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This paper is in the following e-collection/theme issue:
RCTs - Protocols/Proposals (non-eHealth) (172)
Published on 14.7.2020 in Vol 9, No 7 (2020): July
Preprints (earlier versions) of this paper are available at https://preprints.jmir.org/preprint/17826, first published January 15, 2020 .
Del Nido Cardioplegia Versus Cold Blood Cardioplegia in Adult Cardiac Surgery: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors of this article:
Jessica Garcia-Suarez 1 ; Javier Garcia Fernandez 1 ; Sergio Sanz 1 ; Daniel Martinez Lopez 2 ; Leticia Reques 2 ; Alberto Forteza Gil 2
Article Authors Cited by Tweetations (1) Metrics
Jessica Garcia-Suarez1, MD ;
Javier Garcia Fernandez1, MD, PhD ;
Sergio Sanz1, MD ;
Daniel Martinez Lopez2, MD ;
Leticia Reques2, BSN, MS ;
Alberto Forteza Gil2, MD, PhD
1Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda University Hospital, Madrid, Spain
2Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda University Hospital, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
Jessica Garcia-Suarez, MD
Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care
Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda University Hospital
C/Manuel de Falla 1
Phone: 34 911917428
Email: jessicag.suarez@gmail.com
Background: The use of cardioplegia solutions as a myocardial protection technique is essential during cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. The del Nido cardioplegia solution (DNS) has been widely used as a myocardial preservation technique for pediatric patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. Its unique pharmacological features have created growing interest for adult cardiac surgery, especially for elderly patients or those with ventricular dysfunction who are more prone to ischemia-reperfusion injury. Ever since its implementation, several retrospective studies have been published to validate the efficacy, safety, and efficiency of DNS in adult patients undergoing coronary revascularization, valve replacement, or combined procedures. Recently, a meta-analysis based on nine retrospective studies was published claiming the noninferiority of DNS compared to other conventional cardioplegia solutions. Few prospective randomized studies have been conducted whose primary outcome was the assessment of DNS clinical efficacy compared to other solutions commonly used in adult patients.
Objective: The aim of this randomized clinical trial is to assess the benefits of DNS compared to Cardi-Braun blood cardioplegia solution in clinical and biochemical terms regarding myocardial protection during adult cardiac surgery.
Methods: This is the protocol of a controlled, randomized, single-center clinical trial carried out at the Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda University Hospital in Spain. A total of 474 participants over the age of 18 years undergoing elective cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass will be assigned to groups by simple randomization to receive either DNS or Cardi-Braun blood cardioplegia solution. The primary outcome will be the differences between groups in myocardial protection in biochemical terms (ie, perioperative troponin levels) and clinical terms (ie, presence of the composite variable acute cardiovascular event). The clinical trial will be carried out under conditions of respect for the fundamental rights of the person and the ethical principles that affect biomedical research with human beings, as well as in accordance with international recommendations contained in the Declaration of Helsinki and its subsequent revisions.
Results: The inclusion process started in 2018. Data cleaning and analyses are expected to take place in the fall of 2020 and the results are expected in January 2021.
Conclusions: This study is particularly relevant as it will be one of the first to analyze the clinical effects of del Nido cardioplegia on the basis of direct myocardial protection parameters. In light of published studies, carrying out prospective studies based on primary clinical objectives with a larger sample, high-risk patients, and longer cardiopulmonary bypass times continues to be necessary. We believe that our study addresses an important gap in the knowledge of del Nido cardioplegia in adult patient cardiac surgery and will be able to clarify the possible benefits of this method in a large population of patients undergoing these procedures.
Trial Registration: European Union Drug Regulating Authorities Clinical Trials Database (EudraCT) 2017-005144-14; https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/ctr-search/search?query=2017-005144-14+; ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04094168; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04094168
International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/17826
JMIR Res Protoc 2020;9(7):e17826
doi:10.2196/17826
del Nido cardioplegia; cardiac surgery; myocardial protection
Scientific Background and Explanation of Rationale
Myocardial protection during cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass is essential to avoid detrimental effects of ischemia secondary to aortic cross-clamping. To do so, several strategies have been used throughout the years, such as intermittent aortic occlusion, induced ventricular fibrillation, deep systemic hypothermia, or the administration or cardioplegia solutions.
In 1955, Melrose et al were the first to propose the concept of hyperkalemic cardioplegia, using a high-concentration potassium-citrate solution to afford elective reversible cardiac arrest [1]. Ever since, multiple pharmacological solutions and modes of administration have been studied, without currently having a clear and homogenous model considered a reference standard.
On the other hand, there has been a tangible change in the features of patients undergoing cardiac surgery for the last two decades. Patients are older and, therefore, have increased comorbidity, and they undergo more complex surgical procedures, which entail longer ischemia times. The quest for a cardioplegia solution providing maximal myocardial protection has never been more important.
The del Nido cardioplegia solution (DNS) was first formulated for pediatric cardiac surgery in the early 1990s and has been widely used ever since [2]. It contains the crystalloid Plasmalyte, with an electrolyte composition similar to that of the extracellular space. Its mannitol content reduces myocardial cell inflammation and serves as an ischemia induced-free-radical scavenger. Magnesium sulfate improves ventricular recovery by preventing excessive intracellular calcium to build up by blocking calcium channels. The presence of lidocaine, which blocks sodium channels, prolongs the myocyte refractory period. The formula provides adequate myocardial protection for ischemia periods of up to 90 minutes.
Its pharmacological properties have contributed to its popularity for elderly patients with depleted myocardial reserve undergoing cardiac surgery [3,4]. Experimental studies carried out in aged rabbit hearts showed further accumulation of calcium and, therefore, an undermined ventricular function after prolonged ischemic periods. DNS used with the same experimental population showed decreased intracellular calcium levels and fewer spontaneous ventricular contractions [5].
Several retrospective studies have assessed the safety and efficacy of DNS in adults undergoing coronary revascularization, valve replacement, combined procedures, and cardiac reinterventions [6-8].
In 2017, a meta-analysis comparing the effects of DNS and conventional cardioplegia solutions in adult cardiac surgery was published [9]. It concluded that there were shorter aortic cross-clamp times, reduced cardiopulmonary bypass times, reduced need for mechanical ventilation, and shorter intensive care unit (ICU) lengths of stay for the DNS group. On the other hand, no significant differences were observed as far as the following were concerned: the evolution of cardiac enzymes, postoperative vasoactive needs, the appearance of atrial fibrillation, in-hospital lengths of stay, or mortality. DNS appeared to be noninferior in terms of myocardial protection, morbidity, and mortality. Nevertheless, the results are somewhat restricted due to the lack of randomized prospective studies in the analysis.
Recently, two prospective studies assessing the effects of DNS in adults have been published [10,11], yet their primary outcomes focused on myocardial protection indirectly or on biochemical data (ie, electrical activity, need for ventricular defibrillation after the release of the aortic cross-clamp, and troponin evolution after surgery). Light has yet to be shed on the clinical advantages of DNS in adult patients, including older patients and those with a history of ventricular dysfunction.
Aim of the Study
The aim of this study is to establish the benefits of DNS in clinical and biochemical terms regarding myocardial protection during adult cardiac surgery.
Study Setting
The study was planned according to the updated Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement, the Declaration of Helsinki, and the Guidelines of Good Clinical Practice issued, as required, by Spanish regulatory authorities. This study will be conducted at one center, the Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda University Hospital.
Trial Design
This study is designed as a single-center, double-blind, controlled clinical trial. Participants will be randomized into a group receiving del Nido cardioplegia (intervention group) or a group receiving Cardi-Braun cold blood cardioplegia (control group; Figure 1). We will conduct a superiority analysis.
Figure 1. CONSORT flow diagram.
View this figure
Eligibility Criteria for Participants
All patients over the age of 18 years who are scheduled for cardiac surgery may be eligible to participate in the study. The inclusion and exclusion criteria are explained in detail in Textbox 1 below.
Inclusion and exclusion criteria for study participants.
Patients over the age of 18 years
Patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass
Patients who do not consent to participate in the study
Patients with a documented allergy to amide-type local anesthetics
Patients undergoing emergent surgery
Unstable patients who require pharmacological inotropic support; mechanical circulatory support, such as intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation (IABC) or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO); or preoperative intubation
Patients undergoing mitral valve replacement surgery using the Heartport technique
Textbox 1. Inclusion and exclusion criteria for study participants.
Study Procedures and Interventions
Within the control group, blood cardioplegia will be administered by means of a cold induction dose at 4-8 °C and a maintenance dose administered every 20 minutes. It will be dispensed via the anterograde or retrograde approach according to the protocol of the center.
Within the intervention group, del Nido cardioplegia will be administered according to the usual practice in a single dose of 1000 cc via the anterograde or retrograde approach according to the protocol of the center. Additional doses (550 mL) will be administered when spontaneous electrical activity appears or, in the case of periods of ischemia, longer than 90 minutes. Common clinical practice will not be modified in the remaining perioperative aspects.
The main variables of the study will be the composite clinical variable acute cardiovascular event and the biochemical variable maximum postoperative troponin value.
The acute cardiovascular event variable will consist of one or several of the following events:
Early perioperative myocardial infarction: occurring during the first 72 hours after surgery and defined according to the criteria of the Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the World Heart Federation.
Prolonged low cardiac output: defined as the need to maintain support with two or more inotropic and/or other circulatory mechanical assistance devices—intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation (IABC) or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)—beyond the first 24 postoperative hours.
Appearance of ventricular arrhythmias: ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF) requiring electrical cardioversion in the first 24 postoperative hours.
To analyze the effect of cardioplegia on myocardial protection at a biochemical level, the level of troponins will be monitored upon arrival at the ICU and during the first 48 hours. Likewise, the maximum troponin peak will be collected during the first 48 postoperative hours.
Other secondary variables of efficacy and safety will be analyzed. Among the intraoperative variables, surgical times (ie, ischemia time and cardiopulmonary bypass times), the volume of cardioplegia solution administered and its route of administration, temperature, average blood pressure, and maximum blood glucose values, as well as the need for electrical cardioversion after aortic cross-clamp release, will be monitored.
Among the postoperative variables, the occurrence of atrial fibrillation will be registered, as well as the requirement for inotropic and mechanical pharmacological support, time to withdrawal, and the occurrence of clinical complications (ie, deterioration of ventricular function upon hospital discharge, surgical reintervention, prolonged mechanical ventilation, acute kidney injury, infectious complications, convulsive activity, or stroke). The need for ICU readmission, ICU and hospital length of stay, and mortality will also be noted.
Subgroup analyses will be carried out in four populations: elderly patients (over 80 years), patients undergoing prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass (longer than 120 minutes), patients with low ventricular ejection fraction (less than 30%), and patients subjected to coronary artery bypass grafting.
Participant Timeline
Follow-up will be carried out from the beginning of the randomization until the participant is discharged. The variables will be collected in the operating room postoperatively; variable collection will occur at a higher frequency within the first 48 hours.
The research team will monitor the possible adverse events, including the time of occurrence, duration, intensity, course, and outcome, in order to make an assessment of the causal relationship between the adverse event and the drug.
Statistical Analyses
Sample Size Calculation
The literature reviewed reflects a need for postoperative inotropic vasoactive support ranging from 35% to 40%. In the sample size calculation, we propose that better myocardial protection will be reflected in a lower need for electrical cardioversion, lower pharmacological inotropic or mechanical support, and a lower incidence of myocardial infarction.
For a hypothetical reduction of inotropic support within the first 24 postoperative hours from 38% to 25%, with an α risk of 5%, at a statistical power of 80% (β=.20), by bilateral test with application of the Fleiss correction factor, and estimating losses of 10%, 474 participants distributed into two groups will be necessary.
Participants will be assigned to groups by simple randomization of the sample, obtaining a computer sequence by Stata 16 (StataCorp). The computer distribution will assign 234 participants to the intervention group (DNS) and 240 participants to the control group (blood cardioplegia). When patients arrive at the theater, perfusionists will enroll participants.
A description of the data from each group of the study and the total sample will be carried out. The properties of the original variables will be defined, and the aforementioned composite variables will be created. The main variable—prolonged low cardiac output syndrome—will be created from the following original variables: presence of two or more inotropic agents at 24 hours of admission, mechanical support with IABC, and/or mechanical support with ECMO or other ventricular assistance. The main composite variable—acute cardiovascular event—will be created from the following variables: perioperative myocardial infarction, prolonged low cardiac output syndrome, prolonged vasoplegia, and/or VT or VF episodes in the first 24 hours.
The quantitative variables shall be described through the mean (SD), median (IQR), 95% CI, and minimum and maximum values. Qualitative variables shall be presented as relative and absolute frequencies. To ensure the uniformity of the groups, a detailed analysis will be made by evaluating the association using the Pearson correlation coefficient and the P value by means of the Student-Fisher t test; correction for unequal variances for the quantitative variables, and the association with the odds ratio and the P value, will be obtained with chi-square tests for the categorical variables.
The raw effect of each type of cardioplegia on the acute cardiovascular event will be estimated using a logistic regression model.
Two populations will be defined through intention-to-treat analysis and by biological efficacy. The first population will include all the initially randomized subjects, including all those who leave the study due to noncompliance. The second population will include all those subjects who complete the study within the same group in which they were randomized. An intermediate safety analysis will be performed when approximately 50% of patients have been randomized.
Monitoring and Quality Assurance
The clinical trial is defined as a low intervention–level trial, due to the fact that the cardioplegia solutions used are already approved and used in accordance with the terms of the marketing authorization; as well, the solutions are extensively backed up by published scientific evidence on their safety and efficacy (Royal Decree 1090/2015).
The confidentiality of the identity of the volunteers will be respected if the data obtained in this study are published. Subjects' data included in the study will be treated in accordance with Organic Law 15/1999, December 13, on the Protection of Personal Data.
This study has been registered in the European Union Drug Regulating Authorities Clinical Trials Database (EudraCT) (No. 2017-005144-14) and at ClinicalTrials.gov (No. NCT04094168). The study protocol has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda University Hospital and was approved by the Spanish Medicines and Health Products Agency (AEMPS).
This clinical trial will be carried out under conditions of respect for the fundamental rights of the person and the ethical principles that affect biomedical research with human beings, as well as in accordance with international recommendations contained in the Declaration of Helsinki and its subsequent revisions. Likewise, national recommendations will be followed in accordance with the guidelines of the AEMPS.
Participants will receive information, both orally and in writing, regarding the manner in which the study will be carried out, the study aims, possible risks that may arise from the study, and the rules that must be observed during the follow-up period. If the patient fulfils the inclusion criteria and agrees to participate in the study, she or he will provide written informed consent; providing consent will not prevent the patient from withdrawing such consent and abandoning the study at any time and for any reason.
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the study will be available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
The inclusion process started in 2018. Data cleaning and analyses are expected to take place in the fall of 2020 and the results are expected in January 2021.
This study is expected to expand knowledge of DNS in adult cardiac surgery. DNS is assumed to be beneficial in terms of myocardial protection, and it is expected to corroborate a reduction in VF after declamping the aorta and in the number of defibrillations. Also, it is presumed to result in a reduction in postoperative troponin levels and inotropic support for low cardiac output syndrome. Although it is not the main objective of the study, the trial will provide information regarding the benefits of DNS in high-risk subpopulations, such as elderly patients and those with longer periods of cross-clamping or low ventricular ejection fraction.
This study is particularly relevant as it will be the first to analyze the clinical effects of del Nido cardioplegia on the basis of direct myocardial protection parameters. Although the meta-analysis published in 2017 highlighted some clinical benefits in favor of del Nido cardioplegia, there was a fundamental limitation, which is that data collection was based on retrospective studies.
Further published prospective studies also failed to focus their primary objectives on the analysis of the possible clinical effects of del Nido cardioplegia. Ad et al analyzed the postoperative troponin peak and the need for electrical cardioversion after aortic cross-clamp release in a population of 89 patients; in addition to its small sample size, this study excluded high-risk patients over 80 years of age, and the data showed short aortic clamp times [10].
Sanetra et al analyzed troponin peak and electrical activity after aortic cross-clamp release in a population of 150 patients undergoing aortic valve replacement. All clinical outcomes detailed in the study were part of the secondary objectives. Likewise, they excluded from their analysis reoperated patients with ejection fractions under 30% or with coronary artery disease susceptible to percutaneous interventionism or surgery [11].
In light of the above studies, carrying out prospective studies based on primary clinical objectives with a larger sample, high-risk patients, and longer cardiopulmonary bypass times continues to be necessary [12]. We believe that our study addresses an important gap in the knowledge of del Nido cardioplegia in adult patient cardiac surgery and will be able to clarify the possible benefits of this method in a large population of patients undergoing these procedures.
Strengths and Limitations of This Study
This clinical trial has several strengths. The calculated sample size is large and includes elderly patients with a history of ventricular dysfunction. It does not exclude complex procedures that may involve longer cardiopulmonary bypass times.
The trial also has some limitations. Although surgical procedures will be performed by different surgeons, the single-center design may generate external validation problems. The exclusion of emergent interventions and of patients with preoperative vasoactive support also limits extrapolation of results to unstable patients.
In developing the methodology, we have aimed to reduce bias as much as possible. The compilation of other myocardial protection variables has been fundamental in addressing bias.
We kindly acknowledge the contributions by Dr Luis Gajate in the development of the methodology of this trial. Researchers and collaborators do not receive any kind of financial compensation. All economic aspects related to the clinical trial are reflected in a contract between the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda University Hospital (la Fundación de Investigación Biomédica del Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro de Majadahonda, in Spanish) and the promoter of the study (AFG).
JGS designed the study. SS and DML performed the literature search. Discrepancies were discussed with JGS, JGF, and AFG. LRG recorded the intraoperative data. JGS and AFG were the major contributors in writing this manuscript. All the authors participated in the design of the study and read, commented upon, and approved the final manuscript.
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Vázquez A, Favieres C, Pérez M, Valera F, Torregrosa S, Doñate L, et al. Del Nido cardioplegia: A safe, effective and cheap myocardial protection strategy [Article in Spanish]. Cirugía Cardiovascular 2015 Nov;22(6):287-293 [FREE Full text] [CrossRef]
Ataka K, Chen D, Levitsky S, Jimenez E, Feinberg H. Effect of aging on intracellular Ca2+, pHi, and contractility during ischemia and reperfusion. Circulation 1992 Nov;86(5 Suppl):II371-II376. [Medline]
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Yerebakan H, Sorabella RA, Najjar M, Castillero E, Mongero L, Beck J, et al. Del Nido cardioplegia can be safely administered in high-risk coronary artery bypass grafting surgery after acute myocardial infarction: A propensity matched comparison. J Cardiothorac Surg 2014 Oct 30;9:141 [FREE Full text] [CrossRef] [Medline]
Sorabella RA, Akashi H, Yerebakan H, Najjar M, Mannan A, Williams MR, et al. Myocardial protection using del Nido cardioplegia solution in adult reoperative aortic valve surgery. J Card Surg 2014 Jul;29(4):445-449 [FREE Full text] [CrossRef] [Medline]
Li Y, Lin H, Zhao Y, Li Z, Liu D, Wu X, et al. Del Nido cardioplegia for myocardial protection in adult cardiac surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis. ASAIO J 2018;64(3):360-367. [CrossRef] [Medline]
Ad N, Holmes SD, Massimiano PS, Rongione AJ, Fornaresio LM, Fitzgerald D. The use of del Nido cardioplegia in adult cardiac surgery: A prospective randomized trial. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2018 Mar;155(3):1011-1018 [FREE Full text] [CrossRef] [Medline]
Sanetra K, Gerber W, Shrestha R, Domaradzki W, Krzych Ł, Zembala M, et al. The del Nido versus cold blood cardioplegia in aortic valve replacement: A randomized trial. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2020 Jun;159(6):2275-2283.e1. [CrossRef] [Medline]
Lazar HL. Del Nido cardioplegia: Passing fad or here to stay? J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2018 Mar;155(3):1009-1010 [FREE Full text] [CrossRef] [Medline]
AEMPS: Spanish Medicines and Health Products Agency
CONSORT: Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials
DNS: del Nido cardioplegia solution
ECMO: extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
EudraCT: European Union Drug Regulating Authorities Clinical Trials Database
IABC: intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation
ICU: intensive care unit
VF: ventricular fibrillation
VT: ventricular tachycardia
Edited by G Eysenbach; submitted 15.01.20; peer-reviewed by H Mufti, J Valenzuela; comments to author 29.03.20; revised version received 16.04.20; accepted 20.04.20; published 14.07.20
©Jessica Garcia-Suarez, Javier Garcia Fernandez, Sergio Sanz, Daniel Martinez Lopez, Leticia Reques, Alberto Forteza Gil. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (http://www.researchprotocols.org), 14.07.2020.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Research Protocols, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on http://www.researchprotocols.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.
Garcia-Suarez J, Garcia Fernandez J, Sanz S, Martinez Lopez D, Reques L, Forteza Gil A
doi: 10.2196/17826 PMID: 32673265 PMCID: 7388037
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Looking back, one can say that the Great War merely accelerated an ongoing trend in female fashion. Women, particularly younger women, were rejecting the constraining clothing that prevented them from playing tennis with comfort, going swimming without being drowned by the weight of a bathing costume or even not being allowed to breathe easily. It was the well to do woman who suffered the most from society's dictates that women be subjected to physically torturous clothing that impacted their health, while lower class women could wear more comfortable clothes to work in the fields and clean the homes of the rich and powerful. Combine the discomfort of suffering the socially required clothing with the fifty years long suffrage campaign in Europe and America and the opportunities to work like men often in trousers, by the end of the War, a large population of women wanted to be liberated—freed from their confining clothes and from limiting political restraints. For over fifty years, design movements in Europe and American had attempted to "reform" dress and women had demanded the right to wear comfortable pants, so they could do simple activities that men took for granted, like riding a bicycle.
Before the Great War, some designers created fashions that covered the women's body but freed her from the weight of twenty-five pounds of hot undergarments. French designer, Paul Poiret tantalized wealthy and fashionable women with soft and loose harem pants, and the Austrian artist, Gustave Klimt (1862-1918), working with designer, Emile Flöge (1874-1952), created soft and loose dresses that flowed without internal construction. But these were gradual and gentle changes, worn only by the most fashion forward and avant-garde women. However, after the War, women, who had tasted freedom and mobility of movement in the service of their countries, refused to go back in time. They wanted to vote and they wanted clothes that referenced their new-found freedoms. The future had arrived and the New Woman, as she was called, had also arrived. The New Woman, a new version of the feminine, a fashion-conscious icon sometimes termed a "flapper," is famous even today, but it is important to recognize how radical this new human design was: The New Woman had to be created from top to bottom and from head to toe.
Four years later after Villemard's fancifully futuristically 1910 illustrative excursion into the twenty-first century, the Great War changed the world. Everything had to be transformed into the modern. Architects and designers rose to the challenge, but becoming modern meant more than merely redesigning old objects or re-imaging the new home. Being "modern" had to extend to people was well, after all the war had changed people too, no least of all women. But becoming "modern" was a process, a new whole that consisted of multiple parts. Each change demanded another alteration, no detail was too small to be overlooked. Incrementally, during a four-year period, women were inextricably altered, one adjustment after another, one change at a time. Their lives were transformed when men left home and hearth and job sites for military service and women capably occupied the emptied spaces. Joining the Women's Land Army, adult women became "Land Girls," who toiled in agricultural positions, women made bombs in factories, women went down into the mines. In none of these jobs were long skirts, big hair and tight corsets even remotely useful. These women were, for the most part, lower class women, but even the upper-class women who flocked into nursing positions to care for the wounded had to shorten their skirts so they could move swiftly and cleanly from patient to patient.
The uniform for female yeomen/yeowomen, who served during the Great War can serve as a signifier for a social phenomenon that impacted women. Women were called upon to serve their country, as if they were citizens equal to the men. In that capacity, as patriots, women elevated their public presence and placed the nations in their debt. It is no coincidence that after the War, in many nations, women were "given" the right to vote and other civil rights. The "uniforms" these women wore, whether they were clothes adopted from males or adapted for men's jobs, were more than mere changes of custumes. The military uniforms–and there were many—worn by women in the Great War—were signs that a mental landscape about "women's place" was changing. Despite prejudice and bigotry from males, women resisted the campaigns of intimidation, whether on the factory floor or the fields of the farms or the deck of a ship, and stood their ground and did their part. Society was slower to absorb this sea change in group thinking but women would not forget their independence and their sudden agency in the absence of men. Interestingly, neither the return of the veterans nor the tide of time would push the women back again and women faced a new question: who are we now that the twentieth century is here?
After the Great War the project of remaking the nineteenth century woman into the twentieth century woman was undertaken mainly by women themselves and by their need to re-create themselves as "Modern Women." This total make-over from old to new unfolded in two parts and in two places. Without minimizing important efforts in Germany and England, it can be said that the Parisian designers, often following the lead of Coco Chanel, designed the new clothes for the new woman, while it was the endlessly inventive Americans who engineered the modifications necessary for the modern female to wear innovative French fashions. New Woman had to be redesigned from top to bottom, from side to side. She needed new hair, makeup, different clothes and shoes and she had to reshape her body, even acquire new habits of grooming to achieve this new look of the modern. All the elements had to go together, each change tripped another alteration, leading to yet another difference until finally She emerged, like a butterfly from a very old and pointless cocoon.


text:
Before we get to our scheduled post, here's a holiday greeting from Silverbelle Babsje:
Dear Stephen
Wishing you, your wife, loved ones, and everyone in The Jungle a very Happy Holiday Season – Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and even Festivus, too.
Your holiday updates on the blog this week have been a delight to read.
May 2023 bring each of you happiness, joy, health, peace and prosperity.
Take care, be well, and Happy Holidays!
Babsje
Great Blue Heron Fledgling Greetings Nbr 2 – babsjeheron
Where We Are … (Hannah)
Here's what we see from the hotel balcony. Italians are not big breakfast eaters. Their idea of a breakfast feast is a roll and ten cups of expresso. I recommend going with room service so you take in the view of the Amalfi Coast.
Afterwards most of us decided to take advantage of the hotel spa. It's a modest little affair by Italian standards;
Since it's Christmas Eve, we're taking a quick sleigh ride to Rome where we'll take in the sights, and eat until we're about the burst. For the Catholics among us, there are special VIP tickets to the Midnight Vigil with Pope Frances at St. Peter's Basilica.
Pope Francis leads the Christmas Eve mass in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican
REUTERS/Max Rossi
What We Eat … (Sandy)
GINGER SNAPS FOR SANTA
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
I am told that Santa especially looks forward to his stop at the Goldrick's house in Springhill, Florida where he leaves not a crumb on the plate of ginger snaps next to the tree. Making these cookies at Christmastime with their maternal great grandmother's recipe is a family tradition for my grandchildren Tully and Cassie and their mother Heather.
1½ cups sugar
¾ cups shortening
¼ cup light molasses
1 tsp cloves
Using an electric mixer, gradually add 1 cup of the sugar to the shortening, creaming well until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes).
Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt.
Blend in the molasses and egg.
At low speed, add the flour mixture, beating until just well mixed.
Refrigerate the dough for one hour.
Pinch off pieces of cookie dough and shape into 1¼-inch balls. Roll in sugar.
Bake at 350' for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
What We Listen To … (Jacob)
Run DMC. Christmas in Hollis
Another song that I'm not sick of, maybe because we didn't hear this song on the radio growing up in Vermont too often.
What Makes us Laugh … (Patrick)
There comes a time on Christmas Eve when things just slow down, and the world becomes quiet. All is calm, all is bright. I use this time to think about what I call the true meaning of Christmas. I can't really express it in words, so I'll just let this video do it for me:
What Amuses Us (Whitney)
There is no shortage of cheesy holiday rom-coms to choose from, from the cadre of unexceptional Hallmark Channel procedurals to classics like Holiday Inn. For me, the best of the bunch is the mega-ensemble British take, Love Actually. It never fails to make me both laugh and cry. The music throughout is pitch-perfect and clever, the songs as well as the score. And it has Mr. Bean! I watch it every year and it never gets old.
What Makes Us Family (Stephen)
In 2015 Jake and Whitney came to spend Christmas with us in Vermont. I can't remember why, but Patrick had to stay in Brooklyn by himself. The four of us went to the traditional family homestead in West Brookfield to attend the annual Christmas Eve service at the West Brookfield Meeting House. It's massive hulk of a structure that has been serving the community since 1839. Lit by kerosene lamps and candles, decorated by evergreens, and
The full story, first published in Vermont Magazine in 2012, appears following the video as do the song lyrics. Two notes of explanation. The reference to having "lived through the end of the world" refers to the end of the Mayan calendar which occurred just days before Christmas Eve, but was widely rumored to be a cataclysmic event. "Bob Small" was the lay minister who presided over the service for many years. He had a lovely tenor voice and took great pride in ending the service with his solo singing of O Holy Night. He passed away a few years before this song was written.
Here Jake, Whitney, and I do an impromptu rendition, while Patrick looks on glumly from Brooklyn.
Sharing West Brookfield's Cathedral of Wood
Stephen Morris
If there is a sacred moment for the residents of West Bookfield, it is during the singing of Silent Night at the end of the nonsectarian Christmas Eve service in the spare, 1839 wooden church building.
There's no glitter, no flashing lights. The space is sparsely decorated with greens, the cold of winter barely fended off by the heat from the Sargent, Roundy & Osgood woodstove made a hundred years ago in nearby Randolph. The only light is from candles and a kerosene chandelier. A child takes a candle and passes the flame. It continues, one by one, until each person is illuminated by a single flame. The space flickers in communal light. Little has changed since 1839.
It's Christmas in Vermont
West Brookfield is set on a dirt crossroads between towns. It features a dozen homes in a high valley dominated by a family-owned dairy farm.
Most of the structures were built in the 1800s. Of note are the one-room schoolhouse, and the white, clapboard church that is just the right scale for the union of human and spiritual life.
These are tough times for churches in rural Vermont. Aging congregations in combination with scandals, lawsuits, and changing attitudes towards spirituality have resulted in a declin-
ing need for the structures built to serve yesteryear's needs. Moreover, maintaining these graceful masterpieces can be expensive and challenging.
This challenge was faced, and met, by a coalition of community members who in 2010 purchased (for a nominal sum) the structure from the Congregational Church of Christ with the intention of repurposing it as a community center.
"West Brookfield doesn't really need this building as a place of worship," said a church representative, "but it does need it as a community center."
Forming a viable and sustainable community organization is a challenge anywhere, but especially in a small, rural community with widely diverse economic and social interests. In the case of West Brookfield the community includes white collar professionals, retirees from the Flatlands, elderly Vermonters living on fixed incomes, young families struggling to make ends meet, idealistic organic farmers, and conventional dairy farmers coping with impossibly low milk prices.
To the credit of local residents, differences were cast aside and a non-profit organization was created to keep the building viable. Several times a year residents gather for work parties to tend to maintenance and grounds, and the center hosts a variety of events from concerts to potlucks and the signature event, the Christmas Eve service. Nearly eight years since its reincarnation as a community center, all is calm and all is bright in West Brookfield.
In an email dispatch to members of the community, Tina O'Donnell, who seems to be centrally involved in all-things-West-Brookfield notes that "another Christmas Eve is right around the corner. This year's celebration will begin a half hour earlier, at 6:30 pm in order to give kids and their parents some extra time to prepare for Santa."
A glance at the program is filled with recognizable names. Lynn Wakefield will light a fire in that ancient woodstove in the morning and the austere wooden meeting house will be further-warmed with decorative swags on the doors, a Christmas tree, and, of course, the community gathered inside.
Soon school kids will fill the hall with "Jingle Bells" and "Up on the Housetop" followed by performances by carolers and fiddlers and story tellers, all of whom are local, volunteer, and uniquely connected to the community.
The public is invited to what O'Donnell calls "our cathedral of wood," a reference to a carol written by a former resident, first performed in 2012, just after the supposed "end of the world" that some thought was portended by the termination of the Mayan calendar.
The world did not end, however, and the flame burns brightly in the simple yet elegant structure that at 6:30 pm on Christmas Eve is guaranteed to be filled with soft light, the smell of evergreens, and the spiritual warmth of friends and family.
Cathedral of Wood
It's late in December, the Solstice has passed, we've lived through the end of the world.
The geese have flown South, and we're praying for snow.
We're glad that the kids have returned.
We're done with the stockings, the packages wrapped, we've wished all our colleagues good cheer.
So from this perspective the world's looking good as we share this Cathedral of Wood.
Fa-la-la … Joy to the World
Fa-la-la … Midnight Clear
Fa-la-la … Let's All Deck the Halls
We gather to celebrate holidays here.
Pond Village to Snowsville, we all heed the call. We may have our different gods.
But for the time being we gather as one, to raise up our voices in song.
The hills of West Brookfield are silent as night. Candles and stoves are aglow.
But from this perspective the world's looking good as we share this Cathedral of Wood.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
December 23 …. 2 Days Until Christmas
December 25 … It's Christmas!
One thought on "Christmas Eve"
Geoffrey says:
Brilliant read, best to all of you and Merry Christmas❤

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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College Credits: Batavia HS Grad Continues Soccer Career In College
BATAVIA, IL — We're keeping track of all the major higher education accomplishments of students in the area. Send your submissions to [email protected]
Batavia High School grad to continue soccer career at Baldwin Wallace University
Caitlin Callahan, a Batavia High School grad, is one of eight first-year student-athletes to continue their women's soccer career at Baldwin Wallace University.
Coach Wojtkun, who is in his sixth season, returns 19 letterwinners, three All-Ohio Athletic Conference players and 11 Academic All-OAC selections from last year's squad that posted an overall record of 11-10 and a 5-4 mark in the OAC. The Yellow Jackets advanced to the OAC Tournament semifinals.
— Merit Page News
Batavia student makes Carthage College dean's list
Carthage College has named Emily Remillard from Batavia, IL, to its dean's list for academic excellence during the spring 2022 semester.
Dean's list honors are accorded to Carthage students who achieve a minimum 3.5 grade-point average while carrying at least 14 credit hours during a semester.
Gabriela Allison named to dean's list at University of Maryland Global Campus
Gabriela Allison of Batavia was named to the Dean's List for the spring semester at the University of Maryland Global Campus. To be eligible for the honor, a student must complete at least six credits during the term, earn a grade point average of at least 3.5 for the term and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.5 at UMGC.
Emerson College student of Batavia earns dean's list nod
Hailey Haddon of Batavia (60510) earned Dean's List honors for the Spring 2022 semester at Emerson College.
The requirement to make Dean's List is a grade point average of 3.7 or higher for that semester.
Haddon is majoring in Political Communication and is a member of the Class of 2025.
Batavia student graduates from Wheaton College
Wheaton College congratulates May 2022 graduate Alison Elizabeth Reed, of Batavia, IL graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Theology Studies.
Wheaton College graduates join a worldwide network of 45,000 alumni. Learn more at alumni.wheaton.edu.
Sydney Perry a 'trailblazer' for Batavia
3D imaging of Batavia shipwreck silverware uncovers new insights into 17th century shipping trade


Worksheet Design: 41 Free English Worksheets For Kids Image Ideas. English Worksheets Printable. Math Worksheets Grade 1. Free English Worksheets For Kids Grammar Games Printable. Free English Worksheets Grade 1 5 4. Free English Worksheets For Kids 3rd Grade Math Games.
Friday 19th, October 2018 11:12:45: AM, Worksheet Design.
Thoughts on 41 Free English Worksheets For Kids Image Ideas?


The number of businesses fined by The Pensions Regulator (TPR) for auto-enrolment errors increased by 144 per cent in 2017/18, according to data from EMW.
There were a total of 35,810 businesses fined in 2017/18, up from 14,650 in 2016/17.
The value of auto-enrolment fines totalled £42m in 2017/18, more than triple the £12.6m of fines in 2016/17.
EMW suggested that the increase in the number of fines is partially due to the expansion of the auto-enrolment pension regime to cover smaller businesses, not just large- and medium-sized firms.
Furthermore, the complexity of auto-enrolment schemes means that smaller businesses without in-house HR departments are at greater risk of making errors when attempting to auto-enrol staff.
However, the rise in fines does not necessarily mean that employers are deliberately avoiding auto-enrolling staff, as businesses can be also fined for not providing TPR with regular data and salary updates.
This is particularly a problem for the smaller firms, as larger companies often use specialist payroll software or an accountant to calculate pension payments, whereas smaller businesses may not have the same resources.
EMW principal, Jon Taylor, commented: "The sharp rise in the number of fines by suggests that SME's are having real problems keeping on top of complex auto-enrolment schemes.
Auto-enrolment errors can become increasingly costly for employers if they go unreported for an extended period of time.
The number of fines for auto-enrolment errors has been steadily increasing since it was introduced, from 382 in 2014/15, to 1,904 in 2015/16 before increasing further in 2016/17 and 2017/18.


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Dedicated to keeping Charleston Lake beautiful in every way.
Join Our Association
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Conservation Authorities need your help before Nov 30th, 2020
ACTION: Email your MPP (using this link)
Charleston Lake Association Letter to Steve Clark, MPP, regarding Uncertain Environmental Regulatory and the Roles and Responsibilities of Conservation Authority. Click here
Retain the current mandate of the Province's 36 Conservation Authorities
On November 5th, the Government of Ontario revealed its plans to severely curtail the role of Conservation Authorities in watershed planning and management. Schedule 6 of omnibus Budget Bill 229 proposes numerous changes to the Conservation Authorities Act (CAA) that will undermine efforts to conserve biodiversity and build community resilience to climate change.
The Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) has prepared a preliminary analysis of Schedule 6, outlining the proposed changes and their implications. Among the key concerns identified are:
Narrowing of the scope and powers of Conservation Authorities, impeding the achievement of the overall purpose of the CAA, which is to "provide for the organization and delivery of programs and services that further the conservation, restoration, development and management of natural resources in watersheds in Ontario;"
Restricting the duties of Conservation Authorities' members so that they no longer must act to further the watershed-based mandates of the Conservation Authorities, but rather can act only on behalf of the narrower interests of their respective municipalities;
Reducing the ability of Conservation Authorities to act as independent public bodies in land use planning, including removing their ability to seek to appeal municipal planning decisions;
Introducing new rights for developers to force fast-tracking of development approvals and to appeal decisions they do not like, without providing the same opportunity to citizens who may wish to challenge decisions that damage the environment; and
Giving the Minister new power to overturn a conservation authority's decision to refuse to issue a permit for development.
Alarmingly, the proposed changes were introduced as part of a budget bill, which means that the public's right to comment under the Environmental Bill of Rights is over-ridden, as explained in the Environmental Registry of Ontario notice (ERO # 019-2646).
Ontario's Conservation Authorities are a unique and widely respected innovation.
The vital role of our Conservation Authorities in watershed-based land use planning and permitting must be retained to prevent unchecked development that puts communities at risk from flooding and other climate change impacts through loss of wetlands, woodlands and farmland.
Please join Ontario Nature in asking the government to withdraw Schedule 6 in its entirety from Bill 229.
If possible, please try to speak directly with your MPP to ask that Schedule 6 be removed. Use this tool to find their contact information based on your postal code.
Given how quickly Bill 229 is likely to move through the Legislature, we need to act together – quickly and decisively.
Ontario Nature: https://ontarionature.good.do/conservationauthorities/send/?v=212a259f
Media Articles:
https://bayobserver.ca/2020/11/13/pushback-on-changes-to-conservation-authority-act/
https://www.napaneetoday.ca/2020/11/19/cataraqui-conservation-joins-opposition-to-conservation-authorities-act-changes/
https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-42/session-1/bill-229
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2020/11/11/news/ford-government-take-powers-away-conservation-authorities
https://www.simcoereformer.ca/news/local-news/conservation-authorities-call-for-halt-to-governments-planned-changes/wcm/6ee2c08e-0f4e-4e24-9803-a1ebe744176d https://www.iheartradio.ca/92-3-the-dock/news-trending/ontario-communities-put-at-risk-by-changes-to-conservation-authorities-act-1.13986335
https://www.bradfordtoday.ca/local-news/governments-radical-changes-bad-for-lake-simcoe-and-province-critics-say-2891819
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/11/11/the-developers-are-all-in-control-new-rules-by-doug-fords-provincial-government-will-limit-the-power-of-conservation-authorities-sparking-fears-for-the-environment.html
https://www.nvca.on.ca/Pages/Proposed-changes-to-Conservation-Authorities-Act-and-Planning-Act-puts-people,-property-and-our-environment-at-risk.aspx
https://www.thewhig.com/news/local-news/conservation-authorities-call-for-halt-to-governments-planned-changes
https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2020/11/23/halton-leaders-fight-back-against-conservation-authority-changes-from-province.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/grca-conservation-authorities-act-1.5810291


We're actively recruiting new agents to add to our group of highly skilled individuals. Contact us today about joining our sales team and taking your real estate career to the next level. We're excited about meeting qualified applicants, and our interviews are confidential.


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[<< wikinews] New South Wales Premier criticised over government structure
The newly-installed leader of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, has come in for harsh criticism on the structure of his government and cabinet. Coalition Premier Barry O'Farell swore in his cabinet on Sunday, but it has already been criticised for not including Ministers for Youth, Climate Change, or Volunteering.
O'Farrell was also attacked by NSW Greens MP Cate Faehrmann for dismembering the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water. Ms Feahrmann told the Sydney Morning Herald the cuts were "laughable", and warned of "drastic cuts and a dramatic weakening of environmental protection standards and laws".
NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson accused the new Premier of pandering to the Shooters and Fishers Party, telling the Sydney Morning Herald that the changes threatened environmental protection in NSW: "Former Labor premier Bob Carr established over 300 national parks in NSW and every one of those parks is now at risk," he said.
O'Farrell had earlier announced responsibility for National Parks and the Environmental Protection Agency would be absorbed by his Department of Premier and Cabinet.
The ABC reported Premier O'Farrell had denied the move would reduce his government's ability to manage environmental issues. The Premier is quoted as saying: "People need to reserve judgement until they see the way in which we operate rather than simply react to the hysterical claims".
O'Farrell's Liberal-led Coalition swept to power on March 26, 2011 after sixteen years of Labor rule in NSW. They have 66 seats in the NSW Legislative Assembly, to Labor's 20.
== Sources ==
Sean Nicholls, Alexandra Smith. "O'Farrell slices up land care control" — Sydney Morning Herald, April 4, 2011
"O'Farrell pandering to Shooters: Robertson" — Sydney Morning Herald, April 4, 2011
"O'Farrell accused of abandoning environment" — Australian Broadcasting Corporation, April 4, 2011


Oh my god, I am OBSESSED. I love plants and I love pendants, and before now, I didn't really think the two would meet.
SO so so lovely. I want them all! They are surprisingly affordable too, priced at about £30 each. You can choose the length of the necklace chain (and for some you can pick if you want gold or silver), and they also do personalised pieces, which would be such a lovely gift.
I love the Dandelion necklace, I just had to buy one - can't wait for it to arrive!
Oh my goodness I NEED these!
Oh, I really LOVE the dandelion one.


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The Phrase 'Torture Porn' Needs to Die Already, Because We're Butchering It
The term "torture porn" has been used and abused since David Edelstein coined it in his review of Hostel back in 2006, referring to, among other things, the "money shots" he believes horror fans flock to theaters to see. What seemed a nebulous concept from the beginning (did Edelstein mean to imply that horror fans were getting some form of sexual pleasure from scenes of graphic violence? or was he merely incorporating the word "porn" as a condescending pejorative?) has morphed into something completely meaningless over the years, a phrase thrown by critics and detractors at any horror movie they simply don't like. In a world where "shoe porn," "food porn," and "real estate porn" exist, I know I shouldn't be sensitive about this inane phrase, but as a habitual watcher of horror, I am.
Take Goodnight Mommy, a German horror film that recently picked up quite a bit of hype on the festival trail, for instance. It's the story of twin brothers who are convinced that their mother, recovering at home from reconstructive surgery after an ambiguous accident, is not really their mother. It's a simple, human story, beautifully rendered and filled with evocative images that capture the characters' feelings and simultaneously unnerve the viewer. It's just barely a horror movie, though; more of a drama or psychological thriller, it's merely peppered with some of the signposts of horror. One of those signposts, however, is literally a scene in which one character is tortured.
Cue the outraged and operatic cries of "torture porn," in one of the cases where I truly - if naively - didn't see it coming. To be clear, I'm not entirely sure that there is a valid use for the term. However, if I were to apply it to any movie, I suppose I'd apply it to movies like those in the Saw franchise, where torture and gore has become the raison d'etre of the film itself, in lieu of plot or characterization. How that is different from most of the slashers and exploitation films of the seventies and eighties (many of which are revered today), I'm not sure. (Edelstein claims that in those older movies, the characters were "interchangeable" and "expendable," and the characters in these newer "torture porn" movies are not. It's the first time I've seen anyone consider good writing a detriment.) Goodnight Mommy is just the "torture porn" witch of the moment; I could point to at least ten other films that have been stamped with that moniker time and again, and give at least ten reasons why I disagree with each instance.
Although there is literal torture shown in Goodnight Mommy, I would not – could not – categorize the
movie as "torture porn." The torture scene was intense and difficult to watch, certainly – at one point I actually said out loud, "I can't handle this!" while throwing my hands in front of my eyes, albeit briefly – but I find myself hard-pressed to claim that the violence was gratuitous, assuming one is even remotely aware of the conventions of the horror genre and the methods used to elicit emotion therein. Rather, the violence was present in service of the story it was telling. I won't go into details for fear of giving too much away, but the film deals with difficult subjects, from grief to paranoia and beyond, and horror has long been one medium for exploring those dark subjects. Perhaps it's not the medium everyone would choose to examine those issues, but does that make the attempt, or the feelings it does manage to provoke, any less valid?
Edelstein, and many others, might very well say yes. The people who most often toss around the term "torture porn" are those who typically don't like, "get," or even watch horror films, and so I'm not sure those people could ever understand the movies they're intent on dismissing. Edelstein declares, "As potential victims, we fear serial killers, yet we also seek to identify with their power." I can't speak for other horror fans, but I find that statement laughably off the mark. The truth is, even I'm not sure I know every reason I enjoy being scared, but I do know that it's not because I like to play-act at being a murderer. The fact that so many watchers and lovers of horror are women also points at a larger reality Edelstein is missing. That he would assume to project his own desire for power and need to identify with the killer onto others seems symptomatically male. He fails to consider that viewers, especially women, may identify with the feelings of powerlessness and subjection expressed by the victims, but in a far more manageable way than we are forced to do in daily life.
I like watching things that challenge me, that make me face uncomfortable truths in uncomfortable ways. I like films that force others to face my uncomfortable truths, the truths I identify with but am afraid to speak aloud. I like things that make my heart beat fast, that make me squirm, that make jump out of my seat and run for cover. And I know that after watching a particularly intense horror film, I'm left feeling a kind of relief. It is cathartic, in a way, to feel completely horrified and paralyzed for a concise amount of time, and then be able to turn off the television and walk away.
But that catharsis is of an entirely different sort than the "money shot" Edelstein spoke of in his pivotal review. That's fine; his experience with horror is rooted in detached moralism. Mine is rooted in my humanity, no matter how messy or offensive you may find it.
Posted by Claire at 8:58 AM No comments:
Labels: essays, torture, torture porn
When A Twist Isn't A Twist: Why You Should Plow Through Anyway
There's a Portlandia sketch about spoilers: four people at a dinner party can't mutually talk about TV shows for fear of "spoiling" the plot twists for the other guests. The sketch spirals further and further into ridiculousness, as each guest outlines exactly how far they are into various popular series, thus dictating what everyone else is allowed to talk about until no one can talk about anything at all.
This sketch came to mind back when I was watching Goodnight Mommy, a German horror film with a "twist" ending that everyone and his brother lamented for being too obvious, and again as I watched Suspension, part of the 8 Films to Die For released last Friday. The former is a fantastic film, but since I've written about it here before, I'm going to focus on the latter.
Emily MacNevin in Suspension.
Suspension is about a high school girl, Emily (Ellen MacNevin), whose father committed some heinous murders in their small town and is now locked up in a mental ward. Within the first scene we learn that Emily is attempting to deal with her tragic past by drawing a gruesome graphic novel of sorts, in which her father is the main character, on the loose and killing again. Unbeknownst to Emily, however, everything she draws in her sketchbook seems to be coming true in the real world.
Suspension telegraphs its "twist" ending within the first fifteen minutes with a single bit of clumsy dialogue. I can't definitively say whether the filmmakers meant to make the endgame so clear from the beginning, but based on an interview I recently heard with one of them, I'd hazard to guess that they know it's fairly obvious, but that making it obvious was not their original intention. With that in mind, I have to ask: Does it really matter?
Granted, we all love to be shocked by a truly great twist. I remember the first time I saw The Sixth Sense, back when twist endings weren't nearly as abundant as they are now, and it seemed like the entire world was taken by surprise by Bruce Willis's ghostly revelation. Didn't we all go back through the movie, picking it apart for clues? In fact, the movie itself did a lot of the work for us, treating us like the babes in the twist-ending-woods we were and providing flashbacks of all the evidence we failed to notice the first time around. Today, however, audiences are much savvier and harder to fool. It's been a long while since a movie has managed to pull the wool over my eyes until the very end.
So although I'm never not jonesing for a film with a truly unpredictable ending, it's necessarily become far less important to me than the content and effectiveness of the film overall. Because even if a film surprises you with its finale, it's never going to hold up to a second or third watch if the quality of story isn't there. Which brings me back to Suspension.
As I said, I'd wager that Suspension gives its ending away for most seasoned horror watchers within a few minutes. For me, though, I kind of considered it a blessing that it was so apparent, because I didn't have to waste all my energy looking for clues to bolster my hypothesis. While that can be fun, so many good movies get the guts of their stories glossed over and ignored by audiences doing just that. Then, when their theory turns out to be correct, they complain about it being too obvious and never bother to rewatch the movie for what it is – which is, hopefully, more than just a twist ending.
And Suspension is more than its twist: it's a fun, nasty little horror movie with a lot of heart, some good acting, and some great campy moments. It caught my eye because of the graphic novel angle – which made for some cool scenes, especially at the beginning – and kept my attention throughout, regardless of the fact that I knew what was coming. Ellen MacNevin is excellent as the lead (she gave me some serious Angela Bettis vibes, which is definitely a compliment), and it's her story that matters through the whole movie, not just where it ends up. The gore and effects are also on-point and a lot of fun, making for a movie that I'm not sorry to have paid to see (which is more than I can say for some of the other horror movies I've spent money on lately). It's not a perfect film, and I might argue that it would have been better had the filmmakers not tried to conceal the ending at all, but its twist, or lack thereof, had little to nothing to do with my assessment or enjoyment of it.
Our culture's obsession with spoilers - and the spoiler's mother, the twist - has become a bit of a detriment to film and television alike. Sure, we all love to be surprised (the exponential growth of the subscription box industry testifies to that – even as adults, we all clamor at the chance to pay for a shiny new package to open without knowing what's inside), but relying solely on shock value to make a story interesting, or demanding a shocking ending above all else… seems childish, and beside the point. Good storytelling, period, should be the point. As audience members, it's also our duty to recognize and reward that when we see it, rather than whine about the fact that we got exactly what we asked for on Christmas morning.
Labels: essays, graphic novels, psychological, reviews, slasher
31 Horror Films in 31 Days Challenge - The First Half Highlights
[View the story "#31HorrorFilms31Days Challenge - The First Half" on Storify]
The #31HorrorFilms31Days Challenge is halfway over! In case you haven't been following along on Twitter, you can scroll through the slideshow above to see what I've been watching these last couple weeks (make sure to mouse over the images to see what I had to say about each one). To sum up...
The Good. Highlights so far have been Lyle (full review here), The Final Girls, and Crystal Lake Memories (a doc about all the Friday the 13th movies that I'd never seen before). Lyle is a small slice of modern (dare I say feminist?) horror inspired by Rosemary's Baby; it's short but packs a wallop and a lot to think about. The Final Girls is a horror comedy that won me over despite being a horror comedy (and that's not easy, let me tell you). Aside from those, nothing new has really stuck with me as of yet, but I did watch a lot of oldies but goodies – some Friday the 13th movies, The House of the Devil, All Cheerleaders Die. Oh, and I finally got to see Witch's Brew, which is a low budget horror comedy my husband has a small part in. So that was fun!
The So-Bad-It's-Good. Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest takes the cake for this category. Storylines include: a strain of corn that can grow in a city plot with terrible soil, out of season no less; an adoptive father who tries to sell said strain of corn to his company; a twelve-year-old who preaches the gospel of He Who Walks Behind the Rows and gets tons of hardened "urban" teenagers to follow him; Charlize Theron getting brutally killed by a corn monster; and basketball. Pure gold.
The Meh. The Blood Lands definitely belongs here. It was a serviceable home invasion movie that reminded me a lot of Them (Ils, in French); sadly, though, it wasn't as suspenseful, and the ending... well, I guess I prefer my endings to be more harrowing than uplifting. As I mentioned in my tweet, I also wasn't a fan of the non-scary pig masks. The Green Inferno also lands squarely in the "meh" for me (full review here).
The Ugly. I deliberated a lot before putting Exeter in this slot… but after much consideration, and despite some lovely, creepy visuals, I have to admit that this movie just didn't do it for me. The kills were cool, but the overall movie wasn't scary at all, and the slick production could only go so far in concealing the fact that this movie had no heart. Knock Knock is also "ugly," but for different reasons. Much like The Green Inferno, I think what Roth was purportedly trying to say and what he did say are two very different things, the latter being fairly nonsensical. However, where I could sort of ignore that and just ride the thrills with The Green Inferno, I found little to enjoy in Knock Knock. It didn't scare me, and it certainly didn't get me clutching my pearls like I'm sure it was meant to. I found the mind games tame, the story muddled, and the tone inconsistent. Sorry, guys!
Tune in two weeks from now for the rest of the challenge results. And let me know in the comments what movies you're watching this October!
Posted by Claire at 10:41 AM No comments:
Labels: #31horrorfilms31days, challenges, final girl
Review: Lyle
Hey ya'll, I have a review of Stewart Thorndike's indie movie Lyle up at The Bloodlust podcast website! Head on over if you want my take on the movie Thorndike calls "Rosemary's Baby with lesbians." And be sure to check out The Bloodlust podcast, too - it's one of my favorites, and a great source for witty, insightful discussions about horror movies from some smart women.
Labels: cults, guest post, indie, psychological, satan
Review: The Green Inferno
To begin with, let me explain that this will be a review of the movie only. I realize that entertainment doesn't exist in a vacuum, but I feel that the various claims of racism and exploitation surrounding the film have been explored by others, and written about far better, than I could hope to do myself. For a rundown of some of those issues, I suggest you visit Amazon Watch. I'll be discussing The Green Inferno purely in terms of its strengths and weaknesses as a piece of horror cinema.
The story centers on Justine (Lorenza Izzo), a naïve college freshmen (and daughter of a United Nations lawyer, conveniently) who takes up the cause of deforestation as much out of a desire to do good as a longing to catch the eye of the charismatic student activist leader, Alejandro (Ariel Levy). She joins the group in the eleventh hour, and is almost immediately whisked away by tiny plane to the Amazonian rainforest to partake in a protest along with Alejandro; his territorial girlfriend, Kara; affable Jonah, who is smitten with Justine; and a slew of other shallowly-written characters.
Surprisingly, despite a few minor life-or-death complications, the group appears successful at stopping a crew from bulldozing an Amazonian tribe's woodland home. As the students toast one another on the plane ride home, though, the plane crashes – directly in the backyard of the tribe they just went to great lengths to save. Unfortunately, the tribespeople don't know about the students' friendly agenda – and it seems unlikely they'd care even if they did – and promptly get down to the business of killing and eating them. Naturally.
The first half hour or so follows Justine around her college campus, introducing the characters to come to slaughter and trafficking in some cringingly wooden acting, which I blame more than anything on clunky writing. It's a strings-exposed setup that's merely there to make the audience question the motivations and ability of these characters, and to move the audience along to the "good stuff" – i.e., the gore.
I don't mind that the characters are stereotypes – the disposable character is a mainstay in horror, for better or worse – so much as I mind that they're the wrong stereotypes. The stoner-slacker-guy, the girls who starve themselves in the name of social justice (but really just want an excuse to be anorexic) - these people, whom Eli Roth has called "slacktivists" in interviews, do exist in the real world and are a real problem, taking up issues they know little about and actively causing harm through their ignorance. The only hitch is that they wouldn't be traveling into the heart of the Amazon to chain themselves to bulldozers; they'd remain in the shelter of their college enclaves, ranting from their safe little soapboxes.
As for Alejandro, he may not turn out to be quite the pious protestor he seems, but if anything, he's more ambitious and worldly than expected. When he says something along the lines of, "The good guys are in bed with the bad guys because it's the only way to get things done," it's actually a chillingly honest statement about how the world - and environmentalism - often works. But this truth doesn't coherently follow with the rest of the story, which is full of mixed and conflicting messages. What is the film really saying? That the students should have kept their idealistic noses out of it, and they deserved to become grisly meals? That the tribe should have simply been allowed to die off? That is, after all, the only other possibility provided within the narrative. Ultimately, Roth's point is so muddled that it seems risible to claim he set out to say anything at all.
All of this is not to say that I didn't enjoy the movie. Once the main characters are in the clutches of the tribe, and the film segues into a straightforward homage to the cannibal horror movies of old, it becomes a far more enjoyable affair. Well, "enjoyable" may not be the word everyone would use to describe watching the slicing and dicing of characters carry out onscreen, but I was relieved to find that Inferno wasn't as stomach churning as I'd feared it would be. Granted, my tolerance for gore is somewhere in the medium-to-high range, and the first cannibal killing is grotesque to the extreme and very difficult to watch. But as far as carnage goes, it's all downhill from there, and the film makes better use of the suspense of imagining what could happen rather than what does happen. It's a fun ride for a while – tempered or heightened somewhat depending on your affinity for toilet humor – as the audience truly has no idea if anyone will make it out of the Amazon alive.
The cinematography in the Amazon is also a feast for the eyes, with the tribespeople painted a blood red that stands out starkly against the sweeping, lush green panoramas. Inferno was filmed farther out in the Amazon than any film before it, a feat that is both fascinating in its backstory and well worth the effort for what ends up onscreen. It's clear that Inferno was a labor of love for Roth, who obviously knows and appreciates his film history and has a lot of talent behind the camera. I only wish he had employed a better writer to iron out some of the glaring story problems.
And there are more snares along the way. A subplot about female genital mutilation is undeniably disturbing and provides a great deal of suspense, but it's completely nonsensical even in the context of a movie so far removed from reality. FGM is a terrifying, dangerous practice, but one that is reserved for members of the tribe or group, typically considered an honor designed to bring a young girl into womanhood. Why would the tribespeople perform this honorific ritual on a "gringo" they clearly plan on eating later? Frankly, there is no logical reason, other than a bid to add a level of horror and anticipation that the filmmaker couldn't conjure up some other way. It works – it was definitely the part I found most unnerving – but at the expense of subjecting three female characters to rape (the women are probed with a sharp object in order to determine the status of their virginity), I'd have preferred not to see it at all.
The ending is a bit of a head scratcher. I won't go into details, but again it struggles to say something – anything – about the ethics of modern activism. However, what it's saying is nearly impossible to decipher within the larger framework of the movie. When all is said and done, Roth would have been better off admitting that The Green Inferno is simply a fun, gory sendup to Cannibal Holocaust and leaving it at that. All the purported social commentary does nothing but make him seem as clueless as his characters and make savvier watchers feel guilty for spending their money on it at all. I think Roth may have a great film in him, and I hope to see it someday. I just don't think this is it.
Posted by Claire at 12:07 PM No comments:
Labels: cannibals, gory, homage, reviews
31 Horror Films in 31 Days Challenge
It's the first day of October! This is my favorite month, for all the obvious reasons, not least of which being the 31 Horror Films in 31 Days Challenge. Started by the always excellent Daniel Kraus, this challenge has been going on for seven years, though last year was my first time participating. You can read the rules here (though they're pretty simple - watch at least 31 horror movies, old or new, between now and Halloween), and follow the hashtag on Twitter here. As usual, I can be followed @ClaireCWrites; I'll be updating my challenge status every day if you want to follow along, and I'll post a roundup of all the movies I watched and what I thought of them at the end of the month! (You can see last year's roundup here.) Not to spoil anything, but today is feeling like a Friday the 13th kind of day...
Are you doing the challenge? Of course you are! Why wouldn't you?
Labels: #31horrorfilms31days, challenges
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Happy Monday! I hope you had a good weekend, and happy belated Mother's Day to all you moms out there! I'm still getting mentally situated (thanks for all your great comments!) and I'm starting to implement some change on this blog so bear with me as posting might be sporadic for the next week or so.
But today I leave you with a picture of my latest obsession. I'm not very good (I eventually have to "resign" from almost all my games), but it's so much fun!
Ack, I get so addicted to games like this! I'm always scared to start a new one, because I KNOW what will happen. But right now, I'm all Angry Birds, all the time.
i am soooooo obsessed with this game right now!! i usually have 5 or 6 games going at once. i'm hopping on twitter right now to send you my ID!
Ha, my younger cousins love this game. The teenagers get really frustrated because they can't play certain words with our youngest cousins (words like "gonads") but I've heard its highly addicting.
I love this game but I'm so horrible I refuse to play! ha! My dad and husband both kept telling me that I "weren't 'mart." LOL!
i want an iphone solely for the purpose of wwf. ok, other reasons too.
ThIS is perfect because most of time people send us things with are not useful, but this is perfect in order to get entertainment, I want someone sends me a message with that game.


text:
KELLY McELROY The Courier
GRAY -- When the school year ended and Latoya Celestin graduated from H.L. Bourgeois, she had more than one simple choice to make.
She not only had to decide where she would go to college, but she also had to choose what sport she would play.
A volleyball player, basketball player and track athlete in high school, Celestin could have gone to a variety of colleges to play one or more sports.
But once she made up her mind, the school was the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and the sports were volleyball and track.
Celestin has accepted a scholarship offer to attend ULL.
"I had some other schools interested," Celestin said. "But I really liked the campus there, and they have a really good nursing program."
Celestin, this year's homecoming queen at H.L. Bourgeois, is The Courier's reigning two-time All-Region volleyball MVP. Last season, she was also the Division I, District 6 MVP, playing the middle-hitter position.
Celestin, 18, had 680 kills and a .630 hitting percentage to go with 35 aces, 69 solo blocks and 189 digs in helping the Lady Braves to the Division I semifinals before and a 27-16 season came to an end.
"She has always been a talented athlete, and volleyball is a take-it-to-the-next-level sport," H.L. Bourgeois coach Peter Verret said. "She wanted to learn and wanted to be the best. Her hard work paid off in the end."
On the track, Celestin, who has a long 5-foot-9 frame, won her regional triple-jump title. She was the most outstanding female field athlete at her district and parish meets last season, competing in the high jump and triple jump.
She was also an All-District 6-5A basketball selection and helped turn around the H.L. Bourgeois basketball program.
The Lady Braves basketball team, once a pushover, qualified for the state playoffs each of the last three seasons and was ranked as high as sixth in Class 5A last season and finished with a 28-7 record.
Celestin's first love was basketball, but the progress she made on the volleyball court made her want to play more. She credited Verret for her success.
"I never played before (my sophomore year)," Celestin said. "It was a challenge, so I wanted to play at another level."
Celestin may be looked upon to help turn around the ULL volleyball program, just as she and her teammates helped fix the Lady Braves' basketball program.
Under second-year coach Becky Madden the ULL volleyball team was 6-22 overall last season and 2-13 in the Sun Belt Conference. Celestin will likely play outside hitter instead of middle hitter, which she played in high school.
"They were looking for an outside person, and that's where they'll probably use her," Verret said. "She'll definitely be an asset. She'll have to make some adjustments, but I know her. She'll do well. I think this is a good program for her to be in."
Celestin wants to make an immediate impact.
"Hopefully as a freshman I can bring some leadership," Celestin said. "I know I'm going to have to work hard."
Celestin will compete in the triple jump and high jump for the Lady Cajuns.
The women's track team at ULL placed eighth out of 10 teams at the Sun Belt Conference Championships on May 9 in Denton, Texas.
Celestin will play in the LHSAA All-Star volleyball match at 7:30 p.m. July 21 in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on the campus of LSU.
She heads to Lafayette on Aug. 10.


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