#I had Mi/les on the list too but that one faded

[galacticlamps]

Tagged by @the--highlanders​ ! Thanks!

How many works do you have on AO3?

13

What’s your total AO3 word count?

76,200

(oh what a nice even number - I should try to mess that up as soon as possible, shouldn’t I?)

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Aw man is this intentionally worded to be really hard to answer? I get that it says ‘written’ and not ‘posted’ but then what constitutes a ‘fandom?’ I definitely wrote fics for stuff I was interested in long before I even knew the word ‘fic’ - I did it throughout my childhood, and then in high school, and while I didn’t do it as much in college, it still happened from time to time. So a lot of the books/movies/tv shows/plays/musicals I wrote things for aren’t really fandoms, and frankly, I had to check my old folder just now to even remember some of them existed. I’ll just list the ones that I know for sure had fandoms, since that’s more fun (and embarrassing), right?

Obviously Doctor Who, classic and modern, Torchwood, Sherlock Holmes (ironically more of these seem to be about the books, but yes, I will admit, some for that tv show too), Les Mis, a couple different Marvel comics & movies, Good Omens, hell, I even found a Night Vale fic in there just now.

And I know there are other older things not even in that folder, some of which never made it to a computer at all, so if I had to ballpark a number I’d probably say around 25ish but really, who knows?

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Across the Gap

On the Spot

Expectations

Shards of Memories & Fragments of Glass

Itemized

(this was fun, I’d never noticed Ao3 even had a stats page until now lol)

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try to! Sometimes I take a long time to do so but for the most part, I usually get around to it. The rare exception would be if I first saw the comment when I was super busy/distracted and then felt like way too much time passed before I noticed it again, that it might be awkward if I said something at that point.

I do genuinely enjoy hearing what people think, but I’m also weirdly terrified of making anyone feel like they have to reply to my comments. I know that’s probably a little strange, but it’s actually a large part of why I made this Ao3 account in the first place - my original one, from high school, is followed by some long-time friends of mine who aren’t interested in this fandom, some of whom are involved in art & writing professionally. The thought of anyone like that reading something I wrote out of friendliness or even just curiosity and potentially having to pretend they liked it for the same reasons stressed me tf out, so I like having this virtually anonymous one because I can relax knowing that anyone who reads or interacts with something I wrote has probably done so only because they wanted to, rather than feeling obligated, and there’s no pressure on them to be nice to me about it if anything I write or post annoys them - so I really hope nobody who does just know me as an anonymous blog has ever worried about offending me by not replying to something, trust me, I’m perfectly happy with it!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I don’t think I’ve really written any angsty endings? I guess the answer would have to be Reckless just because it involves the characters arguing about sad/weighty things and there isn’t really any solution to those issues - but even then I think I ended it with a kind of acceptance that stops it from really qualifying as angst? I also set it in the the same universe as other fics, so maybe that doesn’t even count as an ending? Am I that bad at ending things on angst? Lol

Do you write crossovers? If so what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Obviously none of the fics I’ve posted are crossovers but I’m trying to think now if any of my WIP’s are - I’ve definitely poached setting/premise ideas from other media, but in terms of actual crossovers . . . I’ve got a few cross-era or cross-Doctor, a few involving Torchwood, but that’s already the same universe, so the only thing that’d qualify as a true crossover would be some vague pieces of a fic where Jamie, Zoe, and Two end up on the Enterprise, since I think the 60s series of Star Trek and Dr Who feel kind of compatible, don’t they? In fact, aren’t there like officially licensed crossover comics or something? Or did I make that up? Idk, and the ideas are very loose, so it’s not much of a WIP either

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Nope, never

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I’ve never written smut, but I’m wondering if it’s possible that could change soon. There’s a longish multi-chapter fic I’ve been working on for a frankly embarrassing amount of time, and the plot does call for a sex scene at one point towards the end, but I can’t seem to make up my mind on how - uh, I guess the word is explicit? - it should get. I know I could easily do a fade to black/implication thing, but it’s kind of a source of contention and anxiety for the characters, so to skip over writing the actual scene and just revisit them afterwards rings of “and they slept together and now everything’s fine!” which feels kinda cheap to me - in this context, anyway - and not the right payoff for a long fic that’s otherwise more of an interpersonal drama/slightly a period piece, if I had to place it in a genre. I feel like my aversion to actually writing the scene might just be prudishness I should get over, or maybe just self-doubt, because I know I’d rather have a well-written, funny, character-development-supporting sex scene than nothing at all, but since I’ve never had any interest in writing a scene like that before, I don’t know if I can do it well, and I also don’t want to ruin a fic I’m otherwise proud of by doing it badly... ugh I have to figure this out

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I seriously doubt it

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

What’s your all time favorite ship?

I mean, it’s gotta be Two & Jamie. I’ve shipped things before with varying levels of investment, but I’ve never been able to use the term ‘otp’ in a literal sense until I came across them, and now it’s already basically gone out of fashion, go figure!

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I’m not sure if I have one? My WIP doc is huge, but I don’t actually intend to get around to finishing everything in it, so I’d like to think that anything I’ve currently singled out to complete can actually get done.

That said, I do have a few AU’s that I don’t really plan to finish, but it might be cool if I could. Two of them are for all the main + some supporting characters of the Second Doctor’s era - one’s a modern day school teachers AU, and the other is a typical fantasy/fairy tale AU. Another is just Two/Jamie, based on Doctor Faustus (specifically the Marlowe play version) but right now there are two different versions of the ending coexisting in my head. I’ve written parts of scenes & some gen. backstory for all of those ideas, but I don’t know if I’ll ever try to finish them, or what form a finished product would even take - a series of one-shots set in the same universe? one long multi-chapter fic with some kind of overarching plot? And the amount of context/worldbuilding a big AU like these would require might not make them very appealing fics for people to read, so maybe it is better if I just keep them to myself, since in my head I already know what’s going on in those worlds lol.

What are your writing strengths?

I honestly don’t know. I haven’t had a creative writing class since middle school, and since then I’ve only ever shown creative writing to others in a fandom context, so it’s been a while since I’ve discussed it or gotten critical feedback. I suppose when I work in other arts or even academic writing contexts, people usually say I’m kind of insightful or at least detail oriented, which might just be another way of saying I overthink things, but I like to imagine I’m decent at finding little points of interest to expand upon.

What are your writing weaknesses?

If you’ve read this far I feel like you must know what I’m about to say: I do not know how to be concise.

Usually when I’m writing a fic, I put down the dialogue first on its own, leaving out the action of the scene and whatever plot/context led there, even if I’ve already figured all of that out. But then when I go to add those things in, they’re always longer than I wanted them to be. I don’t mind writing something long, but I don’t want my fics to be a slog to get through either, and there can be a point at which the stuff I’ve added for context overwhelms the stuff that I wanted the fic to be about in the first place, so it becomes a structural/proportion issue too. I haven’t completely given up on any fics because of this yet, but there’s one I’ve been struggling with for a couple months now - probably because I’m even second-guessing myself on which scenes need to be written out and which can just be referenced like a recap. Hopefully I figure that one out soon.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

((this is karma isn’t it? i posted a fic last week with two words of gaelic in it and was worried about that and now this is karma))

In general, I don’t want to do it. I feel like you’ve gotta have a really good grasp of a language to write dialogue & speech patterns for someone who’s a native speaker, and since I’m far from fluent in any language the characters I write for are, I wouldn’t feel confident writing any significant amount of dialogue in, say, Gaelic.

As a sidenote, though, I kinda love it when other people do it, particularly for Jamie. Irish (Gaeilge) and Scottish (Gàidhlig) are both languages I’ve wanted to learn for a long time, because my family’s fresh out of living speakers of either & I think that’s a shame, but I started with Irish and at the moment I’m still very much learning it. As different as they are, it still helps me understand parts of lyrics or texts that I come across in Gàidhlig fairly frequently, so when it comes up in a fic I get to feel like I’m being responsible and practicing, and it’s great when I can actually understand what’s being said.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

I’m gonna go with Harry Potter even though that’s probably not a perfectly accurate answer - it’s almost certainly the first thing that has a fandom that I ever wrote for, but it was in a notebook when I was a kid and never something that I even typed on a computer, much less posted online or shared with other members of a fandom. But even then, I’m sure it wasn’t the first pre-existing fictional universe I ever set an original story in, because I did that a lot when I was a kid, it’s just hard to remember those clearly or on any kind of timeline.

What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?

I’m very partial to Across the Gap, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that ranked first on the kudos thing above - but I’ve also got a soft spot for So Merrily We’ll Sing. It’s so self-indulgent it feels silly saying ‘it was so easy to write!’ but I guess having a fic that’s already just 100% headcaonons and fluff tied together by a song you really love does prevent it from being much of a labor (I also managed to refrain from making that one unnecessarily long, so that’s another win there)

tagging @terryfphanatics and anyone else who wants to do it - sorry I’m bad at remembering whose tumblr goes with whose Ao3 account, but I really would be interested to read this if anyone else feels like answering them!

#oh boy that was long #sorry #also sorry if the 13 is really big for some reason #i dont know how it got that way so i dont know how to change it #it doesnt look like that when i edit the post only when i save it #not fic but fic talk

[kcrabb88]

I was tagged by @faded-florals to list my top 5 fandoms (thank you!) I’ve had so many over the years! And Tumblr allows me to more easily keep all my fandom things in one place than in the Days of Old, so I’m always into many things at once. But my more current favorites (that I’ve either created things for in the past few years, or enjoyed more passively looking at content for) are probably:

Les Mis (My home fandom, my beloved) 

Phantom of the Opera (have been wanting to create for this more, lately!)

HADESTOWN (I’m going to see it again next month, you’ve been warned) 

Black Sails (never written fic or anything but this show is just. Everything and people make gorgeous gifs) 

Turn AMC (I had a BLAST writing fic for this fandom, and enjoyed meeting some people through this fandom, too) 

#Thank you for the tag!! #KCrabb rambles

[alucior]

We don’t work too hard

A musical was always a mess of preparations and planning, many would call the chaos too much to deal with but she wasn’t many. She had done this before, often alone, sometimes partially helped by a handful of others. She enjoyed the long meetings, the scheduling of peoples lives over the course of four months. While she didn’t care for power, she enjoyed it when she could wield it in her hand. A type stroke deciding who goes where, when they sleep and even when and what they ate.

Hermione had been effectively running the administrative side of the small theatre her town had, first starting as a technician, growing trough management eventuality running the department after a short two years. Whit her in charge they had gone from surviving to thriving, putting on almost three shows a year. There had been a few cool thins that she had been able to do; she had convinced the theatre to do an unabridged version of Hamlet. While it had taken a time before they could pull it off, they did so wonderfully. All six hours.

Reminiscing on her biggest accomplishment she looked at the task in front of het, the board had decided that at the next production would honour the beginning of the bicentennial of the end of the French revolution. They where gonna do Les Mis, despite that it had little to do with the actual revolution.

Planning it she had looked over the character list that was included in the large binder that would be the foundation of the show. Now it only included the script and a characters list.

“So to start this off, I’ll put this on the board to get the preference of the actors,” she said out loud to her recorder, she had been recording her own notes for the longest time now. It was an easy way to get people to not flipflop on aural agreements they had made, and for herself it was good to have a record of her plans and decisions.

Taking out the list out of the binder, she moved to the copier and made three of them. For a first, second and third preference.

“There would probably be little discussion about the leads, I am betting that Lucius and Sirius will fight it out for Jean Valjean and Javert.” There would be little surprise if not one of them would want to have the top billing in the show. He Malfoys and Blacks where fiercely competitive, during the production of Romeo and Juliet the cast had been spilt along those family lines. The Blacks had laid a clam on Capulet and the Malfoys had taken Montague, it had been the first time that she had experienced the intense rivalry that was between the two families, on and off the stage.

One member of the black family in particular had been more into her role than was she had been used too. She’d played the matriarch of the house and had turned the rivalry she had with the Malfoys into a hatred towards the Capulets. Hermione had been honestly surprised that the whole run of the play there had been no incidents that would have send people to the hospital.

Walking out of her office she noticed the silence that had hung over the building since last week, they had finished a run of Wicked and had send everyone home for a much deserved break. Looking at the cork board that hung out on the outside wall of her office in the hallway. It had faded over time being covered with paper some parts had faired better than others. Now it was empty, having been cleaned off a couple of days ago, not quite back to virgin status but close. Taking one of the thumbtack’s that adored the board she pinned the three character lists up, each centred on a third of the board.

“Here we go again,” she said walking back into the office to look up what décor they would need and whom she would contact the build it this time

-

There was yelling outside of her door Hermione noticed pulling her headphones from her ears, “…would you want that role, That is not even something you would be interested in.”

Approaching the door she looked through the small window that was build into it and saw who was yelling out there.

“Andomeda I don’t care who you pick but Madame Thénardier is mine, the dark haired woman shrieked.” From what Hermione could see they had been going at it for a while. Knowing full well that intruding between them would probably not solve a lot, Bellatrix had always been somewhat courteous towards her. Starting off in the theatre she couldn’t win her respect or attention for a second, stating that she was of noble blood and talking to peasants was below her. But when they had pulled off Peter pan with all her planning and scheduling. She had mellowed out a bit, even calling her over from time to time when the cast got some food from the stage door.

“Bella, Andy.” She started sticking her head out of the door, “Could you both move this to somewhere else so other people can work?” she asked them both. Surprising not only Bellatrix but herself too, Andromeda sighed and turned walking away from the board.

“Do whatever you want Bella, I don’t know why you want her, but you do you.” Was all that she yelled over her shoulder before she descended the staircase on the far side of the hallway.

Bellatrix supped buy her sisters reaction looked confused before she grinned putting her name down for Madame Thénardier on all three of the papers.

“Bella, you know that you need to put a different first second and third choice down right,” she asked the older woman, who was currently ignoring her and drawing her name in fancy calligraphy on the pages, claiming the role as her own. People where smart enough to recognise her claim and left it alone most of the time. There had only been one incident where someone else tried to claim a spot she had taken. Hermione shuddered thinking about that day.

“Darling, would you please finalise this selection so I can get started on the lines?” she asked fluttering her lashes at her.

Hermione would be lying if this didn’t do something for her, but being around so many actors and actresses she had learned to hide the oncoming blush. She picked up a clipboard that was lying on the shelf next to the door before walking out to not Bellatrix’s choice.

She looked over the page searching for Bellatrix’s name and jolted Madame Thénardier down next to it. As she wasn’t completely familiar with the play she was putting on she was curious about her choice.

“Bella,” she started making eye contact with her, “isn’t Thénardier supposed to be ugly?” she asked.

“What is it to you?” Bellatrix asked moving into her personal space, making her a bit uncomfortable. While she had spend the last couple of years in the company of these performers, the lack of personal space these people developed was still beyond her.

Obviously losing the fight to push her blush back into her cheek her eyes darted round Bellatrix, hoping that she could escape before this would last any longer. She couldn’t hear a lot over the thumping of her heart in her ears, only catching the end of what Bellatrix was saying to her.

“…the costumes?” She stared Hermione in the eyes expecting an answer.

Blanking for a few seconds, Hermione panicked and said, “sure, that would be great.” Before jumping back, almost like a cat, running into her office slamming the door. Falling to the floor back to the door breathing quickly, feeling hyperventilation come on she started counting the seconds it took between each breath. Willing herself to last a little longer every time. she eventually calmed down and put her head to the door with a soft thud.

What had she agreed to something she realised, running over the thoughts of what had happened the moments before. She had said yes, but to what she wondered. Staring at the whiteboard that adored the backwall of her office she stared at the planning that she had laid out. What if whatever Bellatrix had planned fell on one of those moments, what would happen then?

‘Would she say no,’ she wondered, calming down a bit. But then panicked, ‘what if she said yes? what then?”

Seeing that this wasn’t helping anyone she started to think of a plan, to know what Bellatrix had asked her without asking her per se.

She would have to see about that plan later, now her first performer was locked in she could start calling the costume department to tell them what they could start to make.

-

Between balancing a secret plan to find out what Bellatrix had asked her and organising a theatre show she had been busy. Her time spend at home had diminished dramatically. She only really slept in her bed the night from Sunday to Saturday, when she was forced out of her office by her boss. While she put up a small fight every time, she was grateful that the older custodian send her out every weekend, claiming that cleaning her office would be impossible with her on the sofa.

The show was coming alive, the first read through on stage had been completed at the beginning of the week and the second fitting of the costumes was coming up. As for her plan things had grinded to a halt. Via Narcissa and Andromeda she had heard that Bellatrix had something planned right before the grand premiere, they hadn’t been able to tell her what though.

And as that was all the information that she got she had laid her plans to rest for the moment. Certain that Bellatrix wouldn’t bother her during the carefully planned events and agenda point, she rescheduled everything that could be moved from the premiere and had put the rest together.

Now thought she was late for a rundown of the show for the technical personnel, luckily Neville was in charge there and he would have gotten started already, putting down a few notes that she would have to read over. Picking the binder up again she took note of the weight it had gained over the coarse of the preparations. There were fabric parts in there as reference to the different costumes. The materials the stage was build out of was represented in the back in a rigid board of wood and foam that looked like bricks.

Closing her office door she wondered not for the first, and certainly not the last time what Bellatrix might be planning. But first she needed to make sure that Tech could run the show without trouble.

-

The repetitions had gone by rather quickly, cast and crew had gotten into a groove along the third week and at the end of the fourth week there was the general repetition. And for the first time since she had been employed by the theatre had she seen a perfect one. A complete play done for an audience of one, her.

She had sat there and enjoyed the musical, all its ups and downs. Occasionally looking down in the binder she spot-checked parts of the scenes for faults or places where people where having trouble. She had been sitting there when she decided that an evaluation of Bellatrix was needed, she was in the background of the current scene waiting for her moment to break into song.

While she was watching her she noticed a few strange things, While technically she was excelling at the play but she seemed a bit nervous, looking out into the audience. Even where there was none there yet, she could have sworn that Bellatrix was staring at her for most of the play now.

-

‘Tonight had been the premier of Les Misérables at their theatre,’ she though when she pulled her black dress down her legs fixing the wrinkles that had creeped up there when she had put it on. She looked in the mirror and made sure that she looked presentable.

Leaving her door she took the theatre binder with her to give to the board of directors as a sign that the show had finally started. She would obviously get it back to put in the archive, right after the picture was taken.

After the picture Bellatrix had asked het to meet under the stage in one of the old rehearsals halls. So she was going there right after. Walking in the dark hallway she saw that there was a glow coming from the door.

“Bella are you in here?” she asked.

“I’m here,” Bellatrix’s voice called out from the back of the room.

Walking in she room she saw the source of all the light. There in between what must have been a dozen candles. Stood Bellatrix Black, holding a candle in her hands. She looked like someone had taken the dictionary definition of a theatre drama kid.

She was dressed in all black, a corset that looked too good to be actually real, and she was holding a candle. More dramatic couldn’t be imagined.

“Hermione…” She started.

“let me stop you there before you hurt yourself.” She interjected, reaching over reach to take candle, and blowing it out. “it was dripping wax on the front.” She explained.

“…oh thanks…”

“What where you gonna say when I walked int?” she asked.

“Oh… well I was gonna ask you to be my girlfriend or something…” she mumbled.

“You want me to be your girlfriend?” Hermione asked.

“Yes.” Was all that Bellatrix could say.

“alright then, well talk about this later,” Hermione said looking on her watch to check the time. she running out so she keep this moving.

“we will?” Bellatrix asked, “but I had so many arguments ready.”

“That’s lovely of you but right now, I don’t have to time. So yes to the Girlfriend question, do it later to the arguments. And now you need to move or the show is gonna start on the wrong foot.

When Bellatrix moved out of the door she realised it, ‘she had a girlfriend now. Her girlfriend was the very cute and amazing Bella.’ A smile was on her face for the rest of the day not in part to the wonderfully played madam Thénardier.

#bellamione #bellamoine discord #team divinity #fanfic

[rollingstonemag]

Un nouvel article a été publié sur https://www.rollingstone.fr/10-plus-grandes-chansons-de-jay-z/

Les 10 plus grandes chansons de Jay-Z

Avec une carrière qui a commencé à la fin des années 80, les chansons de Jay-Z ont connu plusieurs styles. Voici ses 10 meilleures chansons

Jay-Z est-il le plus grand rappeur de tous les temps ? « J’ai ce truc comme Elvis », a-t-il déclaré à Rolling Stone en 2007 peu de temps avant d’égaler le record du King de 10 albums se classant Numéro Un dès leur sortie (et bien avant d’en avoir quatre de plus dans la décennie suivante). En effet, la carrière de Jay-Z est impressionnante : 21 Grammys, premier rappeur du Songwriters Hall of Fame et cité dans les Top Fives de nombreux rappeurs (par exemple Kendrick Lamar, T.I. et J. Cole. Lil Wayne a d’ailleurs les paroles d’une des chansons de Jay-Z tatouées sur sa jambe). Il est non seulement bourré de talent, mais il a aussi le sens des affaires : l’image cool mais distante d’un ancien arnaqueur de rue, un flow techniquement avancé et une fortune inimaginable que Forbes et d’autres magazines ont du mal à calculer. Cependant, même parmi les largesses musicales de Jay, certaines de ses chansons classiques sont meilleures que les autres. Voici notre liste de ses 10 meilleures chansons.

10. Jay-Z et Kanye West, « Niggas in Paris » (2011)

Cet hymne de stade présent sur Watch the Throne et interprété par Jay-Z et Kanye est théâtral. Au milieu des « hah?! » particuliers de West, des Audemars et des vestes Margiela, ce single qui s’est hissé dans le Top 10 est vraiment un profond soupir de soulagement. « If you escaped what I’ve escaped/You’d be in Paris getting fucked up too », entonne Jay avec une joie palpable. « C’est comme être sous le choc d’être là. Être toujours émerveillé et jamais blasé, a déclaré Jay à GQ à propos de l’inspiration derrière ce titre produit par Hit-boy. J’ai connu tellement de personnes qui n’y sont pas parvenues. La plupart des gens regardent une photo des enfants avec qui ils ont grandi et se disent « Ah oui, Adam est allé à Harvard ». C’est une conversation complètement différente ».

9. « Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem) » (1998)

Pour le premier single de Jay-Z à se hisser dans le Top 15 des titres pop, le producteur  Mark « The 45 King » a pris un morceau indélébile de la bande originale de la comédie musicale Annie. Il a donné un dubplate à Kid Capri qui faisait le DJ sur la tournée No Way Out de Puff Daddy. « Les fans demandaient « Comment est-ce que vous avez fait pour la chanson d’Annie derrière la batterie ? ». C’était principalement des blancs qui venaient vers moi, a déclaré Capri à Grantland. Je savais de par leur réaction que ça marchait vraiment ». Jay a lui aussi fini par poser la question et c’est là qu’a débuté ce très grand succès, un aperçu frappant et mélancolique de son ascension. « Je n’avais pas peur du clash entre les paroles dures et l’image d’une Annie aux cheveux roux, a écrit Jay dans Decoded. J’ai trouvé le miroir entre les deux histoires. L’histoire d’Annie, c’était la mienne, et la mienne, c’était la sienne. La chanson, c’est l’endroit où nos expériences n’entraient pas en contradiction. Elles n’étaient que des dimensions différentes de la même réalité ».

8. « Nigga What, Nigga Who (Originator ’99) » feat. Big Jaz (1999)

Lorsque Jay-Z est devenu une star, il a invité the Jaz (aujourd’hui Big Jaz), son ami et mentor, sur un sequel du rapide « The Originator » sorti en 1990. « On utilisait ce rythme rapide que tout le monde semble utiliser aujourd’hui », a déclaré Jay dans le fascicule de Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life. Là où Jay et Jaz utilisaient leur flow rapide sur une production détendue et jazzy en 1990, leurs retrouvailles en 1998 ont eu lieu sur un morceau futuriste et planant de Timbaland. Timbo avait déjà changé le son du R&B avec Aaliyah et accompagné le hip-hop créatif et léger de Missy Elliott, mais il était arrivé à un moment charnière de sa carrière, la première fois qu’un MC d’élite avait un flow rapide qui correspondait à sa musique.

7. « Public Service Announcement » (2003)

Jay-Z a dû arrêter la fabrication de The Black Album pour y inclure cette ré-introduction à la dernière minute. Il a un jour répondu à un journaliste qui venait d’assister à toute une session d’écoute du nouvel album et dont la seule question était comment associer un T-shirt du Che Guevara avec une chaîne. « Les échecs du Che ont été sanglants et ses contradictions frustrantes, a écrit Jay-Z dans Decoded. Mais avoir des contradictions, en particulier quand vous vous battez pour votre vie, c’est quelque chose d’humain. Et porter un T-shirt du Che et une chaîne en platine et en diamants est honnête ». Le producteur Just Blaze ouvre la voie avec une intro parlée (« Fellow Americans… ») parfaite pour une révolution sur le point d’avoir lieu au Madison Square Garden.

6. « Brooklyn’s Finest » feat. The Notorious B.I.G. (1996)

« Brooklyn’s Finest » reste un document magnifique sur deux grands de Brooklyn au meilleur de leur forme. Jay-Z et Notorious B.I.G. développaient un nouveau groupe avec Charli Baltimore, la petite amie de Biggie, appelé the Commission. « L’année suivante, on ne parlait pas que des projets pour the Commission, a déclaré Jay-Z à XXL en 1998. Il avait beaucoup de projets pour [Life After Death], notamment une tournée et un déménagement ». Au lieu de ça, il a été tué en mars 1997. Cette chanson sonne comme le premier chapitre d’un partenariat qui ne s’est jamais concrétisé. Démarrant par l’interpolation de Wayne, Biggie et Jay évoquent des crimes plus ridicules les uns que les autres : Jay rappe « Peep the style and the way the cops sweat us » tandis que Biggie affirme qu’il tirera dans le muscle du genou de sa fille (« shoot your daughter in the calf muscle »). Le moment le plus célèbre de la chanson arrive quand Biggie essaye de répondre à l’affirmation « Hit ‘Em Up » fallacieuse de 2Pac : « If Fay have twins, she’d probably have two Pacs/Get it, 2Pac’s? ».

5. « U Don’t Know » (2001)

L’association de basse et d’un extrait accéléré de « I’m Not to Blame » de Bobby Byrd agit comme un tremplin capital pour les différents succès commerciaux de Jay (la drogue avec les paroles « Hell, where you are welcome to sell » et le développement de son empire avec « smarten up, open the market up »). Jay scande « Motherfucker, I – will – not – lose » avant le quatrième couplet. C’est un moment sensationnel où sa confiance explose en une catharsis triomphante.

4. « 99 Problems » (2004)

Jay-Z a rendu visite à Rick Rubin pour « retrouver ce sentiment que j’avais quand j’étais enfant », comme il l’explique dans le documentaire Fade to Black. Le résultat de cette session a été un rappel heavy metal du travail de Rubin dans les années 80 avec LL Cool J et Beastie Boys, mais pour ce qui est des paroles, c’était une critique moderne et cinglante de ceux qui le diabolisent comme un homme de couleur et un rappeur. « Même quand j’enregistrais,  je savais que quelqu’un, quelque part, allait dire « Aha, le voilà qui parle encore des putes ! » », a écrit Jay dans Decoded. La chanson est devenue assez iconique pour que Barack Obama l’évoque au Dîner des Correspondants de la Maison Blanche en 2013 : au vu de la visite controversée de Jay et de Bey à Cuba, il a affirmé « I’ve got 99 problems and now Jay-Z is one », ce qui a fait rire l’assemblée.

3. « Big Pimpin’ » feat. UGK (2000)

Lorsqu’ils ont vu que le titre « Things That U Do » estampillé Mariah Carey se réussissait pas à se classer dans les charts lors des deux premiers mois de sa sortie en tant que single tiré de Vol. 3 de Jay, lui et Dame Dash sont rapidement passés à « Big Pimpin’ », un titre exotique produit par Timbaland et qui vend le deuxième plus vieux métier du monde comme un style de vie jet-set arrosé de champagne. Timbaland a par la suite été poursuivi pour son utilisation d’un extrait de « Khusara Khusara » de Baligh Hamdi. Inspiré par le personnage de Pretty Tony dans le film Le Mac sorti en 1973, les paroles de Jay sont froides et détachées. Les paroles prononcées par Bun (« step up your vocab ») sont aussi mémorables que celles de Jay, et Pimp C, inspiré par Big Gipp, offre une coda brute.

2. « Dead Presidents II » (1996)

Sortie en février 1996, la chanson originale « Dead Presidents » a permis à Jay-Z d’évoquer les faux malfrats et de palabrer sur la « représentation de l’infini avec les présidences », tout ça dans le style loquace qui était la marque de fabrique du rap Mafioso. Cependant, lorsque Reasonable Doubt, son premier album, est sorti en juin de la même année aux États-Unis, il a ajouté deux nouveaux couplets qui ont abordé encore plus profondément le sujet. Il fait allusion à DeHaven Irby, un ami d’enfance qui s’est fait tirer dessus et qui lui a appris le jeu de la drogue (« On the uptown high block he got his side sprayed up ») et se souvient de comment il a lui-même évité quelques balles mortelles (« I had near brushes, not to mention, three shots close range »). Il évoque sa supériorité (« Roc-A-Fella, don’t get it corrected, this shit is perfected ») avec des apartés biographiques, ce qui en fait un sequel poignant et supérieur. Dans cette chanson, le producteur Ski Beatz a mélangé « A Garden of Peace » de Lonnie Liston Smith et « The World Is Yours » de Nas. « J’ai juste mis quelques extraits pour voir si ça fonctionnait parce que j’aimais la voix de Nas », a déclaré Ski à Complex en 2010. Cependant, le refus de Nas de ré-enregistrer le refrain (AZ apparaît dans le clip de « Dead Presidents ») a mené à l’une des plus grandes rivalités de l’histoire du hip-hop.

1.  « Where I’m From » (1997)

Le producteur Ron « Amen-Ra » Lawrence était à la recherche de titres en 1996 lorsqu’il a déniché « Let Your Hair Down » de la chanteuse soul Yvonne Fair. Il a alors essayé, comme il le raconte à Rolling Stone, « de lui donner une sensation de bande originale plus sinistre ». La chanson, que Diddy a refusée, était encore dans sa forme brute (aucun effet sonore, aucune percussion supplémentaire), mais lorsque Jay-Z a entendu ce que « Where I’m From » allait devenir, le rappeur, inspiré, a immédiatement commencé à enregistrer ses propres couplets. « J’ai eu une vision comme quoi le morceau devait être plus dramatique en me basant sur le flow de Jay », déclare Lawrence.

Le résultat est l’un des morceaux les plus candides et intimes de Jay. A la fois autobiographique, une critique culturelle et socio-économique et une distillation de son environnement passé et présent. « Il a peint une image sombre de Marcy Projects, affirme Lawrence. La personne qui l’écoute a alors une vision mentale de son enfance à Brooklyn ».

Dès les premières paroles directes qui ouvrent la chanson (« I’m from where the hammers rung / News cameras never come »), Jay décrit un endroit où « l’espérance de vie est tellement basse qu’on fait des testaments à 18 ans » (« life expectancy is so low, we making out wills at 18 »). « Where I’m From » contient également certains des couplets les plus complets de Jay : « Where how you get rid of guys who step out of line, your rep solidifies/ So tell me when I rap, you think I give a fuck who criticize? ».

  Par Christopher R. Weingarten, Elias Leight, Mosi Reeves, Al Shipley, Jason Newman, Christina Lee, David Drake, Maura Johnston, Dan Hyman / Traduit et adapté par Mélanie Geffroy

#99 Problems #Big Jaz #Big Pimpin’ #Brooklyn's Finest #Dead Presidents II #Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem) #Jay Z #kanye west #Nigga What #Nigga Who (Originator ’99) #Niggas in Paris #Public Service Announcement #The Notorious B.I.G. #U Don't Know #UGK #Where I'm From

[beingfictional]

The Passage trilogy

Originally posted 2016

The Passage, The Twelve, City of Mirrors reviews

Author: Justin Cronin

The Passage

I rarely reread books. Partly because there are just so many books on my “to read” list that I just don’t have time for rereading. I’m too antsy to get to the new ones. Also, because if I loved a book the first time around, I am really nervous to read it again because it might not be as good the second time. There are books that fit into your life exactly in the perfect time and place. Reading Les Miserables was an experience that I could never recreate. The only time I’ve read it, I was teaching and would share the story with my students. Although, I fully believe Les Mis would hold up to a second reading, something would be missing from my joy: my students. So, I’ve never reread it. But there are books that I miss. I want to visit them again. My memories of them have started to fade. So this year, I vowed to reread some of my favorites.

I originally read The Passage when it came out, years and years ago. And then I read The Twelve (review coming soon) when it was published. And I have never revisited either one. But since City of Mirrors is FINALLY coming out this month, and it had been so damn long since I read the first two, I am gladly refreshing my memory of this series.

The Twelve

I loved The Passage. Not your typical vampire story, but really more of a character study. And unlike any story I’ve read, the vampires are humanized, well, as much as death row inmates can be. And you get inside their brains to really understand what life is like for them. The story also follows several formats. It’s not just a narrative, but also emails, journals, documents, etc, which helps break up the 800+ pages. As lengthy as this book is, the story flies. It’s told in a bit of a random order, jumping ahead 100 years in the middle, which was quite surprising when I originally read it, but all is wrapped up fairly well by the end. The Passage isn’t just another “vampire book.” It is unique and one not to pass up.

As promised, here is the second book in The Passage trilogy review. And, even though I gave this one 5 stars, this one felt a bit weaker than the first. Still amazing and absolutely worth reading, but I were forced to pick a favorite between the two, I would have to go with The Passage.

The Twelve introduces us to a whole new group of characters, who are extremely important to our core group, but no one you necessarily want to get attached to, if you catch my drift. The ending of this one is wonderful and heartbreaking. Our group is torn apart and reunited, simultaneously. Some are lost, new ones join, so it will be interesting to see what happens with these relationships in City of Mirrors. The lives these people lead are so compelling. Even though they are just people, they do amazing things for humanity, at great risk to themselves. This is what I enjoyed most about the book. I’m not a risk taker by nature, but when the weight of the entire world is on one’s shoulders, one might look at danger differently.

Because of Netgalley, I have an advance copy of City of Mirrors and will be starting immediately. I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you in a few days.

City of Mirrors

I cannot thank Netgalley enough for this advance copy. I have been waiting 6 years for this book, and it was well worth the wait.

After plowing through The Passage and The Twelve the past month, rereading the first two books was beneficial to reading this book. There is no way I would have remembered all that happened from so many years ago. Without a fresh memory, this book would have lost its punch. And boy does it whack you a good one.

I feel like this series is more like a chess game. There are so many pieces in play. The Passage set up the board, introduced you to the pieces, and let you begin the game. The Twelve was a back and forth strategy of master opponents and by the end, the victor made his first step to checkmate. But not quite. City of Mirrors has the opponent battling back fiercely, not to be defeated easily. But the victor makes the final move and the game is over. Some pieces remain on the board, but others are lost in the process. But it all boils down to Amy. Always Amy.

There are pieces of the narrative from the first two books that are finally resolved, so again, a reread was very helpful. And reading the books back to back to back was much more emotional than I was expecting it to be. By the time this one ended, I teared up a couple times, whether happy or sad tears, I won’t say. Maybe a mixture of both.

I was trying to explain to someone recently that this book is about vampires, but not really at all. It’s about people, survival, hope, perseverance, and most of all, love and faith in humanity.

#books #reading #the passage #the twelve #city of mirrors #justin cronin #vampires

[supernatural-squadd]

Wayward Witch

Rowena x Reader// Winchesters x Reader

Warnings: Character death, some language, Angst

A/n: This is going to be a series, so let me know if you want to be tagged in it.

Forever tag list: @Freaksforthewin , @thewinhunter, @cambriacaneatnoodles, @brokennoone , @youtubehelpsmesurvive , @chrisevansthedoritobastard , @winchesters-favorite-girl , @we-know-a-little-about-a-lot @godh8salyssa @dean-baby-Winchester @i-am-an-outcast , @animexchocolate

Want to be added to one of my tag lists? Just ask!

“Begin the incantation, dear.” Your ginger mentor was standing above you as you sat on the ground with your legs crossed.

Nodding your head you closed your eyes and began to focus. Picturing the witches image in your head and concentrating on it.

“Per se qui e fracta toi, per se qui e total toi.” The words were clear coming from you, and you did your best not to mess anything up. Not that you ever did.

Rowena was long gone by now. Finishing out the plan you two were carrying out. Meanwhile you continued the spell, also scrying to see what was happening.

“Katja, long time since we’ve had a run in.” Rowena was walking around the ring of fire burning violently around the Grand Coven witch.

The woman looked mortified, pain spreading in her hands.

“What’ve you done to me?” Looking down she saw her fingers. All broken and unable to be used in any way.

“Oh, just a little reassurance dear.” The ex coven’s witch continued to walk confidently. “Don’t worry, it’s not permanent. Yet.” A twisted smile was on her face.

Your mind snapped back into your own body. Realizing you’d been successful in your work. The witch wouldn’t be alive much longer. Rowena needed to gather information about some object you were unaware of. Not that it bothered you of its hidden identity.

Rowena had sheltered you, taken you in when your world was falling apart. You had no family. For an orphan, the system was your family. The walls of the shelter. The witch had heard of your potential. You were a natural witch. However, your true capabilities hadn’t exposed itself until a year ago.

When she had finally returned, a pleased smile was on her perfect face. She must’ve gotten when she went to get.

“Where is it?” You were anxious. She’d promised you that this item would lead you to greater things. Help you take a higher step up in power by taking somebody down.

“Patience is key. We’re only a step closer.” Her dress rested just above the floor as she walked to the table.

A feeling of irritation swept over you.

“I’m tired of being patient. If you haven’t gotten this thing, what was the point of today?” Slouching over a chair, you held your head. Why did everything have to be so damn difficult?

“Because, dear Y/n. We know now who has what we seek.” She paused, taking a sip from her cup filled to the brim with tea.

“The Winchesters.”

*****

It’d been a week since you’d tortured the witch Katja. Now both you and Rowena were moving on to what she called “higher targets”. Two men by the names of Sam and Dean Winchester. Hunters and brothers. You’d never heard of hunters, but after research and stories from Rowena, you learned they were deadly. These two especially.

Everyday you practiced spells. Any spell. Anything to get your power stronger. She said you’d need it to kill them both. And possibly an Angel. Honestly, you were never one to believe in Angels. Guess it was time to change your views on some things.

This was a mission you’d have to take on your own. For some unknown reason you had to be the one to kill both of the Winchesters. But as always, you never questioned Rowena’s orders. Just did as you were instructed.

“Don’t hesitate.” She was giving you a pep talk before you headed out to do what was necessary.

“They’ll kill you without a second thought in mind. Remember that.” Her hand was on your shoulder just before she pushed you in the direction you needed to go.

You’d be traveling by car, mainly to conserve energy. It’d take a lot to kill two hunters. Especially your first.

*****

The journey took days- three to be exact. Lucky for you it was easy to find the brothers who were out on a “case”.

There were many times you wanted to turn back, forget the whole damn thing and make a run for it. Sure, you’d killed people before. But this- this was different. They were skilled in killing things like you.

You gave yourself one last glance in the rear view mirror, pushing your hair out of your face and into a ponytail exposing the birthmark on your forehead.

Stepping out of the pickup truck you’d stolen, the crisp cold air greeted you in the parking lot of the hotel. Stinging your once warm face.

Room 118. Bottom floor. That’s where they were. No doubt they had guns in there, who wouldn’t if they knew about what went bump in the night?

“Le specto tre colo ves bestia.” A determined and focused look was on your face as you began chanting the words.

Each step you took closer to the room, your words grew louder and louder.

“Le specto tre colo ves bestia.” The door got closer and closer to you.

“Le specto tre colo ves bestia!” Until it was finally opened.

Inside were two, weakened brothers. Both were on their knees, holding their chests as their hearts beat faster and harder than they ever had. You causally stepped inside and shut the door behind you. Mumbling the incantations under your breath. Watching them both buckle down on pain.

“What are you doing to us?” The taller one was speaking the best he could. The shortness of breath didn’t help his cause.

“The pain will be over soon. But this is necessary.” As soon as you finished replying you went back to chanting. It was important you didn’t loose sight of that.

The other man held his chest tightly as blood began forming around the area where his heart was. A God awful crunching sound filled the air and he screamed out something horrid.

“Once your hearts are ripped from your bodies, you’ll die. Not that it’d be your first time.” Rowena had told you about their many trips with death. You weren’t trying to comfort them with your words, but their faces showed more fear than ever.

The man on your left, the taller one, was arching his back. His chest being risen as he tried his best to hold on to what was his. His eyes were shut tight, the pain consuming him. Yet the other, he studied you. And then something happened. Something you never thought would never happen, in this situation especially.

“Y/n?” He spoke your name. Causing you to loose concentration on your spell.

Both brothers instantly stopped fighting off the pain. There was no more pain. Your mind was too fuzzy at the words you’d just heard to focus on that.

“How do you know my name?” He didn’t answer you, which only made you more amped up. Adrenaline pumped through your veins.

“How do you know my name!” Your voice raised to a high and loud tone, and you watched as your power reached out and grabbed hold of his head. Causing him pain for not answering.

“Birthmark…” his words were quiet, this new pain made it hard for him to speak.

Instantly, you stopped. Allowing him to speak once more.

“Your birthmark. I know you from your birthmark.” His head propped up so he could look you dead in the eyes.

“Know me? How the hell would you know me? What’s it to you?” Although you were speaking, you were still defensive. This could be a trick to get you to let your guard down.

“My sister. Our sister. She- you died, the day you were born. We thought you were dead.” No. He had to have been making things up. You’ve been an orphan your entire life. Family had left you for dead.

She came out of nowhere: Rowena. Appearing in the far corner of the room. Wearing a blue long dress with her hair partially pinned up.

“Why a-” you didn’t allow her to finish her sentence. Instead you grasped the air with a fist and choked her.

“What are they talking about?” Tears fell from your eyes, the thought of a family being out there for you…it broke you down.

“Y/n- listen to me.” Once again she tried to speak, but once again you interrupted her.

“Answer the damn question. You know what I’m capable of. Don’t test me.” Your grip tightened once more, but she refused to speak up.

“Fine. Have it your way, I’ll find out on my own.” Walking over to her you placed two fingers on her forehead, completely forgetting about the two boys in the room with you.

“Pontem Praesidio. Anchora Immortalibus. Per menta mi heava cor anmina. Pontem Praesidio. Anchora Immortalibus.”

**memory of Rowena’s**

“We’re loosing her! Start compressions now!” Three doctors surrounded by a staff of nurses worked on an infants stillborn body.

“My- my baby. Why isn’t she crying? What’s going on?” A woman with curly blonde hair and fare white skin was lying on an operation table, a c-section freshly opened.

“She’s still not breathing.” Everybody rushed around the baby who still wasn’t moving.

*fades to an hour later*

“I’m so sorry for your loss. We did everything we could to save her but-” A man in a white coat stood in a room. The same room where a gruff looking man, crying woman, a young boy, and newborn baby boy were.

“Where’s her body? I want to see her.” The woman spoke up, holding tightly onto her newborn son.

“She’s been taken in for labs. It’ll be a few days before you can-”

“No. Let us see her now.” The husband was speaking now.

“I want to say goodbye.”

**back to current day**

“You lied to me?” Taking a step back, you allowed your arms to hang low in shock.

“You lied to me.” Falling to your knees you broke down. Rowena crumbled in front of you, pain radiated through her head.

There was nothing left to do. You couldn’t even think.

“A cierta.” With the simple words, her neck snapped at your command. Her lifeless body dropped to the ground.

What were you going to do now?

#spn #spn imagine #supernatural imagine #supernatural #Rowena x reader #dean x reader #sam x reader #Winchesters #winchester brothers #winchester sister imagines

[ask-jungshook]

Get to Know Me Tag!

Got tagged by these three wonderful people: (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧ @ask-business-jikook, @ask-cottoncandy-tae & @ask-seokjinnie <3 c:

1. Are you named after someone?

Not that I’m aware of!

2. When is the last time you cried?

I don’t cry often? (Or easily for that matter) So I want to say last year when I saw one of the last performances of Les Mis when it was going off Broadway (still the only thing I’ve watched that made me cry) I’m like terribad at expressing my emotions which is why I am a self proclaimed sparkling rock lol

3. Do you like your handwriting?

Hell no. My handwriting is messy af and I sometimes have difficulty reading what I wrote at times too lol. It only starts looking somewhat legible if I write in all caps lol

4. What is your favourite lunch meat?

Honey Ham & Salami! (Also smoked salmon if that counts)

5. Do you have kids?

I have a pupper. Dogs > kids

6. If you were another person, would you be friends with you?

I probably won’t even get a chance to meet myself because I sleep so much on weekends tbh

7. Do you use sarcasm?

Yes. I’m fluent in sarcasm. I usually only use it if my personalities meshes well with the person I’m talking to though.

8. Do you still have your tonsils?

I never got them removed, so I’m assuming yes, I still have them

9. Would you bungee jump?

Heck yes! It’s actually one of the things on my bucket list! (I also wanna skydive too!)

10. What’s your favourite cereal?

There’s this pumpkin cereal I got from Costco that’s really good lol forget the name though

11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?

Nope because I’m lazy, that and aside from sneakers the rest of my shoes are either slip-ons or boots w/ zippers (also my dog will eat shoelaces if they’re untied so . . . lol)

12. Do you think you’re a strong person?

I’d like to consider myself reasonably sturdy both physically and mentally LOL

13. What’s your favourite ice cream flavour?

Pumpkin or Coconut (I like sorbets better though)

14. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

The tone of their voice/overall body language -- gives me a general sense of their personality

15. Red or pink?

Red-- not a fan of pink. (Only exception is pink hair)

16. What is your least favourite physical thing about yourself?

My oily/combo skin type /weeps at my genes lol

17. What colour pants and shoes are you wearing right now?

Tan jeggings & socks since I’m back home

18. What was the last thing you ate?

KBBQ -- it was glorious

19. What are you listening to right now?

The entire You Never Walk Alone album on repeat

20. If you were a crayon what colour would you be?

Some obscure shade of blue

21. Favourite smell?

Fresh laundry? Or any fruity smell really

22. Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone?

One of my best friends-- I’m pretty sure this was one of those “I’m here, where are you” calls though lol

23. Favourite sport to watch?

Does esports count? Because I watch a lot of competitive LoL. If not, then swimming, gymnastics & ice skating

24. Hair colour?

Currently it’s a black to light grey ombre-- I’m debating if i wanna change it to a pastel purple ombre since the grey is fading/annoying to maintain :>

25. Eye colour?

Dark brown almost black

26. Do you wear contacts?

Nope I wear glasses -- I had colored contacts that I wore for cosplay but that was like years ago lol

27. Favourite food to eat?

Sushi/sashimi & KBBQ & Dimsum & Thai curry

28. Scary movies or comedy?

Comedy -- I enjoy a good laugh!

29. Last movie you watched?

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

30. What colour shirt are you wearing?

Azure Blue

31. Summer or winter?

Summer because I can’t handle the cold at all

32. Hugs or kisses?

Hugs. I hate physical contact lol, but hugs are the only thing that I’m OK with lol

33. What book are you currently reading?

Nothing ATM

34. Who do you miss right now?

I don’t miss a particular person, but I do miss the sensation & feeling of traveling

35. What is on your mouse pad?

My alma mater logo -- I think I got my mouse pad at graduation or something lol

36. What is the last tv show you watched?

I don’t watch TV often, but if Netflix counts, the last thing I remember watching was an episode of Black Mirror at a friend’s house

37. What is the best sound?

Nature & BTS laughing lol  (I live for Jin’s laugh tbh)

38. Rolling Stones or The Beatles?

Beatles

39. What is the furthest you’ve ever travelled?

China/South Korea (idk which is further lol but idk if SK really counts though bc China was the origin point so it wasn’t really that far compared to going from the US to China lol)

40. Do you have a special talent?

I can uh jiggle my eyes lol, sleep nonstop for over 15+ hrs; I also (used to) swim competitively at a national level & also like to dabble in photography occasionally

41.Where were you born?

Ann Arbor, Michigan! 

Tagging whoever wants to do this since I’m pretty sure most of the artblogs already got tagged/ have done this already lol

#// unshook #// admin faq #// lol this was long #// and im late to the party with posting this lol #// but thanks for tagging me! #// i swear im like a really boring person irl LOL #// just a sparkling rock that wants to sleep all day #// pretty much suga's dream of getting reincarnated #// that's my laziness level these days lol

[theconservativebrief]

Louis C.K. seems to think it’s time he made a comeback.

C.K., who nine months ago admitted to sexually harassing multiple women, took the stage for a surprise performance last Sunday at New York’s legendary Comedy Cellar. And according to C.K.’s supporters, it’s about time.

“People have to be allowed to serve their time and move on with their lives,” wrote actor Michael Ian Black, in a tweet for which he later apologized.

“There can’t be a permanent life sentence on someone who does something wrong,” said Comedy Cellar owner Noam Dworman.

Dworman doesn’t have to worry: Judging from cases like C.K.’s and Mel Gibson’s, there’s rarely a permanent life sentence for famous white men who do something wrong. History suggests they can come back from almost anything, up to and including allegations of domestic violence or sexual harassment, given enough time.

But for others, the standards are a little bit different.

Here’s what led some women in Hollywood to fall from grace — and how long it took for them to come back from it.

Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Turner

Sin: Shoplifting

Time it took to come back: 14 years

In 2002, Winona Ryder was caught on camera stealing more than $5,000 worth of merchandise from a Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills. Ryder gamely tried to turn the scandal into a funny story — she hosted an episode of SNL filled with shoplifting jokes — but after she was sentenced to probation, community service, and a fine, her career began to fade away. Between 2002’s Mr. Deeds and the premiere of Netflix’s Stranger Things in 2016, Ryder’s most high-profile role was a tiny supporting part in Black Swan in 2010.

In a 2016 interview with Porter magazine, Ryder said she enjoyed her time out of the spotlight. “I appeared elsewhere, I promise you,” she said. “I was transformed into doing stuff I really wanted to do — it was a great awakening. It just wasn’t in the public eye.”

Theo Wargo/Getty Images for NBC

Sin: Acting too excited when she won her Oscar

Time it took to come back: 5 years

In 2013, Anne Hathaway won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in Les Miserables, accepting the trophy with a whispered, “It came true!” She did, admittedly, sound very fake, and she would later say that she felt fake in the moment. People were outraged.

Bustle declared it “the moment when everyone turned on Anne Hathaway.”

“Oh, Anne! … Why are you so annoying?” asked Sasha Weiss on the New Yorker’s website.

The San Francisco Chronicle named her the most annoying celebrity of 2013.

Hathaway, in response, took a lengthy hiatus from the spotlight, sticking mostly to smaller movies and bit roles in ensemble casts. “My impression is that people needed a break from me,” she remarked in 2014. Arguably, she’s still taking that break: Her most high-profile role since Les Mis was as part of the ensemble in this year’s Ocean’s Eight, and while her star turn in 2017’s Colossal earned strong reviews and saw the beginning of a redemption narrative for her publicity cycle, it flopped at the box office.

Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival

Sin: Getting sexually harassed by Harvey Weinstein (allegedly)

Time it took to come back: 17 years and counting

Both Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino have said that Harvey Weinstein sexually harassed them in the late 1990s, when their careers were arguably at their height. (Sorvino was coming off of her Oscar-winning turn in 1995’s Mighty Aphrodite, and Judd had become a major star with 1995’s Heat. They’d even co-starred together in HBO’s 1996 film Norma Jean & Marilyn.) Both actresses say that Weinstein tried to pressure them into sexual acts, and both say that they rebuffed him.

According to director Peter Jackson, he started to hear rumors about both actresses not long after they say they denied Weinstein’s advances. He was thinking about casting them both in The Lord of the Rings, but when he mentioned the idea to executives at Miramax, Weinstein’s production company, he was strongly advised to look in a different direction.

“I recall Miramax telling us they were a nightmare to work with and we should avoid them at all costs. This was probably in 1998,” Jackson said in an interview last fall. “At the time, we had no reason to question what these guys were telling us — but in hindsight, I realise that this was very likely the Miramax smear campaign in full swing. I now suspect we were fed false information about both of these talented women — and as a direct result their names were removed from our casting list.”

The last major Hollywood film in which Judd received top billing was the notorious 2004 flop Twisted. Sorvino’s was the The Triumph of Love in 2001. Neither has announced a major project since the allegations against Weinstein went public. In May, Judd announced that she was suing Harvey Weinstein.

Judd and Sorvino’s time in exile is exponentially longer than the nine months Louis C.K. spent not performing — and unlike C.K., they are not admitted sexual predators, but the reported victims of one. And they bore the punishment for what Weinstein allegedly did to them, for years.

We live in a world in which a man who confesses to sexual harassment gets to start his comeback after less than a year. Meanwhile, a woman who shoplifted has to go into exile for 14 years, a woman who acted too excited while accepting an award honoring her hard work has to go away for five years, and women who are the alleged victims of sexual predators vanish for nearly two decades.

This system is not weighted equally. It is designed to redeem men for almost anything and punish women for almost everything. The disparity is real, and it is measurable.

Original Source -> Hollywood redeems men for almost anything and punishes women for almost everything

via The Conservative Brief

#IFTTT #The Conservative Brief

[mariannemaebe]

Early this year, the law requiring for practicing professionals to pursue for their own Continuing Professional Development (CPD), to keep their licenses, has been implemented in the Philippines.

Registered and Licensed Architects (RLAs) are among who are affected by the mandate. Unfortunately, there was not a enough circulation of this Resolution No. 2016-990 series of 2016, nor was there enough time for Filipino architects like myself to sit down and absorb it all in.

For any professional to renew their licenses, a point system has been provided by which you can quantify your professional development. Most numbers are greatly generated by attending accredited and evaluated seminars, conventions and forums which, for the record, are not free most of the times.

Nevertheless, my fellow architects and peers are already doing a headstart.

Just recently, a local architectural and design firm organized a 3-day event where a series of talks can be credited for the said CPD points.

Luckily, I was gifted with free tickets from my friend, whose friend also just have it to her. Had I not been lucky enough to be a recepient, I would have to pay 700php – 1400php to get in, which I would probably have whined doing, but even so, I’d still think it was worth it.

One particular reason why I am taking my time to writing this article is for documentation purposes. Especially because though I was naturally an attentive listener, and student (*coughs*), with time, things I learned fade in the background.

The second reason, was probably to justify that CPD points are not totally in vain. Though I also agree that it is quite expensive, greatly for young professionals like I am, I would just like to make sure I get the most of it.

  Anthology Fest

1. Commercial and Computational Design

The first speaker/s I chanced upon to listen to were Masaki and Jiyoon Park, who altogether discussed their commercial projects as basis of the current trends in the Commercial/Retail Design and Architecture.

Masaki projected some of his design concepts for a few mall projects which taught me that: (1) online shopping is one posing threat for physical mall owners and developers, which is why Masaki and his team creates various shopping experiences for its end users (inside mall, outer mall, flea shops are among others); (2) computational design, which is the unfamiliar name they call for designs which require customised fabrication of steels, fittings and other components, is actually a good tool to creating attractive designs and; (3) one of his major consideration in designing a commercial interior is the creation of various focals point which are useful invitations for consumers to create traffic on usually less travelled areas.

Jiyoon, on the other hand, though mainly introducing the company she works for, Semba, also actually shared useful information including: (1) the different forms of mall plans which answers specific points for flow and traffic (circular, U, and box) and that; (2) malls nowadays also already incorporate in their designs and concepts, landscape architecture.

2. Architecture of Artifacts

The introduction of the lecture by Arch. Eunice Seng was actually both misleading and interesting for the reason that she started with history. She provided the audience with an in-depth and organized re-introduction to the 7 artifacts we know as curtain walls, core, roof.

She carefully explained how the trends we know now came to be. She set out examples and mentioned the architects who greatly influenced these such as Louis Sullivan, Le Corbusier and Mies Van de Rohe.

Architecture is a cultural practice, even when education is globalised. We all know Le corbusier for example, but still the concepts behind and how we design things this way and that way, it’s all cultural. (Verbatim)

– Archt. Eunice Seng

What I particularly like about her presentation was how she was able to link historical, cultural, geographical and economical factors to her explanations. Being a historian probably was one reason how she was able to achieve these effective comparisons.

3. Architecture for Community

Alex Furunes, a foreign architect, and Sudarshah Khadka of a local famous and legendary architectural firm, discussed side by side how they were always able to achieve a cost-effective design which perfectly suits and functions for the community it serves. But besides the technical aspects of their presentation, I was more inspired with how dedicated they both are for the cause their architecture serves.

One striking example which gained a rich reaction from the audience was the community kindergarten in Tacloban, which as we all know had been greatly damaged by typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). Well, it actually just cut very deep when the video of the then real-time devastation played. As Alex had coined it, it was very ’emotional’ project for him.

By the end of their presentation, I was more inspired to do these kinds of architecture for a cause in the future, especially after realizing that a foreigner like Alex himself might have more concern for Filipino youths than most politicians in the country. Sadly so.

On the technical side, I took note of their design process which greatly involves the input of the local people. The mothers are front-liners for the development of the plans, the kids’ creativity reflected on their depictions of the doors and windows and the fathers basically made the structures stand. For a community structure, it is a very effective step to collate the ideas of he users themselves. And in this light, it is actually interesting to see how well it always turn out, considering that these are cost-conscious projects.

4. Space and Forms

On day 3 of the event, we were able complete Arch. Julien de Smedt’s presentation on space and forms. Like the previous presentations, his will also make you wonder what his talk is actually about, until it makes sense. His solutions started with micro-spaces, built primarily for nomadic people with which he believes he belongs with. These solutions were basically furnishings (Makers With Agenda) which are collapsible and compact, indeed perfect for a nomadic lifestyle and well, small space living. These includes the swing, T42, accordion, stilt, pull-pong.

In the later part of his presentation, he was already tackling solutions in the urban scale. It was not difficult to note how his designs encourage movement and interaction (kindergarten, park by the river), and how they are not limited to just architecture, in fact, more of them focuses in urban planning with considerations of open spaces, including hardscape elements (bench).

Also, I was very much entertained by his humor, especially because he chose a good tool, Photoshop.

“My secret project is to kill people *slowly raises a peace sign*,”

“My secret project is to kill people *slowly raises a peace sign*,” his answer to when he was asked if he actually consider say, building codes and guidelines in his designs (the kindergarten being the basis of the question).

JDS Architecture Website: JDS Architects

“The series Anthology Talks in general strengthened my impression that though the practice of architecture is in fact targeting globalization, it is quite obvious that there are more factors which constrains the creativity of the local practice. Political and economical aspects top  the list.”

  __

Gaia Perspectives

On the same day of the second in Anthology, we had to wake up early to make sure we attended at least two for Anthology before we move to another venue for a different set of talks, organized by our chapter in UAP, Makati Greenbelt, though the location was in Davies Showroom in Quezon City.

These set of talks tackle on a different set of matters concerning the most abused being, the earth itself. And while most talks talk about design and architecture and how to make it as tools to answer different environmental issues, we do not really get the status of the environment, or at least, what we know are just ballpark figures.

in Gaia Perspectives, these statuses are not going to be laid out by architects but by different professionals who work more closely with the earth in the literal sense.

1. Ancient Trees

Landscape Architect Susan Ong, opened our eyes, the privileged people to attend the event, on the account of cultural landscape– how important it is to conserve, preserve and respect them for they may have been older than the structures already built around them.

Though there weren’t concrete architectural solutions presented on how this can be achieved, the importance is that as architects, we ought to think about these ourselves, reassess our designs to respect the trees.

“Ancient trees are a universe in itself.”

2. Responsible Mining

Architecture and Design usually don’t care about this, but apparently most of the resources we use for the construction such as  steel are mined.  And while we strongly go against mining, we must understand that mining is still needed to keep certain materials available.

Perhaps what we are just missing in this whole deal is there is also what miners call among themselves ‘responsible mining’. Mining does disturb our forests but with enough supervision, there is a good chance. In fact, I was also surprised to know that quarry and mining sites in different parts of the world are now serving other functions after the mining activities there are done.

Eden Project in UK (before image)

Eden Project in UK (after image)

3. Composite Materials in Construction

This topic was presented less technically because I suppose we wouldn’t really get much given that metallurgical Engineering and nanotechnology are already too technical for us to handle.

Either way, the explanation in simple, for most of the constructions materials available in the market, all of them are scientifically engineered to better serve its purpose, combining properties to answer to its supposed function.

4. Soil

The material where are structures sit upon are apparently more complicated than what we know of them. Even after the the speaker, Mr. Carating, from Bureau of Soils, explained how soils are classified, I still have a lot of questions, practically because he is mostly on the agricultural nature of the soil. Nevertheless, he was able to provide the audience relevant knowledge as to which soil is best suited for urban development, and which are not.

  “The Gaia Perspectives stayed true to its intent to show its audience a different perspective based on the the takes of professionals other than architecture– both from the positive and ugly truths.”

Architecture | Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in Architecture: start on the journey – Anthology Fest and Gaia Perspectives Early this year, the law requiring for practicing professionals to pursue for their own Continuing Professional Development (CPD), to keep their licenses, has been implemented in the Philippines.

#Anthology Fest #Architect Talks #Architects #Architecture #CPD Points #Environment #Gaia Perspectives #UAP Makati-Greenbelt #WTA Design Studio