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mychemicalficrecs · 4 years

Note

Any longer fics to get us through the pandemic? Thanx! (No waycest please) :)

Hi Nonny!

We're living through difficult times right now and many of us could probably use a little comfort. I hope there are a few fics on this list that bring you some joy.And if you can, spread the love and leave comments and/or kudos on works you liked and brighten an author's day!

Be kind and stay safe

Longer Fics

L For Lucky (M for Mine) by orphan_account, Ray/Mikey, 42k, Explicit. “Yeah, look.” Mikey turns his head to peer at the crowd over his shoulder. “This is going to seem weird, but.” He stares behind him and seems, for a moment, at a loss for words. “Well, there’s no tasteful way to say it.” Mikey looks Ray in the eye and just shrugs. “This is a highly organized sexual gathering for very specifically kinky people.” Ray feels a bit of spittle lodge in his throat and tries his best not to sputter when he disagrees, “That’s actually a pretty tasteful description of an orgy.”

Paradox 'verse by stoplightglow, Frank/Gerard, 42k, Mature, Teen And Up Audiences. You know the saying. The best part about hitting rock bottom is that you get to meet a hot psychic.

Skin of the Canvas by sinsense, Frank/Gerard, 42k, Mature. The typical nude model is someone like Phil. Phil is forty-nine and paunchy. He's starting to go gray at his temples and in his pubic hair; he likes to pose on a stool, curving his back and curling his fingers together between his knees. Phil is secretly awesome -- he likes the Misfits and builds model trains -- but he's not what Gerard would call prime ogling material. Neither are any of the other models who have posed for the life modeling or anatomy classes Gerard has taken. This semester, Anna was kind of cute, but she whined about the conditions the entire time she was there. In his four years of art school, anyway, Gerard has never once dealt with being attracted to the model. But this guy is hot. --- Or: Gerard goes to art school. Frank is a nude model. Somehow their relationship gets off the ground, in spite of everything working against them.

Let The Darkness Lead You Home by rivers_bend, Frank/Gerard, 49k, Explicit. Vampires are in charge and most of the humans on earth are prey, so Frank Iero's parents have him train as a cyber tech to protect him. Leaving the family he's born into may have saved his life, but his parents never could have expected the lengths he'd go to in order to find a new family to call home.

Stunning Someone by morbid_beauty, Frank/Gerard, 82k, Explicit. Frankie, a tattoo artist living in Brooklyn, has basically everything ze wants...except, like, someone to cuddle with at night. As lame as that sounds. Gerard, an art student living in Manhattan, meets someone of questionable gender and starts a friendship with an unrequited crush. (Or: the one where Frankie is genderfluid, Gerard is kind of ignorant to much of the queer community, and sometimes you just fall for a stunning someone.)

Envision the Magic by innocent_wolves, Frank/Gerard, 69k, Teen And Up Audiences. Gerard is a talented magician, responsible for much of the success of the famous Envision Destiny cruise ship. He's also one of those people. You know, one of those people who just seem to take up all the space they come across with their arrogance and confidence. You wouldn't wanna touch their personality with a 10-foot pole, but still people admire them. That is beyond Frank. Working behind the cruise ship bars and seeing Gerard pretty much every day, he can't understand what's so great about him. Besides, everybody else doesn't have to deal with his snide remarks and rude comments. Because if there's one thing Gerard seems to love, it's the act of constantly pestering Frank.

Rentverse by gala_apples, Frank/Mikey, Ashlee/Patrick/Pete and more, 77k, Teen And Up Audiences, Explicit. It's Frank's senior year, and it seems like he's constantly having new experiences, at least half of which come as a complete surprise to him. He falls in love, comes out, and has sex, not necessarily in that order. /// It's Pete's senior year, and with every day comes a new mistake. But he can handle them, as long as his friends can.

(To Die Will Be) An Awfully Big Adventure by FayJay, Frank/Gerard, Lindsey/Gerard, 73k, Mature. Gerard has always vaguely liked the idea of being a vampire, in much the same way he's always vaguely liked the idea of time travel, or of being a pirate - but it's only when he wakes up dead that he realises that not all his fans (or friends) are actually human. This is rather a shock to the system, but Gerard does his best to deal with the fact that he's now an undead American, and he's lucky enough to get a little help from an unexpected corner. Just as he thinks he's starting to get the hang of being a vampire, however, everything suddenly goes to hell in a handbasket, and before he knows it there are angry vampires slayers chasing him around LA, and an urgent appointment with the Fairy Queen looming before him... A story about love, family, metamorphosis, art, trust and geekery.

Fit to be tied by maryangel, Frank/Gerard, 56k, Explicit. Frank is a bartender. Gerard is an alcoholic. They were clearly made for each other. Also, Frank is a werewolf.

Only Going One Way by ataratah, jjtaylor, Frank/Gerard, 73k, Mature. Crossover with due South. Constable Gerard Way of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Detective Frank Iero of the Chicago PD team up find Mikey Way in a city where bowling alley score cards hide secret codes, where the good guys are either lying or undercover (and sometimes lying about being undercover), and where criminal bakers make drug-laced frosting.

Time Travel 'verse by ladyfoxxx, Frank/Gerard, Ray/Mikey, 79k, Explicit, General Audiences. In which 2005!Frank and Fun Ghoul get it on. Then Frank accidentally winds up in 2019.

play and record, held down together by morphosyntactic, Mikey/Pete, 54k, Explicit. High school AU. Mikey Way likes keeping his head down and blending into the background at school. Then Frank signs the two of them up to do the school's weekly radio show, and keeping his head down gets more difficult, especially when he keeps running into senior soccer star Pete Wentz everywhere he goes.

Rock and Roll Never Looked so Beautiful by corruptedkid, Frank/Gerard, 58k, Explicit. Gerard Way is a rising solo artist, set to become the next big thing in the alternative scene. Frank Iero is a trashy punk with a reputation of his own as the frontman of Pencey Prep. When their paths cross, a love story is born, only to come crashing down when Gerard hits it big. As Gerard ascends to the A-list, Frank adjusts to life on his own. He almost manages it - until two years later, when fate puts him face to face with Gerard once more. Everything has changed, but the connection between them is still there. Their story has ended once before, but if they're lucky, they just might make a new one.

It's Hard to Say "I Do" When I Really, Really Do by wakingup, Mikey/Pete, 58k, Not Rated. Pete is trying to not fuck up this time. His friends don't have much faith in him, even though they love him. Mikeyway makes this easier and harder at the same time.

I never told you what I do for a living. by not0_fuckin_kay, Frank/Gerard, 60k+, PG-13 to NC-17. Frank Iero, male nurse at Pete Wentz's private hospital and possibly more to one new patient he can't keep his eyes off of. When a new pateint is brought in with amnesia, just days before Christmas, and with nothing but the clothes on his back and a strange drawing, it's left to Frank to find out who he is and what happened to him. When he does, it changes Frank's life forever, as he's thrust into love and health scares he never thought would complicate his life. This is the story of how he tries to make it through, juggling his job and his love-life and just trying to make things better. With Patrick the doctor, Bob the ward supervisor, Travis the unlikely therapist, and Mikey, the sometimes wannabe homicidal geek.

The Marching Band AU by frankiesin, Frank/Gerard, Mikey/Pete, Brendon/Dallon, 150k, all ratings. A bunch of gay teens are in a band and do dumb things while in high school. There will be a lot of pairings, each part can be read without reading the others, and the series is in chronological order.

Gerard Way's (Vampire) Detective Agency by jjtaylor, Pennyplainknits, Frank/Gerard, Mikey/Pete, Bob/Ray, Lindsey/Jamia, Spencer/Brendon, 164k, General Audiences to Mature. Pete, in Decaydance Mansion, with a yarrow stake. Frank and Gerard, in the greenhouse, with a plant of questionable origin. Bob, everywhere you look, with a gang of assassins for justice. Vampires, valets, pamphlets, haunted furniture, dub-thrall, disembodied voices, zombie couriers, and sinister rituals.

Nightswimming by waxjism, Mikey/Pete, Frank/Gerard, 163k, Not Rated. Summertime and the livin' is easy...

Unholyverse by Bexless, Frank/Gerard, Ray/Mikey, 187k, General Audiences, Mature, Explicit. Religion! Horror! Exorcisms! Piercings! And Gerard is a priest.

shut up and drive by Trojie, uglowian, Patrick/Mikey/Pete, 139k, Teen And Up Audiences. Pete Wentz is the grid girl, Andy Hurley loves him (not like that), and Jared Leto is the bad guy. A.K.A.: the bandom The Fast and the Furious AU that literally no one asked for.

#ray/mikey #rikey #frank/gerard #frerard #frank/mikey #mikey/pete #frikey #petekey #lindsey/gerard #bob/ray #lindsey/jamia #patrick/mikey/pete #fic rec list #longfic

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ukulelecal · 5 years

Text

Biggest Fan pt. 5

In which you’re a famous singer and Calum is a fan of your music.

Warnings: none?

Pairing: Calum Hood x Reader

Requested By: Anonymous originally

“hi can you do a blurb on calum where you’re also famous and u find out he’s interested in you and low key loves your music? shebjdjsj idk jus make it fluffy and ill love u forever“

A/N: hell YEAH!!! so, as usual: do you guys want me to continue this? tell me what you thought!!! i love for feedback!! if you want more parts i can add some uhh angst and some uhh smut

Requests are CLOSED!

*Gif not mine*

Series Masterlist

Calum returned home from tour about a month ago, and you couldn’t be happier.

You couldn’t meet him at the airport in LA when he got back. Both of you being there at the same time would have been too hectic, so you agreed to wait till the next day to see each other.

You met him at his apartment that next day, and he had pulled you into the biggest hug you’d ever experienced, and gracefully smashed his lips against yours.

It was a pretty good day.

He was now in your apartment, and you were both sitting in the small room that you had dubbed your music room. All your instruments were scattered about, and you had awards hung up on the walls. It was like a safe space for you, where you knew you could express yourself without a care in the world. It’s where you’d written some of your best music.

Calum was sat at the piano, messing around with some chord progressions, and you were on the couch, desperately trying to tune your acoustic guitar that had been giving you a problem for a couple weeks now.

“Need help?” Calum finally chuckled, taking his fingers off the keys. You groaned and held it out to him, and he set it on his lap.

“Stupid thing has been out of tune for like, two weeks,” you mumbled, slumping down on the couch. “The pegs are hardly moving and I haven’t been bothered to fix it.”

Calum snickered at you, softly shaking his head. You watched him as he worked, and you couldn’t help but admire the way his fingers easily twisted the pegs, and smoothly got the guitar back in tune.

“Thanks,” you grinned, taking the instrument and setting it back in your lap.

“Of course, sweetheart.”

Sweetheart had become Calum’s favorite pet name for you. He frankly used it just as much as he used your real name, and it brought a smile to your face every time.

The both of you continued to fool around on the instruments, experimenting with random sounds and tunes. It was relaxing; you and Calum did it a lot, just each gave each other some space and made some music.

“We should write a song together,” you randomly suggested, placing your hand over the strings of your guitar to stop the sound.

Calum stopped playing as well, looking over at you. The corners of his mouth were slowly turning up at the idea.

“We should,” he agreed, turning the piano stool to face you. “Just us two or is my band included in this?”

You laughed, shrugging.

“We can write it ourselves, and then decide if they’re going to be on it when we record it.”

“Record it? Like, actually?”

“I mean, yeah. We don’t have to release it if we don’t want to, but we can have it for ourselves still.”

He paused a moment before shaking his head.

“I want to release it. I mean, pretty much everyone already knows we’re dating, but I think the song could be a cute way to make it official, you know? And we could always write more in the future, just for us.”

You smiled lovingly at that. It was true that everyone had their suspicions about your relationship; not that that was anything new. Another leaked photo of you and him walking his dog, Duke, together a couple weeks before pretty much verified it for the world. No one exactly needed anything to make it official, but based on the mostly positive reactions you had been getting, people would love it.

It was also true that you could write more songs later. With both of you being fairly high profile people, you could only keep your relationship so private, but having your own unreleased songs was one thing you could have for yourselves, one thing the public didn’t have to know about you.

“Yeah, you’re right,” you mumbled, and Calum turned the stool to face the piano again. He then scooted over to make room for you, patting the space next to him with a wide grin on his face.

You set your guitar down and grabbed some paper and a couple pencils from your desk, placing them on top of the piano. You sat down next to him, the small stool making for a tight fit, but neither of you minded. Calum bent his head down, pressing a kiss against the top of your head.

“Let’s write a killer song, sweetheart.”

Many hours, a few cups of coffee, and a couple breaks consisting of making out and quick back massages, and you had a song. A great one.

Both of you were in love with it. The lyrics were special to you, the instrumentals flowed perfectly, and you knew everyone else was going to love it too.

As soon as the song was finished and you shared a celebratory kiss, you and Calum collapsed onto the couch, both of you too tired to make it to your bedroom, falling asleep almost instantly. It was almost three in the morning when you finished, and songwriting could be exhausting.

The next morning, you woke to find yourself alone on the couch, curled up in a ball. And freezing. You and Calum fell asleep without a blanket, but he was a human space heater. He kept you warm all night, but now you had nothing.

Shivering, you sat up, wrapping your arms around yourself to try to keep at least a little bit warm. The smell of bacon filled your nose, signalling to you that Calum was making breakfast. You smiled to yourself, pushing yourself up off the couch and walking into the kitchen.

Calum was standing at the counter, sticking pieces of bread into the toaster. He turned around at the sound of your footsteps, a smile spreading across his face. He opened his arms for you, and you scurried over to him.

“Good morning,” he mumbled as he pulled you into a hug, and you tilted your head up to give him a kiss. You sighed in content, relishing in the warmth radiating off of him. “I was just making - Jesus, Y/N, you’re freezing!”

He had pulled away from the hug, reaching for your hands, but immediately jerked away when he felt them. You pouted, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Well I wouldn’t be if the person who was keeping me warm didn’t get up,” you mumbled with a teasing tone. Calum rolled his eyes, but the grin on his face told you he was only being playful. He pulled his sweatshirt off his torso and handed it over to you, leaving him in only a t-shirt and his basketball shorts.

“Should keep you warm, baby,” he said with a wink, and you glady slipped the clothing on. You were practically swimming in it, but it was comfortable, definitely warm, and smelled like him, so you couldn’t complain at all.

“Thank you, bub,” you mused with a smile, standing on your toes to peck his lips. He smiled back down at you, and then forced his expression to a serious one.

“I’m not getting that back, am I?”

You laughed, shaking your head.

“Nope.”

He let out an over exaggerated sigh, and it was his turn to peck your lips.

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” he joked, and you shrugged innocently in response. “Anyway, breakfast?”

“Yes, please!” You exclaimed dramatically, and Calum chuckled at your enthusiasm. You helped him finish up the food, and then you sat down to eat.

“I was thinking I could call John later, and he can help us record our song. Maybe get Ashton to play drums for us,” Calum suggested after he polished off his serving of eggs. You figured the John he was referring to was John Feldmann, a friend of his and the band’s. You had never met the man, but Calum had all good things to say about him. Ashton was of course his bandmate and best friend, who you had only met a couple times - very briefly in Chicago, and one more time when Calum got you to come to his apartment to meet all the boys after they got back from tour - but had definitely taken a liking to. He was a fun guy to hang out with.

You nodded in agreement, swallowing down the bite of toast in your mouth.

“Sounds good.” You grabbed your napkin and wiped your hands and mouth. “You can play bass, obviously, and I can play guitar.”

“Yeah, and maybe we can split the piano part.”

“Okay. You have to do that part with the accidentals you wrote, though, I seriously cannot play it.”

Calum kicked your shin under the table, and you kicked him back out of instinct, causing a whole game of footsie to break out. Laughter sounded from both of you, clutching your stomach. You stopped kicking, both of you trying to catch your breath. You were overjoyed. Playing footsie and laughing with Calum was such a special thing to you, even if it seemed lame.

Calum was a special thing to you.

“Alright, alright, I’ll play it,” he said, a light pink tint to his cheeks.

You finished up breakfast, and Calum sent out texts to John and Ashton. You both also texted your management, who were very supportive of the idea and promised to get everything arranged.

“John said we can meet him at the studio at 4:30, and Ash is on board too,” Calum said, coming back into the room after he got off the phone with John, who called Calum immediately after he texted. “Does that work for you?”

You nodded, shoving your hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt.

“Yep, I have no plans.”

Calum nodded, sliding his phone into the pocket of his shorts and coming up to where you sat at the table, placing his hands on your shoulders.

“I should head home. I have to change and feed Duke and stuff, but I’ll pick you up on the way to the studio, okay?”

You smiled and stood up to meet him, his hands never leaving your shoulders.

“Text me when you’re on your way?” You asked, and he agreed. You walked him to the door, leaning in to kiss him after he slipped on his shoes.

“Bye, sweetheart.”

“See you later,” you said with a smile, shutting the door behind him.

During the time between Calum leaving and then returning to pick you up to go to the studio, you took a quick shower and made yourself presentable, making sure to put Calum’s hoodie back on. It was the first piece of clothing you had gotten from him, and you were in love with it already. He was definitely not getting it back.

You got a text from him around 4:15, saying he was here. You grabbed everything you needed; your guitar that you had transferred to a case, the papers with the song written on them, your phone. The studio should have anything else you needed.

You walked outside to Calum’s car, and he quickly got out of the car to help you put your guitar in the trunk.

“Hey,” he greeted, hand on the small of your back as he leaned down to kiss you and lead you to the back of his car. Once you got your guitar in, laying it next to his bass, you got in the car and drove off to whatever studio John and Ashton were meeting you at. It wasn’t the studio you normally worked at, but you had driven by before.

You and Calum grabbed your instruments from the trunk and headed inside, finding John and Ashton were already there, waiting for you.

“Hey, guys,” Calum greeted, causing the men to look up.

“What’s up, Cal?” John exclaimed with a smile, going to hug him. Ashton came up to you, easily pulling you in for a hug.

“It’s nice to see you again, Y/N,” he said cheerfully, and you grinned up at the dimpled man.

“Yeah, you too!”

You felt a gentle hand return to the small of your back, and Calum pulled you back to his side.

“John, this is my girlfriend, Y/N. Y/N, this is John Feldmann.”

You extended your hand with a smile, and the man firmly shook it.

“It’s great to meet you,” you said, bringing your hand back and readjusting your grip on your guitar case.

“You as well,” he responded with a grin. “My daughter and I love your music.”

“Thank you,” you chuckled, and you felt Calum pull you a tad closer.

“Alright, let’s see this song you guys have.”

You and Calum got out your instruments, and you showed them everything you had written. You both sang the lyrics for them, and showed them the instrument parts. John and Ashton loved it, praising you for your collaboration. They made some suggestions, which made the song even better, and you helped Ashton figure out a drum part. Then, it was time to start recording.

You recorded the instruments first. You played your guitar first, then Calum on bass, Ashton on drums, and you and Calum split up the piano part.

When it was time for vocals, you and Calum recorded your solo parts before your parts together. The entire time you were singing alone, Calum was watching you with a love struck look in his eyes. He admired how beautiful your voice sounded, the way your eyes fluttered shut as you got into it.

You looked like an angel.

You did the same during Calum’s turn. His voice was a godsend, and you felt chills run down your spine as he hit his notes perfectly.

Then you had to record your parts that you sang together, and you both entered the booth and slipped pairs of headphones over your ears. Once John gave you the okay, you started singing, and the two men outside were in awe.

Your voices melded together perfectly. You were able to harmonize beautifully, and John and Ashton didn’t miss the quick glances filled with adoration that you two made towards each other. They grinned at each other; they could tell you really liked each other, and they were happy that their friend was happy.

After everything was recorded, everyone sat down to put it all together. John layered the parts together professionally, everyone listening closely to make sure it was perfect. You had to record a few things again, but soon enough, the song was done.

“Congratulations, guys,” Ashton said, exchanging hugs with everyone. “You’ve got yourselves a fucking awesome song.”

“Thanks so much for helping,” you returned, lacing your fingers with Calum’s.

“We really appreciate it,” he continued for you, giving your hand a squeeze.

“Glad we could do it,” John smiled.

You all exchanged your final goodbyes before parting ways, John and Ashton heading to their respective cars while you and Calum walked over to his car. You put your cases in the trunk, and right when Calum pushed the door shut, you threw your arms around his torso, pulling him tightly to you.

He chuckled, returning the gesture and wrapping his strong arms around you.

“We have our own song, babe,” you breathed out, looking up at him with a smile.

You were in disbelief, honestly. The thought of a collaboration wasn’t strange to you, but the thought of doing one with your boyfriend was different. It meant something.

Calum felt similarly. He wrote songs and sang with his band all the time, but a duet was a little more foreign to him, and. he loved it. He loved singing with just you.

“I know,” he laughed softly, shaking his head. He kissed your forehead, and you couldn’t help but sigh in content at the feeling. “I’m so excited, sweetheart.”

“Me too.”

Some time had passed since you recorded your song, and you were finally ready to announce it. All of the logistics got worked out, cover art was created, and the song was ready to go up.

You were practically trembling with excitement while driving to Calum’s place. You were planning on tweeting to announce the song, both of you saying the same thing at the same time.

You parked the car and headed up to his apartment, rapping on the door with your knuckles. It opened pretty quick, revealing a smiling Calum.

“Hi, sweetheart,” he mumbled, greeting you with a kiss.

“Hey, bubba,” you responded and happily accepted his affection. “You ready?”

“More than ready.”

He lead you into his living room. It was a tad messy, but that was something you had grown used to. You snuggled up on the couch, you in his lap with your back against his chest.

“What should we say?”

You discussed a caption for a few minutes, and included a picture of the cover art; the photo was of you and Calum lying in a bed of roses, eyes fixed on each other while laughing. You were supposed to have serious faces, but you couldn’t contain your laughter, and ended up actually liking that picture better. The title of the song was printed across the top, and your names across the bottom.

Once you both had the tweet typed out, Calum spoke up.

“On three?”

You nodded, taking a deep breath.

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three.”

You hit send, and then it was official.

“LA VILLE DE L’AMOUR. Our new song PARIS out Friday.”

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nprillustration · 7 years

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Illustrator Spotlight: Ryan Johnson

Oakland-based illustrator Ryan Johnson continues to impress me (and it’s not just because we have the same last name.) He is a digital painter with a traditional process. I asked him to explain his process. Here’s how he breaks it down:

Ryan Johnson: What is my process? I think my process is a little different for every illustration. I suppose I have patterns depending on client or personal work. When I'm working on an editorial assignment for a client, I like to start with the text if possible. I'll give it a quick read and then go back through picking out words or phrases that I think best tell the story and that I find interesting. Words that show mood or action can be really helpful. I’ll then take these words and go to a thesaurus to branch the words and phrases out further. At the time of word research, I’ve started generating mental images, symbols, and metaphors.

Then I sketch these fledgling ideas out. This process helps me fight off artist’s block – it’s a concrete place to start for brainstorming. If the art director doesn’t have the text then I’ll need to probe them for some ideas in order to start.

Here is an example of some word play for an article about school arrests in South Carolina. As you can see, this is an informal, free-flow process.

The next stage is thumbnail sketches. Thumbnail sketching goes one of two ways: great fun or great frustration. I enjoy the uninhibited, free play of illustration but if the ideas are lame or uninspired it’s just frustrating.

At this point in my process I’m trying to incorporate ideas and symbols that had come up during my brainstorm. I might have several completely different concepts or just one concept with many variations. I use different design elements to tell the story in different ways. I try to keep thumbnails simple, but sometimes I add more information than is needed. Something I need to work on.

Here are some thumbnails from the first illustration I completed for NPR. It was an article covering the Summer SAT and how it will likely further the gap between the poor and middle/upper class.

I usually start the ideas on pen and paper and then digitally recreate for the art director’s convenience. That also allows me to edit out any sketches that I would rather not show anyone. I don’t have a hard rule about whether to shade or color my thumbnail sketches. At this stage I just want to get my idea across. I am not afraid to put color in the sketch if will better tell that story. But I am careful not to spend too much time on this. Only one sketch will be chosen and the rest will likely never see the light of day again.

Once a sketch is approved, I move to final. My “painting process” is straight-forward digital painting in Photoshop. I like to use Kyle Webster’s brush tools to get a painterly texture. I try to be somewhat experimental with my color choices but typically they are unified, saturated, and bright. I really want my illustrations to POP off the page or screen.

Johnson illustrates the pros and cons of the new summer SAT.

After I’ve finished painting the whole surface, I might print out a black and white copy and do additional sketching or tracing on top of the illustration for more texture. I’ll also scan in different papers, paints, brushes or water marks to help liven the illustration. The marriage of physical and digital elements is fascinating. There is always more than one way to reach a goal and that is what makes illustration fantastic. I continue to experiment with techniques and process to tell stories.

Here's my process from a personal illustration after a trip to Chicago.

This next personal illustration was inspired by these two lovely modern chairs by Milo Baughman. Early in the sketch I thought it might become a love story. Eventually it turned into a commentary on smart phones and privacy. With personal illustration I am not tied to the original idea, I am always free to change the story at any point.

-- LA Johnson

#npr #nprillustration #art direction #Illustration #illustrators #process

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reddithublogic · 3 years

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Trump’s Only Hope Is the 12th Amendment, and He Knows It

Trump’s Only Hope Is the 12th Amendment, and He Knows It WASHINGTON — The lame duck is stirring. President Donald Trump has stayed mostly out of public view in the two weeks since his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. On nine of the 14 days since the Nov. 3 election, his daily schedule has been summed up in a single sentence: “The president has no public events scheduled” — the longest he has been out of public view since taking office in January 2017. site : https://hcde.instructure.com/courses/91105/pages/watch-after-we-collided-2020-online-free-hd “But then I started getting more alerts, as well as texts from friends, talking about shootings in several different areas in the city,” he recalls. The coordinated jihadist attacks began with three suicide bombers detonating their explosive vests by the Stade de France sports arena in the Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis. France was playing a friendly football match against Germany and had drawn a crowd of at least 80,000, including then president François Hollande. All three suicide bombers and a bystander were killed in that attack. site : https://hcde.instructure.com/courses/91105/pages/watch-come-away-2020-online-free-hd The blasts were followed by gunmen opening fire on several bars and restaurants — Le Carillon bar, Le Petit Cambodge restaurant, Café Bonne Bière and Italian restaurant Casa Nostra — all located near the busy Canal Saint Martin neighbourhood in Paris’s 10th and 11th arrondissements (districts). Blaring sirens Lili Rathipanya, 40, who lives just 50 metres from Le Petit Cambodge, recalls how she started hearing “never-ending” sirens blaring outside her window. site : https://hcde.instructure.com/courses/91105/pages/watch-greenland-2020-online-free-hd “I remember thinking how odd it was that the sirens just never seemed to stop. There were ambulances, police cars, everything.” Moments later, she logged into her Facebook account and found her newsfeed inundated with posts about the ongoing attacks. “The media were sending live reports, and friends were posting warnings about what was going on. It was really frightening.” Facebook had, for the first time, activated its “Safety Check” feature for an event that did not involve a natural disaster, allowing Parisian users to mark themselves as “safe”. site : https://hcde.instructure.com/courses/91105/pages/watch-his-house-2020-online-free-hd “It was unreal that it was happening just outside my home,” she says, explaining that she quickly posted a message on her account, telling people her door was open for anyone seeking refuge. In the streets by Rathipanya’s home alone, 18 people were killed that night. WATCH>> In memoriam: A look at some of the Paris attack victims site : https://hcde.instructure.com/courses/91105/pages/watch-holidate-2020-online-free-hd But the attacks were far from over. The gunmen, who were later confirmed to be associated with the Islamic State (IS) group, had also opened fire further into the 11th arrondissement, targeting Parisians having dinner and drinks at the Comptoir Voltaire Café restaurant and La Belle Équipe bar, leaving 21 people dead at the latter. site : https://hcde.instructure.com/courses/91105/pages/watch-let-him-go-2020-online-free-hd The deadliest assault of the night, however, almost simultaneously took place at the Bataclan concert hall — also in the 11th — where the American rock band Eagles of Death Metal were playing. Ninety people died and more than 200 were injured, many of them seriously, after three gunmen wearing explosive belts stormed the premises and attacked the band’s 1,500-strong audience with machine guns. Hundreds of survivors were also held hostage until police raided the theatre a few hours later. ‘Funk music saved my life’ site : https://hcde.instructure.com/courses/91105/pages/watch-ludo-2020-online-free-hd Sam Davies, 38, who lives just a stone’s throw away from Le Carillon and who had attended a concert at the Bataclan just the night before, was on his way home after a quick drink with friends when he, on a whim, decided to finish his Friday night by supporting a friend who was singing at a nearby bar. “So instead of turning right that night, which would have taken me past Le Carillon, I turned left,” he recalls. “So funk music quite literally saved my life.” While listening to the concert he received a text message from a friend, saying there had been a shooting at Le Carillon. site : https://hcde.instructure.com/courses/91105/pages/watch-operation-christmas-drop-2020-online-free-hd “At first I thought it was just a drug thing, like a random shooting thing, so I didn’t think about it too much. But then I started getting texts from other friends, checking I was OK.” Everyone in the audience started checking their phones, he says. “And about halfway through, everyone just burst into tears, when it dawned on everyone how serious it really was.” site : https://hcde.instructure.com/courses/91105/pages/watch-rebecca-2020-online-free-hd Davies, who sometimes works as a freelancer at FRANCE 24, and everyone else attending the concert were locked inside the bar for at least two hours to ensure their safety. After spending the night on a friend’s couch he returned to his neighbourhood the next day. “One of the images that have really stuck with me since then is that of a street cleaner who was sweeping the blood from the zebra crossing. It was deeply unsettling.” site : https://hcde.instructure.com/courses/91105/pages/watch-superintelligence-2020-online-free-hd ‘People’s faces changed’ For Kavita Brahmbatt, 41, the night of November 13, 2015 was similar. She was celebrating her boyfriend Ben’s 43rd birthday with friends at a gallery in the Marais neighbourhood when she went to get her phone from her handbag to check why one of her friends hadn’t turned up yet. site : https://hcde.instructure.com/courses/91105/pages/watch-tenet-2020-online-free-hd “I looked at my phone and I had like 25 missed calls,” Brahmbatt says. “Then Ben came over and told me: ‘There’s been a terror attack. Don’t freak out’.” When Kavita looked up from her phone, she saw that the friend she’d been talking to had also just learned the news after looking at her own phone. “All three of us found out at the exact same time,” she says. “Then, one by one, you could see how people’s faces changed as they found out what was going on.” site : https://hcde.instructure.com/courses/91105/pages/watch-the-trial-of-the-chicago-7-2020-online-free-hd The friend she had been waiting for had been warned to turn back. “She called me later and told me how, just when she stepped out into the street to leave her place, her neighbour had pushed her back into the door, saying there had been shooting in their street. She was totally freaked out.” READ MORE>> French judges order trial for 20 suspects linked to 2015 Paris attacks site : https://hcde.instructure.com/courses/91105/pages/watch-the-witches-2020-online-free-hd site : https://hcde.instructure.com/courses/91105/pages/watch-wild-mountain-thyme-2020-online-free-hd Brahmbatt, along with around a dozen other people attending the party, stayed locked inside the gallery until 6am the following morning. “It was like being inside a timeless bubble,” she says. Daily newsletter Receive essential international news every morning Subscribe site : https://hcde.instructure.com/courses/91105/pages/watch-%3E-the-new-mutants-2020-free-hd-online “We locked the doors and pulled down the shutters,” she says. In the following few days, her boyfriend was told a friend of his who had been missing had been killed in the attacks. Eerie atmosphere Nabères and his date did not end up having the night they had hoped for either. Despite all the alerts on their phones, they decided to try to continue with their evening anyway. site : https://paiza.io/projects/nmLNNjEFuv75Egcw25fkLQ “We went to Pigalle (in northern Paris) to have a last drink, but bar after bar [was] closed. We probably tried five or six, and when we finally found one that was open, we were told we had to leave after just five minutes.” Site : https://onlinegdb.com/SkBmVRz5v https://onlinegdb.com/B1gKNCz5D He remembers how they walked into the street, and how an eerie atmosphere suddenly enveloped them. “The street was totally empty of people, and then we just started running.”

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goonmilk · 6 years

Text

tHE sTATE oF fASHION

The State of Fashion Address... *Cues Presidential Band Music*

Being from the DMV area Fashion matters. The world may not know it yet but fashion matters so much in our area's culture. There aren't many fashion icons coming out of our city in comparison to NY or LA or even Chicago which seems to have made a huge imprint in the fashion world as of late with Virgil Abloh, DonC, JoeFreshGoods, and oh yeah Kanye West, but that doesn't mean we don't want a say so in whats hot and whats not. I see a lot of trends begin right in DC/MD and Seeing MD kids like Jay IDK walking in NYFW and Kelow basically the face of the reemergence of Champion. Its a beautiful thing and I believe our area's style has so much more to give the fashion world. I see the inspiration and similarities everyday from things we've done ten plus years ago. Adversely I've also seen how our area has taken on other cities styles and got lost in the sauce so to speak. For example like how I'm hearing DC rappers say "Cap/No Cap" instead of "No stunt", or "you welling", or however you interpret the saying, a lot of monkey see monkey doing going on but I digress.

Taking the taste that the fly kids create and turns it into a contest of likes and cosigns is something Im not a fan of. Seeing brands being started everyday and pushed onto influencers trying to get the attention from hypebeasts following and liking every post as if the Influencer has a magic wand to make the clothes you gave them for free worth the hyped price on your site; that you charging regardless of shitty quality. Kind of how Vlone got away with using Gildan tees up until Ian Conner exposed them. Or how 2Chainz ran it up and made a mil selling Gildan Xmas Sweaters a few years back by gifting one to every social media influencer before hand for promo. Social Media Influencers have taking over the power of brands and how they're marketing and can possibly change the taste of a generation. Now I probably will come off as a hater to some because I don't have as many followers and with everything being a popularity contest instead of talent speaking for itself, but I call it how I see it. Ive been apart of this culture way before many of you knew what the difference between haute couture and Streetwear was, and to see the two fusing together now is amazing and enticing as a Designer and Stylist.

Growing up I wanted to be a stylist I wanted to be the guy behind the scenes that could get his hands on any and every brand or garment on the face of the planet. Seeing brands like Louis Vuitton and Supreme collaborate was but a dream 5 years ago and I never thought I'd see stylist get just as much attention as their clients do now. I Also never thought orthopedic shoe silhouettes would catch on *Shrugs* wins and losses. But as a whole I believe our culture is moving forward and allowing more and more people that look like us into the fashion world. I'm excited to see where things will go from here. I love seeing trends unfold, I love creating and I still dream of working with Haute Couture Fashion Houses but I also love the Underground. GoonMilk has its own cult-like following and the support feels genuine. I don't have to be fake to some lame blogger to get sales, or throw a pop up every day of the week, over-saturating the market and watering down my product. Im doing things my way and making it work with what I have. Staying Humble and Hungry and still Getting Out Of Negative Situations.

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dippedanddripped · 3 years

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KYLE

NEW YORK

NICO

JOE

FRESHGOODS

& ALEX

JAMES

How do you stay creative during a pandemic? For answers, we turned to four culture makers across the US—New York Nico, Kyle Ng, Joe Freshgoods, and Alex James — on how they meet the demands of staying productive in our new reality. We’ve equipped each of them with a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G, a revolutionary smartphone that allows them to stay creative, whether doing everything in one place, or out on the go hunting for inspiration. Perfectly designed for the creative life, the Z Fold2 is three devices in one: folded closed like a regular smartphone, open flat like a tablet, or laid on a surface like a mini-laptop. It’s four machines, if you include its camera, with its impressive depth of field and hands-free shooting. Each of the culture makers we selected were tasked with taking photographs and screenshots that give us a glimpse of their creative process, what inspires them, and how to balance between work and play. The results we got back were surprisingly intimate, quirky, unexpectedly funny, and humane. Take a peek into their lives below.

NEW YORK NICO

SHOT ON A SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FOLD2

DOWNTOWN NEW YORK

(JUN — AUG 2020)DOWNTOWN NEW YORKDOWNTOWN NEW YORKTIGER HOOD, A STREET GOLFER WHO HITS MILK CARTONS THROUGHOUT THE STREET; OR THE GREEN LADY OF BROOKLYN, WHO ONLY DRESSES IN GREEN. THESE ARE JUST TWO OF THE FASCINATING INDIVIDUALS THAT NEW YORK NICO, A DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER, HAS CAPTURED ON HIS

INSTAGRAM

ACCOUNT.

Having grown up in Union Square and gone to school in the Village, he’s dedicated his project to capturing all the indispensable local characters who make up the quirky flavor of the ever-changing NYC. So when Covid hit the city, claiming the lives of tens of thousands and forcing countless others out of their homes, Nico immediately went to work to help save a part of the city that was vanishing before his eyes. Catapulting off of the viral success of his Instagram — which has 472k followers, attracting attention from the New York Times and celebrities like Alec Baldwin and Chloe Sevingy—Nico launched contests such as Best New York Mask, Best New York Photo, and Best New York T-Shirt, that raised nearly $300,000 for charities such as God's Love We Deliver, Color of Change, and The Campaign Against Hunger. Since the pandemic, Nico launched the #MomNPopDrop hashtag for quirky and iconic small businesses that were struggling to stay open. He started with Army & Navy Bag on Houston Street by going down to the store and taking a photo of its owner. Then for the next week or so, lines began forming outside his shop. “When I saw the response to that, I was like, holy shit. These posts are making a huge impact,” he said to Elle. For Highsnobiety, Nico photographed, as an extension of his practice, various scenes in the daily life of New York City: dog-walking in the streets, vendors, business owners. An ATV driven by a Chucky doll. All photos were shot on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G, which was convenient enough to take with him for unexpected moments on the go that, with a clunkier machine, he would have missed just seconds later. And what moments these were — a testament to what keeps New York strong, the New York that he loves, which he believes will survive the pandemic.

KYLE NG

SHOT ON A SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FOLD2

DOWNTOWN NEW YORK

(JUN — AUG 2020)DOWNTOWN NEW YORKDOWNTOWN NEW YORKKYLE NG IS A CONNOISSEUR OF THE T-SHIRT. “IT’S LIKE A BILLBOARD FOR WHO YOU ARE,” HE SAID IN SSENSE. HE’S THE FOUNDER OF BRAIN DEAD, A STREETWEAR BRAND RUN BY A LOS ANGELES-BASED CREATIVE COLLECTIVE OF ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS, WHO FEATURED IN OUR JULY EDITION OF

THE NEXT 20

“The best t-shirts are ones with an approach, a perspective, and a culture already around it,” he went on. Simultaneously, the t-shirt for Ng is a signal of individuality that defines itself as part of a collective and a cultural context. This year, when the Black Lives Matter protests began in Minneapolis and spread around the world, Ng had the idea of making none other than a t-shirt to both commemorate the moment, and raise money for the Movement for Black Lives. He contacted Dev Hynes of Blood Orange, and designed a shirt in two hours, putting it for sale the next day. It made $500,000. Ng did what he does best: putting the times in a graphic. Brain Dead is celebrated for immersing itself in the cultures of post-punk, skateboarding, and underground comics. Comfortable with collaborating, Ng has worked with brands such as The North Face, Levi’s, and even Shake Shack. Yet as international as his brand’s reach is, he is still attuned to LA at the local level. As a research practice, Brain Dead works with the people involved in a particular culture, which makes fashion and community organizing one and the same. With the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G’s “flex mode,” Ng is able to toggle through multiple windows at once, in the smartphone’s tablet mode, and compare designs and photos. It’s a boon for his Covid-era productivity, where sales (perhaps unusually) have been up 120%. For Highsnobiety, Ng photographed himself and his collaborators with the Z Fold2 in and around his studio, where he recently worked on a series of t-shirts inspired by horror movies for Halloween. Other scenes are more quotidian: journeys looking for mushrooms at the market, his dog. Perhaps most iconic of the moment, one photograph shows his mail-in ballot with the “I Voted” sticker an image emblematic of the brand itself and some of its core values.

ALEX JAMES

SHOT ON A SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FOLD2

DOWNTOWN NEW YORK

(JUN — AUG 2020)DOWNTOWN NEW YORKDOWNTOWN NEW YORK“ROCK ISN’T A TREND FOR ME NOR MY BRAND. I DON’T WEAR A SLAYER OR MOTÖRHEAD T-SHIRT BECAUSE I THINK THEY LOOK COOL, I WEAR THEM BECAUSE I’VE BEEN THRASHING TO THAT MUSIC IN MY BEDROOM LONG BEFORE THESE LAMES WERE AROUND,” SAYS ALEX JAMES, THE OWNER OF PLEASURES.

It’s a streetwear brand known for its DIY aesthetics drawn from music subcultures like metal and new wave, and has attracted the likes of The Weeknd, Kylie Jenner, A$AP Rocky, and Kim Jones. Growing up in the suburbs of New Jersey to working class parents, James came of age during the ‘80s and ‘90s, immersing himself in the music scene of New York that would hail this period the last of its kind, before the Internet and Giulani killed the underground. This was an era defined by Sonic Youth, CBGB’s, Chloe Sevigny in Kids. The last bastion of Gen-X culture. PLEASURES, which was launched in 2015, began as a way of making affordable clothing inspired by vintage band merch. Yet as laconic as he is about his design choices, James cares a lot about accessibility. “PLEASURES is an inclusive brand. We want to include everyone and not alienate our consumer,” he said in GOAT. This harkens back to his younger years spent rummaging through thrift stores and estate sales for clothes, and hanging out all day at record shops. Hence the touch of nostalgia in PLEASURES’ designs. The culture that it represents is of a recent past that might be seen as dead if people like James weren’t dedicated to preserving it. “Rock was around first and will be here forever,” he says. For Highsnobiety, James shot surprisingly intimate photos with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G of scenes from his home life. Some of the smartphone’s features, like its hands-free shooting (all you have to do is wave at the camera and it’ll take a picture) allows for users to appear in portraits with others in front of the camera, like James does with his child. Other shots show scenes from his home, like his intricately woven carpet, or a bouquet of flowers. It’s a reminder that some of the most inspiring scenes in daily life are those closest to you.

JOE FRESHGOODS

SHOT ON A SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FOLD2

DOWNTOWN NEW YORK

(JUN — AUG 2020)DOWNTOWN NEW YORKDOWNTOWN NEW YORKIT WAS A BAD SITUATION THAT TURNED INTO A GOOD ONE. IN 2018, JOE FRESHGOODS — THE DESIGNER WHO CO-OWNS THE FAT TIGER WORKSHOP STORE IN CHICAGO—HAD A CONTRACT WITH ADIDAS TO RELEASE TWO SNEAKERS AND AN APPAREL COLLECTION, BUT THE DEAL FELL THROUGH LAST MINUTE.

The clothes were already made, so Freshgoods, who was able to retrieve the dead stock, went ahead and put it for sale for a 40 percent markdown at a drive-through fundraiser for public schools in Chicago. His hope was to raise money for the laptops, tablets, and headphones kids need for remote learning during quarantine. His dedication to Chicago runs deep. When Freshgoods drops a t-shirt at a pop-up in the city, lines stretch to over 90 minutes to cop them. It goes back to when he used to sell his own branded t-shirts secretly while he was working for the Chicago streetwear shop Leaders. People trust him because he’s committed to the city. Since the pandemic, he introduced Community Goods, a charitable brand that raises funds for small Black-owned businesses in Chicago and The Greater Chicago Food Depository. While working at Leaders, he met Chance The Rapper, whom he considers an old friend. In 2017, Chance went on to wear one of Freshgoods’ hoodies when accepting the award for Best Rap Performance. (It reads “Thank you.”) The exposure catapulted Freshgoods to a new national platform—raking in collaborations with McDonald’s, Nike, Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Chicago Bears—yet he has stayed true to his Chicago roots. Shot entirely with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G, Freshgoods’ photos for Highsnobiety give us a look into his creative studio. The smartphone’s hands-free shooting also makes it even easier to take self-portraits, with having your arm awkwardly jutting to the corner of the picture. More shots show scenes from the Fat Tiger Workshop, and all its swag and splendor. It’s a space he co-owns with Terrell Jones and Desmond Owusu, and has been a stalwart in the local community. “We’re a community store,” he said in The Fader. “We’re like a barber shop.”

#samsung #joe freshgoods #kyle ng #brain dead #los angeles streetwear brands #chicago streetwear brands #american streetwear #streetwear designers #alex james #pleasures #pleasures now #new york nico #minority fashion designers #streetwear collaborations

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chestnutpost · 5 years

Text

Bring on spring! After winter of discontent, can Cubs move on?

7:00 AM ET

CHICAGO — Eventually, Willson Contreras got bored. The offseason had gone on long enough. The Chicago Cubs catcher was used to playing baseball deep into the fall, but a team-wide offensive flameout last year led to a long winter.

So on Monday morning, a day before catchers and pitchers reported, Contreras was already taking his swings in the cage, attempting to put a down 2018 season for him and the team behind him.

“I think we needed that (losing early),” Contreras said after he was finished hitting. “We tried to do our best but it didn’t work out…This was my first offseason having October off. It was really weird for me. I was really uncomfortable at first.”

A winter of discontent for the Chicago Cubs has finally given way to a spring of cautious optimism as camp opens for the 2016 World Series champions. That historic title — coming 108 years after their last one — feels like a decade ago as the team and organization have taken a bit of a hit in the interim.

Of course, that’s partly because expectations from a rabid fan base — thinking about a Cubs dynasty — have come up short since November 2016. It hasn’t helped their narrative that the team did little this offseason, is bringing back a player suspended for domestic abuse allegations, and recently had to distance itself from racist and bigoted emails associated with the father of the team owner. Discontent might be an understatement.

“This year is really a reckoning in a lot of ways,” Team president Theo Epstein said during the winter. “We do have a lot to prove.”

From big names with something to prove to young stars to get to know, here’s what you’ll want to keep an eye on during spring training.

We’re still waiting for this winter’s big free agents to sign, but that didn’t stop us from predicting which uniforms they’ll be wearing in the Midsummer Classic. Who else makes our star-studded squads?

Days before spring training begins, the offseason’s marquee name is adding suitors instead of making his way to camp with a new team. Here’s what MLB must do to repair its busted hot stove.

2 Related

Epstein was referring to his team on the field, which, by the way, won 95 games last season. But that statement could apply to the off-the-field concerns as well. Can they navigate the possible return of shortstop Addison Russell, when his 40-game suspension is over in May? He would become the first prominent player to return to his old team after serving a significant suspension for violating baseball’s domestic abuse policies. Others in similar situations have moved on, but the Cubs insist they want to be part of the solution, which includes monitoring Russell’s counseling and therapy. The team is also likely to make amends, where they can, after the revelation of racially charged emails associated with Joe Ricketts, patriarch of the Ricketts family who own the Cubs.

It’s under that backdrop the team begins spring training with a lame-duck manager. The Cubs hate what the word means as they continue to profess faith in Joe Maddon. But the reality of the situation is simply this: There’s a chance Maddon could take the Cubs to the playoffs in all five of his five years as manager and still be out of a job next winter. As is, the perception is that if he goes 4 for 5, he’ll be out of a job. It’s a sign of the times when perennial playoff managers are losing gigs in favor of younger and cheaper options. That’s not to say Maddon is coming off his best year in the dugout. Far from it.

He’s 37 and throwing 99. Baseball’s best comeback story will be playing out during spring training. Jeff Passan »

The off-the-field issues have divided some Cubs fans, but what unites many of them is a belief the team pulled a fast one on them by doing very little to improve the roster for 2019. This was supposed to be the year Las Vegas natives and friends Bryce Harper and Kris Bryant joined forces. Or at least that’s what many thought would happen, though the Cube never once forecast such a union. After failing miserably on offense late last season, the team changed just it’s 25th man on the roster, adding Daniel Descalso while subtracting Tommy La Stella. After ceding the division to the Milwaukee Brewers, doubt has begun to creep into the Cubs narrative. Was the end of 2018 the beginning of something bad for the Cubs or just a blip? After all, it’s hard to improve or be upset with a 95-win year. The Cubs may simply embrace the underdog role just as they did being the favorite back in 2016.

There’s nothing wrong with having some doubt,” general manager Jed Hoyer said recently. “In ’16, we were clearly the best team in the division, and we embraced that target. That’s not the case right now.”

If Maddon needs some bulletin board material, perhaps he can post PECOTA’s predictions. Annually, the Player Empirical Comparison and Optimization Test Algorithm spits out its win/loss predictions for every team. It has the Cubs going 82-80 this year. 82 wins? That’s blasphemy for the team with the most wins in baseball over the last four regular seasons, averaging just under 97 wins per year. Even Las Vegas, always a friendly place for Cubs bettors, doesn’t think the team will win 90 games.

So what’s the solution? Urgency. Even in winning 95 last year, there wasn’t enough.

“Complacency is kind of a loaded word, but do I think we played with the same urgency we played with in 2016?” Hoyer wondered. “No.”

Epstein added, early in the winter: “(It) sounds funny coming off 95 wins. I feel like we underperformed. I think you’re going to see a really highly motivated group of players out there. Whether we have a big offseason or more nuanced offseason, you should judge us on how we play next year.”

Which talented stars of tomorrow found a home on this year’s list?

• Individual players: Just Missed | Top 100: 100-51 | 50-1 | Impact 20

We now know it’s been a more nuanced winter for the Cubs, meaning all the focus is on the team that came up short last year — which is mostly the same team that won the World Series. PECOTA thinks their starting staff is too old, fans think the offense is still broken and no one is quite sure how the bullpen will fare with closer Brandon Morrow already down to start the spring. But even with question marks, few will count the Cubs out. There’s still a lot of talent. Perhaps 82 wins won’t be a shock but neither would be 97.

“We feel like as though we have all the ingredients in the bowl,” Maddon said. “I’m all about development … I’m with the guys, Theo and Jed, regarding definitely trying to extrapolate more out of the group we already have because there’s a lot more left.”

Maddon spent the offseason learning what makes millennials tick while the front office has made behind-the-scene changes to how they want their players to attack each day.

Meanwhile, the other NL Central teams have added to their rosters, leading to those predictive models suggesting no one will win 90 games in the division.

“People are going to pick a lot of different teams to win our division,” Hoyer said. “We’ve had good years by normal standards.”

“Normal” left the building the moment the Cubs won it all in 2016. Fans want nothing less than another title — or at least a better shot at one than the team gave last season. There were extenuating circumstances — injuries and a rough schedule were real. So there’s hope mixed in with the doubt. It’s the beauty of baseball and the reality of the Chicago Cubs as 2019 begins. A year of reckoning indeed, especially for its manager.

“I came up on one-year deals, but you always felt if you worked well and did your job that stuff will take care of itself,” Maddon stated. “I still believe in those principles.”

The post Bring on spring! After winter of discontent, can Cubs move on? appeared first on The Chestnut Post.

from The Chestnut Post https://www.thechestnutpost.com/news/bring-on-spring-after-winter-of-discontent-can-cubs-move-on/

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adultingrpg-blog · 6 years

Photo

KATE has been accepted as LUNA VALDEZ. **This is just a sample application.

OUT OF CHARACTER.

NAME: Kate. AGE: 23. TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOU: i’m lame af honestly TIMEZONE: EST. ACTIVITY LEVEL: 7-8/10. I work, and I occasionally go out with friends or family. But that’s about it. I don’t have much of a life, so I’ll be around a good chunk of time! PRONOUNS: She/her. SHIPS: /chem. ANTI-SHIPS: /forced.

IN CHARACTER.

DESIRED CHARACTER: Luna Isabel Valdez. SONG: Bad At Love - Halsey. NICKNAMES: Lu, Looney, Valdez, anything else. HOMETOWN: Las Vegas, Nevada. FAMILY DETAILS: Original character. FACECLAIM: Eiza Gonzalez. DATE OF BIRTH/AGE: January 11th, 1994 / 23. GENDER IDENTITY/PRONOUNS: Cis-female, she/her/hers. SEXUAL/ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Heterosexual bi-romantic. OCCUPATION/EDUCATION: Currently strips at a club called Lucky’s while attending The University of Chicago Law School. APARTMENT CHOICE: Grand Court.

A LITTLE MORE.

Since Luna was little she always wanted to be a superhero for latinx people just like herself – which is why she decided to become a lawyer. To fight for them and help them live the best lives they could. Only because she’s been fairly lucky with the life she has.

While Luna might not exactly be a people person, she is a cat person. She adopted a cat when she moved to Chicago, his name is Devil and he lives by his name.

Growing up Luna actually didn’t like her name, until Jasmine talked about how beautiful the moon was, and she decided her name wasn’t so bad after all.

THREE NEGATIVE TRAITS: Blunt, stubborn, wary.

THREE POSITIVE TRAITS: Hardworking, outgoing, adventurous.

NETWORKING.

@MOONBABE: i don’t think anyone has been more ashamed than my doctor when i admitted i eat hot cheetos for breakfast like…everyday

@MOONBABE: "do you need a full face of makeup to go grocery shopping?” [photo]

TEXT TO [BOY TOY]: i’m bored. delete my number. :)

LAST 4 EMOJIS: 🌮 🌙 🖕 🔥

BACKSTORY.

** TW UNDERAGE DRINKING, DRUNK DRIVING, CAR CRASH, MENTIONS OF BIPHOBIA, DEATH **

Luna Isabel Valdez was born in San Ángel, a relatively small city in Mexico. She doesn’t remember anything from living there, mostly because she was two when her parents took her and her sibling to America – hoping they could find better work and give their children a better life. That wasn’t exactly the case when they got there, sure they got lots of work but it was constantly odd jobs that paid okay and at the end of the day it was still barely scraping it for an undocumented family of four.

Luna grew up watching her parents go through hell to raise them, watching her father leave for weeks at a time to go to better paying jobs and watching her mother cry at night because it was so much stress and who knew if he’d make it back. It didn’t exactly help that Luna was the problematic child growing up. There wasn’t really a reason why she acted out and was the wild child, she just was. It was who she was as a person. She constantly wanted all eyes on her and would do anything she had to do to get it. Dancing, singing, doing things she shouldn’t in class. Luna was just constantly bored – that was her answer for why she acted out. But that all changed when a best friend came into the picture.

Luna met Jasmine in the third grade and they instantly became best friends. And while Luna was still a little mischievous, Jasmine was always the level headed one who tried to keep her out of trouble. They were inseparable, honestly. Wherever Luna was, Jasmine was right by her. And vise versa. They had sleepovers every weekend, called each other on the phone almost every night even if they had just seen each other that day, helped each other with outfits, homework, talked about boys. Luna finally had someone who understood what it was like to be different, her being Mexican as well. They had each other for everything. So it wasn’t a surprise when in the 8th grade, while sitting on the porch swing of Jasmine’s house – Jasmine came out to Luna as gay. She liked girls, and had known for a long time. Luna was the first and only person she ever came out to.

Of course Luna accepted her for who she was, no matter what. They were best friends, and Luna would have accepted anybody who was different – especially her best friend. Learning more about sexuality, had Luna thinking a lot about it. The idea started to play in her head that she could be with a girl, maybe. That if they were the right person, and she felt good with them – she could date them. And that was true. She started to imagine herself with her closest girl friends, wondering what it would be like to kiss them, and date them. The one person she thought about that the most with, of course, was Jasmine. And as more time went on, she realized more that she did like guys, and was attracted to them. But if she got to know a girl well enough, she felt the same way she did for guys.

Soon enough, Luna found herself thinking about Jasmine as more than a friend. And that soon turned into a confusing crush that until the tenth grade, had her completely confused about it. During a sleepover one night, Luna confided in Jasmine about how she was feeling. About her sexuality. And she also confessed that she was sure she had feelings for her. She was relieved that Jasmine actually felt the same way. They started secretly dating, since to everyone else they were still in the closet.

It was easy to get away with, seeing as they were best friends and had been long before this ever happened. They were happy, and they were in love. And it was easy for them, as it got closer to them graduating school to plan a future together. To go off to college together, get married, have kids. It was something they wanted badly. But it never happened. The summer after they graduated high school, they had gone to a party to celebrate their new freedom. They had both been drinking, and somewhere along the way – a fight happened. Luna to this day doesn’t really know what it was about, not fully. All she remembers was talking to a classmate and Jasmine getting jealous, and Luna getting defensive and saying she didn’t need to be because she loved her.

It had drawn enough attention that Jasmine panicked and left, saying she was fine to drive even though she clearly wasn’t. Jasmine was supposed to be the level headed one, so Luna let her go – which she still regrets. Luna got a ride home, and was hoping that she’d get a call from her girlfriend once she got back. She was too caught up in her head, upset, that she didn’t even think twice as she saw the ambulances and police racing down the road. But as she drove up her driveway to her parents waiting for her, she knew something was wrong. And her world came crumbling down around her. Jasmine ran a red light, causing an accident – the person in the other car somehow survived, but Jasmine, didn’t.

Between what happened at the party, and Jasmine dying, it forced Luna out of the closet she was so comfortable living in. Most were okay with it, they lived in Las Vegas for crying out loud. But also some weren’t, like her parents. They never outright said anything, because they did love her and how do you tell your daughter you’re ashamed of them when they just lost the person they loved? But they did quietly disagree – which sometimes, Luna thought was worse.

It took a little while for Luna to get back into the swing of dating, Jasmine had been her first relationship and it had been secret. And it had obviously ended horribly. But since then she has dated and seen a good amount of people, but nothing has really ever lasted. She either goes for people who only end up hurting her – or she ends up hurting them. It was easy with Jasmine, with others it’s not. And Luna isn’t a perfect person, she knows that. And can own up to the fact she doesn’t think she could be in a serious relationship because she’ll end up fucking it up if they don’t first.

Luna took a much needed year off before college, needing the time to mourn and also to save up for college. She wanted to become a lawyer, and she knew it would be expensive with her parents not having the money to send her to college. So when Luna was accepted into The University of Chicago, the second she got there she started looking for anything that made decent enough money to support her while she got her education. That’s when she stumbled upon a strip club called Lucky’s. She’s not ashamed that she works there, in fact, she’s happy with the money she makes there. If she wasn’t so determined to become a lawyer, she probably would just continue to do that.

Since graduating, Luna is now attending the law school at The University of Chicago. She’s working hard to make her parents proud, and working hard to be the person she’s supposed to be. Even if that doesn’t come easy for her. She’s struggling just trying to make it as a young adult off on her own. But she hopes that one day she’ll be where she needs to be.

#family: valdez #character: luna valdez #all biographies

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epchapman89 · 7 years

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Happy 10th Anniversary To The Latte Art Throwdown

Today’s modern coffee world is never short on stories—it’s all we can do to keep up with it. But today, for a few moments, allow us the pleasure of taking you back to a very different time in specialty coffee. This culture did not arrive fully formed—it was built by young people, some of them drunk on the ales of yesteryear, but all of them intoxicated by the promise of a burgeoning coffee moment.

Ten years ago today—on May 2nd, 2007—the first* modern public latte art throwdown was staged at Intelligentsia Coffee‘s Los Angeles roastery. It was born out of an in-house tradition at Intelligentsia, and birthed to the public in celebration of the 2007 SCAA Event, held in Long Beach, California.

Intelligentsia bussed in hundreds of people from Long Beach to LA. A great many beers were served, from breweries like Lagunitas, Stone, and Bear Republic. The Clover brewer—not yet subsumed into the Starbucks Borg—was in full effect.

Much of the planning and excitement around this event is memorialized in a Coffeed post, including a link to this glorious Flickr photo gallery shot by Has Bean founder Stephen Leighton. But we just had to learn more—so we reached out to event organizer (and eventual winner) Kyle Glanville, now of G&B Coffee / Go Get Em Tiger in Los Angeles, but then serving as Director of Innovation for Intelligentsia’s Los Angeles project, which at that time was only just emerging.

“It was the most ridiculous spectacle, and it was great,” Glanville tells Sprudge co-founder Jordan Michelman, speaking by phone from the G&B offices in Los Angeles. All 2007-era photos in this feature are by Stephen Leighton, reproduced here with permission and many thanks.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

*We acknowledge there may be competing claims of creation for the public latte art throwdown.

Hello Kyle Glanville, and thanks for speaking with Sprudge on this momentous day. Take us back to May of 2007—may I ask, how old were you?

I was 24 years old.

What was your role at Intelligentsia at this time?

I believe I was the Director of Innovation at that point, but really what I was doing was getting the Silver Lake story ready to go. This was in May, and the shop opened in August of that year. We had our roaster by that point but it wasn’t turned on yet. So the idea was to instead throw a big party for the 2007 SCAA Event out in Long Beach.

Where did the idea for “smackdown”—a sort of latte art pocket tournament—originally come from?

I think that (Intelligentsia co-founder) Doug Zell came up with it—and my memory is that Doug Zell came up with that name as well. Every Friday afternoon at Intelligentsia, Doug would have this competition in the break room out in Chicago, making lattes on our [La Marzocco] Linea espresso machine

I think buy-in was a buck. You came in and threw down your best pour, and the winner was selected by Doug. Charles [Babinski, co-founder at G&B Coffee] was there as well, and suggests Matt Riddle and Mike Phillips for more details on those days.

Intelligentsia LA offices circa 2007.

So “Smackdown” is what you called it at the Intelli HQ?

Yes.

But these were closed to the public, right?

Yeah—it was more of like at the end of the week, anybody who wanted to could gather in the break room, plunk down a dollar, everyone gives it a shot, and it was a consensus award. And then when we were planning this SCAA party, we wanted it to be the best, so we got so many kegs of beer and chartered busses from Long Beach and decided to make the “smackdown” part of our event.

So to your knowledge, this was the first public Smackdown / throwdown event?

I would be shocked if you found one that came before.

But you know someone is getting ready to email us right now, from Pittsburgh or somewhere, claiming they came up with it in 2005…

Well that’s why instead of saying “I’m certain this is the first one,” instead I’m saying I would be shocked if you found one that happened before May 2nd, 2007.

Young baristas in attendance.

Today the term “throwdown” is much more widely used, but yours was called a “smackdown”—why the change in nomenclature?

I think it was…I don’t know if people thought it was insensitive, but pretty soon after that event it became called a “throwdown” instead. I saw that word start to pop-up everywhere, and thought, “that’s lame”—because for us it was always a “smackdown”.

I was dismayed by the transition of the nomenclature. And if G&B were to ever host one (which I don’t think we ever will) we’d call it a “smackdown” again.

You should do one today in honor of the anniversary!

Definitely not. That is definitely not happening.

Do you recall who won the event 10 years ago?

That was the controversy, is that I won.

So you both helped invent and went on to win the first public latte art throwdown?

Yes—that’s half of the reason I wanted to do it for the party in the first place, was to be in it. It was a $5 buy in, winner takes the pot. There was no altruistic or idealist cause, just straight up cash money and ego. And it ended up being that so many people threw down, and we did it in a bracket so it took six hours and people were there until 3 in the morning. Steve Ford was there, he was the main judge, and there were other judges too. It might have been Ryan Willbur?

Ryan Willbur is in these photos, but I believe he’s throwing down, not judging. He looks about 12 years old.

Yeah so maybe not, but I know Steve Ford was a judge. Klaus [Thompson, of The Coffee Collective] threw down, David Latourelle [of Franke, then of Clover] was there…it was fun.

Young Ryan Willbur.

I was told a spectacular rumor about the floors at the Intelli roastery—that they were hastily poured in order to accommodate this party, and had to be completely repoured following the event.

I’ve never heard that one. But we did definitely push to get the floor completed in time. It was this ugly gray epoxy, and we blasted the floor and put down a big clear coat, but i don’t think that was temporary. It took like 3 days, and was a full on proper floor job.

Do you recall the prize amount you won?

It was like hundreds of dollars. Like $360 bucks or something.

Do you remember which beers were served? 2007 was a long time ago in beer.

Racer 5, Lagunitas IPA, something like Stone Arrogant Bastard, and then some lighter lager-y things. Silver Lake Wine did all the alcohol so we had some wine, and we had tacos from Taco Zone out front. We paid them $1000 for a 1000 tacos and they went through them very quickly, and the line to get tacos was a half an hour all night.

Do you have a message for the children, for today’s throwers of down?

I would say, return the “smackdown” to the throwdown—return that term—and also I would be very amped to see at least one return to format, the $5 buy-in, winner takes the pot, kind of like very simple style of latte art party.

So you want to see it return to its roots?

Yeah! Now it’s like, every throwdown is supporting a cause…

So you’re coming out against causes?

Yes (laughs)—as someone who has given a lot to groups like the ACLU and Planned Parenthood over the last couple of months, I think it’s okay to have a moment of total indulgence, ego, and lust for money. The coffee industry could use a little bit more of that. Wait, read that back to me.

“I think it’s okay to have a moment of total indulgence, ego, and lust for money.”

Well, maybe not more ego…there is still plenty of that in coffee.

When you access that night 10 years ago back in your brain RAM, what was your favorite moment?

In a broader sense, we had been setting this place up in LA, and we were pretty far into that time. Nobody had seen it and nothing was going on. So just having that activation, where it was like 500 SCAA conference people in the house, eating out of a taco truck in the front parking lot…the magnitude of the party and the degree to which it was so full-on. Everybody was trashed, and everybody was crammed into the training room pouring latte art. It was the most ridiculous spectacle, and it was great.

Thank you Kyle Glanville.

Peruse the complete gallery of photos from the first latte art smackdown / throwdown via Stephen Leighton of Hasbean’s Flickr account. All photos used with permission.

Jordan Michelman is a co-founder and editor at Sprudge Media Network. Read more Jordan Michelman on Sprudge.

The post Happy 10th Anniversary To The Latte Art Throwdown appeared first on Sprudge.

seen 1st on http://sprudge.com

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colormedumbfound · 7 years

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Answers for all the cities

Okay so I posted these questions like before Christmas... And I apparently don't have notifications turned on for Tumblr.. there were two others asking for answers but I figured I'd just answer this one and that would cover all the bases! Thanks for the ask ❤❤ sorry it took so dang long 😅London: How do you take your tea? I actually avoid all tea... I'll put a chai tea bag in a white hot chocolate but that's as close to tea drinking as I'll get haha Paris: Describe your favorite kiss. Either the very first kiss I shared with my love on news years eve or the first kiss I shared with my love after he told me he loved me for the first time. We were in the middle of a emotional conversation and those three words were really needed in that moment. Dublin: Do you believe in Soul mates? Before I met Brenden my answer would have been no. But I have never met another soul that I connect with so deeply and honestly. It warms my heart to even just think about him. Oslo: What keeps you warm? I don't know if this is figurative or not? But I'm pretty sure I'm cold blooded. Almost nothing keeps me warm haha. Amsterdam: What is your ideal night out? I hate going out to bars and clubs. It's such a messy atmosphere. I love house parties though. More people should have house parties. But would that be considered a night in....? Los Angeles: What would you change about yourself? Ive grown to love myself and my outside appearance. But if i could, I would like to be stronger both mentally and physically. I am very emotional and quick to crying. I also would like to work on my physical strengths. I just don't have the time.Milan: How do you think others describe you?I am very loud, happy and outgoing, which can be seen as obnoxious Hahaha. I've got a really weird personality. But I have been described as big hearted and genuine. Which is something I really take pride in. Prague: What is your favorite season?Oh dang. They all have such good things attributed with them. Summer is probably my favorite though. Just because summer means escaping to the mountains for week long camping trips ♡New York City: What gets you up in the morning?Brenden if he's there. If not, close to nothing Hahaha I'm so not a morning person. Given the opportunity I would stay in bed until 2. Hong Kong: What is your earliest childhood memory?I was 2 going on 3, my grandma and I were visiting a friend of the family at her lakeside house. I don't remember much other than the lake being there. Tel Aviv: What is your favorite thing about your family?How large and together it feels. I can usually go to my parents with anything and everything.Las Vegas: Have you ever broken a heart?I'm not sure. I know I've hurt people, I went through a very mentally unstable period and hurt a lot people during that time. I just don't know how far that pain went. I hope not though. Madrid: Describe your aesthetic.Free spirited and a little bit of bad ass. Like just the tiniest amount of it though?? I don't know. Pft. What's an aesthetic anyways. Chicago: What do you ache for?Currently a road trip that's partially planned for the summer. And Mango Hi-chews. Always. Toronto: Describe your ideal partner.This is going to sound lame, but my current partner is my ideal partner. I couldn't have made a better match for myself if I tried. He helps me grow, widens my viewpoint, supports whatever decisions I make, has cool tattoos, blonde with blue eyes, is tall enough that I can wear heels and still be shorter, but I am still able to jump on his back with my little legs. We have similar world views and work together so well. We're always honest with each other and I can't wait to continue doing life with him. Sorrento: What is your weakness?Stress. I get stressed really easy. It destroys me. Cairo: Whats your favorite quote?I don't think I have a favorite....Budapest: What tattoo do you want?So dang many. Next though is probably an American traditional blade through a rose. Or maybe a snake... jeez I don't know yet.. And I need to get some boobs on the back of my left leg to even out the heart butt that's on the right leg. Mumbai: What is your favorite scent?Anything coconut or vanilla... mmmmmMen's Cologne is also very very nice.Stockholm: What scares you?The future. I worry that the plans I have set in motion will end up being the wrong ones.

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nettvnow-blog · 7 years

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Joe Menconi | Blurred

Kyle Anderson and Joe Menconi are changing the way men do comedy, especially in the web series world. While the community is flooded with your typical bromance or asshole characters, Joe and Kyle bring humor in their flaws as they take on more exaggerated versions of themselves in Blurred. With season two premiering tonight, jump down below and see what co-creator Menconi has to say in our exclusive chat.

netTVnow: Where did the concept for Blurred come from?

Joe Menconi: Well Kyle and I are roommates. We have been wanting to make something together for a while and had a running Google doc full of bits and situations that kept coming up or that we simply thought were funny. We were going to just try and shoot a few sketches but said screw it and wound up going for the web series. On paper it was over ambitious and we were probably quite stupid for thinking we could pull it off. But we just wanted to make something we liked and that we thought was funny. It’s really just a heightened version of us in the show. We weren’t trying to change the game we just wanted to get out quality content and look to build on it. And also to have a link to send our parents so they knew what the hell we were doing out here.

netTVnow: What led you two, to working together?

JM: We actually both went to the same college (Indiana University) but didn’t know each other too well. I left after two years to do improv in Chicago while Kyle had been making comedy videos. Once I made the move to LA we had a lot of mutual friends telling us to connect. Like I said, we wound up becoming roommates and are basically brothers now. Like Ryan Seacrest and Carson Daly. But we found we had a similar voice comedically. Maybe it was delusional confidence but we felt like we had good chemistry that would hopefully read on camera.

netTVnow: Is this your first web series, if so what were you surprised to find about working in that medium?

JM: I was in a small web series about a year and a half ago when I first moved to LA and again, Kyle had made digital content as well. I think we were surprised by how many web series were out there. It’s been cool finding this indie film and web series community. People are doing really cool stuff. It’s awesome that anyone can make something and it can be seen at any time. That of course can work the other way because it’s pretty diluted and hard to get your stuff seen. There’s a lot of bad content and a lot of good content. Which I guess is the internet in a nutshell.

netTVnow: All the episodes are great, do you guys have a favorite one? Mine’s definitely the first one when you do the handshake from Parent Trap!

JM: Thanks Michelle we appreciate that. Yeah ‘Double Date’ seemed to be the favorite. I think the first few and the last one were our favorites. But yeah the handshake was kind of an improvised thing on that day of shooting. We had just written down “montage” and when we got to it we felt like we had to do the hand shake. So two grown adult males tried to perfect it in their apartment in about ten minutes. But yeah we both grew up on the Parent Trap, Lohan version of course. Quaid is unbeatable in that.

netTVnow: I love that you guys can poke fun at the stereotypical guys that we often see on television, what was it like writing the script and putting this together?

JM: It probably looks slightly more intentional than it appears. I feel like for whatever reason that is a trend for guys in shows. Especially around our age. The idea that they have to look cool and always get girls. Which is absurd to me because that doesn’t happen ever. It comes off fake and dishonest when you see that stuff on TV. Unless you’re one of those hot LA guys with the jaw line and the dumb angled face, I don’t know who is that cool.

Neither of us play instruments we're not that dope. The thing I do like is we always are the ones that lose. We’re the butt of the jokes. It’s more fun to live in that space as dudes and also is more relatable. When we write, especially more in season two, we had fun trying to push us into looking more lame and failing harder. We really are two giant, harmless, dumb idiots. We’re always in our heads in real life. So we just tried to heighten that and call it out in the show.

netTVnow: If you don’t mind discussing budget, many web series often work with little to no budget, what was it like for you guys and how did that play a role into filming?

JM: We’re an open book, Michelle. See. That was a dumb thing to say right there. Sorry. But I think the biggest thing it does is force you to wear multiple hats and learn quickly. I think we both learned so much about how things are made from the two seasons we’ve done. We often change jokes on the fly and have to be cool with losing scenes or bits but have to know which ones we can afford to lose.

Problems always pop up. No matter what, it’s inevitable. It was a crash course in indie film making. And as stressful as it was at times it’s so cool to figure out how to work like that. We’re all friends. Our small crew is all friends too, so we enjoy that kind of collaborative process and all of us just trying to figure it out. We were working with a much bigger budget on season two. In fact, we had no budget for the first season, which was great but brought on a whole new bag of anxiety.

netTVnow: What’s your favorite part about web series?

JM: Being able to do your own thing and trying to make the type of show you want to see. There are no rules. It’s like recess in grade school. A lot of people think they know what you “should do” or say “this is how you make a web series,” which is kind of bullshit to be honest. Nobody knows exactly what they’re doing and it has to be true to the people making it.

We personally tried to not listen to that stuff. We really only have one rule - if we both think it’s funny, we do it. Again, it’s cool we live in a time where we can do this thing. We don’t have to just audition next to a bunch of people that are better looking, went to a better acting school than us. We can make stuff happen for ourselves. We trust what we’re doing and have a lot of fun trying to make people laugh.

netTVnow: What can audiences expect in the second season?

JM: For the ‘Joe’ character to be heavier. It wasn’t done on purpose but it’s just the truth. We’re very excited for this season. Working with a bigger budget this time around allowed us to shoot at some really cool locations. There’s a lot more meat to the episodes. They’re significantly longer and it allowed us to tell more of a story in each episode. You still get us being stupid we just were able to add cooler stories over that relationship. We also have some really awesome actors/actresses and comedians this season. People that we’re genuinely fans of comedically. In the first episode alone, you’ll see a lot of really talented human beings. And better looking people than us. So if you don’t like looking at our faces there’s more appealing people to watch.

netTVnow: Will Kyle and Joe finally get girlfriends?

JM: Wow, we have so many threads to our show I don’t know if we can give it away! No, that’s of course not true. But I think you could guess most likely not. Kyle and Joe are still not ready for girlfriends I don’t think. We were able to show a few realer moments relationship wise which was cool. There’s also a lot more stuff about our relationship this season. We get in a confrontation in one of the episodes and it’s really hard hitting dramatic stuff. TNT type stuff. Blurred knows drama. And you can pull quote that.

netTVnow: Do you guys have any upcoming projects you can share?

JM: I am in a really cool short film that I should be able to see by February - March. I’m excited for it. It’s a very sweet and funny story called One More Thing: A Hoard Alone Story. I got to work with an incredibly talented writer/director named Amanda Kinchen. She’s awesome.

Kyle's currently in production on some hilarious sketches that he's been working on with another comedian. They'll be putting content out throughout the upcoming months. Additionally, Kyle and I are also doing a video series for a new nutrition/lifestyle brand called hustle up. We’ll be going into production on those after season two of Blurred is locked. And we have a couple things we’re working on and are hopeful for. But those are ‘maybes’ which of course means absolutely nothing in this industry.

netTVnow: Is there anything else you guys would like to add?

JM: Thanks for this, Michelle. I don’t think I swore once which I’m proud of and will make my mom happy. But yeah, no just watch our show. Please. Validate us. Season two premieres Thursday, February 16th on our YouTube channel, with a new episode every Thursday following that date with five total this season. I think people will really enjoy where we went with it. @blurredseries on all the socials. We will be continuing to put content on that channel following season two so please continue to check that out and subscribe or whatever we’re suppose to say. Alright, I’m done. Did I do okay? I feel like I talked way too much. Thank you again, Michelle!

Follow Blurred Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

#Joe Menconi #Kyle Anderson #Blurred

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