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Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/profile/blog/elizabethlk/sort_by/entry_order DESC, entry_creation_time DESC/page/12
Rated: 13+ · Book · Personal · #2091338
A blog for all things personal, informational, educational, and fun.
Here at my personal blog Thoughts & Things, I share a wide variety of, you guessed it, thoughts and things. Anything that sparks my interest is up for discussion. For those who are uncertain of what that might cover, I'll generally talk about reading, writing, books, movies, music, games, history, current events, and feminism. I talk about my personal emotional and health struggles from time to time. I'm also a big fan of lists.

This is the place here at WDC where you can get to know me best, as I talk about the things that interest me, impact me, and amuse me.
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May 9, 2017 at 12:18am
May 9, 2017 at 12:18am
#910738
Anyone who spend a significant amount of time online has probably come across a webcomic or two. Webcomics can be pretty incredible because the lack of traditional publishing allows them to tell unconventional stories or target niche audiences. I have developed quite a few favourites over the years, although until recent years they seemed to be more constantly evolving. I thought I would take the time to share a few of my current favourites.

Hark! A Vagrant
http://www.harkavagrant.com/
HAV is one of my longstanding webcomic favourites. Kate Beaton mixes literature, history, and pop culture together to hilarious result. My favourites include "Dude Watchin' With the Brontes," "Canadian Steretypes", and her own hilarious rendition of Wonder Woman. As someone who greatly appreciate literature, history, and pop culture, I have yet to find a comic that suits those tastes better than this one. Her website is worth going through, but the collected volumes "Hark! A Vagrant" and "Step Aside Pops" should definitely be given a proper read through, as they offer up much of the best of what Beaton does.

Our Super Adventure
http://oursuperadventure.com/
I only just got into Our Super Adventure in the last year, but I wish I had found it sooner. Most of the posts happen to revolve around the Sarah Graley's home life and relationship, but to marvelous effect. Her rendition of her significant other Stef actually greatly resembles my own significant other, and the relationship dynamics are very similar to my own. With lots of silly language, silly fears, fart jokes, and cat love, it's hard not to relate to these ones for me.

The Oatmeal
http://theoatmeal.com/
The Oatmeal is the one I have been most familiar with for the longest period of time. It will likely always remain among my favourites. At this point, most people seem to be at least somewhat familiar with Matthew Inman's work, particularly given that he has adapted a number of his webcomics to books (like "How to Tell If Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You" or "Why Grizzly Bears Should Wear Underpants"), and he has created his own card game (Exploding Kittens). His content ranges from valid points to sheer nonsense, and I quite like that.

Channelate
http://www.channelate.com/
Channelate is actually the newest find for me on this list. Ryan Hudson's comedy is often dark or quirky, but it's well done, and tickles my funny bone. The bonus panels featured with every entry are an absolute delight, and almost always have a chuckle to add to the initial panel on display. This one also tends to be really active, as well as shared on facebook with every entry, so it's incredibly easy to keep up with new posts.


(I have committed to blogging daily with Give It 100. This is Day Fifteen.)
May 7, 2017 at 7:51pm
May 7, 2017 at 7:51pm
#910647
As a Canadian, I feel comfortable saying that Canada has put out some weird s*** over the years. Fortunately, I am really fond of weird things, and I am thrilled to share with you a few odd examples from the Canadian film industry. I genuinely like all three films, and would recommend watching any of them if they pique your interest.

Phil the Alien
Phil the Alien is genuinely just one of the weirdest films I have seen in general. I found it at the local video rental place as a kid, and eventually got my own copy. Phil is a literal alien whose spaceship crash lands in Northern Ontario. He becomes an alcoholic to cope with the trauma of this, and ends up spending a couple of days in the town jail after getting into a bar fight. While in jail, Phil is introduced to Christianity, and becomes a rapidly devout convert. After leaving jail, he becomes the singer for a Christian rock band, and begins touring the province with the band. All of this goes on while the ineffectual government operatives attempt to chase Phil down. It has a bizarre premise with bizarre execution, but it all works surprisingly well. I have yet to see anything else like it, and it has been well worth my time to watch.

Fetching Cody
Fetching Cody was one of my earliest forays into unusual movies. I actually somehow managed to catch this one on TV as a kid when I was home sick for a day, and then spent forever trying to hunt up a copy after years of looking for it. It didn't live up to memory, but I still consider it worth a watch. Cody goes into a drug induced coma right at the start of the film. The film centres around her boyfriend Art, a drug dealer, who tries to save her. Art's homeless friend has an arm chair with Christmas lights on it that can travel through space and time. Art uses this chair to travel throughout Cody's past to alter small details in the hopes that he can alter her present. It's a rather sweet love story, but delivered in an irresistibly strange way. As I said, it failed to live up to my early adolescent memories, but I have no regrets at hunting it down.

One Week
One Week is probably the most normal film on the list, but it still has a lot of odd things about it, and stands out from typical mainstream cinema. I first saw this one as a random pick when I went to the movies, but absolutely fell in love with it. It focuses around Ben, newly diagnosed with cancer, who decides to take a road trip across the western half of Canada on a motorcycle. The film features a number of minor Canadian celebrity cameos, an all Canadian soundtrack, many real life Canadian monuments, and a really strange Canadian humour to it. For example, Ben takes the road trip because a Tim Hortons Roll Up The Rim cup tells him "Go west young man."

The Trotsky
The Trotsky stars the same lead as Fetching Cody (Jay Baruchel), and it has an equally odd premise. I found this one at the library (our local library keeps a wide variety of Canadian DVDs), and grabbed it because I enjoy Jay Baruchel. In Montreal, Leon Bronstein, high school student, comes to believe that he is the reincarnation of Leon Trotsky. This leads him to do everything from starting workplace unions to dating an older woman. It basically amounts to slightly unhinged, lighthearted political comedy, and it absolutely works.


(I have committed to blogging daily with Give It 100. This is Day Fourteen.)
May 6, 2017 at 10:54pm
May 6, 2017 at 10:54pm
#910604
In North America, on the first Saturday of every May (every May since 2002 anyway), comic shops distribute fee comic books to anyone who wishes to have ones. Most of the major publishers participate in free comic book day offering up a number of fun freebies, and some smaller publishers offer up some too. Some stores also use it as a chance to get rid of excess copies of back issues.

For those not noticing the date, today is Free Comic Book Day! My city has a thriving nerd community, so we actually block off a significant portion of the downtown area just so we can celebrate within the community. We have many stores that enjoy participating (including by putting regular items on sale), the local library helps host events and activities throughout the day, and the street festival vibe is very pleasant.

Today was a bit on the cool and rainy side for May, but it wasn't anything too bad. There was a great selection laid out. I had other stuff to do in the morning, so I unfortunately missed out on a few items that were gone when I arrived, along with the cosplay contest usually run by the library. I still managed to have a lot of fun, and I was able to walk away with a lot of exciting grabs.

I was able to pick up an issue of Cerberus and glamourpuss, a small Drawn and Quarterly collection, a local anthology by local publisher Runciman Press, an issue of Bob's Burgers, a little one called Peach and the Isle of Monsters, and an issue of Fresh of the Boat. I also bought the trade paperback volume of Monstress, which I have been dying to read for a little while and got on sale.

And for anyone who read yesterday's blog post about my "Postcard Collection, I actually was given a DC postcard today for free as well!

I have been waiting for today since the first Saturday of last May, and although I didn't get as much time as I would have liked, I still loved the time I did get. Now I can go back to waiting for the first Saturday of May to come.

(I have committed to blogging daily with Give It 100. This is Day Thirteen.)
May 6, 2017 at 12:20am
May 6, 2017 at 12:20am
#910536
This morning I found a lovely postcard from WDC in the mail. I feel like this is one of those things where I would have loved it regardless, as I have certainly enjoyed previously received items from them. That said, this particular item is actually a bit of a lucky coincidence, as I happen to collect postcards.

I started collecting postcards when I was a little kid. I mostly just liked the way they looked at first. I got one or another here or there. Once I had a few, I found I liked having different ones. I already had a small collection going before I decided to start collecting. My family realised how smitten I was with postcards, and began sending them to me when they were away on vacations.

My dad traveled with the military, and would often send postcards home to me. I have postcards from all over the world from his various military exercises. I actually have a couple of postcards from the military base he was at when he served in Afghanistan. I have postcards from my grandmother's periodic vacations throughout my life. I have a whole stack of postcards from when my mother went to Washington on business trip when I was a kid. Most of these were not actually mailed to me the way a postcard would be, but simply brought home to add to my collection.

When I took a road trip to the east coast as a child, I accumulated quite the stack of additional postcards, my favourites being the Anne of Green Gables ones I got in PEI and the Spring Hill collection I got in Nova Scotia. I once found a postcard from Ottawa dated to 1908 that I purchased at a flea market. I also have bought many postcards on trips to New York and on trips to Ireland.

After my boyfriend and I started dating, he got me a Game of Thrones postcard at Belfast comic-con, and wrote me the most lovely love letter on it. This one remains right next to my desk so that I can look at it whenever I want to feel close to him and can't be.

I probably have postcards in the triple digits at this point. They have become memories of hobbies, travel, family members, love. They are incredibly special to me. The collection is physically something I enjoy having, but the memories it holds are even more important to me. And now WDC gets to be part of my physical memories.

(I have committed to blogging daily with Give It 100. This is Day Twelve.)
May 4, 2017 at 2:55pm
May 4, 2017 at 2:55pm
#910460
I think most people who do a lot of reading and writing tend to have a set of favourite quotes that inspire them in life, or simply ones that they relate to or connect with. I wanted to take a few moments to share some of my favourite quotes with you. I have a great many favourites, but I will keep this limited so as not to make this a quote dumping zone that no one will enjoy. Perhaps I will share further favourite quotes in a future blog post. For now, I will leave you with this limited amount. I will add a brief explanation with each to explain why it ranks among my favourites.

"I must fight with all my strength so that the little positive things that my health allows me to do might be pointed toward helping the revolution. The only real reason for living." - Frida Khalo
Frida Khalo said many intelligent and insightful things during her lifetime, but this is the one that I truly connected with the most. As a person who has many health problems but believes in many causes worth fighting for, this quote holds a special place for me. When I first read it, I couldn't believe someone had put words to something I had often felt.

"My schedule for today lists a six-hour self-accusatory depression." - Philip K Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
When I read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? this quote jumped off the page at me. Of course, the character speaks of an actual schedule, and a depression that she has chosen to place there because it's what feels right to her. It can often feel as if depression has compelled you to set aside time to simply be depressed, and it can be a difficult thing to set aside. It was amazing to me how this was captured given that it was talking about a world in which you can choose your moods.

"History is a novel that has been lived, a novel is history that could have been." - Edmond de Goncourt
I saw this quote placed at the front of a book. I can't remember which one, but the quote stuck with me. This is a feeling that I had all through my childhood. My love for history was compelled by the feeling that history was often like a novel, particularly a fantasy story. I also always had that childhood wonder that made me feel as if many novels could have been reality. This quote connects me back to that childhood feeling.

"The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which." - George Orwell, Animal Farm
George Orwell is easy to quote, and Animal Farm is perhaps one of his most quotable works, despite its short length. This quote can be applied to so many areas of the world, and of politics in particular. This particular quote seems to remain forever relevant, which is why it is so important to remember. We must always fight turning into the things we hate.

“Simply put, feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression. This was a definition of feminism I offered in Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center more than 10 years ago. It was my hope at the time that it would become a common definition everyone would use. I liked this definition because it did not imply that men were the enemy. By naming sexism as the problem it went directly to the heart of the matter. Practically, it is a definition which implies that all sexist thinking and action is the problem, whether those who perpetuate it are female or male, child or adult. It is also broad enough to include an understanding of systemic institutionalized sexism. As a definition it is open-ended. To understand feminism it implies one has to necessarily understand sexism.” -bell hooks, Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics
In reading Feminism is for Everybody, this is one of those quotes that I read and fell in love with. It seems to offer up the perfect definition of feminism, and it seems to sum up many of my own beliefs that I had previously struggled to put words to. I think it perfectly offers a counter to people who believe feminism is irrelevant; sexism is still overtly prevalent, after all.

“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” - JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
JK Rowling has made many profound statements throughout the Harry Potter series (and within the context of speaking for and from herself as well), but none have stuck with me the way this one has. It is easily applied to life and the world, and acts as a reminder to treat everyone equally.

“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” - Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood
I actually haven't read Norwegian Wood (the only Murakami I have read is Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage), although I have been meaning to read it for some time. I found this quote online and it simply leapt out at me. As a huge proponent of reading in a broad variety, this quote stuck with me. To have many ideas, you need to be exposed to many other ideas.

(I have committed to blogging daily with Give It 100. This is Day Eleven.)
May 4, 2017 at 2:25pm
May 4, 2017 at 2:25pm
#910458
My favourite show in the world is The Simpsons. It may not be what it used to be, but those early seasons are the highest quality of animated comedy that TV will probably ever bring us. I have actually been watching it for longer than I can remember. When I was two, my mother was pregnant with my younger sister, whom I was allowed to name (this was a task I took very seriously). I apparently initially asked to name her Maggie (although this was not allowed, and I eventually settled on Emily). Some of my earliest memories are of watching The Simpsons.

Honestly, this is one of those shows that I will always have a special connection to. My dad wasn't always around (military) but when he was watching The Simpsons with him was one of my favourite things to do. I know that between the two of my parents, my dad was the bigger Simpsons fan, and so some of my favourite childhood memories with him are just of watching the show together. I can also remember the show being really important to my mental well being. I have always been the type to need to heal with laughter. Whenever I had had a hard day, whenever I felt sad, I knew my favourite cartoon would be there for me. I even recall using it to heal my grief when people or pets passed away.

As an adult, The Simpsons still has that significance to me. It's there for me when I don't want a person to be. When I need to be comforted alone, it fits me perfectly. It works beautifully to cope with the stress of adult life. At the end of a long day, it's wonderful to just settle in and hear Homer tell the doctor to remember his hippopotamus oath or Bart imagining washing himself with a stick. Just seeing my favourite TV family do their thing makes the bad days better.

I actually started watching every single episode, in order. I am currently up to season fifteen. It is fascinating to see how the show has progressed over the years, in the visuals, the storytelling, the characters, and the jokes. It's also an absolute blast to see episodes I haven't watched in a long time, just for the sake of hearing jokes I didn't get as a kid that are now hilarious to me.

The Simpsons means a lot to me as a whole, and despite its decline in quality in more recent years (and it has been thirty years since it first aired on the Tracey Ullman show, so one could certainly forgive them for the decline), it will probably always hold that special place for me.

(I have committed to blogging daily with Give It 100. This is Day Ten.)
May 2, 2017 at 3:48pm
May 2, 2017 at 3:48pm
#910336
As a person with chronic illnesses, some diagnosed and some still being investigated, I have come to realise that most of the health problems I go through daily tend to be one giant paradox. Some of the health problems I have are more serious, and some of them are mire mundane but frustrating. Ultimately all of them end up becoming part of a bizarre paradox where I am sick because I am sick.

First off, I am in pain. I have nearly constant pain for a number of reasons. One thing that can help prevent pain is keeping active. Unfortunately, being in pain makes most activity rather difficult. I can't exercise because I am in pain, and the pain is worse because I don't exercise. Even worse, when I am able to exercise, I must know exactly where to draw the line, otherwise I hurt myself. As a former athlete, this can be rather difficult to cope with.

Depression is all a part of chronic illness, and it is the ultimate paradox. I am too depressed to do things that make me feel good. I feel better when I do things that make me happy, but I am not always well enough to do those things. The depression feeds into itself.

Sleeping issues are absolutely baffling at times. Have you ever been too tired to sleep? I feel that way almost every night. Of course that means I am nearly constantly tired. I have lied down in public places to relieve the kind of fatigue that is unfathomable to a healthy person, but these resting periods almost never give me energy. I pass out unecessarily, and I can't sleep when I need to.

Nausea and abdominal pain is outrageous for me. I feel sick if I eat, and I feel sick if I don't. Food makes me feel both better and worse all at once. And don't forget the hiccups. They never go away, but food and drink make them worse. Lying in one position aggravates one abdominal symptom, and lying in another aggravates a different one.

Fainting and blacking out is terrifying and I can't seem to prevent it. I am always hoping that it doesn't happen in a moment where I might hurt myself or put myself in danger. Of course, if I don't hurt myself, doctors don't tend to take me as seriously. Passing out for a second on the stairs got me more help from doctors than lengthy blackouts have.

Sitting aggravates my symptoms. Lying down aggravates my symptoms. Standing up aggravates my symptoms. bending over aggravates my symptoms.

There doesntdoesn't seem to be anything that can be done to avoid these circular situations. All I can do is hope that the doctors can do more for me. All I can do is gope I can get the help I need, and get out of this mess of a situation.

(I have committed to blogging daily with Give It 100. This is Day Nine.)
May 2, 2017 at 12:42am
May 2, 2017 at 12:42am
#910288
In the 1920s and 1930s, deaths of film stars and directors were just as sensationalised as they are now. I started discussing some examples of these heavily publicised, scandalous, and significant deaths from this time period in my previous blog post, "Sensational Deaths in The World of Early Cinema: Part One, and I am continuing it here. These deaths are only the tip of the iceberg of early celebrity deaths and Hollywood scandals.

The Death of Peg Entwistle
Peg Entwistle was best known during her lifetime for her career as a stage actress, that began when she was in her late teens. Entwistle even appeared on Broadway a number of times during her short career. She only ever starred in one film, Thirteen Women (1932), and it was released posthumously. Like some of the young stars in my previous list, Peg Entwistle's true fame came as a result of her death. In 1932, at the age of twenty-five, Peg Entwistle took her own life by leaping off of the "H" in the famed "Hollywood" sign. An anonymous woman found Entwistle's belongings near the sign when on a hike, including the suicide note found in her purse. When she looked down the mountain, she saw a body. The anonymous woman reported the incident to the local police, but refused to identify herself. Entwistle wasn't immediately identified, and it wasn't until she had been missing for days that her uncle realised it was her. The suicide note found in her purse was published in the local papers, and was partially responsible for her uncle coming forward to identify her. The note read, "I am afraid, I am a coward. I am sorry for everything. If I had done this a long time ago, it would have saved a lot of pain. P.E." The tragic tale was widely publicised. In 2014, a public fundraiser was held at a screening of her only film to raise money for suicide prevention.

The Death of Thelma Todd
Thelma Todd is most certainly not one of the unknowns to make this list. Todd was a widely popular comedy actress who starred in over one hundred films, and acted alongside the Marx brothers, Buster Keaton, and Laurel and Hardy. She even has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Todd was only twenty-nine years old when she was found dead in her car in 1935. Her car was in a garage owned by Jewel Carmen, the former wife of Todd's then lover and business partner, Roland West. West claimed to have locked her out, leading Todd to seek refuge in the car, which she started to keep warm. She died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Police investigated her death as a potential suicide, but nothing in her life led them to believe she might be suicidal, and no note was left behind. The autopsy reported a superficial wound to her mouth, and the media speculated wildly at the potential that she had suffered further wounds. After suicide had been ruled out, further investigations went on to determine if perhaps it had been a murder. Ultimately, no evidence of murder was found, and the Homicide Bureau ruled her death "accidental with possible suicidal tendencies" despite no evidence supporting it having been a suicide either.

The Death of Thomas H. Ince
Thomas H. Pince was a director, actor, producer, and writer of silent film. He is believed to have been responsible for the making of over eight hundred films, is considered the father of the western, and was responsible for helping to develop the role of the producer in film and to develop some of the first major Hollywood studios. Ince's films The Italian (1915) and Civilization (1916) have since been selected for preservation by the National Film Registry. In 1924, Ince was aboard the yacht of William Randolph Hearst, a well known media tycoon of the day and the eventual inspiration for the film Citizen Kane, when Ince fell severely ill. After consuming salted almonds and champagne, both forbidden to him due to his peptic ulcers, he suffered from some indigestion. Ince left the yacht to seek medical attention, and ended up dying in his home at the age of forty-four. The cause of death was determined to be heart failure. The media sensationalised the details of his death, and included reports that he had been shot on the yacht. Despite this story having been pulled, rumours still circulated, speculating that Ince had been shot in the head by Hearst. His funeral featured an open casket, with no reports of visible bullet wounds. Despite no real evidence of foul play, rumours about the potential that Ince had been murdered even came to overshadow the legacy of pioneering filmmaking he left behind.

The Death of Jeanne Eagels
Jeanne Eagels was a Broadway success, a silent film actress, and an actress in the budding sound film industry. As she gained fame, she began to abuse alcohol, and developed a drug habit, including the use of heroin. Eagels admitted herself to several sanitariums in an attempt to kick the habit. In her thirties, she developed health problems that were aggravated by her addictions. In 1929, at the age of thirty-nine, Eagels was suffering from neuritis and breathing problems when she underwent an eye surgery. After a ten day stay in the hospital, she was able to return home. When she returned to her doctor for an appointment, she began convulsing in his office, and died. Eagels' autopsy reports that she died of "alcoholic psychosis." It is reported that she had not consumed alcohol for two days leading up to this appointment, but that she had suffered from hallucinations. The toxicology report shows that she still had alcohol, heroin, and chloral hydrate in her organs when she died. Eagels used the chloral hydrate to help sleep, and it was concluded that she overdosed on it, one of Hollywood's earliest examples of deadly addictions. Following her death, Eagels became the first person to ever be posthumously nominated for an Oscar.

(I have committed to blogging daily with Give It 100. This is Day Eight.)
May 1, 2017 at 4:55pm
May 1, 2017 at 4:55pm
#910256
Today when we look at the world of celebrity gossip and the sensationalised news of our favourite movie stars, we see a world that we believe is unique to today. We see old world Hollywood and early cinema as having a certain innocence that is simply not present in the current world of cinema. This is a relatively naive belief. It isn't horribly uncommon, and it can be applied to just about anything in history. Think things like "I miss the good old days" or "I was born in the wrong generation" or "Things just aren't like they used to be."

Ever since film became a very public and popular pastime, celebrities have been scandalising us as the media has regaled us with tales of how they lived, and even more notably, how they died. We all love a good death story, whether we like to admit it or not. The world of cinema has provided us with many of those death stories on screen. When a beloved actor dies tragically young in real life, the media gives us all the details we can handle.

I am here today to share with you some of the most notable deaths in early cinema, with a more specific focus on deaths in Hollywood. Every death on this list occurred in the 1920s or 1930s. This will be the first part of two (for now), covering the deaths of cinema's earliest celebrities.

The Death of Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was one of the biggest stars of his day. Acting in a wide variety of silent films, he was most noted for starring in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), The Sheik (1921) and its sequel The Son of The Sheik (1926), Blood and Sand (1922), and The Eagle (1925). He was one of the early sex symbols of Hollywood, known as the "Latin Lover." In 1926, Valentino presented with ulcers and appendicitis that required surgery. The perforated ulcers were mimicking appendicitis, a condition now known as Valentino's Syndrome. Doctors initially had high hopes for his recovery, but he took a turn for the worse, developing peritonitis and pleuritis. Doctors never told him that he would not make it, and it was reported that he chatted with them about his future only hours before his untimely death. On August 23 of 1926, at the age of 31, Valentino passed away in the hospital. While the death itself doesn't seem particularly sensational, it was the who that brought the world to its knees. The media reported that 100,000 people lined the streets of New York at his funeral, hysterical fans were said to have committed suicide, and riots broke out in the streets. Police were deployed to maintain order during the mass hysteria. His remains were taken to California by train, where a second funeral was held.

The Death of Ruan Lingyu
Ruan Lingyu is the only star on this list who was not a Hollywood star. She was one of the biggest stars of 1930s Chinese silent film. She was renowned for her exceptional acting ability, and her starring roles in gritty, realistic films. One of her most well known films is The Goddess (1934), in which she plays a prostitute attempting to pay her young son's way through school. Her personal life was plagued by bad relationships. She became involved with Zhang Damin when she was only sixteen, and she supported him financially, including the costs of his gambling habit. The gambling was what caused their relationship to come to an end when she was twenty-three. Zhang later demanded she provide him with reparations. She began a new relationship with Tang Jishan, a tea tycoon that she began living with. New Women (1934), one of her final films, was about the life of another actress Ai Xia, who had committed suicide earlier that year. Because of its negative depiction of the tabloids in Shanghai, the tabloids began to attack Ruan on a regular basis, latching on to her relationships with Zhang Damin and Tang Jishan as ammunition. At the age of twenty-four, in the year 1935, Ruan Lingyu took her own life by overdosing on barbiturates. It is said that Tang Jishan may have contributed to her suicide, and may have physically abused her the night of her death. Her suicide note, reading "Gossip is a fearful thing" is suspected to have been forged by Tang. As with Valentino before her, Ruan Lingyu has a rather incredible funeral. It is said the procession was three miles long, three women committed suicide during it, and The New York Times called it "The most spectacular funeral of the century."

The Death of Virginia Rappe
Virginia Rappe's career is not a particularly notable one. She did some modeling work, and appeared in bit roles in silent film of the early 1920s. Many of her roles were uncredited, with one of her feature roles being in a film now considered to be lost (Paradise Garden (1917)). She also appeared in An Adventuress (1920) with Rudolph Valentino, who was also an unknown at the time. Rappe's death is where her fame lies, and it became one of Hollywood's earliest major scandals. In 1921, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, a major comedy star of the time, hosted a party at a hotel in San Francisco. It was unclear both then and now what happened to Rappe at the party, but she was taken to the hospital, and died days later of a ruptured bladder and secondary peritonitis. Rumours swirled through the media in the time following Rappe's death, many of them smearing her name. They claimed she had had a child out of wedlock in the years prior, and that she had suffered venereal disease that contributed to her death. Autopsy ruled out these speculations. It was also speculated that a combination of her previously diagnosed cystitis had been aggravated by alcohol, and led to Rappe's death. Arbuckle was ultimately accused of raping Rappe, causing her injuries that led to her death. It was not only Rappe who is raked through the mud by the media, but Arbuckle as well. Three manslaughter trials acquitted him, but he lost all work in Hollywood following the scandal. To this day, Rappe's death remains a mystery, with no real cause for her ruptured bladder at Arbuckle's party having been determined.

The Death of William Desmond Taylor
In the 1910s and early 1920s, William Desmond Taylor was a popular director and actor in Hollywood. He acted in 27 silent films, and directed 59 silent films. Along with the death of Virginia Rappe, Taylor's death was one of the more sensationalised events in early Hollywood news media. Taylor's body was found in 1922 inside his home in an affluent neighbourhood. Crowds gathered around the body, and a doctor on the scene proclaimed that Taylor had died of a stomach hemorrhage. This doctor has never been identified, and many suspect he stayed hidden due to embarrassment; after all, Taylor's body was rolled over by investigators, and a gunshot wound to the back was identified. Taylor's body was found with cash and jewellery still in place, so robbery was not suspected, although they later found out that a large some of cash he had shown to his accountant only a day before was missing, and never found. Over a dozen people were named as suspects. Anyone from costars to friends to valets was questioned in Taylor's murder, but very few solid leads were found. Between poor crime scene management, corruption, and the passing of time, no one ever solved William Desmond Taylor's murder. Despite many speculations and investigations over the decades, to this day, his death remains a cold case.


(I have committed to blogging daily with Give It 100. This is Day Seven.)
April 30, 2017 at 3:55am
April 30, 2017 at 3:55am
#910136
Ever since I was a little kid, I have always had exceptionally strange dreams. They are often vivid and disturbing nightmares, that feel intensely real at the time, despite their more... fantastical nature. They don't seem to be inspired by real life, although they often become rather cinematic in nature. I thought it might be fun (or terrifying, who knows) to share some of these with anyone who might be interested. They are not ranked in any particular order, these are simply the five strangest dreams I can recall having.

1. One of the earliest dreams I can remember having is also one of the dreams that most impacted me. I was probably not much more than four years old the first time I had it, but it was a recurring nightmare for years. There was a puddle of goo on my basement stairs, but it was an evil goo. I lived in the country, so seeing mice wasn't uncommon, but for some reason this dream featured rats. These rats ran through the goo, but it caused them to become large and terrifying to look at. They kind of looked like evil muppets, I suppose. I think it's probably because I was so young when the dreams started. Anyhow, these evil muppet rats, converted to evil by the goo, plotted to murder my whole family. Every dream they would plot something different, but it was always the same pair of rats. Sometimes they would get my family into the goo to turn them against me and have my own family kill me. Other times they would try to build an evil army out of my toys so that they could kill everyone in the house. I couldn't possibly say why I was having such disturbing dreams at that age, but it terrified me for years. I actually can recall avoiding the spot on the stairs so that I wouldn't step in this dream goo.

2. Another early bizarre one I had when I was quite young happened to star a celebrity. In fact, three out of five of these dreams star a celebrity. The moral of the story is: don't be a celebrity in my dreams. I was about nine or ten when I had this particular dream. I don't remember every detail of this one. It was styled like an action movie. Robin Williams and I were fighting evil. I was the hero and he was the comic relief, of course. In any case, the villain (a woman in a leather catsuit) shot him in the groin, leading to his death. Later, he returns, apparently having not died. This shocks the villain before we defeat her. This one has always struck me as incredibly odd. I don't think most ten year old kids dream about Robin Williams getting shot in the groin by a woman in a leather catsuit?

3. As stated previously, my dreams tend to be rather cinematic. Ever since I was a child, I have had a series of recurring dreams that can be summed up as "if my life turned into Jurassic Park." Generally speaking, these dreams tend to focus around myself, my family, and my friends as we are all chased about my home town (population: 1400) by a tyrannosaurus rex. It's funny, because the movies make the raptors seen a fair bit more frightening due to their intelligence, but that's not really what matters in my head. These dreams also tend to have a great deal of train accidents in them as well, and I couldn't possibly explain the origins of those.

4. In recent years, I have ended up with extremely graphic dreams that essentially amount to torture scenarios. I could probably send a therapist's children to college because of these dreams. The most notable one took some incredibly weird turns. Molly Ringwald and I end up getting kidnapped and tortured by a serial killer. I told you my dreams are not kind to celebrities. Anyway, this guy cuts off our feet and sews them back onto us backwards. I don't know where my mind could have possibly latched onto us as an idea, but there it is. I don't want to get too descriptive on this one, because it was genuinely gross and upsetting for me, and this particular blog is only rated 13+.

5. The last of the dreams I am sharing today is another celebrity based one. This is actually probably the weirdest of the dreams on this list (and I feel like that's saying something!). Seth Rogen and I were hanging out. We were totally best friends, but he dragged me out on a shady drug deal, where he ended up getting shot. The car with the shooter speeds off, leaving me holding him as he dies. It gets stranger from here. So he dies, and I'm crying and really cinematic sad music is playing. Then his wife shows up. She hates me because she thinks we are romantic, even though we are just friends. I am wearing a sari (I have never in my life worn a sari) and she is Indian, so she takes this as me mocking her in her husband's last moments on earth. She rips my sari off, and leaves me naked, crying in slow motion now, in the streets, the cinematic music still playing. I straight up have no idea how this dream came to be. This is the dream I whip out when people bring up weird dreams because, well, beat that?

(I have committed to blogging daily with Give It 100. This is Day Six.)

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