The Freshman (1925)

Bits and pieces, Kleine Abschnitte der Skizze

I have been quite busy with school recently so these are some older drawings from my sketch book

Finished Reprisal last night and I'm devastated at the ending. I knew it wasn't going to have a conclusive ending but I didn't expect that many questions to be left unanswered.

Where did the Phoenix's go? What will Meredith do when she finds them? Big Graham disappeared for a few episodes and then he came back to have a chat? Johnson knew about Ethan? For how long? Why didn't he say anything? It seemed like he's been a Phoenix for a long time, did he know how corrupt Burt was? Who is Alice? I'm guessing an ex by how they talked about her but we just don't know. Speaking of Johnson, what is he? How old is he? Is he an immortal being because the official Reprisla twitter is very ominous with their "he's been around a long time" line. I'm so confused. My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.

(Me going to Hulu to demand more Reprisal)

Johnson, I think his hair should be poofier tho

I’m honestly fucking appalled that the greater LGBT community is dead silent on the fact that the Indian Child Welfare Act is going under review which means that white people are finalizing their steps at complete genocide against us (Native peoples). They will sterilize all Natives and steal our babies to be raised by you demons (white people). I’m sure the gays are silent though because how many white gays adopt children not of their own race. Fucking baby stealers.

My view out the window

Stranger Things and Netflix are trying to capitalize off the Holocaust.

No, this is not a joke. This is not a stretch of the imagination. And no, I’m not putting a read-more on this post because it deserves a full look-through. This is happening in Lithuania, right now, where Netflix has turned a former Nazi prison into a Stranger Things themed hotel.

Yes, you read that right. Just a quick Google search will confirm its existence. The Lukiškės Prison in Vilnius, Lithuania is a former Nazi prison. In a country that already tries to erase it’s involvement with the Holocaust (I’m still talking about Lithuania), this offense is particularly egregious.

Here’s the change.org petition that @chaosklutz​ sent me that first alerted me to this abhorrent, insensitive bullshittery: https://www.change.org/p/hold-netflix-and-stranger-things-accountable. 

Copy-pasted below is the description from the petition.

It has come to the attention of the Jewish and Rroma community that the new season for Stranger Things was filmed in the Lukiškės prison in Lithuania. Though having functioned as a prison centuries before, it became notorious during WWII for it’s Nazi involvement and the kidnapping, imprisonment, and torture of about 100,000 Jews, Rroma, and political prisoners.

To make matters worse, Stranger Things and Netflix have both agreed to turn Lukiškės into a fully functioning hotel, ran by Airbnb, where visitors can spend the night in themed cells, tour the Stranger Things themed building, and make waffles. The price ranges from about €104-114 a night and it was said to start it’s function June 4th.

Fans of Stranger Things are now getting numerical tattoos on their arms because they are inspired by the show, the Stranger Things Instagram has even reposted photos their fans have submitted; thus encouraging their behavior. Not only does this mock the shared trauma of the Jewish and Rroma community, but it further desecrates the living memories of Holocaust survivors (a significant portion are alive today) and their descendants.

Lithuania is already known for their outright denial of their participation in the Holocaust and their allyship with the Nazis. Lithuania turned Seventh Fort, a concentration camp responsible for one of the worst mass killings in Lithuanian history, into a wedding venue. A Nazi prison where Jews, Rroma, and political kid prisoners were kidnapped, starved, imprisoned, and tortured is now a wedding venue.

We refuse to let this continue.

We, Jews and Rroma, call you to sign this petition and hold Stranger Things and Netflix accountable for their Holocaust erasure. Money earned from this season should be put back into the Jewish and Rromani communities of Lithuania as reparations for the damage this season is causing and a public apology from Airbnb, Netflix, and Stranger Things should be issued immediately with a full understanding as to how this adds to the erasure of the victims of the Holocaust and the ongoing persecution of Romani communities.  We also demand the immediate shut down of the Airbnb.

We will not be erased. The Holocaust is not for the entertainment industry to build wealth off of and turn into theatre. It is our genocide and for Rroma it is ongoing.

We hope to reach out to current Jewish and Rroma communities in Lithuania in hopes of help for accountability. Either way, sharing this petition, signing it, and donating to the Jewish and Romani organizations and charities below would be a great help! Thank you!

TO CONTACT US PLEASE EMAIL: JxRSTPetition@protonmail.me

WAYS TO SUPPORT THE JEWISH AND RROMA COMMUNITIES:

LIETUVOS ZYDU (LITVAKU) BENDRUOMENÈ (Lithuania Jewish Community): donations accepted! https://www.lzb.lt/en/

ERRC (European Rroma Rights Center): A perfect tool to learn, volunteer and donate http://www.errc.org/get-involved/donate

Domari Society: Rroma in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip! Donate, learn about them and support their businesses! https://www.sunbula.org/en/article/10/Domari-Society-of-Gypsies-in-Jerusalem The Jewish Center for Community Development: https://www.jdc-iccd.org/#about

ERGO (European Rroma Grassroots Organization): donate, learn, volunteer, and support their projects! https://ergonetwork.org

Memorial Museum of Holocaust in Lithuania and Vilna Ghetto: https://www.jmuseum.lt/en/about-the-museum-3/i/220/memorial-museum-of-holocaust-in-lithuania-and-vilna- ghetto/

Again, here is the petition link: https://www.change.org/p/hold-netflix-and-stranger-things-accountable.

Please sign and share the petition, and donate if you can. The signature goal is 7.5k - they’re almost there! We can surpass that goal!

This kind of behavior is utterly disgusting and those at fault need to be held accountable. If your blood isn’t boiling after reading about this, read again.

“If anyone needs to go camping in my state…” “If anyone needs to visit their aunt/cousin/friend…”

STOP. STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP.

FOR YOUR SAFETY, S T O P.

DO NOT VOLUNTEER TO HOST RANDOM STRANGERS. DO NOT AGREE TO BE HOSTED BY A RANDOM STRANGER.

DO NOT PUBLICLY POST THAT YOUR HOUSE WILL BE AN ABORTION SAVE HAVEN. OFFICIAL NETWORKS TO DO THIS ALREADY EXIST, NETWORKS THAT HAVE THE ABILITY TO BACKGROUND CHECK, AND SHIELD THEIR VOLUNTEERS FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT

I know how obnoxious this is to say, but please: reblog this. I see these posts a lot, and I know most of you have good intentions. But these unoffical auntie networks are dangerous, both for those trying to help, and those seeking help. Law enforcement sees you. Violent anti-abortion extremists see you.

[Twitter thread]

something evil possessed me.. something BAD

Last night they were acting Moliere in Fourteenth Street; Dickens was being played through the auspices of Nigel Playfair. Further uptown, George M. Cohan was unveiling the latest George M. Cohan musical comedy. But Broadway, being eternally curious, turned out in greatest numbers at the Biltmore Theater in Forty-Seventh Street, where the result of Mae West's latest encounter with the drama was being performed. This was the exhibit—play is not precisely the word—with a vaudeville background, whose preliminary trip through the Bronx and Queens had been followed by rumors that here was something that might arouse the police to action.

So began the review by an unnamed theater critic for the Times on October 2, 1928. It appeared, not in the arts section, but following a front-page story about the police ... taking action.

The play was Pleasure Man, a reworking by Mae West of her earlier play The Drag. It dealt not with vaudeville, as the critic said, but burlesque, and finished with a lavish drag ball.

Cops were stationed at all theater exits and just as the play was ending, reserves surrounded the front. When the cast tried to leave, they were arrested—56 in all, including West, who also acted in the show.

Of course this attracted audience members (some in evening dress, the Times noted) from other theaters nearby. The presence of cabs and other cars waiting to pick up theater-goers and actors added to the chaos.

Flashlights exploded as news photographers tried to capture the actors being led into paddy wagons. The police had to make five trips to get everyone to the station house on 47th St., where they were charged with indecency.

By 2:30 in the morning, Actors Equity posted bail. West's was $500, which may have been more than the others because she was doubly guilty, having written the play as well as acted in it. The producer, director, and theater staff were not arrested.

For some reason, the cops let the next day's matinee start, but raided it halfway through and arrested everyone once more. They had their own theatrical flair.

The trial wasn't held until April of 1930, and resulted in a hung jury. By that time West was a star, having triumphed in another play of her own called Diamond Lil. The next year she went to Hollywood.

Top photo: J.D. Doyle via Digital Transgender Archive Second photo: NY Daily News