martes, 31 de marzo de 2015

THE ART OF THE POSSIBLE

For Otto von Bismarck said so:















One has no rules
is not precise
One rarely acts
yhe same way twice
One spurns no device
practicing the art of the possible 

One always picks
the easy fight
One praises fools
one smothers light
one shifts left to right
It's part of the art of the possible 


One always claims
mistakes were planned
When risk is slight
one takes one's stand
with much sleight of hand
Politics--the art of the possible 

One has no rules
is not precise
One rarely acts 
the same way twice
One spurns no device
Politics--the art of the possible 

domingo, 29 de marzo de 2015

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER: SOIRÉE AT NOBLE ACADEMY

Mesdames et messieurs!


This evening, the most renowned boarding school in the worlds of anime hosted the main event of its calendar, and delighted us with the presence and brilliance of its beautiful elite. Everyone was radiant.




From Student Council President Minami Kaido...

...to top model Kirara Amanogawa.

Reiko Kisaragi looked wonderful in sky blue.




The cuisine was excellent.



The whole student council of Noble Academy was there, and its male members debuted during the course of the series.

Raising their glasses at unison:
The Noble Academy Student Council roster. 
From left to right: 
Naoto Koshiba (dark-haired and mature in black, Male Secretary), 
Shun Imagawa (red-haired, in blue, Male Vice President), 
Minami Kaido (teal-haired, President and Princess of Noble Academy, center stage),
Ayaka Nishimine (blond, Female Secretary),
Seira Azuma (auburn, not tomboyish for once, Female Vice President)


Ayaka and Seira looking as elegant as always. 
(I ship both of them together, as I now do to Naoto and Shun as well).
Seeing Seira in ladylike attire for a change surprised me, 
and she appears more mature than Ayaka considering her size,
physique, and haircut.


Our dashing young male members of the Student Council make a lovely couple.
They also remind me of Loras (Shun) and Renly (Naoto)...
More debuts, the Council complete, and a new ship sailing from this point on!

Shun is also a bit of a womanizer... well, or at least a teaser,
more immature and outspoken than any other member of the Student Council.
The only one who resists his charms is Minami,
which is what the Council needs...








Lastly, our dear class president Minami Kaido also revealed her fatal flaw, what makes her truly human. Yet she was brave in admitting that she has always been afraid of ghosts.

When both of them were children, Seira usually teased her friend Minami.
As a real-life phobic, I have to admit that hurting her feelings like that 
was more than a little insensitive.



An aspiring filmmaker had his dream Closed during the event, 
and then started summoning these white lithe spirits...

This was Minami Kaido's subsequent reaction.


However, she managed to snap out of it.
Close was aghast (never better said).


Next week, the Cures will follow dorm matron Mrs. Shirogane 
into the woods and home before dark.
But the most important thing that will happen will be 
the discovery of the fourth Dress-Up Key:

Furthermore, within a month, Scarlet and her other identity of Twilight 
will appear playing the violin in the woods...
EPISODE 13: "A Cold Timbre...! The Black Princess Appears!"
AIRDATE: April 26th
So she plays and loves classical music... Interesting...

And I hope she still does post-coat turn:


viernes, 27 de marzo de 2015

THE STORMLANDS BY BRIENNE OF TARTH

Both the Maid's voice and the art are gorgeous!

MORE EAH GOODIES


Lizzie Hearts and Kitty Cheshire, ready for springtime!

Then there's this novel I have got. 
Lizzie is a POV character, and Maddie and Kitty are also in lead roles.
I identify more and more with the Princess of Hearts while I read it...
for the two of us have so much in common!

NEW EAH BOOK IN SPAIN!!!

NEW EAH BOOK IN SPAIN!!!

That's right, and, to keep my heart a-throbbing, it's a Lizzie-centric adventure!!!


So Liz is competing in a villain contest for the top prize!!!

Her opponents include:
Ginger Breadhouse, daughter of the Hexenhaus Witch (in Hansel & Gretel), a nerdy pâtissière
Faybelle Thorne, descendant of Maleficent, a spunky goth cheerleader
Sparrow Hood, son of Robin Hood, a hard rocker
and some others.

Needless to say I bet all my cards on Lizzie Hearts, and I keep on cheering on her!

You're gonna win!
Don't wanna be a loser, gonna win!
'Cause winning really is the only thing!
Get out of her way, she's coming in!
If you wanna fight, just step inside the ring!
Does anybody wanna take a swing?
It's gotta be all or nothing!!
Oh, you're gonna be the champion!
Yeah!

You're goin' all the way! You're gonna win! win!

You're gonna win!
Forget about a draw, you've gotta score!
And then you're gonna get a few more!
Maybe another one just to be sure!
You'll make them look just like amateurs!
Until the final whistle it's a war!
And then you're gonna pick 'em off the floor!
We wanna hear the crowd really roar!
Yeah, you're comin' in! you're gonna win! win!

Yeah!

You're gonna win, you wanna win!
'Cause number one is everything!
You're gonna win, you wanna win!
You're gonna be the champion!
You're gonna win, win!




TSQ-IV PROCELLOUS RETELLING

'Cause I can't stop beating that dead pegasus for passion's sake, here's another retelling of the thousand-times-told tale, mesdames et messieurs (before I get into the third section of the Elysenne of Tarth story, which is a Lemony retelling set in the Stormlands):

The princess is Barbara Gordon and the prince is Dick Grayson (Robin):

In the kingdom we are in now, there lives a Princess who is extraordinarily clever; for she has read all the books in the whole world, and has not forgotten them again, so clever is she. She was lately, it is said, sitting on her throne, which is not very amusing after all, when she began humming an old tune, and it was just, 'Oh, why should I not be married?' "That song is not without its meaning,' said she, and so then she was determined to marry; but she would have a husband who knew how to give an answer when he was spoken to, not merely one who looked only as if he were a great personage, for that is so tiresome. She then had all the ladies of the court drummed together; and when they heard her intention, all were very pleased, and said, 'We are very glad to hear it; it is the very thing we were thinking of.

The newspapers appeared forthwith with a border of hearts and the initials of the Princess; and therein you might read that every good-looking young man was at liberty to come to the palace and speak to the Princess; and the one who was as clever as the Princess would be her husband.

People came in crowds, but no one was successful either on the first or second day. They could all talk well enough when they were out in the street; but as soon as they came inside the palace gates, and saw the guard richly dressed in silver, and the lackeys in gold on the staircase, and the large illuminated saloons, then they were shy; and when they stood before the throne on which the Princess was sitting, all they could do was to repeat the last word they had uttered, and to hear it again did not interest her very much. It was just as if the people within were under a charm, and had fallen into a trance till they came out again into the street; for then they could chatter enough. There was a whole row of them standing from the town-gates to the palace.

Now, on the third day, there came a little boy, with bright eyes and long dark hair, who walked boldly up to the palace alone.

He had a little knapsack on his back.

Now then, the boy went up to the Princess, and spoke to her well, but he was not there to woo the Princess, but hear her wisdom, and they spoke for many hours.

into the garden in the large avenue, where one leaf was falling after the other; and when the lights in the palace had all gradually disappeared...

through the palace, and in the first room  there were two beds, one which held the Princess, and the other a sleeping man.

The Prince resembled him in neck and hair, but not at all in body. The Princess, too, awoke, and - oh! the Ravens had not mentioned her beauty, her red hair curled about her face, and her green eyes seemed to know everything – asked what the matter was.

"Poor little thing," said the Prince and Princess, and they praised the Ravens. The Princess gave her a key, and told her that there was a room she could sleep in for the night, and the Prince showed her where it was.

"How good are men and animals!"

the Princess, who told her to call her Barbara, for that was her name, and the Prince, who also told her to call him by his name, Richard, gave her a carriage all made of gold and filled with good things to eat, and had their coat of arms on it. The Princess also gave her a fine purple cape, all lined with fur.

They visited the Prince and Princess, who were now wed and quite happy together.

jueves, 26 de marzo de 2015

STILL THAT PREJUDICE AGAINST HIGH CULTURE

Den präktiga fosterfamiljen i Isdraken bor i ett stort hus i södra Sverige utanför Stockholm, lyssnar på klassisk musik vid det väldukade bordet och har den präktiga ytan. Men skenet bedrar...  En iskyla präglar måltiderna och barnen verkar genuint elaka. Tonårsdottern Louise och hennes lillebror Niklas är bortskämda djurplågare, medan föräldrarna Eva och Rikard är otroligt stränga.

VÄRFÖR SKA KLASSISK MUSIK OCH PRÄKTIGHET GESTALTAS HÄR SOM NGT NEGATIVT???

STÄNDIGT DENNA MEDEL- OCH UNDERKLASSENS FÖRAKT MOT FINKULTUR!!!

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

Fostermamman (Eva) - Anna Ulrika EricssonFosterpappan (Rikard) - Tobias Aspelin
NiklasJohn Grahl ÅströmLouiseJulia Sporre

 en mer permanent och passande fosterfamilj i södra Sverige; som dock inte är fullt lika charmiga som de verkar vid en första anblick.

en fosterfamilj. Och som om det inte vore nog så är det en riktigt elak familj 
 en fosterfamilj ... De är vidrigt elaka ...

en otrevlig fosterfamilj. 

en 'väl fungerande familj' som driver en kennel.
 Familjemedlemmarna visar sig vara rena skräckkabinettet 

En väl fungerande familj

en perfekt familj med pappa, mamma och två barn i ett stort hus med många husdjur. Denna kärnfamilj, som lyssnar på klassisk musik vid det väldukade bordet, visar sig givetvis vara minst sagt disharmonisk under den präktiga ytan. En iskyla präglar måltiderna och barnen verkar genuint elaka. Det framgår att familjen tar sig an fosterbarn för att det ger en smickrande bild av dem som socialt ansvarsfulla...

den till synes trevliga fosterfamiljen, med massor av djur och frisk luft.

Men mest karikerade är onekligen den präktiga fosterfamiljen. Samtliga är perfekta vuxna i en skrattspegel.

 Det är en dålig fosterfamilj.
Pappan i familjen framställs som ytterst känslokall och diktatorisk, något sonen i familjen tycks ha ärvt.

en annan familj. Familjen består av en sträng mamma en noggrann pappa, en 15-16 årig tjej som duschar tre gånger om dagen och en livsfarlig son som tycker om att skuta små grejer på långt håll. 

och storebroden i familjen är väldigt elak 

en ny känslokall fosterfamilj.
en perfekt fosterfamilj

strax utanför Stockholm hos en fosterfamilj som har kennel. De föder upp hundar av rasen riesenschnauzer.

en fosterfamilj i södra Sverige. 
 och barnen i familjen är alldeles odrägliga

en hemsk fosterfamilj,

en fosterfamilj av sällan skådad dysfunktionalitet och mobbning.



Mamman gråter dottern gråter sonen är galen och dödar pappan är sträng
 Niklas skjuter fåglar och Louise rider.  Niklas får äta flingor.  Niklas äter vad han vill. 
Det känns inte som en fungerande familj eftersom: då är det bara Niklas som får flingor till frukost...
 Louise och Niklas får göra de dom tycker om t.ex. Louise rider typ hela tiden och Niklas får skuta massa fåglar hela tiden. (sen gör han inget med dom förutom att typ slänga dom...) Pappan värkar otroligt sträng 
INGEN BRA FAMILJ! 
Vad de kan betyda? 
Kanske att familjen kan behöva hjälp så att dom kan bli en fungerande familj (på riktigt). Eftersom det känns som att det är något fel någon stans i familjegrejen... :(
och att louise piskar sin häst, och att Niklas skjuter fåglar och
Föräldrarna behandlar Niklas och Louise bra. Dom behöver inte göra något och får äta det dom vill. 
Rikard och Eva är bra föräldrar mot Niklas och Louise. 
De är snälla mot Louise & Niklas, Niklas får äta flingor.
Jag tycker att familjen inte är en fungerande familj för att... Niklas får flingor.
Nicklas bestämmer nästan hela tiden
Mamman är sträng, pappan är sträng, dottern är elak och piskar sin häst och sonen är galen och skjuter fåglar...
De tecken som jag ser är att ingen i familjen verkar tycka om varandra och barnen/ungdomarna tar ut sin ilska på djur (Niklas på olika fåglar och Louise på den svarta hästen) och så klarar inte föräldrarna av att någon inte följer "reglerna" eller har en annan åsikt om något.
De pratar aldrig med varandra. Både Louise och Niklas piskar och dödar djur. Föräldrarna i familjen verkar inte bry sig om barnen eller vad barnen gör. Det enda pappan verkar bry sig om är en gammal hund som är på väg att dö.
De tecken som finns är att ingen i familjen verkar gilla varandra. De pratar inte så ofta med varandra och gör inte saker med varanda, de är bara sura.
De tecken jag ser är att ingen gillar varandra i den där lite annorlunda familjen.  Louise och Niklas tar ut all sin familjeilska på djur: Niklas på fåglar och Louise på sin häst.
Dem pratar inte med varandra särskilt mycket. Föräldrarna blir väldigt arga om inte alla gör som dom ska ... Niklas får flingor tills han kräks... 
 Niklas skjuter fåglar för att ta ut sin ilska, och Louise tar ut sin ilska på hästar. Föräldrarna verkar vara lite för stränga och blir arga väldigt enkelt.
Föräldrarna är hårda och Louise och Niklas är elaka.



lunes, 23 de marzo de 2015

GO PRINCESS EP 8: SOIRÉE IS COMING

Next week, Noble Academy will host a soirée... so this one, we were seeing the Cures prepare for the big day.

There are two weeks left until the fourth key is revealed...
(GoT theme song playing in my head)

Kirara cleaning Ruka's DIY ballgown

Minami showing off her outfit

Madame Shamour shows the Cures the assorted Noble Academy wardrobe
(I would KILL for one of those dresses!)...

Lastly, the youngest Dysdark Locked a new target:
an aspiring pâtissière (pastry baker, in lay English).


So stay here for our coverage of the Noble Academy Grand Soirée!

Raise a glass and put on your best!

However: watch out if you see any of these three!!!
Or else...
Close your eyes...
Shut up...
and Lock the door!


Stay tuned in for next week... 
will it be a fête worse than death 
or a night to remember?








sábado, 21 de marzo de 2015

THE OTHELLO DRINKING GAME

THE OTHELLO DRINKING GAME

Take a drink for every time a couple starts cooing and intimating.
Make it two if it's Othello and Desdemona.
Take a drink for every time Roderigo talks about his misfortune in love.
Take a drink for every time someone makes an erotic comment.
Make it two if it's Iago.
Take a drink for every time someone says "Desdemona".
Make it two if it's Othello.
Make it three if it's Cassio.
Make it four if it's Roderigo.
Take a drink for every time someone says "Cassio".
Make it two if it's Iago.
Take a drink for every time someone says "lieutenant".
Make it two if it's Iago.
Take a drink for every time someone mentions Othello's ethnic descent.
Make it two if it's Othello himself.
Take a drink for every time someone mentions the handkerchief.
Make it two if it's Othello.
Take a drink for every time a female character is assertive.
Take a drink for every time Iago breaks the fourth wall.
Take a drink for every time someone falls for Iago's lies.
Make it two for every time someone says Iago is "honest" or otherwise trustworthy.
Make it three if it's Othello.
Take a shot for every song.
Take a shot for every death.
Make it two for Cassio's "resurrection."

OTHELLO: SPANISH FILM

CROSSOVER REINCARNATION AU

I, René Enjolras, born in Arles in 1815, died in the faubourgs of Paris in 1832, childless.
Once leader of a revolutionary group of university students.
Now resurrected by decree of the Lady of the Underworld, to aid freedom fighters during occupation.
The French dream that once came true, after our sacrifice, is now once more endangered.
My call: to gather the reincarnations of the other Amis and the descendant of Marius. To encourage them to fight back. To expel those who call themselves Nazis from our lands.
But... what if someone disbelieves?
And... what if someone was reborn across the borders, among the enemy?

PENSIONNAT WESELTON

THAT CADET CROSSOVER AU
known as
PENSIONNAT WESELTON
****************************************************************
This AU, one of my Dream 'Verses, had the male leads of our fave princess films (and a few female extras) as dashing cadets at a military academy, mostly for shipping and uniform-wearing purposes (shubiduba!)

Naveen is the new foreign 'schange student who just wants to have fun, but keeps on getting into scrapes. Flynn Rider is his guide and upperclassman (not to mention roomate). Kristoff the inept fixer-upper, Hans the chessmaster, Edward the stuck-up alpha male (hammy and of evident sexuality), Henri (the Beast as human) a former member of the popular clique turned outsider (and a werebeast!), Phoebus and Helga the cool instructors, Gaston the alpha male at a military academy of the enemy nation (uh-uh), John Smith the one who lost his lieutenancy and must start anew, Eric the nice shy guy (and Hans's older trueborn brother), Amelia the token catgirl...
Add an international competition, German lessons, Maldonian culture shock, a school production of Othello with a nearly all-male cast (with Naveen as Othello and Hans as Iago, obviously!) for shipping's sake, you know...

Of course, the roster of main students at the Pensionnat Weselton consisted of the following:
Naveen of Maldonia
Eugene "Flynnegan Rider" Fitzherbert
Henri de Valois
Kristoff Bjorgman
Eric of the Southern Isles
Hans of the Southern Isles
Edward of Andalasia
John Smith
Amelia Smollett

(later on) Dimitri Alekseievich Lenski
Louis Leonowens (still a child, yet as clever as he is kawaii)
Merida DunBroch (fiery, no longer is Amelia the token female).

Many of them had retainers such as:
Lumière
Grimsby
Nathaniel
Thomas "Tommy"

The coolest instructors were:
Helga Sinclair (German teacher and intelligence expert, defected from the Kriegsanstalt)
Phébus Enjolras (fencing/riding/physical instructor)
Tamara Jane Calhoun (physical instructor, with an unrequited crush on Edward)

The worst instructors were:
James Hook, AKA "Lefty" (self-expression, artistic talents)
and
über-gay commandant/headmaster Ratcliffe, AKA "Ratty"
with
Percy the Queer Pug

Then there was the later commandant/headmaster, after Ratcliffe died of a heart attack shortly before the Othello arc (this was a younger, hotter, and more dashing headmaster, what Pensionnat Weselton deserved)
James "Jamie" Norrington

Of course there was a state visit (before Ratcliffe's death and the Othello arc) from
The LX Duke of Weselton
(played out as a homage to Bienvenido Mr. Marshall)
who also appeared in the tournament arc against the Kaiserliche Kriegsanstalt.

The tournament arc introduced, among others, the following members of the Kaiserliche Kriegsanstalt:
Lyle Tiberius Rourke, the foreign headmaster
Gaston Le Gume d'Avenant (and his aide, Le Fou)
Shang Li
Dimitri Alekseievich Lenski (who later transfers to the Pensionnat Weselton and becomes the token foreign exchange student, to whom Naveen is the upperclassman)

And cosmic instances appeared: such as
Hades, Lord of the Underworld
and his consort
Persephone

Every chapter in the introductory arc opens with a "How do I begin to explain..." parody. The subject of which ranged from Pensionnat Weselton to The Tragedy of Othello, and, in the meantime, every single important character, one by one.

The school play du jour was (have we mentioned it before?) Othello, done with a nearly all-male cast (in the end, only one important lead character was crosscast). For fanservice! And for shipping! It's even a musical episode, in which every single scene has at least a song...
Starring:
Naveen of Maldonia as Othello
Henri de Valois as Desdemona
Hans of the Southern Isles as Iago
Edward of Andalasia as Cassio
Amelia Smollett as Emilia
Eugene "Flynnegan Rider" Fitzherbert as Roderigo
Helga Sinclair as Bianca






CELL BLOCK TANGO PARODIES





THE COLONEL'S TALE

The Knight's Tale... as a MUSICAL with two officers in OUTER SPACE!!!




















viernes, 20 de marzo de 2015

COLOUR MY DAY

FIVE GOOD MEN

LIFE OF WHOOPIE PI

What can be more frightening than a boy in a rowboat adrift in the Pacific with a starving tiger?
A boy in a rowboat adrift in the Pacific with a starving cookie monster...



SONS OF POETRY

STAR S'MORES

May the Four be with you!

HOMELAMB

THE BIG BAD WOLF IS STILL ON THE LAMB.
ONLY ONE SHEEP AGENT CAN STOP HIM:
NICHOLAS BAARODY.
BUT IS HE REALLY WHAT HE IS?

UPSIDE-DOWNTON ABBEY

HOUSE OF BRICKS

"Three Little Pigs" meets House of Cards:

THE CASUALTIES OF WESTEROS