Rolando

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insane_Clown_Posse

Cross-posting this from !fullmoviesonyoutube@lemm.ee because of its focus on meditation.

This is the best film about a 13th century zen master that you're likely to see in a while. OK, maybe that's too specific. Anyway, if you're at all interested in Asian history or Buddhism, this is for you.

Russell Edwards of Variety described it as "The origins of a spiritual tradition are depicted with prerequisite solemnity and a pleasing veneer of arthouse showmanship."[5] Mark Schilling, writing for The Japan Times, gave the film three and a half stars and described it as a "rare serious film about this form of Buddhism, which has had a huge cultural influence but is little understood — let alone practiced — by ordinary Japanese."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_(2009_film)

In Japanese and Chinese, with English subtitles:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wSMeO3zoq4 (720p) - this is the link from above
• https://redirect.invidious.io/watch?v=5wSMeO3zoq4 - look for an Invidious version
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6XS3_D92FY (480p) - another copy
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDI4CAwTJ1c (480p) - another copy
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9Yv0I_Q9X0 (480p) - another copy, blurry

In Japanese and Chinese, with Spanish subtitles:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Te8DH_Eorg (720p) - subtitles are not embedded, you have to select "CC"
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGozjQO_1_I (240p) - the aspect ratio is compressed (the image is "squashed")

In Japanese and Chinese, with French subtitles:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2k0q9eTLxI (240p) subtitles are not embedded, you have to select "CC"

Besides, the following image deserves to be a reaction meme:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Notorious_B.I.G.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorn_(musician)

One of these links should work for you:

• !truecomics@midwest.social
• The Outbursts of Everett True
• https://midwest.social/c/truecomics

Looks like @clark@midwest.social started this a week ago. Examples of and discussions on the classic "The Outbursts of Everett True" 2-panel comics from the early 1900s, in which a portly man objects violently to everyday wrongdoing.

... I think learning about Nicholas II really contextualized fascism for me. The tsar was a traditionalist authoritarian rather than a fascist, but he really shows, I think, how ordinary people can hold totalitarian beliefs and still be ‘good people’ (note that I would never call the tsar a good person, but bear with me). Oftentimes people say “X is fascism” but quickly backpedal if real-world comparisons are drawn between family or friends. “They’re a good person!” they object, “Just misguided! Not like the other rubes!”

But Nicholas II shows the face of genuinely conservative authoritarianism. The face of the mediocre man, who puts no deeper thought into his beliefs than to parrot what he was raised with and stubbornly resist all challenge to that. He was not exceptionally cruel in terms of personality. I think probably a significant minority of ‘nice’ people, in Nicholas II’s circumstances, would have turned out just as big a piece of shit as he was. ...

see here for the full comment by @PugJesus: https://lemmy.world/comment/11418466

"A warning to the rich: Get Off Our Backs!"

Also released in the US as "Slumfighter" which is a far superior title, but I guess they wanted people to think of "Death Wish." Basically there are there good honest people living in this tenement who are being oppressed by The Man, "but they can only take so much before they are forced to fight!" If nothing else, check out the original trailer, which is gold from beginning to end:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDVmhGqx_mA
• https://invidious.materialio.us/watch?v=wDVmhGqx_mA

You'll note a universally low production quality, and even the fight choreography is poorly done. But the actors have some real physical skills, so you'll frequently see a decent leap, spin, or jump-kick. With a bit more money this could have reached "Bloodsport" levels. And the main theme is truly funky.

Summary: entertaining, if your expectations are as low as a landlord... That's a Promise!

• Full movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cIxPf3RDFU
• Find an invidious version: https://redirect.invidious.io/watch?v=-cIxPf3RDFU
• More info: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165214/

cross-posted from !cyberpunk@lemmy.zip

An illustrated article from the 2020 volume of the Science Fiction Research Association Review.

Describes the development of men's cyberpunk style, from 80s SF stories and Mondo 2000 satire, through movies such as The Matrix and games such as Deus Ex, to contemporary lines such as ACRONYM.

"...much of cyberpunk-influenced menswear justifies itself with function and utility as if such features were necessary for men to participate in fashion movements. I detect a change from the lone-wolf outlaws of original cyberpunk to militarized super-hero enforcers of the current mainstream, but also present a counterpoint to both in the guise of the cool, gray cyberpunk man: a “pants science” enthusiast who combines the fantasies of individualism and a low-key presentation to the hidden, almost science-fictional, functionalities of his clothing."

https://sfrareview.org/2020/12/13/50-4-15/

The Fantastic Four is an unreleased 1994 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The film features the team's origin and first battle with Doctor Doom. Executive-produced by low-budget specialists Roger Corman and Bernd Eichinger, it was made to allow Eichinger to keep the Fantastic Four film rights. ...

In 1983, German producer Bernd Eichinger met with Marvel Comics' Stan Lee at Lee's Los Angeles home to explore obtaining an option for a movie based on the Fantastic Four.[1] The option was not available until three years later, when Eichinger's production company Constantin Film obtained it for a price the producer called "not enormous" and which has been estimated to be $250,000.[2] Despite some interest from Warner Bros. Pictures and Columbia Pictures, budget concerns precluded any production, and with the option scheduled to expire on December 31, 1992, Constantin asked Marvel for an extension. With none forthcoming, Eichinger planned to retain his option by producing a low-budget Fantastic Four film.[2] In September 1992, he teamed with B-movie specialist Roger Corman, who agreed to produce the film on a $1 million budget, to be released by his distribution company New Horizons Pictures.[2] ...

A 1993 magazine article gave a tentative release date of Labor Day weekend 1993.[9] During that summer, trailers ran in theaters and on the video release of Corman's Carnosaur and Little Miss Millions. The cast members hired a publicist, at their own expense, to help promote the film at a clips-screening at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and at the San Diego Comic-Con International, and the film appeared as a cover story on an issue of Film Threat magazine. ...

Suddenly, the premiere was halted, the actors received a cease and desist order on all promotion from the producers, and the studio confiscated the negatives.[12] Eichinger then informed Sassone that the film would not be released. Speculation arose that the film had never been intended for release, but had gone into production solely as a way for Eichinger to retain rights to the characters; Stan Lee said in 2005 that this was indeed the case, insisting, "That movie was never supposed to be shown to anybody," and adding that the cast and crew had been left unaware.[13] Corman and Eichinger dismissed Lee's claims, with the former stating, "We had a contract to release it, and I had to be bought out of that contract" by Eichinger.[11] Eichinger called Lee's version of events "definitely not true. It was not our [original] intention to make a B movie, that's for sure, but when the movie was there, we wanted to release it."[11] He said future Marvel Studios founder Avi Arad, at this point, in 1993, a Marvel executive,

...calls me up and says, "Listen, I think what you did was great, it shows your enthusiasm for the movie and the property, and ... I understand that you have invested so-and-much, and Roger has invested so-and-much. Let's do a deal." Because he really didn't like the idea that a small movie was coming out and maybe ruining the franchise.... So he says to me that he wants to give me back the money that we spent on the movie and that we should not release it.[11] ...

Although never officially released to the general public, but exhibited once on May 31, 1994, The Fantastic Four has been subject to bootleg recordings. The film is available to be watched on YouTube and Dailymotion.[19]

On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 27%, based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 4.00/10.[20] Clint Morris of Film Threat magazine said of a copy of the film he obtained, "[Y]es it's terribly low-budget and yes it's derisorily campy and feebly performed, but at the same time there's also something inquiringly irresistible about this B comic tale that makes you wonder why it didn't get a release somewhere along the line. Even if it does resemble Toxic Avenger [more so] than say, Spider-Man ... The script isn't actually all that bad and some of the actors—notably Michael Bailey Smith—are actually quite good here, and with an extra polish I think they might have been able to release this thing."[21] Neil Calloway of Flickering Myth said "the production values are of a 1990s daytime soap, with some rather clunky dialogue."[22]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fantastic_Four_(unreleased_film)

Vocals by Leon Thomas. The entire song is also worth listening to.

virtually all of [Sanders'] recordings as a leader from this late 1960s/early 1970s period contain some kind of African percussion, and other non-western features such as Leon Thomas' distinctive yodelling, apparently learnt from African pygmies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma_(Pharoah_Sanders_album)

"EVERYBODY IN UGANDA KNOWS KUNG FU!!!"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Killed_Captain_Alex%3F

Koyama Shojiro, in "Shotokan Masters: in their own words":

"The most important quality of a successful karate-ka is commitment to everyday training and an appreciation of the mundane. Train hard, finish, bow, and say 'thank you' for the opportunity to sweat. The most important quality for a practitioner of lifetime karate is the ability to find such satisfaction in ordinary training. The successful practitioner of lifetime karate is successful because he has had a satisfying life, not because he is a tournament champion or 10th degree black belt."

Sensei (Teriyuki) Okazaki, interviewed by Jose M. Fraguas, in "Shotokan Legends":

Q: So what happened to [your two roomates you were training with]?

A: Well, we were going to test for black belt under Master [Gichin] Funakoshi, so I was very serious about it. My roommates decided they wanted to quit. But I had made a promise and was pushing them to their limits in the training sessions in the early morning and in the afternoon. I insisted that they train for the test. Well, they passed the test but I flunked! Master Funakoshi said I was not good enough. My attitude was bad, very bad. I flunked many times because of it. I was a young guy thinking in the wrong direction. Master Funakoshi picked up on this right away. It was not my techniques which made me fail the test, since it was equal to the other students who passed, but my attitude. Finally I got really depressed so I went to ask Master Funakoshi why I failed the test. Of course, everybody was shocked that I actually went to speak to him. That never happens in Japanese traditional culture.

Q: What did Master Funakoshi say?

A: He said that he really understood my problem and that he was going to tell me the essence of karate-do -- but that I should be very prudent with its use. Then he sat down, and I did the same with great ceremony. I was so excited, and Master Funakoshi seemed to be really concentrating. I was nervous, and after a while he leaned over and said, "You know, Okazaki, the true essence of karate-do is to keep training -- keep training everyday."

Q: Was that what you expected?

A: I don't think so, but I haven't stopped training since. After that, my attitude changed and finally I got my black belt.