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Sticky Wilds Casino Player Reviews
An online casino specially designed for fans of slot machines ? Fortunately, the platform seems to have more to offer. Especially since it is run by a creamery that we know all too well. But can we really say that this is a reliable site ? Sticky Wilds casino reviews and feedback from US players.
It must be said that with such an evocative name, one would expect an interface representative of the wild card slot machine symbol (better known as Wild). But it will in fact be necessary to be satisfied with a rather classic visual set. Without any real mention or nod to the famous bonus feature sticky wild which consists of a joker remaining stuck on the reels (sticky meaning "sticky"), the visual overall of the online casino remains however pleasant.
Sticky Wilds Game Reviews & Reliability
The predominance of white in the background, as well as the very academic presentation of the game library and the lobby in general, do not necessarily enthrall us immediately.
But in terms of game ergonomics, the entire game library is well organized. The display is optimized on PC as well as on smartphone / tablet. A game search tool with filter by supplier allows you to quickly choose from the more than 3,400 games advertised.
In terms of the offer, the games are interesting thanks to the flock of developers who feed the platform. We especially remember the excellent live dealer tables by Pragmatic Play and Evolution Gaming.
In terms of reliability, the Mountberg Group Ltd. has mastered the art of developing online casino platforms. Results ; he now has a lot to his credit.
No wonder then that this creamery is so famous, especially on the US iGaming scene. However, this does not mean that all Mountberg casinos are run by professional teams.
Sticky Wilds Casino opinion number one: we are on a new casino supported by an experienced team. Enough to make it the new platform on which to play absolutely ? Absolutely not.
So certainly, we are pleasantly surprised by the very original US name. But no question of pronouncing without several tests.
While waiting to test Sticky Wilds Casino in a real situation, we are reassured by the possibility of checking the group's license. The seal of the licensing body Curaçao eGaming is located at the bottom of the home page and can be clicked on.
Player Tips for Avoiding Scams
Connoisseurs will tilt 'because who says sticky wilds, necessarily says recent slot machines. And on this front, the online casino has what it takes. With just over two thousand titles on the online slot machine shelves, American speakers are spoiled for choice.
To get a glimpse of the quality of the titles available, a quick tour of the "Popular" section allows you to find popular games, such as the essential Gonzo's Quest, the second part of which is also available.
Ditto for the two parts of the crazy Reactoonz and its sequel Reactoonz 2 who are also part.
For lovers of adventure and Ancient Egypt, Sticky Wilds Casino also offers games from the Riche Wilde series, including the exciting Book of Dead.
And to the delight of all those who dream of winning jackpots and who have access to them above all, this game library also offers a selection of progressive jackpots. Among these jackpot games, the legendary Mega moolah slot that holds the record for winning in history.
Table games with and without a Croupier
Faced with this plethora of slot machines, the hundreds of table games offered could seem ridiculous. But it brings together what is currently best in the field.
So we have great classics like roulette and blackjack, but also baccarat and poker in different sauces: Russian Poker, Caribbean Stud Poker, 3 Card holdem, etc.
Added to this are some dice games, such as Sic Bo, as well as some variations of video poker.
Despite its name, Sticky Wilds has no qualms about offering live dealer games as well.
If you are a fan of games like Blackjack Party, Lightning Roulette, Monopoly Live and other ultra immersive games that are played in live streaming against real dealers, you will find your happiness among the many variations and variations available here.
As on its sister platforms, Sticky Wilds Casino brings together titles from nearly 45 different online casino game developers. The other good news is that in addition to the quantity, the quality is also there. We find most of those who have dominated the market for several years. For example, NetEnt, Betsoft, PLay'n Go, Microgaming, Yggdrasil Gaming, Playson, Pragmatic Play, iSoftbet, Quickspin, ELK Studios, etc.
The best are also in the game when it comes to live dealer games, as these are the creations of Evolution Gaming, Pragmatic PLay Live, Betgames TV and Vivo Gaming.
Register at Sticky Wilds Casino
Registration at Sticky Wilds Casino follows the classic process imposed by online gambling establishments. To get started, click on the "Create an account" button located at the top right of the home page.
The form that appears then is to be completed by providing the usual information concerning your identity and your address: last name, first name, date of birth, email address, postal address and mobile number.
There are then three boxes to check (or not) to validate the player account. First, your agreement concerning the conditions of use of the site (must be checked to validate your form, so you adhere to them from the start). By checking the third box, you agree to regularly receive new casino offers by SMS or email.
At this stage, no address or identity verification is performed by the casino. Of course, you will have to proceed, thereafter, to a complete verification before validating your account and making your first withdrawal.
The Sticky Wilds online casino player area is made up of essential and easily accessible functions. The handling is very intuitive.
Among said functions, we find in particular that which makes it possible to define game limits. We can thus set a deposit limit per day, a maximum amount of bet (per day, per week or per month) and limit the losses and even the duration of the gaming sessions (3h, 6h or 12h).
You can even temporarily block access to the player account and exclude yourself for a predefined period (1 day, a week or 1 month).
When it comes to fighting gambling addiction and supporting its players, Sticky Wilds is therefore quite well equipped. It's reassuring.
Tips for Managing Your Player Account
As we announced above, Sticky Wilds Casino is owned by Mountberg Limited. This operator, which has its headquarters in Cyprus, holds a license from Curaçao which reassures the legality of its activities.
Operating in accordance with money laundering standards, it is uncompromising with regard to the security of the data and funds of its players. Full details about this are provided on the website's Privacy Policy page.
We note in particular that the Sticky Wilds Casino platform is protected by an SSL-256 bit encryption system which guarantees the confidentiality of user data, especially during financial transactions (withdrawals and deposits). You can therefore play with the assurance that your personal and banking information is not collected.
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Sticky Wilds Reviews Payments & Assistance
As is the case with most online casinos, the payment options available vary depending on the player's location. While taking this parameter into account, we note that Sticky Wilds Casino accepts CashLib but in fact, we do not have this option. The following other payment methods:
For deposits: Visa, Mastercard / Maestro, Neosurf, Coinspaid or BitPay
For withdrawals: Bank transfer, Coinspaid
As it concerns the limits imposed by the casino on these various transactions, it should be remembered that a minimum of $ 20 or $ 30 is required per deposit. By default, the casino also caps deposits at $ 120; limit which can however be lifted in the event of attribution of VIP status.
Regarding withdrawals, the house allows you to request payment of your winnings from $ 20 per Coinspaid.
For withdrawals by bank transfer, however, the minimum amount required is $ 100 for transfers in the SEPA zone and $ 500 for players whose bank account is located outside the EU.
As for withdrawal times, they are average. The online casino team says it will process requests within 2 business days but if it is a bonus win then regular play checks may drag on. Of course, a preliminary check of your documents is necessary before the first withdrawal; procedure which may take a few more days.
Sticky Wilds casino payment advice: we are within the standards, with average to a little too long delays. Fortunately, Mountberg is known to always end up paying his players (although sometimes screenshots prove to be useful evidence in case of a misgivings).
The good news is the possibility to withdraw your winnings from 20 euros via coinspaid. What is a shame, however, is that coinspaid is still little known to American speakers. However, it is an alternative payment solution available and worth a look !
The Sticky Wilds opinions and feedback from players are fairly unanimous on the quality of customer service offered by the casino. Which does not really surprise us when we know the different rewards obtained by the teams of the other sites of the same dairy.
Available and rather responsive, Sticky Wilds customer service can be reached every day and 24 hours a day, by email or via live chat. The second option is, of course, the fastest. Other good news: there is a US team.
Sticky Wilds Reviews Promotions and Conditions
After having offered a somewhat atypical welcome offer in its early days, Sticky Wilds Casino has reverted to a more classic welcome offer. This allows you to take advantage of matches on the first bonuses, to which are added free spins to be used on a new slot machine.
The welcome pack as well as the other Sticky Wilds casino bonus offers are subject to a 30-fold wagering (bonus + deposit) before any winnings are withdrawn. For free spins, pre-withdrawal wagering requirements are increased to 40 times.
It is to be used only on slot machines in order to fulfill this wagering requirement. Note that some slot machines in the game library are subject to a restriction.
Good to know: Sticky Wilds also imposes a max bet $ 5 per spin for bonus bets, so pay attention to the purchase of bonus functionality on slot machine ! With an active bonus, bets are generally limited to $ 5 per spin. However, when buying a bonus, it is not the amount per spin that is taken into account but the overall purchase amount for all tours. Without realizing it, you can easily break the famous max bet rule under bonus ! Better to wait until you have completed wagering, and therefore have no active bonuses in progress.
There is also an amount of max withdrawal set at 100 $ for a withdrawal of earnings from free spins.
Bonus Conditions: The Rules to Always Respect
By playing at Sticky Wilds Casino, you can start the adventure by receiving a total bonus of up to up to 500 $ + 200 free spins distributed over the first 4 deposits as follows:
100% up to $ 100 + 50 free spins
50% up to $ 100 + 50 free spins
Free spins in this package are to be played on the Money Train 2 slot machine until further notice. This Relax Gaming slot offers a value of $ 0.1 per spin.
Other Sticky Wilds Casino Promotions
For the moment, Sticky Wilds Casino has chosen to focus its promotions on daily missions. Just make them on the slot machine of the day. All players can participate by registering every day. If you manage to complete the missions while respecting the imposed requirements, you will leave with interesting gains (mainly in free spins).
Tournaments and other periodic promotions complete the casino's offering. But above all, there is the VIP program. Sticky Wilds Casino encourages its players to bet regularly on their favorite games and offers a rewards program available on 10 different levels.
The principle is simple: the more you play, the more you advance a level bar. Each time the latter fills up, you go to the next level.
At each level, various rewards are offered in cash, free spins and various options.
Sticky Wilds Final Casino Review and Payout
We admit that we did not immediately recognize the paw of the operator because the design is above all about simplicity. Compared to other very colorful online casinos to which he has accustomed us anyway, that changes.
That said, the aesthetic overall results in a clean interface. The navigation is therefore ultra-fluid, both on the Sticky Wilds mobile casino version.
For a new casino, you could say that Sticky Wilds is doing pretty well. Its large game library, responsive customer service and payment policy indeed plead in its favor.
We also give him a special mention for his various moderation tools that can be personalized in the player account. However, if we take into account the great experience of the operator behind this casino, we find the bonus conditions still too strict.
Sticky Wilds Casino final opinion: good bases, but too much rigidity as to the conditions for withdrawing winnings from a bonus.
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Dedicated Hidden Trenton readers have known for years about our enthusiasm for Papa's Tomato Pies, a Chambersburg icon that recently joined the Italian flight to the suburbs (you can now find them in Robbinsville, NJ). Papa's is widely regarded as the United States' oldest pizza restaurant in continuous operation by the same family. We rave about their traditional tomato pies–a thin crust with a layer of crushed tomatoes, capped with cheese then olive oil, and some simple but scrumptious toppings. How can such humble (and common) ingredients transform into something so perfect? Nick, the owner (and grandson of the founder), has yet to reveal all of his secrets. But clearly one of them was his son, Dominic, who was cooking the lunchtime rush (and prepping the evening dough) every single day at Papa's.
Now that Nick has moved the original Papa's out of town, his son has finally left the nest. Much like the owners of the divergent branches of the famed DeLorenzo's Tomato Pies establishments, Dom has finally founded his own independent branch of Papa's Tomato Pies. And he's picked a most unusual location–inside the cafe and food court of a Risoldi's supermarket.
Yes, the location is bizarre. But oh, the pies! Shattering, flavorful crust and fresh toppings. Selected as one of only 4 finalists in Hidden's Trenton's 2015-16 Tomato Pie competition (click on banner to see more).
We delighted at the garlic and onion tomato pie, and thrilled to enjoy the flavorful and rich sausage and mushroom. Dominic says that he orders from all the same suppliers as his father did in the Trenton location, and a single bite confirms. We tried to compare these tomato pies to the original, and our opinions were divided. Some felt it was utterly identical, others sensed nearly imperceptible differences, perhaps a missing seasoning or a difference in ovens. The only way to know with certainty would be to get a pie from Papa's (Robbinsville) and Papa's (Risoldi's supermarket) and compare side-by-side–but putting either of these pies in a box would be a sin. They're meant to be devoured straight out of the oven, even if it means crowding around a cafe table while watching grocery shoppers pick out their produce and listening to the caustic sounds of supermarket announcements ("cleanup in aisle 3").
Dominic's simple menu mirrors his father's (and at his father's original prices, which means that the pies here are $1 cheaper than in Robbinsville). It is $12 for a small pie (14 inch) and $13 for a large (16 inch). There is, of course, absolutely no reason to get the small. Toppings are $1 for the basics (garlic, peppers, onions, extra tomatoes) and $2 for everything else (pepperoni, sausage, meatball, mushrooms, mustard, hot peppers, anchovies, black olives, broccoli w/ ricotta, spinach w/ ricotta, and extra cheese). You read that right, mustard as a topping. Papa's was famous for their "mustard pies," with mustard smeared onto the raw pizza dough before baking, and we adored their piquant bite–you can find them here as well (be warned, not everyone loves this combination). Unlike his father, Dominic offers slices ($2 for plain, $2.25 with toppings) but we'd strongly recommend you stick with the full pie, which will ensure your pizza is fresh out of the oven. There's nothing else you can order from Dom, but since you're in a supermarket with a large cafe/food court, you have plenty of other options (salad bar, hot foods, deli sandwiches, etc). You pay for everything at the checkout line. The place is BYOB (it took a while for Dominic to find his corkscrew–apparently most customers don't bring their own bottle of pinot noir to the grocery store…), but you'll be drinking out of soda cups unless you bring your own wine glasses. He also offers free delivery, though we aren't sure what the delivery range is.
Don't be fooled by the Trenton street address–this is technically Hamilton (but it's a quick drive). The shopping center, which also hosts Myilai Masala, our favorite local Indian restaurant, is quickly becoming a foodie destination. It's a good thing that they also have a gym, as you'll need it to work off all this tomato pie.
If you're looking for somewhere to take a date (or, you know, your parents) then this isn't the tomato pie establishment for you. Click here for all of our pizza reviews; I'm particularly fond of La Villa which is right over the Trenton Makes bridge in Morrisville. But if you miss the original Papa's and want to relive that experience just a short drive from Trenton (or if you're just desperate to get some grocery shopping done), then you'll find yourself crowded around hot tomato pie in the middle of a supermarket cafe. And you'll thank us for telling you about it.
As someone who grew up on Mott St during the '70's, I've had my fair share of tomato pie (DeLorenzo's on Hudson). Having recently returned to the Trenton area after 18 years, I've been revisiting Trenton's most wonderful creation (if you've had South Jersey pizza, you know why). IMHO, so far, the last two visits to Robbinsville's Delorenzo's have been disappointing; something has changed out there. The neighboring Papa's was ok. LaVilla in Morrisville, not quite. Its Nuts! in Washington Crossing would be #2. This Papa's would be my #1.
Maybe some day it will be cool to move back into Trenton. Now that could be trend setting!!!


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The Little Tramp: A Study of Chaplin's Iconic Character
May 30, 2019 by Essay Writer
American silent comedy was at the height of its popularity in the early 1900s, namely during the 1920s. Being as creative and talented as he was, Charlie Chaplin is often regarded as the pioneer and central figure of this type of film during his time. Chaplin wrote, produced, directed, and acted as the lead role in the majority of his films, and provided inspiration for many other actors and silent comedies that followed. In many of Chaplin's notable silent comedies from the height of his career, scenes that depict the road in various ways serve as more than just the main location of the films, as they play a much more crucial role in the development of the comedy as a whole and the characters within it. The "Little Tramp" persona that Chaplin created and made iconic is an embodiment of not only the hardships and difficulties associated with the road, but the comedy and adventure that comes along with it. In Chaplin's The Tramp, The Kid, City Lights, and The Gold Rush, road images, the characters' close interactions with the road, and the depiction of a vagrant tramp without any set home provide the comedic drama that has been unique and central to this renowned genre of film.
According to his autobiography, Charlie Chaplin was born in London, England on the evening of April 16th in 1889 to two parents who were both involved in performing and in stage life. Chaplin became accustomed to theater and performing in front of others at a young age as he would frequently watch his mother perform in various shows. When his mother began fall ill, Charlie would even often fill in for her if she was not feeling up to the performance. Having a mother who was in and out of mental institutions while also suffering from severe malnourishment, and a father who was an alcoholic, Chaplin had a fairly unstable and unhappy childhood. He spent some time living with his brother in the Hanwell Schools for Orphans and Destitute Children, the Lambeth workhouse, sometimes would reside with his mother, then at times with his father, but he truly lacked a settled home, not unlike the Tramp persona that he popularized in his films did. He reveals in his autobiography that his childhood was like "moving from one back-room to another; it was like a game of draughts" (Chaplin, 33). His older brother, Sydney, took it upon himself to help provide for his economically struggling family, but making ends meet and keeping a steady home was not an easy feat. Their father eventually passed away at the same time that their mother was permanently admitted into an institution for her illnesses, and the two young brothers continued to spend much of their life fending for themselves for survival and stability. Chaplin worked many jobs to make any money he possibly could for food, and he joined dancing and comedy troupes along the way, as he decided early on that he had a dream of being a performer. Chaplin's mother "imbued [him] with the feeling that [he] had some sort of talent," and regardless of how difficult life got for the actor and comedian, he did not give up on that (Chaplin, 41). Even at a young age, Chaplin enjoyed the art of dancing a lot, but knew that he eventually wanted to end up in comedy as he was drawn to the idea of being funny and making audiences laugh.
Chaplin's autobiographical account reveals the bumpy road of his own life that had humble, and not so happy beginnings, but eventually led to fame, success, and stardom. He worked for several production companies and studios, some he liked better than others, and he eventually began directing his own silent films while simultaneously starring in them. During his tough childhood, his mother was and remained to be later in life a key to his success as she "illuminated to [him] a kindliest light this world has ever known, which has endowed literature and the theatre with their greatest and richest themes: love, pity and humanity" (Chaplin, 22). Chaplin often did not have enough to eat, and his family because more impoverished over time as his mother either struggled to find steady jobs or was spending time in institutions. With a father who passed away, a mother who was permanently in the hospital, and a brother who was trying to find work in any way he could to make even the smallest amount of money, Chaplin began to spend a lot of time on his own and resented and was even embarrassed by the fact that he often needed help from others, so "like a fugitive, [he] kept out of everyone's way" (Chaplin, 71). Chaplin had a hard life, but he never lost sight of his dream of becoming an actor and comedian. He worked as a "newsvendor, printer, toy-maker, glass-blower, doctor's boy, etc., but during these occupational digressions, like Sydney, [he] never lost sight of [his] ultimate aim to become an actor" (Chaplin, 76). Chaplin finally landed his first acting role in Sherlock Holmes and then got a role in play, and he knew his luck was about to change. He felt like "the world [had] suddenly changed, had taken [him] into its fond embrace and adopted [him]" (Chaplin, 77). From that point on he inevitably had some setbacks and downfalls along the way as each role he he was given and every wage he was promised were not always honorable, but despite this Chaplin kept adapting and moving forward, much like his iconic Tramp character does. Chaplin believed that "one either rises to an occasion or succumbs to it," and so he always kept going (Chaplin, 100).
The birth of the "Little Tramp" character that Chaplin is known for popularizing and making iconic was a persona that the actor actually saw as embodying a lot of his own characteristics. Chaplin began working for Keystone Studios, the place where the famous Tramp was finally born. Keystone Studios was looking to start a new film, and they wanted Chaplin to play the role of a press reporter. Chaplin disliked the costume that he was supposed to wear for his role, so he decided to take matters into his own hands and create his own costume. When in the wardrobe room, he chose to dress in "baggy pants, big shoes, a cane and a derby hat. [He] wanted everything a contradiction: the pants baggy, the coat tight, the hat small, and the shoes large" (Chaplin, 145). Remembering that he was told he looked younger than expected, he added "a small moustache, which [he] reasoned, would add age without hiding [his] expression" (Chaplin, 145). The costume of the Tramp came together all at once in one quick moment in the wardrobe room, but Chaplin did not know in that fleeting instant how famous it would soon become. The moment the costume and makeup all came together and the actor walked on stage, the tramp was officially born. Chaplin felt that this character made him "feel the person he was" as he strutted and paraded around with the cane swinging (Chaplin, 145). The studio was instantly captivated and enthused by Chaplin's humor and the ingenuity of the character he created and his costume. Chaplin explained the persona he had just brought to life as "a tramp, a gentleman, a poet, a dreamer, a lonely fellow, always hopeful of romance and adventure. He would have you believe he is a scientist, a musician, a duke, a polo-player. However, he is not above picking up cigarette-butts or robbing a baby of its candy" (Chaplin, 146). In a way, the Tramp was Chaplin. He was a man sometimes down on his luck, moving from place to place without an established home, but still with a good heart as he always moves forward. He was a man who could adapt to any situation as a many-sided figure of determination and persistence; someone who could be something one day and something completely different the next. Chaplin really embodied the role and took it on completely when he regarded himself as "a tramp just wanting a little shelter" (Chaplin, 146). The "Little Tramp" was brought to life just as quickly as Chaplin had created him, and it became the character and role he played in a large number of his silent comedies from then on going forward. The actor and comedian believed the Tramp to be "different and unfamiliar to the American, and even unfamiliar to [himself.] But with the clothes on, [he] felt he was a reality, a living person. In fact, he ignited all sorts of crazy ideas that [he] would have never have dreamt of until [he] was dressed and made up as the Tramp" (Chaplin, 147). Chaplin eventually left Keystone Studios, the official birthplace of the Tramp, worked for various other studios, and eventually worked on making and acting in his own films in which he starred as the infamous comedic and vagrant character.
Chaplin is known for popularizing the "Tramp" persona in not only his short film, The Tramp, but in many of his other films, as well. The tramp and vagrant character that he embodies in these films is one that travels from place to place without any settled home. Often in his comedies Chaplin is searching for work on the streets for survival, without any consistent way of providing income for himself, much as he did during the younger part of his life. In the opening scene of The Tramp, Chaplin depicts this well as he is walking down a dusty dirt road without any clear direction of where he is going as he gets ran down by several cars, and eventually ends up at a farm. In the process of helping a woman fend off thieves who attempt to steal her hard-earned money, Chaplin's Tramp character is invited into her home, where her father promises to provide him dinner once he earns his right to a meal by working out on the fields (The Tramp). The Tramp character is somewhat of a mischievous beggar, but he is also a man that means well. He proves to be a terrible field worker with little to no work ethic, and finds himself caught up with the thieves from the beginning of the film who try to steal money from the father, and attempts to trick them (The Tramp). The comedy of the film is largely seen through the lives of the vagrant and thievish characters in the film who live on the streets, and have precarious lifestyles that are dependent on the road. After the thieves run away without the stolen money and the woman whom Chaplin helped in the earlier scenes is reunited with her fiancée who returns to her, the tramp realizes it is time to depart and find his way back on the road (The Tramp). The closing scene is much like the opening one as Chaplin embarks again on the open road, most likely in search of more work to provide his next meal (The Tramp). Chaplin's The Tramp is a silent film that depicts the road as a place of "just passing through," as Chaplin stops and meets people along the way, has a bit of adventure, and then continues on his journey as a character who keeps moving forward.
One of Chaplin's first full-length comedies, The Kid, further shows the actor playing the part of the Tramp, but this time he has a sidekick. In the opening scene, a troubled mother is walking down a road carrying a baby that she puts into an abandoned car on the side of the street, as she turns away to continue walking down the road (The Kid). Chaplin finds the baby with a note reading, "Please love and take care of this child," and despite his unwillingness at first to claim the baby, he eventually decides to keep him and raise him as his own (The Kid). The film flashes forward to five years into the future, and the Tramp and the young orphaned boy have formed quite the camaraderie. The orphan has been accustomed to street life, and seems to much like the freedom that he has. When a fellow street-kid steals a toy dog that a woman, who ends up being his birth mother, gave him as a gift of charity, he begins to fight the boy and the whole neighborhood crowds around to watch (The Kid). The orphaned boy in the comedy reveals the "street-kid" culture that can be attributed to life on the road, as survival on the rough streets create a specific way of life. The most notable road image in the film occurs when the orphan is taken away by authorities and Chaplin watches him being driven away down the road as he stands on the roof of the flophouse that he and the boy have been residing in (The Kid). Chaplin jumps from the roof into the back of the car to retrieve the young boy who has become a son to him, and they walk back down the road together (The Kid). Chaplin was never actually an orphan, but he did spend some time in an orphanage with his brother at a time when his parents were unfit to raise them. The actor was accustomed to a tough life and fending for himself, andthis film reveals a familiarity with that. The road is a place of home and of shelter in this film as the tramp and the orphan both find comfort in each other, and grow to see each other as family.
City Lights is regarded as one of Chaplin's most famous comedies, and he returns again acting as the tramp and vagrant character that audiences had began to know and love. As the main setting of the silent film, the road provides the means for the characters in the film to meet in unlikely ways, and to affect each other's lives. City Lights presents the streets as an urban space that connects people in a way that changes the course of each of their lives in a powerful way, while also establishing an atmosphere of comedy. Chaplin meets a blind woman who makes a living by selling flowers on a street corner and immediately falls for her one day when he is aimlessly walking the streets, most likely trying to scheme his way into finding money (City Lights). In another scene, the tramp is again walking the streets without any real sense of where he is going, and crosses paths with a millionaire who is attempting to commit suicide (City Lights). The tramp stops the man and they form a friendship that lasts throughout the duration of the film. The images of the road that are present in City Lights serve as a way in which various and very different lives interconnect with each other as characters begin to affect change among the people that they meet on their journey of life. Chaplin fights in a wrestling match with a man much larger than he is and works on a farm to make money to pay for the blind woman he met on the street to get eye surgery, but ends up getting money from the generous millionaire to pay for it instead (City Lights). Chaplin in numerous situations stops the millionaire from getting drunk and committing suicide, and ends up becoming a highly regarded and trusted friend (City Lights). The tramp seems to find himself in abnormal situations that create an atmosphere of comedy, and despite any setback Chaplin's character experiences, he perseveres and makes do with what he has, much as the actor had to do in several stages of his life.
Chaplin's The Gold Rush is a silent comedy that focuses on the Tramp's travels across the snowy Sierra Nevada mountains to prospect for gold in the Klondike Gold Rush. The opening scene shows Chaplin waddling through the snow in an almost balletic way as his shoes that are too big for his feet overpower him (The Gold Rush). Due to the inclement weather and blizzard, the Tramp ends up trapped in a cabin with a fellow gold prospector and a fugitive and a quarrel ensues among the three men, and eventually the fugitive is thrown out of the cabin, into the storm (The Gold Rush). In one of the most iconic scenes of the film, Chaplin's character tries to cook a Thanksgiving meal for himself and his fellow prospector despite the fact that sources for food have been lacking in such extreme weather conditions. Considering the imagination of the Tramp, however, this does not stop him. He proceeds to boil his boot in a pot, set it on a plate on the table between him and the other man, serve the shoelace as if it were a spaghetti noodle, and cut the boot in half vertically (The Gold Rush). The man gets the top half of the boot, and Chaplin eats the other, acting as if the needles that held the shoe together are bones from meat (The Gold Rush). The Tramp is a character that adapts quickly to any situation around him and does not let any inconvenience get in his way. The scene is partially iconic due to its blatant humor and the fact that both prospectors take bites from the boot, but also because of the fact that the Tramp's shoes are so important to his character as a whole. The shoes that are too large for his feet are what allow him to walk in the distinct way that he does, much like a duck-like waddle. His shoes are also the means for which he directly interacts with the road as they are what carry him forward and keep him moving from place to place, like vagrants do. Another iconic scene from the silent comedy is the one that takes place when Chaplin's character asks the saloon girl whom he has fallen for to dinner at his cabin. She brings some of her friends along, and in an attempt to impress them, he takes two bread rolls and stabs each with a fork (The Gold Rush). He has the rolls dance, making them appear as shoes and the fork handles as legs (The Gold Rush). The film ends with both prospectors finding gold in their cabin and becoming richer than they ever could have imagined, however, all the Tramp can think about is finding his saloon girl (The Gold Rush). On a ship back to the states, he ends up finding her and they rekindle (The Gold Rush). Chaplin's The Gold Rush displays the hardships associated with travelling across the Alaskan mountains and specifically the Chilkoot Pass. With the blizzard and dangerous weather conditions, the journey can prove to be somewhat hazardous, but Chaplin as the Tramp brings an atmosphere of comedy to it. The road gives the Tramp adventure, and he would not be the comedic character that he is if he did not venture on it.
In American silent comedies, and in Chaplin films in particular, the road operates as much more than just a location for the drama to take place. In highly regarded films such as The Tramp, The Kid, City Lights, and The Gold Rush, road images are extremely prevalent as a theme as they reveal in many different scenes the way in which paths cross on the road of life. In all four of the films, Chaplin plays the role of a tramp and vagrant who relies on the road for survival, as he really has no established home nor source of income. Chaplin spends the majority of his days wandering on the road, and in turn his life intersects with the lives of many others. In The Tramp, he crosses paths with a woman who needs help as thievish men are trying to steal money from her farm. Chaplin helps the woman and spends the day working in the fields, but knows when it is time for him to return once again to the road, which is where he feels he belongs. In The Kid, the road provides a way in which his life interconnects with that of the orphan, and also the way in which the orphan's life reconnects with his birth mother's at the end. Once an orphan and once a lonely tramp, the two become family and home to each other. In City Lights, a life on the streets makes it possible for the tramp's life to cross with that of the blind woman who sells flowers on the road, and the millionaire who attempts suicide, and they all change each other's lives for the better. The Gold Rush depicts characters who are connected through the prospect for gold and their journey across the Sierra Nevada mountains. In each of the four films, the interconnectedness of the road and of the streets is a means for lives to cross and to be changed. The comedy that comes from the Tramp character who travels from place to place and makes do with what he has regardless of his lack of having a settled home also contributes to the adventure associated with the road.
Charlie Chaplin. City Lights. 1931. Film.
Charlie Chaplin. The Gold Rush. 1925. Film.
Charlie Chaplin. The Kid. 1921. Film.
Charlie Chaplin. My Autobiography. Melville House Publishing. London. 1964. Print
Charlie Chaplin. The Tramp. 1915. Film.
Integration of Sound and Image in Chaplin's City Lights (1931)
February 5, 2019 by Essay Writer
In 1927, The Jazz Singer, the first feature length film which synchronised singing and dialogue with pre-recorded music score and sound, was released. Within the span of less than three years, sound technology had become established in the film industry. Enter 1931, and Charlie Chaplin, one of the silent greats, had just completed City Lights, defiant in its silence in the era of sound. Yet, it would be reductive to say that Chaplin completely spurned sound technology without considering how it would add to his style (Flom, 61). The reality was that City Lights represented the beginning of Chaplin's gradual integration into sound, and appropriation of sound into his distinctive Chaplinesque style (Flom, 63).
Critics like Eric L. Flom and Donna Kornhaber have made arguments for Chaplin's distinctive filmmaking style, and his creative integration of sound with his pantomime style. This essay will reiterate and build on the prevailing discourse on the use of sound in City Lights (1931), through a deeper textual and theoretical analysis of the film, informed by Fran Apprich's paper "Born into Sound". The essay will utilise Apprich's image-sound approach to City Lights, to explicate on how Chaplin deftly plays with silence and selective sound, the substitution of dialogue and sound, and precision of the music score in tandem with the images to underscore the alienation of the Tramp figure and to elevate the sentimental melodrama (Woal 5). Finally, the essay will present an analysis of Chaplin's unconventional use of the shot/reverse shot convention, thus demonstrating that the powerful economy of Chaplin's visual style dispenses the necessity of conventional use of sound and dialogue, to paradoxically allow for a more liberating unconventional use of sound.
In his paper "Born into Sound", Apprich contends the concept of 'neutralisation' and 'visibility' which this essay will use to analyse the selective use of non-diegetic sound effects and the foregrounded 'visibility' of sound in silence. An image or sound could be neutralised when taken out of its original context and then spliced with another image or sound. This is presented in the film through the creative substitution of the conventional dialogue for soundtrack, non-diegetic sound effects. Furthermore, Apprich contends that the power of images can evoke an imagination of an associated sound, even in the absence of it, and that it is this imagined sound that allows for possibilities of meanings, between imagined sound and image, diegetic and non-diegetic sound, with imagined sound. The concept of visibility was based on Balaz's belief that the normalisation of sound or music within a film, made the use of silence or the use of a singular sound set in between silence, all the more apparent. The paper will briefly reference these ideas put forth by Apprich when discussing the use of sound in the film to further the current discourse on City Lights.
In City Lights, the Tramp meets a blind flower girl, but a misunderstanding results in the blind girl thinking that the Tramp is a rich man. The Tramp then befriends a Millionaire by saving his life, but the Millionaire only recognises the Tramp as his friend in an inebriated state. Meanwhile, the Tramp continues to sustain the flower girl's idealisation of him by borrowing money from his Millionaire friend, or by working to provide for the girl financially. In an effort to get money for the girl's rent and to pay for an operation to restore her eyesight, he manages to borrow enough money from the Millionaire. However, upon sobering up, the Millionaire accuses him of stealing the money, and sets the police after the Tramp. The Tramp manages to get the money to the girl, but tells her that he will be going away. The police catch him and he is imprisoned for a few months. Upon his release, the Tramp tries to find the girl but she is no longer at her corner selling flowers. While walking on the street, the girl, now with sight, takes pity on him and gives him flowers. She then recognises him as her benefactor after touching his hand and hearing his voice. The film then ends on their ambiguously bittersweet reunion.
In the opening sequence, the kazoo sound substitutes the voice of the government people, who are giving a public presentation of the statues. It serves a comic effect in ridiculing political figures, but it also makes a larger conceptual point of undermining the nature of dialogue, especially the use of dialogue by people in power. It suggests that the boring political rhetoric of the leaders, unintelligible to the masses, effectively translates into gibberish in the film. Alternatively, by opening with such a scene, it can also be read as Chaplin's snarky take on the novelty of sound in the film industry (Kornhaber 195). A close reading of the meeting sequence between the blind flower girl and the Tramp reveal the subtleties of emotions, cleverly heightened through the sensitive use of the soundtrack, silence and precise figure movement (Preminger 172). The subtle tonal shifts in the soundtrack serve to emote the characters, an affective form of linguistic that transcends the limitations of speech and dialogue. In the Tramp's significant realisation that the flower girl is blind, the soundtrack pauses for a pregnant moment of silence. Shocked, the Tramp places the flower onto the girl's hand. The music resumes at a slower pace, almost as if reflecting the hesitating tenderness of the Tramp's behaviour towards the flower girl.
Following which, we note that the audience's imagination of sound provides the premise of the film, which is the blind girl's idealisation of the Tramp as a rich man (Davis 55). The cause of this misunderstanding is visually explained in their meeting sequence, circumventing exposition or dialogue. The Tramp enters and exits an expensive limousine to avoid a policeman, but the blind girl hears the door slam of the car which Tramp exits from, and assumes that he is a rich man. Here, the visual movement allows the audience to imagine the implied 'sound' of the door slam (Brownlow, Unknown Chaplin). Most importantly, it is functional to the narrative as the ensuing drama relies on the narrative plausibility of the misunderstanding. This misunderstanding is reiterated when the owner of the rich man comes back for his car, slams the door and drives off. The panning of the camera facilitates the visualisation of this mis-hearing by panning to screen left, to frame the Tramp standing next to the car before it drives off, before panning back to show the girl calling out to him. The simplicity of this mis-perception deepens the comic pathos of the blind girl's idealisation, that is so precariously dependent on the aural construction of the Tramp as a rich man.
The soundtrack also serves a more explicit linguistic function as evident in the exchange between the millionaire and the Tramp (Kornhaber 189). When convincing the millionaire not to take his life, the Tramp launches into a mini speech, and the soundtrack accordingly changes to reflect a soothing, pleasant tune, while the inter-title states "Tomorrow the birds will sing". After which, Tramp straightens up his posture to enact the stern pep talk; the soundtrack follows suit, sharp strains of the strings while the inter-title states "Be brave! Face life!". The substitution of the soundtrack draws attention to the affective power of music, while the welding of music with the expressive actions creatively expresses emotions in a way that transcends conventional dialogue.
Sound effects are used selectively, serving the function of an aural close-up as it draws attention to specific points in the frame. Yet, the artistic choice of selectivity is deliberately non-naturalistic, and hence self-reflexive in its 'visibility'. In the second party scene, Chaplin accidentally swallows a whistle, and he develops uncontrollable hiccups that sound like the whistle he ingested. The whistling interrupts the professional singer just as he is about to sing. Here, the 'visibility' of the whistle sound is heightened, such that it is the only sound we hear; we do not hear the surrounding party scene noises, and ironically, never actually get to hear the singer (Kornhaber 189). Thus, this visible and neutralised sound, set in conflict against the imagined bustle of the party, and made visible against the silence, underscores the comic alienation of the Tramp. As viewers, or listeners, we too cannot 'hear' the surrounding noises, hence, Chaplin creates this separate aural dimension that places us in sympathy with the Tramp as an outsider figure in high society (Preminger 169). It is through the use of this aural close-up that Chaplin economically conveys alienation, without the use of dialogue or conventional sound.
In the final scene, Chaplin reappropriates the usual shot/reverse shot convention to heighten the emotions of the scene, and to subtly convey the unequal power dynamic (Kornhaber 202). It is a medium shot framed from directly behind the flower girl, with the Tramp's body facing squarely at the camera but with his eye-line matching the girl's. The flower girl is seated, with her body at a 45-degree angle to screen left but turning to look at the Tramp, such that we only see the back of her head. As such, the angle of the camera exposes and underscores the vulnerability of the Tramp. His facial expression is fully captured, an unrestrained smile of joy upon finding her. He holds up the flower sentimentally and stares in wonder at the flower girl, whose face turned away from the camera. The camera then cuts to her, alone in a separate frame, laughing and ridiculing him in a sarcastic inter-title – 'I've made a conquest!' Visually, this represents their relationship, the flower girl is like a disinterested spectator, maintaining a safe and judgmental distance while the Tramp stands, vulnerable and exposed (Calhoon 393). Their interaction is a direct inversion of their first meeting, with the flower girl now in a position of power. This is also visually represented by her indirect eye-line match to screen left when the camera frames her, as opposed to the Tramp who faces her directly. This unnatural distortion of the usual shot/reverse shot convention create visual uneasiness, reflecting the painful and unequal power dynamic between the two characters.
It is not until the flower girl touches the Tramp's hands, that the power dynamic is equalised. Cleverly, Chaplin then reverses the shot to represent this change visually. When she holds his hand to give him a coin and a new flower, she experiences a moment of recognition. This shot is framed more conventionally, adhering to 180-degree rule in the shot/reverse shot tradition; it is placed next to the Tramp, foregrounding his body and with the flower girl now facing him. The camera fully captures her struggle with emotions, possibly shocked, confused then moved. What follows is a brief conversation through the intertitles – 'You?', 'You can see now?' and her reply, 'Yes I can see now.' In this masterful sequence, Chaplin has reversed the use of sound and sight; the power of the visual representation of their internal emotions precedes the terse dialogue. Following the dialogue, the screen fades the black and the music soars – the intensity of emotions escapes speech, and finally transcends the frame itself.
City Lights. Directed by Charlie Chaplin, performances by Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee, Harry Myers, United Artists, 1931.
Unknown Chaplin. Directed by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill, appearances by Sydney Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Jackie Coogan, Lita Grey, Georgia Hale, Dean Riesner, Thames Television, 1993.
L. Flom, Eric. Chaplin in the Sound Era: An Analysis of the Seven Talkies. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 1968.
Apprich, Fran. "Born into Sound", Quest, Issue 2, Autumn 2006.
Kornhaber, Donna. Charlie Chaplin, Director. Northwestern University Press, 2014.
Preminger, Aner. "Charles Chaplin Sings a Silent Requiem". Refocusing Chaplin: A Screen Icon through Critical Lens, edited by Lawrence Howe, James E. Caron, Benjamin Click. Scarecrow Press, 2013.
Davis, Therese. "First Sight: Blindness, Cinema and Unrequited Love." Journal of Narrative Theory, Volume 33, Number 1, Winter 2003, pp. 48-62.
Calhoon, Kenneth Scott. "Blind Gestures: Chaplin, Diderot, Lessing." MLN, Volume 115, Number 3, April 2000 (German Issue), pp. 381-402. Project Muse. Web. 19 March. 2017.
Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin. Directed by Richard Schickel. Lorac Productions, 2003.
Woal, Michael and Linda Kowall. Chaplin and the Comedy of Melodrama. Journal of Film and Video, Vol. 46, No. 3 (Fall 1994), pp. 3-15.
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Epic Rap Battles Of History: Season One (2010)
December 15, 2013 by joecarro	in Comedy (Web Series), Musical (Web Series), Web Series and tagged 2010, 2010's, A-Team, Abraham Lincoln, Adolf Hitler, Albert Einstein, Authors, Average JOE, battle, Beatles, Benjamin Franklin, Bill O'Reilly, Billy Mays, Blog, Captain Kirk, Carl Sagan, Christopher Columbus, Chuck Norris, Colin J. Sweeney, Comedy, Darth Vader, Democrat, Dr Seuss, Duel, Dumbledore, Easter Bunny, Epic Rap Battles Of History, EpicLLOYD, ERB, Explorer, Gandalf, Genghis Khan, Harry Potter, Hip Hop, Holiday, Hulk Hogan, Hulkster, John Lennon, Joseph Carro, Kim Jong Il, Lady Gaga, Lisa Nova, Lloyd Ahlquist, Lord of the Rings, Macho Man, Mongolian, Mr Rogers, Mr T, Nice Peter, Pat McIntyre, PBS, Politics, President, Randy Savage, Rap, Religion, Republican, Review, Sarah Palin, Scientist, Season One, Shamwow, Spain, Star Trek, Stephen Hawking, Timothy Delaghetto, Verbal, Vince Offer, Web Series, William Shakespeare, Wizard, Writers, WWF, YouTube	| Leave a comment
Epic Rap Battles of History is a web series in which pop culture icons and celebrities and politicians are pitted against one another in a universe where everyone is fair game and everyone raps against one another – live or dead.
Season One (You can watch the entire season HERE) is the beginning effort of Nice Peter and Epic Lloyd, who portray most of the characters (including themselves in the season finale). The battles portrayed in Season One are as follows:
– John Lennon VS Bill O'Reilly
– Darth Vader VS Hitler
– Abe Lincoln VS Chuck Norris
– Sarah Palin VS Lady Gaga
– Hulk Hogan VS Kim Jong Il
– Justin Bieber VS Beethoven
– Einstein VS Stephen Hawking
– Genghis Khan VS The Easter Bunny
– Napoleon Dynamite VS Napoleon Bonaparte
– Billy Mays VS Ben Franklin
– Gandalf VS Dumbledore
– Dr Seuss VS Shakespeare
– Mr T VS Mr Rogers
– Christopher Columbus VS Captain Kirk
– Nice Peter VS EpicLLOYD
Most of the battles in Season One are sort of silly, without many guest stars. My favorite from the season was definitely Albert Einstein (MC Mr Napkins (aka Zach Sherwin) VS Stephen Hawking (Nice Peter) while some of them like Captain Kirk VS Christopher Columbus were good conceptually but didn't hold water once performed.
Musically, the Epic Rap Battles have come a long way since this first batch, but there are some noteworthy beats and rhymes, for sure. Check it out. These guys and gals are sure to entertain.
JOE Rating: ★★★★
Skateland (2010)
July 27, 2013 by joecarro	in Drama (Movies) and tagged 1980's, 2010, 2010's, Anthony Burns, Ashley Greene, Average JOE, Blog, Brent Burkham, Brett Cullen, Change, David Wheeler, Debbie Wheeler, Drama, Film, Haley Ramm, Heath Freeman, Joseph Carro, Kenny Crawford, Life, Mary Wheeler, Melinda McGraw, Michelle Burkham, Movie, Review, Ritchie Wheeler, Roller Skating, Shiloh Fernandez, Skate Rink, Skateland, Taylor Handley, Texas	| Leave a comment
It's the early 1980's in small-town Texas and Ritchie Wheeler (Shiloh Fernandez) knows that things are changing. The skating rink he manages is going under, his friends are all on the verge of moving away and his parents are getting divorced. All of these events converge and force Ritchie to take new stock of his life and where he wants to be, but sometimes that's hard to do.
I went into this expecting an Almost Famous vibe, but it didn't really turn out that way. What I did find was a movie that I wanted to like, but ultimately found to fall flat in a lot of places.
The acting was all really well done. Shiloh Fernandez's character, Ritchie, seems authentically from that time period. Ashley Greene and Heath Freeman are also really up to par for their roles as his friends.
However, there was a lot of meandering. At first, I couldn't really tell what the message of the film was supposed to be. It felt sort of like a one-note, reminiscence-fest – which is fine, but it wasn't really for me. There were some good scenes, but the tempo of the movie switched around too much for me to really sink my teeth into it.
July 24, 2013 by joecarro	in Action (Movies), Comedy (Movies), Drama (Movies), Movie Reviews and tagged 2010, 2010's, Abe, Action, Addict, Average JOE, Bible, Blog, Boltie, Citizen, Comedy, Comic Books, Crime, Criminal, Crimson Bolt, Dark, Detective John Felkner, Drama, Drugs, Ellen Page, Film, Frank Darbo, God, Gregg Henry, Hero, Holy, Holy Avenger, Husband, Inept, Jacques, James Gunn, Joseph Carro, Kevin Bacon, Kid, Libby, Linda Cardellini, Liv Tyler, Michael Rooker, Movie, Murder, Nathan Fillion, Penance, Pipe Wrench, Rainn Wilson, Religion, Review, Sacrifice, Sarah, Sidekick, Sleaze, Super, Superhero, Wife, Wrench	| 1 Comment
Frank Darbo (Rainn Wilson) is the world's most average husband. When his recovering-addict wife, Sarah (Liv Tyler) is seduced back to the dark side and leaves him for the sleazy, drug-dealing Jacques (Kevin Bacon) he loses control of himself, until he has a vision from God telling him that he has to become a superhero and bring Jacques to justice as a new, costumed vigilante calling himself The Crimson Bolt.
I had seen Kick-Ass, which I love, before this…so I thought this would be really similar. In some ways it is, but in a lot of ways it isn't. This is a good thing, because some of the ways in which it's different makes it a better film.
Rainn Wilson breathes a lot of life into his character, and even though he's a bit insane and neurotic, you begin to feel for him. Ellen Page co-stars as his kinetic and sometimes too-energetic sidekick, Boltie. Kevin Bacon is amazing as the sleazy drug dealer and arch-nemesis of The Crimson Bolt, too.
The reason this is mostly a better film than Kick-Ass is because of how dark it gets. You think, at first, that it will be a campy, funny action-comedy. It does that, but it also goes deep into our psyches and makes us confront the worst parts of ourselves. In the end, you'll find yourself foaming at the mouth as the violence, and body count, ramps up. The film's mood split also serves as a reminder that being a hero doesn't go unpunished.
You need to see this film, especially if you liked Kick-Ass. Both of them are very different movies, though.
JOE Review: ★★★★★
Archer: Season 1 (2009)
May 13, 2013 by joecarro	in Action (Shows), Animation, Comedy (Shows), Television Shows and tagged 2000's, 2009, 2010, Action, Adam Reed, Adult, Adult Swim, Agent, Aisha Tyler, Amber Nash, Animated, Animation, Archer, Average JOE, Boss, Burn Notice, Cartoon, Cheryl Tunt, Chris Parnell, Comedy, Comedy Central, Cyril Figgis, Domineering Mother, Dr. Krieger, Duchess, Espionage, FX, Gay Character, Global Espionage, Guns, H. John Benjamin, International Secret Intelligence Service, ISIS, Jessica Walter, Jessica Walters, Joseph Carro, Judy Greer, KGB, Lana Kane, Lucky Yates, Malory Archer, Master Spy, Micro Mini Skirt, Mother, New York City, Pam Poovey, Ray Gillette, Season 1, Season One, Sex, Show, Spy, Sterling Archer, Television, Violence	| Leave a comment
Stations Airing: FX, Comedy Central
Number Of Episodes In Season: 10
Archer follows several characters, mostly Sterling Archer (H. John Benjamin) – a great spy who is terrible at everything else. ISIS (not to be confused with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) is a spy agency he works at where everyone tries to indulge in their own greedy schemes or pleasures which often ends with disastrous, yet hilarious results.
Season 1 is an introduction to the characters and their world of espionage-gone-awry. We follow Archer and his somewhat-Oedipal interactions with his mother, Malory (Jessica Walters) and his fellow spy and ex-girlfriend Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler). Archer manages to piss off everyone he meets at some point with his extreme chauvinism and ego and I dare you not to laugh at the exchanges between the characters. Also, if you're a fan of SNL – Chris Parnell voices the role of the cowardly Cyril Figgis.
The animation has a nice style that is reminiscent of other shows like Sealab 2021, which was also created by Adam Reed, and it seems to fit the espionage and retro-60's feel the show gives off.
Each episode is pretty much stand alone aside from a couple, so you don't necessarily have to watch them all in order as each one packs its own comedic punch. However, there are many in-jokes and nods to previous episodes as you move on, so as always – it's best to watch with at least some semblance of continuity – especially in later seasons.
This is one of the funniest shows out there right now, hands down. You should check it out.
JOE Rating: ★★★★★
Trailer For Season One Of Archer
Everything Must Go (2010)
May 11, 2013 by joecarro	in Comedy (Movies), Drama (Movies), Movie Reviews and tagged 2010, 2010's, Adaptation, alcoholic, Average JOE, Beer, Bicycle, Blog, Christopher C.J. Wallace, Christopher Jordan Wallace, Comedy, Convenience Store, Dan Rush, Delilah, Divorce, Drama, Drunk, Elliot, Everything Must Go, Failure, Film, Frank Garcia, Friendship, Gary, Glenn Howerton, ID, Illegal, Job, Joseph Carro, Kenny, Kenny Loftus, Key, Kitty, Laura Dern, Lawn, Lawn Sale, Lesson, Lose, Marriage, Mentor, Michael Pena, Money, Move, Move Out, Movie, Neighbor, New Neighbor, Nick Halsey, Police, Raymond Carver, Rebecca Hall, Relapse, Relationships, Repo, Review, Rosalie Michaels, Samantha, Separation, Short Story, Spat, Stephen Root, Struggle, Why Don't You Dance, Wife, Will Ferrell, Writer, Yard Sale	| Leave a comment
Original Theatrical Release: October 14, 2011
Director: Dan Rush
Nick Halsey (Will Ferrell) is an alcoholic struggling to kick the habit, but when he falls off the bandwagon, his wife has had it and throws all of his belongings out onto the front lawn in addition to having the locks to the house changed, and she goes away for a couple weeks. Unfortunately, this happened on the same day he was let go from his company, also mostly because he is an alcoholic. Forced to face the failures in his marriage and personal life, he must sleep amid his belongings and try to sell them off so he can start over.
This movie is based on a Raymond Carver short story that I've never read titled Why Don't You Dance? I wasn't aware of that until a friend pointed it out to me. (I'll have to read it soon.)
Now, you wouldn't think that Will Ferrell starring in a Raymond Carver story adaptation would be that great, but he was a very good choice for the role. People like to give Will Ferrell a bad rap, but he has proven himself in other films like Stranger Than Fiction and Melinda And Melinda, and so he doesn't always have to be typecast as the normal, over-the-top roles he's most placed in. He does have some acting chops. Rebecca Hall was okay as Samantha, but her role didn't seem to add much and her character was pretty formulaic and seemed to exist just as a counterpoint to Ferrell's character. I would have been more interested in seeing less of her character and more of the neighborhood kid, Kenny (Christopher Jordan Wallace) and his relationship with Nick.
The movie went along at a decent pace, and I really felt like Nick was a real person. Ferrell's mix of seriousness and humor was a great blend. Dan Rush's direction was great, but I'll have to read the short story to see how well his adaptation matched up. I also happened to catch this film at the right time, having been through a recent separation and divorce myself, as well as ending up having to get rid of a lot of junk so I could move on. (I still have some work to do on that front)
If you're expecting a lot of normal, Will Ferrell-style laughs like he's given us in Step Brothers or Starsky and Hutch, you won't find a lot of that here. Instead, you will find a lot of heart, though there are some laughs to be had.
Movie Trailer For Everything Must Go
The Cleaners: Absent Bodies (2010)
April 19, 2013 by joecarro	in Book Reviews, Comic Book Reviews and tagged 2010, 2010's, Absent Bodies, Average JOE, Blood, Bodies, Books, Cleaning, Comic Books, Comics, Crime, Dark Horse, Dark Horse Comics, Dark Horse Universe, Death, Evil, Hazmat, Issues, John Graef, Joseph Carro, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Mark Wheaton, Monster, Noir, Rahsan Ekedal, Rating, Review, Supernatural, The Cleaners, The Cleaners: Absent Bodies, TPB, Trade Paperback	| Leave a comment
Creative Team: Mark Wheaton, Joshua Hale Fialokov, Rahsan Ekedal, Jon Graef
Robert Bellarmine, an ex-surgeon with a shady past, lives in the LA Basin and leads a skilled team of trauma-scene cleaners who are independently contracted. However, this is no ordinary crack team of cleaners…they have a knack for the supernatural side of things, and when signs start pointing to a supernatural force that may be responsible for a recent string of deaths and disappearances, Robert and his team must intervene and stop it if they can.
The Cleaners: Absent Bodies collects issues #1-4 of the Dark Horse Comics series of the same name, The Cleaners. Mark Wheaton and Joshua Hale Fialkov did the writing, while art and colors were done by Rahsan Ekedal and Jon Graef respectively.
Initially, this seemed like a really cool premise. People who have to go clean up crime scenes, who then encounter supernatural elements in their work. Indeed, during the time I read this noir-type trade paperback collection, I did enjoy the story…but unfortunately the artwork didn't shine enough for me to enjoy the book to its full potential.
The artwork wasn't awful or anything, but many of the characters, both men and women, were hard to tell apart. The panels with blood and the large splash panels were great but everything was sort of confusing for the smaller panels.
I felt like the script could stand on its own two feet and I think this would actually make a pretty cool television series or movie, as it has a sort of CSI-meets-Fringe type of feel to it. I liked that aspect.
I might check out later installments, but this first volume hasn't really enticed me enough to do it right away.
Check Out This Sample Page From The Cleaners: Absent Bodies!
The Sandman Volume 1: Preludes & Nocturnes (1991)
April 15, 2013 by joecarro	in Book Reviews, Comic Book Reviews and tagged 1980's, 1988, 1990's, 1991, 2010, 2010's, Abel, art, Author, Average JOE, Azazel, Beelzebub, Black Magic, Blog, Book, Cain, Canon, Choro, Choronzon, Collection, Comic Books, Comics, Daniel Vozzo, Dave McKean, DC, DC Comics, DC Heroes, DC Universe, Death, Detective Comics, dream, Dreams, England, Etrigan, Evil, God, Hell, Hellfire Club, Immortality, Imprisoned, John Constantine, Joseph Carro, Karen Berger, Life, Lucifer, Malcolm Jones III, Martian Manhunter, Mike Dringenberg, Morpheus, Mortal, Neil Gaiman, Nightmare, Preludes & Nocturnes, Review, Sam Keith, Sandman, Satan, The Sandman, Todd Klein, TPB, Trade Paperback, Vertigo, Volume 1, Wesley Dodds, Writer	| Leave a comment
Publisher: DC/Vertigo
Creative Team: Neil Gaiman, Sam Keith, Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III
Set in the DC Universe, The Sandman Volume 1 collects issues 1-8 of the comic book series written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Sam Keith, Mike Dringenberg and Malcolm Jones III.
A wizard who wants to live forever attempts to summon and trap Death, but inadvertantly traps her younger brother, Dream (aka Morpheus). Fearing retaliation, the wizard and his cohorts keep Morpheus imprisoned in a magical cell for a couple of lifetimes. When his captors make a mistake and Morpheus breaks free, he is weak from his time in imprisonment and also finds that his captors have stolen and have sold three of his possessions which help give him power. His helm, his bag of dust and his ruby pendant. With these items he will be close to full strength again, so he sets out to find them…but they are spread wide and though he is a god, Morpheus finds that some of them are guarded more closely than he would think. Teaming with well-known DC Comics characters like John Constantine and Martian Manhunter, Morpheus must go to Hell and back to find his things. Literally.
While this is not the strongest entry in the Sandman series, issues 1-8 are a great introduction to the world Morpheus inhabits and is a good set up to the wonderment that follows in later volumes. The artwork is great, but the colors in the collection versus the originals are a little bit off, a little bit darker. This might be problematic for some purists, but I think for the tone of the piece, the colors suit it well. Then again, the original colors were more dreamlike. It's a coin toss on which you'll like better.
This beginning collection is a story about starting over. Morpheus was content with where he was and with his station, overconfident that he had everything nailed down. When this was proven false by his imprisonment by a bunch of mortals, it shook him up a little. Weakened and forced to find alternate ways to deal with things, Morpheus becomes a compelling character. Though a god, he is still fallible.
The characters are all really interesting. We get to meet the perky character of Death, we get to see a new and frightening/sad interpretation of Cain and Abel. There are dangerous and fantastical dream creatures and lots of magic thrown in.
If other DC characters weren't tossed into the mix, you wouldn't even think of it as a comic book story that exists in the world of superheroes, but Neil Gaiman has seamlessly integrated Morpheus and his mythos into the existing DC canon.
Give this a read, and especially the later collections.
Check Out This Sample Page From Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes!


Justine Jordan, VP of Marketing at Litmus, gave a great talk on the importance of email marketing and how it can ruin brands. Jordan was a big fan of the Wi-Fi hotspot maker, Karma. They sent her beautiful, customer centric emails with great copywriting. They'd talk about their commitment to her and the value that they brought her. The more she kept using it, the more value she got from it, and the more data she bought from them.
But then, something terrible happened. The emails from Karma became shouty and terrible. Gone was the customer-focused copywriting. It was nothing but buzzwords and vague marketing speak shouting at her.
Customers noticed. They went to Twitter to tell Karma about their spammy emails. They went from daily customer value to promotional shouty emails. This took the customer needs and magic out of the equation, which left Karma only achieving their business needs.
We watched a short clip where an Amazon executive said, "We don't have to send anything if it's going to break customer trust. Email is a privilege, not a right. If we're going to do it, we need to do it right by our customer." Amazon threatened to uncheck the email box when they found out their email marketing campaign made a customer uncomfortable.
Check out this email hierarchy of subscriber needs. It all starts with the permission and expectations of the customer receiving the email. Next, you have to double check that all links and images are working. Once that's covered you can ask yourself, is this email personalized, relevant, and targeted? If you've answered yes, you then have to make sure that the email contains great content and provides a great user experience.
Jordan talked about how we need to stop measuring opens and clicks and start caring more about bounce rate, spam and unsubscribes. You should be aiming for less than 2% bounce rate and a 0.02% spam rate.
WHEN is it appropriate to send the message?
WHERE will the recipient read it?
And if you can't answer these questions… you can't send the email.


August 2009 was a whirlwind of travel and family visits for us. The three main vacation points were Flat Rock, NC, Wilmington, NC and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
We traveled to Flat Rock, NC for Kate and Cam's wedding at the Highland Lake Inn. Lot's of fun and lots of Pankopfs. All brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles and cousins made the trip.
We took a leisurely two day drive, stopping in Prestonsburg, KY for a night. The drive was great - we did very little Interstate driving, opting for the two lane routes. We happened to pass Bennett's Mill Bridge in Kentucky - one of the state's longest covered bridges. That sort of surprise doesn't happen much on I-75.
Saturday, the big day, C and I took a canoe ride on the lake in the morning. Great photo opportunities for (semi) wildlife and other nature based subjects. Spent the rest of the day visiting, eating and napping on a hammock. The ceremony was nicely done and the party afterward was fantastic.
Sunday, we bade farewell to the Pankopf clan and headed for the shore to visit C's father. Our visit began with a trip to the boardwalk where we all tried a Brink's donut then a trip via car ferry to Southport for lunch. Tuesday, which turned out to be the hottest day of the year at 97 degrees, we went on a deep sea fishing trip. We caught Spanish Mackerel which the mate filleted for us. We took the fillets to the restaurant next door and they fried them for us. C's dream of "out of the ocean and onto my plate" came true! Wednesday we visited the Bellamy Mansion and the USS North Carolina battleship. Unfortunately there were no sightings of Charlie, the alligator that lives by the ship. Thursday we took a leisurely stoll along the Cape Fear river.
We returned home to the kids - where after nine days by themselves they were very happy to see us.
The following Thursday, Julie arrived for a long weekend in the UP. Despite the weather, we had a hectic plan to visit 9 lighthouses and the Tahquamenon Falls. We also managed a Soo locks tour by boat. Lots of great pictures of freighters, lighthouses and general all around scenery.


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Exam uncertainty
Nobody could have predicted the impact the pandemic would have on exams. Attain's Editor, Matthew Smith, talked to two senior school Heads – Emma Taylor of Dean Close and James Dahl of Wellington College – to understand their hopes and concerns.
Photo: iStock.com/kontrast-fotodesign
For students in exam years, the pandemic has brought yet more uncertainty. With the announcement of the cancellation of public exams, pupils, parents and teachers have all been expectantly awaiting a plan to replace them. The Government has launched a consultation, which will end on the 29th January. It is hoped this will shape a fair solution for pupils and avoid the results fiasco which took place last year.
Memories of that day are still very clear for Headteachers. 'I would say that the A Level results day was probably the most difficult day of my 31-year teaching career,' explains Emma Taylor, Warden of Dean Close School in Cheltenham. James Dahl, the Master of Wellington College in Berkshire, shares a similar view: 'If I had to describe it in one phrase, I would say it was traumatic... and I don't use the word traumatic, or relate to trauma, lightly.'
Emma Taylor and James Dahl reflect on the exam results fiasco last year – and their hopes for this year.
For the Government, this presents a real challenge. They have found themselves at odds with the views of teachers, heads and the unions at several critical stages during this pandemic. To achieve any kind of consensus of opinion will be very hard. And at the heart of the discussions must be the welfare of the pupils themselves for whom the uncertainty is mixed with huge disappointment.
As James Dahl points out, there is 'a big misconception throughout all of this that pupils will be pleased that exams got cancelled and it was absolutely not the case.' He describes how pupils at his school were really upset and wanted to take their exams. 'They want to put themselves through that external challenge and know that their results were earned,' he explains. 'And actually, I have spoken to a lot of last year's Upper Sixth graduates and they are really pleased that they got the grades they deserved in the end – but they don't quite feel that they 'own' those grades...'
The level of frustration is not helped by the fact that this was a likely situation in the course of the pandemic. The time to debate a solution – a Plan B – for public examinations was arguably back in September and not now, at the end of January. 'I think the DfE [Department for Education] and Gavin Williamson [Secretary of State for Education] have really missed a trick here,' James Dahl reflects. 'Back in September, HMC [the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference who represent almost 300 independent senior schools] was clamouring for consultation – and for communication – around a Plan B in case exams were cancelled and that didn't happen... we find ourselves here again now in January in what was a fairly predictable situation, starting from a standing start and I think that's a real shame.'
Emma Taylor agrees: 'Yes, I do think that Plan B should have been worked out... We were all, as part of our future planning, were thinking it was possible that we would need to rely on Teacher Assessed Grades – or Centre Assessed Grades – this year and therefore actually we have all done things slightly differently this year... It's not rocket science to reckon that we might have another change this year.'
As with so many aspects of life, the pandemic has meant that it has been almost impossible to make plans with any sense of certainty. Indeed, this lack of certainty has been particularly difficult for examination pupils and their parents who would otherwise be making plans and preparations for the future – university admissions, employment options, and other life choices. With so much uncertainty, coupled with a huge economic downturn, many are unsure what to do. 'We are dealing with exam year groups and pupils and parents who are desperately anxious at the moment,' says James Dahl. 'I have had three separate emails within the last couple of hours from parents of exam year group pupils and their desperate need of some sort of clarity and some sort of certainty – and we can't quite give them that at the moment.'
James Dahl and Emma Taylor discuss why a 'Plan B' for examinations was needed far sooner by schools and pupils.
Emma Taylor feels the Government need to do two things. Firstly, 'not to try to make things consistent with how they were two years ago' in terms of the concerns regarding grades. The Government have at least ruled out the return of last year's algorithm, which was the cause of so much frustration. Emma's second wish is that the pupils who find themselves at the heart of this debate are not forgotten: 'Please think about and empathise with young people themselves and try not to become too tied only to processes and consistency in protocols – important though that fairness issue is.' James Dahl agrees, 'Young people and their wellbeing and mental health has been lost in all of this.'
Will a fair solution be found? Unfortunately, whatever decisions are made, some pupils will feel that they would have fared better if it wasn't for the pandemic. 'I don't know why mandarins in Whitehall are best placed to decide what goes on within the classrooms of our schools,' concludes James Dahl. 'They should be engaging with unions, teachers, school leaders much more proactively in order to plan for the future.'
And for the Secretary of State, his message is clear: 'He has got to accept that under his watch, trust has eroded between the teaching profession and schools and the Department for Education – and I think there needs to be a really proactive approach to how that trust is going to be rebuilt moving forward.'
The Government consultation closes on the 29th January.
Emma Taylor of Dean Close and James Dahl of Wellington College were talking to Attain's Editor, Matthew Smith.
You can listen to the full interview in Episode 14 of Fresh Thinking, Attain's weekly podcast for parents.
Matthew Smith is the Editor of Attain.
Demystifying finance in the classroom
5 min read Financial illiteracy is a problem for many adults. Ensuring pupils leave school confident in managing a budget, investments and pensions is crucial for the years ahead as Fionnuala Kennedy, Head of Wimbledon High School GDST, explains.
The reform of assessment
5 min read HMC asked 800 educators for their views on both the current curriculum and models of assessment. Dr Simon Hyde, General Secretary of HMC, looks at the findings of this survey and why the majority of respondents want to see reform happen urgently.
Rethinking Latin
5 min read It's time to stop seeing Latin as a 'dead language', argues Dominic Hodgkinson, Head of Classics at Dauntsey's School, and instead see it as a humanity that can enhance our understanding of the world today.
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D Coed 11-18, West London
GL Education Group
www.gl-assessment.co.uk
Kew Green Preparatory School
D Coed 4-11, South West London
Fresh Thinking
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The Oratory School
D B Coed 11-18, Oxfordshire
D B Coed 11-18, Surrey