#Anyway I keep seeing this episode on every top 10 modern episode list and I’m like somebody tell them to watch Bartless instead 🙏

[allieinarden]

I pride myself on having hit the most niche Simpsons gripe of all time which is being the sole “Barthood” hater.

#The episode based on the movie Boyhood #“Hate” is a strong word. I love what they were trying to do with it (10 stars for character design) and it had some nice moments and ideas #However long (very long) story short I feel like the real audience for Barthood is people who are peripherally aware of the show #It leverages the power of the characters as pop cultural symbols to tell a more universal story about growing up not necessarily about Bart #So it’s like an interesting 22-minute short film I just don’t think it’s a good episode of The Simpsons #The Simpsons #Anyway I keep seeing this episode on every top 10 modern episode list and I’m like somebody tell them to watch Bartless instead 🙏

[wendytestabrat]

why family guy needs to shorten its seasons

ok so i just saw how s22 of family guy is gonna wrap up with only 15 episodes (this season was terrible, but i digress) i hope it stays that way because i think a BIG reason why family guy has gone downhill is bc the writers and staff are burnt out af with the huge episode load rather than it being a lack of talent. like ya’ll be shitting on modern family guy for being bad but then praise modern south park, well in all fairness matt & trey are only making 6 episodes a season now while the family guy writers make like 20 so i don’t think it’s rlly a fair comparison LOL. plus the family guy episodes take longer to make too bc of the animation, they take up to 9 months to a year while matt & trey make the south park episodes within 6 days. so yeah i’ve been wanting family guy to make shorter seasons FOREVER bc i feel like the show would benefit A LOT from making quality over quantity. it’s been hard for me to keep up with family guy episodes these days with how many bad episodes they keep pumping out. it makes it hard to dig and find which ones are actually good and worth watching lol. (which i’m on a mission rn to torture myself with a bunch of modern family guy to find those episodes bc i’m such a martyr like that, i’ll link the blog i did a while back on the top 10 modern episodes below) bc yeah family guy still comes out with good episodes and funny jokes every now and then which shows the writers are talented and do know how to make magic if they rlly try lol. (and i still think modern family guy is wayyyy better than a lot of shows these days) so i think the show just needs to make less episodes that are higher quality than 57382992 bad episodes. i mean literally every other popular adult cartoon these days has shorter seasons too. south park has 6 episodes a season, rick & morty has 10, bojack horseman has 12, even the latest futurama season only had 10 episodes lol, so yeah i think that’s what family guy needs to do too to keep up with the popularity of those shows and become the cool kid on the block again like it once was. (bc yeah back in the day family guy was like the most popular adult cartoon on tv and i feel like it deserves to become that again and has the potential to as well) ik family guy always had long af seasons but it worked in the past when the show was actually good and every single one was a masterpiece. that was something i appreciated abt family guy back then was how we were getting WAYY more consistently good episodes than south park (bc south park seasons have always been shorter than family guy seasons). anyway i hate it when people complain about the south park seasons getting shorter like ya’ll are dumb u do realize matt & trey are old af and burnt out right? LOL stop pressuring two dudes in their 50s who are close to the age of retirement to pump out 473892923 cartoon episodes. i feel like if south park had longer seasons the show could’ve gone downhill as badly as family guy did (and we did see the show getting pretty bad in seasons 20-23 before they shortened the seasons even more) so lets be grateful matt & trey are doing what they need to do to keep the show running and going strong still. anyway here is the list i did on the top 10 best modern family guy episodes a while back if u haven’t seen it.

this video is based bc they put “send in stewie please” at #1 too. people don’t appreciate how much of a masterpiece that episode is lol

#Youtube #family guy #FAMILYGUYRANTGARBAGE

[yea-baiyi]

Hi....If you don't mind, can I ask, what are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

hi it’s been a while! i love getting asks from you because it lets me ramble about my favourite things, it makes me so happy so thank you!!! i hope you know how much joy you bring <3

(i’m sorry i haven’t replied to your last top 10 ask, i started the list and it got so humiliating that i’m unable to look at it again.)

anyway “top 10 media” is a broad question, so i have picked the top 10 media i love to ramble about. the kind where i could talk for hours about each one. are these objectively my favourites? maybe not. are they even good? only like half of them. but they certainly are top. enjoy!!

top 10 media of all time (not ranked):

1. tgcf (novel)

its still too early to say if this is a permanent top 10, but it has consumed my life for the better part of a year so it gets on this list. i have difficulty describing tgcf, it’s not particularly an excellent novel by many metrics, but it gives me endless satisfaction — the breadth of the story, spanning hundreds of years and a broad range of plotlines, plus the incredible depth of each moment, with sensitivity and humanity behind every hilarious-ridiculous-bombastic moment. i keep finding new things with every new chapter i annotate, even on my 4th/5th read. it’s rare that a piece of media gives me so much to think about, i’m just trying to savour the enjoyment for as long as it lasts.

2. the untamed/陈情令 (tv show)

oh man what can i say about the untamed. what can i NOT say about the untamed. the show i resisted for two years before finally being pushed into it. and i have been hurtling down the danmei rabbit hole ever since. for all that it was my intro to danmei and into the modern cdrama fandom, it really is SO MUCH just on its own. i daresay no tv show will ever be able to deliver such pure insanity juice straight to my brain ever again. deserves its spot. show of all time.

3. fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood (anime + manga)

i was a weeb for YEARS. consumed hundreds if not thousands of episodes of anime and manga. and this is the only one that stuck. obviously a masterpiece of storytelling. i revisit this constantly. i love stories that can be grim but still hopeful and endlessly sincere. also if you can’t tell i’m a huge sucker for stories where the side characters clearly have their own histories and relationships outside of what we get to see, and fmab has that for ages.

4. the legend of korra (tv show)

i cannot in good conscience say that i like this show. if you asked for my opinion, i would complain in your ear for an hour straight, minimum. (i have done this. multiple times. don’t ask me about the legend of korra.) and yet it is the piece of media i think about the most, that i have dedicated the most of my writing to, that i rewatch most often. lok aired when i was 13-17 and i grew up with it on tumblr. the people i followed and the things they talked about shaped how i interact with fandom today. maybe one day i will be able to move on, but this one has a sure spot in my top 10.

5. sense8 (tv show)

this one i can wholeheartedly recommend to any queer person trying to grow up in the world. yes, the orgies are gratuitous, the first season has some 2014 cliches, and overall who cares about the plot. but it’s such an unabashed expression of queer joy and unconditional love. there’s something so comforting in the idea that other people will volunteer to share your pain, your happiness, and your loneliness. that everyone in the world is connected by their ability to feel, to laugh, to scream, to cry, to love— you are only as alone as you let yourself be. this show carried me through so many dark times and helped me to keep believing in people. maybe i’ve outgrown my need for this show now, but i will always love sense8.

6. my ajusshi/my mister (kdrama)

is it one of the best kdramas ever made? yes. am i also incredibly biased because it’s IU? also yes. i strongly recommend it if you have the patience. this drama is slow and melancholy and washed out, its characters are weary and cynical and not always kind to each other. but that is precisely the point, because the drama dusts off their dull, exhausted lives and finds within them something worth living for. sometimes it’s enough to know that you have the power to make someone else’s life better. you might have lost the love of your life, but you have a spare mattress in your bedroom for a scared, lonely girl to sleep on. you might have lost your marriage, but you have enough money to pay for an old woman’s funeral. your career might be going nowhere, but you can be the cheerleader and inspiration for a silly woman that loves you. you might be a gang of sad, broke, middle-aged failures, but you can all walk a young woman home together and make her night a little less dark. my ajusshi is not an easy drama to watch, but similar to sense8, it’s one that gives me hope.

7. the k2 (kdrama)

firmly convinced that tumblr is sleeping on this drama. it is so absolutely batshit feral unhinged. let women be a mess!!! let women be so wrong!!! let women scheme and threaten and fight and manipulate, while the man looks on with protective anxiety and/or dead-eyed absolute competency. let a woman run barefoot through the streets of spain in a nightgown, tears streaming down her face. let a woman past her prime be psychosexually obsessed with her stepdaughter’s bodyguard whom she is locked in a blackmail revenge plot with. let him lead her at gunpoint into a car so he can escape the standoff, only for it to become a car chase with her enemies, and for him to flip the vehicle over. let him walk back into the burning car to carry her out.

8. man of steel (movie)

not gonna lie haven’t rewatched those one in a while! but officially my #1 favourite movie if anyone asks. i have moved on from capeshit but this movie still has everything i love: a world that breathes, people that live in it, and a clear message of hope despite how bleak things might seem.

9. rogue one (movie)

i mean. i mean. it says something that i was working on my (planned out, the story exists fully formed in my head) tgcf rogue one au when i opened up my writing notes and found that at some point last year i had written an entire mdzs rogue one au. brilliant. unparalleled. so blessed that this movie got to exist in between the endless cash grabs that are the other movies. as a star wars fan since age 13, i can say with full assurance this is the only star war that matters actually.

10. the infernal devices (novel series)

not sure if i’ve mentioned this series on this blog before, but to this day it’s one of my favourite YA series. yes it is your standard cliche fantasy series but it has will herondale, the best payoff to the typical angsty brooding male lead to ever exist. writers try to justify brooding characters like “they have valid reasons to be that way, deep down they’re really loving blah blah” but this series takes that and delivers. because the moment will is free from the legitimate reason he was acting that way, he is bursting at the seams to show his love. he runs to the girl he loves and tells her he loves her. he tells the woman who raised him that she’s awesome. he spends the rest of his life so, so incandescently happy, simply because he gets to love the people he loves. also the ending of the second book is possibly one of the wildest cliffhangers for a love triangle ever. i clearly love to have an Experience while consuming a piece of media.

(if you’ve read til here, thank you for reading and letting me ramble some of the words that go through my brain endlessly. if you’ve ever consumed and enjoyed any of the things i’ve mentioned, please feel absolutely welcome to message or dm me, i am dead serious about being able to talk about these for hours. in fact i would love to. please)

#asks #tgcf #cql #faves #lok #rambling #top 10 media of all time is so broad so i just picked. what do i WANT to write about #top 10 media that just lives rent free in my mind #there are things i love more and better but in terms of #does it give me brain chemicals. #do i cradle thoughts of these characters in my head like a baby #what gives me the brain chemicals #this took so long to write and i am so sleep deprived so i’m sorry if it is very incoherent #ily

[azenkii]

 ATLA Fic Rec 

because I've been spending way too much time reading it. Btw, this is a rec for gen fics and zukka fics.

Note: an asterisk after the description means that the fic or series is incomplete. (Sadly, this is a lot of them, but I'm pretty sure most of these fics are still currently updating.)

GEN:

Anything by MuffinLance is a must-read. my personal favourites are Salvage (where Hakoda ends up with one (1) grumpy new prisoner/crewmate/adopted son) and Little Zuko v the World (where Zuko is 12, and it's adorable).

The Family You Choose by TunaFishChris is a god-tier platonic soulmate au about zuko and the gaang, so like...go read that right now

The kintsugi series by discordiansamba is an AU where Toph's parents hire Zuko-as-Lee to be a bodyguard for her, and I love it so much. It has some of the best Toph-and-Zuko sibling bonding I've ever seen. *

Dragon Moon by Satirrian is a Dragon! Zuko AU and it's incredible. It also features Bounty Hunter Zuko, so do with that what you will. *

The What We're Given series by Haicrescendo is *chef's kiss*. It's an AU where Zuko flipped his father off early on into his banishment and started living his best life with Iroh. Enter the Gaang. Shenanigans ensue. *

The Internment series by Hannahmayski is another Zuko breaks free from his dad early AU, and it's also really good. Basically, Zuko was never given the option to capture the Avatar, making his banishment indefinite. He sails around with his crew fighting the Fire Nation and it's great. *

The best way to solve your problems (is to help someone else) by hewwodarkness is an AU where kids start disappearing in Ba Sing Se during Book 2, and Zuko takes it upon himself to do a little vigilantism. It's fantastic. *

The Blue Spirit AU series by H_Faith_Marr is an AU starting from, surprise surprise, the Blue Spirit episode. The Gaang takes in Zuko without knowing who he is, and the Power of Friendship™ goes to work on Zuko. *

The the first rule of earth kingdom fight club... series by ohmygodwhy is an AU where Zuko, among other things, fights in underground cage matches, meets Toph early, and realises that his dad might be wrong. It’s pretty funny and really good. *

The The Non-Existent Twin series by FoiblePNoteworthy is hilarious. It's an AU where Zuko poses as his own twin, Li, and the Gaang buys it hook line and sinker. *

The Guilt (The Jet Adopts Zuko AU) series by FoiblePNoteworthy is also really good. Like the title says, it’s a Zuko joins the Freedom Fighters AU. *

The new ways series by blueseam is just a Zuko and the Gaang bonding fic, mostly set in the Western Air Temple, with a side of Zuko not taking care of himself and the Gaang stepping up to the job. If you’re like me and am an absolute sucker for Zuko and the Gaang, go read this.

The Family Matters series by WinterSky101 is a really good fic if you’re looking for Hakoda and Zuko. That’s all I have to say: Hakoda and Zuko.

a nation, held by snowdarkred is a GREAT Fire Nation & Zuko fic - set before and during canon, not after it. Go read it, right now.

Notable mentions: a lot of works by naggeluide are gen and pretty funny, though if you don't headcanon any of the characters as LGBT+ you might not like some of them.

ZUKKA:

anything by Haicrescendo and dickpuncher420. For Haicrescendo, my personal favourite is the Carry On For You series, and for dickpuncher420, it’s love language.

sirens & sleepless nights by Satirrian is a modern AU that just borders on dystopian. Ba Sing Se has been overtaken by the Fire Nation, Zuko is a soldier who broke away from the Fire Nation and got shot for it, and Sokka finds Zuko on the street and brings him inside. It’s amazing, go read it!

do you take this jerk to be (your one and only) by jatersade is a fic that I’m 90% sure is on every zukka fic rec list, and it deserves to be. It’s an arranged marriage AU where Zuko is engaged to Yue, and Sokka is his cultural guide. *

midnight runs and other things by isamagicdragon is a modern AU where Zuko keeps sleepwalking into Sokka’s apartment. Shenanigans ensue. Also, top-tier Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee interactions. *

Unchained Melody by avocadolove is another fic that I see a lot on rec lists, and it 100% deserves it. It’s a long fic (as of now, it’s at 63.8k) and is an AU where Sokka, after getting taken to the Spirit World by Heibai, ends up as a ghost that only Zuko can see. Ft. great enemies-to-friends-to-lovers and an incredible plot. *

Ozymandias, King of Kings by Think_of_a_Wonderful_Thought is SO good. It’s an AU where, instead of being banished, Zuko was sent to work in a coal mine/prison, which eventually becomes the target of a Water Tribe raid after Aang’s return. It can get pretty dark, so watch out for that, and it’s really long (as of now, 168.8k). But trust me, it’s worth it. *

Heart Beat Here by thefangirlingdead is an adorable Modern AU oneshot where Zuko, while shopping for engagement rings with Katara, freaks out when Sokka lies about where he is. It’s a happy ending, don’t worry. One of my favourite fics.

feels like we only go backwards by oldpotatoe and A Certain Slant of Light by JustGettingBy are both amnesia fics where Sokka loses his memory several years after the war. They’re both so, so good. A Certain Slant of Light is finished, but feels like we only go backwards is not.

reality strikes, so bring back the night by zukkababey is a time-travel oneshot where Western-Air-Temple Sokka wakes up in the future to find his older self married to one (1) Fire Lord Zuko. Fluffy and funny. 

maybe i just see you (in everything) by epicbubbles is a really cute Modern AU oneshot with love confessions and just fluff all around. 10/10 go read it!!

it’s the illusion of separation by argentoswan is a fic that has legendary status and it absolutely deserves it. God-tier Modern AU where Sokka ends up working at the Jasmine Dragon alongside his former high school bully, Zuko. (Kind of) enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, and it’s just...SO good. *

say you like your shirt soggy by crosspin is a reallyyy nice 5+1 fic. It’s Modern AU, and it’s pretty short (3.7k), but the amount of yearning that gets packed into that 3.7k,,,,*chef’s kiss*

and they were roommates by flydunes is another Modern AU where sokka puts up an ad for a roommate. Zuko moves in, and Sokka gets a crush. It’s just good vibes all around :) *

like blood from a stone by catalinacat is a Soulmate AU that took a completely different direction with the soulmate trope. The summary does a better job of explaining it than I can. *

absence of heat, excess of destiny by theycallmesuperboy is one of the best soulmate AUs out there. it’s not too long, only 4.3k words, but it covers the entire series and then some. Seriously, go read this.

it isn’t strange, but it’s true by theholyterror is a 5+1 post-canon fic with some of the best pining I’ve ever seen, ft. Ambassador Sokka and Fire Lord Zuko. The 5+1 is times Zuko went out of his way to touch Sokka.  *

like the sun inside of you by ofherlionheart is another post-canon fic, and it’s incredible so far. the first chapter alone is 23k, so it’s already a decently long read. *

the stemverse: earth science zuko au series by acezukos is a REALLY good Modern/University AU. So far, it only has one work (earth system history) but that work is already *chef’s kiss*. The series is incomplete, but earth system history is complete!

rebellion’s such a hushed affair by zeitgeistofnow is a fantastic Modern AU that, like sirens & sleepless nights, borders on dystopian. Actually, I think it is dystopian, but it hasn’t been tagged as such. Anyway, 10/10, go read it right now immediately

Mark Time by foil is a Modern AU where Sokka ghosted Zuko years ago, and they get brought back together by Aang and Katara’s wedding. It’s really good, but the fic has some pretty heavy content, so make sure you read the warnings. *

That birds would sing and think it were not night by HisMomoness is a Modern AU that has Zuko tutoring Sokka, with absolute top-tier pining. Like, seriously, the pining is insane. Superr good

this love burns so yellow (becoming orange and in its time, exploding) by meliebee is one of the best post-canon fics I’ve ever read. It features a civil war in the Fire Nation (that gets resolved about halfway through) and some great Toph and Zuko interactions, as well as some Grade A pining. 

boy problems by burnt_oranges is FANTASTIC post-canon and has sokka and zuko in an accidental arranged marriage, plus some attempted assassinations. It’s great.

zuko vs the homie sexual agenda by parmigiano has Zuko and Sokka pining for each other in Ikea. Do I need to say more?

Friendship Bracelets by peachcitt is a Modern AU best friends to lovers. Pretty short (4.9k), but the pining is immaculate.

isn’t this the vision that you wanted by nebulastucky is INCREDIBLE, I read it recently because it just got completed and it’s *chef’s kiss*. It’s post-canon ft. mutual pining and some reallyyy good ‘and there was only one bed’ scenes.

Real Slow and no one knows anything but us by surveycorpsjean and quidhitch respectively are two of my favourite post-canon Ambassador Sokka and Fire Lord Zuko fics. Go check them out!

The Duke’s a Hazard by naggeluide is a really nice AU starting from the Western Air Temple, where the Duke decides that Sokka and Zuko are now his new parents. They bond over coparenting, and the (kind of) enemies-to-friends-to-lovers is really good. Plus, it’s funny.

Those Who Favor Fire by CSHfic and VSfic is a really good fic of the Spymaster Sokka AU. If you don’t know what that is, it’s an AU where Sokka fakes his death and goes undercover in an organisation that wants to kill Zuko.

Fics I added after posting (so far, all Zukka):

The Road Between Action and Inaction by Donvex is a fic that I can't believe I left out the first time?? It's a modern hitchhiking AU and it's great.

Rituals of the Ocean Floor by Donvex is a nice one too. It's only around 2.2k words, but it's a Fox Spirit!Zuko and Sharkman!Sokka AU, and I just really like the writing style.

by the stars above, i knew we were in love by theycallmesuperboy and The Fate of Nations in Our Hands by sapphic_ambitions are both top-tier post-canon fics. Be warned: by the stars above is a liiiittle bit angsty.

blue's clues by parmigiano is a really good Modern AU where Sokka, a university student journalist, gets ahold of the phone number of the Blue Spirit, a new campus vigilante. He ends up talking to the Blue Spirit to get an interview out of him, and it's really cute!

Honourable mention: the Avatar Zuko series by the_cloud_whisperer is one of the best series I've ever read, and it's really long - it got completed about a month ago, with 493.6k words in total (415k if you ignore the extra work made up of author's notes). It develops all the characters really well, especially Lu Ten, but the main ship is Zukaang. Personally, my biggest problem with Zukaang is the age difference, and Aang is aged up to be Zuko's age (or older, I think? I don't really remember) in this. I kept reading it because the plot was too good to give up, and I do highly recommend it, but yeah.

I’ll add more fics if I remember them, but this is what I had bookmarked. Also, shameless self plug here because I also write ATLA fic @ azenki on ao3

#atla #zukka #fic rec #zukka fic rec

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S4 Ep 23: Roland Freaks Out for 25 Straight Minutes

Oh man, took a break from the blog for a bit there because I gave myself a project to do that is 160ish color panels to draw by June 30th and um...it takes a while to do that, it turns out. Every time I’m like “wow I actually have enough time to make a buffer for the blog” I get so distracted.

But anyways, I started having some issues with my wacom tablet, my mouse is a nightmare, and so...I’m just gonna look the other way and write a recap and unplug all of the wacom stuff and just stay the hell away from whatever happened to that...tablet.

maybe It’ll be fine tomorrow?

*sweats nervously*

Thank God I didn’t buy a cintique, that’s all I’ll say. 

Anyway, lets go back to Yugioh. Where were we?

That’s right. Mokuba is checking in with my favorite Kaiba, Roland, who is currently just trying to keep the company running while the official Kaibas are flying to California.

And I’ll be honest, as I was typing this I thought “and why are they going to California again?” and it took me like...10 minutes to remember that Seto dropped absolutely everything and jumped on this massive plane in order to beat Rafael at cards to win the title “King of Games” which...Yugi had already lost to Rebecca about 2 years ago prior, but don’t tell that to Seto. Or Rebecca.

Also don’t tell Seto that the “King of Games” title originally comes from being possessed by a very emo ghost that has a tendency to set people on fire with Russian whiskey and has nothing to do with whatever shenanigans went down with Pegasus.

Honestly, I like to think that in the modern version of this show, Pegasus threw the “King of Games” line out there as like a corny joke, and when the teenagers started latching onto it like it was real, he was like “Oh what?” and left it alone because he just got his left eye ripped out of his face and was very distracted by the large amount of cultists in his basement that he suddenly needed to let go.

But youknow it’s the end of the world, Kaiba’s company is being bought out by a competitor, one of Dartz’ assassins are trying to kill both him and his brother, but he has to go to California immediately to play Rafael while he has the chance. Not sure how Alister got the tip-off that Kaiba would be flying back to California so quickly, but knowing the Kaibas, they probably jump on a plane several times a week.

I’m just still baffled that Mokuba’s doing this over a cell phone. That he was like “I better call someone.” and instead of calling the Airline or the Coastguard he’s like “I’ll call Roland💗”

I’m pretty sure Roland saw that phone ringing with Mokuba in the callerID and was like “NO NO NO NO NO”

(read more under the cut)

Luckily for Roland, everyone at Kaiba corp has to learn how to fly planes in order to pass the entry exam.

For reals though, that plane just casually bumped off a mountain like it’s in Diddy Kong Racing.

There’s a lot of levels of brother’s saving brothers in this episode. You have Seto who thinks he’s saving Mokuba, but in fact it is Mokuba saving Seto by keeping this plane afloat. And then in reality, you can take another brother step backward and say it was Roland who was saving Mokuba who was saving Seto by giving the phone to that rando, and take even another step backward and say it was this Random Guy who was saving Roland who was saving Mokuba who was saving Seto.

So in reality, no brothers were really able to save eachother, it was actually that one secretary at the desk who screamed “JUST PULL THE LEVER HARDER, I DUNNO” until it worked.

But just remember that the theme of this episode is brothers saving brothers, although Mokuba is too small to really fly this plane, and Seto is too crazy to stop this duel and Roland is not really the secret inept heir of the Kaiba bloodline, and only in my little headcanon.

And also, I just have no idea who that random secretary is.

Anyways, Alister made this thing happen on the field.

Hey guys?

How many guns do you need on a tank?

Like I...

That is a hilarious amount of guns on this tank.

Like every character designer part of me is dying right now. It’s when you’re learning Maya, and you finally figure out the duplicate tool, and you just--you just strap a billion guns on a spaceship. We’ve all done this.

But like...this gunship has a face, and that face has it’s own tiny Oricalchos.

All I’m saying is that Alister is having a hell of a time in his Maya 101 class he takes at the local community college when he’s not busy working for Kaiba Corp Airlines or busy killing people for Dartz. I want to know what grade he got on this project, because in my Maya classes the only people who were this dedicated were building weird ass warships for their games or building intense 3D My Little Pony fanfic.

Here’s a list I can think of from the top of my head of challenges Seto Kaiba either quit or completely failed outright (basically the times Seto has NOPEd out or been forcibly kicked out):

-Joey Wheeler’s many challenges and also Spanish Class (as mentioned above)

-Beating Yugi in a card game

-Not joining Pegasus’ tourney initially so he could go on a vacation.

-We’ll just assume he’s only taken like a bunch of random college classes but only got an honorary degree

-Chess (like he was a Grand Master at one point but wtv, cards exist now)

-Didn’t arrest the Big Five or remove them from his mmo so they freakin died in there.

-Being the actual owner of the Millennium Rod

-Every time Yami tells him that they should be friends

-That whole story line where he was dating a dragon in a past life

-fulfilling that prophecy of killing Yami in the present timeline to end the world

-attempting to blow up his own battle city tournament before it was over because he didn’t win

-Getting all 3 Godcards

-When a possessed Tristan appeared over a mountain top to duel everyone and Seto just went “I’m out” and simply walked away

-Flying a blimp from point A to point B without it setting on fire

-Getting his Dad to build an amusement park

-Just anything to do with Noah

-the existence of magic in general

-every attempt he’s had to rebrand Kaiba Corp as “funtime games inc I swear we don't make tanks anymore, stop looking at all the tanks”

-Seto Kaiba’s entire Destiny storyline this season that he has gone way out of his way to get away from.

And like I’m sure there’s more, but I feel like half of Kaiba’s MO is that he is either Too Good To Bother With This or he has Lost Everything Very Dramatically. Mokuba at least has the right idea, by being one of the few people who has beaten Yugi Muto by peacing out halfway through the duel and stealing all Yugi’s stuff off of Yugi’s side of the table.

Anyway, despite it being like...5 seconds since we saw Roland in a weird cyber room in what I assume was Japan, we now see him with his head pressed against the glass of this helicopter being like “BOYS NO NOT AGAIN WHY”

And youknow, Roland was just trying to do the right thing, but he accidentally made things a million times worse by just showing up.

And so Alister was like “well I better crash the plane now with this gust of green energy that destroys all mechanical equipment.”

Really not sure how Alister was planning to leave this plane after this duel was over. I don’t know if he thinks that far ahead.

this isn’t even a joke I made up, Roland really did run up to the pilot and was like “Just throw down some ladders! That should work!” and it’s like...Do you not see the giant ship covered in a thousand guns right now, Roland?

And then Alister and Seto decide to have a fight about ethics where they’re both pretty wrong.

I mean it’s not the exact line but yes this is basically what Seto said, point blank, and I was like “well...at least he owns it.”

So cards happen, dragons get played (so MANY dragons) and because we had to end this arc, Alister loses the duel as we kind of knew he would.

And then Mokuba, because he knows no other life, sees an asshole older brother in pain and just wants to adopt him.

Enjoy that trauma tossed onto your already megalith sized trauma pile, Mokuba.

Elsewhere, the legendary dragons have started syncing again, which is a weird thing that they can do that none of these guys have any control of.

Mostly it just irritates whoever is holding these cards at the time.

But behold! the glory!

The glory of three tubby dragons wielding a plane!

It’s what Kaiba always wanted but he had absolutely no idea he was doing it. Will anyone tell him that he managed to summon three dragons to fly him around the sky like a mamma bird? No. No one bothers to tell him that his wildest dreams just came true.

FYI There were other stills of more of the dragons and the plane, but I kept pausing on instances where it kinda looked like they were humping the plane so I gave up.

But, at least we all get to meet up, around the smoke coming out the back of this giant plane that now...will just sit here...until someone sues KaibaCorp over it, I guess.

Like a soccermom, now Roland gets to give the whole frenemy crew a ride with...copters or whatever.

I dont’ know how Roland got here, y’all.

This happens a lot with animated shows, youknow, there’s a lot of plot threads, a lot of scenes and episodes that get freelanced out and outsourced, and people who make these shows aren’t working on the whole thing at once, they’re just going off of director notes--so there’s a good chance they had no idea that Roland...just shouldn’t be here.

But it’s OK, I enjoy whenever Roland is panicking in the background. He’s good set dressing.

Seto does not give any more explanation of this corpse.

And then, sprinting as fast as he could out of his copter comes Roland, who does what Roland does best. It’s this moment where you would usually see a parental figure reveal how much they care and adore their little children. But because it’s Roland, and these are the Kaibas, he instead takes this moment to reveal exactly how inept he is at the very last second.

Never change, Roland. I love this massive green haired disappointment.

Anyway, I’m not sure when I’ll get the next update out, since I’ll be knee deep in drawing art I don’t need to draw, but just know I’m not dead. Usually I post fanart or whatever, but all I have is this Dartz I started drawing but he just has so much hair that I don’t think that one will ever get even remotely finished.

But anyway, if you just got here, this is a link to read these from the start.

#Yugioh #ygo #seto kaiba #mokuba #roland #yami muto #joey wheeler #tristan taylor #alister #tea gardner #S4 #Ep23 #episode recap #photo recap

[mikami]

Death Note Audio Drama 01

Disk 1: Pattern Recognition - a summary / partial translation

The Death Note audio drama is a German audiobook production that is officially licensed, but has been written and produced without any further involvement from the Japanese copyright holders. A Japanese release is, as such, not planned. An English release was announced in 2017 and has since never received any more news nor a release date announcement.

The audio drama starts of pretty benign as a retelling of the manga with some changed facts and dialogues.... and eventually full-on diverges from the plot and leads to a completely alternative ending. It’s pretty wild for officially licensed media. Wild enough to absolutely warrant being shared with the English-speaking fandom at large.

Since the whole drama is 12 hours in total in 12 disks (covering roughly one manga volume each), I won’t be able to provide a full translation and instead will summarize the less juicy bits while doing a full translation of anything funny or interesting. 

All future episodes will be found in this tag on my blog.

Without further ado, let’s begin.

We open to the sound of someone typing.

LIGHT: Something is rotten. Post-modern. Post-truth. Post-Justice. Day in day out, the same lies in endless repetition. Killers get away with murder. Drug dealers sell poison to children. The world is drowning in its own filth. The world is infected with corruption. I am the cure. I am the--

A knocking sound.

SACHIKO (muffled): Dinner is ready, dear!

LIGHT (groans, but then goes on): I am the surgeon who cuts out the cancer, I am the--

More knocking.

SACHIKO: It’s your favourite dish!

LIGHT: One second, mom! 

SACHIKO: Are you talking to your friends online again?

LIGHT: It’s fine, mom, I’m coming!

SACHIKO: Hurry up, it’s getting cold.

______

We cut to a scene of the task force entering the school in which Kuroh Otoharada has taken children hostage. The scene is fairly simple. Someone (I think Matsuda?) is pretty violently insistent on shooting Otoharada if necessary. They find Otoharada dead in the bathroom. 

______

Ryuk, who has a voice like a friendly fat little man narrating fairytales, tells us the rules of the Death Note. We cut to Light coming home and giving Sachiko his test results. They cut out the whole ‘number one in the nation’ and simply changed it to top grades in a nation-wide test exam. Probably because Germany doesn’t have ranking lists like that at all.

_______

A TV report about Otoharada is playing. A lady named Noriko Takai is trying to interview Matsuda about the incident. Matsuda refers her to the upcoming pref-conference, but admits that Otoharada died of a heart attack.

_______

Typing noises again.

LIGHT: To all those who are interested... If you are reading this text, something went wrong. If you are reading this, I might even be dead. In that case, dear me, dear Light Yagami. This is your younger self. In case you’ve forgotten everything, this story may be hard to believe, yet every word is true. Yeah... You found a notebook on the school grounds. Yeah... It claimed to have the power of bringing death to anyone you name in it. And yeah... you laughed about it. You were thinking of a prank. However... you couldn’t resist, am I right? You wrote the name of this guy from the school hostage taking and he died. But it could have been a coincidence. So you tried again. And what you saw, scared you. But in the same moment, you understood the power you had. So you ran home into your room and the confirmation was already waiting for you. With his claws, and glowing devil’s eyes.

________

Ryuk is indeed in Light’s bedroom. The meeting dialogue is largely very similar to the manga. However, this snippet happens....

LIGHT: I didn’t expect something so---

RYUK: Something so demonic? I’m hurt. I’m quite the catch for a denizen of the netherworld. I could be a sex god, if I wasn’t so good with death.

Ryuk elaborates that the notebook now belongs to Light, that nobody can see him, that he wasn’t chosen, that the shinigami world is boring... yadda yadda, we know this from the anime already. Light says his famous “if someone dies, does that make me a murderer?” line and Ryuk just says “of course it does.” Another funny Ryuk line: “You killed someone else too? Awww, you’re my man.”

________

In a flashback Light walks Shinjuku. Takuo Shibuimaru shows up and Light kills him, hurray. 

Back in the present:

RYUK: Fantastic. You killed this guy for flirting with a woman?

LIGHT: She wanted to be left alone.

RYUK: Alllright, social justice warrior. But isn’t that a little... strict?

Light launches into a speech about his ambitions. Ryuk keeps pointing out that he is afraid. Light gets annoyed at being condescended, since Ryuk is the one who gave him the weapon in the first place. However, he also admits to being scared. But still, someone needs to do it. But who else could do it, if not him? Etc, etc, etc. HE WILL MAKE A BETTER WORLD.

_______

A TV segment about the early Kira deaths. The chief prosecutor is under fire for treating prisoners badly, since people assume the prisoners died of bad food in prison. Other people deny that this is how it is, because they assume that bad food would have more than 3 victims. Someone else assumes it is the will of God. Some other guy is praising whoever does the killing in a flippant and humorous tone. The interviewer criticizes him for these views.

________

L: Come in, Watari, come in. 

WATARI: I thought you might already be in bed, Mr. L. It’s fairly late.

L: No sleep, no, not sleeping. Can’t sleep. 

WATARI: How much coffee did you...

L: There’s a killer on the loose, Watari!

WATARI: That is always the case, Mr. L.

L: No, this time it’s different. Different, you understand? I looked at the data, check it out. Heart attacks going through the roof.

WATARI: The deaths among criminals? Wasn’t that about the food?

L: No, it can’t be the food, when it’s taking place so hand-picked and world-wide. These people can’t all have been poisoned by the same dose. What do the deaths have in common...? The only connection really appears to be that all of them are criminals...

WATARI: You are a master in pattern recognition, L. You’re famous for it. 

L (laughs): Famous, yeah. We have to contact interpol. I looked at the data. Someone is killing criminals by the dozens. We need to talk to interpol.

WATARI: They had a conference announced for later today anyway. Well... tomorrow. In their time.

L: Time? Time zones, of course! 

WATARI: Mr. L...? 

L: Let’s look back at the data for a moment. 

_______

Ryuk is impressed by how many people Light killed. Light admits to getting nightmares due to it, but he also is determined about his mission. He explains his idea of heart attacks leading to recognition of the pattern. Ryuk is pretty flippant about Light’s plan, saying he is the only danger to mankind.

_______

Nature noises.

WATARI: Are we working in the park now, Mr. L?

L: I need to stay on the move. Change wifi hotspots.

WATARI: Isn’t that a little... paranoid?

L: In the face of a killer who can kill from a distance? No, it’s only appropriate. Completely appropriate. Watari... You need to create a filter. Something to distort my voice over the phone. 

WATARI: That’ll be done in no time, Mr. L.

L now explains his initial idea of how to catch the killer. He asks WHEN someone would use their power to kill and concludes that they’d do it after work before bed, in free time timeframes. L assumes someone would likely kill between 4pm and 2am, but which timezone? 78% of people die in that timeframe, in GMT-10. Thus L narrows it down to countries in that timezone for a start. And he also wants to factor in weekends, holidays, other free time events... for all those countries, to narrow it down with reference to the 32% of killings done at other times. 

_______

The interpol meeting is in session. The French representative argues that if the assumption is that this is black magic or something, then it isn’t under their jurisdiction. After all there are no laws about magic or cursing people. The US representative and meeting leader explains that there weren’t any laws about cyber crimes (or even a concept of cyber crimes) either before there were computers. Thus she argues in favor of investigating. 

________

RYUK: I mean, I love it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a god of death and you are basically my dedicated intern.

LIGHT: Can’t you just---

RYUK: I will just do what I feel like. You can’t write my name into my own book. I am practically the only living being on this planet that is pretty much safe from you. And that’s exactly why I’m asking: when is it over? I look at you, putting on airs full of significance, how you’re killing the killers, the rapists, the serial killers.... You declared yourself the highest arbiter. 

LIGHT: Someone has to do it. Someone has to tidy up!

RYUK: And what happens when you’re done with murderers? Tax evaders? Jaywalkers? Two hairdressers having a brawl at a bar? Where do you draw the line after which the world is cleansed? Let me tell you something. This world has always been a cesspit. 

LIGHT: I’ll know it when it happens.

RYUK: Or when someone stops you.

LIGHT: Oh come on, who’s supposed to find me?

______

Back at Interpol, they’re debating the need for an international task force. Soichiro suggests bringing in L. French representative is just like “oooh, you’re calling a mystery to solve a mystery?”. Who L is gets explained.

Watari comes in and explains that L is already on the case. L’s message is played. He wants cooperation from the police.

______

A TV report about further killings. A different channel, a religious speaker claims the final days have come. A different channel again, a stand-up comedian talks about the Kira case and jokes that if all killers gets killed nobody would be left to run the government. Says he’d love to do it, but he smoked weed as a college student, so he’s probably on the list too....

Yet another channel recalls that the most popular theory about the killing has religious qualities and that people online are talking of “Kira, the saviour”. 

Light turns off the audio on the TV and Ryuk complains.

RYUK: They assume Kira is male... How sexist.

Light is currently busy googling ‘Kira’. Light complains that people don’t manage to spell ‘Killer’ correctly, if that is what they mean to say. Ryuk is the one who brings up how ‘you Japanese’ swap L and R and thus explains the name.

Then the Lind L. Tailor broadcast happens and Ryuk tells Light to put the audio back on.  

______

The Task Force is discussing the broadcast. Matsuda thought L would be more self-assured and less... reading his text off flash cards. He then realizes the name sounds familiar to him and looks it up. 

______

Light talks to Ryuk about writing Tailor’s name and does so. He dies.

LIGHT: Oopsiedaisy, heart attack.

L’s voice picks right back up. Light is confused and angry. L explains the scheme. The taunt proceeds as in the manga.

_____

Matsuda is just like ‘I tried to tell you, boss. Tailor was on death row’.

______

There is actually noises of Light breaking things in his room as he gets mad about this. Ryuk tells him to calm down. L disconnects on TV.

RYUK: Mic drop. Rock ‘n’ Roll.

LIGHT: Shut up.

______

Matsuda and Soichiro have their conversation about L’s stunt and also Kira lowering crime rate while Soichiro is rushing to catch the train home.

______

SAYU: Oh no, not curry again....

SACHIKO: Sayu, you love curry, you---

SAYU: That was when I was 6, mom! It makes you fat.

SACHIKO: Don’t be silly, dearie.

LIGHT: Everything makes you fat, if you eat too much of it.

SACHIKO: Thanks, Light. At least one person in this family uses his brain. You get that from your dad.

As if on cue, Soichiro comes home. He is delighted about the curry. Talks about the Kira case. He also brings up the idea of Kira being a teenager. Light chokes on his curry quite lengthily at that. 

______

Ryuk expresses his surprise at Soichiro leading the investigation. Light comes up with his plan to change the time of death.

______

L calls Soichiro and Soichiro gives him the news that Kira now kills hourly. L declares people connected to the investigators to be suspects.

______

The US Interpol representative and Watari are meeting for coffee, though Watari does not get coffee because it messes with his heart-rate. Watari requests the FBI to supervise in Japan. Specifically the FBI because the CIA might include a mole. The FBI meanwhile is meant for inland and thus not yet related to the case and can function as external. The representative is pretty shocked and initially refuses, based on the rules for the FBI. 

______

Three detectives leave the case because they don’t want to risk their lives by fighting Kira. 

______

Watari informs L that the FBI has agreed to investigate. L has already looked into the suspect pool via social media. Related to investigators, 16-24, only in the Kanto region.... 

______

Ryuk informs Light of someone tailing him. It’s a lengthy dialogue but very canon-close and not super interesting.

LIGHT: If this is the police....

RYUK: You’ll put up your hands and surrender?

LIGHT: I’m going to have to kill them. All of them.

RYUK: Yeah, that’s what I thought.

#death note #audio drama translations #light yagami #l lawliet

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff's Best of 2019

WARNING: Just wanted to say cheers to you for making it through another year. I send you best wishes for next year to be fruitful. Thank you, take care out there, and enjoy. (Best of 2017) (Best of 2018)

Dedicated to Russi Taylor, John Witherspoon, Rip Torn, Tartar Sauce, Caroll Spinney, Peter Matthews, and the many of KyoAni lost in the arson incident. You all did wonderful; rest in peace.

Welp, I figured the last year of this decade would be the most chaotic one by far, then again everything peak after 2012. As for now, I am counting down the best cartoons/animations/comics I’ve seen and loved this year in no particular order other than #1. Same rules apply: No sneak previews of future projects, no repeats, and this time anything goes.

Runner Ups: Superman Smashes the Klan, Marvel’s Aero, Infinity Train, Enter the Florpus, Amphibia, Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart, Helluva Boss, Meta Runner, Lego Movie 2, Forky Asks a Question

Anyways, Badda boom bang whiz, let’s do this shizz...

10. Super Mario Bros GT

Nostalgia can be quite a mystery, especially one that can come out of nowhere. Super Mario Bros Z kicked so much ass as a kid that now, it still frustrates me to this that it got a cease & desist from Nintendo, even the reboot from the same person couldn’t last long. But the gods have offered a slight miracle in the form of this new spiritual successor that has heart and soul put into every pixelated frame. There is much to celebrate with Youtube animation, where many say it’s dying due to the algorithm and all of the site’s corporate bullshit, but it’s stuff like this which helps me understand why we should celebrate. Against all odds, channels like Smasher Block willfully put their works out their for the people and continues to because on top of getting a little dough, it’s what they want to do.

9. DC SUPER HERO GIRLS (2019)

Awwwwww yeah, this is She-Ra and the Princesses of Power done right. Diverse female squad, each given a quality screen time to truly shine (Beecher especially) on their which makes the episodes where they’re all together feel earned and joyous to watch. Certainly reminds me of Friendship is Magic, which is coincidental since they were created by the same woman. I’d like to think this and MLP G4 were the answers to Faust’s cancelled project Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls where multiple personalities collide to one extraordinary superhero team of girls capable great feats that are lifted from their insecurities or drawbacks. And on top of this being a fun series to kick back to all around, it’s a comforting, somewhat aspiring thought to consider.

8. JOKER

I am somebody that rarely goes to the theaters to watch a film; you have to hook my tight just for me to even think of buying a ticket, no less plan to. But honestly, Joker was worth the hype, the ticket, and the fact that it wasn’t the incel uprising that buttfuck normies tried to make it out as. It’s lower on the list because in thought, there definitely could’ve been some tweaks to the dialogue and a couple scenes that I felt didn’t work in the long run. But really, this movie to me worked because of the escalation that leads to a cathartic climax and ending that left me in actual tears. I don’t give a shit if it “doesn’t fit”, having Frank Sinatra sing the film's credits put me in shambles. Joaquin Phoenix was phenomenal as Arthur, and this movie felt authentic in its many details. This is definitely up there with my favorite comic book films of all time. Good thing, too, Spider-Man was taking up most of that shelf.

7. TUCA & BERTIE

This series being what I can’t help but say is a spin-off to Bojack Horseman, a show I respect, was enough to pull me into watching it. But it being like Bojack where it’s tight-roping between a bouncy comedy and a grounded drama was what kept me around for more. It is a damn shame this was cancelled after one season (while 13 Reasons Why gets FOUR seasons like what the fuck), because while this did feel enough like a complete series, I was certainly interested for more because I really enjoyed it all. I have my issue with a couple choices in the show, but I am sure this series would’ve addressed them later down the line. I can see why some women would find this personally endearing, it felt like the personal stories of actual people, and it deserved better. Either way, I enjoyed this series and I recommend it just as much as Bojack.

6. PRIMAL

Genndy Tartakovsky is that kind of cartoon creator where you feel he’ll go beyond if you give him the right amount of space. He’s not a perfectionist like John “Dirty Diddler” Kricfalusi, but with things like Hotel Transylvania and Samurai Jack, he certainly has proven to have the range in animation where you know how he plays. Primal showcasing his noted skill in dialogue-less storytelling and dynamic action scenes, able to convey everything clear with its ruthless yet careful protagonist and his dinosaur friend, all on top of the most luscious backgrounds. This is a series that definitely feels like Genndy’s taken what he’s used from his previous works and putting it together for a brutal yet passionate look at the prehistoric life. He truly brought us an adult series to enjoy and to look forward to more in the coming year.

5. SPINEL

Bet you didn’t expect a character to be on this list, eh? Spinel is the best thing to come out of Steven Universe in general; makes me wish she was in a better movie. The crew certainly did their darndest to make her not only an enjoyable and connectable character through and through, but a very versatile character that the fandom could take in any which way. Call it corny, but Spinel perfectly represents SU as a whole: a lovable goof that can certainly mean business but deep down is deserved of a hug because of what she’s gone through. Wish she had a more satisfying resolution in her respective debut, but really it’s the balance between those three elements mentioned that makes Spinel almost eternally wonderful.

4. MOB PSYCHO 100 II

As someone that doesn’t like reading, I’m a firm believer that the best animations or visual medias elevate the writing to a memorable degree; the visuals hook to the point where you want to think about what you saw and how it was conveyed. Mob Psycho 100, for two seasons now, does this in spades where Studio Bones throw them bones in animating one of the most dynamic animes of the modern era, providing the writing and characters a proper chance to flex its muscles. The characters are especially what makes this and MP100 as a whole work so well, the story being about a boy learning to be more sociable as well as emotionally stronger all while helping others understand maturity and empathy. For more on this, I recommend Hiding in Public’s video(s) on Mob. But with the animation, Bones was able to provide a sense of impact and immersion to the moments that matter, not making it an overstimulating mess, and putting some respect on ONE’s webcomic art style. 

3. KLAUS

Hands down, this is a great Christmas movie. Take away the animation and you have a charming, wanna say ground and authentic, story about the makings of Santa Claus. With memorable and likable characters, a nice escalation in terms of the plot, and moments that are/can be so satisfying, they can bring you to tears. A couple overdone tropes in the road that doesn’t make this the most perfected story, but those sincerely minor compared to everything else that makes this story the best. Now. Add in the animation, and you have a gold, nay a platinum animated story of the year where the visuals definitely enhance the story to a degree where they’re undoubtedly inseparable. The visuals alone is enough to check this movie out and it’s eye-opening when you learn of how it’s all done. Klaus is a film that did it’s job and then some, and I hope this will be well remembered as a classic holiday film for it deserves that status.

2. BEASTARS

I’ll be fair, I’m mostly referring to the manga and not the anime but since the anime premiered this fall, it counts. Because be it the anime or the series overall, Beastars has such well intricate world building all while offering a little something for everyone (violence, romance, slice of life). The story is well paced and even when we aren’t focusing on the main characters momentarily, Itagaki is surprisingly able to make every supporting/side character we come across memorable in their own way; like I said before, the city is much a character in this story. Oh yeah, and the mangaka is the daughter of Keisuke “Grappler Baki” Itagaki, that in itself is a treasuring bit of trivia for this. Everything about Beastars is enticing and Studio Orange certainly helped in giving this series more of a following.

1. GREEN EGGS & HAM

Well, well, well. Guess Netflix is three for three in terms of bringing its best foot forward among its few steps back each year. The best term to describe this series is surprising. Surprising that this is a Dr. Seuss story that got expanded a 13 episode series, that has fleshed out characters, fun hijinks, an easy story, lovely emotional, more quieter moments... on top of being 2D hand drawn animated. I mean, what else is there to say? Green Eggs and Ham is to Dr. Seuss what Seven was for Final Fantasy, what Friendship is Magic was for MLP, what watermelon was before a nice menthol cigarette. This definitely took the top spot because to me, it was able to bring many good elements from the previous entries and knot it all together into a well kept bow that I never knew I wanted until now. I’m genuinely glad this show got to exist the way it is and I am hoping, praying, that the second season keeps that momentum up.

That leads us to the actual number one which is

1. STEVEN UNIVERSE FUT-

Total Dramarama is now the two time World Heavyweight Champion, babey. Will 2020 give us a quality contender? Will the streak last another year?

Stay tuned, and always seek out the Good Stuff.

#best of 2019 #cartoons #animation #anime #Good Stuff #Super mario bros gt #super mario bros z #dc super hero girls #dc super hero girls 2019 #joker #joker 2019 #joker movie #tuca and bertie #tuca & bertie #primal #genndy tartakovsky's primal #spinel #su spinel #su future #mob psycho 100 #mp100 #klaus #klaus movie #beastars #beastars anime #green eggs and ham #geah #green eggs and ham netflix #total dramarama #long post

[curestardust]

if you want: shounen protagonist with Big Brain / science!! / EXCITING science!! / interesting main character / nice cast / great art / unique (? Stone Age + Modern Science)

Let’s skip the “it’s always risky to choose an anime from the top of the seasonal list” and just get into the anime because Dr. Stone is something that blends 2 popular trends together and makes it actually work.

One is of course the Shounen which in itself doesn’t mean much but it’s almost always accompanied by epic and grand fight scenes which DrS doesn’t have! Of course, it does have a few “fight scenes” here and there but they are short and always plot related. The second is the “the writer has an incredible amount of very specific knowledge in a subject and pours all that into a story” genre (which I can’t believe still doesn’t have a specific genre name). Here, it’s SCIENCE BABY. Mostly chemistry but applied physics does play a big part as well.

Shortly about the story: some mysterious light flashes across the Earth and petrifies every human. Doesn’t kill them; simply turns them into conscious statues. About 3000 years later, the first human and our main character, Senku, breaks out of his petrficiation. He then sets out to use his brain to get back to modern humanity as fast as possible and revive all humans. 

Let me say, this anime has one of the best main characters in recent Shounen history. Senku is overpowered... but in a way that he is insanely smart. They don’t even try to pretend he has any physical prowess and that’s!!! So good!!! Because this means that Senku can’t use some sudden physical skill to solve anything he HAS to rely on his brain. Which is filled with a lot of way too specific information. Some stuff makes sense; he is shown to be a “tinkerer” as a kid, taking things apart and putting them together. He is also the president of the science club where they seem to mostly be doing chemical experiments. But there are certain things he makes where you’re like “HOW do you know how to make that and WHY” but honestly? I didn’t care. Because...

I goddamn love science y’all. I.. wanted to be an astrophysicist. You know when I still had hope for my future. I’m not very good at it! I’m bad at maths and I’m bad at building things and I’m especially bad at chemistry but damn, DAMN if I don’t love it despite all that! Sorry, I get way too passionate talking about science, so let’s move on.

Senku’s personality is also very unique for a Shounen protagonist. While most are either hyperactive dumbasses (*cough* Naruto) or cutie patootie badasses (*cough* Deku), Senku almost comes off as an antihero due to his seeming “I-don’t-give-a-shit-let’s-make-science” attitude but he is actually shown to have, you know, feelings. Guilt, grief, regret. We don’t get to see his emotional side much besides a few scenes and he plays it off afterwards anyway (very relatable) but it’s there and it makes him even more human. He also doesn’t take credit for everything; he praises everyone whenever they do something smart or useful and it’s such a breath of fresh air to see a protagonist who relies on others and isn’t ashamed of it.

The rest of the cast is also (mostly) great and likeable. Interesting personalities with all their unique qualities.

The art is really something else as well. The 2nd OP has a few scenes from the actual anime but you couldn’t tell at all! This is impressive as OPs are usually much higher quality than the show. True, if you payed close attention to the 2nd half you’d have seen a sliiiiiight drop in quality but they hide it very well and they keep up the quality of the key frames.

I do have some minor complaints, I guess. One of the characters really started to get on my nerve (you know who if you’ve seen it). There’s a bit too drawn out flashback episode about midway that broke the flaw AND introduced some possible plot holes from a scientific perspective.

BUT... don’t care, had a lot of fun! Making science this exciting, involving and easy to understand while never getting boring is a feat to accomplish and Dr. Stone did it. 

[10/10] (x)

Recommend: HELL Yeah! | Yes | Eh??? | Nope | This anime killed my parents

#dusty reviews #drs #dr. stone #dr stone #i never know what to write exactly for stuff that i liked so this is a mess bye

[violetosprey]

Good/Redeemed Male Yandere Examples

So I decided to organize a little and make this post after a long conversation I had with someone on tumblr recently.  In the conversation, I stated both my general definitions of a “good yandere” and a “redeemed yandere,” as well as gave a brief list of examples I’ve seen.

I figure not everyone’s going to want to hunt back through the original post specifically for the list every time, so here’s a shortcut for you.  I’m basically copy pasting what I said before (with maybe some rewording on some parts so they make sense).  It’s a small list and those that have been around the block looking for male yanderes will probably recognize these titles.

You’ll notice not a lot of otome game characters make the list here because a) that’s not what the original asker was interested in and b) to be honest a lot of yanderes in otome games come from the “bad endings.”  That’s falling more in the villain category then.

So HOPEFULLY, with the good/redeemed male yanderes, I have remained consistent at the very least with what they are.  Please feel free to let me know if the definitions below don’t appear to have been very evident in my posts, or if this contradicts past posts too much:

-        Good Yandere: Still exhibits behavior and actions of a yandere that are deemed either inappropriate or bad when displaying one’s affection for the love interest, BUT still manages to keep certain behavior in “check” for the sake of their love interest (and possibly others), and shows genuine love as opposed to just obsession towards their S/O

-        Redeemed Yandere:  A yandere who somehow changed to understand that they need to respect/understand the point of view and feelings of those around them (particularly their love interest).  Usually start off over-the-top, crazy, or villainous, but realize they’ve gone too far and end up changing for the better.  Redeemed yandere can then either end up as “good yanderes” or actually fall out of the yandere category if they decide to either love in a more natural manner, or even forfeit their love interest to someone else.

Male Yandere

1)      Nozomu from Hadashi de bara wo fume (Stepping on Roses) – Redeemed Yandere

While not a fan of the artwork for the story, it’s one of the best examples of a prominent male yandere in a story.  Used him as an example for my “good endings” post.  Without spoiling exactly what happens, I will make it clear that he just becomes redeemed, not a good yandere.

2)      Kairak from Abide in the Wind – Redeemed Yandere?

I can’t find the raws to read, and it’s still being translated.  I am 99% sure this has a happy ending though.  I actually really recommend this story in general.  Seeing as Kairak is both literally and figuratively a “different animal,” he’s a good example of making a character that becomes a very clear yandere, but that it makes sense what happened and why he can be forgiven.  It’s all about how the character is set up.  Like I said, I haven’t seen all the raws though, and I don’t want to spoil too much here.

3)      Toma from Amnesia- Redeemed?/Good?

First off, I don’t know if you want to include this guy because while there’s an anime, it’s technically based off an otome game.  So it’s really only just…episode 9 and 10 I’d say you can take a peek at for fun. Since it’s based off an otome game and only a 12 episode anime series, it’s kind of shallow though with the change. That’s why I’d say it’s kind of questionable if you agree with what Toma does and why and if he properly learned his lesson.  So I can’t outright declare him as a “good yandere” or a “redeemed yandere.”  That’s probably more of a personal opinion thing. …It doesn’t help that I find him kind of cute though *sweats*

4)      Jung Yu from Cheese in the Trap- Good?

It’s a Korean webcomic that I really enjoy.  This one would require quite a bit of investment from the reader though to determine what they think of Jung.  I’m going to be blunt…there are many signs in the series that he’s actually a sociopath (or close to one).  No, this isn’t a horror or thriller webcomic.  This would be what I’d say is the best example of a sociopath who is NOT a psychopath.  Sociopaths generally don’t care about others, just themselves.  It’s REALLY hard to explain, and Jung still has some genuine caring moments.  Like I said, this would be a project to get into if you want to properly determine if Jung is a “good yandere,” if you can even call him a yandere at all.  I haven’t read the end yet, so I don’t know if he “redeems” either.  Just know that in this story, Jung does/thinks some things that are “not right.” But he’s in love with Seol I believe. The yandere moments are sadly spread out too, but you’d notice them.

5)      Onyu No from Metronome- Good

At least I think he is. Story is still getting translated. Guy’s definitely a yandere, and I recommend this because other characters than just him appear to have an obsession with the main character.  So far based on the plot…I think you can call him good?  Will kind of have to see what happens.  He’s also the type that would never want to harm his S/O (at least I think so), so that’s a plus.

6)      Darin Kim from Cherry Boy, that Girl- Redeemed

You know what…I actually DON’T consider him a yandere XD  Which is weird, because he has many moments displaying behavior that is EXACTLY like a yandere.  I can only attribute this to how…less threatening I feel he his?  Don’t get me wrong though, he’s pretty darn manipulative. I just wanted to put this on here because I recommend it a lot.  Warning, you will hate ALL the characters though for the first few chapters.  You gotta ride it out a bit to get past the point “I don’t sympathize with anyone here, what the heck?”  You get to the GOOD development later, trust me.  Because Darin portrays at least yandere behavior, I’d say check it out to judge for yourself.  It’s completely translated and finished.  If you call him a yandere, I’d say he’s redeemed at the end.  Up to the reader if they’d ever call him “good.”

7)      Jarte from 100% Perfect Girl- Redeemed/Good?

Actually a manhwa, not a manga.  Like a modern day Cinderella tale.  Jarte’s yandere side starts to come out more as the story progresses and the drama occurs (serious drama at least).  I’d definitely call him redeemed by the end.  DURING the story you can debate if you’d call him a “good yandere.”  I don’t it personally.  He REALLY loves Jay, but yeah the stuff he ends up doing would not be okay in real life :P  Most of the yandere stuff is the last 2 volumes I believe (but there’s minor hints before then).  This is one of those one’s that’s either going to draw people in due to the way that Jarte and Jay talk with each other (or avoid talking with each other) on how their relationship is/was at any current point in time…or it’ll drive you nuts and make you pull your hair out honestly because they seem crazy.  This is actually one of my favorites where I feel I like how it came to the ending it did, but in real life I would have never forgiven Jarte :P

8)      …Some manga I found recently that I CAN’T REMEMBER THE NAME OF!!!- Good

Look the premise is that the male yandere kidnaps a young girl he’s obsessed with, but she’s totally cool with that.  The reason is because she’s glad to be away from her abusive parents.  I haven’t read too much into it yet, but the yandere himself is thinking “she probably needs to put her guard up around me more than she realizes, because I CLEARLY have something wrong with me” (cue room covered with photos of the S/O).  I’ll have to see if I find it again sometime.  This would be a good reference though for a good yandere who has very clear yandere behavior, but due to other circumstances in the story, is not as much of the bad guy as one would think.

…wow where the heck are my yaoi stories?  I know I’ve read a bunch of them, but most were probably short with a Japanese title so I can’t remember right now >_<  That or they stuck with the villain trend I liked so no point in putting them here anyway.  There’s two off the top of my head right now still in the works that are WAY too extreme for me to consider either of the villains “good yanderes” at any point.

Bonus: Female Yandere

1)      Yuno Gasai from Mirai Nikki/Future Diary – Redeemed/Good

People can still debate on her I guess, but I’d say she’s good because of the circumstances of the game they’re thrown into, and a lot of people believe at the end it develops into a genuine loving relationship.

2)      For the love of god, WHY CAN’T I REMEMBER SOME OF THE “GOOD” YANDERE STORIES?! -Good

Look there’s this comedy one I found awhile back.  Not a lot of chapters, but it’s a female yandere whose boyfriend is fully aware she’s a yandere.  It’s a great use of dark comedy, and the boyfriend is actually pretty good at keep her on a leash (and he does love her).  I wish I could remember the name though.  If you find it, it’s not long right now and at least it’s a good reference for comedic yanderes in a relationship with their S/O :P

Aaaaand sorry that’s all I can think of at the moment XD.  I mostly find female yanderes by accident :P  I’m usually just hunting for the males.  Some people can debate if a certain magical girl from Madoka Magica is “good,” but I’ll leave that up to them :P  I’ve pretty sure there’s a bunch of female yanderes not from otome games that are redeemed or “good,” I’m just drawing a blank at the moment.

So what you might have noticed from this list is it may be more common to find a redeemed yandere rather than a “good yandere.”  You more often will see the yandere give up after a long fight or learn to love like a normal person would, rather than maintain their yandere qualities by the end. They can be “good yanderes” during the story if the character is fleshed out enough and it complements the plot, but it’s super rare for them to still be a “good yandere” by the end of the story.

#own post #yandere #male yandere #good ending #redeemed #storytelling

[deadcactuswalking]

BLAST TO THE PAST: 1st July 2001

Hello again and welcome to BLAST TO THE PAST, where we review UK Top 40 charts from decades ago to see what was happening all the way back then. We’re taking a break from the 1980s and zooming past in lightspeed to 2001, specifically the week of 1st-7th July, as Summer had started to kick in. This chart in particular has some classics and some notable events, which we’ll get into right now.

Top 10

Okay, so first, we have a debut – yep, that’s right, it’s not just intense streaming that lands songs at #1 immediately, there were songs that were big enough to sell just that many copies to get to the top at their first week. At number-one, we have “The Way to Your Love” by megastars Hear’Say, who were pretty damn big in the UK, this being their second chart-topping single. Oh, yeah, and they were created by an ITV reality show, because, I mean, of course they were! They’re a British pop group from the 2000s.

Sadly, we don’t see the rise, yet we see the fall of classic cover “Lady Marmalade”, by the all-star cast of Christina Aguilera, P!nk, Lil Kim and Mýa, from the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack, down one spot to number-two.

We have another top five debut, and not the last top 10 debut, with Usher’s “U Remind Me” starting its chart run at number-three.

At number-four, dropping two places from last week, we have “Angel” by Shaggy featuring Rayvon.

Number-five is home to two-spot-dropper “There You’ll Be” by country singer Faith Hill, from the Pearl Harbor soundtrack.

At number-six, we have the debut of Gorillaz’ “19-2000” featuring uncredited vocals from Miho Hatori as well as founding Talking Heads members Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz.

“All I Want” by Alesha Dixon-fronted R&B girl group Mis-Teeq has dropped three spaces to its current spot at number-seven.

Do any of you remember Brandy? Because I sure don’t. Apparently she was huge, but I remember her feature on a Kanye track from Late Registration and that’s pretty much it. It’s somewhat strange that she collaborated with Ray “Hey-Fab-I’mma-kill you” J of all people, but—Wait a second! They’re siblings? And Ray J is Snoop Dogg’s cousin? Wow, he really had connections, huh? Anyway, Brandy and Ray J’s cover of Phil Collins’ “Another Day in Paradise” is down three spots to number-eight.

“Another Lover” by another-rando Dane Bowers debuts at number-nine. If you’re wondering who this Dane fellow is, he was in a boyband called Another Level then he was on “Celebrity” Big Brother. In fact, I don’t think I know who this dude is, and I see no reason to find out.

“Do You Really Like It” by DJ Pied Piper and the Masters of Ceremonies finished off the top 10 with a four-space drop back to the final spot in the ten most popular songs of the country as of July 1st, 2001.

Climbers

Let me tell you now – there weren’t many at all. In fact, other than the number-one, there weren’t any songs climbing the charts, rather a whole lot of new entries and a whole lot of fallers.

Fallers

Where do we start?

“Daydream in Blue” by electronica duo (sharing their name with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode) I Monster is down 11 spots to #40, “It’s Over Now” by Diddy’s favourite R&B group 112 is down 17 spots to #39 and “Best Friends” by pop group allSTARS* is down eight spots to #38, who had a show on CITV in 2001, and appeared on the Scooby-Doo soundtrack the same year, so I’m assuming they were for kids by kids.

“Close to You” by Wet Wet Wet singer Marti Pellow is down 16 to #37, “No More (Baby I’ma Do it Right)” by three (forgettable) little women known as 3LW is down 10 to #36, “Digital Love” by the best robots in music Daft Punk is down 11 spots to #35, “Out of Reach” by soul singer Gabrielle is down seven spots to #34, “Sing” by alternative rock band Travis is down 10 spots to #33, “Ride wit Me” by Kelly Rowland’s former crush Nelly featuring rapper City Spud is down six spots to #31, “It’s Raining Men” by ex-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell is down 10 to #30, the classic “Papercut” by nu-metal band Linkin Park is down 15 to #29, 1980’s hit “Electric Avenue” by Eddy Grant is here for some reason, but it’s down nine to #28... seriously, why is this here? Apparently it had a “ringbang remix” which landed it into the top five in 2001. Huh, you learn something new and kind of dumb every day.

“Booo!” by lost-in-time musician Sticky (no, not Sticky Fingaz, this Sticky is some nobody without a Wikipedia page) featuring rapper Ms. Dynamite is down 11 to #27, “Here and Now” by the freaking Steps is down nine to #26, “This Time Around” by house music duo Phats & Small is down 15 from #15 to #25, “Thank You” by Dido – best known for Eminem’s excellent use of it as a sample in “Stan” – is down six spots to #24, “Have a Nice Day” by Britpop band Stereophonics is down eight to #20, as is “We Come 1” by electronica group Faithless at #19 as well as “My Way” by walking punchlines Limp Bizkit at #18. “Don’t Stop Movin’” by S Club 7 is down five to #14, as is “All Rise” by boyband Blue at #13. Wow, that was a lot!

Dropouts

Some data in this section may be inaccurate or non-existent, so bear with me as not all drop-outs will be noted in this section, mostly due to the fact that we don’t know a lot of them and I’m just going by what’s there on the UK Singles Chart’s official website.

There weren’t any returning entries this week, so I figured we’d go straight to the drop-outs that we know of, of which there are quite a few of, like “Cold as Ice” by M.O.P. (the Mash-Out Posse) dropping out from #36, “Heard it All Before” by Sunshine Anderson out from #35, “Rock da Funky Beats” by Public Domain featuring Public Enemy Chuck D out from #33, “Video” by India Arie out from #32, “Free” by Mýa out from #39, “Fiesta” by living trash-bag R. Kelly out from #38, “Never Enough” by Boris Dlugosch and Roisin Murphy out from #40, “Musak” by Trisco out from #28, “Jonathan David” by Belle & Sabastian out from #31, “Voodoo” by Warrior out from #37 and, finally, “Let U Go” by ATB out from #34.

NEW ARRIVALS

Now, let’s just jump right into talking about the ELEVEN new arrivals we have this week. I’ll try and keep it brief.

#32 – “Innocente (Falling in Love)” – Delerium featuring Leigh Nash

So, Delerium is an ambient/electronica group known for their hit song “Silence” featuring Sarah McLachlan and Leigh Nash is the lead singer of rock band Sixpence None the Richer, known for their massive hit “Kiss Me”. They would later go on to record a whole album together six years later in 2007, which I don’t really recommend – it’s kind of boring. Is this song a foreshadowing of what to come?

So I’m not the biggest fan of trance at all but I don’t mind this calmer, peaceful trip-hop-influenced stuff from Delerium, in fact I really love the opening guitar riff and the looming instrumentation (and what seem to be bells) before the steady drum beat kicks in and Leigh Nash starts smoothly singing the first verse, all over the instrumentation like she is the main force rather than a jackhammer beat, which is why a lot of EDM doesn’t click with me. However, this is almost not EDM at all. I mean, it’s kind of danceable electronica but, yeah, this is not trance at all, although the strings are definitely reminiscent and it does slowly pick up pace with some uglier synths like trance often does. I don’t know about this, it really drifts along the line between boring and dreamy, much like a lot of songs from Sixpence None the Richer. Did it have to be six minutes? No, but it doesn’t drag on too much in all its peaceful melancholy. I really don’t know why this was listed as a trance song on Wikipedia? Are they talking about the much longer and much worse Tiesto remix? If so, then why did they not specify? Maybe I’m nitpicking about the Wikipedia page more than I should but this song doesn’t really do much for me. If it had some more pop-rock edge from Leigh Nash, maybe I’d like it more, but as it stands, it’s just really weaksauce.

#23 – “Happy People” – Static Revenger

Ah, great, more EDM – lovely. Static Revenger is a Grammy-winning DJ, mostly known for making house and disco. This song in particular went platinum, so you know it’s going to be good, right? Well, if 6ix9ine’s (Platinum-certified!) “GUMMO” told me anything, it’s that sales don’t mean the art or the artists involved are any good... Maybe I should be more open-minded to dance music, I mean, I like a lot of 1990s house so this can’t be much different. I like the R.E.M. song with pretty much the same name, so it’s not like I’m averted to the concept of... happy people. This can’t be too bad.

Oops! I already kind of hate it and love it at the same time. This guitar riff is great but the synths are too static-y for the most part and the build-up feels too drowned out to really be a good build-up until the jackhammer beat starts coming in before the drop, which is a good climax but not entirely satisfying as the simple, repetitive hook stays exactly the same after the drop – I expected some mix-up? The keys introduced after the first drop are a nice change of pace and I appreciate their inclusion, and this is definitely a really fun, exciting and catchy track, however, I think this is just not my thing. It feels soulless and like a bit of a non-presence, which I guess is good for this type of club track? I don’t know, but I guess I just don’t “get” modern EDM still, even though this is barely modern, being early 2000s and all. Maybe I just don’t get EDM at all. Maybe I should learn to have some fun. Probably that last one. Next.

#22 – “Getting Away with It (All Messed Up)” – James

So, James are an indie rock band who have also dabbled in electronica and more experimental rock, including the artsy album WAH WAH. They’re apparently releasing an album next month, which I’ll definitely check out. This single is from their 2001 album Pleased to Meet You, which received mixed reviews by critics at its initial release. Has this song in particular stood the test of time?

Well, yeah, it has. Not in a way that I can be ecstatic about, as it still is somewhat dreary in its constant simplistic guitar strumming, but once the drum beat kicks in, it gets much more exciting and uses the quiet-loud dynamic well, albeit to a lesser extent than other alternative rock bands, as the main increase in volume is the lead singer’s voice, who croons over the oddly funky bassline and the cheap synths as well as the distorted guitar riffs after the first chorus which, yes, are awesome and are pretty nice as a back-up to synth bleeping and different string patterns that add to how intense and urgent the song seems to be, despite its slower tempo. Oh, yeah, and there’s an insane breakdown or solo before the final chorus, where the synths just freak out and that’s pretty damn cool, and the fact that the last chorus continues with the same instrumental makes the song all the more exciting, as it progresses in intensity just to abruptly end. I’m more of a (similarly-named) Travis fan personally, but this song rocks as well.

#21 – “Million Miles Away” – The Offspring

Remember these guys? I don’t know about everyone else, but I used to love these guys. They were one of my favourite bands, and honestly, probably still are as far as rock is concerned. The Offspring are a Californian rock band fronted by Dexter Holland, who always straddled the lines between alternative, pop punk and straight-up punk rock. They have a UK number-one and many other hits (and damn good deep cuts) in their arsenal, so how does this song in particular, from their album Conspiracy of One, fare?

It starts with a rapid and intense guitar riff that isn’t too heavy but fast enough to keep up with the simplistic, mad-cap drumming, creating an instrumental base for Dexter to moan about his break-up over. While I appreciate the instrumental, it is a tad too simple, as is the hook with the “oh, oh, oh” vocalisations and the singing feeling too whiny at times, especially in that chorus. While I love the instrumental to death, I feel Dexter’s sloppily-mixed vocals being all over it ruin it for me. However, there’s enough time where it’s just the backing and the guitar solo also rocks, so yeah, although I’m not a fan of the repetitive lyrics and delivery here, I can dig what’s behind it. Sadly, this is probably the first and only Offspring I’ll get to talk about – trust me, they’ve made much better stuff. My personal favourite of their singles is “Hit That”, if you want to check that absolute romp of a dance-rock track. They’re also releasing a new album this year, so I’m excited for that.

#16 – “Hard to Explain” – The Strokes

The Strokes don’t really need an explanation, right? One of the biggest American rock bands in recent memory, hailing from New York and bringing back garage rock in a huge way that led them to two top 10 UK hits. This is their first ever single, from their debut album Is This It, annoyingly without a question mark. Maybe XXXTENTACION could have lent them one, he seems to have had an extra one left around. That’s beside the point, let’s get into the breakout single from The Strokes.

It starts with a simple drum beat – possibly not from Fabirizio Moretti but rather from a drum machine - before going into one of the most memorable and slick guitar riffs of all time, thanks to guitarists Albert Hammond and Nick Valensi, with a funky bassline provided by Nikolai Fraiture backing not only the guitars up but also the distorted vocals from Julian Casablancas, with a catchy-as-all-hell hook that leads into an abrupt fake-end, before it picks up again for another exciting few minutes of punkish indie rock, with Casablancas’ vocals getting more strained and emotional throughout. I’m actually finding it pretty hard to describe and review this song fairly without insane hyperbole, as Casablancas says, it is pretty hard to explain, as it is one of my favourite hit songs ever, with its perfectly balanced amount of rowdiness and genuine intrigue, and dare I say, a certain classiness to the composition. Fantastic song, fantastic album, and a damn great band.

#15 – “Baddest Ruffest” – Backyard Dog

This is the 2002 FIFA World Cup song, made by big beat producing duo Backyard Dog, consisting of Aniff Akinola and Lloyd Hanley. To my knowledge, they haven’t done anything else, although Akinola here has rapped on other songs, like the mild success “Bounce ‘n’ Boom” and Kirsty MacColl’s top 40 hit “Walking Down Madison”, so it’s debateable if these guys are one-hit wonders, but if one of the most notable things the lead singer has been in was a Vimto advert, it’s safe to say you’ve probably been forgotten in time since. So, how’s Backyard Dog’s seemingly only ever piece of released music (other than their only studio album and the remix EP for this very song) that is documented on the Internet?

Well, it starts with what are assumingly sampled horns in one simple loop before a subtle but effective bass comes in and Akinola starts shouting, adding some ragga influence, but mostly I’d say this is a pretty simple big beat song, with a solid horn hook and even Akinola’s vocals adding a lot of uniqueness to an otherwise not-very-noteworthy track. Hell, I’d like this a lot more if it weren’t for the annoying chicken-like record scratching that makes up most of the song. As it stands, there’s one element that just tears the whole thing apart, which is unfortunate as this is actually a pretty fun and exciting, different song, and I do wish these guys had more material to listen to, because I’m digging their style. It’s pretty intriguing, even if it is just some big beat loops with Caribbean-tinged vocals being yelled over the track by a charismatic performer, who I’ll try and dig up other projects from. I hope these guys reunite to make some more jams.

#12 – “More than That” – Backstreet Boys

Listen, you know who the Backstreet Boys are. I know who the Backstreet Boys are. I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand them. They’re talented men, sure, but it feels a bit too cheesy and sickly sweet for me to really get into. Does that ring true with “More than That”, from their 2000 album Black & Blue?

Yes, of course it does. Why wouldn’t it? It has a pretty interesting albeit typical Latin or tropical guitar riff, but the vocals from the boys here aren’t too great, and everything that surrounds them just feels like purely perfect pop blandness. It’s too perfect – kind of like “These Days” by Rudimental featuring Jess Glynne, Dan Caplen and Macklemore and “Girls Like You” by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B, both of which I talked about on REVIEWING THE CHARTS. It’s a good song, definitely, but it feels too manufactured for me to enjoy on repeated listening, as in the end, it is a soulless boyband song. What did you expect, a long, in-depth review that focuses on the vocal range of the boys and how excellently they mesh with the smooth R&B production? No, you’re not getting that, because there are better pop songs and better R&B singers that you could be listening to, even if it’s just the early 2000s. In fact, we’ll be talking about another in just a short while.

#9 – “Another Lover” – Dane

No, this is not who I meant! I meant Usher! I didn’t want this complete nobody to come in! Well, what does Dane have to say?

Nothing. He has nothing to say because he is uninteresting and typical lyrically. That was a dumb question, I don’t think he even wrote this song... but in R&B, it’s more about how you say it, and, damn, does he pull off the smooth, Latin-influenced production well! The Latin riffs are still present in the guitars, and the drums are more prominent than they probably should be, but Dane brings a great presence to the track, even if it doesn’t seem like he can actually sing very well at all, using his falsetto a lot of the time to mixed results, but he is fun and has more charisma than Juice WRLD and Dexter Holland when moaning about issues with a partner. I love the whispering in the penultimate chorus as well, which continues in the outro as some kind of acapella percussion, which I appreciate for its experimentalism if anything. This slick 1990s-resembling production and the man’s charisma make this a great listen, even if it’s not on Spotify and only has 70,000 views on YouTube... Yikes. Now, THIS has been forgotten in time.

#6 – “19-2000” – Gorillaz featuring Miho Hatori and Talking Heads (Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz)

I love Gorillaz. I’ve been a fan for a long while now, and I have grown to love how they blend genres excellently in accessible and catchy yet still experimental and strange pop songs, while still believing that the flow of an album is definitely important... well, they used to do that. Right now, with Humanz and The Now Now, it seems that they care more about the singular songs, which is fair because of streaming being more important now, but like the Avalanches, the flow of the album is seminal in my enjoyment of a Gorillaz album, and that has not been consistent recently, with bloated, boring albums and messes of songs like “Sex Murder Party” and... “Man Research (Clapper)”... from their self-titled 2001 debut album. Okay, so, maybe they’ve never been too great at the whole “making tight compositions” thing. This song is kind of proving as that chaotic structure not working too well. Let me elaborate.

“19-2000” is about the new millennium, as its title suggests, and follows the trends of the bridge between 1999 and 2000 very carefully, with a sampled trip-hop/hip-hop drum beat and catchy boyband-like vocalisations. However, it feels very messy in all its minimalistic joy. You have Miho Hatori’s repetitive lyrics about getting “the cool sunshine”, some reversed and heavily-edited vocal samples, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz doing whatever the hell they want in the background with some multi-tracked humming from frontman Damon Albarn, behind careless and slow verses from Albarn. You also have the “we gon’ break out” bridge thing, which is just kind of there? And then you have the various synth noises going on in one specific ear while there’s finger-snapping – could we have saved this for the video, guys? I don’t know, this song is fun and I’m still relatively positive on it, but like “Tranz” and “DARE”, it seems like too much is going on throughout. Also, I don’t know what’s Albarn, what’s Hatori, what’s Weymouth and where the hell Frantz is, so that’s lovely. It just piles into some kind of ball of musical elements, but they don’t mesh. They just keep growing.

#3 – “U Remind Me” – Usher

Usher is one of my favourite artists of all time. His charisma and personality is unmatched in R&B, and he will go down as a legend with some of the best club bangers and powerful and slick R&B ballads in music history. This is US chart-topper “U Remind Me”, from his third album 8701. While I’ve always preferred the Confessions era (my personal favourite Usher track is “Confessions Part II”), I can dig his earlier stuff and this is no exception.

Those introductory strings are damn beautiful, and then the piano and the synths come in, to assist Usher in all his glory, with his smooth delivery and scratched backing gang vocals. Sure, the lyrics can be seen as pretty corny or selfish and close-minded, but Usher pulls them off with his immense amounts of swagger, with a guitar coming in to match his charisma in the second verse. Oh, yeah, the song’s about a girl he can’t date because they remind him too much of an ex... for a song about what seems to be a first-world problem, Usher’s melodramatics may seem unnecessary, but they’re really not. The catchy hook and his many ad-libs really help rather than hinder, as it becomes pretty beautiful considering its potentially silly subject matter by the end. Maybe it’s too long, maybe it’s too overdramatic, but I don’t care. Usher pulls it off like no-one else ever could.

#1 – “The Way to Your Love” – Hear’Say

Okay, can I get a “get out of review” free card? Come on, it’s the eleventh new arrival and it’s the most anti-climactic, blandest-as-possible pop song, orchestrated by a trash talent show, with talented yet uninteresting and charmless singers, as well as cliché production – although the drums here are pretty cool albeit unfitting, I will admit – including the cheapest strings I’ve heard this side of Soundcloud rap, which I feel I’ve made too many comparisons to in a blog about 2000s pop music. Ah, well. What’s this song got to say, do or try and get across? Nothing. Nothing at all. This is so cheesy that I feel the milk being heated already... yet it’s not even funny. It’s just boring. It’s just a slog. Just an uninteresting, undeserving #1. At least it’s not “Freaky Friday”.

Conclusion

Best of the Week goes to “Hard to Explain” by The Strokes, no competition, although “U Remind Me” is an Honourable Mention and deservedly so. Worst of the Week? Although I have the most bile for our #1 here, yeah, it’s going to “Innocente (Falling in Love)” by Delerium for just being insanely boring, with Dishonourable Mention going to “The Way to Your Love”, I suppose. Nothing here is outright bad, just very uninteresting. See you tomorrow for REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

[buckybee]

In honor of Fanfiction Writers Appreciation Day, which is today, August 21, I’m posting a rec list of all the Supernatural’s stories I bookmarked on AO3. These fics had a big impact on me for one reason or another, and I want both to suggest them to my followers and make a shout out to their authors. Coup de chapeau to all of you.

Fanfictions

Aesthetics in Autoerotica by @relucant​​ (relucant)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: college!AU, Photographer Castiel, Model Dean, Nude Modeling, Fluff and Smut, Panty Kink, Dean in Panties, Cameras, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Butt Plugs, Blow Jobs, Coming Untouched, Top Castiel, Bottom Dean, PWP

“What do you think about when you masturbate?” “I sure don’t think about callin’ it masturbate,” Dean retorted with a small laugh. “I’m sorry. What do you think about when you jerk off?” “Jesus, Cas, you talkin’ dirty like that ain’t gonna help me not come in these panties.” “Well, I intend for you to,” Cas pointed out. “But not just yet. Now answer the question, please.” “Jesus,” Dean said again, blush deepening. “I – um. Jeez, I dunno. I mean, there’s all kinds of crap in my spank bank. Some days, yeah, s'gettin’ thrown against the wall by some hot dude in an alley. Other days, I dunno, it’s triplets.” “What are you thinking about right now?” Dean turned an incredulous look on him. “Uh, there’s a hot photographer takin’ pictures of my dick in pink panties right now, you think I need any more material?”

Read if: you’re in the mood for incredible smut and pretty interesting conversations

Appoggiatura by @ceeainthereforthat​​ (ceeainthereforthat)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: Fluff, Domestic, Musicians, Classical Music!AU, college!AU, Virgin Castiel, Masturbation, Bondage, Rope Bondage, Explicit Consent, Oral Sex, Frottage, Rimming, Snowballing, Dom/sub Undertones, Phone Sex, Top Dean, Bottom Castiel, Anal Sex, Switch Dean, Switch Castiel, Paddling

Castiel leaves the religious commune of Heaven Farms to study classical piano after winning a full scholarship paid for by the Deanna Campbell Memorial Foundation, and answers an ad in the campus newspaper: 1 bedroom to let. Meals provided. 50mb wifi, quiet odd music student preferred.

Read if: you’re ready for a complex world made by silences, music, fears and hopes, marks that fade slowly, and a peculiar take on our beloved characters  

Assimilation by @cuddlebabies​​​ (komodobits)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: Coda, Mary-Centric, homophobia in that Mary has been yanked out of 1983 a la the AIDs crisis and dropped into 2016, but born out of ignorance rather than malice or hatred

Coda to 12.01 Keep Calm and Carry On. Mary always thought you were supposed to be able to tell. That you could just look at someone and know they were – you know. One of that sort. It’s not supposed to happen to her son.

Read if: you want a realistic fic about the relationship between a mother and a son she last saw right before her death, happened in a different age

Clover Clamps by @mayalaen​​ (Mayalaen)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: Cock & Ball Torture, Nipple Clamps, Cock Slapping, Painplay, Blow Jobs, Begging, Bondage, Tickling, Established Relationship, Dom/sub, Praise Kink

Fill for an Anonymous Prompt asking for consensual, loving CBT. Bonus if it’s contrasted with others (only villains, please!) doing similar things against Dean’s will in the past.

Read if: you enjoy feelings with your smut, and so, so much trust

Consort by @valinde​​ (Valinde)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: Arranged Marriage, Medieval!AU, Prince Dean, King Castiel, Virgin Dean, Dub-Con, Painful Sex, Awful Sex, Traumatized Dean, Aetheling Dean, Paganism, Religious Conflict, mild blasphemy, Mild Gore, Violence, Aftermath of Torture, Hurt Dean Winchester, Bottom Dean, References to Mpreg, not a kidfic, Very Brief Infidelity, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort

When King John of the West Saxons forms an alliance with a neighboring Christian kingdom, his eldest son Dean ends up playing a role he never expected.

Read if: you like medieval-like fictions with intricate plots and complex characters. A warning, though! It’s a wip and it hasn’t been updated in a long time

Dean hates witches by @museaway​​ (museaway)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: Truth Spells, Love Confessions, Canon Universe, Season/Series 10, Mark of Cain

Instead of researching, Sam does what any loving brother would do. He dials Cas and puts him on speaker.

Read if: you too think that Dean should be honest with himself, and not only that.

Epilogue by @serricoj (Jayne L)

Pairing: Dean/Cas/2014!Cas

Tags: Episode: s05e04 The End, Time Travel

Bobby is here, swearing somewhere above and behind him; and Dean is here, talking about 2014 like it’s a foreign country; and Sam is here, and is not Lucifer. Which means– Cas is no longer when he was. Lucifer sent him back. Coda to ‘The End’.

Read if: you like The End and wish Cas would have had a chance to be happy, even for a short time

Every Living Thing by @jimmynovaks​​ (Askance)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Medicinal Drug Use, Disturbing Themes, Animal Death

When a pair of hunters on the eastern coast witness the arrival of a very disturbing omen, it isn’t long before the news hurtles across the country, piquing the interest—and fear—of people everywhere. In a matter of days, the new, safe world that Sam, Dean, and Castiel have been inhabiting is flipped upside-down. Something enormous is coming—and this time, it’s something they can’t fight. Faced with rapidly diminishing prospects, holed up in a tiny, empty Nebraska town, they are forced to confront fears, secrets, and emotions that might have otherwise never seen the light of day. It seems every story must end somehow, and the only thing that remains to be done is to make the most of what little time they have left.

Read if: you enjoy suspense and an atmosphere that makes time flows in a different way      

Fata morgana. by @robotmango (orange_crushed)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: Implied Castiel/Dean Winchester, Hell, Season/Series 09, Demon Dean Winchester, Demon Bela Talbot, Mark of Cain, Angst, Mild Gore, Violence, Post-Episode: s09e23 Do You Believe In Miracles?

The endless asphalt and broken road, the empty land and piles of human garbage, the unwanted ends of life, the cracked toys and broken screens and burning cars and gravel. Dean Winchester is the king of hell. “Oh,” says Bela. That changes certain things.

Read if: you miss Bela and would like to see a new take on Demon!Dean

For Science! by @feelsspiral (pm_lo)

Pairing: Dean/Cas, Dean/Anna, Dean/Others, Cas/Others

Tags: Alternate Universe, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Knotting, Self-Lubrication

Selected transcripts and supporting materials from Dr. Castiel Williams and Dean Winchester’s seminal study on physiological and psychological sexual response by gender designation.

Read if: you’re a nerd and love medical stuff and sex positivity - and also smut, because, whoa

Found Naked in his Azaleas by @mnwood​​ (mnwood)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: POV Castiel, Depressed Castiel, Aromantic, Aromantic Castiel, Bottom Dean, Switch Castiel, Mentions of Cancer, Animal Transformation, Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Modern Setting!AU, Farm/Ranch!AU, Police Officer Castiel

Castiel doesn’t mind working a graveyard shift as a security guard. An owl accompanies him to work at night, and he gets to talk to the food truck guy, Dean, when he’s heading home in the morning. And yeah, maybe he likes Dean, but relationships never really work for him anyway so why bother.

Read if: you want a story with a magical atmosphere where everything isn’t perfect and nobody cares

How many slams in an old screen door? by dandelioness

Pairing: Dean/Cas, Balthazar/Cas, Cas/Ruby/Anna

Tags: College/University!AU, Asexual Character, Asexuality

In which Castiel is a theatre major terrible at first impressions; Dean is a set designer who likes Cas anyway; and the most chaotic production of Les Miserables in history somehow manages to go off without a hitch. Or, just as you should never give a moose a muffin (because he’ll want some jam to go with it), you should never give a blank check to a university theatre department.

Read if: you want a realistic ace!Cas fic immersed in the world of theatre kids

If I Was a Flower Growing Wild and Free by @khoshekhcarlos​​ (EndlessRain)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: High School!AU, Omega Verse, Omega Dean, Alpha Castiel, Alpha/Omega, Juno AU, Teen Pregnancy, discussions of abortion, Coming of Age, Growing Up, discussions of rape, Mpreg, Pining, Adoption

In between wondering if he’s ever going to see his dad again, and worrying about Sam, Dean Winchester manages to find time to sleep with his best friend and get pregnant, just in time for his junior year. This is the tale of teenage woes, growing up, and learning to see the world (and himself) a little bit differently. Based off of the movie Juno with a side-dish of omega!verse.

Read if: you like Juno and waited for this fic to happen forever

Music Be the Food by @dragonmuse​​ (Vera)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: the song of the universe, cat’s cradle by kurt vonnegut, two towers by j.r.r. tolkien, a shakespere sonnet, and two men at peace, Asexuality, Asexual Character, straight!Dean, asexual!Cas

karass - a group of people who, often unknowingly, are working together to do God’s will. duprass- a karass composed of only two persons. A duprass “is a valuable instrument for gaining and developing, in the privacy of an interminable love affair, insights that are queer but true.” It “is also a sweetly conceited establishment.” [ 55 ] ― from Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle

Read if: you want a story about Dean and Cas' profound bond and how it knows no boundaries

not the same moon, that’s impossible. by of_dreamdust

Pairing: Dean/Cas, Charlie/Gilda

Tags: Asexual Castiel, Pansexual Dean, but really it’s just implied, dean only hooks up with cas, Texting, Alternate, College!AU, Literature, But only a little, dean is a lit major, Human Castiel

“But, since Dean had two more weeks until deadline, he decided to start slowly. Which meant that he ended up watching the third season of Parks and Recreation on his laptop, lying in his bed with a bottle of beer and a bag of pumpkin seeds. Somewhere in the middle of Andy and April’s grocery shopping, his phone vibrated. ” or, one in which Dean flirts via Parks and Rec lines.

Read if: you need an heartwarming story on the line of Parks and Rec

Priestly’s Pesto by @amazinmango​​ (amazinmango)

Pairing: Dean/Cas, Sam/Jess

Tags: dean as boaz priestly, sammiches, lots of sammiches, please let the deli counter know if you have a nut allergy, Recreational Drug Use

A man with a mohawk, a tax accountant adrift, a brother not so lost and the sandwich that brings them together. (Or at least it’s tasty.)

Read if: you want to spend an awesome evening with a fantastic fic. And like Ten Inch Heroes, too.

Prosopagnosia by @misseditallagain​ (misseditallagain)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: Depression, Cognitive Disorder, Prosopagnosia, Kid Fic, Gas-N-Sip, Firefighter Dean, Human!AU, Family

“I could turn around right now and I wouldn’t be able to spot you out of a lineup. There is nothing remarkable about you I could identify and say: there, that is Dean.” “So you mean I’m not just another pretty face?”

Read if: you enjoy discover new things and Cas!centric fics that delve deep into his mind

Significant by @holyhael​​ (holyhael)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: AU, Recreational Drug Use, Marijuana, Hand Feeding, Body Image, Sub!Dean, Dom!Cas, refractory periods

Dean Smith’s and Castiel’s unconventional morning after.

Read if: you like the pairing made by 2014!Cas and Dean Smith and their intriguing interactions  

Smoke In the Mirror by @wavervelvett​​​ (letters_of_stars)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: //

It begins with the flier hung in the library: art model needed for thesis project, will pay. Castiel figures it’s an easy way to make some extra money, but modeling for Dean Winchester ends up complicating his life far beyond anything he could have imagined.

Read if: you enjoy quiet moments shared in a small studio dedicated to art, stolen glances, and gentle poetry

Suck My Dick S.E. Hinton by @mnwood​​ (mnwood)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: Episode Tag, Screenplay/Script Format, Angst, Season/Series 10, Consent Issues

“One thing that really gets on my nerves:People who think they can write a better #SPN than the writers do. Try it. Just fucking try it.” -S.E. Hinton

Read if: you’re fucking sick of people not understanding fans and think they’re the shit

Superior by @museaway​​ (museaway)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: Case Fic, Established Relationship, Canon Universe, Season/Series 11, hunter husbands, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Hurt/Comfort, Cas and Dean being pretty gross and in love, Car Sex, Shower Sex, Thunderstorms, Cas and Sam being bros, POV Sam Winchester, POV Castiel, Team Free Will

Sam, Cas, and Dean travel to Michigan to investigate a series of deaths along Lake Superior. But with little evidence to go on, Sam begins to doubt his instincts and wonder if the deaths are accidental when Dean develops an inexplicable draw to the lake.

Read if: you’re in the mood for a thrilling story that shows the beauty that is Team Free Will and the horror of some of the cases they accept

The breath that passed from you to me by @dixseptdixhuit​​ (mariesondetre)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: Tuberculosis AU, sanatorium AU, Sick Dean, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn, Fluff, Sick Fic, Happy Ending, Man of Letters Castiel, Waverly Hills sanatorium, 1950s!AU, Epistolary, Hand Jobs, Graphic Depictions of Illness, not too graphic but medically accurate, POV Multiple

When Dean Winchester had to stop hunting with his brother for a while to be treated in Waverly Hills tuberculosis sanatorium, he wasn’t expecting to meet someone who fought the same creatures as him. It turned out his doctor, Castiel Novak, was also a Man of Letters. And he was also going to become so much more for Dean…

Read if: you like historical fiction that unites medicine and supernatural. Plus a badass!sick!Dean

The Dove’s Long Journey to Champaign by @violue​​ (violue)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: past Sam Winchester/Ruby, past Dean Winchester/Lisa, Past Castiel/Other(s), Past Suicide Attempt, Anxiety, Depression, PTSD, Anal Sex, Top Castiel, Bottom Dean, Frottage, THERE IS NO VOLLEYBALL IN THIS FEATURE, aimless emotional hurt/comfort, Mention of a Hate Crime, Past Character Death

After four years of solitude on a remote island, Dean’s been through hell. But he’s home, he’s healing, and he has a very special gift for a man he’s never met. (Basically this is an AU of the movie Cast Away that takes place after the island.)

Read if: you’re up for a fic that shows a kind way of healing, without shying away from the reality of mental illnesses

the mania of owning by @reallyelegantsharkfish​​ (sharkfish)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, End of the World, Apocalypse!AU, Alpha Castiel, Omega Dean, Content note: References to sexual violence

Oh god. By the time Dean is visualizing, compulsively, the last good fuck he had, he knows that he’s made a mistake. Within the next mile of walking, he can’t even delude himself into ignoring it anymore; he can feel a trickle of moisture running down the inside of his thigh. Oh god. Castiel has had plenty of time to get used to the idiosyncrasies of his symptoms, but the way his focus shifts towards this particular scent that reaches him on the barest breeze – it’s somehow different. And somehow he knows, automatically, that it’s not happy-heat-mate but scared and sick and alone.

Read if: you want a scary story about bodies that change against your will in a post-Apocalyptic world, and how sometimes you just have to make do with what you have

The Prince of Any Failing Empire by @herbcitty (Herbcitty)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: Asexual Character, Asexual Dean, Acephobia (mild), enforced gender roles, Swearing

When Dean is a teenager [14, 15, 16], he believes there is something wrong with him. He doesn’t line up to what the other boys are [girls, girls, girls; beer, sex, sport, live life and fuck the rest; MAN], he doesn’t line up to what his father is [shrewd, strength, soldier; alcohol, women, hunting, top of the game; MAN], he doesn’t line up to what television guys are [MAN].

Read if: you like ace!Dean, because man, this is one of the best stories I’ve read on this matter

The Shadows We Draw by @deanghostchester​​ (viviansface)

Pairing: Dean/Cas, Bela/Charlie

Tags: Alternate Universe - High School, Bullying, Violence, violent imagery, Horror, Dark, Witchcraft

Senior year of high school is generally considered to be a struggle; with a new boyfriend and a group of jocks who won’t stop straight-out harassing him, it’s nearly impossible. Despite being in love and enjoying its perks, Dean grows desperate enough to seek aid from a practiser of one of the oldest arts – witchcraft – to hopefully make their lives (especially Cas’) easier. Spells are a dangerous business, though, and oftentimes, not even the best intentions can make a difference.

Read if: you’re in the mood for a psychological horror that you’ll lose yourself into, and come out shivering

The Unwavering Heart of a Winchester by @violue​​ (violue)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: Past Character Death, John Winchester’s A+ Parenting, Past Child Abuse, Depression, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Brief homophobia, Angst, Infidelity (Not Dean or Castiel), Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Mild Somnophilia, Dirty Talk, graphic description of Castiel/Others in the form of Dirty Talk, unrepentant smut, mild spanking, incredibly light Dom/sub vibes, Bottom Dean, Bottom Castiel, Top Dean, Top Castiel

There’s no point in mincing words. Sam is dead, and without him Dean is a drunken shell of who he used to be. When he finally pulls himself out of a growing pile of whiskey bottles, Dean finds it hard to go back to his life. With one flippant comment from a friend, Dean thinks he might finally have a way to make peace with the loss; Sam was an organ donor, and Dean’s going to find the recipients, talk to them, and see how their lives are better because of his little brother. For the first six stops on his road trip, things go mostly according to plan, and then he meets the man who has Sam’s heart. Dean had hoped he might find peace on this trip… he never expected to find love.

Read if: you’re ready for a story that first and foremost explore Dean’s emotions and mind and takes time to create a journey that it’s his own

The water is bluer in dreamscapes by @saandrae​​​ (Sa_kun)

Pairing: Gen

Tags: Asexuality, Asexual Character, Ace!Dean, Friendship

Dean stops having sex after Hell. Actually, he was never that into it in the first place.

Read if: you want a take on Dean’s sexuality that blends perfectly with canon

Thursday’s Child by strangeandcharm

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: Angst, Croatoan/Endverse, Drug Addiction, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, PTSD, Castiel Whump, Hurt Castiel, Human Castiel, Dean Whump, Hurt Dean, Rape/Non-con Elements, First Time

Thursday’s child has far to go.

Read if: you’re ready for an epic journey through a post-apocalyptic world that is learning to rebuild itself, and how Cas and Dean cope with everything that has happened and it’s still yet to happen

Triple Chocolate Covered Cherryccino by @shiphitsthefan​​ (shiphitsthefan)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: Coffee Shops!AU, Wayward Daughters, Aromantic Dean, Bisexual Dean, Aromantic Castiel, Quoiromantic Castiel, Aromantic Claire, Asexual Claire, Barista Dean, Manager Dean, Sub Dean, Professor Castiel, Dom Castiel, Fluff, Valentine’s Day, Smoking, Frottage, Non-Explicit, Recreational Drug Use, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts

Dean Winchester loves his job managing Wayward Java. He loves the family he’s found in the owner, Jody, and her three daughters. He loves sex with no strings attached and the freedom of bachelorhood. Dean knows his life looks like trash to most people, but he couldn’t give two shits, because he loves it, too. It’s a good thing Castiel Novak loves studying garbage.

Read if: you’re craving aromantic characters that are comfortable with their identities and wanting to know about their little family

Welcome to the Hunter_Bros Comm by @yalufic​​ (Yalu)

Pairing: pre-Dean/Cas

Tags: Fandom AU, Metafiction, Fans, LiveJournal, Epistolary, if LJ posts and PMs and tweets can be called epistolary

wings_to_fly wrote in hunter_bros Tags: I don’t understand, what do you want me to tag? Hello, I’m New Hello, I’m new. I started watching Supernatural season one last week and I’m up to ep1x09 Home. I was wondering if anyone could tell me which communities are the best to join for good fanfiction about Dean and Sam. I haven’t been in online fan communities before and am not sure where to start. (read comments) (post a comment) Or: in which Sam and Dean mod a comm, the final SPN season is airing, Castiel is the newbie, fandom is obsessive as ever, and betaing is totally a metaphor for love.

Read if: you want a peculiar fic with a lovely format that explores fandoms and how our boys and girls would be as fans of Supernatural

What I Need by Jacqueline Albright-Beckett (xaandria)

Pairing: Dean/Cas, Sam/Jessica

Tags: surgery AU, Surgery, Getting Together, medical AU, hospital au

A joking phrase commonly heard between a surgeon and his tech is “Give me what I need, not what I ask for.” Dr. Novak and his tech Dean will soon learn the impact this phrase has on life outside the operating room.

Read if: you like accurate hospital AUs where Dean and Cas are competent at their jobs and find the time to get to know each others among surgeries and steaming coffee mugs  

White Albatross by @spoopernaptime​​​ (spnergitout)

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Tags: Magical Realism, Psychological Horror, Suicidal Thoughts, Mental Health Issues, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst with a Happy Ending, The Pacific Northwest, Lake Mead, Established Relationship

Six years of a relationship isn’t something Dean can just throw away. Cas is sick, and all Dean has to do is hold on. Even if Cas is drifting further and further away, even if the seeping blackness threatens to swallow them both. When dreams are reality and reality is void, there’s only one thing Dean knows for sure: he isn’t giving up on Cas.

Read if: you like realistic descriptions of mental illnesses and how partners’ emotions can get tangled with each other. Oh, and Cas’ wings, too.

Series

Cruel Angels by @orphan-dat​ (orphan)

Well. The Apocalypse was one thing. Thousand-foot-tall multi-limbed horror-angels smashing up the planet was something totally different…

Read if: you like Evangelion and are in the mood for a gigantic badass Cas

Dean and Cas are Switches by @wallmakerrelict​(wallmakerrelict)

Established relationship Dean/Castiel BDSM fics with an emphasis on trust, negotiation, and the miles of baggage that the boys bring to the table. Expect to see both Dean and Cas bottoming, topping, subbing, and domming, sometimes within the same fic.

Read if: you’re team switches and would love to see how diverse Dean and Cas’ relationship can be

Dom/sub Verse by bluest_skies

An AU series of fics exploring the D/s relationship of Castiel and Dean. Please note that all play is Safe, Sane, and Consenual and they have an established safe word and though it may not always be mentioned/talked about, etc., it IS there. Aftercare always takes place as well even if it isn’t described in a particular piece.

Read if: you’re in the mood for some healthy, hot, and tender BDSM and how Cas and Dean get to know each other in every way

Frigging Festivities by Englandwouldfall

In which everyone’s had a bit of a crappy year, Dean is tired of thanklessly breaking his back trying to help lost causes, Cas is fed up of being sued for trying to save people and Christmas is most definitely cancelled. Or, one the many ways hating the festive season brings the broken (or maybe not quite) together. And… maybe Christmas isn’t so bad after all.

Read if: you like medical AUs and are not big on festivities

Good Books, Bad Movies by @handsomefeelings​​ (Amelia_Clark)

Castiel Novak is an award-winning, heavily tattooed writer of dark fantasy (think China Mieville). Dean Winchester runs a quirky book/video store called Good Books, Bad Movies. There’s a reading, some lit-nerd flirting, and eventually smut amongst the shelves.

Read if: you enjoy stories where the characters meet after their own personal journeys and still manage to grow together even more

Grammar Games by @relucant​ (relucant)

“Hey, hey,” Dean said, propping his feet up on a chair. “Dude, I don’t even know your name.” Cas blinked up at him, and the tiny heat that the gravelly voice had sparked in Dean’s stomach evolved into a full-on tingle. “Oh, uh,” he said. “Yeah. I’m Castiel. Cas, if you like.” “Cas,” Dean drawled. “I do like.” He stuck out his hand. Cas raised an eyebrow, but he reached out to shake. “I’m Dean Winchester.” “I’m aware,” Cas said dryly. “You’ve something of a reputation.” “I’m aware,” Dean agreed with a bright grin.

Read if: you’re a nerd and would love to learn or brush up on english grammar with the help of Dean and Cas and their sensual studying sessions

His Fucking Kids by @8swords​ (8sword)

Jesus, the school should just have a parking spot labeled, “Reserved for the Novak-Winchesters,” because Dean’s getting sick of having to cruise around the parking lot looking for a spot every time he gets a call from the principal about Emma.

Read if: you’re in the mood for a kid fic that doesn’t ignore all the troubles a kid can put themselves through

Necessities by @shiphitsthefan​ (shiphitsthefan)

As a human with a price on his head, stripped of choice and agency and control, Castiel is confined to the bunker while the angels seek him out to enact their revenge. Dean means to give control back to him, in more ways than one. [Dom!Cas/sub!Dean alternate season 9 bunker fic]

Read if: you want D/s fics where Dean and Cas are left satisfied both physically and emotionally

Never Trust a Skinny Baker 'Verse by @mnwood​ (mnwood)

Dean owns a bakery. Cas is a patron who can’t hear, and Dean happens to know sign language. This fic has all the tropes you know and love so get reading, fuckos.

Read if: you’re ready for some serious fluff with some badass characters that need a little time to learn how to fit with each other

Sun 'Verse by enigmaticblue

By the time Dean stops Lucifer, it’s already too late. A post-apocalyptic tale.

Read if: you want an epic, amazing tale of how family doesn’t end with blood and everyone deserve a second chance

the Mathematics and Media Studies 'verse by @cosmicwarden (necrotype)

College AU in which Dean and Cas are roommates, everything is pretty clichéd, and there’s more focus on the good than the bad.

Read if: you want to relax and slip into a comfortable universe where everyone is free to be who they want

It’s clear that my short comments don’t do these awesome stories justice, so I’ll add this: every single one of these fics is written in a marvelous way. The style is always compelling and right for its story. I’m in love with all of them and I suggest you to take the time to go through the whole list.

Authors, my most sincere compliments. You’re all incredible.

#serricoj #robotmango #feelsspiral #herbcitty #cosmicwarden #destiel #dean/cas #supernatural #sam winchester #team free will #fic rec #fic rec list #annales #fanfiction writers appreciation day

[wbwest]

New Post has been published on WilliamBruceWest.com

New Post has been published on http://www.williambrucewest.com/2017/05/05/west-week-ever-pop-culture-review-5517/

West Week Ever: Pop Culture In Review - 5/5/17

In TV news, we got the first trailer for Marvel’s The Defenders series on Netflix. I dunno, y’all. I’ll be the first person to tell you that I’m behind on these shows. At this point, I’ve only seen Daredevil season 1 and Jessica Jones. No DD S2, no Luke Cage, and no Iron Fist. Sorry, kids, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day. Daredevil was a worthy bingeing experience, as each episode ended on a cliffhanger that MADE you have to check out the next episode immediately. Jessica Jones, not so much. It took me about 3 months to get through that show. Now, I enjoyed it, but it didn’t demand that I consume it immediately. I’m eager to catch Luke Cage, but I wanna go in order, so that means I’ve got to meet the Punisher and Elektra first in Daredevil season 2. So, even though The Defenders comes out in August, I’ll be lucky if I get to it in 2017. Anyway, I told you all that to make you see that my level of enthusiasm for this probably isn’t as high as yours because I’m so far behind. That said, I thought this trailer looked hokey as Hell. The scene where Murdock comes into Jessica’s interrogation felt like a bad fan film. Shit, the whole thing felt like a bad fan film. Remember when Playstation Network aired that Bendis Powers show? Yeah, it looks like that. Something about the cinematography of it all. And then they had to do another goddamn hallway fight. WE GET IT ALREADY! I just don’t know about this one right now..

In other TV news, there are talks of a Roseanne revival, with ABC and Netflix interested bidding on the project. Laurie Metcalf, Aunt Jackie herself, reported that contracts have been worked out, so now they’re just trying to sell the series. Right now, Roseanne (does she currently have a last name?), John Goodman, and Sara Gilbert would star, while Metcalfe says she’s on board in some capacity. It’ll be interesting to see how they pull this off, ya know with Dan being dead and all. Still, it ended with one of the most maligned series finales in television history, and they’ve got a chance to basically erase it. How many shows can say that? Anyway, I was never a huge Roseanne fan. They were just so poor and depressing. Are they gonna lose the bike shop? Are they gonna lose the loose meat restaurant? Is Fisher gonna stop beating up Jackie? I know their struggles resonated with certain folks, but not me. I actually liked the Lottery Season because I could say “Thank God their lives aren’t such shit anymore!” Anyway, I’d bet money on this happening, so it’s now just a matter of where it’s gonna air. The big question is in which “universe” it will be set. After all, the finale basically laid out that everything since about season 4 of the show had been a lie, since Darlene actually ended up with Mark, Becky was the one with David, Jackie was a lesbian, etc. So, would we get the “true” Roseanne, or just more of what we’re used to? And with Mark dead, and David on The Big Bang Theory, I don’t really expect much from those characters anyway. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

I was on my own last weekend, so I took the time to watch TV and catch up comics. Well, I didn’t really watch TV, but it was on in the background. It provided the soundtrack to my comic time. What did I watch? CMT – Country Music Television. Yeah, yeah, you hate country. I don’t care. I grew up on it, so it has a special place in my heart. Anyway, when I saw Brad Paisley’s new video for “Last Time For Everything”, I KNEW I had to share it with y’all. This thing is a love letter to children of the 80s, complete with tracking/tape distortion lines. I don’t wanna spoil anything, so just check it out. Don’t worry – the song’s not about drankin’, or a dead dog, or his wife left him; it’s just a song about appreciating things when you have them because they won’t always be there.

The backdoor pilot for the Black-ish spinoff aired this week. Oh, you don’t know what a “backdoor pilot” is? It’s when an established show gives up one of its episodes to try to launch a new show. Since it already has a built-in audience, it kinda tricks viewers into watching a new show that they otherwise wouldn’t have checked out. Married…with Children had, like, 4 of them. Anyway, in Black-ish, Zoey went off to check out college, made a new best friend, and pissed off the Black Student Union. The whole episode was kinda hokey, but it worked. Chris Parnell was the spineless dean, which is basically every Chris Parnell character these days. And I love how they worked Deon Cole’s Charlie into the plot. If the spinoff gets picked up (I mean, why wouldn’t it?), I hope he gets a bigger role there than he has on Black-ish. If Black-ish is a modern-day Cosby Show, then this is its A Different World. And there ain’t nothing wrong with that, really.

If you like useless gimmick items as much as I do, then make sure you pick up your Frork from McDonalds today. To celebrate the release of their three new Signature Crafted Recipes (Pico Guacamole, Sweet BBQ Bacon, and Maple Bacon Dijon), they’re releasing a utensil that they know nobody needs, but hey, why not? The Frork is basically a fry holder, where the fries act as the tines of the fork. In the infomercial, complete with Anthony Sullivan appearance, they claim the Frork will help you scoop up the toppings that fall off your overflowing sandwich. I swear Anthony Sullivan killed Billy Mays ‘so he’d get ALL that sweet infomercial work. But I digress…If you would like a Frork, check this link to see if one of your local McDonalds locations is giving them out today.

Things You Might Have Missed This Week

HBO has hired writers for FOUR potential Game of Thrones spinoffs. So, get ready for Match of Chairs, Bout of Seats, Mother of Dragons and, my personal favorite, Tits & Swords.

Warner Bros has pushed back its theatrical animated Scooby-Doo film two years to 2020.

Girl Meets World is officially dead, as creator Michael Jacobs was unable to find a new home for the series.

While this news is about a month old, FXX has decided against a fourth season of Man Seeking Woman, which wrapped up its 3rd season in March. The season finale was a fitting series finale, so I ain’t mad.

Hot on the heels of its premiere, Hulu has renewed The Handmaid’s Tale for a second season.

Surprising no one, Fox canceled the freshman drama Pitch, about the first female major league baseball player. Following on their heels, NBC canceled the Wizard of Oz update Emerald City.

It was reported that Gabriel Luna’s Ghost Rider will be returning to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for the season finale

Speaking of Marvel TV, we got our first cast picture from Inhumans. KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE!

We also got our first look at the cast of Marvel’s Runaways on Hulu. They look like the comic, but I still hate that they aged Molly. I like her more as a precocious child to balance them out.

A strike by the Writers Guild of America, which would’ve affected all corners of entertainment, was narrowly averted at the 11th hour

Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski revealed that they’re engaged. Man, they shit in the company ink! That’s the saying, right?

The biggest TV news of the week was that Ryan Seacrest was announced as Kelly Ripa’s permanent cohost on what will now be called Live with Kelly & Ryan. This bothered me so much! First of all, I was really kinda hoping an underdog, like Fred Savage, would get it. And if they had to go with a media person, they had Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen on the list. But Seacrest?! The dude’s empire is based in LA and, yes, he has an empire. He’s a modern-day Merv Griffin, producing Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Shades of Blue, and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest. He also has a daily syndicated radio show, On Air With Ryan Seacrest, as well as hosts the weekly American Top 40 countdown. With all that going on, you’d think he’d stay in LA instead of taking a job from a New Yorker. Instead, iHeartMedia has built a radio station in the ABC Studios building so that he can do his radio show immediately after taping Live. The plan is for him to stay in New York Monday-Thursday to film Live, he’ll pretape Friday’s show on Thursday, and then he’ll spend Friday-Sunday in LA.

But that’s not ALL the Seacrest news this week. You see, talks of an American Idol revival have heated up again. I wrote about it a few weeks ago, when NBC and Fox were both interested in the show – NBC especially because they could, then, reduce The Voice to one cycle a year. Those talks fell through, but now it appears that ABC has gotten into the game, with one stipulation: there’s no Idol without Seacrest, so the show would have to move to New York so he could continue to host. The show’s production company, Fremantle, insists that it stays in LA. ABC wants to announce it during the May upfronts, which occur in two weeks, for a Fall 2018 premiere (yeah, it ain’t gonna be ready by this Fall). So here’s the plan on how that would work: Fremantle wants to air Idol on Sunday nights from LA, where Seacrest would then fly to NYC after the show in order to make it in time to film Live Monday morning. After filming Monday’s Live, he would then fly back to LA for the Idol results show. Once that’s over, he would fly back to NYC in time for Tuesday’s Live. My God! The live portion of Idol is only 10 weeks, but that is a grueling schedule that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. So far, however, it seems that ABC’s plan would be to air Idol on Mondays, to go head to head with The Voice, so this plan wouldn’t work.

Say what you will about Seacrest, but I’ve always admired the dude’s work ethic. He doesn’t seem to know the word “no”, and he’s constantly building his brand. With the exception of the short-lived On Air With Ryan Seacrest TV show (which is conveniently missing from his Wikipedia entry), he doesn’t really fail at anything. I guess hard work and determination really can take you places. I’ll tell ya, back when he was hosting Click and Gladiators 2000, I had NO CLUE he would become as big as he is. He makes me wanna go out and get 3 more jobs. Then again, I wouldn’t have his net worth of $330 million, but it’d be a start. Anyway, for taking all the jobs, while growing in power, Ryan Seacrest had the West Week Ever.

#80s #Comics #Country #Marvel #Music #Television #West Week Ever

[temperkitten7-blog]

Episode #393 – Full Transcript

Podcast from: https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/podcast/lifestyle-podcasts/increase-testosterone/

[0:01:10] Introduction

[0:01:10] Start of Podcast; Talking About their Fasting

[0:06:51] Newsflashes: CBD, Keto and Romaine Lettuce?

[0:16:40] The Carnivore Diet

[0:24:32] Ketogenic Diet and Athletes

[0:30:43] Older Folks Who Are Performing Really Well

Get The Low Carb Athlete - 100% Free!Eliminate fatigue and unlock the secrets of low-carb success. Sign up now for instant access to the book!<![CDATA[ #_form_64_ font-size:14px; line-height:1.6; font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin:0; #_form_64_ * outline:0; ._form_hide display:none; visibility:hidden; ._form_show display:block; visibility:visible; #_form_64_._form-top top:0; #_form_64_._form-bottom bottom:0; #_form_64_._form-left left:0; #_form_64_._form-right right:0; #_form_64_ input[type="text"],#_form_64_ input[type="date"],#_form_64_ textarea padding:6px; height:auto; border:#979797 1px solid; border-radius:4px; color:#000 !important; font-size:13px; -webkit-box-sizing:border-box; -moz-box-sizing:border-box; box-sizing:border-box; #_form_64_ textarea resize:none; #_form_64_ ._submit -webkit-appearance:none; cursor:pointer; font-family:arial, sans-serif; font-size:14px; text-align:center; background:#eb7000 !important; border:0 !important; color:#fff !important; padding:10px !important; #_form_64_ ._close-icon cursor:pointer; background-image:url('https://d226aj4ao1t61q.cloudfront.net/esfkyjh1u_forms-close-dark.png'); background-repeat:no-repeat; background-size:14.2px 14.2px; position:absolute; display:block; top:11px; right:9px; overflow:hidden; width:16.2px; height:16.2px; #_form_64_ ._close-icon:before position:relative; #_form_64_ ._form-body margin-bottom:30px; #_form_64_ ._form-image-left width:150px; float:left; #_form_64_ ._form-content-right margin-left:164px; #_form_64_ ._form-branding color:#fff; font-size:10px; clear:both; text-align:left; margin-top:30px; font-weight:100; #_form_64_ ._form-branding ._logo display:block; width:130px; height:14px; margin-top:6px; background-image:url('https://d226aj4ao1t61q.cloudfront.net/hh9ujqgv5_aclogo_li.png'); background-size:130px auto; background-repeat:no-repeat; #_form_64_ ._form-label,#_form_64_ ._form_element ._form-label font-weight:bold; margin-bottom:5px; display:block; #_form_64_._dark ._form-branding color:#333; #_form_64_._dark ._form-branding ._logo background-image:url('https://d226aj4ao1t61q.cloudfront.net/jftq2c8s_aclogo_dk.png'); #_form_64_ ._form_element position:relative; margin-bottom:10px; font-size:0; max-width:100%; #_form_64_ ._form_element * font-size:14px; #_form_64_ ._form_element._clear clear:both; width:100%; float:none; #_form_64_ ._form_element._clear:after clear:left; #_form_64_ ._form_element input[type="text"],#_form_64_ ._form_element input[type="date"],#_form_64_ ._form_element select,#_form_64_ ._form_element textarea:not(.g-recaptcha-response) display:block; width:100%; -webkit-box-sizing:border-box; -moz-box-sizing:border-box; box-sizing:border-box; #_form_64_ ._field-wrapper position:relative; #_form_64_ ._inline-style float:left; #_form_64_ ._inline-style input[type="text"] width:150px; #_form_64_ ._inline-style:not(._clear) + ._inline-style:not(._clear) margin-left:20px; #_form_64_ ._form_element img._form-image max-width:100%; #_form_64_ ._clear-element clear:left; #_form_64_ ._full_width width:100%; #_form_64_ ._form_full_field display:block; width:100%; margin-bottom:10px; #_form_64_ input[type="text"]._has_error,#_form_64_ textarea._has_error border:#f37c7b 1px solid; #_form_64_ input[type="checkbox"]._has_error outline:#f37c7b 1px solid; #_form_64_ ._error display:block; position:absolute; font-size:13px; z-index:10000001; #_form_64_ ._error._above padding-bottom:4px; top:-41px; right:0; #_form_64_ ._error._below padding-top:4px; top:100%; right:0; #_form_64_ ._error._above ._error-arrow bottom:0; right:15px; border-left:5px solid transparent; border-right:5px solid transparent; border-top:5px solid #f37c7b; #_form_64_ ._error._below ._error-arrow top:0; right:15px; border-left:5px solid transparent; border-right:5px solid transparent; border-bottom:5px solid #f37c7b; #_form_64_ ._error-inner padding:8px 12px; background-color:#f37c7b; font-size:13px; font-family:arial, sans-serif; color:#fff; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; -webkit-border-radius:4px; -moz-border-radius:4px; border-radius:4px; #_form_64_ ._error-inner._form_error margin-bottom:5px; text-align:left; #_form_64_ ._button-wrapper ._error-inner._form_error position:static; #_form_64_ ._error-inner._no_arrow margin-bottom:10px; #_form_64_ ._error-arrow position:absolute; width:0; height:0; #_form_64_ ._error-html margin-bottom:10px; .pika-single z-index:10000001 !important; @media all and (min-width:320px) and (max-width:667px) ::-webkit-scrollbar display:none; #_form_64_ margin:0; width:100%; min-width:100%; max-width:100%; box-sizing:border-box; #_form_64_ * -webkit-box-sizing:border-box; -moz-box-sizing:border-box; box-sizing:border-box; font-size:1em; #_form_64_ ._form-content margin:0; width:100%; #_form_64_ ._form-inner display:block; min-width:100%; #_form_64_ ._form-title,#_form_64_ ._inline-style margin-top:0; margin-right:0; margin-left:0; #_form_64_ ._form-title font-size:1.2em; #_form_64_ ._form_element margin:0 0 20px; padding:0; width:100%; #_form_64_ ._form-element,#_form_64_ ._inline-style,#_form_64_ input[type="text"],#_form_64_ label,#_form_64_ p,#_form_64_ textarea:not(.g-recaptcha-response) float:none; display:block; width:100%; #_form_64_ ._row._checkbox-radio label display:inline; #_form_64_ ._row,#_form_64_ p,#_form_64_ label margin-bottom:0.7em; width:100%; #_form_64_ ._row input[type="checkbox"],#_form_64_ ._row input[type="radio"] margin:0 !important; vertical-align:middle !important; #_form_64_ ._row input[type="checkbox"] + span label display:inline; #_form_64_ ._row span label margin:0 !important; width:initial !important; vertical-align:middle !important; #_form_64_ ._form-image max-width:100%; height:auto !important; #_form_64_ input[type="text"] padding-left:10px; padding-right:10px; font-size:16px; line-height:1.3em; -webkit-appearance:none; #_form_64_ input[type="radio"],#_form_64_ input[type="checkbox"] display:inline-block; width:1.3em; height:1.3em; font-size:1em; margin:0 0.3em 0 0; vertical-align:baseline; #_form_64_ button[type="submit"] padding:20px; font-size:1.5em; #_form_64_ ._inline-style margin:20px 0 0 !important; #_form_64_ position:relative; text-align:left; margin:0px 0px; padding:20px; -webkit-box-sizing:border-box; -moz-box-sizing:border-box; box-sizing:border-box; *zoom:1; background:transparent !important; border:0px solid #b0b0b0 !important; width:300px; -moz-border-radius:0px !important; -webkit-border-radius:0px !important; border-radius:0px !important; color:#000 !important; #_form_64_ ._form-title font-size:22px; line-height:22px; font-weight:600; margin-bottom:0; #_form_64_:before,#_form_64_:after content:" "; display:table; #_form_64_:after clear:both; #_form_64_._inline-style width:auto; display:inline-block; #_form_64_._inline-style input[type="text"],#_form_64_._inline-style input[type="date"] padding:10px 12px; #_form_64_._inline-style button._inline-style position:relative; top:27px; #_form_64_._inline-style p margin:0; #_form_64_._inline-style ._button-wrapper position:relative; margin:27px 12.5px 0 20px; #_form_64_ ._form-thank-you position:relative; left:0; right:0; text-align:center; font-size:18px; @media all and (min-width:320px) and (max-width:667px) #_form_64_._inline-form._inline-style ._inline-style._button-wrapper margin-top:20px !important; margin-left:0 !important; #_form_64_ ._form_10 text-align:center !important; #_form_64_ ._x20518276 label,#_form_64_ ._field10 label text-align:left; #_form_64_ ._form_31 width:100% !important; ]]>

[0:37:35] Special Announcements

[0:46:58] Listener Q&A: How to Increase Testosterone After Exercise

[0:59:53] How to Fix the School Lunch Program

[1:14:04] Giveaways & Goodies

[1:17:08] End of Podcast

Ben:  In this episode of the Ben Greenfield Fitness, CBD, keto, romaine lettuce, how to increase testosterone after exercise, aesthetics versus longevity and much, much more.

I have a master’s degree in physiology, biomechanics, and human nutrition. I’ve spent the past two decades competing in some of the most masochistic events on the planet from SEALFit Kokoro, Spartan Agoge, and the world’s toughest mudder, the 13 Ironman triathlons, brutal bow hunts, adventure races, spearfishing, plant foraging, free diving, bodybuilding and beyond. I combine this intense time in the trenches with a blend of ancestral wisdom and modern science, search the globe for the world’s top experts in performance, fat loss, recovery, gut hormones, brain, beauty, and brawn to deliver you this podcast. Everything you need to know to live an adventurous, joyful, and fulfilling life. My name is Ben Greenfield. Enjoy the ride.

So, Brock, besides all the other sexy things that we have planned to talk about today like the most–

Brock:  Sexy, sexy things.

Ben: –trendy topics and all of health like CBD and keto. We might as well make a trifecta and talk about fasting.

Brock:  Okay.

Ben:  Are you doing this five-day New Year’s fast that I’m on?

Brock:  I am. I’m doing a variation.

Ben:  What’s your variation? Pizza?

Brock:  Well, what I’m doing is I’m doing a vegan. I’m doing a Level 4 vegan diet.

Ben:  Level 4?

Brock:  But only between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

Ben:  Wait, what makes it a Level 4?

Brock:  Well, you don’t eat anything that casts a shadow.

Ben:  Oh, I get it. Okay. I’m nodding my head like I understand but I still don’t understand what that has to do with Level 4.

Brock:  It doesn’t. Yeah. I think it’s from “The Simpsons,” to be honest.

Ben:  Is it really called the–

Brock:  I think they stole that from–

Ben:  Is it really called a Level 4 fast?

Brock:  Well, it is by Lisa Simpson when she’s talking to, I think it was Paul McCartney’s wife, Linda McCartney, yeah.

Ben:  You, my friend, are dating yourself because I know nothing of this strange mysterious Simpsons you speak of.

Brock:  Oh, it was just the 1990s, come on. Anyway, so yeah. That was my clever way of saying, “Yes, I’m doing the intermittent, like extended intermittent fasting version.”

Ben:  Okay. Well, I am and for those you who have no clue what we’re talking about, my company, Kion, we are overseeing a fast for–gosh, there’s like over 10,000 people doing this over this week.

Brock:  Yeah.

Ben:  I’ve chosen to do kind of a modified fast. It’s called an elemental diet and it’s a way to heal the gut. So, basically, there’s this meal replacement stuff. It’s called MediClear. Have you heard of this, Brock?

Brock:  I have not.

Ben:  So, it’s got a whole bunch of sulforaphane in it, like sulforaphane glucosinolate. That’s from the seeds and sprouts of broccoli. And you hear about sulforaphane–Dr. Rhonda Patrick has talked about that quite a bit as being a really good way to up-regulate particularly what’s called Phase 2 detoxification of the liver, and then also to protect the gut from damage and protect the cells overall. But then, what Thorne did is they blended this with a whole host of other nutrients that make it almost like a medical meal replacement blend. Meaning that it has everything from like curcumin, green tea, grape seed extracts, the methyltetrahydrofolate form of folic acid, a bunch of mineral chelates. It’s everything that you would expect to put into a giant canister that would taste like ass. But actually, it’s like a–

Brock:  I was going to ask that.

Ben:  So, breakfast, lunch and dinner right now, I do two scoops of that which comes out to about 170 calories and then I just–

Brock:  That’s pretty puny.

Ben:  Well, yeah. But well, I’m fasting, duh.

Brock:  Duh.

Ben:  Duh. I’m fasting. I’m making shakes over here, bro. So, I blend that with some bone broth and a little bit of salt. And then, the only thing that’s missing, for me as a nutritionist, I look at the labels and inspect things and try to figure out if I’m building up any deficits. The only thing I was a little bit concerned about, just because I’m still training and everything, was a little bit of fatty acids and a little bit of extra amino acids. So, pre-workout, I’m doing about 10 grams of what are called essential amino acids to keep myself in a relatively anabolic state for my workouts. And then, the other thing–

Brock:  We’ve talked about those a couple of times.

Ben:  Yeah. The other thing I’m doing is about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil that when I blend that Thorne MediClear, I put that in there. For a five-day fast, that’s not that necessary. It’s not like I’m going to be fat deficient but for a lot of people who do an elemental diet, it’s particularly effective for things like small intestine bacterial overgrowth and bloating and gas and leaky gut. They’ll follow a protocol like that for a good 30 days.

I have some clients who have had followed something very similar to this for 30 days and that’s a scenario where I’m like, “Okay. We need to add just a little bit of extra fat.” So, I’ll have them supplement with some fish oil and then put some extra virgin olive oil in with their MediClear. Plus, the MediClear has broccoli in it, and last I checked, olive oil tastes pretty good with broccoli. I think that’s like [00:05:46] ______.

Brock:  Mm-hmm. That’s delicious.

Ben:  Anyways, now that everybody–

Brock:  You should just do a shot glass. Just pour a shot glass of olive oil. That’s delicious.

Ben:  You mean just drink it straight?

Brock:  Yeah.

Ben:  It actually is. We’re part of this thing called the Extrovert–what’s it called? No, The Olive Oil Club, The Olive Oil Club. Every quarter, we get three bottles of wonderful olive oil from all over the world into our house from like Australia and Spain and Italy. And my kids and wife and I will have tastings when the olive oil gets there because it comes with all these tasting notes almost like wine. And so, you can taste the herbaceous, spicy, lemony, citrusy. They kind of pull some stuff out of their ass sometimes, as far as the description, like an herbaceous, thyme tree bark infused piney flavor.

Anyways though, yeah. So, we do shot glasses of olive oil. And I suppose now that everyone’s salivating, we should go on to talk about keto and romaine lettuce, shall we not?

Brock:  Let’s do it.

Male:  New flashes.

Ben:  Alright, so first of all, before we jump in, I should mention that all–I know everybody’s chomping at the bits to join The Olive Oil Club and to learn more about this mysterious Thorne MediClear I speak of. So, that along with–as usual, we do really, really comprehensive shownotes for you guys. So, I’ll put everything over at BenGreenfieldFitness.com/393. And I’ll bet now you’re very, very much interested in why I mentioned romaine lettuce in the intro.

Brock:  I think I can guess.

Ben:  Yeah. Okay. So, did you see this article about The Five Foods the Internet Was Most Obsessed with In 2018?

Brock:  Only because I saw you put it in there but I saw some similar ones and this one, I have to admit, is much more near and dear to my heart than some of the other lists I saw.

Ben:  Yeah. Alright. Drumroll, please. Here we go.

Brock:  Okay.

Ben:  Number one was keto cheesecake. Keto cheesecake, baby. That was number one and I went and looked at the recipe, it’s–some of these keto recipes it’s kind of like–what’s the diet? That if it fits your macros diet, where it doesn’t really matter what’s in it so long as it has X percentage of fat and as far as if it’s low enough in carbohydrates. This one, it looks pretty tasty. I wouldn’t have particularly put this recipe together exactly as they did. The crust is almond flour and butter, which is not bad.

Brock:  That’s fine.

Ben:  I choose some grass-fed butter, of course. And then, the cheesecake itself is 16 ounces of cream cheese with no stipulation of the source of the cream cheese.

Brock:  Organic, yeah.

Ben:  Yeah. I would potentially choose something else like a really good organic. You could use a yogurt cheese or even like an almond cheese if you were doing the almond flour, could probably go pretty well with the almond cheese or just like go organic too if you’re going with the creamy cheese. What else was in there? Two large eggs, not bad.

Brock:  Yeah.

Ben:  Vanilla extract or vanilla flavor, which you do need to be careful with. They do get that from beaver anus, believe it or not, if you don’t get the real vanilla extract. Then lemon juice, salt and erythritol. You may want to use stevia instead of erythritol if you don’t want your cheesecake to be a fart city. But it’s not that bad. It’s a keto cheesecake. Keto cheesecake was the number five food the internet was most obsessed with based on–I think they’re ranking this on Instagram likes or something like that.

Brock:  I think it was Google. It was Google Analytics like Google search terms, yeah.

Ben:  Wow. Yeah. Okay.

Brock:  And that is literally like have your cake and eat it to kind of a deal right there.

Ben:  Yes, yeah. And promise, we won’t reverse-engineer every single one of these recipes. Keto pancake was the next one. Those actually look pretty good but the main–it’s similar to the keto cheesecake except it’s a pancake.

Brock:  Squish it down.

Ben:  That’s pretty much it. You could probably skip it. Make the cheesecake, get a griddle and just put the cheesecake on the griddle and you have the pancake recipe.

Brock:  Just flatten that sucker and grill it up.

Ben:  Yeah, it’s basically like coconut flour and baking powder and then they’ll add cream cheese, speak of the devil, and lots more almond flour and lots more cinnamon. I think most people who make keto recipes, and my wife says this about the keto cookbooks that people inevitably send to our house like every single freaking day, you only really need 10 ingredients in your pantry to follow any of these cookbooks. It’s like stevia, cream cheese, eggs, MCT oil, coconut oil and cinnamon, maybe some quinoa.

Brock:  And then, some sort of flour like almond flour or coconut flour.

Ben:  Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Number three was CBD gummies.

Brock:  I had not seen those.

Ben:  No. They’re actually pretty good. There’s this company called Botanica, Botanica that is out of Seattle and they make these wonderful, wonderful, wonderful edibles and they do different THC, CBD ratios. And I think they’re expanding now into California and a few other places where marijuana is legal but of course, most people are aware that CBD from hemp is fully legal now, federally, based on the farm bill in the U.S. And CBD gummies, but these are not homemade. These are not like a recipe like keto cheesecake or keto pancakes. These are just sold. People like to eat these CBD gummies. The ones that are shown here are the brand, Lord Jones. I don’t know what those are or where they come from.

Brock:  I like the logo.

Ben:  Yeah. I’m a fan of CBD. The problem with CBD is most people use it but they don’t notice anything because they don’t use enough because all these products use paltry portions of CBD. When you look at the research like for the anti-anxiety effect, it’s like 300 to 900 milligrams. And the serving in most of these CBD products is 5 to 10 milligrams. For sleep, you need 60 to 100 milligrams minimum. Alright, so I actually took CBD last night for sleep.

Brock:  Me too.

Ben:  This probably broke my fast now that I think about it because of the amount of oil I had to consume to deliver said CBD. I was using this CBD that was blended in MCT oil and I had to use like six dropper foals and then you hold it in your mouth like two minutes to actually get–I think I got about 100 milligrams but I had to use like half the bottle to get 100 milligrams of CBD.

So, I think a lot of people aren’t aware that CBD works like gangbusters but there are some companies that make really, really dense CBDs. I think Elemental Health CBD is one, and then I use the BioCBD stuff in capsular form, and then Thorne has a CBD that–Thorne doesn’t even call it CBD because they’re smart because they know the feds will shut them down if they did that. It is just Thorne Hemp. But some of these products, they have slightly higher amounts of CBD or slightly more dense or efficacious but anyways, that’s CBD. And then, number two was romaine lettuce. Now, why do you think people would have Googled the hell out of romaine lettuce?

Brock:  Maybe because it was poisoning people.

Ben:  Uh-huh, yeah. It’s E. coli.

Brock:  Was it E. coli-ing people?

Ben:  The E. coli outbreak. So, that was pretty much it. That’s why romaine lettuce appeared along with CBD and keto pancakes and cheesecake. So, that would–

Brock:  Yeah. I have never wanted a Caesar salad so bad as during that whole outbreak. It was one of those like just because I can’t have it, I want it really bad.

Ben:  I knew nothing of the outbreak. I am so tuned out to the news that the entire world supply of chicken, burgers, vegetables could all go completely to hell and be full of E. coli and parasites and pathogens and God knows what else, and I would probably show up at a restaurant and order the romaine lettuce burger with the side of raw beef, tartare and not know any better because I know nothing of the news.

Brock:  Yeah. I knew because I walked into my local grocery store and they actually had a sign that said, “No romaine lettuce until it’s proven to be E. coli free, blah, blah, blah.” I was like, “Oh, crap.”

Ben:  Yeah. And number one was this unicorn cake, which I think was a cop-out. I think whoever wrote this article was on deadline and it got to number one, but unicorn cake was number one. I think they were trying to be funny.

Brock:  I think so. Maybe they were alluding or harkening to that Starbucks drink that was out in the spring. Wasn’t there a unicorn Frappuccino or something that was redonkulously every kind of sugar, every kind of color all piled on top of each other?

Ben:  Really? That was an–

Brock:  That was a real thing.

Ben:  That was an actual thing?

Brock:  Yeah.

Ben:  A unicorn Frappuccino. Can we find the recipe for a unicorn Frappuccino? You think you could–

Brock:   I think so.

Ben:  Oh, oh. Hey, I have a recipe. They call it, “The flavor changing, color changing totally not made-up unicorn Frappuccino, magical flavors start off sweet and fruity transforming to pleasantly sour.” Oh, this cannot have any chemicals in it. “Swirl to reveal a color changing spectacle of purple and pink. It’s finished with whipped cream, sprinkled pink and blue fairy powders.”

Brock:  Fairy powders?

Ben:  Oh, wow.

Brock:  I love fairy powders.

Ben:  Here are the ingredients and then we’ll move on because this is getting along in the tooth. Here are the ingredients. I’ll do this like the micro machine guy speaking of dating myself. I smell Creme Frappuccino, syrup, whipped cream, creme mono and diglycerides, carrageenan, vanilla syrup, sugar, water, mango juice concentrate, sugar water, natural flavors, potassium sorbate, sugar, natural and artificial flavor, salt, salt water, xanthan gum, potassium sorbate, citric acid, blue drizzle which is made of white chocolate, mocha sauce, sugar, condensed skim milk, coconut oil, cocoa butter, natural flavor, salt potassium sorbate, monoglycerides, classic syrup, sugar, sugar, water, natural flavors, potassium sorbate, citric acid, sour blue powder with citric acid, color, spirulina–oh, dude. It’s got a super [00:16:09] ______?

Brock:  Oh, hey. Well, there you go.

Ben:  I’m in.

Brock:  It’s good for you.

Ben:  Water, sugar, maltodextrin, citric acid, pink powder with fruit and vegetable color, apple, cherry, radish, sweet potato? Holy cow.

Brock:  Radish?

Ben:  Oh my gosh, this is ancestral. Sour blue powder, citric acid, color spirulina, more spirulina, water, sugar, sugar, maltodextrin, citric acid. Did I mention sugar? Wow. Not half bad. Alright. Let’s move on. Let’s move onto something a little bit more scientific.

Brock:  Okay.

Ben:  The carnivore diet, fantastic article. And by the way, during the news flashes, I linked to all these articles in the shownotes and some of these get a little dense and so I do recommend these as good reads. So, the carnivore diet, it’s obviously popular. We’ve talked about it a lot and this particular article on obscurescience.com delves into how the carnivore diet could theoretically reverse the serious health conditions that it’s been shown to anecdotally be able to reverse. So, some of the things that this article explores, in summary, is that we know, for example, that intestinal permeability is the common link behind a lot of autoimmune conditions.

This simply means that dysfunctional intestinal permeability can allow these large molecules like foreign proteins to enter the body and that can lead to the development of everything from diabetes to rampant inflammation to mast cell disorders to autoimmune thyroid issues to a host of different problems. And, of course, when you switch to a carnivore diet that is by definition due to the fact that you’re eating, although there are variations of the diet, primarily just meat, it is an elimination diet. And it is a pretty significant elimination diet.

In that, you go cold turkey getting rid of gluten, corn, soy, milk, dairy, a lot of the lectins from plants, any of the phytic acid inhibitors. Just about anything that could mount a reaction against the wall of the gut. This is what I’ve said before and what I always question is I would love to see a comparison of an autoimmune diet with the carnivore diet or an elimination diet with the carnivore diet because I think a lot of the benefits people see in terms specifically a reversal of–there’s those Mikhaila Peterson, Jordan Peterson’s daughter made famous by this when she was on the Joe Rogan podcast speaking of this, how she got rid of her rheumatoid arthritis or at least controlled the symptoms of it with the carnivore diet. Primarily, I suspect, because it really is an autoimmune diet. It’s just a meat-based version of an autoimmune diet.

And so, this article goes into some of the research behind intestinal permeability and also why the carnivore diet is probably having a pretty significant impact on, specifically, intestinal permeability. So, that’s one theory.

Another one is that a lot of folks who switch to this diet and feel good may have undiagnosed celiac disease because we know that a gluten-free diet resolves celiac disease and wheat allergies. And last I checked, ribeye steak is not full of gluten unless it’s sprinkled with gluten powder, which is a fantastic side to most steakhouse. You can get the mushrooms, you can get the peppercorn, you can get the butter, you could get the pesto or you could get the gluten powder.

But assuming you’re passing up the gluten powder, there is a high likelihood because a carnivore diet has a significantly lower risk of accidental gluten exposure or even gluten cross-contamination. That’s the thing is a lot of these gluten-free diets people go on still have elements like coffee and corn and maltodextrin and a lot of things you’ll find in condiments or in so-called gluten-free foods that really do have detectable sources of gluten in them, whereas that’s–

Brock:  Wait, coffee does?

Ben:  Coffee is cross-reactive with gluten, meaning that there are proteins in coffee that can cause elevated reactivity to gluten, like if you were to go to a good food allergy testing company like Cyrex, for example, and you were to do what’s called a Gluten-Associated Cross-Reactive Food Screen, they’re actually testing for coffee, particularly instant coffee. That’s a big culprit with gluten cross-reactivity. And then, they test for rye, barley, spelt, chocolate is another that has a lot of gluten cross–so a lot of people going like a gluten-free diet but continue to drink couple cups of a suspect coffee and have a big bar dark chocolate at night and they still have symptoms and like, “This gluten-free diet is crap. I’m done. I’m going back to my burger buns.”

Brock:  You just described me.

Ben:  Yeah. That’s another theory is that it’s reversing autoimmune disease because it is something that is completely eliminating gluten, and that’s another reason that it potentially works. And so, it’s an interesting article. It goes into a lot of the studies behind this but I personally would have no issues–my take on a carnivore diet is I have no issues with it, if you’re eating nose to tail. So, you’re getting a lot of the glycine and a lot of the marrow and a lot–if you’re eating just the muscle fiber, you’re getting a lot of the protein methionine. You’re getting a lot of some of the sugars in the meat that could potentially cause some gut inflammation issues. You’re missing out on a lot of the beneficial amino acids and a lot of the beneficial fatty acids that you can get from eating the marrow, consuming a lot of the awful like the kidney, liver, heart, et cetera.

The other thing is if you are truly eating nose to tail and you’re doing as you might see–people talk about like the Inuit. They say, “Well, these people eat only meat or very, very large percentage of meat and they do just fine.” But we see some of these folks, and I don’t know if the Inuit, in particular, do this but I was researching, because I’m working pretty hard on my new book right now, which by the way, I have a landing page up for the book now if people want to start to get in line to get their hands on a copy when it’s released. The lion’s share of the book is actually about longevity and about the natural ancestral approach to living. And there’s a lot of spiritual healing, quantum physics, energy medicine in there too. It’s a unique approach. People want to jot it down. I’ll put this in the shownotes too. Its discoverki.com, discoverK-I.com is the landing page for the book, if you want to get in line to learn more about that when it comes out next year or this year, actually. It’s 2019.

But anyways, what I talked about in that book is the habit of a lot of these populations who do eat nose to tail. They will cook the intestines lightly of ruminants like deer and cattle and some of these grazing animals. And so, they’re essentially eating like a stomach salad. They’re eating a lot of these intestines that have a lot of the fibers and the grass and the produce in them. So, not only does that mean that they’re amping up their phytonutrient, flavonol, anthocyanidins, a lot of these nutrients that could potentially be missing from a strict muscle meat diet, but they are also increasing their exposure to beneficial ferments. And so, they’re getting a lot of those fermented foods and beneficial bacteria and ensuring that the impact on the microbiome of a strict meat diet that could potentially be deficient in some of the prebiotics that your gut bacteria need, they’re kind of controlling that.

So, my take on the carnivore diet is do it but don’t do it by buying ribeyes from Costco, which most of my friends who are on the carnivore diet, that’s what they do. They’re like, “Go to Costco. You get the best meat. You get the best price.” And they’re just eating ribeyes breakfast, lunch and dinner. They’re not doing liver pate and maybe some nice sliced up kidney or some braunschweiger or some head cheese or any of the more ancestral cuts. Anyways though, that’s the deal with a carnivore diet. I think it’s a good article and I’ll link to it in the shownotes over at a BenGreenfieldFitness.com/393.

Brock:  Awesome.

Ben:  Cool. Actually, the second to last article that I wanted to touch on was this idea of the ketogenic diet and athletes. Now, this article did a very good job. This was on roguehealthandfitness.com. And it did a very good job delving into all of the different studies on ketosis and performance. So, first, it looked at endurance, and particularly, mice and endurance and the ketogenic diet and what they were able to find out with mice. And then, they looked at another study by Jeff Volek, which I was actually a part of, but back at the University of Connecticut where they took a bunch of male endurance freaks who they had followed ketogenic diet for 12 months. And then, they tested their glycogen conservation like how well they were able to kind of conserve and use their glycogen stores more efficiently during exercise, their fat burning capacity, et cetera. And then, they also looked at non-athletes who were exercising on a ketogenic diet.

I’m sorry, that study didn’t look at non-athletes but this particular article I’m talking about, it went on to discuss a study that was done in non-athletes exercising on a ketogenic diet. And then, they looked at high-intensity exercise and how that responds to a ketogenic diet. Then they looked at also cyclists in a ketogenic diet. And, I think there were nearly a dozen studies they went into. They looked into body composition and CrossFitters on a ketogenic diet. They looked at higher intensity exercise performance on a ketogenic diet. The list goes on a total of 13 studies that they go into in this article but here’s the summary. Here’s the summary. This is interesting.

Brock:  Okay.

Ben:  So, A, the longer the studies keto-adaptation phase, meaning the longer that the study participants follow a ketogenic diet, which we would call keto-adaptation or to use the more layman or laywoman’s term turning you into a fat-burning machine, the more likely the study is to find favorable performance results. And that’s likely due to increases in your ability to be able to use fatty acids as a fuel improvements and your ability to be able to conserve glycogen during exercise, increases in mitochondrial density, potentially even an increase in the ability to be able to digest fats, like increased bioproduction by the liver and released by the gallbladder, potentially an up-regulation of lipase, one of your fat burning enzymes. So, there’s probably a cluster of factors that occur with a long-term exposure to that diet that renders it more favorable long term for performance.

I’ve been following some version of a low carbohydrate or ketogenic diet even though it’s not for everybody. I don’t possess a lot of the genetic factors that would cause that to become inflammatory for me, like familial hypercholesterolemia or there’s a gene called the PPAR gene that can respond unfavorably to a ketogenic diet. There are some digestive issues like gallbladder removal or things like that that can contribute to it. Aside from the fact that I’m APOE 34, and that’s a gene that dictates that if I’m going to follow a high-fat diet, it should be more Mediterranean fats than saturated fats. My body responds well to a lower carbohydrate, relatively ketogenic diet. And I’ve been doing it since 2012.

I’ve got about seven and a half years under my belt of a ketogenic diet and I feel better than ever from a performance standpoint. So, a big part of this is the keto-adaptation phase. Then also, here are the other things that the study found. It’s highly unlikely that keto is good for high intensity or at least better for high intensity. Meaning, it’s not going to hurt you, it’s not going to help you. It’s unlikely that keto is bad for high intensity. It’s likely that keto is neutral for high-intensity exercise. It’s likely that keto is better for endurance, especially due to that glycogen conservation aspect. It’s very likely that keto diets are better for body composition, meaning body fat percentages. And it’s very likely that keto diets are generally healthier just from a pure metabolic standpoint, inflammation, blood glucose, insulin sensitivity, et cetera, than standard high carb diets for athletes.

There are some weaknesses to this review. It didn’t begin to delve into things like say the microbiome or let’s say markers of longevity like telomeres. It didn’t really look too much like oxidative stress profiles for panels such as inflammation. But from a general health standpoint, it appears that the low-carb diet was favorable across a wide population. And I am not a keto zealot, I’m not a guy who vilifies carbohydrates at all costs, but I do think that some attention pays to mitigation of what’s called glycemic variability or how many times your blood glucose fluctuates during the day is intelligent and wise when it comes to your health and longevity. And I think that a relatively ketogenic diet along with some form of intermittent fasting or caloric restriction is a very good way to do that. So, this is a good article. It’s a really good summary of all the studies that exist to date on the ketogenic diet, or the ketogenic diet in performance, whether it works for bodybuilding or athletics.

Brock:  Yeah. Yeah, I liked it, especially that first point because I don’t know how many times we’ve looked at studies in this podcast that are like four weeks of keto or low-carb and then they say, “Oh, it doesn’t work.” But they only do it for four weeks. That adaptation phase is so key and they really have missed that in so many studies. So, I think that’s one of the most interesting points of this article.

Ben:  Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Okay. And I got one more for you.

Brock:  Okay.

Ben:  So, this next article was in The Wall Street Journal, and my apologies to those of you who do not have an online subscription to The Wall Street Journal. This would have been free to read when it first came out, when I first twitted it, now it’s not. So, here is my username and password for The Wall Street Journal. No, I’m just kidding. It’s like a dollar a month, I think, for Wall Street Journal access. So, it’s worth it if you want to have access to interesting articles every now and again. Speaking, I actually have an interview I think later on today with The Wall Street Journal about cannabis and exercise, yeah. I don’t know what they’re going to ask me.

Brock:  You don’t know anything about that. Why would they talk to you?

Ben:  Well, they want to ask me, but that’s on the side. So, this was a great article. The older I get, the more I’m interested in what older folks who are performing really well and crushing it in life are doing particularly from a training and a nutrition standpoint and of course to a lifestyle and spiritual discipline standpoint as well.

And this Wall Street Journal article goes into the story of 71-year-old Grady Cash, Grady Cash. His name is spelled G-R-A-D-Y, like Grady Cash. He is, at 71, still able to throw down a 2-minute 38-second-half mile and continues to set records in the 200, the 400, and the 800-meter distance. He looks fantastic. He’s muscle-bound. He has a very unique training protocol, meaning that he does extremely short efforts like he’ll alternate 30 seconds of sprinting with 30 seconds of jogging for a two and a half mile workout or do like eight reps of 200 meters that get progressively faster with the last one being an all-out rep. But he’s really doing very short intense fast track workouts. And then, he lifts weights a lot more than the other national track and field competitors in his age group who he’s competing against.

He pushes a sled a lot. He does a lot of sled pushing. He interestingly avoids deadlifts and I found this to be the case for me too. I’m sure part of it is limb length but I find once I really start to step up the weight on the deadlifts, I inevitably throw my back like over–I have long ass legs so that’s probably a part of it, and I can mitigate most of that by doing deadlifts with either sandbags at my side, like what’s called a suitcase deadlift or a hex bar, which is a fantastic way to deadlift and protect the back. I think everybody should own a hex bar. There’s not a lot of pieces of equipment that I say are just must-haves but a kettlebell, a hex bar and a pull-up bar are definitely three, and I would say if you have room at your house or your backyard or whatever, a sled that you can push would also be a pretty good idea.

He doesn’t do a lot of deadlifts, but he does do a lot of sled pushes and he does hit the weights quite a bit with what appears to be kind of like a full body functional type of routine. His diet is very interesting. I thought the diet was great. He fasts for up to 18 hours, five days a week. You don’t see a lot of athletes doing that. They get concerned but when he does eat, he looks like he’s eating pretty well.

At 6:00 a.m., he has a cup of coffee with a splash of coconut oil, which technically means he’s not fasting for 18 hours, five days a week. I just want to name that, but regardless, again, I don’t want to judge him. He’s doing pretty well. And then, after his workout, he has coffee with cream. So, he’s kind of like on a low-carb type of thing. He eats his first meal usually tuna salad with olive oil and avocado between 1:00 and 2:00, even though The Wall Street Journal author here does not realize at that point he’s probably already had a good 400 or 500 calories from his coconut oil and his cream, but it’s an aside. He’s still staying pretty non-insulinogenic, not getting a lot of blood glucose releases up until his first meal of the day. Dinner, it says might be black bean chicken chilli. He always eats evening snacks before 8:00 p.m. and a protein shake or a scoop of peanut butter is in the norm. On occasion, he has a small scoop of ice cream. We don’t know if it’s keto ice cream made of cream cheese and eggs and stevia.

Brock:  I’m sure it is.

Ben:  On race mornings, he eats low-carb pancakes. Hey, hey, keto pancakes, baby.

Brock:  Hey.

Ben:  Once again, they make an appearance. We should call the keto pancake commission and see if they’ll sponsor this episode, with local honey and two or three eggs. So, yeah. It’s interesting. So, essentially, he’s lifting weights. He’s doing high-intensity interval training. He’s eating a relatively low-carb diet and it’s a good example. Like anything, we could nitpick all day long and be all freaking orthorexic about these types of folks but I think this is another great example of someone who’s doing things mostly right when it comes to anti-aging and another person who we can all try to be like.

Although I have to admit, Brock, and then we’ll wrap up these news flashes and move on, that I sometimes have a thought experiment about what is better? The hundred-year-old Chinese guy who does Tai Chi and eats a little bit of rice and fish, and sushi, and drinks green tea all day long and walks and is like a Zen master, quiet, unassuming, mild, like a stereotypical Asian guy that meditates maybe one or two hours a day but would probably get his back broken if he ever walked into a CrossFit gym versus the more like modern American anti-aging enthusiast who’s lifting weights, eating eggs, drinking coffee, a little bit more Yang than Yin. What I question is which one is better? Which one is superior? Which one makes you happy? Which one allows for just better health and longevity long term or is it both?

That’s a part of my book too, this whole ancestor wisdom versus modern science piece. Can you be the fasting, meditating, spiritually disciplined Yogi who could also just crush it under a barbell? I guess maybe Paul Chek could be an example of someone like that. He’s very he’s very disciplined spiritually but he’s also a beast. Just genetically, he’s an anomaly, I realize but maybe there are people out there who have a foot in both camps. You know I’m saying?

Brock:  Yeah. Yeah. To quote that little girl from the internet meme, “Why can’t we have both?”

Male:  Special announcements.

Ben:  Well, speaking of meat, speaking of meat, we got a meat sponsor today, baby. I hope everybody’s ready to get two pounds of free wild-caught Alaskan salmon and–

Brock:  Oh, they switched from the free bacon to salmon.

Ben:  Now, we got two pounds of free wild-caught Alaskan salmon. My mouth is watering already.

Brock:  That’s better for me. I like bacon but salmon, mm-hmm.

Ben:  Yeah, it’s wild Alaskan sockeye salmon sourced from Bristol Bay, Alaska. It’s good. I actually got some of this shipped to my house last month. I forget what we made with that. I think we did cedar plank on the Traeger grill with some olive oil and some lemon, man.

Okay. So, two pounds of free wild-caught Alaskan salmon and then this company, I’m going to let you wait with bated breath, they do 100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef meaning that they don’t finish off their cows with corn. They’re grass-fed, all the way through. They do free-range organic chicken. They’ve got heritage breed pork, that’s old-world pork before they bred out all a fat and flavor to make it the other white meat and bastardize pork. This is the way that pigs were meant to be and there’s an unbelievable taste difference between a harried pork and like this newer pork in concentrated animal feed operations.

Brock:  And the fat is totally different too. It’s a different color, it’s a different texture, it’s–Yeah.

Ben:  So, good. It melts in your freaking mouth.

Brock:  That’s really good.

Ben:  Yeah. Anyways, all of this, this company will deliver right to your door on dry ice-free shipping anywhere in the United States. It’s like a dream. So, all of our listeners get the two pounds of free wild-caught Alaskan salmon at this company called Butcher Box. Here’s how.

You go to butcherbox.com/Ben, butcherbox.com/Ben. You get your first box of meat. It’s going to include two pounds of free wild-caught salmon and $20 off. How do you like that?

Brock:  Nice.

Ben:  Yeah.

Brock:  I love it.

Ben:  Alright. Cool. You like coffee with your meat?

Brock:  Sure.

Ben:  Alright.

Brock:  I like coffee with anything.

Ben:  Okay. You already know about Kion and the fact that our coffee tests more pure and richer in antioxidants than any of the other coffees that we tested against. We tested against 48 plus different brands of coffee, Starbucks, McDonald’s, Folgers, you name it. Even a lot of the healthy so-called you know organic coffees in the health industry, we tested it against everything. This coffee kicked the pants off of anything. We have no aqua toxins. We’re purely organic, but the best thing is the flavors through the roof, the crème on the espresso is amazing. I make a French press of it every morning and it tastes like you are drinking yourself healthier. Plus, it gives you some really good pure clean energy.

We just made these brand new black stainless steel, really sexy food grade coffee tumblers and you get this with the coffee that comes double wall vacuum insulated so it’s just got this incredible aroma when you open it up. We’re calling this the Kion Coffee Lovers Bundle. It’s on sale right now. You get the coffee but you get the tumbler too and the tumblers pretty–For people who don’t know what tumblers, not a–

Brock:  I was just going to ask you.

Ben: –not a sweater. It’s a cup but it’s a really, really good one.

Brock:  I knew it wasn’t–who thinks it’s a sweater? That’s a–

Ben:  Tumbler? Tumbler?

Brock:  Yeah.

Ben:  Is a sweater? [00:41:04] ______ the difference? No, I’m thinking of a jumper.

Brock:  Yeah, a jumper is a sweater.

Ben:  Tumbler is a microblogging in social networking website, I do know that.

Brock:  It is, yes.

Ben:  Anyways, it’s not that.

Brock:  It’s not that, okay. Don’t wear it.

Ben:  Yeah, it’s good though.

Brock:  Okay.

Ben:  So, GetKion.com, GetK-I-O-N.com, that’ll bring you straight to the Kion Coffee Lovers Bundle. It’s on the front page right now.

Finally, this podcast is brought to you by Red Juice. This is something that you can put in to, for example, a smoothie or a shake. It can build your blood, it’s like Viagra for your whole body, because it has beats, and it has pomegranate, and it has raspberry, and cranberry, and strawberry. You ever heard of this idea that things that you see in nature that are a certain color can be good for a specific part of the body?

Brock:  Yes.

Ben:  Yeah.

Brock:  Yeah.

Ben:  Like red stuff–

Brock:  That’s a very, very old philosophy.

Ben:  Yeah, the doctrine of signatures. It’s not really color, its shape, too. It’s like avocados for your ovaries and your testicles and sweet potato?

Brock:  Avocado actually means testicle, doesn’t it? In some language?

Ben:  I don’t think that’s true.

Brock:  I think it is.

Ben:  I think it’s a myth. I think so. But regardless–

Brock:  Anyways–

Ben: –it is good for your testicles and the ovaries. The sweet potato, shaped like a pancreas. It’s actually good for insulin function. The tomato and the pomegranate, you cut them open they look like the chamber of the heart, they’re good for heart function. What’s another one? Walnut good for the brain. Carrot, you slice it horizontally not vertically, it’s good for erections. Probably not true. I don’t think it is. But horizontally it’s got carotenoids in it, it’s good for your eyes. Egg, it looks like an eye. In a pan when you crack it open. It’s got, I think, lutein. Possibly zeaxanthin as well in eggs, good for the eyes. You get the idea.

So, this stuff’s good for your blood. It’s called Red Juice and it’s made by Organifi. It’s got a bunch of other stuff in it but it’s a blood builder especially if you’re an athlete. Anytime you want to increase blood flow before the sauna can be nice, anyways it tastes really good. My kids make smoothies out of these. Kids can drink it too. Kids can drink it too. I mean, that’s a selling point right there.

Brock:  Yes, it is, if you have kids.

Ben:  So, you go to Organifi with an I. Organifi.com, discount code is GREENFIELD. Get you 20% off that Green Juice, and then a Red Juice and the Green Juice and their Gold–They have every color of the rainbow, at least three of them.

Brock:  Three of them.

Ben:  If gold is in the rainbow.

Brock:  The most important three.

Ben:  Yeah. I am, for the next month, all over the planet. So, for those of you listening in right now, I’ll tell you where I’ll be in January then we’re going to put the full calendar up at BenGreenfieldFitness.com/Calendar because if you want to come see me, I’m speaking at some amazing events that I would highly recommend you come to. So, everything from CalJam in February to the FitCon Summit in April, the Paleo f(x) in April, to European detox retreat I’m leading in June, but ultimately what’s coming up right away is for those of you in the Spokane Coeur d’Alene area I’m giving a TEDx talk on January 12th at the Kroc Center over in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. That’s literally in three days so I guess I better start practicing my TED talk because you got to memorize those. That’s on my list of things to do later today.

Brock:  And you can’t ramble either because they’ll cut you off.

Ben:  No. It’s got to be 15 minutes long so, yeah.

Brock:  Yeah.

Ben:  Yeah. Admittedly, I’m a little nervous about that one because I usually don’t memorize talks. I just get up there and say what I know, yeah. Anyways though, also for those you in the L.A. area, fantastic place called NextHealth, you may have heard my podcast with them last week. It’s a complete biohacking facility that’s really, really cutting edge for anti-aging, hormones, cryotherapy, infrared light, full body MRI treatments, they’ve got everything there. It’s cool place. I’m speaking there.

And if you heard my podcast with Khalil Revati from Sunlife Organics and you want to try one of those billion-dollar meals we talked about, conveniently in the location the NextHealth is at Sunlife Organics is right across the hallway from them. So, you can get a billion-dollar meal and then come and listen to me speak. I think that’s a pretty deal.

Brock:  Perfect.

Ben:  What I should do is I should text Khalil–you want me to do this? I just had an idea for all of our listeners who are in the L.A. I can text Khalil and say, “Hey, can we do like a discount on the billion-dollar bowl for anybody who’s coming to my talk at NextHealth?” What do you think?

Brock:  Yeah. Why not?

Ben:  Okay. Alright. Khalil, if you listening I’m going to be texting you, bro. So, come see me talk at NextHealth that’s January 30th. January 30th, I forget the time. It’s like 7:00 p.m. or something like that.

Brock:  Perfect.

Ben:  Finally, this Serious Business Conference in New Orleans for business leaders, for people who–well technically, even though it’s called Serious Business it’s like a business education event and they describe it as a way to invoke thought and insight and expose people to new ideas and thinking on self-development and business. They need a better copywriter in my opinion.

Brock:  Yeah. I don’t know what that meant.

Ben:  I think they’ve got Esther Perel, they’ve got Joey Coleman who’s really good at business building and culture. They’ve got several people who are pretty big in terms of business culture. A lot of leading CEOs and media coming. Esther Perel, she’s an amazing author.

Anyways though it’s called The Serious Business Conference and it’s in New Orleans, of all places.

Brock:  New Orleans.

Ben:  So, you can come to New Orleans have some shellfish with me and learn about business. That’s the lineup. There’s a ton more. We need to get to the Q&A so I’m not even going to in but a lot more you can access over at BenGreenfieldFitness.com/Calendar.

Male:  Listener Q&A.

Jim:  Hi, Ben. This is Jim. Long time listener, love the podcast. I had a question about fasting post-workout. You’ve talked about how testosterone levels can be prolonged if you simply fast after your workout and that they will dip if you eat post-workout. I’m wondering if eating post-workout just causes a drop in blood testosterone because your insulin takes the testosterone out of your blood and shuttles it to the muscle to begin recovery. I’m wondering if eating post-workout is actually something that we could do to enhance recovery and that blood levels of testosterone isn’t necessarily a desired effect. Some clarification would be nice. Thanks.

Ben:  Well, I think some clarifications need to be made here regarding the actual physiology of what’s going on.

Brock:  Yeah.

Ben:  So, first of all, insulin is something that is going to be increased in response to a feeding because the role of insulin as a storage hormone is to ensure that glucose is partitioned into liver and muscle, that fatty acids are partitioned into adipose tissue and it’s generally anabolic hormone; thus, elevated insulin levels in a post-workout scenario would be a favorable thing to maintain anabolism. You would think, well, therefore, eating after workout is going to maintain anabolism and potentially that insulin could assist with taking testosterone out of the blood and shoveling it into the muscle even though that’s not actually the role of insulin.

Insulin will do that with nutrients like glucose and fatty acids, but insulin is not the main thing responsible for bringing testosterone into muscle tissue. Instead when it comes to testosterone and muscle growth, what you’re looking at in a scenario like that would be androgen receptors. Those would be what testosterone is going to interact with and that works basically the way androgen receptors respond to the testosterone release, is that the signal muscle cells to increase the rate at which new muscle protein is laid down.

So, ideally, anything that would up-regulate your androgen receptor density or your androgen receptor count is going to be the best route to ensure testosterone uptake on a muscular level is up-regulated. Going after insulin certainly, if you look at insulin-like growth factor being a precursor for growth hormone would be something that’s beneficial but I’ll tackle insulin in a moment I just want to name that your goal instead should be to up-regulate androgen receptor density. When it comes to androgen receptor density, really, it’s very interesting. I gave a talk on this at a A4M recently, The American Academy of Anti-Aging Physicians and I discussed how androgen receptors are up-regulated more via the exercise approach than via specific nutritional or supplementation strategies. Particularly the lifting heavy complex multi-body lifts, longer rest periods, not meaning you’re sitting on your ass playing Candy Crush and watching TV at the gym and flipping through Men’s Health but just like doing some foam rolling, doing some mobility exercises and then coming back to the next lift and then finally ensuring that you lift with your legs. Don’t be the toothpick-like person, do squats, do deadlifts, et cetera to really amp up androgen receptor density by working with your leg.

So, it’s lifting heavy, it’s complex multi-body lifts, it’s long rest periods, it’s including the legs et cetera. That’s your strategy for enhancing the ability for your cells to be able to respond to testosterone. But when it comes to the insulin piece, the thing is insulin is capable stimulating testosterone production. That’s been shown.

Brock:  Stimulating it.

Ben:  Of stimulating testosterone production and simultaneously it inhibits sex hormone binding globulin. This is why, in many cases, you’ll see people who are calorically deprived, overstressed, working too hard, high cortisol which causes high sex hormone-binding globulin. They can sometimes have high total testosterone but low free testosterone and in many cases, if you look at the blood markers in the labs you’ll see along with that low insulin and low insulin-like growth factor. In some cases, those people just need to eat some colostrum, eat some dairy, eat more food overall and have a little bit [00:52:00] ______–

Brock:  Chill?

Ben: –anabolic approach. Yeah. Train less, eat more, sleep more, et cetera. That’s the way that you can get insulin to be capable of stimulating testosterone production and inhibiting sex hormone binding concentrations.

Then we get to this piece about the exercise, and I think this was probably triggered by the podcast I did with Mark Sisson in–And I’ll link to that one in the shownotes. But we discussed the research behind the up-regulation of growth hormone and the up-regulation of testosterone when you fast for about one to two hours after a workout and then eat your post-workout meal.

Now, what Jim is concerned about is the fact that if you do that then, theoretically, you’re going to have some of that anabolic hormone insulin not being stimulated and not able to have its favorable impact on anabolism. But the thing is one of the responses, what’s called one of the gluco-regulatory responses to exercise particularly intense exercise, is that there is a significant release of insulin. That release of insulin stays elevated for one to two hours following the workout, meaning that you do not need to eat a meal to have your insulin levels elevated in a post-workout scenario. Very similarly to that you actually see during the workout some amount of glycogenolysis by the liver. Some people will work out and their blood glucose will go up and not down and that’s because your body is mobilizing and releasing more of your storage glycogen so that you have elevated glucose available for the workout.

So, plasma insulin concentration after intense exercise is what occurs to restore glucose clearance and glycaemia towards normal. So, it’s normal response. Your body causes this bump in blood glucose and then it follows that in the post-workout state with a bump in insulin to enable you to not be hyperglycemic after exercise. And that bump in insulin, in most studies, stays relatively elevated, significantly elevated, for one to two hours after the actual workout. Meaning that in that post-workout state, you have enough insulin that’s taking that glucose that got released and driving it back into muscle tissue and simultaneously, as I’ve just alluded to, insulin is capable of stimulating testosterone production and that all occurs without you needing to even eat a meal.

So, it really isn’t necessary to drop the bar and go suck down your malted extra fructose creatine shake. It’s simply not something that you have to do. As a matter of fact, we know that the effect of this, like I mentioned from that interview that I did with Mark Sisson. When you fast, whether you are just intermittent fasting and especially if you’re fasting post-workout you actually see a significant increase in testosterone and growth hormone. Fasting itself with growth hormone, it’s crazy. Some studies show up to a 2000% increase in growth hormone in response to intermittent fasting.

I’m talking about short-term fast 12 to 16 hours and very, very similarly these short-term fast there are studies on androgenic hormonal concentrations especially the testosterone response and it ranges between 150% to 200% in response to an intermittent fasting protocol. This is why I feel that–Well my take is this and I’m going to give you one more link in the shownotes if you go to BenGreenfieldFitness.com/393 and that is a podcast or a speech that I gave on fasting and exercise. During that talk I mentioned when it comes to the intermittent fasting protocol that if you’re going to do an overnight fast and then you’re going to work out, there is some evidence that if you’re working out and you’re already fasted that eating a post-workout meal is more favorable from an anabolic testosterone and growth hormone standpoint. That is the case. If you fast for 12 hours overnight, get up, you work out, don’t fast again. You know I’m saying? Don’t skip breakfast.

Brock:  Yeah.

Ben:  At the same time, if you’re an afternoon or an early evening exerciser and you’ve had maybe breakfast, you’ve had definitely lunch and then you work out at 4:00 or 5:00 p.m. you can and you will benefit more from this, wait for one to two hours before you have dinner. It’s that simple. If you follow that rule, you’re going to be able to repeat what you said earlier Brock, “have your cake and eat it too,” when it comes to striking that sweet spot between fasting and exercise insulin testosterone and growth hormone.

The only other thing that I would throw in there, and I’m just going to link to all this in the shownotes if you want to explore any of these resources even more, my podcast with Mark Sisson and my podcasts on the benefits of fasted exercise gym or anybody else listening in, is the idea of basically maintaining muscle protein recovery and decreasing the rate of muscle protein breakdown with a strategy of essential amino acid intake. Because as little as 5 to 6 grams of orally administered essential amino acids has been shown to stimulate net muscle protein balance significantly when consumed in the one to two hours after resistance exercise.

So, this is another way to gain that whole scenario is, and I realized this sounds like the fox guarding the hen house because I own a company that sells essential amino acids. I realized that fact but one of the reasons why–

Brock:  One of the reasons why you make them.

Ben:  One of the reason why, I’d be a fool not to name this, because it’s one of the reasons why I actually encourage this practice so much and the reason I do it myself because this research shows that as little as 5 grams, I do 5 to 10 grams of essential amino acids I use Kion Aminos, in that post-workout state and the stimulation muscle protein synthesis and the absence of any other meal of any other calories is as significant as if you’d eaten a post-workout meal. The other thing is it’s non-insulinogenic. You don’t see a greater spike in insulin so you maintain the insulin you’ve already released and you get the amino acids that will maintain maximum muscle protein synthesis and so again, this falls into that scenario of being something that you can work into the strategy. So, I’m going to say this one more time and then we’ll end this question.

Brock:  Yeah. Okay. Summary.

Ben:  If you are fasting overnight for 12 to 16 hours and you wake up and you do a hard workout, eat a meal in the one to two hours after that workout. If you are eating breakfast and/or lunch and working out in the later afternoon or the early evening, it would behove you to wait one to two hours at least to eat dinner. However, in those one to two hours between your early afternoon and evening workout and dinner, consume 5 to 10 grams of essential amino acids and that would be the best scenario for fasting combined with exercise for growth hormone and testosterone. That’s what I would do.

Ben:  Hey, Ben. I was hoping you could talk about the school system nationwide and the–What I feel is an epidemic and a huge issue with the food quality and offerings that are being served at our public schools through vendors like Aramark, as an example. I was at our daughter’s kindergarten and her menu for the month was nachos, hot dogs, corn dogs and all kinds of things that are terrible in addition to an ice cream truck that had Hershey’s and touted real ingredients. The first thing I pulled out had yellow fat and high fructose corn syrup. So, I’m curious what your thoughts are on combating this epidemic nationwide and getting better food options through our administrators and into our school system and getting these vendors like Aramark out. Thanks. Bye.

Ben:  Man, this is a topic that is fresh on my mind. I just got done reading this book called, “Feeding You Lies” it’s written by Vani Hari, the food babe. You heard of her before, Brock?

Brock:  Yes.

Ben:  Yeah.

Brock:  Yes.

Ben:  So, it’s a great book and it goes into just basically all the all the chemicals that are in all of the different packaged and processed foods and it may sound like it’s just the same old, same old but honestly, she goes in like American versus European foods and the fact that in Europe, they actually–Like the French fries in Europe at McDonald’s, it’s like potatoes, dextran, sunflower oil and salt and then you look at the ones in the U.S. and there’s like 12 other ingredients. It’s very interesting. Even in Europe there are fewer processed and packaged ingredients because they’re stricter over there when it comes to what is allowed in our actual foods.

What we could do in a food babe-esque exploration of maybe a couple of the popular things that you see in some of these you know lunchtime foods that kids are eating like the Mott’s applesauce, Mott’s applesauce that’s a popular one. Since 1842, Mott’s applesauce made from 100% real fruit. These are the ones that parents pick up and put into the kids lunchboxes. The ingredients are apples. Apples. It’s great.

Brock:  Okay.

Ben:  High fructose corn syrup, strawberry puree, natural flavors which many cases aren’t natural. We’ve covered that before. And red number 40 because an apple sauce needs to be red not apple colored.

Brock:  Apparently.

Ben:  Yeah. You look at, for example, the–What’s another popular one? The Welch’s fruit snacks. It’s fruit puree. It’s fruit puree. Fruits the first ingredient they brag on the front and then we got corn syrup, sugar, modified corn starch, citric acid, lactic acid, natural and artificial flavors, red number 40, blue number 40. Just a couple examples. I realize I’m preaching to the choir, most people are pretty aware of the issues with school lunch. But it is interesting especially when you look at the U.S. and what kids eat around the world for lunch? I’m going to put a link in the shownotes to “What Kids Eat Around the World for Lunch.” This is a pretty good one. I don’t know if you had a chance to look at this one, Brock.

Japan, Japan school lunches, you see some fish, you see some vegetables, a little bit of miso soup, some rice. Not too bad. You go to France. Nice little multi-course meal. They’re getting some cabbage and tomato salad, a kiwi, some sliced bread with a little bit of cheese, some roast beef, some potatoes, some tomatoes and fresh herbs. That’s their school lunch. Their school lunches. Canada had a vegetable stir-fry; this young man is eating on this slide. There’s the U.K. the UK and it’s not perfect but a little roast beef with gravy, carrots, potatoes, some peas, very U.K.-esque. In Italy, it’s pasta, a little fresh ziti pasta with some nice homemade tomato sauce or cafeteria made tomato sauce. South Korea looks wonderful. It’s rice, kimchi, perilla leaves, sautéed duck, a soybean paste soup with greens and tofu. Looks pretty good. Brazil; rice, beans, beef stew and salad. Good blend of nutrients.

Let me get to the U.S.

Brock:  Oh. That’s the saddest picture I’ve ever seen.

Ben:  A hamburger bun with some apple sauce, “#ThanksMichelleObama for banning fat from cafeterias around the U.S.” So, yeah, hamburger bun with some applesauce is what this child is eating.

Brock:  Is there a hamburger in that bun? I don’t even see it there.

Ben:  I don’t think there’s an actual hamburger in the bun. If there is, it’s the size of a quarter because you can’t see it. Actually, I don’t want to throw Michelle Obama under the bus. They actually due to some of the improvement she’s made for better school lunches. There are things like salad bars with fresh fruits and vegetables and salad greens and stuff like that but, yeah.

Brock:  I see some canisters of milk behind that sad tray.

Ben:  Mm-hmm, yeah. Okay. Let me get some milk go along there.

Brock:  There’s milk in there.

Ben:  So, yeah, it is an issue. It is an issue. And when it comes to changing up and revolutionizing school lunch programs there are some steps that you can take. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine for example, they’ve launched what’s called “The Healthy School Lunch Campaign” which you can find at PCRM.org and I will link to that in the shownotes. What they’ve what they’ve done is they report cards to grade school districts on their cafeteria food and health education efforts but they have step-by-step instructions on their website about how a fledgling food warrior could broach the topic with your school principal.

Now, when you go to the website, you’ll notice that they’re heavily skewed towards plant-based meals and plant-based nutrition for kids, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, low in saturated fat and cholesterol. I realize that all the ketogenic, Ancel Keys was the devil low-carb zealots out there just drew in a sharp breath but really, I’d much rather–Because even at my own children’s school here in Spokane, there are a great deal of the students who go to the school cafeteria where they have, I believe it’s a Taco Time. They have another fast-food–They have three different fast-food vendors there.

Brock:  Really?

Ben:  Yeah. I would much rather my kids get, if they had the option even though they bring their own meals to school, I would rather them get a kiwi fruit with some kale salad and a slice of whole-grain bread and some lentils low in saturated fat and cholesterol compared to some of those meals. I’m just saying. I can give my kids some bone marrow and liver with dinner. I’m just fine with them having a plant-based meal at lunch if that’s what their option is compared to fast-food. This website Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, PCRM.org they’ve got some good–If you go there and you click the one that says, “Take Action, Take Action,” that would be a good place to start.

Now, in addition to that, there is a farmtoschool.org. Now what farm to school programs do is they connect farms with local schools and there’s, at least in the U.S. they exist in all 50 states, and what they do is they have information there that helps you to connect your school with local farms that can get the school specifically locally grown fruits and vegetables onto the school’s cafeteria trays. Again, if my kid goes to school, I’d rather they have just three organic apples for lunch, then the fast food and again, even though those farms might not be supplying meat, there’s no reason a kid can’t eat plants fruits and vegetables that are organic or at least local farm grown for lunch compared to a lot of these fast-food options. So, they’re connecting local farmers to schools and I love this farm to school movement idea and their farmtoschool.org website. That’s a really good one too.

Then there is The Lunch Box which is a website started by a lady who’s known as the Renegade Lunch Lady. They’re funded by Whole Foods Market but they have this online toolbox, a resource menu for you for changing school lunches one district at a time. They have healthy recipes, they’re scalable, they’re priced educational resources and their goal is to enable and equip the parents to help convert and reform school lunches. So, that one is the lunchbox.org.

I’ll link to those three in the shownotes because the those are those are three really, really good places to start to be able to take action and I would love if this podcast is able to help parents strike a movement. It actually inspired me, I have it on my to-do list next week because even though my kids get all their own healthy lunches packed, I still feel as though I could do their school a better service by connecting them with some of these resources. So, that’s actually on my to-do list for next week to approach the school principal with specifically, I’m going to first introduce the Farm to School idea and see if we can just get some more locally grown fruits and vegetables in there to their school.

So, anyways, thank you for this question because it’s inspired me, Ben. Then I get a lot of questions about, “Well, what kind of things do we pack for our kids for their healthy school lunches?” I do have a few little ideas for you because our kids now they’re, for the most part, brown bagging their own lunches. But for example, we’ll use some olives, some carrot sticks, some cherry tomatoes and then whatever leftover from last night’s meat portion and then we’ll just use like a homemade mayo or we like–for example, Mark Sisson has his primal kitchen dressings. Our kids love those. They can drench their vegetables in those and they’re very healthy.

We do a lot of avocados, we do a lot of beef jerkies from different companies as well as some of our own homemade jerky’s. We do a lot of nori seaweed wraps instead of regular sand which wraps, a lot of eggs, hard-boiled eggs because we have chickens and a lot of fresh berries. You can even take things like coconut manna and coconut butter which is not considered to be an allergen in a lot of schools even though you can’t do nuts and seeds, coconut tends to be pretty safe and that just makes anything taste amazing as does bacon. So, our kids will do a lot of eggs, bacon, olives, avocados, coconut butter, coconut manna. What are a few the other things? In addition to the sliced carrots, we’ll do sliced jicama, we’ll do sliced cucumbers. We have certain brands of chips that will get like–Because kids, they’re running around all day. Yeah, they’re eating more carbohydrates than dad is. The Siete tortillas or the Siete chips, that’s also a really good option and, yeah. Mostly, it’s a blend of just leftovers and–It’s not rocket science, really.

If anything you know follow a Weston A. Price diet. Go to the Weston A. Price website and look at some of the things that they have, some of the resources they have and because they’re chock-full of vitamin A, D and K with a lot of the recipes over there. That’s exactly what you want your kids to be eating for symmetry and for cognitive health. I don’t know if Weston A. Price has like a kids’ school lunch resource. I should have looked before the podcast to see if they do. Actually, here we go, “Packing the perfect lunchbox by the Weston A. Price Foundation.” I’m going to link to this in the shownotes for you guys. They’ve got mashed avocado with a drop of lemon juice in a pita stuffed with spinach, raw cream cheese sprinkled with grated carrots, grated zucchini, grated apple and topped with a lettuce leaf. What else do they have? Cream cheese which is now made its third appearance on today’s show with wild salmon–

Brock:  Totally sponsored by cream cheese today.

Ben: –arugula or other lettuce. We’re sponsored by cream cheese and what was the other one we’re sponsored by?

Brock:  The gummies, the CBD gummies?

Ben:  No, it wasn’t the gummies. We gave something else a pretty big shout out. It was the cream cheese and–I’m forgetting what it was now. Oh, Keto pancakes. Cream cheese–

Brock:  Oh, yeah.

Ben:  This episode was brought to you by cream cheese and Keto pancakes. I might even change the title for this episode. Anyways I’ll link to that Weston A. Price resource as well because a lot of the women who I work with who are about to have babies or who are breastfeeding or who are raising young babies, I have almost all of them on something very similar to the to the Weston A. Price type of diet.

So, that’s where I would start and I will put that reference for you in the shownotes as well. Now Brock–

Brock:  I mean, I’m going to throw one thing in, have you heard of Big Green, biggreen.org?

Ben:  No.

Brock:  They’re doing like planting gardens and things at schools so the kids are able to harvest their own food and they’re also learning about take all the food literacy programs that they’re doing as well.

Ben:  Let’s link to that too. I have been called, I have been known to be called biggreen.org if you know what I’m saying. Yeah. But we digress from kids’ school lunches.

Well, I think that’s a good place to wrap things up and talk a little bit about giving some swag away. What do you think, Brock? Shall we give away a goodie bag?

Brock:  Sounds good, Big Green.

Ben:  Alright. I don’t know why all of a sudden we started talking like this but this is the part of the show where we give away a handy dandy gift box to somebody who left us a wonderful, kind nice review in iTunes. If you go to iTunes, and this really helps out the show, Apple Podcast I guess is called now.

Brock:  Apple Podcast, yeah.

Ben:  Leave a review, five stars–Leave a review wherever you listen in but particularly if you’re on Apple Podcast, leave a review. We will go find one of our favorite reviews, we’ll read it right here on the show and then all you need to do is email [email protected] That’s [email protected] We’ll send you out a goodie bag, a cool shirt, a beanie, a whole bunch of swag. So, Brock, you want to take this one away yeah?

Brock:  Yeah. This one’s from S_N_Yardley and the title is, “All Time Favorite Podcast,” five stars.

“I never feel let down by Ben’s podcast. He always has something new and interesting to talk about and I learn new information every time I listen. I’ve searched high and low for other podcasters who educate and entertain me like Ben does but I have yet to find his equal. Thank you, Ben, for sharing your knowledge and expertise with all of us. I find it amusing how you always find a way to relate every little topic to your own life experience whether it’s flying to Japan to ferment your own soybeans or your–“

Ben:  I did do that.

Brock:  Did you do that?

Ben:  Speak of the devil, my soybeans I’ve have been fermenting them for three months and made miso in Japan and three months is the minimum time and actually opened it up yesterday and tried it. It’s really good there’s a little bit of mold on the top which is very normal at soybeans so I got rid of the mold on the top and then took a big spoonful and ate it and probably, I guess, that broke my fast but dude, it actually tasted pretty good. Had my own signature of my biome on it because I made it without gloves on and apparently that’s how like miso makers put their own signature on their miso they make is it transfers their skin microbiome into the miso so it tasted like a little piece of fermented soy y Ben.

Brock:  Thanks.

Ben:  We digress.

Brock:  Yeah. Anyway, “–whether it’s fine to Japan to ferment your own soybeans or your self -enlightening micro mushroom trips. I often find myself rolling my eyes and shaking my head saying, ‘Of course you did.'”

I find myself saying that. I’ve been saying that since 2011.

Ben:  Of course, you did, psilocybin soybeans. That’s a great name for a song, psilocybin and soybeans.

So, along with Keto pancakes, cream cheese, CBD gummy, psilocybin and soybeans everything for this podcast you can find out BenGreenfieldFitness.com/393. S_N_Yardley, thanks for the review. Email us, remember your T-shirt size, [email protected], we’ll hook you up. Everybody else, do us a good one. How do you say it? Do us a solid.

Brock:  Do us a solid.

Ben:  Do us a solid review. This is biggreen.org signing out along with his podcast sidekick, Brock. Thanks for listening folks.

Want more? Go to BenGreenfieldFitness.com or you can subscribe to my information-packed and entertaining newsletter and click the link up on the right-hand side of that web page that says, “Ben recommends,” where you’ll see a full list of everything I’ve ever recommended to enhance your body and your brain. Finally, to get your hands on all of the unique supplement formulations that I personally develop, you can visit the website of my company, Kion, at getK-I-O-N.com. That’s getK-I-O-N.com.

January 10, 2019, Q&A Episode 393: How To Increase Testosterone After Exercise, Keto For Athletes, Keto Pancakes, Cream Cheese, CBD Gummies & More!

During this podcast intro, Ben mentions Thorne Mediclear, The Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club, Elemental Health CBD, BioCBD (code: BEN10 will save you 10%), Thorne Hemp and his new book releasing at DiscoverKi.com.

Have a podcast question for Ben? Click the button at the bottom of the page (or go to SpeakPipe), or use the Contact button in the free Ben Greenfield Fitness app.

News Flashes [6:50]

You can receive these News Flashes (and more) every single day, if you follow Ben on Twitter.com/BenGreenfield, Instagram.com/BenGreenfieldFitness, Facebook.com/BGFitness, BenGreenfieldFitness.com/Snapchat, and Google+.

Special Announcements [37:34]

This podcast is brought to you by:

–The Butcher Box Skip the store and spend more time on what’s important – family. Get your meat delivered, for free, right to your door. Each box, whether it’s chosen by you or curated by us, is perfectly packed and portioned for your needs. Get 2 FREE pounds of wild-caught Alaskan salmon.

–Kion Coffee What’s better than Kion Coffee? Keeping it piping hot at home, in the office, or on-the-go in a stylish Kion Tumbler!

–Organifi Red Juice. A “Tart-Sweet” Custom Brew With The HOTTEST Fat Melting And “Skin-Firming” Superfoods In The World. Use discount code: GREENFIELD at checkout and get 20% off your entire order.

–Click here to follow Ben on Snapchat , and get ready for some epic stories about his morning, day and evening routine!

Ben’s Adventures: [43:40]

– January 12, 2019: TEDxCoeurdalene, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. I am thrilled to present topics in longevity and biohacking to in an intimate setting to an inspired audience. Join me!

–January 30, 2019: NextHealth FOREFRONT Talk with Ben Greenfield: NextHealth, Century City, CA Westfield Mall 10250 Santa Monica Blvd LA CA 90067 to RSVP and for more information, send an email to [email protected] (And stop by Sunlife Organics, which is right next to NextHealth before the talk and mention Ben’s name for a 10% discount on your Billion Dollar Bowl!)

– Jan 20 – 21, 2019: Serious Business Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana. This conference is going invoke thought and insight and expose you to new ideas and thinking on self-development and business in the beauty industry. Register here.

– February 22- 24, 2019: CalJam: The Rebel Yell Tour. California Jam combines a TED talk format with a rock n’ roll show in-between! The driving objective of the event is to get attendees up to date on chiropractic research, scientific studies, and useful practice management strategy. The hope is that attendees bring all they learn at Cal Jam back to their communities to implement real, rippling change. Get your tickets here before the prices go up!

– April 6 – 7, 2019: FitCon Summit, Salt Lake City, Utah. FitCon® encourages everyone to Find Their Fit. It does not matter whether it is powerlifting, Crossfit, bodybuilding, roller derby, or even axe throwing. Be sure to visit the Kion booth in the expo! Register here and use code BEN50 for $50 off!

– April 26 – 28, 2019: Paleo f(x) Conference, Austin, Texas. Join me, staff from my company, Kion, and the rest of your tribe at Paleo f(x)™ 2019, the largest gathering of Paleo / ancestral health / keto / functional medicine / strength & conditioning experts in the world… see everything you’ll get out of this enriching, enlightening event. Besides, April is a wonderful time of year to visit Austin, TX….Get your tickets here.

– June 23 – July 7, 2019: European Detox Retreat, Paracelsus al Ronc, Switzerland. At this 2019 liver detox and R&R at the beautiful Swiss Mountain Clinic (formerly Paracelsus al Ronc) in the Italian quarter of Switzerland, you will stay on-site and receive diagnostics and treatments from the best doctors of biological medicine to detox your liver and your soul. Plus you’re going to have a wonderful time hiking, sightseeing and enjoying one of the most beautiful places in the world. Here’s the link to more info. *this event is sold out, waitlist is available

-View the Official Ben Greenfield Fitness Calendar Here

Giveaways & Goodies

-This week’s top iTunes review – gets some BG Fitness swag straight from Ben – click here to leave your review for a chance to win some!

——————————————

Listener Q&A

As compiled, deciphered, edited and sometimes read by Brock Armstrong, the Podcast Sidekick.

How To Increase Testosterone After Exercise [47:08]

Jim says: You have talked about how testosterone levels can be prolonged if you simply fast after a workout and that they dip if you eat post-workout. I am wondering if eating post-workout just causes a drop in blood testosterone because your insulin takes the testosterone out of the blood and shovels it into the muscle to begin recovery. So I am wondering if eating post workout is actually something we could do to enhance recovery and that blood levels of testosterone are not, in fact, the real desired effect.

In my response, I recommend: –My podcast on the benefits of fasted exercise –My podcast with Mark Sisson –Kion essential amino acids –Essential amino acids and muscle protein recovery from resistance exercise

How To Fix The School Lunch Program [59:53]

Ben says: I would love to hear your ideas for avoiding the epidemic of poor quality food in our public school system. And also if you have any ideas of how we can affect a change in the system so future children don’t have to suffer. My daughter’s kindergarten offers hot dogs, nachos, corn dogs and an ice cream truck from Hershey’s. I would love you hear your thoughts on combating this issue and getting better vendors into the system.

In my response, I recommend: –The book “Feeding You Lies” –What Kids Around The World Eat For School Lunch –Healthy School Lunch Campaign  –farmtoschool.org –TheLunchBox.org –Packing The Perfect Lunchbox by Weston. A Price –BigGreen.org

Ask Ben a Podcast Question

Source: https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/transcripts/episode-393-full-transcript/

[freemoviesitesus-blog]

24 Sites to Watch Movies Online for Free | Brad's Deals

free movie sites apk Think that the only legal way to watch movies online is to pay for them? You would be 100 percent wrong. We've rounded up the best free online movie sources that we could find - no Netflix subscription required.

While you're not likely to find many new releases in here, all of them are free, none require any silliness like filling out a zillion surveys, and all of them will keep you on the right side of the law.

Our Top 5 Favorites

Yidio

The secret to Yidio is that it aggregates movies from Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Crackle and many other video streaming services, setting itself up as a sort of online hub. Unfortunately, that also means that many of the movies on offer here require subscriptions to those services.

The coolest part, though, is that for any given movie you're offered your choice of streaming service. For example, All Dogs Go to Heaven is hosted free on Yidio, but you can also add it to your Netflix DVD queue, stream it via Amazon Prime with a membership, or rent it on Amazon, iTunes or Vudu - and all of those options are presented for users to choose from. There are plenty of movies from free sources, and we found more than enough to keep us busy for awhile for free movie sites apk.

Crackle

Backed by Sony and available on some streaming devices like Roku, Crackle's selection of classics and more recent releases might make you wonder what you were really paying for over at Netflix anyway. The TV here is pretty excellent too, with original productions like Chosen and meaty cult favorites like The Shield.

Hoopla

Got a library card? If your local public library is hooked into Hoopla, you can use it to check out streaming music and video – up to 6 titles a month. As of September 2017, there were more than 1,500 partner libraries using Hoopla nationwide, in both big cities like Boston and smaller communities like Hastings, Nebraska, and more communities are coming online every day. Chicago Public Library is a partner, and I found Disney's oft forgotten The Sword In The Stone along with tons of 80s classics like Short Circuit and The Secret of My Success. Under TV, I found The Librarians and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, which I would heartily recommend to anyone. You can check out this map to see if Hoopla is available where you live. You can download their app for iOS, Android, or Kindle, and it's available on Apple TV and Chromecast.

Kanopy

Kanopy is a free streaming option catering to public and university libraries worldwide. The best part is that they've made it super simple to access, with an app available on iOS and Android, as well as its own Roku channel. And frankly, the film selection is top notch. Boning up on David Lynch this summer? Start with Eraserhead. Or dive into collections from greats like Akira Kurosawa and Ingmar Bergman. We also spotted the first season of Pee-Wee's Playhouse in the TV collection. It's not available everywhere yet – we found at public libraries in New York, Los Angeles, and Boulder, for example, but Chicago Public Library hasn't yet signed on.

Vimeo

You're unlikely to find anything you've ever heard of at Vimeo, but it's worth diving into for indie films like Barackula and Hell No - The Sensible Horror Film. There's a strong filmmaking community here that blows most user-submitted video fare completely out of the water. Don't know where to start? Try the Vimeo Staff Picks.

Other Legit Movie Sites macbook-923866_960_720

SnagFilms

We love SnagFilms for the stylish look and for the way they present their movies. Find a award winning classic, or settle in for some guilty pleasure TV watching – it's up to you.

Classic Cinema Online

These are the classics that gave us our modern notions of old Hollywood glamour. The selection is limited, but easy to browse and has stuff you'll actually want to watch, like Anything Goes and the 1944 serial of Captain America. The Cap's been around for quite awhile.

YouTube Movies

Once upon a time, we found a treasure trove of mostly terrible but nonetheless free full-length movies at YouTube, but it seems to have dried up since they launched YouTube Red. However, you can still find some free movies if you're willing to dig a bit. Check out Rememory starring Peter Dinklage, which is currently being offered free but does require a credit card to watch (you'll be charged $0.) We also recommend following /r/fullmoviesonyoutube, where members post links to the free movies they've found.

Popcorn Flix

An eclectic mix of indie films, trashy sci-fi and really trashy comedy, we did spot a few guilty pleasures in here. Croczilla, anyone? If you watched Sharknado more than once, you might want to check that out. And I won't lie, I'd give The Last Kung Fu Monk a try. We were also pleased to see some Bollywood in here, even if the collection is small.

Viewster

There are some unusual categories at Viewster that set it apart, like the incredibly specific Korean Drama, but it's the quirky mix of anime, kung-fu, and classic musicals that make it worth the bookmark.

Retrovision

Another collection of film classics, we found Wallace and Grommit, Dick Tracy, and plenty of Godzilla.

Free Movies Cinema

Some of the best flicks here are pure classic camp. Death Race 2000, anyone? How about Night of the Living Dead?

Pub-D-Hub

Another source of film in public domain, this is where I first encountered Cat Women of the Moon. The best part of Pub-D-Hub is the classic cartoons ranging from Felix the Cat and Betty Boop to a wonderfully odd bit called Zeppelin Vs. Pterodactyls. Tip: If you have a Roku, it's much easier to search for content on the Pub-D-Hub channel there than it is at the website.

The Internet Archive

Drilling down through the Movie Archive's many layers, you'll find tons of classic film ranging from Charlie Chaplin classics like Charlie Shanghaied to the 1925 Lon Chaney production of The Phantom of the Opera. The site isn't fantastically easy to browse, but if you have an idea of what you're looking for the search function works very well.

Public Domain Torrents

About as stripped down and unstylish as they come, Public Domain Torrents is exactly what it says it is - torrents of movies in the public domain. This is really only a useful site if you're already a fan of torrents. If not, there are plenty of other places to find public domain film on our list.

Documentaries & Educational Video shooting-75599_960_720

PBS

Top Documentary Films

TV Shows

remote control

Note: The channel-specific options on this list may not offer all of their programming via streaming video, but all have at least some with full episodes available.

HGTV

Food Network

The Disney Channel

History Channel

MTV

USA

TV.com

3 more Netflix alternatives you might ALREADY be paying for!  kids watching

Amazon Instant Video

If you have an Amazon Prime membership, much of the streaming video content on Netflix is also available to you for free at Amazon. In fact, you can skip the Prime subscription altogether and just subscribe to Amazon Video as a standalone for $10.99/month.

Premium Cable Channels

HBO Go, Showtime, AMC, FX, Syfy, TBS and TNT all offer streaming content if you're also subscribed to the channel on cable. And just like that, Game of Thrones is no longer appointment viewing!

Video on Demand

If you're a cable subscriber, check out the movies available on demand. This should be an obvious option, but it's one I usually overlook myself, so I'm sure that others do as well.

Other helpful tips for would-be streamers:

Looking for a particular movie can be a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack. That's where Reelgood comes in. This handy free service will show you exactly where any movie is available online, whether or not you need a subscription, or if the movie you are looking for is available to rent or buy. There's even a notification service so that you can be alerted when a movie you want to see or new episodes of your favorite TV show finally turn up online.Beware of sites that offer new releases. If a site is promising a movie that's only just been released to video or that's even still in theaters, just don't do it. Not only is the copy going to be illegal, but these shady sites are potentially exposing your computer to malware that you are not going to want to deal with later. Also, steer clear of sites that want you to fill out surveys or earn points. We've also heard about sites that let you watch all but, say, the last 10 minutes of a movie, at which point they demand payment to continue. Sketchy.