set dubbed Amityville: The Cursed Collection. (The absent fifth entry, 1990's The Amityville Curse, is an unrelated Canadian production that remains out of print due to rights issues.)

Amityville: The Evil Escapes was made for television but features decent production value, including a strong opening with a rain storm and a fairly convincing facade of the original Amityville house at 112 Ocean Avenue. The Amityville Horror screenwriter Sandor Stern returned to write and direct the followup. While having one of the original creative forces at the helm is a good omen, his effort is light on scares.

The film follows Nancy Evans (Patty Duke, Valley of the Dolls) and her three children. The untimely death of Nancy's husband has put a financial burden on the family, forcing them to move to rural California to live with her mother, Alice (Jane Wyatt, Star Trek), who recently received an antique lamp from the Amityville house. The 300-year-old evil is attached to the lamp and then transmigrates to the most vulnerable person in the house: the grieving youngest child, Jessica (Brandy Gold), who communicates with her late father.

The familial melodrama is akin to a Lifetime movie, while a series of strange occurrences in the house causes further tension between its inhabitants. Naturally, the cursed lamp lights up whenever something happens. The ridiculous plot lends itself to a few entertaining set pieces, including a possessed chainsaw and a garbage disposal gone wrong. The gore in the latter scene was absent from the TV broadcast but was added for the home video release and remains intact on Blu-ray.

Duke is probably a little too old for her role, but she's good in it. The kids don't fare as well, but what's asked of them is fairly minimal. The cast also includes Fredric Lehne (Supernatural) and Norman Lloyd (Saboteur) as a pair of priests from Amityville, Aron Eisenberg (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Nancy's son, and Peggy McCay (Days of Our Lives) as Alice's sister, who sets the story into motion by gifting her the lamp.

Amityville: The Evil Escapes's Blu-ray disc includes new interviews with Stern and cinematographer Tom Richmond (House of 1000 Corpses, Chopping Mall). Stern's conversation is an informative one, but the most interesting fact is that he had no idea more sequels were made after this one. Richmond details how he felt more like the lighting manager than the director of photographer, as Stern was more experienced and knew what he wanted.

Amityville: It’s About Time is directed by Tony Randel (Hellbound: Hellraiser II) and written by Christopher DeFaria (who went on to executive produce the likes of Mad Max: Fury Road, Gravity, and Ready Player One) and Antonio Toro. Its subtitle is not just a clever clock pun; the movie deals with time in rather interesting, if sometimes nonsensical, ways - including time shifts. The name also works in a metaphorical sense, as the core of the picture is about a character struggling to break the cycle of making the same mistakes.

In the film, the Amityville house has been torn down and replaced with a new development, but architect Jacob Sterling (Stephen Macht, The Monster Squad) helped himself to a antique clock. He brings it home to suburban California, where his ex-girlfriend, Andrea (Shawn Weatherly, Police Academy 3: Back in Training), is watching his two teenage kids, Rusty (Damon Martin, Ghoulies II) and Lisa (Megan Ward, Encino Man). The clock physically roots itself into their home and begins controlling the family members.

Rusty - who's depicted as a "troubled" kid in a very '90s way, complete with black clothing, an earring, and heavy metal music - recognizes that there is an evil presence, but everyone else blames him for the weird happenings in the neighborhood. While he's at the center of it, the plot successfully integrates the entire household, unlike the previous film, and the complicated family dynamic is a welcome shakeup of the formula.

Playing more like an ensemble than any other Amityville, each cast member is able to pull their own weight. Macht's role is fairly thankless, as a dog attack leaves him in failing health, but he fully commits. Jonathan Penner (Survivor) gives a charismatic performance as Andrea's pretentious psychologist boyfriend, and Nita Talbot (Hogan's Heroes), Terrie Snell (Home Alone), and Dick Miller (Gremlins) are among the neighbors who pop up.

If not for the tenuous connection to the Amityville Horror franchise, I suspect this picture might have more of a cult following. (It's easier for word-of-mouth to spread about a lone gem than the sixth entry in a direct-to-video franchise.) The most entertaining film in the set, It's About Time is a charming, if unspectacular, B-movie with a delightfully silly plot and several fun moments featuring special effects by KNB EFX Group (From Dusk Till Dawn, Scream), the most memorable of which sees a character melting into the floor.

Amityville: It’s About Time's Blu-ray disc includes new interviews with Randel and DeFaria. Randel seems to relish the opportunity to discuss the film, as he says no one ever asks about it, and praises the cast and crew. DeFaria explains that he offered to write the film as a way to get his foot in the door as a producer - which, looking at his post-Amityville resume, seems to have worked out for him.

Amityville: A New Generation eschews the franchise's traditional, suburban family dynamic in favor of a metaphorical one; a community of artists living in an urban loft co-opt. It focuses on Keyes Terry (Ross Partridge, Stranger Things), a struggling photographer who's struck with inspiration when a homeless man gives him an ornate mirror that has been in his family for generations. The mirror predicts the death of its first victim, which would be an interesting enough concept, but alas it is not consistent. Ultimately, the possessed object tempts Keyes to commit murder.

The film boasts a powerful supporting cast that includes David Naughton (An American Werewolf in London) as the landlord, Terry O'Quinn (Lost) as a detective, Richard Roundtree (Shaft) as one of the artists, Robert Rusler (A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge) as a disgruntled ex-boyfriend, and a particularly charming Lin Shaye (Insidious) as a mental hospital nurse. Although the cast elevates the material, the script - penned by a returning DeFaria and Toro - remains lackluster.

While the previous entries did an admirable job to overcome their limited resources, A New Generation looks and feels very much like a '90s direct-to-video movie; THE of the same caliber as the endless Children of the Corn, Hellraiser, and The Prophecy sequels that were being churned out around the same time. Despite a direct connection to the Amityville mythology beyond the mirror, it hardly even feels like an Amityville movie.

Directed by John Murlowski (Santa with Muscles) made the inspired choice to hire The Amityville Horror visual effects artist William Cruse to handle the elaborate mirror effects. They're all accomplished in camera; an impressive feat that sounds great in theory but looks campy in practice. The film also features cinematography by future Academy Award winner Wally Pfister (Inception, The Dark Knight).

Amityville: A New Generation's disc includes new interviews with Murlowski and DeFari, plus a commentary by Murlowski. Murlowski's chat includes a breakdown of the analog effects, supplemented by behind-the-scenes footage. His commentary allows him to go more in depth, citing The Shining as an inspiration, pointing out the similarities to Oculus, and addressing shortcomings such as the pacing and the rubber monster. DeFari discusses the challenges of channeling artists' fears on screen and offers advice for aspiring filmmakers.

Amityville Dollhouse is perhaps the most traditional of the bunch in terms of concept, though its execution goes in a different direction. In it, a newly blended family moves into a house that the contractor father, Bill Martin (Robin Thomas, Summer School), built on the original Amityville lot. Bill finds an old dollhouse - a miniature model of the Amityville abode, naturally - and gives it to his young daughter. While the girl ostensibly releases the evil, the strange occurrences begin before she receives the gift.

The eerie events start small but escalate to the point where the family's younger boy sees his deceased father, urging him to murder his family. The father appears in three stages of decay, a la Jack in An American Werewolf in London. His ultimate form is something like a cross between Tales from the Crypt's Crypt Keeper and Friday the 13th Part VII's Jason Voorhees, but he's too loquacious to be scary, delivering a few Freddy Krueger-esque quips.

While the deceased father feels a bit out of place in an Amityville movie, he is the highlight of the film, thanks to exceptional makeup by SOTA Effects' Roy Knyrim (The Toxic Avenger Part II & III). Also notable is an appearance by a young Lisa Robin Kelly (That '70s Show). The film marks the lone directorial effort of Steve White, who executive produced all four films in the set, along with The Devil’s Advocate and Halloweentown. Joshua Michael Stern (director of Jobs) penned the script.

Amityville Dollhouse's disc includes new interviews with White, Knyrim, and director of photography Thomas L. Callaway (Feast, Slumber Party Massacre II), along with alternate footage from the TV edit. White, having produced the prior three films, offers an interesting perspective. Knyrim discusses the progression of the dead father's makeup and how existing creature parts were repurposed for demons in the climax. Callaway breaks down a few interesting techniques, like a 360-degree shot with a periscope lens and the challenges of lighting a character covered in latex.

The perfect companion to Scream Factory's The Amityville Horror Trilogy set, Amityville: The Cursed Collection is available exclusively from Vinegar Syndrome. It's not as loaded with extras as some of the company's releases (there's no input from any cast members and only one commentary), but each movie offers at least a couple of new interviews. All four films have been newly restored in 4K from their 35mm original camera negatives, so they look better than they ever have. Each disc is in its own Blu-ray case with reversible artwork, all packaged in a slipcase box designed by Earl Kessler Jr., which is limited to 4,000.

Amityville: The Cursed Collection is available now from Vinegar Syndrome.

Mirror & the Light thoughts (final edition):

How did Crom think he could get away with saying that comment about picking up a sword in his hand to defend the Reformation to Bess Darrell of all people? Anyway I now stan Bess forever, a papist spy icon

When that final scene b/w Cromwell & Henry (”God forbid.” / “He does.” ) gets played out in Wolf Hall S2, it’ll win Rylance & Lewis a slew of awards and I for one cannot wait

I get the feeling that if Mantel writes about this period again (not that I’m expecting her to), it’ll be from the perspective of Thomas Wyatt, the other “man of unlimited intellect” of this series

“I am not content with this clerk. He keeps looking at the prisoner.” / “So do you keep looking at me. I am not content with you, Richard Riche.”

Kind of impressed at how Richard Riche outlived just about everyone and never fell from grace but also fuuuuuck hiiiiim

“No trace of Anne Boleyn. He remembers her saying - was it in this very room? - ‘Be good to me.’ He thinks, if I see her again, perhaps I will.”

“The book of his heart is unscrolling, the lines erasing themselves” - there are so many beautiful lines in the “Light” chapter that I wanted to write down but this is one of the more poignant (and shorter) ones

I got Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies for Christmas 2012 - after finishing The Tudors I wanted to delve into that part of history from a different fictional perspective (and I was also very excited that a series was being written from the POV of my favourite Tudors character, Cromwell). I remember enjoying Wolf Hall but being absolutely thrilled by Bring up the Bodies, mainly because of its narrowed scope and tighter feel. The Mirror & the Light is the unwieldiest and most ruminative of the three but I think it might be my favourite (also it has the best writing of women of the three - not that the first two had badly-written women by any means but the way Mantel is able to characterise and utilise obscure figures like Bess Darrell, Meg Douglas, Dorothea Clancey, Bess Seymour is such a delight to me). Anyway all this to say that this is all James Frain’s fault I guess

[TASK 178: GRENADA]

There’s a masterlist below compiled of over 230+ Grenadian faceclaims categorised by gender with their occupation and ethnicity denoted if there was a reliable source. If you want an extra challenge use random.org to pick a random number! Of course everything listed below are just suggestions and you can pick whichever faceclaim or whichever project you desire.

Any questions can be sent here and all tutorials have been linked below the cut for ease of access! REMEMBER to tag your resources with #TASKSWEEKLY and we will reblog them onto the main! This task can be tagged with whatever you want but if you want us to see it please be sure that our tag is the first five tags, @ mention us or send us a messaging linking us to your post!

THE TASK - scroll down for FC’s!

STEP 1: Decide on a FC you wish to create resources for! You can always do more than one but who are you starting with? There are links to masterlists you can use in order to find them and if you want help, just send us a message and we can pick one for you at random!

STEP 2: Pick what you want to create! You can obviously do more than one thing, but what do you want to start off with? Screencaps, RP icons, GIF packs, masterlists, PNG’s, fancasts, alternative FC’s - LITERALLY anything you desire!

STEP 3: Look back on tasks that we have created previously for tutorials on the thing you are creating unless you have whatever it is you are doing mastered - then of course feel free to just get on and do it. :)

STEP 4: Upload and tag with #TASKSWEEKLY! If you didn’t use your own screencaps/images make sure to credit where you got them from as we will not reblog packs which do not credit caps or original gifs from the original maker.

THINGS YOU CAN MAKE FOR THIS TASK -  examples are linked!

Stumped for ideas? Maybe make a masterlist or graphic of your favourite faceclaims. A masterlist of names. Plot ideas or screencaps from a music video preformed by an artist. Masterlist of quotes and lyrics that can be used for starters, thread titles or tags. Guides on culture and customs.

Screencaps

RP icons [of all sizes]

Gif Pack [maybe gif icons if you wish]

PNG packs

Manips

Dash Icons

Character Aesthetics

PSD’s

XCF’s

Graphic Templates - can be chara header, promo, border or background PSD’s!

FC Masterlists - underused, with resources, without resources!

FC Help - could be related, family templates, alternatives.

Written Guides.

and whatever else you can think of / make!

MASTERLIST!

F:

Viktor Lazlo (1960) Grenadian / Martiniquan - singer.

Juliet Roberts (1962) Afro-Grenadian - singer-songwriter.

Sommore (1966) Grenadian, Trinidadian, Vincentian, Barbadian - comedian and actress. 

Nia Long (1970) Grenadian, Trinidadian, Vincentian, Barbadian - actress. 

Aisha Hinds (1975) Grenadian, African-American - actress. 

Jemeni / Joanne Gairy (1976) Afro-Grenadian - actress, singer, radio host, and writer. 

Destra Garcia (1978) Trinidadian [Afro-Grenadian] - singer.

Estelle / Estelle Fanta Swaray (1980) Afro-Grenadian / Senegalese - singer.

Fay-Ann Lyons (1980) Trinidadian [Afro-Grenadian] - soca recording artist and songwriter.

Ms. Dynamite / Niomi McLean-Daley (1981) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Jamaican, Afro-Barbadian / Irish, Scottish, English, German - singer-songwriter, rapper, and producer. 

Amanda Seales (1981) Afro-Grenadian - comedian, actress, DJ, recording artist, VJ and author.

Shystie / Chanel Cali (1983) Afro-Grenadian / Afro-Barbadian - actress and rapper-songwriter.

Kendra Westwood (1984) Afro-Grenadian / Afro-Jamaican - actress. 

Sydelle Noel (1985) Afro-Grenadian - actress. 

Tanisha Thomas (1985) Afro-Grenadian - reality television personality.

Nina Toussaint-White (1985) Afro-Grenadian / English - actress.

Annaliese Dayes (1986) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Saint Lucian, Afro-Barbadian, Afro-Vincentian / Afro-Jamaican - model, television personality, and presenter.

Vivian Burkhardt (1986) Afro-Grenadian / German - model and Miss Grenada 2007.

Sonika / Sonika Keturah Jermina Mckie (1988) Afro-Grenadian - singer. 

Rhonda J. Lowe (1987) Afro-Grenadian - actress.

Sichelle / Sichelle Mcmeo Aksum (1988) Afro-Grenadian / Norwegian - singer.

Jourdan Dunn (1990) 7/8 Afro-Grenadian, 1/16 Afro-Jamaican, 1/16 Syrian - model.

Tammy Baldeo (1990) Afro-Grenadian - singer. 

Naomi Ackie (1992) Afro-Grenadian - actress.

Kaia Kater (1993) Afro-Grenadian / Unknown - singer-songwriter, guitar, piano and banjo player.

Yvette Noel-Schure (?) Afro-Grenadian - instagrammer. 

Riann Steele (?) Afro-Grenadian - actress.

Tamara Ivey (?) Afro-Grenadian - host.

Aria Mary Francis (?) Afro-Grenadian - model. 

Sharlene Whyte (?) Afro-Grenadian - actress.

Leonie Haynes-Moses (?) Afro-Grenadian / Afro-Barbadian, Afro-Jamaican - actress.

Eveina Lindsay (?) Afro-Grenadian - model.

Lorna Gee / Lorna Gayle (?) Afro-Grenadian - actress and singer.

Marina (?) Afro-Grenadian - model (instagram: guadagnoli).

Ziipporvh (?) Afro-Grenadian - instagrammer.

Adanna Dill (?) Afro-Grenadian - blogger.

Kered Clement (?) Afro-Grenadian - blogger.

Janel Sealy Smith (?) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Trinidadian - hair stylist and instagrammer. 

Samantha Francis Charles (?) Afro-Grenadian - model and Miss Grenada 2016 (instagram: awesambeauty).

Sophie Gabrielle (?) Afro-Grenadian - model (instagram: sophie.gabrielle_).

Ms BitterSweet (?) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Jamaican, Afro-Ghanian - model and poet (instagram: shespeaksbittersweet).

Natalie Evans (?) Grenadian - actress.

Thamara $ongbird St.Bernard (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Tamantha-Chole (?) Afro-Grenadian  - singer and model. 

Valene Nedd (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Nashanda Charles (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Laura Lisa (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

F - Athletes:

Joan Alexander-Serrano (1961) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Debbie-Ann Lewis (1969) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Neisha Bernard-Thomas (1981) Afro-Grenadian - middle-distance runner. 

Hazel-Ann Regis (1981) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter.

Kishara George (1983) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter.

Sherry Fletcher (1986) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter. 

Afy Fletcher (1987) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Phylicia George (1987) Afro-Grenadian - track and field athlete and a bobsledder.

Perri Shakes-Drayton (1988) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter and hurdler.

Janelle Redhead (1989) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter. 

Akeira Peters (1993) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Candesha Scott (1997) Afro-Grenadian - javelin thrower. 

Meleni Rodney (1998) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter. 

Yazmeen Jamieson (1998) Afro-Grenadian / Afro-Jamaican  - footballer.

Amanda Crawford (1999) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter. 

Halle Hazzard (1999) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter. 

Kenisha Pascal (?) Afro-Grenadian - middle and long distance runner.

Janice Francis (?) Afro-Grenadian - karateka.

M:

Allister Bain (1935) Afro-Grenadian - actor and playwright. 

Mighty Sparrow / Slinger Francisco (1935) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Alex Pascall (1937) Afro-Grenadian - musician, radio host, composer, and educator.

George Harris (1949) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Barbadian - actor.

Billy Ocean (1950) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Trinidadian - singer. 

Richardo Keens-Douglas (1953) Afro-Grenadian - actor and storyteller.

Superblue / Austin Lyons (1956) Trinidadian [Afro-Grenadian] - calypsonian, soca musician, and lyricist.

Eamonn Walker (1962) Afro-Grenadian / Afro-Trinidadian - actor.

Ajamu (1963) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Andy Abraham (1964) Afro-Grenadian - singer-songwriter.

Charles Andrew Payne (1966) Afro-Grenadian - actor, comedian, motivational speaker, and writer.

Kwame Kwei-Armah (1967) Afro-Grenadian [including Ghanaian] - actor, singer, radio host, and playwright.

Mark Monero (1968) Afro-Grenadian - actor and musician.

Finley Jeffrey (1969) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Steve McQueen (1969) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Trinidadian - director, producer, screenwriter, and video artist.

DJ Spoony / Johnathan Joseph (1970) Afro-Grenadian, Ghanaian - DJ, radio host, and producer.

Tallpree / Wilt Cambridge(1973) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Machel Montano (1974) Trinidadian [Afro-Grenadian] -  soca singer, actor, record producer and songwriter.

Noel Clarke (1975) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Trinidadian, Afro-Vincentian, Akan Ghanian - actor.

Solitair / Sheldon Pitt (1975) Afro-Grenadian - rapper.

Hugh Maynard (1975) Afro-Grenadian - actor and singer.

Wyatt Cenac (1976) Afro-Grenadian, French / African-American - comedian, actor, producer, and writer.

Casey Benjamin (1978) Afro-Grenadian - saxophonist, vocoderist, keyboardist, producer and songwriter.

Craig David (1981) Afro-Grenadian / Polish Jewish, English - singer and rapper.

Brandon Jay McLaren (1981) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Trinidadian - actor. 

Akala / Kingslee James McLean Daley (1983) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Jamaican, Afro-Barbadian / Irish, Scottish, English, German - rapper and poet.

Otis / Kelvin Celestine (1983) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Sandman (1983) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Ghetts / Justin Clarke (1984) Afro-Grenadian / Afro-Jamaican - rapper.

Mr. Killa (1984) Afro-Grenadian - singer-songwriter.

Hollice Mapp / Mr.Killa (1984) Afro-Grenadian - rapper.

Never Yet Contested / Joshua Solomon Jeremiah Jordan (1987) Afro-Grenadian, Guyanese - rapper.

Kevin Olusola (1988) Afro-Grenadian / Nigerian - musician, beatboxer, cellist, rapper, record producer, singer, and songwriter.

Marcus Collins (1988) Afro-Grenadian - singer-songwriter.

DJ Puffy / Andre Parris (1991) Afro-Grenadian / Afro-Barbadian - DJ.

Akheim Allen (1992) Afro-Grenadian - rapper.

Joivan Wade (1993) Afro-Grenadian - actor.

Sparkie B (1994) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Jabari Manwa (1995) Afro-Grenadian - rapper and producer.

Kirk Knight (1995) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Antiguan - record producer, rapper and member of Pro Era.

Dane Baptiste (?) Afro-Grenadian - actor, comedian, and writer.

GAIKA / Gaika Tavares (?) Afro-Grenadian / Afro-Jamaican - rapper-songwriter and singer.

Roland Gilbert (?) Afro-Grenadian - DJ and photographer (instagram: rcgmediavision).

King Kayak (?) Afro-Grenadian - dancer (instagram: imkingkayak). 

Happy Boy (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer (instagram: happyboy_the_artiste).

Tedi (?) Afro-Grenadian / Afro-Jamaican - singer (instagram: tedismoove).

Antwan (?) Afro-Grenadian - model (instagram: kingtwan5).

Vemedy (?) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Guyanese - singer (instagram: vemedymusic).

Dollarman (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer and musician. 

Mike Shaft (?) Afro-Grenadian - radio host.

David Emmanuel (?) Afro-Grenadian - musician. 

Jeverson Ramirez (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Boyzie (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Lavaman / Marcus James (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Brother B (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Kellon Ogiste (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Kelson Ogiste (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Shortpree / Finber Andrews (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Smokey / Arthur Stephen (?) Afro-Grenadian - musician.

Beast / Raymond Matthew (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Inspector / Elimus Gillbert (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Berbice (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Donnell Best (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Josh Berkeley (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Coxilus Naptaly (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

African Teller (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

A#keem (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Mr. Grenada / Corkit / Alwyn Christopher Harriman (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

M - Athletes:

Bruce Man-Son-Hing (1964) Grenadian [Chinese] - tennis player. 

Mark Felix (1966) Afro-Grenadian - strongman competitor.

Otis Roberts (1968) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Junior Murray (1968) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Rawl Lewis (1974) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Desmond Noel (1974) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Anthony Modeste (1975) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Ricky Charles (1975) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Patrick Modeste (1976) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Alleyne Francique (1976) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter. 

Etan Thomas (1978) Afro-Grenadian - basketball player.

Gareth Raynor (1978) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Randy Lewis (1978) Afro-Grenadian - triple jumper. 

Shalrie Joseph (1978) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Jason Roberts (1978) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Tony Bedeau (1979) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Dwane Lee (1979) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Delroy Facey (1980) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Cassim Langaigne (1980) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Alvin Bubb (1980) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Camilus Alexander (1981) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer.

Byron Bubb (1981) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Leon Johnson (1981) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Andre Winner (1981) Afro-Grenadian / British - mixed martial artist.

Craig Rocastle (1981) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Shaun Wright-Phillips (1981) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Trinidadian / Afro-Jamaican - footballer.

Devon Smith (1981) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer.

Ashley Sestanovich (1981) Afro-Grenadian / Croatian - footballer.

Jason James (1982) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Kithson Bain (1982) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Rolande Moses (1983) Afro-Grenadian - boxer and weightlifter. 

Alleyne Lett (1983) Afro-Grenadian - decathlete.

Jermaine Beckford (1983) Afro-Grenadian / Afro-Jamaican - footballer.

Akim Williams (1984) Afro-Grenadian - bodybuilder.

Lewis Hamilton (1985) Afro-Grenadian / English, distant Jersey and Guernsey Channel Islander - race car driver.

Bradley Wright-Phillips (1985) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Trinidadian / Afro-Jamaican - footballer.

Ryan Atkins (1985) Afro-Grenadian - rugby player.

Kennedy Hinkson (1986) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Marcus Julien (1986) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

James DeGale (1986) Afro-Grenadian / English - boxer.

Cameron Jerome (1986) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Nelon Pascal (1987) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Darius Charles (1987) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Andre Fletcher (1987) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Kwasi Paul (1987) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Tyrone Sterling (1987) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Jaime Peters (1987) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Ricky Modeste (1988) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Kurt Felix (1988) Afro-Grenadian - javelin thrower.

Jermaine McGlashan (1988) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Bradley Bubb (1988) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Jermaine McGillvary (1988) Afro-Grenadian - rugby player.

Anthony Straker (1988) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Leroy Cudjoe (1988) Afro-Grenadian / English - footballer.

Rondell Bartholomew (1990) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter. 

Esau Simpson (1990) Afro-Grenadian - swimmer. 

Davier Walcott (1990) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Jason Belfon (1990) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Elliott Charles (1990) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Omar Beckles (1991) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Jonathan Joseph (1991) Carriacouan Grenadian - rugby player.

Antonio German (1991) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Nathaniel Clyne (1991) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Rimmel Daniel (1991) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Kellon Alexis (1992) Afro-Grenadian - thrower.

Bralon Taplin (1992) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter. 

Nicolas Hamilton (1992) Afro-Grenadian / English, distant Jersey and Guernsey Channel Islander - race car driver.

Oliver Norburn (1992) 1/4 Afro-Grenadian, 3/4 English - footballer.

Kirani James (1992) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter. 

Reuben Noble-Lazarus (1993) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Payton Hazzard (1993) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter. 

Tarik Phillip (1993) Afro-Grenadian / English - basketball player. 

Aaron Pierre (1993) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Lindon Victor (1993) Afro-Grenadian - decathlete.

Myles Hippolyte (1994) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Saint Lucian, English - footballer.

Preston McSween (1995) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Jamal Charles (1995) Afro-Grenadian - rugby player. 

Alexander McQueen (1995) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Shavon John-Brown (1995) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Ethan Francois-Ravalier (1996) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

A. J. Paterson (1996) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Anderson Peters (1997) Afro-Grenadian - decathlete.

Hamza Choudhury (1997) Afro-Grenadian / Sylheti Bangladeshi - footballer.

Corey Ollivierre (1997) Afro-Grenadian - swimmer. 

Saydrel Lewis (1997) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Roland Cato (1997) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Kairo Mitchell (1997) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Oreoluwa Cherebin (1997) Afro-Grenadian - swimmer. 

Josh Boateng (1997) Afro-Grenadian - discus and shot put.

Shandon Baptiste (1998) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Ro-Shaun Williams (1998) Afro-Grenadian / English - footballer.

Emmanuel Stewart (1999) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Ricky German (1999) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Kraig Noel-McLeod (1999) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Bernard Wilson (?) Afro-Grenadian - boxer. 

Marcus Douglas (?) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Danny Facey (?) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Problematic:

Dave Chappelle (1973) African-American [including Ivorian], ¼ Afro-Grenadian - stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer - Transphobic and victim-blaming statements.

Ronda Rousey (1987) English, 1/4 Trinidadian and Grenadian [including African, Spanish, and English], 1/16th Polish, as well as German, Scottish, distant Dutch - professional wrestler, actress, author - Transphobic statements.

Fantastic Four Vol 1 #141

Tues Jul 30 2019 [06:02 PM] Wack'd: So Reed, Johnny, Ben, Wyatt, and Medusa reawaken in Annihilus' chambers, where he reveals he's also kidnapped Sue, Franklin, Agatha and...Ebony [06:02 PM] Umbramatic: hi ebony [06:02 PM] maxwellelvis: Whomst? [06:02 PM] Wack'd: I am very curious to what end Annihilus needed Agatha's cat

[06:02 PM] maxwellelvis: Ohh, the cat [06:03 PM] Umbramatic: kitty [06:03 PM] Wack'd: Ebony has had absolutely no baring on the plot ever [06:03 PM] Wack'd: And now this poor kitty's in the Negative Zone [06:03 PM] Umbramatic: inb4 they're secretly a flerkin spy [06:04 PM] Bocaj: Ebony is a witch's familiar and so has WEIRD MAGICAL POWERS SOMETIMES [06:04 PM] Bocaj: like turning from a cat into a cat that is bigger than that [06:05 PM] Umbramatic: are they ever in a hat [06:05 PM] Bocaj: Its plausible [06:05 PM] Umbramatic: or using a bat [06:05 PM] Bocaj: The official stats for Ebony from Marvel are pretty bananas [06:05 PM] Bocaj: Intelligence, Speed, and Fighting Skills 2; Strength and Energy Projection 4. And Durability maxed out at 7 for some damn reason [06:05 PM] maxwellelvis: Nine lives, baby! [06:05 PM] Bocaj: I should hope nine lives applies. Because in the Vision comic Agatha kills Ebony to eat leaves from her stomach guts [06:05 PM] maxwellelvis: What kind of voice have you been imagining for Annihilus? [06:05 PM] Wack'd: Pitch Richard Horvitz' Zim down two octaves, change “s” sounds to “z”s, and add some digital distortion--that's how Annihilus sounds in my head [06:06 PM] maxwellelvis: Myself, I think either Horde Prime or the Dalek Emperor is my mental Annihilus voice [06:07 PM] Bocaj: I don't have an actual voice in mind but in my opinion Annihilus and Ultron should both sound like piss babies [06:10 PM] Wack'd: So anyway, exposition exposition exposition, fight fight fight. [06:10 PM] Bocaj: As ya do [06:11 PM] Wack'd: Really Annihilus just goes over the details of their last encounter, explains how he kidnapped Agatha, and then puts Reed, Johnny, Ben, and Medusa in some kind of machine using robot tentacles [06:11 PM] Umbramatic: lewd [06:11 PM] Bocaj: :notentacle: [06:11 PM] Wack'd: MEANWHILE [06:11 PM] Bocaj: AT THE HALL OF JUSTICE [06:12 PM] Wack'd: Alicia is flying to Europe! [06:12 PM] Wack'd: By sheer coincidence, Ben has missed the phone every single time she tried to call to tell him [06:12 PM] Wack'd: And by the time he called her, she was already en route [06:13 PM] Wack'd: This has made her a little bit worried about their relationship, but apparently the reason she's going to Europe is to do something that will remove all barriers between them and marriage [06:13 PM] Umbramatic: ominous [06:14 PM] Wack'd: She's going to get her vision back! Obviously there are massive problems with this line of thinking but honestly I'm just glad she's taking initiative and it's not the dudes working on a cure for her behind her back [06:14 PM] Wack'd: He seems trustworthy!

[06:15 PM] Wack'd: We now return to the main story, already in progress [06:16 PM] Wack'd: This was inevitable

[06:17 PM] Wack'd: So the five set up camp and are promptly attacked by monsters [06:18 PM] Wack'd: Which they handle with ease, which means their powers are coming back, which--

[06:18 PM] Wack'd: I'm not really sure how this tracks [06:19 PM] Wack'd: I mean yes obviously he's going to drain Franklin of his powers, but we knew that, because he abducted him

[06:21 PM] Umbramatic: BABY POWER [06:23 PM] Wack'd: So Johnny uses his flame to tunnel back into Annihilus' keep [06:23 PM] Wack'd: Fight fight fight [06:25 PM] Wack'd: They kick Annihilus basically by not giving him a chance to get to his feet and retaliate. Just a very comprehensive pummeling [06:25 PM] Wack'd: Reed removes Franklin from the power drainer which can't have helped [06:26 PM] Wack'd: We've gotten some vague hints of Franklin's power before but I think this is the first indication of how damn game-breaking the kid is

[06:27 PM] Umbramatic: something something infinite cosmic power itty bitty living space [06:27 PM] Wack'd: So! Agatha poofs everyone back home [06:28 PM] Wack'd: And then [06:28 PM] Wack'd: This happens

[06:29 PM] Bocaj: "You said you wanted me to take a more active role in raising Franklin!" -incoherent Sue noises- [06:30 PM] maxwellelvis: Welcome to one of Reed's most infamous moments. [06:30 PM] Bocaj: So I didn't misremember Reed lobotomizing his kid [06:30 PM] Bocaj: Its just a weirdly common occurrence in comics for some reason [06:31 PM] Umbramatic: oh [06:31 PM] Wack'd: I will say, in fairness to Reed [06:32 PM] Wack'd: As far as he knows he had a matter of seconds between a choice to annihilate the solar system or lobotomize his kid [06:32 PM] Wack'd: It's an extremely cruel moral calculus but he's...not wrong? [06:32 PM] maxwellelvis: On the bright side, if it was this or risking Franklin turning into an Anthony, or like Tetsuo, and shooting his kid with that gun, he probably made the right call. [06:33 PM] Wack'd: Especially because the moon and Mars are inhabited in this universe. Titan. [06:33 PM] maxwellelvis: Well, probably not Titan anymore. I think by this time Thanos had destroyed the Titans. [06:33 PM] Aleph Null: a tit from titan [06:35 PM] Bocaj: I don’t like situations contrived so that Reed doing a shitty thing is the Only Way [06:35 PM] Bocaj: It’s a very specific feeling [06:36 PM] Wack'd: It is definitely a bad scenario that Conway built [06:36 PM] Wack'd: Like, as a storytelling choice, I'm not really here for it [06:36 PM] maxwellelvis: He seems to like that trope [06:36 PM] Umbramatic: it's a bit dumb yeah [06:37 PM] maxwellelvis: Earlier that same year he'd offered an even more sadistic choice to Spider-Man [06:37 PM] Wack'd: But you go to war with the Fantastic Four you have, not the Fantastic Four you want--and I'm not really buying this as a huge black mark on Reed's record [06:37 PM] Bocaj: That’s fair enough [06:38 PM] maxwellelvis: and Reed shooting his own son like that carries a similar energy to me. [06:39 PM] Wack'd: Moving on? I guess? [06:40 PM] Wack'd: This is Buscema's last issue for a good long while and he'll never be the "main" artist again [06:40 PM] Wack'd: So I should probably say something about his three-year run [06:41 PM] Wack'd: He doesn't really have the same visual inventiveness as Kirby, but Thomas and Conway never really demand that of him? He does a pretty good job taking the excesses of Kirby's style and recreating them in a manageable way [06:42 PM] Wack'd: His expression work is far better than Kirby's ever was--no more Johnny nightmare faces or dull surprise [06:42 PM] Wack'd: His poses are dynamic and lively--the Buscema punch is a classic for a reason [06:44 PM] Wack'd: He's a strong visual storyteller who can do the things asked of him really well, but doesn't really bring much personal style to the proceedings--which as a hired hand on a 70s comic probably made him a perfect fit [06:45 PM] Wack'd: He'll be popping back in from time to time, but it's here he needs closure [06:45 PM] Wack'd: I hope I've provided some [06:46 PM] maxwellelvis: I think he gets into his groove a while after this. [06:47 PM] maxwellelvis: This run relied on a lot of returning villains so he didn't have much chances to stretch for anything or really make his mark on it, and he's coming in right off of the King, right? [06:47 PM] Wack'd: Romita Sr has four issues between them [06:47 PM] Wack'd: But more or less [06:47 PM] maxwellelvis: Ahh [06:48 PM] maxwellelvis: Because I've seen his work in other comics, and those have quite a different feel to these FF comics. [06:48 PM] maxwellelvis: Stuff like his Silver Surfer run, where he created Mephisto [06:48 PM] maxwellelvis: And I think this run on FF is also before Buscema was able to make his definite stamp on pop culture by creating the iconic look for Conan the Cimmerian, and, for better or worse, Red Sonja [06:48 PM] Wack'd: Now entering: 1974, and the Rich Buckler era

With the Heart and Stomach of a King, She was a Rock that Bent to no Wind: How Queen Elizabeth I used her femininity to her advantage.

"Though the sex to which I belong is considered weak, you will nevertheless find me a rock that bends to no weak."~Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland, Governor of the Church of England and longest reigning monarch of the Tudor Dynasty.Translation "do not mess with this bad ass Queen B!"There are many quotes that you can find of Elizabeth I that are simply kick ass and help us understand what she was all about. She used her femininity and the status quo regarding women in power to her advantage and she was often pragmatic on issues of religion and foreign policy which ensured her a successful and long reign.That's not to say that she was flawless. Several historians have been critical of her policies, pointing out where she erred. However; we have to remember that we are looking at these events in retrospect, something that these figures didn't have the advantage of.Queen Elizabeth was born in September of 1533, known as Princess for less than three years before her father annulled his marriage to her mother so he could marry again and sire a son. Elizabeth's only defendant during her childhood years as a royal bastard was her half-sister, the Lady Mary who also became a bastard after their father annulled his union to her mother to marry Elizabeth's. Mary didn't get along with Anne but she came to love her little sister and it was thanks to her advocacy that she was brought back to court and given new clothes after she outgrew her old ones.Elizabeth Tudor had less than an ideal life after that. Relying on her words and silence to keep herself out of trouble and enemy lines. Sometimes she was successful, sometimes she wasn't but one thing is clear: Seeing queens, including her cousin and stepmother, Kitty Howard, fall and annulled, taught her a lot. In her biography on the Tudors and Stewarts and Kathryn Parr, Linda Porter states that it was Henry VIII's last wife that taught Elizabeth everything she needed to know about female power. Kathryn Parr used her intelligence, her love of books, fashion, and cordiality to make herself into a powerful figure that was eventually appointed Regent (the only other one of Henry VIII's Queens to be given that position besides Catherine of Aragon) during his absence.Fast forward to Mary I's reign. Edward VI's reign had been troubling for Elizabeth. Always a lover of fashion and cordial behavior, she soon learned how easy it was for someone to stain her reputation, even when she was an unwilling participant of Thomas Seymour's courtship.While some blame Kathryn Parr for letting this go, it is unclear just how far Thomas Seymour's attentions went. Sources, whether primary or secondary (written many years later and from supposedly eye witnesses accounts) suggest that it did go that far. Elizabeth would wake up earlier than her stepmother and her last husband so Thomas Seymour wouldn't sneak up into her bedroom. When Kathryn Parr died as a result of childbed fever, Thomas Seymour began to conspire against his brother and in no time he found himself in the Tower with a head short.Elizabeth was questioned along with her former governess, Kat Ashley whose husband reprimanded her for her encouraging Thomas Seymour's advances after his wife had died.It is unclear what role she had in the Wyatt Rebellion or in the Grey-Dudley Protestant Regime before that. One thing is clear though, her words were her shield and her silence, her most deadly weapon. By distancing herself from the Grey-Dudley regime, she convinced her sister that she wasn't her enemy. Indeed, she even played a major role during her coronation, riding on a carriage of silver trappings with their former stepmother, Lady Anne of Cleves. But come the Wyatt Rebellion, she was questioned and so where her servants. Elizabeth never forgave her sister for this transgression. It was Philip of Spain, Mary I's husband's intervention that saved her.One can only imagine the stress that Elizabeth went through being lodged in the SAME rooms her mother once was lodged in for her coronation and later during her imprisonment as she awaited her death. When Elizabeth got out she was put under house arrest and carefully watched.During Elizabeth I's reign there were rumors that Margaret Douglas was responsible for Mary I's treatment of her half-sister. It is unlikely that Elizabeth I believed some of her cronies who spread these rumors in an effort to tarnish the Countess of Lennox reputation. There was very little truth in them. Mary I's actions were her own but like her, Elizabeth I couldn't afford to put all the blame of her. A House divided was bad for business. When Mary I rallied the commons and her noble supporters against Jane Grey and her supporters, she laid the blame of Edward VI's actions at their doorstep (especially on John Dudley, given that he had no royal connections unlike Henry Grey who was married to her cousin, Frances Brandon). And Elizabeth I was angry with Margaret Douglas at the time for having conspired against her to wed her eldest son to the Queen of Scots, so she was going to use whatever weapons she had to levy them against her.Elizabeth I's view on Mary's actions can be best examined by what she told the Count de Feria when he visited her at Hatfield, where most of Mary I's court had gathered, eager to please their future queen. She told the Spanish Count that she owed nothing to her sister seeing as she had served her loyally and she (Mary) had rewarded her loyalty by accusing her of the most heinous crimes and locking her in the Tower.While Margaret Douglas rose through the ranks of favoritism after Elizabeth was cast out of Mary's inner circle, it is unlikely that Mary would have ever considered doing what her half-brother did. In spite of her reservations towards her sister, she knew that in order to keep their grandfather's legacy going, another Tudor had to take the center stage and the best way to achieve that was to allow a peaceful transition of power so Elizabeth was kept in the line of succession. On November of 1558, eight months after Mary I had made her will, Elizabeth I became Queen. Like one of her namesakes and her great-grandmother, it is said that she received this glorious news while she was under an oak tree and as soon as she was given the ring of state, she quoted one of the psalms."This is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes."Elizabeth Tudor became the second Queen Regnant of the British Isles on Sunday, January 15th, 1559.he day began after Elizabeth made her way from the Tower of London, dressed in crimson parliament robes walking on blue cloth which had been laid for her all the way to the Abbey. The Spanish Ambassador, Feria, refused to be present but the Venetian Ambassador,Schifanoya was there and he reported everything he saw. According to him and other contemporary accounts, as Elizabeth made her way to the Abbey, there were stages erected for her that depicted once again her noble lineage through her father and his parents, and included Henry VIII’s collections of tapestries -especially one depicting the Acts of the Apostles based on the designs by Raphael. This symbolized the late Tudor monarch’s devotion and Bess further emphasized hers after she emerged from a curtained sector where she changed into her new clothes, and then was led by the Bishop of Carlisle to the stage where she was proclaimed Queen.The customary question was asked. If the people would like Elizabeth to be their Queen or not, and the people cried “Yea, yea!”. Then the trumpets sounded, the organs were played and the bells rang and Elizabeth and the Bishop descended to the altar where she knelt before it to hear the sermon and then took the oath.After this was said and done, she withdrew to the traverse to change for the final part in the ceremony, the anointing. She emerged wearing a kirtle of gold and silver. Prostrating herself before the altar, leaning on cloth of gold cushions, she was anointed on the shoulders, breast, hands, arms and forehead.Three crowns were placed on her head, after which she was completely arrayed in gold and to everyone who was there, she seemed indeed, seemed not human but like a golden figure, an icon, almost god-like as her father always tried to appear.Elizabeth ever the pragmatist, had intended to create a hybrid of the Protestant Church her brother had enforced on the population and the Marian Catholic reformed Church her sister had also tried to enforce. As Starkey explains:“It was now time of the coronation mass, which followed, with Elizabeth’s personally enforced innovations. The Epistle was read twice, first in Latin and then in English…. Then the bishop brought the Gospel. This too was read twice, in the old liturgical language and again in the Tudor vernacular, which has, to us, become almost as remote, beautiful as the Latin. Elizabeth now repeated her gesture of the day before and kissed the Bible -and, it is safe to guess, the English one.”Furthermore Jasper Ridley adds in his respective biography of Elizabeth:“After he [Bishop of Carlisle] had crowned her, a Mass was held in Latin; but the celebrant, her chaplain, spoke the words of consecration in English and did not elevate the Host.”The Coronation pardon was then given and the Queen traveled from Westminster Abbey to the Palace Great Hall to enjoy her coronation banquet. As she passed the great crowds, she greeted them with that same smile from her accession and it won them over again.Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland continued with most of her half-brother and half-sister's policies while expanding the Protestant agenda. As previously stated, in matters of religion, Elizabeth I took on a pragmatic approach, not wishing to voice her support of the Netherlands or the Dutch, or even the Huguenots in France since they believed in a Republican government and hardly recognized the authority of a King over his or her subjects. Her animosity towards John Knox, the infamous radical Protestant preacher in Scotland stemmed from his controversial pamphlets published in 1558, the year she succeeded her half-sister, in which he condemned female monarchy. While John Knox tried to justify his remarks by stating that his attack was an attack on Catholic female monarchs and other women in power, and not exclusively on her, Queen Elizabeth I didn't let him so easily off the hook and during the remainder of her life, he wasn't allowed to step on English soil.Elizabeth I however, recognized his usefulness against her royal cousin, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots and when the latter interests no longer suited her own, Elizabeth I covertly supported the Protestant lords and religious leaders against her.During her last years, Elizabeth I began to disagree more and more with these types of radical preachers. She saw them as dangerous to the institution of monarchy. Parliament's powers had been expanded with her father, and while she relied on them, the two often clashed. Most of her lords sympathized with these radical preachers and when Elizabeth I wanted to punish them by giving them a harsher sentence, they intervened, guaranteeing they wouldn't be executed or spent a long time in prison.Another area Queen Elizabeth I clashed with her subjects was on the issue of her royal cousin. Fiction often portray them as enemies and while they were, for some time, Elizabeth I seemed favorable to the idea of Mary, Queen of Scots succeeding her AS LONG as she married someone that Elizabeth I agreed with. She even sent her favorite, Robert Dudley but this option for Mary Stuart was too scandalous.Why?Because Queen Elizabeth I declared that the best way to ensure a happy union between the two was to move in with her. And as Anne Boleyn played by Natalie Dormer said in the Tudors, you can't have three people in a marriage. You just can't.Tired of waiting for a clear response, Mary, Queen of Scots accepted her other royal cousin's proposal to marry her eldest son, a handsome young man who was also a Stewart through his father and like Mary, descended from Princess Margaret Tudor via her second marriage to the Earl of Angus. The marriage as we all know, was disastrous and ended in tragedy. Mary was blamed for his assassination and in short time married one of his other alleged assassins, the Earl of Bothwell. Bothwell ended up abandoning her and her unborn children when the going got tough and when she was surrounded by enemies and former allies, she miscarried her twins and capitulated to her captors, abdicating in her son's favor.Queen Elizabeth I wasn't directly involved in King James VI of Scotland's upbringing but she received many reports regarding the young King. When the King heard of his mother's sentence, he appealed to the Queen in a way that didn't seem to side too favorable of her, but Elizabeth I ignored his request.In what has been described as one of Elizabeth's clever ways of excusing herself off her royal cousin's execution, she wrote to Philip II of Spain and other monarchs that she never intended for things to go this far and were it had been truly up to her, she would have never signed her execution warrant.The truth is, she did sign the execution warrant and she wasn't coerced or forced. Like with half-sister's actions, Elizabeth I's actions were entirely her own. However, her royal cousin's execution always haunted her. It was a difficult decision to make because she was one who valued royal authority above all else and this action set a precedent for future monarchs to be held accountable to their subjects. Elizabeth I's last years have been under heavy criticism. The truth regarding the Armada's defeat is as much clouded in mystery as it is in propaganda. In the first episode of her documentary series "British History's Biggest Fibs"; historian, Dr. Lucy Worsley describes how successful the Tudor regime was in pushing their agenda and having their version of events become the official story.In his book entitled "Armada", the late Garrett Mattingly aptly described the events based on primary sources, letters and other documents, that resulted in the disastrous Spanish navy's defeat. For one, the Spanish vessels were terribly large which made them slower. The English ships were poised to shoot everything that moved and wasn't English and given the horrible weather, it was easier for them to hit their target.During this time, Elizabeth I gave her most famous speech at Tilbury where she said that while she had the "weak and frail" body of a woman, she had "the heart and stomach of a King" and a "King of England" at that! Like her father, Queen Elizabeth was a good public speaker and like her mother, she was subtle enough to know how to handle foreign emissaries, promising them nothing and also denying nothing.As a lover of fashion, she knew the power behind it and used her public image to replace previously beloved religious figures among the Catholic population. It was during these years that she came to be known as Virgin Queen, and using biblical and classical imagery that compared her to Deborah, Esther, Athena, Artemis and Hera, she used her status as an unmarried woman to become a pseudo-religious icon.But not all was well in paradise. As she got older, her ladies and noblemen began to mock her and considered her efforts to become a nationalistic and religious symbol ridiculous. Some even went as far as to laugh behind her back and Elizabeth I responded equally by mocking them and humiliating them after they refused to obey her orders and tried to outshine her by wearing expensive bright colored gowns.Elizabeth I did her best to cope with loss as she had done with other obstacles. The loss of her longtime favorite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester affected her greatly and so did her stepson’s betrayal, Robert Deveraux, the Earl of Essex. Before she became 50, her councilors once again continued to pressure her into making a royal marriage and while she continued to make vague promises to would-be-suitors, it is possible she might have entertained a married life but decided against it. Entering marriage would have meant giving up most of her freedoms. It would have meant that the question surrounding female monarchy would have come up again, with some of her husband’s potential foreign allies ruling in his favor, or worse, once she had a male heir, he would have moved against her in the same fashion as Mary Stuart’s last two husbands.Elizabeth I always refused to name an heir. She always gave vague promises, and at times denied nothing nor promised anything, being as subtle as her mother and as you would expect a highborn lady to be. The reason why Elizabeth I never wanted to make her choice of an heir official, regardless of whom she favored at one point, was because she had seen how courtiers had flocked to her like vultures once they realized that her half-sister Mary I wasn’t going to live any longer. Elizabeth I was tired of political intrigue although she continued to fight the good fight and take on her enemies.It was also during her last years that she looked for new allies. Catherine de Medici was one of her strongest allies/rivals, someone who deeply admired Elizabeth. It is possible that Elizabeth I also admired her. What other foreign woman who’d been previously scorned and mocked had achieved so much in so little time following her husband’s death and her sons’ ascensions? As Charles IX became more insecure, Catherine convinced him to appoint her Governor of France. This gave almost unlimited powers, allowing her to give orders in her son’s name, in spite of the fact that he had reached his age of majority long time since then.But regardless of their personal feelings, they were always set these aside in favor of their position and (in Catherine’s case) their offspring.Catherine de Medici had no qualms to act against her enemies, especially her former daughter-in-law’s maternal relative, the Guises who went as far as to encourage Protestant lynching when Catherine sided with Huguenots, including one of their leaders, Jeanne III of Navarre. "... Catherine de Medici had every cause to regret the bull against Elizabeth. Her goal, after all was the reduction of tension, not its increase. On 8 August 1570 the Treaty of St Germain finally brought peace: freedom of conscience and freedom of worship limited to certain locations ..." (Sarah Gristwood, Game of Queens)The St. Bartholomew Massacre left a bad taste in everybody's mouths, including Queen Elizabeth I and her councilors. Mary, Queen of Scots' execution had been the catalyst for the Anglo-Spanish war. Following the end of the Valois dynasty and the end of the Bourbon with the late Jeanne III’s son, Henry IV, becoming the new King of France, France once again became England’s ally. Henry IV thanked Elizabeth I for her support but as time went on, he sided with the major Catholic powers forming a Holy League against Elizabeth I that sought to depose her and install Philip II’s eldest daughter, Isabella Clara Eugenia.Not cowed by her country’s forced isolation, she looked to the Middle East for potential allies. The woman who made this alliance possible was none other than Safiye Sultan. Like Catherine de Medici before her she had risen through the ranks due to being her husband (Murad III) chief wife and their son’s regent. And also like the former Governor of France, in spite of Mehmed III reaching his majority, she was still an influential figure who refused to let go of her position as her son’s consultant and adviser. She greatly admired a woman like Elizabeth I who used her single statues to bolster her image, and present herself as a virtuous, nationalistic and religious icon and an ideal substitute for the Virgin Mary -a figure whose cult had been very popular in England. When Elizabeth I became frustrated with her son, she wrote to her mother knowing that Safiye was the true power behind the throne. The two women exchanged gifts and letters, with Safiye congratulating Elizabeth for her victories and he gracious behavior towards her.“…both Murad III and Mehmed III’s reigns notoriously, was ruled mainly from the harem. Elizabeth had employed very similar tactics on Barton’s advice six years earlier in 1593, using Safiye as her intermediary in an attempt to influence the direction of the Hungarian war. At that time, her letter had been accompanied by a few handsome gifts, paid for by the Levant Company. These consisted of a ‘jewel of Her Majesty’s picture’ (possibly a Hilliard miniature) set with rubies and diamonds, three great tilt plates, ten garments of cloth of gold and a very fine case of glass bottles, silver and gilt.” (John Guy, Elizabeth I: The Forgotten Years)Elizabeth I spent her last years looking back at her triumphs and failures, ridding herself of potential rivals and refusing to assure her councilors of anything that would reflect her personal opinion regarding who her successor should be. But she must have sensed the end as she once again saw the courtiers beginning to flock to James VI of Scotland, eagerly waiting for her to give her last breath.Elizabeth I sponsored many artists and play writers, including the famous William Shakespeare whose plays greatly contributed to the English language and gave us many phrases that we still use today. One of her favorite plays was Henry V because of the character of Falstaff. She found him the most likable of all of the play's characters. Like one of her ancestors, she began to identify with Richard II whose excesses led to his deposition and was the catalyst behind the wars of the roses that ended with the destruction of the Houses of Lancaster and York and the Plantagenet Dynasty.At she was quoted to have said: “I am Richard II, know ye not that?”Elizabeth I didn't like the way Richard II had been -and still was- portrayed and her opinion might have influenced Shakespeare to make him into a pitiful character.Besides considering his treatment of his subjects unjust, there was another reason why she might have identified with Richard II. Like her father, she firmly believed in the divinity of Kings and took her role as Head of the Church seriously. When she was told her sister had died and was presented with her royal ring, she quoted one of the psalms, saying that “this is the lord’s doing and it is marvelous before our eyes.” As God's representative on Earth, an act against her was an act against the Almighty. And also like her father, she shared his dislike for those who questioned royal authority. Despite the various plots and opposition against her, Elizabeth I endured but she knew her time was coming and she prepared for it. On February 1603, she settled her affairs regarding her officials in Ireland, ensuring that the next monarch would have complete control of that Isle and that there would be no more disruptions from Catholic rebels or rogue officers. Nevertheless, she refused to appear weak before her ministers insisting that nothing was wrong with her.On the 24th of March 1603, Queen Elizabeth I died at Richmond Palace at the age of sixty nine. Ironically it was the same place her grandfather and founder of her dynasty had died ninety three and eleven months earlier.Elizabeth I’s Funerary Procession took place a month later, on the 28th of April. She was carried from Whitehall to Westminster Abbey where she was laid to rest on the Lady Chapel.“It was an impressive occasion: the hearse was drawn by four horses hung with black velvet, surmounted by a life-sized wax effigy of the late Queen, dressed in her state robes and crown, an orb and scepter in its hands; over it was a canopy of state supported by six earls.” (Alison Weir, The Life of Elizabeth I)“Westminster” Chronicler John Stow wrote, “was surcharged with multitudes of all sorts of people in their streets, houses, windows, leads and gutters, that came out to see the obsequy.” After the Mass had ended, her household servants broke their white staves and tossed them at her tomb to symbolize the end of their allegiance.Truly, it was a sight to see and also a reminder than it was the end of an era. Gone were the days of the Tudors, now it would be the Stuarts who reigned.She was buried at the Lady Chapel that Henry VII had ordered be built for himself and his descendants, at Westminster Abbey. It was in this place where her paternal grandparents and great-grandmother and half-sister were also buried.Three years later, King James I decided to rebury her in a different vault and honor her memory by building a magnificent burial. Unfortunately, this monument didn’t include an effigy of the Queen’s sister, Mary I who was reburied with her.The plaque on her tomb reads the following:“Consorts both in throne and grave, here we rest two sisters, Elizabeth & Mary, in hope of our resurrection.”Queen Elizabeth I remains one of the most celebrated figures in English history and considered one of the best monarch in world history. Often she will be reduced to a mere caricature in which she is either an angelic figure who could do no wrong or thrown off that pedestal it in favor of the other extreme that depicts her as Europe's greatest prostitute or as a boy. The "Bisley Boy" legend was first popularized by none other than Victorian and Gothic writer, Bram Stoker. Bram Stoker was fascinated by the legend and took it seriously. A few years ago, a mystery writer said that it was possible she could have been a man and what was his reasoning behind this?Nothing, except the usual "she didn't get married and she never had kids with her favorites". Here's a thought for these people: Do some research! Read the primary sources and then read well-researched books by historians and biographers who've also written extensively on this topic.In Anna Whitelock's biography on Queen Elizabeth I's court, "The Queen's Bed", she quickly debunks this bogus story by offering us an insight of what court life was like. Just think about it.Elizabeth I was surrounded by women day and night. As Queen Regnant, she was dressed by her ladies and undressed by them. She was even attended during her bath. Don't you think some of them would have noticed she was a man if indeed she was? I know people love a good conspiracy once in a while but come on!Also, just because she didn't get married and possibly wasn't intimate with her favorites, doesn't mean she was a man. Her reign was unique given that she refused to marry, but given her past experiences and how England wasn't (fully) used to the idea of female monarchy, we can see why she chose to take this route.Elizabeth I's reign continues to fascinate many people and it is proof that sometimes the impossible can become possible.She became Queen when she was twenty five years old. Her reign lasted forty-four years, outlasting that of her father and the other Tudors.Known as “Glorianna”, “Good Queen Bess” and “the Virgin Queen” for her refusal to marry, she also had one colony in North America named after her. She is the third longest female monarch in English history and to some, one of the most important women in history. In his biography on Elizabeth I, David Starkey says that what differentiated her from her sister was that while Mary “aimed for a heavenly crown; Elizabeth aimed for an earthly one.”Sources:1. Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne by David Starkey2. The Life of Queen Elizabeth I by Alison Weir3. Game of Queens by Sarah Gristwood4. Elizabeth I: The Forgotten Years by John Guy5. Tudors vs Stewarts by Linda Porter6. Katherine the Queen: The Life of Katherine Parr, Henry VIII's last Wife by Linda Porter7. The Queen's Bed: An Intimate Account of Elizabeth's Court by Anna Whitelock8. Tudor by Leanda de Lisle9. The Private Lives of the Tudors by Tracy Borman

Favorites : He Got Game (1998)

As a lifelong movie and basketball fan, it’s almost impossible to not be a huge fan of Spike Lee.  His talent behind a camera is legendary, and matched only by his fervor and fanaticism for New York Knicks basketball.  After a string of successful films throughout the mid 1980s and early 1990s, Lee, turned his narrative focus towards a series of personal projects that seemingly allowed him to work with actors he admired and to focus on stories he was passionate about.  After releasing the semi-autobiographical Crooklyn, his next project was a basketball fans dream : the classic and iconic He Got Game. 

Jake Shuttlesworth (Denzel Washington) is an inmate at Attica, estranged and separated from his son Jesus (Ray Allen) and his daughter Mary (Zelda Harris) after he accidentally killed his wife Martha (Lonette McKee).  Jesus, with his senior year of high school nearing completion, is considered a top basketball prospect in the nation, with every college of note chomping at the bit to lock down his commitment.  With Jesus feeling pressure from all sides, the sudden arrival of his father only serves to make his decision that much more difficult, as Jake has been given a surprise (and very questionable) release by Warden Marcel Wyatt (Ned Beatty) in hopes of getting Jesus to commit to Big State.  If Jake is able to succeed, this would make the governor of New York very happy, which in turn may allow Jake to be released early and have a chance to reconnect with his family.  WIth Jesus and Jake’s futures on the line, and a deadline rapidly approaching, pressure builds from all sides as all invested parties wait for Jesus to announce his decision.

There are no punches pulled in regards to Spike Lee and his feelings on how star basketball talent is manipulated and used for the betterment of a ‘system’, with the power and influence reaching higher than many people dare to admit.  The premise presented in the film, as drastic and dramatic as it may seem, is not only something that could happen in reality, but probably tame in terms of other ways that people with money and power have tried to influence talented young men in their college decision making process.  Lee really and truly immerses us in the world of a prospect’s tough choice, laying it on thick with the high school, media and college visit sequences to show the incredible amounts of pressure these young men face before they’ve even dribbled a basketball at the college level, and how easy it can be to make the wrong decision and lose it all.

Basketball, in this film, is also used as the narrative device to put the father/son dynamic under the microscope in regards to the black man and his obligations, despite his circumstances.  While the story does stray a bit as Jake attempts to deny himself of the lustful influences and stay focused on his goal, it is a necessary part of the story, as the temptation of freedom plays heavy against a sense of duty to give his son a better opportunity in life, giving him a rare chance to benefit his family while incarcerated.  Jesus faces his own temptations and manipulations, putting his ability to trust on red alert, and the shocking appearance of Jake (especially in light of his reasons for being in prison) only throws things into further doubt.  Lee makes sure to take the time to focus on Jake and Mary’s relationship as well, further complicating Jake’s ability to reach his goal due to his sense of responsibility to both of his children.

He Got Game is, first and foremost, a proper love letter to basketball from one of its biggest and most notorious fans.  The choice to juxtapose the music of Aaron Copland and Public Enemy for his score and soundtrack mirrors the rustic roots of basketball in parallel to its drastic evolution as kids from the inner-city pushed the game forward.  Spike Lee pulls out all of the tools in his kit for this show... the basketball elements are enhanced with his use of different speeds, rhythmic cutting, and portrait-like shots direct to the camera to enhance personality elements... the dramatic elements are enhanced by big camera moves, Lee’s iconic floating dolly shot, and almost to a perfect degree, his ‘show while telling’ tool of cutaways to illustrate expositional story elements.  Lee’s signature knack for including movie references is also in full force.

Denzel Washington makes the audience feel his sense of desperation, playing with the ‘back against the wall’ and ‘caged animal’ intangibles on full throttle, but not at the expense of the tender or true moments.  Ray Allen is surprisingly solid as the lead in the film... although some of his deliveries are a bit dry, they can be chalked up to youthful nervousness of the character, as his key moments all hit the mark.  Rosario Dawson brings the strong woman mentality to her role, but puts her manipulative elements just a step ahead.  Jim Brown and Joseph Lyle play the pressure points for Washington, always looming in the shadows.  Bill Nunn, Zelda Harris, Hill Harper and Michele Shay play their familial roles well, with Nunn being the only one attempting to take advantage.  Thomas Jefferson Byrd and Milla Jovovich slightly derail the momentum of the narrative, but not at the expense of being entertaining.  Appearances by Lonette McKee, Roger Guenveur Smith, John Turturro, Ned Beatty, Jennifer Espisito, Kim Director, Jade Yorker, Quinn Harris and Shortee Reed also pop, helping propel our leads towards the resolution.  The amount of real life basketball talents and personalities allowed to make cameos in the film is too long to list, but definitely worth checking out for a basketball fan.

Lee turned his lens towards stories that reached a broader audience not long after this film, making He Got Game one of the last films that were part of his defining introductory era.  His working relationship with Denzel Washington remained strong over several films... strong enough so that Washington’s son starred in Lee’s most recent film.  With the playoffs nearing their completion, He Got Game was heavy on my mind, and I am happy that I took the time to revisit it. 

Strike Back: Vendetta. Episode three icons.

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The Tudors: The Verdict

This post is very long and very messy!

Well, obviously I liked it enough to finish it

It’s hard to say if my favorite character was ultimately More or Cromwell. I guess I would have to go with More, since he was my first favorite.

I know this was unavoidable given the subject matter and the long timespan, but I have mixed feelings about shows where they cycle through the cast so quickly. The opening credits for season 4 of The Tudors only had two people from season 1 (JRM and Henry Cavill). It can be exciting to meet new characters, but you don’t really get a chance to get attached to most of the characters before they’re taken away from you, whether by death or by just being written out.

Is there anything more iconic than the ghosts of wives 1-3 showing up in the finale to chide Henry for being a garbage husband and father? No there isn’t

I really liked the little montage of Henry thinking back on his life at the end, not least because we got to see a lot of the dead characters again. It pleased me that one of the scenes that played was More’s death; I’m glad that stuck with Henry. I found it hilarious that TomCrom’s only appearance in the montage was the scene where Henry hits him and yells “KNAVE!”

The show ends with Henry paying Holbein a lukewarm compliment for the portrait he painted and walking away while the camera lingers on the iconic and impressive portrait, which has a very similar energy to the end of the Black Sails finale when Jack says “it’s fine” and walks away but the camera lingers on his flag. Yes, I had to bring Black Sails into this post. Everything is about Black Sails.

Another thing that was unavoidable was how unlikable Henry was. I think they made a good choice in portraying him as sympathetically as possible, because if they hadn’t done that, the show, which obviously ultimately rests on the character of Henry (partly because the show is about him, partly because, again, the cast changes so quickly) would have just become unbearable.

I felt a feel when Brandon died, even though I never forgave him for what he did to TomCrom.

The saddest death on the whole show was honestly Chapuys even though he died offscreen.

Okay I have a question: how can Henry condemn his wives for adultery but then justify having his own extramarital affairs??? Like, I’m not even talking about double standards. Isn’t the bible very clear on the subject of adultery? Is it just plain ol’ cognitive dissonance?

And now the Gay Content Report: it kills me to say it, but the Thomas Tallis/William Compton plot in s1 was the most pointless thing in the whole show. (Except maybe the related plot with the creepy twins. I can’t explain it, but somehow the creepy twin plot had Michael Hirst written all over it. I feel like if I hadn’t already known that he wrote the show, that would have given it away.) As for George Boleyn and Mark Smeaton, all I have to say is @ Michael Hirst why didn’t you let them kiss onscreen??? @ Michael Hirst why do you hate me personally

Speaking of Michael Hirst, I always assumed he just sucked at dialogue since a majority of the dialogue on Vikings was usually so flat, but the dialogue on The Tudors was usually quite good, so now I’m confused.

I wish they had given Mary more to do. I really liked her.

I’m significantly more interested in Tudor-era history now than I was before, though it’s not on the level of the urge to learn everything there is to know about Renaissance Italy I’ve felt ever since I finished The Borgias.

The best episodes of the show were the execution episodes and the best scenes were the execution scenes. Henry crying as More dies and the shot of the blood flowing around More’s crucifix! The voiceover of Wyatt reading his poem as Anne sobs over George’s death! The shot of Anne’s head starting to fall and the flashbacks to her and George as children! Cromwell breaking down on the scaffold! The juxtaposition between Catherine dancing alone in the chapel and Dereham being tortured to death! Catherine being the only person to give a death speech involving anything approaching “screw you, Henry”! Oh yeah, that’s another thing. I know they were trying to be historically accurate with the execution scenes, but it’s too bad that not one of the people who got executed used their last words as an opportunity to lambast Henry. But I do think it’s cool that the show made use of historically-attested lines.

All in all I had a good time watching it, I got attached to a few characters, and I felt various types of feelings. Oh, and the costumes were fantastic.

Overall grade: B+

LOST HORIZONS

1934

Lost Horizons is a dramatic play in 21 scenes written by Harry Segall, revised and directed by John Hayden.  It was produced by Lawrence Stebbins (aka Rivers) and starred Jane Wyatt.  

Note: The play is not the same as Lost Horizon (singular) by James Hilton written in 1933. The 1937 film version also starred Miss Wyatt. 

The story of Lost Horizons concerns a young actress, who takes her own life when rejected by her suitor. She arrives in the afterlife and is told to read out an account of what might have been had she not killed herself. In her account, she finds happiness as the star of a Broadway bound play.

The themes of heavenly intervention were explored again by Harry Segall in his more successful 1938 play Heaven Can Wait (originally titled It Was Like This), which was filmed as Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), winning him an Oscar, and is not to be confused with 1943 film titled Heaven Can Wait starring Gene Tierney. In 1978, Segall’s Heaven Can Wait was filmed again using its original title. In December 1946, Segall attempted to mount Heaven Can Wait on Broadway under the title Wonderful Journey, but it lasted less than a week. Undaunted, he wrote another screenplay using characters and themes from Heaven Can Wait titled Down To Earth (1947). 

The plays themes also are strongly reminiscent of the 1946 film It’s A Wonderful Life as well as Act Three of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. 

Jane Wyatt (Janet Evans) was born in Campgaw, New Jersey, in 1911.  She became a star of stage and screen but found her greatest success on the small screen's warm-hearted sitcom "Father Knows Best" (1954-1960).  

The cast of 40 also featured Johnny Gallaudet, who later appeared with Wyatt on a March 1955episode of “Father Knows Best”. 

ATLANTIC CITY

By 1934, out-of-town tryouts in Atlantic City were becoming fewer and fewer.  This play did not try-out in Atlantic City, but had several scenes set in the seaside resort. The play had 21 scenes, with several in and around Atlantic City. 

Unfortunately, there are no extant images of the settings by G. Bradford Ashworth. Here are some real-life locations that may have inspired Ashworth. 

Atlantic City Entertainment in 1934

Broadcaster Lowell Thomas goes national from the Music Hall. 

Belle of the Nineties, a Mae West motion picture, makes its world premiere. 

On Labor Day, the Steel Pier proclaims "66 hours of consecutive entertainment. The greatest and longest show ever presented anywhere, any time. Attractions include the radio cast of "The Goldbergs," the opera "Carmen" sung in English, and Ozzie Nelson's Orchestra with Harriett Hilliard.

Act Two, Scene 6 is set on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. The above photo is dated October 13, 1934, three days before the play opened on Broadway. The iconic rolling chairs can be seen in the foreground. 

Act Two, Scene 9 is set in the green room of an unnamed Atlantic City Theatre.  Heaven-sent Janet returns to an out-of-town tryout of a play she she was performing in a minor role and finds she has now earned the lead.  Although it could be any one of Atlantic City’s theatrical venues, it was likely meant to be the Globe or the Apollo, two of the cities most popular theatres for out-of-town tryouts. 

Act Three, Scene 1 is set in the lobby of the Claridge Hotel in Atlantic City.  The 24-story hotel opened in 1930, during the great depression. General Electric provided the Fountain of Light that was in the center of Brighton Park, in front of the Claridge, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the invention of the light bulb by Thomas Edison.  At 370 feet tall, the Claridge was the tallest building in New Jersey, earning it the nickname, “Skyscraper by the Sea”. It was also the first and only hotel to have running hot and cold, fresh and salt water. 

Unusually, the play was rehearsed at the St. James Theatre and there is no record of out-of-town previews, which may account for the play’s brief run and subsequent obscurity. 

The play opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre on October 16th and closed 56 performances later, on December 1st.  

The St. James was built in 1927, and (unlike Lost Horizons) is still around today. Heaven can wait - and so could audiences.  

MARY MARY REUNION, TASHA COBBS LEONARD, TRAVIS GREENE, ANTHONY BROWN & GROUP THERAPY, RICKY DILLARD & NEW G, AND SNOOP DOGG WILL TAKE THE STAGE TO PERFORM AT THE 33RD ANNUAL STELLAR GOSPEL MUSIC AWARDS PREMIERING ON TV ONE

2017 Pre-Show Hosts Lexi Allen and Lonnie Hunter.  Photo by Naomi Richard.

        

(CHICAGO) – Feb. 26, 2018 - Central City Productions announces a dazzling line-up of performers for the 2018 Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards, including the reunion of contemporary gospel music’s favorite sister act, Mary Mary (Erica Campbell and Tina Campbell ), and the Stellar Award's debut of rapper, actor, and television personality Snoop Dogg, performing songs from his new gospel album “Songs of Love” at this year’s show. Celebrated as a "transcendent night of gospel music," the 33rd Annual Stellar Awards promises to surpass its ‘stellar' reputation, featuring performances by the genre’s hottest acts. Performers scheduled to appear include: Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Travis Greene, Tye Tribbett, Anthony Brown & group therAPy, Kierra Sheard, KeKe Wyatt, Jonathan McReynolds, Tasha Page-Lockhart, Todd Dulaney, Koryn Hawthorne and Ricky Dillard & New G, among others. Returning to Las Vegas' Orleans Arena on Saturday, March 24, 2018 the Stellar Awards welcomes the return of the undisputed crown prince of contemporary gospel music, Kirk Franklin, as host. 

      The Stellar Awards telecast will premiere on TV One on Friday, March 30 at 9 p.m.    ET/8 p.m. CT and air in broadcast syndication on 130 stations in more than 110 markets around the country March 31 - May 6, 2018.

       Franklin is happy to be back in the role of host of the annual celebration. “Since my first step onto the Stellar Awards stage as a 23-year-old kid from Texas, I’ve lived, breathed and committed all I’ve had to this incredible genre called gospel,” he stated. “To find myself now still blessed to serve the community I love so dearly as their host of the 2018 Stellar Awards, that young kid feels alive again and more grateful than ever. We’re working hard to bring to the world the best and the brightest along with the icons and legends, the greatest night of God’s music at a time when the country needs our melody the most. Thank you and I’ll see you in Vegas.”   

       Erica Campbell of the duo group Mary Mary. Photo by Naomi Richard.

        This year’s spectacular show open will feature Stellar Awards alum Erica Campbell reuniting with her sister Tina Campbell as the hit gospel duo Mary Mary for the first time in more than six years. The show will include an all-star tribute to the late, great Edwin Hawkins, with his sister Lynette Hawkins accepting the Edwin Hawkins Icon Award in his honor. Also expected to deliver stand out moments are the multi-platinum award-winning Snoop Dogg performing material from his new gospel album and collaborating with Tye Tribbett.

     “Each year we strive to bring new and innovative performances and collaborations to the Stellar Awards and this year is no different, with the inclusion of mainstream hip-hop rapper and mogul, Snoop Dogg." stated Stellar Awards Founder, Don Jackson. "Snoop expressed his desire to release a gospel album in honor of his mom who is an evangelist and he's teamed up with Gospel superstar Tye Tribbett, there's no way we couldn't bring this explosive performance to the Stellar Awards stage."

       Anthony Brown & group therAPy. Photo by Naomi Richard.

        2018 Stellar Award's multi-nominee and previous host, Anthony Brown, returns this year to perform and looks forward to sharing something special with the fans. "The Stellar Awards has always been such a blessing to gospel music creators and gospel music lovers worldwide. It provides for us a platform and opportunity to share our message and our gifts with the world,” shared Brown. “I am so excited to take the stage again at this year's Stellar Awards. It’s always so humbling and exciting. group therAPy and I are working on something special this year. I can’t wait for you to see it."

           Don Jackson will bestow special honors upon gospel greats who have made significant contributions to the genre. The incomparable Tamela Mann is this year’s recipient of the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award and the legendary Rev. Milton Biggham will receive The Ambassador Dr. Bobby Jones Legends Award. Stellar Honors Hall of Fame Inductees includes Kurt Carr, Ben Tankard, and Dr. Marabeth Gentry - President of the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses.

       The Stellar Awards show taping is open to the public, with ticket prices ranging from $50 - $200 at www.ticketmaster.com.

         The Stellar Gospel Music Awards Pre-Show is scheduled for Friday, March 23 hosted by Lexi Allen and Lonnie Hunter. Among the artists performing at the Orleans Showroom that evening: Next Generation Choir, Judah Band, Tasha Page Lockhart, Isaiah D. Thomas, Ruth La'Ontra, Bryan Popin and Jason Nelson.

        Ricky Dillard & New G. Photo by Naomi Richard.

               The Stellar Gospel Radio Awards & Showcase will be held earlier on Saturday, March 24, honoring the top radio stations and announcers who most notably serve urban gospel music audiences. This show is also full of spirit-stirring performances by newcomers Isabel Davis, Gene Moore and Kelontae Gavin; seasoned sensations Donishisa Ballard and Jason Champion; and quartet group The Virginia Aires. The event is hosted by VaShawn Mitchell and Meta Washington and is the perfect kickoff to the big show the same day. Tickets for each event can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com.

          More of the biggest names in gospel and a few additional surprises are being added to the growing list of top performers and presenters appearing in this year’s show. For more information visit us at www.thestellarawards.com. Follow us on social media for the latest news and updates about the greatest night in gospel!

                                             SUMMARY OF 2018 STELLAR AWARDS TOP NOMINEES

    Anthony Brown & group therAPy  – 10 Nominations

Tasha Cobbs Leonard  – 9 Nominations

J.J. Hairston & Youthful Praise  – 9 Nominations

Travis Greene  – 9 Nominations

Deitrick Haddon    -  5 Nominations

Ricky Dillard    -  5 Nominations

Marvin Sapp  – 4 Nominations

The Williams Brothers  – 3 Nominations

CeCe Winans  – 3 Nominations

The Rance Allen Group – 3 Nominations

Bishop Paul S. Morton  – 3 Nominations

Tina Campbell  – 3 Nominations

Le’Andria Johnson  – 2 Nominations

        For More Information Visit: http://thestellarawards.com/

    To view the complete list of nominees: http://thestellarawards.com/2017nominees.html

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