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dlwritings · 4 years

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Call Him Hers | Dean Winchester | pt 6

series masterlist found here

general masterlist found here

pairing - Mark-of-Cain!Dean x plus-size!reader word count - 2,769 warnings - language, someone is an asshole to (Y/N)

(A/N) - find my Office reference lol

summary - (Y/N), Charlie, and the Winchesters are headed to the reunion! With a new friend and a hot outfit, (Y/N) is feeling pretty optimistic. Like Dean says, the night’s just gonna be fun. What could go wrong?

(previous) (next)

Charlie insisted on (Y/N) and Dean getting ready separately, just like she had the night they went out to the bars. (Y/N) knew now that Charlie was right and she couldn’t wear jeans and a flannel, so she reluctantly asked her what else she packed for her. “Well, your school colors are blue and white, right?” she asked. (Y/N) nodded. “Well, then I got you this.” She went in her bag and pulled out a short blue wrap dress with spaghetti straps and a deep neckline. (Y/N) clenched her jaw and raised her eyebrows.

“Seriously?” she said.

“You still don’t trust me?” Charlie said back. “Even after how Dean looked at you the other night?” (Y/N) groaned and surrendered, knowing she was right, as usual. She went to the bathroom to change, curl her hair, and add a bit of intensity to her makeup. She had only been in there for all of ten minutes when there was a knock at the door. She opened it, one hand still on her curling iron, to reveal Charlie. She immediately started wolf whistling at her, gawking and pretending to drool like she was a piece of meat.

“Get out before I suffocate you with hairspray,” (Y/N) said to her. Charlie blew her a kiss.

“Sam texted,” she said. “Dean’s gonna be ready in twenty. Me and Sam have to head out to get ready for the catering thing.”

“Okay,” she said. “Leave the door unlocked for Dean then. I’ll probably still be getting ready when he gets here.”

“Okay,” Charlie said with a nod. “Good luck tonight.” (Y/N) furrowed her eyebrows.

“Yeah,” she said slowly. “You too?”

“You know what I mean,” Charlie said.

“I really don’t,” (Y/N) said back.

Charlie groaned in annoyance. “If you don’t make a move on Dean, I’m gonna make one for you.” (Y/N) held her hands up with a short shake of her head.

“What does that even mean?”

Charlie opened her mouth to say something only to close it again.

“Right,” (Y/N) said with a slight chuckle. “Go. I’ll see you at the school.”

Once (Y/N) was alone, she grabbed her phone to play some music as she got ready. She had a playlist called Dean Approved that she would play when Dean was in the room. It wasn’t that she wasn’t a fan of the same music he was, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t have some Demi Lovato marathons from time to time. But if Dean walked in and heard her playing Cool for the Summer, she wasn’t sure he’d ever let her live it down.

She finished adding some curls to her hair and braiding a headband across her head with a few sections just as her favorite Night Ranger song, Sister Christian started to play. She bounced on the balls of her feet as she danced around the bathroom, singing along to the song.

“Motorin! What’s your price for flight? *na na na na na na* And finding Mr Right?”

“Really?” (Y/N) jumped out of her skin and turned around to see Dean. She hadn’t been looking in the mirror, too busy going through her makeup bag, which was why she hadn’t seen him walk in.

“What?” she asked once she caught her breath.

Dean laughed. “Na na na na na na?”

“I like to sing to the instrumental,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him when he mocked the way she mimicked the guitar tune.

She leaned over the counter a bit, trying to get closer to the mirror as she applied her eyeliner. Dean had to bite his lips just so he wouldn’t moan at the way the fabric hugged her ass. He knew if she bent over anymore, he’d have a perfect view of her underwear.

Unless she wasn’t wearing underwear.

“Well,” Dean said, clearing his throat. “You are boner-ific.”

He made the joke to get his mind off the truth behind it.

“Ew,” she said, scrunching her nose up with a grin as she looked at his reflection. “Please don’t ever say that to me again.”

Dean laughed. “I’m just saying. You look good.” She capped her eyeliner and turned to look at Dean. He must’ve known her school colors too, because he was wearing royal blue slacks that perfectly matched her dress, a white button-up dress shirt, and some brown dress shoes.

“Well,” she said, composing herself a bit and reaching out to brush her hand across his shoulder. “You don’t look too bad yourself.”

She passed Dean to leave the bathroom and saw Charlie left her a pair of shoes. They were gold, strappy heels, and she sighed as soon as she saw them. “If I have to kick any ass tonight in these heels,” she said, “I will not be happy.”

“Don’t worry,” Dean said. “Tonight’s just gonna be fun. I can feel it.”

“Oh you can feel it?” she repeated sarcastically. “Well then I’m ready.” Dean rolled his eyes at her with a grin and grabbed her hand.

“C’mon,” he said. “I’m ready to show off my smokin’ wife.”

“You know,” she said, “your positivity is really ruining my cynical mood.” Dean just laughed, and the two of them headed off to school.

On the drive over, they ran through their game plan. They had talked with Charlie and Sam, and they split up the targets amongst themselves to observe throughout the night. She’d keep an eye on Jennifer and Chris, Dean would watch Ryan and Jojo, Charlie would watch Danny, and Sam would look out for anyone else who might look suspicious. The other two suspects (Jamie and Natasha) weren’t at the reunion, so they were really banking on one of these five being their vamp.

(Y/N) couldn’t lie. After her whole interaction with Jennifer, she was feeling more comfortable about going to the reunion. Nicole and Stephanie were nice to talk to, and it looked like things between her and Jennifer weren’t as horrible as they once seemed. Now that she could actually relax about the whole event, she hoped she’d be able to achieve a little bit more in terms of the job.

She and Dean walked inside the school and were immediately met with loud music. They were playing all the tunes that were the biggest hits when she graduated in 2005. After only being there for 15 minutes, they heard Beverly Hills by Weezer, Sugar, We’re Goin Down by Fall Out Boy, and My Humps by The Black Eyed Peas. There were some similarities to her prom, except she was much happier and had the best looking man on her arm.

The two of them got some drinks and made their way through the gym, looking at all the photos and paraphernalia Jennifer had managed to get together. Just like she had told her earlier in the day, Jennifer had done an awesome job organizing the event. Her senior class picture was blown up and hanging on the wall, and there were some other blown up prints that were scattered throughout the room. She recognized some of the events: the homecoming football game, her senior prom, the school’s musical, and spirit week. Some people had a great high school experience.

“(Y/N)! Dean!”

They both turned around and saw Nicole and Stephanie sitting at a table, so they smiled and headed over. “(Y/N) you’re looking hot,” Nicole said as they sat down. “Dean, you’re a lucky man.” Dean smiled -though it didn’t meet his eyes- and nodded.

Sure, he was a lucky man, but only until this job was over.

“I know,” he said. (Y/N) cocked her head to the side and looked at him, silently trying to ask him if he was okay. He just leaned forward and placed a kiss to her lips. She was a little caught off guard, but she hid it well. She knew her cheeks turned pink as he pulled away. She took a large sip of her drink and smiled at Nicole and Stephanie.

“So this looks great, right?”

The four of them chatted for a long time. Jennifer and Alec came over at one point to join them, and they all praised her on how well it was turning out. Most other people didn’t pay them any attention, and (Y/N) truthfully didn’t mind. Dean at one point stepped away to get more food (in actuality, just to chat with Sam) and Nicole and Stephanie both gave her sweet smiles. “What?” she asked with a laugh. “Why’re you looking at me like that?”

“Okay,” Stephanie laughed, holding her hands up, “I may not be attracted to men, but even I’ll say it. Dean’s smokin’.”

“And the way he looks at you,” Nicole gushed. “God. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“You know,” (Y/N) said, gazing over at Dean, “Jennifer said the same thing. I just don’t see it.”

“Well,” Nicole said, “he only does it when you’re not looking. Sometimes he looks away like you’re two nervous teens and he doesn’t want to get caught. It’s completely endearing.”

As they were gazing over at Dean, (Y/N) caught a glimpse of Chris. He was looking around, and something about him was putting her off. When she saw him head for the exit, she excused herself from the table and casually went to follow him. She cursed her heels for clicking against the linoleum, and there was a part of her that was grateful when he left the school so her footsteps wouldn’t be as loud.

When Chris made his way down to the pool house, she felt her thigh holster just to make sure her knife was still where it needed to be. She couldn’t exactly carry a machete with her, so her knife soaked in vampire poison would have to do. She snuck into the pool house and grabbed her flashlight from her handbag, holding it up as she crept through the dark building. Rookie mistake, she thought, the minute something hard hit her over the head.

When Dean got back to the table, he was confused when (Y/N) wasn’t there. “Oh, I think she ran to the bathroom or something,” Nicole said with a wave of her hand. “She just stepped out, like, a minute ago.”

“Great,” Dean said. “Thanks.”

He left the gym, knowing the bathroom was probably the last place (Y/N) actually was. When he stepped out of the gym, he checked his phone and saw that he missed a text from her: Tailing Chris. Looks like pool house.

“Fuck,” Dean mumbled. He shot Sam and Charlie a quick text explaining what was happening and jogged down to the pool house.

He opened the door and walked in, keeping his flashlight off and his machete in hand, grateful he could hide the latter in his coat at the event. He knew she only had a knife with vampire poison, and he hoped she was able to survive with it.

Before he knew it, he was out cold.

She woke up tied to a pole in the pool house. Beside her, Dean was still unconscious. “Shit,” she mumbled to herself, fighting against the ropes she was tied with. “Dean.” She tried to speak loud enough to wake him up but quiet enough that whoever had captured her didn’t hear.

She heard someone come into the room and tensed, looking in the direction of the sound.

“How long have you been turned?” she asked as soon as Chris crept out of the shadows.

“Well,” he said sarcastically, tapping his finger against his chin, “how long has Amanda been missing?”

“Three weeks,” she answered.

“Then three weeks,” he said with a smile.

“How many are in your nest?” she asked. She was just trying to bide her time before Dean woke up and managed to get out his pocket knife and cut through his ropes. This was why she hated wearing dresses. No pockets for hiding tools!

“You really just want all my secrets, don’t you (Y/N)?” he asked with a grin.

“I guess so,” she said.

“Well, I hate to break it to you,” he said, “but I’m the only one left. A couple other hunters came by and killed off the rest of the nest.”

“Who were they?”

Chris shrugged. “Didn’t bother to learn their names before I killed them.”

Dean woke up then, and she and Chris both turned to look at him. “Well, good morning, Mr. Winchester,” Chris said, crouching in front of Dean. “I’ve heard so much about you. I’ve been dying to meet you.”

“Look man,” Dean said, shaking his head a bit to clear away the fuzziness in his brain, “I don’t swing that way.”

“Mm,” Chris said, standing up. “Just as charming as they say.”

“So what’s your play here, Chris?” (Y/N) asked as Chris fished his phone out of his pocket. “Are you turning these girls? Trying to build a new nest?”

“No, no,” Chris said casually, waving his hand as he put his phone back in his pocket after typing something out. “I’m just killing them.” He sauntered over to her and crouched in front of her. “But you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Because if I turned you, you’d have a family.” She swallowed thickly and clenched her jaw, refusing to break eye contact with Chris. If she did that, he won. “You see, you’re so desperate for love. You cling to guys like the Winchesters here-” He waved offhandedly to Dean. “-in a pathetic attempt to make up for your dad. You remember your dad, right?” She bit her tongue and breathed heavily through her nose. “You think we didn’t notice? All of us at school? Think Shawn didn’t tell us about how your daddy used to hit you? We’d have a nice laugh about it, because you might not’ve been able to see it, but we all could.”

“See what?” she asked. She couldn’t help it. He was saying all the things that would get her to cave. She knew she fell into his trap, but she wasn’t sure she cared.

Chris grinned. “How no one could ever love you. How Shawn was always pretending. How your dad couldn’t handle pretending anymore. We saw your present, (Y/N), and it sure wasn’t hard to see your future.” He looked over at Dean before turning to her again. “And we were right, because Dean here? Dean doesn’t love you either. How could he? How could anyone love a girl like you?”

She felt tears pooling in her eyes, and she hung her head so he wouldn’t see them. Her action just made him laugh and lift her chin with his fingers. “Get away from her before I break every bone in your body,” Dean suddenly growled. Chris looked over at him with an amused smirk. “I’ll fucking kill you, man, I swear to god.” Chris stood up and walked over to Dean.

“I really think this is bullshit, man,” he said, motioning between her and Dean. “I just don’t get it. You’re obviously pretending for her, but why go as far as marriage? Why pretend you love her that much? Unless-” He gasped like he cracked the whole case. “Oh! This is all fake! You’re not actually married, are you?” He started laughing, resting his hand on his stomach as he threw his head back. “That is hilarious. God, you-” He turned to her again. “You really are pathetic.”

Chris grabbed a knife from the inside of his jacket and walked back over to her. “You know, Dean,” Chris said, crouching in front of her again. “I think (Y/N) over here might really love you. I think you might be pretending, but for her, she thinks she can make it real. Because I know for a fact-” He gently ran the tip of the knife against her chest. “-she’s not wearing a bra. And her underwear?” He grinned. “Practically see-through. I think she was hoping for some action with you tonight.”

Her cheeks were bright red, and she knew there were tears falling from her eyes. She was embarrassed, and if Dean hadn’t broken out of his restraints yet, she wasn’t sure he was going to. Was she going to die after getting humiliated by some loser from high school?

“You know,” she said, sniffing to stop her tears, “you used to be an alright guy, Chris. A little creepy, but not an asshole. Not like this.”

Chris shrugged. “Well, people change.”

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#dean winchester #dean winchester imagine #dean winchester x reader #supernatural #supernatural season 10 #mark of cain dean #plus size reader #dean winchester x plus size!reader #plus size!reader #mark of cain #dean winchester fluff #dean winchester angst

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bronanlynch · 3 years

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top 5 of 2020

me? doing all my 2020 wrapup stuff on new year’s day bc I spent the last two weeks of 2020 having a horrible stressful helltime only sometimes vaguely aware of what day it was?? it’s more likely than you think!

anyway. no one tagged me but I want to so

Top 5 movies you saw in 2020

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Heroes Rising (the My Hero Academia movie. I saw that and Portrait on the same night which is just. the wildest double feature you could possibly do I think but pretty on brand for the last movies I saw in theaters before quarantine times)

Promare

Howl’s Moving Castle (yes everyone who knows me was Shocked I hadn’t already seen it I know)

my housemates and I marathoned the entire Fast & Furious series. some of them are bad but some of them are very very good

Top 5 TV shows you watched in 2020

The Untamed (which I started in 2019 but rewatched multiple times in 2020 so)

Little Witch Academia

Book 3 of AtLA and Legend of Korra (watched the first two seasons of AtLA in 2019)

The Witcher

the last season of She Ra

dishonorable mention to the Persona 5 anime which is. not a good show in terms of like. pacing or animation or any standard of quality by which you could judge an anime but I enjoyed for reasons of: I care very deeply abt the characters

Top 5 songs of 2020

gonna try to keep this to stuff that came out this year otherwise it’s like. the same mix of early 2010s pop punk I always listen to

Some Kind of Disaster - All Time Low

exile - Taylor Swift ft. Bon Iver

fight gods - the garages (yes this is a blaseball song it fucking slaps)

Hero - Weezer

RADIOSTATIC. HIATUS. REDSKY. - Jack de Quidt (Partizan soundtrack)

Top 5 books you read in 2020

Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir

Poppy War (and also Dragon Republic) - R.F. Kuang

A Memory Called Empire - Arkady Martine

This is How You Lose the Time War - Amal el-Mohtar & Max Gladstone

King of Attolia - Megan Whalen Turner (technically a reread but last time was in middle school and I appreciated it much more this time around)

5 positive things that happened in 2020

saw the Ruth Negga Hamlet in Brooklyn

got a job and then also quit the same job for reasons of: it was bad

started a Beam Saber campaign that is very fun and very much us on our bullshit

my roommate’s cat loves me

did a bunch of recovering from grad school lol

not gonna tag anyone but feel free to do it if you want!!

#dreaming.txt

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bboyplankton · 4 years

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2019 Playlist

1. A$AP Ferg & MadeinTYO – Wam

2. Action Bronson & The Alchemist – Arnold & Danny

3. Action Bronson & The Alchemist – Descendant of the Stars

4. Akon feat. Skales – Control

5. Akon feat. Olamide – Scammers

6. Alex Isley – Colors

7. Amaal – Coming & Going

8. Anderson .Paak feat. Andre 3000 – Come Home

9. Anderson .Paak feat. Smokey Robinson – Make It Better

10. Ari Lennox – I Been

11. Ari Lennox – Up Late

12. Ariana Grande – fake smile

13. Ariana Grande – in my head

14. Arin Ray feat. Kehlani – Change

15. Arin Ray - ZZZ

16. Asiahn – Like You

17. Asiahn – NOLA

18. August Alsina – Forever and a Day

19. August Alsina – For You

20. Baby Rose – Mortal

21. Beyoncé, Jay-Z & Childish Gambino feat. Oumou Sangaré – Mood 4 Eva

22. Big K.R.I.T – Blue Flame Ballet

23. Big K.R.I.T – Energy

24. Big K.R.I.T – M.I.S.S.I.S.S.I.P.P.I

25. BJ the Chicago Kid feat. JID, Buddy, & Kent Jamz – Get Away

26. Blackbear – Sick Of It All

27. The Black Keys – Sit Around And Miss You

28. The Black Keys – Tell Me Lies

29. Bobby Sparks ii feat. Robert “Sput” Searight & MonoNeon – The Comanche Are Coming

30. Boogie – Live 95

31. Boogie feat. Snoh Aalegra – Time

32. Burna Boy feat. Jeremih & Serani – Secret

33. Che Ecru – That’s My Baby

34. Ciara – Greatest Love

35. Ciara – Set

36. Ciara – Trust Myself

37. City and Colour – Mountain of Madness

38. Col3trane, DJDS, & Raye – The Fruits

39. Conway the Machine – Half of It

40. DaBaby – Bop

41. DaBaby – Goin Baby

42. DaBaby – Suge

43. Daniel Caesar & Brandy – Love Again

44. Danny Brown – Dirty Laundry

45. Danny Brown – Savage Nomad

46. Dave East – Mama I Made It

47. Dave East – The Marathon Continues (Nipsey Tribute)

48. Dave East – Me & Mines

49. Denzel Curry – Speedboat

50. Devin Morrison – Bussin’

51. Devin Morrison feat. Dahvi – It’s Time

52. DJ Shadow – If I Died Today

53. DJ Shadow feat. Run The Jewels – Kings & Queens

54. DJ Shadow feat. De La Soul – Rocket Fuel

55. Doja Cat – Say So

56. Doja Cat – Streets

57. Dreamville feat. Ty Dolla $ign & Dreezy – Got Me

58. Dreamville feat. JID & T.I. – Ladies, Ladies, Ladies

59. Dreezy feat. Jeremih – Ecstasy

60. E-40 feat. Quavo Roddy Ricch, A$AP Ferg, & ScHoolboy Q – Chase the Money

61. E-40 – Imma Find Out

62. E-40 feat. Redman, Method Man, & Bosko – Keep On Gassin

63. Earthgang feat. T-Pain – Tequila

64. Earthgang feat. Kehlani – Trippin

65. Elhae – fXXX

66. Elhae – I.D.B.I.L

67. Elhae feat. Big K.R.I.T – Sanctuary

68. Emotional Oranges – Someone Else

69. Emotional Oranges – West Coast Love

70. Emotional Oranges – Your Best Friend Is A Hater

71. Eric Bellinger – iPod on Shuffle

72. Eric Bellinger feat. K Camp – Moist

73. Eric Bellinger – Run It Up

74. Eric Bellinger – The Sexy Song

75. Eric Bellinger – Spice

76. Eric Bellinger feat. Chris Brown & OG Parker – Type a Way

77. Eric Bellinger – Undress

78. Esperanza Spalding – Touch in Mine (Fingers)

79. Fabolous feat. Jacquees – My Mind

80. Fabolous feat. Ty Dolla $ign – Ooh Yea

81. FKA twigs – Mirrored Heart

82. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib feat. Killer Mike & Pusha T – Palmolive

83. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – Soul Right

84. Free Nationals – Lester Diamond

85. Free Nationals feat. Syd – Shibuya

86. Free Nationals feat. Mac Miller & Kali Uchis – Time

87. Future – Crushed Up

88. Gallant – Céline

89. Gallant – Sleep On It

90. The Game – Born 2 Rap

91. The Game feat. 21 Savage – The Code

92. The Game feat. Anderson .Paak – Stainless

93. Gang Starr feat. J. Cole – Family And Loyalty

94. Gang Starr feat. Ne-Yo & Nitty Scott – Get Together

95. Gary Clark Jr. – I Got My Eyes on You (Locked & Loaded)

96. GoldLink feat. WaveIQ – Spanish Song

97. GoldLink feat. Tyler, the Creator & Jay Prince – U Say

98. Griselda – Freddie HotSpot

99. Gucci Mane – Move Me

100. Isabella – Tag

101. Jacquees – Fact Or Fiction

102. Jacquees – Good Lovin

103. Jaden – Got It

104. Jeezy – White Keys

105. Jidenna feat. GoldLink – Babouche

106. Jidenna – Sou Sou

107. Jidenna – Vaporiza

108. Jim Jones feat. Maino & Drama – My Era

109. Jim Jones feat. Cam’ron, Guordan Banks, Benny the Butcher, & Conway the Machine – To Whom it May Concern

110. Joell Ortiz – Jamaican Food

111. Joell Ortiz – Sip Slow

112. Johnta Austin – Breakin Rules

113. Justine Skye – Secrets

114. Kalin White – 4 sexonds

115. Kaytranada feat. GoldLink, Eight9Fly, & Ari Pensmith – Vex Oh

116. Kehlani – Feels

117. Kehlani feat. 6lack – RPG

118. Khalid – Paradise

119. Khalid – Talk

120. Kiana Ledé feat. Jenifer Lewis – Heavy

121. Kiana Ledé – If You Hate Me

122. Kxng Crooked & Bronze Nazareth feat. Tristate & L.A.D – French Connection

123. Kirk Brown – Vibes Up

124. Koffee feat. Jane Macgizmo – Blazin

125. Konshens – Back It Up

126. Konshens – Last Wine

127. Kyle Dion – Hands to Yourself

128. Kyle Dion – Spend It

129. Larry June feat. Premo Rice – Booty Girl Club

130. Larry June – Early Bird

131. Larry June – Organic Smiles

132. Layton Greene – Never Knew

133. Lion Babe feat. Leikeli47 – The Wave

134. Lion Babe feat. Raekwon – Western World

135. Lophiile – Late Ass

136. Lophiile feat. Jesse Boykins III – You’re Gonna Need It

137. Lophiile – You’ve Changed

138. Lucky Daye – Love You Too Much

139. Lucky Daye – Real Games

140. Lyfe Jennings – Baby

141. Mac Ayers feat. Uhmeer – Fears

142. Mac Ayers – Get Away

143. Mahalia – Karma

144. Mahalia – What Am I?

145. Mahalia feat. Ella Mai – What You Did

146. Marc E. Bassy – Crash and Burn

147. Marc E. Bassy – Where We’re From

148. Matt Martians – Movin’ On

149. Maxo Kream feat. Megan Thee Stallion – She Live

150. Megan Thee Stallion feat. Da Baby – Cash S**t

151. Mereba – Stay Tru

152. Moonchild – Strength

153. Murs, 9th Wonder, & The Soul Council - Sin

154. Murs, 9th Wonder, & The Soul Council – Unicorn Glitter

155. Nikki Jean – Driver

156. Nikki Jean feat. Lupe Fiasco – Mr. Clean

157. Papoose feat. DJ Premier – Numerical Slaughter

158. Pardison Fontaine – Money Machine

159. Pardison Fontaine – Under8ed

160. PJ Morton – Kid Again

161. PJ Morton feat. JoJo – Say So

162. Post Malone – I’m Gonna Be

163. Problem Child – Whole Heart

164. Quinn XCII feat. Yoshi Flower – Werewolf

165. Rapsody feat. Queen Latifah – Hatshepsut

166. Rapsody feat. D’Angelo & GZA – Ibtihaj

167. Rapsody feat. Elle Varner – Michelle

168. Raveena – Nectar

169. Raveena – Salt Water

170. Rex Orange County – Always

171. Rex Orange County – It Gets Better

172. Rick Ross – Fascinated

173. Rick Ross feat. Drake – Gold Roses

174. Rick Ross feat. Summer Walker – Summer Reign

175. Rick Ross – Vegas Residency

176. R.LUM.R – Happy

177. R.LUM.R – Lies

178. Roses Gabor feat. Sampha – Illusions

179. Rotimi – Love Riddim

180. Rotimi – Way Gone

181. Sabrina Claudio – Truth Is

182. Sammie – Issues

183. Sara Bareilles – Armor

184. ScHoolboy Q feat. Kid Cudi – Dangerous

185. ScHoolboy Q – Numb Numb Juice

186. Shal Marshall – Mas Forever

187. Shal Marshall – Splinters

188. Shwayze – Rich City

189. Sinead Harnett – Be The One (Interlude)

190. SiR feat. Smino – LA Lisa

191. SiR feat. Kadhja Bonet – New Sky

192. Slum Village feat. Dwele – Call Me

193. Snoh Aalegra – Nothing to Me

194. Snoh Aalegra – Toronto

195. Snoop Dogg feat. Swizz Beatz – Countdown

196. Snoop Dogg feat. Marknoxx – I Wanna Thank Me

197. Snoop Dogg feat. Russ & Wiz Khalifa – Take Me Away

198. Solange – Almeda

199. Solange – Dreams

200. Steve Lacy – N Side

201. Steve Lacy – Playground

202. Summer Walker – Wasted

203. T-Pain feat. Tory Lanez – Getcha Roll On

204. Tayla Parx – Me vs. Us

205. Tayla Parx feat. Joey Bada$$ - Rebound

206. The Teskey Brothers – Rain

207. The Teskey Brothers – Sun Come Ease Me In

208. Tinashe – Feelings

209. Tobi lou feat. Erica Rene & Cam O’bi – That Old Nu-Nu

210. Tobi lou – Waterboy

211. Tori Kelly – Kid I Used To Know

212. Toro y Moi – Freelance

213. Toro y Moi – Ordinary Pleasure

214. Tory Lanez – Blowin’ Mine’s // Leah’s Introduction

215. Tory Lanez feat. Ludacris – The Fargo Splash

216. Trey Songz – Jill (Sumn Real)

217. Trina feat. Rico Love – Water

218. Tryezz – Walnut St. Dub

219. Tsu Surf – Killing Me

220. Tyler, the Creator - Earfquake

221. Tyler, the Creator – I Think

222. Umi – Sukidakara

223. Vedo – Do It Nasty

224. Wale feat. Jeremih – On Chill

225. Weezer – Happy Together

226. Willow – Time Machine

227. Wiz Khalifa feat. Young Deji – Gold Bottles

228. Xavier Omär & Sango – Cry & Lie

229. Xavier Omär & Sango feat. Billy Mercury – Keeping Me

230. YBN Cordae feat. Anderson .Paak – RNP

231. YBN Cordae feat. Meek Mill – We Gon Make It

232. Ye Ali feat. DCMBR – All About You

233. Ye Ali – Rehearsal

234. Ye Ali feat. DCMBR – Show Me

235. Ye Ali feat. DCMBR & Rainy Milo – Songs2Get2GetDrunk2

236. Yelawolf – Box Chevy 7

237. Yelawolf – Unnatural Born Killer

238. Young M.A. – Stubborn Ass

239. Zacari – Midas Touch

240. 2 Chainz – Threat 2 Society

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rachel-blue · 4 years

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2019.

One year ago, I knew change was coming. But I also didn’t anticipate what some of those changes would be (and I am so, SO glad they happened). This year, I’ve learned to slow down, I’ve started reading again, I bought my first pair of hiking boots since I was 14. I’ve found the most unquestionable love I’ve ever known and also the most delicious donuts of my life (two separate items, but for all intents and purposes, they should probably be all wrapped up in one). I’m excited to see where the next decade takes me.

2019 Highlights:

❤️. There’s something to be said about the notion of not knowing who and what you need in your life until you actually find it. There’s something to be said about mutually similar (but altogether quite different) experiences that lead you to a place of understanding, of love, and also of self-worth. And when you find that, what a comfort it is. I’m grateful every day that we found ourselves in the same place (mentally, virtually, whatever) at the same time. That this 72-hour window I gave myself was just the right 72 hour block of time.

“We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.”

American. Ninja. Warrior. I fell in love with this show a few years back and am now fortunate to live in the town where the FINALS happen, and even more so fortunate to have the chance to attend Stage 2/3 filming, meet some ninjas, and also meet Akbar later in the year in a super intimate appearance for his book that released earlier in the year. While I haven’t yet made it to the local ninja gym, I did make a good few attempts at a warped wall out in Toronto back in September. I’ll make it up that thing one day.

Monument Valley. I had decided at the start of the year that I was going to make it to Monument Valley at some point in the following 365 days. I knocked that one off pretty early through work, thanks to joining one of our local trips through the southwest. We slept overnight in a Hogan, I hung out with one of the local stray pups, and we all got ourselves up in the dark so we could catch sunrise filtering in over the horizon. Beautiful, peaceful, and also heartbreaking to learn the stories of Navajo Nation.

NOLA. New Orleans is such a fascinating city on so many levels. I had the chance to meet up with a couple of local friends, tour the city by foot (and by stomach), explore a couple of notable cemeteries, and check out the Krewe of Chewbacchus parade, which is 100% more my speed than any Mardi Gras experience could ever be. Half marathon state: 7/50

OBX. I found myself in North Carolina after finding a race that listed fried sweet potatoes as part of their post-race eats. And what a beautifully surprising place the Outer Banks were. I found myself constantly in awe of the scenery and the people and these wild horses that walk the beach near the Virginia border. Can we also talk about how Duck Donuts literally serves up the best donuts I’ve ever had in my LIFE? What a treasure. Half marathon state 8/50

Red rocks and hot springs and waterfalls. If you ever come to visit me, I’m taking you outside of the city limits and away from the strips. The number of beautiful hikes we have within so close a drive is astounding for a city that’s only known for its drinking and gambling. I was incredibly fortunate to find a friend in a coworker who loved to hit the trails, as well as to have one of my favorite outdoorsy people visiting from Milwaukee over the summer.

G Stock. G Adventures has brought some wonderful people and experiences into my life (with more ahead in the new year - c’mon, Galapagos!), but G Stock is an entirely different level of existence within the company. Getting to check out the Maid of the Mist at Niagara was also a really fun and completely worthwhile use of our time.

BodyPump. I swapped out a couple hundred miles of running days for some strength-training in the gym, and it’s been such a fantastic addition to my athletic confidence and a more full-body sense of strength. Also, my instructors are pretty fantastic.

Books read this year: 28 Shows attended this year: 17 Miles run this year: 660.08

‘19 playlist (in no particular order): Slim Whitman - “Indian Love Call” Queen - “Don’t Stop Me Now” Hall & Oates - “You Make My Dreams” MxPx - “San Dimas High School Football Rules” The Sweet - “Fox on the Run” Zac Brown Band - “Mango Tree” Tumbledown - “On The Road Again” Bleachers - “I Wanna Get Better” Elton John - “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” Green Day - “Basket Case” Shakira - “Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)” Kesha - “This Is Me” Styx - “Come Sail Away” Weezer - “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”

[2018. 2017. 2016. 2015. 2014. 2013. 2012. 2011. 2010.]

#eoy #end of year

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patternsintraffic · 3 years

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My 100 Favorite Albums of the 2000s: #20-#11

I've had so much fun posting this list and revisiting this music that I'm kind of bummed that I've almost reached the end. So I've decided to keep going! I still have the list of my last few difficult cuts that nearly made my top 100, so I will be doing a couple more posts of honorable mentions. I get to write about a few more albums I love, and those who aren't completely burned out on my writing can continue to follow along. But before we get to any of that, here are some of my favorite albums ever.

20. American Hi-Fi - American Hi-Fi (2001)

I was 13 when "Flavor of the Weak" hit the radio and I was completely smitten. In a lot of ways I think my current music tastes (and the kind of songs I'm drawn to writing) can be traced back to this album, with its slickly-produced alt rock sound and catchy-as-hell pop influence. "Safer on the Outside" is still one of my favorite examples of the huge-chorus-that-explodes-out-of-a-quiet-verse trick. "I'm a Fool" was the first of countless hopeless romantic anthems that I would relate to all too personally over the ensuing years. "My Only Enemy" was my introduction to screaming vocals. "Don't Wait for the Sun" educated me on the acoustic ballad that tears you apart during the back half of all of the best albums. Looking back now, I learned everything I needed to know from American Hi-Fi.

19. Motion City Soundtrack - I Am the Movie (2003)

I Am the Movie was one of the first albums I bought without the benefit of hearing a single on the radio. The Internet had started to vastly expand my avenues for musical discovery, and one of my first finds was Motion City Soundtrack. Yahoo! used to have a page where new music videos were posted, and it was there that I heard "My Favorite Accident" and "The Future Freaks Me Out." I found the album at a music store near Ocean City, MD while my parents were having a marathon shopping spree at the outlets. The rest of that shopping trip was spent with headphones on and my portable CD player in tow, getting acquainted with these quirky, spastic, utterly captivating pop rock songs. It was a pleasure to follow Motion City Soundtrack's career through six albums, and I've always felt lucky to have been "in" on them from the very beginning. Though Commit This to Memory and Even If It Kills Me are classics in their own right, I'll always have a soft spot for the album that introduced me to Motion City Soundtrack, back at a time when it still felt like you could discover a new band that no one else had ever heard of.

18. Under the Influence of Giants - Under the Influence of Giants (2006)

Earlier in this list, I wrote about discovering and falling head over heels for a little-known band called Home Town Hero, who played the side stage at the legendary (to me only) Weezer show of 2002. In the years after ingesting their debut album, I checked their website frequently hoping for news of a follow-up album. Eventually, one appeared, posted quietly for download on their website after they had been dropped from their label and left with no other way to release the music. It was called Bitch City and it was my In Rainbows one year before Radiohead revolutionized digital music distribution by giving their album away for free. I couldn't believe that I was getting this highly-anticipated sophomore album with no strings attached. I also couldn't believe this was the same band, because Bitch City sounded nothing at all like Home Town Hero. It had elements of indie, pop, rock, dance, funk, you name it. I was shocked and confused at first, and then quickly became enamored. The drastic change in sound led the band to reinvent themselves as Under the Influence of Giants. (I propose that Bitch City should be retconned as an Under the Influence of Giants album, even though it was originally released as Home Town Hero. Not only is the sound way more in line with the band's output as Under the Influence of Giants, Bitch City songs were performed during Under the Influence of Giants live sets. Case closed.) Anyway, Bitch City should probably be the one featured here as I still listen to it several times a year, but instead I'll go with the band's only properly-released album, which is much easier to track down and has some nice cover art for this list. Under the Influence of Giants is every bit as good as Bitch City, and it has the benefit of major label production. I can't pick a weak track on this album, which seamlessly blends many genres and influences into one of the most unique and spellbinding tracklists I've ever heard. I am glad that Aaron Bruno found the success he deserves with AWOLNATION, but damn do I wish he would have found that success with Under the Influence of Giants.

17. Copeland - Eat, Sleep, Repeat (2006)

Copeland opened a few shows I attended before I was familiar with their music, and I always found their live set kind of samey and low-energy. My opinion of the band completely changed when You Are My Sunshine was released in 2008 and became the soundtrack to my senior year of undergrad. After falling so hard for that album, I naturally dove into the band's back catalog and discovered Eat, Sleep, Repeat, which I've grown to love even more. It nods toward the heart-on-sleeve ethereal sound of Sunshine while also keeping one foot in the alt-rock world where Copeland made a name for themselves with their first two albums Beneath Medicine Tree and In Motion. There's the jittery "Where's My Head," the gorgeous piano-led "Love Affair," and the deliciously emo "I'm Safer in an Airplane" rubbing elbows with toe-tappers like "Eat, Sleep, Repeat," "Control Freak," and "I'm a Sucker for a Kind Word." A masterful showcase of everything that Copeland does well.

16. Pilot Speed - Into the West (2006)

I had only heard the single "Barely Listening" before picking up Into the West on a whim. I remember sitting in the Best Buy parking lot and putting the CD into the player in my dad's Lincoln Navigator. I remember the opening notes of "Knife-Grey Sea" washing over me and knowing right away that I was in for a sweeping, epic listen. The songs on Into the West ebb and flow like few I've ever heard. Frontman Todd Clark's vocals are incredibly expressive, building from a whisper to a wail in most of these songs. Pilot Speed are masters of building, holding, and releasing tension. "Barely Listening" is still one of my favorite songs and never fails to give me chills. "Don't Stare" is an eight-minute epic that somehow goes by without me ever noticing the runtime. Something about the way these songs unfold gives me an incredible feeling of catharsis with every listen.

15. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - B.R.M.C. (2001)

In 2001, The Strokes opened my eyes to garage rock and taught me that singers do not have to have a high, nasally voice to be appealing. It took me a while to pick up the debut album by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, but when I did they finished breaking down the door that The Strokes had cracked open. The singles "Love Burns" and "Whatever Happened to My Rock 'n' Roll (Punk Song)" were impossibly cool, and the rest of the album followed suit. This is just great, straightforward, guitar-bass-and-drums rock 'n' roll. The loud moments crash through the speakers, while the quieter moments have this aloof confidence that makes me feel like I'm hanging out with the brooding, ambiguously dangerous crowd that I never would have fit in with. Every song from this album has become a classic in my opinion, but over time "As Sure As the Sun" has revealed itself as the song. That bassline. Yes.

14. Jack's Mannequin - The Glass Passenger (2008)

We've reached the first appearance of one of my favorite songwriters, Andrew McMahon, but not the last. When McMahon put Something Corporate on the backburner to embark on his solo project Jack's Mannequin, I was skeptical at best. I had a strong allegiance to SoCo, and I had morals, y'know? I'm not sure why a new band from one of my favorite artists seemed icky to me at the time, but I didn't even bother to listen to Everything in Transit until a few months after its release. Of course, I fell in love with it in spite of my orneriness, and by the time The Glass Passenger was released I was salivating for more. Many consider this album uneven, or at least strongly prefer Transit, but these coming of age songs hit me just at the right time to soundtrack the summer before my final year in undergrad. The songs of a man finding his footing in the world post-leukemia were the songs that questioned and romanticized the path to adulthood unfolding ahead of me. The Glass Passenger made me feel like I could embrace the unknown.

13. Matchbox Twenty - Mad Season (2000)

Back when I was still listening to Top 40 radio, a little song called "3 A.M." caught my ear. I saw the CD at Caldor (may have been KMart, but I'm taking this rare chance to shout out Caldor) and managed to get my parents to buy it for me. I had no concept of following specific artists at the time, so I was amazed when I knew three other tracks on the album ("Real World," "Push," and "Back 2 Good") from the radio. I hadn't even considered that there could be multiple songs on the radio from one album. I also remember some of the grungier songs on the back half of the album making me a bit uncomfortable - I wasn't used to music with an edge! When Mad Season was released a couple years later I was substantially more well-versed in the music industry and had been seeing the video for "Bent" on VH1 ad nauseam. At first I was a bit put off by the change in Matchbox Twenty's sound, but soon enough I was singing along with "Mad Season" and "Last Beautiful Girl" and bobbing my head to "Crutch." I felt the heartbreak in ballads like "Rest Stop," "Bed of Lies," and "You Won't Be Mine" before I even had the courage to speak to a human of the opposite sex. The first three Matchbox Twenty albums carry a ton of nostalgia, but they also hold up incredibly well.

12. Eve 6 - Horrorscope (2000)

For some reason I have a detailed memory of standing at a friend's open locker in middle school and watching him pull Horrorscope covertly off the top shelf. I can't remember if we weren't supposed to have CDs in school at the time or if it was just the Parental Advisory sticker on the cover alongside the woman with pursed lips and purple hair that made it feel taboo. The content was definitely edgy for 13-year old Kyle, with tales of depraved sexual rendezvous ("Rescue," "Nocturnal," probably all of the tracks at some point or another), threats of suicide ("On the Roof Again"), drug use ("Amphetamines"), and a song called "Sunset Strip Bitch." But my impressionable mind was neither warped nor intimidated by the lyrics, which were wrapped in a carefree, tongue-in-cheek, highly-infectious package. Max Collins weaves clever and playful turns of phrase throughout the album, with sharp pop melodies and a unique penchant for alliteration. Horrorscope still holds up remarkably well 20 years later. Bops aplenty here, from well-known singles "Here's to the Night" and "Promise" to hidden gems like late-album cut "Bang," my darkhorse pick for best chorus in the band's catalog. I saw Eve 6 in Towson, MD on my 21st birthday and I sent them a message on Myspace beforehand requesting a performance of "Bang" as a gift. They responded to my message, but did not honor my request. I've made my peace with it. Not salty at all.

11. The Strokes - Is This It (2001)

When "Last Nite" was all over the radio and MTV in late 2001, I was enamored with it almost immediately. It sounded classic, but also like nothing I had ever heard before (to be fair, at 14 years old I hadn't heard much). I got Is This It on CD that Christmas, and listened to it while obsessively playing my new Xbox (yes, the OG). At first, I wasn't grabbed by the album, which didn't feature the crunchy guitars and high-pitched vocals I'd been accustomed to. I wasn't sure what this band was doing, but instead of hitting me over the head with the hooks, it was like they were making me come to them. A few listens later, the effortless cool of The Strokes had fully enveloped me. Credit Is This It with opening me up to a swath of completely new sounds and genres.

#albums of the decade #best of the 2000s #top100 #countdown #nostalgia trip

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denimwrites-archive · 6 years

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Life of the Movie Party

Prompt: Writing prompts #13: “Um, it’s not exactly a party … but you can come anyway, if you want.”

Fandom: Be More Chill

Pairing: Jeremy Heere X Reader

Summary: You hear your friends Michael and Jeremy making plans with lots of snacks and you can’t help but be curious. Good thing Jeremy just happens to have a giant crush on you and Michael is an awesome wingman.

Word Count: 3,035

Warnings: Some language? Mr. Heere in his bathrobe? Nothing really.

A/N: This takes place like pre-squip? I mentioned a few different movies, I tried to stick to the classics that most people have seen or heard of, but I don’t go into detail about them, so it’s fine if you haven’t seen them (definitely recommend them though). I don’t really know how this turned out, it’s my first time writing for Jeremy, so feedback would be appreciated! Thanks!

~~~

The day had actually got off to a pretty good start. You had enough time to eat breakfast that morning, and finished all of your homework last night, so you got to relax during your free period. It was probably the best day at school you’ve had for a while, and the fact that you had Friday off because of some teacher work day thing made the week even better. Especially since it was Thursday.

As you got your lunch and made your way to the table your two friends, Michael and Jeremy, were sitting at, you saw them talking excitedly about something. Setting down your tray and taking a seat across from the pair you tune into the conversation and hear a list of food.

“Chips, salsa, onion dip, and guac. Can’t forget guac. Um... “ Michael lists, counting on his fingers. “I can bring Takis, and some ice cream. Maybe some M&Ms. And definitely some slushies.”

“Damn, sounds like you guys are in for a night. Is Jeremy Heere hosting a party?” you tease, taking a bite of your lunch. Jeremy’s cheeks darken slightly and he starts to say something before closing his mouth and clearing his throat and starting again.

“Um, it’s not exactly a party … but you can come anyway, if you want.” He nervously rubs the back of his neck and Michael fails to hide a smirk.

“Alright, when should I bring brownies and cookies?” you ask, leaning forward onto your arms.

Jeremy starts to say something, but Michael cuts him off with a knowing look. “Be at his house,” he says gesturing towards Jerm, “sometime Friday before 1.”

“And what are we doing?”

“Movie Marathon. Make sure to bring a couple of your favorites, but they have to be sci-fi. We have to stick to the theme.” Michael said, taking a sip of his milk. You nod and Jeremy bites his lip, staring attentively at his lunch.

Michael talks about some of the movies he’s bringing and that seems to bring Jeremy back to the present. He interjects into the conversation and you brainstorm some of the movies you could bring. Listing off a few of your favorites, they all seem to be acceptable to the pair and so you move back to the food you can bring.

“Well I was going to drop Jerm off to go grocery shopping after school so he can pick up supplies. He’s the host after all.”

“Do you think I could go with you? To the grocery store? I need to pick up some supplies if I’m going to be baking tonight.”

“Yeah, it’s no problem,” Michael says, when Jeremy’s eyes widen. Kicking him under the table, “I’m sure he would be glad to have the company. I know how much you hate shopping alone, right Jer?” he asks with a pointed look.

“Y-yeah, I-I mean… I’m sure it’ll go by faster with company,” Jeremy splutters out before taking a big bite of his food. You nod and plan to meet the boys at the PT Cruiser after school. Then lunch is over and you’re off to your next class, mind full of thoughts of which recipe to get ingredients for.

The end of the day finally comes and you race to the Cruiser, list of needed ingredients in hand. You greet the boys before hopping in the backseat. The ride is mostly silent except for the Oasis playing through Michael’s speakers. You bob around to the beat and sing along with the two when “Wonderwall” starts playing.

Dropping you and Jerm off in front of the grocery store, he says he can come pick you back up in an hour to take you home. When you ask if he just wants to come in and help, he’s adamant that he would be of no help and pulls away before you can respond. After a quick wave, you turn to Jeremy and gesture to the front door.

“Shall we?” you ask. He gives a stiff nod and you grab a grocery cart, pushing it into the store. Walking past the produce you first head to the baking aisle. He trails behind you as you grab some of the things you need before turning to him. “What do you need? Everything else I want to grab is cold and should be left for last. So, you’re turn?” you say, stepping back from the cart allowing him to push.

He just nods again and starts pushing the cart, heading towards the cracker and chip aisle. Picking up some Ritz crackers and some Teddy Grahams. You also head down the candy aisle to grab some sweets. There isn’t much conversation as you make your way down the aisles, but it feels like Jeremy starts to relax more the longer you spend together. Soda is also grabbed before you finally head towards the cold section, where you split up and head to opposite sides.

You grab some milk while Jerm looks at cheese, and you put it in the cart before getting some eggs and cream cheese. You’re contemplating grabbing some whipped cream when Jeremy pushes the cart up behind you. Glancing at him, you can’t help but notice how sweet he looks just pushing a grocery cart, buying groceries. So domestic. Shaking those thoughts out of your head, you decide to get the whipped cream, and toss it in.

“That’s everything I need. Are you good?” he asks, looking between you and the cart. You nod and you make your way to the checkout. Deciding on self-checkout so you can split up the things you bought, you have a little bit of a hard time with the automated process, but Jerm helps you and you feel your cheeks heat up when his hand brushes yours a few times.

It didn’t help that one little old lady who decided to use the self checkout next to you complimented you two. “Aw, you make such a sweet couple!” she crooned, unpacking her groceries onto the shelf. You and Jeremy’s faces heated up and you just grabbed your bags and left with mumbled thanks.

You walk out of the store, groceries in hand just as Michael pulls up. He has a smug smile on his face and you give him a skeptical look as you put your groceries in the trunk and in the backseat. Climbing in, Weezer is now coming through the speakers as he drives you home.

Dropping you off with a wave and a reminder to be at Jeremy’s at one, you head inside your house and get to work baking. You make the brownies first, and then move on to cookies. You decide to make a few different kinds, just for some variety. Soon sugar and chocolate chip cookies lined your counter and you knew you would have enough for three teenagers.

You let them cool off while you made the frosting. Then you decorated the sugar cookies with the sweet topping and some sprinkles just for show. Carefully packing them up in a few containers you went to bed, excited for your date tomorrow. It’s not a date, stop thinking about it like that right now before you embarrass yourself. Technically it was a date on the calendar though, so you just told your brain to shut up.

Sleeping in the next morning, you get up when the birds just won’t shut up outside your window. Taking a shower to wake yourself up, you feel refreshed and ready for a lazy day of nothing but badass space and cool foreign creatures. You decide to grab Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, along with a few other ones that weren’t as popular but just as good.

Ensuring you have everything you need, movies, food, blankets and a pillow, you make the trek to Jeremy’s house. Arriving a few minutes before one, you knock on the door and are soon met with Mr. Heere in his signature bathrobe.

“Oh! (Y/N)! I didn’t know you were coming to movie day,” he adjusted his robe, “The boys are in the basement, so feel free to head down.” But then he noticed the baked goods in your arms. “I can stick some of those in the kitchen if you want, I’m sure you guys will want to save some of them for later.” He grabs one of the containers from you and ushers you in, pointing towards the basement stairs before hurrying off to do whatever it is he does.

Shaking your head, you heave out a sigh before heading down. As you descend the stairs you hear Michael and Jeremy talking. “Hello?” you call out, announcing yourself. The conversation ceases, and then Jeremy enters your line of sight, a smile lighting up his face.

“Hey,” he calls, grabbing some of the containers from you, setting them off with the other snacks. Michael comes over and inspects the movies you brought and nods at your selections. Jeremy comes and looks and his smile grows. “Nice choices, now we just have to vote for which one we want first.”

He shows you the pile that he and Michael had created and you each pick your favorite out of the pile, then drew straws for whose pick would be watched first. Michael’s pick was first, and you all settled in to watch Jurassic Park. Snacking on cheese and crackers and some of the cookies you brought, you watched as the T. Rex proved it was the king of beasts.

You all made comments throughout the movie, pointing out certain stupid tropes, complementing the special effects, and mimicking characters. Who would have thought that the best way to start a discussion about Jurassic Park would be to call it ‘next level zookeeping’ leading to the google search of the definition of ‘zookeeper’ and devolving from there into speculation of what science was really capable of. To put it mildly, you discussed this long after the credits.

After the first movie, and the following discussion, you took a bathroom and stretch break. You also tried to get your watching positions perfect by moving all of the cushions into one pile. Jeremy’s pick was next and he chose Lost in Space which was an ultimate classic. It was during that movie that you dug into the Takis Michael brought, and the guacamole for the chips.

The discussion after that movie was a little more frightening due to the fact that space travel was becoming an ever more present possibility. Especially with the 2020 mission to Mars being planned and Elon Musk’s ever growing repertoire of space vehicles and other technology. Then it devolved into the argument of alien life, which got a little hairy.

By the time the debate ended it was early evening. Letting out a yawn, you stretched and took another short break. Then it was time for your pick. Grabbing your choice, you stick it in the DVD player and settle in. About halfway through the movie, Mr. Heere comes down to check on you and see what you guys want for dinner. Pizza is the consensus and he leaves to go place the order, but not before complimenting you on your baking skills.

The movie starts again, and the pizza arrives right before the big climactic scene near the end of the film. Munching away as the movie reaches its peak action, you realize that this is probably the best marathon you’ve had, and it was definitely due to the company and the riveting, albeit silly, analysis.

When the movie was finally over, Michael had to head home. Saying goodbye, he left the basement. Turning to Jeremy you ask, “What movie do you want to watch now?” He splutters a little bit while sifting through the pile, unsure of what to choose. Finally he settles on Serenity, the movie that supposedly tied up the Firefly series. Nodding in agreement, he puts it in and you settle in once more.

As the movie plays, you feel your eyes start to get heavier and heavier, your full stomach and comfortableness acting against you. As you doze off, you feel a source of heat wrap around you and you can’t help but try to get closer to it, snuggling into the cozy being.

When you hear a loud noise, you’re startled awake. Blinking in confusion at your surroundings, you remember that you were at Jeremy’s house. You feel something tug on your waist and you realize that Jeremy’s arm is wrapped around you. Feeling your cheeks heat up, you try to get out of his grip, but find that he only pulls you closer with each failed attempt.

Letting out a sigh you know that you’ll have to wake him up if you want to move, but Jeremy just looks too peaceful to disturb. So you just return to your previous position and try to rest again. It’s easier than you thought it would be, and soon enough find yourself asleep again.

The next time you wake up, you can’t help the groan in protest that escapes you. You have no idea what time it is, but you assume it’s early with how groggy you feel. But you are soon wide awake when you feel the arm still around your waist. Turning to Jeremy it only causes him to pull you closer, nose burying into your neck.

You can’t help the squeak that escapes you, freezing at the contact. Jerm doesn’t seem to stir at the sound that released from you, and you breathe a sigh of relief. You try to relax back into his arms, but find it almost impossible with the nerves that slowly start to take over. You feel yourself stiffen even further, but Jeremy seems to subconsciously notice this and rubs at your waist in a soothing motion.

This calms you some and your eyes soon feel heavy again. Finding yourself snuggling back into Jeremy you fall asleep in his arms for the second time. That rest doesn’t last for long however, when you hear him groan in your ear what seems to be only a few minutes later. He wipes at his bleary eyes and is snapped back to reality when he realizes what position he’s in. Starting to shift nervously, you’re jostled awake with a small whine. Jerm freezes as you start to get up, but after you move away slightly, he rushes up saying something about breakfast, then he’s gone up the basement steps.

You let out a yawn and stretch your muscles before checking your phone. You have a text from your parents saying that Mr. Heere called and said you had passed out during the marathon and that you were welcome to stay the night. ‘Just a little check-in text in the morning when you get up please’ was all it meant, and you complied with a simple ‘Good morning’.

Yawning once more, you make your way up the stairs and head to Jeremy’s kitchen where he seems to be making pancakes, toast, and bacon. Giving him a tired smile, you take a seat at his kitchen table, resting your head in your hands as you wait. The smell of the food is driving you crazy, and your stomach seems to voice your thoughts to your dismay. Jeremy gives a small chuckle and you feel your cheeks heat up.

“It’s almost done. Do you want some juice or milk or anything?” You nod and he grabs you a glass as you poke around his fridge for some beverage. You gesture if he wants anything and grabs the juice you hand him, pouring some for himself. He hands you a plate before grabbing his own and sitting next to you at the table.

You eat in relative silence, and you actually get up for seconds which makes Jeremy smile. When you’re both done, you sit and finish your drinks and start to talk about some of the movies you watched and expanded on some of the theories and debates you had last night. Soon you’re laughing and joking and it’s just really peaceful. That is, until Mr. Heere enters the kitchen in only his robe again.

Jeremy’s cheeks burn as he tries to motion his dad out of the room, but as you glance at the time you realize that you should probably head home. When you bring this up to Jerm he seems somewhat happy, but also disappointed. He goes with you to the basement and helps you pack up the stuff you brought before walking you to the door. “Thanks for inviting me to movie day,” you say with a smile as you step outside, “I’ll text you later!” But as you’re about to walk down his front steps he calls out to you.

“Hey, uh, (Y/N)? Would you maybe, I don’t know, want to catch another movie with me on Sunday? Like, at the theater?” He starts rubbing at his neck nervously. After a brief pause he starts, “Y’know, forg--”

But you cut him off with an excited, “I’d love to! Um, swing by my house at 7? We can see that new one you’ve been excited about.” He seems shocked but still nods his head. Nodding in return you continue on your way down the path with a call over your shoulder of, “See you then Jeremy!” And then you were gone.

Jeremy shakes his head to himself. I can’t believe I actually did it. I asked (Y/N) on a date. Hell yeah! I can’t wait to tell Michael! Then he’s rushing to the phone to talk to his friend. Michael likes to say that he was the reason you two got together, and he’s partially right, but in the end it was really the movies that were the catalyst since you shared your first kiss in the movie theater that weekend.

Movie dates became a staple of your relationship after that, Jerm holding you in his arms as you watched. Snuggling and cuddling was also a fundamental part of that, so it just seemed right to curl up on the couch and just exist together for awhile. And you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Tag List: @helplesshansen

#jeremy heere x reader #jeremy heere fanfiction #jeremy heere #be more chill x reader #be more chill fanfiction #be more chill reader insert #bmc x reader #bmc fanfiction #bmc reader insert #musical x reader #musical fanfiction #musical reader insert #my writing #not a request

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vinylbay777 · 4 years

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Week In Review: New Songs / Music Videos You Need to Check Out (January 12-18, 2020)

A lot of new music gets released over the course of any given week. This was no exception as we saw a plethora of new songs and music videos hit the internet in the last seven days, especially when it came to the rock and pop genres. Green Day, Missy Elliott, James Blunt and Grey Daze were among those who released tracks this week.

Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s music outlet, loves new music. That’s why we’ve once again scoured the internet for the week’s hottest new songs and music videos. Here are seven(and a few more) that we think are worth taking another look at this weekend.

1. Green Day, “Oh Yeah”: Green Day came back with a third single from their upcoming ‘Mother Of All Motherf*****s’ album this week. “Oh Yeah” puts a rough, grimy spin on the garage-rock genre. It’s so catchy that I, personally, can’t stop listening to it once I start. The unfortunate downside to the track is it’s sampling of a Joan Jett cover originally by convicted pedophile Gary Glitter, which the band hopes to remedy by giving their royalties from the single to International Justice Mission and RAINN. (video)

2. Missy Elliott, “Why I Still Love You”: In all the years that Missy Elliott was on top of the world with her raps, I don’t remember any time that she let her singing vocals take the lead. Such is why “Why I Still Love You” is such an unexpected, delightful curveball of a song. Elliott shows off her soulful pipes on this retro, R&B-inspired track. The simple beat and classic vocal style make this song an easy listen. The video is classic Missy Elliott, jumping between different the visual styles of various musical genres, in particular 50s, 60s and 70s girl groups (and punk). (video)

3. James Blunt, “Monsters”: “Monsters” is a tear-jerker of a song, written about his ailing father and coming to terms with his possible mortality. The song finds Blunt trying to comfort his dad and tell him that he’s going to step up and make him proud. The simple video the single comes with also speaks volumes, focusing on Blunt’s face as he sings and emotes, giving you a real glimpse of his pain and what he’s feeling. (video)

4. Trophy Eyes, “Figure Eight”: “Figure Eight” is an upbeat pop-punk track with a driving beat, pounding guitars and soaring vocals. The song’s already catchy melody is given extra texture by the little details, especially it’s echoed vocals on the chorus and saxophone breakdown. (video)

5. Hayley Kiyoko, “She”: “She” is a bright and uplifting pop song that takes you by surprise. The 90s-inspired beat gets you pumped for the upbeat “popified” late-era Weezer melody and message-filled lyrics about loving yourself. (video)

6. Emarosa, “Ready To Love”: “Ready To Love” mixes 80s power-pop with melodic rock for a song that evokes the essence of 80s metal balladry while staying completely current. The song’s melody and power immediately drew me in and made me want to sing along at the top of my lungs every time. (video)

7. Grey Daze, “What’s In The Eye”: Late Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington’s first band, Grey Daze, were planning to release a new album before the singer’s untimely passing in 2017. Now the band has released the first single from that album. “What’s In The Eye” is a hard rock jam with swirling guitars and haunting vocals that beg to be heard. It’s a different, more melodic vibe than the near-nu-metal of Linkin Park, but the emotion is classic Bennington. (video)

Further Listening:

· Four Year Strong, “Talking Myself in Circles”: (video)

· Best Coast, “Everything Has Changed”: (video)

· Brian Fallon, “21 Days”: (video)

· Jonas Brothers, “What A Man Gotta Do”: (video)

· The Grievance Club, “Marathon”: (video)

· A Girl Called Eddy, “Someone’s Gona Break Your Heart”: (video)

· Kodaline, “Wherever You Are”: (video)

Whether you enjoy rock, pop or R&B, there were a lot of great new songs and music videos released this week. With the weekend here, now is the perfect time to take a look back at some of the best. Check out some of our favorites in the list above and let us know what new songs you’ve been digging this week in the comments below.

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Discover music new and old at Vinyl Bay 777. As one of Long Island’s top independent record shops, we have thousands of titles to choose from in an array of genres to suit the tastes of most music fans. Browse our wide selection of new and used vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, music DVDs, memorabilia and more in store at our Plainview location or online at vinylbay777.com. Whether you’re looking for something new to you or to rediscover the classics, we have you covered. And with more titles being added to our selection all the time, you never know what you might find at Vinyl Bay 777.

#new music #songs #music video #weekend #Week In Review #rock #pop

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itsawonderfullifewithz · 5 years

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The Soundtrack of Z.’s Life

Unlike all of the mix CD’s I burned for her (yes, I’m old school that way), this last playlist is meant to be shared; Z was all about sharing.

I listed all 32 songs here, if you want to listen to them all the way through. If you want to listen to them one by one there are links on the bottom accompanied with a note on each song.

Some are obvious favorites of Z.’s. Some just spark memories. If you look into Z.’s Itunes account (also RIP), you’ll see a plethora of them comes from soundtracks because that’s how we primarily discovered songs--through movies.

The beauty of music is that it transports you back when the melody and lyrics attach itself to your soul. My hope is if people listen to these songs, you can get a sense of the feelings that Z. evoked in me.

“Everglow” by Coldplay.https://youtu.be/xn_1hFdE-5g This is the only song Z requested to be played at her funeral.

“When You Know” by Shawn Colvin. https://youtu.be/mARCRguuCrk From the Serendpity soundtrack. One of Z.’s rewatchable movies. I can’t confirm this but she probably played this song a lot when we got engaged.

“January Rain” by David Grey.https://youtu.be/FlfvGWBSS4o Again from the Serendipity soundtrack. It’s from the final scene when Johnathan and Sara are reunited.

“Here Comes Your Man” by the Pixies.https://youtu.be/tPgf_btTFlc On July 13, 2018; Z and I went to see the Pixies and Weezer at the DTE energy theater. This was the only song she knew by the Pixies. They didn’t play it.

“Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Green Day.https://youtu.be/NU9JoFKlaZ0 Z once said that she’d rather go to a Green Day concert than to see Lady Gaga. We never did get to see Green Day live, but I put this song in here because Billy Joe Armstrong wrote it for his father who died of cancer when he was ten years old.

“This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” by Natalie Cole.https://youtu.be/rbaoKL1Ei0c From the Parent Trap soundtrack; another of Z.’s rewatchable movies. This movie was playing the Freeform channel on June 21st, 2019; the last night Z. was alive.

“Us” by Regina Spektor.https://youtu.be/fczPlmz-Vug From the 500 Days of Summer Soundtrack. On October 28th, 2009, Z. and I saw our first movie together in the theater.

“There’s a Light that Never Goes Out” by The Smiths.https://youtu.be/3r-qDvD3F3c Also featured from the 500 Days of Summer Soundtrack. Initially, Z. didn’t like the ending of the movie. But after watching it a couple of more times, she had a deeper appreciation for it. Around the time of Z.’s diagnose I had a deeper appreciation for Morrissey’s morbid lyrics.

“Sweet Disposition” by the Temper Trap.https://youtu.be/4C8e7nNLZNs Again, from The 500 Days of Summer Soundtrack. This song could be found in Z.’s favorite scene when Summer and Tom reunite on the train.

“Bookends” by Simon and Garfunkel. https://youtu.be/sovVYInjHjw The last song from the 500 Days of Summer Track. When Tom and Summer breakup.

“Creep” by Radiohead (performed by the Scala Choir). https://youtu.be/3Ado5PMjr5k I remember when The Social Network trailer came out and it played this version of “Creep,” it was well done and haunting with what we do on the internet. Z likes this song but not the original radiohead version.

“Stand By Me” by Ben E. King (performed by Weezer). https://youtu.be/9JpQ_YTJmkE Z. likes Weezer’s cover songs more than their originals.

“Take on Me” by A-Ha (performed by Weezer). https://youtu.be/f7RwDnZI7Tw Another Weezer cover that was performed at the concert we went to on July 13, 2018.

“Walk On” by U2. https://youtu.be/gwKEdFoUB0o I put this song on a Mix CD when Z was undergoing radiation treatment.

“Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls. https://youtu.be/NdYWuo9OFAw Z and I agree that 90’s music was overall better than the modern stuff. We were supposed to see the Goo Goo Dolls this summer at DTE and close out the show with their signature song.

“Married Life” by Michael Giacchino. https://youtu.be/2rn-vMbFglI From the Up soundtrack. Up is one of our favorite animated movies. I’m not sure if I can ever bring myself to watch it again; I felt empathy for Carl when I first watched it and now I feel like I am Carl (without the dog). Z and I watched this movie on our first Valentine’s Day (2011).

“Magic” by B.O.B. w/Rivers Cuomo. https://youtu.be/Cq-NShfefks This song was playing when we at the Hard Rock cafe in Las Vegas in November of 2010. I remember this upbeat song coming on and being joyful that I was with my wife.

“Just a Girl” by No Doubt.https://youtu.be/PHzOOQfhPFg On March 8, 2019, Z and I saw our last movie in the theaters together--”Captain Marvel.” She was in the hospital when Avengers: Endgame came out.

“Time in a Bottle” by Tim Croce. https://youtu.be/dO1rMeYnOmM This was featured in the Quicksilver scene in X-Men: Days of Future Past. We saw this movie on May 31, 2014. This would be the last movie we’d watch in the theater pre-Xavier.

“At Least it was Here” by the 88. https://youtu.be/qEGbjR1Y9Qo This is the opening theme song from the show Community. You pretty much have to have a PHD in pop culture to appreciate the show, so I was very surprised when Z found it enjoyable when we marathoned the first four seasons during the summer of 2014, while taking care of our newborn. .

“I’m Going Home” by Richard O’Brien (performed by Tim Curry). https://youtu.be/mjHksjW4XQk From the Rocky Horror Picture Show. On October 23, 2015, in celebration of our 6th anniversary, we drove 100 miles to Kalamazoo to the Alamo Drafthouse (sadly, that location is now closed). We watched two movies: Crimson Peak and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. This was the first time Z. and I had dinner and a movie in 16 months since having Xavier.

“Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen. https://youtu.be/ttEMYvpoR-k An entire book has been written about this song. I can’t really add more to it. It’s the only song I can think of that has been played at both weddings and funerals.

“Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen (performed by KD Lang). https://youtu.be/P_NpxTWbovE Probably the best version of the song.

“Heroes by David Bowie” (performed Peter Gabriel). https://youtu.be/35XptNZU2OA Z. marathoned the first season of Stranger Things when she got back from her first surgery in July of 2016. She knew I’d love the show. This song was featured in the third episode “Holly, Jolly.”

“Africa” by Toto (performed by Weezer). https://youtu.be/mk5Dwg5zm2U She got so excited when they played this at the concert last year.

“There Will Never be Another You” by Harry Warren (performed by Chet Baker). https://youtu.be/3xpcBx1Gm-c We had this song playing on Valentine’s Day 2012, when we hosted dinner with our friends.

“Strawberry Fields” by the Beatles. https://youtu.be/HtUH9z_Oey8 On October 27, 2014, we went to the Strawberry fields section of central park.

“Something Just Like This” by The Chainsmokers & Coldplay. https://youtu.be/FM7MFYoylVs On August 19, 2017, Z and I went to see Coldplay at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH. Having listened to nothing but Coldplay albums on the ride there, she had never encountered this one before. She instantly loved it.

“Song for Someone” by U2. https://youtu.be/RFjcd_d2PhY I put this song on the first mixed CD I made her after diagnosis in 2016. I remember her wiping away a tear.

“Across the Sea” by Weezer. https://youtu.be/1mxEoA3G9Wg Z. considered this the best Weezer song that was not a cover.

“Everything” by Lifehouse. https://youtu.be/Li0jpfysBSI This will forever be our song. This was the first song I put on her first mix CD and was featured at our wedding.

‘Viva La Vida” by Coldplay. https://youtu.be/dvgZkm1xWPE I hope Z. appreciates me ending her soundtrack with this selection. I am not a Coldplay fan (Weezer Ride or Die!), but I think this is the best song I can think of to end things. It’s upbeat but lyrically tragic. The Spanish translation: “Long Live Life.”

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idiosyncraticmagic · 7 years

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So it looks like @jinxedlucky and @mrturingtest (it’s not letting me tag plsnskanks for some reason) decided to both tag me in the same two ask memes so I’m gonna bite the bullet and put them both in one post while I’m stuck in Cusco Airport:

A age: 18 B birthplace: Princeton Hospital, NJ. Regrettable, I know. C current time: 10:54 AM D drink you last had: Orange juice and coffee. Bluh. E easiest person to talk to: G, Other Ari, and Riv are my usual go-to folk when shit and the fan are getting reacquainted.  F favorite song: Changes daily. Today is probably Feels Like Summer by Weezer. G grossest memory: My actual answer to this can’t be shared due to Indiana hospital confidentiality laws, but the toilets on the Incan Trail are a close second. I have dug and shit in dirt holes that were more sanitary than the toilets on that fucking trail. H horror yes horror no: Fuck yes. Horror movies don’t scare me, so I just enjoy watching my friends freak out. I in love?: Ahahahahaha fml J jealous of people?: Nah. Live and let live, yo. K killed someone?: Get me drunk and we’ll talk. L love at first sight or should i walk by: I am so exceptionally bad about rushing into romos with people I barely know that three of my closest friends have formed a committee that now has to interview all potential romantic candidates before I can date them. The interview is over two hundred questions long. There is a calculator active portion. There is a take-home essay section. At one point, an angry middle-aged lady with a crowbar gets involved in the interview, because apparently the front desk receptionist at my old high school also believes that I jump into romos too quickly. Love at first sight, bitches. M middle name: Thomas, or Tammas if you’re my father and using the Hungarian spelling. This is, in fact, tangentially related to my gay fanfiction. N number of siblings: None O one wish: Murder all tuberculosis. It’ll make the world a better place. P person you last called: Probably Danny, just to tell him to check his goddamn FB messages. Q question you are always asked: “How do you get your hair to do that?" R reason to smile: Pez and I have a NGE marathon/coolkid sleepover party planned for when I get back to the US and I’m so hype for this S Song you last sung: Windeyaho, because I was up at dawn and fuckit. U underwear color: Neon hellpattern sports bra, grey boxers. V vacation: Currently in Peru, which is fucking amazing, christ. Just finished hiking the Incan Trail. Next stop is San Diego Comic Con, where I get to experience Kank’s True Form in person (current theory: many-tentacled floating orb, potentially the Babadook), which is gonna be rad af. August is The Big Roadtrip where I get to drive to Maine with G and meet up with Other Ari in Boston so that we can open our Christmas gifts together and I have been counting down the days for this for months now fuck I’m so hype X x-rays: Teeth and jaw Y your favorite food: Sushi! Tbh any form of raw fish is good with me Z zodiac sign: Libra

Top ten songs I’ve been listening to lately: 1. Counting Blue Cars - Dishwalla 2. Rubber Doll - Miss Fame 3. Sex Confetti - Blind Scuba Divers 4. Lose It - Oh Wonder 5. Sick of Losing Soulmates - Dodie 6. Love Me Click Me - 11 Acorn Lane 7. Good Morning - Grouplove 8. Kings - Tribe Society 9. Sky is the Limit - Rebelution 10. Nirvana - MUCC

I’m gonna tag a bunch of people, so y'all can pick if you do one/both of the ask memes: @the-entire-country-of-canada (Best Grill <>), @tridentgummybearsdontexist (best son), @hysterical-lemon (best jsis), @brain-octopus-solutions-inc (best aunt), @lousedog (best waifu), @sapphokid (best big sib), @tornad001 (best ho), @coolaliens2 (best side ho), and Archduke Sam (I can’t remember your URL but you have best bro status)

#txt #ask meme #is this gonna post is it not gonna post let's gamble on Peruvian LTE #I miss y'all terribly and should be able to answer messages soon #the formatting on this post is fucked. amazing.

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gunboatbaylodge · 7 years

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Things to Do in Vancouver this Weekend: August 17, 2017

Ready yourself for the beginning of The Fair at the PNE, an interstellar tall ship performance, dancing horses, a doughnut marathon, craft festivals, and a celebration of garlic! After the weekend, be sure to cap it off by being outside for the partial solar eclipse on Monday; by 10:21am the sun will be mostly blocked out by the moon. You can watch through special glasses, a home-made pinhole camera, or just watch the effect on the shadows around you, the wildlife, and the surrounding sky as the sun’s light turns to a sliver.

Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Ongoing

Friday August 18

Nomadic Tempest Where: The shore of South-East False Creek near Cambie bridge What: A free, all-ages show performed on a 90-foot long Tall Ship. Nomadic Tempest is a mythical saga of monarch migrants—embodied by aerial artists—searching for refuge on a drowned planet. Runs until: Sunday September 3, 2017

Sea to Sky Gondola Sunset Stretch with The Hairfarmers Where: Sea to Sky Gondola What: Extended hours mean more hiking, more sightseeing and more patio time! Tonight, listen to live music with modern rockers, The Hairfarmers.

Science World After Dark Where: Science World What: Technology and tinkering isn’t just for house cats! Our upcoming After Dark event is all about design and innovation in the outdoors. Come play outside in the Science Park with your friends.

Coconutz & Bananas

Coconutz & Bananas Where: The Odyssey What: Vancouver’s first trans-centric club night is an inclusive safe space for trans, non-binary, gender bending folks to be visible.

Bryson Tiller

Bryson Tiller Where: UBC Thunderbird Stadium What: An American singer, songwriter and rapper from Louisville, Kentucky.

Zac Brown Band

Zac Brown Band Where: Rogers Arena What: American country music from Atlanta, Georgia, that brings a bit of an indie low-key and grassroots vibe back to the scene of twang.

Architectural Walking Tours Where: Various locations What: The Architectural Institute of British Columbia offers architectural perspectives of six Vancouver neighbourhoods including vibrant Chinatown, historical Gastown, trendy Yaletown, contemporary Downtown, lively West End and diverse Strathcona, the first neighbourhood in Vancouver. Runs until: Thursday August 31, 2017

Eco Stewards Upcycling Workshop: Fence Building Where: Stanley Park What: Join the Stanley Park Ecology Society and environmental artist Sharon Kallis for this special two-day invasive plant upcycling workshop in Stanley Park! Volunteer participants will learn to build fences made from invasive plant materials that will help to stabilize sensitive habitat along North Creek. Runs until: Saturday August 20, 2017

Southlands BC Dressage Championship

Southlands BC Dressage Championship Where: Southlands Riding Club What: Watch horses prance and dance. This event draws riders of all ages and levels from across the province for thousands of dollar in cash and awards. Runs until: Sunday August 20, 2017

Mew

Mew Where: The Rickshaw What: Danish indie art-rock.

Lord of the Schwings:A Tolkien Burlesque Night Where: The Rio Theatre What: A silly, sexy evening filled with all your favourite hobbits, elves, wizards, and creatures.

Kimoto Gallery Summer Mixer Where: Kimoto Gallery What: New works by gallery artists.

Toni Onley Where: The Visual Space What: A retrospective exhibition that will include over 30 works of art from esteemed artist Toni Onley. Taken from the private collections of four local collectors, it is a rare chance to view and purchase many previously unseen works. Runs until: Saturday September 9, 2017

Saturday August 19

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The Fair at the PNE

The Fair at the PNE Where: The PNE What: The PNE, which has been on for over a century, offers a range of new and classic family entertainment, including more than 55 thrilling rides (including Canada’s largest pendulum ride, “The Beast,”) the Summer Night Concert series (featuring headliners such as The B52s, Mother Mother, The Pointer Sisters, The Doobie Brothers and ZZ Top), a craft beer festival, mouth-watering food from around the globe, the beloved Superdogs and more. Runs until: Monday September 4, 2017

Our Cityride Vancouver

Our Cityride Where: David Lam Park What: A non-competitive all inclusive mass participation ride that will be held in the heart of cities globally. The ride will be host to participants of all ages and abilities, focused around a fun and festive atmosphere with a festival of music, food trucks and activities for the whole family.

Watch & Learn Festival Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre and Plaza What: A weekend of hands-on learning with some of Vancouver’s most talented artisans. Workshop tickets include weekend passes to enjoy all of the Watch & Learn Festival including Etsy Vancouver market and live music. Runs until: Sunday August 20, 2017

Mother Mother Where: The Fair at the PNE What: Free with admission, The Fair’s summer concert series hosts Vancouver-based Mother Mother tonight.

Whitecaps Pride Night Where: BC Place Stadium What: The Whitecaps’ community includes everyone – join a night of pride and pre-game performance to showcase inclusion of the LGBTQ2+ community within the sports community.

ArtStarts Explores: Paint Where: ArtStarts Gallery What: Mix, stroke, mash, colour and blend our way through this fun family workshop that explores paint and painting.

Science World: Alfresco! Where: Science World What: A unique long-table 5-course dinner, served family style. The seasonal menu is rooted in west coast flavours—with an emphasis on fresh, local, sustainable ingredients and BC wine.

Harajuku Fashion Walk

Harajuku Fashion Walk Where: Robson Square What: Wear any fashion style you like, such as Lolita, punk, decora, cosplay or other creative outfits, embrace the Japanese fashion, and help spread J-fashion to the street on a walk-around with others.

BC Wildfire Benefit Concert Where: The Rickshaw What: Roots rock, with proceeds benefiting the Red Cross.

How to Get Over a Book Launch: Workshop Where: Vancouver Public Library Strathcona Branch What: Appearing in the documentary “The Revival: Women and the Word” is cast member t’ai freedom ford, who is touring her first poetry collection “how to get over”. Join us for a matinee reading at the new VPL nə́c̓aʔmat ct Strathcona Branch with t’ai and local poet and Vancouver Slam Master, Jillian Christmas.

Sawyer Fredericks

Sawyer Fredericks Where: The Wise Hall What: A folk/blues singer-songwriter, who cut his teeth at New York State farmers markets.

One OK Rock

One OK Rock Where: The Vogue What: Rock from Japan.

Weezel Where: The Roxy What: A Weezer tribute band.

Downtown Eastside Women’s Summer Fair Where: Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre What: Over twenty-five vendors and artisans from within the community, entertainment from local performers, an area for children to play, information booths about the different resources available in the community, and a wide variety of goods and services for purchase. Runs until: Saturday September 30, 2017 (Saturdays)

Quantic (Live)

Quantic (Live) Where: The Imperial What: British born musician, producer and DJ performs a special live show.

Sunday August 20

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Donut Dash 2017

Donut Dash 2017 Where: Playland What: Vancouver’s tastiest and most filling 5K run where runners will be energized with sugary and tasty treats throughout the course, including mini donuts and more.

Crabs, Clams, and Other Coastal Critters Where: Stanley Park What: Pack your rubber boots and prepare to be blown away by the bizarre life in Stanley Park’s intertidal zone. From orange armoured sea cucumbers to red feather duster worms, you might forget what planet you are on.

Garlic Festival Where: Terra Nova Rural Park (Richmond, BC) What: Celebrate the garlic harvest by gazing upon garlic, eating garlic, buying garlic, listening to garlic-friendly music, and not worrying about your breath at all because everyone is mowing down on arguably the most delicious addition to pretty much any meal.

Ongoing

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Ensemble Theatre Festival

Ensemble Theatre Festival Where: Jericho Arts Centre What: Featuring a cast of emerging and established actors performing In the Next Room, A Prayer for Owen Meany, and Master Class, by directors new and returning to the festival: Keltie Forsyth, Ian Farthing, and Evan Frayne. Runs until: Friday August 18, 2017

Oh, Canada – The True North Strong and Funny

Oh, Canada – The True North Strong and Funny Where: The Improv Centre on Granville Island What: Based on audience suggestions, the cast lampoon such Canadian ‘institutions’ as Heritage Minutes, the Mounties, winter, our hunky Prime Minister, hockey, and lumberjacks or other endless possibilities. As this is improv and the show is made up on the spot, no two shows are ever the same. Join us for some distinctively Canadian laughs. You’ll be nicer for it. Runs until: Saturday August 19, 2017

Kitsilano Showboat

Kitsilano Showboat Where: Kits beach What: Almost anything can happen at this family friendly showcase of amateur talent dating back to 1935. Runs until: Saturday August 19, 2017

Vancouver Queer Film Festival Where: Various locations What: This festival is ready to once again illuminate the transformative moments in the lives of queer people – telling stories of the journeys we have taken to find ourselves, each other and our place in the world. This year continues the movement of creating change through film, education and dialogue. Runs until: Sunday August 20, 2017

Watch & Learn Festival Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre What: A weekend of hands-on learning with some of Vancouver’s most talented artisans. Workshop tickets include weekend passes to enjoy the rest of Watch & Learn Festival including Etsy Vancouver market and live music. Runs until: Sunday August 20, 2017

Southlands BC Dressage Championship

Odlum Brown VanOpen Where: Hollyburn County Club What: Western Canada’s largest and most celebrated tennis event. $ 200,000 in prize money for men and women, and the opportunity to gain valuable world-ranking points on both the ATP and WTA Tours. Runs until: Sunday August 20. 2017

Film Noir Where: The Cinematheque What: The Cinematheque’s annual foray into the dark, desperate world of American film noir returns with eleven lurid classics from noir’s hard-boiled heyday. Runs until: Thursday August 24, 2017

Indigenous Plant Use Where: Stanley Park What: Walk through the forest with an experienced guide of Coast Salish descent and learn about the traditional and present-day Indigenous relationships with local flora and fauna. While there will be no collecting on these tours, Stanley Park offers a perfect setting to learn about sustainable harvesting. Runs until: Friday August 25, 2017 (Fridays)

Theatre Under the Stars | Photo by Tim Matheson

Theatre Under the Stars Where: Stanley Park What: Enjoy a delightful dose of entertainment this summer with two Broadway musicals. Mary Poppins and The Drowsy Chaperone will be performed live at the Malkin Bowl. A beloved Vancouver tradition since 1940, TUTS 2017 season promises song & dance in two family-friendly productions celebrating love and imagination. Runs until: Saturday August 26, 2017

Story Walks

Story Walks Where: The Shipyards and in Lynn Canyon Park What: Free drop-in walks at The Shipyards are offered Saturdays and Sundays at 11 am and 1:30 pm. Meet at Lonsdale Ave. and Victory Ship Way. Free drop-in walks in Lynn Canyon Park are offered Wednesdays and Thursdays from July 6th to August 24th at 11 am and 1:30 pm. Meet across from the Lynn Canyon Café. Runs until: Sunday August 27, 2017

Peak Yoga on Grouse Mountain

Peak Yoga on Grouse Mountain Where: Grouse Mountain What: Enjoy 60 minute yoga classes led by YYoga instructors, every Saturday and Sunday from 10:00-11:00 am. Whether you need a great post-Grind cool down or would just love to experience a different yoga venue at one of the city’s most spectacular locations, these 60-minute class are bound to enhance your physical well-being and kick start your weekend. Runs until: Sunday August 27, 2017

Social Sundays Where: VanDusen Gardens What: Summer sounds, signature cocktails, and lawn games. Runs until: Sunday August 27, 2017

Dance in Transit Where: Various outdoor locations What: A continuous supply of dancing during the warm months —at no cost. Watch it, try it, and see if you love it. Runs until: Sunday August 27th, 2017

Love’s Labor Lost Where: The Bernie Legge Theatre (New Westminster, BC) What: Alchemy Theatre and Vagabond Players present Love’s Labour’s Lost. In order to dedicate themselves to a life of study, the King and his friends take an oath to avoid the company of women, along with all other vices, for three whole years. No sooner have they agreed to their idealistic pledge than the beautiful Princess of France and her ladies-in-waiting arrive, presenting the men with a severe test of their high-minded resolve. Runs until: Sunday August 20, 2017

The Fair at the PNE

Xi Xanya Dzam – Those Who Are Amazing At Making Things Where: The Bill Reid Gallery What: Xi Xanya Dzam (pronounced hee hun ya zam) is the Kwak’wala word describing incredibly talented and gifted people who create works of art. The exhibition is both a showcase and a critical exploration of ‘achievement’ and ‘excellence’ in traditional and contemporary First Nations art. Runs until: Sunday September 4, 2017

Pictures From Here

Pictures From Here Where: Vancouver Art Gallery What: Featuring photographs and video works from the early 1960s to the present that capture the urban environment of the Greater Vancouver region, its citizens and the vast “natural” landscape of the province. Runs until: Sunday September 4, 2017

Jaad Kuujus: Meghann O’Brien

Jaad Kuujus: Meghann O’Brien Where: Bill Reid Gallery What: Meghann takes materials from the natural world and transforms them into pieces of high-level human expression. Working with traditional materials such as mountain goat wool and cedar bark has given her a deep connection to the supernatural world, a connection to her ancestors. She describes working with cedar bark as, “travelling back in time” or “touching the cosmos”. Her creations have a profound impact within contemporary Northwest Coast art and beyond. Runs until: September 2017

Sunday Art Market

Sunday Art Market Where: Jim Deva Plaza What: Local artists, vendors and makers, largely from Vancouver’s West End, along with musical and other live performances and artist-led workshops to drop into. Runs until: September 2017

Panda International Night Market Where: Richmond, BC What: A diverse market in Richmond, with shopping, food, beverages, and a game zone. Runs until: Monday September 11, 2017

Flora and Fauna: A Summer Art Show Where: The Fall Tattooing and Artist Studio What: An artistic summer celebration of all vibrant, colourful, living things. Runs until: Friday September 15, 2017

Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival

Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival Where: Vanier Park What: What do you say to watching a live production of Much Ado About Nothing, The Winter’s Tale, The Merchant of Venice or The Two Gentlemen of Verona in a custom-built tent on the beach while sipping wine, beer, and munching on a picnic lunch themed to the play? Yes! Right? After 28 years, this festival has hit a stride of near perfection (and don’t even get us started on the amazing costumes.) Runs until: Saturday September 23, 2017

A Sublime Vernacular: The Landscape Paintings of Levine Flexhaug

A Sublime Vernacular: The Landscape Paintings of Levine Flexhaug Where: Contemporary Art Gallery What: The first overview of the extraordinary career of Levine Flexhaug (1918 – 1974), born in the Treelon area near Climax, Saskatchewan. It brings together approximately 450 of the artist’s paintings as well as several of his mural-sized works. An itinerant painter, he sold thousands of variations of essentially the same landscape painting in national parks, resorts, department stores and bars across western Canada from the late 1930s through the early 1960s. Runs until: Sunday September 24, 2017

Unbelievable

Unbelievable Where: The Museum of Vancouver What: This exhibition poses provocative questions about our perception of stories by assembling iconic artifacts, storied replicas, and contested objects for a mind-bending exploration of the role stories play in defining lives and communities – and what happens when we question the tales we’ve long relied upon. Unbelievable objects include the Thunderbird totem pole that appeared in controversial filmmaker Edward Curtis’ 1906 work In the Land of the Head Hunters; contemporary ‘totems’, each with contrasting stories about a point in time in Vancouver; and artifacts illustrating the complex narrative around Vancouver’s relationship with First Nations communities. Runs until: Sunday September 24, 2017

Uninterrupted

Uninterrupted Where: Under the Cambie Street Bridge What: After dusk, audiences will witness the extraordinary migration of wild Pacific salmon in a 30-minute cinematic spectacle that explores the connection between nature and our urban environments. Runs until: Sunday September 24, 2017

Be Polite

Be Polite Where: Contemporary Art Gallery What: Working closely with the Estate of Gordon Bennett and IMA Brisbane the exhibition will comprise a selection of rare works on paper including drawing, painting, watercolour, poetry, and essays from the early 1990s through to the early 2000s. Runs until: Sunday September 24, 2017

Works by Anna Milton

Works by Anna Milton Where: VanDusen Gardens What: Anna has been exhibiting and selling her work internationally since her college years. She trained and worked as an art therapist for many years and is interested in symbols and metaphor that are present in visual art. Runs until: Wednesday September 27, 2017

Shipyards Night Marlet

Shipyards Night Market Where: Lonsdale, North Vancouver What: Food, art, music, entertainment, shopping, a beer garden, and you can bring your dog! Runs until: September 29, 2017

ZimCarvings Where: VanDusen Botanical Garden What: Patrick Sephani along with visiting artist Peter Kananji will be showcasing works from over 30 Zimbabwean stone sculptors on the beautiful garden grounds and carving stone sculptures on site. All works will be available for purchase. Runs until: Saturday September 30, 2017

Claude Monet’s Secret Garden

Claude Monet’s Secret Garden Where: Vancouver Art Gallery What: The most comprehensive exhibition of French painter Claude Monet’s work in Canada in two decades, Claude Monet’s Secret Garden will trace the career of this pivotal figure in Western art history. This exhibition will present thirty-eight paintings spanning the course of Monet’s long career from the unparalleled collection of the Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris. Runs until: Sunday October 1, 2017

Stephen Shore: The Giverny Portfolio

Stephen Shore: The Giverny Portfolio Where: Vancouver Art Gallery What: Twenty-five photographs by contemporary American photographer Stephen Shore produced during several visits to Impressionist painter Claude Monet’s famous gardens at Giverny, France. Showing concurrently with the exhibition Claude Monet’s Secret Garden, Stephen Shore: The Giverny Portfolio offers a contemporary perspective on the tranquility originally captured in Monet’s iconic paintings. Runs until: Sunday October 1, 2017

Persistence

Persistence Where: Vancouver Art Gallery What: Persistence draws together three recent contemporary installations to explore the surprising and creative ways that technologies, physical objects and natural processes endure and transform. Runs until: October 1, 2017

Elad Lassry

Elad Lassry Where: Vancouver Art Gallery What: Investigating the nature of perception with a special focus on the photographic image within the digital era, the exhibition includes more than seventy works—films, photographs and sculpture—produced by Lassry over the last decade. Runs until: Sunday October 1, 2017

Mount Pleasant Farmers Market Where: Dude Chilling Park What: Amble over and pick up some afternoon picnic supplies, groceries for the week, and Sunday dinner fixings from 25+ farms and producers. Each week you’ll find a fresh selection of just-picked seasonal fruits & veggies, ethically-raised meats & sustainable seafood, artisanal bread & prepared foods, craft beer, wine, & spirits, handmade craft, and coffee & food trucks. Runs until: Sunday October 8, 2017

Traces of Words: Art and Calligraphy from Asia

Traces of Words: Art and Calligraphy from Asia Where: UBC Museum of Anthropology What: Words and their physical manifestations are explored in this insightful exhibition, which will honour the special significance that written forms. Varied forms of expression associated with writing throughout Asia is shown over the span of different time periods: from Sumerian cuneiform inscriptions, Qu’ranic manuscripts, Southeast Asian palm leaf manuscripts and Chinese calligraphy from MOA’s Asian collection to graffiti art from Afghanistan and contemporary artworks using Japanese calligraphy, and Tibetan and Thai scripts. Runs until: Monday October 9, 2017

Richmond Night Market

Richmond Night Market Where: Richmond, BC What: There’s a dinosaur park! Anamatronic dinosaurs! Also – live performances, carnival games, over 200 retail stalls and over 500 food choices from around the world. Runs until: October 9, 2017

Onsite / Offsite Tsang Kin-Wah

Onsite / Offsite Tsang Kin-Wah Where: Vancouver Art Gallery What: This large-scale composition transforms English texts to form intricate floral and animal patterns. The work draws from discriminatory language that appeared in newspapers and political campaigns in Vancouver during the 1887 anti-Chinese riots, the mid-1980s immigration influx from Hong Kong and most recently, the heated exchanges around the foreign buyers and the local housing market. Runs until: Sunday October 15, 2017

West End Farmers Market Where: 1100 Comox St What: Located in the heart of Vancouver’s busy West End, this laid-back Saturday market looks onto beautiful Nelson Park and adjacent community gardens. Each week, shop for the best in local, seasonal produce, artisanal bread & prepared foods, craft beer, wine, & spirits, ethically raised meat, eggs, & dairy, sustainable seafood, wild crafted product, and handmade craft. Hot food & coffee on-site as well. Runs until: Saturday October 21, 2017 (Saturdays)

Trout Lake Farmers Market Where: Trout Lake What: This is where you’ll find the vendors who have been doing it since the beginning; what started as 14 farmers ‘squatting’ at the Croatian Cultural Centre back in 1995 has grown into Vancouver’s most well-known and beloved market. Visitors come from near and far to sample artisan breads & preserves, stock up on free-range and organic eggs & meats, get the freshest, hard-to-find heirloom vegetables and taste the first Okanagan cherries and peaches of the season. Runs until: Saturday October 21, 2017 (Saturdays)

Kitsilano Farmers Market

Kitsilano Farmers Market Where: Kitsilano Community Centre parking lot What: A great selection of just-picked, seasonal fruits & vegetables, ethically raised and grass fed meat, eggs, & dairy, sustainable seafood, fresh baked bread & artisanal food, local beer, wine, & spirits, and beautiful, handmade craft. Kids and parents alike can enjoy entertainment by market musicians, a nearby playground and splash park, and coffee and food truck offerings each week. Runs until: Sunday October 22, 2017 (Sundays)

The Lost Fleet Exhibit Where: Vancouver Maritime Museum What: On December 7, 1941 the world was shocked when Japan bombed Pearl Harbour, launching the United States into the war. This action also resulted in the confiscation of nearly 1,200 Japanese-Canadian owned fishing boats by Canadian officials on the British Columbia coast, which were eventually sold off to canneries and other non-Japanese fishermen. The Lost Fleet looks at the world of the Japanese-Canadian fishermen in BC and how deep-seated racism played a major role in the seizure, and sale, of Japanese-Canadian property and the internment of an entire people. Runs until: Winter 2017

Bill Reid Creative Journeys | Image via the Canadian Museum of History

Bill Reid Creative Journeys Where: The Bill Reid Gallery What: Celebrating the many creative journeys of acclaimed master goldsmith and sculptor Bill Reid (1920–1998), this exhibition provides a comprehensive introduction to his life and work. Runs until: Sunday December 10, 2017

Amazonia: The Rights of Nature

Amazonia: The Rights of Nature Where: UBC Museum of Anthropology What: MOA will showcase its Amazonian collections in a significant exploration of socially and environmentally-conscious notions intrinsic to indigenous South American cultures, which have recently become innovations in International Law. These are foundational to the notions of Rights of Nature, and they have been consolidating in the nine countries that share responsibilities over the Amazonian basin. Runs until: January 28, 2018

Emily Carr: Into the Forest

Emily Carr: Into the Forest Where: Vancouver Art Gallery What: Far from feeling that the forests of the West Coast were a difficult subject matter, Carr exulted in the symphonies of greens and browns found in the natural world. With oil on paper as her primary medium, Carr was free to work outdoors in close proximity to the landscape. She went into the forest to paint and saw nature in ways unlike her fellow British Columbians, who perceived it as either untamed wilderness or a plentiful source of lumber. Runs until: March 4, 2018

Chief Dan George: Actor and Activist Where: North Vancouver Museum What: An exhibition exploring the life and legacy of Tsleil-Waututh Chief Dan George (1899- 1981) and his influence as an Indigenous rights advocate and his career as an actor. The exhibition was developed in close collaboration with the George family. Runs until: April 2018

In a Different Light

In a Different Light Where: Museum of Anthropology What: More than 110 historical Indigenous artworks and marks the return of many important works to British Columbia. These objects are amazing artistic achievements. Yet they also transcend the idea of ‘art’ or ‘artifact’. Through the voices of contemporary First Nations artists and community members, this exhibition reflects on the roles historical artworks have today. Featuring immersive storytelling and innovative design, it explores what we can learn from these works and how they relate to Indigenous peoples’ relationships to their lands. Runs until: Spring 2019

What are you up to this weekend? Tell me and the rest of Vancouver in the comments below or tweet me directly at @lextacular

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bountyofbeads · 4 years

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MIRANDA'S REBELLION( This is an excellent article from the perspective of a southern white evangelical woman in the deeply conservative south where most of the white population are 'MAGA' supporters. I could identify with her and have tremendous empathy for Miranda. PLEASE read and share, it's well worth the time.)

By Stephanie McCrummen | Published

Feb 29 at 8:48 PM EST | Washington Post | Posted March 01, 2020 |

It was Sunday, the day that Miranda Murphey always took long hikes in the woods with her best friend. She looked forward to them, and when she heard Liz pulling up the long gravel driveway, she came downstairs and out through the garage, past the deer heads on the wall, the rifles in the gun safe and all the things that led her to call the home she shared with her husband “manly land.” Phillip Murphey was working on a truck outside.

“Hey, Liz,” he said, as Elizabeth Hahn got out of her car.

“Hey,” she said to Miranda’s husband.

In the unfolding life of Miranda Murphey that afternoon, any number of people claimed to know her best — Republicans, Democrats, presidential candidates and all the strategists and pollsters looking to her as a key to winning one of the most consequential elections in recent American memory. But none were more certain they knew Miranda than the two people watching her toss her hiking gear in the car and pull her long blond hair into a ponytail.

“Tame the mane,” Phillip said, watching his wife of 12 years.

“Okay, babe — see you later,” Miranda said to him, and soon she and Liz were heading down a two-lane road on the suburban fringe of Augusta, Ga., where Miranda had grown up absorbing the conservative values that had led her to vote Republican in every presidential election except the last one, when the rise of Donald Trump had forced her into a reckoning that often took the form of conversations with Liz on Sundays like these.

“Was it raining last time?” Liz said now, looking out at the blue sky.

“No, it was cold though,” Miranda said.

They passed farm fields and a sign that read “Does your life please God?” They passed the church Miranda no longer attended, a subdivision where her pro-Trump in-laws lived, and a gas station where a man usually stood selling President Trump flags and posters of Trump as Rambo holding an M-60 rifle. This was suburban Augusta: mostly white, mostly evangelical, mostly Trump. The rest was Target, good schools and prayer groups at Panera.

Miranda played some music from her phone. Randy Travis, Weezer, Tupac, and soon, she and Liz were pulling into the empty parking lot alongside the woods where they’d talked their way through the past three years since Trump’s election. They stood at the edge of the pines, deciding on a path they had named the Robert Frost, after the meditative poet. Miranda adjusted her backpack; Liz got her water bottle.

“You ready?” said Liz.

“Yep,” said Miranda.

*****

She is 39, a high school English teacher with a PhD and part of a voting demographic whose rebellion could upend the political map of the country: not just suburban women, not just white suburban women, but white suburban women in the South, whose loyalty Trump will need to remain in power.

It is the kind of loyalty that has always been expected of white Southern women, who have long played a role as allies of the status quo. This was true during the days of slavery, then the days of segregation, and held true when the women’s rights movement arrived and white Southern women joined the conservative movement instead, rallying to the slogan, “Stop Taking Our Privileges.” In all the decades that followed, it has been the votes of white Southern women that have defined and shored up the modern Republican Party.

Black women and Latino women consistently deliver huge margins to Democrats. And in the 2016 election, 52 percent of white women outside of the South voted for Hillary Clinton, according to a study by the University of Arkansas’ Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society.

It is white women in the Deep South who have remained the loyalists, the research showed, giving Trump 64 percent of their vote in 2016, a figure that did not include Miranda Murphey, who had first started reevaluating her politics after the election of Barack Obama, even though she had voted Republican.

“It was all the comments I kept hearing, like, ‘Change the channel, I don’t want to see that black face,’ ” she said. “It was always that he was black, not that he was liberal, not that there was a problem with some policy. I always thought being a Republican meant supporting the military and lower taxes, not being racist and ignorant.”

Then came Trump, who Miranda found so morally repugnant that for the first time in her voting life she wrote in the name of the Libertarian Party candidate and went to bed expecting that good and decent conservatives would do the same. She woke up realizing she was wrong. Church members had voted for Trump. Her parents had gone for Trump. Phillip: Trump.

And then came Liz, a new English teacher in her district who was outspoken and had a sticker on her cellphone with an image of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the word “Dissent.” She was not like anyone Miranda had met before, a Republican who’d become a Democrat and who described her Trump-era self as a “full-on rage machine.”

Miranda was not sure how to describe herself anymore, other than at odds with a world she thought she knew, in an America that felt more fragile than ever, and now, a mile into the woods with Liz, that is what she began talking about.

“You don’t find too many marriages around here where the husband is one way politically and the wife is another,” Miranda said.

“Living outside expectations is like running a marathon — it’s like being exhausted all the time because you have to work so hard,” Liz said.

They trudged through damp leaves, and Miranda brought up a recent dinner with a relative who’d said that Trump should just “drop a bomb on the entire Middle East” and how hard it was for her to remain polite.

“It’s those kinds of conversations. I’m looking around thinking, ‘Am I the only one who thinks this is not okay?’ ” Miranda said.

“You just want to scream!” Liz said. She brought up a confrontation she’d had at school, over a white speaker who she felt was unfairly criticizing black activists. “I was like, ‘Oh hell no.’ But it’s painful not to fit in. There’s one woman I know at school, it’s clear she questions things, but she is still in captivity.”

Miranda listened. She was by now used to how Liz talked. Women in bondage, the white male establishment. Liz, the daughter of a minister, now described the evangelical church as a “fear-based cult permanently intertwined with a patriarchal power system.”

Miranda was surprised by how often she found herself seeing what Liz meant. She had come around to Liz’s view that being pro-choice did not mean being pro-abortion, for instance. She had stopped attending church partly because her Sunday school had turned into one long baby shower and she did not have children, and partly because of the day a teacher had gone on a rant about the growing Muslim population.

“The message to me was, ‘They’re here to out-populate us,’ ” Miranda said now. “I took it as: ‘Wow, I guess I’m not doing my job having white children to add to the fight.’ ”

“It’s like this way of life is threatened,” said Liz. “This white way of life.”

They stopped for a moment for water, and Miranda thought about that. She thought about how her husband’s friend had kidded her about her friendship with Liz, and kidded Liz about the bumper stickers on her car — “Tolerance” and “Coexist” and “READ” — and how she had laughed it off until one day it wasn’t funny anymore.

“Exactly which one of those do you disagree with?” Miranda had said sharply.

“It’s like they’re wondering, ‘Are you changing?’” she told Liz now. “It’s a subconscious thing of, ‘What’s next?’ Meaning, if my mind can be changed, what else could happen?”

*****

She didn’t enjoy making people feel uncomfortable.

“You were always a rule follower,” Miranda’s mother was reminding her one day when they were having lunch, as they did most weekends at a place near where she had grown up.

Her father was a retired drill sergeant. Her mother was a special-education teacher who had taught Miranda what she considered the most important lesson of her life: to always try to understand someone else’s perspective, even if that person was antagonistic, even if Miranda herself was at the heart of the conflict.

“Especially if you are,” her mom said as they finished lunch.

She had gone to public schools, joined the ROTC and earned the nickname “Commando Barbie” for her ability to cross a rope bridge and dreams of becoming a military intelligence officer, which asthma cut short. She went to college at Georgia Southern, where she was ambitious and studious and earned a new nickname, “Bombshell,” which is what Phillip called her when they first met in a geology class. As she tells the story, the teacher asked a question, Miranda answered wrong, and everyone in the class laughed — except Phillip.

“He was the only one,” Miranda said.

He was from a prominent Augusta family whose parents had once lived in a wealthy Augusta neighborhood called the Hill, before moving to a house with a swimming pool in a subdivision called Camelot. They had cocktail hour every afternoon and tickets to the Masters golf tournament many springs. His mother was the sort of Southern woman who was aghast when Miranda wore a skirt that she deemed too short to a reception at the Pinnacle Club, one of Augusta’s elite venues. Miranda was by then the sort of woman who called the Pinnacle Club the Pineapple Club; she could ridicule Southern pretensions even as she conceded to them.

The wedding was beautiful. Black tuxedos, red roses, a Southern Baptist church. Miranda relented when the preacher insisted on “obey” in the vows, which Phillip had laughed off, saying he was “definitely not in charge” of Miranda, and this was why she had chosen him.

He did not chafe at her independence. He never complained when she decided to pursue her doctorate instead of having children. Never asked where his dinner was. He was kind to her older sister, who was born with mental disabilities, and who Miranda referred to as “my heart” and “my girl” with an air of fierce protectiveness.

They settled into life together in the house at the end of the long, pine-shaded driveway. Phillip had his own construction business. Miranda felt a sense of deep satisfaction teaching literature to students including some so poor their shoes flapped open, and for 12 years the assumption had been that their days together were based upon shared values, right up until the arrival of Trump. For the first time, Miranda felt what she described as “resistance.”

They used to talk about everything, and now Miranda began avoiding politics. They used to watch Fox News together, and now Miranda was recording the Democratic presidential debates to watch when Phillip wasn’t around. They used to attend church together and now Phillip went alone to a men’s prayer group each Sunday, and Miranda and Liz went for their walks in the woods. Her interior life was changing; their exterior life was the same.

“Hey babe, I was going to pick up Olive Garden,” she would say driving home.

“Sounds good,” he would say.

“Love you,” she would say.

“Love you,” he would say.

Phillip listened to Rush Limbaugh at work. Miranda had been rereading “The Handmaid’s Tale,” the dystopian Margaret Atwood novel about a near-future America in which women are subjugated in a theocratic, patriarchal state, and thinking that the reason it was so frightening was that “there wasn’t some cataclysm that changed everything.”

“It all started with a return to conservative values, with a rejection of what the world is, and a return to what they thought the world used to be,” she said.

Phillip’s friends had been the same since high school. Hers had expanded to include a group of female teachers that Liz called “the coven,” who often met at Liz’s house to drink wine, and talk about school and how stifling life could be in suburban Augusta.

“Love you,” Phillip said, dropping Miranda off on one of these evenings, pausing for a moment to wave at a group of women he barely knew.

“Love you,” Miranda said, and the wine was poured.

They talked about codependent female characters in movies, which somehow led to a conversation about the actor Tom Hiddleston, and Liz played a recording of him reading a racy E.E. Cummings poem.

“Y’all,” said Miranda. “I’m going to have to take a shower.”

There was more wine, and they talked about the night they all went to a downtown Augusta club to see a fellow teacher who moonlighted in a burlesque troop called Dirty South. She had performed as Marie Antoinette and smashed cake all over her body.

“Liz kept saying, ‘Look at Miranda’s face!’ ” one of the teachers said now.

“I kept pouring wine for Miranda,” Liz said. “I joked that she was out of her comfort zone, but actually it was me — I still have that evangelical Christian girl in there.”

“I would just like to clarify,” Miranda said. “I did not go to a strip club. I went to a burlesque performance.”

She went along with the jokes but at times wondered where all this was going.

More wine, and they talked about another burlesque show based on Disney princesses, called Distease, and not long after that Miranda decided it was late, and headed home.

***

When it was Sunday again, she and Liz went hiking.

It had rained the night before, and now they crossed over flooded gullies and fallen limbs.

They talked about what it meant that Amy Klobuchar’s voice seemed shaky in the last Democratic debate. They talked about a short story they’d both read, in which a woman finds out her husband has died, feels devastated, then exhilarated as she realizes she is finally free, then finds out her husband actually survived, and then dies.

“All the promise of life without him,” Liz sighed.

“Yeah,” Miranda said, and soon the conversation trailed off as Miranda walked ahead.

They had talked about so many things in three years, including some things they’d hardly told anyone else.

Miranda had told Liz that she felt she’d never really fit the mold of what a woman was expected to be in Augusta. About her internal debate over having children. About men she dated before Phillip, including an African American man, and how she had gotten spit on when they were in public. She had told Liz about the minister who’d slid his foot up her skirt and then warned her to keep her mouth shut about it. She had told her about a time before that, when she had been sexually assaulted by a man when she was 8 years old, how she did not want to be defined by that, and how she still walked across parking lots with keys in her fist like a knife. She’d told Liz how all that had rolled into her feelings about the president, and how hard it was keeping those feelings to herself when she was around Phillip, his friends and his family, and how she wondered if that made her a strong, understanding woman or an enabler of Trump.

Liz had listened. She had told Miranda about growing up in a strict evangelical Christian home believing that being anything other than a dutiful wife upholding conservative values would lead to eternity in hell, and how the tension between the person she was expected to be and what she was had made her suicidal at one point.

She had told Miranda about her first marriage to a conservative Christian man with whom she had two kids and “this cute little family,” and how it started falling apart when she began reading Dostoyevsky, pursuing a teaching career, making different friends, having different thoughts, and how “this internal voice got louder and louder saying, ‘this is not a role I can play anymore’ ” until she finally got a divorce, after which she felt guilty for years.

She had told Miranda about how the rise of Trump had forced her not only to clarify her values but to start expressing them, and what she felt that expression had cost her. Her father, a Trump supporter, wrote her out of his will. Her oldest son, a Trump supporter, left Augusta to live with her ex-husband, a Trump supporter. Her pastor had avoided her when she asked to have a meeting about her moral problems with Trump, a situation that culminated on the Sunday before the election, when he all but exhorted the congregation to vote for Trump. Liz was in the choir then, still feeling guilty and afraid in some corner of her old mind, and now she was supposed to stand up in front of the church and sing “God Bless America.” Only when the music started, she found herself shaking with anger. She raised the microphone but instead of singing she looked out at the faces of a few people she knew had the same unspoken reservations she did, then put the microphone down and walked out.

She had told Miranda how unimaginable this new life of hers had once seemed. Her new husband was a libertarian from Delaware who took her to death metal concerts. She joined an Episcopal church. She had become chair of the county Democratic Party, gone to the first Women’s March in Washington, and although she was sure that this had cost her a teaching contract at a private Christian school, she had decided her freedom was worth it.

She told Miranda what she told herself: “I will not live in fear anymore. I am not going to be that person in the room anymore that hides who I am so I don’t have to be uncomfortable or people around me don’t have to feel uncomfortable.”

Miranda had listened. She admired Liz’s bravery, even if she was not sure whether she wanted to follow her example into the unknown, and she was thinking about all this as they hiked deeper into the pines. They stopped to catch their breath.

“Should we keep going?” Liz said.

*****

At times, Liz felt Miranda was somehow hiding from her true self. She wondered if she was pushing Miranda too far, such as when she asked her to walk with the Democrats in the county Christmas parade.

When Miranda declined, Liz decided to let it go, and on a bright afternoon lined up for the parade with the only other people in the county who said yes: an African American woman, a married couple, an Indian American man, a retiree from Nebraska, a gay woman, a 12-year-old transgender boy and his nervous father who kept saying, “It’ll be fine, it’ll be just fine.”

They held up the blue banner of the Democratic Party and when Miss Columbia County Fair gave the sign, headed toward the waiting throngs lining both sides of a two-mile route.

“Merry Christmas!” Liz began, waving to the crowd.

“Booo!” yelled a man in a Santa hat. “Booo!”

“Snowflakes!” yelled a woman in a plaid shawl next to him.

Liz kept waving and smiling.

“MAGA! God Bless! Make America great again!” yelled a man in a visor stamped with an American flag.

“Bunch of retards,” said a man under his breath.

Another raised his right arm straight in front of him, palm down, fingers stiff.

“Troll! Troll!” yelled a man in a fleece vest.

“Is that a jackass on your shirt?” said a man cradling a baby, and through it all, Liz kept smiling, and kept waving, and meanwhile, Miranda was home with Phillip.

She was grading papers; he was working outside, and it was the kind of quiet and predictable day that gave Phillip the feeling of contentment he prized.

“It’s just — easy,” was how he described his relationship with Miranda.

They’d been through so much together — her graduate school, his new business, the deaths of his parents, serious illnesses, a thousand good times — and of all the things he was sure of in his life, he was surest of Miranda.

“I know I didn’t marry a traditional woman,” he said. “She’s not Southern Living. She’s very career-oriented. She’s not lazy. She’s a worker. She’s a go-getter. I tell her all the time, ‘Miranda, you are determined.’ ”

He accepted her, and he knew she accepted him, as he had always been accepted as the favorite son of parents he admired and never wished to disappoint. He had been a Boy Scout. He had never had a curfew because he never got in trouble. He had never lived anywhere but Columbia County, Ga., except for college and a brief stint after, which left him so out of sorts that he moved back into his boyhood room and saved money until he and Miranda married. He had never touched alcohol because he didn’t want to like it. He had become a man who said of Miranda, “She’s the only girl I ever kissed.”

“I didn’t know I had any feelings until I met Miranda,” Phillip said.

Besides her, his world had been a world of men. He kept the deer heads on the garage wall because they reminded him of some of the best times of his life hunting with his father, his brothers, his friends and the bonds they formed then. He went to the Sunday men’s group at the Baptist church and prayed the prayers of men who wished to be “godly,” by which Phillip meant “honest” and “responsible,” the sort of man a neighbor could call if a limb fell on his driveway and he needed help removing it. He kept guns not just because he liked to hunt but because he felt that being a responsible man meant protecting his family, and protecting his America from a rogue government if things came to that.

“All it takes is for the wrong guy to get in there,” he said. “I want to be in control. I don’t want to be defenseless.”

He preferred an America that left him alone: one where government was small, gun rights protected and borders secure, all of which he had felt was threatened during the presidency of Barack Obama, and all of which he felt was restored by the election of Donald Trump.

“I feel like I got somebody on my team,” Phillip said. “Someone to look out for me in the world. I feel I have someone on my side, helping me look out for the safety of my family.”

He knew that Miranda had some issues with Trump’s behavior.

“She finds Trump sometimes a little off-putting with his personality,” he said. “She does get kind of like, ‘I wish he wouldn’t say that.’ But I’m more of a results guy. I’m not as concerned about his brash statements as Miranda. I think he’s probably grown a lot as a man in a good way. I see him as being a gracious man.”

He thought about why he and Miranda might see things differently.

“She tends to run on emotion,” he said. “Not to make a sexist statement, but a lot of women do. I run more on logic. I think that balances us well.”

He was not worried about Miranda’s worries about Trump, Miranda’s friendship with Liz, or whatever they were talking about in the woods.

“As long as she and Miranda get along, I’m happy with it,” Phillip said.

And so on another Sunday, he watched Miranda heading off to hike with Liz, and he watched her come home later in the evening, when he was outside under a carport, showing his nephew how to gut a deer carcass.

“Hey Miranda!” he called out to her across the yard. “What’s the best part of a deer?”

It was dark, and she looked at him for a moment under the light.

Things Miranda had never told Phillip:

That she thought Trump was racist, and when he questioned the legitimacy of the first black president, she thought about her black students and how wrong it was to rob them of pride.

That she thought Trump was cruel, and when he mocked a reporter with disabilities, she felt the same surge of blind rage she had once felt when a boy called her sister a “retard.”

She thought Trump was immoral, and when she heard Christians defending him, she wanted to say, “How? How do we worship the same God? There are so many things that we as human beings should not condone, should not excuse.”

She had told Phillip about being sexually assaulted by a man when she was 8 years old, but she had not told him that when she heard Trump boasting about how he could kiss women “without even asking” and “grab them by the p---y,” he had reminded her of the man who had grabbed her when she was walking to school, and the feeling of hands forcing themselves on her, and the feeling of struggling to break free, and the feeling of running for her life, and of “exactly that fear, that helplessness,” and that when Trump got elected, she felt none of that mattering.

She had not told Phillip that when she saw Trump smiling on a screen in her living room, she felt physically ill. That she found him “revolting” and “vulgar.” That Trump was the opposite of everything she had always believed her husband to be: decent, honorable, Christian, the sort of man who would find Trump offensive.

She had not told Phillip what she wanted from him: “I want to hear him say, ‘The way he talks about women is not okay. The way he talks, period, is not okay.’ ”

She had not told him what she wanted to say to him and all Southern men who believed in some chivalrous ideal: “I need you to stand up for me.”

She had not told him any of those things because she was afraid to hear what he might say back, and what that might reveal, so when Phillip asked about the deer, she answered as the woman he knew her to be.

“The backstrap!” she yelled across the yard.

***

“I tell you, it was vastly different from the Christmas parade,” Liz was saying. She and Miranda were having dinner, and Liz had just gotten back from walking in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in downtown Augusta.

“I think we were the only white people there,” she continued. “People were shouting ‘Democrats, woo!’ A woman yelled ‘Dump Trump!’ and I’m like, ‘Get that man out of the White House! Woo!’ ”

“Really?” Miranda said.

“Yeah,” said Liz. “I’m telling you, it was great. This woman was like, ‘I love your shoes! You look so cute out here today!’ I’m telling you, I was beloved.”

“That’s funny,” Miranda said.

“Yes, I was beloved for my politics,” said Liz, and as their dinner went on, they drank sangria and talked about work and books, and Miranda told a story about her grunge music period, confirming Liz’s view of her as a closet rebel. They talked about how Liz always positioned her phone when she met with parents, so they wouldn’t see her Ruth Bader Ginsburg sticker, and about the most recent Democratic debate and the candidate Miranda would vote for — Warren, probably; Buttigieg, definitely; Sanders, maybe; Klobuchar, interesting; Biden, sure — and they continued talking, seeming in harmony about all of it, right up until Miranda began taking issue with a candidate’s position on gun control, which struck her as too extreme, and as she continued, she noticed Liz’s face changing.

She stopped herself.

“I’m not making you mad, am I?” Miranda asked.

There was a pause.

“No,” Liz said. “You’ll never make me mad.”

Later, on her way home, Miranda was still thinking about the pause.

It was dark, and she passed the empty parking lots of strip malls, the neon signs of chain restaurants and the quiet of so many subdivisions on a Sunday night in a place where there were so many expectations of a woman like her.

Maybe Liz was mad at her, she thought. Maybe Liz thought she wasn’t liberated enough, or brave enough. Maybe she was disappointed.

And what about Phillip? If she finally told him what she thought about Trump, maybe he would feel she was judging him. Maybe he would judge her. Maybe he would think she was “crazy” and “off the deep end.” Maybe he would not understand at all, and then what?

She looked out the window at a place that had felt so familiar for so long, and which now looked so different, so accepting of cruelty and racism and vulgarity. She exited the highway and drove along the two-lane, a white, Southern, suburban woman who was not accepting of that. She was lost to Trump, lost to a Republican Party still embracing him, and for the first time in her life, she was thinking not about what was expected of her, but what she expected of herself.

The inner thoughts of Miranda Murphey about Miranda Murphey:

“I struggle with this,” she said.

She passed the familiar fields, and the church lit up in the dark, and soon she was turning onto the long gravel driveway.

“So,” she said, not finishing.

She pulled up the little hill and glanced at the yard.

“One truck, two trucks,” she counted.

A light was on upstairs.

“Phillip’s home,” she said.

*****

#u.s. news #politics #president donald trump #politics and government #trump scandals #trumpism #republican politics #donald trump #us politics #maga cult #maga #women's rights #women's health #Women's issues

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thesmashcake · 4 years

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Staying Sane While Editing Photos

The first thing I need to say before we get into this blog is that I believe photo editing is a fantastic way to enhance the creative vision you had in you head when you took the photo. For that reason I love editing my photos in Adobe Lightroom/ Photoshop and I think editing can be the cherry on top of any well crafted image. But, if we’re being completely honest I do have those days where I’d rather gouge my eyes out with a spork than sit behind my monitor for 6 hours straight.

I have been editing photos in Photoshop professionally since 1999 and in that time I have had many a day where I caught myself staring blankly at a box of sporks thinking “In the valley of the fed-up photo editors, the no-eyed man is king”. In order to save you from becoming a pale shell of your former self that hoards sporks and calls them “my precious” I’m going to throw you a lifeline. Here are my 5 tips to keep from going crazy while editing photography. I have developed these “sanity hacks” over many years and I use them daily. I’m using a few of these tips right now as I write this blog.

Editing can be extremely bad for your body

Before we begin, I really want to beat the dead horse so you guys understand just how bad extended photo editing sessions can be to your long term physical, mental and hormonal heath. According to the Mayo Clinic sitting for long periods of time has been linked to the following health issues:

Increased blood pressure High blood sugar Excess body fat around the waist Abnormal cholesterol levels

They went on to say that too much sitting overall and prolonged periods of sitting also seem to increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Read the full article by The Mayo Clinic

Now that I’ve scared the hell out of you, let’s get to my list of tips to help you be happier and healthier while editing your photos.

Tip 1- Get yourself a record player.

As I write this blog I’m listening to Weezer on an honest to goodness vinyl record. I started listening to records while editing my photography because I think records just sound better than digital. My decision to listen to records was purely fueled by nothing more than audio snobbery but I quickly discovered a hidden health benefit. Records can only fit about 20-30 mins of music per side before you have to get up and flip them over. That means that twice every hour I have to stand up and walk over to the record player, giving me a much needed break. Of course while I’m up I do things like visit the restroom, talk with my coworkers, grab some water and so on. All of this adds up to about 5-10 minutes away from my desk twice every hour. Can anyone guess how often the Mayo clinic recommends you take a break from sitting at your desk? Yup…every 30 mins.

I’m currently listening to a Bluetooth record player that connects directly to my noise canceling wireless headphones. This is the only way to edit because I get the intoxicating pop and crackle of vintage vinyl while my state of the art headphones filter out distractions like traffic, ringing phones and annoying coworkers. If you work at home the same set up filters out dogs, children and annoying spouses. When I really need a break at home I pretend to be editing my photography while listening to David Bowie and sipping a nice Merlot. Daddies need breaks too.

For those of you interested in picking up a Bluetooth record player here’s a nice entry level player. Don’t forget to include some records with your order so you’ll have something to listen to when it arrives.

youtube

Tip 2- Learn the lingo, gringo

There is nothing that’ll turn your brain into a giant quivering pile of tapioca like than a marathon Photoshop session. If you’re about to punch in for a six hour shift of editing and are at all concerned about pudding brain, then you need to stay mentally engaged. One of the best way I found to stay mentally engaged while photo editing is to learn a new language.

This is something I discovered this year and I’m kicking myself for not thinking of it sooner. Every time I sit down to edit photos I simply ask Alexa to open the Daily Dose app on my Echo Dot and I learn Spanish while editing. It’s a brilliant way to stay mentally tack sharp while utilizing the otherwise wasted time I’d be spending sitting at my desk. You’re stuck there anyway, you might as well learn a new skill. The best part, aside from being able to communicate with millions of more people on the planet, your brain won’t ooze out of your ears... Oh, and did I mention that the Daily Dose language app is FREE? (Free is our friend!)

For those of you that don’t have an Amazon Alexa you can pick one up for around $25.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Keep Your Hormones in Check

So far we looked at tips for keeping your body and your brain healthy during epic editing sessions. But what about your hormonal health? This is often the most overlooked aspect of health when it comes to the negative effects of a prolonged photography editing. Many of you have probably suffered from the effects of a hormonal imbalance due to prolonged photo editing and just didn’t realize it.

When we edit photos our computer screens are adversely affecting our body’s Circadian Rhythm. The National Institute for General Medical Sciences describes circadian rhythm as “physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a daily cycle. They respond primarily to light and darkness in an organism's environment.”

Without going to deep down the rabbit hole: our body uses the light around us to decide when it’s time to be awake and when it’s time to sleep. It does this by taking in how much light is available and what color that light is. As photographers we all understand that the color of natural light changes throughout the day from blue light to golden yellow at sundown. By bombing our eyes with blue light from our computer screens at all times of the day or night we are confusing our brains and really screwing up our hormone levels.

Every feel restless, depressed or irritable after a long Photoshop session? Now you know why. To get the whole scoop on your Circadian Rhythm check out this blog by Mental Health America.

Fortunately there are a couple of things we can do to combat the side effects of screen gazing and the first one just happens to be FREE. (I love free)

Tip 3-take a short walk in the sunshine.

I do this once every day and it really helps me feel more grounded during marathon editing sessions. (Makes the puppy happy too.) Combine this with flipping over your records every 30 minutes and it will really help you keep your sanity.

Tip 4- wear blue light blocking glasses when editing at night.

When you edit at night your computer screen is telling your body that it’s daytime and I find it hard to sleep after a nighttime edit session. So I simply wear a pair of cheap blue light blocking glasses and when I’m done editing I can sleep like a baby. Just remember to take them off momentarily when doing color correction otherwise your skin tones will be a bit smurf-ish.

Don’t Forget to Keep your business healthy

While the four tips above are designed to keep you healthy, this one is all about keeping your business healthy. It will also keep you mentally engaged so consider it a twofer. The next time you sit down to edit why not spend that time learning new business strategies, or marketing or researching SEO strategies. You know, all of those things you should be learning but never have the time necessary. Well, you’re going to be stuck in that chair for a while so why not have Alexa read you a business book on how to find more clients.

Tip 5- Download audio books on business from audible

Using the Audible app Alexa can read you any book in the audible library. This is hands down one of the best ways to get the most out of your time spent editing. I’ve said it in my blogs many times and I’m saying it again. I believe that for every hour a photographer spends learning photography it is imperative that they spend an equal amount of time refining their business skills. This is a great way to squeeze in those hours while not giving up the little things like…sleep. The best part: when you sign up for audible your first book is free.

I recommend checking out this audio book. It completely changed the way I viewed and approached my work life. The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss

Conclusion

Editing for extended periods of time can be down right unhealthy. Add some fast food on the way to shoots and the next thing you know, you’ll be headed down the path to premature aging, obesity and possibly worse. So now is the time to protect your health by establishing good habits that protect both your mind and body. These are just a few of my healthy editing habits that I use daily and I really hope they help you. If you have any healthy editing hacks that might help other smash cake photographers, please share them in the comment section.

Until next time guys I wish you happy and healthy editing, Daniel

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tyleroakley-obsessed · 4 years

Quote

May is Memphis’ monthlong civic celebration of music, barbecue, and ridiculous good times. As is tradition, here are the I Love Memphis ABCs of Memphis in May to help you get prepared for all the festivities, updated for 2020. A is for Art: Every year, Memphis in May releases a fine art poster commemorating that year’s featured country. The honored country for 2020 is the Republic of Ghana, and this year’s featured artist is Carl Moore. A is also for app: Memphis in May has two apps that you need to download: the Beale Street Music Fest app (just search “Beale Street Music Fest” in the App Store, a 2020 update is coming in March) and the LiveSafe app, which really, y’all DO download this. The latter is for our safety and is the only way for the organizers to communicate with everybody about schedule changes, weather (the park was on lockdown last year during WCBCC due to lightning), and other concerns. B is for Barbecue: The World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest (commonly called the “BBQ Fest” but it is first and foremost a cooking competition) is a magical time when pit-masters from all over converge on Tom Lee Park to slow cook pork (and chicken and alligator and anything else that can fit on a grill). It’s happening May , 2019 and tickets are $10 per day. C is for Cash: Bring some. You’re going to need it for food, beer, parking and any extras you plan on picking up. In theory, vendors have card machines and there are ATMs, but do not count on those working. D is for Don’t drink and drive: Finding a hotel room might be kind of dicey at this point, but you have several options for getting around safely if you plan to imbibe. A) Make a friend who lives in 38103 and make their place your home base. B) Program this number into your phone: (901) 577-7777 – it’s the local cab company. Pro-tip: If you’re calling a cab, call about an hour before you’re ready to leave since they’re going to be busy. C) Use ride-sharing apps Uber or Lyft. Just prepare for waiting and surge pricing, which isn’t that bad. I’ve walked somewhere downtown to grab some food and let the surge pricing settle out. Easy! There is no reason in the year 2020 to drink and drive, so stop letting your friends risk their life and license because they can’t be bothered to wait 15 minutes and pay about as much as it costs to park your car in most cities to call a car home. /rant E is for Embrace the insanity: Memphis in May is a giant, month-long party, so treat it as such. There’s no point in getting upset about little things (weather, drunk people, waiting, road closures, whatever). Take a deep breath and reach a place of acceptance and tolerance for the festival’s inborn quirks and you’ll have a great time no matter what. F is for food: There are food vendors of all kinds – ice cream, vendor (not competition) barbecue, tacos, funnel cake, lemonade, Pronto Pups – at all of the MIM events at Tom Lee Park. Make it your mission to try one of everything. Check out some of the awesome food vendors from BSMF 2019 here. G is also for galoshes, aka Rain Boots: The weather is unpredictable, and you’re not going to want to walk around in flip flops (or heels – c’mon people, use some common sense) so go with some sneakers you don’t mind getting muddy, or the traditional shoe of Memphis in May: the mighty rainboot. I’d take some plastic ponchos as well. H is for Have a plan: Don’t depend on cell service to connect you with pals, because the last few years it’s basically impossible to get through via text or phone calls, especially during Beale Street Music Fest. Instead, make a plan of when and where to meet or what to do if you get separated from your group. Some folks even bring walkie talkies. I is for International Festival: The “I” in Memphis In May stands for “International”, and each year a country is recognized with events, food, music, educational programs and more. For 2020, Memphis In May will honor the Republic of Ghana throughout the month. Check out the cultural events, performances and eating opportunities and be proud that you learned something during the festival. J is for Judges at Barbecue Fest World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest: It’s a cruel irony when all of Tom Lee Park smells like a barbecue sandwich and you can’t technically have any of it. Due to health department rules, barbecue contest cooking team tents are treated like private parties (meaning they’re invite only, and you can’t just walk in and buy food and eat). The only people who get to sample the teams’ cooking without an invite are the festival’s highly trained team of judges. K is for Know someone on a Barbecue Team: These are the solutions to the problem presented above. a) Know someone on a BBQ team: If you do know someone, though, don’t abuse it. If your buddies are willing to let you in, awesome, but don’t try to bring a pack of friends with you. Also, mind your manners: your barbecue team friend is doing you a favor, so you should be as low maintenance as possible and definitely tip. b) You can also buy “BBQ Alley” tickets in addition to your $10+fees Barbecue Cooking Competition admission ticket. This relatively new portion of the event started in 2017. Read all the fine print and get tickets here once they are released (scroll down to the BBQ Alley section). L is for Lineup: Or at least part of it. After years of making us wait (and teasing us with weird clues on social media), Beale Street Music Festival organizers released some of the bands in December, and the rest announced in February. See the full lineup of Memphis In May music fest bands here. More than 60 artists and bands that will grace the stages on the banks of the Mississippi. Headliners for BSMF 2020 include The Lumineers, Lil Wayne, Weezer, Three 6 Mafia, DaBaby, The Avett Brothers, Three 6 Mafia, and The 1975. See more rock, hip hop, blues, and pop bands on the full lineup. M is for Music Fest: The Beale Street Music Festival (May 1-3, 2020) is the official start of the Memphis in May madness. Check the lineup list here. The times and stages schedule will be shared closer to the date of the event. Adarryll Jackson, Jr. M is also for Mighty Lights: We got fancy lights on our bridges, now, y’all! There’ll be good views of these nightly light shows from Tom Lee Park during Memphis in May events. N is for You Need To Bring Some Things: OK, this is probably not the most clever N phrase, but I wanted to let you know what you’re allowed to bring into the park: Read the rules about what you can/can’t bring to BSMF here. Read more about WCBCC permitted items here. O is for Overheated: You’re going to be outside in a park with little shade in Memphis in May. Even if it’s not crazy hot outside, it’s still easy to get overheated. Drink water, find a cool place to sit, and quit when your body tells you to. P is for Parking: Parking in one of the downtown lots or garages for Memphis in May can get a little pricey, so bring cash. If you’re willing to walk a bit, there might be some free parking to be had on the northern and southern ends of downtown. Usually the trolleys are running late. Better yet, don’t fool with parking and and head back up to letter “D” above for tips on using rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft. Photo by I Love Memphis Q is for Que-related Dance Contest: Don’t miss the Miss Piggy Idol contest on Thursday at the Barbecue Cooking Contest. There are costumes, there are props, there are men in dresses singing songs whose lyrics have been modified to be about pork. I am still laughing about a rendition of Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” that became “Beans ‘n’ Slaw” several years ago. R is for Run, Great American: The Great American River Run is a 5K, 10K, and half-marathon on May 23, 2020 with a course taking you through downtown and along the Mighty Mississippi in all its glory. Learn more here. S is for Shoes, Sunscreen, and Sunglasses: Wear real shoes. Memphis in May is no place for cute footwear. No flip flops, no heels. Think old sneakers, all-weather boots, something like that. The park is a mile long, and I’ve seen many a sad, abandoned single flip flop languishing in the mud. Also, don’t be one of those people “working on your tan” and just go ahead and wear that sunscreen (and sunglasses!) They will have sunscreen stations this year, too. T is for Tip in barbecue fest booths: Barbecue team booths are crazy expensive. If you get a tent invite, the least you can do is toss a $20+ in the jar for the bartender (especially if the drinks are free). U is for Umbrellas not allowed: Wear a poncho or modify a Hefty Bag instead if rain gear is needed. V is for Vendors: Beale Street Music Fest will have vendors of kinds selling festival merch, apparel, accessories, and more, in addition to plenty of food and drink. W is for Water: Dehydration sucks, and it’s easily preventable. Start hydrating a few days before you head to Music Fest or BBQ Competition. During the festivals, a good rule is one bottle of water / big glass of water for every big beer. X is for X-citing to see all those bands: I know I’m cheating with the X on this one, but the point is that the lineup has a lot going on. See the list here. Y is for You’re going to need a break: At some point, you will need a break from the festival. It’s more than ok to leave Tom Lee Park for a little bit and grab a snack (and a seat) at any of the restaurants downtown. You can leave and re-enter the park one time, just be back at least two hours before it shuts down. Z is for Ziploc baggies: Put your phone (and anything else that doesn’t need to come in contact with water) in a Ziploc baggie before you stash it in your pocket or bag. It sounds low tech, but isn’t a bad idea especially if you don’t want to bother with a purse. If you’ve got any other tips, please leave them in the comments. All photos by Joey Miller unless otherwise noted. Are you a home owner in Memphis, with a broken garage door? Call ASAP garage door today at 901-461-0385 or checkout https://ift.tt/1B5z3Pc

https://ilovememphisblog.com/2020/02/abcs-of-memphis-in-may-2018-edition/

#I Love Memphis

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paulsolorzano · 5 years

Text

01.31.19

So when Axxxxx found out she was pregnant when we were in Fairbanks in Alaska we got a pregnancy app to chart the baby’s progress.

The baby was due two weeks ago.

I knew the date was coming up and it’s depressing to think about on multiple levels. Remind me to talk about it.

—-

Was supposed to hang with Cxxxxxxx tonite but Kxxxx actually wants to see me and was asking me about it so, I’m gonna have to get out of it with her.

Cxxxxxxxx hit me up on Facebook messenger asking if I still wanted to hang. I haven’t responded yet.

—-

Ive been to this Starbucks so many times that the guy Josh, calls me by my name when he sees me in the camera, and knows my drink here.

I don’t know what to think about that.

It speaks something about my habits of course. In a sense I was happy to hear my name and my drink, but it’s like goddam, is this my life?

—

I need to remind myself not to be the old server.

—

Still need to tell Cxxxxxxxx I need to take a rain check

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

The second Amanda

Lying about my age online

Jeff Rosenstock show and how inspiring it was

Not having a baby with Axxxxx instead of having one

“Don’t be the old server”

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Jeff Rosenstock - POST-

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

Purchases:

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

Quote of the day:

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.30.19

I can’t remember what I wanted to be when I grew up; it doesn’t matter because I’m not whatever it was.

This storage space elevator smells like sweaty bodies.

-//

Plugging along on the I-4 westbound. Something up the way is really holding up the traffic. Luckily I have my music.

Aaron Tobin called me to let me know his (and our to an extent) boy Todd, died of a massive heart attack. He was Tobins age, 39 maybe 40.

To be fair this guy was huge his whole life and also on drugs. He had he heart attack in jail from what I understand. He turned himself in for a warrant he had going.

Wild shit. Living long enough for people to be dying around us

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

The second Amanda

Lying about my age online

Jeff Rosenstock show and how inspiring it was

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Jeff Rosenstock - POST-

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

Purchases:

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

“ It’s like somebody traded out my skin, for something I could never feel good in” -Jeff Rosenstock

Quote of the day:

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.29.19

Jeff Rosenstock tonite. I finagled three tickets from a friend online, for me and Danielito and Kristy, but unfortunately they can’t make it.

So I’m going solo. Asked a couple girls on the roster but no luck so far. And it’s that time. So I’ll be forging on alone.

Gotta get earplugs.

—-

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

The second Amanda

Lying about my age online

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

Purchases:

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

“ we’ll diffuse bombs, run marathons, and take on whatever together” - Grandaddy

“Wizards, stop throwing fruit at me!” - Reggie and the full effect

Quote of the day:

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.28.19

Monday. I’m off. Had plans with Mxxxx in the morning but she’s taken ill.

I tentatively have plans with Kxxxx tonite, which I need to attempt to solidify tonite. Ok, the text has been sent: “hangs tonite?”

Easy enough.

She already asked about Monday on Sunday morning after Saturday night hangs and bangs.

Waiting on her response. Listening to Mary Hopkin. This shit is my new shit, which is old shit like back in 1969. Produced by Paul McCartney is definitely why I like it.

—-

Of course this is all happening at my storage space. This is where I hang currently. Since I’ve been back to Orlando. I hang here with my shit and wrote and do art and catalogue and attempt to trim down and move shit around to maximize the space.

—

So back to the Kxxxx thing, she’s ill too. Everyone is sick for some reason. I’ve always been a carrier, rarely getting ill myself.

—

Had a conversation with Cxxxxxxxx. She was upset about a week ago when she perceived me to be placing blame on her when she couldn’t hang out spur of the moment.

So I waited almost a week and she didn’t text or message me once.

So I wrote her. She’s pretty much embittered by a lot of previous bull shit that other people have heaped on to the pile.

Now I suffer for the sins of the last person.

To be fair she was super in to me when we met and I sort of nipped the ‘let’s hop into a relationship immediately after she gets out of one’ enthusiasm in the bud.

So, she seems to be indifferent to me, and more broadly, people in general. Hard to say.

I don’t really need to put that much emotional energy into it, as I have other more interested coals in the fire.

But she’s grown on me. So there’s that.

I’m not trying to abandon any of the women I get involved with.

Do I want to commit to any of them fully? At present, no.

And naturally I think of Axxxxx. Always her. She blew my hair back. I blew it with her.

—-

There’s a cute Hispanic girl in this Denny’s right now, sitting alone and watching Futurama. I keep glancing over there to watch.

Also the girl who just came in for her shift at 11:00 has just left hurriedly in tears. I have no damn clue what the hell happened.

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

The second Amanda

Lying about my age online

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Blink-182 enema of the state

Weezer - blue album

Mary Hopkin - post card

Deadmau5 - Polar: Music from the Netflix film

Dream tiger - dream tiger

Lorn - ask the dust

Jeff Rosenstock - worry.

Reggie and the full effect - songs to not get married to

Reggie and the full effect - promotional copy

Big business - command your weather

Piebald - we are the only friends that we have

Watching:

Step Brothers

Reading:

Eating:

Denny’s mozzarella sticks and coffee

Playing:

Purchases:

Paul McCartney Wings 45s

Record sleeves for 33s and 45s

Packages received:

Jeff rosenstock - POST casette

Wings - silly love songs 45 rpm

Mary hopkin- those were the days 45 rpm

Snow White seven dwarves figs

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

“Welcome to your life; there’s no turning back” - tears for fears

“ I’m like everybody else; as a shamed of sleep I lie when a phone call wakes me” - WHY?

Quote of the day:

“This house is a prison! On planet Bullshit!” - Brennan and Dale, Step Brothers

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.27.19

Cold and wet all day today. Truly a day where it rained all day.

Spent the night at Kxxxx’s house. Who’s Kxxxx you ask? She is from the internet dating app OkCupid. I broke one of my own rules and slept over there. And this was last night, which was also the first night i met her in person and also the first time we had sex.

I say the first time assuming there will be more times. She and I definitely get along. It’s weird because she reminds me of Holly D in several ways.

First off Kxxxx body is kind of shaped like Holly’s. She’s taller than I am. Big tits and ass. Back tattoo from what I could gather

01.26.19

I do everything high these days. I’m here at Orlando you and comic con hittin the pen hard. Already smoked before I left the house.

This con is good because it’s smaller and I can make trips back to the car to bring back stuffs I’ve gotten. So I don’t have to roll around with a backpack.

—-

At chipotle now. Had to drive to get here. Just up the road from the mall. I don’t know if I’ll go back to the con. Technically it goes til 7 but idk.

—-

Spent a lot of fucking money today but I knew that was happening

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

The second Amanda

Lying about my age online

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Basia Bulat - good advice

Weezer - teal album

The octopus project

Peter Adams - the spiral eyes

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

Purchases:

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

Quote of the day:

“This is a womanly car” - me taking about Tina Watkins car that I drive around like an asshole.

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.25.19

I put the coins that I had organized fell yesterday into the sheets, I stuck them and the paper money into a three ring binder I got from Office Depot yesterday.

I don’t want to work today but I must.

Until I innovate my way out of this, I have to work for the man. Remember that you asshole, the next time you cry about it.

—-

Chilled at the space and made some room for stuff. Slowly and surely ditching stuff

—-

got called off from work today in a Friday. I haven’t worked all week because reasons. I asked for a couple days off to to the Neil DeGrasse Tyson thing, and the Orlando toy and comic con thing. I didn’t get get the two days off when Yaqeen did the schedule because he’s a Derp and does everything by hand. So I had two other days off, and then got the two off that I needed by dropping the shifts. So I ain’t done shit all week. I’m gonna continue that trend into tomorrow at the con.

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

The second Amanda

Lying about my age online

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Wings - band on the run

Katamari forever OST

Buffalo daughter - captain vapour athletes

Weezer - teal album

Nada surf - the weight is a gift

Basia Bulat - good advice

The Beatles - magic mystery tour

No joy - wait to pleasure

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

Purchases:

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

Quote of the day:

“you’re not wide anymore; you’re skinny fat” - Yaqeen talking about me

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.24.19

Been on the pen/flower pretty solid since October when I got back from Alaska. Hell, even Alaska I was on the wax daily.

I guess I’ve been medicating myself.

Working on a sketch. I missed a couple days but I did one last night also:

Ok and here’s today’s:

I’m trying to find my groove with what I want to do with all these sketches. Basically I’m just sketching shit I see.

Sketching? Drawing? I don’t even know what to say here haha.

And I made another

—-

Going to see Neil DeGrasse Tyson tonite. This will be the third time I’ll have seen him.

I was hoping Axxxxx would be in the mix at this point because she was with me the first two times. Now, if I hadn’t have fucked up recently, she probably would be with me tonite. Goddammit me. So, my one and only boy Tobin is gonna come with me.

It’ll be nice because we haven’t seen each other in a hot minute. Ever since he got that girlfriend of his haha. Now they are in that ‘up each other’s ass’ phase.

Update: it would seem Neil will not be speaking tonite after all. Amidst recent allegations in the last few months, he postponed/canceled his shows: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2018/12/13/neil-degrasse-tyson-cancels-orlando-appearance-following-sexual-misconduct-accusations%3fmedia=AMP%2bHTML

So that is sad fucking news, especially since I’m finding out today and not a month and a half ago. I mean I knew about the allegations but didn’t think it would come to this.

Another thing that chapped me is that Aaron Tobin fucking bailed on me before I found this out. Granted I only asked him yesterday but damn he seems to let me down a lot when there’s a specific date and time involved.

—/

I put my paper money and coin collection in these plastic inserts

Now the only thing that blows about these inserts is that the tops don’t seal, so this shit has to be flat or upright at all times. This isn’t too bad for the paper money but clearly there could be an issue for the coins. I later got a three ring binder to stick the inserts in.

Also I took pics of all the packages received today. Mostly records.

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

The second Amanda

Lying about my age online

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Weezer - teal album

Veil of Maya - false idol

Black octopus lipstick project - foam party

The octopus project

CSS - Cansei de Ser Sexy

OCEANLANE - crossroad

The Vienna philharmonic - Beethoven’s 5th symphony

No joy & sonic boom - ep

Teddybears - soft machine

Watching:

Rick and Morty season 3 blu ray

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

Purchases:

Weezer black album vinyl pre order (2 colors)

Weezer black album cassette pre order

Packages received:

Lots of records from joyful noise

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

Quote of the day:

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.23.19

The first Amanda messaged me today accusing me of stealing her loop station. I never took the thing at all. Haven’t even thought of the thing for years. She said she is gonna to file a report and mention my name to the police.

I don’t know what her deal is.

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

The second Amanda

Lying about my age online

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

WHY? - sandollars ep

Marijuana deathsquads - oh my sexy lord

STNNNG - empire inward

Vaz - necessary, pt. 2

Alias & doseone - less is orchestra

The octopus project

Peter Adams - the spiral eyes

Teddy bears - soft machine

Gnarls Barkley - st. Elsewhere

Veil of Maya - false idol

Mary Hopkin - post card

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

FFXIV

Purchases:

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

Quote of the day:

“Hey if a serial killer/murderer/etc fits the profile exactly but has never killed, what does that make them ?” Me to Mxxxx

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.22.19

Wish I could eat chips and get fat right now.

I went a million places today. The altamonte mall. Starbucks. These two were part of a date with Mxxxx, who I really enjoyed hanging with. She is married and its all legit. Like they both see other people and shit. So this could be good for me.

Then did the white girl tour to tj maxx and Ross. Also before that early in the afternoon after Mxxxx I went to bright light books.

Went a little overboard on buying shit today. Oops.

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

The second Amanda

Lying about my age online

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Fail better heal faster

The octopus project

American football - LP3 pre release song

Wings - wings over America

Status quo - rocking all over the world

Xavier Cugat jungle drums

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

Purchases:

Bright light books:

Art toy picture book

Avocado cookbook (for Mxxxx)

Wings: wings over America vinyl record

Omg thrift

These weird soft vinyl Snow White dwarves figures

Clear makeup bag with

Kay Johnson vinyl record (with writing on the cover, a dedication to two ladies named carol and Donna)

Ross

NASA shirt

Super NES controller shirt

Super Mario shirt

TJ MAXX

Vaporwave lookin Tokyo shirt

Vaporwave lookin eyes shirt

Marilyn Monroe skeleton with hair shirt

Black stretch pants 34 inch waist for the first time whoop!

These fake ass sweat pants

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

“When I try to be clear with you, I only end up being see through” -American football

Quote of the day:

“When I put my Makeup on, I take so many selfies” - male barista at the Starbucks by the Altamonte mall

“My dad was awesome. He loved pistachios and Star Wars. Only imparted one of those loves onto me. He is no longer with us, but his memory lives on through red pistachios that also no longer exist.” - Mandyism

“The problem with that idea is that I don’t have a penis. I’m sorry. It wouldn’t be a fair game.” - Mandyism

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.21.19

The girl who works here only a couple days a week, Ebony, just took a tour of the inner workings of my storage space. This was her asking if she could look at my stuffs.

Today’s and yesterday’s sketch:

This of course being Buff Monster and Frank Kozik inspired; and my Bose sound speaker I’ve been doing and my Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. Oh and the motorcycle license plate from Alaska. I had a Tupperware full of em mixed, here’s the reference:

And then this was me and my McNugget kick of course. A packet of mayonnaise and a vinyl record, and the remote to the tv

—/

Spent a good chunk of the day chatting with some potential dates. Mostly with a girl named Mxxxx, who is in a consensual non-monogamous marriage. She has kids also. It’s weird because she seems really into me and we are meeting tomorrow at 12:30pm. I’m excited to see what comes of this.

-//

I’m so excited about finding this Picasso print at goodwill today:

Here it is hung up

And here it was right before I stuck it in the car to take it home.

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

The second Amanda

Lying about my age online

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Mineral - one day when we are young

Wizo - uuaarrgh!

Beck - morning phase

MF DOOM - operation doomsday

Tame impala

Sheena Ringo (as suggested by Ebony who works at public storage)

The octopus project

Tame impala - lonerism

Astronautica - Gemini

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

FFXIV:

Did a nice glam on ALC also

Purchases:

Bougie goodwill off Orlando ave in winter park:

Pocahontas toy

Assorted comic books

Picasso framed print

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

“Steady like a tricycle”

“Hoes get ripped off like Nicorette”

“Every day feels like an off day, with Ferris bueller”

mf doom

Quote of the day:

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.20.19

In line at Animal Kingdom helping my boy Orlando get in with his family.

I’m parked in giraffe 41-49

It’s way too early for me to be awake.

And I have to work. Aaaand I’m covering some lunch shift for my other boy Tom who has been feeling ill.

—//

Did the animal kingdom thing.

Did the afternoon lunch work thing.

Got called off for dinner because it was slow apparently.

Came home and let the roommate use her own car that I’ve been renting weekly.

—

Still working on cleaning and bagging those 45s my mother left to me by way of Danielito

—

So, I would say it’s time for me to maybe make a shortlist of women I’m dating/working on dating. I’ve got a few hat I’ve closed already and some still in the works so let’s see here:

(shortlist omitted)

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

The second Amanda

Lying about my age online

Notable places visited:

Animal Kingdom

Listening to:

The octopus project - hello avalanche

Hey Mercedes - ep

Hey Mercedes - everynight fireworks

No doubt - tragic kingdom

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

McNuggets

Playing:

Purchases:

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

Quote of the day:

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.19.19

The last couple nights in a row, Yaqeen has called me and asked specifically what I have done to further the business, Deep Space Ventures. This is good and bad that the has asked me. Bad because I haven’t done jack shit; good because he is holding me accountable. And it is giving me a little hurt to not do anything. So I will have to forge ahead. He is trying to better himself and make me be better too. Good shit.

—-

I go to Dunkin’ Donuts just about every day to get a coffee. I stare at these fucking donuts and contemplate ordering a dozen and saying fuck all to my diet.

The moment had already passed.

I have to say I feel like I’m doing ok with this ketogenic diet.

—

Just saw a new white Honda Accord. Or was it a civic? Either way it reminded me of the second Amanda. Miss that chick too.

Remind me to tell you about the second Amanda sometime.

Sketch of the day:

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

The second Amanda

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

The octopus project - hello avalanche

The octopus protect - one ten hundred thousand million

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

Purchases:

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Action figures

Lyric of the day:

“For all we know, these days are all numbered But things could get better I know Cause I'll be the first and the last one to go Lord it's a cruel, cruel world For all we know These days are all numbered And things will get better I hope Cause I'll be the first and the last one to go Lord it's a cruel, cruel world without love”

- further seems forever

Quote of the day:

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.18.19

Sketch of the day: I was doing laundry at a mat on Mills right there by colonial. The 7-Eleven recently closed down after being there for fucking ever. So I sat there in between the wash and the dry.

I don’t know what I’m hoping to accomplish with these sketches other than practicing. I would like to get to a decent level.

Something to do while I’m alive.

It’ll come in handy when I start making the toys also. Good stuff for cardbacks

—

Donated some more shit. Slowly clearing it out. Gonna list some

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Fail better heal faster

ALL - problematic

Rex Orange County - apricot princess

Mineral - the power of failing

Wings - Venus and Mars

Sparklehorse - it’s a wonderful life

J Dilla - welcome 2 Detroit

JJ DOOM - Key to the kuffs

Duendita - direct line to my creator

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

FFXIV

Purchases:

Packages received:

Mineral 25 years and new single

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

“Slap my face, just to feel” - Jimmy Eat World

“May all your days be gold my child” - Sparklehorse

“Come my beautiful alien, touch me with your light” - Weezer

Quote of the day:

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.17.19

Sketch of the day locked in; I did Orko from masters of the universe, from the action figure I found yesterday:

And of course the source material

So I’m on my way to sketching I suppose. Leveling up my art abilities?

—

Minus the bear farewell concert:

My brother and I caught MTB on their farewell tour in Tampa back in November I think it was? I’ll have to check the date.

Anyway it was nice to spend time with him at a concert out and about. It was part of my attempt to stop being a dead beat sibling.

He and I have seen them numerous times over the years.

—

I ReDennised Andrea Zimmerman just now. Remind me to go and append the list. Stuck on I-4 traffic on the way home from her place.

My exit was closed for construction so I had to take a big ass detour. I dint even care but I thought it was notable.

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Minus the bear farewell concert

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

J Dilla - donuts

Jeff Rosenstock - worry

Quasimoto - the further adventures of lord quas

AJJ - bible 2

Wings - at the speed of sound

Ok go - ok

Trent reznor - bird box original score

Ok go - oh no

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Wheat grass juice powder

Boston market

Playing:

Purchases:

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

Quote of the day:

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.16.19

The fucking stench of fake buttered popcorn. The Altamonte Springs mall. This is my current hip spot to hang out alone at.

Escape as a coping mechanism.

I pretend I’m just this guy who goes through life as an observer. Which I’m not really too far from pretending lately.

—-

You only ever see kids with short haircuts. Short little asshole haircuts.

—/

“Found a couple discounted figs,

Sat in the massage chair with no massage,

Renamed all the restaurants in the food court 'sugar',

Decided I want subscriptions to art and toy themed magazines,

And coffee. “ - excerpt of a text from Cxxxxxxxx asking me how the mall was.

—-

Sketch of the day is done:

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Escape as a coping mechanism

Minus the bear farewell concert

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Bomb the music industry - adults

Bomb the music industry - get warmer

The arrogant sons of bitches - The arrogant sons of bitches!

Fail better, heal faster

Deftones - gore

The strokes - is this it

Jaylib - champion sound

In my room Apple Music playlist

Favorites playlist Apple Music

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Kale/spinach/radish/parsley/celery/cucumber/lemon juice/stevia drink also been adding carrot and beet lately

Starbucks venti cold brew with heavy cream and an espresso shot

Chicken nuggets from McDonald’s

Cauliflower Mac and cheese I made

Top shoulder loin

Shrimp on top

Playing:

FFXIV

Purchases:

Super 7 Masters of the universe action figures:

Orko

Evil-Lyn

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

“Mold and nice and stolen bikes

And a van everyone wants to break in to” - slumlord by bomb the music industry!

“Well I heard that you found somebody else

At first I thought it was a lie” - the 1975

Quote of the day:

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.15.19

Fake funny depression. Meme depression. People taking some dark shit and slapping an out of context caption and making light of it.

It’s not the worst idea.

Yeah everything is shit sometimes but do I want to off myself because I don’t have a pile of money to sleep on?

The answer is hell to the no.

—-

Yaqeen set it up last night so I didn’t have to work today. Corporate is in town and I’m just avoiding it all haha. Next few days off also. So that’ll take care of that.

What I need to do now is attempt to pick up at Yamasan just to have a couple extra bucks.

Just spoke to tobin briefly; he is definitely up his girlfriends ass haha. I’m ok with it. I suppose it’ll do some good for him seeing as it’s been forever since he’s: a)had a girlfriend b) gotten laid on the reg.

Also spoke to Frank; Microchip passed away very recently. His dog of 13 years or so. Back when Daylight District was still in effect.

Remind me to tell you about when I was in bands.

—-

Naomi Singleton ‘broke up’ with me today. We only met the one time. After months of talking. She didn’t like being deceived by my fake age on Okc. Also she claims she broke out in cold sores after seeing me and kissing me. I’ve never had a single sore anywhere so unless I’m some wild carrier, she is mistaken.

Her perception is her reality however. And I did burn her with the age thing.

I’m considering putting my age to normal age.

—

Made a first sketch today. The storage space wall and the table with some shit on it

So hopefully I can try to do one a day for fun. I went to Michaels as well and picked up a few gel pens.

Remind me to tell you where all my art supplies are. (Spoiler alert; they’re being held hostage by Axxxxx if she hasnt chucked em out. If anything she’s probably assimilated them into her own art shit.

—-

Just saw a hotpot place I’ve never seen before here on kirkman. Instantly thought of going there with Axxxxx. I miss her.

—

Went on a date

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

Spoke to Frank about letting him know what I’ve been up to

To discuss still:

Escape as a coping mechanism

Minus the bear farewell concert

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

Notable places visited:

Ale house in Kirkman for a date

Listening to:

PUP - PUP

PUP - the dream is over

PUP - kids (single off the new record)

Deadmau5 - for lack of a better name deadmau

Jeff Rosenstock - worry.

Jeff Rosenstock - we cool?

First Astronomical Velocity - galaxy one

NOFX - punk in drublic

NOFX - Pump up the Valiuum

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

Purchases:

THE NEW PUP RECORD!! preorder

A couple books from brightlight books

Van Gogh in Arles

Knuckleheads graphic novel

The 100 best business books of all time

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

“The universe is unforgiving and a dick

So we’ll do our best to live” - fail better heal faster

“ You know I’ve never been good at anything

Except for fuckin up and ruining everything” - PUP

“We’re on an ultralight beam

This is a god dream” - Kanye West, life of Pablo

Quote of the day:

“I can turn you into poetry

But I can’t make you love me” - fragment 5, weatheredwritings

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.14.19

Tokyo Elvis, who is one of my best friends, Frank Friend, who I have played in multiple bands with since we were 16-17.

He wants me to undertake the tasks involving getting him booked in town and out.

We’ve decided that the Comic-Con circuit would be a good fit for him. Also it would be for me as well in terms of getting a booth for the paulsstoragespace shit.

So I’ve started the process of emailing various cons in town coming up

—

Just saw a guy throw a rubber hammer at a peacock. A sentence I never thought I would say.

—-

Like dead glow worms falling slowly through oil

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Escape as a coping mechanism

Minus the bear farewell concert

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Bomb the music industry - vacation

Fail better, heal faster

Alpha male tea party - droids

Just friends - nothing but love

Just friends - rock 2 the rhythm

Cornelius - point

Walter Ferguson - Babylon

Darwin Deez - 10 songs that happened when you left me with my stupid heart

Jeff Rosenstock - worry

Jeff Rosenstock - we cool?

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

Purchases:

Sleeves for paper money

Sleeves for coins

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

“In truth, December destroyed me. January crushed me By February, I was not myself March rolled in like beatings and rolled out like a bear hug In April I stared out the window for a fucking month I don't want October. I don't want November I don't want to feel those crippling blows That I can't explain to myself, my friends or you So I soften them with hours of Nintendo”

-bomb the music industry

“Loving you required ammunition” - Darwin Deez

Quote of the day:

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.13.19

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Managing Tokyo Elvis

Escape as a coping mechanism

Minus the bear farewell concert

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Jeff Rosenstock - worry.

Killer Bee - Venus

Steffaloo - heart beats

Lone - reality testing

Fail better, heal faster

Watching:

Ready player one

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

FFXIV

Purchases:

100 record sleeves for 7 inch records

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

“I came here with hope and I left with a smoking habit” - fail better, heal faster

Quote of the day:

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.12.19

Spoke with yaqeen at ihop last night. He is trying to become the assistant general manager at STK. He was speaking to a couple of the top servers and more specifically Rob C, and rob was telling Yaqeen to cut ties with being friends with servers and more specifically me.

Now yaqeen and I are boys at this point. So it ain’t happening. But it does sting a little to hear that I’m not very respected in that sense.

—

Made cauliflower Mac n cheese. It was pretty tasty for sure. Nice and Keto friendly.

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

Emailed a few venues concerning playing:

Herohype:

Emailed on 01.12.19

https://www.herohype.com

Omni fandom expo

Emailed on 1.12.19

http://www.omniexpo.com

MyCon

https://mystic-con.com

Emailed on 01.12.19

To discuss still:

Managing Tokyo Elvis

Escape as a coping mechanism

Minus the bear farewell concert

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Jeff Rosenstock - worry.

The presidents of the United States of America - S/t

The presidents of the United States of America - II

The cardigans - first band on the moon

Fail better, heal faster

PUP - the dream is over

Serengeti - Dennis 6E

Ricky eat acid - talk to you soon

Rozwell kid - precious art

Dorothy ashby - Afro harping

Serengeti - kaleidoscope 2 ep

Serengeti - Dennehy

Atmosphere - sad clown bad summer

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Apple cider vinegar shot

wheat grass juice powder

Kale/spinach/radish/parsley/celery/cucumber/lemon juice/stevia drink

McDonalds 20 nuggets and a large Diet Coke ( this is the last time I swear )

Cauliflower ‘man n cheese’ that I made

Playing:

FFXIV - got ALC up to 50, working on getting LTW up to 50 also

Purchases:

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

“Superstar, I tried to educate your childish heart” - the cardigans

“You said it best when you said I’m a mess” - Rozwell Kid

Quote of the day:

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.11.19

Sitting here in Disney springs. I got here with an extra fifteen minutes or so; got a coffee and now I’m sitting on a bench watching people and life go by.

Picking out the weirdos and watching them. And the eccentric girls, for some reason they just appeal to me so hard, more so than conventional hot girls.

I need to make a move.

—-

After hours. Waiting on yaqeen to show up at this Ihop. He and I haven’t had one of these in a while. Hopefully he shows up haha. He said his phone was dying and he would meet me inside.

What i did toward the business today:

Listening to Tony Robbins power to influence

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Managing Tokyo Elvis

Escape as a coping mechanism

Minus the bear farewell concert

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

Notable places visited:

Ihop with yaqeen

Listening to:

Fail better, heal faster

Angelo De Augustine - tomb

Bomb the music industry - vacation

1997 - a better view of the rising moon

Jeff Rosenstock - we cool?

Jeff Rosenstock - worry.

Tobacco - sweatbox dynasty

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Been on a huge chicken nugget for McDonald’s kick. Large diet cokes also. While they aren’t totally killing the diet, it’s probably not the best.

Tasted the Scallops special from work

Playing:

Purchases:

From fye all 75% off

Star Wars black series - Poe Dameron

Star Wars black series - Constable Zuvio

Pulp Fiction - Butch Coolidge, 8 inch tall approx

Super 7 Alien M.U.S.C.L.E. mini figs

From barnes and noble:

The new issue of Juxtapoz featuring Kaws on the cover

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

“I wanna move to Japan

And maybe I’ll understand

What to do with my life” - fail better, heal faster

Quote of the day:

“I don’t want it now, I want it right now” - Robert Davis GM STK

8 ball questions and answers:

“Is Axxxxx gonna come back to me at some point?”

“Yes”

Hashtags:

01.10.19

I’m on fucking autopilot. Just coasting through my days. Get back on track you asshole. Don’t be an old server. Have more than one income. Get some fucking momentum going.

How do I do this? What is my leverage to change? What will happen if I don’t do this?

I need to stir up some hurt within myself.

—-

How to innovate my way out of this? This place gives me no joy and therefore I am not giving it the attention it deserves.

—

I’ve been sent to Starbucks by Greg the manager to get a hot chocolate for a guest. I’m on a party upstairs and I won’t be missed. He gave me his debit card. I flirted with the girl who took my order. She was receptive.

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Managing Tokyo Elvis

Escape as a coping mechanism

Minus the bear farewell concert

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Coheed and Cambria - good Apollo, I’m burning star IV

1997 - a better view of be rising moon

Cashmere cat - 9

Tony Robbins - the power to influence

Jeff Rosenstock - worry.

PUP - the dream is over

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

Purchases:

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

Quote of the day:

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.09.19

What i did toward the business today:

Didn’t do a goddamn thing. Need to get on it

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

Worked on the spam email

To discuss still:

Managing Tokyo Elvis

Escape as a coping mechanism

Minus the bear farewell concert

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Keep Shelly in Athens -

Death cab for cutie - transatlanticism

Weezer - pacific daydream

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Apple cider vinegar shot

Wheat grass juice powder

Kale/spinach/radish/parsley/celery/lemon juice/stevia drink

Playing:

Purchases:

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

“I wish the world was flat like the old days

And I could travel just by folding the map” - death cab for cutie

“This is the sound of settling” - death cab for cutie

“‘Perfect’ always takes so long, because it don’t exist” - Jeff Rosenstock

Quote of the day:

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.08.19

Last night we had the STK makeup Christmas party for all the day-one-er’s. I almost didn’t go because I feel semi depressed and don’t wanna do shit all.

So we went and it was small but lost of the OG hang was there. Yaqeen of course and the lot.

We all just hung out drinking and roasting the shit out of each other.

Yaqeen and I are the roastmasters. He and I started this shit as a nice way to keep morale in the building at STK. And boy has it worked nicely.

Yaqeen told me the whole time I was away in Alaska that he kept the roasts alive. And my memory as well haha. Those were his words.

So, every day is now an HR nightmare in the building but no one seems to mind at all. I work the raunchiest coolest people ever. I would hang out with any of them outside of work.

So yeah the roast is strong with all of us. I swear if we all quit the restaurant biz and write comedy, we could get famous.

So as roastmasters, Yaqeen and I are the only two who can promote any of these jabronis trying to level up. They gotta be coming correct on the daily with hot roasts. And then when they fire of a real hum dinger of a zinger, based on the laughter of yaq and myself and any audience in attendance, that person will be leveled up immediately.

It’s fun. I love playing games all day every day.

—-

Been burning oil and smoking flower every day since I’ve been back to Orlando.

I don’t want to say it unmotivates me because I do get things done, just at a slower pace. I’m on weed time.

—

I’m hanging with Cxxxxxxxx outside of this McDonalds here:

228 S Orlando Ave

Maitland, FL 32751

United States

Called her up randomly to see how she was. Her stomach is tied up in knots over a boy she is also seeing.

You know, I’ve evolved into this person who isn’t jealous and just experiences women/ people as they are. I always say that some of my best relationships are been non-relationships: people I see when I see em, and we are both ok with it.

I don’t know how I got this way but here I am.

Where did I go askew with the way I view relationships? And by that I just mean the non traditional way people view things.

To be discussed later I suppose.

So yeah Cxxxxxxxx is soaring for food from McDonalds.

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Managing Tokyo Elvis

Escape as a coping mechanism

Minus the bear farewell concert

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Where did my weird view on relationships come from?

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Fail Better, heal faster

Weezer - death to false metal

The strokes - room on fire

HUM - you’d prefer an astronaut

Maritime - we the vehicles

Fishbone - give a monkey a brain and hell swear

Living colour

Portishead - third

Watching:

Johnny mnemonic

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

Purchases:

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

“If I am feeling wacky, I think I might

Drink a quart of vodka

Spend the night down in the gutter” - Weezer

“What if the day had stayed in bed?” - Foo Fighters

“All the boys with directionless hair are rough

Languorous girls in undertaker makeup” - maritime

“The busy sisters stunning, won’t she be stunned

By the infinite parade of punk rock t shirts” - maritime

Quote of the day:

“Electrons take up less space, so..” - Cxxxxxxxx’s roommate on digitizing pictures

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.07.19

Becoming awesome.. hmm I still haven’t done that yet. Havent been doing much of shit lately. How do I get back on track?

The answer is to just do the damn thing.

whats my motivation? Good question to ask.

I don’t want to be an old server. And its weird because chronologically I am 38 but I don’t feel like that. A bit odd I suppose to think about.

so, whats the fix? Slowly work on becoming awesome. By the time I know it ,i’ll be there. But this is only going to come about through working every day toward things. I tell people all the time to just get 1% better every day, and here I am not doing that.

I need to implement all the advice I’ve been handing out.

That being said, what can I work on today toward becoming awesome?

What are some things I want to accomplish? Well lemme refer myself to the giant 18 month plan I have set up

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

the ‘roast’ culture Yaqeen and I cultivated to keep morale up

Managing Tokyo Elvis

Escape as a coping mechanism

Minus the bear farewell concert

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Being a weed head

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Serengeti - kaleidoscope 2 ep

Fail better, heal faster - s/t

Panuccis pizza - don’t tip the delivery boy

Panuccis pizza - All of my friends are familiar and the steps I took to realize this

Tigers Jaw - s/t

Halsey - Badlands

Jeff Rosenstock - worry.

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Apple cider vinegar shot

wheat grass juice powder

Kale/spinach/radish/parsley/celery/lemon juice/stevia drink

Playing:

Purchases:

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

“I fell in love with your face so much, that it behooves me to look away” - Serengeti

“You can take what’s in my head; I don’t want it” - Fail better, heal faster

Quote of the day:

"Vision without execution is hallucination" - Thomas Edison

“Stop selling: start solving and serving” -

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.06.19

I keep trying to order the Downward is Heavenward vinyl reissue but it sells out immediately. Short story is, it’s just the singer from the now defunct band HUM, is releasing the reissue in pieces, cause he’s just one guy.

—-

Bagged up the Star Wars power of the force cardbacks in clear pages for a three ring binder

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Becoming awesome

the ‘roast’ culture Yaqeen and I cultivated to keep morale up

Managing Tokyo Elvis

Escape as a coping mechanism

Minus the bear farewell concert

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Cky - the Phoenix

Ozma - Pasadena

Chrome sparks - goddess ep

HUM - downward is heavenward

Jeff Rosenstock - worry.

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

Purchases:

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

“You can’t exist In the world, without being a part of the world, and somehow that’s comforting, when you’re not where you want to be.” -ozma

“And she got me high,

And I barely noticed there were tears in her eyes.

And I miss you less and less every day,

It’s true the whiskeys gone and washed you away” - Margot and the nuclear so and sos

Quote of the day:

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.05.19

So I’ve been in Orlando for a couple months at this point. Back from my 6 month detour to Alaska.

Feels like I never left.

I don’t know if that’s a good statement or a bad one.

—

Bagged up some Buff Monster mini ice cream toys today. Been working on getting everything in plastic bags. Also I will start to labelling shit I want to get rid of with prices.

This is a little momentum toward having a booth at a con somewhere.

The real

Momentum would be to get a list of cons and then start spamming them for Frank and Tokyo Elvis and also for myself

—

Right, so coming back to Orlando. Not bad but it’s just me back in the same groove.

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Back to Orlando

Becoming awesome

the ‘roast’ culture Yaqeen and I cultivated to keep morale up

Managing Tokyo Elvis

Escape as a coping mechanism

Minus the bear farewell concert

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Toadies - rubberneck

Weezer - Pinkerton

Weezer pacific daydream

Queens of the Stone Age - songs for the day

Soundgarden - down on the upside

cky - infiltrtate destroy rebuild

Watching:

The Crow on bluray

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

Purchases:

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

“Through the ages, we got stupid, and now we must repent” - Toadies

“She never gets wet; she smiles and it’s a rainbow” - Ben folds

“I thought it less like a lake and more like a moat” - death cab for cutie

“These things don’t belong

On my list at all” - cky

Quote of the day:

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.04.19

So I’m working last night (At STK if no one has been following) and I get a text from Naomi Singleton (now this is not the same Naomi who is Axxxxx cousin who I was messaging and Axxxxx got wind of it and ended things with me once again)

She was in Disney springs. I work in Disney springs.

So she hits me up asking what I’m doing after work; I say probably heading home, and she goes: orrrr you can hang out with me in Disney springs.

So we met for the first time, right in front of STK, by the bridge.

Very nice chemistry.

So we walked through the springs a little. Hugged and held hands. I sat her down on a bench behind house of blues

—-

What makes me follow the rules one day and disregard them the next?

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Back to Orlando

Becoming awesome

the ‘roast’ culture Yaqeen and I cultivated to keep morale up

Managing Tokyo Elvis

Escape as a coping mechanism

Minus the bear farewell concert

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Weezer - Hurley

Foo Fighters - there is nothing left to lose

Local H - as good as dead

Local H - hey, killer

Watching:

22 jump street on bluray

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

Purchases:

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

“Hang on til the break of the day” - Weezer

“I’m falling in love.. what was your name?” - Weezer

“Lately I’ve been feeling better

Wish I could stay sick with you” - Foo Fighters

Quote of the day:

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.03.19

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Back to Orlando

Becoming awesome

the ‘roast’ culture Yaqeen and I cultivated to keep morale up

Managing Tokyo Elvis

Escape as a coping mechanism

Minus the bear farewell concert

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Notable places visited:

Listening to:

Bombadil - hold on

Watching:

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

Purchases:

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

Quote of the day:

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.02.19

Tina Watkins comes back tonite. I hope she’ll let me use her car carte Blanche. She is defiantly motivated by money so an extra hundo a week should do the trick.

So, however long it takes for me to get my income tax money back, I’m getting a vehicle. It blows not having one.

—-

Taking a break from the space for food and mail and maybe big lots for some shit

—-

Moved some good stuff around in the space. Those three bookshelves (one of the four didn’t make it) are really helping me maximize the Howard space in there.

—

I have to leave to pick Tina up now from the airport. Well, it was nice having the place to myself.

—-

So I sorted the car out with Tina, I’ll pay her and will use the car as I have been. Once I get that income tax return I’m gonna get a vehicle dammit.

Bagged up what loose Dunnys I had in a Tupperware

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Back to Orlando

Becoming awesome

the ‘roast’ culture Yaqeen and I cultivated to keep morale up

Managing Tokyo Elvis

Escape as a coping mechanism

Minus the bear farewell concert

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Notable places visited:

Jason’s deli

Big lots

My storage space of fucking course

Listening to:

Jeff Rosenstock - worry

Cosmo’s midnight - what comes next

Scott pilgrim vs. the world original score

Red animal war - breaking in an angel

Bjork - post

Bjork - debut

Chrome sparks - chrome sparks

Fishbone - gift a monkey a brain and he’ll swear he’s the center of the universe

Watching:

Trainwreck on Blu-ray

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

Purchases:

Sandwich bags for toys

Irving stickers

Packages received:

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

“born as a data mine for targeted marketing, no one will listen up until you become a hashtag or a meme” - Jeff Rosenstock

“Let’s just drink and fuckin be alive, not just survive” - NOFX

“Give me something beautiful; I’ll believe your lies” - Red Animal War

Quote of the day:

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

01.01.19

Made out with a girl from my table last night. She was 23 I believe. She was with her parents and already drunk due to New Year’s Eve festivities. She and I were vining to the point where I caught her coming out of the bathroom and asked if she wanted to kiss at 12. She said she was trying to get a kiss right now, and then we did. And it was pretty on all night after that. A few more random stolen makeouts, and then got her number before we left. She was gonna ditch her parents at some point and wait for me after work, but surely she passed out. Let’s hope I hear from her today.

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“I don’t even have an emotional attachment to that particular Nintendo” - me on a garbage Nintendo I just donated.

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Holy shit I’m leaving target and can smell the Pizza Hut style pizza they got going on in there and it’s really making me crave it. This keto shit has been going on for two and a half months at this point. Maybe I organize some manner of cheat meal.

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Seeing Galina at the hospice her father is. It won’t be long for him now.

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Cxxxxxxxx came over tonite. Haven’t seen her since before Christmas. I gave her her birthday present that I picked up for her. We hung out at ale house for a drink and then came back this way.

What i did toward the business today:

What I did toward managing Tokyo Elvis:

To discuss still:

Back to Orlando

Becoming awesome

the ‘roast’ culture Yaqeen and I cultivated to keep morale up

Managing Tokyo Elvis

Escape as a coping mechanism

Minus the bear farewell concert

Sleeping on couches when under emotional distress

“Inventory” night

10 second romance (rearview mirrors at red lights)

Memories created from memory (instead of what actually happened)

Making peace with Al Ruiz (the back story)

Axxxxx reaching out and then me blowing it (again, but not really because I wasn’t trying)

24 hour romance (bumble and tinder and okc)

Notable places visited:

Target haha. Too high and only got a couple random things.

Listening to:

Hum - you’d prefer an astronaut

Swervedriver - mezcal head

Watching:

Scott Pilgrim vs the world

Reading:

Eating:

Playing:

Purchases:

Stranger things action figure on discount

Scott pilgrim on Blu-ray

BAMF score (I had a $75 store credit from trading in some Star Wars shit earlier last week):

Star Wars Han Solo vintage action figure

Ultraman fig

A couple Japanese older model kits

Packages received:

Star Wars power of the force bulk cardback set

eBay obsessions:

Lyric of the day:

“Every color mixed together

Will make another, in my reality” - Basenji

Quote of the day:

“You punched me in the boob; prepare to die obviously” - Scott pilgrim vs the world

8 ball questions and answers:

Hashtags:

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