#technically also plainsong

[hzdtrees]

Blighted views

#horizon forbidden west #hfw #no man's land #hfw photomode #technically also plainsong #a little blight for everyone #covid kicked my ass very hard and hasn't quite stopped kicking yet #so i'm actually #for once. #low on pics #except thornmarsh i think #at least my 'west' folder is pretty well off still #aloys are a little low #machines were low from the get-go although i've recently got some decent pics out of the weapon wheel slowdown #life has just been A Lot recently #and overwhelmingly in a good way #but y'know #photo mode had to wait a little #aaand we're back to waiting until the end of time

[thessalian]

Thess vs Western Expansion

There's going to be more playing later - I'm in the exploration phase I tend to enjoy, so that's all fun. However, needed a bit of a break after trying a thing what I tripped over and should have known better than to really try...

First off, lemme dump that drone data back at base. Just so it's not nagging me, and-- Oh! I can have a chat with Zo! That's cool!

Oh. Oh, honey. Honey, the Chorus should be listening to you way, way more. I mean, I know that there'd be no game if there weren't any obstructive idiots, so you were kind of hard-wired into this frustration, but ... still.

So I've deposited my drone data and at least given Zo someone to talk to through her existential crisis. So now what? Question marks, that's what. Still stuff left unexplored in the Daunt, after all. Not much, but some.

Buuuuuuuut there's a rebel outpost in the way. If I want to make it a little easier for my allies to get over to this side of the mountains, maybe I should clear that out.

You don't seeeeeeee meeeeeee... Heeheehee. POONK.

I do love it when I can get through these without anyone firing at me. Now. What's over here?

Fire Bristleback hunting site. Cool.

Yes, I know I can override - and actually ride - the Bristlebacks. ...Oh, fine, I will ride the damn Bristleback.

You are CHONK, dude. I have decided I will not look too far into how fast you go.

Right. Back over we go so we can check out... Oh. We have Burrowers and Clawstriders in the way. Aaaaand I was not as careful about stealth as I should have been.

Wait. The Bristlebacks came back? I was only away for like ten seconds! Okay, now everything wants my face. AAAAA!

HOLD STILL SO I CAN WALLOP YOU, CLAWSTRIDER!

Ofuckofuckofuck...

Okay. Finally. Now, what is over there that I went through that idiocy for?

...Metal. Flower. I figure I have to deal with DEMETER for that. And DEMETER is last on the list (even though I'm technically at a level where I could do that, but still). Boo.

There's apparently a loooot of debate about which of the subordinate functions one should go for first. AETHER is apparently the lowest level one but is the longest to cope with and involves two big bosses, and POSEIDON is more about the sneak, but if I deal with DEMETER first, I get rid of the damn red blight all over Plainsong. I'm going to have to think on that while dealing with side questy stuff.

Anyway. Back to the hunting.

Huh. Another bit of rumour. Talk of another chef! Awesome!

Wait. Machine riders. How are so many people riding machines now?!? Well, it wants me to follow them, so I guess I'll follow them.

.........Charger racing. Seriously.

COMBAT Charger racing?!? You have got to be kidding - okay, fine, I will try this.

OW OW OW OW OW THIS IS BULLSHIT OW.

I made surprisingly good showing, but I didn't win, so I don't get to ask questions. Fine. Y'know what? I don't need these answers that badly. I have a world to save and more to the point? That fucking hurt. No more Charger racing. Yeah, call me a weenie if you want to, Tenakth machine-riders, but I think you'd rather not die.

And another rebel outpost nearby! I can clear that easy.

...They have a Ravager?!? Oh, fuck those guys.

Also they're smart and have sentries in the foothills. Still, no problem. I can cope with this.

Ugh. I'm going to have to break cover to get the leader again.

And knocked RIGHT off my perch. BUT I GOT YOU JUST AS IT BLEW, YOU SONUVABITCH!

And one last sentry aaaaaaaaaaand ... done. And there's ... ancient ruins over there. I should go look at those.

Car graveyard under and around a ... billboard. And collecting things that apparently will be required for something, somewhere, later. Mooooooooore collectibles. *sigh* yaaaaaaaaaaaaay.

LIZARD! Lizard give me your skiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!

YEEEEEEEEES LIZARD SKIIIIIIIIIIN! Also there's a peccary. I think I need those bones too! YAAAAAAAY!

Can I shoot the scorpion?

I ... can shoot the scorpion. How I have a whole "crunchy scorpion" when I shot it point-blank with a precision arrow I have no idea, buuuuuuuuut...

Okay, there's a campfire and I should probably start thinking about dinner. The Old World ruins can wait.

Wait. Hang on. Lemme check something.

...Those ruins have a metal flower. They're gonna have to wait. So I'll think about what to do next while I prep dinner.

Yep. More food than just some grapes and some corn thins is required. Lacy Person's chicken katsu curry it is. And then I'll see what I can upgrade, do some hunting, maybe find a Tallneck. Chill stuff.

#Thess plays video games #Thess liveblogs Horizon Forbidden West

[mashasxart]

okAY so for october, i’ve decided i’m going to try to post one OC each day, starting from today (10/8) bc i’m late as always lmao i chose my OCs bc. well. i’ve neglected them for years tbh. i’m also going to include a little* blurb about each of them bc i also miss talking about them rip :v * little not guaranteed

today’s OC is kiete-- and the first protagonist to be featured here lmao. took me long enough rip he is the one tesni begins following around after he frees her from a trap, and the one she is constantly Poking At for reasons unclear to him. i never did give his particular species a name, but he’s one of the last ones still around. they age faster than humans, and kiete is technically only seven years old by human standards (tho admittedly he’s still not considered Adult by his species’ standards, either. still it makes for a funny contrast to me when he’s later traveling with a literal child who is technically older than him)

sometime before the story started, he was separated from his family, wandered into a mountain village called plainsong, and was soon after picked up by one of the locals and adopted by her

as mentioned in the tesni blurb, their world is gradually dying, and kiete has grown up hearing rumors from various travelers about places that don’t Exist anymore and what it looks like when places start to fizzle out. so when he sees signs of this fading too close to his own home, he impulsively decides to take matters into his own hands and runs away to find something that will Help

i’d had it in mind that he’d begin the story as kind of a whiner lmao he’s never had to develop legitimate Survival Skills and is woefully unprepared for the realities of running away from home. he’s also very much focused only on his own little circle of loved ones and interests and is reluctant to offer much aid to those outside of it

i’d also planned for him to learn what happened to his family, and why they seemingly abandoned him

#masha's OCs #mirror #ah yes my second oldest story #bet u can't tell what one of my favorite books/movies was when i was a kid jjfiewop #oc a day

[feytouched]

1, 5, 6, 15 + 21? 🎶

1: a song you like with a color in the title: white winter hymnal by the fleet foxes

5: a song that needs to be played LOUD: plainsong by the cure (if the majestic instrumentals don't envelop you like a wind-whipped stormy sky then what even is the point)

6: a song that makes you want to dance: gimme! gimme! gimme! by abba (can be subbed by literally any abba song.....)

15: a song that is a cover by another artist: kalifornija by vytautas kernagis (absolute fave lithuanian artist of mine.... it's a translated cover of smokie's it never rains in southern california & it's v v nostalgic for me)

21: a favorite song with a person’s name in the title: jenny by the orion experience (technically also a cover that imo beats the original)

ask me about songs i like

#tysm hiba! #answered

[bettsfic]

Writing question! 1st person and 3rd-person-from-someone's-POV--what other narrator choices are there? Thoughts on 2nd person? Is there such a thing as cinematic narration--inside no one's head but shown all of the things a movie would show to get a sense of what people are thinking? Basically, what are your thoughts on perspective and narration?

what a great question! i have a whole powerpoint presentation on this!! i will copy and paste/add some info (it’s for a lecture).

First person

Singular

I coughed up a bunch of chicken bones earlier.

Default in nonfiction and YA

Good for fiction with one POV

Tip: consider first person like a very long monologue -- this is your main character’s actual voice, so it should be reflective of the way they speak

Plural

We watch the sad man eat all those chicken bones.

Generally experimental/rare

You’d write in first-plural if you have a narrator with a hive-mind, literally (sci fi, fantasy) or metaphorically (literary)

Ex: “Debbieland” by Aimee Bender (one of my favorite stories of all time!! tw for graphic bullying)

Second person

Second POV is difficult because some of these are not actual second POV; I just didn’t know where else to put them. The way I refer to them here isn’t anything fancy or official, just how I personally refer to them.

True second

You stand on the side of the road, complacent, wondering how many chicken bones you ate.

“You” is primary pronoun and functions like first or third-limited

Somewhat experimental, unfortunately frowned upon (but one of my favorites)

Used more often in poetry and lyric essays than fiction

There are lots of different reasons you’d use this. In one of my stucky fics, I use second person because Bucky is brainwashed and talking to himself at a distance. Some people think it puts the reader closer to the text; some believes it distances the reader from the text.

Ex: Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerny (novella, so I can’t provide the full text)

Imperative

“You” is the primary pronoun here too, but omitted; the sentences are written as commands

A writer might use this POV for a story/poem structured as a how-to guide

Ex: “How to Become a Writer” and “How to Be An Other Woman” by Lorrie Moore (I don’t have the full text of the second one, so I linked to the collection it’s in)

One of my favorite writing exercises is writing your own “how to be a ______” with a facet of identity you embody. How to be a fangirl. How to be a tumblr ancient. How to be a bisexual disaster. It’s a lot of fun, and the results are always great.

Direct address

I implore you, dear reader, please avoid the chicken bones.

Or

I miss you, Nancy, and your goblinesque gnawing of chicken bones.

Addressing the audience/another character directly

Not actually second person but often first (or you could do it in third)

I don’t have an example for this one; I’m working on a novel right now that’s first person direct address, where “you” is the woman who is the obsession of the narrator.

Epistolary

Dear Karen, go choke on a chicken bone. Love, Helen

Epistolary format is something written as a letter, so it’s like direct address, but more specific

Also not technically a POV, just a form

Third person

Limited

She thinks about buying a bucket of chicken.

Used in fiction with alternating POVs; as popular as first person

We’re only in the mind of one person, can only see/think what they do

Generally speaking, no head-hopping mid-scene

Narration is often reflective of the character’s thoughts and voice

Description/knowledge cannot go beyond the literal scope of the character’s mind, which is to say, if you’re character is blindfolded, he can’t see a door opening and closing, but he can hear it. So you wouldn’t be able to describe the stained-glass inlay of the door

Omniscient

He stares for a long moment at the fried chicken menu, then flits through his wallet. 

Either the narrator has no insights into the minds of characters (cinematic), or all insights into the minds of characters (head-hopping)

This answers one of your questions -- yes, you can write in third person without a specific narrator and without being inside the mind of any character, but it is (for me anyway) extremely difficult

Ex: (cinematic) Plainsong by Kent Haruf (novel, not full text)

Ex: (head-hopping) “A Romantic Weekend” by Mary Gaitskill and “The Hunter’s Wife” by Anthony Doerr

Narrator

He buys the chicken! They fall in love! How romantic.

The narrator has its own persona/voice but isn’t a character within the story

Often found in fairy tales, comedies, and frame stories

Ex: A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (not full text)

Ex: “Tiger Palace” by Kirsty Logan

to my knowledge, this is every possible POV you can have. i’ve provided examples of fiction, but all of these can be considered for poetry and nonfiction also. note that POV is different than tense, form, and style, which are close cousins of POV (although i have provided some examples that toe the line).

how to choose a POV that is right for your piece is another task entirely. my advice is to choose what excites you most, and experiment as often as you can. if you feel overly limited by one POV over another, then go with the one you find more freeing. if you really can’t decide, write one scene in your gut instinct, then rewrite it in a different POV and see which you like better. 

all voices are created equal. there is no one voice that is worse than another, only ones that work with the piece you’re writing.

#pov #writing advice #dow19 #that-this-will-do

[vandalamagazine]

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After two very successful annual events, the classic rock extravaganza known as the Arroyo Seco Festival was put on hiatus this year. The two-day festival was a glamorous offshoot of the most prominent American music event, Coachella. While Coachella continues to cater to an ever-younger audience, Arroyo Seco was targeting a more mature audience. The event took place mainly on a golf course and public park adjacent to the Rose Bowl. On August 31, The iconic New Wave rockers, The Cure took over the same venue for a one-day celebration of music mostly from the Goth genre. The show was the brainchild of The Cure’s creator Robert Smith. He handpicked the nine opening acts for a unique line up of bands all with immense musical talent and original creativity.

The Saturday show took place on a blistering summer day with temperatures reaching near triple digits. The entrance to the festival was a struggle for some 25,000 music fans waiting in lines on the hot pavement of the parking lot for over an hour to pass through security checks. But once inside music fans were treated to a serene setting across the massive festival grounds, with grassy rolling hills. The Pasadena Daydream festival took advantage of two of the three-stage areas of Arroyo Seco festival, one a large tent and the other a large outdoor stage. Food and beverage vendors were stacked in strategic areas across the vast green fields. A pond with a water fountain stood at one end of the park. In the far corner, a cooling area with giant fans and misters helped beat the heat for fans lounging in soft inflatable furniture. The festival grounds were so immense that some concertgoers could barely see the stage from where they planted their blankets. Many concertgoers opted to take advantage of strategically cooler areas with groves of shady trees rather than be closer to the stages. But the majority of the crowd pressed closer to the two stages as the day wore on.

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The Scottish group, The Twilight Sad, was the first to take the outside Oaks stage.  The post-punk/indie rock band has been producing original music for more than ten years. The band features lead singer James Graham, Andy MacFarlane on guitar, Johnny Docherty on bass, Brendan Smith on keyboards and Sebastien Schultz on drums. Graham seemed to be channeling the late Ian Curtis from Joy Division during his performance. The Goth punk band was well received by the early-bird crowd singed by the early afternoon sun. Unfornatanely most of their set was plagued by a failing PA system that kept cutting out. But the band soldiered on, and luckily the technical issues were solved by the time the next group,  Mogwai took the stage.

Mogwai is also a Scottish band formed a decade earlier than The Twilight Sad, back in 1995. The band features lead singer and guitarist Stuart Braithwaite, Barry Burns on guitar, piano, synthesizer and backing vocals, Dominic Aitchison on bass and Martin Bulloch on drums. Braithwaite led the band in 45 minutes of compelling moody jam band material. The group ended their set with their 1997 classic jam song. “Mogwai Fear Satan.”

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Over on the Willow stage, a string of female vocalists brought a more demure, all be it Goth inspired, mood to the tented venue. The darker atmosphere seemed to fit the mood of many in the crowd in full Goth regalia, from thick black clothing to Kabuki style makeup. Kælan Mikla, a three-piece punk/no-wave band from Reykjavík Iceland, opened with a short, moody set. The group consists of three girls who perform their own poetry and have been described as an avant-garde, fresh breeze into the Icelandic music scene. The prodding Goth sound would be a good soundtrack for a Game of Thrones Episode. Emma Ruth Rundle, an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and visual artist based in Louisville, Kentucky,  followed with another short, moody set, a bit more folk-inspired. Chelsea Joy Wolfe, an American singer-songwriter and musician, followed with another 30-minute set. The California native led her band blending elements of gothic rock, doom metal, and folk music into a crowd-pleasing cocktail.

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Over on the Oak stage, the most massive crowd of the day had gathered in the still scorching sun for a searing set of music by full metal rockers the Deftones. The aptly named California band is well known for its earsplitting manic live performances that incite mass stage diving and mosh pit madness. Singer Chino Moreno impishly whipped the crowd into a sweltering frenzy. Moreno whirled about the stage as the rest of the band played like madmen on ear-shattering tunes like “Knife Party” and “Hole in the Earth.” The Sacramento band was well received by the Southern California crowd that had swelled massively by the time the band ended their hour-long musical assault.

Two more great sets took place over in the Willows tent, featuring the Welsh band The Joy Formidable and the Rhode Island veteran rockers Throwing Muses. Unfortunately, most people in the vast audience missed their sets as they crowded the MainStage and didn’t want to lose their place.

Black Francis (Frank Black) has been leading the Boston based Pixies as an alternative band since 1986 with punk-inspired rock music that sounded like Grunge before Grunge rock was a musical genre. The singer guiltiest seemed to be reveling in the moment during his 75 minute set in Pasadena. As the massive crowd got a second wind in the setting sun, the band tore through some of their well known, classics eliciting an occasional sing-along.  Songs like “Bone Machine,” and “Caribou,” inspired the sweaty crowd to respond emphatically. The bands cover of Jesus And Mary Chain’s ”Head On,” seemed to fit the festival perfectly.

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After the Pixies set no one left the front of the stage during the hour-long set change. Much of the crowd began to press in more tightly. A man frantically searched for his wife after he went to the restroom. A couple from Mexico city seemed to be lifted off their feet as they were swept forward in the crowd. “We are closer than we were in Columbia,” the man exclaimed. Everyone began to test cell phones to capture the moments. As massive smoke machines began to eclipse the stage in fog, a euphoria seemed to pass over the exhausted crowd. The band emerged eliciting screams from the crowd pushing ever closer to the stage. Then out of the thick fog, Robert Smith emerged onto the stage like a Gothic deity, and a thunderous roar echoed from the massive gathering.

The English band The Cure are probably best known for their string of New Wave hits in the ’80s, but the band was really on the forefront of the Gothic rock genre even before that. Charismatic lead singer and guitarist Robert Smith, the mastermind of the Cure, looks much the same at 60 as he did in the ’80s, resembling a Gothic Teddy Bear. The beloved singer thankfully has maintained surprisingly eloquent vocal skills throughout his career. While the band plays hit songs that is not what distinguishes their live shows from other groups in their genre. The band under Smith’s tutelage is first and foremost a jam band. The groups live performances are legendary, and they are simply the best live band of their musical genre. The two and a half-hour show in Pasadena was a relatively short one for the group known for their marathon performances. But they managed to squeeze a wealth of music including 27 songs, into the phenomenal set. The band can seemingly take a song in any direction they fancy on Smiths whim. The group can jam a song like the epic “ A Forest” for 30 minutes or more. But they can also play a perfunctory version like at the Santa Barbara Bowl in the last millennium. At that three hour-plus show the band performed past the venue’s curfew and played a mini two-minute version of “ A Forest” as their final encore before being cut off. The Pasadena show saw about an 8-minute version of the moody jam song.

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The current line up of the Cure features a powerhouse quartet of rockers backing up Smith. American guitarist Reeves Gabrels has played with the band since 2012. He was David Bowie’s former guitarist in the band Tin Machine.  He brought relentless lead guitar riffs to the armada of jam songs. Animated bassist Simon Gallup has been bringing heart-thumping rhythms to the band on and off since 1979.  Roger O’Donnell has played keyboards with the band on and off since 1987 and brought magical sounds to the Saturday show. Drummer Jason Cooper joined the group in 1995.

The Pasadena show followed the formula set in London by the band last year during their 40th Anniversary tour by playing most of their 1989 Disintegration album as the core of their show.  The band opened with “Plainsong” before fading into a moody “Pictures of You.” Smith seemed to be enjoying the euphoric mood in the crowd. He would walk to the edges of the stage between songs smiling devilishly. The crowd would surge forward, chanting his name. The enchanting singer also played guitar frequently and even a penny whistle at one point. The band continued mixing deep cuts with some of their biggest hits including,

“High,” “Lovesong,” “In Between Days” and “Just Like Heaven.”  Bassist Gallup shined on a moody jam of  “Fascination Street.” Smith seemed especially giddy while belting out “Friday I’m in Love.” Spirited versions of  “Close to Me” and “Why Can’t I Be You?” followed.  An obviously elated Smith ended the set by saying, “It’s been the best day of the summer.” Then the band launched into a sing-along crowd-pleasing rendition of  “Boys Don’t Cry.”

The Cure Brings a Festival of Goth to California After two very successful annual events, the classic rock extravaganza known as the Arroyo Seco Festival was put on hiatus this year.

#Adrenaline PR #Alternative #boys don&039;t cry #canon camera #Chelsea Wolfe #close to me #cure #Deftones #emma ruth rundie #Festival #Folk #hard rock #Hip Hop #independent music #independent music magazine #Indie #l. Paul Mann #Mogwai #music magazine #music video #new album #New Music Video #new release #New Single #North American Tour #North American Tour Dates #Pop #Punk #single #Streaming

[thesinglesjukebox]

CARDI B - BE CAREFUL

[6.25]

Noted!

Katie Gill: Taking it slow, Cardi B shows that she can bring a sensual side compared to the braggadocio of her first few singles. That beat is soft and slinky, a perfect compliment to her vocals. On the other hand, that chorus is preeeetty rocky. Thankfully, Cardi's flow and lyrics in the verses more than make up for any subpar singing in the rest of the song. [6]

Julian Axelrod: After months of extensive research, scientists can confirm: Cardi B is physically incapable of backing down. That's not a bad thing. One of the many joys of Invasion of Privacy is hearing her singular five-alarm voice slide into more radio-friendly molds without sanding off the edges. Just as "Bodak Yellow" turned a trap template into a pop showcase through sheer force of charisma, "Be Careful" finds pockets of aggression in a lovesick ballad of betrayal. But even as Cardi dunks on Offset like Nas ethering Hov, she's not above showing some pathos. In the space of a minute she goes from "Do you, though... it's cool, though" to "My heart is like a package with a fragile label on it," and the two sentiments might be closer than she lets on. I've seen people trash her crooning on the chorus, but I think it encapsulates everything great about the song: a merciless rap goddess showing just enough of her inner pain to let future rivals know she's not afraid to bleed. [7]

Katherine St Asaph: If you've breathed in a single molecule of Music Internet this month, you've probably read tons about the Cardi B album, and maybe about this song -- specifically its chorus, which according to the Music Internet molecules is bad. It is not bad but near-perfect: tentatively, sneakily good, to match the tentative, sneaky beat. Even the slightest bit more singing would ruin the effect. There's the surprise, too: a sudden reveal of vulnerability, to mirror her previous sudden uptick in technical skills. I'd even go so far as to call it better than the verses, which she does better elsewhere. [6]

Will Adams: Cardi B's playful menace has been a consistent asset of hers; the excitement of "Be Careful" is that it's been translated through a new context: the much-discussed sung chorus. Critics have deemed it as showing a "softer side," but that really reads as "it's not as loud as 'Bodak Yellow'" and also ignores how eerie the song is, in both sound and subtext. "It's not a threat, it's a warning," Cardi intones, but it really sounds like she's casting a hex. [6]

Alfred Soto: We don't look to film stars for acting in any conventional sense, so I don't care that Cardi B often stumbles expressing her vivacity. Besides, few tracks on Invasion of Privacy present her as a Belcalis from the Bronx with so little mitigation. I prefer the plainsong of the verses but have admired the way she stresses "of course" in the chorus for days. [7]

Thomas Inskeep: Love Cardi. Rooting for her hard. Thrilled that her album's making such a big splash. Really into the fact that she is showing such musical diversity with her single releases. Just wish that "Be Careful" has more there, there. It's minimalist to a fault, and frankly, her verses on the "Ahora Dice" remix and to a lesser extent "Motorsport" say the same thing more interestingly and succinctly. "Be Careful" isn't bad, but it's a bit blah. [5]

Stephen Eisermann: Initially, I was a bit unconvinced on this one. The sample is interesting, sure, but Cardi's flow is messy and the emotion doesn't come through as I expected it to. Then, Cardi performed this live on SNL and she delivered that second verse with more conviction than I've ever heard her deliver a verse with. Some of the best art is messy, just like personal relationships, and whether this song is about Cardi's current relationship or not is irrelevant - she feels this and through her anxiety and declarations of worth, I feel it too. [7]

Adaora Ede: The ghostwrite definitely bit the dust here. Cardi's debut album is Cardi-by-numbers -- Cardi the bad bitch ("Drip"), Cardi the Blood ("Bodak Yellow"), Cardi the charismatic ("I Like It," "Bickenhead"). The latest Cardi buzz single has Belcalis playing the role of Cardi-the-woman-scorned-but-not-really-because-music-isn't-personal with cheesy lines to back it all up. "Be Careful" sees Cardi STILL stumbling over her verses like a toddler; without the giddiness and chutzpah of her breakthrough single and heck, even that shitty Machine Gun Kelly it's Blackbear right? G-Eazy "Slob on My Knob" re-up she was on. It's nice to see the future Mrs. Set diversify her sound, but she's doing herself dirty by clomping all over that smooth bossa nova beat. However, I get it. I, too, found myself in a place where I could not resist the alluring relatability of Cardi B. It's captured not only in her daily Instagram updates and tweets, but her unpracticed vocals, her conversational lines ("I wanna get married/Like the Currys/Steph and Ayesha shit") and her frankness. "Be Careful" is a homage to all the regular shmegular girls, without a Lemonade budget, who've gotten their hearts broken. [6]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

#Cardi B

[therealwuss]

Favorite Films of 2016

10.) Elle

Elle manages to be juicy diabolical fun while also containing some of the most challenging feminist politics I’ve seen in a film. To this day I still occasionally find myself questioning if the title character is a soulless sociopath or a feminist trailblazer.

 9.) The Handmaiden

There were a lot of three-hour epics released this year, but unlike most of them, The Handmaiden breezed by with a thrilling pace that kept me glued to the screen. While at first it seems like a Korean take on Pride & Prejudice, it doesn’t take long before Park Chan Wook’s signature taste for the perverse bubbles to the surface and the movie takes not one but several twists and turns that I never saw coming. Darkly comical, gorgeously shot, and downright nasty, I ate up every minute of it.

 8.) The Love Witch

As if Elle’s challenging feminism wasn’t enough for one year, The Love Witch is stuffed to the brim with thought-provoking notions of feminism, romance, and gender-roles, and it all comes wrapped in a campy cheese-pop packaging that harkens back to exploitation films of the late 60s/early 70s with uncanny detail. Great for intellectual discussion or for just getting wine-drunk and laughing hysterically, it’s a film that lets you have your colorful cake and/OR just eat it too! 

 7.) Ghostbusters

While not as successful as it deserved to be at the box office, Ghostbusters was one of the few films of the year that seemed determined to just give people a rollicking good time. It’s one of those films where the (stellar) cast in it are clearly having so much fun making it that you can’t help but resist their infectiously giddy vibes. For all the blockbusters of the summer, this was the only one that felt like it actually reached for and achieved the heights of a bona-fide summer blockbuster. I had a blast watching (and re-watching) it.

 6.) 10 Cloverfield Lane

A surprise from out of left field, 10 Cloverfield Lane was easily one of 2016’s most thrilling films. While a lot of people are split on its ending, I admired its determination to just completely go all the fucking way (which nowadays seems almost against the norm of all the bleak or ambiguous endings most people are going for). John Goodman was snubbed for awards this year, and it was great to finally see Mary Elizabeth Winstead in a worthy role. I look forward to more installments in this unique franchise universe.

 5.) The Witch

Typing this list is making me realize what a great year 2016 was for feminist cinema, and The Witch only adds to the batch. While it does contain some of the scariest and most unsettling scenes of 2016, it knows what makes a horror film great and achieves it—if you stripped it of all its scary scenes, it would still be one hell of a gripping and thought-provoking drama about paranoia and the nature of evil.

 4.) Toni Erdmann

Toni Erdmann is one of those films that really lingers—its emotional impact only becoming stronger and stronger after you’ve already left the theatre. It is at once an intimate story of an estranged father-daughter relationship, but also an epic portrait of universal themes—our human nature, our self-seriousness, and the different ways different people choose to live their lives. While its scale at first seems small, the use of The Cure’s “Plainsong” as its end-credits song really hammers home just how grand its achievements are.

 3.) The Neon Demon

Cast me out to sea for this one—I love The Neon Demon. Like Spring Breakers, I didn’t know what to think of it at first and later only found it more watchable and enjoyable with repeated viewings. Also like Spring Breakers, its one of those movies that completely indulges in and has a blast with the very subject-matter its satirizing. Is the story deep? No. Is the message ground-breaking? Far from it. Do I want to turn it on, lose myself in its hypnotic imagery, and laugh at its sassy-bitchy sense of humor, especially after a night of drinking? You bet your sweet ass I do. It has a lot of symbolic imagery you can put together like a puzzle in your head which is fun and all and gives it the excuse to be called art, but the movie is mostly like Juicy Fruit gum to me—it doesn’t deeply fulfill or linger for very long, but in its limited capacity, goddamn it tastes good!

 2.) La La Land

Thank god this movie didn’t win the Oscar for Best Picture because it truly is great and now people can go back to enjoying it. I think La La Land was and always has been a film with the best of intentions that got a rather unfair narrative attached to it in (understandable) response to a problematic year of race-tensions in America. The film itself is a beautiful burst of human spirit. I practically tear up with joy when I watch all those different colored bodies singing and dancing in unison atop that L.A. traffic jam. It’s also a moving meditation on nostalgia and the extent to which we can wallow in the past before we have to move forward and make change. And yes, it’s a love letter to so many Hollywood musicals of the past, but it also moves forward from those films’ happy Hollywood endings and gives us something more truthful and bittersweet, thereby making itself a modern Hollywood classic in its own right.

 1.)  Moonlight

Oh baby. Moonlight rocked my damn world. No other film of 2016 took me on such an up/down, back-and-forth ride of smiling, crying my eyes out, feeling elated, and then doing it all over again. Technically speaking it’s flawless. The cinematography, the score, the performances—everything goes above and beyond the call of duty to create a film that feels breathlessly intimate and real. There’s not a single scene that doesn’t belong. I’ve also never seen gay tension (especially that beach scene) so accurately and beautifully portrayed on screen. What’s even more astounding than the technicalities of the film is what it achieves in the grand scheme of things: Moonlight takes a demographic that has been known to be the most homophobic—that of the hard thug black man (how many rap songs can you think of that have featured a “faggot”-diss?)—and intersects it with a tender homosexual love story. In fact, it’s more than just a love-story, it’s a story of male vulnerability (something that we certainly never see in the world of the street-wise money-stacking thug). By doing this, Moonlight conveys a message that is nothing short of universal—the very human need to feel loved and accepted, and how only we can choose who we want to be and how we live our lives. And speaking of “faggot,” I’m head-over-heels in love with the film’s handling of the term. When the movie was over I literally melted out of my chair. Then once outside of the theatre I literally jumped for joy because I was so happy it existed. I still am so so grateful for this film. It’s a masterpiece in every sense of the word.

Honorable Mention:

*) Jackie

*) Manchester by the Sea

*) 20th Century Women

*) A Monster Calls

*) Hacksaw Ridge

*) The Edge of Seventeen

*) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

*) Other People

*) Don’t Breathe

*) Paterson

[bern33chaser]

Plans, Plains, and Planes

The three words in the headline for this post, and words derived from them—listed and defined below—stem from a common source.

Plan, plain, and plane all derive from the Latin adjective planus, meaning “clear,” “even,” “flat, level,” and “plain.”

Plan comes from the French word meaning “map”; the English word, originally a technical term in perspective drawing, soon came to apply to any diagram or drawing; usage was extended around the same time to refer to any set of details about a project or an event. The word also describes the action of preparing for a project or event. (A planform is the contour of a mass or object as seen from above.)

The adjectival use of plain stems from the Old French word meaning “even,” “flat,” and “smooth” and came also to mean “clear” or “evident” as well as “free from obstruction.” Later, additional senses of “ordinary,” “undecorated,” and “unattractive” joined those meanings. Idioms include “plain dealer,” meaning “one who is candid or honest,” “plain Jane,” for a woman of unprepossessing appearance, and “as plain as the nose on (one’s) face” as an expressive substitution for obvious. Plainclothes refers to a police officer in civilian clothing (plainclothesman was ubiquitous before female undercover police officers were common), someone who is plainspoken is frank, and a plainsong is a religious chant.

In Old French, plain also means “open countryside,” and it developed the sense of “level terrain” in English, originally in reference to Salisbury Plain. A floodplain is terrain built up by deposits of soil material caused by flooding or flat land susceptible to flooding.

To explain (the word, originally explane, literally means “make level”) is to make clear, but complain and complaint (and plaintive) are all unrelated, deriving from the Latin verb plangere, meaning “lament.”

Plane stems directly from Latin, and its use came about to distinguish what were originally both geometric and geographical senses of plain. Except for those who practice geometry or woodworking, it is best known as a truncation of airplane (originally aeroplane), which technically alludes to the aerodynamic wings of an aircraft rather than the entire structure. Biplane and triplane denote aircraft with two and three wings, respectively (generally stacked), not including smaller stabilizing wing structures. (Other specialized terms include seaplane and warplane.) To board a plane is to enplane (or emplane), exiting a plane is called deplaning.

In woodworking, a plane is a tool for smoothing surfaces, and to plane is to make level or smooth. As a verb, the word also denotes gliding or soaring or, in the case of a boat, skimming over the surface of water. (Hydroplane also serves for this meaning, especially in the context of powerboat racing, though the word also applies as a verb to any action of skimming over water.)

The name of the plane tree is unrelated, but planar means “two-dimensional” or “pertaining to a plane” and planaria is the designation for a genus of freshwater flatworms.

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Original post: Plans, Plains, and Planes from Daily Writing Tips https://www.dailywritingtips.com/plans-plains-and-planes/