“Damsels in Distress” Causes the Audience to Be in Pain
May 12th
“Audience in Pain”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Damsels in Distress is the fourth movie written and directed by Whit Stillman, all of them have received favorable reviews, but I thought this was the worst movie I have seen in a very long time.
The story takes place at a school called Seven Oaks University, and it begins during new-student orientation at the start of the school year when three girls approach a new girl attending the school and one of them says to her, “We’d like to help you.”
The three girls are Violet, Heather, and Rose, and the new girl is Lily, who is a sophomore and is transferring into the university.
The leader of the group is Violet, and she does most of the talking, which takes place when they are walking, which takes place when they are dancing, and which even takes place when the girls get into bed at night, where they all sleep in the same room.
Violet, Heather, and Rose volunteer at the Suicide Prevention Center, where they help some students to get over their depression with tap dancing.
Incidentally, when Violet herself gets depressed later in the story over a boy she thinks she is in love with, she doesn’t like to use the word “depressed.” She prefers to say that she “is in a tailspin.”
The university has social fraternities on campus, but they make a point of saying that they aren’t Greek fraternities, as there are on most college campuses. These are Roman-letter fraternities like DU, where the girls all go to a party and make fun of the members of the fraternity, whom they call morons and think of their attending as “youth outreach.”
There is no dramatic arc in this movie, just a dramatic plateau. No, make that a valley with no drama at all, because it never reaches the level of a plateau.
I wondered if all the people making this movie were as bored making it as I was watching it. I kept thinking, “Why don’t they just stop talking and do something?”
Violet’s ambition is to start a new dance craze, and the movie ends with a big musical dance number. No, two of them, but by then it is still too late.
Damsels in Distress is so bad that if I never see it again, it will be too soon.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
Media Characterizes Military Invasion of South Florida as “Cool Tourist Story”
May 9th
Hey Florida! Did any of you witness this last night? Here are some news reports about it.
What did you think? Please leave your comments. Thanks, editor.
VIDEO
A joint drill between military and police in South Florida involving troops storming a building in the middle of the night was characterized by local media coverage not as a frightening example of how Americans are being acclimatized to accept a state of martial law but as a ‘cool tourist story’.
Panic-stricken residents in Coconut Grove were awoken at 1am to the sound of simulated gunfire and explosions as military helicopters hovered over buildings and dispatched troops to the ground.
The Department of Defense drills prompted a deluge of 911 calls, but instead of asking why the military is terrifying American citizens on U.S. soil with drills designed to acclimate the public to accept martial law, local news station WSVN-TV framed the incident as a ‘cool tourist story’.
“Miami police assisted in overseeing the exercises — but they were instructed to keep quiet about the exercises until late Monday, for security reasons. The police also blocked off roads around the Grand Bay during the exercise,” reports the Miami Herald.
Source: Paul Joseph Watson, Infowars.com
Flagler College Honors Four Alumni at Awards Dinner
May 9th
Flagler College honored four alumni with special awards at the annual Alumni Awards Dinner earlier this month.
Amy Thompson, a 2006 graduate and merchandising expert with Walmart, was honored with the Young Alumni Achievement Award, which is presented to alumni who are 32 years of age or younger and have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments since graduating. The award recognizes contributions to society, to a profession or to Flagler College.
During her time with Walmart, Thompson has stayed connected to Flagler College’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), serving on the Walmart SIFE Advisory Council and serving on the Business advisory boards of Flagler, John Brown University and Northwest Arkansas Community College. She has also helped to facilitate a relationship between Walmart and Flagler College, including a senior leadership recruiting trip, internships for five students and full time positions for four students.
Pete Peaver, the Dean of Students at Bartram Trail High School in St. Johns County, was awarded the Flagler Service Award, which is presented to alumni who have rendered a high degree of service to Flagler College for more than 10 years.
Peaver, a 1981 graduate, has helped organize or served as the coordinator of the Flagler College Alumni Golf Tournament since the inception and has been instrumental in helping with an increased growth in alumni participation. He played four years of varsity baseball at Flagler and was inducted into the Flagler College Sports Hall of Fame for Baseball in 2007. He was recently named the Florida High School Golf Coach of the Year.
Dr. Beverly Carmichael, Assistant Chancellor for University Advancement at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, was honored with the Professional Achievement Award presented to alumni who have demonstrated significant accomplishments in their fields and have achieved recognition in their field.
A 1972 graduate, Carmichael’s professional background includes serving as Director of Development for Flagler for eight years, as well as 10 years in Washington, D.C. where she served as associate executive director of The American Association for Adult and Continuing Education and director of development for the American Association for Community and Junior Colleges.
Marc Williar, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Flagler College, was given the Pride of Flagler Award, which is given to alumni who have been Flagler College graduates for a minimum of 10 years and have achieved recognition in their field. In addition, these individuals must have rendered service to Flagler College or to their local communities. This is the highest award presented by the college.
Williar, a 1984 graduate, has been with the college since 1988 serving as associate director and director of admissions before taking his current position. During his 17 years as director, Flagler College enrollment grew nearly 100 percent from under 1,300 to more than 2,500. Since taking over as Vice President for Enrollment Management, Williar significantly increased out-of-state enrollment of new first-year students as well as minority student enrollment.
The Alumni Awards were initiated in 1999 to honor those who have made significant contributions to their fields, the college or their communities. Every spring, the awards are presented to deserving alumni at the Alumni Weekend banquet.
