(no subject)

* "The Guardian view on Spain’s election: a chance to rebalance:" https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/29/the-guardian-view-on-spains-election-a-chance-to-rebalance

* "Sri Lanka bans all face coverings for 'public protection' after bomb attacks:" https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/29/asia/sri-lanka-face-coverings-ban/index.html

* "2,000 military personnel supporting volunteers in Ontario, Quebec, N.B. flood zones:" https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/flooding-no-respite-ontario-quebec-nb-1.5114910

* "Cyclone Kenneth death toll in Mozambique rises as rain continues:" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/29/cyclone-kenneth-death-toll-in-mozambique-rises-as-rain-continues

* "'A narrative is being built': Bollywood's battle for Indian hearts and minds:" https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/apr/29/a-narrative-is-being-built-bollywoods-battle-for-indian-hearts-and-minds

* "Mnuchin Says Trade Negotiations With China Are in ‘the Final Laps’:" https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/28/us/politics/mnuchin-china-us-trade-negotiations.html

* "President Trump has made more than 10,000 false or misleading claims:" https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/04/29/president-trump-has-made-more-than-false-or-misleading-claims/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.36b042299535

* "You can probably guess what kind of food Trump served NCAA champs today:" http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/you-can-probably-guess-what-kind-of-food-trump-served-ncaa-champs-today-1514643523992

* "Jerry Nadler pushes back against Barr on terms of testimony:" https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/28/nadler-barr-testimony-mueller-report-1291391

* "Trump pulls out all of the stops to impede investigations:" http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/trump-pulls-out-all-of-the-stops-to-impede-investigations-1514535491660

We need to start arresting people.

* "History's examples expose emptiness of Barr objections to hearing:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/history-s-examples-expose-emptiness-of-barr-objections-to-hearing-1514702403570

* "Rod Rosenstein, Face Of Russia Probe, To Step Down As Deputy Attorney General:" https://www.npr.org/2019/04/29/601484448/rod-rosenstein-face-of-russia-probe-to-step-down-as-deputy-attorney-general

* "White House Reviewing Stephen Moore’s Writings:" https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/29/us/politics/stephen-moore-fed-women.html

* If you can not protest Stephen Moore's nomination to the Fed Board to your senators in person, here are some other options:

Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to the representative of your choice.

This App phones your rep for you: http://takeastance.us/

Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resistbot.io/

* "Mitch McConnell Signs Shirt Joking About Merrick Garland’s Death:" https://www.thedailybeast.com/mitch-mcconnell-signs-shirt-joking-about-merrick-garlands-death

* "Senator Cory Booker on his case for the presidency:" http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/senator-cory-booker-on-his-case-for-the-presidency-1514647107526

* "Beto O'Rourke releases $5 trillion climate plan:" http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/beto-o-rourke-releases-5-trillion-climate-plan-1514649155759

* "Pete Buttigieg - "Shortest Way Home" and His 2020 White House Bid - Extended Interview:"

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* I endorse this. "Democratic primary hits full stride, more sign Indivisible Pledge:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/democratic-primary-hits-full-stride-more-sign-indivisible-pledge-1514704451660

* This is exciting. "Activist women look to consolidate power for 2020 election:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/activist-women-look-to-consolidate-power-for-2020-election-1514705987514

* "Group sues Federal Election Commission over allegation NRA broke campaign-finance law:" https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/24/politics/gun-safety-group-lawsuit-fec-nra-campaign-finance/index.html

* "Trump says NRA is 'under siege' after New York opens investigation:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/apr/29/trump-nra-new-york-investigation-attorney-general

* "New investigation adds to mounting problems plaguing NRA:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/new-investigation-adds-to-mounting-problems-plaguing-nra-1514702403732

* "As Trump stands by Charlottesville remarks, rise of white-nationalist violence becomes an issue in 2020 presidential race:" https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-trump-stands-by-charlottesville-remarks-rise-of-white-nationalist-violence-becomes-an-issue-in-2020-presidential-race/2019/04/28/83aaf1ca-69c0-11e9-a66d-a82d3f3d96d5_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.70c55e295942

* "‘It’s basically jail’: Inside NYC’s suspension centers, where there’s bullying, boredom — and sometimes support:" https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/ny/2019/04/18/student-suspension-centers-new-york-city/

* "Climate Science: Crash Course History of Science #45:"

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* "One Doctor’s Answer to Drug Deaths: Opioid Vending Machines:" https://www.wired.com/story/one-doctors-answer-to-drug-deaths-opioid-vending-machines/

* "Science professor allegedly taught students to make ecstasy:" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/17/science-professor-allegedly-taught-students-to-make-ecstasy

* "James & Andrew Garfield Can't Land 'Game of Thrones' Roles:"

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* Fork Theory: https://butlerbookbinding.tumblr.com/post/184538235039/aro-leo-cipheramnesia-jenroses-have-i

* Game of Thrones this week was an impressive display of fundamental incompetence on every level. The writing started noticeably deteriorating in season three and has often been incoherent since season four, and the costume department has always been a mess, but mostly the other departments were still making an effort. Not today, alas.

For some reason the lighting department didn't even try and no one in cinematography, editing, the director, nor anyone involved anywhere in the production cared that they were often filming basically nothing. I'm not kidding here. Most of the first half hour was vaguely mottled darkness punctuated by the occasional shot of silhouettes or Daenerys or Davos, who for some reason were the only people who's faces Cinematography and Lighting thought we needed to see. It would have be laughably bad if it weren't so frustrating. There was an occasional visible scene here and there after that, but the episode as a whole was nearly unwatchable, to the point I wandered off at one point to wash my interior windows forgetting it was on. Here is a dramatic zoom towards a triangle of pitch black, which I can only imagine was intended to convey the fundamental nihilism and pointlessness of the show at this point. Here is a wide pan of vaguely leprous dark as if they thought that their inability to shoot anything visible to the naked eye was some how impressive.

The only way to get any clue as to what was happening was the equally incompetent sound design. They decided to go with blasting the foley and background sound while keeping any dialog to a soft mumble one had to strain to parse over all the meaningless noise. I assume the lack blob on the field of grey with wing noises was Jon Snow doing nothing of import, for example, and the zombie sounds meant that the long sequence of the camera following faceless silhouettes was Arya hiding from the ice zombies. It might have had more suspense to it if they had maybe let us see the ice zombies and Arya's face before the end of the sequence when Beric showed up with his flaming sword and thus a visible face.

What little I could tell of the tactics made no sense. Before the frost dragon showed up, why were they flying around on dragons doing nothing? Wouldn't it have made way more sense to be raking the ice zombie hoard with dragon fire? what is the point of having dragons in a battle like this if you don't use them? That goes a hundred times more for after the retreat behind the walls. Since they made the "artistic" decision not to have any of the characters except Davos, Beric, and Daenerys lit well enough to see, why couldn't they wear helmets, which is the logical fucking thing to do in every battle ever. the cinematic excuse that they can't wear helmets is null and void if you are planning to show an hour and a half of poorly lit silhouettes struggling indistinctly against an equally poorly lit foe.

If the plan was to simply broadcast darkness with shitty sound design, it seems to me they could have saved a lot of money and done it like a radio play. If they had competently recorded what dialog there was in a studio with narration for the blind, I would have been able to go do something useful and been able to tell what was going on instead of sitting there getting angrier and and angrier at the impossibility of guessing what action was occurring.

I do not understand why they'd spend all that money to shoot about an hour of incoherent darkness out of an hour and a half show. Couldn't they tell from the dailies that nothing was visible? If this was the good footage, what was the bad footage like?

So did anything at all happen this week? Was anyone able to tell?

* The Long Night is the Worst Episode of Game of Thrones":" https://www.thefandomentals.com/the-long-night-is-the-worst-episode-of-game-of-thrones/

*****
* Full list of Resistance and charity links has been migrated to my profile as it was getting out of hand.

* "Books for low-income kids who don't have enough books Needed:" https://delight.dreamwidth.org/156856.html

* Want to help LGBTQIA+ folk escapr repressive regimes? https://www.rainbowrailroad.com/donate

* Donate to HIAS to help refugees: https://act.hias.org/page/6048/donate/1

* Want to contribute directly to the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services fund? "Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services:" https://www.raicestexas.org/

* Support Kids at the Border: http://brigdh.tumblr.com/post/175022384240/support-the-kids-at-the-border

* The Rainbow Road and other ways to help Gay Refugees: http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/160470723507/the-rainbow-railroad-is-helping-gay-men-escape

* Upset about the abuse of big cats by people who shouldn't be allowed to keep them? Big cat rescue is trying to change laws to protect wild animals. "Cat Laws:" https://bigcatrescue.org/cat-laws/

* A list of organizations to help you run for office: http://lovingmyselfishard.tumblr.com/post/167330144634/psst-hey

* Have something you want to tell your Congress Critters? If you can not protest in person, here are some other options:

Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to the representative of your choice.

* This App phones your rep for you: http://takeastance.us/

* Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resistbot.io/

* This is a cool person and the swimsuits are being made from an ethical source. LGBTQIA+ swimsuits: https://www.etsy.com/shop/NerdyKeppie?ref=l2-shopheader-name§ion_id=24021616

* Help pay for cat food, litter, meds, medical copays: Paypal Lethran@gmail.com or paypal.me/Gwydion

* Birthday/Solstice master list: https://gwydion.dreamwidth.org/1925021.html