#LIKE 50 POSTS IN A ROW FROM 2021
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I posted 5,598 times in 2022
That's 2,450 more posts than 2021!
84 posts created (2%)
5,514 posts reblogged (98%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@scorpiofangirl1109
@cryptidvoidwritings
@junkyard-gifs
@storyweaverofgondor
@linadoonofficial
I tagged 4,076 of my posts in 2022
Only 27% of my posts had no tags
#cats vienna - 186 posts
#vienna kitties - 104 posts
#linadoon art - 86 posts
#riccardo sinisi - 67 posts
#rainbowratsstuff art - 65 posts
#yes - 63 posts
#cats vienna revival - 63 posts
#magical mister mistoffelees - 54 posts
#the rum tum tugger - 51 posts
#oasis kitties - 50 posts
Longest Tag: 119 characters
#it's mostly going to be 1998 and vienna because my other videos are untagged and i often don't know who is playing who!
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
From Alex Auler’s Instagram
It’s official: Vienna Revival Cats ends in June. I am Sad. 😥
BUT GUYS I HAVE AMAZING NEWS!
I am officially going to Vienna in April!!! My sister is on Spring Break and we’ve both always wanted to go to Vienna.
I AM GOING TO SEE CATS VIENNA!!! And I already have front row tickets booked (possibly more than one night). I am so excited and incredibly grateful to have been able to make this happen.
29 notes - Posted January 27, 2022
#4
youtube
Curtain Call Footage from April 14, 2022 (Cats Vienna, Ronacher Theatre)
Notes under the cut!
April 14:
Someone did a wolf-whistle at Tugger during the pause in the Misto number and Tugger looked at Misto and was like “oh HO!”
Just watching Alex standing during Pekes & Pollicles with his arms outstretched, eyes glancing sideways, beckoning for Louder Barks while continueing to smile winningly at the audience.
Munkustrap Wiggles during Skimble!!!
Rhys premiere!
Very reactive/active Cori
Tanto and Cori are super cute with each other and interact a lot!
OMG CASSANDRA YOU ARE BLOCKING MY VIEW AGAIN
Barbara totally has the “tipsy Diva everyone feels kind of sorry for” vibe
Munkustrap is REALLY conflicted about Grizabella—watching Munkustrap’s Face Journey is one of my favorite parts of this show
Interesting with Barbara Griz he wasn’t so aggressive during their Show down—in fact he reaches for her with a conflicted, yearning look on his face, then turns and leaps away. It absolutely parallels Demeter, and I didn’t see it with any of the other Grizabellas.
Munkustrap does look at her with pity for a good portion of the show. There is a History Here. (Also Barbara is Smol and Alex is Tol and it is extremely adorable)
Aulerstrap was FERAL tonight folks
The Demestrap PDA was pretty intense and hilarious tonight.
I mean it’s always there, but Anneke and Alex played it up to the nines
During Moments of Happiness when Munk goes to stretch out elegantly at the front of the stage he smolders at Demeter and slowlllly stretches his leg out. And Demeter gives him a look over her shoulder.
As Tugger is trying to convince everyone to give Misto a chance, they are TOTALLY MAKING OUT in the dark like DAMN you two get a room!
Munk raising up above Demeter and stroking down her leg before they fall down in to the cuddle pile 😳😳
(Bomba is there too on the other side. In fact Tugger, Munk, Demeter, and Bomba kind of curl up together)
Munkustrap doesn’t want Bomba there when Tugger appears—perhaps their combined energy would make the stage combust or something XD
(She comes back later when Munk is relaxing in the back and going with the flow)
Petra is an elegant and sexy Bomba. Anneke is showy and voluptuous. Birgit is reserved and seductive. I loved them all but I think Anneke’s might be my favorite.
Munkustrap bopping his head along to the trio during Gumbi and he and Misto doing their little dance together
When Jenny appears in her outfit and starts tapping Munk does a Toe Tap too and it is SO CUTE!!!
He and Misto do a little dance together before Misto has to go put his tap shoes on
Also Tap Dancing Mistoffelees? BEYOND precious!!!
Munkustrap curls up on the tire with Jenny’s fluffy robe
Lecherous Pirate Munk is back! (Not so great a view this time Growltiger kept blocking my view of the Raffish Crew!)
Sinisi Tugger and Aulerstrap are Gay Pirate Boyfriends. While Snova Tugger was a little jealous of Munk’s crush on Griddle, and Dominick’s Tugger had more of a crush than Munk, clearly both of them here have a thing for Griddle and they are 100% on board with that. Also it takes them ages to get Comfy in the Oven!!
See the full post
32 notes - Posted May 7, 2022
#3
Denise Jaustranig Strikes Again!
Borderline Criminal
Seriously?
See the full post
38 notes - Posted May 4, 2022
#2
Excuse me, Sir - Who gave you the right??
(From Alex Auler's insta stories)
41 notes - Posted April 27, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
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Bows from the Vienna Cats Revival, April 6!
Since Bill Bailey was cut, Matthew Levick did the Tumble flips as Mistoffelees!
Footage was filmed by me @falasta. PLEASE DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT ATTRIBUTION. Thank you!
I have notes about the show, which I will get up as soon as I recover from Jetlag brain.
47 notes - Posted April 8, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
Guys I think I might have a thing for Cats Vienna -- do you think it shows?
#year in review#Riccardo Sinisi just snuck himself in there 😂#Poor Alexanderstrap Auler didn't make the list#nor did Munkustrap at all!#Youtube
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I posted 1,427 times in 2022
That's 1,427 more posts than 2021!
50 posts created (4%)
1,377 posts reblogged (96%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@fandomobsessions016
@heynikkiyousofine
@superpixie42
@mothmanismyuncle
@clearwillow
I tagged 615 of my posts in 2022
#to read - 17 posts
#inukag - 9 posts
#ask game answers - 6 posts
#yes - 6 posts
#inukag fanfic - 5 posts
#oh - 5 posts
#well - 4 posts
#spotify - 4 posts
#reference - 4 posts
#relevant - 4 posts
Longest Tag: 128 characters
#and gathering research for other people means i have ‘how to switch babies in a hospital’ next to ‘guns usually used in murders’
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
Chapter 5 is up!
In which food is love, Miroku channels his inner Ursula, Inuyasha’s youkai says, “Yes, we’ve had first puberty, but what about second puberty?” And somehow, amidst the surging hormones and courtship attempts, Inuyasha and Kagome manage to make some emotional progress as well.
FF.Net
Ao3
22 notes - Posted December 5, 2022
#4
Ok. One of my biggest pet peeves is Kaede’s use of the word ‘ye.’
I get that it’s supposed to make her look older and more archaic, but it just doesn’t work. For it to make sense, Kikyo, her OLDER sister, should also speak that way. For that matter, so should Inuyasha, who would still be using the same form of language as when he was pinned to the tree.
25 notes - Posted October 1, 2022
#3
After several years away, Kagome believes she is over Inuyasha and is finally ready to accept him as just a friend. And what could be the best way to prove this? Moving in with him, of course! She can handle it, right? The close contact. The intensity of his eyes. The shirtless….well. She might have overestimated herself.
AU
Rating: M on FF.net and E on Ao3.
Chapter 3 is Live!
Kagome gets news that makes her want to flee like a 90s rom-com heroine, Inuyasha has to make a choice that everyone but him thinks is hard, and Sango realizes these two incompetents are going to mess this up unless she takes the situation in hand.
Chapter 3 FF.net
Chapter 3 Ao3
31 notes - Posted September 25, 2022
#2
Hearts are delicate. Breakable. Once they slip through one set of fingers, can they ever find a home in those hands again?
An Inu/Kag ficlet.
“I love you.”
She says it, knowing it’s too late. He’s already set his eyes on someone else, but if she doesn't get the words out, she knows she’ll explode. Saying it once he’s actually involved with someone else just wouldn't be right. Her smile is several watts too bright as his eyes blink rapidly, his brows lowered in confusion.
“But I don't--”
“Love me. I know. I just....had to get it out. Don't worry about it. I know that it’s her. And...I hope it works for you. Really.”
She means it. She truly does. All she’s ever wanted is for him to be happy, even if that happiness is like acid in her lungs, drowning her in fire. She doesn't bother waiting for an answer. She knows he’s staked out this hallway, waiting for Kikyo to make her way to her next class, and just because she’s always been his biggest cheerleader doesn't mean she wants first-row seats to the game. So she steps to the left and allows herself to be swept away in the sea of other students, drowning out the sound of him trying to let her down easy.
Her heart slipped from the clawed hands in which she had placed it, shattering into crystalline fragments as it hit the floor.
“This doesn't mean I love you or anything.”
It’s an almost grudging mumble, and she has to bite back the harsh words that want to shoot from her mouth like bullets in response. It’s been months, he’s dating someone else, and she’s not an idiot.
“I didn't think it did,” she settles on saying, meeting his eyes steadily.
He shifts, still holding the class assignments he brought for her while she was sick with the flu.
“I just....didn't want to give you the wrong idea,” he explains, and there's an almost apologetic note in the tone of his voice.
“I hardly think bearing gifts of extra homework qualifies as a declaration of undying love,” she says dryly, choosing to give him an out.
He snorts a laugh, and the tension leaves his body as he drops into the chair by her desk, launching into everything she’s missed in the Miroku/Sango drama since she’s been out for the week.
“Tryin’ to take her place won't make me love you!”
The words are sharp and meant to cut; the feral snarl on his face makes that clear. The breakup with Kikyo has been bad, and he is still raw and exposed. Steam was still rising from the meat of a fresh kill, and he was looking for something--anything--on which to vent his pain.
Naturally, that would be Kagome. Always soft. Always helpful. Always near. But even as the words leave his mouth, something tells him he has crossed a line. He waits for the tears or, if he is lucky, the angry yelling, and his apprehension grows when neither comes.
Instead, she draws herself up and gazes at him with a coldness that would have had even his brother shivering.
“You don't share my feelings, and that’s fine. But that doesn't mean you get to throw them in my face whenever it suits you,” she says quietly.
The words fell on him like a stoning, each one leaving a bruise in its wake. It washes away his own raging sadness, leaving him feeling small and ashamed.
“I didn't mean--”
“I already knew it without you having to say anything. Just....leave it.”
He looks at her from under his bangs, and for the first time, it occurs to him that Kagome is no stranger to this feeling. He wonders how she manages to keep such a good lid on it and how long it took to learn that kind of control.
He’s afraid of the answer.
Her phone buzzes, sparing them both. She looks at the screen, then arranges her lips into the distant cousin of a smile.
See the full post
73 notes - Posted October 27, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
I know a lot of people are on the fence about the idea, but my fundamental belief is that there is a nerve that runs from Inuyasha’s ears straight to his dick.
You can’t convince me otherwise and this trope will have to be pried from my cold, dead hands.
75 notes - Posted October 19, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
#tumblr2022#Considering I’ve only had this particular blog for about 3 months that’s not too bad#it’ll be interesting to see the contrast next year
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top 3 songs of 2022 (so far). number one song of autumn, spring, and summer respectively. it’s a weird list because i’m not super attached to any of these songs. i don’t think i could name a single lyric from rosyln, even though it’s my #1 song of the year. i genuinely love watercolour eyes and think it’s a beautiful, touching song, but i don’t even like euphoria. running up that hill reminds me of stranger things, which i actually do like, but i think kate bush is overrated. my #1 song of 2021 was vivir mi vida by marc anthony, and THAT was a song worthy of being song of the year. i played that song to death. i listened to the original song 50 times in a row, then the pop version 25 times in a row, then the french/arabic version another 25 times in a row for good measure, then right back to the original. i really feel like that song captured my 2021. none of these songs really capture my 2022. if i had to pick a song for this year it would probably be falling slowly from once or the trapeze swinger by iron and wine, but that’s definitely recency bias because i only started listening to those songs this month. sorry, i don't even know why i’m writing this post. it’s 1:20 am in the morning and exam stress is unscrewing my brain in a way that’s altogether very frightening. please just ignore me while i become progressively less hinged over the next few days as my exam approaches
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I posted 4,649 times in 2022
That's 4,649 more posts than 2021!
50 posts created (1%)
4,599 posts reblogged (99%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@theawkwardterrier
@mini-wrants
@nightlocktime
@prydonianrenegade
@liberalsarecool
I tagged 2,093 of my posts in 2022
#buffy the vampire slayer - 384 posts
#buffy summers - 243 posts
#stranger things - 160 posts
#star wars - 80 posts
#steve harrington - 74 posts
#nancy wheeler - 62 posts
#rupert giles - 59 posts
#angel - 58 posts
#fanart - 48 posts
#buffy x angel - 43 posts
Longest Tag: 138 characters
#and birbigs tweeted out a link one night and was like front row tickets are like 100 dollars instead of whatever they were for this window
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
If I could make one change to season 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer - just one - I would have Giles leaving be directly related to this new threat from The First. Someone in the Council, someone in some coven Giles once interacted with, someone in Giles’ world, recognizes the signs of a growing powerful evil. Reads the portents about wiping out the Slayer line, and contacts the only person with an existing relationship to an active Slayer.
Giles, having just gotten Buffy back, would have moved hell and high water to keep her safe and alive. He would have to leave to track down the information; he would have to leave to speak to the Council directly and get access to their texts. He would have to leave to gather potential slayers from their watchers, who hadn’t seen the signs and wouldn’t believe him if he told them. Giles, so desperate to keep his Slayer safe, he ends up with a veritable passel of scared children, with different backgrounds and needs, so he can’t come back frequently. His funds are tied into getting the next bit of information, cloaking the potentials he does track down, and moving from place to place.
It would nicely tie in with season 7, and would give Giles a legitimate reason for leaving Buffy on her own. Because one of the flaws with Buffy the Vampire Slayer is how many times men make decisions for Buffy and how the show doesn’t allow her real space and range to rage against it. Amending Giles’ reasoning to one that still allows Anthony Stewart Head to leave the show (everything Giles has been doing can be flashbacks, or letters back home, or any combination of things) also gives space for someone - an adult someone - to still be in Buffy’s corner and still looking out for her well being, even if he can’t physically be in Sunnydale. Because otherwise, he’s just left a bunch of traumatized teens to 20 year olds to fend for themselves with no community or guidance. Because otherwise, Giles leaves a traumatized and broke 20 year old who is the guardian of a traumatized 15 year old, because she won’t grow if he’s there. As if Buffy can grow without someone cutting back the bullshit in her life long enough for her to catch her breath. As if any of them can in season 6. Giles leaving with the promise of his intention to return, Giles leaving because there is a threat to Buffy and the world on the horizon so great he can’t stay - that’s good storytelling in line with Giles from the WB years.
29 notes - Posted November 17, 2022
#4
I’m sure it’s been discussed before, but thinking about it -
It makes more sense to me for Angel to break up with Buffy after she saves him from the poison. I get why the writers structured the order the way they did; Buffy not letting Angel die even though they were no longer together is high stakes and romantic and demonstrates the depths of her love for him.
But Angel’s break up speech has generally seemed to me to be something he was doing for Buffy rather than something he needed to do for himself. And Buffy can make her own choices. Buffy is a full fledged adult who has died once and who has a shorter life span than the average mortal. Her dating needs are unique, and she should be allowed to live her life as she sees fit, romantically speaking, as long as it isn’t hurting anyone else. If Angel breaks up with her after Buffy forces him to almost drain her, almost killing her, it then can become about him. He loves her too much to let her be in the position to sacrifice herself for him. He loves her too much to be the cause of her death. He couldn’t live with himself if he were responsible for her not. And that would then tie into I Will Always Love You, where it’s not Angel taking the decision away from Buffy; it’s Angel deciding that his humanity isn’t worth the loss of Buffy. If staying a vampire keeps her alive, for just a little longer, it’s worth it to him. And that then makes any other relationship he enters into more palatable, because he wouldn’t have left Buffy because she was mortal and he wasn’t and she deserved a life she didn’t want; he would have left her because if being with him killed her, then he couldn’t live with that.
42 notes - Posted September 15, 2022
#3
I love how Dave has some memory loss every time he dies and regenerates.
The absolute joy he gets when Kipo suggests flying them away from the timber cats, only to choke, because he forgot he has performance anxiety.
The confidence he has when he hits his young adult face before he remembers they got caught.
The fact that he doesn’t remember finding the map Kipo’s dad left for her to find.
Dave’s regenerations mean he’s functionally immortal, but he loses pieces of himself along the way. I think it’s why he likes being part of a group - why he is devoted to Benson. Benson remembers parts of Dave he loses, especially because he doesn’t lose the same parts every time. Benson reminds Dave who he is, and then Wolf and Kipo do that too. And in return, he dies for them. Multiple times.
71 notes - Posted September 29, 2022
#2
Thinking more about the Tento di Cruciamentum and how it’s a test for Watchers and Slayers, and I do believe it is developed for slayers to fail - for the Council to get rid of a slayer that will become harder to control as she reaches maturity. But a thought occurred to me that it could also potentially be a way of culling Watchers who have stepped out of the accepted dogma.
Giles says in Fool for Love that the journal entries regarding slayers’ deaths are, in general, painful to record for their Watchers, which means he’s not the first to become emotionally entangled with his slayer. That entanglement is almost inevitable. Who would be the people who would or could speak against The Watcher’s Council’s creed of using slayers as an war inexhaustible resource? It would be the watchers in the field. Giles is isolated from The Council in so many ways that don’t make sense if The Council wasn’t concerned about the reach and the pull of their field watchers. To be the Watcher to an active Slayer seems to be a privilege - Wesley is happy to be sent to Sunnydale, Giles is practically giddy in Welcome to the Hellmouth. But it’s a double edged sword. Now, the Council is worried about the outside influences, about emotional ties, about what these watchers witness. How they see the slayer, how she becomes a person to them. A person they care for. A person, in Giles’ case, he would go to incredible lengths to protect. Giles says it himself - “If any one of the Council still had any contact with a Slayer, they would see”. But what Giles doesn’t see - can’t see, because he still has faith in the institution - is that is in itself a primary feature and not the bug he assumes it to be.
And so the Cruciamentum is to make sure the Watcher responsible for the Slayer is still adhering to the worldview that she isn’t a person. That she is solely a weapon. To be used and discarded as needs fit. And the Council goes one farther toward breaking these Watchers who do see their slayer as more than a weapon. “If this girl is everything you say, then you’ve nothing to worry about”. Just like a belief in miracles, if your slayer doesn’t make it, it’s on you. You didn’t believe hard enough, train her well enough, prepare her enough. You devoted your time and energy to a girl who wasn’t enough. Devastating to the Watcher who doesn’t warn his Slayer; who Believes and loses her anyway. Devastating and demoralizing for the Watcher; and proof that this slayer wasn’t worthy, so her watcher shouldn’t be listened to for the rest of the Council. Because what happens to watchers who lose their slayers? I imagine they can be invited back into the fold, if they pass the actual test; or they can be let go, to mourn the loss of the girl they had dedicated some part of their lives to. And the Council needs so many of them to not gain access to those halls again, to not exert influence over the rank and file. To not express the heterodoxy that the Slayer is the one fighting the war. To not convince other Watchers that the slayer is a person who needs protecting. That she should be treated as a person, and given the tools to succeed in this world for as long as she can stay alive.
The Watcher’s Council loathes the idea of an uncontrollable slayer, but it is frightened to death of that slayer’s Watcher. And the Cruciamentum solves both of those problems, 9 times out of 10, with brutal efficacy.
124 notes - Posted November 21, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
Giles’ whole, “which shouldn’t prevent you from eventually procuring some more gainful form of employment, such as I did” line is such utter crap, even in the context of What’s My Line. He’s literally pulled Buffy out of school, during a school event she’s mandated to attend *by her principal*. He and her duty to slaying routinely impact and stymie any chance she has of doing well in school. She is consistently missing class, or falling asleep in class, or not being able to complete class work because there are only so many hours in a day and she has to train and patrol and maintain the image of a girl who does neither of those things to her mother and the world.
And that’s not even getting into the fact that Giles didn’t need “more gainful employment” because he already collects a salary from the Watcher’s Council, something that is never offered to Buffy or any other slayer. He is literally double dipping, money wise. And Buffy is right - no one blinks an eye when Giles spends his days surrounded by books. But even law enforcement will probably be concerned about a recruit who sometimes skips shifts or shoves pieces of wood through suspects.
The show continually makes Buffy’s life more miserable than it has to be by continually showing how slaying negatively affects her ability to engage in mundane but gainful employment but completely ignores the very real solution of having the organization that pays its Watchers also pay its Slayers, especially come season 5 when Buffy flips the script. It’s not overtly apparent in season 2, but the farther along we get in the series, the more appalling it is that Buffy isn’t paid for her work, and that the show doesn’t utilize this double standard as a metaphor for women’s unpaid labor more generally. It’s meant to just be accepted as fact that Buffy’s sacred duty means she can’t accept payment, when her ex is charging for doing essentially the same work - with his own destiny - in LA.
290 notes - Posted November 20, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
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Outriders Studio People Can Fly Lays Off More Than 30 Employees
New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/outriders-studio-people-can-fly-lays-off-more-than-30-employees/
Outriders Studio People Can Fly Lays Off More Than 30 Employees
People Can Fly, the developer behind 2021’s surprise shooter hit Outriders, has laid off more than 30 employees. This news comes by way of Kotaku, which reports that its source with knowledge of the situation said the job cuts affected only staff working on an unannounced game at the studio, codenamed Project Gemini, that is to be published by Square Enix.
Kotaku reached out to People Can Fly after its source sent screenshots confirming that layoffs happened at the studio, and development director Adam Alker confirmed the news. Alker cited budget limitations and a shrinking scope for Project Gemini as for why it was laying off “over 30 people.” The publication notes that another 20 outside of the 30 laid off were removed from the project and moved to other projects at People Can Fly.
[embedded content]
“We understand that this decision impacts each of you, and we want to express our gratitude for your hard work, dedication, and contributions thus far,” Alker’s email to those affected reads, according to Kotaku. “To those individuals transitioning out of the studio due to these changes, we extend our sincere appreciation for the skills and expertise you brought to the team. We will keep our fingers crossed for your next steps in game dev and offer all our support.”
These People Can Fly layoffs join a string of other disheartening 2024 job cuts, which total more than 3500. Riot Games laid off 530 employees this week, and we recently learned Lords of the Fallen Publisher CI Games was laying off 10 percent of its staff, that Unity would be laying off 1,800 people by the end of March, and that Twitch had laid off 500 employees.
We also learned that Discord had laid off 170 employees, that layoffs happened at PTW, a support studio that’s worked with companies like Blizzard and Capcom, and that SteamWorld Build company, Thunderful Group, let go of roughly 100 people. Dead by Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive also reportedly laid off 45 people, too.
Last year, more than 10,000 people in the games industry or game-adjacent industries were laid off.
In January of last year, Microsoft laid off 10,000 employees amidst its ongoing $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which it completed in October.
Striking Distance Studios, the team behind 2022’s The Callisto Protocol, laid off more than 30 employees in August of 2023. That same month, Mass Effect and Dragon Age developer BioWare laid off 50 employees, including long-time studio veterans. The following month, in September, Immortals of Aveum developer Ascendant Studios laid off roughly 45% of its staff, and Fortnite developer Epic Games laid off 830 employees.
In October of last year, The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog laid off at least 25 employees, and Telltale Games also underwent layoffs, although an actual number of affected employees has not yet been revealed. Dreams developer Media Molecule laid off 20 employees in late October.
In November, Amazon Games laid off 180 staff members, Ubisoft laid off more than 100 employees, Bungie laid off roughly 100 developers, and 505 Games’ parent company, Digital Bros, laid off 30% of its staff.
In December, Embracer Group closed its reformed TimeSplitters studio, Free Radical Design, and earlier in the year, Embracer closed Saints Row developer Volition Games, a studio with more than 30 years of development history. A few weeks before the winter holidays, Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering owner Hasbro laid off 1,100 employees.
The games industry will surely feel the effects of such horrific layoffs for years to come. The hearts of the Game Informer staff are with everyone who’s been affected by layoffs or closures.
[Source: Kotaku]
#000#2022#2023#2024#Activision#Amazon#amp#billion#Blizzard#Companies#december#Design#Developer#developers#development#dog#effects#email#employees#epic#express#game#game dev#games#gemini#History#holidays#Impacts#Industries#Industry
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2 January 2024: Ten Darden Smith albums:
Deep Fantastic Blue (Plump, 1996)
Sunflower (Dualtone, 2002)
Circo (Dualtone, 2004)
Field of Crows (Dualtone, 2005)
Ojo (self-released, 2006)
After All This Time: The Best of Darden Smith (self-released, 2009)
Marathon (self-released, 2010)
Love Calling (Compass, 2013)
Everything (Compass, 2017)
Western Skies (self-released, 2021)
Back in February of 2022 I revived my interest in Texas-born singer-songwriter Darden Smith, whom I first learned about when I read a review of his 1989 collaborative album with Boo Hewerdine, Evidence, in Rolling Stone magazine when it was new. Through a series of purchases over the past two years, most of which are documented elsewhere on this page, I now own Smith's entire album catalog. This was facilitated greatly by a $50 bundle on Smith's website of the ten albums you see in this post. The stack you see above represents the 6th through 15th Smith albums. When I start buying ten-album bundles, it's a clear sign that I am doing a catalog study. In 2023, I covered the 1st through 5th Smith albums plus a 1990 promotional album of otherwise unavailable material. I never intended to buy the man's whole catalog, but after revisiting his CBS years that I enjoyed in real time during my college years, I wound up getting his first album (Native Soil, 1986) and then I wanted to hear his 1988 self-titled Epic debut again to see how he developed upon stepping up to the major labels. I'm doing that this month, and in February I will leap ahead to his first album after the majors, 1996's Deep Fantastic Blue.
Below we see the front covers of the ten albums, in the same sequence as I list the titles above, running from left to right in two rows. The 1996-2005 albums are in jewel cases; his 2006 self-released live album Ojo just comes in a simple slipcover, and then his 2009-2021 are in digipaks of various types.
Next, the back covers of each.
Last, here are the discs for each.
Field of Crows is the lone album among the ten that had a hype sticker, so here it is.
I will admit that this seems like a whole lot of Darden Smith after spending time with just six of his albums this past year, but I'm more enthusiastic than my brother, who mysteriously also ordered this bundle in some sort of fever dream; see his discussion at https://lastchancevillagegreen.tumblr.com/post/738537154265874432/tuesday-2-january-2023-the-darden-smith-bundle.
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2023 Podfic Roundup!
(2022 here; 2021 here)
Ghost Town, by DustDragon39
The Magnus Archives
original characters
teen and up
18m 42s
I came home one day and it wasn’t home anymore.
During a particularly bad storm, two archival assistants from the San Francisco Institute for the Unusual and Paranormal pick up a hitchhiker.
the less-than-careful years, by tigrrmilk
Disco Elysium
Kim Kitsuragi, Kim Kitsuragi’s parents
teen and up
22m 5s
For his seventeenth birthday, Kim bought the first jacket as a gift to himself. It was the real thing — twenty years old, with a slash at the neck, and a stain inside that could have been blood, or mud, or even oil. “Did somebody die in that thing?” his aunt asked.
A life, and memories of other lives. Hidden inside objects and matter and waves.
Reboot, by TheQuietWings
Five Nights at Freddy’s
Glamrock Freddy & Gregory, Michael Afton & The Crying Child
general
15m 54s
Are you sure it is necessary to boot in [Safe Mode]? Y/N
Icicles (don’t soften when they die), by Taliax
Deltarune
Noelle Holiday/Susie
teen and up
8m 47s
Sweat beaded on Susie's forehead as she brought the tip of her axe to Noelle’s finger.
The ring dug in its thorns.
Noelle and Susie's unseen conversation in the Weird Route.
Rot, by dearfriendicanfly
Disco Elysium
Kim Kitsuragi
mature
15m 4s
INLAND EMPIRE — They opened him up and found nothing but the rot that ate up everything he was. And then they left the empty shell of him behind.
VOLTA DO MAR [Challenging: Success] — Don’t think about that. Think of music shaking your ribcage. Think of a steering wheel under your palms.
HALF LIGHT — Your red, red palms.
Night one. Kim Kitsuragi has a nightmare.
Kitsuragi shuffle, by laughingpineapple
Disco Elysium
Harry Du Bois/Kim Kitsuragi
general
30m 8s
A Saturday in Jamrock. See the sights. Blend in with the locals. Just a pleasant day out ahead of the transfer, with no hidden hopes, none whatsoever. Kim Kitsuragi doesn’t do hope.
let’s spend the future talking about the past, by godsontheradio
Disco Elysium
Klaasje Amandou/Ruby
mature
11m 4s
Ruby helps an on-the-run Klaasje dye her hair. What happens next is frustrating and inconclusive.
La Muerte Pálida (The Pale Death), by Lepak
Disco Elysium
Paledriver, background Klaasje/Ruby
teen and up
14m 52s
The world hides you in her fog skirts. You row until you can no longer see land, til even its shadow has been swallowed and you’re drifting alone, the last person left alive in Elysium. Or perhaps the first ever made, floating in a wooden womb, amniotic fluid dewing on your thin coat.
The Paledriver reminisces.
Even Disco, Baby (12 one-shots), by dearfriendicanfly
Disco Elysium
Harry & Smoker on the Balcony, Harry/Kim Kitsuragi, Harry & Judit Minot, Cindy the Skull & Harry, Annette & Harry, Harry & Dora Ingerlund, Harry & Tommy Le Homme, Harry & La Revacholière
teen and up
2hr 8m 15s in total
A collection of dialogue excerpts that needed a home. Originally posted to even-disco-baby on tumblr, archived here.
He’s A Goldmine, Baby, by Red
Disco Elysium
Harry Du Bois/Kim Kitsuragi
explicit
41m 19s
Ok, so getting pissed on wasn't always a kink of yours.
Now, however, it has definitely become a thing. Problem is, you don't know your mega-cool boyfriend will be down for it. No need to ruin a good thing. Best keep this to yourself, champ.
On sex paperwork, ordinary life, love... and, well. Piss, of course.
Poems for my head’s country, by laughingpineapple
Disco Elysium
Harry Du Bois & Skills
teen and up
6m 50s
Far away, the pale – le territoire, the great adversary, the western plain – roars into nothingness. Here and now, Harry finds a book in his apartment, a trace of his old life. Here and now, Harry finds a book in his apartment, a trace of his old life. Here and now, Harry finds a book-
Blood Like Wine, by Aria
The Mechanisms
Jonny d’Ville/Gunpowder Tim
explicit
16m 35s
When Jonny said it, he didn't even really mean anything by it. He was running his mouth, paying more attention to the way it made Tim thrash under him than the words he was saying. Jonny leant forward, digging his fingernails into Tim's shoulder blades, and said, low and vicious, "I want to eat your heart."
Splat, by nevermindgrantaire
Disco Elysium
Cindy the Skull & Cunoesse
teen and up
25m 43s
There’s a face, though, peering over the fence with eyes like scuttling black beetles. Topped with a matted thatch of red hair and a green knitted beanie hat. Red eyes and red nose, lines under the eyes that just don’t look right on a kid so young. It’s that girl- Cindy doesn’t know her name. The skinny little thing, all hunched and defensive, hackles raised. She clings to her friend like he’s a shield and normally she’s screaming slurs at anything that moves. It’s unnerving, seeing her quiet like this. Cindy casts an eye around the yard, towards the shed, looking for the girl’s persistent shadow.
Cuno joins the RCM. Cunoesse gets left behind. Cindy wants to help.
A wreath of reeds, by laughingpineapple
Disco Elysium
Steban the Student Communist & Insulindian Phasmid
teen and up
9m 27s
Steban, touch grass. Grass, touch Steban.
trial run, by Red
Disco Elysium
Harry Du Bois/Kim Kitsuragi
explicit
34m 59s
Your mouth keeps moving. "You're so desperate, Kim. Trying to ride my fucked-up dick..."
Kim coughs, and shoots you a look.
"I thought my opinion on your dick was clear by now."
Possession, by Red
Disco Elysium
Harry Du Bois/Kim Kitsuragi
explicit
14m 19s
"Disgusting," Kim breathes, smearing his thumb through his spit, rubbing it into your skin.
Mine, that touch says. You close your eyes, dizzy, faint from his love.
A beast in the fog, by laughingpineapple
Disco Elysium
Harry Du Bois/Kim Kitsuragi
teen and up
13m 23s
The lieutenant knows how to fend off the loneliness of the empty road. But the air is empty, too, and the coast is gone.
Delirium, by randomisedmongoose
Disco Elysium
Harry Du Bois
mature
4m 50s
After the tribunal. Harry dreams.
Poem 53, by dearfriendicanfly
Disco Elysium
Harry Du Bois & Harry Du Bois
general
5m 57s
From the collection “Poems For My Head’s Country.” Annotations by Harry Du Bois.
(For/Inspired by laughingpineapple)
flight paths of migratory birds, by Ptolemia
Disco Elysium
Klaasje Amandou/Ruby
mature
29m 45s
Ruby and Klaasje do take that road trip, after all.
The Orchard, by liesmyth
Good Omens
Aziraphale/Crowley
mature
19m 22s
Crowley eats an apple, tempts an angel, and gets more than he bargained for.
Something Bigger Than The Sky (3/6 chapters), by Taliax
Deltarune
Spamton/Swatch
teen and up
1hr 13m 46s
Swatch's purpose is to serve the Queen. Spamton's purpose is to make deals. By nature, any other passions between them are disposable.
(Betrayal still hurts.)
do you have to call it a relationship?, by yewlojee
The Murderbot Diaries
Murderbot & Dr. Ratthi
general
13m 51s
Ratthi stops at the closed door, and sends a message. I would like to talk about relationships.
There is a pronounced pause. Is this some kind of reverse psychology shit where you are trying to get me to not talk to you actually?
an experiment in trust, by MercurialFeet
The Murderbot Diaries
ART & Three
teen and up
22m 53s
Three decides it wants to try something. The Perihelion has a slightly more than scientific interest in the results.
#I have multiple podfics in progress right now but it is in fact December 31st!#so this is what I did this year!#podfic#the magnus archives#disco elysium#fnaf#deltarune#the mechanisms#good omens#the murderbot diaries#430planets
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Shiba Inu (SHIB) is now trading 92% below October 2021’s all-time high, leading many investors to ponder: Is the coin officially dead?
With no positive momentum in sight and the price nearing breaking key support levels, sentiment is becoming increasingly bearish.
Meanwhile, a new meme token called Meme Kombat (MK) has emerged, looking to steal some of Shiba Inu’s former glory.
Shiba Inu’s Price Continues Dropping as Key Support Level Looms
SHIB is hovering around the $0.0000068 level, having posted three bearish daily closes in a row.
The token’s price has broken out of the nearby trading range to the downside, looking likely to return to support at $0.0000065.
SHIB is now well below the 20-day and 50-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), signaling deteriorating momentum in the near term.
However, indicators like the Relative Strength Index (RSI), sitting at a value of 33, show that Shiba Inu is close to becoming oversold, raising the possibility of some minor relief soon.
Longer-term success for SHIB will hinge on price sustaining above the nearby support level and using it as a floor to reclaim the 20-day and 50-day EMAs.
Given Shiba Inu’s notorious volatility, one tweet from a well-known influencer or a brand-new use case could spark a turnaround – meaning many traders are waiting on the sidelines for signs of a potential recovery.
SHIB Price Decline Linked to Shibarium Development Delays
One of the main reasons for Shiba Inu’s recent decline is frustrations around the delayed development of the Shibarium layer-2 network.
Shibarium was intended to bolster the SHIB ecosystem and enable increased token burns, yet the slow pace of validator additions has raised security concerns.
Lead developer Shytoshi Kusama has asked for patience, stating that the team prioritizes safety over speed.
However, without significant burns for Shibarium and a lack of details on when these will start, investors are beginning to lose confidence.
This lack of clarity on Shibarium’s future has shaken trust and resulted in a broad sell-off of SHIB tokens.
Emerging Coin Meme Kombat Attracts Global Attention & Hits $450k Funding Milestone
While Shiba Inu may look doomed, not all meme coins are experiencing a bearish wave.
New project Meme Kombat (MK) looks to bring a unique gameplay experience to the meme coin space, boasting Play-to-Earn (P2E) and staking features centred around AI-powered meme battles.
Users can place wagers on these battles using MK, Meme Kombat’s native token, and earn 112% APY by locking up their tokens in the staking pool.
Beyond the gameplay and staking, Meme Kombat has several other factors working in its favor, including an experienced founding team led by fully-doxxed CEO Matt Whiteman.
Additionally, an independent smart contract audit from Coinsult provides investors with assurance that the project is being built securely from the ground up.
With over $450,000 raised through its presale so far, Meme Kombat is off to a strong start, attracting attention from investors worldwide.
MK tokens are on offer for $1.667 through the presale, which is now almost halfway to its $1 million funding goal.
Several influencers have noted Meme Kombat’s progress, including YouTuber Michael Wrubel, who told his 310,000 subscribers that he is “bullish” on MK.
If Meme Kombat can successfully deliver the platform and meet the targets outlined on its ambitious roadmap, there’s a growing belief it could achieve mainstream status, much like SHIB.
As such, crypto enthusiasts will be keeping a close eye on this up-and-coming project in the months ahead.
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#AHL#AmericanHockeyLeague#CHL#CincinnatiCyclone#CincinnatiCyclones#CornellUniversity#ECHL#EdmontonOilers#LosAngelesKings#NationalHockeyLeague#RochesterAmericans#UniversityofMinnesota-Duluth
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It’s Tuesday. If you sometimes beat yourself up about how you handled a past relationship (any kind of relationship, not just romantic), welcome to human life. You’ll be doing that until you die.
#Nightcall by @Kavinsky teaches us that the verses of a song can be identical (essentially copied and pasted) and people won’t notice as long as they’re spaced far enough apart and the song is catchy enough. It took about 10 or so streams of “Nightcall” before I realized that the verses are identical. This idea of having identical verses (with maybe a tiny bit of variation) would be utilized for “Your Bed” and some songs on GoBoy 4, 6 and 7, the most recent being “Punching Bag (Song 119).”
Another popular song that everyone has heard that utilizes this structuring idea is “I Hate Everything About You” by @threedaysgraceofficial.
For “Your Bed,” the goal was to have a melodic hook playing during every section of the song. In my mind, a “melodic hook” is a simple melody that loops multiple times in a row. You can skip to any random moment in the song, and a melodic hook will be playing. This writing style would be attempted with every song on GoBoy 4 and 5.
All in all, “Your Bed” is a simple song that will often be overlooked, but it influenced GoBoy’s writing style more than most GoBoy songs.
Throughout GoBoy 3 and 4, a lesson was relearned after a seven-year hiatus: listeners can sense any hesitancy in your voice. Confidence is important in a recording booth. This rediscovery would lead me to experiment with drinking while recording GoBoy 6. What results would liquid courage bring? Just an experiment (excerpt from post 50).
The production quality in this song is kinda meh. My vocals do not have enough strength. I should have belted out the vocals, similar to the singing style of GoBoy 6 and 7 (excerpt from post 50).
In April, 2021, almost all of GoBoy 3, 4 and 5‘s songs were restructured to be under 3 minutes (preferably under 2m 30s), including this song. In an attempt to increase replay value in this streaming era, most of GoBoy’s songs are now purposely around 2m 20s (excerpts from post 38).
A bass boost was added to songs 37-99 in Nov, 2021, while I was stuck at home with covid. As a result, this song feels more powerful. The bass boost isn’t a simple plugin nonchalantly added to each song. It’s a process that took about 3.5 hours per song, or one whole month to complete all songs. Admittedly, I pushed the bass boost a little too far for some of them. The bass in some songs sounds like a freaking earthquake (unnecessarily pronounced low frequencies 20 - 50 Hz). Might dial that back someday. The bass boost was also applied to every song on GoBoy 6 and beyond (excerpt from post 37).
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Police emails urge 'serious discussion' about the future of Panda Game
The Ottawa Police Service raised the need for a "serious discussion" about the panda game's future in the aftermath of a second straight year of rowdy street parties, according to emails obtained by the CBC through an access to information request. Deputy Chief Steve Bell, then interim chief of the OPS, voiced his concerns in an email sent to the mayor, city councilors, and several high-ranking city officials shortly after midnight on Sunday, Oct. 2, the day after this year's game between the Carleton Ravens and the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.
"This post-game activity was completely unnecessary and totally unacceptable," Bell wrote. "Sadly, it raises the need for a serious discussion about the future of this university event."
In a new release later that morning, the OPS stressed the dangerous and sometimes criminal activity of some participants but did not question whether the game should be canceled in the future.
Police said they arrested seven people during raucous post-game celebrations, during which one partygoer was videotaped dangling from a street light several meters above a crowd. Charges included public intoxication and mischief. Police also issued 88 tickets for open alcohol and fined two drivers $2,000 for noisy mufflers.
Anticipating similar celebrations to those that swept through the city's Sandy Hill neighborhood after the 2021 Panda Game, when revelers filled the streets and flipped a car on Russell Avenue, police vowed to take a "zero-tolerance approach" to any illegal behavior after this year's game.
Kim Ayotte, general manager of emergency and protective services with the City of Ottawa, told CBC in an email that the city has "engaged in conversations with partners" about events that took place after the 2022 Panda Game, as well as a pre-game tailgate party. Ayotte did not indicate whether those conversations contemplated the Panda Game's future.
Ottawa police, whose current chief, Eric Stubbs, was hired weeks after the game, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
CBC Ottawa filed the access to information request shortly after the Panda Game and received more than 100 pages of emails, mostly operational updates sent by police to city leaders. In an email sent around 3:30 p.m. on game day, police notified city officials that "there were a couple individuals who went for a swim in the canal" but had since exited the water.
In multiple reports, the police touted the comprehensiveness and success of their own crowd management efforts. "We developed a very large, expensive, and resource-heavy plan to ensure public safety during this Carleton University and University of Ottawa event," Bell wrote. "It was good that we did." This evening, our officers and our colleagues from the OPP were called upon to manage large, hostile, and belligerent crowds that refused to leave the area.
A report prepared for the Ottawa Police Services Board estimated the total cost of policing the 2022 panda game at between $300,000 and $500,000.
Despite the positive reviews from the OPS, some Sandy Hill residents were frustrated with what they saw as a lack of police action. Robert Reid, who lives near the epicenter of the celebrations, estimated the crowd occupying an intersection near his home was between 500 and 1,000 people at its peak.
He said some drunk and belligerent members of the crowd shoved, physically assaulted, or threw objects at his neighbors. Reid said the crowd dispersed quickly whenever police advanced, but officers rarely did so. "There's nothing like a row of 50 cops sitting there looking at them and not saying anything to give them the impression that what they're doing is fine," he said.
In addition to police communications, CBC's access to information request turned up three emails from residents calling on then-Mayor Jim Watson to cancel the game. "As a city taxpayer, it pains me to think that I am paying the policing costs for a big rip-roaring party by those who pay no taxes," wrote one resident, whose name was redacted. "The City of Ottawa is going to hell in a handbasket."
The Panda Game has attracted controversy throughout its long history, which includes brawls, break-ins, and commando-style raids by students to liberate the trophy.
Ayotte said the city has not yet received an event application for the 2023 game. A spokesperson for the University of Ottawa said in an email that the school is in the "preliminary stages" of planning next year's event. This year, Carleton University's "student experience office" organized a post-game cleanup effort to clear debris left by the crowds in the Glebe and Old Ottawa South.
On its website, Carleton quotes an assessment of $42 million in economic benefit that can be attributed to the Panda Game. "We recognize and understand the importance of being a good and responsible neighbor," said a spokesperson for the school. "Consultations with our community partners are ongoing."
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I posted 7,592 times in 2022
That's 1,209 more posts than 2021!
29 posts created (0%)
7,563 posts reblogged (100%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@kd-heart
@vaspider
@drownedinlight
@autisticharrywells
@darknessandterrorandkittens
I tagged 2,058 of my posts in 2022
#cats - 300 posts
#btvs - 143 posts
#dogs - 134 posts
#leverage - 118 posts
#stranger things - 102 posts
#harrisco - 85 posts
#batfam - 77 posts
#sandman - 75 posts
#the untamed - 59 posts
#muppets - 50 posts
Longest Tag: 116 characters
#it is impossible to underestimate the amount of time we spend correcting bizarro claims from religious conservatives
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Flash (TV 2014)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Cisco Ramon/Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells
Characters: Cisco Ramon, Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells, Jesse "Quick" Wells
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Just so much sugary sweetness, Santa!Cisco, Christmas
Summary:
Harry gets a special visitor for Christmas.
7 notes - Posted December 6, 2022
#4
I'll be honest. I don't want diverse artists, actors, writers, etc, because people need to see themselves reflected in the world around them. I mean, I believe they do need that, but that's not why I want it. I want it because it means more varied stories and that benefits everyone, including me. I'm selfish. I want more stories. I want ALL the stories.
8 notes - Posted April 29, 2022
#3
The weirdest thing about getting older is that even as your knees get creaky, your back unreliable and your stomach refuses to deal with the junk food you could live once live off of, you don't feel like an adult. Right up until you get a front row seat for teenage social drama. And then it's like "Nope, definitely an adult. Thank goodness."
61 notes - Posted August 14, 2022
#2
Mental image of Damian in preschool or 1st grade. Little kid age. And they're going around the circle saying what their parents do.
"My father is a laawer."
"My father is a doctor."
Damian: "My father is an embarrassment."
62 notes - Posted February 16, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
One thing I've realized during the pandemic is that NTs are actually pretty rigid. Despite the fact that a certain rigidity of thinking and need for routine are often mentioned as hallmarks of neurodivergence (most often for people on the spectrum, but it does come up occasionally for other things like ADHD, anxiety, etc), the antimask crowd is overwhelmingly NT.
Among ND people I know, the response to masks has varied. Some really like them, because they don't need to spend a ton of energy thinking about their facial expressions. Some have basically gone "I don't like them, but whatever. It is what it is." And a small few have had sensory issues they can't figure out a work around for, so they just do curbside pickup and avoid situations where a mask is needed as much as possible.
And when you think about it, it's not very surprising. ND people, whatever our individual issues, are pretty used to having to move through a world not designed for us. Why would a pandemic be any different?
Meanwhile, we got to witness NTs having meltdowns because they couldn't get a haircut. The pandemic had interrupted their routine, and they couldn't handle it. For the first time, they were living in a world that wasn't designed around their desires.
So apparently rigidity and a need for routine aren't a ND thing, so much as what happens when human beings live in a society that isn't designed around their preferences.
16,940 notes - Posted February 12, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
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Inside of me, there are two wolves...
Good times at the post-race awards and breakfast
One wolf is only around when I am running a long race. This wolf says that long races don't make me happy and aren't fun and that I should not succumb to the peer pressure that is the only thing that makes me enter these 100km and 100 mile events. This wolf goes on vacation at the end of these races and does not make an appearance until the next long race starts. The other wolf is the only wolf that is around most of the time. This wolf says that a breakthrough is right around the corner. It tells me that the joy that will come when I finally have a good long race will be worth all the drudgery of slogging through races like the 2021 Bear 100 and the 2022 Never Summer 100k to get to the aid station where I drop and then wait in a chair, tediously, for the ride back to wherever I parked my car.
This second wolf has a lot of advantages. It knows that in other areas of life, I have had success from slogging through unpleasant and tedious drudgery. It knows that I can be very patient, and it knows how to use that fact against me.
But the first wolf also has its own advantages. It knows that a lot of the joy I've had in life is because of the decisions I made to get off the treadmill I was on, and to do something different. It knows that I have a lot of scorn for constantly beating your head against a wall or trying to jump through hoops that social convention puts in front of you, and it knows how to use that fact against me.
So here I am after another long race that I have to judge as unsuccessful. I'm listening to the second wolf, and not foreswearing any more long races, but remembering that the first wolf made a lot of good points as I was doing 50-minute miles and laying another egg at the Never Summer 100k.
One of the best ways of describing Never Summer briefly is, it was about twelve hours of nausea and abdominal cramps with an overlying six hours in the last half of very low energy. But apart from that, it was incredibly beautiful and I'm glad I did it.
I started about three rows back from the front so I could wish Niall and Stephen and Meghan and Mario a good race. I felt great. The first few miles was spent drifting back to a reasonable position in the middle of the field, waiting for LeRoy and Chantal and Jesse to move ahead of me as was reasonable and prudent. That happened near the top of the first climb and things were looking good. Then then on the first downhill, my lower GI tract started cramping up and giving me nausea and threatening diarrhea. I stopped halfway down for my first trip into the woods, putting me five or ten minutes behind. Everything was feeling fine on uphills, but every downhill was pure suffering that could only be ameliorated by slowing down. By the time I got to the Diamond aid station at mile 20 I'd been in the woods twice and in a state parks toilet once, for a total of three unscheduled breaks. I was now a lot further back in the pack than I'd wanted. But I know that not everything stays the same during these races, and that if the GI distress passed and I could run the downhills it still might turn out to be a good day. It was nice seeing Megan and Chris and Maggie and Yiran in the aid station, and I left feeling optimistic.
Going up Diamond Peak was amazing. Everyone should do it, preferably more than once.
The ridge descent off of Diamond Peak (📸 Megan Hetzel)
Descending off Diamond onto the long tundra-covered ridge, the intestines were still saying 'no' to jogging. Walking felt fine, but this was a running event so I was not happy. I did see some hikers and some of them had very good-looking dogs with them, so this part of the race was nice in some important ways. By the time I left the ridge and got to Montgomery aid station, the overall situation had not improved. But now, thanks to the cramping and nausea, I was down a bit on hydration and nutrition and it felt very hot with the sun high overhead. This equates to saying that things were worse. During the long downhill to Ruby Jewel I was passed by the rump of the pack. I still knew things could get better but now there were cutoffs on the horizon so I couldn't really wait forever. I thought about dropping at Ruby Jewel, but the vibes at that aid station were bad. It was hot and it seemed like some volunteers were stressing about getting all the troublesome dropped runners out of there after the cutoffs.
The first one was the Diamond Peak climb
After thinking about it for a while, I left for Clear Lake. My voyage there was frankly spectacular. I couldn't run downhill because of the cramps whose cause is still unclear, and now I couldn't really go uphill either, because of dehydration and lack of adequate nutrition. The climb to Kelly Lake felt kind of comical even at the time: stagger up about ten feet of elevation gain, rest with hands on knees. Another ten feet of climb and sit on rock. Occasionally watch another poor soul stagger past me. Entertain myself by looking at the amazing flowers and spectacular view. Keep doing this until Kelly Lake and then shuffle, slowly, downhill as the light faded. I wondered if I could get to Clear Lake aid station without a headlamp. I did but just barely. Here I knew that finishing the race was not an option. My choice was to continue pulling 50-minute miles out and back to Clear Lake then get timed out, or to drop without walking to the lake in the dark. I don't mind a little suffering but I usually like it to be for a reason, and the first wolf was telling me all the reasons why getting timed out at Clear Lake was infinitely dumber than just dropping, because there was no way I was going to Canadian aid station on foot in either case. So after waiting thirty minutes to be sure nothing would magically change, I pulled the plug. Another tedious wait in a chair and a ride back to the start line. Thank you to volunteer Steve for the ride.
I managed to drive back to our airbnb only getting lost once, and to sleep for about four hours. When I woke up I felt great. I still do.
The second wolf is now back. It says I should do the Bear 100 in about seven weeks because what are the chances that this unexplained GI problem will happen again? It never happened before, so the odds are very low. And if it was due to elevation (a possibility) that won't be a problem at the mostly 8,000-9000 foot Bear. A very reasonable wolf. The first wolf is on vacation again, so it seems less reasonable. The pattern repeats.
Let's do this again! (📸 Megan Hetzel)
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Tick Tock, Tick Tock... Countdown to Summer Tick Safety
By Steve Yergeau, Rutgers Cooperative Extension
Originally posted on the Earth Day, Every Day News Blast
As the weather warms up and people venture outside more this summer, everyone should be mindful of ticks and the potential of tick-borne diseases. Tick-borne diseases are not spread between two people but rely on ticks for transmission.
If you know you have been bitten by a tick, it is important to watch for symptoms and talk to your health-care provider. Early treatment can be highly effective. For more information on tick-borne diseases, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at www.cdc.gov/ticks/tickbornediseases/.
Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease and has a high incidence rate in New Jersey (confirmed cases per 100,000 people). Lyme disease is carried by the blacklegged or deer tick and about 50% of deer ticks carry the Lyme bacteria. The nymphs (teenager stage) are more likely to transmit Lyme because people don’t notice them due to their small size. The nymphs are most active from mid-May to early July in New Jersey.
Image from ocean.njaes.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tick-one-pager-2-1-21.pdf
Tick Protection
It is important to take precautions as the weather warms up and ticks that transmit diseases are most active. When outdoors, be sure to cover up; wear long, solid, and light-colored clothes with pants tucked into socks. Also, apply Environmental Protection Agency registered insect/tick repellent on exposed skin and clothing according to the instructions on the product label. Products containing DEET, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus may be used on skin. Permethrin should only be used on clothing and outdoor gear. Follow all product label instructions.
Tick Removal
After being outside, be sure to check yourself for ticks. This includes checking your clothing and making sure to wash any clothes and checking your hair and any other exposed part of your body. Also, if you have pets, check your pets for any ticks.
If a tick is found, safely remove the tick using tweezers or a tick key. The goal is to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and to pull it up with even pressure. Try to remove the entire tick.
Some Rutgers Cooperative Extension offices provide free tick identification. If you find a tick, place the tick in a sealed bag or container with a moist towel. For more information, visit njaes.rutgers.edu/county/ to contact your local Rutgers Cooperative Extension office about their services and if they can help you get your tick identified.
Resources and Further Reading on Ticks
Rowe, Amy. 2022. ‘Ticks and Lyme Disease’ (video).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAlh5DPk1rE&list=PLKx8NLAujm_lpOimXWyHxPD613H7HjZKd&index=20
Centers for Disease Control. 2021. ‘Ticks’ (website).
www.cdc.gov/ticks/index.html
University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s ‘Insect Pests, Ticks, and Plant Diseases’ (fact sheet).
httpsextension.umaine.edu/ipm/ipddl/publications/5108e/
Rutgers Cooperative Extension’s ‘Prevent Tick Bites: Prevent Lyme Disease’ (fact sheet).
njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/publication.php?pid=FS443
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Sullivan King b2b Wooli 6-11-2022 at Banc of California Stadium live set
This is a 40-minute audio recording of Sullivan King b2b Wooli June 11, 2022, at Banc of California Stadium, part of Excision's The Stadium experience. The set began at 8:00 pm.
Rave Tapes · Sullivan King b2b Wooli 6-11-2022 @ Banc of California Stadium live set
A little more than a day passed since the Excision show last Saturday at Banc of California Stadium. My head is still spinning. The bass and lights continue to pulse in my mind. Despite wearing earplugs for most of the evening, my ears continue to ring. Even when I try to block everything out, the inner voice in my head is actually an unrelenting stream of bone-crushing beats, a residual effect of attending last night's show.
I still consider myself in the tail-end afterglow of EDC. Barely a month out from EDC Vegas 2022, I'm still feeling the PLUR vibes, which in no small measure is being sustained by this playlist of edc live sets, recorded by yours truly.
When tickets went on sale for Excision back in March, I predicted I would want some kind of post-EDC fix. Seeing Excision and crew back in LA, at a venue I like, seemed very appealing at the time. In retrospect I'm so glad I pulled the trigger for tickets. This show provided the spirit boost I was hoping for.
Out of all the sets from this event, I will likely share only this one. Boogie T b2b Dirt Monkey was solid. Subtronics was predictably excellent, although the set wasn't too different than Subtronics at EDC Las Vegas 2022. Excision, the undisputed master of the genre, gave us a perfect set, although I hesitate sharing the recording. Back in 2018 my recording of his EDC detox set got flagged by his management team and was subsequently removed from SoundCloud and YouTube. Once I know an artist's label or management team actively goes after unauthorized recordings, I won't bother posting later sets by that artist. My goal is to share extraordinary sets to help promote artists and give fans a way to enjoy the music after the fact. My intention is not to piss off artists or their handlers.
The standout set for me was Sullivan King b2b Wooli. I had seen Wooli at EDC Las Vegas 2021 and knew he could throw down. Seeing Sullivan King last night was a first for me. But OMG these two together unleashed a massive set! It was dense with super-heavy beats but balanced with periodic respites of tinkling pianos and soothing female vocals. This contrast of hard and soft seems to be the preferred method nowadays. Sometimes it's a little cheesy – it's the reason I can't fully appreciate mega stars like Illenium and Seven Lions. But the rock-hard ferocity of Sullivan's and Wooli's selections almost required occasional light-hearted pauses, to give the crowd a moment to come up for air. A set without such breaks would be too relentless, too aggressive. Anyway, the musical breaks make the intensity of the hard parts all the more satisfying.
The sound quality of the recording is decent. For this show I was not positioned in the optimal spot, which is in the middle of the floor, somewhere around 50 meters from the stage. For this show I was in the first row of bleachers, off to the side, about halfway back. There are definite tradeoffs I have to consider when buying tickets. Obviously cost is a factor. I believe GA floor tickets were more expensive than seats in the stands. The other factor is my comfort level. When I'm on the floor, I have to hold up my device as high as possible over the heads of the crowd. At EDC, this isn't a problem because I can mount my device on a totem. But at normal venues where flags and totems aren't allowed, I have to rely on my arms to get the device high enough, which results in fatigue and sore arms. For some shows I am willing to make the sacrifice. But for whatever reason, this show I opted to be in the stadium seating. This means the sound quality is good, but it's not as high quality as some other recordings I've made.
So my first decision was whether I wanted to share this set at all. If it's not near perfect, maybe it's not worthy of posting. But in this case, the set is too good, too strong, I couldn't not share it. Throughout the recording, you can hear the audience screaming uncontrollably. A couple girls sitting near me kept losing their sh*t – completely understandably – during the peak drops. But their squeals were indicative of the unbridled extasy this set caused among the crowd. Numerous times I checked in with the people dancing around me. We all agreed the set was going hard af.
So here it is, for your consideration and enjoyment. Hopefully you'll find the quality acceptable. Next time I'll have to think hard about getting down on the floor and punishing my arms. For another set like this, I'll sacrifice personal comfort – and a few more dollars – for the sake of capturing even better sound quality. I've done it before, I'll do it again.
Listen to Sullivan King on Apple Music!
Listen to Wooli on Apple Music!
Follow Sullivan King on Spotify!
Follow Wooli on Spotify!
Follow Sullivan King on Facebook!
Follow Wooli on Facebook!
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Embracer Reportedly Might Close Free Radical Design, Its Reformed TimeSplitters Team
New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/embracer-reportedly-might-close-free-radical-design-its-reformed-timesplitters-team/
Embracer Reportedly Might Close Free Radical Design, Its Reformed TimeSplitters Team
Publisher Deep Silver, which is owned by Embracer Group, announced in 2021 that it was reforming TimeSplitters developer Free Radical Design to begin development on a new entry in the series. Now, a new report from VideoGamesChronicle says this reformed Free Radical Design could be facing a complete shutdown, adding to Embracer’s continued restructuring that has resulted in the closure of studios like Saints Row developer Volition Games.
Yesterday, Embracer COO Egil Strunke announced that he had resigned from the position to launch a new game company, as reported by PC Gamer, amidst Embracer’s rough year. Today, VGC reports that people familar with the matters of Free Radical Design say the studio has been part of an evaluation within Embracer and that the studio could close as a result. The publication writes that Plaion, which is the Embracer division that runs Free Radical Design, must consult employees at least 30 days in advance before layoffs per U.K. law. That law is likely how Free Radical Design employees have learned about a potential closure.
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VGC notes that on LinkedIn and social media, at least 15 Free Radical Design employee have said they’re looking for new employment within the last 24 hours. Game Informer has reached out to Embracer to ask for confirmation and more details surrounding Free Radical Design’s potential closure, and will update this story if more information is learned.
As noted by VGC, while the studio could close, that’s not yet guaranteed. It could be acquired by a third-party interested in the team, or simply kept open with a change of mind by Embracer.
Embracer-owned publisher Deep Silver, who also published this year’s Dead Island 2, announced in 2021 that it had reformed the original TimeSplitters developer, Free Radical Design, to create a new TimeSplitters game. This new version of Free Radical Design features key members of the original team, including founders Steve Ellis and David Doak, both of whom worked on games like GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark while previously employed at Rare.
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The first iteration of Free Radical Design was purchased by Crytek in 2009 and then rebranded as Crytek UK. However, it was shutdown in 2014, with much of the staff moving to Dead Island 2 developer Deep Silver Dambuster Studio, which also developed Homefront: The Revolution.
Deep Silver owners Koch Media purchased the TimeSplitters IP in 2018, officially making Free Radical Design a Deep Silver studio in the process, all of which are now under the Embracer Group umbrella after Embracer purchased Koch Media in 2018.
Free Radical Design was set to develop the fourth TimeSplitters game in the series, but now its future as a studio remains unclear.
The potential Free Radical Design closure joins an unfortunately ever-growing list of layoffs affecting studios this year. Yesterday, Ubisoft laid off more than 100 employees, and last week, roughly 100 employees were laid off at Destiny 2 developer Bungie.
In January, Microsoft laid off 10,000 employees amidst its ongoing $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which it completed last month.
In August, Striking Distance Studios, the team behind last year’s The Callisto Protocol, laid off more than 30 employees, and that same month, Mass Effect and Dragon Age developer BioWare laid off 50 employees, including long-time studio veterans. The following month, in September, Immortals of Aveum developer Ascendant Studios laid off roughly 45% of its staff.
Just last month month, The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog has laid off at least 25 employees, and Telltale Games has gone through layoffs as well, although an actual number of laid-off employees has not yet been revealed. And in late October, Dreams developer Media Molecule laid off 20 employees.
The hearts of the Game Informer staff are with everyone affected by these layoffs and those at Free Radical Design.
[Source: VideoGamesChronicle]
#000#Activision#billion#Blizzard#Dark#Design#details#Developer#development#dog#employed#employees#employment#Features#Future#game#games#how#it#law#layoffs#LinkedIn#list#mass#media#members#Microsoft#mind#notes#PC
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