The Triangle: A Year on the Ground with New York's Bloods and Crips
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The Linden Triangle: Linden Avenue and Linden Place, Hempstead, Long Island. At this blighted...
Franco: A Personal and Political Biography
Stanley G. Payne and Jesus Palacios
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General Francisco Franco ruled Spain for nearly forty years, as one of the most powerful and...
Midnight in Broad Daylight: A Japanese American Family Caught Between Two Worlds
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Meticulously researched and beautifully written, the true story of a Japanese American family that...
When Diplomacy Fails Podcast
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For over five years, I have been privileged to examine wars throughout history through a unique...
A Triumph of Genius: Edwin Land, Polaroid, and the Kodak Patent War
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One man Steve Jobs outspokenly admired was Edwin Land, the creator of Polaroid's instant...
Didier Drogba: From Tito to Drogba
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Didier Drogba. is best known for his career at Chelsea,whose supporters voted him the club's...
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in TV
Apr 24, 2021 (Updated Jul 16, 2021)
The narrative mainly focuses on the two titular Avengers taking on a revolutionary group, hell bent on returning to a post snap world. It deals head first with the fallout of Thanos' devastating blow in Infinity War, and the subsequent return of the 3.5 billion people who re-materialised after Endgame, and the issues that came with them. It's good to see that Marvel Studios aren't avoiding these complicated plot points that could have potentially just been swept under the rug.
The series also develops the John Walker/U.S. Agent comic story. Its well realised and Wyatt Russell is fantastic in the role. Daniel Brühl returns as Baron Zemo after an underwhelming narrative in Civil War, and unexpectedly is plain hilarious (and finally in full costume, even if it is for one scene).
As well as all this, fans of the comics are treated to a plethora of potential future stories - The introduction of Madripoor marks the first proper acknowledgement of X-Men material. Lesser known comic characters such as Isiah Bradley, Madame Hydra, Battlestar, Batroc, and Ayo are given screentime. There's even some carrots dangled for a potential Young Avengers adaption with the appearance of Eli Bradley/Patriot (and with Kate Bishop incoming, surely this is a thing)
Perhaps most importantly, TFATWS doesn't shy away from tackling race issues, touching upon real world events, and developing them into the plot. This spills over into the future of Captain America, and what the shield represents to the black community. There are some truly powerful moments of dialogue, especially between Isiah and Sam. It's all handled respectfully, and brings new depth the MCU, as they stride into a more diverse future.
With this series, and the preceding WandaVision, this new phase for the MCU is off to an incredibly strong start, and I'm so excited to see where they take it. Between Falcon rightfully taking the reigns as Captain America, the upcoming Shang Chi movie finally adapting the martial arts corner of Marvel for the MCU, and the tantalising promise of the multiverse, it's a good time to be a Marvel fan.
Antonio Banderas recommended Lawrence of Arabia (1962) in Movies (curated)
Into the Black: The Electrifying True Story of How the First Flight of the Space Shuttle Nearly Ended in Disaster
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On 12th April 1981 a revolutionary new spacecraft blasted off from Florida on her maiden flight....
Magellan
Stefan Zweig, Paul Cedar, Paul Eden and O.W. Brierly
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The life of the great Portuguese explorer who dared to sail beyond the horizon The Portuguese...