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happymetalgirl · 4 years

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March 2020

Wow, March seems like such a bygone era, time doesn’t mean anything anymore with so much turned upside down (especially in the music industry) in the throes of the pandemic going on right now. One of those things was me losing my punctuality with this blog. While I haven’t been on top of my writing, I have certainly been listening as much as ever, with plenty to talk about this month, so better late than never I suppose. Here are the albums I listened to during March.

Code Orange - Underneath

I just wrote about the Pittsburgh metalcore juggernauts’ highly anticipated fourth full-length, but I’ll summarize again what led me say that Underneath is a good album, but not as good as the breakthrough album whose high bar this album was always going to have a hard time clearing. The band go all in on the industrial elements that accented Forever on Underneath, as well as push their luck on the more melodic, alternative metal-oriented hardcore tracks, which came with some growing pains, the latter more than the former. And I really think that they probably are just growing pains with the band getting more comfortable with this expansion of their sound, which (contrary to what the many zealous 10/10 reviews are saying) I think the band will get significantly better with if they keep this trajectory going into their next album.

8/10

Body Count - Carnivore

I really have tried to focus on the positive aspects of Body Count’s music, the fearless, topical, confrontational lyricism and the capacity the band has to generate a good hardcore breakdown, but the band really do seem to be unable to get out of this one-dimensional rut they’re stuck in, with Carnivore simply a few shovels deeper in. The band’s appeal tires very quickly with Ice-T’s recycling of lyrical themes and his band’s repetitions of generic hardcore tropes. They come through with a few moments of intensity, a sick breakdown or two, but the positive, hopeful moments are too few and far between. I would think that with not a whole lot of competition and a hip hop icon behind the microphone that Body Count would have the capacity to do more for rap metalcore, but they seem stuck in a cycle I do respect the stances Body Count takes against injustice, and I want them to be a more prominent, important voice in metal, but they have some climbing to do to get there.

4/10

My Dying Bride - The Ghost of Orion

The grand masters of gothic death-doom don’t ever really steer too far off course, rather they sometimes just take their foot off the gas, as they do on The Ghost of Orion. It has all the elements of any beautifully melancholic My Dying Bride album; the slow and burgeoning guitars, the downtrodden vocal melodies juxtaposed with bursts of growled anguish, and the melodrama of vibrato-laden strings; but it’s all arranged and conjured without much tangible passion or pain. That’s by the standard of the band’s pretty solid discography though, so with that considered, it’s by no means a terrible death-doom album, it just won’t be converting anybody or getting anyone more excited about My Dying Bride and death-doom.

6/10

Warp Chamber - Implements of Excruciation

Brutal death metal can often seem pretty one-dimensional, and it often is, but in the hands of a band who really has the ambition to make more of it than just some guttural rumblings from all the instruments involved, the genre can really take on a wholy new monstrous form, its horrific, deathly instrumentation heightened by the melody and the compositional nuance that a competent band can bring to it, and that is exactly what Warp Chamber do on their debut album here. Full of cavernous growls and ceaseless low-register battery, it can seem, at face value like just a regular brutal death metal album, but when the band starts breaking out the winding tangents and manic solos that, again, just heighten the chaos and compliment the brutality. It’s more than just regular-ass death metal, and I’m glad to have heard this debut. I hope Warp Chamber has more in store.

8/10

Loathe - I Let It in and It Took Everything

Do you love Deftones? Maybe you do. I do. But I don’t think either of us love Deftones as much as Loathe loves Deftones. I’m goofing right now, but Loathe really do channel their Deftones fandom real hard when they’re not in full hardcore mode or getting eccentric with the segues on this album. And it does offer a great combination of styles, with angular, low-tuned modern metalcore noise riffage juxtaposed pretty strongly against the gauzy shoegaze that immediately hearkens to that facet of Deftones’ music. The band struggle to get the flow just right on certain songs and across the album in general, with some pretty inconsistent songwriting, but it’s definitely outweighed by its still somehow immersive quality and the strength of the individual pieces going into it.

7/10

Earth Rot - Black Tides of Obscurity

The Australian band brings forth some more of the tried and true modern death metal a la Bloodbath, Carnation, and modern Cannibal Corpse, but with enough eerie, blackened oddity throughout the songs to keep the journey from being too homogenous. It’s these moments that both give extra life to the bludgeoning, but at-times basic, modern death metal the band is conjuring and kind of disrupt the flow of that muscly death metal. At times I do wish the band would chose to focus one or the other more exclusively, but if this pushes Earth Rot further into this kind of stylistically ambitious death metal, I appreciate the stepping stone this album acts as.

7/10

Myrkur - Folksange

After riding a pretty strong wave of critical adoration for her contribution to the growing wave of atmospheric black metal that culminated in the respectably sonically unique Mareridt in 2017, Myrkur’s Amelie Bruun has taken a step back to refocus or recalibrate artistically. As the title suggests, Folksange finds its creator rewarding herself for her contributions to black metal with a return to her love of Scandinavian folk music, and you can tell she loves it on this entirely folk-music-based project devoid of any black metal elements. I may not have been as head-over-heels as a lot of critics were about her black metal albums, but I certainly appreciated her folk-inspired ambient take on the genre, especially the unique sonic pallet of Mareridt. I liked those albums quite a bit, yet it is clear that the sound on Folksange is her forte, which makes sense if Scandinavian folk has been a longer-standing passion than black metal for Bruun. The instrumentation is absolutely beautiful and Bruun’s angelic voice fits so perfectly with it, but Folksange is more than just superficially aesthetically gorgeous. The songs (old and original) are written and arranged with such a natural knack for the style that makes it such a serenely enveloping experience that stands as Myrkur’s best work yet. I highly recommend it.

8/10

Old Man Gloom - Seminar IX: Darkness of Being

The famed supergroup’s first of two releases planned for this year after the loss of Caleb Scofield sees them dabbling around in an experimental array of genres that all the members have some sort of significant experience and specialty with. From post-metal of the sludgy, Isis-esque variety to the more noisily esoteric, Sumac-esque variety, to distinctly post-hardcore-influenced stylistic diversions, the band’s wide-reaching sound takes all sorts of twists and turns along their most recent experiment with the members’ varying pedigrees and influences guiding the music on quite the unusual nomadic trek. From the repetitive chord progression of the opening track to the album’s noisy finishing tracks (one of which features what sounds like rocks tumbling down a shaft of some sort for an extensive period of time), the band let their adventurers’ instincts guide them as they wander through their own experiment through the interplay of their members’ various styles. It’s weird, and not super polished, but it’s certainly fixating.

7/10

Candlemass - The Pendulum

After further cementing their relatively unchallenged status as the kings of epic doom metal with The Door to Doom about a year ago, Candlemass have offered up a quick little demo-focused EP with one new fleshed-out song, the title track, which takes them to the faster, more Dio-era-inspires side of their sound with the grand, soaring operatic vocals on the chorus and the relatively fast (by doom standards) guitar rhythms on the verses (think “Paranoid” or “Children of the Grave’). I love the very Dio-esque delivery of the word “fools” at the end too, very fitting. The demo track “Snakes of Goliath” slows it back down to Ozzy-era Sabbath worship in typical Candlemass fashion, the riffs and arrangement pretty respectable for a supposed demo track. The other full-length demo, “Porcelain Skull”, by contrast, does feel much less compositionally fleshed out and more like an actual demo piece. The other three demo tracks are just little instrumental studio doodles that don’t really add anything to the EP. If this EP could be interpreted as any kind of power move, it’s that Candlemass at demo level have just such a sharp compositional intuition for grand Sabbath doom metal and can pretty much nail it in their sleep.

demo-level 7/10

Igorrr - Spirituality and Distortion

I was definitely looking forward to this album big-time after the gloriously unashamed weirdness of 2017’s Savage Sinusoid filled a massive void I felt was needed in my metal bank. By contrast, Spirituality and Distortion is such a reserved project it feels either shy or cowardly from the usually hyper-eccentric band. The greater absence of the vocals of Laurent Lunoir on the album highlight also just how much character he brought to Savage Sinusoid through his zany performances. Without his vocal wildness across the album, the attention on Spirituality and Distortion is then directed to the significantly timid production and electronic finagling that doesn’t measure up to that of Savage Sinusoid.

6/10

In This Moment - Mother

*Sigh* In This Moment is one of those bands who I think really do show a lot of potential but just can’s seem to reach it. They get a lot of unnecessary shit for Maria Brink’s sexy stage presence and generally theatrical aesthetic and live show, but they do have the capacity to produce emotive alt metal ballads like “Whore” and bangers like “Big Bad Wolf” that give some insight into what heights they could potentially reach if they were much more consistent. I was hoping that Mother would be a solid rejuvenation/comeback after the benign disappointment of 2017′s Ritual, and while it’s certainly different, it’s not better. Mother really tries to take on this big, enveloping sound, and biblical, post-apocalyptic feel, and it can sort of carry it for a little bit and be temporarily immersive until the band needs to go full force. When it’s just some fancy eerie atmosphere and Maria Brink’s sultry vocal delivery, it holds up okay, but when the horribly synthetically produced arena-booming instrumentation really comes in and breaks that immersion, you remember that it really is all just trite alt rock whose lofty flair is all a facade.

4/10

Mamaleek - Come and See

Undoubtedly the most wildly experimental album to grace my ears so far this year, I was not expecting such a forceful avant-garde project from Mamaleek so relatively soon after Out of Time, but damn I’m glad I got it! The anonymous brotherly duo have always taken black metal on quite the far-off journey whenever they bring it along on one, ever making it their mission to create something one-of-a-kind with their work, and Come and See has to be their most enthralling album yet. Ramming together the transfixing manic anguish of their blackened experimental noise with the angular dynamism of jazz and even some blues rock in a musical particle collider, Mamaleek have made a truly one-of-a-kind album, and that’s even by their standards. I’ve mentioned before that I tend to like my jazz pretty rowdy and aggressive (like my metal), and the chaos that Mamaleek already generates with their brand of black metal is perfect to trim with and infuse with the angular dissonance of traditional jazz at its more energetically extreme. While the array of chaotic sounds may make Come and See their most intangibly black metal album, the ethos of that root genre pierces through by way of the harshly shrieked vocals just as much as the new jazz elements do. I really might just have to do a full-length review on this one because there is so much going on here that is worth admiring and I can’t stop loving it.

9/10

Phalanx - Golden Horde

This album came out a few months ago and has been making some pretty significant waves on Bandcamp, and for good reason. The relatively young band on their second release ever do showcase a pretty good knack for groove and death metal brutality, balancing slow, thick, tasty groove and blasting death metal without falling into metalcore breakdown clichés or death metal clichés. The three-pronged vocal attack the band touts isn’t quite as dazzling as they might think it is (with the abundance of talented vocalists capable of shapeshifting through a variety of metal vocal techniques), but I do think it would be cool to hear them use that approach with all three vocalists acting more simultaneously to more effectively convey the chaos of the war-related lyrical themes they focus on. Nevertheless, this quarter-hour taster is a great starter for them and definitely worth checking out. Hopefully it’s a foreshadowing of the blossoming of a bright new act for death metal.

7/10

Regarde Les Hommes Tomber - Ascension

I’ve been seeing a lot of praise being thrown this album’s way, and I honestly can’t disagree too much with that it is a pretty damn good album. It is very reminiscent of the Numenorean album Adore that I praised so highly last year. Like Adore, Ascension is an atmospheric black metal album that could easily hook your typical dude who hates Deafheaven and blackgaze and makes a really big deal about it. The band’does well on Ascension to avoid the reliance on generic post-rock guitar reverb ambiance that turns so many people off from blackgaze, working together a lot of unique sonic twists that don’t usually find their way into ambient black metal and channeling direct, cutting, yet humanly vibrant instrumentation that’s backed by raw cries of agony very similar to what Numenorean was doing last year. Perhaps this is the new way forward for atmospheric black metal and blackgaze. If so, Regarde Les Hommes Tomber are doing well to lead the way.

8/10

Deadspace - A Portrait of Sacrificial Scars

I already offered my praises to this album at length with my long-form post dedicated to it, but I’ll give it another shout for its brilliant, bittersweet sending off of the seemingly tireless Australian band. Deadspace give their oppressive/depressive sound the added magnitude and glory offered by choir and orchestral elements with more tact than most bands that use those elements regularly. I really am surprised that the band have decided to split up at such a high point in their artistry and I wish there could be more from them, but I have to respect their decision to end it here, and A Portrait of Sacrificial Scars is a great note to end on.

9/10

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jobtypeblog · 4 years

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As a label we have made efforts to properly engage in marketing bureaucracy and online visibility tactics that are required if you wish to engage certain audiences with your brand (especially younger internet-integrated generations). However, for creative satisfaction, and as experimental speculation with these micro-capitalist tendencies, as a transmitter of audio/visual media, we confront the orthodox of music marketing and media consumption by subverting these conventions in through poster design and music branding. We have continuously worked very closely with Gabriel Thomas, a visual graphics designer and 3D animator who has been instrumental in developing the accompanying visual language to our sound work. With 3D clay simulation software, we have designed typography and graphics that presents our collective warped vision of futurism and accelerated rave culture. We take inspiration from the radical science fictional and virtual visual styles of techno EDM music that has evolved through the 20th and 21st centuries. Below are some scans from a book titled Techno Style: The Album Cover Art, put together by Martin Pesch in 2003:

Below this is the artwork for DJ Haus’ Artifical Intelligence EP on Rinse:

Below are various Slump Sounds visual materials, flyer posters and visual branding eperiements:

^The above typographical experiments quite literally embody a visual comment market capitalist consumerist branding, by integrating the words ‘YOU MUST CONSUME’ backwards within the name ‘SLUMP SOUNDS’. To this end, we started plans for a website (shown below), and with Gabriel’s experience in web design assistance, have put together a conceptual mock-up that successfully incorporates the virtual potential of digital software and immersive screen art with DIY cyber-punk imagery. The visual concept is to can be accessed here: https://elated-shirley-a5af24.netlify.com/

These are collaborative efforts that involve a dialogue with Gabriel and direction from me and Al on the visual concepts behind the website, and though i consider this project a successful ongoing collaboration that will form a major part of my sonic practice, and that of the future of Slump Sounds, I am personally relatively unexperienced with design software and coding. Therefore I wanted to explore an alternative avenue of creativity, with the intention of a decidedly lower-fidelity visual language as a possibility for my final graduation exhibition in April. I have been drawn towards physical and more laborious methodologies of visual and sonic art, such as collage, printing, zine-making and sound production using analog hardware, without the need of a laptop. This sensibility can be seen in the virtualisation of non-virtual things such as graffiti or a marsh.

The search for meaningful and creatively satisfying sound work has led me to the world of analog art and audio programming with physical machines and tactile buttons and nobs. Admittedly, I’ve been very slow to embrace the potential of analog gear for a long time. I believe this has something to do with a sense of not believing myself to be as scientifically inclined as I felt was needed, or feeling the need to learn more about the engineering and mathematics of synthesis or sequencing. In hindsight, this is an unproductive outlook, especially considering the lineage of radical electronic artworks that were born from mistakes or glitches in systems of sound creation and reproduction that characterises a cyberpunk reading of experimental music. This desire intensified through a process of familiarising myself with pre-digital sound gear; what began as the need to hear cassettes and not owning a cassette deck, which forced me to choose one, locate it, buy it, and figure out how to get it to play what I wanted to hear, which then turned into vinyl and a mixer, and then cheap and simple drum machines. It still remains a part of my practice that I believe requires much more actual play and practice time... Still I contemplate the elusive nature of analog signal processing as when I first played a Casio electric keyboard at a young age. It is important to point out, however, that this does not thus lend me a masterful understanding of digital media processing either, only an ability to abuse to it to my own indulgent ends. Any effort to demystify this practice is a step in a right direction. Since my introduction to the keyboard, I can say for certain that my interest in electronic sound production and the history over human-machine interaction that defines parts contemporary society and techno-futurism has become a creative obsession. To live and work with meaningful creative disposition within the modernity of media noise and cultural saturation, and having been introduced to the infinite-possibility blank canvases of digital audio work stations at an early age, where my lateral creative mind quickly fostered an addiction to the stress of sonic novelty, erratic compositions that quickly deconstructed or changed an idea or process without allowing time for deep listening or trance-inducing sonic immersion, it has become impertinent for me to seek more visceral, authentic and tactile methodologies. Efforts to correct this habit of laptop art-making are a defining feature of my current personal interests, and my efforts to engage in a more authentically rooted and personal relationship to my sonic practice, extending beyond music and sound production into physical and visual art practices that steer clear from the transience of digital media online allow me to distance myself when I want to from digital work. My peers and I working within Slump Sounds are slowly making progress with collaborative analogue hardware production systems and studio building. Money and time are major factors in this process, though, as Simon Reynolds explains in his lecture on DIY, in some ways the romanticism of investing resources into more meaningful outcomes more appropriately reflects ‘a convergence of energies and passions‘. On the rare occasion I can return to Leeds during term time for longer than a day, I take the oppurtunity to connect with the label crew to work on the upcoming releases and discuss label business. Al owns a Roland SP808, an Arturia Microbrute and some decent speakers. I brought along my Korg Volca Beats, a reverb pedal and a folder of samples and noises from my own work and sampled from floppy disks and youtube videos. The attached Soundcloud file at the beginning of this post contains the resulting noises we made over about an hour of twiddling and listening. To me the sounds are an evocation of our collective interelations with Grime, Electro and DIY electronics. At the time we discussed as much as we could about the potential of performing with such a setup, and how possible it would be to get a project like that underway, with a focus on the ‘total package’ concept of physical releases, sleeve inserts, flyer promotion etc. that was conceptually a step back from the hyper aesthetics and digital marketting of Slump Sounds. We shared our fascinations with symbolism and aesthetic reflections of experimental arts cultures and avant-garde modes of living, carried through subversive strategies of music branding with the politics of contemporary DIY culture and cyberpunk. In an age characterised by rampant commercialism and media saturation, to what end can alternative practices provide meaning or transcendence from societal norms? Our decision was to begin developing a more DIY post-punk inspired subgroup uber the banner of Slump Sounds, where we could experiment with tactile art-making and more ambitiously conceptual projects not necessarily intended for club systems or commercial profit - enter, LosBundazGanks.

During this session, I talked with Al about my visual investigations into truth, hyperreality and simulation for my Major Research Project, and we decided to begin working on and combining the sounds we were producing with the visuals I have been collecting and researching. Of the 300 hundred or so images that we curated, all of them relate in some form to the idea of simulation and reproduction. The examples below consist of digital cuttings from an online version of the Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office: Trademarks, which were selected on the conditions of their visual or conceptual affiliation with the idea of simulation, truth or audio/visual fiction. My intrigue in the catalogue, which gives a written description of each logo, was in the symbiotic relationship between the written definitions and meanings of the symbols, which in turn represented aspects of market capitalism and commodification. These first drafts were then processed through effects on an old version of Microsoft Word. The ‘edges’ function can, with experimentation, produce a digitally rendered appearance of stamping or screenprinting, much like the DIY Zine making methods of hardcore music and art communities:

After this, we highlights the inherent entanglements of audsio/visual simulation and truth by juxtaposing these images with other found visual materials. The intention was to build moodboard for reference in the future when we will have the time and resources to develop the idea of a Los Bundaz Ganks physical release or performance.

This process has completely shaped my outlook for future projects, and I have decided to introduce a significant portion of this research into the ideas for the graduate exhibition in April. For an effective audio installation or performance, I consider it important to side-step the context of a gallery situation, which too often in my experience has provided little to no communication in some form other than the actual pieces/sculptures/sounds of the conceptual analogies or research methods that brought the artist to design/build/draw attention to in the first place.

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superbeitmenotyou · 5 years

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Let’s face it. half the accessories administration “the top information” so you might seize improved landscape photographs are rather general. certain, straightening the horizon and photographing all over laureate Hour might also accept a favourable influence to your photos, but will they accomplish you a more robust columnist?

As a substitute of looking at these basics, I want to share 7 a little distinct but equally crucial guidance. This advice isn’t activity to immediately enhance your photography, however, they’re aimed toward making you a stronger columnist. make an effort to study and check out them, and that I suppose you’ll initiate seeing a difference in the close future.

#1. Landscapes aren't restrained to the ‘Golden Hour’

I wasn’t going to speak in regards to the golden hour listed here, however, it’s such a standard piece of tips that I will be able to support bringing it up. whereas most Americans myself protected some years in the past say that you should picture right through the break of day or sunset to get better photos, I’m going to alternate that this is not the case.

decent mild can take place at any time – don’t keep on with only photographing throughout the laureate Hour

yes, the gentle within the hours surrounding daybreak and sunset is smooth and smart, however, that doesn’t mean respectable mild doesn’t abide throughout the leisure of the day; it quite simply depends on what you’re photographing.

This may come as a shock, however many of my own favourites are photos captured all the way through the day i.e. not at Golden Hour. sometimes it’s a bitter climate that creates dramatic light round majestic peaks, different times it's harsh midday solar that gives wonderful patterns and lightweight within the deeply wooded area.

in place of limiting yourself to only photographing a couple of hours a day, be trained back the most appropriate gentle will hit the surroundings you’re planning to the graphic.

#2. The fee Tag of Your digital camera is irrelevant

to have you ever ever heard somebody accomplish a remark alongside the traces of “That’s graphics, you need to have an elaborate digicam ”? I’m certain that sounds generic to best. but is there any fact in this observation? Does a pricey digital camera at all times grasp more advantageous pictures? No…

It doesn’t matter if your digital camera prices $200, $2,000 or $20,000. that you may steal harmful images with probably the most expensive cameras and you may choose decent images with some extent-and-shoot.

An an old favourite that changed into captured on a budget digital camera

The essential issue is to be aware of how to consume the camera and to grasp its obstacles. on the conclusion of the day, it’s the columnist in the back of the camera who makes the image.

#3. study the suggestions in an effort to damage them

If you’ve examined any of my articles before, you understand that I don’t like to focus on suggestions in panorama images. I’d quite view them as guidelines that remember to be aware of.

It’s critical to be trained and take into account guidelines such as the rule of Thirds, main strains, and different compositional rules, but it surety's much more essential to grasp back to spoil them. the rule of Thirds can do wonders for your compositions but you could without delay restrict your adroitness if you abatement into the entice of following the manner for every single photograph, you are taking.

It’s crucial to understand the suggestions however even more important when to spoil them

Believe about it. some of Heritage's most excellent items of paintings ignore the ordinary guidelines and incorporate the exact opposite. Be originate to exploring with such ideas.

#4. Don’t at all times want a Tripod

No. I anchorage's lost my intellect I know you’re afraid your head presently.

Again, I want to argue that you simply shouldn’t listen to the ordinary a tip that tells you to always spend a tripod. I’d say here's absolutely disagreeable and will do greater damage than respectable to your photography.

There was no should use a tripod so as to catch this photo.

It’s vital to take into account should you want a tripod and if you don’t. There’s no abstruse that in certain cases a tripod is simple. here are the scenarios the place you'll want to spend one:

when photographing in low light instances and the shutter velocity is just too sluggish to get a sharp handheld picture

in the event you’re forced to increase the ISO in order to keep a brief bang pace

in the event you’re the use of neutral density filters or need to do long exposure images

In most other scenarios you usually don’t need a tripod. in case you’re photographing all through daylight hours and your shutter velocity is 11000th of a 2d and the ISO is one hundred, the usage of a tripod will now not accomplish a difference.

#5. explore Focal Lengths Don’t restrict your self to one Lens

I don’t think to make sure to restrict yourself to handiest the usage of one lens. once I aboriginal began panorama images, I handiest used a large-attitude lens; in fact, I didn’t personal anything for a 12 months or two.

nowadays I’ve got the entire range, from extremely-extensive-attitude to omelette and I always discover an area with quite a few focal lengths. accomplishing this has helped me pay more attention to the particulars surrounding me and it makes me search for facets that I otherwise would stroll straight by way of.

Exploring diverse focal lengths armament you to seem past the admirable panorama

#6. endurance outcomes in greatness

sometimes I wish it changed into so effortless that I might just arrive at a place and trap a few brilliant pictures right abroad but that’s infrequently how it works. top notch photos are often the result of endurance. excellent pictures are the outcome of returning to a vicinity over and over once again unless you’ve got the very best circumstances.

i do know this isn’t always viable when touring however so far as it’s viable, I strongly advocate returning to a spot until you’ve captured an attempt you’re in fact satisfied with.

#7. picture the Hotspots however be athirst to explore

Couturier media has changed panorama photography in many approaches and likely places are more established now than ever earlier than. It’s no longer not going that you justly be accompanied by lots of-of alternative photographers when photographing one of the most efficient views on our planet.

There had been many discussions about these hotspots and the way so-known as “bays hunters” are ruining the trade however I’m not so satisfied that you'll want to fully stop photographing the hotspots, principally if you’ve simply begun photography.

This arch offers one of the greater astounding angles on the Lofoten Islands and has to turn into a hotspot for panorama photographers

I are likely to view the hotspots as images with practising auto; you’ve viewed thousands of photos from there before and be aware of exactly a way to strategy the vicinity. This can be an advantageous way to put your self into the attitude of photographers you adore and, if you are trying, it could possibly help you remember why they’ve fabricated certain choices in the container.

But I don’t feel you should definitely keep on with the hotspots continually. I consider analysis is a huge half of outdoor images and once we lose the will to discover, adroitness directly starts crumbling. exhaust the abilities you’ve best up from photographing the hotspots and follow it in the field back photographing new locations.

in regards to the Christian Hoberg is an abounding-time landscape photographer who helps ambitious photographers enhance the knowledge

necessary to catch appealing and impactful photographs. The opinions expressed listed here are entirely those of the author. download Hoberg's changeless guide 30 information to enrich Your landscape images and initiate the doors to your dream existence. Hoberg is additionally the founding father of Capture Landscapes. which you could locate greater of his assignment on his site and . this text turned into additionally posted here.

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rogers-senpai · 6 years

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Jonerys Secret Santa gift - My Muse - Jonerys Modern AU

This One-Shot is a christmas gift to the lovely @oadara ! Hope you like it, the gifset is in a seperate post.

I loved your idea of Jon being a piano prodigy, who meets Dany when he’s struggling with his passion for music, and I took the idea, twisting it a bit. I hope you like it anyway! Happy Holidays!

Jon sighed as he brought his palm to his face, trying to rub the exhaustion away from his closed eyes. Bringing his hand down, sliding it across his mouth, he decided he needed another cup of the disgusting coffee the little place had to offer. Disgusting it might be, but it was also strong, and that was exactly what he needed now to help him stay awake and finish the damn thing. He looked out the window, where winter was in its full power. Snow was falling heavily, and children were picking it off the cars they were passing by, marking the whole city with their handprints. The road was pretty much a swamp, and drivers were careful not to lose control on the slippery surface. It seemed like everyone was in a hurry, trying to find the best deals, the best gift ideas, afraid someone else might get it all instead. The closer the 25th was, the busier the streets got. Jon had to send all of the presents a while back, to Scotland where his siblings lived, and he wasn’t planning on a big feast, so he could just sit there in that cafe, toying with a pen, waiting for something to hit him. Studying at the Royal Academy of Music had been his dream since he could remember, and he never regretted the decision of joining the elite group of their students until now. Jon has always wanted to be a musician, everybody knew it and they also knew that he actually had great chances of making this dream a reality. When he wa just a kid, you could always find him in the corner of their surprisingly clean attic, where Catelyn’s old piano stood, then abandoned and covered with dust and soon brought back to life with Jon’s little hands and the awful sounds they were making, annoying the hell out of Robb and Sansa, and making little Arya and Bran wake up from their sleep. When he got in, he couldn’t control his excitement. He would be having piano, organ and composition lessons in the best college he could think of. That would open so many door for him, all he had to do was work hard each and every day. And he did, he really did. But now all classes seemed to last forever, as he could not focus on what the teacher was saying or bring himself to practise. He couldn’t even be happy about the winter break as they were told to compose something of their own - a reasonable request for seniors of that prestigious academy, but Jon could not bring himself to even start. Ned and his wife Cat were the best parents any child could wish for. His father was the definition of honorable and just, a rare thing in their world and times and the moral figure he hoped he took something from. Catelyn wasn’t Jon’s mother - he was Ned’s child by a woman he knew before her - but she might as well have been. When he was left on their door, an infant just a few months older than her own firstborn son Robb, she took him and loved him and never held any hard feelings towards him. But anytime someone asked why he had a different surname - Snow instead of Stark, as his real mother decided, he still felt a sting of not being one of them - the Starks. And now they were both gone. They died in a car accident on their way back to Scotland, as they were visiting Jon in his campus . The whole thing still seemed surreal to Jon. They just got in the car, drove away and would never get to the destination. He was looking around to see if the waiter was anywhere near him, when someone stepped in front of him, clearing their throat, making his head turn in their direction. And when he did, he had to stop himself from gasping out loud. There stood Daenerys Targaryen in all her silver hair and violet eyes glory, making his stomach twist and his whole body tense. She was looking straight at him, and the little smile her lips formed was another punch to his guts. Jon could still remember vividly the first time he saw Dany in the Royal Academy halls back in their freshman year, and the happiness when he found out she was on the same year and would be having piano classes with him. At first it was just an attraction that turned into something more as he saw more of her personality, heard her play the piano or sing in her angelic voice, when he found himself wandering to her vocal lessons or during college events. Or when he heard her just simply talk with her best friend Missandei. She was gorgeous, intelligent, good, confident, ambitious and talented, and soon enough Jon was head over hills for her. He was forced to awake from his thought as she made a surprised expression, flexing her eyebrows in the way only Daenerys Targaryen could, not noticing the change is his form or deciding to ignore it. “Jon, I had to make sure it was really you! I thought you would be in Scotland. Is this seat taken?“ she asked,looking at him questiongly, one brow still up. He tried to swallow whatever suddenly appeared in his throat. They had piano classes together, so it’s not as if they were strangers, he could act friendly without making it weird, right? He blinked a few times, as if he was trying to make sure he wasn’t dreaming without pinching himself. When he decided this had to be actually happening, the butterflies in his stomach stirred as he shook his head. “Um, hi! No, si-, I mean, you can sit, I mean, if you want to. ” he forced out. Great job, Jon. She smiled a bit wider, not commenting on the awkwardness she heard in his voice, which he was thankful for. She hung her bag on the arm of the chair and having taken her faux leather gloves off, she proceeded to take off her checked scarf and unbutton her black coat, leaving it on, her grey sweater now on display. He realized he’d been staring and quickly looked back to his almost empty music sheets, his cheeks turning a bright shade of pink. “Composing?” she asked, her curious eyes following his. He didn’t know why her seeing his work and his struggles made him uncomfortable to the point he considered hiding it all in his bag, away from those wide pupils. Wait. They are wide. Doesn’t that usually mean… He stopped his thoughts from getting more ridiculous as he shifted in his chair, and lifted his left hand to the back of his neck. “Well, yes. You know, for class.” His response came out a lot lower and more quietly than he meant it to. He dropped his hand that was rubbing against the warm skin of his scruff, and started playing with the now empty cup. Recognition crossed her soft face. “Oh, right. The same thing Missandei is working on day and night. Even though she says it’s supposed to be short.” she shook her head, amusement clear in her voice. Missandei was Daenerys’ best friend, that much anyone could have got right after seeing them just once. They were close before coming to college and stayed together for all those years. Jon was in their piano classes, where they always behaved more like sisters than friends, and he heard that during their vocal classes, they made the perfect pair for any duet. Anyone would say they were tied together for good, but when Dany had her strings practises, Missandei went to composing lectures, the same ones that Jon attended. Daenerys stopped and glanced at the table once more. “Not feeling inspired?” she asked, noticing how little he’d been able to come up with. And little did she know, he wasn’t even happy with what he had on there. He shrugged, the butterflies calming down a bit after having exchanged a few sentences with her without making it too humiliating. “I guess not. Christmas preparation might have got the best of me.” he moved his shoulders once more, trying desperately to seem calm and laid back, not wanting her to see that the Christmas fever was not at fault whatsoever. “It’s all so tiring.” That much was true, the upcoming celebrations really did make it harder to sleep, but as he was not a part of the crazy shopping, it was not the reason for his recent insomnia. “Is that all?” she seemed to be trying to be very careful with her words, as she fidgeted her joined hands on the table. He was about to ask her what she meant, when the waiter came up to them, noticing the newcomer. She ordered a simple green tea and Jon asked for another cup of black coffee. When the man left, she wrinkled her nose and with genuine curiosity and disgust she said: “’Another’ cup? Meaning you drank it once and want more? Are you a masochist?” He laughed lowly, adjusting himself on the chair. “It’s awful, yes, but I need to get this-” he pointed his finget at the sheets spread actoss the shiny wooden surface, “- done. And that’s the strongest coffee I can imagine.” “That much I can agree on. Still not worth it in my opinion, though.” She put her elbows on the table, crossing her arms and resting her palms on her biceps.

“So, about your composing. You never used to have any problems, not from what I can remember.” When they had finals, they had to play something on the piano for the teacher to hear, and he always chose to perform his own work, something not many dared to do. After that, Dany would often ask him about it in the hall, congratulating him, which always made Jon feel like he was on the cloud nine, something Sam would tease him about for weeks. Jon noticed she was much more confident about the topic now, coming bac to the usual self. But he was still not willing to go any deeper into the matter. “Yeah, I guess. Stuff happens. Maybe I need to retire” he tried to crack a joke, hoping to change the subject to a one he could actually let himself speak freely about. Maybe some rest would suffice” she shot back.”Caffeine won’t replace a good night sleep, you know. And spending Christmas alone doesn’t compare to being with your family.” She was smiling as she said it, but he knew she was not being casual about it in the slighest. Noticing the confusion in his eyes, she sighed and moved her arms, resting her head on her palm. “I have eyes.I can see you during classes and I noticed you being so…distant. And now I see you here, when Sam told me and Missandei you were leaving to Scotland for Christmas, struggling to compose. You struggling to compose!” she was genuinely worried, he noticed. “Why do you care?” he didn’t mean to be offensive or rude, he really meant the question. They were close enough for him to call her his friend, they sometimes were assigned to work together, they went out with a whole group many times, but he couldn’t remember ever even having a real, deep talk conversation alone. She looked to her left, where the same waiter was just coming up with their order, the strong smell of his coffee, forcing them back to the crowded cafe. She flashed a beautiful smile at the man, and lifted the cup to her soft lips, as he was leaving. He watched her take a sip and it was only when she put the cup down that she responded. “Because I know what it’s like, Jon.” Ah, yes. She knew that it was his parents’ death that did this to him, it was probably obvious, he now realized. And she has been through something similiar herself. Back in their sophomore year, her father and one of her two brothers - the older one, Rhaegar - were shot in some incident in one of the the city centres of London. That left her alone with Viserys, as their mother died giving birth to her. They came from a rich family, so they were able to keep their lives together in that matter, but Jon knew it crushed her mentally, as Ned and Cat’s deaths crushed him those few months ago. He remembered that she had problems playing piano, as if the pain had blocked all of her abbilities, making her unable to do anything other that grieve. He noticed that the same thing could be said about him in the first weeks after he found out. But when Dany came back a month after the funeral, she was back in the game, laughing quietly during classes with Missandei, seemingly leaving the past behind. That was the part Jon was not able to get to yet. And it’s been past five times the time it took her. She leaned in a little bit, her arms again on the table. “I wanted to talk to you as soon as I heard about the accident, but Sam didn’t think it was a good idea. You didn’t even want to see him so I had no chances.” That’s where you’re wrong. “What makes you think you have any chances now?” Again, he didn’t mean the words to come off as harsh, he really wanted to know what made her go into this subject today. Maybe she knew him better than he thought, as she didn’t seem to be offended at all, as if she knew there were no negative emotions behind his words, nothing other than pure curiosity. “I didn’t actually. I didn’t even know you were still in the country. Much less in this very cafe” she smiled and took another sip. “Perhaps someone up there wanted me to talk to you either way.” “What is there to talk about?” His voice couldn’t get any lower. He brought his palm to the hot cup, not bringing it up to his lips just yet. “Maybe it’s what was meant to happen. Maybe I was not supposed to become a musician” he shrugged. She extended her arm, covering his big hand, the one not holding the coffee, with her petite one. “No, Jon. You know that’s not true. You already are a musician. You were born for it. This is just a setback, one you can overcome. How many great composers who have experienced grief and came back stronger, using the feelings for their work have we learned about? ”He knew she wasn’t expecting an answer, but he started thinking of one either way. “Well, quite a few. I would go with eig-”. She gave him a pointed look, that made him close his mouth at once, stopping the little sarcastic music lesson he had planned.He took a big sip of his black coffee, trying hard not to show any signs of his displeasure on his face face, knowing he probably failed completely. "You're missing the most important point. I'm not one of these guys" he said a bit louder, his voice still much lover than the tone she was using. He looked up to catch her rolling her eyes. Not in a rudely annoyed way, it reminded him of all those times Missandei was stressed about finals, freaking out she hadn't been studying or practising enough, when everyone knew she would end up with the best grades on their year. "I'm sure they all were just born and had an easy way towards being musical legends before them since day one" she shot back sarcastically, her head tilted a bit to her right, making his attention go to her hair, the wet and somehow still beautiful mess in her head. The pale curls were forced to lay flat on her head, brought down by the now liquid snowflakes. He let out a little bit of air with his nose, making an amused sound. “You know what I mean” he replied, taking the cup up once more for another sip, this time doing a better job of keeping straight face. She sighed and took her hand, joining it with the other one in the air, elbows on the table. “When my dad and brother died, I thought it was the end of my musical career. How could I ever just come back?” her eyes drifted to her left, her head being filled with memories of that time. He tilted his head, watching her. “But you did.” She nodded, her eyes coming back to looking at him. “I know sharing your feelings is not your forte, so listen to me talk about mine” she said, flashing a wam smile, making the fogotten butterflies in his stomach stir. He made a little movement with his head, telling her to go on. “I lost my passion for music then as well. It just didn’t bring me the same joy anymore.” He shifted in the uncomfortable seat, not taking his eyes off her for even a split second. He might have imagined it, but he could swear her eyes followed the movement of his arms, seemingly admiring the muscles visible through the tight long sleeve dark grey shirt. “As you know, I don’t compose. My struggle was with bringing myself to practise piano or vocal, I couldn’t make a single right sound, it was driving the proffesors crazy. You’ve only seen half of it in the piano classes” she chuckled. “I was late to almost all my classes, because I couldn’t sleep at night. I see you share some of those symptoms” she looked pointedly to the dark circles under his eyes and then the bug cup of coffee still in his hands. “What made you come back to normal so quickly?” A month was probably a lot of time to stop being a zombie, and just start living with grief like a normal human being, but to him it seemed abnormally short. “I know everyone grieves differently, but I’ve never heard of someone act like a shell of themselves for over five months. Maybe what I’m about to go into a speech about won’t work, but if there’s even a slight chance it will, I’m willing to risk making a fool out of myself.” She took a deep breath. “My dad did everything he could to help me make my dream come true. He bought me a piano when I was five, he hired a vocal tutor, took me out to every classical music concert that was happening in England. The day I got in to the academy, it was as if he completed his live mission. Rhaegar was the one I would come to when I left like I was not on the right way to that dream, the one who would listen to me play or sing along with my dad. They supported my wholeheartedly. As I know your parents supported you” she stopped and looked at him expectingly, waiting for him to confirm her statement. He cleared his throat, covering the effect that her words had on him. He would have lied if he said the fact that she was sharing her story and emotions with him didn’t please him greatly. “Yes, they did. Though not as much as Sam’s parents support him” he joked. She laughed, knowing that Samwell Tarly’s parents were not so much supportive as they were demanding. Mr ans Mrs Tarly decided one day that their son would be a great musician, and since he was little he had to fill in the dreams of his family, never being asked once what he wanted. And Sam had no real interest in music, much less classical music, but with a little bit of knowledge and his family’s connections, he got in to one of the best colleges a musician can dream of being a student of. He was not the best in organ playing, but he was surprsingly good at conducting and he was the best student in the Academical Studied department. “I don’t think anyone can beat them” she chuckled once more, before becoming a bit more serious. “My point is that I used the pain of their deaths as an excuse. But stopping my musical education was the worst kind of disrespecting their memory. I know it sounds cheesy, but they would never want me to give up, especially not because of them” she looked directly into his eyes, making sure the meaning of the words stuck with him. “Missandei always says that music is just another language, one that anyone can undestand, even though not everyone can speak it. But with this language you can express more than any words ever could. Love, joy, pain.” He knew where she was going with that, and he looked down. “You have a problem with pouring all your feelings onto your work. They are always beautiful, don’t get me wrong. They’re genius, but now you’re trying to write something in the same style, when your feelings are somewhere else entirely” she shook her head. “That’s not going to work, Jon.” It was as if his soul was an open book she could just read anytime she wanted to. It made him feel exposed, open but somehow still incredibly comforted. Whatever happened, she would understand. How did she get to know him so well?“It seems like you’re stuck. You’re not longer in that severe pain, not for months now, but the artist inside you didn’t get the relief he needed” she continued, before face palming herslef a littte, making his eyebrows go up in surprise. “I’m sorry, I’m talking like some psychologist, when I have no qualifications or rights” she said, shaking her head in disapproval al herself. He smirked and leaned down a little bit. “You’ may not be a psychologist, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to hear the rest of that lecture. ”Her smile was almost as curing as her wise words. “Just stop trying to hide your feelings in your work, they will be the thing to make them even more spectacular, trust me.” She thought for a second and then added: “And you should go to your family for Christmas. Spending them alone seems very depressing.” His mind went to his half siblings. They would defintely be happy to see him, but should he just catch a train and appear out of nowhere? She must have noticed the conflict in his eyes. “You still have a few days until 25th. I’m sure your presence will be the greatest gift they get. But before that, get some rest. A lot of it. If you still won’t be able to sleep, take some sleeping pills.”

He hasn’t tried them yet, for stupid reasons. He almost wanted to stay awake every night. Why? Maybe the physical pain helped him, he didn’t know. She showed a little bit of her teeth, happy she was able to have some effect on him as she brought her tea to her lips, looking at her phone. “Oh! I must get going now.” She put the cup down, not taking a sip, and started putting her scarf on, buttoning her coat. When she was putting on her gloves, he spit out: “Would you like to go out with me?” She stopped in the middle of the process of putting her right glove on, and looked at him with a bit wide eyes. “After Christmas, I mean. When I get back, before the classes start again” he continued nervously. God, what was he thinking? One talk and he thought he could just ask Danerys Targary- His thought were interrupted when she gave her answer. “With pleasure.” She was now done with dressing herself, and he could see a hint of smile under the checked scarf. “On one condition. Bring whatever you manage to come out with” she pointed to the sheets. This way she has just given him the best motivation she could. “Having someone give you your opinion on it before handing it should help you, right?” They both knew she just wanted to make sure he would compose something at all. “It definitely will. Thank you, Daenerys” he gave her a full, genuine smile, and noticed her eyes go a bit wider. She cleared her throat, an action he recognized from his own struggles to hide his feelings before her.“So, call me when you’re back. Merry Christmas!” she waved and started walking towards the exit. “Merry Christmas” he mumbled, a little shocked because of the whole situation. He looked down at the sheet, and immediately picked up the pen, suddenly feeling inspired.

#joneryssecretsanta #jonerys fanfic #jonerys #merry xmas

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thepakalakids · 4 years

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Week 17 - Gavin - Wrapping Up

Oh, man... What a semester. Here’s an update on what’s going on:

This Week

I was still feeling overwhelmingly stressed over the week (and not the kind that makes me want to push forward and work hard). I still found it really difficult to focus on animation, so, rather than doing a poor job on two of the most important shots in the film, I just lined and colored another shot.

However, after so much frustration, I finally finished my art class and screenwriting class on Wednesday, and I have to say I’m feeling a lot better. I still have Producing, a speech to write, and my last week working for Brittany, but my head feels so much clearer that I think I’ll be able to finish more than I expected by next Thursday.

Just before posting this, I did a bit more compositing, did a layout of the credits, and added a tiny bit of animation based on a suggestion from Maia. Vicky is currently starting work on a rough sound cut for class tomorrow, so maybe we’ll have some sound to show during class!

For Next Week

Some goals I am setting for myself by next week:

I want to finish the very last shot of the film. I still think I need more time to think and study the final giggling shot, but I should be able to accomplish a walk cycle.

Suky should be finishing the long shot of Pākalā Village next week, so I just have to figure out some distant wave animation for that.

I want to get the end credits finalized. I believe all the text is correct, but I’m going to spend time with fonts (and getting more assets from Sophia) to make it look nice. I’m also not really liking the “Software” card after putting it in, but I’ll keep it there for now to keep the timing for when I have to put in the IndieGoGo card.

I’m FINALLY going to do that Master Use License. Oh my lord, I keep putting that off.

Retrospective

Wow, I just hated this semester. I hate the pandemic, I hate online classes, I hate Zoom. I hate that I lost all semblance of passion and ambition, and I especially hate that this is how I’m ending my college career. It sucks, and it’s been breaking me apart for months.

The Pākalā Kids, despite being the most simple in concept, was becoming my favorite and best film to date. While Midnight Showing was the culmination of everything I’ve learned in ACM, this film took the most important things: Story and Animation, and took a much deeper dive into them.

I’ve spent the past four semesters developing my voice as a filmmaker, and I did find it along the way. The Pākalā Kids is my first film that’s 100% told in that voice (and is well animated... sorry Down the Red Dirt Road). Once finished, I can see this film being my calling card for a long time.

Speaking of Down the Red Dirt Road, it feels like my ACM filmography has come full circle. I’ve always seen The Pākalā Kids as the thematic sequel to that film, and it’s cool to see how far I’ve come, but also how strong my artistic voice has been from the start.

I wish I had been able to finish, and I’m so sure that if I had been able to keep up my enthusiasm and drive, I would’ve been able to finish at least all of rough animation. I know I was riding on the promise that Pua Warriors would be done near the end of April, and I had planned to go full Midnight Showing force with the whole crew to finish Final and Color.

Oh, plans... What a silly concept.

Well, I didn’t get to finish, but what I did do has been incredibly strong. I truly believe that The Pākalā Kids is one of the best displays of character animation in recent ACM years. There are some shots I finished that I didn’t know I could even DO. A lot of that really is owed to the characters, who took a life of their own. As fun as Angel was to animate last semester, he was never quite as developed as Lani and Dixie, and I think strong characterization is the key to taking character animation to the next level.

Moving Forward

Of course I plan to finish the film. My goal, if I get help with Final and Color, is to finish it by the end of May or on the first few weeks of June. Both Suky and Vicky are willing to stay on the project longer, which I am incredibly thankful for.

HIFF submissions are due near the end of June, so I want to be finished well before then. Hopefully I’ll be able to fundraise for other festivals too, though. I already have a strong list of festivals I want to submit to. Just in case, I’m going to save some of the existing budget for submissions.

To be very honest though, if HIFF ends up moving online this fall... I will seriously consider submitting for next year instead. Midnight Showing has been accepted to three now-online festivals (if you count ACM Showcase) and it kind of hurts watching it this way, knowing the ungodly amount of work the crew put into it. Hearing the live reaction of a theater audience is so much better than reading livestream comments or receiving a text about your film. I don’t think my little heart could take that for HIFF.

In terms of other projects: Well, first, I’m graduating! I hate HOW I’m graduating, but at least I’m done with these online classes. I’m coming out of ACM with 6 proper short animated films (4 of those I’ve directed), which is so much more than I ever expected. Looking back, I made the most of my time in ACM, and I’m proud of that. I’ve met so many great filmmakers and friends in this major, and I’ve grown so much with their help.

After graduation, I’m going to take a quick break and come back with a fresh mindset. I’ll continue working on Pua Warriors and see that project through. I also want to finally focus on putting together my portfolio website.

At the end of June, I mayyyy or mayyyy not be working for a certain streaming serviceee. I dunnooooo. Trying not to get my hopes up, but I got a bit of good news last weeeek!

And finally, I wrote a really solid screenplay in Joel’s class this semester. I showed it to Noe and Jared (and Alex, who’s in my class)... and I guess we’re gonna make it? It would be really cool to start development and pre-production this year, and perhaps turn it into a funded independent film. It would be pretty ambitious though. I would love for this to happen, but I’m gonna focus on these current films first.

With all this on the horizon, the future is looking just a little less frightening. So much is still uncertain, but I have hope.

#dear lord please help me get a job amen

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frost-felon · 7 years

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Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V: Last Episode + Some Final Thoughts

...What a ride, huh? You know, I never could have expected it to turn out this way--much better than the previous episodes had led me to believe. For all its problems, ARC-V truly did have many shining moments, from its awareness and focus on characters and world-building, to its particularly spectacular displays of Entertainment and even partial-Meta Dueling, to even just the quiet moments brought about by some of the EDs. I’ll never be able to fully get over the show’s lacking points, but I can say that, thankfully, I was laughing (smiling, hah) and enjoying myself in its strengths, its endeavors, and even, miraculously, its ending. Here’s why:

♪ I couldn’t stop laughing, smiling, just trembling with excitement throughout the episode. Even with the clearly bullshit new duel content, I was kept on the edge of my seat and amused, rooting for both Yuya and Reiji to do their bests as our fantastical leads. Truly, Yuya and Reiji are, if not masters, completely exceptional in regards to Entertainment Dueling.

♪ Yuto. Yugo. Yuri. Despite their fates, they were more lively here, more involved, and it was great to see. Honestly, I’m halfway to tearing up for them, both in joy and sadness. Really, one of my biggest wishes was for them, and Kurosaki Ruri, Rin, and Serena to be separate from Sakaki Yuya and Hiragii Yuzu, respectively, and while it pains me to not see them be able to live independently, to be fully free of Zarc and Akaba Ray’s death grips on their individuality, I have this feeling. The feeling that they’ll be okay. Things are, hah, quite likely to be weird for them regarding the multitude of relationships each is involved in, and some consequences have been avoided, but...it seems they’ll be able to live their lives peacefully, enjoyably, even with these circumstances. I’m thankful for that, at least.

♪ Sawatari Shingo, my-oh-my. He may not have been able to do much in these ending episodes (though certainly not as little as Tsukikage, ha ha, who was he again?), much less this one, but I loved his contributions here. I will miss you, oh lovely, egotistical, ambitious, brave, hit by ups-and-downs-in-terms-of-character-writing, worthy rival, Neo New Sawatari Shingo. God bless his creation. (On a more serious note, I’m...alright with his appearances in this episode; I wish he could have done more, been more, but I’ll take what we were given with a smile and a shitload of fanfic searches/chapters at my fingertips. What say you?)

♪ THE MAN, GONGENZAKA NOBORU, deserved more screentime and importance in this episode. Seriously, what the hell? With at least one ED devoted to the Yuzu & Yuya & Gongenzaka relationship and one with a heavy focus on it, why couldn’t we have gotten at least one scene just or mainly focusing on that relationship and Gongenzaka’s importance? Why did they have to completely ignore his importance in the lives of Yuya and Yuzu to just have him do nothing in the episode besides sit in the crowd and stand with the others at the end? Would it have been that difficult to fit something in without killing the pace/cutting valuable content?! I just...that’s one of the more disappointing things about this episode.Though disagreeable, it was understandable for Sawatari, but Gongenzaka deserved better, damn it; the writing made me care about him less in these past 30 episodes or so, but looking back at the the beginning, and seeing how they built him, I wish, and I yearn. I can’t be the only one, yeah?

♪ Shuzo. I’m glad they actually cared enough to go back to him at least, and to bring back his importance with the Epilogue Arc and this episode, to an extent. I almost cried, and I definitely whispered in a watery tone something along the lines of, “Oh, Shuzo...” I’m glad that, even if the Kurosaki family can never be fully complete (including Shun & Ruri’s parents, if they were simply carded and not killed), Shuzo has his daughter back.

♪ Yusho, and Yoko--Yoko didn’t do much, but I’m aware that, story-wise, she didn’t really need to. I’m still a little mixed on her, but I’m glad that they never fully forgot her and let her have moments in this arc and this episode. Yusho, at the end was...well, really, his appearance saddened me, because I really wanted to see that Yuya VS. Yusho duel. Frick, that would’ve been sweet! Glad he got to end it with his smile, Yuya’s, and mine.

♪ Akaba Leo--a man who has committed so much wrong, has understandable (though very misguided) reasons for what he did, who suffered from some bad writing, but nonetheless was very interesting and kept my attention (as some readers would know). In the end, I’m satisfied. Oh, there’s no doubt in my mind that he deserves a bit more punishment, a few more consequences, but I assume those would happen naturally post-series, so I’m not too unimpressed with that particular piece of his handling. I also felt that his contributions in this episode went over with me well (though I laughed when they reused one shot).

♪ Reira, and Himika. The business going on with Reira is very funky, and I didn’t quite enjoy what happened to him/her (<-- and that issue seems to have divided the wikis, interestingly; can’t blame ‘em, I am too). I hope, at least, that Post-Series!Reira gets to be individualistic and with free will, to fully complete Past!Reira’s character development and story arc. Anyone interested in writing some fluffy Post-Series!Reira stories? As for Himika, I’m satisfied with her overall inclusion and in this episode. I do felt that she could have done more, but like Yoko, her continued presence during most of the story wasn’t necessary, and I respect what we do have of both.

♪ I have so many questions that will never be answered, unless we get a movie or something. But what’s the chance of that, really? Maybe we’ll get an OVA or two. What was Zarc like, before he fell into villainy? How did he get the Extra Deck-Respective/Dimensional Dragons, and what was most of the composition of his deck before becoming the Supreme King Dragon? How much were the lives of the previous-series’ characters that weren’t shown affected, and did they even exist [besides those like Marufuji Ryo(u), who were mentioned in Freeze-Frame Bonuses]? Where in the hell did Roget go? Please, I would like some answers, even if they’re vague.

♪ There’s so much more I could say, but I think I’ll end it here--I can always elaborate and discuss my other thoughts in later posts. So, I’ll just ask a single, closing question, with a single, eager answer:

Where do you go, when the fun has just ended; where can the fun begin again?

Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS!

#Yu-Gi-Oh!#Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V #YGO #YGO ARC-V #ARC-V Finale #ARC-V Reactions #ARC-V Discussions #ARC-V Thoughts #Not bothering with all the damned character tags.#LONGPOST #LONG-POST #IT'S A LONG POST.#It's over--yet not in my heart.#Spoilers #Major Spoilers #Finale Spoilers #Can't believe that I had forgotten the spoilers tags!

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the-dark-side-of-the-blog · 7 years

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Top 15 Best Album Closers Ever:

I contemplated doing a greatest album openers list ever but there are just so many that I felt a little overwhelming. Greatest closers is a little more rarefied but there are still some incredible tunes here and simply some of my favorite songs ever.

No 15) This Must Be The Place, Talking Heads: The song sounds somehow both exhausted and energized. Byrne’s vocals and lyrics give us a sense that we have finally got to the end of a journey but this at times wonderfully tired quality is juxtaposed by the low-key, but funky composition you can dance to. All in a days work for Talking Heads.

No 14) Eclipse, Pink Floyd: The final words of Eclipse, “there is no dark side of the moon, as a matter of fact it is all dark” play like the twist at the end of a movie. It is a final line so fitting that you almost question if it could be this perfect, is it not too glib, is it a bit too easy? In the end it is just right, it take a huge, expansive, ambitious work and concludes it with a minimalistic flourish.

No 13) Down in the Tube Station at Midnight, The Jam: When we discuss the great lyricists Weller’s name is all too easily forgotten. His lyrics are full of the wit and imagery that characterize so many of the best British songwriters. Down In the Tube Station at Midnight is as good a showcase as any for his descriptive powers as well as the bands punk-ish energy.

No 12) A Certain Romance, Arctic Monkeys: Whenever I listen to Whatever People Say I am That’s What I’m Not about midway through it I come to the conclusion that it is the most over-hyped album of the last 20 years, but by the time I get to the end of A Certain Romance I am reminded of why it is so beloved. Mardy Bum is very much my favorite song on it but A Certain Romance is not far behind.

No 11) Voodoo Child, The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Voodoo Child is not only an album closer but a career one as well. Coming at the end of Jimi’s third and final album this is the last official music we would get from the great man.Having said this Voodoo Child probably falls more into the category of just a great song, rather than a specifically great closer, yet at the same time it is a perfectly defiant final statement from Hendrix, even if it was not intended to be.

No 10) Bar Italia, Pulp: Bar Italia does not get the fanfare that Common People or Disco 2000 do but it is the perfect final track for the perfect album. Different Class is full of wit, sex and pizzazz, but Bar Italia strips lots of that away to give something much more soft but still with all of the charm and specificity that Cocker infuses the whole album with. The song builds a sense of urgency only to let go of it making it such a great closer.

No 9) The End, The Doors: Is there something too obvious about this song as an album closer, maybe but does that really matter when the song is this good? Immortalized by Apocalypse Now, there is something tragically poetic about Morrison musings on finality and impermanence. It is a song that as much as any comes to define the unrelenting darkness of that Vietnam era, but it continues to hold its power today, testament to its greatness.

No 8) Hurt, Nine Inch Nails: Johnny Cash’s cover is rightly heralded by everyone (including me on my 25 greatest covers list and Trent Reznor) as one of the great covers ever but we should not forget just how great the original is. The two versions feel so different that I feel very comfortable looking at them on their own merits (as you should with any covers) and Reznor’s original showcases such great musicianship and song-crafting abilities, while also being so raw. The song builds and builds, but the composition makes sure to never distract you from Reznor dark and beautiful lyrics.

No 7) Street Spirit, Radiohead: While people still, rightly, eulogize about the ambition and execution of OK Computer and groundbreaking qualities of Kid A, The Bends can sometimes go under the radar when it shouldn’t because it is a great rock n’roll record even if it is not a huge as the two to follow it. More than any song on the album Street Spirit points to what was to come . It is the song on The Bends that most sounds like it belongs of OK Computer. It is so eerie and it means that when you finish The Bends it sticks in your head, for all of the great songs on the album Street Spirit is the one that gives it really stick-ability.

No 6) Wild is the Wind, David Bowie: I’ve already written about this song recently on my greatest covers ever post, but suffice to say that this is one of the finest showcases of Bowie unique and incredible vocals. The song sounds of quite desperation and is the perfect way to end an album that was made during a very difficult period of his life but remains one of his crowning achievements.

No 5) Champagne Supernova, Oasis: I have a lot of issues with Oasis and the Gallagher brothers but What’s The Story is a really great britpop album. It is wall to wall with really solid songs but while Wonderwall remains an inescapable hit and Don’t Look Back in Anger is similarly ubiquitous, it is the final track that has always been my favorite. Champagne Supernova is a stupid song, Noel’s need to rhyme everything put a glass ceiling on the bands artistic potential and more than most songs this is full of the kind of faux-profundities Noel prided himself on, yet it just strikes the right chord. In an era where a lot of rock/pop was very nihilistic Oasis at least seemed like they wanted to live, even if the song has its share of melancholy and for that I can’t help but be drawn to it.

No 4) Moonlight Mile, The Rolling Stones: On many similar lists you will see Let It Bleed closer You Can’t Always Get What You Want come very high, but for me the best closer on a Stones album is the one off of their best album (Sticky Fingers). Moonlight Mile combines the haunting qualities of Wild Horses with some of the more southern rock inspired songs on Sticky Fingers to come up with the perfect song to encapsulate the rest of the album. It’s more understated that You Can’t Always Get What You Want, but also somehow bigger and it stays with me for longer.

No 3) Purple Rain, Prince: It’s funny, up until recently Prince’s music was not readily available on YouTube but you could get some live versions of Purple Rain and it always seems like Prince is on the verge of tears in all of them, such is the power of the song. Again it is just an epic closer, but nonetheless very intimate. Lyrically quite minimalist, but Prince’s vocals and guitar playing tell you everything you need to know. The song represents an artist at the absolute height of his powers and for all of that it makes my top 3.

No 2) A Day In The Life, The Beatles: It may not have the power of some of the others songs on this list but it would have been amiss of me to not have this on my list. The best ever showcase of the greatest songwriting duo in rock n’roll history, but more than Lennon and McCartney A Day in the Life is Lennon. Full of ambition, this is a song that fifty years on still feels oddly new and fresh and is truly timeless.

No 1) All Apologies, Nirvana: There are many great songs on this list but none resonate with me quite like All Apologies. Melodic, haunting and desperately sad. The words almost don’t matter, because Kurt’s vocals and the songs composition tells you it all. Yet the lyrics are just perfect “ I wish I was like you, easily amused”, encapsulating the very essence of every tortured genius ever. “All in all is all we are” communicating the helplessness and nihilism that Kurt was always fighting a losing battle against . It is just so perfect. There is a reason his music still speaks to groups of people in ways that no other artist does. When I consider whether In Utero may in fact surpass Nevermind, the main argument has and will always be All Apologies.

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crappycrafts-blog · 7 years

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Session 1: Motivational excerpts

I am an artist…

Or so I say…

I am now a working artist in a small indie game company. However, I still think that my skills are not enough to make high quality art hence, the name crappycrafts. I am not saying that my boss was wrong to hire me but it’s just that I want to deliver more.

I am a lazy person. I am ambitious as well. Very contradicting huh? I am aware that I can’t reach my dreams if I stay lazy af but I can’t help it! Sleeping and playing games are just so fun to do!!! Thinking about it though, I have so much passion in playing games to the point that I exert so much effort to finish the story, complete all the missions/quests and get all items/equipments. That is why I don’t understand why I am being lazy to do things for the better of myself, right? I know for sure that if I exert the same effort that I put into games into learning and practicing art then I’ll get to achieve my ultimate goal, my ultimate quest in life and that is to be a professional artist. (my personal definition of professional is “being someone who doesn’t need a diploma or anything but someone who is knowledgeale in his craft and able to produce something that can level the standards of the community and the industry.)

I graduated college with a degree in BSIT with specialization in Digital Arts. It’s not an art school where I studied and as a matter of fact, college sucked. I didn’t learn a single thing in that course that helped me to get where I am now. What it thought me is that I can never learn the fundamentals unless I take interest to it (even without a teacher). So let’s get to the point shall we?

I am starting this blog(?) for the sake of keeping track with my studies. Hopefully I stay motivated. I am very bad at updating stuffs too so I am getting anxious as I am writing this but I have to learn how to negate my lazy self so I can continue forward.

I will be studying the book of Andrew Loomis, “Figure Drawig For All It’s Worth”. Almost all artists I saw online recommends his book and I’ve already read the book before but of course, I didn’t take it seriously. I just read it without grasping things and without applying and practicing those. I already started reading it again and I got some excerpts from it that I think are important to highlight.

All these excerpts can be found in the ‘Opening Chat’ section of the book.

You love to draw. You wish to draw well. If there is any chance, you greatly wish to make a living at it. - pg. 15

Honestly, I never thought that I will pursue art as a career. When I was a kid, I just draw whenever I feel like it. I can’t really say it was a hobby since it’s very rare that I draw although back in high school, I got so much passion in drawing that I draw even though everything I do looks like crap. Well, I still draw crappy art up to this day. I am one of those people who didn’t know what they wanna do in life and I just had to pick a course to take in college and so I said, “yeah well, I draw so maybe do that” I didn’t know I’ll regret that decision so much.

I believe that greater chances of success lie in the mental approach to the work, rather than in sheer technical knowledge - pg. 15

I am lazy… I already said that, right? So even if I get the urge to draw something and be creative, I just shrug the idea and think of it as a bother and that I’ll just exhaust myself. Someone slap me please…

I feel that talent means little unless coupled with an insatiable desire to give an excellent personal demonstration of ability. I feel also that talent must be in company with a capacity for unlimited effort, which provides the power that eventually hurdles the difficulties that would frustrate lukewarm enthusiasm. - pg. 15

Talent, well, I think that there are really gifted people. However, I also believe that talent is worth nothing if it’s not put into practice. It will stay stagnant and will never improve if not taken care of. Like a seed that needs to be watered and exposed to sunlight, talent needs effort to achieve improvement (but exposure isn’t a good deal to take advantage of artists so please stop that nonsense)

…what is of greatest importance and subordinates what must be there is of less importance - pg. 15

I used to get compliments for taking good pictures. So I thought that I have a good sense of composition but that isn’t the case. Taking pictures are a lot easier than drawing a whole scene. In pictures, I just need to position the camera in a nice perfect angle to capture my message but in drawing, I need to think of what things would make up the message I want to convey.

Everything about your pictures is, and should be, a little of you- pg. 16

This is probably the easiest thing I could do in all of these important points Loomis stated. I always put something of me in my art to the point that sometimes, I overshadow the personality of the character I wanted to portray. So far, I have 13 official OCs that I plan to create a comic of and they have varying personalities. I am an introvert and an extreme one so I always find it hard to portray my OC that is an extrovert. I suppose I need to control the amount of me that I put into things.

Good drawing is neither an accident nor the result of an inspired moment when the Muses lend a guiding hand. - pg. 17

THIS HITS HARD because you know what? I always rely on the supernatural being to bless me the motivation and the ability to draw sometimes. And at times when I feel really exhausted, I just thought that maybe the being is not here to bless me. Pretty ridiculous, right? I keep giving excuses not to draw or practice and yet I get frustrated when I can’t achieve what I have in mind.

Use another’s style as a crutch only-until you can walk alone. - pg. 17

There are lots of artists out there nowadays that has a distinct art style e.g, Kawacy, WLOP, Ilya Kuvshinov, Gabriel Picolo, Artgerm, Sakimichan and more that anyone would be able to tell that it’s their artwork without even looking at the watermark. I’ve been seeing other new artists out there that I could tell that they were influenced by some of these masters I mentioned. There’s nothing wrong with that and I am actually awed that they managed to get the technique from another and use it for their own. However, I honestly feel that anyone can have this distinct art style if we keep developing what we gained from others. So far, I have very inconsistent art style since im a crap.

… nurture individuality and not produce imitation. - pg. 17

I started out drawing by merely imitating a photo of a character. From the pose, to the expression, to the colors, and more. Of course, just like most of artists out there, I thought that this is what it means to draw. Apparently, that’s wrong. Drawing as a person can be different as drawing as an artist. An artist adds creativity to the creation and not just imitating what is seen.

Technique is not so important as the young artist is inclined to believe; the living and emotional qualities- the idealization you put into your work- are far more important - pg. 18

Every artist, every person has different experiences in life. These experiences enables us to think differently and have varying opinions. This creates a unique idea and personality within us and we can learn how to turn it into something creative that is new and that will define us.

For the next post, I’ll be tackling the chapter one of the book. I’ll probably take out some excerpts again and anything hat could be helpful to highlight.

#170624 #crappysessions

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esprit-de-corps-magazine · 7 years

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From Sky to Space: The New Space Race

By Benjamin Vermette

President Trump finances NASA – and its journey to Mars

“Now this nation is ready to be the first in space once again. Today we’re taking the initials steps toward a bald and bright new future for American space flight.”

A black and white image of a young, talented, ambitious, poignant and confident John F. Kennedy may come to mind while reading this passage. It must however be admitted that these words were pronounced by President Donald J. Trump on March 21, 2017.

Nevertheless — and just like Kennedy’s vision for NASA in the early 1960s — Trump doesn’t seem to get NASA just right. Indeed, NASA should be focused on its core mission, which consists of “human space exploration, space science and technology […] and jobs also,” as President Trump mentioned, but one must always bear in mind that NASA, alongside NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), is responsible for a major part of all the Earth science going on.

NASA monitors temperatures; it studies Earth’s climate and the quality and composition of the atmosphere and of the oceans; it helps farmers all around the world as they benefit from its high-end satellites gathering data from the soil; it helps predict natural catastrophes and thus helps saving lives… Briefly, NASA isn’t just about space, about Mars and about the stars: it’s also about air, about water and about dirt.

March 21st saw President Trump sign a bill authorizing a $19.5-billion budget for NASA in 2017, which is about $300-million more than the 2016 budget under the Obama administration, but 0.03 per cent less if you consider the budget as a percentage of the total federal budget. In other words, this means that the Trump administration supports NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) and Lockheed Martin��s Orion program, both destined to mark America’s way to Mars. Also, note that the bill didn’t cut into NASA’s Earth science budget, but according to Sarah Kaplan of the Washington Post, it should see a 5 per cent decrease in the near future.

The Space Launch System is NASA’s replacement for the Space Shuttle (which in turn was known as the Space Transportation System, or STS). More precisely, it will be America’s next fleet of more powerful rockets that are being built by engineers who know that they must eventually be able to transport humans to Mars. In height, each rocket will be about 40 feet shorter than the Saturn V rocket — the one that sent men to the Moon in the late 60s and early 70s — but when comparing brute force, it is quite impossible to deny that the SLS will be much stronger: it will be capable of lifting more than 173 tons of payload into orbit, whereas the Saturn V could barely reach the sky with 150 tons of material in the backseat.

Ok, so Trump finances a trip to Mars — and a very expensive one at that, because I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone when I say SLS won’t be cheap — while a bunch of private space companies are trying to make their own way to the red planet, but in a particularly less extravagant manner. Wait, doesn’t that sound familiar? Two parties competing to be the first one on an alien celestial body … I think we have the new space race right here my friends!

If you find yourself mildly shocked with the enthusiasm I displayed in my last sentence, rest assured that I do not wish a second Cold War or any of the circumstances it might involve. But the Space Race — apart from making everyone go nuts because they feared a nuclear warhead or a laser coming down from the heavens — grew the government’s interest in space exploration, and this is the aspect I am interested in.

With private companies like SpaceX motivating government agencies like NASA to push harder toward Mars, there should be no fear for the bad uses of space; in fact, there should only be hope as both sectors — the private and the public — are competitively working hand-in-hand to reach the planet that made (and still makes) humanity dream for centuries.

Now that we’ve got this straight, it must be said that, before even thinking of getting to Mars, the companies must reach the Moon once again. SLS’s first flight is scheduled in 2018, when an uncrewed Orion spacecraft will be attached to the newly built rocket in order to make its way into lunar orbit before coming back to Earth.

As for a first crewed mission, 2021 was originally on SLS’s schedule. However, with a new president and with SpaceX announcing it wants to land two humans on the Moon, NASA amended its schedule in order to have the first astronauts fly on SLS in 2019 rather than 2021. Proof that the new space race actually motivates the government!

SpaceX to go to the Moon in this decade!

You read it correctly! SpaceX announced in late February that two private citizens approached them for a pair of tickets to the Moon. The citizens already paid a substantial amount of money and are scheduled to begin their training later this year.

In its statement, SpaceX took a moment to thank NASA “without whom this would not be possible.” In fact, NASA is partly responsible for SpaceX’s success, as it is they who funded the development of SpaceX’s Dragon 2 spacecraft through its Commercial Crew Program, and as it is they who will rely on Elon Musk’s company to transport crew to and from the ISS in the near future. Voilà! There’s the proof that these competitors work hand-in-hand.

But is it easier said than done? To send humans back on the Moon, SpaceX will need to use its Falcon Heavy rocket, which is scheduled to fly for the first time later this year.

Yes, the Falcon Heavy will be a lot smaller than SLS — about 130 feet shorter. And it will also be a lot less powerful: At launch, SLS will provide roughly 7,500 kilo Newtons (kN) more thrust than the Falcon Heavy; for comparison, 7,500 kN is the force produced by about 45 F/A-18 Hornets with full afterburners on. But it’s also much cheaper, and that is SpaceX’s forte.

According to NASA, a single SLS launch will cost between $500-million and $1-billion, whereas the Falcon Heavy only costs $90-million per launch, hence the popular saying that SpaceX (and the private sector in general) is a lot cheaper. And since everything these days is about money, some even say SpaceX has more chances to get to the Moon — and eventually to Mars — than NASA because of this important advantage.

Moreover, NASA’s SLS program is already $10-billion over budget, and this may be the very reason why it’s still alive. Indeed, who would want to cancel a program that is sooooo over budget? Perhaps the reason Trump and the Senate want SLS to succeed so badly is because they are already too invested in it now, and are far passed the ‘point of no return.’

However, the SLS isn’t just a money pit as the program has one big advantage when compared to SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy: safety. The reason is simple. The SLS is not the fruit of a visionary, determined, and risk-taking billionaire entrepreneur’s utopian desires (like the Falcon Heavy is). No, the SLS is a product of bureaucracy, and that means the risks must be minimized for the sake of NASA’s survival.

It is no hazard that Musk wants to send humans on the Moon by 2018 and on Mars by 2020 (which will eventually lead to a million-person colony on Mars by 2060 http://espritdecorps.ca/from-sky-to-space/spacex-is-going-to-mars), while NASA aims for a crewed mission to the red planet for no earlier than the 2030s. Again, for SpaceX’s first missions to Mars, “the risk of fatality will be high,” Musk admits, whereas for NASA’s, “the first consideration is crew safety.”

It is thus the old vs. the young, the conservative vs. the daring, the bureaucrat vs. the entrepreneur, NASA vs. Elon Musk. Who will win? Will the first person on Mars be a NASA or a SpaceX astronaut?

In my personal opinion, the winner doesn’t really matter: we need to see this new space race not as an end in itself, but as a means to an end. Consequently, the most important thing we need to extract from it is the fruitful cooperation between both public and private sectors. One has more experience while the other has more bravado. And let me tell you that in order to travel the 70 million-kilometre unpaved route of radiation and emptiness that separates Earth from Mars, you need both of these characteristics.

Although the last space race was about the USSR or the United States, getting to Mars is a bit more complicated than going to the Moon, hence this new space race being about NASA and SpaceX, the public and the private. Here, cooperation is key if humans want to succeed in becoming multiplanetary.

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