Welcome to paradise in Mexico! Discover the magic of Mexico, where vibrant culture, stunning beaches, and unforgettable adventures await you! Whether you're lounging on the pristine sands of Cancun, exploring the ancient ruins of Tulum, or savoring delicious tacos in Mexico City, this paradise has something for everyone. ✨ Top Highlights: • Breathtaking Beaches: Soak up the sun on the white sands of Playa del Carmen and the turquoise waters of Riviera Maya. • Rich History: Dive into history at the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza and Tulum. • Gastronomic Delights: Indulge in mouth-watering street food and world-class dining. • Vibrant Culture: Experience lively festivals, traditional music, and colorful markets. • Pack your bags and let Mexico sweep you off your feet! 🌺✈️🇲🇽 #MexicoParadise #TravelMexico #MexicanAdventure Call☎️+1 877 335 8488 to explore the Mexico. 👉For knowing more information, please visit our website: www.airnsky.com 👉Book now through our email id: [support@airnsky.com](mailto:support@airnsky.com)

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Welcome to paradise in Mexico!

I tried to write down every single movie available on my flights in March 2024. I handwrote some of my notes to pass the 13 hours which is why there are ??? when I couldn't read my own writing/abbreviations. Note that not all titles were available on all flights, and my list is missing a chunk of them (especially titles beginning with "S" for some reason). Hope someone finds it useful! Maybe someone will get to creating a Letterboxd list of them all before me! [Posted this in movies and thought delta users might find it useful too]

10 Things I Hate About You
101 Dalmatians
12 Angry Men
13 Going on 30
17 Again
2001: A Space Odyssey
27 Dresses
500 Days of Summer
80 for Brady
A Beautiful Mind
A Bug's Life
A Cinderella Story
A Compassionate Spy
A Fantastic Woman
A Few Good Men
A Good Year
A Haunting in Venice
A League of Their Own
A Room with a View
A Separation
A Simple Plan
A Simple Wish
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Abominable
Adam's Rib
Airheads
Akeelah and the Bee
Aladdin
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
American Graffiti
American Street Kid
Amores Perros
An Inconvenient Truth
Anatomy of a Fall
Angels in the Outfield
Aquaman
Assassin Club
Asteroid City
Avatar: Way of Water
Avengers: Infinity War
Back to the Future
Bad Company
Barb and Star: Vista del Mar
Barbie
Batman
Batman Begins
Batman Returns
Batman vs. Superman Dawn
Battle of the Sexes
Beauty and the Beast
Beetlejuice
Being Mary Tyler Moore
Bend it Like Beckham
Better Luck Tomorrow
Big
Big George Foreman
Billy Elliott
Birds of Prey: Harley Quinn
Birthright Outlaw
Blackberry
Blade
Blade II
Blade Runner 2049
Blade Trinity
Blended
Blinded by the Light
Blue Beetle
Bolt
Bottoms
Brave
Brazil
Bridesmaids
Bridget Jones' Diary
Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason
Bring It On
Brown Sugar
Buoyancy
But I'm a Cheerleader
Call Me by Your Name
Carmen Jones
Central Intelligence
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Cheaper by the Dozen
Chevalier
Chicken Run
Child's Play
Children of a Lesser God
Chinatown
Cinderella
Clifford the Big Red Dog
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Clueless
Colossal
Condor's Nest
Cool Hand Luke
Coraline
Couples Retreat
Crazy Rich Asians
Crazy Stupid Love
Creed
Creed II
Crooklyn
Cruella
Chr. G
Dark Waters
Darkest Hour
Dawnland
Dazed and Confused
DC: League of Super Pets
Dear White People
Dee. Boys
Delivery Man
Desperately Seeking Susan
Despicable Me
Despicable Me 2
Despicable Me 3
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Dret ard
Dr. Doolittle
Down with Love
Dr. Seuss Horton Hears a Who
Dr. Seuss The Grinch
Dr. Grinch The Lorax
Dreamgirls
Drop Dead Gorgeous
Drumline
Due Date
Dumb and Dumber
Dumb Money
Dune
Dunkirk
E.T.
Edge of Tomorrow
Eggs Over Easy
Elemental
Enter the Dragon
E????
Erin Brockovich
Eternals
Evan Almighty
Everest
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Evil Dead Rises
Expendables 4
F9: Fast Saga
Fallen
Fantastic Beasts
Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindewald
Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore
Fargo
F&F: Hobbes and Shaw
Fast X
Father of the Bride
Feramana???
Ferner????
Field of Dreams
Finding Dory
Finding Nemo
First Man
Focus
Following
Fools Rush In
Forrest Gump
Freaky
Freaky Friday
Freelance
Frida
Friday
Frozen 2
Frozen River
Game Night
Gangster Squad
Garfield
Garfield: Tail of 2 Kitties
Get Smart
Ghostbusters
Glass
Glory
Godzilla vs Kong
Going in Style
Good Morning Vietnam
Gosford Park
Grand Torino
Gran Turismo
Gravity
Grease
Grease 2
Gremlins
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3
Guy Richie's The Covenant
Hacksaw Ridge
Half Nelson
Hanna
Happy Death Day
Happy Feet 2
Harlan County USA
Harold and Kumar: White Castle
Harry Potter 1-8
Haunted Mansion
He's Just Not That Into You
Her
Hereafter
Hocus Pocus
Honor Society
Horrible Bosses
Hotel Transylvania
House Party
How to Be Single
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
How to Train your Dragon
Hypnotic
I Am Legend
I Didn't See You There
I, Tonya
Ice Age: Collision Course
Ice Age: Continental Drift
Ice Age: Dawn of Dinosaurs
Ice Age: Meltdown
Ice on Fire
If Beale Street Could Talk
In the Heart of the Sea
In the Heights
In the Name of the Father
Inception
Incredibles 2
Indiana Jones: Dial of Destiny
Indiana Jones: Temple of Doom
Insidious: The Red Door
Insomnia
Instructions not INcluded
It
Jerry & Marge Go Large
Jersey Boys
John Wick
John Wick 2
John Wick 3
Joker
Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Judas and the Black Messiah
Jules
Jumanji
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Jurassic Park
Jurassic World
Just Married
Just my Luck
Kazaam
Kit Kittredge
Kramer vs Kramer
Kubo and the Two Strings
Kung Fu Panda
Kung Fu Panda 2
Kung Fu??????
La La Land
Labyrinth
Lady in the Water
Lakota Nation vs United States
Legally Blonde
Liar Liar
Life of the Party
Lightyear
Lilo and Stitch
Lion
Little Women
Living
Lo------
Lone Survivor
Love and Basketball
Love Again
Love Jones
Ma-d_____ ?
Madagascar
Madagascar Escape
Made of Honor
Mafia Mamma
Magic Mike's Last Dance
Malt------
Momma's Boy
Mamma Mia
Mamma Mia Here We Go Again
March of the Penguins
Mat------
Mean Girls
Meet the Parents?
Memento
Michael Clayton
Milk
Minions
Minions: Rise of Gru
Misery
Miss Congeniality
Missing Link
Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning
Mississippi Masala
Moana
Monster In Law
Monsters Inc
Monsters University
Moonlight
Mortal Enemies
Mr. Malcolm's List
Mulan
Mummies
Murder by Numbers
Murder on the Orient Express
Muriel's Wedding
My Animal
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
My Family
My Girl
National Lampoon's Vacation
Neighbors 2
Neruda
New Year's Eve
News of the World
Nights in Rodanthe
Nine Queens
No
No Country for Old Men
No Murches Frida??
Nomadland
Notting Hill
Ocean's 8
Ocean's 13
October Sky
Of tn age??
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Onward
Oppenheimer
Origin
Over the Hedge
Pacific Rim
Pandas
Pan's Labyrinth
ParaNorman
Paris is Burning
Past Lives
Paw Patrol: Mighty
Paw Patrol: More
Pee Wee's Big Adventure
Perfect Strangers
Persepolis
Phantom Thread
Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game
Pitch Perfect
Pitch Perfect 3
Planes
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Pokemon: Detective Pikachu
Practical Magic
Pride and Prejudice
Primal Fear
Priscilla
Psycho
Pulp Fiction
Puppy Love
Puss in Boots
Queen and Slim
Radical
RRadi--- Wwi?/
Raging Bull
Ra the Breata?
Rat Race?
Ratatouille
Ready Player One
Real Women Have Curves
Red Tails
Reforge
Renfield
Repo Man
Rocky
Ruby Gillman
Rumor Has It
Rush Hour 2
RV
Róise & Frank
Sacfint??
Saving Face
Saving Private Ryan
School Daze
Scoob!
Scooby Doo
Scrapper
Scream VI
Searching
Selena
Selma
Semi Pro
Seven
Shaft
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
Significant Other
?
?
Skyfall
Smallfoot
Smoke?
Snowpiercer
?
Something's Gotta Give
?
?
Soul Surfer
Space Jam
Space Oddity
Sp Ra ????
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse
Split
Spy Game?
Spy Kids
Stone and D????
Ste W s5t?
Stomp the Yard
Storks
Sweet Home Alabama
Tag
Talk to Me
Tangled
Tee as Go!??
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Tenet
The Adia Prse?
The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster
The Baby-Sitters Club
The Best Man
The Big Lebowski
The Big Short
The Biggest Little Farm
The Bird Cage
The Blind Side
The Blues Brothers
The Bodyguard
The Boogeyman
The Book of Life
The Boss Baby: Family Business
The Bourne Identity
The Boxer
The Breakfast Club
The Bucket List
The Caine Mutiny
The Campaign
The Castle
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia 2
The Chronicles of Narnia 3
The Creator
The Croods New Age
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Side
The Dead Don't Die
The Dry?
The Equalizer
The Exorcist: Believer
The Fabulous Filipino Brothers
The Fast and Furious (#1)
The S Heartbeats?
The Has???
The Gentlemen
The Good Nurse
The Goonies
The Great Wall
The Guard
The Harvest (La Cosecha)
The H????
The Hobbit
The Hobbit 2
The Hobbit 3
The Holdovers
The Hunger Games: Ballad of Snakes and Songbirds
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games 2
The Hunger Games 3
The Hunger Games 4
The Hunt for Red October
The Huntsman: Winter’s War
The Incredibles
The Intern
The Invention of Lying
The Iron Giant
The Island
The Jungle Book
The Karate Kid
The Kids are Alright
The Lake House
The Land Before Time
The Last Out
The Last Samurai
The Lego Batman Movie
The Lego Movie
The Lesson
The Lion King
The Lion King
The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship
The Losers
The Man from UNCLE
The Marsh King’s Doughter
The Marvels
The Matrix: Resurrections
The Mitchells vs The Machines
The Mummy
The Neverending Story
The Nice Guys
The Nun II
The Odd Life of Timothy Green
The Other Zoey
The Outsiders
The Peanuts Movie
The Persian Version
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything
The Place Beyond the Pines
The Popes Exorcist
The Pre--?
The Purge: Election Year
The Replacements
The Ring
The Secret Garden
The Secret Life of Pets
The Silence of the Lambs
The S --------
The ?
The ?
The ?
The ?
The ?
The Take
The Time Traveler's Wife
The True Cost
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
The Un---- Country
The Usual Suspects
The ???
The ????
The ?????
The Wedding Singer
The Wizard of Oz
The Wood
The Zookeeper's Wife
Theater Camp
Them---?
There Will Be Blood
Thurs?
Titanic
To Kill a Mockingbird
Tooooo?
Tom ??
Tommy Boy
Top Gun
Top Gun: Maverick
Toy Story 2
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 4
Train to Busan
Training Day
Transformers Rise
Trolls
Trolls World Tour
Troy
Tully
Turning Red
Umami
Us
??
V for Vendetta
V????
VeggieTales: Abe and the Amazing Promise
VeggieTales: Merry Larry and the True Light of Christmas
Vindicta
Vivo
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
War Dogs
We Were Soldiers
We're the Millers
Wedding Crashers
West Side Story
Wet Hot American Summer
Where the Wild Things Are
Wildhood
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Winters Bone
Wonder
Wonder Woman 1984
Wonka
Wreck It Ralph
Yes, Man
Yesterday
Young Punx: A Punk Parable
Zombieland

I tried to write down every single movie available on my Delta flights in March 2024. I handwrote some of my notes to pass the 13 hours which is why there are ??? when I couldn't read my own writing/abbreviations. Note that not all titles were available on all flights, and my list is missing a chunk of them (especially titles beginning with "S" for some reason). Hope someone finds it useful! Maybe someone will get to creating a Letterboxd list of them all before me!

10 Things I Hate About You
101 Dalmatians
12 Angry Men
13 Going on 30
17 Again
2001: A Space Odyssey
27 Dresses
500 Days of Summer
80 for Brady
A Beautiful Mind
A Bug's Life
A Cinderella Story
A Compassionate Spy
A Fantastic Woman
A Few Good Men
A Good Year
A Haunting in Venice
A League of Their Own
A Room with a View
A Separation
A Simple Plan
A Simple Wish
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Abominable
Adam's Rib
Airheads
Akeelah and the Bee
Aladdin
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
American Graffiti
American Street Kid
Amores Perros
An Inconvenient Truth
Anatomy of a Fall
Angels in the Outfield
Aquaman
Assassin Club
Asteroid City
Avatar: Way of Water
Avengers: Infinity War
Back to the Future
Bad Company
Barb and Star: Vista del Mar
Barbie
Batman
Batman Begins
Batman Returns
Batman vs. Superman Dawn
Battle of the Sexes
Beauty and the Beast
Beetlejuice
Being Mary Tyler Moore
Bend it Like Beckham
Better Luck Tomorrow
Big
Big George Foreman
Billy Elliott
Birds of Prey: Harley Quinn
Birthright Outlaw
Blackberry
Blade
Blade II
Blade Runner 2049
Blade Trinity
Blended
Blinded by the Light
Blue Beetle
Bolt
Bottoms
Brave
Brazil
Bridesmaids
Bridget Jones' Diary
Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason
Bring It On
Brown Sugar
Buoyancy
But I'm a Cheerleader
Call Me by Your Name
Carmen Jones
Central Intelligence
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Cheaper by the Dozen
Chevalier
Chicken Run
Child's Play
Children of a Lesser God
Chinatown
Cinderella
Clifford the Big Red Dog
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Clueless
Colossal
Condor's Nest
Cool Hand Luke
Coraline
Couples Retreat
Crazy Rich Asians
Crazy Stupid Love
Creed
Creed II
Crooklyn
Cruella
Chr. G
Dark Waters
Darkest Hour
Dawnland
Dazed and Confused
DC: League of Super Pets
Dear White People
Dee. Boys
Delivery Man
Desperately Seeking Susan
Despicable Me
Despicable Me 2
Despicable Me 3
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Dret ard
Dr. Doolittle
Down with Love
Dr. Seuss Horton Hears a Who
Dr. Seuss The Grinch
Dr. Grinch The Lorax
Dreamgirls
Drop Dead Gorgeous
Drumline
Due Date
Dumb and Dumber
Dumb Money
Dune
Dunkirk
E.T.
Edge of Tomorrow
Eggs Over Easy
Elemental
Enter the Dragon
E????
Erin Brockovich
Eternals
Evan Almighty
Everest
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Evil Dead Rises
Expendables 4
F9: Fast Saga
Fallen
Fantastic Beasts
Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindewald
Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore
Fargo
F&F: Hobbes and Shaw
Fast X
Father of the Bride
Feramana???
Ferner????
Field of Dreams
Finding Dory
Finding Nemo
First Man
Focus
Following
Fools Rush In
Forrest Gump
Freaky
Freaky Friday
Freelance
Frida
Friday
Frozen 2
Frozen River
Game Night
Gangster Squad
Garfield
Garfield: Tail of 2 Kitties
Get Smart
Ghostbusters
Glass
Glory
Godzilla vs Kong
Going in Style
Good Morning Vietnam
Gosford Park
Grand Torino
Gran Turismo
Gravity
Grease
Grease 2
Gremlins
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3
Guy Richie's The Covenant
Hacksaw Ridge
Half Nelson
Hanna
Happy Death Day
Happy Feet 2
Harlan County USA
Harold and Kumar: White Castle
Harry Potter 1-8
Haunted Mansion
He's Just Not That Into You
Her
Hereafter
Hocus Pocus
Honor Society
Horrible Bosses
Hotel Transylvania
House Party
How to Be Single
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
How to Train your Dragon
Hypnotic
I Am Legend
I Didn't See You There
I, Tonya
Ice Age: Collision Course
Ice Age: Continental Drift
Ice Age: Dawn of Dinosaurs
Ice Age: Meltdown
Ice on Fire
If Beale Street Could Talk
In the Heart of the Sea
In the Heights
In the Name of the Father
Inception
Incredibles 2
Indiana Jones: Dial of Destiny
Indiana Jones: Temple of Doom
Insidious: The Red Door
Insomnia
Instructions not INcluded
It
Jerry & Marge Go Large
Jersey Boys
John Wick
John Wick 2
John Wick 3
Joker
Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Judas and the Black Messiah
Jules
Jumanji
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Jurassic Park
Jurassic World
Just Married
Just my Luck
Kazaam
Kit Kittredge
Kramer vs Kramer
Kubo and the Two Strings
Kung Fu Panda
Kung Fu Panda 2
Kung Fu??????
La La Land
Labyrinth
Lady in the Water
Lakota Nation vs United States
Legally Blonde
Liar Liar
Life of the Party
Lightyear
Lilo and Stitch
Lion
Little Women
Living
Lo------
Lone Survivor
Love and Basketball
Love Again
Love Jones
Ma-d_____ ?
Madagascar
Madagascar Escape
Made of Honor
Mafia Mamma
Magic Mike's Last Dance
Malt------
Momma's Boy
Mamma Mia
Mamma Mia Here We Go Again
March of the Penguins
Mat------
Mean Girls
Meet the Parents?
Memento
Michael Clayton
Milk
Minions
Minions: Rise of Gru
Misery
Miss Congeniality
Missing Link
Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning
Mississippi Masala
Moana
Monster In Law
Monsters Inc
Monsters University
Moonlight
Mortal Enemies
Mr. Malcolm's List
Mulan
Mummies
Murder by Numbers
Murder on the Orient Express
Muriel's Wedding
My Animal
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
My Family
My Girl
National Lampoon's Vacation
Neighbors 2
Neruda
New Year's Eve
News of the World
Nights in Rodanthe
Nine Queens
No
No Country for Old Men
No Murches Frida??
Nomadland
Notting Hill
Ocean's 8
Ocean's 13
October Sky
Of tn age??
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Onward
Oppenheimer
Origin
Over the Hedge
Pacific Rim
Pandas
Pan's Labyrinth
ParaNorman
Paris is Burning
Past Lives
Paw Patrol: Mighty
Paw Patrol: More
Pee Wee's Big Adventure
Perfect Strangers
Persepolis
Phantom Thread
Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game
Pitch Perfect
Pitch Perfect 3
Planes
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Pokemon: Detective Pikachu
Practical Magic
Pride and Prejudice
Primal Fear
Priscilla
Psycho
Pulp Fiction
Puppy Love
Puss in Boots
Queen and Slim
Radical
RRadi--- Wwi?/
Raging Bull
Ra the Breata?
Rat Race?
Ratatouille
Ready Player One
Real Women Have Curves
Red Tails
Reforge
Renfield
Repo Man
Rocky
Ruby Gillman
Rumor Has It
Rush Hour 2
RV
Róise & Frank
Sacfint??
Saving Face
Saving Private Ryan
School Daze
Scoob!
Scooby Doo
Scrapper
Scream VI
Searching
Selena
Selma
Semi Pro
Seven
Shaft
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
Significant Other
?
?
Skyfall
Smallfoot
Smoke?
Snowpiercer
?
Something's Gotta Give
?
?
Soul Surfer
Space Jam
Space Oddity
Sp Ra ????
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse
Split
Spy Game?
Spy Kids
Stone and D????
Ste W s5t?
Stomp the Yard
Storks
Sweet Home Alabama
Tag
Talk to Me
Tangled
Tee as Go!??
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Tenet
The Adia Prse?
The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster
The Baby-Sitters Club
The Best Man
The Big Lebowski
The Big Short
The Biggest Little Farm
The Bird Cage
The Blind Side
The Blues Brothers
The Bodyguard
The Boogeyman
The Book of Life
The Boss Baby: Family Business
The Bourne Identity
The Boxer
The Breakfast Club
The Bucket List
The Caine Mutiny
The Campaign
The Castle
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia 2
The Chronicles of Narnia 3
The Creator
The Croods New Age
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Side
The Dead Don't Die
The Dry?
The Equalizer
The Exorcist: Believer
The Fabulous Filipino Brothers
The Fast and Furious (#1)
The S Heartbeats?
The Has???
The Gentlemen
The Good Nurse
The Goonies
The Great Wall
The Guard
The Harvest (La Cosecha)
The H????
The Hobbit
The Hobbit 2
The Hobbit 3
The Holdovers
The Hunger Games: Ballad of Snakes and Songbirds
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games 2
The Hunger Games 3
The Hunger Games 4
The Hunt for Red October
The Huntsman: Winter’s War
The Incredibles
The Intern
The Invention of Lying
The Iron Giant
The Island
The Jungle Book
The Karate Kid
The Kids are Alright
The Lake House
The Land Before Time
The Last Out
The Last Samurai
The Lego Batman Movie
The Lego Movie
The Lesson
The Lion King
The Lion King
The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship
The Losers
The Man from UNCLE
The Marsh King’s Doughter
The Marvels
The Matrix: Resurrections
The Mitchells vs The Machines
The Mummy
The Neverending Story
The Nice Guys
The Nun II
The Odd Life of Timothy Green
The Other Zoey
The Outsiders
The Peanuts Movie
The Persian Version
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything
The Place Beyond the Pines
The Popes Exorcist
The Pre--?
The Purge: Election Year
The Replacements
The Ring
The Secret Garden
The Secret Life of Pets
The Silence of the Lambs
The S --------
The ?
The ?
The ?
The ?
The ?
The Take
The Time Traveler's Wife
The True Cost
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
The Un---- Country
The Usual Suspects
The ???
The ????
The ?????
The Wedding Singer
The Wizard of Oz
The Wood
The Zookeeper's Wife
Theater Camp
Them---?
There Will Be Blood
Thurs?
Titanic
To Kill a Mockingbird
Tooooo?
Tom ??
Tommy Boy
Top Gun
Top Gun: Maverick
Toy Story 2
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 4
Train to Busan
Training Day
Transformers Rise
Trolls
Trolls World Tour
Troy
Tully
Turning Red
Umami
Us
??
V for Vendetta
V????
VeggieTales: Abe and the Amazing Promise
VeggieTales: Merry Larry and the True Light of Christmas
Vindicta
Vivo
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
War Dogs
We Were Soldiers
We're the Millers
Wedding Crashers
West Side Story
Wet Hot American Summer
Where the Wild Things Are
Wildhood
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Winters Bone
Wonder
Wonder Woman 1984
Wonka
Wreck It Ralph
Yes, Man
Yesterday
Young Punx: A Punk Parable
Zombieland

The Crossroads Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota, has been acquired by Contrarian Properties and Spinoso Real Estate Group for nearly $80 million. The mall, spanning almost 900,000 square feet, is home to major retailers like J.C. Penny, Macy’s, and Scheels, with Target owning its connected location. The sale price equated to approximately $89 per square foot for the property located at 4101 Division Street.

Summary of transaction details:

• Property Type: Retail
• Transaction Amount: $79,867,741
• Buyer: Contrarian Properties; Carmen Spinoso - Spinoso Real Estate Group
• Seller: Trigild
• Broker: Matt Hazelton - JLL
• Market: St. Cloud, Minnesota
• Address: 4101 Division Street
• Square Footage: 900,000

Contrarian Properties and Spinoso Real Estate Group jointly acquired the Crossroads Center in St. Cloud after Trigild took over as receiver in January, replacing Brookfield Properties. The aim of Contrarian and Spinoso is to revitalize the mall, making it a premier shopping and entertainment destination in the St. Cloud area through various management and marketing efforts.
Learn More: Contrarian Properties & Spinoso Real Estate Group Acquire Crossroads Center For $79.87M

Just like everyday, you wake up in your Double King Sized heart shaped, rotating, red silk and velour covered bed. You make your way to the edge, rolling over a bevy of semi-hot, and ”too young for you” tattoo apprentices desperate to make it in the industry. A shock suddenly hits your system as you slowly begin to realize that your special night-time toothpick is not in your mouth. This is fucking unusual. Ever since you stopped chain-smoking cigarettes you’ve had a toothpick in your mouth. Still in your whitey tighties, you stand up on the bed and scream for everyone to leave, and start searching the red velvety sheets. Nothing to be found. Even your day time toothpick with the Carmen Electra scrimshaw given to you by Carmen Electra herself after her and Dave broke up is missing from its holder on the nightstand.
Your brain screams in an unknown agony as you jump from your bed onto your 2:5 sized Harley Davidson Road King, and race your way from the top of your triple decker, sextuple wide mobile home, down the spiral staircase, over the indoor olympic sized pool filled with ranch, past the double Jacuzzi of lime Jello, and over to your walk-in-bank-style-heavy-duty-safe, that of course houses your precious Golden Skull.
You place your finger onto the fingerprint pad and to your surprise, the safe doesn’t open as it normally does. Instead, it audibly gives an error code, “Error 666. Repeat. Error 666. Atchung Baby! Dave Navarro is inside the safe”.
In a panic, you switch over to the keypad and hastily type in your vault password, “NeverMarryABurlesqueArtist69#”. You fuck it up a couple of times obviously, but eventually, to your relief, the safe clicks open. You yank on the heavy door to reveal a tiny, demon-imp-like Dave Navarro hovering over your precious Golden Skull… which, not coincidentally, has both missing toothpicks in its mouth.
You scream, “Get away from my goddamned Golden Skull and toothpicks you crazy demon-imp-like Dave Navarro!!”
But before you can grab the imp by its wings and shoot it with your shotgun in a move that you personally learned from Dick Cheney while out on a hunting trip, it puts up a semi-transparent, but impregnable magical barrier. The demon-imp’s eyes begin to glow a bright flame-like yellow that most tattoo artists are unable to achieve on a regular basis, especially when dealing with pale, olive skin types. It starts to recite in latin over and over again, “Cresces et normales fies humano mediocri... Cresces et normales fies humano mediocri”
You’ve got no idea what the crazy-demon-imp-like Dave Navarro is chanting, but you kind of make out the words, “normal” and “mediocre” and it shakes you to your core. You start to feel sick to your stomach and your bones begin to ache like after a night out doing coke and nitros at Jumbo’s Clown Room in Los Angeles. You look down at your hands, and shockingly, your arms begin to grow longer, but as they do, you notice that your tattoos stay in the same place. Your finger and palm tats move down to above your elbow, and so on. You begin to feel motion sickness as your legs begin to elongate, carrying your head higher and higher into the air. You look down at your legs and the tattoos that were once on your feet are now located just above your knee.
It is all too much for you to handle and you fall to the ground, screaming in horror, your hands clawing at your face. The demon-imp-like Dave Navarro laughs an evil laugh (much like Pon’s laugh in Season 12 when he won the Tattoo-of-the-Day and knew he would have skull picks the next morning) and disappears in a puff of Marlborough smoke, causing you to retch violently at the smell of your ex-habit, eventually passing out in your own vomit.
You awake 6 hours later to see a pukish pool of lime Jello and ranch staining your hardwood floors in a weird Acid-Cat resemblance which makes you wretch again. You then remember the horror of what took place. You run to your 2:5 sized Harley Davidson and give the pedal a kick… to the sound of nothing. No matter how hard you try, the engine will not turn over or even give a spark. In a rush of adrenaline, you awkwardly stumble on your newly enlarged legs to your 3k square foot animal barn, bathroom, spa and sauna. You tear off your white chonies with one fell swoop and stare at yourself in naked disbelief through the full sized, wall to wall to ceiling mirror with golden hay backing. All of your tattoos have shifted, leaving your forearms, hands, legs below the knee, chest from the nipples up, neck and head free of any tattoos. Even your penis is ink free…
You take a second to evaluate your new human canvas. You enjoy your large form, especially the larger penis, although it is still small proportionally to the rest of your body. You begin to think that this might not be so bad, until you again, instinctively reach for your toothpick. You awkwardly run back to the Golden Skull to try and grab your toothpicks, but the crazy-demon-imp-like Dave Navarro is back, hovering above. Being Oliver Peck though, you don’t give up like bitch ass Chris on Season 11 Grudge Match. Instead, you grab your iPhone 16, not out to the public yet, and try to FaceTime with Dave and Chris. You suddenly get a text from the number 666 that states;
“Challenge: Both sides of your forearms, hands, legs below the knee, penis, chest from the nipples up, neck and head are free of any tattoos. You have 8 hours to find one of the Ink Master winners, teleport them to your Texas Sextuple-Wide, and begin your tattoo journey to fill in the missing spots. If you fail, you will never be able to hold a toothpick in your mouth again, losing all of your tattoo mojo. You must choose an Ink Master winner, what area they tattoo, and a design.
And your time… begins… NEOW!”

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Episode 92: Broken Roads

Bell’s Hells, after making contact with The Volition, agreed to aid them in a number of their current simultaneous goals against the dark leaders of Kreviris, in hopes of gaining information and aiding the revolution against the Ruidian tyrants. Upon these missions, much information was gained, some dangerous circumstances occurred, and yet you survived and endured and began to flee the city as chaos began to erupt from within. During this time, after calling towards your mother and sending her into a personal crisis about what’s right and who to align with, she scattered off into the dark shadows of the caverns. As you fled towards the surface through some of these winding rock tunnels, you were hunted by Otohan Thul, the Legend of the Peaks. During this fight (in which your terrifying foe unleashed her true capabilities) many of you fell and barely scraped back from the edge, but one of you did not, Fresh Cut Grass. A friend and ally who had recently come to truly realize his worth sacrificed himself to save the rest of you and to fell for good the foe that had long hunted you. In that fugue numbness of realization, you grabbed what you could, what remained of him (and what you could from what remained of Otohan Thull) continued to flee to the surface where you emerged. There amongst the red Ruidian landscape, the distant storms roiling, Liliana descended from above, and seeing the hurt on your face (on all of your faces), realized what had likely transpired. It was here, still not truly grasping or processing what has happened and what is next, you stare upon the alien landscape and partially obscured horizon. Glancing around as best you can, and it’s fairly clear in the area you are now, the dust storms currently sit at least a number of miles off, though you’re uncertain how fast they’re moving at a quick glance, you do not see any other figures immediately present. Where you’ve pushed out from here, one of these side caverns, you took a look behind you and you can see the base of the mountain range that encircles Kreviris and continues past it. So you are just outside the city itself. You do not see any immediate outposts, but you figure if you were to leave a little further out, you would be essentially out in the open, visible from many of the outposts that encircle the crown-like mountainscape that surrounds the valley at the top of the city. You can very easily see the Bloody Bridge, the single red beam of energy that sits in a direction which helps you orient yourself and your location right now from where you came. If you get really close to the base of the mountain, there’s probably some little alcoves that you can pull in to stay out of any immediate sight. Any larger dips or cracks in the ground where you could hide from sight are a good 500 or more feet out and would probably put you out in the open before you reach them. Ashton says, “I’m gonna see what’s below us.” and inhales deeply. You grind through the ground and vanish below. While you’re currently looking, Liliana is still gliding about a foot off the ground, her hair drifting. You can feel, almost taste the energy that sparks in the air around her. She’s still just locked in on you (Imogen), her face still sad. You can see the streaks of (not sure if they’re of sadness or anger) tears that have since dried and smeared what dirt was along her face and as she looks towards you for guidance before she looks away. “I don’t know what’s going on Imogen. I don’t know what to do.” “I don’t either.” “Well, y’all can’t stay here. Going to have to…you cant stay here.” “Are you staying?” “If I go, they’ll know. What’s more useful? If I leave they’ll…I mean the rest of them already have been tough enough to get them to trust me. Am I more useful here to what you’re doing, or am I more useful leaving it behind?”

♪Episode Song References♪

ᕕ( ᐛ)ᕗ

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• 00:28:00 Cindy Lauper - True Colors
• 00:56:08 Iron Maiden - Moonchild
• 01:02:35 Laura ♪(waggles tongue) ♪ Werner Thomas - Der Ententanz (the Chicken Dance)
• 01:18:00 hip hop inhale exhale sample
• 02:08:58 Eric Carmen - All By Myself
• 02:09:45 “everyboody” Backstreet Boys - Backstreet’s Back
• 02:20:25 Thin Lizzy - The Boys Are Back in Town
• 02:25:00 Dashboard Confessional - Vindicated
• 03:11:28 Aerosmith - Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing
• 03:18:28 Taylor Swift - Shake It Off
• 03:36:45 “together” (unknown song)
• 04:19:16 Robbie sings an unknown song

Highlights
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• 00:19:17 Liliana explains the containment of Predathos and the plan to breach it. “We’re supposed to be what can break the final boundary. We have somethin’ within us, somethin’ that the gods can’t stop. Only we can truly reach it. From what he (Ludinus) said, in order to get it beyond and back into our realm, it needs a vessel, somethin’ to carry it past that threshold.”
• 00:20:19 The darting eyes of Travis
• 00:22:55 Laudna:“You say it doesn’t care about us. What makes you think apathy is any better than disdain to a God Eater?” Liliana:“…It’s real tired of bein’ here and it’s real angry at those who put it there, and it’s real hungry.”
• 00:24:56 Marisha thanking Liam for the fancy notebook
• 00:33:54 Liliana:“Do you think, should we stop all this from happening and re-seal or maintain Predathos’ endless slumber, that those of us who know this, those of us who are designed to be part of its freedom are just going to be allowed to walk free? What, you think the great temples of your world aren’t going to hunt us down one-by-one til there’s no possibility of this plan ever coming to fruition?You don’t think every great politician of our world that isn’t tied into this truth isn’t going to try and bury each and every one of us for what we’re part of?” Orym:“Cold comfort for my family in the ground.”
• 00:40:58 Teleport to the Bloody Bridge. Imogen:“What do we do when we get to the other side?” Liliana:“Find those who you can trust and find me when you need my guidance. I’ll see you in your dreams.”
• 00:42:20 Travis:“Whoa! Her flex on 'em! (regarding Liliana’s time stop spell) I mean, fuck her.”
• 00:48:04 Laura rolls a 1 for a critical (heh) group deception check at the Malleus Key back on Exandria. Liam follows with a 3 and Taliesin with a 4. Travis:“That’s so fitting. I just said it.” All right, as you all emerge and begin to descend the staircase that leads down from the top of the Malleus Key, you coasted down amongst the various ruins and the large military tents and gathered bits of materials. You can also see other war beasts from Ruidus have begun to make their transition to Exandria. The military defense of the Malleus Key is growing larger. You can see the edges of the actual Tishtan site. There are signs of massive battle. While you were gone, it looks like either a major scuffle happened and a section of one of the inner walls of it is blown open and there’s a massive cave-in landslide that happened there. So it looks like the escalation of might and assaults on this space (or at least defense as well) shows violence is increasing. As you’re taking these in and you begin to maneuver, you, Orym, notice that two Reilorans are gliding by. Not walking, gliding. What you see are two mystics that take attention as you come down the steps and begin to pursue. Orym:(to Imogen)“We got a tail.”
• 00:51:00 Laura:“I get it, Travis! I rolled a one!” (revenge from last episode)
• 00:52:48 Matt:“Ah, Natural Six.” Travis and Marisha celebrate successfully avoiding a Reiloran army.
• 00:54:15 Liam:“That’s a tall drink of warder.”
• 00:54:28 Laura:“If we look around, do we see Planerider Ryn? Do we see an armless statue anywhere?” Travis:“Just as a hat rack.” Liam:“A potted plant. Just decor outside a tent.” Matt:“While this is where she was turned to stone, you get the immediate sense that she’s been relocated.”
• 00:55:26 Orym:“Why is that woman dressed as a hot dog?” Matt:“Orym rolls high enough to see into the real dimension. Why do thy have dice? What does that mean?” Laura references The Neverending Story)
• 00:58:30 You see different temple-themed armor sets, pauldrons and chestplates that are adorned with the symbol of the Moonweaver. You can see the holy symbols that are hung on the edge of iron spikes that are jammed into the ground that hang and dangle, where at the end of the chain, you see swinging a medallion of the Duskmaven. You can see all manner of captured holy imagery that now is set upon the outskirts of this site as a warning and as a a sign of pride that any who steps beyond stops here…you see the familiar sight of what looks to be a cloak that, as it hangs tattered and torn, as it flows with the occasional breeze, you can see the familiar symbol of the Changebringer, her face still standing there from the side, looking off to some unknown horizon.
• 01:00:50 Marisha:“40 years using this spell and still don’t fucking got it. Aw fuck, That’s right. Ah, fuck.”
• 01:01:48 Travis:“Sure you don’t wanna just use a deception check to try and get around?” Laura:“Hey, fuck off…It doesn’t matter and Marisha saved the day and it’s fiinnee.”
• 01:02:38 Travis, hit by a karma truck, rolls a 1 on the next stealth check. Liam:“That’s just right!” (callback to Mary Elizabeth McGlynn)
• 01:03:20 Marisha’s Fan is a tribute with “R.I.P.F.C.G.” on it
• 01:04:11 As the shadows to enswirl your troop and you peel off from what was the feigned perimeter walk of your group from the site, you begin to make a western beeline in the direction where you hope you’ll be able to see the encampment. The tension begins to fade after about five or so minutes when you do not see any of the other perimeter guards following suit or taking note of your divergence from the site. Now as you all quietly walk under the stars of the Exandrian sky in silence, looking across the distant rocky barren horizons of theHellcatch, really the first moment hits in where you get to begin to process what you’ve lost.
• 01:10:47 Ashton:“I hope she’s right. Really do. I hope her ends are fucking great because these means are just not forgivable.”
• 01:13:25 Evoroa becomes the first Bormodo on Exandria. The first to experience “The Blue Promise”
• 01:15:15 Imogen:“He said you knew where Ludinus was. Do you have a city name? A location?” Evoroa:“Yeah. I don’t know where it is, but he’s referred to it a few times. It’s called Aeor. It’s where he’s getting all these things and where…I don’t know where else he’d be.” Travis:“Motherfucking Matt Mercer. MFMM” Marisha:“The Cerberus Assembly has been obsessed with that Aeor shit.”

Evoroa:“Well, so a lot of this tech was being brought in there. We were able to combine it with some of our initial designs of shifting and changing up our developments for various war implements here on Ruidus. They had developed a lot of things based around this thing, this Malleus Key he was talking about. So part of my thing was to help originally to design tools that were used to burrow through the outer layers of the glass pillar where Kreviris was. It’s an impossiblly thick layer of glass, but the Exaltants, when they came in here and began to consult with us alongside Ludinus, they began to speak as they communed with the being of the planet, moon, i guess, to you. There are multiple layers to this glass. The outer layers were simple enough to get through with some of this tech we designed, but the secondary layer that we got through was like adamantine. It seemed like it had some sort of divine magical origin in its construction. You know our standard designs were too slow in trying to get through there, given the rapid timeline of what was going on and mounting opposition from Exandria. As you said, across the bridge was starting to grow tension, so Ludinus was going to go back to seek out what tech was available. There’s supposed ot be a continued source of it being excavated from his troop, his Vanguard, his allies, but there was a problem there. Something called, he called it the Dominox. It had begun to take up root there, was causing struggles with their excavation, and so he was going to take care of it himself. That was just a few days ago. From what we were understanding, there were certain implementations of magical synergies and the technology that was being presented as part of our study group, that the tech had a unique understanding of the weave of godly magics, divine-type magics, and how to unravel them on a very base core point. So this was the basis of our project, a means to penetrate the secondary glass shell that contains Predathos within. So, taking inspiration from the, what’s it called the Malleus Factorum and the other trickles of nearby tech and essentially develop it in a smaller scale that we’d be able to go through these additional layers of the divine glass. So, apparently the glass veins that run through the planet are the remnants of Predathos’ last form when it was locked within its prison, so that’s the theory. So, we’ve been unable to map deeply without the help of the Exaltants, and when they’re able to connect with the aid of the Weave Mind to deeply bind with the essence of Predathos, they were able to feel out the extent of the vein network. We were uncertain of the source. Just knew they were resonant with The One Who Sleeps, but from what we’re gathering, that was likely a reflection of its form when it was sealed away, so the glass is what its body once was then turned to be its own prison. So whatever it is sleeping within is within its own glass prison and the layers between, and that’s where the tech and the Exaltants, that’s where all of this is supposed to come together is to break past these boundaries and then free it from its prison shell of what it once was. Yeah!”
​

• 01:32:10 Orym uses the sending stone to attempt to contact Dorian.
• 01:34:00 Aabria:“You know what? I think I’ll take it from here. I think it’s time to see the other half of the story.” INTERMISSION *So, my lovely Crown Keepers. Kymal. After the events of our interlude those long long weeks ago, you all moved north past the Silvercut Crossroads to lay low in the Wildwood Valley. The settlements you dares stay at for more than a few days are more village than town, but the narrow edge of your escape from Poska and the Nameless Ones has you cagey. What’s the true distance of her reach? How far would your sister go to find you? And what do you think, Fy’ra Rai, she would do if she found you again? It’s been almost a month of low living. The six of you, Cyrus included, have a small cache of brumestone that you all harvested from your slow moving getaway platform. Yeah, honestly, like the first three weeks was you just slowly drifting. Yeah, you guys were able to harvest the brumestone from your platform. You have it secreted across the six of you, so in the event that you have to scatter, you all have access to an incredible amount of money, were you able to find a place to fence it. You are not too far from Kraghammer. Westruun is a little farther away, but those are big hubs. Poska’s reach might get there. The Myriad, the Clasp, the people that were pushed out in Kymal. You are some of the few survivors of whatever went down there, and a big city isn’t safe. But two weeks ago, something new began. Whispers reached even your remote ears. A solstice, the Moon of Ill omen, the Blightstar lost from the skies of TalDorei, trapped over Marquet. Disenchantment of old and powerful magic. No sending, no teleportation, no resurrection. Those of you with connections to the gods of this world, the Wildmother, the Spider Queen, the Matron of Ravens, and even the Observer. You have felt a pressingg on the threads of your connections with them, from the Prime and Betrayer Gods, your first inkling of fear, and even from the Observer, a new bit of interest, curiosity about the goings on in this world. And then a message from Orym. Desperate. So sad. Halfway around the world, he bade you find the Tempest in a tone that pushed your group from hiding to haste. So you find yourselves on the road once more headed south, then east towards the Summit Peaks and Zephrah. This time has been dark and difficult for you all not just because you have had to settle for living and hiding; no longer around the glitz and glamour of Kymal. The standard of living that you were all adjusted to. Even Cyrus has been showing signs of getting a little antsy, a curiosity, a need to move in a new direction. Then, again, Opal’s been getting pretty dark lately. Aimee gives the camera a stare
• 01:58:53 Aabria:"I like that you said dreams because I think your dreams were the thing that went first. It is not that you go to sleep and have nightmares, but I think in your youth you would go to sleep and dream or have a nightmare and have some memory of it upon waking, even if it slips away across the day. But every night now, for two weeks, you go to sleep and you wake up exhausted as though your body has been tense, moving. Recovery is difficult and whatever happens from when you close your eyes and give yourself over to sleep and waking is a void and lost. Any time you reach within yourself towards Ted, towards whatever that connection is for clarity or understanding, the first thing you notice is that every dawn, if you reach for Ted, she is exhausted. If you ask her, if you press, she tells you little and less. She doesn’t want to worry you. It’s not your fight. And that’s the important thing. You know there is a fight happening and you have no recollection of it. Two weeks, and now you’re on the road again, traveling long days down the road, exhausted. It is at some point, just a few days into your journey towards Zephrah, towards purpose or adventure or whatever comes next after your last big quest, you feel it. Something inside you breaks. Too tired. Too much holding it together. Your mind is yours and Ted’s and hers, and she has been whispering to you. You feel that fear, that concern oppressing, a hastening, and it all becomes too much. You all walk down the road, and Opal stops. Frozen, she’s looking a thousand yards away in a direction as if she’s listening, trying to hear, trying to understand, but she is stock still.*
• 02:03:21 Aabria:“We gotta get these chuckles out now. I’m so excited.” Robbie seems to be the only one terrified by that statement and looks around incredulously.
• 02:05:35 Aabria:“What did it feel like for Morrighan when she made her deal with the Matron of Ravens, when she committed herself to becoming a paladin of her cause?”
• 02:07:37 Erica:“Whatever curdles the stomach of death incarnate, that’s pretty scary.” You turn towards that feeling of gravity and you look at Opal, trying so hard to shake off whatever this is. You see it in a flash, in a caw, a birdsong, before it hits, and Opal, it’s not that she raises or levitates off the ground, but she seems to grow massive and then she explodes out in every direction.
• 02:09:50 Matt gets to live the dream and does the ad read for the Wizkids Battle Cam in Sam’s absence.
• 02:12:01 Spider Queen:“It means I need you to come with me and I need to sever the ties that keep you with them.”
• 02:12:46 Neat spider web FX in the background! Opal:“Wait. Where’s Ted?”
• 02:14:39 Telepathic group chat by Rary’s Telepathic Bond is granted by Aabria
• 02:15:17 Mic Drop Moment Aabria:“Let me be so clear. Aimee Carrero, love of my life. If you pull a punch, I will know, and I’ll make it worse. So I need you to swing.”
• 02:16:54 Fan Art Moment You see Opal, a crown, and then a pink crown below it, eyes dripping black, a set of arms reaching out, a second set of arms reaching down.
• 02:19:36 Amy:“My ass is sweating.” (callback to Aabria in Calamity?)
• 02:20:03 Matt begins the dance of Dariax rolling low.
• 02:20:38 Two plus two is four
• 02:22:45 The gems strewn about are fragments from Opal’s explosion
• 02:23:35 Aabria:“I will Venmo you $20 RIGHT NOW if you cast haste on Opal.”
• 02:25:35 Aabria:“You stand by a weird dick of gemstones.”
• 02:29:12 Aabria:“You can certainly try.”
• 02:30:50 We Meet Ted! Aabria:"If Opal did CrossFit for three years and was pure raw red meat diet. This is meat beat bandersnatch Opal. (Meat Beat Manifesto?)
• 02:32:38 Erica:“Fuck you, Ted.”
• 02:32:56 Aimee breaks
• 02:34:40 Erica:“I’d like to go to a Denny’s.” Aabria:“You get a giant hot dog that looks like a pussy. We haven’t forgotten that.” Matt:“I’ll never forget it…”
• 02:36:10 Erica:“As fur back as I can get without doing that thing you said.”
• 02:36:22 Under your feet, you see an arrangement of those opalescent gems. It’s a little pattern of four. No perception check, it just sort of looks like a dick… Erica:“Wow, it’s so big.” (callback to Kymal) Anjali:“There it is! Everybody drink!” Aimee:“There’s an ash hole right next to it.” Aabria:“No!”
• 02:37:50 Robbie:“Dorian was up front, tooting a little tune on his flute, okay in his own zone. Then in that amount of time, Opal levitated, burst forth spiderwebs and gems, shot a bolt, and nearly killed one of our friends…” Aabria:“It really popped off.”
• 02:38:47 Dorian:“Better get your head in the game, Bossy Genassi.” casts Bardic Inspiration on Fy’ra
• 02:40:54 Robbie makes a funny noise of confusion.
• 02:42:08 Aimee donates her failed pinky nail to Matt while Robbie says “doo doo” repeatedly about his stats.
• 02:42:30 Dorian:“Hey, buddy. You wanna tell me what’s going on?” Opal/SQ:“She doesn’t know.” Dorian:“Who’s she? You’re she.” Opal/SQ:“Am I?” Dorian:“Are you?” Opal/SQ:"Are you?
• 02:46:00 Matt:“That’s the password on my luggage.” (Spaceballs reference)
• 02:52:27 Robbie decides to touch the bunny ears. Henry Crabgrass is disappointed.
• 02:53:35 Aabria:“You feel the dick under your feet.” Matt:“If I had a nickel…”
• 02:55:12 Robbie:“Don’t get Jumanji-ed!” (SNL Jumanji Skit)
• 02:56:03 Spider Queen:“You won’t stop me from making her mine without killing her, so what are you all prepared to do? Because I will not die to that.” (likely referencing the ongoing Predathos threat)
• 02:57:47 One of the spiders crushes one of the dick gems. There’s a word, Aevilux, a splinter group. She tells a story, looking at you with shining eyes, mismatched color. A long time ago, a group of people found something called a beacon. They learned from it some great entity or god, a concept that sought to know itself, to understand via experience in the world of Exandria, it split itself apart. This one found far away. These people that worshiped the Luxon, found, created magics within themselves to split their own souls apart so that they could learn who they were via observation. As a child, town in two, you observe yourself, you learn who you are, what you like, what you want, what you need, your purpose, and then rejoin, find unity once more. Your mother was one of these people. So, Ted, Opal, Georgina, are you. You and Ted found each other again, reunited to something stronger than your wholes. (hehe) You understand yourself because you understand Ted. Ted wants to protect you because she is protecting herself. She’s not lost to you, she is you. You are something rare and magical in the world of Exandria, and the memory of that is gone forever, in the moment of knowing it.
• 03:03:23 Aabria:“You did get a sense of Submissive and Crushable from these.”
• 03:04:30 Matt opens with a casting of Bless much to Aabria’s displeasure, since it was so effective during battle in Kymal.
• 03:04:50 Aimee:“After all the handies, Cyrus?” rolls a 7 on a “performance” check for the handjob. Aimee then does a happy rodeo dance.
• 03:07:25 Dariax grants bardic inspiration to Dorian, who has been training him as a bard up until now.
• 03:09:18 Aimee pulls no punches and plunges everyone into darkness in which only Opal can see.
• 03:11:53 Erica:(Barbie voice)“The dick gems are sentient!”
• 03:12:57 Spider Squirrel!
• 03:19:40 Aimee:“The candles were wet all the time.” Erica:“The candles were so wet!” (giggety)
• 03:25:05 Grab those sticky dick gems!
• 03:28:14 Aimee:“You’re so confident. I mean, not in this moment…”
• 03:31:23 Erica:“I actually think I’m good, question mark?”
• 03:32:31 Erica:(Barbie voice)“Grab as many jewels as you can!” Fy’ra:“That’s what I said!..Bossy Genasi is apparently my name now.”
• 03:35:35 Dorian flies out of the darkness, but fails his dispel cast and lets out a small fart. “Aw, damn!”
• 03:35:56 The Dorian/Dariax confuses finally catches Aabria.
• 03:38:20 Erica:“oh they really are dick gems…” Matt:“She tends to rub off on ya.”
• 03:45:03 Opal:“This isn’t about you, Ted.” Ted:“You’re literally talking about me.” Opal:“(okay)shut up”
• 03:46:29 Rent-A-Sister
• 03:47:12 Fire Genasi and perfume callback
• 03:51:21 Fy’ra:“Dodge, dash, disengage, what the fuck?”
• 03:57:24 Dariax is struck by three eldritch blasts in the darkness.
• 04:00:34 Dimension Door escape Matt:“…I know because I’ve had people Dimension Door into dragons before.”
• 04:02:53 Bardy Party
• 04:03:33 Fan Art Moment Dariax doing the Van Damme splits
• 04:13:51 Corrupted memory
• 04:17:47 Forbidden Gushers
• 04:24:35 Opal’s new 6’5" form with extra arms

One individual was sentenced in May 2022 to six years in prison for the burglary at the residence of Jordi Comas, President of the Federation of Business Organizations of Girona (FOEG). However, no one has faced the consequences for his murder.
The incident occurred in November 2012 at his home in Platja d'Aro, Barcelona, where the perpetrators tied and gagged the 67-year-old businessman, and ended up killing him by asphyxiation.
They also bounded and assaulted his wife, Carme Hospital.
​
The silent entrance of the three burglars/murderers and the murder
On the night of November 18, 2012, three masked intruders entered the home of Jordi Comas and Carme Hospital through a window, silently breaking and forcing it. They were seeking valuables and money and anticipated encountering awake occupants, knowing they would have to use physical force to stop them.
It was 10 p.m. Jordi was sitting on the sofa watching TV and Carmen was in the Kitchen.
The intruders proceeded to restrain Jordi by tying his hands and placing a cloth in his mouth. Meanwhile, Carmen was washing dishes when she heard unusual sounds emanating from the living room, where she had left Jordi. Upon entering the room, she encountered three tall men dressed in black attire with their faces concealed. She told them she had money and offered to give it to them, pleading with them not to harm Jordi. Subsequently, one of the intruders bound her hands with a cable and compelled her to accompany him down the corridor.
The room containing the safe was on the house's second floor, so both individuals went upstairs. While the thief gathered jewellery and money, Carmen heard two words spoken over the walkie-talkie in a language that she identified as Maghrebi. Upon hearing these words, the thief appeared shocked, as if questioning their actions. Carmen believed from that moment on that Jordi had been killed. They retured downstairs to the first floor where the others were, but found the living room door closed. The thief cautioned Carmen against entering and instead directed her to the study, where other valuable items were kept. Despite Carmen's desire to check on her husband, the thief obliged her to stay in the study. He also slapped her across the face several times. While there, he began collecting valuable items while Carmen stood nearby with her hands bound.
Carmen, scared for her life, asked about her husband and whether he had been harmed or killed. The enraged thief told her to be quiet and to remain in the room. He then left and returned after a while with his accomplice, who was holding two of Jordi's ties in each hand. Carmen feared they would strangle her and decided to face the wall. However, the thief shouted at her forcing her to look at him. He sat her in a chair, used the two ties to bind each of her arms to the sides of the chair. Additionally. he placed her scarf in her mouth to prevent her from speaking.
The two men then left the study, leaving Carmen tied to the chair with instructions to remain there until further notice. After a few minutes of not hearing anything, Carmen shifted the chair with her feet but was promptly warned by someone entering and shouting at her to stay still.
After about an hour, Carmen, unable to get the attention of the gardener who was also a security guard living in the basement, attempted to move towards the kitchen, still bound to the chair. There, she tried to grasp a knife with her mouth but dropped it. For an hour and a half, she struggled to retrieve the knife using only her legs and mouth, noticing that her sweat was causing the bindings on her hands to loosen. She managed to free one hand by sheer force. Quickly, she grabbed her phone and called her sister to explain the situation, who then alerted the authorities. Carmen hurried to her husband's side, realising that he had indeed been killed.
​
The unsuccessful attempt that took place 3 weeks before
The investigation revealed that the same perpetrators of the crime had attempted to enter the residence three weeks earlier but fled upon triggering the alarm. The couple was in the process of installing a new security system, and Comas believed that the burglars would not enter if they saw occupants on the property.
During the investigation, the Mossos detained up to 13 individuals in connection with the assault on the couple's residence. However, evidence was lacking to identify the actual perpetrators of the asphyxiation. The investigation remained open for nearly a decade due to insufficient evidence. In 2019, the investigating court closed the proceedings and concluded that the participation of the 13 individuals in this violent robbery was not "sufficiently proven."
​
Comas had commissioned a video surveillance system
The affluent developments of the Costa Brava fell victim to a wave of robberies in 2012. Catalan police confirmed around twenty violent burglaries in the area, some involving families inside their homes. Jordi Comas' residence had been targeted by robbers for weeks. The businessman experienced another break-in 19 days earlier, and the family always suspected it was the same culprits.
Three hooded individuals attempted to enter his luxurious home in late October 2012 but fled when the alarm sounded. This incident greatly unsettled the businessman. He reported the break-in to the Mossos (Catalan police) and arranged for the installation of a new security system, including surveillance cameras. While awaiting the new surveillance system, Comas believed the events would not repeat if the couple remained in the residence, but this was not the case.
Case Dismissal
The Court of Instruction No. 2 of Sant Feliu de Guíxols issued a provisional dismissal of the case regarding the murder of Comas in 2019. Despite seven years of investigation and fifteen detentions, the investigators were never able to identify the actual perpetrator of his death. The case was pursued further only through new inquiries into three of the arrested individuals - Valentino Gjeloshi, Ahmet Kurti, and Mousa Allaoui - suspected of burglary and illegal detention. Kurti was sentenced to six years in prison.
The evidence was inconclusive. The DNA traces found in Comas' blood on the shirt, which he bit during the assault, did not match those of the detainees, nor were there matches in the Codis database.
​
WHO MURDERED JORDI COMAS?
Links
Telecinco 1
Crónica Global
El Pais English
La Vanguardia
LaSexta

INT. OLIVE GARDEN - DAY
The Olive Garden restaurant is bustling with families and couples enjoying their meals. Tony, is seated at a table with his crew.
WAITER Here’s another salad. Your fifth one. Let us know when you’re ready to order.
TONY (excitedly) Ah, the bottomless salad! It makes me feel like a fucking king.
As the crew gets ready to dive in they notice a change in the portion size.
TONY (confused) Wait a minute... Something's not right. Why are the servers bringing out smaller portions?
SIL (worried) You're right, Tony. It looks like they're trying to taper us off. What’s this shit?
Tony's face contorts with despair, and he slams his hand on the table, causing the silverware to rattle.
TONY (frustrated) Nooo! This can't be happening! The bottomless salad is supposed to have no end god-fucking-dammit!
CHRIS (consoling) Tony, don’t worry. We’ll talk to the manager or some shit.
But Tony's mood intensifies as he grabs a handful of napkins and hurls them onto the table.
TONY (emotional) This is disrespect. You can’t just promise a bottomless salad and then fuck us in the ass.
The nearby patrons turn their heads, drawn in by the dramatic display unfolding at Tony's table.
WAITER (approaching cautiously) Is everything alright, sir?
TONY (dramatically) Everything is NOT alright! You motherfuckers keep bringing out smaller and smaller salads. I demand an explanation!
The waiter, taken aback by the dramatic outburst, stammers for words.
WAITER (apologetic) I'm sorry, sir. There seems to have been a misunderstanding. We can’t just bring you endless salads. Afterall, want to make sure you have room for pasta!
Tony's eyes widen in disbelief, and he grabs a breadstick from the basket, smashing it against the table with theatrical flair.
TONY (furious) How could you take away the one thing that brought joy to my life? You fucks. NOBODY WANTS YOUR SHITTY PASTA! WE WANT A BOTTOMLESS FUCKING SALAD!
PAULIE (stands) YOU BETTER NOT BOTTOM US PRETTY BOY.
The Olive Garden restaurant is filled with an air of frustration and disappointment. Tony and his crew begin slamming their hands on their table, their faces etched with anger and determination. The veins in their foreheads throb as they seethe with rage.
TONY (furiously) You think you can just take away our bottomless salad? Well, you’ve got another thing coming!
Tony slams his hand on the table, causing the silverware to clatter and nearby patrons to turn their heads.
TONY (voice trembling with anger) This is an outrage! We've been loyal customers, and now you want to deny us our right to unlimited greens?
PAULIE (following Tony's lead) You're damn right, Tony! We won't stand for this injustice!
The crew start punching the table one by one, creating a symphony of frustration.
CHRIS (hurling a napkin onto the table) Take that, Olive Garden! We won't be silenced!
The napkin lands with a thud, drawing the attention of waitstaff and patrons alike.
SIL (grabbing a breadstick and slapping it on the table) You think you can crush our spirits? Think again!
The sound of the breadstick reverberates through the restaurant, echoing Tony's defiance.
The restaurant falls into an uneasy silence as Tony and his crew continue slamming their hands and objects onto their table. Patrons and staff members stare in disbelief at the dramatic display unfolding before them.
MANAGER (approaching cautiously) Sir, I understand your frustration, but there's nothing we can do. We need you to calm down.
TONY (leaning forward, voice dripping with determination) Oh, there's something you can do, my friend. (in a low, intense voice) Bring us all your salad shit. We’ll make our own bottomless salad!
The patrons gasp, and the restaurant falls into an eerie silence.
TONY (pointing dramatically) You! Bring me every salad ingredient you have. Tomatoes, lettuce, olives, dressing—I want it all!
The manager, taken aback by Tony's audacity, hesitates for a moment before scurrying away to fulfill his demand.
The manager returns with trays overflowing with salad components, Tony's crew members rise to their feet, ready to assist.
TONY (voice booming) Prepare yourselves, Olive Garden, for the greatest salad uprising this restaurant has ever seen! We’re making a fucking salad!
The tension between Tony and the Olive Garden staff reaches its peak, as if the hands of a clock inch closer to high noon.
The scene ends with Tony and his crew assembling their own bottomless salad, defiantly savoring each bite, and the other patrons watching in awe.
"Habanera" (L'amour est un oiseau rebelle) from Bizet's Opera Carmen begins playing.
The Olive Garden restaurant transforms into a surrealist spectacle. Tony and his crew, fueled by their passionate anger, start building their salad.
Tony grabs a head of lettuce and screams in defiance.
TONY Fuck youuuuuuuuuuu!
His crew members join in, their faces contorted with a mix of anger and liberation.
TONY (screaming) Bottomless salad! You fuck stains!
The other diners, caught up in the infectious energy, abandon their tables and join the frenzy. They too scream at the top of their lungs as they throw ingredients into the air with reckless abandon.
The scene unfolds in a frenetic montage:

• A diner grabs a handful of cherry tomatoes and hurls them into the wooden bowl, their vibrant red orbs bursting like fireworks.
  
• Tony, now wearing a salad spinner as a hat, spins wildly in the center of the restaurant, his arms flinging lettuce in all directions.
  
• Crew members grab fistfuls of croutons, tossing them into the air batting them into the bowl with their breadsticks
  
• A couple smashes a table, sending shrimp scampi flying in a glorious explosion of defiance.
  

The chaos reaches its peak as the participants, covered in salad ingredients, converge in the center of the restaurant. The music swells, and their screams of liberation merge into a primal chorus.
They shove fistfuls of salad into their mouths, their eyes wide with exhilaration and a touch of madness. The combination of anger, freedom, and the taste of victory electrifies the atmosphere.
As the music reaches its crescendo, the scene cuts to slow motion. Salad particles float through the air like confetti, frozen in a moment of chaotic beauty.
The participants, their faces smeared with dressing and triumph, lock eyes, understanding the power of their collective act of rebellion.
TONY (through a mouthful of salad) We’re ready to fucking order now.
FADE OUT.

To complete my spring trifecta of ballets about queer women which began with Carmen and Broken Wings at SFB, I was lucky enough to be able to swing a couple hours' drive a few weekends ago to see American Ballet Theatre touring Woolf Works, Wayne McGregor's evening-length interpretation of three Virginia Woolf novels. I'm a complete Woolf Works evangelist, so I hope that even though this review is late and long it might convince some people to go see it later this season or otherwise in future! There are some "spoilers" in here, especially for Act I.
Woolf Works is presented as a single work, but it is really three separate, but thematically and aesthetically linked, pieces which share some cast, most notably a double role in the first and third acts for an older female dancer, originated by the great Alessandra Ferri. The first act adapts Mrs Dalloway, the second is a very loose take on Orlando, and the last act is thematically inspired by The Waves, but takes on Woolf's own suicide as its "plot."
The ballet was created on the Royal Ballet in 2015, back when they did live-casts to U.S. movie theaters (bring them back, Kevin O'Hare!!!), and I was fortunate enough to see it in a movie theater at the time. On a big screen, it's really almost like being there in person; in fact, there are certain ways in which I even like it better, such as always being guaranteed the best view in the house. The Royal also streamed it during some interminable lockdown a few years ago, and I own a DVD recording -- suffice to say, I like this ballet, and when I heard ABT was touring it nearby, there was no question but that I would go!
Many people's first reaction to me telling them about this show is, "How would you ever adapt a Woolf novel to ballet?" This is a fair question, and McGregor's answer is to tease out a small selection of specific themes and hammer them home using everything ballet has got in the emotional evocation department, rather than literally showing you eg Clarissa buying the flowers herself. The first act, adapting Mrs Dalloway, is the most faithful to the events of its novel, so much so that I think it would be difficult to understand without a working knowledge of the plot. It is also my favorite of the three acts by a long shot.
I think it's a genius adaptation. Mrs Dalloway, of course, takes place over the span of one day, as aristocratic Clarissa Dalloway plans an important party after a serious illness and, elsewhere in London, the shell-shocked veteran Septimus Warren Smith is taken to a psychiatric evaluation by his immigrant wife Rezia. In between the action of the day, however, are long reveries of reflection and memory, imagined futures, hallucinations, and all manner of folding and collapsing time. McGregor handles this by creating two Clarissas, an older Clarissa and a younger Clarissa, and placing all the characters together on a set dominated by three slowly rotating hollow squares or frames. The characters move among and through the frames, which are perfect visual metaphors for pages, photographs, rooms, windows, and time. Older Clarissa dances with young Sally Seton, then watches her younger self experience "the most exquisite moment of her whole life" as Sally kisses her. (This kiss, itself, felt like a revelation for me and the ballet world back in 2015.) Richard and Peter dance with young Clarissa, and older Clarissa breaks in and breaks away. Septimus, Rezia, and Evans can dance a split pas de trois -- Evans can be present but absent, just as Clarissa's past is. Septimus and Evans can also dance a heartbreaking pas de deus together, later mirrored by older-Clarissa and Septimus dancing together as they are unable to do in the novel. Far from feeling like a heavy-handed literalization, the dance retains its allegorical valence, something like its own physical metaphor for for the connection made between Clarissa and Septimus via his suicide -- "there is an embrace in death." When Septimus shapes Clarissa's limp body into passé, it is still a metaphor for connection, just a more solid one. The mixing-up of the set and characters perfectly conveys the feeling of reading Mrs Dalloway, that flowing, looping, involuted sensation, and a perfect way to communicate the presence of the past in the present, whether that's trauma or delight or nostalgia.
The choreography is also beautiful besides the metaphor; the whole act is suffused with tender physical affection between the dancers and there are many lovely steps. Particular standouts include Evans' choreographic motif, which I guess in a technical sense is… coupé petit jetés en tournant en manége or something? But which is really somehow becoming a whirligig or a samara whirling in the wind, spinning away from Septimus at lightning speed. His whole pas with Septimus is top-notch, really exploring the possibilities of male-male partnering, full of a sense of weight, with incredible promenades supported by the arms and neck. There's Sally Seton's beautiful entrance step, down from the "window" and up onto pointe in second position with her arms stretched upwards, which is so full of life and energy. And, of course, there is the bit of stage magic the set permits: I remember vividly seeing this for the first time in the movie theater and not really getting the big rotating squares… until Septimus, at last, steps up onto one of them and falls through it. I remember how the theater actually gasped! Several people could be heard to whisper, "The window!" It still felt shocking watching ABT do it, even though I knew it was coming.
Act I is perhaps 30 minutes long, followed by an intermission. Then, Act II picks up with Orlando. This is, to me, unquestionably the weakest of the acts, and I like it less every time I see it, actually, but what do I know, since it always gets the biggest audience reaction when I see it live! It's athletic and full of high-octane dancing, but I find it it waaaaaay too long and don't think it really engages with Orlando except at the very surface level of "Elizabethan androgyny :D"… and then all the women are still in pointe shoes! And the men partner each other, but the women mostly don't! So even though the choreography nearly successfully makes it impossible to tell who's who onstage, which is awesome, in the end, all you have to do is look for a pointe shoe and the whole thing falls apart. Look, if you can't field an actual mix, which is what would be ideal, everyone should be on pointe or everyone should be off it. Imho.
The act is also less creative in its physical manifestation of the time metaphor -- the stage is heavily smoked and divided by rainbow lasers, which yes, DOES look cool, and yes, the people in their gender-bendy ruffs and Elizabethan tutus criss-crossing the stage jumping in and out of the light pools and wings ARE an effective way to reference Orlando's hallucinogenic journey through the centuries, but that's coherent over maybe ten minutes of dance, and we get nearly forty. It cannot hold onto the metaphor over such a long span, so it stops being about Orlando and starts just kind of being a standard Wayne McGregor ballet with Forsythian farthingales.
But I'm a hater! Everyone seems to love this act. And, I must admit, the last, say, three minutes are gorgeous and joyous. I'm just going to leave it here and move on to Act III, which is nominally adapting The Waves but is really a depiction of Woolf's own suicide by drowning.
And, actually, I think it does a good job braiding these strands. I thought as I was watching it about how Broken Wings and Woolf Works both blend the female artists with their work, which is one thing with Frida Kahlo, but would usually annoy me when it comes to Woolf. However, despite the trick of casting which makes this explicit (on which more later), I do think it comes out well here, because the separation of the three-act structure makes each "main character" more like an avatar of the overall argument about memory and time than a character per se. That's also why I think the blending of The Waves works well, because McGregor has taken on the structure of the novel rather than its (scant) events -- the patches of clarity speeding towards an end, and the constant return to the eternal sea in between the brief bright "moments of being."
The corps here are the waves -- and sometimes also Vanessa Bell's children, and also the River Ouse. There is a lot more structured, unified corps work here than is McGregor's wont, but he manages to also incorporate the atomization that he loves in a way that is extremely appropriate to the metaphor of turbulent water and busy life. There are moments of rigidity, like a beautiful, almost Balanchine-like phrase when all the water-dancers have their arms in fourth and sweep their feet through the basic positions (somewhat like a clock?), and then moments of complete, tossing chaos. He actually lets Woolf get lost in the corps, vanishing and sometimes reappearing, until she does not reappear at all. Unlike Act I, which stays on its knife edge, I think this one sometimes falls just over into melodrama for a second here and there (and poor Vanessa Bell gets character-assassinated; she had her own supremely weird Bloomsbury life outside of motherhood, which you wouldn't know from this!), but it always does manage to get it back on track.
This, most of all the acts, relies on the stage presence of the dancer who plays Woolf and older Clarissa in a double role. In the original cast, this was the prima ballerina assoluta Alessandra Ferri, who at the time was 52. It's practically unheard-of for there to be a dancing role for a dancer at an age where most are retired, and especially notable that it's for an older woman. Alessandra Ferri, of course, is one of the most consummate dance-actors ever, and she played these roles with an incredible weary poignancy. She's a difficult act to follow.
I don't know the two big East Coast companies to the same degree as my locals, so the only dancer I was familiar enough with to look forward to specifically was the woman playing this double role, Gillian Murphy. Gillian Murphy is currently 45 and one of my favorite Odiles, so I was excited to see her. She made a truly fantastic Clarissa, elegant and smooth and self-contained, capable of great moments of tenderness when she broke out of her aristocratic self-possession. My new favorite Clarissa, perhaps! However, I felt that as Woolf she couldn't measure up to Ferri's gravitas and weariness; her quality of movement and emotional projection was not quite different enough from the lithe young corps to make the intended contrast work, imo. She danced that act beautifully! Very beautifully! But I think, actually, too beautifully. Oh to have only this complaint for the rest of my life.
It was actually really interesting to have the experience of finally having been a balletomane long enough that I'm watching new casts of a ballet I saw danced by the original cast. I felt like I was seeing echoes or ghosts of the original dancers from time to time, which was especially apt for this ballet. In particular, in the first act, I felt like I could see Beatriz Stix-Brunnell's particular shape and energy all over Sally Seton, which was delightful, not least because I could also see how ABT dancer Erica Lall brought her own bright spirit to the role. Lall was my favorite dancer in this by far; she dazzled! Perfect casting for sprightly, daring Sally.
On the other hand, in Act II, where one of the bigger parts was originated by Natalia Osipova, it felt less like there were lovely echoes of dancers I knew, but like the dancer in that role was "doing" Natalia Osipova. That felt insincere, somehow, and threw me out of the story. Which is so unfair of me, lol. I guess I'm beginning to understand the old curmudgeons with their old favorites!
But, like any truly good theatrical work, the bones of the structure transcend the individual artists conveying them. If you ask me, this remains McGregor's best work. The middle act aside, it's a compelling engagement with Woolf and with modernism, and it holds up very well to repeated viewings. There is an enormous quantity of detail in the choreography and in the adaptational choices; it gets me thinking as well as being a beautiful spectacle. It is rewarding to me as a devout Woolf fan and ballet fan, and I think there's something in its three acts for everyone, even Woolf novices and ballet novices. I love that there's such a meaty role out there now specifically for older ballerinas, primed for what older ballerinas can do. It's an accomplishment to have a ballet with a major theme of suicide that is respectful, thoughtful, and creative in its portrayal of suicidality, especially given ballet's penchant for rather pat climactic suicides. The use of corps work to portray the boundaries of memory and history is simply inspired; it's gorgeous to look at and rewarding to think about. I love it and I am so glad I drove hours in the rain to see this for the third time!
If I am ever so lucky to have it in reach again, I will absolutely go see it a fourth time. In fact, I think I have a new ballet dream: I want Marianela Nuñez to keep dancing this role until she is 52, and then I'll see her do it! And, if anyone wants to experience it for the first time via video, I can make that happen ;)

That is prettily said. I see we understand one another. Now, hearken to me, give me your close attention, and no fits of lapse of memory over what I now say, please. We must be married very shortly. I positively will not go out without you. I would rather throw up my commission." "But what about papa's consent?" "I shall wire to him full particulars as to my position, income, and prospects, also how much I love you, and how I will do my level best to make you happy. That is the approved formula in addressing paterfamilias, I think. Then he will telegraph back, 'Bless you, my boy'; and all is settled. I know that Lady Lacy approves." "But dear, dear aunt. She will be so awfully lonely without me." "She shall not be. She has no ties to hold her to the little cottage in Devon. She shall come out to us in Cairo, and we will bury the dear old girl up to her neck in the sand of the desert, and make a second Sphynx of her, and bake the rheumatism out of her bones. It will cure her of all her aches, as sure as my name is Charlie, and yours will be Fontanel." "Don't be too sure of that." "But I am sure—you cannot forget." "I will try not to do so. Oh, Charlie, don't!" Mrs. Thomas, the dressmaker, and Miss Crock, the milliner, had their hands full. Betty's trousseau had to be got ready expeditiously. Patterns of materials specially adapted for a hot climate—light, beautiful, artistic, of silks and muslins and prints—had to be commanded from Liberty's. Then came the selection, then the ordering, then the discussions with the dressmaker, and the measurings. Next the fittings, for which repeated visits had to be made to Mrs. Thomas. Adjustments, alterations were made, easements under the arms, tightenings about the waist. There were fulnesses to be taken in and skimpiness to be redressed. The skirts had to be sufficiently short in front and sufficiently long behind. As for the wedding-dress, Mrs. Thomas was not regarded as quite competent to execute such a masterpiece. For that an expedition had to be made to Exeter. The wedding-cake must be ordered from Murch, in the cathedral city. Lady Lacy was particular that as much as possible of the outfit should be given to county tradesmen. A riding habit, tailor-made, was ordered, to fit like a glove, and a lady's saddle must be taken out to Egypt. Boxes, basket-trunks were to be procured, and a correspondence carried on as to the amount of personal luggage allowed. Lady Lacy and Betty were constantly running up by express to Exeter about this, that, and everything. Then ensued the sending out of the invitations, and the arrival of wedding presents, that entailed the writing of gushing letters of acknowledgment and thanks, by Betty herself. But these were not allowed to interfere with the scribbling of four pages every day to Captain Fontanel, intended for his eyes alone. Interviews were sought by the editors or agents of local newspapers to ascertain whether reporters were desired to describe the wedding, and as to the length of the notices that were to be inserted, whether all the names of the donors of presents were to be included, and their gifts registered. Verily Lady Lacy and Betty were kept in a whirl of excitement, and their time occupied from morning till night, and their brains exercised from night to morning. Glass and china and plate had to be hired for the occasion, wine ordered. Fruit, cake, ices commanded. But all things come to an end, even the preparations for a wedding. At last the eventful day arrived, bright and sunny, a true May morning. The bridesmaids arrived, each wearing the pretty brooch presented by Captain Fontanel. Their costume was suitable to the season, of primrose-yellow, with hats turned up, white, with primroses. The pages were in green velvet, with knee-breeches and three-cornered hats, lace ruffles and lace fronts. The butler had made the claret-cup and the champagne-cup, and after a skirmish over the neighbourhood some borage had been obtained to float on the top. Lady Lacy was to hold a reception after the ceremony, and a marquee had been erected in the grounds, as the cottage could not contain all the guests invited. The dining-room was delivered over for the exposing of the presents. A carriage had been commanded to convey the happy couple to the station, horses and driver with white favours. With a sigh of relief in the morning, Lady Lacy declared that she believed that nothing had been forgotten. The trunks stood ready packed, all but one, and labelled with the name of Mrs. Fontanel. A flag flew on the church tower. The villagers had constructed a triumphal arch at the entrance to the grounds. The people from farms and cottages had all turned out, and were already congregating about the churchyard, with smiles and heartfelt wishes for the happiness of the bride, who was a mighty favourite with them, as indeed was also Lady Lacy. The Sunday-school children had clubbed their pence, and had presented Betty, who had taught them, with a silver set of mustard-pot, pepper caster, and salt-cellar. "Oh, dear!" said Betty, "what shall I do with all these sets of mustard- and pepper-pots? I have now received eight." "A little later, dear," replied her aunt, "you can exchange those that you do not require." "But never that set given me by my Sunday-school pets," said Betty. Then came in flights of telegrams of congratulation. And at the last moment arrived some more wedding presents. "Good gracious me!" exclaimed the girl, "I really must manage to acknowledge these. There will be just time before I begin to dress." So she tripped upstairs to her boudoir, a little room given over to herself in which to do her water-colour painting, her reading, to practise her music. A bright little room to which now, as she felt with an ache, she was to bid an eternal good-bye! What happy hours had been spent in it! What day-dreams had been spun there! She opened her writing-case and wrote the required letters of thanks. "There," said she, when she had signed the fifth. "This is the last time I shall subscribe myself Elizabeth Mountjoy, except when I sign my name in the church register. Oh! how my back is hurting me. I was not in bed till two o'clock and was up again at seven, and I have been on the tear for the whole week. There will be just time for me to rest it before the business of the dressing begins." She threw herself on the sofa and put up her feet. Instantly she was asleep—in a sound, dreamless sleep. When Betty opened her eyes she heard the church bells ringing a merry peal. Then she raised her lids, and turning her head on the sofa cushion saw—a bride, herself in full bridal dress, with the white veil and the orange-blossoms, seated at her side. The gloves had been removed and lay on the lap. An indescribable terror held her fast. She could not cry out. She could not stir. She could only look. Then the bride put back the veil, and Betty, studying the white face, saw that this actually was not herself; it was her dead sister, Letice.
The apparition put forth a hand and laid it on her and spoke: "Do not be frightened. I will do you no harm. I love you too dearly for that, Betty. I have been married in your name; I have exchanged vows in your name; I have received the ring for you; put it on your finger, it is not mine; it in no way belongs to me. In your name I signed the register. You are married to Charles Fontanel and not I. Listen to me. I will tell you all, and when I have told you everything you will see me no more. I will trouble you no further; I shall enter into my rest. You will see before you only the wedding garments remaining. I shall be gone. Hearken to me. When I was dying, I died in frantic despair, because I had never known what were the pleasures of life. My last cries, my last regrets, my last longings were for the pomps and vanities." She paused, and slipped the gold hoop on to the forefinger of Betty's hand. Then she proceeded— "When my spirit parted from my body, it remained a while irresolute whither to go. But then, remembering that my aunt had declared that I never would go to Heaven, I resolved on forcing my way in there out of defiance; and I soared till I reached the gates of Paradise. At them stood an angel with a fiery sword drawn in his hand, and he laid it athwart the entrance. I approached, but he waved me off, and when the point of the flaming blade touched my heart, there passed a pang through it, I know not whether of joy or of sorrow. And he said: 'Letice, you have not been a good girl; you were sullen, resentful, rebellious, and therefore are unfit to enter here. Your longings through life, and to the moment of death, were for the world and its pomps and vanities. The last throb of your heart was given to repining for them. But your faults were due largely to the mistakes of your rearing. And now hear your judgment. You shall not pass within these gates till you have returned to earth and partaken of and had your fill of its pomps and vanities. As for that old cat, your aunt'—but no, Betty, he did not say quite that; I put it in, and I ought not to have done so. I bear her no resentment; I wish her no ill. She did by me what she believed to be right. She acted towards me up to her lights; alas for me that the light which was in her was darkness! The angel said: 'As for your aunt, before she can enter here, she will want illumining, enlarging, and sweetening, and will have to pass through Purgatory.' And oh, Betty, that will be gall and bitterness to her, for she did not believe in Purgatory, and she wrote a controversial pamphlet against it. Then said the angel: 'Return, return to the pomps and vanities.' I fell on my knees, and said: 'Oh, suffer me but to have one glimpse of that which is within!' 'Be it so,' he replied. 'One glimpse only whilst I cast my sword on high.' Thereat he threw up the flaming brand, and it was as though a glorious flash of lightning filled all space. At the same moment the gates swung apart, and I saw what was beyond. It was but for one brief moment, for the sword came down, and the angel caught it by the handle, and instantly the gates were shut. Then, sorrowfully, I turned myself about and went back to earth. And, Betty, it was I who took and read your novels. It was I who went to Lady Belgrove's ball in your place. It was I who sat instead of you at Her Majesty's and heard Carmen. It was I who took your place at Henley Regatta, and I—I, instead of you, received the protestation of Charles Fontanel's affection, and there in the boat-house I received the first and last kiss of love. And it was I, Betty, as I have told you, who took your place at the altar to-day. I had the pleasures that were designed for you—the ball-dress, the dances, the fair words, the music of the opera, the courtship, the excitement of the regatta, the reading of sensational novels. It was I who had what all girls most long for, their most supreme bliss of wearing the wedding-veil and the orange-blossoms. But I have reached my limit. I am full of the pomps and vanities, and I return on high. You will see me no more." "Oh, Letice," said Betty, obtaining her speech, "you do not grudge me the joys of life?" The fair white being at her side shook her head. "And you desire no more of the pomps and vanities?" "No, Betty. I have looked through the gates." Then Betty put forth her hands to clasp the waist of her sister, as she said fervently— "Tell me, Letice, what you saw beyond." "Betty—everything the reverse of Salem Chapel."

Colonel Mountjoy had an appointment in India that kept him there permanently. Consequently he was constrained to send his two daughters to England when they were quite children. His wife had died of cholera at Madras. The girls were Letice and Betty. There was a year's difference in their ages, but they were extraordinarily alike, so much so that they might have been supposed to be twins. Letice was given up to the charge of Miss Mountjoy, her father's sister, and Betty to that of Lady Lacy, her maternal aunt. Their father would have preferred that his daughters should have been together, but there were difficulties in the way; neither of the ladies was inclined to be burdened with both, and if both had been placed with one the other might have regarded and resented this as a slight. As the children grew up their likeness in feature became more close, but they diverged exceedingly in expression. A sullenness, an unhappy look, a towering fire of resentment characterised that of Letice, whereas the face of Betty was open and gay. This difference was due to the difference in their bringing up. Lady Lacy, who had a small house in North Devon, was a kindly, intellectual, and broad-minded old lady, of sweet disposition but a decided will. She saw a good deal of society, and did her best to train Betty to be an educated and liberal-minded woman of culture and graceful manners. She did not send her to school, but had her taught at home; and on the excuse that her eyes were weak by artificial light she made the girl read to her in the evenings, and always read books that were standard and calculated to increase her knowledge and to develop her understanding. Lady Lacy detested all shams, and under her influence Betty grew up to be thoroughly straightforward, healthy-minded, and true. On the other hand, Miss Mountjoy was, as Letice called her, a Killjoy. She had herself been reared in the midst of the Clapham sect; had become rigid in all her ideas, narrow in all her sympathies, and a bundle of prejudices. The present generation of young people know nothing of the system of repression that was exercised in that of their fathers and mothers. Now the tendency is wholly in the other direction, and too greatly so. It is possibly due to a revulsion of feeling against a training that is looked back upon with a shudder. To that narrow school there existed but two categories of men and women, the Christians and the Worldlings, and those who pertained to it arrogated to themselves the former title. The Judgment had already begun with the severance of the sheep from the goats, and the saints who judged the world had their Jerusalem at Clapham. In that school the works of the great masters of English literature, Shakespeare, Pope, Scott, Byron, were taboo; no work of imagination was tolerated save the Apocalypse, and that was degraded into a polemic by such scribblers as Elliot and Cumming. No entertainments, not even the oratorios of Handel, were tolerated; they savoured of the world. The nearest approach to excitement was found in a missionary meeting. The Chinese contract the feet of their daughters, but those English Claphamites cramped the minds of their children. The Venetians made use of an iron prison, with gradually contracting walls, that finally crushed the life out of the captive. But these elect Christians put their sons and daughters into a school that squeezed their energies and their intelligences to death. Dickens caricatured such people in Mrs. Jellyby and Mr. Chadband; but he sketched them only in their external aspect, and left untouched their private action in distorting young minds, maiming their wills, damping down all youthful buoyancy. But the result did not answer the expectations of those who adopted this system with the young. Some daughters, indeed, of weaker wills were permanently stunted and shaped on the approved model, but nearly all the sons, and most of the daughters, on obtaining their freedom, broke away into utter frivolity and dissipation, or, if they retained any religious impressions, galloped through the Church of England, performing strange antics on the way, and plunged into the arms of Rome. Such was the system to which the high-spirited, strong-willed Letice was subjected, and from which was no escape. The consequence was that Letice tossed and bit at her chains, and that there ensued frequent outbreaks of resentment against her aunt. "Oh, Aunt Hannah! I want something to read." After some demur, and disdainful rejection of more serious works, she was allowed Milton. Then she said, "Oh! I do love Comus." "Comus!" gasped Miss Mountjoy. "And L'Allegro and Il Penseroso, they are not bad." "My child. These were the compositions of the immortal bard before his eyes were opened." "I thought, aunt, that he had dictated the Paradise Lost and Regained after he was blind." "I refer to the eyes of his soul," said the old lady sternly. "I want a story-book." "There is the Dairyman's Daughter." "I have read it, and hate it." "I fear, Leticia, that you are in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity." Unhappily the sisters very rarely met one another. It was but occasionally that Lady Lacy and Betty came to town, and when they did, Miss Mountjoy put as many difficulties as she could in the way of their associating together. On one such visit to London, Lady Lacy called and asked if she might take Letice with herself to the theatre. Miss Mountjoy shivered with horror, reared herself, and expressed her opinion of stage-plays and those who went to see them in strong and uncomplimentary terms. As she had the custody of Letice, she would by no persuasion be induced to allow her to imperil her soul by going to such a wicked place. Lady Lacy was fain to withdraw in some dismay and much regret. Poor Letice, who had heard this offer made, had flashed into sudden brightness and a tremor of joy; when it was refused, she burst into a flood of tears and an ecstasy of rage. She ran up to her room, and took and tore to pieces a volume of Clayton's Sermons, scattered the leaves over the floor, and stamped upon them. "Letice," said Miss Mountjoy, when she saw the devastation, "you are a child of wrath." "Why mayn't I go where there is something pretty to see? Why may I not hear good music? Why must I be kept forever in the Doleful Dumps?" "Because all these things are of the world, worldly." "If God hates all that is fair and beautiful, why did He create the peacock, the humming-bird, and the bird of paradise, instead of filling the world with barn-door fowls?" "You have a carnal mind. You will never go to heaven." "Lucky I—if the saints there do nothing but hold missionary meetings to convert one another. Pray what else can they do?" "They are engaged in the worship of God." "I don't know what that means. All I am acquainted with is the worship of the congregation. At Salem Chapel the minister faces it, mouths at it, gesticulates to it, harangues, flatters, fawns at it, and, indeed, prays at it. If that be all, heaven must be a deadly dull hole." Miss Mountjoy reared herself, she became livid with wrath. "You wicked girl." "Aunt," said Letice, intent on further incensing her, "I do wish you would let me go—just for once—to a Catholic church to see what the worship of God is." "I would rather see you dead at my feet!" exclaimed the incensed lady, and stalked, rigid as a poker, out of the room. Thus the unhappy girl grew up to woman's estate, her heart seething with rebellion. And then a terrible thing occurred. She caught scarlet fever, which took an unfavourable turn, and her life was despaired of. Miss Mountjoy was not one to conceal from the girl that her days were few, and her future condition hopeless. Letice fought against the idea of dying so young. "Oh, aunt! I won't die! I can't die! I have seen nothing of the pomps and vanities. I want to just taste them, and know what they are like. Oh! save me, make the doctor give me something to revive me. I want the pomps and vanities, oh! so much. I will not, I cannot die!" But her will, her struggle, availed nothing, and she passed away into the Great Unseen. Miss Mountjoy wrote a formal letter to her brother, who had now become a general, to inform him of the lamented decease of his eldest daughter. It was not a comforting letter. It dwelt unnecessarily on the faults of Letice, it expressed no hopes as to her happiness in the world to which she had passed. There had been no signs of resignation at the last; no turning from the world with its pomps and vanities to better things, only a vain longing after what she could not have; a bitter resentment against Providence for having denied them to her; and a steeling of her heart against good and pious influences. A year had passed. Lady Lacy had come to town along with her niece. A dear friend had placed her house at her disposal. She had herself gone to Dresden with her daughters to finish them off in music and German. Lady Lacy was very glad of the occasion, for Betty was now of an age to be brought out. There was to be a great ball at the house of the Countess of Belgrove, unto whom Lady Lacy was related, and at the ball Betty was to make her début. The girl was in a condition of boundless excitement. A beautiful ball-dress of white satin, trimmed with rich Valenciennes lace, was laid over her chair for her to wear. Neat little white satin shoes stood on the floor, quite new, for her feet. In a flower-glass stood a red camellia that was destined to adorn her hair, and on the dressing-table, in a morocco case, was a pearl necklace that had belonged to her mother. The maid did her hair, but the camellia, which was to be the only point of colour about her, except her rosy lips and flushed cheeks—that camellia was not to be put into her hair till the last minute. The maid offered to help her to dress. "No, thank you, Martha; I can do that perfectly well myself. I am accustomed to use my own hands, and I can take my own time about it." "But really, miss, I think you should allow me." "Indeed, indeed, no. There is plenty of time, and I shall go leisurely to work. When the carriage comes just tap at the door and tell me, and I will rejoin my aunt." When the maid was gone, Betty locked her door. She lighted the candles beside the cheval-glass, and looked at herself in the mirror and laughed. For the first time, with glad surprise and innocent pleasure, she realised how pretty she was. And pretty she was indeed, with her pleasant face, honest eyes, finely arched brows, and twinkling smile that produced dimples in her cheeks. "There is plenty of time," she said. "I shan't take a hundred years in dressing now that my hair is done." She yawned. A great heaviness had come over her. "I really think I shall have a nap first. I am dead sleepy now, and forty winks will set me up for the night." Then she laid herself upon the bed. A numbing, over-powering lethargy weighed on her, and almost at once she sank into a dreamless sleep. So unconscious was she that she did not hear Martha's tap at the door nor the roll of the carriage as it took her aunt away. She woke with a start. It was full day. For some moments she did not realise this fact, nor that she was still dressed in the gown in which she had lain down the previous evening. She rose in dismay. She had slept so soundly that she had missed the ball. She rang her bell and unlocked the door. "What, miss, up already?" asked the maid, coming in with a tray on which were tea and bread and butter. "Yes, Martha. Oh! what will aunt say? I have slept so long and like a log, and never went to the ball. Why did you not call me?" "Please, miss, you have forgotten. You went to the ball last night." "No; I did not. I overslept myself." The maid smiled. "If I may be so bold as to say so, I think, Miss Betty, you are dreaming still." "No; I did not go." The maid took up the satin dress. It was crumpled, the lace was a little torn, and the train showed unmistakable signs of having been drawn over a floor. She then held up the shoes. They had been worn, and well worn, as if danced in all night. "Look here, miss; here is your programme! Why, deary me! you must have had a lot of dancing. It is quite full." Betty looked at the programme with dazed eyes; then at the camellia. It had lost some of its petals, and these had not fallen on the toilet-cover. Where were they? What was the meaning of this? "Martha, bring me my hot water, and leave me alone." Betty was sorely perplexed. There were evidences that her dress had been worn. The pearl necklace was in the case, but not as she had left it—outside. She bathed her head in cold water. She racked her brain. She could not recall the smallest particular of the ball. She perused the programme. A light colour came into her cheek as she recognised the initials "C. F.," those of Captain Charles Fontanel, of whom of late she had seen a good deal. Other characters expressed nothing to her mind. "How very strange!" she said; "and I was lying on the bed in the dress I had on yesterday evening. I cannot explain it." Twenty minutes later, Betty went downstairs and entered the breakfast-room. Lady Lacy was there. She went up to her aunt and kissed her. "I am so sorry that I overslept myself," she said. "I was like one of the Seven Sleepers." "My dear, I should not have minded if you had not come down till midday. After a first ball you must be tired." "I meant—last night." "How, last night?" "I mean when I went to dress." "Oh, you were punctual enough. When I was ready you were already in the hall." The bewilderment of the girl grew apace. "I am sure," said her aunt, "you enjoyed yourself. But you gave the lion's share of the dances to Captain Fontanel. If this had been at Exeter, it would have caused talk; but here you are known only to a few; however, Lady Belgrove observed it." "I hope you are not very tired, auntie darling," said Betty, to change slightly the theme that perplexed her. "Nothing to speak of. I like to go to a ball; it recalls my old dancing days. But I thought you looked white and fagged all the evening. Perhaps it was excitement." As soon as breakfast was concluded, Betty escaped to her room. A fear was oppressing her. The only explanation of the mystery was that she had been to the dance in her sleep. She was a somnambulist. What had she said and done when unconscious? What a dreadful thing it would have been had she woke up in the middle of a dance! She must have dressed herself, gone to Lady Belgrove's, danced all night, returned, taken off her dress, put on her afternoon tea-gown, lain down and concluded her sleep—all in one long tract of unconsciousness. "By the way," said her aunt next day, "I have taken tickets for Carmen, at Her Majesty's. You would like to go?" "Oh, delighted, aunt. I know some of the music—of course, the Toreador song; but I have never heard the whole opera. It will be delightful." "And you are not too tired to go?" "No—ten thousand times, no—I shall love to see it." "What dress will you go in?" "I think my black, and put a rose in my hair." "That will do very well. The black becomes you. I think you could not do better." Betty was highly delighted. She had been to plays, never to a real opera. In the evening, dinner was early, unnecessarily early, and Betty knew that it would not take her long to dress, so she went into the little conservatory and seated herself there. The scent of the heliotropes was strong. Betty called them cherry-pie. She had got the libretto, and she looked it over; but as she looked, her eyes closed, and without being aware that she was going to sleep, in a moment she was completely unconscious. She woke, feeling stiff and cold. "Goodness!" said she, "I hope I am not late. Why—what is that light?" The glimmer of dawn shone in at the conservatory windows. Much astonished, she left it. The hall, the staircase were dark. She groped her way to her room, and switched on the electric light. Before her lay her black-and-white muslin dress on the bed; on the table were her white twelve-button gloves folded about her fan. She took them up, and below them, somewhat crumpled, lay the play-bill, scented. "How very unaccountable this is," she said; and removing the dress, seated herself on the bed and thought. "Why did they turn out the lights?" she asked herself, then sprang to her feet, switched off the electric current, and saw that actually the morning light was entering the room. She resumed her seat; put her hands to her brow. "It cannot—it cannot be that this dreadful thing has happened again." Presently she heard the servants stirring. She hastily undressed and retired between the sheets, but not to sleep. Her mind worked. She was seriously alarmed. At the usual time Martha arrived with tea. "Awake, Miss Betty!" she said. "I hope you had a nice evening. I dare say it was beautiful." "But," began the girl, then checked herself, and said— "Is my aunt getting up? Is she very tired?" "Oh, miss, my lady is a wonderful person; she never seems to tire. She is always down at the same time." Betty dressed, but her mind was in a turmoil. On one thing she was resolved. She must see a doctor. But she would not frighten her aunt, she would keep the matter close from her. When she came into the breakfast-room, Lady Lacy said— "I thought Maas's voice was superb, but I did not so much care for the Carmen. What did you think, dear?" "Aunt," said Betty, anxious to change the topic, "would you mind my seeing a doctor? I don't think I am quite well." "Not well! Why what is the matter with you?" "I have such dead fits of drowsiness." "My dearest, is that to be wondered at with this racketing about; balls and theatres—very other than the quiet life at home? But I will admit that you struck me as looking very pale last night. You shall certainly see Dr. Groves." When the medical man arrived, Betty intimated that she wished to speak with him alone, and he was shown with her into the morning-room. "Oh, Dr. Groves," she said nervously, "it is such a strange thing I have to say. I believe I walk in my sleep." "You have eaten something that disagreed with you." "But it lasted so long." "How do you mean? Have you long been subject to it?" "Dear, no. I never had any signs of it before I came to London this season." "And how were you roused? How did you become aware of it?" "I was not roused at all; the fact is I went asleep to Lady Belgrove's ball, and danced there and came back, and woke up in the morning without knowing I had been." "What!" "And then, last night, I went in my sleep to Her Majesty's and heard Carmen; but I woke up in the conservatory here at early dawn, and I remember nothing about it."This is a very extraordinary story. Are you sure you went to the ball and to the opera?" "Quite sure. My dress had been used on both occasions, and my shoes and fan and gloves as well." "Did you go with Lady Lacy?" "Oh, yes. I was with her all the time. But I remember nothing about it." "I must speak to her ladyship." "Please, please do not. It would frighten her; and I do not wish her to suspect anything, except that I am a little out of sorts. She gets nervous about me." Dr. Groves mused for some while, then he said: "I cannot see that this is at all a case of somnambulism." "What is it, then?" "Lapse of memory. Have you ever suffered from that previously?" "Nothing to speak of. Of course I do not always remember everything. I do not always recollect commissions given to me, unless I write them down. And I cannot say that I remember all the novels I have read, or what was the menu at dinner yesterday." "That is quite a different matter. What I refer to is spaces of blank in your memory. How often has this occurred?" "Twice." "And quite recently?" "Yes, I never knew anything of the kind before." "I think that the sooner you return to the country the better. It is possible that the strain of coming out and the change of entering into gay life in town has been too much for you. Take care and economise your pleasures. Do not attempt too much; and if anything of the sort happens again, send for me." "Then you won't mention this to my aunt?" "No, not this time. I will say that you have been a little over-wrought and must be spared too much excitement." "Thank you so much, Dr. Groves." Now it was that a new mystery came to confound Betty. She rang her bell. "Martha," said she, when her maid appeared, "where is that novel I had yesterday from the circulating library? I put it on the boudoir table." "I have not noticed it, miss." "Please look for it. I have hunted everywhere for it, and it cannot be found." "I will look in the parlour, miss, and the schoolroom." "I have not been into the schoolroom at all, and I know that it is not in the drawing-room." A search was instituted, but the book could not be found. On the morrow it was in the boudoir, where Betty had placed it on her return from Mudie's. "One of the maids took it," was her explanation. She did not much care for the book; perhaps that was due to her preoccupation, and not to any lack of stirring incident in the story. She sent it back and took out another. Next morning that also had disappeared. It now became customary, as surely as she drew a novel from the library, that it vanished clean away. Betty was greatly amazed. She could not read a novel she had brought home till a day or two later. She took to putting the book, so soon as it was in the house, into one of her drawers, or into a cupboard. But the result was the same. Finally, when she had locked the newly acquired volume in her desk, and it had disappeared thence also, her patience gave way. There must be one of the domestics with a ravenous appetite for fiction, which drove her to carry off a book of the sort whenever it came into the house, and even to tamper with a lock to obtain it. Betty had been most reluctant to speak of the matter to her aunt, but now she made to her a formal complaint. The servants were all questioned, and strongly protested their innocence. Not one of them had ventured to do such a thing as that with which they were charged. However, from this time forward the annoyance ceased, and Betty and Lady Lacy naturally concluded that this was the result of the stir that had been made. "Betty," said Lady Lacy, "what do you say to going to the new play at the Gaiety? I hear it very highly spoken of. Mrs. Fontanel has a box and has asked if we will join her." "I should love it," replied the girl; "we have been rather quiet of late." But her heart was oppressed with fear. She said to her maid: "Martha, will you dress me this evening—and—pray stay with me till my aunt is ready and calls for me?" "Yes, miss, I shall be pleased to do so." But the girl looked somewhat surprised at the latter part of the request. Betty thought well to explain: "I don't know what it is, but I feel somewhat out of spirits and nervous, and am afraid of being left alone, lest something should happen." "Happen, miss! If you are not feeling well, would it not be as well to stay at home?" "Oh, not for the world! I must go. I shall be all right so soon as I am in the carriage. It will pass off then." "Shall I get you a glass of sherry, or anything?" "No, no, it is not that. You remain with me and I shall be myself again." That evening Betty went to the theatre. There was no recurrence of the sleeping fit with its concomitants. Captain Fontanel was in the box, and made himself vastly agreeable. He had his seat by Betty, and talked to her not only between the acts, but also a good deal whilst the actors were on the stage. With this she could have dispensed. She was not such an habituée of the theatre as not to be intensely interested with what was enacted before her. Between two of the acts he said to her: "My mother is engaging Lady Lacy. She has a scheme in her head, but wants her consent to carry it out, to make it quite too charming. And I am deputed to get you to acquiesce." "What is it?" "We purpose having a boat and going to the Henley Regatta. Will you come?" "I should enjoy it above everything. I have never seen a regatta—that is to say, not one so famous, and not of this kind. There were regattas at Ilfracombe, but they were different." "Very well, then; the party shall consist only of my mother and sister and your two selves, and young Fulwell, who is dancing attendance on Jannet, and Putsey, who is a tame cat. I am sure my mother will persuade your aunt. What a lively old lady she is, and for her years how she does enjoy life!" "It will be a most happy conclusion to our stay in town," said Betty. "We are going back to auntie's little cottage in Devon in a few days; she wants to be at home for Good Friday and Easter Day." So it was settled. Lady Lacy had raised no objection, and now she and her niece had to consider what Betty should wear. Thin garments were out of the question; the weather was too cold, and it would be especially chilly on the river. Betty was still in slight mourning, so she chose a silver-grey cloth costume, with a black band about her waist, and a white straw hat, with a ribbon to match her gown. On the day of the regatta Betty said to herself; "How ignorant I am! Fancy my not knowing where Henley is! That it is on the Thames or Isis I really do not know, but I fancy on the former—yes, I am almost positive it is on the Thames. I have seen pictures in the Graphic and Illustrated of the race last year, and I know the river was represented as broad, and the Isis can only be an insignificant stream. I will run into the schoolroom and find a map of the environs of London and post myself up in the geography. One hates to look like a fool." Without a word to anyone, Betty found her way to the apartment given up to lessons when children were in the house. It lay at the back, down a passage. Since Lady Lacy had occupied the place, neither she nor Betty had been in it more than casually and rarely; and accordingly the servants had neglected to keep it clean. A good deal of dust lay about, and Betty, laughing, wrote her name in the fine powder on the school-table, then looked at her finger, found it black, and said, "Oh, bother! I forgot that the dust of London is smut." She went to the bookcase, and groped for a map of the Metropolis and the country round, but could not find one. Nor could she lay her hand on a gazetteer. "This must do," said she, drawing out a large, thick Johnston's Atlas, "if the scale be not too small to give Henley." She put the heavy volume on the table and opened it. England, she found, was in two parts, one map of the Northern, the second of the Southern division. She spread out the latter, placed her finger on the blue line of the Thames, and began to trace it up. Whilst her eyes were on it, searching the small print, they closed, and without being conscious that she was sleepy, her head bowed forward on the map, and she was breathing evenly, steeped in the most profound slumber. She woke slowly. Her consciousness returned to her little by little. She saw the atlas without understanding what it meant. She looked about her, and wondered how she could be in the schoolroom, and she then observed that darkness was closing in. Only then, suddenly, did she recall what had brought her where she was. Next, with a rush, upon her came the remembrance that she was due at the boat-race. She must again have overslept herself, for the evening had come on, and through the window she could see the glimmer of gaslights in the street. Was this to be accompanied by her former experiences? With throbbing heart she went into the passage. Then she noticed that the hall was lighted up, and she heard her aunt speaking, and the slam of the front door, and the maid say, "Shall I take off your wraps, my lady?" She stepped forth upon the landing and proceeded to descend, when—with a shock that sent the blood coursing to her heart, and that paralysed her movements—she saw herself ascending the stair in her silver-grey costume and straw hat. She clung to the banister, with convulsive grip, lest she should fall, and stared, without power to utter a sound, as she saw herself quietly mount, step by step, pass her, go beyond to her own room. For fully ten minutes she remained rooted to the spot, unable to stir even a finger. Her tongue was stiff, her muscles set, her heart ceased to beat. Then slowly her blood began again to circulate, her nerves to relax, power of movement returned. With a hoarse gasp she reeled from her place, and giddy, touching the banister every moment to prevent herself from falling, she crept downstairs. But when once in the hall, she had recovered flexibility. She ran towards the morning-room, whither Lady Lacy had gone to gather up the letters that had arrived by post during her absence. Betty stood looking at her, speechless. Her aunt raised her face from an envelope she was considering. "Why, Betty," said she, "how expeditiously you have changed your dress!" The girl could not speak, but fell unconscious on the floor. When she came to herself, she was aware of a strong smell of vinegar. She was lying on the sofa, and Martha was applying a moistened kerchief to her brow. Lady Lacy stood by, alarmed and anxious, with a bottle of smelling-salts in her hand. "Oh, aunt, I saw——" then she ceased. It would not do to tell of the apparition. She would not be believed. "My darling," said Lady Lacy, "you are overdone, and it was foolish of you tearing upstairs and scrambling into your morning-gown. I have sent for Groves. Are you able now to rise? Can you manage to reach your room?" "My room!" she shuddered. "Let me lie here a little longer. I cannot walk. Let me be here till the doctor comes." "Certainly, dearest. I thought you looked very unlike yourself all day at the regatta. If you had felt out of sorts you ought not to have gone." "Auntie! I was quite well in the morning." Presently the medical man arrived, and was shown in. Betty saw that Lady Lacy purposed staying through the interview. Accordingly she said nothing to Dr. Groves about what she had seen. "She is overdone," said he. "The sooner you move her down to Devonshire the better. Someone had better be in her room to-night." "Yes," said Lady Lacy; "I had thought of that and have given orders. Martha can make up her bed on the sofa in the adjoining dressing-room or boudoir." This was a relief to Betty, who dreaded a return to her room—her room into which her other self had gone. "I will call again in the morning," said the medical man; "keep her in bed to-morrow, at all events till I have seen her." When he left, Betty found herself able to ascend the stairs. She cast a frightened glance about her room. The straw hat, the grey dress were there. No one was in it. She was helped to bed, and although laid in it with her head among the pillows, she could not sleep. Racking thoughts tortured her. What was the signification of that encounter? What of her strange sleeps? What of those mysterious appearances of herself, where she had not been? The theory that she had walked in her sleep was untenable. How was she to solve the riddle? That she was going out of her mind was no explanation. Only towards morning did she doze off. When Dr. Groves came, about eleven o'clock, Betty made a point of speaking to him alone, which was what she greatly desired. She said to him: "Oh! it has been worse this last occasion, far worse than before. I do not walk in my sleep. Whilst I am buried in slumber, someone else takes my place." "Whom do you mean? Surely not one of the maids?" "Oh, no. I met her on the stairs last night, that is what made me faint." "Whom did you meet?" "Myself—my double." "Nonsense, Miss Mountjoy." "But it is a fact. I saw myself as clearly as I see you now. I was going down into the hall." "You saw yourself! You saw your own pleasant, pretty face in a looking-glass." "There is no looking-glass on the staircase. Besides, I was in my alpaca morning-gown, and my double had on my pearl-grey cloth costume, with my straw hat. She was mounting as I was descending." "Tell me the story." "I went yesterday—an hour or so before I had to dress—into the schoolroom. I am awfully ignorant, and I did want to see a map and find out where was Henley, because, you know, I was going to the boat-race. And I dropped off into one of those dreadful dead sleeps, with my head on the atlas. When I awoke it was evening, and the gas-lamps were lighted. I was frightened, and ran out to the landing and I heard them arrive, just come back from Henley, and as I was going down the stairs, I saw my double coming up, and we met face to face. She passed me by, and went on to my room—to this room. So you see this is proof pos that I am not a somnambulist." "I never said that you were. I never for a moment admitted the supposition. That, if you remember, was your own idea. What I said before is what I repeat now, that you suffer from failure of memory." "But that cannot be so, Dr. Groves." "Pray, why not?" "Because I saw my double, wearing my regatta costume." "I hold to my opinion, Miss Mountjoy. If you will listen to me I shall be able to offer a satisfactory explanation. Satisfactory, I mean, so far as to make your experiences intelligible to you. I do not at all imply that your condition is satisfactory." "Well, tell me. I cannot make heads or tails of this matter." "It is this, young lady. On several recent occasions you have suffered from lapses of memory. All recollection of what you did, where you went, what you said, has been clean wiped out. But on this last—it was somewhat different. The failure took place on your return, and you forgot everything that had happened since you were engaged in the schoolroom looking at the atlas." "Yes." "Then, on your arrival here, as Lady Lacy told me, you ran upstairs, and in a prodigious hurry changed your clothes and put on your——" "My alpaca." "Your alpaca, yes. Then, in descending to the hall, your memory came back, but was still entangled with flying reminiscences of what had taken place during the intervening period. Amongst other things——" "I remember no other things." "You recalled confusedly one thing only, that you had mounted the stairs in your—your——" "My pearl-grey cloth, with the straw hat and satin ribbon."Precisely. Whilst in your morning gown, into which you had scrambled, you recalled yourself in your regatta costume going upstairs to change. This fragmentary reminiscence presented itself before you as a vision. Actually you saw nothing. The impression on your brain of a scrap recollected appeared to you as if it had been an actual object depicted on the retina of your eye. Such things happen, and happen not infrequently. In cases of D. T.——" "But I haven't D. T. I don't drink." "I do not say that. If you will allow me to proceed. In cases of D. T. the patient fancies he sees rats, devils, all sorts of objects. They appear to him as obvious realities, he thinks that he sees them with his eyes. But he does not. These are mere pictures formed on the brain." "Then you hold that I really was at the boat-race?" "I am positive that you were." "And that I danced at Lady Belgrove's ball?" "Most assuredly." "And heard Carmen at Her Majesty's?" "I have not the remotest doubt that you did." Betty drew a long breath, and remained in consideration. Then she said very gravely: "I want you to tell me, Dr. Groves, quite truthfully, quite frankly—do not think that I shall be frightened whatever you say; I shall merely prepare for what may be—do you consider that I am going out of my mind?" "I have not the least occasion for supposing so." "That," said Betty, "would be the most terrible thing of all. If I thought that, I would say right out to my aunt that I wished at once to be sent to an asylum." "You may set your mind at rest on that score." "But loss of memory is bad, but better than the other. Will these fits of failure come on again?" "That is more than I can prognosticate; let us hope for the best. A complete change of scene, change of air, change of association——" "Not to leave auntie!" "No. I do not mean that, but to get away from London society. It may restore you to what you were. You never had those fits before?" "Never, never, till I came to town." "And when you have left town they may not recur." "I shall take precious good care not to revisit London if it is going to play these tricks with me." That day Captain Fontanel called, and was vastly concerned to hear that Betty was unwell. She was not looking herself, he said, at the boat-race. He feared that the cold on the river had been too much for her. But he did trust that he might be allowed to have a word with her before she returned to Devonshire. Although he did not see Betty, he had an hour's conversation with Lady Lacy, and he departed with a smile on his face. On the morrow he called again. Betty had so completely recovered that she was cheerful, and the pleasant colour had returned to her cheeks. She was in the drawing-room along with her aunt when he arrived. The captain offered his condolences, and expressed his satisfaction that her indisposition had been so quickly got over. "Oh!" said the girl, "I am as right as a trivet. It has all passed off. I need not have soaked in bed all yesterday, but that aunt would have it so. We are going down to our home to-morrow. Yesterday auntie was scared and thought she would have to postpone our return." Lady Lacy rose, made the excuse that she had the packing to attend to, and left the young people alone together. When the door was shut behind her, Captain Fontanel drew his chair close to that of the girl and said— "Betty, you do not know how happy I have felt since you accepted me. It was a hurried affair in the boat-house, but really, time was running short; as you were off so soon to Devonshire, I had to snatch at the occasion when there was no one by, so I seized old Time by the forelock, and you were so good as to say 'Yes.'" "I—I——" stammered Betty. "But as the thing was done in such haste, I came here to-day to renew my offer of myself, and to make sure of my happiness. You have had time to reflect, and I trust you do not repent." "Oh, you are so good and kind to me!" "Dearest Betty, what a thing to say! It is I—poor, wretched, good-for-naught—who have cause to speak such words to you. Put your hand into mine; it is a short courtship of a soldier, like that of Harry V. and the fair Maid of France. 'I love you: then if you urge me farther than to say, "Do you in faith?" I wear out my suit. Give me your answer; i' faith, do: and so clap hands and a bargain.' Am I quoting aright?" Shyly, hesitatingly, she extended her fingers, and he clasped them. Then, shrinking back and looking down, she said: "But I ought to tell you something first, something very serious, which may make you change your mind. I do not, in conscience, feel it right that you should commit yourself till you know." "It must be something very dreadful to make me do that." "It is dreadful. I am apt to be terribly forgetful." "Bless me! So am I. I have passed several of my acquaintances lately and have not recognised them, but that was because I was thinking of you. And I fear I have been very oblivious about my bills; and as to answering letters—good heavens! I am a shocking defaulter." "I do not mean that. I have lapses of memory. Why, I do not even remember——" He sealed her lips with a kiss. "You will not forget this, at any rate, Betty." "Oh, Charlie, no!" "Then consider this, Betty. Our engagement cannot be for long. I am ordered to Egypt, and I positively must take my dear little wife with me and show her the Pyramids. You would like to see them, would you not?" "I should love to." "And the Sphynx?" "Indeed I should." "And Pompey's Pillar?" "Oh, Charlie! I shall love above everything to see you every day."

Just like you do every morning, you wake up in your normal position of being hung from your back by 2 massive steel hooks. You levitate down to the red shagged carpeted floor and float over to go grab a cup of trendy but kick ass matcha mud tea coffee alternative from your 3 star Michelin rated matcha tea shop located in your converted sex-slave dungeon. You then float over to check on your precious Golden Skull. You place your finger onto the fingerprint pad of your walk-in bank style heavy duty vault, just like any other day, and to your surprise, the safe doesn’t open as it normally does. Instead, it audibly gives an error code, “Error 666. Repeat. Error 666. Atchung Baby! Dave Navarro is already inside the safe”.
In a panic, you switch over to the keypad and hastily type in your vault password, “Carmen Electra”. To your relief, the safe door clicks and then begins to slowly open. It reveals a tiny, demon-imp-like Dave Navarro hovering over your precious Golden Skull!
You scream, “Get away from my goddamned golden skull you crazy demon-imp-like Dave Navarro!!”
But before you can grab the imp by its wings and smash it to the ground in a move that you personally learned from Steven Seagal himself, it puts up a semi-transparent, but impregnable (even for Dave Navarro) magical barrier. The demon-imp’s eyes begin to glow a deep dark fiery red that most tattoo artists are unable to achieve on a regular basis, especially when dealing with dark skin. It starts to recite in latin over and over again, “Abi, pellis tua recens et munda est. Abi, pellis tua recens et munda est…”
You start to feel sick to your stomach and your skin begins to tingle like a 2006 Jenna Jameson Fleshlight on its highest setting. You look down at your hands, and shockingly, your tattoos begin to slowly fade away. It is all too much for you to handle and you fall to your knees, screaming in horror, your hands clawing at your face. The demon-imp-like Dave Navarro laughs an evil laugh (much like Keli Doty’s laugh in Season 12 Battle of the Sexes) and disappears in a puff of patchouli smoke, causing you to retch violently at the smell of hippies, eventually passing out in your own slobber.
You awake 6 hours later to see a matcha mud tea cup on its side, staining your red shag carpet a weird season 11, cat-green Tim tattoo. You then remember the horror of what took place. You try to levitate to your feet, but remain firmly planted on the ground. In a rush of adrenaline, you stand to your feet like a plebeian and race over to your 7k square foot bathroom, spa and sauna. You tear off your Hard Rock Cafe pajamas with one fell swoop, and stare at yourself in naked disbelief through the full sized, wall to wall to ceiling mirror with gold backing. You have no tattoos. They are all gone. Even the sphincter starfish...
You are as bare as you were born and you have lost your all of your tattoo mojo, your Golden Skull being depleted and now a dull shade of copper. Being Dave Navarro though, you don’t give up like Chris on Season 11 Grudge Match. Instead, you grab your iPhone 16, not out to the public yet, and try to FaceTime with Ollie and Chris. You suddenly get a text from the number 666 that states;
“Challenge: All of your tattoos are gone and you must start over. You have 8 hours to find one of the Ink Master winners, teleport them to your Malibu Mansion, and begin your tattoo journey all over again. If you fail, Ink will never stick to your second layer of epidermis again.
And your time… starts… NEOW!”

https://minimalfreaks.co/2024/04/traxsource-top-100-afro-house-of-march-2024/

1. Geoffrey C – This Is Hot (Yes Indeedy) (Coflo Edit) 05:10 125bpm 6A
2. Roland Clark, HoneyLuv – This Is My Life (Bontan Extended Mix) 05:37 128bpm 3A
3. Luis Radio – Davul (Original Mix) 06:01 125bpm 6B
4. Aloe Blacc, Shimza – Darling (Extended Mix) 06:36 118bpm 11A
5. Nes Mburu, Alex Wann – Peperuke feat. Nes Mburu (Extended Mix) 06:49 122bpm 10A
6. &ME, Rampa, Adam Port, Keinemusik, Alan Dixon, Arabic Piano – Thandaza (feat. Alan Dixon, Arabic Piano) (Original Mix) 07:04 123bpm 11A
7. Bun Xapa – Yeke Yeke (Original Mix) 06:26 120bpm 8B
8. Trinidadian Deep – Island Roots Sonics (Main Mix) 07:13 124bpm 4A
9. Mijangos, George Vibe – Happy Drums (Original Mix) 05:23 124bpm 11B
10. Lazarusman, Bontan – Drum Rhythm (Original Mix) 05:09 93bpm 4A
11. SoulReDeep, Precious James, DEL BIANCHI – Love Nation feat. Precious James (Doug Gomez Remix) 08:32 125bpm 8B
12. Coflo – False Feelins (David Harness 2024 Alt Mix) 07:29 124bpm 5B
13. Dennis Ferrer – Hey Hey (Jack Back Extended Remix) 06:53 122bpm 2A
14. Larry Labirt, Shino Blackk – Free Blackk (Original Mix) 05:29 123bpm 9A
15. Oscar P – Where Were U (Original Mix) 06:09 122bpm 10A
16. Stevo Atambire, CISUMMI – DIKEBO (Sparrow & Barbossa Remix) 05:34 122bpm 3A
17. Stefano Ranieri – Sanda Sanda (Original Mix) 09:29 125bpm 12B
18. Dennis Ferrer – Hey Hey (Da Capo & Kitty Amor Extended Remix) 07:22 120bpm 5B
19. Louie Vega, Nico Vega – How He Works (feat. Nico Vega) (Coflo Remix) 05:14 126bpm 5A
20. Inaky Garcia, Shanti Clasing – Padrum Drum (Original Mix) 07:09 124bpm 9B
21. Moon Rocket – To The Sun (Dawn To Dusk Mix) 06:53 122bpm 6A
22. Masaki Morii – DPCT 5 (Original Mix) 06:49 123bpm 6A
23. Melchyor A – Get It (Laroye Remix) 05:50 121bpm 8A
24. Demayä – Now That We Found Love (Original Mix) 06:29 120bpm 8B
25. Starving Yet Full, Caiiro, Moojo – NGWINO (Original Mix) 08:37 121bpm 5A
26. Manybeat – The Gypsy Woman (Original Mix) 06:57 123bpm 7A
27. Manoo – The Dub (Original Mix) 08:18 124bpm 4B
28. Petros Odin, Anastasia Nati – Into The Sea (David Morales Remix) 06:28 120bpm 12A
29. Jon Mavek, Precious James – Phyre (Oscar P Rework) 06:15 122bpm 6A
30. Toshi, Antonio Deep Scarano – Kuyo (In Everything) (Extended Roots Mix) 05:43 122bpm 6A
31. Shino Blackk – Blackk Has Spoken (Original Mix) 05:34 125bpm 7B
32. Masaki Morii – Lightning (Extended Mix) 06:48 124bpm 4B
33. Coflo, Rawb Boss – That Calypso Beast (Original Mix) 06:30 123bpm 8A
34. Pete Salaz, Xander Ludena, Ethan Klassen – Protection Song (Doug Gomez Deep Afro Mix) 08:17 125bpm 9A
35. Timmy Regisford – Khannyisa (Original Mix) 05:38 120bpm 10B
36. Luis Radio – Human Chemistry (Cee ElAssaad Remix) 06:46 124bpm 8B
37. Reve, Robin M – Through The Night (Manoo Remix) 08:19 123bpm 9B
38. Sky White – Olha Você (Original Mix) 06:27 122bpm 12B
39. Melchyor A – Feel You (Feel You) 05:10 94bpm 7B
40. Rosalie, James Mac, VALL – The Boy Is Mine feat. Rosalie (Club Mix) 06:16 123bpm 12A
41. Marasi – Opera (Original Mix) 05:14 124bpm 10B
42. Luis Radio – Funbuka (Original Mix) 06:06 124bpm 10B
43. Tiger Wilson, Georgia Cee, Stan Zeff – Ilanga Nenyanga feat. Tiger Wilson (Main Mix) 08:27 124bpm 5A
44. Trinidadian Deep – Island Roots Sonics (Drum Tools) 04:08 124bpm 1A
45. Simone Green, Coflo – Don’t Say Nothing (Coflo Dub) 05:06 123bpm 6A
46. Atmos Blaq – Mfana Wase Dobsi (Original Mix) 06:24 150bpm 10B
47. Mr. V, FNX OMAR – The Place (Original Mix) 07:23 121bpm 8B
48. Dino and Terry – Monograms (Original Mix) 07:07 122bpm 6A
49. Dj Jim Mastershine, Nuzu Deep, Korie Minors – Nihambile- Nihambile feat. Nuzu Deep (Bassfinder Remix) 07:26 121bpm 2A
50. Saliva Commandos – Something ’bout Ghettos (Original Mix) 06:13 122bpm 12A
51. Groove Junkies, Solara, Munk Julious – Dialed In (Groove Junkies & Deep Soul Syndicate Afro Vox) 07:48 124bpm 11A
52. Kiko Navarro – Mama Calling feat. Concha Buika (Tedd Patterson Remix) 08:22 127bpm 5A
53. &lez – The Rhythm Of Dancing (Extended Mix) 08:04 122bpm 9B
54. OVEOUS, QVLN – Queimar (Coflo Remix) 05:05 125bpm 11A
55. James Deron – Ovie Doh (Original Mix) 05:21 123bpm 6B
56. Mark Francis – Spiritual Insurrection (Original Mix) 08:25 125bpm 5B
57. Lizwi, Andreas Horvat – Memeza feat. Lizwi (Raw Deep Africa Remix) 07:55 121bpm 6A
58. Trinidadian Deep – She Moves (Original Mix) 07:13 124bpm 2A
59. Ribatone, Blackcoffee – Music Is The Answer (Echo Deep Remix) 06:46 124bpm 10A
60. Rabs Vhafuwi, Bukeka – Ndizifihla Kuwe feat. Bukeka (AMflow Remix) 06:13 126bpm 3B
61. Masaki Morii – DPCT 4 (Original Mix) 07:03 123bpm 8A
62. Antonio Ocasio, Janine Sugah Lyrics Lyons – Sacred Tones (Original Mix) 08:32 124bpm 8A
63. &ME, Black Coffee, Keinemusik – The Rapture Pt.III (Original Mix) 08:02 120bpm 9A
64. Moonchild, Lemon And Herb – Velani feat. Moonchild (David Harness Mix) 08:24 122bpm 5A
65. Teddy Douglas, Carmen Brown – Time Waits For No One feat. Carmen Brown (Geoffrey’s Tik Tok Dub) 05:08 123bpm 1A
66. Realm Of House – Get it Good (Arawakan Drum Mix) 05:34 125bpm 6A
67. RE\MIND – 1995 (Original Mix) 08:02 122bpm 7A
68. Chymamusique, Dearson, KG Smallz, Oscar Mbo – Yes God (feat. Dearson) (Chymamusique Remix) 06:54 123bpm 2A
69. DJ Satelite, Ray T, LMichael – U&M (Original Mix) 07:18 120bpm 4A
70. Kevin McKay – In The Air Tonight (Extended Mix) 07:00 121bpm 8B
71. OVEOUS, QVLN – Queimar (GUAPO (AO) Remix) 07:28 120bpm 6A
72. Timmy Regisford – It Last All Night (Original Mix) 06:29 124bpm 10B
73. Rampa, Sparrow & Barbossa – Champion (Original Mix) 06:21 121bpm 5A
74. Atmos Blaq, Chopstar – Dream Keys (Original Mix) 06:19 122bpm 1B
75. Enoo Napa, DJ Merlon – BroCode (Original Mix) 06:58 120bpm 3B
76. Carlos Castro – Oh YaYa (Original Mix) 05:00 123bpm 3A
77. Masaki Morii – Tribal Rhythm (Extended Mix) 06:53 123bpm 12B
78. Boddhi Satva, OVEOUS – Free Your Mind (Luch Remix) 05:22 119bpm 12A
79. SoulReDeep, Precious James, DEL BIANCHI – Love Nation feat. Precious James (Doug Gomez Instrumental Remix) 08:32 125bpm 8B
80. Kashovski – Bad Man (Original Mix) 05:51 123bpm 5B
81. Minoas Cirillo, ReiRei – Lover (Original Mix) 06:54 122bpm 10A
82. Simone Vitullo, VXSION – Understanding (The Neighbors Extended Remix) 06:05 121bpm 5B
83. Mark Lewis, Soul Jay, Timmy Regisford – I Love You (feat. Soul Jay) (Original Mix) 05:09 125bpm 3A
84. Dlala Thukzin – Fire Dance (Original Mix) 06:56 107bpm 10B
85. Lazarusman, Liva K, atsou – 100 Horses (Original Mix) 06:08 120bpm 4A
86. Walid Martinez – 2 Roots (Original Mix) 06:49 123bpm 5A
87. Jovonn, WhoisBriantech – Dat Record (Oscar P Rework) 06:07 123bpm 5A
88. Nuzu Deep – I Am One With The Universe (Curio Tones Remix) 05:31 118bpm 2B
89. Ian Kenzof, Black Rythmo, Lenaa – Frozen (Original Mix) 07:15 90bpm 4A
90. DJ G, Juliet Mendoza – Elevate (Original Mix) 05:43 123bpm 5A
91. DJ Stingray – Zemi (Original Mix) 06:23 123bpm 4B
92. Thabo Tonick – Joyboy (Original Mix) 06:05 116bpm 12A
93. Norty Cotto, DJ Stingray, Janetza – Get On Your Feet (Norty Cotto Bounce Back Remix) 06:43 124bpm 10B
94. Black Sonix – Afrotone (Original Mix) 08:36 122bpm 7B
95. Maffa, Francesco Bianco – Kamwana (Original Mix) 05:58 93bpm 7B
96. Pablo Fierro, Vanco, Una Rams – WELE WELE (Original Mix) 07:02 120bpm 6A
97. PolyRhythm, Sheleah Monea – Cherish The Day (Coflo Remix) 07:50 124bpm 5A
98. Dennis Ferrer, Danil Wright – Church Lady feat. Danil Wright (Extended Mix) 07:37 126bpm 6A
99. MoBlack, VHOOR, Tuyo, FBC, Tato (BR) – Clareou feat. FBC feat. VHOOR feat. Tuyo (Extended Mix) 05:42 105bpm 12A
100. Andor Gabriel, RBØR, Paakman – OK! (Original Mix) 05:36 120bpm 5B

This program feels, to me, like Tamara Rojo's great introductory fanfare: we are going to do things differently now! This was clear from the moment we walked into the beautiful lobby of the opera house, which was strung up with papel picado and dotted with clusters of bright silk flowers, selling Mexican wedding cookies at the concession stand. The crowd (even at a Saturday matinee) was also immediately, audibly different than usual -- there were a lot, a lot, of little girls speaking Spanish with their moms and older sisters. Inside the theater proper, a beautifully quilted and embroidered scenic curtain by local textile artist Maria Guzmán Capron took the place of the usual gold velvet, and the loge was decorated by more bight artificial flowers. Down in the pit, they'd scooted the harp into the bassoons to allow for a major percussion section.
This is, after all, to my knowledge the United States' first-ever double bill of Latina choreographers, with pieces about Latina subjects, who also, by the way, both happen to be queer women. Just for that, I was and am thrilled. Part of the joy and frustration of the way ballet has thrived on the Internet is to see how other places are doing things, and for many years, I have been in a profound state of relative deprivation thanks to the staid outlook of San Francisco -- San Francisco! -- Ballet, which had never commissioned a full-length work by a female choreographer or had a female AD before Rojo, hired its first Black principal in 2022, and tended generally to tiptoe around the fact that it's in San Francisco and a bit more of the rainbow would be much appreciated on the main stage. Even its much-hoopla'd new choreography festivals tended to be samey. Dos Mujeres, to me, feels like a dramatic and intentional step forward for the whole enterprise.
And so:
CARMEN

• Choreographer: Arielle Smith
• Composer: Arturo O'Farrill
• Runtime: 39 minutes

My cast:

• Carmen: Jasmine Jimison
• Jose: Esteban Hernández (my beloved, SFB forever fave)
• Escamillo: Sasha Mukhamedov
• Gilberto: Myles Thatcher

Unfortunately, Arielle Smith's Carmen is bad! Well, it's not terrible, but it isn't good. C+
Smith takes the admittedly scanty Bizet plot and transplants it to a Cuban restaurant, where a looming projected specter of heterosexuality (Gilberto-visibly-not-played-by-Myles-Thatcher and Unnamed Dead Mother, in a fake-sepia photograph) used to cook. Upon the death of Unnamed Mother, in come Carmen and Jose, her husband, to run the place for Gilberto. In need of a chef, Carmen, Jose, and Gilberto hire Escamillo. Jealousy ensues.
The good:
This ballet has something I have never, ever seen before in a ballet: a butch. A HOT butch. Sasha Mukhamedov as Chefcamillo, complete with black muscle tank, can get it. She was wonderfully strong and sinuous with great stage presence, and her movement style was distinctly different from the other characters, making her feel genuinely apart and special. Of course, she felt wonderfully special to me. I don't think I ever would have dreamed of seeing something like this as a young person. Jasmine Jimison, who was just promoted to principal a few weeks ago, did a lot with what she was given as Carmen.
The bad:
I don't think I've ever said this about anything before, but this needed to be at least 30 minutes longer. The whole ballet is the merest wisp of an idea, like Smith said "well first this happens, and then this happens, and then this happens, and I guess I'll figure the details out when I get there." The plot is gossamer; the characters tissue. Even the choreography feels like the dancers are marking the real steps which will get put in before opening night. Classical ballet is structure: structure in the steps forming structure in the work. Those structures can be hidebound, but they are also how you convince yourself that Odette really loves Siegfried: they meet, then they have a lovely long pas de deus with unique steps about it before the plot moves on. Nobody here gets anything like that level of characterization; Carmen absolutely whizzed by as it tried to stuff a 4-act opera into 39 minutes. The few moments of really good dancing -- Hot Butch Escamillo's introduction; Carmen's pretty chaines… uh, well, I guess the two (2) moments of really good dancing -- get no time to breathe. Plot points are introduced and resolved in seconds; Carmen and Escamillo are kissing within three minutes of the latter's introduction, Jose is waving a knife around within seven, and then the ballet ends. And yes, it's nice to see some queer women kissing onstage at SFB! It's great! Could we perhaps get some feeling in it? Some dancing?
The dancing is a problem. It's uninteresting and muddled. For all the score leans into the Cuban setting, with some hints of Bizet in there for flavor, Cuban dance influence doesn't show up much in the choreography. In fact, the badly used and mustard-yellow corps does a kind of salsa move which, unfortunately, looks significantly more like Fosse than salsa. However, classical ballet is also in absentia, leaving an indistinct muddle of vaguely contemporary movement. (I like contemporary! I like it when it's good.) The corps is forced to do a Ministry of Silly Walks display to "interview" for the position of chef, which was clearly meant to be funny and was met with crickets. Worsening matters was the fact that the set was too small for the dancers. It did not use the whole stage but partitioned it into a smaller square with internal "walls," then filled that space with a large wooden bar and two sets of large wooden tables and chairs, leaving a fairly cramped, semi-triangular opening in the middle where most of the action took place. There was not enough room for the dancers to move around -- Esteban Hernández (light of my life) has to do a tormented coupé jeté manège at some point and is literally unable to do so because of all the random chairs and extra walls of the set. It may or may not be symbolic, but it's actively impeding the dancing, so sometimes the signified does actually have to take precedence over the signifier, sorry.
The ballet ends incoherently -- the program notes led me to believe Smith thinks it's a happy ending, but I think it's a perfectly fine reading of what actually appears onstage to assume that Carmen did, in fact, die of stabbing at the hands of Esteban Hernández. If it's a happy ending, I am not sure what it even is to be happy about it. It also has the unintended consequence of making everything that came before feel even more paper-thin, because it all seems to go away so lightly and easily.
A nitpick: Myles Thatcher is a handsome young guy, and given ballet companies presumably employ professional old people Principal Character Dancers for a reason, the role and purpose of the father character would have been much better served by casting an actual older man, especially since he didn't do any dancing you would need a young dancer to do.
There's also the insoluble problem that Esteban Hernández is intensely charismatic, full of ballon, and lithely graceful, and the plot isn't doing any of the necessary work to make him truly feel like a horrible, murderous jealous husband, so you kind of would rather get to see him keep dancing. Or at least, I did. I also wanted him and Sasha Mukhamedov to have a jealous PDD together and a jealous pas de trois with Carmen. But no time! No time for anyone!
Alas. I shall treasure the memory of Sexy Butch Sasha Mukhamedov forever.
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BROKEN WINGS

• Choreographer: Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
• Composer: Peter Salem, “La Llorona” sung by Chavela Vargas
• Runtime: 48 minutes

My cast:

• Frida: Nikisha Fogo
• Diego: Nathaniel Remez
• Cristina, Frida's Sister: Jihyun Choi
• Alfonso, Frida's Boyfriend: Esteban Hernández
• The Doe: Pemberley Ann Olson
• Trees and birds: the female corps
• Ten Fridas: the male corps
• Skeletons: corps members

A triumph. A! If I was being truly harsh, an A-, but why would I be when I am so thrilled this is now in the rep?
From the moment the beautiful scenic curtain lifted, I was riveted. The score, the sets, the costumes, the staging, the choreographers, and the wonderful cast came together in a masterstroke. It is wildly creative and distinctive and, most importantly, it is not the slightest bit kitsch. Lopez Ochoa obviously thought deeply and consistently about which of Frida Kahlo's qualities and works she wished to prioritize and represent, and the result is a serious analysis of her artwork and biography which also happens to be moving and beautiful in its own right. If you're at all desensitized to Frida Kahlo thanks to the sad commercialization of her image(s), I think this is the perfect antidote.
The story is highly stylized and condensed. The through-lines are artistic inspiration, disability, and Kahlo's relationship to Diego Rivera, and the timespan stretches her from youth through her death. The structure of the ballet as a whole mirrors one of the key choreographic motifs, which is the contraction and then wide expansion of the body in pain and release. The work as a whole is governed by motif, which feels appropriate. Some of the major ones are the nicho box that provides the main set element, the corps of Fridas in their voluminous faldas folklóricas and tall headdresses, the fantastical characters of Frida's paintings (especially birds and trees), the wounded deer, and the skeletons.
The corps is wonderful. The skeletons in particular stood out. They are full of character, always somewhere on stage, even if it is just one lounging off to the side, looking on attentively at the action. They vacillate between humor and menace, sometimes joking and horsing around, sometimes restraining Frida and dragging her around the stage and between stages of her life. She plays with them, hits them, wrestles with them. In one truly chilling moment, one of them presides over a miscarriage. For being fully masked, they are immensely expressive and a true achievement for Lopez Ochoa as choreographer.
The Fridas figure in much of the promotional material and are worth the attention. Played by male corps members, they are made up as so many simplified versions of Frida from her paintings: the lace ruff, the macaws, the braids, many others. The maleness of the dancers may be a reference to Self Portrait with Cropped Hair, or they may just be used practically for their relative size and strength; they often surround Frida to hide her, carry her, and provide contrast against her, and their effect is very androgynous. Frida interacts with them in a variety of ways which made me in the audience switch back and forth between seeing them as muses and reflections or reduplications of her self, sometimes very quickly, which seems apt, as the piece as a whole seems to be making an argument about Frida Kahlo's painting which rests on the interpretation that Kahlo's muse was herself. Kahlo of course had a lot more to say in her paintings, about postcolonialism, subjectivity, marginality, and on, but for a single one-act ballet, I think this particular theme is an effective choice for conveyance via dance. A particular moment where the motif felt powerful was when Frida is first seducing Diego Rivera -- she has three other Fridas with her and poses them seductively, displaying their bodies to him as she runs between them and moves their legs and hips with her hands.
The wounded deer and the fantastical creatures also play major roles and heighten the sense of marvelous real about the whole ballet -- they come and go and interact with the "real people" of the action in a variety of choreographically creative ways. Their figures and shadows interact with the inert parts of the set as well as with the live dancers, and each "subset" of corps has its own movement quality which nonetheless meshes with the others. The wounded deer walks delicately on pointe; the Fridas move with heavy, monumental rhythm, the trees clatter their fingers and feet, the birds are always turning and creating spirals and circles through the other dancers. The impression of them all when the stage is full is truly like one of Kahlo's most detailed paintings, a window into a fantastical world.
The set contributes to this impression too. The lighting and backdrops were perfect: very simple but intense color-washes behind black curtains which opened and closed to change the whole lightscape and mood of scenes. These too seemed freighted with symbolism, while fitting seamlessly with the whole and never obstructing vision, cutting light to a murky level, or clashing with the other bright colors on stage. The nicho box, however, is the star of the set: plain and battered gray from the outside, it opens again and again to display a variety of interiors: mirrors, a hospital bed, splashes of blood, excerpts from Kahlo's own diaries. I never predicted what it would open onto, and I was never disappointed.
Then also, the cast was fantastic. Nikisha Fogo was splendid in everything she did, from the fireworks of Frida's first entrance to the grounded, jerky wrestling of her last appearance. She has to speak in this role, albeit briefly, which I don't think is ever a great choice for a ballet; however, when she did, it felt natural. Nathaniel Remez did a wonderful job playing older here; he gave Diego Rivera a believable sense of gravity and fascination. Pemberley Ann Olson as the wounded deer was delicate and otherworldly. Her brief duets with Frida made me hold my breath, they seemed so unearthly.
I do have a few complaints. I understand the urge to highlight Rivera, but I think they focused on him a little too much -- he could have come and gone a little more, instead of taking up a fairly solid block in the middle. I also understand the urge to have Chavela Vargas sing for a long time, but in a short ballet, the whole of "La Llorona" is a long time. (Also, though she's there audibly, it would have been nice to have Vargas there there -- so too Georgia O'Keeffe, Josephine Baker, Kahlo's other female lovers.) The, say, ten minutes before the final tableau became a bit overlong; a slight tune-up could have done wonders. The dramaturgy falters a little as the scene as a whole becomes more surreal, which is an artistic choice, but one which I felt could have been handled to make the ending feel less abrupt. In particular, I think more directed corps dancing with Frida at the center could have made the transition to that final scene cleaner. This isn't quite a complaint, because I think the theatricality was perfectly apt and did a good job, but a lot of the later corps dancing in particular was not particularly distinctive in terms of steps or memorable phrases -- others' mileage may vary. The first third or two thirds, however, were perfect. The striking opening tableau of the skeletons, the joy and lightness of young Frida's dance with Esteban Hernández, the funny send-up of the four cygnets skeleton-style, the clever introduction of the male Fridas and the bus accident, the power of the miscarriage scene -- I would not change one single thing. I hope they restage this many, many times.
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The last thing I will say is that the whole bill, but Broken Wings especially, felt like a grand, openhearted gesture to the city of San Francisco. SF has its own close relationship to Kahlo and Rivera, and seeing them onstage, in a theater explicitly made over to honor them and local Latine artists of the present day, felt like a proper coming-home. If there's any way for you to make it to SF, Broken Wings is well worth the ticket price and having to watch Carmen first. If you can see it live, do, because the stage magic is so very magical, but a search suggests you can find the ENB version online, and if you can't make it to SF in person, then I do think it would be better than nothing! What a wonderful show.

An office building located in prime Old Town San Diego was recently sold for $2,400,000. The property, situated at 3935 Harney Street, spans 4,920 square feet, equating to a price per square foot of $488. The transaction took place between the buyer, Gigi Woodward, and the seller, Carmen Acosta. The deal was facilitated by Mario Gandara of Socal Coastal Capital.

Summary of transaction details:

• Property Type: Office
• Transaction Amount: $2,400,000
• Address: 3935 Harney Street
• Market: San Diego
• Buyer: Gigi Woodward
• Seller: Carmen Acosta
• Broker: Mario Gandara - Socal Coastal Capital
• Square Footage: 4,920
• Price per Square Foot: $488

Mario Gandara, the broker from Socal Coastal Capital, played a pivotal role in the transaction. The sale of the office building was completed smoothly, marking a significant deal in the real estate market. Notably, the property's location in Old Town San Diego adds to its appeal and value.
Learn More: Gigi Woodward Acquires Office Building From Carmen Acosta In San Diego For $2.4M

We’ve narrowed down our resort search to Excellence El Carmen, however I’m concerned about the depth of the pools there. My girlfriend cannot swim and can’t be in pools deeper than 4 feet. Are the swim up bars still do-able for her? Will she still be able to enjoy the pools?

- "the beginning of another hopeful day on oak island"
- Carmen analyzed iron thingy #1 from a previous week. 1600s-1760 French iron backing bolt for oxen carrying/pulling stuff. Item #2 (looked like an old rusty Harry potter wand with wood bits stuck to it). Swedish iron (because of Manganese level) wharf pin
- Lot 5 - blue clay. Everybody wearing hoodies. They have reached the bottom of the house/building.
- More situation room subtitled footage of the John Edwards visit. Dr. Rick is wearing a blue camo hat. John Edwards was rambling about the tree of life, Nolan's cross etc. and the fact that all distances between the big boulders are multiples of 72 feet. So he suggested 3 places for the gang to look for more boulders along the length of Nolan's cross. These ones would be on Tom Nolan's property and Tom was OK with it.
- analysis of an old copper thingy that had been found in 2018 or something. They had it professionally restored. (It had been folded up but the restorer unrolled it.) This revealed some possible Icelandic rune symbols in the design. Therefore.. vikings... I like the idea of vikings much more than templars.
- at the garden shaft Dumas started horizontal drilling. This caused a great amount of water to come pouring in and the guys were yelling to get out. (I don't get why they were surprised if in the previous episodes they had to seal up the walls to stop the water seeping in.) Dr. Rick tasted the muddy water with a water bottle and said it's salty. He called Marty, "This is not the bravo tango call you expected"... it's a flood tunnel.. that's oak island for ya
- at the swamp they did not show finding anything despite MDEGD's pep talk. The only thing they found was a layer of rocks under a layer of soil. Also they showed an old photo of rock pathways in the swamp (before Dunfield dug everything up). So I count this again as prometheus frauding - if they've known these stone roads were pre-found and now they re-found them.
I had a very hard time staying awake because I was tired and it was that bad. You can see that winter is coming (a bit of orange leaves and no leaves in some shots). Sometimes marty was there and other times he was dialing in with Craig. Also recap after recap. The number of animations and recaps seems to be incredible now.
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