The billboards throughout KC have always drawn curiosity, and eventually, I just had to see what an establishment like this offered, and how they operated.
What I found was a store with interesting, conscious people, with a variety of stories and backgrounds, ready to share a prepared way to live.
Sully, starring Tom Hanks as Captain Chesley Sullenberger, is the story of the real life airline pilot’s miraculous landing in the Hudson River, and the controversy and personal issues surrounding the landing. It’s also best understood by examining its director, Clint Eastwood.
Clint Eastwood got his start in film playing gritty anti-heroes who were above the law, in films like Dirty Harry and The Good the Bad and the Ugly. That explains then, why Eastwood hones in on Sullivan or “Sully”, as bogged down by the establishment, when the flight Safety Board instructors, put him on a trial for the risky choice of landing. They might as well be the police chief berating Dirty Harry for not “playing by the book.”
Clint Eastwood is also known for directing sparse looks at American power and prestige such as Letters from Iwo Jima and J Edgar. Eastwood focuses on larger than life figures, lone wolf heroes who may or may not always be making the right decisions. The best comparison might just be Eastwood’s previous film, the controversial American Sniper from last year, Sully is almost a sequel in some ways.
Both Sully and American Sniper are looks at modern american “heroes” of the last decade, popular folk legends that were spun mainly by the cable news cycle. (It’s a fun experiment to try and imagine which “hero” Eastwood would pick for the next film if he wanted to make a trilogy.) The biggest reason I think the formula for Sully works much better, is that the hero of American Sniper isn’t a character, his biggest trait is loving his country and being good at shooting, while Sully weighs much more heavily on the choices he’s made.
Tom Hanks plays Sully extremely different than his usual roles. He is colder, humble, just doing his job. (Although it’s questionable whether this film isn’t the ultimate humble-brag.) Sullivan suffers from doubt about whether his risky landing in an emergency might have needlessly risked the lives on board, he’s seen as a hero by the people but he’s still reeling from shock and PTSD.
The film is given an air of objectivity by long static shots of action taking place. The soundtrack is nonexistent and the colors are muted, while the tension of the various stages of the landing and the trial afterwards is kept razor thin. The shots of working class people cheering the New York plane miracle is very obviously compared to the not so miraculous New York plane event previously. It’s a redemption in some ways. Almost cathartic.
Sully isn’t perfect, for such a cold film it’s almost obnoxiously dripping with the director’s idea about what America, heroism, and duty are. But it’s like it’s hero, the film delivers, and you can’t question that. Recommended
It’s a little known fact that more than one person is involved in the US government, and believe it or not there’s more than the presidency up for grabs on November 8th. This year Missouri will vote for one Senatorial Seat, the candidates are Democrat Jason Kander and the incumbent Republican Roy Blunt, in a race that is shaping up to be a surprise to the entire state.
The biggest news of the debate has been the intuitive Kander ad featuring the military veteran re-assembling an AR-15 assault rifle blindfolded. This in response to statements by Blunt attacking Kander’s support of background checks. The Washington Post called “the best ad of the election so far.” Roy Blunt’s response ad posits. “Some people can put together a gun blindfolded. Some do it really fast…. But only one of these is a Hillary Clinton national campaign chairman.”
In the race Kander’s strategy has been to paint Roy Blunt as a Washington insider “We can’t change Washington if we don’t change the people we send there.” said Kander in his opening ad. Another one claims “Blunt’s wife and three kids are all lobbyists.” Roy Blunt’s strategy has been to tie Blunt with high profile democrats. One ad asks “Jason Kander seems like a fresh face, but what’s underneath it?” before presenting images of Kanders image morphing into the faces of Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, and Hillary Clinton.
Checking their websites, Roy Blunt touts issues such as “Enforce Our Immigration Laws” and “Stop Government Overreach.” Jason Kander, “Advocating for Veterans and Military Families”, and “Holding Politicians Accountable.”
Missouri has been a long standing red state, but in 2012, an assured victory for Republican Todd Akin was shaken. The senator was caught voicing some unconventional justifications for his pro-life stance. Arguing that in the event of a rape “the female body has a way of shutting itself down.” Akin became a figure of mockery across the nation and the race made a surprise turn for the previously unfavored Claire McCaskill.
Red Missouri again has again taken an unexpected dive in a blue senator’s direction, and again the race is being spread nationwide, with Kander’s unique ad being covered all over media. The previous Blunt shoe-in has been made much more unpredictable, with the likelihood of the state electing it’s second simultaneous Democratic Senator being surprisingly high.
The three respected Election “Race Ratings”, Cook Political Report, Sabato’s, and Rothenberg and Gonzales, have all called the race a toss-up. “This race will be decided by a few thousand votes,” said former state senator Scott Rupp, Republican, “It’s going to be tight.”
During the second presidential debate in St Louis, there were many talking points and issues shared between the two candidates. But if the internet is to be believed, the biggest presence at the debate was a completely ordinary man name Kenneth Bone.
During the debate a chubbier balding man wearing a red sweater asked an uninteresting question about coal energy and then remained quiet. Perhaps it was his name, his distinctive choice in fashion, or his completely average middle-Americanism, but soon twitter was glowing with discussion and fandom for the “#BoneZone”. CNN called him “the man who won the second presidential debate.”
The media might be tempted to file Bone as a nonsense internet meme. Similar to “Dat Boi” or the messianic cult of Harambe the Gorilla, but Bone is more than that. Ken Bone is a symbol of dissatisfaction with the political election. Ken Bone is a placing of ordinary working class people above politicians. The portly undecided voter is not a non-answer to politics. He is the answer.
After his initial appearance, we’ve learned a lot about Ken, and this has only deepened the internet’s fascination with the mustachioed Missourian. A worker at a coal plant, a former drummer in a christian rock band, and a volunteer and supporter of local homeless charity the St. Patrick Center. (He’s since promoted the charity in interviews and proceeds for all of his merchandise and products he’s endorsed go to it.)
In interviews, Bone has shown a humility, an open mindedness and a sense of humor which the race has been severely lacking. In a Q&A session on the website Reddit, Bone explained “I’m sorry you’re confused, Ken Bone is the cable knit sweater wearing a fat guy.”
The obvious question is whether Mr Bone is running for president, with only weeks remaining in the race. Unfortunately Bone has explained why he can’t. “I know I look old cause I’m fat and bald and dress like it’s 1954, but I’m only 34 and ineligible to run! There are over 2000 legally registered candidates… Get your voice out there for one of them.”
In this cutthroat race, though, no-one has gone unscathed, and yes that includes even Ken Bone. In the same QnA he did on reddit, he used his usual browsing account, revealing in his long posting history two off color jokes and a defense of Trayvon Martin killer George Zimmerman. Questioned on the blunder Bone said “It was a bad call. I need to fire my agent, except I can’t because I’m my agent.”
Unlike our politicians though, Ken Bone has owned up for his mistakes. He’s apologized for the jokes, and explained his comment about Zimmerman came not from a place of malice but his understanding of the law. Even if the media says otherwise, Bone hasn’t done anything you wouldn’t forgive in a friend.
One of the most admirable actions by Bone has been not to reveal his voting decision. “I’m close, but I will not be announcing my decision. I want you to all make up your own minds.” Bone isn’t arrogant enough to speak for anyone else, and his newfound fame doesn’t change anything for him. At every turn, after every question and every peek into his life, Bone has proven to be a better symbol of an America we should strive for, than anything the two candidates have brought up. #BoneZone.
Balloons are waiting for Kevin “Dad” Marconi’s surprise party.
The preparations are being made for them to fall on his head.
The preppers work during the two hours he’ll be out of the house.
Balloons are waiting for Kevin “Dad” Marconi’s surprise party.
The preparations are being made for them to fall on his head
The preppers work during the two hours he’ll be out of the house.
A surprise is ready in the garage with him being none the wiser.
Kevin enjoys his party.
Kristen Leth sits at the desk, she explains her life and story with a superb professionalism and courtesy that gives a wonderful insight into her character. A non-traditional student this is her second run in school, and at the age of 30, she has more experience and tact than many other students.
Kristen is still new to journalism, this shared interview was her first story. When asked why she chose to study this field (she already has an associate arts degree from Maple Woods) she answered. “‘I’m really inspired by Oprah and Lisa Ling, being strong women and all.” Can she see herself writing like them. “No.” she answers. “I’m not them, and I feel like I need to find my own style. Anything else would come off as insincere.”
As a non-traditional student, Kristen speaks of one of the greatest generation gaps going to Park. “I’m still not used to a world where an online presence is mandatory for any job you need. I’m hoping to gain a lot of experience taking this [Online Media] class.”
Kristen speaks of her last job, managing an Einstein’s Bagels. Management positions can require a lot of maturity and patience, something she admits she has in spades. “After a while I got tired of my job adding up to babysitting. The high school kids I managed would often take any excuse they could not to work.”
Speaking of work, Kristen speaks of one of the things she can anticipate keeping her back in her writing, and something she sees in herself. “I expect a lot of work and a lot of improvement this semester. The first thing is I probably need to learn to forgive myself for not being perfect.”
💩 or “the poop emoji” is in my opinion one of the most bizarre facets of popular culture. It couldn’t have been written in a science fiction book, and no-one with a background in graphic design or technology could have predicted it. Why, how, did it become acceptable to talk 💩?
The first thing we must do is dissect the elements of 💩, particularly in it’s most common and archetypical form, the one gracing Apple’s iPhone. The term is vaguely Japanese, and sure enough, dates back to Japan in the late 90s. The word emoji comes from the terms “e” (meaning picture) and “moji” (meaning face or character.) Although it had nothing to do with the english term emotion, to most westerners the word just oozes likeability and expressiveness. The asiatic origin typical connotates ideas of technology, oddity and novelty. They’ve becomes the pop culture symbols they are in the US thanks to their primary importer, Apple on their iPhone. “😂” was named word of the year by Oxford Dictionary in 2015.
The next element of 💩 is what it represents, human waste. Human waste is an almost universal taboo among all humans, it looks and smells unpleasant, and it spreads diseases. In most of the civilized world the practice is to dispose of it in a safe place, flush it away, and never look at it or discuss it. In places of the world where this is not the case, such as a recent epidemic in lower class India of public toiletry, authorities try to fix the problem as fast as possible. Famous contemporary thinker Slavoj Zizek has given speeches about how the difference between American/ British, German and French toilets, particularly the direction in which the poop is flushed, represents the countries’ relationships with their unpleasant thoughts.
The last element of 💩, is it’s cuteness, and iconic look. While the windows one I am typing with right now is fairly standard and realistic, almost every other variation, particularly the famous Apple one, are known for their exaggerated unrealistic shape, cute mouth and eyes. This might be the secret to the symbol’s success. The enlarged eyes and mouth give 💩 a personality, and like most things with “cute” eyes, might be triggering our mechanisms for protecting children.
When 💩 entered Japan’s tech lexicon in the late 1999, it was based off of a pun. The word for poop “unko”, sounds much like the word for luck “oon”, and 💩 was meant to be used as a snarky shorthand for fortune. The country also has a history in pop culture of ironic appreciation for poop, from golden poop shaped good luck charms, to chocolates.
The US has no such connotation though, and the history of how it became acceptable is rather interesting. When Google first encoded emojis (they were still deciding on whether they should keep the “weird japanese name”), people were often offended by the presence of feces in their gmail. But still, they were trying to appeal to foreign markets and the symbol stayed.
It might have just stayed an obscure symbol in Google’s lexicon if it hadn’t been adopted by Apple, and almost overnight, it became never acceptable to talk with feces, to definitely acceptable to talk with feces. There were few or little controversies after its release, and in American malls you can buy 💩 t-shirts, and 💩 plushies. Fan-art lines of 💩 the internet. (And not just that kind of art.) Almost every major tech company has a variation of 💩. (The one on the Samsung Galaxy just might be my favorite, with its upturned, contemplative eyes reminiscent of Michelangelo’s David. Also with a hint of contempt.)
What can explain the sudden explosion of 💩? One could argue the biggest reason our visual language changed like it did, is that it was endorsed by a big company we had grown to trust with our communication, technology, information, photos. If it had been only an obscure tech company, or it had stayed in Japan we would have laughed at it’s foreign weird-ness, but with 💩 being spooned to us by one of our most trusted tech suppliers, we had no choice but to take it as one of our own.
So for those of you not in the know, Kung Fu Panda 3 is the first US blockbuster intended for both American and Chinese audiences simultaneously. It’s listed on IMDB as a “Dreamworks Animation, China Film Co.” production.
So for those of you not in the know, Kung Fu Panda 3 is the first US blockbuster intended for both American and Chinese audiences simultaneously. It’s listed on IMDB as a “Dreamworks Animation, China Film Co.” production.
Consequently, the film tries obviously to appeal to both markets, replacing in-jokes, wordplay, and satire of the Western hero’s journey, with slapstick and exaggerated physical humor. There is a lot of money to be made in the Chinese market, and they wouldn’t want to cut off that supply of precious Yuan with any scary cultural markers.
This comes among recent discussion over the role the Chinese market has in American films. The makers of critically acclaimed hit Mad Max: Fury Road announced it will not be receiving a sequel, because it wasn’t profitable enough overseas, and because Chinese audiences reacted unfavorably to the pop culture mentions in Marvel film Guardians of the Galaxy, some have speculated the upcoming sequel will involve more nutshots than Footloose references.
The film itself features some of most obscenely expensive visuals to date, and action scenes reminiscent of Dragon Ball Z, but not in a particularly good way. The film is filled with explosions and flashes of color that try their best not to have any weight to them.
To be fair, the US has been doing the same to smaller countries for years, as many French locales have been forced to include easy to pronounce menus, but it can still be disturbing seeing Hollywood films turned into tourist traps. From one oppressive regime to another, it will be interesting to see how US audiences respond to the growing trend in watering down films for global distribution.
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